Hope you all enjoy it :)
…
Misty slowly opened her eyes, groaning at the light seeping through the curtains. She let out a sigh of relief when she realised she was in the hotel, most of last night was such a blur she wouldn't be surprised if she woke up somewhere strange. Her eyes scanned the room and suddenly her heart stopped, the painting on her wall was of a serene lake view, this painting was of a bowl of fruit.
She closed her eyes again and brought her hand to her head, trying to piece together what happened. She remembered the strippers arriving at Dawn's room, she remembered making a phone call to Gary and that was it, the rest was a blank. She prayed she'd been too drunk to move and Dawn had let her stay the night, prayed that she'd followed May and forced Drew onto the floor.
Forcing her eyes open she turned over to confirm where she was and there, lying beside her, was a sleeping Gary Oak. Before she could stop herself a high pitched scream escaped her lips as she scrambled to the bottom of the bed, successfully waking up the other person in the bed.
"What?" Gary asked, shooting up right and glancing around the room nervously. "What happened?"
"Why the hell am I lying in your bed in my underwear?" She shouted, wrapping her arms around herself self-consciously.
"Why do you think Red?" He muttered, letting his head drop back down to the pillow and his arm cover his eyes.
"You asshole, you took advantage of me!" She accused, slapping him on the chest.
"I took advantage of you?" He removed his arm and glared at her. "You track me down to dry hump me in a strip club and I'm the one who took advantage of you?"
"I did that?" She asked, running her fingers through her hair, trying to recall the memory.
"Oh yeah." He said, propping up on his elbows. "Even put on a little show for us."
"I wouldn't do…" She trailed off, a flashback of Gary lifting her onto the stage and the pole dancing that followed. "No! Why did you let me do that?"
"I couldn't even stop you." He smirked, thinking back to last night.
"Gary, please tell me I didn't do anything with you that I'd regret." She said quietly, looking at him over her shoulder.
He felt his heart drop slightly at her question, he knew they were both a little worse for wear last night but he was sure she knew what she was doing but clearly he was wrong. She didn't remember any of last night, didn't remember taking their relationship to the next level last night and even if she did she would have regretted it.
He shook his head to rid the self-pity, he knew the morning after feeling, he practically invented it, he'd woken many times to be filled with regret, slipping away before his companion had even begun stirring. But this was the first time he'd been on the receiving end of a brush off and he had to admit it stung him a little.
"Nothing happened." He said, moving away from her gaze.
"Nothing at all?" She raised her eyebrow, not fully believing her story.
"Nope, we left Brock's and passed out almost as soon as we got here." He shrugged, playing it off as uncaring.
"And when exactly did we lose our clothes?" She laughed slightly.
"We played a little game." He winked, letting her draw her own conclusions.
"I see." She said, resting her head in her hands. "That's good, it would have complicated things if we did anything."
"Sure." He muttered, letting his elbows drop. "I'm going back to sleep, my head is pounding far too much to be awake this early."
"I think I'll just head back now." She said, glancing towards her discarded dress in the middle of his floor, beyond that his room was surprisingly immaculate.
"Suit yourself." He shrugged, turning his back towards her. "I don't care what you do." He closed his eyes and pretended that sleep overcame him quickly.
Misty sat on the bed, staring for another ten minutes, before shuffling her body backwards and lying down too. Her head was pounding, the room was spinning and her mind was still trying to build a clear picture of last night, she needed to sleep too.
Thinking Gary was already gone she moved closer, keeping her arms to herself but resting her head between his shoulder blades, taking in a deep breath filled with his scent before falling to sleep.
Gary could feel her gentle breath against his back, a wide smile spread across his face as one thought occupied his mind. She'd stayed.
…
Ash found himself waking up from an awful night's sleep, his head felt as if someone was smashing it with a mallet. He brought his hands up to rub his eyes and winced when his fingers came into contact with his nose. He rolled onto his side to the sight of his girlfriend, arm crossed and a glare fixed on him.
"What?" He asked, pushing himself into a seated position.
"What happened last night?" She questioned, a very stern voice showed Ash he was in trouble.
"Nothing too exciting." He shrugged.
"Really?" She walked over to the bed and loomed over him. "You come back, stinking drunk, dry blood stuck to your face and you're honestly telling me nothing too exciting happened last night?"
"We got a bit rowdy okay? No big deal." He quickly rolled off the bed and headed for the bathroom, knowing the more she pressed the sooner he'd cave.
"Ashton Ketchum stop right there." She called causing him to freeze in his steps. She walked over to him and spun him around. "Tell me right now who did this to you."
"Gary." He sighed.
"Gary? Jesus Christ Ash!" She threw her hands up in frustration. "Why?"
"You know what we're like, the smallest thing can set us off. Even worse when we're drunk." He admitted.
"Well something must have caused it." She shouted, a small part of her guessing what the feud could have been about.
"I don't remember. We were talking and I must have said something because then he punched me and it just escalated from there. If you think this is bad you should see him." He joked but Dawn's glare never ceased.
"You're going to apologise to him." She instructed.
"You've got to be kidding me." He groaned.
"No Ash I'm deadly serious. You both need to grow up." She scolded him. "And you're going to get the ball rolling with your apology."
"Why should I?" He pouted, crossing his arms.
"Because I'm telling you to and you love me." She said, moving closer to him.
"Yeah that's true." He smirked, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"So you're going to do what I say?"
"Anything for you." He smiled, rubbing her nose with his own.
"Great, you know I love it when you're a good boy." He raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Well most of the time." She smirked before raising onto her tiptoes and lightly pressing her lips against his.
The apology would just have to wait until later.
…
Gary groaned as he heard a persistent tapping at the door, he stretched out and was overly aware of the extra space in the bed. Misty must have snuck off while he was still asleep he mused while dragging himself from the bed towards the door. He glanced towards the clock to see that he'd slept all morning and most of the afternoon, it was understandable considering he and Misty didn't settle down until gone seven that morning.
"Yes?" He mumbled, leaning against the door frame.
"Hey Gary." Ash said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Ashy-boy? To what do I owe the pleasure?" He smirked slightly as he watched Ash cringe at the nickname.
"I wanted to apologise." He dropped his gaze down to the ground, not wanting to see Gary's smug face.
"Am I hearing this right? You're actually apologising to me?"
"Don't push me Oak." Ash growled.
"Do go on." Gary laughed, wanting to milk this for all it was worth.
"Look, I'm sorry. I honestly can't remember what I said to you but I'm sure I deserved the punch." Ash admitted.
"Forget about it Ashy-boy, it was probably nothing anyway. Lord knows I can't remember what it was." He lied smoothly, he remembered the exact words Ash had said, they'd been buzzing around his head like an angry beedrill since they'd been uttered. No matter what he did he couldn't seem to shake Ash's smug voice from his mind but he refused to admit that to anyone, the truth behind his anger remained with him.
"So, we good?" Ash asked, holding his hand out in truce.
"As good as we'll ever be Ketchum." Gary said, taking hold of his hand and shaking it.
"Why exactly are you clothes in the shower?" Both men turned to the sound of a third voice. They saw Misty walking out the bathroom, holding a pile of Gary's clothes in her hands.
"It was part of last night's game." Gary smirked, slyly watching Ash's reaction, his face seemed neutral but his eyes burned.
"Of course it was." Misty shook her head then finally looked towards the door. "Ash?" She blushed, embarrassed to be found in Gary's room in so little clothing.
"Afternoon Misty." He nodded slightly.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, quickly grabbing her crumpled dress from the floor and throwing it on to keep some of her dignity.
"Just having a chat with good old Gary here." He said, gesturing towards the other man with his head.
"Right." She nodded, walking towards the pair. "What happened to your nose?" She asked as she took in Ash's bruised and swollen nose.
"Ask him." He laughed slightly.
"Why did you…" She trailed off when she noticed for the first time Gary's puffy, purple cheek. "Oh god! How did I not notice that this morning?" She reached up and pulled Gary's face towards hers, inspecting the bruising closer.
"You're not very observant when my chest is on show." Gary joked as he tried to ignore how his heartbeat quickened when she held him, Misty only rolled her eyes at his comment.
"What am I going to do with you two?" She asked, releasing Gary.
"You know you wouldn't have us any other way." Ash winked, causing Misty to smile.
"I guess not, love you boys just the way you are." She smiled before squeezing between them both.
"Where you off to?" Gary asked, watching her slip away.
"I need to see May to tell me what I did before I met you guys." She laughed.
"If it makes you feel any better Dawn didn't tell me anything overly embarrassing about you this morning." Ash called after her.
"Slightly." She shouted. "I'll see you both later." She waved before disappearing down the corridor.
"See you around Gary." Ash said, turning in the opposite direction and heading back to his room.
"Yeah, see you." He said, retreating back into his room and throwing himself on the bed.
Images flashed through his mind, kissing Misty against the door, her drunk lap dance, her cheeky smile when she was knelt before him in the shower. He groaned loudly, his life would be so much easier if he couldn't remember anything either.
…
Misty walked towards her room to see May bashing against her door, the wood shaking with the intense contact.
"What are you doing?" Misty asked, coming to a stand next to her.
"Where the hell have you been?" May shouted, crossing her arms when she noticed Misty was in the same dress from last night.
"You don't want to know." She sighed, letting herself into the room, May following after her.
"You got lucky didn't you?" May smirked, sitting down on the bed. "Was it Gary?"
"May." She groaned, forgetting how excitable May got with these sorts of things.
"Oh my god! It was!" She shrieked. "Give me all the details! I bet his incredible, isn't he?"
"I wouldn't know." She shrugged, lying on the bed next to her.
"Were you that drunk?" May asked, knowing her friends was prone to forgettable nights.
"Nothing happened with Gary." She said giving her a look.
"Really? That's very uninteresting." May sighed. "Where did you end up last night then?"
"I did end up in Gary's hotel room just nothing happened." She clarified.
"You little liar." She smirked. "You and Gary did the nasty! I'm upset you'd try to hide this from me."
"We did not do the nasty! You know if anything happened you'd be the first to know."
"Yeah I guess so." She said, lying down next to Misty. "So it was really all innocent last night?"
"I never said that." Misty smirked as her friends eyes widened. "I woke up in his bed in my underwear this morning."
"And you have the nerve to tell me nothing happened?" She said, lightly hitting her on the shoulder.
"I don't remember what actually happened, Gary told me nothing but who really knows?" Misty asked, covering her eyes with her hand.
"Maybe he felt you up in your sleep." May said, causing Misty to remove her hand and glare at the other girl but she didn't stop. "And you stirred and reached out for him in a drunk and sleepy haze and pulled him into you. Then you wake up from what you think is one of the most intense and pleasurable dreams of your life but instead you see him on top of you, pinning you to the bed. Slowly you feel yourself and all your nerve endings coming to life with each perfect thrust until you fully alert and screaming out in ecstasy." She said breathlessly, the excitement building as her story went on.
"Well, that was vivid." Misty offered. "A fantasy of yours?"
"Nah babe that was just last night." She smirked, thinking back to her rendezvous with her husband.
"Wow, is Drew available for tonight?" She asked.
"Piss off." May said, nudging Misty with such strength she almost tumbled from the bed.
"Hey! Best friends are meant to share." Misty joked, jumping from the bed before May could do any more damage.
"Not this, Drew is all mine." She stuck her tongue out at Misty and crossed her arms.
Misty shook her head and laughed before pulling herself off the bed and stretching her back out.
"I'm going to have a shower." Misty hinted, holding her arms high above her head.
"Mind if I just lie her for a bit? Think my hangover's just hit me." She moaned.
"Fine, if you must." She rolled her eyes. "But no checking me out when I'm naked."
"Not promising anything." May said so seriously that Misty for a second believed her.
Misty gently reached down and pulled her dress over her head, lazily throwing it into her suitcase. She reached over May and grabbed her towel, leaning back to see her eyebrow was raised in question.
"What?" Misty asked, confused as to why May was staring her down.
"If nothing happened last night why do you have a hickey on your chest?"
"What?" Misty shouted, spinning round to look in the mirror.
Her eyes travelled downwards in the reflection until they reached the purple mark peeping out of her bra cup. Her hand flew up to her chest and rubbed at it, hoping to erase the mark from her skin.
"How did he…" Misty started but soon trailed off as memories from last night shot through her mind.
She remembered lying on his bed, his stunning body above hers, his lips running down her body, her demands that he got protection and then it was a blank. Did they go further or was that it?
"So going to tell me how you got that?" May asked, now stood behind Misty.
"I would if I could remember." She laughed slightly before heading towards the bathroom.
Why had she just lied to May, was she not ready to admit that she'd allowed herself a weakness with Gary, allowed herself to ruin their already delicate friendship? Shaking her head, she realised why she'd lied about it, the one thing she hadn't been willing to admit was how much she'd enjoyed the memories, the pleasure she got from just the thought of him.
…
When Misty had stepped out of the bathroom her room was now deserted, May long gone. A small part of her disappointed that she'd left, she needed the distraction from her thoughts. All through her shower more flashbacks from last night assaulted her mind.
The kisses they'd shared while they drank, the game they played which she'd lost deliberately, the shower they'd taken together and the oral treat she'd given him.
She cringed slightly at herself, Gary was right it really wasn't he who had taken advantage of her. If her vague memories were anything to go by it was definitely the other way around.
One thing that didn't sit right with her was the fact that Gary had lied, he'd assured her that nothing had happened between them when he clearly knew it had. Was it because he was embarrassed? She'd practically thrown herself at him last night, had she come across as desperate and without the alcohol tinted glasses was he no longer interested? Just thought she was some pathetic girl that he'd have to brush off at some point?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking at the door, causing her to jump slightly.
"It's open." She shouted, expecting May to have returned.
"Cute dress Red." A voice said, causing her to look up and stare at the new person in her room.
"Gary? What are you doing here?" She asked, pulling up her towel, hoping to cover the brand he'd left on her.
"You told me to pick you up for the rehearsal dinner at half six." He said, glancing down at his watch. "I'm actually a little bit late."
"Shit, I'd forgotten about that." She jumped up from the bed and frantically searched through her wardrobe.
"You've got about half an hour to get ready." He informed her, sitting down on her bed.
"Thanks, that's helping the situation." Misty rolled her eyes. "Actually, I'm glad you're here."
"You are?" Gary asked, frowning slightly at the fluttering in his heart.
"About last night." She started, keeping her back to him to retain her confidence. "I…"
But quickly her confidence was knocked from her, she knew he remembered as much as she did but he'd rather have pretended nothing happened than go into details. She was just going to make it uncomfortable if she mentioned it, he'd just laugh and say she was lucky to get the Oak treatment but don't expect it to become a regular thing. She scrunched her eyes shut as she practically heard his condescending voice in her mind.
"You what?" He asked, bringing her back to reality.
"I just want to say thanks, for not taking advantage of me and looking after me last night really." She said, choosing a safer option and finally having the courage to look him in the eye.
"No problem Red, considered it's my job as the boyfriend." He smirked.
And just with his words Misty realised all their relationship was ever going to be, to Gary it was just a job, a part he'd been forced into and would happily leave it as soon as the wedding was over.
"Pick the black one." Gary said as he watched her debating between two dresses. "You look sexier in black."
"Gary, please. I look sexy in any colour." She winked over her shoulder, a smile breaking out on his face.
"People can say what they like about my ego but I think you're just as bad."
Misty reached up and pulled the dress from the hanger before turning towards Gary expectantly.
"What?" He asked, leaning back on the bed as he stared her down.
"Am I going to let you watch me undress?" She questioned, putting her hands on her hips.
"Am I going to let you kick me out?" He mocked.
"Fine, stay." She said moving around the bed so she was behind his bed. "You keep your eyes forward the whole time Oak or I swear to god I will shave your head."
"I'll keep my eyes forward, promise." He laughed slightly at her threat.
Angling himself perfectly on the bed he watched her reflection in the mirror, getting the view he was owed after last night.
He felt his breath hitch as she dropped her towel and shook her wet hair out slightly, causing her breast to shake quite nicely, least to his mind. He watched as she shimmied into her underwear before reaching up to scrunch up her hair to achieve a curl, his eyes fixed to her chest as she stretched.
Suddenly his eyes widened when he noticed the purple marking, knowing she must have seen it too. She must have thought she'd bruised herself last night, a drunken fall that she couldn't recall. That was why she hadn't questioned him, it must be, he didn't allow himself to toy with the idea of her remembering, he didn't want his mind to travel down that train of thought.
Pushing these worries from his mind he continued to enjoy his show, Misty still stood in just a pair of lacy underwear, seemingly comfortable to be this exposed with him in the room. He mentally scolded himself, he'd always considered himself a classier man than this, never having to retort to cheap acts to get what he wanted, but with Misty many of his former rules seemed to fly out the window.
Slowly she pulled down her underwear and settled on a thong instead, Gary having to grip tightly to the duvet to stop himself from roughly pulling her onto the bed and pleasuring her until she was breathless. His mind began wandering, thinking of all the possibilities for the two of them alone in the room, his body getting carried away with the thoughts. He barely registered Misty slipping on her bra or her dress, he was too lost in his own fantasies.
"Right, I just need to put some make up on then we can go." Misty said, ending his dreams but not ending his excitement. He awkwardly crossed his legs before responding.
"That's great, take all the time you need." He said, thinking of the time he'd seen Ash in a dress to rid him off his problem.
Lucky for him the image seemed to work a treat and he was soon free to walk around the room, constantly annoying and distracting Misty as she tried to continue getting ready.
…
The pair showed up half an hour late to the rehearsal dinner, luckily everyone was still mingling with champagne so they were able to slip in unnoticed.
Reaching for two glasses of champagne, Gary held one out for Misty with a smirk.
"A little hair of the dog for you?" He joked.
"Give me." She said, snatching the drink and taking a large gulp. "Much better."
Unthinking Misty reached down and took his hand, pulling him into the crowd to talk to everyone.
Gary barely registered the different people talking to him or any of the responses he gave, instead his mind was on something else. He thought about how just from holding her hand his nerve ends tingled, how just from seeing her smile he felt breathless, how just from standing near her he felt a shiver down his spine.
He struggled to understand these feelings as he'd never felt them in his entire life, he thought back to Leaf but this was nothing compared to what he felt right now. Was it possible it was love? Was it just having a true friend for the first time? Was it something more than friendship but given time it could progress to love?
Although he couldn't define them properly he knew his feelings for her were strong but the question still remained, after Leaf was he ready to put himself out there again?
He felt Misty squeeze his hand and offer him a quick smile, mistaking his vacant stare for boredom.
"We're just going to grab a drink." Misty excused them and led him away. "Sorry, I forget how much Tracey can drone on at times." She laughed, reaching the table and grabbing another drink. "You okay?" She asked, realising his expression hadn't changed.
"Yeah, no, I don't know." He mumbled.
"What's wrong?" She asked, biting her lip in concern.
"I need to tell you something." Gary said, taking this brief moment of alone.
"Sure, what's on your mind?"
Just as his confession was about to come tumbling from his lips he was cut off by the sound of metal against glass and Ash asking for everyone's attention.
"Fucking Ketchum." He muttered under his breath, turning towards the offending voice.
"Before you start worrying I'm not about to whip out a best man's speech, I'm saving that boredom for the wedding day." He said, a laugh rippling through the crowd. "Instead, and don't think I'm trying to steal focus, I'm going to ask my girlfriend a very important question."
"Ash?" Dawn asked, slightly confused.
"Dawn Berlitz." He said, dropping down on one knee. "Will you marry me?" He produced a ring, the bluenette's eyes widened at the offering.
Misty gasped slightly, releasing her hold on the champagne glass and sending it shattering to the ground, tears stinging the back of her eyes as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her.
Nobody noticed the glass and liquid pooling around her feet, everyone too distracted by the proposal. All except Gary, who'd watched every step of her reaction, his heart dropping a little more with every passing second.
He should have known really, she'd never return his feelings, it was always Ash. Until the end of time it would always be Ash.
…
Again I've managed to produce a very long chapter, getting quite proud of myself :)
Please review :) thanks