Back From Before

Chapter 11

Welcome back! :) Sorry its been a while.

Reviews-

jg13145: Haha, I know right! Gary finally did it though! :)

PolarDawn: YES! FLUFF! XD I thought the storm would bring out memories better for Leaf, so it was a bit cliché, haha... Thanks! :)

LEGAL-EAGLE53: Saving Bulbasaur is very important! :) I'm glad you liked it.

KicksAndKisses: I shall try to! :D THANK YOU! :) Your review definitely made me smile. I took a long time, haha... (-.-)"

Guest: Thank you! :) I glad you like my writing. Sorry this took so long! DX

Leaffeather: I know what you mean! But so much drama! :D I hope you enjoyed your trip! :)

Meteor Gin: I hope you enjoyed the chappie! :)

Pearlmoondream: It's okay, I totally understand. :) I'm glad you're liking it so much. Your review actually reminded me how long its been since my last update... Oops. Thank you so much though!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon


"Of course. You're always worth the wait to me."

The words that the brunette had said hours ago still echoed clearly in Gary's head. Something about her simple confession reminded him that she held the same feelings he did for her. True, genuine feelings. Ones that hadn't died over the course of the missing years spent apart from each other. Smiling at the ceiling above him, he closed his eyes, lost in a trace thinking about everything she had told him.

Although she had went through different experiences from him, they both ended up in the same place, same position. In Pallet Town with their old feelings unchanged. Not many people were able to say they went through the same experience. When she had told him her story, he could really tell that the storm had brought out her true self. Selfless and caring.

And, he was falling hard.

Gary knew he liked Leaf, but now he knew it was undeniable. He would make sure they would spend as much time together as possible and it would be worth it, every second. Starting tomorrow.

The faint crash of thunder outside reminded him of the weather, getting progressively better as time wore on. Seeing he had still yet to fall asleep, he decided to go get himself a warm cup of milk. That would surely help him get to sleep. As he was heading towards the stairs, he noticed a figure sitting on the couch downstairs. As he approached, he could clearly see who it was.

"Leaf?" he called out, walking towards her. "You okay?"

"Hm?" Leaf looked up at him, her green eyes catching on the limited light that slipped into the room. "Oh, Gary. Yeah. My parents just called, they're coming back to Pallet Town tomorrow."

"That's great," Gary responded, wondering if he should change his plans. "Do... do you think we can still hang out?"

Leaf raised an eyebrow, smiling at him. "Are you trying to ask me out, Oak?"

The auburn haired teen crossed his arms, a confident smirk growing on his face as he casually leaned against the hallway's wall.

"Mm, I might be. Would you agree?"

"Of course," she agreed.

Gary relaxed, pulling on a genuine smile. A thought popped back into his mind."I left some of my clothes out for you on the guest bed, so if you want to wear something else to bed, feel free to use them. If you want to that is, you don't have to -"

The brunette laughed, interrupting his flustered rambling. Standing up and walking over to him, she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Thank you. I need to get some sleep, so I'll see you in the morning Gary."

Turning to walk up the stairs, Leaf then paused for a moment, pondering over something. Gary was about to open his mouth and ask if anything was wrong when she darted back and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

Seeing his shocked expression, she giggled before calling out, "night!" then ran up the stairs.

Standing there for a few minutes trying to process what happened a moment ago, Gary reached up to touch his cheek. It was almost like he could still feel her kiss lingering on his cheek even now. A warm and fuzzy feeling washed over him, leaving his plans of getting milk forgotten about, he headed back upstairs knowing he would fall asleep without any problems now.

He had big plans for tomorrow, and he would need some sleep before he would be able to accomplish any of them.

...

"So you learned how to cook?"

Gary turned around, seeing Leaf standing in the doorway of the kitchen, watching him with his apron on trying to make pancakes. Even from where he stood, Gary could practically see the amusement glittering in Leaf's green eyes as she rubbed the sleep out of them. Clearly, she didn't think he could cook. He lifted his spatula and frying pan up dramatically to show he was cooking.

"Well, I can't always eat out, can I?" Gary asked, turning his attention back to the pancakes. If he wanted to impress her now, he had to make sure he didn't burn anything. That would just make him look bad.

"Looks like some things changed while I was gone," Leaf said thoughtfully, a playful grin appeared on her face. "For the better or for the worse, though...?"

"I would hope for the better," Gary retorted, laughing lightly. The room went quiet for a moment as he plated the pancakes. Carefully setting the plate in front of Leaf, he crossed his arms and watched her reaction patiently. "So?"

Sending him an impressed look, Leaf cut a piece of the pancake and took a slow taste.

"Not bad," she noted, taking another bite. "You definitely upgraded from making sandwiches from when we were five."

"I'll pretended you just rated me five stars."

A proud smile appearing on his face, Gary grabbed himself a plate and sat down across from her. Something about being able to enjoy simple every day experiences like this were rather comforting. Thinking back to their childhood, he was trying to remember differentiate which memories were with imaginary Leaf and the real Leaf. It would take some time for him to figure out which memories were which, but he knew he would find out soon enough. Perhaps he could tell Leaf about her imaginary counterpart one day, but she would hold a place in his memory for now.

"I forgot to ask," Leaf asked, interrupting his thoughts. "Where's Professor Oak?"

"He's out at a meeting out of town," Gary answered. Pausing to gather his thoughts, he then added. "So, about that date..."

"You're so direct," the brunette said with a laugh. "What about it?"

"I'll meet you at your house in an hour?"

"I'll see you then," she agreed, ruffling his hair and putting her dishes in the sink. "I left the clothes I borrowed from you in the hamper, by the way. The place is pretty neat for two guys living together." With a wink, she then left through the back door, leaving Gary back in his thoughts.

He was going to make sure Leaf was going to enjoy their first date together since she was back. After spending so many years apart, the time they could be together should be treasured. Determined, he placed his own empty dishes into the sink and walked to his room. He had less than an hour to plan and get ready, but he would make the best of it.

...

Dressed nicely, Gary brushed his clothes with his hands in hopes of ridding any dust or bad luck. Having trying to pull off the semi-formal and casual look, he hoped it looked natural enough to look as if he didn't try to hard. Or worse, not enough effort. He stood in front of Leaf's house, wondering if he was actually ready for their date. Sure, it would only be the first of many dates they would have since she returned to Pallet Town, but he hoped it would be a happy, memorable one that wouldn't leave a bad aftertaste in his mouth.

"Come on, Gary," he chided himself. "You're going on a date with Leaf, everything will be fine. She likes you just as you."

Gather some confidence in his self pep talk, he straighten his posture and rang the doorbell. After a moment, he could hear the sound of footsteps hurrying towards the door. When the door flew open, Gary's eyes widened in surprise as he took in the sight.

Leaf wore a simple green belted summer dress that brought out her eyes and a pair of sneakers that went well with her outfit. Her hair was brushed and left in its usual manner. On her wrist, a bracelet dangled off and he could see a leaf shaped charm on it. Despite the simplistic look she pulled off, Gary was still in awe with her.

"What do you think?" Leaf asked, doing a slow turn to let Gary see her outfit. "You never specified what we going to do, so I wasn't too sure what to wear."

"You look stunning," Gary complimented, "and perfect for our date."

Colour quickly flooded to Leaf's cheeks. "Thank you. You look rather nice, too." She grabbed her phone, taking a glance at it. "My parents are going to be back sometime after noon, does that affect your plans?"

Thinking about the day's layout, Gary shook his head. "Nope, everything will work out fine. I'm kind of excited to meet your parents again after so many years. Do they still remember me?"

"More than likely," Leaf answered, thinking back to her mother teasing her about liking Gary. Both her parents were very aware of Gary's presence in her life, even when he was directly in it. She smiled, brushing those thoughts aside for now. "Shall we go?"

Linking her arm with him, the brunette followed him as they made their way to the outskirts of the city. Easily recognizing the place, Route 1 soon came into view.

"What are we doing on Route 1?" she asked, quizzically. "Going for a stroll?"

Seeing the lush greenery of the first route that began his journey a few years ago, a memory from his childhood caught his attention.

"Come on, Gary! I want to see what's out there!"

Gary looked over at Leaf, she was pulling on his arm, looking ready to run straight into Route 1. Being the responsible one over their safety, he shook his head.

"Gramps says there's wild Pokémon out there," he said, crossing his arms. "We aren't allowed to go out there."

"What?!" she exclaimed. "Fine... When we're older then! Let's go together!"

Gary slipped his hand into hers, turning his head slightly to look at her. "Actually, we are. Ten years ago... I made a promise to you that I haven't kept. I want to fulfill that promise now." He let out his breath, smile growing on his face. "We wanted to go to Route 1 together, but we never got the chance to, so... Shall we?"

With much resolve, Leaf nodded eagerly. It didn't matter that the two of them had spent so many years apart since now they had all the time in the world to make up for it. Enjoying the scenery and making small talk about events in their life to nothing in particular, the walk also gave time for them both to reminisce. All the childhood memories they spent together seemed to have held an important place for both them.

Not long after their walk, they entered the local restaurant.

"I'm sorry I was only able to take you somewhere fancier," Gary said sheepishly. "It was kind of last minute, so..."

"No, no," Leaf exclaimed. She paused as the waiter came by and set out their food. Reaching over to give Gary's hand a squeeze, she smiled. "It's perfect."


Hehe, so cute! This definitely brings back the feels and how much I think these two should be together. :)

Sorry for the long wait everyone! School has been very demanding and still is, so most of attention is turn that direction. Fanfic is still on the back of my mind, so don't worry! This story will be finished. :)

I hope you guys are doing well! I know Leaf and Gary are right now. Wait until Gary meets Leaf's parents... :3 Hehehe... anyways, thanks for staying around!

Thanks for reading and have a beautiful day!

~Skitty13