Friends, Rivals, and Lovers

Thanks to licoricejellybean and Defiant Vixen for your reviews! I'm so glad the first chapter went over so well! The last chapter was originally done in first-person from Gary's POV, hence the few typos I noticed where I forgot to change a word to fit the third person format – I fixed them so there shouldn't be any more issues like that.

Chapter Two

Monday morning was beautiful – the sun was high, the sky was clear, and there was enough of a breeze to keep the walking couple comfortable. Tracey kept his head down, eyes focused on the itinerary that he and Brock had written out as he and Gary made their way to Ash's house to depart for the two-week journey they were about to take part in. A stone tumbled past Tracey's foot, obviously having been kicked by something or someone. Turning to face the disgruntled nineteen-year-old who trailed along behind him, he sighed softly as he tried to read Gary's expression; something made harder than usual by the dark sunglasses that concealed his boyfriend's eyes.

"It's not too late to turn back, Gary," he said quietly, though that was the last thing he wanted the boy to do. Despite being nearly to the Ketchum house, the Oak residence was, at most, a ten minute walk from where they were standing currently.

Gary groaned in response and kicked at another rock on the road, causing Tracey to roll his eyes a bit. "I said I was going to go with you, so I'm going," he replied dryly, obviously not happy by the idea.

"Then stop kicking the rocks!"

Gary remained quiet for the rest of the short walk, seeming as though he was lost in his own thoughts until they made it to Ash's house. Much to Tracey's relief, Gary seemed to relax a bit once they were inside the Ketchum home and had eaten a rather hearty breakfast that Delia had prepared for the traveling group. While Ash began chattering on about some of the pokemon they would likely see, Tracey joined Brock in checking their supplies and looked over the weather forecasts for the areas they would be traveling in the next few days – to his pleasure, not only was the weather clear, but they weren't missing anything and Gary had managed to join Ash in a civil conversation.

Despite a rocky start, which had also involved nearly dragging Gary out of bed, things were now going smoothly.

--- --- ---

A soft groan forced Tracey to glance up from his sketchbook as he drew the Kadabra that Ash was currently battling; Gary sat down next to him and he turned his attention back to the sketch. The group was now on Route Twenty-two, quickly making their way west to the Johto region in the mid afternoon. They were making excellent time – better than they had hoped, in fact – Route One had been unsurprisingly deserted and they had reached Viridian City within a few hours before stopping at the Pokemon Center for a quick lunch and then heading straight to the route that they were now on.

"What's wrong?" Tracey asked, shooting another glance at his boyfriend while carefully shading the picture he was working on.

"Nothing, my legs just hurt from walking so much," Gary replied quietly, picking at the grass a bit as he released Umbreon from her pokeball and watched as she ran over to play with Misty's Azurill and Tracey's Marill.

Tracey laughed softly but didn't look up from the sketchbook. "It's amazing how everything only bothers you when you're not home," he commented, thinking of the many injuries he had seen Gary sustain at the lab with barely any complaint.

"I'm not used to walking for six hours straight."

"We haven't been walking for six hours straight – we've taken breaks, Gary. And you're more than capable of spending the entire day surfing at the beach so I don't see how this is any different."

At this point Brock looked up from the maps that he had been reviewing. "No lovers' tiffs, guys; I already had to warn Ash and Misty about that," he interjected lightly as he went back to trying to figure out exactly where on the route they were.

"Oh, is that why they've been so quiet today?"

Brock forced down a small laugh at Gary's comment, part of him was glad that the second-youngest member of the group was joking instead of sulking but another part was a bit annoyed that he had to be so sarcastic. Nearly everything that had been said to the teenager had been met with dry responses, eye rolls, and that never-ending cynicism that Tracey somehow managed to overlook. It wasn't that he didn't approve of his friend's relationship with the young researcher – quite the opposite, in fact – it was just that he had a bit of a hard time seeing how anyone could put up with that sarcasm for over a year. Patient as he was, he was certain that he would grow tired of it but perhaps it was the fact that Tracey dealt with it that showed the depth of the relationship.

As Brock returned to his role of navigator, Tracey shot a small glare at his boyfriend, hoping he would get the point of that please-stop-being-a-brat look that he was giving him. He loved the boy dearly but there were times when Gary would, seemingly deliberately, push him to the edge of his patience. No matter how much Gary had mellowed since Tracey had met him back when he was an arrogant and spoiled thirteen-year-old, he still loved the attention his attitude could earn him and he still enjoyed getting a rise out of people. Still, despite how annoying the sarcasm was getting, Tracey knew Gary far too well to be put off by it – his endless supply of comments indicated that he wasn't as miserable as his slouched posture and scowl would lead one to believe.

Gary sighed softly, seeming to deflate slightly when he received no amusing responses to his remark. With a huff, he stood and headed over to his backpack to find something to amuse himself with while Ash finished up his battle. He could tell that his behavior was starting to get on the nerves of both Brock and Tracey but trying to get a rise out of them was starting to take too much effort on his part. The August heat was starting to get to him, making him drowsy and a bit ill-feeling – a combination that made him want to lay down and sleep for a bit. On top of that, he was sore from walking so much and the straps of his backpack had been digging into the sunburn that he had gotten a few days earlier from stupidly spending the entire day at the beach with a few friends.

Several yards away from his perch on a fallen tree trunk, Ash's Pikachu finished off its opponent and Ash and Misty slapped each other a high-five after the other trainer departed, causing a faint smile to curve Gary's lips in amusement. Years ago, a similar scene would have caused a rather confusing flash of jealousy to well up in him but that was no longer the case. Sighing again, he took a long sip from his water bottle, hoping in vain that the now-warm water would cool him down a bit.

Over by Tracey, Brock folded his map again and placed it in one of his vest pockets as he decided which way to head. Noticing that Ash and Misty had somehow dissolved into a fit of bickering within the last few seconds while Gary had resorted to resting his chin in his hand with a miserable expression on his face, he groaned. "Looks like we'll have our hands full with these three, huh, Tracey?" he asked as the other boy closed his sketchbook and slipped it back into his bag.

"Gary's easy enough to deal with, just leave him to me," Tracey replied with a smile, frowning slightly as he glanced over at his boyfriend. "At least Ash and Misty don't fight as much as they used to."

A laugh escaped Brock as he recalled the pokemon he had released during the break. "That's because there's too much sexual tension between them," he pointed out, noticing that the two had already stopped bickering though Misty seemed to have a faint blush on her cheeks.

"How long do you think we have before we hear that they're dating?"

"I don't know… They've made it this long – maybe a year?" Brock suggested with a shrug. "You know how thick-headed Ash is."

Tracey nodded in agreement, snickering softly as Misty suddenly slapped Ash in the back of the head for some comment that they hadn't heard. "They're already acting like a couple; I'd give them about six months. Nothing to sudden."

Across the small clearing the group was in, Gary rolled his eyes as Ash retorted to Misty's slap, causing the girl to stalk off to where her young pokemon was still playing with Marill and Umbreon. Finally having had enough with the bickering, he spoke up. "Christ, Ash; just kiss the girl already!"

Brock and Tracey both laughed at the sudden comment, noticing the way the other two turned scarlet as they turned to Gary with irritable responses. "Okay, I take back what I said earlier – Gary's easy to deal with on his own and so are the love birds. Together, I think we might have some trouble," Tracey admitted, forcing back an amused smile at the scene unfolding.

"You know, with Gary involved, those two fools might just get together sooner than either of us are betting on."

Tracey nodded once more. "You might be right, but I somehow doubt they'll come around if one of the three of them are dead."

Noticing the way the bickering between the three youngest members of the group had turned into a full-blown argument, the watcher and gym leader stepped in, Tracey taking Gary off to a slightly-secluded part of the clearing to calm him with a few well-placed kisses while Brock stepped between Ash and Misty to break them up. A few long moments later and they were on their way again, Tracey leading a rather smug Gary by the hand in order to keep him away from Ash and Misty in hopes of preventing him from baiting either of the other two. Brock led the group with Ash at his side, claiming that he didn't trust the teen not to wander off and get lost, while Misty trailed along behind them all, silently cursing Gary and his big mouth.

Noticing the way Gary shot a smirk in Misty's direction, Tracey groaned and tugged irritably at his boyfriend's wrist. He couldn't help but wonder if he had thought too soon that things were going smoothly.