Chapter 2

Maybe Gary was just trying to save himself the embarrassment, but he came to realize that maybe, just maybe, he would have a better chance of finding Evelyn if he called out her name. But would she even hear? Would she even respond to him? Feeling helpless, he decided to speak up; it was worth a chance after all. He took a moment to calm himself. Clearing his throat, he called out in an uneven voice, "Evelyn?" He took a couple steps down the stairs. "Evelyn?" he repeated louder. "Where are you?" When he reached the bottom, he looked around once more. The entire house appeared as dead as ever. He tried not to make his imaginative thoughts wander, but they seemed to do that on their own. What if someone came and kidnapped her while he was asleep? Had she gotten lost within the house? Injured herself and passed out? At this rate, he would never be able to find her!

Just then, he heard a soft hiccup come from within a nearby coat closet. Gary froze at the sound as he felt the air around him freeze. His eyes then darted to the closet and stared at it intently. He inhaled softly, held his breath and slowly opened the closet door to peer inside. As light filled in the darkness in the closet, he could make out a small figure huddled in the corner. Evelyn.

He let out his breath in relief. "There you are." His face softened as the two locked eyes. But in doing so, he had also noticed how Evelyn's eyes quickly flickered around the confined closet space. "What are you doing hiding in there? I was looking everywhere for you," he asked in a concerned tone; he wasn't raising his voice, only making his question clear for her to understand. Evelyn remained silent, huddling her knees closer to her body. Gary could tell she was trying to avoid his gaze, but every so often her eyes would curiously flash over to him.

"Evelyn?" Gary tried again and took a step forward. Immediately, Evelyn cowered back, biting her lip as if something terrible would spill from her lips if she didn't. Gary froze at her reaction and then returned to his previous position, worried that she would start crying and screaming if he proceeded any further; and then how would he handle calming her down? She wasn't like all the women he screwed around with. She was an innocent child, and he wouldn't be able to leave her whenever he wanted to like he did with those women.

Gary pressed on, being careful not to sound frightening. "Okay, I'm not sure what happened, but why don't you come out of the closet now and I'll help you get ready for bed?"

Despite his kind proposition the child shook her head violently, refusing to move from her spot in the corner. This left Gary dumbfounded, and he struggled to find the next set of words to say.

Exactly what had happened in the last two hours that had caused her to behave this way? He hoped it wasn't because of the scene when they were washing dishes. The thought of it made him want to punch the wall next to him. Again.

He couldn't handle taking care of a three-year-old when he didn't even know how to. Having to carefully filter his words and actions was too much for Gary to think through. He was more of a person who acted in the moment, and adapting to a new style wasn't worth it for Evelyn's sake. But this time. Just this once. Gary Oak would do something that the public rarely saw him do.

Gary counted to three in his mind (he needed the extra push otherwise he would have backed out), and then knelt forward on one knee and extended a friendly hand out. "Evelyn," he started softly, "What's wrong?"

The child finally looked over and burst out of the corner and into his arms at the sight of his sincerity. Gary was taken aback and almost fell over from her ramming into his arms but he luckily managed to catch himself. Evelyn tried to muffle the sound of her crying by hiding in his chest. The warmth of her delicate body startled him; he didn't expect her to be so light, so fragile, and so full of life. His hands hung out awkwardly around her, almost afraid to touch this angel sent to him. When finally he felt wetness from the tears on his shirt, he pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Shhh," Gary hushed, patting her back gently. It wasn't that no one ever saw him being kind. But no one ever saw the Gary Oak genuinely caring for another human being. There was a difference when he was being a flirt, and when he actually cared. "What's the matter, Evelyn?"

Evelyn choked on her sob while trying to get the words out of her mouth. "I-I… I d-don't…. I don't want Garry to throw me away!" She burst out into another full out sob and hid her face in Gary's chest. Gary's heart almost sank as her words echoed in mind.

All this time he had assumed she was a happy-go-lucky child who was ridiculously cheerful all the time. But there was one thing Gary had overlooked; at the root of it all, Evelyn was human and needed nurturing more than anything in the world right now. Here she was trying to keep herself strong after being left by her mother, being afraid of her father, and being in the middle of a family crisis; and despite all that she still tried her best to make Gary happy. And the one thing that she was worried about was him throwing her out of the house.

Gary pulled her closer to him and stroked her soft, warm brunette hair; he was quite experienced with women after all, and even though Evelyn was no woman, he could at least comfort her in a similar fashion. At least this time, there was sincerity to it.

After a couple minutes of staying silent and listening to Evelyn's sobbing, Gary pulled her an arm's distance away and studied her porcelain face. "Evelyn…" he uttered softly. "Evelyn… Evelyn" he repeated, each time a little bit louder to grab her full attention. "Evelyn. Look at me." Finally, she lifted her face from her sobbing and looked at him through her teary eyes as the tears trailed down her cheek. She hiccupped and sniffled, trying to control herself but she couldn't help but break out crying as she stared back. The two managed to make direct eye contact and remained that way until Gary broke the silence.

"Evelyn, listen to me." He firmed up his grip on her arms, but was careful not to hurt her. "I am not going to leave you, okay? I will not throw you away."

Evelyn stared at him in disbelief and then bit down on her bottom lip, still quivering ever so slightly.

"I-I don't want you to lie to me," she said through her sniffles. Gary felt trapped. This girl was smart enough to see through his words and even himself personally. There was no getting around her. If he tried for a moment to derail her, it would only come back to bite him hard in the end. And this was something Gary could not afford himself to get tangled up with.

With a sigh, Gary slowly blinked to reconfigure himself and loosened his grip on the child. "Okay, girl. I'm done trying to play the role of a good guardian and saying the things everyone expects you to say. I can't do it." He sat up against the wall in defeat, causing Evelyn to settle her cries and look at him in confusion.

"W-what you mean?" she asked. "I want Garry to be Garry."

She crawled over to him and knelt in front of him, wary not to invade on his personal space. He glanced over at her again, clearly still in deep thought. Her eyes had already begun to turn red and puffy, and her nose was still running from all her crying. He noticed the desperation in her shining eyes. How was it that she appeared so happy before? How was it that she was this intelligent already? What did Hilda do to raise her to be so… well behaved? Almost like a perfect child. Gary was convinced that Hilda should have named her Mary Sue when she was born.

"Evelyn, can we try something?"

"Try sumthing?" she questioned.

"Yeah. Give me your pinky."

Evelyn stared at him, not knowing what to do. When Gary held out his pinky finger, Evelyn did the same, and he locked their pinkies together.

"This is called a pinky promise. Can you say that for me?"

"Pinky promise," she repeated slowly while staring intently into his eyes.

"Good. Don't forget okay? Because this is extremely important. Let me know that you won't forget."

Evelyn nodded her head understandingly to Gary's surprise and he took that as a sign to continue.

"Has your mom told you what a promise is?"

The little girl nodded her head again. "She pwomised me dat I would be okay."

Gary took in the girl's words. "Right. And you know how important promises are, right? You should never make a promise that you can't keep."

"Are we gonna make a promise?"

"We are," Gary started and then wrapped his other hand around the locked pinkies in affection. "But since this is a pinkie promise, it's going to be even more important, okay? You absolutely cannot break this promise."

"Okay," she agreed.

Gary took a breath and then hoped that Evelyn would be able to understand the following words that came out of his mouth. "Evelyn, I'm not the best person in this world. Sometimes I do bad things. But for you, I promise you…" he made to look at her in the eyes when he spoke. "… I promise you, that until your mother comes to get you again, I'll take care of you the best that I can. But until that time, we both have to be honest with each other, okay? No lying. Even if you want to lie, don't. We have to tell each other the truth. And also, please just be yourself. And I will be too, okay? Sometimes you'll see me acting silly or funny. But that's okay. Evelyn, if you want to laugh, then laugh. If you feel mad, be mad. If you want to cry… then cry. I don't want you to be scared, but I won't hide anything from you, even if that means it might be a little scary at first. I'll be here to help you through it all. I apologize in advance because I'm still learning too, so I won't be perfect at taking care of you. We'll teach each other though, okay? You teach me… and I'll teach you."

He almost wanted to hide his face from that cheesy speech, but stayed in place with their pinkies locked. Arceus, did she even understand a word he said? He was telling this to a three-year-old!

"Promise…?" Evelyn finally spoke. Gary was unsure if she actually comprehended everything he had just said in one go, or if she had only picked up on certain words. Nonetheless, she had understood enough of it to know they were making a promise. Gary would probably remind her of the details as the days passed. He did, in fact, mean everything he said in that promise. With Evelyn's cooperation being the intelligent girl she was, they could probably manage such a relationship. Gary really hoped so. He couldn't stand changing who he was for another person, but was willing to improve upon himself if he could.

"Promise," he agreed and tightened his grip on their pinkies.

x – x- x

They kept their pinkies locked while they gazed at the millions of stars in the sky. It was absolutely peaceful with the warm breeze and the vast open sky in front of them.

"Promise, Ash?" Misty smiled lightly while looking directly into the depths of his eyes.

"It's a promise Misty. There's no way I'm breaking this." He placed his other hand over both of theirs. "Ever," he added for reassurance and they both smiled, huddling into each other's arms again.

"I'm so happy! I want to stay like this forever," Misty whispered.

"Me too." Ash gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hey, you know the fireworks are starting soon! We should be able to get a really good view from here!"

Misty's eyes lit up. "Fireworks! I haven't seen them up close in so long! I can't wait! And it'll be extra special watching them with you." She gazed lovingly at him, not taking her eyes off of him for even a second. She loved the way his black hair had that messy touch to it and framed his face in a sexy manner. His baby face had matured into an adult's; a look of kindness and determination was written all over it. Misty noticed that Ash's lips were slightly apart, basically inviting her to take them with her lips. But before she did, she wondered which other girls had also kissed his perfect lips, touched his perfect body, and if they were able to be in complete bliss with him. The thought made her hesitate to do anything.

"Ash…" she started to ask, but didn't want to ruin the moment just yet.

"Hm?" Ash replied instantly, leaning in closer until he closed the gap between their lips. Misty never got a chance to finish her sentence. She was enwrapped by his scent, the warmth that radiated from his touch, and his soft lips kissing hers, sending chills everywhere in her body.

"Misty…" Ash whispered her name, taking control and slowly lowering her until she was lying on the bench. He rose slightly to loosen up the sash tied around his waist and then caressed her skin softly. Misty stiffened as his fingers spread open her kimono, revealing more of her skin.

"A-Ash, we're in public…" Misty stated nervously. It was still her first time after all, and she didn't want to take it that far in such an environment. He gave a low chuckle and placed a gentle kiss on her neck.

"I guess we'll save the excitement for later," he said with a wink. The red head blushed and sat up again, resting her head against her lover's shoulder.

"You're still… a virgin right?"

Ash laughed heartedly. "Yes, I am. Don't worry."

"Ah, I wouldn't have minded if you weren't. I'm just a hopeless romantic is all." Her eyes lowered in hopes to avoid his gaze.

"Hey that's all right. I can understand how you would want to save something so special for the right person. That's what makes it special."

Misty smiled. "I'm glad you're so understanding. Thank you Ash. So, do you have any master plans yet or were you thinking of settling down for a bit?

The lover wrapped his arm around Misty's shoulder, pulling her even closer. "Actually, the Pokémon League has provided me with a job that pays enough to sustain myself, and it's the closest I've been to being a Pokémon master right now!"

"A Pokémon master? Are you still chasing after that childish dream?" the girlfriend playfully teased.

"Hey! It's been my dream for so long, there's no way I'm giving up on it now!" Ash's childish excitement caused her to laugh and snuggle into his chest. "Actually…" Ash continued, "There's a nice place at the Pokémon League that I've been thinking of buying. Not too big, not too small, looks nice and homey and it's affordable!"

Misty turned to eye Ash, slightly worried that if Ash moved there, they wouldn't be able to be with each other as often as she would have liked. "Really? That's pretty vague. Judging from your tastes, I wonder how it really looks like." She giggled. "Not that you would be staying at the place much anyways. You're always on the go." Her worries lessened when she saw Ash smile and rub the back of his neck nervously; Misty really hoped he would say what she thought he was going to say.

"I might be rushing this but… I was thinking maybe if things go well, we could live there together- just as a couple for now. You know, and then we'd be able to be with each other more and… I mean- I know you still have responsibilities as a gym leader in Cerulean, but maybe we could work something out and-" Ash trailed off, hoping Misty caught on to what he was trying to say.

The girlfriend bit on her lip to contain her excitement, before throwing herself at Ash, hugging him with all her strength. "Oh Ash! Yes, I would love that so much!"

Life was finally perfect. That was the only thought going through the lovers' mind as they embraced each other for the umpteenth time that day. And as Ash stroked his girlfriend's soft, red hair, her name echoed in his mind. The name that he hoped would continue to be his forever.

Misty.

Misty.

Misty…

x – x – x

Garry…

"Garry~"

Evelyn entered Gary's room in her pink panda pajamas that Gary had helped her into.

"What is it Munchkin?" the brown-haired man replied while sitting atop his bed, turning the page of a magazine containing the latest gossip and dramatic tragedies with today's celebrities- not that he cared much for it; just that he found the articles to be so stupid that they were funny.

"Can you read me story?" Evelyn asked in her sweetest voice.

"I don't have any bedtime stories." He continued flipping through his magazine, but Evelyn wouldn't let the subject go.

"What stories do you have?"

Gary let out a mischievous smirk. "Not age appropriate for you," he replied in a teasing manner.

"Why nottt?" Evelyn whined.

"You won't like it," he continued, his smile growing wider by the second.

"Yes I will!" she insisted, making Gary laugh aloud at her innocence.

"Just go to sleep, girl."

"But mommy reads me story…" she continued with a pouty face.

"I'm not mommy."

"Pweeze," she insisted, gazing into Gary's eyes, her eyes widening as they met intently with his. Gary tried to look away but his eyes kept curiously wavering over to her figure. Her heart shaped lips jutted out in desperation, complementing the cute outline of her face. Oh come on. Don't make that cute baby face at me… It made it impossible to decline.

Gary gave in, irritated that he fell weak to her once again. "Fine. How about I just tell you a story?"

"But I want pictures too!"

Are you serious? Gary frowned at her neediness, but he couldn't be mad at her. She was a child at heart. But how was he going to tell her a bedtime story if he didn't even know how bedtime stories went? It had been years since he was last read a bedtime story… He pondered for a bit before finally speaking. "Here's what we'll do. We'll make a story, and I'll draw the pictures as I tell the story, okay?"

"Will the pictures be pretty?" Evelyn asked worriedly while climbing onto Gary's bed.

"Of course they will!" Gary helped her onto the bed and then searched around for scrap pieces of paper and a pen. Luckily those items were on a nearby desk; he grabbed them with ease, settling himself across from the child. Now to think of a story…

"All right! Now… Once upon a time there lived a loser named… Ash Ketchum!" He started drawing a funny looking boy on the paper in front of him. His art skills weren't the best but at least you could tell what the drawing was.

The little girl tilted her head dramatically to look at Gary's face. "Why is he a loser?"

"You'll see," he replied with another mischievous smirk. "One day, ten-year-old Ash Ketchum was so excited about getting his first Pokémon and travelling the world. In fact, he was so excited that he overslept the next morning and missed out on all the starter Pokémon!"

x – x – x

"But if it wasn't for that fact that I had overslept, none of this would have led up to where we are now." Ash grinned, holding his precious angel in his arms as the two gazed at the painted starry sky. From all their excitement, they spent the rest of the night talking, caught up in past memories: memories they shared together and memories they had while separated. Each memory starting with an outburst of "Oh! And do you remember the time when…?" followed by joyful laughter and a shower of light kisses. This game of Remember When continued until it reached the eventful day when Ash Ketchum first started his Pokémon adventure- the day he first met Misty.

"Things sure have changed," Misty commented in retrospect. "It's always so strange how the tiniest flutter can make such a huge difference… how every event lines up one after another and everything is affected by that one instance." She paused and glanced lovingly at Ash. Her cerulean eyes sparkled, mirroring the depths of the night around them. "I could lose you in an instant, before I even knew what was happening."

The lover took Misty's hand into his and squeezed it tight for reassurance. "You're getting too philosophical now, worrying about losing me in your life." Ash gave a big, hearty smile. "I know we just got together and spilled out our feelings from twelve years ago and that's it's taken us this long to be together; but it's here now. We're here now. Our future together won't be taken away from us. And I wouldn't leave you for the world, Misty."

"So you're admitting that you've loved me since the first day we met? Back when you stole my bike?" Misty teased with a smirk. The boyfriend blushed slightly.

"Er- I don't know. I was only ten years old at the time! I wasn't thinking about girls yet!" The two erupted into laughter before Ash recollected himself again and leaned back comfortably. "But really, Misty. Forever and always, remember?"

Misty shook her head lightheartedly but retained a smile. "That's proven through actions and time mister, not words."

"Well then, how's this for actions and time?" Ash challenged and sprung at Misty, capturing her lips with his and wrapping his arms around her petite figure. Misty kissed him back but then quickly tried to push him off of her, not wanting to be defeated in their little game.

"Hey! That's not fair!" she giggled before stepping away from the bench. She returned to her lover, climbing onto his lap and straddling herself in front of him. "You don't get to end all our disputes by making out with me!"

"But it works, right?"

"Aww shaddup," Misty countered while trying to hide her smile, knowing that he was right.

Just as Ash was about to brag his victory, a dazzling red light flew into the sky, capturing his eye and rendering him speechless. The red head noticed his silence and was about to question him when she heard a thundering boom from behind her. She turned her head to see a beautiful design array the midnight blue sky. Another bright light followed after, and then another and another, until the night was exploding with colours displayed in intricate designs and even of various recognizable Pokémon.

"Fireworks!" Ash exclaimed, a wide open smile strewn across his face. Misty shared in the excitement, positioning herself to get a better view. As the two continued to watch the fireworks show, they felt a cordial unity towards each other. Their fingers interlaced as they rested on the bench, silently admiring the beauty of the visual display.

Another whistle sounded as another bright light sailed into the night.

x – x – x

Boom! The repeated explosions became more prominent as Gary and Evelyn were in the middle of competing to see who could draw the better Pikachu. As the explosions continued, they both froze to confirm what they were hearing.

"What's that?" Evelyn asked still holding a pen in her tiny hand.

"Sounds like fireworks. I think there's a festival going on here in Pallet," Gary answered with a hint of curiosity.

At this, Evelyn dropped her pen and jumped to her feet. "Can I see?!" she requested, already dancing on the bed in excitement.

The guardian hesitated for a moment so he wouldn't appear as excited as he was actually feeling inside. Since he was curious anyways, he agreed nodded his head. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look. Come on, we can get a better view from the balcony."

"YAYYY!" The three year old hurriedly slid off the bed wearing a ginormous smile and followed Gary to the nearby door leading to his room's balcony. The warm summer breeze greeted the two at the first crack of the door opening. Stepping onto the spacious balcony, Gary observed the environment around him. He found tranquility with the darkened sky and the breeze that caressed his face. Evelyn spread her arms apart like she was welcoming the world around her. Her eyes closed every so often and she inhaled the fresh air, absorbing the freedom of the outside world.

The fireworks flashed, colouring the infinite canvas with its essence. A small smile crawled upon Gary's face as he gazed into the distance where the event was taking place. Yes, it had definitely been a long time since Gary felt that he was actually living life, experiencing something as simple as fireworks. It was like finding lost treasure. Beside him, Evelyn watched the scene in awe. Her round face seemed to glow, emanating an aura of purity and happiness. What distracted her was that the railings were slightly blocking her view since she was so short. The child lightly tugged on Gary's jeans, grabbing his attention.

"Can I be up too?" Her eyes gleamed with hope. Gary decided that tonight was truly the one night where he would allow himself to act so warmhearted. He carefully picked Evelyn up and sat her on top of the railings. Thankfully the railings were wide enough for her tiny figure to safely sit upon. As a precaution, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, snuggling her warmly to prevent her from falling. He was sure that no other parent would have done this with their child, but Gary wasn't like most parents. He wanted to break the barrier.

"Wow! So pwetty! Look Garry!" the little girl shouted, pointing at the cascading lights. Her legs swung back and forth rapidly from exhilaration, but Gary's tight hold kept her firmly in place.

Those fireworks ignited new beginnings, second chances, and an opportunity to enjoy the present. Before disappearing into the ether, we soared into the unknown regions. Our limitless desires propelled us forward. Not even the almighty Arceus could have planned out our harmonious relations.

After all…

We were looking at the same fireworks that day, weren't we?


Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm really happy that I finally managed to get this next chapter up (even though it took so long)! Hope you're enjoying it so far; I have tons of ideas that'll be presented in the upcoming chapters. I really hope I'll be able to pull it off effectively, ahhh seriously, I start getting these crazy ideas that make me want to cry QAQ haha. On a side note, whenever I think of Gary's balcony, I just imagine Princess Jasmine's balcony xD Thanks for reading!