A/N: It's been a while, eh? :)

Oldrivalshipping has always been a pleasure for me to write.

I got motivated to finish this (after working on it for this past month) because of some things that happened recently. I've been in a really good mood (almost like cloud nine happy) and so this came out as a result.

Enjoy, and like always, I own nothing.

~ Of Distractions, Nostalgic Memories, and Kisses ~

theperksofbeinganauthor

Despite being childhood friends, Gary felt that spending time with Leaf was like torture. If Gary had to use one word to describe Leaf, it would be annoying. She constantly annoyed him when they were both little, and she was constantly annoying him now. Even as he was trying to finish up his work for the day, she simply would not leave him alone.

"'Ey Gary, what are you doing?"

His response, at first, was simply a sigh. "I'm busy right now. Leave me alone."

"But Gary! I've finally visiting Pallet Town again, and you're not even paying the slightest bit of attention to me. I'm starting feeling neglected," she said with a pout, nudging him with her elbow.

Gary, who was sitting on his bed with his laptop, sighed loudly, showing his obvious discomfort and dislike toward her uninvited company. She soon joined him on his bed, flopping herself right next to him.

He stopped concentrating on his work for a few seconds after she settled herself on his bed. Leaf's presence, no matter how unwarranted, was extremely distracting. He couldn't focus on his work as he could feel her breath breathing down his neck in slow shallow breaths and her perfume intoxicating his sense of smell. His fingers and thoughts slowly came to a halt.

"Why are you here anyways?" Gary inquired, trying not to pay too much attention to how close Leaf's face was to his.

Leaf shrugged nonchalantly. "Professor Oak called me over here. He told me how busy you've been. And he also told me that you haven't had much time for yourself lately-you're always too busy doing this and that. So," she concluded, "I decided to come over and try to get you to relax for once. You're always working, Gary."

Gary snorted, tangling his hand through his hair in frustration. Of course his grandpa would do something like that to him. And after all the discoveries he has made recently... he couldn't exactly take a break.

But now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember the last time he had any free time to waste. There was always something that he needed to do.

"And so your grandpa thought that maybe, I might be able to do something about it. He worries about you, you know. Working this much everyday can do wonders to your health." Leaf continued, not waiting for a response. "And I'm worried about you too," she added thoughtfully, tugging his arm lightly to get his attention.

"Thanks for your concern, but I need to finish this up really quick. Then, we can go do something together," Gary suggested, returning back to his work.

Without a moment's hesitation, she shut his laptop with a snap of her wrist. At the sound of his laptop clicking shut and being disrupted from his work, he let out a yelp of protest.

"Oy, I was working on something!"

"No," she responded firmly, leaving no room for arguments. "You're not working anymore. You are going to spend the entire day with me, and you're going to like it." She grabbed his laptop and placed it carefully on his desk. "I don't like to see you over-working yourself like that. You need time to relax too."

As she got up from his bed, she could tell that his mind was whizzing around like mad. He was probably mad at her, but she couldn't care less. He needed to stop working once in awhile. It was for his own good, she decided. "Now... let's go," she added more cheerfully, offering him her hand.

"B-But I still need to do something," Gary protested weakly, knowing that he couldn't change Leaf's mind once it was decided. She was a determined and stubborn person, Gary had noticed based on the time they've spent together when they were younger. After receiving a death glare from her, he sighed in defeat. He took her hand and pulled himself up. Even though he knew about her attempts to engage him in physical contact, he would never get used to it.

She giggled happily, dragging him out of his room and out of the lab quicker than he would've liked.

"Leaf, where are we going?" Gary asked, trying to catch up to her pace.

She slowed down once they reached the bottom of the staircase in front the lab. "I don't know. I was just hoping we could just go out and do something fun! We haven't done anything together in a while," she answered, swinging their intertwined arms the way she always did when she held his hand.

"By the way, I'm totally against this," Gary muttered sourly, following Leaf around town. He, however, quit his complaining when he saw how happy Leaf looked. He had not seen that smile on her face for so long, so it was nice to see it again.

"Say, Leaf, what have you been up to lately?" Gary questioned, trying to make conversation.

"Nothing much. I have been training here and there. I don't know where to go next though."

"I am sure that whatever you decide to end up doing, it'll be absolutely brilliant."

Leaf grinned widely, thanking him thoughtfully. "I don't have to ask you about how you're doing, do I? You've been keeping yourself pretty busy. I am really proud of you, Gary." She paused for a second before continuing. "Look at us; we've come so far. We've learned so much from when we started.

"When we were both five, I still remember how I used to pull your every nerve and how you would always get mad at me for borrowing your stuff without permission. Sometimes, I think about these things, and it makes me feel sad that we can't go back to the old times again... when we were both young."

With a teasing smile, he added, "You are still annoying though.."

Gary smiled fondly. These memories made him nostalgic all over again-thinking about his past with Leaf. "Oh and remember that one time where you walked around town with your skirt hitched up at the back..."

"Gary!" she scolded him, flushing brightly. She never wanted to recall such a horrific memory again. "I still don't understand why you never told me about it until I came back home."

"Why would I? Especially when I, along with the rest of the town, got a good view of your—"

"Gary!" And with that, she shoved him and snatched her hand—that was intertwined with his—away from him. She turned away in order to conceal her blush from him.

He couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction; it was so like her. "Come on, Leaf. I'm sorry." He attempted to apologize to her, tugging her arm gently. "You know... you can't pretend to hate me anymore," he said, referring back to their childhood and how she would constantly claim that she hated him.

"Why not?" she answered childishly.

Gary pondered for a moment, pretending to think to himself. He scratched his head after making sure that she was looking in his direction. "Well maybe it might be because you've been dating me for almost a year already," he said with a teasing smirk. After the annoying him for the entire morning, he thought he'd return the favor by annoying her back. After all, this is kind of their 'thing'.

"Ugh," she groaned, "can I break up with you yet?" She made a face, as if dating him was one of the worst choices she has ever made. "Then, I can go back to hating you again."

He shook his head in amusement as he draped his arm around her shoulders. "Not a chance; you'd miss me too much."

"Unfortunately, that's also true," she admitted softly. "But I still hate you right now."

"No you don't," he argued. "You love me."

"So full of yourself, aren't you?" she teased, leaning up to peck him on the lips... smiling as she did so.

"Do you always kiss people you pretend to hate?" he inquired curiously, raising a brow once he felt her lips collide with his.

"Oh shut up Gary! You already know why I kissed you. It's not like it's a secret anymore," she pouted, leaning into him.

He beamed, much to her chagrin. "Yeah, but I'd like to hear you say it, once in awhile."

Leaf groaned, blushing lightly. "I really hate you."

"C'mon Leaf, tell me the magic words. Or I'm never kissing you again."

"That's blackmail and you know it," she stated undoubtedly.

He shrugged carelessly. "I don't really care."

Muttering something about stupid boyfriends, she turned to face Gary with a scrunched up face. "I really hate you for doing this to me, but I love you, Gary Oak, even if you are a pain sometimes."

"Not how I imagined it would go," he confessed, "but I'll take it. And, for the record, I love you too." Satisfied, he smiled and leaned down to kiss her, deeply and passionately, like he would always do after getting her mad. He grinned in satisfaction as she returned the kiss, deepening it even more. That was always his favorite way to end an argument.

A/N: I quite like how this turned out... except for the ending.

That was rather messy, and I didn't know how to end it. Sighs.

If you guys are actually following my stories, I'm going to post a long-fic up soon. About what exactly? I might change my mind, but I have a good idea already. La-la-la~

Well review. Or I'll never ever ever write again (just kidding.. but you should review anyways).

With much love,

Lily.