“Right, let’s get this over and done with,” Jason announced, striding into his room ahead of an amused Ryan.

“Anyone would think you didn’t want me here,” he purred as he pulled his shoulder-bag off swiftly and dumped it on the bed.

Jason raised an eyebrow at him, “It’s not like you want to be here.”

But Ryan didn’t quite register what he said as he was taken in by Jason’s room. “Wow. Not what I expected… I love your posters…!”

The basketballer couldn’t distinguish whether his tone was mocking or not, and so glanced around his room as well. “I like anime,” he said finally, still undecided.

“So do I. Studio Ghibli’s genius, but Shar hates it, so…” Ryan gave a loose, dismissive shrug, wandering over to the ‘My Neighbour Totoro’ poster that adorned the wall above Jason’s desk.

“So you don’t watch it?”

He shot a coy glance over his shoulder, “That’s what she thinks… But there are cubby-holes in my room she knows nothing about.”

Jason laughed, setting down his bag. Who knew it? The theatre king had decent taste in films… “Clever,” he acknowledged.

Ryan leaned on the desk, watching Jason now, “So, do the Wildcats know about this little preference?”

The brunette motioned to the room around him. “It’s not really very well hidden. It’s just one of those little things- like Zeke’s baking. They’ve learned to accept it.”

Ryan grinned, “What more can they do?”

Jason walked to his cupboard to retrieve his History books. Maybe this assignment wouldn’t be so bad after all… “Favourite?” he queried as he pulled open the door.

“‘Spirited Away’.” Ryan looked towards that film poster on the other side of the room, then met Jason’s gaze again. “I saw it in the cinema and it was just…incredible.”

“Cool.” Jason pulled out his books and went to shut the door again.

“What about-? Wait!” Ryan was at the cupboard before Jason could shut the door fully, yanking it back again to look inside. “Pokémon!”

Jason blinked in surprise. How had Ryan realised that through a clouded plastic box? No-one else ever had. “Erm… Yeah.”

Ryan pulled the box down easily, then staggered slightly as it landed heavily in his arms. “I haven’t seen this in years!” he enthused. “I used to love it, but Shar made us throw out all our stuff when it went out of fashion.”

“I was never very good at throwing stuff out…”

“You have tonnes!” he marvelled, pulling out a stuffed Psyduck with a look of complete joy.

“Yeah.” Jason set his books down on his desk, “So, shall we get started?”

Ryan nodded, sliding the box back into place reluctantly, but Jason noted that the blond couldn’t quite bring himself to stow the Psyduck again. “Okay.” He walked to the bed, sitting down and opening his bag. Jason laughed as he made the Psyduck peer into the depths.

“Do you want a drink or something before we start?”

“Erm… Yeah, please.”

Jason hooked his thumbs in his pockets, rocked back on his heels, “What d’you want?”

Ryan shrugged his aquamarine clad shoulders, “Surprise me.” He grinned up at the brunette, “I’m not fussy.”

With a nod, Jason left the room and jogged down the short flight of stairs before entering the kitchen. When he’d been paired with Ryan Evans- drama king extraordinaire- for this assignment, he’d expected a male version of Sharpay, but that didn’t appear to be the case at all. On the contrary, Ryan seemed friendly, amiable, and his enthusiasm over anime was both intriguing, and rather sweet.

Jason snorted out a laugh as he walked back into the room with two cans of Coke. In his absence, Ryan had pounced on the Pokémon box again and was now sitting cross-legged on the floor, cards spread out all around him. He was playing with Psyduck again; giving him a card and making him waddle over to set it down on a pile.

Ryan turned his head to look up at Jason, and the latter felt his lips tug as the Psyduck turned to gaze up at him as well. “Hi,” the blond chirped.

“Paras is a bug Pokémon,” Jason commented as he crossed behind them to set the cans down on the desk.

“Oh.” Ryan moved the offending card so it rested on the bug pile rather than the one with grass Pokémon. “That was your fault,” he scolded Psyduck, making the stuffed Pokémon hang his head in shame.

Jason found himself laughing once more, “Are we going to get started?”

“What?” as the distracted response. “Oh, yeah.” He stood up with the Psyduck and walked over to him, leaning past to pick up one of the cans of Coke. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Well, I thought that one of the best options might be to do the Spanish Civil War,” Jason suggested, sitting on his desk chair, facing Ryan where he sat on the bed- which was beside the desk.

Ryan nodded as he settled the Psyduck in his lap, “That’s good. A simple enough concept, but plenty of information to bulk it out.”

“Simple concept of having half a country at war with the other half, yeah,” Jason muttered wryly. He watched as the blond’s eyes strayed to the floor again, “You just want to play with the Pokémon, don’t you?”

“I really do.”

The sportsman rolled his eyes expressively, “Okay. Why don’t we work until…five, and then take a break?”

Ryan gave a quick grin, “I can work with that.”

*****

“Come on, Cross! Feel the wrath of my Jiggypuff!”

Ryan’s loud declaration had Jason grinning in amusement that he couldn’t hide as they sat opposite each other on his bedroom floor, each holding an old Game Boy Color that were connected by a red cable. On their screens, their Pokémon of choice were doing battle against one another. Tapping a few buttons, Jason shifted his gaze up to watch Ryan’s jaw drop as his Pokémon was knocked out.

A scowl laced the blond’s features, his brow furrowing as he examined his list of Pokémon, trying to remember which one would aid him against the enemy. Lowering it, he showed the screen to his new best friend, ignoring Jason’s snigger as the Psyduck stared at the screen. Finally, Ryan decided on Zapdos, and looked up through his lashes to judge Jason’s reaction.

The brunette pursed his lips thoughtfully, and took a moment to select his move. Ryan felt a stab of pride as the attack did little damage. It looked like he’d picked the right one. Then he pressed the button that released Zapdos’ thunderbolt.

‘It did not affect DUGTRIO.’

Jason couldn’t quite hide his smirk in time, and Ryan’s eyes narrowed in accusation. “You knew that was going to happen, didn’t you?”

“C’mon, Ryan! Dugtrio’s a ground Pokémon. Electricity won’t penetrate ground!”

The blond gave a cute little pout, “I told you I hadn’t played in a while…”

Jason laughed. It surprised Ryan just how much he liked Jason’s laugh. It was genuine, natural, and made his eyes brighten. “Still, it’s common sense.”

“But you didn’t react when I put it out in the first place!”

“Not my fault I have a better poker face than you.”

Ryan leaned over and grabbed a fistful of Jason’s t-shirt, dragging the basketballer’s face close to his. “I don’t like being misled,” he hissed venomously.

“Well, I’m sorry, your highness,” Jason responded, unable to keep the cheeky grin off his face. Ryan’s eyes continued to bore into his and the grin faded naturally.

It was like some sort of magnetic pull as they both moved in, before the spark that shot a jolt through both on them as their lips were a hair’s breadth apart. Ryan could taste Jason’s breath on his tongue as it hit his lips, warm and inviting. They both hesitated, wondering whether to risk the explosion or not.

In a simple motion, it was Jason who decided to light the fuse. Inclining his head, he captured Ryan’s lips firmly with his. At first, he was alone in his movements as he allowed his lips to caress the blond’s gently, but then Ryan’s grip on his t-shirt tightened again as he angled his head to contribute to the kiss.

After a moment, Ryan decided to take it further, and parted his red hot lips so his tongue teased Jason’s lower lip seductively. As Jason’s lips parted for him, Ryan slid his tongue through, and the fireworks began as his tongue began to do a slow dance with Jason’s.

Their mouths melded together, the Game Boys forgotten as Jason’s hand came up to grip the back of Ryan’s neck, holding him into the now passionate embrace, his dexterous fingers toying with the hair at the back of Ryan’s head.

It was a meeting of lips, a clash of tongues that made Ryan’s heart skip a beat and his blood give a pleasant hum.

Yup. Ryan loved Pokémon.