By Chris Devlin
AN: Well, this was a challenge fic set to me by "Veronica Galindo" from the ff.net authors mailing list. Basically it's a Gary romance (Yuk, I hate Gary) where he's in character (This is gonna be a tough one. I mean how do you make someone fall in love with Gary?). Like most of my one-off fics it aint exactly super long, but then I work best in small bursts. Anyway, here it is. Hope you like.
Gary shivered. The cold breeze blowing in through the church door, cutting right through him and chilling him to the bone. Wrapping his arms round him he rubbed them vigorously, trying to keep warm. His legs were worst though, his kilt offering little protection against the harsh elements. His mind wandered back to the day that they had told them the clothing styles. He couldn't believe Ash and Misty had chosen kilts for the men to wear. Misty said that it was because they were sexy and looked good, and Ash because they were the single manliest piece of clothing on the planet. Gary had just shook his head at that. "It's a skirt!" he exclaimed when he heard it. Ash had merely tilted his head slightly, as if trying to counter the argument. He had. "Yeah, so it's a skirt." he admitted, "But would you go and start a fight with someone who has the balls to wear it in public? And women love it" he explained, not seeing the evil glance Misty gave him. Gary couldn't say that he would. "Besides it's tradition. Oh and according to my mom, I'm one eighth Scottish, so it's kinda my heritage." Ash quickly added, making sure that Gary knew the choice wasn't his. Gary conceded and agreed to wear it, if begrudgingly, adding "The wind had better not get up!".
And here he was, two months later, frozen stiff with the wind blowing up his kilt. He glanced at his watch and sighed happily to himself when he saw that there were only five minutes left to go. Finally he could get a seat. He leaned against a nearby wall, watching Ash and Misty devote themselves to each other. He felt a twang of regret in his mind. It reminded him of the time he had a thing for Misty. It was never anything serious, more like the way Brock had a thing for Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny, but it was there. He shook it from his mind. That had been long ago and more than once since had he had similar feeling for others. Today he had no plan other than to enjoy himself, which meant drinking, dancing and women.
The ceremony finished soon after and less than an hour later they were at the reception, feasting away at the wedding banquet. Gary found himself in his element, seated next to all three of Misty's sisters and Melody from the Orange Archipelago. At anyone time he'd be sweet talking at least two of them, while mentally undressing the others. They obviously knew what he was up to, but all seemed to enjoy the attention. Gary tried to tell himself he was enjoying it, but he wasn't. He wasn't into this. He liked all of them, but not in the right way. And so he sat, for two hours, feigning affection for the four women. He managed to pursue one of his aims for the day successfully, as was displayed by the three empty bottles of beer in front of him. Sighing, he glanced at his watch again to see the time. Or at least he tried to, the dimming of the lights making it nearly impossible to make out the time. From the front of the hall the hired band started playing, a romantic number that he didn't recognize. Everybody turned their eyes to the dance floor where Ash and Misty started the dancing. Gary looked on as Ash held Misty close, gently swaying with her to the song. He felt the twang again, but not for Misty this time. For what they both had, a deep love.
Soon after the floor had been mobbed by the other guests, leaving Gary sitting at the table by himself as the girls went off to dance with the various guys that invited them. He ordered another couple of beers from a passing waiter and settled in for a long haul, removing his jacket. As he waited for his drinks he watched the dance floor. Dozens of couples bobbed and swayed before him, oblivious to anything but each other. As he turned to face the newly arrived drinks he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. Moving so that he could see, he spotted a young woman about his age, sitting alone at a table on the other side of the room watching the dancing. She had shoulder length blonde hair framing her face and its dark hazel eyes. Her dress was a cream strapless number with patterns embroidered on in tiny gold sequins. There was something about her that sent Gary crazy, making his right leg jiggle involuntarily. Downing one of his bottles he pulled on his jacket and walked over to her.
As he approached he got a whiff of her perfume. It was sweet, and reminded him of roses. Reaching the table he coughed, trying to get her attention. She turned round sharply, obviously startled by Gary's sudden appearance. "Er. Hi!" he spluttered, unsure what else to say. The girl smiled at him, her pearl white teeth showing through her small red lips. It wasn't a model's smile, more a sweet, girl next door style but Gary found himself completely consumed by it. "Hi." she replied. Gary started to go red, thinking desperately what he could say to start a conversation. "Erm, is there a chair I could sit in?" he asked suddenly, anything to break the silence he felt was coming. The girl looked round her at the four empty seats at the table. "Yeah, sure." she replied, a bemused look on her face. Gary grinned as he sat down, realized he was and toned it down into a small smile. "So, uh, I'm Gary. I train Pokémon." he said, immediately thinking how pathetic it sounded. "I mean, I try to." he added, not quite sure why. The girl smiled at him. "Really..."
Her name turned out to be Lauren, a distant cousin of Misty's from Goldenrod City. As soon as Gary had started talking about Pokémon they had started to quickly bond. They sat for an hour, just talking about anything and everything, until the others had returned to their seats. Gary stood up to go back to his table when Lauren grabbed his arm, a smile on her face. "Hey, how bout a dance?" she asked him before she stood up and dragged him to the dance-floor, giving him absolutely no time to answer. She swung her arms round his neck and rested her head on his shoulder as he moved his hands to her waist. The song was a slow number, something by some male solo-artist that Gary couldn't put his finger on. They swayed with the music, their bodies reassuringly held together. Gary didn't know why but he felt content here. I've only known this girl for an hour or so, and already I feel more comfortable with her than I do with a Pokéball. he told himself. Could this be something? She seemed to sense his thoughts, almost as if they shared some kind of mental link. "Gary?" she whispered in his ear. "Yeah." he replied, enjoying the moment. "I think you should know. I've wanted to dance with you all day." she told him. He smiled. "Really?" he asked, putting his arms further round her waist so that his hands met. This had the effect of bringing her closer, something he'd wanted to do ever since he got up here. "Yeah. I saw you in the church, and you looked so good. The kilt just added to it." she explained. From the sudden rush of heat from her cheeks Gary rightly guessed that she was blushing. "Me too." he said. Lauren moved her head from his shoulder and looked into his eyes. He couldn't comprehend her beauty, plain but at the same time enough to leave him gasping for more. He smiled at her, his entire face conveying his feelings. Almost imperceptibly she moved closer to him, his top lip quivering slightly as she gently placed her lips to his. They met, soft as a feathers touch, and lovingly moved across each other. Gary felt his heart rate drop as well as the room around him slow down. Everything else ceased to matter, all that held any meaning for him was the here and now. He knew right then, that they would be together forever. Nothing would come between them. "Forever."
Three days later Gary sat dejectedly in the front room of his apartment, the TV in front of him loudly explaining to him why he needed to take out a loan. The forever he'd imagined had lasted a mere evening. He stared at the receipt for the kilt hire, murderous hate in his heart. You had to go and leave her number and details in the pocket of the jacket, didn't you. his heart said. As the rage in him built up he crumpled the piece of paper up and threw it to the floor. He stood up and stomped over to the window, opening it with contempt running through his veins for anything and everything. The landscape of Viridian City's buildings stood out only as pinpricks of light in the darkness of night. Gary looked out over it, angry at himself for making such a mistake. Angry for throwing away what could have been the one.
One year later...
Gary stood in the church, the cold breeze again chilling him to the bone. At the front of the hall Ash and Misty stood, their daughter in christening robes held in Misty's arms. Gary's mind still rang with the events of the wedding day, exactly one year ago to the day. For all intents and purposes he'd tried to put it to the back of his mind, tried to lose it in the hectic schedule of his life. To an extent he'd been successful. He managed to carry on with his life normally, but it was there, nagging at him, slowly burrowing its way into his thoughts. He frowned as he remembered it, then shook his head and looked towards the front of the hall. They were nearing the part where the god-parents would come up. Gary watched, his mind dwelling on his memories. His heart turned somersaults inside his chest when he saw her, walking onto the alter with Brock. Lauren is the baby's god-mother. Gary stared at her intently, unsure if she had seen him.
The minutes past and Gary found himself outside, the cold air whistling around him as he waited for Lauren to come out. He glanced inside. She was busy talking to Ash and Misty, congratulating them over and over and telling them what an honour it was to be baby Harmony's god-mother. Gary smiled, she really was something. Kind, considerate not to mention tender and gentle. She hadn't changed too much. Her eyes and face remained the same, her body still perfect in every detail. Only her hair was different, longer, hanging down to her elbows. It didn't really register with him much though, his mind, remembering their night together, didn't let his attention wander that far. Suddenly she laughed, a sweet, tender, loving laugh that caught Gary off guard. He remembered that laugh. No matter how physically attractive Gary found her, it was nothing compared to her laugh. The feelings returned to him. He wanted to be with her, to hold her in his arms, to laugh with her, to have children with her. She's the one. His mind told him, making him well aware of his obligation to himself. He had to give it a shot.
Lauren turned from Ash and Misty and walked down the aisle towards the open door. She could feel the cold air swirling round her as she approached, but sensed something else. "Lauren." came the voice. Turning her head she spotted Gary, standing just inside the church door. "Gary?" she squealed, her face breaking into a broad smile. She jogged swiftly towards him, embracing him in a quick hug when they met. "Hi." he said when they broke apart, his voice quivering slightly. She continued smiling at him. "How are you? What you been up to? Going to the party?" she asked in quick succession, not giving him time to properly think each one through. He decided to answer only one of them. "No. I wasn't really in the mood." he explained. Her face seemed to drop slightly. "Oh, come on. It'll be fun." she said, her voice filled with hope. Gary smiled at her, how could he refuse. "Ok. You twisted my arm." he replied, his face breaking into a smile. Taking his hand she pulled him towards the car park. "Come on, we can take my car." she explained.
The car journey was short but Gary took the opportunity to explain why he hadn't contacted her. Lauren laughed as he did. "Why didn't you just ask Misty?" she asked, still recovering from her laughing fit. The realisation that he could have asked Misty hit him like a ton of bricks. "I have no idea. It just didn't occur to me. See that's me. Totally stupid at times." he said, unable to control the smile on his face. Lauren looked at him. "Oh I don't know. When I first met you, yes you did seem quite awkward. But then I guess you were just nervous. I know I was." she explained, returning her eyes to the road. "You were nervous?" he asked, amazed he hadn't noticed. "God yes! Part of it was that you're Gary Oak. You are pretty well known. But mostly it was just trying to talk to you." she explained. Gary fell into a stunned silence. After a while he spoke again. "Wow".
The party only lasted a few hours but to Gary it seemed like a few seconds. Yet again they had spent their time talking, telling each other about what they had spent the last year doing. Lauren had apparently spent some time as the Goldenrod Gym Leader's apprentice trainer, learning how to handle and raise Normal type Pokémon. Now she was waiting for her to step down to take over as Leader herself. Gary listened intently to how much she had improved as a trainer in the past year, offering his own words of advice whenever he felt he should. But it didn't change the fact that it was time to part company again. This time he gave her his number, as well as getting hers, taking no chances. She laughed at this, feeling he was being a bit too pessimistic. Gary explained that he didn't want to have to wait another year just to talk to her. "Aw, that's sweet." she cooed, kissing him gently on the lips before turning round and heading out to the car. Gary watched her leave before shooting out the door after her.
"Lauren!" he called after her. She turned round, the keys ready to go into the cars lock. Gary ran over to her, panting heavily for breath. "You... can't... go.." he heaved, doubling over to catch his breath. Lauren frowned at him, confusion in her eyes. "Why not?" she asked uneasily. Gary straightened up and looked her in the eyes. "Because I love you." he explained. Lauren gasped and took a step back. She looked round for something to rest on, and decided on the trunk. Sitting down she attempted to gather her thoughts. A smile played across her lips before vanishing. "But, Gary, you hardly know me." she said, not looking at him. "I don't care. All I know is that you make me feel like no-one ever has before." he explained, walking towards her. He placed his hand on hers, half expecting her to swiftly pull it away. She didn't. The smile returned to her lips, this time remaining on view. "You mean that?" she asked after a few seconds, raising her head slightly so that she could look him in the face. His eyes gazed into hers, telling her without words that he did. Lauren stood up and walked over to him, taking his head in her hands she kissed him passionately. It was both passionate and gentle, wild but tamed as their lips caressed, brushing each other with a love Gary knew he would never experience for anyone else. She took his hand as they parted and opened the car door. "Get in." she said. Gary eyed her suspiciously. "Why?" she smiled. "Let's go to Goldenrod together." she told him. Gary smiled and kissed her again, before stepping into the car. Lauren walked round the other side and got in. The engine grumbled unhappily into life, as Lauren put her foot to the accelerator and drove off.
AN: Well, that was actually quite enjoyable. I still don't like Gary though. Curse you Veronica for making me do a fic with Gary in it!!!! Lol, only kidding. Not one of my best (I still think "Terminality" is my "Tour De Force") but still reasonably good. Read and Review please.