Work Text:
Nesting Materials
Every time Gary came home, the spare blankets and pillows went missing. It wasn’t that they disappeared entirely, they just all migrated to Gary’s room. It was a cold night at the end of winter when Tracey decided that another blanket was necessary but, predictably, there were no extras in the linen closet in the hall. It wasn’t a big deal, he could just wear something warmer to bed, but an extra blanket, warm and soft, freshly fluffed up in the dryer, sounded so alluring.
Tracey cast a faint glare with no heat behind it at the partly open door down the hall from the closet. There was a soft buzz of noise from his boyfriend’s room – either the stereo was on low or Gary had a movie on in the background. This time of night he was usually reading or doing something equally quiet before bed and Tracey would normally leave him be, but he really wanted that extra blanket. And maybe some cuddles, if his boyfriend felt so inclined.
Gary would share – reluctantly, of course, but he had to share. Those were the rules. He could hog every extra blanket in the house if he wanted, but he had to share if someone wanted one and he had to wash them and put them back in the closet before leaving on another adventure. If he had a problem with that then he could buy his own multitude of blankets. That was what the professor had told him before Tracey had ever come to Pallet and those were the rules they lived by to this day. Gary had, for the longest time, left one or two spares behind in the closet should either the professor or Tracey need one – it was almost always Tracey, being from the tropics as he was – but these days he didn’t.
And Tracey was certain he knew exactly why. Stealing all the blankets ensured cuddles which, whether or not Gary would admit that to anyone else, Tracey knew was the goal in keeping them away from him.
He sighed fondly and shook his head as he closed the closet door. He walked over to the cracked door down the hall and knocked softly before peeking in. Gary’s room was crowded – it always was at this time of night. Arcanine was sprawled across the floor, taking up most of the open space in the room while Umbreon was curled at the foot of the bed. Gary was in bed, nestled into a pile of pillows and blankets that looked comfortable as could be with his tablet propped against his knees.
All three looked up at Tracey’s knock, Gary with a smile and the two pokemon each with a wag of the tail.
A little blue face peeked out from a fold in the blankets and Tracey couldn’t help but laugh. “So this is where you've been hiding all night, huh?” he asked his pokemon. Marill gave an affirmative squeak and promptly curled back into the little cave she had burrowed out in the pile of blankets.
He couldn’t blame her in the slightest: Gary’s room was always cozy, and the bed even more so. The room was dim but comfortable, lit only with a long strand of string lights and a projector that usually cast the stars and current moon phase on the ceiling - tonight it was the dancing colors of the aurora. Tracey smiled at the sight of it. The projector had been a birthday gift from him some years back, well before they had started dating, and he was thrilled to see it still used every single night that Gary was in Pallet. The dark wall color and the string lights along an also-dark ceiling had appeared during an extended stay as a teenager and it had been cozy ever since. The projector only made it better. The nest of blankets on the bed with some music playing quietly made it perfect.
The dark room was more den-like than cave-like and Tracey never seemed quite able to keep from falling asleep any time he spent more than a few minutes sharing Gary’s little blanket nest. It would be his favorite place if he didn't always fall asleep so fast.
Tracey made his way into the room and carefully stepped around Arcanine to join Gary on the bed.
“Got enough nesting materials?” he teased lightly.
“I'm comfortable,” Gary defended, narrowing his eyes, though there was no heat behind his glare.
Always such a brat. Tracey bit back a laugh at the predictability of the response. “Looks like it,” he agreed. “Willing to share?”
“Only if you stay here.”
Tracey smiled and sat on the bed, immediately sliding as close to his boyfriend as his little nest would allow. “I’m gonna end up falling asleep,” he warned, but Gary only gave a soft laugh in return.
“When have I ever complained about you sleeping in here, Trace?” he asked. “You can sleep in here anytime you want, y’know.”
He'd known that… sort of. They had done plenty in bed together and had fallen asleep together more than enough times for Tracey to know that. But he'd always respected Gary’s room being his little sanctuary away from the world. He never liked to intrude. He always wanted to be sure. “Yeah?” he asked, unnecessarily.
Gary nodded as he rearranged a few of the blankets and pillows to allow Tracey closer. “I like using you as a pillow, in case you haven’t noticed.” He rested his head against Tracey’s shoulder as though to prove his point.
“Oh, I noticed,” Tracey confirmed, smiling as he relaxed against the pillows and threaded his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair. It was comfortable like this, and his partner’s warm weight against him was always soothing.
Gary turned his attention back to whatever he was reading on his tablet, though he stayed against Tracey with a tiny smile curving his lips. “Good,” he replied simply. “Sleep in here more often then.”
“If you insist.” He certainly would now that Gary had given him the explicit permission to do so.
“I do,” Gary said, glancing pointedly over at him.
Tracey chuckled and let his eyes slide closed. “Always gotta have the last word, don't you?”
“You know me.”
“Stubborn to a fault?” Tracey teased, stifling a yawn. He was already starting to feel sleepy and it hadn't even been five minutes.
“You say that as if I'm the only stubborn one in this relationship.”
Tracey laughed softly. It was true. They were both stubborn and impulsive but that was fine. It all balanced out in the end, and all that mattered were the moments like this anyway. The moments where everything was quiet and still and it was just them in their little corner of the world, surrounded by blankets and pillows, with the lights flickering gently overhead.
It was perfect.
“We should do this when we have our own place,” Tracey mused quietly, drowsiness already clouding his voice.
Gary was quiet next to him for a long moment. “You want our own place?” he asked softly.
Tracey couldn’t quite read his tone when he spoke that softly and he instantly felt more awake. Had he misread something? He had thought he and Gary felt similarly. “Do you not?”
“I’ve thought about it a bit,” Gary hedged, hesitating.
That meant he’d dwelled on it for days on end, maybe even weeks… Was that why he had been withdrawing this week, spending so much time holed away in this little den? Tracey had thought he’d just been especially tired after his most recent trip.
“... And?” he asked nervously.
Gary smiled. “Don't worry, Trace. It's fine,” he reassured him. Tracey forced himself to relax a bit while he waited for Gary to decide what to say next. “I've thought a lot about it,” he admitted after a moment.
He took another moment to turn off the tablet and set it on his bedside table, obviously buying time to gather his thoughts. Tracey wasn't sure whether to be nervous by that or not.
“I want to, one day… But I don't think I'm ready for that… to stay in one place, forever.”
So that was the hang up.
Relief flooded Tracey at that realization. He hadn’t meant buying a house and moving in together right away. They hadn’t even been dating a year yet, they had plenty of time. But also… “Well, it doesn't have to be forever. People move all the time,” he pointed out. “And I would never ask you to give up your traveling.”
Gary sighed and tilted his head back to peer up at the ceiling, expression thoughtful, a bit apprehensive. “It's just a lot to think about… Where would we live, what would we do…”
It sounded like he had plenty of thoughts on the matter. Tracey wouldn’t push for him to divulge those thoughts just yet. His halting speech, the way his voice trailed off told Tracey that the thoughts weren’t quite concrete yet. Gary was still working it out and Tracey was patient enough to wait. It wasn’t a pressing matter at the moment anyway.
“It's okay to not be ready to settle down,” Tracey assured him. “Really, Gary. I'm fine staying right here in Pallet helping your grandfather while you travel. We don't have to do anything different. It would just be nice to not worry about –”
“Being overheard? Getting walked in on?”
Gary said it with an amused smile but Tracey nodded seriously all the same. The latter hadn't happened – thank fuck – but the former… Well. Gary’s big mouth extended to the bedroom, so not being overheard had been a losing battle from the start. Good thing Gary listened to loud enough music to drown it out, but still. It would be nice to not have to blast the stereo just to avoid being overheard.
“It would be nice to not have to get dressed just to go to the bathroom after,” he added.
Gary hummed his agreement. “Our own place would definitely be convenient.”
“Sounds like you’re interested,” Tracey noted.
“I mean, yeah, ‘course I’m interested.” Tracey didn’t need to see the eye roll to know it was there. “I just don’t want to make that decision thinking only with my dick.”
Tracey snorted in amusement. That wasn’t a concern they shared. “You’re not impulsive with big decisions.” Gary hummed, sounding entirely unconvinced. That made Tracey wonder… “Are you not ready because you’re worried that you’re being impulsive?”
Gary’s silence was telling. That was the thing with having been close friends before dating: Tracey knew what every sound – or lack thereof – meant.
“Maybe a little,” he admitted after a moment. “I guess I just don’t want anything to change.”
That came as zero surprise to Tracey. It had been a recurring theme in their relationship. He’d been afraid to risk their friendship in the beginning, they’d kept it a secret for a bit because he didn’t want things to change between either of them and his grandfather. For someone so fearless, Gary sure was scared of change.
But he had come around to those things and he would come around to this, all in due time.
Tracey leaned over to press a kiss against his cheek. “Nothing has to change,” he said. “I’m happy here in Pallet… I just meant I want a giant pile of blankets and a projector in our bedroom wherever we end up.”
Gary laughed. “I’ve told you so many times, Trace. Just stay in here with me.”
“I don’t want to take over your space.”
“All this talk about moving in together,” Gary shook his head, laughing again, “but you keep missing the fact that I’ve been asking you to move into my room.”
Tracey blinked. “Oh,” he realized, feeling incredibly foolish.
But Gary only shook his head with a fond smile and leaned over to press a gentle kiss to his lips. “Oh?” he teased. “C’mon, Trace. We already live together. Let’s let the other stuff work itself out when we get there.”
Tracey returned his smile, an embarrassed blush still faintly staining his cheeks. “Sounds good to me.” He nestled into the pile of blankets and against his boyfriend, utterly comfortable now that the matter had been settled. Mostly. “I still don't want to take over your space.”
“Shut up and go to sleep, Tracey.”
He laughed and let his eyes slide shut, deciding to take Gary’s advice. At least he knew he would have a good night's sleep. He still wanted their own place together, but as long as they had this space, he was happy.