Work Text:
Special Enough
The Jeep came to a stop at the top of a long driveway and Gary paused, waiting a moment before making any move to get out of the car. He was running late, but it hardly mattered – only three people knew he was coming anyway. It would be a surprise to Ash regardless of what time he arrived and he needed a few minutes to decompress from the drive from Saffron City and the flight home from Hoenn that had preceded it. He could surprise his boyfriend as soon as he was done with that.
It hadn't been a terribly long day of travel but it was long enough that he needed a minute before entering the chaos that was sure to be Ash’s birthday party. One of the pokeballs at his belt wiggled and Gary gave it a reassuring pat – Umbreon knew he was tired and didn't feel like dealing with a ton of people. He would be fine. It was his grandfather's house and it would be easy enough to escape to his old bedroom if he needed to, but he doubted that would really be an issue.
Besides, even if it was, the look on Ash’s face would make it all worth it – and if that didn't, then Pikachu's ecstatic shriek as he leapt into his arms certainly would.
As he climbed out of the car, he was met with the sound of distant cheers and a familiar roar – Misty's gyarados. A battle. Perfect timing.
Gary quickened his pace towards the house and let himself in. Quickly passing through the hallway, he made his way towards the kitchen and the back door. As he stepped into the spacious room, he could see his grandfather standing at the porch railing, watching from a comfortable distance as the battle unfolded.
Sure enough, a tiny yellow streak was darting about the dragon-like pokemon. Pikachu versus Gyarados. Again.
Gary couldn’t help the grin that curved his lips. He loved that little guy as though he were his own pokemon – and his trainer wasn't so bad either. Ignoring the spread of snacks laid out on the kitchen island, Gary headed straight through the back door and onto the porch. He joined his grandfather at the railing, tapping him on the opposite shoulder as he settled at the older man's side.
“Nice try, Gary.”
He never fell for it, but that did nothing to lessen Gary’s grin. “Knew I was coming, didn't you?” he asked.
“Tracey mentioned it last week.”
Of course. “Tracey doesn’t let me keep any secrets from you,” Gary complained, despite being entirely unbothered by this fact.
His grandfather knew that, of course. “Not that you were ever very successful at keeping them from me,” he returned, an amused smile playing across his lips.
Gary shook his head. His grandfather could read him like a book, no matter how hard he tried. No point in denying it.
“Even if he hadn't told me, I wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest,” the professor continued. “With the amount of planning you put into that boy, I'm surprised you don't have the wedding planned yet.”
Pallet. Early summer. Outside.
Okay, the speed that came to him with was embarrassing.
A honeymoon in Alola sounded nice.
Their rings could be engraved with a pokeball.
Fuck. Why did his grandfather always have to be right?
He tried to ignore the sudden warmth in his cheeks and looked back at the pokemon. “I'm surprised Ash hasn't tried a new technique yet,” he quickly changed the subject in a feeble attempt to distract himself.
His grandfather's smile turned to a tiny smirk and Gary pointedly stayed focused on the battle, finding himself quickly sucked in, utterly unable to take his eyes off his boyfriend. Ash was always so passionate and full of life, but in a battle… He truly was something else and watching him and his pokemon never got old.
And Pikachu – he could watch that little furball battle all day and never get bored.
To think he'd been so close to convincing his grandfather to let him take the little electric type as one of his first pokemon. But it had all worked out in the end. He'd ended up with the little guy eventually.
Gary rested his arms on the porch railing and watched as Pikachu bounded along Gyarados’ spine, dodging each and every attack as sparks flew from his cheeks. This was how the battle almost always went but it never got old to see his favorite little mouse take down a twenty foot water serpent. Apparently it didn't get old for Ash and Misty either, because he had seen this at least four times now and they still kept battling the same impressive battle. It was probably Misty stubbornly hoping to beat him one day – Gary doubted it would happen, given Gyarados’ double weakness. Either way, it was always a thrilling battle to watch.
He shot his grandfather a grin. “Impressive little guy, isn’t he?” he asked.
The professor chortled and shook his head. “Oh, he's not that much shorter than you these days,” he returned amusedly.
Gary snorted, barely managing to choke back his laugh. “I meant Pikachu.”
His grandfather laughed at his mistake. “Yes, he certainly is,” he agreed, giving Gary’s shoulder a fond squeeze. “Why don't you head on down? He'll know you're here the second the battle is over.”
That sounded perfect to Gary. He had an idea to make this surprise all the better.
He quickly descended the porch steps and easily slipped through the crowd, returning greetings as he went. A lot of Ash’s friends had made the trek to Pallet, including the ones that Gary was close with. Most of the guests knew right off the bat what he was up to and kept their greetings to a quick wave or a quiet murmur as he passed by, but there were a few who needed a more proper greeting than that. He spied Tracey and Delia watching the match from behind Ash and quickly started towards them, giving Chloe’s braid a playful tug and accepting a quick hug from Dawn as he went.
He greeted Tracey with a poke in the ribs – or tried to anyway. Tracey caught his hand before he could and gave him a knowing look that Gary met with a mischievous grin.
But more important than annoying Tracey was greeting Delia. Gary looked away from Tracey to find Delia smiling at him and waiting expectantly. His grin softened into the smile that always came to him when he was with Delia. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her cheek as she returned the hug.
“Hi, Mom,” he greeted quietly, carefully keeping his voice between just them. This was still a new thing, one that exceptionally few people had overheard and he wanted to keep it that way a little longer.
Delia’s arms tightened around him. “Welcome back, dear,” she replied warmly. “He'll be so happy to see you.”
“Ash or Pikachu?”
“Pikachu of course! He was lost without you!” She giggled as she pulled away and turned back to the match.
And speaking of Pikachu, the electric mouse was running along Gyarados’ back once more, cheeks sparking as his attack charged.
The battle was as good as over but Gary kept his eyes on Pikachu as he unleashed his attack. Lightning arced brilliantly around the little electric mouse, striking the towering pokemon. Gyarados gave one last roar before toppling – only to be encased in the light from his ball as Misty recalled him before he could hit the ground.
Ash whooped loudly and the rest of the partygoers cheered and clapped - though a lot of those cheers were for Misty too. She always put up a good fight, thanks to training with Ash once a week whenever he was in the region for so many years. Hell, she would’ve probably beat him if it wasn’t for the double weakness to electricity. Her win-to-loss ratio with Ash wasn’t quite as impressive as Gary’s, but it was in her favor. Too bad everyone only ever saw her battle this battle with Ash, because she was a damn impressive battler. It was a shame so few people actually got to see her impressive victories over Ash.
Pikachu leapt back to his favorite perch on Ash’s shoulder and nuzzled his trainer's cheek, drawing the cutest, most joyful laugh that anything could ever pull from Ash.
He looked back at the small crowd a moment later, grinning widely. “Who's next?” he called, voice tinted with laughter.
Gary could never resist when he was being silly and full of himself like that. And it had been a while since they had last battled. Why not have some fun with this surprise? It was Ash’s birthday after all.
“Me,” he replied, stepping forward from where he had watched the battle with Delia and Tracey.
Ash’s face lit up in an instant, his eyes locking on Gary from across the yard. He closed the distance between them swiftly, though not as fast as Pikachu. The little mouse shrieked excitedly and leapt off of Ash’s shoulder, taking a bounding leap into Gary’s arms with enough force to make him stagger backwards. Nearly winded by the little creature, Gary only had a brief moment to regain his balance and get his breath back before Ash all but pounced on him with a tight hug.
Between the squeaking pokemon in his arms and the warm arms around him, Gary doubted there was any way to possibly make him feel more welcomed home.
“I should’ve known you were up to something when you said you couldn’t make it,” Ash said, burying his face against Gary’s shoulder.
Gary couldn’t help but laugh. “You should’ve,” he agreed.
For a moment, it was just them and Pikachu in their little corner of the universe, until…
“Are you guys gonna battle or not?” Misty’s voice called from where she had joined Tracey and Delia at the edge of the makeshift battlefield.
“Yeah, we want a battle!” Max’s voice seconded.
“Battle! Battle!” Dawn chanted, May and Misty quickly joining in.
Ash pushed him away with a grin and a kiss to the cheek. “Alright, alright!” he yelled to his friends before more could join in the chanting. “One-on-one sound good to you?” he asked Gary.
“Sounds perfect,” Gary returned easily. He held out his fist expectantly. “First turn?”
Ash held his fist out as well and they each shook their hand three times. After the third shake, Ash held out his index and middle fingers while Gary kept his hand as a fist.
“Ugh, you win,” the trainer groaned dramatically, earning a smirk in return.
“As always.”
“Not this time!” Ash called over his shoulder as he turned and headed back to his side of the field.
“We’ll see,” Gary called back.
He paused when he reached his side of the field, well aware of the expectant gaze of the crowd – and his boyfriend – as he thought over his limited options. He didn’t have a battle team on hand, just a few strong pokemon that were useful for the work he had been doing while spending the vast majority of the last three months on a boat in the Hoenn Sea. But he did have Blastoise and Umbreon.
Fuck it. Blastoise it was.
This wasn’t any old battle after all: it was Ash’s birthday and he had surprised him by showing up two weeks earlier than he had told Ash. After three months apart. Might as well be a little sentimental with his choice.
Hopefully Ash would do the same.
Sure enough, Ash caught his eye from across the field and grinned as he pulled a ball from his belt. Charizard materialized on the field with a roar.
“There’s no rock battlefield to melt this time,” Gary called across the field, returning that grin with one of his own.
“We don't need it, we can still beat you!”
“Yeah, you say that—”
“Because we can— Charizard, no!”
The flying fire-type had grown impatient and taken to the sky, unleashing a torrent of flames as he went. Blastoise, anticipating Gary’s command, retreated into his shell and knocked the flames away with a Rapid Spin.
Gary couldn’t help but snicker – some things never changed, and Charizard's impatience was certainly included in that. He wasn’t worried about Ash stealing the first turn. He'd seen Charizard battle enough times to pick up on his tells and he knew which attacks were coming. Besides, he was on a four-win streak against Ash right now and their current win-to-loss ratio was still three-to-one in Gary’s favor.
No need to worry… about anything other than the fact that he was apparently spending too much time around Dawn if he was thinking that way.
“Blastoise, Skull Bash!”
And so the battle went back and forth, each pokemon hurling powerful attack after powerful attack, each determined to win. Charizard was in a bit of a mood, slow to obey Ash and quick to use whatever attacks he felt like using. That was what they got for Gary beating him in their last battle – it hadn’t been Blastoise who beat him that time but the flying fire type didn’t seem to care about that particular detail.
That was okay. It was more of an Ash problem than a Gary problem in any case. Blastoise could handle him.
But that thought went out the window when Charizard swooped in and landed directly in front of Blastoise. Gary groaned inwardly. So much for his current winning streak.
The pokemon were too close to properly aim their attacks but that didn’t stop them. Soon enough, they were surrounded by dust, steam, and smoke, all too thick to see the battling pokemon. Blastoise’s growls and Charizard’s snarls could be heard from the center of the field, but with no way to see what was happening, calling out commands was futile. He was probably going to lose this battle – disappointing, but not the end of the world.
Gary wasn’t about to give up either way.
There was a final roar and a fresh wave of smoke and steam before a resounding thud shook the ground.
Gary held his breath as he waited for the dust to clear and raised his pokeball to recall his fallen pokemon as soon as he could see his starter’s silhouette on the ground. But just beyond Blastoise was another silhouette sprawled on the ground.
Did they really…?
“Blastoise and Charizard are both unable to battle,” Tracey’s voice called from the sidelines. “This battle is a tie!”
That was a first for them.
Gary was impressed, though he knew he would later have to make it up to his favorite flying fire lizard. Blastoise viewed Charizard as a worthy opponent and would accept the tie, but Charizard – much like Ash had once been – would take it as a loss and spend a few days pouting over it. But that was something he could worry about later, for now all that was important was meeting his boyfriend at the center of the field.
Ash didn't even try for a high five or a compliment or even a tease when they met in the center of their makeshift field. Instead he pulled Gary in by the back of the neck and caught his lips in a deep kiss that took sincere effort not to melt into. Caught up in the moment and the sheer ecstasy of being together like this they hardly noticed Pikachu’s affronted squawk as he jumped down from Ash’s shoulder and scampered over to either Misty or Delia.
The kiss went on, continuing to deepen regardless of the electric type’s departure. Gary groaned as Ash’s other hand trailed slowly up and down his side, and the trainer took advantage of his parted lips to slip his tongue inside, only adding another layer of intensity despite the few dozen people watching.
Three months without this. Gary wasn’t sure how he'd managed. It was almost dizzying, how wonderful it felt to have those lips against his own and those hands on his skin once more. They really needed to go back to only being apart for the occasional week or two: months at a time was getting difficult again.
It ended far sooner than Gary would have preferred.
“Told ya you wouldn’t win this time,” Ash chirped as they drew back, slowly remembering that they weren't alone.
Gary rolled his eyes and knocked Ash’s hat off his head in retaliation. “You didn’t win either,” he pointed out, snickering as Ash chased down his hat before the wind could blow it too far away.
“Yeah, but it’s more important that you didn’t win,” Ash retorted, grinning impishly as he shoved the hat back atop his head. “You and your stupid high win ratio.”
“Would you have a reason to keep training so hard if you could easily beat me in a battle, Mr. Pokemon Master?”
“Maybe. There's other opponents than you, you kn—”
Gary cut him off with another kiss just to shut him up and Ash immediately fell quiet, returning the kiss and bringing it right back to that intense place where emotions ran high and adrenaline higher.
Fuck, he’d missed this.
“Birthday cake!” someone's yell cut through the – probably in an attempt to distract Ash from trying his damndest to make up for lost time and kisses right there on the battlefield.
It didn't work, but it did get the majority of the guests to head back inside rather quickly. Not that either of them noticed until the kitchen door closed loudly behind the last guest. They broke apart rather suddenly at the sound and peered around before laughing as they realized they were alone outside.
“So? What're we doing about the reward?”
“Hmm?” Gary’s brain wasn’t quite keeping up after those kisses but Ash flashed him a bright grin.
“Loser rewards the winner, remember?”
Right. They had a tradition to follow. Except…
“No one won, Ash,” Gary pointed out only to be met with a truly pitiful pout. He met the pouting with a level stare – or as level as he could manage, considering how very much he wanted to do just that.
Few things sounded quite as appealing as their usual rewards, especially not after those kisses. Especially after three months apart.
“You know you wanna,” Ash pressed.
“I mean, yeah, but we'd have to sneak around and avoid everyone.” Actually, that didn't sound so bad.
“You’re gonna do that half the night anyway.” Ash accented it with a quick, stolen kiss that had no business being as distracting as it was.
“Probably longer, to be honest,” Gary mused when he found his voice again. “But it was a tie, Ash. No one wins, no one loses.”
Ash’s sudden smirk was enough to make Gary nervous. He had a feeling he knew what was coming. “But tying with me is losing, remember?”
And there it was: his ten year old self back to haunt him again.
He really should have seen that one coming. Ash had probably been waiting for this moment for years.
Gary was actually impressed. A surprised laugh escaped him and he shook his head, amused. “I guess I did say something to that extent, didn’t I?” At least Ash’s preferred reward was something Gary enjoyed giving almost as much as Ash enjoyed receiving.
They were definitely going to end up doing something stupid before the night was over.
“Think there's enough time?” Ash asked, his grin taking on a mischievous edge.
They shouldn't. Gary had enough sense to know that they really shouldn't. It would be painfully obvious and it would be so much nicer if they waited until they went home to their house and their bedroom to reacquaint themselves—
But Ash didn't wait for his answer and pressed his lips to Gary’s once more, and all sense immediately dropped out of mind. How could he possibly think sensibly when Ash’s fingers were tightening in his hair and his other hand was slipping beneath his shirt?
Oh, fuck it. It wouldn’t take more than ten minutes after three months apart. No one would notice.
“Back door,” Gary groaned desperately, pulling away and tugging at Ash’s hand.
Ash blinked but laughed and hurried to follow Gary as he led him around the side of the house and to the other door to the back yard and lab grounds. They snuck up the steps to the door and Ash waited while Gary cracked the door and peeked in. Fortunately the coast was clear. From the sound of it, everyone was on the other side of the house, probably in the kitchen, probably waiting on them so that they could have their birthday cake.
They really shouldn’t.
Snickering and laughing like children, they ducked into the nearest private room – the downstairs bathroom. Not the preferred location, but it was certainly closer than his old bedroom upstairs. Either way, as soon as the door was locked behind them, Ash’s lips were on his again, his hands eagerly running along every inch of skin he could reach. Every bit of passion was thrown right back to him as Gary met his intensity with his own.
Their battles always had an aftermath with the loser rewarding the victor, but today's situation was unusual – not just because of the tie, but the lack of privacy, the limited time they would have together before someone came looking for them.
But after three months apart and with the adrenaline high of a good battle… Well, it turned out that the limited time wasn't such a concern after all.
When it was all said and done, it was just them. The house beyond, full of people and conversation and laughter, was far away and the world was reduced to just them in this tiny, quiet room. Their hands joined between them, fingers twined despite the mess as they caught their breath. Gary buried his face against Ash’s shoulder, pressing a few kisses to the side of his neck for good measure, while one of Ash’s hands trailed up and down Gary’s back, a soothing touch that had been very much missed.
It was quiet and peaceful, but Ash could always be counted on to break the quiet.
“Marry me,” he murmured, breathless.
Gary froze, his brain stumbling over itself in an attempt to process those two words. It only took a brief moment for it to click. The request had been so very obviously blurted – and Gary had to stop himself from doing the same with the answer. He bit down the shock and huffed a breathless laugh against Ash’s neck.
“Was it that good of a blow job?” he asked, half joking.
Ash pulled back, a wide grin splitting his face. “The ring’s in my bag.”
So it wasn’t entirely blurted. Gary was far more surprised by that than by the blurted question.
Wait a second.
Ash was serious. Really serious.
The question was blurted, but the intention was genuine. He had a ring for crying out loud! His silly, impulsive boyfriend had been planning on proposing and that realization made it hard to breathe, let alone speak.
Excitement bubbled in Gary’s chest, laced with warm fondness and absolute affection for the trainer before him. Ash knew his answer – he had to know the answer after all these years of traveling together and now that they had a house together…
Ash definitely knew the answer.
But Gary wasn’t going to give it just yet.
He smiled and leaned in to press a sweet, gentle kiss to Ash’s lips, hoping it conveyed even a fraction of his feelings.
“You know the answer,” he whispered against his boyfriend’s lips before pulling away with a smirk. “But you gotta ask me properly.”
Ash’s grin only grew and he tugged Gary back to him to return the kiss. It was rough and messy in his excitement – something that made Gary want to immediately drag him upstairs to his old bedroom – but it didn’t last long.
The trainer pulled away panting but still grinning like a fool. “I will,” he promised Gary.
There was a loud bang on the door before Gary could reply. “You’re not being subtle!” Misty’s voice called, followed by a laugh.
“Yeah, c’mon, you two! Hurry up!” Dawn’s voice came next.
Gary groaned and rolled his eyes but Ash laughed and kissed his cheek. “They’re right,” he said apologetically. “Plus I’m starving and we’re gonna miss my birthday cake!”
They took a moment to straighten their clothes, wash their hands, and make sure there was no evidence of what they had done before cracking the door open and slinking out, snickering the entire way. Fortunately the girls had moved away from the door and were no longer in the hallway. But Gary’s relief was short-lived when Dawn and Misty stepped back into the hallway from one of the other rooms, each wearing a knowing smirk.
“What were you two doing in that bathroom for twenty minutes?” Dawn demanded, hands on her hips, though her sly smile told them she already had a good idea of the answer.
“Uh… Well – we..”
“I – um, we were…”
They both trailed off in their stammering, well aware of how it looked and how impossible it was to hide. Ash glanced at Gary and their eyes met – and that was all it took for Ash to break into snickers, which was all it took to break Gary’s resolve. He buried his face against Ash’s shoulder, laughing as though he were drunk and they had just done something stupid.
Which was, admittedly, half-true.
The girls stared at them until the laughter settled and they fell quiet.
“No, something else happened,” Dawn said, her eyes narrowing as her gaze settled on Gary. “You're way too happy.”
“Yeah, Dawn’s right,” Misty agreed. “That's not your usual smile – what happened?”
“I – nothing!” Gary tried to ignore the sudden warmth in his face and reign in his reaction, quickly putting on his usual casual smirk. “I mean, do you really want me to answer that?” he drawled, but both girls stared at him, deadpan and expectant.
Damn it.
He really spent too much time around those two. They knew him too well.
A distraction would have been really useful right now. Gary discreetly brushed his thumb against Umbreon’s ball, hoping she would get the message. Her ball wiggled slightly but she stayed put, clearly getting the message and choosing to let Gary deal with his own poor decisions. He supposed he couldn’t blame her.
Ash stayed surprisingly quiet, his expression amused but determined. He was holding strong but Gary knew it wouldn't take much prodding to get him to spill.
“You two sneak off all the time, we know what it looks like when you come back after a quickie,” Misty said when Gary didn’t say anything else.
Dawn crossed her arms over her chest as she looked back and forth between the couple. “This ain’t it,” she declared.
Gary decided this was probably a good time to shut up for once. Unfortunately for him, that was the exact moment that Chloe decided to join them. All it took was one look at Ash and Gary for her to join the girls with their expectant glares.
“What did you two do this time?” she sighed tiredly.
Gary fought not to squirm under their gazes. Misty and Dawn he could usually handle, but adding Chloe to the mix? She’d known him almost as long as Ash had – having the three of them together was downright intimidating.
“Alright, alright!” he broke after the longest eight seconds of his life. “Ash asked me to marry him!”
Ash swatted his arm. “ Gary!”
“I mean… You kinda did?” he tried, shrugging in what he hoped was a casual manner.
Fuck. He was an idiot.
Dawn, Misty, and Chloe all stared at them with varying degrees of shock.
“Wait…” Chloe closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head as she tried to wrap her head around that news.
“Like, right now?” Dawn asked, wrinkling her nose. “In the bathroom?”
“Are you two serious?” Chloe asked loudly, finally finding her voice.
Misty stayed quiet, her eyes flicking curiously back and forth between Gary and Ash. Finally, a small smile formed on her face and she nodded her approval. Gary was about to breathe a sigh of relief when a dark-haired researcher and trainer poked his head in the hallway. The tiny bit of relief flickered out and Gary groaned, anticipating what was probably about to happen.
“Finally!” Goh complained. “What took you two so long?”
“Ash asked Gary to marry him while they were screwing around in the bathroom,” Dawn informed him.
“What?” Goh all but shrieked. “Wait – why were you two in the bathroom together?”
Ash’s face turned an even brighter shade of red at that particular question and Gary found himself simultaneously biting back a laugh and another groan. As amusing as Ash’s embarrassment was, a few more of their friends had trickled into the hallway at Goh’s shriek and Gary was not thrilled with the idea of everyone knowing before he even had a ring on his finger.
Sure enough, the questions and comments started immediately.
Word spread like wildfire and suddenly everyone knew and had their own thoughts to share. Misty and Tracey kept largely quiet, only sharing a knowing smile at the news. And Brock?
“After a battle? Why am I even surprised?”
It was a friendly tease, with his voice full of pride and his eyes brimming with tears. Gary was honestly surprised when he held it together and didn't cry, but that heartfelt response was one of the few things that had been keeping him from biting off someone's head over their stupid-ass opinions over the whole thing.
“ Please tell me that wasn’t the original plan, Ash.”
“But you didn’t even win that battle. Why ask then?”
“You asked him after sex? Seriously, Ash?”
“You are gonna ask him properly, right?”
Gary had heard enough before they even made it to the kitchen. Everyone had something to say about how it wasn’t good enough – as if their opinions actually held any weight when it came to this particular matter. Ash loved his friends, and Gary respected that, but this was ridiculous. Teasing and picking on Ash, he could understand – Gary fully intended on doing exactly that for the rest of his life – but this?
This wasn’t that.
This was more… disappointment. And for what? For Ash being himself?
“You need to make it special, Ash!”
How was Ash asking him after a battle not special? How was Ash asking him to marry him, period, not special? Gary shook his head and held his tongue, choosing to head outside and away from the other guests before he got too irritated. The last thing he wanted was for his exhaustion from the last several weeks of field work and his day of travel to get the better of him. He didn’t need to end up snapping at one of Ash’s friends and making a scene at his birthday party. That wasn’t how he wanted to remember the first time Ash asked him to marry him.
Honestly. What did their friends expect? A candle-lit dinner? Some fancy location in a distant region? On the battlefield after winning another championship?
Ugh. That last one was mortifying to consider.
Fortunately Ash knew him better than that.
Instead he got Ash as his purest self in a situation that would forever bring a smile to his face. Seriously: how did they not see how perfect it was for them? They were rivals after all! The rivalry had never ended, it had just evolved.
And today's battle was special! Their original powerhouses pitted against each other once again, just like when they were kids… It was very special.
Fuck anyone who thought otherwise.
Having reached his threshold for bullshit, Gary found himself ducking outside into the backyard as soon as he had finished his slice of birthday cake. He felt a little guilty for leaving Ash’s birthday party without even saying anything but surely he would understand.
He wandered with no particular destination in mind and without paying any mind to just how much time had passed. As he walked, his thoughts kept coming back to Ash – that ecstatic grin when he first saw Gary, the battle, the things they'd done in the bathroom, those two words Ash had uttered… Any thought of what the others had said only made him irritated, so Gary focused on the thoughts of his boyfriend – though he had to work rather hard at not thinking about what it might be like when Ash did actually ask that one question properly.
They were leaving Pallet again soon. Would Ash wait until they were at one of their destinations? One of those destinations was a competition – Ash wouldn’t have the nerve to ask him after a battle with someone else , would he? He'd better not.
Gary was almost tempted to add in an extra destination or two just to give Ash some better options. But they weren't leaving for another month and he knew Ash – there was no way the trainer would be able to wait that long. Ash would do something soon enough. Gary trusted him. Well, he trusted his impulsivity enough to be sure of this.
The sun had sunk low in the sky when Gary circled back around the lab, fully intending on slipping unnoticed into the house and disappearing upstairs into his old room yet getting distracted by some of the pokemon. It was fully dark before he knew it. The moon was just a sliver and offered little more light than the many stars dotting the clear sky, but Gary didn’t need the light to find his way.
“You boys are the talk of the party,” a familiar voice spoke up from behind him as he was passing by the stable. “I hear Ash asked you a question a little earlier than he intended.”
Finally, someone whose opinion Gary actually gave a fuck about. A wry smile curved his lips.
“The one time he’s not late,” he quipped, pausing to let his grandfather catch up with him.
His grandfather chuckled. “He wouldn’t be Ash if he wasn’t impulsive.”
“No, he wouldn’t be,” Gary agreed. It was one of his favorite things about his soon-to-be fiance, even if it drove him nuts on a fairly regular basis.
The professor was quiet for a brief moment before nudging him gently in the ribs with his elbow. “Well?” he prompted. “What are your thoughts?”
He couldn’t force the smile away if he tried. “My best friend asked me to marry him… What could be better?" He would have still been ecstatic if it wasn’t for everyone else insisting it wasn’t good enough. “I’m more annoyed with everyone else’s reactions,” he admitted.
“There are certainly a lot of opinions.”
“And a lot of people annoyed at Ash for being Ash,” Gary grumbled.
“Annoyed on your behalf,” the professor tried, but Gary shook his head.
“It’s my engagement to be annoyed about – and I’m not annoyed about it. I just wish they’d lay off him and keep their expectations out of my relationship.”
It all went back to expectations – it always did – but Gary wasn’t having it this time. People could have their expectations about his career and school and whatever the fuck else they wanted, but not when it came to this. His relationship with Ash was strictly off-limits.
“You could always put them in their place,” his grandfather suggested, though his smile told Gary quite clearly that he already knew the response to that.
“I’m not causing a scene at Ash’s birthday party.”
He nodded approvingly and Gary bit back a laugh at the predictability of that response. “What did you tell Ash?” he asked mildly.
“To ask me properly.”
“What’s properly?” His voice was curious and as gentle as ever, putting Gary at ease immediately – just as it always did.
Gary smiled. “With a ring in hand,” he replied as though it were obvious.
“Is that the only stipulation?”
“On one knee with a ring,” Gary amended. Nothing fancy, just actually asked properly. It didn’t even have to be planned – Ash could blurt it out again so long as he got down on one knee with a ring.
“Nothing special?”
“Isn’t someone asking you to marry them special enough?”
His grandfather's approving smile was instantaneous. No doubt he had some thoughts regarding romance and poetic cheesiness. Gary resisted the urge to roll his eyes before the older man could recite some sort of limerick or haiku.
But that never came.
Instead, his grandfather nodded wisely. “Spoken like someone who understands what love is.”
That wasn't the expected response at all. Gary shrugged it off as casually as he could, trying to ignore his suddenly warm cheeks.
“He already asked me after a battle,” he said once he had recovered. “It doesn't get too much better than that, does it?”
How could it? Their whole life was centered around pokemon. Neither of them would be who they were without the other’s influence. It would have been perfect if Ash had the ring with him. That dork.
His grandfather gave another chuckle. “It certainly is fitting for you boys. The only thing more fitting would be on a battlefield.”
“I think he knows better than to ask me in front of other people.”
“You never know with Ash,” the professor replied. His hand settled on Gary’s shoulder, just as warm and comforting as his smile. “Even if it isn't official yet, I'm happy for you. You boys make a good team.”
That was the only approval that truly mattered to Gary. Delia and Ash were the only other people who came remotely close. But neither of them had raised him.
“Thanks, Grandpa.”
“Of course. Delia packed up some food for you. She's quite excited – don't be surprised if she bakes you boys a pile of sweets.”
Hearing that made him realize just how much Delia’s approval meant to him. Okay, so she and his grandfather were the only people – other than his future husband – whose approval actually mattered.
Gary’s smile was soft when he promised, “I'll call her tomorrow.”
“She'll be delighted. Good night, Gary.”
“Night, Grandpa.”
Feeling more at ease and significantly less irritated, he continued wandering after his grandfather headed back to the house. The older man would undoubtedly settle in his study, where Gary knew he was also welcome to take refuge from the other partygoers, but he opted to stay outside. It was a beautiful clear night and few things brought Gary peace quite like wandering beneath the nighttime sky.
Gary returned to the house when he grew tired of wandering – or just too tired from the day of travel. He couldn’t help but smile as he passed by that afternoon’s battlefield. The grass in the center was scorched and trampled, and the smell of smoke and damp dirt lingered in the air. All these years later and their powerhouses still fought so incredibly.
Amazing what a difference thirteen years could make.
The house was far quieter than earlier and only one of the kitchen lights was on. Time had passed faster than he’d realized – either that or he had been more annoyed than he’d thought. Either way, the party had died down. He climbed the stairs to the back porch and settled on the top step, gazing up at the night sky and wondering when Ash would join him. It had always been his favorite spot for his nighttime stargazing routine and he knew Ash would join him sooner or later – he always did.
As he gazed up at the star-dotted sky, Gary once more found his thoughts drawn back to his boyfriend. He couldn’t wait to head home to their house and was looking eagerly forward to sleeping in the same bed as him, to taking their sweet time waking up together tomorrow morning, to Ash bringing him coffee in bed… And to think that Ash wanted to make that a life-long thing.
He couldn’t wait.
But the long day caught up to him before long and Gary was starting to doze off when Ash wordlessly joined him on the top step. Smiling to himself, he leaned closer and rested his head against Ash’s shoulder, savoring his warmth when Ash wrapped an arm around him.
“Sorry for disappearing,” Gary murmured.
“It’s not disappearing when I know exactly where you are,” Ash returned, resting his head against Gary’s.
Fair enough. Gary smiled at the response and reached for Ash’s hand, twining their fingers together as they sat beneath the stars.
Once more, it was just them in their own cozy corner of the universe, blissfully unaware of anything else beyond their little bubble. Ash kept trailing his fingers over Gary’s left ring finger – it seemed Gary wasn’t the only one that kept thinking about earlier. It was impossible to ignore the warmth that spread through him with every gentle touch.
“I wanted to do something special,” Ash whispered, his fingers caressing over Gary’s hand in a way that was impossible to ignore, “but it’s kinda hard to plan something special when stargazing and mountain climbing are everyday things.”
At least they were on the same page there. “What’s special to us is different,” Gary agreed, pressing a gentle kiss to Ash’s shoulder.
“Yeah. So… I feel like sitting around trying to plan something extraordinary isn’t gonna work. I want to do this when it feels right.”
Ash removed the warm arm from about Gary’s waist and drew away – but before Gary could complain, he had knelt down on one of the stairs below him, raising Gary’s hand to press a gentle kiss to his knuckles as he pulled a box from his pocket. Gary’s heart pounded as realization hit him a second before Ash opened his mouth.
“Gary, will you marry me?”
On one knee. With a ring. It met the requirements.
Beneath the starry Pallet sky. After a battle. Alone, when it was just them. The ring even had a moonstone inset in it. It was perfect.
Ash already knew the answer – he had to.
Gary reached out and cupped Ash’s face in his hands, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. “Of course.”
Fuck what their friends thought: this was the best he could've asked for. Blurted after a battle, but then asked properly beneath Pallet’s starry sky with a moon stone ring?
It was fitting for them.
It couldn't possibly be more fitting.
It might not have been fancy or even planned but, regardless of what their friends thought about it not being special, it was special enough for them. And that was all that mattered.