Title: All Because of Christmas (revised)

Author: Heart's Blood

Email: zeni24@hotmail.com

Rating: PG13

Summary: It's Christmas and Gary and Ash still hasn't told each other they loved the other. Their friends, Ritchie, Misty and Brock decide to play matchmaker, but it doesn't turn out like they expected...

Author's Notes: Shishi!!! That's all I gotta say

Disclaimer: Pokemon's not mine. Though I'd love to have espeon... it's so cute!

*** change of POV or time gap

"speaking"

'thinking'

telepathetically speaking (most likely from Mew)

All Because of Christmas

by: heart's blood

ages:

Ash Ketchum - 16

Gary Oak - 17

Misty Waterflower - 16

Ritchie - 16

Brock Slate - 18

"Oh come on, Gary. We'll help you!" Misty, Ritchie and Brock were trying to convince Gary to get Ash something for Christmas. When they found out that Ash was gay, it took them awhile to adjust to it, but eventually they did accept it. Nothing of their relationship with him had changed and they were still the best of friends. But when they found out that Gary liked Ash back, but they didn't know if, they began to play matchmaker.

It was Christmas in the land of Johto and Ash and his friends had stayed at the Pokemon Center in Goldenrod to help Nurse Joy take care of the pokemon and decorate the center. They had bumped into Gary who had also stayed and decided, without any complaint from Ash or Gary, that they would spend Christmas together as a tiny family.

Today, Ash had gone out by himself with Pikachu to buy presents for his friends and pokemon. Now he was in his room, working on Gary's present, whom Ash wanted it to be perfect because he was going to tell him how much he like him.

"No, no and no!" Gary could feel himself turning red at the mention of the young League Champion's name. He backed away from Ash's estatic friends.

"Come on Gary. You can tell him how much you love him!" Ritchie exclaimed, jumping up and down on the couch in the waiting room.

"Nuh uh..." Gary shoook his head. The fear that his dark haired angel would laugh at him didn't hurt as much as the fear that he would lose his friendship. They had just started to become best friends again and Gary didn't want to lose the closeness they had together.

"Now just between us," Brock sat down beside the red Gary, "You do love him so very much, so you should tell him!"

Gary shook his head once more. There was only one way out of this torture. "I don't like him! I HATE Ash! He's a pathetic loser who can't even train his pokemon right!" As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he knew he was going to regret them. Especially when he heard something between a whimper and a sob come from someone behind all of them.

When he turned around, his heart almost stopped.

Ash, looking beautiful in his black cargo pants and his giant green sweatshirt stood at the door, with Pikachu at his feet. His long black bangs were in front of his face, covering the eyes that Gary loved so much. In his hands was a beautifuly wrapped gift.

Being at the age of 16, Ash had grown to be a very handsome young man. His boyish and innocent face was still on shi face and sometimes his friends thought that he couldn't get more naive, but they knew that he had grown. He was very tall now, not as tall as Gary, but you could see the muscles on his upper body from his pokemon training.

As Gary snapped out of his day dream when he saw a few drops of water fall to the ground. Tears...

"Pika..." Pikachu whimpered, feeling her trainer's sadness.

Misty looked to the young League Champion to his best friend and back again. Ash hadn't cried since... since his mother and everyone else was killed when Team Rocket destroyed his hometown, Pallet Town. (Just a note: This is a bit AU and Team Rocket actually didn't destroy Ash's hometown...)

Gary felt his heart crumble when he saw his best friend crying. 'Oh God, what did I do? Ash... I'm so sorry...' He thought. A bit later, he finally picked enough courage to speak. "Ash..." He said hesistantly.

At the sounds of another human's voice, the black haired boy brought his head up, his eyes meeting with Gary's

The flame-haired boy almost drowned in the pain and despair that his best friend's eyes held. He looked away, not wanting to see how much pain Ash was going through.

Ash took this as an answer to his unasked question.

No...

It was true...

'Why did I ever think that he would like me back?' He berated himself. Without thinking, he dropped the gift he was holding and ran out the door, into the dark of a cold December night.

His faithful Pikachu dived for the present. She knew exactly what was inside and she knew that it had costed Ash a lot to get it made. He had confided in his pokemon, Pikachu especially, when he was choosing the gift. Thanks to her training, the yellow electric rat was able to catch the present and with a "pika" she handed it wordlessely to Gary, giving him a tiny shock for making her trainer so sad.

Then she ran out the door. "Pikapi! [Ash!]" She called, but it was no use. Her trainer was out of sight. "Chuu... [Noo...]" Pikachu wailed, the tears running down his cheeks as she ran from the room and jumped in Ash's bed, burying her grief in the blankets which still held his scent.

Misty was ready to start yelling at Gary for making her best friend cry, when Brock gave her a let-Gary-be-alone sign. She nodded and silently took Ritchie's arm and they walked out, leaving Gary to his regret.

The left redhead boy looked blurrily at the gift before him. "I'm so sorry, Ash..." He said, hoping that the wind might somehow carry his words to the one he loved. Then he took the present and examined it. Just by looking at how it was wrapped, Gary knew that Ash took a lot of his time and money to make it.

The wrapping paper was a metallic purple colour. His favourite colour. He carefully pulled at one end of the red ribbon and the wrapping paper came undone. There was no need for Gary to get scissors to cut it, or to ripe it. Ash had thought of everything.

Then he looked at it. Inside was a tiny box, whichi held an intricate and delicate sculpture of a poketo pokemon. An eevee. His eevee. The first pokemon that he had gotten. Also the one that he had stolen from Ash, 14, almost 15 years ago. He knew that Ash didn't mind because he had his beloved Pikachu, but the fact that he hadn't trusted Ash... Gary knew that that had hurt a lot. And was one of the main points why their friendship hadn't last.

Gary took the sculpted eevee out an peered at the bottom. There was something engraved there. It said:

To Geru-chan,

Merry Christmas.

Your best friend forever,

Ash

Just those few words caused Gary's eyes to water. He clutched the eevee close, careful of not breaking it and he cried for the first time in many, many years. 'I'm so sorry, Ash...'

***

Ash ran. He didn't care where, he just needed to think. He looked at his surroundings and found that he had just passed the Radio Tower, but he ran some more. Only when he needed to breath, did he stop running and look around. The Azelea Forest. He knew where he could find a cave where he could spend the night in. Walking while looking for it, he thought, 'I'll go back in the morning. Pikachu will be worried.'

Unknowingly he ran into a sleeping Beedrill and it's stinger dug deep into his shoulder. But he didn't even notice it, too busy thinking about Gary.

He sat down inside the cave and curled up. 'God it's cold...' He wrapped his arms around his legs and fell asleep, not feeling the tiny prick or the poison which spread slowly through his body.

***

"Pi..." Pikachu sighed after everyone was asleep. She had cried herself dry, trying not to think of her poor Ash out in the dark and cold night. Unknowingly, she had accidently pressed onto one of the red and white poketo-baruus that held the rest of Ash's team. A red glow came from the ball and Squirtle appeared.

"Squirt ttle Squirtle? [What's wrong?] He asked, moving his round, blue head to one side.

"Pikapi kachu pi. [Ash ran off.]" Pikachu told him.

"Squirtle squirt? [He abandoned us?!] The tiny blue turtle asked, shocked. It didn't seem like Ash to do that to them. He had always treated him very nicely, just like his best friends.

"Chuu... [Noo...]" Pikachu wailed.

Squirtle took this as denial and he patted the upset pokemon's back. "Squirttle... [it's ok...]" He said softly. "Tle squirt squirt. [We'll get through somehow.]"

"Chu! [No!]" The yellow electric pokemonhouted, horrified that Squirtle would think that Ash had abandoned them. "Pika, pi pikachu, kachu pikapi... [Gary said that he hated Ash, so he ran off crying...]" She explained.

As soon as Squirtle heard this, he was mad. "'ttlee Squirtle squirt... [As soon as I get my hands on him...]"

All of Ash's pokemon knew how much their trainer cared for Gary. They all knew that he was going to tell Gary about his feelings during Chrsitmas.

"Pika pikachu pi kachu... [We need to find Ash first, we don't want a Ash-sicle...]"

Squirtle giggled at the thought but stopped when he caught the muderous glare that Pikachu had sent his way. "Squirt! [Alright!]"

Together, they pulled out all off Ash's pokeballs and released the pokemon inside.

"Zar! [I was sleeping!]" Charizard protested loudly.

"'ba saur bulba? [Is it morning already?]" Bulbasaur asked sleepily.

"Chiko ri chiko? [Where's my Ash?]" Chikorita asked, looking around the room. Then finding no Ash, she frowned.

"Mew..." Mew yawned. Why are we up so early? She asked everyone telepathetically.

"quil da... [I'm hungry...]" Cyndaquil said then fell back asleep against Pikachu.

"Pi ka CHUU! [Quiet!]" Pikachu gave them all a tiny shock.

Everyone turned towards her and they tilted their heads to the left, almost mechanically. "[Hmmm?]"

Pikachu and Squirtle took turns telling them the story, but Squirtle was exagerating it a bit. Okay, well more then a bit. "[So Gary slapped Ash and they rolled around fighting, and then when he realized what he did, Ash took a knife and-]" He stopped after Pikachu gave him a giant shock, just not big enough to wake everyone up. She almost fried the poor turtle, then while she waited for him to recover, she told them the right story.

"[Why he!]" Charizard roared out loud. He and the other pokemon were about to stomp out when the smaller, yellow pokemon stepped in the way.

"[We need to find Ash before we get a Ash-sicle.]"

Everyone laughed at the joke, but Pikachu didn't funny it funny at all so she shocked them again.

"[Oww...]" Bulbasaur complained. Although he was a grass/poison type and they aren't easily fried by electric types, Pikachu was almost at level 100 and she was pretty powerful. (Remember, Pikachu frying Brock's Onix?)

Nodding, they all set off out in the cold while Pikachu looked around one more time. Surprisingly, no one was awake. As she passed Gary, she noticed that he was holding the sculpture her trainer had made for him, and that his face held tear marking.

'Maybe he does care...' Pikachu thought as she followed her fellow pokemon on their search to find Ash.

***

"Pikachu? Pikachu? Where are you?"

Gary woke to the sound of Misty's shrill voice. "Morning Gary. Have you seen Pikachu?" The redhead burst into the waiting room where Gary was just starting to get up.

He shook his head and yawned.

"Crap! Ash is gonna kill me for losing his first pokemon!" Misty said, frowning. She was heading towards Ash's room when Gary called to her. "Oi, Misty! Maybe the other pokemon know!"

Misty stood there and looked back. She smiled slightly and Gary was glad that she had forgiven him for making Ash cry. "Thanks." Then she ran out, shouting Pikachu's name on the way.

Gary smiled a bit, then remembering what had happened the night before, he frowned. 'Oh no... what did I do?' He asked himself. Before he could burst into tears again, Ritchie walked in yawning. "Hey..." He greeted Gary sleepily. Brock followed him in, already dressed in his pink apron, obviously ready to help Nurse Joy and her Chansey with breakfast.

"It's time for breakfast!" He called out and the two teens walked over to the tables and sat down while Brock went to the kitchen to cook.

He, Nurse Joy and her Chansey made a terrific breakfast, but Gary ate almost none of it. He wasn't hungry. He smiled, thinking of how Ash would be stuffing his face if he were here at the moment. 'Ash...' Gary remembered. 'I need to apologize.' He was about to stand when Misty walked in, holding six pokeballs in her hands.

She was dressed in happy colours; yellow sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, but her face held a frown.

The guys all looked towards her. "What's wrong?" Ritchie asked his girlfriend. (I did mention that they were going out right? Opps... Gomen) Misty sighed and sat down in the empty chair beside him. She looked around at everyone's face then sighed again. "They'll all gone... and Ash hasn't come back yet..." She told them, placing the pokeballs on the table in front of her.

Gary panicked and his face paled. "Shit..." He muttered under his breath, then he raised his voice to speak. "What do you mean he hasn't come back yet?" He asked.

Misty looked tiredly towards the angry teen. "I mean, Ash never came back last night."

"You mean he's still out there?" Ritchie asked. He was wide awake now that his girlfriend had just stated that his best friend was out in the cold and stormy December day. Misty nodded.

Brock lookd at the people at his table. Gary was furious at himself and both Misty and Ritchie looked as if they were goingto faint any time soon.

"Let's calm down." He said, talking for the first time since the redheaded Cerulean Gymleader walked in the room. "I mean, his pokemon aren't here right? Then that means Ash took them out with him. He'll be fine. No one can beat his Pikachu." He tried to reassure his friends, but they were not easily reassured.

Misty shook her head, disagreeing. "Ash left without his pokemon. Pikachu and the others must be out in the cold searching for him right now."

Gary was so pale that he looked like a ghost. "Wait... it's not like it's Ash's first night out by himself... right?" He asked when everyone gave him an uneasy look. "Right?" He asked again.

They all looked at each other, searching for a spokesman/woman. Ash had never been out by himself. He first day he left Pallet Town, he met up with Misty and then Brock and Ritchie Joyned. They have been travelling together ever since, and they never left each other's side.

Looking at the faces, Gary already knew the answer. And it was a yes. "Holy shit..." The brown-haired rival of Ash's swore and reached for his coat.

"Wait, we're coming too." The friends grabbed their own coats and they ran out the door, leaving a wondering Nurse Joy who had just walked out of the kitchen with her Chansey.

"Um..." She asked no one. "I guess that means you're done... right?

***

"Pikapi! [Ash!]" Pikachu called out frantically. No one answered. "Pikapi! [Ash!]" She called again.

Behind the giant Pokemon Radio tower, she could hear Squirtle calling out for their trainer as well. "'squirt!!! [Ash!]"

In the distance, the yellow rodent could also hear all her friends looking for their lost trainer, but to no luck.

Then she thought she heard Misty, Ritchie, Brock and Gary calling out Ash's name as well. Her sharp ears pricked up, but she didn't hear anything else after. Sighing, she went to find the others, hoping that no one was watching them and mistaking them for wild pokemon. 'Damn... Mew...' She thought. She would have attracted lots of attention. Not many people encounter a Mew; meaning that Ash was one of the luckiest people to catch one.

[Mew?] Pikachu thought telepathetically. She knew that Mew could hear her.

And she thought right because a few seconds later Mew answered her. 'Yup?'

[You okay?] Pikachu asked.

'Of course. Never been better.' Mew said.

"Pi?" Pikachu was confused that she didn't notice that she had spoken out loud instead of thinking what she said.

'I turned myself into a human boy.' Mew explained. 'I figured my appearance would make people... excited.' She chuckled lightly.

[Well thats good.] Pikachu sighed in relief. [Tell the others to find somewhere that we could hide. It's almost night.] She felt Mew nod in her head and felt the tingly feeling which meant that Mew had left her head.

***

On the other side of town...

"Ash?" Gary called out. "Ash!" His voice boomed off the alley and echoed back. Then, seeing a flash of pink, he stopped. "Ash?" He asked hopefully.

It wasn't.

A pink cat-like animal flew past him and into the darkness. One moment it was there, and when Gary blinked, it was gone. 'A Mew?' Gary thought. 'But then... waitaminute...' He argued in his head. 'A Mew is wayy too rare... It's not possible...' But something was familiar about this pokemon. Sitting on a bench under a lightpost, he thought hard. Then it came to him. 'Ash has a Mew!' Gary remembered almost fainting when he saw Ash win his title of Pokemon Master with a Mew by his side.

He jumped up and tried looking for it. 'It must be looking for him!' He concluded. If he could find the Mew, then he might find Ash!

But walking around only gave him exercise and no further clue to where the young Pokemon Master could be. Several times he thought he saw some of Ash's pokemon around, but when he looked closer they seemed to disappear.

'Please Ash... be alright...' Gary thought into the night sky.

***

Although Gary didn't know it, Ash was anything but alright. He had spent his day trying to avoid any wild pokemon, but it was unsuccessful. His last encounter with a Scyther proved it. (Yes I know Scyther's cannot be found in the Azealea Forest, but I don't know what else to put here. Plus, it's my story.) He had deep cuts down his back which he had tried to stop the bleeding, but to no avail. His arm felt as if it was lead. He couldn't move it, and he was also starving to death since the last meal he had was last night's dinner.

He had tried crawling back to Goldenrod, but he couldn't find his way. His sight was too blurry that he couldn't even tell which way was up and which way was down.

Unknowingly to him, he had crawled the wrong way and ended up in Azealea Town. He finally slumped down at the entrance. 'Please... Pikachu... Gary... help me...' was his last thoughts. Then he fainted and everything turned black...

***

"MEW!" Mew shrieked as she woke up from one of the worst sights she's ever seen. She saw Ash... Her Ash. Her trainer. And he looked horrible. His jet black hair stuck to his face with something. Something red. He didn't look too well. His clothes were all covered with dirt and most of all, blood.

"Pika? [What?]" Pikachu woke up the Mew's yells. "Pikachu chu pi? [What's wrong?]" She asked.

'It's Ash... I found him...' Mew said.

Pikachu's heart was overjoyed. But she knew something was wrong. Nyuu would be happy if their trainer was found. "Chu? [What is it?]" She asked the pink cat-like pokemon frightfully.

'He's... he's... not too good...'

***

heart's blood: There's one chapter!! I'm thinking I should change my name.... my MSN name is Heart's Blood... maybe that... well, Read and Review! Look for the next chapter! Ja ne!