A/N: Wow. This is the first story I've finished in… forever. And for a one-shot, it's actually fairly long. Good.

Gold and Silver are both a little OOC. But, hey, everyone acts different at a sleepover.

Warnings: There aren't a lot of warnings. Well… there's a reference or two to "groping" and there are implied one-sided pairings. And they are… MangaQuestShipping, ChosenShipping, and OldRivalShipping. Other than that, there's nothing offensive in here.

Oooh… and I'm using English names, so the girl is Green and the boy is Blue. Sorry for any confusion.

Silver couldn't sleep. He was too comfortable.

Mask of Ice had trained him against comfort. The bedroom temperatures has always been dropped at night, just low enough that the masked children had needed to either smother themselves with the blankets or allow their noses to freeze. The mattresses had been stiff and occasionally embedded hidden sharp objects. The door to the masked children's bedroom had always been open and there had never been anything to muffle the light and noises that didn't calm until well after midnight in the masked man's lair. And the masked man had never been above scheduling a mandatory earthquake drill or spontaneous training session in the middle of the night. Silver had become a light sleeper, always up and alert the minute something caught his subconscious attention.

One day, Green had learned that the Mask of Ice would be away all night. She and Silver had made plans to sneak into his room and sleep in his real bed for the night. Unfortunately, their plot had been overheard by Chermaine, who had dutifully reported it to the Mask of Ice, who had then passed on the information to Karen with an order to punish them as she saw fit. "Fun-loving" Karen had decided to set the bedroom on fire. Silver had been awakened by a screaming Blue, who later had to be sent to the infirmary with second-degree burns. Karen hadn't put the fire out until they screamed and begged, and they were unconscious by the time the room was clear enough for Will to drag them out.

"You're just lucky it was me attacked you and not an enemy," Karen had taunted them later. "Lucky I let the fire wake you up before you choked to death. That'll teach you to disobey the masked man!"

Karen herself had gotten in serious trouble for burning the masked man's room and melting his sculptures… but that hadn't made Silver feel any better. He hadn't done anything to attempt to make his sleep more comfortable since.

Which was why now – lying in Gold's quiet, warm, guest room on a soft mattress in borrowed fuzzy pajamas – Silver was unable to turn off the alarm bells in his head and get any rest.

It was futile. His mind was racing; unimportant things were becoming extremely frustrating and, though there was nowhere to be, he couldn't escape a sense of urgency. This always happened when he tried to sleep in a bed. Maybe he could just slip away. Gold and his mother wouldn't really mind, would they…?

Or, they might hear him stumbling around the dark house and call the cops.

He sighed. How had he gotten himself into this situation in the first place?

"Hey! Silver!""

Silver jumped at the sound of his name, suddenly coming from directly above him. He was under a tree, and standing in the tree was none other than…

"Gold!?" Silver exclaimed. After Gold had ran off with Red, Silver hadn't expected to ever see the boy again. But he swallowed his surprise, steadying his voice to a cautious tone. "What do you want?"

Gold scowled at him as he jumped off the tree, using his cue to soften his landing. "Dude, what kind of a greeting is that? I thought you'd be happier to see an old pal. Remember, I almost gave my life for you!"

Had Silver's response sounded rude? He hadn't meant it that way. It bugged Silver when people misinterpreted his tone – secretly, it took a lot of effort for Silver to muster any type of tone in the first place.

Oh, like it mattered. Gold would be Gold.

"That wasn't my choice," Silver said coolly.

"Yeah, yeah," Gold said dismissively. Before Silver could get in a word about it, Gold added, "Anyway, what I was going to ask is, what are you doing here in New Bark Town, anyway? Breaking into more labs?"

Silver stiffened. "No. I came to apologize to Professor Elm for taking his Totodile, and to assure him that it's safe in my hands."

Gold shifted. "Oh."

Silence. It was pretty weird – Silver had never remembered Gold being within thirty feet of any place silent.

"What were you doing?"

"Dude, I live here."

"I know that. I meant, what were you doing in the tree?"

"The tree – oh, you know. Nothin' really. Just hanging out. Listening to music. Do you know DJ Mary?"

"No." This was getting uncomfortable.

"Oh. Well, she's really good and – HI MOM!"

Silver jumped at this sudden exclamation, spinning around to face the target of Gold's eyes. A large house by the tree – a woman was sticking her head out the window.

"Hi, sweetie! Dinner's ready!" she called out. "Oh! And who's your friend?"

"Friend, wha – oh. You mean that guy. His name's Silver."

"Well, invite him too! I made extra!"

"OK!" Gold called back, and his mother went back inside.

Silence again.

"Well?" offered Gold.

"No," said Silver.

"Why? It's free food." Gold seemed to have no comprehension of any reason for anyone to refuse his mother's cooking. "It's not like there's any restaurants in this town or anything."

Silver stepped away. "I have business in Kanto."

Gold snorted. "You expect to get there tonight? Do you know how hard it is to get through Tohjo falls?"

"Good-bye, Gold." Silver had already turned away.

Gold caught up, stopping in Silver's path and holding out his arms out like an airplane.

"Hold up," he said. "I see what this is all about. You just have to go out on one of your solo missions again, don't you? You just don't want anyone around."

Silver glared. "That's none of your business."

"True," Gold agreed. "Normally not. But, you see, Silver, if I let you go this time, it would create trouble for me. Mom would get on my case, like, 'Why didn't you invite your poor friend to supper!?' And when I said you refused to come, she'd be offended and in a bad mood the whole night. So, I simply can't allow you to run off this time. You're going to have to come with me."

"I said I'm no- mph!" Silver found himself being dragged towards Gold's house by the sleeve. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Taking you to my house, of course. You're just gonna hafta suffer through it, dude. There's no escape."

Silver was at a loss for words.

Gold tended to have that effect on him.

-

Gold's mother was nice, Silver admitted to himself. And her food was good too. Gold himself, on the other hand…

Silver didn't hate Gold. He just found him incredibly irritating.

"Mom, I'm home! And Silver came too!" Gold shoved Silver in front of him like a sacrificial offering.

Silver glared.

"Welcome home, Gold. And it's very nice to meet you, Silver." Gold's mom smiled at him.

"Same," Silver said tightly.

"Dinner's on the table. Cinnabar Island volcano burgers tonight – my specialty."

"Awesome!" Gold practically flew to the table.

Silver followed him awkwardly.

Gold's house was nice. Knowing Gold, Silver would have guessed his house was a dump, but apparently his mother did a good job with housework. Nice, matching furniture. Clean wooden walls. And Pokémon were everywhere – just roaming freely through the house, having fun.

"So, Silver, remind me again how you met Gold," Gold's mom asked as she poured a glass of water.

"Well, um…"

"Mom, that's Silver. I told you how we met," Gold said with his mouth full.

"Oh, right! Now I remember. You're the one who stole a Totodile and PokeDex."

Silver froze. How would she react to the knowledge that she was serving dinner to a thief?

"Gold told me all about how you saved the world together," she continued.

That was definitely not the reaction he had expected.

"Mooom. I saved the world. He helped!"

"Of course."

"You told her about that?" Silver said disbelievingly.

"Of course he told me! He told me everything!" Her voice turned to a whisper. "But, between you and me, I think he embellished the details of his own heroics a bit." She winked.

"Mom!" Gold exclaimed, having overheard. " That's not true! Everything I said was correct, wasn't it, Silver?"

"I don't know what you told her."

"Enough, Gold. I was just teasing." She laughed. "Sure sounds like quite the adventure you two got yourselves into, though. Wish I could've seen it."

Silver hadn't been sure what to think of Gold's mom. On the one hand, he thought she could use some parenting lessons. How on earth could this woman be so casual about the fact that her eleven-year-old son had battled legendary Pokémon and chased down a kidnapping madman into another dimension that had nearly distorted the boy into putty? But there was something Silver liked about her. She was warm, and supportive. And there was a feeling that Silver got from being in this house. It wasn't quite jealousy – no, it wasn't bitter enough. It was a longing. He wanted this kind of life, and, by extension, he wanted to be accepted by those who already lived it.

So when dinner was over, and Silver had helped wash dishes, and Gold's mother had warned him it was getting dark soon and invited him to sleep over…

Silver had said yes.

But this was pathetic. He sat up quickly in bed. There was no reason for him to be here. Staying here was only letting Gold boss him around. He'd change, leave, and find a Pokémon Center in Cherrygrove City. His feet hit the floor and he stood up, fumbling for his clothes in the dark. He saw the vague outline of a shelf, felt for his clothes, changed, and folded his borrowed pajamas. As quietly as he could, he snuck through the hall.

He paused. Would it be ungrateful to sneak out? Silver didn't usually care about politeness, but this was different. Maybe he should leave a note.

He fumbled around in his pockets for a full minute before he noticed the figure standing over him.

"Dude, what's going on?" A whispery voice.

Silver leaped to his feet.

"What's the matter with you?" Gold asked. "It's just me."

"You startled me."

"You are so weird."

"…"

"What're ya doin' up?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Why not?"

"Too comfortable."

"…"

"Never mind."

"What did you just say?" Gold suddenly laughed. "You can't sleep because it's too comfortable?"

"Yes."

Gold laughed again. "You're weird."

Silver's eyes narrowed. "Why is that funny?"

"I dunno. Maybe because it's midnight. Everything's funnier when you need sleep, ya know?"

"No."

"Well, that's what it's like for me." Gold said.

Silence.

"Well – what are you doing awake?" Silver asked before Gold could question him any further.

"Me? Oh, I couldn't sleep, either."

"Why not?" Silver mimicked.

Gold's tone suddenly changed. "Nightmares," he said hesitantly.

"I see." Silver thought of Green. Green got nightmares. Silver rarely did.

When Silver and Green were little and Green had nightmares, she would tremble and sweat and sometimes even cry in her sleep. Silver would notice and wake her up. Usually she'd be able to fall back to sleep afterwards. But sometimes, she'd wake up crying and wouldn't be able to stop. Silver hated to see her going through such pain that he didn't even understand. It made him feel so helpless. "What was it?" He would always ask her. "What did you see, Green? What did you see?"

"What did you see?" Silver asked Gold instinctively.

"That's none of your business!" Gold snapped.

Then he burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding. Ha ha. I scared you."

"Actually no, you didn't."

"Yes I did. So shut up." Gold suddenly turned around and flopped down onto the nearest couch, his legs sprawled out. "What, you really wanna know about my nightmares?"

Actually, Silver was a little curious. Green had nightmares of being whisked away in the talons of an enormous bird Pokémon. But Gold had essentially the perfect life. What could he possibly be scared of?

Silver didn't want to say all this, so he simply said, "I asked, didn't I?"

"Fine then. I'll tell you. Oh, and by the way, there's a couch right there. You can sit down."

Silver sat, and Gold began his story.

"The truth is, Silver… ever since I got home from Mt. Silver, I've been having nightmares about the masked man."

Silver raised his eyebrows.

"That whole big battle didn't really phase me in the heat of the moment. It was like an extended adrenaline rush. And on Mt. Silver, I was too focused on training to think about it. But when I got home, and things got back to normal, I started seeing images of giant talons about to crush me, and jets of fire shooting around me and Chris. And ice. And time.

"I really was prepared to die then. I don't know what the heck saved me. I shouldn't be alive right now. The thing is, back then, I wasn't scared at all. All I could think was that I was fighting an evil man and he shouldn't be allowed to exist. And I knew how to kill him in a way he'd never see coming. I was a little sad that I'd never get to see my home or my Pokémon again, but I just wasn't scared. Now that I'm back here, though… and I think about how close I'd gotten to losing everything… I'll admit it, I'm terrified.

"I know it's stupid," Gold continued in an almost self-conscious tone. "It's not like I was forced into that battle. I had countless opportunities to back down. And it was over in a few days, anyway. It wasn't all that bad of a thing. So, really, who am I to be having nightmares about it? But, I do." His voice was suddenly matter-of-fact. "There you have it. Those are my nightmares."

Silver was quiet for a long time.

"I see," Silver said finally. "That's what it's like for you."

Gold rolled over on his side, using an arm of the couch as a pillow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Silver hesitated, and then he answered. "I used to be somewhat… bitter towards you. When your mother said, 'adventure', I couldn't help but be angry. It wasn't an adventure to me. It had been my life's burden to stop that man, and though I was relieved, I never had a nice house to return to, or a loving family to talk about it to. And it really bothered me that you could receive this great – 'adventure' – from my misery.

"But I was wrong. Now I see that you weren't really profiting. You were sharing my burden. So, thank you. I know you didn't do it for me. But thank you."

Silver held his breath.

"Wow. That was deep." Gold said quietly. Then he added loudly, "You're welcome!"

If it had been lighter in the room, Gold would have seen Silver smiling to himself.

"So," said Gold casually – probably hoping to move onto a lighter subject, "now it's your turn."

"What?"

"I told you about my nightmares – now you have to tell me what you mean by 'too comfortable.'"

Silver scowled. "I don't recall agreeing to that."

"No – but it's only fair. And I'm curious. So tell me."

Silver sighed. "Fine… if you just know… the Mask of Ice… basically wouldn't let us be comfortable while we slept."

"Really?"

"Yeah… and one time… the first time I ever slept in a real bed… this girl used Pokémon to set us on fire."

"What the – how?"

Silver grimaced – Gold found this amusing, apparently.

"She just made a ring of flames around us. To punish us for sleeping in a bed. She was one of the Mask of Ice's favorite kids. Because she was a total sicko." Silver paused for a moment, thinking. "You might have met her. She was there in Ilex Forest. She tortured me to bait Green and then she tortured Green with Ho-Oh. And then she left because she got bored."

"Wow – she sounds like a crazy female Snubbul."

"Yeah. That's one way to put it. You know, I used to feel sorry for her. I thought it wasn't her fault. All the masked children turned out cruel. Even Green was cruel to everyone other than me. Karen was with the Mask of Ice longer than I was. She was a masked kid. She was destined to be evil. But then Will told me something – he and Karen weren't kidnapped. They chose to go with the Mask of Ice. I was actually happy when he told me that. It meant… I didn't have to feel bad about hurting them."

Gold rolled over onto his other side. He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Destined to be evil – do you really believe that?"

"Now I know they weren't destined."

"But do you really think people are destined to be what they are?" asked Gold. "I don't think so. It doesn't matter what people teach you to do. If you do it, it's because you wanted to."

Silver didn't reply.

"You once told me," Gold continued, "that my Explotaro was destined to lose to your Totodile because water beats fire. Who taught you that?"

"Mask of Ice."

"Why would you listen to him?" Gold sounded critical. "He kidnapped you and only told you things that would make you more useful to him – didn't he? So, of course he wanted you to believe in destiny. Of course he didn't want you to think you'd ever be able to escape him and live your own life. I hate people who tell you that you can't just because they don't want you to. Life is unpredictable. There's no such thing as destiny."

Silver crossed his arms. "Hmmph. So you really think it's a coincidence that you have everything and I have very few things? And that people like you have everything and people like me have very few things? Different people have different lives. For a reason. I don't know why, but it's true."

"What – you think I'm favored by some higher power or something?" Gold snorted. "And you're just hated? The universe doesn't care about people. It doesn't go around picking which ones it likes and which ones it hates. That's pretty egocentric."

"Now you're calling me egocentric?" Silver was getting mad. "You're the one who gets mad when other people help someone before you get the chance to be a hero! Egocentric!"

"Everyone is egocentric," Gold said smugly. "Some people are just more honest about it."

Silver stiffened, about ready to retort – and then sunk back. He didn't want to argue.

"Fine," said Silver. "Think whatever you want."

"Same to you."

"I had no idea you were this philosophical, Gold," Silver said, trying to remember how in the world they had gotten to that topic, anyway.

"I'm not. Some ideas just tick me off. Also, it's midnight. Everyone is more philosophical at midnight, ya know?"

"No."

"Well it is for… never mind."

Silver was getting tired. He'd still been planning to leave, but it didn't look like that would happen now. Yawning, he leaned against the arm of the couch as Gold had done. The two boys' heads were now several inches apart; the couches arms formed an angle.

"It really is true, though," said Gold. "Haven't you noticed that when you're up late talking to someone when both of you should be asleep, you always talk about really deep things? Even if you barely know them? It's weird. I wonder what causes that."

"So do I," said Silver.

"You know what I'm talking about?" Gold asked.

"I think so. I never noticed it before, but looking back, every time Green and I had a serious conversation, it was always at night. And when she went to Kanto and I stayed behind, we'd talk on the phone. And in the daytime, we'd only talk for ten minutes at a time, about useless things like the weather. But when she called at night, we'd end up talking for hours."

"Yeah. You know what I mean," Gold said. "Like, me and Chris used to bicker all the time. She was so naggy. How annoying. But one night we camped out together and it was like we were best friends. By the next day I knew the story of her life and she knew mine. But we went right back to arguing after I stole part of her share of breakfast that morning."

"Chris – that's the girl who kicks the PokeBalls?"

"Yup. That's her. I wonder what's up with her. Hmmm… I get the feeling she hates me," Gold observed. "She was always nagging, and when she found out I wasn't dead she actually seemed upset. She was like, 'What are you doing here'?"

"She was just surprised," Silver said. "You should've seen her before. She was crying. She doesn't hate you."

"Oh. Well, that's a relief. She's actually pretty cute."

"I'm assuming you like her?"

"Sure, I guess. She's cute. And tough. But I'm not sure I'd go out with her. She's so serious, and she has a temper. And I'd be worried that…well, maybe PokeBalls aren't the only kind she can kick."

Silver sniggered.

"What was that?" Gold asked, alarmed. "Did you just laugh?"

"…Yes."

"What the – wow. Why?"

"Your comment of course!" Silver almost laughed again. "That was stupid. But it was funny."

"See – see what I mean? Everything is funnier when you're tired." And Gold laughed too. "But dude, that totally scared me. I don't think I ever heard you laugh before. I didn't know you had a sense of humor."

"Of course I have one. I just don't have a lot of use for one."

"That's sad. You should laugh more. It's good for you."

Silver yawned and rolled over on his side. "People are always telling me that kind of thing. To smile more, and things like that."

"And you don't listen? Maybe you should smile more. There's always something to smile about."

"It's not that I'm never happy," Silver corrected. "I'm just not good at smiling. Or frowning. Or anything. Four years of not seeing anyone's face will do that to you."

Gold paused. "Oh," he said finally. "I didn't think of it like that. Sorry. I didn't mean – "

"I know you didn't," Silver interrupted tiredly.

"You're pretty good at evil glares though," Gold said optimistically. "That's something, right?"

"That's the other thing. When something does show on my face, I can't control it. Green told me that when I get mad I look like a rabid beast about to tear everyone to shreds. But when I'm happy I look like a giddy schoolgirl."

"What about Green, anyway?" Gold asked, changing the subject. "I didn't talk to her much, but her face seemed pretty… no offense… normal."

"Yes, the masks had the opposite effect on Green. When we first escaped, Green's face was like mine. But then – well, we once got caught stealing massive amounts of food from a grocery store. We had to work as door greeters at the store to pay it off. Everyone was scared of us because our voices were normal but our faces were completely blank. So the manager made us take this therapy thing. It didn't work for me. But Green was very, very good at it. Now she can easily fake any emotion. So after our therapy was over Green had us run away and she became a con artist."

"She's a con artist?"

"She was," Silver said defensively. "She didn't have much choice."

"I think Red told me about that. He was like, 'By the way, that girl you were groping – you might wanna rethink that. I used to like her, too, until she ripped me off and stole my badges.'"

Silver glared. "Don't bring that up again. I'm still mad about that."

"Well, sor-ry," Gold said sarcastically. "I didn't know she was your girl."

"She's not," Silver snapped. "She's not mine, she's not anyone's. Just because I care about her well-being – "

Gold interrupted with a laugh. "Dude. You totally like her."

"Of course I do. She's my only friend."

"Uh-huh. Sure," Gold snorted. "And that's why you've been talking about her all night?"

"No – I've been talking about her all night because she's relevant to the conversation."

"Sure." Gold laughed. "Don't deny it, dude. You like her. She doesn't like you back?"

"She practically raised me," said Silver. "Of course there's nothing romantic there at all."

"That's sad," Gold said almost sympathetically. "Let me guess – she's the only one you could ever love, and you've loved her ever since you can remember, but it's never even occurred to her that you could be anything but a little brother to her. But all you want is her happiness, so you're content to sit back and watch wistfully while she falls in love with the spiky-haired dude who tried to arrest you. Dude, that sucks."

Silver crossed his arms, blushing furiously. "Whatever. Think whatever you want."

"Deny however you want," Gold retorted.

"Where'd you get the part about the boy who tried to arrest me from?"

"Red. I was like, 'I don't care if she steals from me – she's hot.' And Red was like, 'I don't think she likes younger boys, anyway. She likes Blue – that boy with spiky hair.'"

"I wonder how Red knew that."

"Aren't they friends?"

"Yes… they are," Silver said quietly.

"Hey, Silver," said Gold, changing the subject again. "Remember that time I told the police you had puffy lips, puffy cheeks, and googly eyes? And then you showed up on the poster like that?"

"Yes, I remember. Why?"

"Silver," Gold said, exasperated, "It's the remember thing. You're supposed to be like, 'Oh, yeah! I remember that! That was so funny!' and then add a memory."

"Oh."

"Try it."

"'Oh, yeah, I remember that. That was so funny'," Silver quoted blankly. "Um… I remember seeing it from a distance outside and I nearly fell over. And, um… when Green saw it, she called me and laughed about it for an hour."

"Good. Not so mechanical, though," Gold instructed. "Now you pick a memory."

Silver wasn't sure why he was letting Gold boss him around, but he said, "Fine. Remember that time we saved Chris?"

"Oh yeah!" Gold laughed. "I remember that! 'Cause you saw her first, so we started arguing about who got to save her, huh? A-ha-ha."

"And then when she woke up – "

"She was like, 'AAUGH! PUNKS!'" Gold nearly doubled over in laughter. "Dude, that was the funniest thing ever! What did she think we were gonna do to her anyway?"

"Probably something you would have actually done," Silver teased.

"What – no I wouldn't! I would never do that! I'm not that low! How could you even say something like that about me?"

"Something like what about you?"

"That I'm some kind of pervert who would take advantage of an unconscious girl!"

"What? I never said that! You said it, not me."

"Yeah, but you implied it."

"Implied what?" Silver asked innocently. "All I meant to imply was that you would have drawn a mustache and glasses on her face when she was asleep!"

"Silver – oh my gosh!"

"What?"

"You were right! You do have a sense of humor!" Gold laughed loudly. "Wow, Silver. That was actually pretty funny! I guess the joke's on me. Ha ha ha ha. HA HA HA HA HA!!"

And Silver couldn't hold in the laughter either.

Wow. He really couldn't believe he was here, in Gold's living room, laughing over slightly inappropriate jokes with his rival.

He really did need sleep after all.

Suddenly there was a bang, and the laughter was cut short. Gold and Silver both sat up in bed, staring in the direction from which it came.

There, standing in the doorway, was the vague silhouette of Gold's mother.

And a pot and pan.

"GO. TO. SLEEP," She said angrily. "HONESTLY. It's hard enough to find any time to rest in a house with this many Pokémon anyway. How am I supposed to run a household if I'm kept up all night by my ungrateful son and his Pokémon-stealing friend!? Do you two realize how loud you are!? Next thing we know the neighbors are going to be complaining. So shut up right now or I'm kicking you both out to sleep in the backyard. I swear to Ho-oh I'm not even kidding. GOOD NIGHT."

She stormed out of the room.

Complete silence.

"Wow," Silver whispered.

"Sorry about that," Gold whispered back. "She gets nasty when I wake her up."

Silver was afraid to make any noise at all, so both boys were quiet for a few minutes.

But then Gold spoke.

"Silver?" He whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For listening to me. About my nightmares. I tried to tell Mom about them, but she told me to suck it up and take it like a man. And since you basically had to live that nightmare, I thought you'd be the same. But you weren't. Thanks for understanding."

Silver smiled. "Don't mention it."

"OK."

"And, Gold?"

"Yeah?"

"Good-night."

"Good-night."

(-o-)

Somewhere in Kanto, Blue, Green, Red, and Chris all sneezed at the same time.

(-o-)

Silver woke up to the sound of chattering Pokémon. He opened his eyes and at first panicked because he didn't recognize his surroundings. Then he saw Gold asleep on the couch perpendicular to the one Silver was on. He smiled to himself.

Silver followed the sound of excited Pokémon into the kitchen, where he saw Gold's mom dishing out food to about every kind of Pokémon Silver could imagine.

"Good morning, Silver," the woman chirped when she saw him. "Why don't you let your Pokémon out? They can eat with ours."

"Thank you. And good morning." Silver pressed his PokéBalls one-by-one, motioning to the food as each Pokémon appeared. "Sorry about keeping you up last night."

"Don't mention in," Gold's mother waved her hand dismissively. "Boys will be boys. I'm just glad to see Gold having a good time with his friends. I'm the one who should apologize. I overreacted a bit, didn't I?"

"It's fine," said Silver.

"That's good. Human breakfast is on the table. It's pancakes. Help yourself. Oh, and could you do me a favor? Could you wake Gold up for me? Normally the Pokémon do it but they're all so hungry right now."

"All right," Silver agreed.

Back in the living room, Silver stood over Gold's sleeping form. He was sprawled out across the entire couch, and drooling a bit. Gross. Now… how should he wake him up…?

Silver knelt down and shook him slightly by the shoulder. "Gold? Gold? Time to wake up."

"Mmmmph," Gold protested, rolling over.

"Breakfast is ready," Silver said, shaking his shoulder again. "It's pancakes."

That did it. Gold sat up right away. "Pancakes? All-right! Thanks for the wake-up, Silver!" He ran to the kitchen and was halfway through his pancake before Silver even had the chance to sit down.

"Morning, sleepy-head," Gold's mom said sweetly. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Yeah, sorta," said Gold with his mouth full. "I had a really weird dream though."

"What kind of a dream?" his mom asked.

"It was so weird. I had a dream that me and Silver had a big deep heart-to-heart conversation about why we can't sleep, and a debate about destiny, and then at the end Silver outsmarted me and made me call myself a pervert on accident. It was really funny."

"That does sound weird, dear," his mom said absently.

Silver didn't say anything.

"Because of course, something like that would never happen. Right, Silver?"

"Of course not, Gold," Silver replied. "Except for the 'me outsmarting you' part. That happens all the time."

"Oh, shut up, you," Gold scowled. "MO-OM! Silver just said I was stupid!"

"How rude of him." She sounded unphased.

"Get him in trouble! He did say that. Didn't you, Silver?"

"Of course he did, dear," Gold's mom said, walking over to pat Gold on the head.

But over Gold's head, she caught Silver's eye and winked.

"Don't mind him, Silver," she said.

"I don't," said Silver. "After all… everything is more serious when you need sleep."

THE END

Wow I really fail at ending lines. XD

If you guys like this, maybe I'll write a companion story about Gold and Chris's "night conversation" he told about. Let me know what you think.

Please review. :3 And thanks for reading.