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The first time it happens, Gary doesn't actually know what’s happening.
He’s in the middle of examining a Fossilized Drake when Arcanine starts barking outside. Ash’s laughter drifts in through the open window. It’s followed by, “Hiya Arcanine! Who’s a good boy!” and then a loud thump. Either Arcanine tackled Ash or Ash tackled Arcanine. Both options are possible. Gary shifts his attention back to his research. He fully intends to work for a couple more hours — ignoring any and all Ash-shaped distractions — but then Ash shouts,
“Hey Gary! Where are you? I got you a gift!”
Gary drops the fossil.
Umbreon saves a week’s worth of research with a quick Psychic attack. Gary collapses into his chair. He’s torn between relief over the fossil, anger at his carelessness, and, most pressingly, fear for his life.
He and Ash don’t do surprise gifts. They don’t have that type of relationship. Their gift exchanges are limited to badly wrapped birthday gifts: Ash’s gifts are badly wrapped because he’s a last minute shopper, Gary’s gifts are badly wrapped because he doesn’t want to look like he cares too much.
So Ash must be trying to get rid of something. It’s too easy to picture Ash with a cursed ancient artifact or something equally awful and otherworldly. Honestly, Gary has been waiting for Ash to come home with news of the apocalypse because Ash’s adventures are never quiet and normal.
“Gary!” Ash whines.
Reluctantly, Gary accepts his fate. He steps out of his office to find Ash in the kitchen. Ash’s hands are hidden behind his back. When he sees Gary, he grins widely.
Gary narrows his eyes. “If this is a prank, you’re gonna regret it.”
Ash huffs. “It’s not! This is, um…” He tilts his head, obviously thinking. “Aha! This is a thank you gift! You know, for letting me join your trip to Galar. We’ve made it a whole week without driving each other crazy.”
Admittedly, that is a new record for them.
“Look at this!” Ash says, revealing a single red apple in his hands.
Gary doesn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed. It is a prank.
“We need more apples than that for a pie,” he grumbles.
“It isn’t an apple!” Ash insists. He looks down at the piece of fruit. Quietly, he speaks to it, “Hey, it’s okay. You can come out. Gary’s joking about the pie. He can’t cook.”
The apple wiggles once, twice, then two eyes blink open.
“It’s an Applin!” Ash grins. “I found this little guy gettin’ chased by some Rookidees. Pikachu and I saved him. We couldn’t just leave him alone so here he is!”
Gary should’ve seen this coming — Ash brought home a stray Pokemon.
“But why are you giving him to me?” Gary asks.
“Cuz it’s your thank you gift,” Ash answers, then he quickly covers Applin’s nonexistent ears. “I can’t keep him. Snorlax keeps lookin’ at Applin like he’s dessert. C’mon, Gary, take him. Just look at his face, er, eyes!”
Ash stares at Gary with a wide-eyed pleading gaze. It’s endearing pathetic, and it’s unfortunately Gary’s favorite look on Ash’s face.
Gary sighs in defeat. He offers his hand to Applin; Applin nuzzles his palm in return. Well, he can’t really say no to this — he isn’t heartless and he is interested in Applin. He doesn’t have many Galar Pokemon. Gary carefully takes Applin out of Ash’s hands. Applin happily hops into the Pokeball in the pocket of his lab coat.
This is one of his most unusual captures, but things will probably work out between them.
Ash is more cheerful than usual for the rest of the day. Gary assumes he’s excited about having a new Pokemon in the house. There’s no other reason to explain Ash’s sudden happiness.
“That’s a Galarian Rapidash.”
“It’s cool. It doesn’t look like a Rapidash, but it’s cool.”
Ash and Gary stand aside as a Galarian Rapidash trots up the road. It pulls a small cart and, as it comes closer, Gary notices two women siting in the back. In between them, there’s a giant apple pie. Gary rubs his eyes — he definitely hallucinating — but then Ash shouts, “Look at that pie!” and runs after the cart.
Gary pinches the bridge of his nose. He knew he should’ve come to town on his own.
This was supposed to be a quick trip to restock their supplies, but it turned into a sightseeing trip with Ash. Tauros’ cart is now filled with food, firewood, and first-aid kits alongside odd little souvenirs, like an Amaura-shaped mug and Dracovish plushies. Gary grabs onto the reins of Tauros’ harness.
“C’mon, let’s go find your clueless trainer. Maybe we can still make it home before noon.”
Gary leads Tauros up the road. Eventually, he finds Ash inside a bakery. He’s standing at the counter with the two women and their odd apple pie. Now that he’s got a clear look at the thing, Gary realizes the giant pie has a head and four legs.
“Gary! Gary, look!” Ash shouts, waving at him. “It’s an Appletun! Oh! This is Jane and Helen!”
Gary, minding his manners, introduces himself to the women. He manages a decent greeting even with Ash snatching Applin out of his pocket at the same moment. Ash holds Applin up to Appletun’s face.
“Look Applin. You’re going to evolved into this one day,” Ash says.
Applin lets out a string of cheerful high-pitched noises. Gary smiles.
“Actually, Applin has two possible evolutions in Galar,” Helen says. “Your Applin might evolve into a Flapple. It’s really different from Appletun.”
“Two evolutions, huh? Looks like you should’ve gifted me two Applins,” Gary jokes, nudging Ash’s arm.
“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you another one,” Ash grins, nudging him back. “We should get a pie for dinner and-”
Before Ash finishes his sentence, Tauros lets out a loud bellow outside.
“I think Tauros is tired of waiting. I’ll go see him,” Ash says, rushing to the door. “Gary, get an apple pie and a cherry pie and a lot of scones. Scones are great! You’ll love them!”
Ash hurries to Tauros. Through the glass window, Gary sees Ash calm Tauros with a few words. Ash gently pats to Tauros head, Tauros happily nuzzles Ash in return.
“Your husband is good with Pokemon,” Jane says.
Gary nearly replies with, ‘He’s great with Pokemon,’ but then Jane’s words hit him.
“Ash isn’t my husband.”
“Oh, is Ash your boyfriend?”
“No, Ash is my Ash,” Gary says. That’s right, but it doesn’t sound right. “We’re just friends. Why would you think we’re together?”
“Your Applin. I heard you say Ash gave it to you. It’s a tradition ‘round here for couples to have an Applin. Cuz everyone knows if you give an Applin to your sweetheart, you’ll be together forever,” Helen answers, then pats Appletun’s head. “Jane gave me an Applin when she proposed. This is my Applin now.”
Jane smiles. “Maybe Ash is trying to tell you something.”
“It’s not like that between us,” Gary insists.
Jane and Helen don’t look convince. Gary feels his face warm. Apparently, Galarians are very serious about this Applin tradition.
“Can I get the pies and scones now?” Gary asks.
One awkward goodbye later, Gary steps out of the bakery with a bag full of baked goods and his thoughts full of Ash.
As soon as Ash sees Gary, he frowns.
“Are you alright, Gary? You look weird.”
“I’m fine. The bakery was too hot,” Gary lies.
Ash doesn’t look convinced. Wow, everyone is looking at him like that today. Gary waves Ash onto Tauros’ cart. Once they’re sitting side-by-side, Ash finally stops looking at him when Gary asks,
“So how do scones taste?”
The food-shaped distraction works. While Ash rambles about scones, Gary thinks about what happened at the bakery. There’s a small chance Ash knows about that particular Galarian tradition. He’s visited Galar more than Gary. Still, Ash isn’t romantic. And, most importantly, Ash isn’t in love. Gary can read Ash like an open book. If Ash is in love with him, Gary would know.
The Applin is just an Applin. Nothing more.
“Let’s have a picnic!”
“Now?”
“Yes, now! Look how sunny it is!” Ash says, waving frantically at the window. “We haven’t seen the sun in months. We gotta get out there!”
“We’ve only been here for three weeks,” Gary points out.
Ash pouts. Gary sighs, then pulls up the weather report on his laptop. This is a rare sunny day. There’s gonna be a big storm this weekend, which is great for Gary’s fossil hunting, but awful for Ash. Ash gets restless when he’s cooped up inside. During the last storm, he badgered Gary into playing some board games. That ended with Ash and Gary refusing to speak to each other for hours.
Maybe if Gary is nice to Ash now, he’ll remember that later. Maybe he’ll leave Gary alone. Or, at least, maybe they’ll finally get through a game of Scrabble without Ash making up words.
“Alright, let’s do it. It’s chilly outside so we need something warm to eat.”
“Great! I’m gonna go make sandwiches!”
Gary raises his eyebrow.
“I’ll toast the bread, I promise.”
An hour later, Gary is sitting on a blanket outside. Despite the chill in the air, Ash and their Pokemon are excited to be outside in the sun. Ash hands out sandwiches to everyone. The bread on Gary’s sandwich is burnt. This is his fault for leaving Ash unsupervised in the kitchen so he doesn’t complain.
“Here Appletun, you can have two sandwiches since you just evolved,” Ash says. “Alright! Let’s eat!”
Gary reaches for his sandwich. One second, it’s there. The next second, it’s gone. Gary stares blankly at his plate. Was his sandwich really that burnt? Did it just disintegrate into a pile of ashes?
Umbreon lets out a low growl. Everyone looks to the side to see what upset her. There, a few feet away from their picnic blanket, is an Applin with a sandwich on its head.
“Hey! That’s not yours!” Ash yells.
The Applin lets out a series of high-pitched squeaks, then runs off. Ash lets out a loud cry. Looks like Ash still can’t handle anyone taunting him. He jumps to his feet to chase the Applin. Pikachu rushes after it too. The rest of their Pokemon stare at Gary.
“It’s ok. Ash and Pikachu can handle it,” Gary says, then pats Appletun’s head. “Do you know that Applin?”
Appletun yawns, then shakes his head. Alright, Gary can enjoy this little show without any worries. He refills his mug of tea, leans back against Arcanine, and grins as he watches an apple bully Ash.
It’s Pikachu who stops Applin. Pikachu tackles it, which results in a battle. Appletun’s head swings left and right as he watches the battle, though, he seems more interested in Ash than Applin. It is hard to ignore Ash right now. Facing a new opponent always lifts Ash’s spirits. He’s no longer glowering at Applin. Now he’s brighter than the sun — all smiles and cheers, joy and excitement. Gary can’t take his eyes off of him.
Applin puts up a good fight, but Pikachu wins. Surprisingly, Ash tosses a Pokeball at Applin. The Pokeball shakes once, twice, then clicks to announce the capture. Ash and Pikachu cheer.
Gary smiles as Ash stumbles back to him. He expects Ash to brag about his new capture or apologize for the lost sandwich. Instead, Ash drops on one knee.
“For you,” Ash says, holding out the Pokeball.
Gary chokes on his tea.
“Why?” Gary wheezes. “Yours. It’s yours.”
“I promised to catch you another one.”
Ash gently places the Pokeball in Gary’s hands. Years ago, they held hands like this when Gary took Ash’s hands in his own to forfeit the half Pokeball. Gary doesn’t remember his heart beating so fast back then.
“I was joking,” Gary says, weakly.
Ash just grins. His cheeks are dusted pink. Gary struggles to convince himself that Ash is simply flushed from exhaustion. He isn’t blushing at Gary. He isn’t.
A part of Gary’s heart hopes Ash is blushing for him.
The second Applin changes everything.
Suddenly, Gary spends a lot of time thinking.
Gary half thinks about Ash, half thinks about Applin — he hasn't been able to separate those two thoughts ever since Ash gave him another Applin. He can't ignore that Galar tradition any longer so he examines his relationship with Ash this way and that way, and, one day, he arrives to the only logical conclusion:
It wouldn’t be so surprising if Ash is in love him.
Ash is the only person who’s ever sought him out. He kept doing it even after their rivalry ended and he had no reason to chase Gary anymore. He’s still here. Ash likes him in spite of his personality. No. Sometimes, it seems Ash likes him because of his personality.
Gary needs to lie down after that revelation. He doesn’t know what’s more shocking — Ash is in love with him or Ash likes his personality.
He can’t stay down for long. Gary doesn’t know much about love — he views romance as a distraction to his work — but he knows Ash. It’s only a matter of time before Ash does something loud and embarrassing. Gary needs to get ahead of this or get out of Galar.
As much as Gary hates to talk about his feelings, he can’t just leave.
So he ends up in kitchen. He’s got a recipe on his clipboard, a pile of ingredients on the counter, and, most importantly, a plan to confront Ash: they’re going to sit down to dinner to talk about their feelings like two mature adults.
At least that’s the plan on paper. Gary hopes Ash will see his favorite food, confess his love for Gary, then Gary will…
He isn’t exactly sure how he’ll answer.
Flapple caws loudly. Gary snaps out of his thoughts in time to duck out of Flapple’s way. Flapple zooms into the kitchen then the dining room then the living room then the bedrooms…
Meanwhile, Appletun slowly steps into the kitchen.
“Flapple, Appletun, what did I say about racing in the house?” Gary calls out.
Flapple flies up to him, grumbling. Gary sighs. His second Applin quickly evolved into a Flapple and she’s definitely much more energetic than Gary expected.
“I need you guys to be quiet for a bit. Can you do that for me?” Gary asks.
Flapple perches herself on Appletun’s back. They both stare at him, waiting for something to happen.
Right. He gotta get to work.
Gary draws a deep breath as he steels himself to cook. He isn’t a chef, but cooking can’t be much different than a science experiment. If he follows the instructions, everything will be fine. If he messes up, something may explode.
Two small kitchen fires later, Gary has a plate of croquettes ready to serve.
Now all he’s gotta do is wash the dishes, set the table, convince Appletun and Flapple to come out of hiding, and…
“Hey Gary! I’m back!”
For once in his life, Ash is early.
Ash walks straight into the kitchen. He grins when he sees the food.
“Whoa, did my mom send her croquettes?” Ash asks, reaching for the plate.
“No, I made them,” Gary answers.
Ash draws his hand back.
“They’re good. I used your mom’s recipe,” Gary insists. He huffs at Ash’s wary glance. “Just try it. Don’t be a coward.”
Ash picks up a croquette, turns it slowly in his hands as if he’s examining it. Gary grits his teeth. They’re not going to make it to dinner at this rate. But then, Ash bites into the croquette and his eyes light up.
“They’re really good! You’re amazing, Gary!”
Gary sighs in relief. Yes, of course, he’s amazing. It’s good that Ash finally notices. Gary is so busy thinking about himself that he forgets all about his plan until Ash says,
“Hey, I got you something. Close your eyes.”
Gary freezes. Now it’s his turn to look wary.
“What if I don’t want anything?”
“You’ll like it, I swear. C’mon. Hold out your hand too.”
Despite his better judgment, Gary closes his eyes. He feels Ash place something in the palm of his hand. It’s small, round, and barely weighs anything. Gary knows what it is before he opens his eyes.
“You can look now!”
There’s a shiny Applin in his hand.
Ash grins. “I thought about you as soon as I saw it. Look at its color! It’s green like your eyes. I just knew I had to catch it for you.”
Gary stares at the Applin. This is it, isn’t? Ash’s confession. If he tried hard, Gary could explain away the other Applins: the first Applin was a spur-of-the-moment gift, the second Applin was Gary’s fault for his bad joke. But this third Applin? There’s no way to rationalize Ash’s decision to gift him a third Applin. He’s holding Ash’s heart in his hand. It’s time to answer his feelings.
“Are you alright, Gary? You haven’t said anything. Don’t you like it?”
He carefully sets down the Applin on the counter, then steps closer to Ash. He doesn’t think through his next move. He just does what feels right.
Gary presses his lips against Ash’.
It’s a quick kiss, but it’ll get Gary’s feelings through to Ash better than any words. He expects Ash to say something embarrassingly sweet or, maybe, another kiss. Gary never expected Ash to blurt out,
“Why did you do that for?”
Gary is rarely wrong.
This is one of those unfortunate times.
He focuses on the steady beat of his hammer’s strikes against a rock as he tries to drown out his memories of last night. It’s a futile effort. Gary can’t forgot Ash’s wide-eyed stare or his strained voice or the stunned silence that followed.
Ash’s silence was as good as a rejection. He didn’t try to stop Gary from fleeing the kitchen. He didn’t try to speak to Gary at all yesterday. Obviously Ash wants nothing to do with him right now. After what happened, Gary will be lucky if Ash still considers him a friend.
The rock splits in half to reveal its contents. Empty. Another failure. Gary grits his teeth. His hours of fossil hunting haven’t led to any new discoveries. Maybe he should’ve fled the region last night. He had seriously considered it — packed a bag and everything — but he couldn’t abandon his research. He still needs to uncover a Fossilized Dino in order to complete his collection of Galar’s fossils.
Gary gathers his tools to move on. He risks a quick glance at the sky, hoping to see a Charizard flying away from here.
There’s another reason for Gary’s decision to stay — Ash will most likely leave instead. Ash is notorious for running off. Gary hopes Ash will be gone by the time he returns to the cabin later today. It’s for the best if they completely avoid each other. That way they’ll be able to pretend nothing happened between them when they eventually run into each other again.
Gary is good at lying at himself. Ash is good at forgetting anything unpleasant. Their friendship can survive this.
“Gary?”
Fuck.
Ash is here. He’s standing a few feet away, rocking back and forth on his heels. There’s an air of uneasiness around him. Maybe he’s uncomfortable because he’s missing Pikachu on his shoulder. Or because he’s facing Gary alone.
“Can we talk?” Ash asks.
“Do I have a choice?” Gary mumbles. He has a feeling that Ash won’t accept no for an answer. “Where’s Pikachu?”
“I left him at the cabin. We gotta talk about…you know…”
Ash holds up his two hands, then clasps them together. He squeezes his hands tightly. Gary bristles at the visual.
“That didn’t happen,” Gary says. He taps two fingers together quickly. “That’s all that happened.”
“But something happened!” Ash insists. “Something happened! W-why did it happen? Why did you, you know?”
Gary doesn’t want to answer. He wants the earth to swallow him whole right now. But there’s no escape from Ash’s intense gaze so Gary gives in.
“I thought you were in love with me.”
It sounds so stupid aloud.
“What? Why?” Ash squeaks.
“The Applin,” Gary sighs. “Do you know what it means here?”
“Means?” Ash says, confused. “An Applin is a Pokemon. It’s your friend. It travels with you, it battles with you, it keeps the doctors away.”
“Huh?”
“You know, an apple a day keeps the doctors away. Brock told me that. I’m not sure it’s true. I-”
“An Applin means something else in Galar!” Gary cuts in. “It means ‘I wanna be with you forever!’ It means ‘I love you!’”
“Oh,” Ash whispers.
“Yeah, oh,” Gary repeats.
Ash’s shocked face tells Gary everything — he doesn’t know about Galar’s Applin tradition.
“Let’s just forget it, alright? I should’ve known you aren’t interested in romance. Just pretend it never happened-”
“Wait, wait,” Ash interrupts. “You thought I loved you and you…” He touches his mouth. “Do you love me?”
For the sake of dignity, Gary needs to say no. He needs to lie. But Gary hesitates a moment too long. That’s enough for Ash to realize the truth.
Ash flushes red. “You love me.”
Gary should’ve fled the region last night. He still has a chance to get away right now. Ash must see the wild look in Gary’s eyes because he grabs Gary’s hands.
“You love me.”
Gary’s face burns in embarrassment. Why does Ash keep saying that?
“It doesn’t matter,” Gary mumbles.
“Yes it does!” Ash insists. “I thought a lot about what happened last night. I came here to figure out if you were serious or just joking.”
“I wouldn’t joke about that,” Gary grumbles.
“Good. Cuz I wanna do it again.”
Gary goes still. Ash lets out a loud huff.
“Don’t look so surprised. You started this. Now c’mere.”
Ash yanks Gary towards him. He smashes their mouths together. It’s rough and messy kiss, and it sends Gary’s heart racing. Like their first kiss, it’s over too soon. Ash pulls away, breathless and blushing.
“I love you, Gary,” Ash confesses. “I didn’t know what Applins meant here. I gave them to you because I thought they’d make you happy. I like it when you happy.” He takes a deep breath. “I wanna see you happy all the time. I wanna be the reason you’re happy.”
Like always, Ash doesn’t hold back his feelings. His words are full of affection and sincerity. Gary squeezes his hand.
“So you can be romantic. I’m shocked," Gary says, softly.
Ash grins. “Just for you. Don’t worry, I didn’t give anyone else an Applin.”
Gary laughs. He pulls Ash into another kiss, soft and slow. Later, much later, they return home with swollen lips and rumpled clothes. They find Pikachu fast asleep on the sofa with Appletun, Flapple and the third Applin. Ash leans against Gary’s side.
“Three Applins…That’s really a lot. I don’t know what I was thinking,” Ash mumbles.
“You usually don’t think,” Gary points out.
Gary smiles when Ash scoffs.
“It always works out for you,” Gary continues. “Three is a good number. I read Applin has a third possible evolution in some far off region. We should go there after we’re done here.”
Ash is silent for a beat, then says, in awe, “Really? You wanna travel together? This is the first time you’ve ever actually invited me somewhere.”
That is true. Gary has never straightforward about these type of things. He usually pokes and provokes Ash to follow him. He doesn’t know what just came over him.
“I guess everyone here is right about Applins. They got some sort of magic that keeps people together,” Ash says.
Magic, huh? Of course, Ash would suggest that. Gary wraps his arm around Ash’s waist.
“So is that a yes?” Gary asks.
Ash smiles. “Yeah, let’s travel together, Gary.”
Gary kisses Ash’s cheek. In the back of his mind, he thinks there is some truth to Galar’s Applin tradition.