Happy Birthday, Love
By AnimeDutchess
A/N: Hee, a birthday hint! That's all I'm giving you this time!
So… it's the sequel to The Closet…heh, hopefully, it's as good as the first. It's probably a little more serious, but…it's rather cute.
Anyway…enjoy, nyah!
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Disclaimer: I own nothing…how wonderful for me! Well, not really…
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Gary was nervous.
No, wait, he was beyond nervous. He was a freaking wreck.
You see, three weeks ago, he and Ash finally revealed their big secret: they were in love…with each other.
In fact, they'd been dating for two years already. They just…didn't know how to spring it on everyone.
Then, Ash watched South Park and got a great idea. Why not set up a joke that would tip everyone off?
Gary agreed only when Ash mentioned the climax of the plan.
Which involved making out in a closet.
He liked making out with his little Satoshi-kun.
And so, three weeks later (a.k.a. now), his grandfather, Professor Oak, and Ash's mother, Delia Ketchum, proposed a grand idea to Gary. Which he was supposed to enact tonight.
Now, tonight was Ash's eighteenth birthday. Gary was taking him out for a simple date, you know, dinner and a movie. In reverse order. It was going to be a nice night.
But he had to act fast. There was one more thing that he needed for the plan to succeed. Hopefully.
And both Pikachu and Umbreon were his partners in crime. He'd told them the plan, and being the good little Pokemon they were, willingly became agents in love.
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"Ash! Get your ass down here! You're gonna be late!"
"Coming, Mom!" Ash exclaimed from his room. He had on baggy blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a long-sleeved, button-down, dark red shirt over it. He quickly put his old League cap on his head and turned to Pikachu, grinning. "Well, how do I look, Pikachu?" The yellow mouse gave him a thumbs up from his bed.
"Chu!" He said, smiling.
"ASH! GARY'S HERE ALREADY!" Delia shouted from downstairs. Ash sighed at his mother's craziness, but he blushed a little.
"Alright, I'm coming down!" He wrinkled his nose. "Did you take your meds, Mom?" A pause.
"Nope!" Delia shouted cheerfully. Ash sighed. Typical Mom. He waved to Pikachu.
"See ya later," He said as he opened his bedroom door. Pikachu leapt off the bed towards Ash, who caught the electric Pokemon and hugged him. "I'll miss you, too, buddy…but I'll tell you all about it, like always!" Pikachu rolled his eyes; his master's stories of these excursions mostly ended with something involving tongue-wrestling.
"Pikapi, pika!" Pikachu wriggled out of Ash's grasp and ran out of the room, pointing down the stairs. Ash laughed.
"Yeah, I'm coming…" He said as he walked over to the stairs. "You're as bad as Mom, you know that?" Pikachu just smiled.
"Pika!"
"Oh, THERE you are! Finally!" Delia exclaimed. She pointed to the front door. "Go answer it! It isn't my place to!" She jogged up the stairs and pulled Ash down to the first floor. "Come on, come on, you two are late!" Ash blinked in surprise.
"Mom, you don't have to pull m– gah!" Ash almost tripped on the last step as his mother dragged him onward. She finally stopped and positioned her son right at the front door, hastily straightening out his appearance.
"I can't believe you two are going on a date!" Delia said cheerfully, "It's so cute! I wish I could come and see!" Ash blushed in embarrassment.
"Mom, we've gone on dates before; it isn't what you'd call 'cute'. Besides, aren't you getting a little too excited?" Delia froze, then laughed nervously.
"Too excited? Nonsense!" She then backed off. "Now, answer the door!" Ash nodded. He reached out to the doorknob and slowly, slowly turned it…
"Hey, there you are!" Ash blushed. There was Gary, all smiles in his baggy black jeans and dark blue button-down shirt. His yin-yang necklace stood out easily. The older boy smiled. "Wow, you look…great!" Ash laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.
"Well, so do you!" Gary blinked, and then blushed slightly.
"…Thanks," He said softly.
FLASH!
Delia had created another Kodak moment with her digital camera. The boys looked at her, startled. She giggled.
"So cute!" She said, her eyes bright. Ash and Gary sweat-dropped.
"Sure, Mrs. Ketchum," Gary said neutrally. She smiled.
"Now, you two have fun," She said, "And be careful." She winked at Gary, then looked at Ash. "Be a good boy, okay?" Ash nodded.
"Yeah, I will be," He said. He turned to Gary. "We going, or what?"
"Of course!" Gary slipped his hand into Ash's. "Now, come on! We're already late as it is!" The boys waved good-bye to Delia before heading off into the night.
Little did Ash know, this night would change his life forever…
He didn't notice Pikachu and Umbreon pulling off some ninja moves as they followed the two boys, either.
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"…No way, Gary."
"Yes way."
"Nuh-uh. You are not getting me into that theatre."
"But I thought you liked scary movies, Satoshi!"
Ash sighed. The two boys had hopped on a bus to Viridian City, which had the closest movie theatre. Right now, they were doing a special feature on horror movies, which, disregarding Gary's comment, Ash hated. He always tried to put on a tough act, but eventually, at some point in the movie, Ash would scream like a girl. And he hated feeling like a girl at the movies.
Now, how often does Ash act like a girl at the movies?
One time, he had to convince both Brock and Tracey to take him to the bathroom when they went to see The Grudge during a random guy's night out. 'Nuff said.
Anyway, he looked at the ticket Gary had given him. The Da Vinci Code was printed in dotted letters.
"Isn't this some kind of…mystery-suspense kind of movie, though?" Gary nodded.
"Yeah, but it's the rush that gets you. There are also a couple gruesome scenes." The older boy shrugged. "The book's better, though." Ash blinked.
"You…went to see this before?"
"Yeah, with Umbreon. She actually sat still throughout the whole movie."
"Well…okay, but-"
"Okay nothing!" Gary exclaimed, taking Ash's hand, "We've got five minutes 'till it goes on, so let's hurry!" The boys walked past the ticket booth and towards the theatre entrance. However, something caught Ash's eye.
"Oh, wait, candy!"
"We have no time!"
"Puh-lease?"
"You're gonna ruin your dinner…"
"I don't caaare…" Gary sighed and let go of his boyfriend.
"Fine, go get candy."
"Yay!" Gary watched Ash go over to the snack bar. He then felt something tugging on his pants leg. He looked down; Pikachu and Umbreon were right next to him.
"Breah, umbreah!"
"Pipikachu!" Gary smiled and kneeled down to their level.
"Didja get it?" He asked in a hushed whisper. Pikachu nodded and pointed to a bag in Umbreon's mouth. Gary smiled. "Perfect. Thanks, guys." Both Pokemon nodded. "Now, I want you two to take it over to the you-know-where. Stay there and guard it, and when we come, hide it in that place we talked about. You follow?"
"Breah!" Umbreon nodded.
"Pi!" Pikachu also nodded. The two Pokemon scurried away. Gary sighed and stood up; he was glad that those two were so understanding and dedicated…yet, all Pokemon seemed to be, after you got to know them.
"I'm back!" Ash pronounced, holding a small bag. "I couldn't decide on which candy, so I got a whole bunch!" He smiled innocently. "I'm sharing with you, 'kay?" Gary blinked, and then smiled.
"Sure, okay."
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"…Whoa…"
"Yeah, I know." Ash turned to Gary, his eyes wide.
"It was him the whole time?" He asked, his voice quiet. Gary nodded.
"Kinda makes you think, huh?"
"Uh-huh." Ash put a Twizzler in his mouth, most of it hanging out. Gary snickered. "What?" Ash asked through his candy.
"You look so cute." Gary leaned in, and bit the other end of the candy piece. He gave Ash a seductive look, which the younger boy could see even in the dim light at the back of the theatre.
"Squee…" Both boys blushed and looked at the row in front of them; a familiar outline had decided to watch them instead of the movie. "Damn, for all the times not to have my camera…"
"D-Dawn?" Ash whispered as he bit off his end of the candy, leaving Gary with the rest of the red licorice. "What the hell, huh?" The yaoi fangirl giggled softly.
"I came to see the movie," She said under her breath, "Imagine my surprise when you two sit right behind me!" She then turned around to face the screen. "Nyah, I wanna see the end of this. I'll bother you tomorrow." The boys blinked, confused.
"…She's weird," Gary muttered. Ash nodded.
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"That was awesome!" Ash exclaimed as he and Gary left the theatre. The older boy smiled.
"Yeah, it wasn't scary, was it?" Ash shook his head.
"Not at all! I was surprised, though…" He looked at Gary, a sly look in his eyes. "I was sure you'd take me to a scary movie just so I'd cling to you the entire time." Gary shrugged, a slight dusting of pink appearing on his cheeks.
"This was a cooler movie, though. Plus, I like sitting though an entire movie. Tracey told me what happened during The Grudge." Ash shivered.
"Trust me, you would've been scared to sleep after that movie. There was this one part where this girl was in her bed, and-" Gary covered his ears.
"No, no, I don't wanna hear it! I haven't seen it yet!" He then cautiously uncovered his ears and looked at Ash, a sneaky smile making its way onto his face. "Well, I know what movie we're watching next, then."
"…" Ash's eye twitched. Gary laughed.
"Oh, come on, I'm just kidding!"
"…"
"…Ash?"
"…We won't see it…right?" Gary blinked. There was something in Ash's eyes, something that Gary hated to see in the usually cheerful eyes of his boyfriend.
"…Right. I won't make you watch it again if you really don't want to." Ash looked over to Gary.
"You…you mean it?" Gary nodded.
"Hey, I wouldn't say it if I didn't." Ash grinned, and he hugged the auburn-haired boy.
"Thanks," He said, his voice muffled by Gary's chest.
All too soon, they let go. Ash cleared his throat; Gary noticed that he seemed slightly embarrassed.
"Uh, so…where're we having dinner?" Gary shrugged.
"I dunno. What do you feel like? It's your birthday."
"Uh…I dunno. What do you feel like?"
"Whatever you feel like."
"…Seriously?"
"Yeah." Gary fished his wallet out of his pocket. "I got my own credit card a couple months ago. As long as we don't spend my whole life savings, we'll be fine." He then smirked. "Too bad we're still too young to drink, huh?" Ash rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, right," he said, slipping his hand into Gary's free one as the walked down the street, "I can wait forever for that stuff. It's nasty." Gary raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? And how would you know?" Ash sighed.
"One time, back when my Dad was around, he was drinking beer…" Gary nodded; he knew about Ash's father. "I was curious, so I snuck some…" He made a sour face. "God, that stuff's crap."
"…You know I was kidding about getting drinks, right?"
"Yeah, I…I know…" Ash moved closer to Gary as they turned a corner.
"I'm sorry." Ash wrapped his arms around Gary's arm.
"I know. Don't apologize, Shigeru."
"But I wanted t-" Ash stopped, which caused Gary to stop as well. "Hm? What's wrong?" Ash untangled one of his arms and pointed across the street.
"Right there; let's go eat there!" Gary followed Ash's outstretched arm with his emerald eyes, and saw what the younger boy was pointing to.
"…" Gary raised an eyebrow. "You sure?" Ash nodded.
"Yeah, I remember going here once. They're really nice here, and it's clean and everything!" Ash glanced down the sides of the street before pulling Gary with him. "It has to be the best diner in Kanto, I'm telling you!"
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"Wow, Ash, it really is nice in here."
"Toldja." Ash and Gary were sitting across from each other in a secluded booth near the kitchen. The boys could hear the chefs talking and the various sounds of cooking even behind the closed kitchen door. The walls were a warm, light brown, and fans spun above every table. There weren't lots of people in the diner, since it was late, but it was inviting and cheery. Ash poked his head into one of the menus on the table. "What are you gonna have?" Gary shrugged as he flipped though his menu.
"I dunno," He answered truthfully, "There's a lot to choose from, actually…what about you?"
"Onigiri," Ash said simply as he closed the menu. Gary rolled his eyes.
"You always get onigiri when we go somewhere. Why not try something else?" Ash shrugged.
"Nothing else looks good," He responded, putting his menu to the side.
"Why not try the mozzarella sticks?" Asked a voice. Both boys turned to see a waitress at the head of their table. Her short, dark brown hair contrasted greatly with her pale skin, and gray blue eyes twinkled behind oval-framed glasses. She had on a peach dress that reached up to her knees and a white and peach striped apron with white socks and peach shoes. A white nametag spelled out "Layne" in peach letters. She winked. "Hey, I'm Layne and I'm your server for tonight. Be good and I'll get you free dessert." The boys blinked in confusion.
"…Eh?" She shook her head.
"Forget it," She said, leaning on the table. "Now, do you guys want anything to drink?"
"…Um, I'll have iced tea. Sweetened," Ash said. Layne pulled out a pad and pencil, and wrote down Ash's order. She turned to Gary.
"What about you?" She asked sweetly. Gary blinked.
"Ah…Diet Coke," He said. Layne nodded as she wrote down the drink order.
"I'll be right back!" She said, and she walked off. Both boys blinked.
"…At least she seems nice," Ash said, picking up his menu again. Gary nodded.
Minutes later, the spunky girl came back with a tray holding two glasses, one with iced tea, another with Diet Coke. She placed the drinks in front of the boys, and winked.
"You boys ready to order?" She asked. Ash nodded.
"Yeah, I…think I'll try those mozzarella sticks." She grinned as she wrote down the order.
"You won't be disappointed; they're really yummy!" She then turned to Gary. "Alrighty, then, what about you?" Gary sighed.
"To be honest, I don't know." Layne 'Hm'-ed and rubbed her chin.
"Well…since your friend wanted those uber-cool rice balls, why don't you get them and then you both share or something?" Both Gary and Ash blinked. "I'm sorry, it was just an idea…"
"It's a good one; let's do that." Both Layne and Ash were surprised. The waitress wrote down the order before rushing off, saying something about their dinner being done soon. Ash raised an eyebrow at Gary.
"You complain when I get onigiri, yet you get them yourself."
"Yeah. She had a good idea."
"…True."
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Gary regretted letting Ash get those mozzarella sticks. Not that he made a mess or anything, but their waitress would look over every once in a while and giggle. And Gary wasn't dumb; he knew what she was thinking about. Trouble was, Gary was thinking the same thing. He blushed as he sipped his soda. Ash looked at him curiously, half a french fry sticking out of his mouth cutely.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked, his mouth full. Gary sighed, and leaned over the table. Curious, Ash leaned over as well.
"Please...never get those things at a restaurant again, even if the waitress recommends them. You are entirely too…cute…when you eat them."
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"Okay, enjoy dinner, boys?" Layne asked as she took their plates away. Gary blushed and looked towards the wall. Ash snorted.
"He's all flustered," Ash said. Gary flinched, and Lanye smirked.
"I'm assuming that's a yes?" She handed the plates to one of the other waitresses and whipped out her pad and pencil. "Well, are you two done for the night, or is dessert next?" Ash poked Gary. The flustered teen looked at his boyfriend.
"What?"
"You want dessert?"
"…Eh, sure, you pick. It's your birthday." Ash smiled and turned to Layne.
"Do you guys still have that brownie and ice cream thing?" Layne nodded.
"Yeah, it's our best seller."
"Great! One of those…two spoons, please." Layne nodded.
"Gotcha, kiddo!" She bounced off. Ash smiled.
"This'll make up for it, I promise," The younger boy said. Gary nodded, still flustered.
"Yeah, yeah…" He then fully registered what Ash said. "Wait, make up for what? It wasn't so bad, just…"
"Arousing?"
"Don't say it like that!" Gary turned a deep red. Ash grinned.
"But you liked it…" He sat back in his seat. "You liiiiiiiked iiiiiiiit…" Gary closed his eyes.
"Yeah, I did." He folded his hands on the table. "I admit it, okay?" Ash placed a hand on top of Gary's. The older boy opened his eyes.
"Okay."
The boys just stared at each other for a while, not talking, just enjoying the presence of the other. They were jolted out of their paradise when someone knocked on their table. The boys removed their hands from the table, blushing slightly.
"Sorry to break up the moment," Layne said, placing a plate in the middle of the table, "But the sugar's here." She placed two spoons on the plate and winked. "Enjoy, lovebirds!" She walked off. Ash and Gary blinked.
"How…how do you think she knows?" Ash asked. Gary shrugged.
"Gay-dar?" He guessed, picking up a spoon. Ash did the same. They shared the yummy dessert for a few minutes…
"…This is really good," Gary said. Ash nodded.
"I know, right?" He scooped some of it up and held it out. "Here, eat." Gary blinked.
"…I'm not a baby, Ash."
"Humor me!" Gary shrugged and opened his mouth.
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"…I shouldn't have let you have chocolate."
"Too late to regret it, Gary!" Ash glomped his boyfriend as they walked home from the Pallet Town bus station. Gary rolled his eyes. It'd taken them longer than expected to get home, seeing as how Layne was practically gushing over them as they paid the bill and left. She had given them a large bag filled with mints, winking sporadically. Gary shivered; as long as she wasn't working, he'd go back there.
"Hey…" Ash looked around and attached himself to Gary's arm. "We're going down the wrong road, I think." Gary smirked.
"I wanted us to spend some time alone before we went home," He said simply. He narrowed his eyes; he could barely make out a giant oak tree in one of Pallet Town's open spaces, on a hill that seemed small, but on top of it, you could see the whole town. "Perfect," He muttered; Ash didn't hear him. The younger boy just looked ahead, also squinting his eyes.
"Hey, isn't that the old tree we used to play under?" Ash asked. Gary nodded.
"Yeah. It's also where we first met…do you remember?" It was Ash's turn to nod.
"Uh-huh…I think we were…what, five? And I was there because…" Ash bit his lip as they neared the tree. "Well, my Dad was yelling, and I was scared, so I ran…"
"You were crying."
"Huh?" Ash looked up to Gary, both boys stopping just yards away. Gary kept his gaze on the tree.
"I was out walking and saw you crying under the tree. I came over and asked what was wrong." Ash saw Gary smile slightly. "You said nothing was wrong. Being a kid, I believed you, and asked if you wanted to play tag." The older boy then turned to his boyfriend, eyes shining with something deep and happy. "We became friends under this tree."
"And…now you wanna make out under it?"
"…No…"
"…Oh. Thought so." Gary chuckled and wiggled out of Ash's grasp, walking over to the tree. He leaned against the trunk and placed his hands at his sides.
"Come on," He said, "Don't leave me hanging." Ash smiled and joined Gary, leaning partly on the tree and partly on the older boy, who put his hand around Ash's shoulders.
They both just stood there for a while, looking out at the sleepy town, enjoying the stars and moon as the only sources of light. It was picturesque, perfect…Gary knew he had to do it now. He looked up; centimeters above his head, a knot hole had been placed by nature, or maybe fate, into the tree. With Ash distracted by the view, Gary, reached his other hand into the hole and felt around…
Ash blinked as he felt Gary fidgeting. "What's up?" He asked, glancing in the older boy's direction Gary froze, and hid his left hand behind his back, but Ash didn't notice.
"Uhm…well…" Gary removed his arm from Ash's shoulders, running his right hand from Ash's left arm until they were holding hands. Ash blushed, but it was a little too dark to see.
"…Gary?"
"Ash, I…I have something very…well, important to say, and…I'm not exactly sure how people start off, but…" Gary let go of Ash's hand and bent down on one knee. Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Gary, what are you…?"
"Ash…" Gary looked into Ash's eyes and swallowed. He withdrew his left hand from behind his back and held out a simple, gold band. "Will you…marry me?"
Ash inhaled suddenly, and felt something in his heart explode in some insane emotion. Adrenaline raced through his veins, and he smiled. Tears ran down his face, one landing on Gary's own face. The older boy blinked in confusion.
"…Ash?" He asked, the hand holding the ring starting to shake.
"…" Ash fell to his knees, his eyes never leaving his boyfriend's. He leaned in and kissed the older boy chastely. He slowly took the ring from Gary's hand and slowly slid it onto his left ring finger.
"Only if I'm not in a dress," The younger boy said simply.
"…You…you got it," Gary choked out; he was shocked and amazed, and a bubble of happiness was quickly expanding in his chest. The boys kissed passionately, and up in the tree, Pikachu and Umbreon cheered in celebration.
And so, the wedding of all time was set into motion.
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A/N: Oh geez…that ending was really obvious. But…I think it came out okay. I was trying to capture the emotion in that last scene, but being sixteen and never proposed to, I'm not sure how it feels…
Well, I think I did okay. I really enjoyed writing this, even if it wasn't as funny as the last one…well, now that I'm required to write something about their wedding, I guess I have to make a sequel that'll make you laugh! It'll still be serious, and probably too long for it to just be a oneshot, maybe I'll divide it into parts…but there will be parts that make you laugh, I promise! And Layne the waitress will return! Heh heh…
So, love it? Hate it? Squeal at the random intervals of cuteness? Tell me! Flames won't bring me down, haters!
Nyah, Ja Ne! - AnimeDutchess