Chapter 36
Leaf and Ava have been staying at Silver's for a couple of days now, and Leaf is glad she left some clothes for them both there. She hasn't heard from Gary nor does she care, but Ava has been asking for her dad a lot. The little girl is scared that she won't have a dad again, which causes her to cry often. This also angers Leaf because, no matter what is going on between her and Gary, Ava shouldn't have to suffer. Gary should still reach out to his daughter, even if Leaf doesn't reach out to him.
Silver also hasn't seen Gary at work, and he's heard that the auburn haired man is taking the week off. "Hey." Silver knocks on the open door frame, which gets both Green girls to look at him.
"Hi, Uncle Silver!" Ava smiles and he gives her a thin one back.
"I need to talk to your mom for a bit. Is that okay, Ava?" He asks the little girl who nods as Leaf gets up to follow Silver to the living room.
"What's up, Silver?" She asks him. Ever since the day of the big fight, Silver hasn't said much to his cousin. Well, he usually doesn't say much anyway, but when he does, Leaf knows she should listen, even though she doesn't normally take his advice.
"You need to contact Gary." he firmly tells her.
"No! He left us, Silver. He can contact us." she angrily responds.
"Then tell him that! It's better to know if he's bailing than to have Ava wait around for him!"
"Who?" Whitney asks as she walks through the door. They turn to face her and see a tall auburn haired man walk in behind her. Silver furiously rushes over to them, but Whitney holds her boyfriend back. "Silver, this is not your battle!"
"They're my niece and cousin!" he hisses.
Whitney turns to Leaf. "You two go on a walk. We'll take care of Ava."
Although Leaf would rather just close the door in Gary's face, she knows Ava needs this. "Fine." She agrees through clenched teeth and walks out the door with Gary in tow. The two walk in silence until they get outside where Leaf decides to speak first, "Why are you here?"
"For Ava, not you." he coldy says.
"You left her for 4 days."
"I went to see Ash." This makes her stop in her tracks while he continues to walk past her. When he notices she's not following, he sighs and turns around to face her. "Ash was always the mediator whenever we argued, and you were always the mediator whenever me and Ash argued." Gary gives a sad chuckle. "But you and Ash never argued. So maybe you are right, I'm the problem."
Leaf continues walking, which makes him silently follow. "We always had the worst arguments." She agrees.
"We still do."
"But you're right. Ash always made us make up." She sadly laughs at the memories.
"And he isn't here to do that anymore." Gary whispers.
The two continue to walk in silence as they think about their late friend. Eventually, Leaf asks, "What'd you guys talk about?"
Flashback
The argument with Leaf really pissed off Gary, so he called a private jet to get him to Pallet Town immediately. Why is he visiting the town he hates being in? Because he needs some advice right now, and he's going to the only person he can trust. While on the plane, he sends an email to work since he will be missing the week.
Once in Pallet Town, Gary takes a rental car straight to the cemetery where he eventually finds his best friend's grave. Because it's been almost a day since the argument, he has cooled down, for the most part. Plopping down in front of the grave, Gary angrily asks, "Why'd you have to fucking die, dumbass?"
He feels the tears welling up in his eyes, so he quickly wipes them away. His purpose for being here isn't to cry. "Me and Leaf just got into our biggest argument yet, and I don't think we can make up. Where the fuck are you to fix it like you always do? " The man chuckles sadly as he plucks some grass from the ground. "Why'd you have to go and quit basketball? It's not like your life was ruined."
Looking up at the clear sky, Gary sighs. "But you're right. I wouldn't be able to play anymore either if the same thing happened. I can't even look at a basketball anymore, man." He gives a glum smile at the grave. "You should meet my daughter, Ash. You'd like her. She's kind as fuck, like you. But she's got my natural talent for basketball. Leaf and I don't want her to play...but we should, shouldn't we? I mean, she wants to play, so we should be good supportive parents. Maybe if Leaf had that, she would've never left and you'd still be here?"
A few tears slide down his face while he sniffles back his sobs. Taking a deep shaky breath, he says, "I'm sorry, Ash...I'm so fucking sorry." He can't hold the tears back anymore as they flow down his face. "It's all my fault, man. I should've never pushed you guys away! Leaf is right, it's all my fault."
After a couple minutes of silently sobbing, he continues, "You had to suffer because of us, and it's not fair. You don't deserve what you went through, man. You don't deserve to be here. I should've died in that car accident, but I didn't, and then all of this shit happened, but Leaf's right, it's my fault. I drove drunk. I left. I ignored all of you. It's my fault."
With his tears running dry, he chokes back his sobs again. "I'm gonna be a better man, okay? For you, Ash. I'll be the best dad I can be. And I guess I'll have to figure out how to patch things up with Leaf too since you're not here to do that anymore." He chuckles again at the ground. "I hate admitting I'm wrong to her, but I need to...for Ava and you...and me." Gary runs a hand through his hair while turning his attention back to the grave. "Gosh, I wish you were here to do the fixing for me, Ashy Boy, but I guess I gotta man up and do it."
He stands up to dust the grass off his backside, but his gaze remains on the grave. "I don't know when I'll be back here...I'll bring Ava next time, and we'll tell you about the recent basketball tournament she's won." Smirking tearfully, he says, "Because she's an Oak, so she's bound to win a lot."
Taking one final shaky breath, Gary smiles at the grave. "Thanks, Ash. Smell ya later."
Flashback Over
"Oh, hey, Leaf, Gary!" Jimmy smiles as he and Ethan walk past the brunettes.
Gary nods while Leaf greets Jimmy back, and Gary notices Ethan holding something. "Hey, Ethan, can I borrow that? I'll return it when we come back." The man extends a hand towards the boy. Jimmy and Leaf look at Gary in confusion, but Ethan grins and hands over the item.
"Okay, Mr. Gary!" The boy says before he and his father walk back to the apartment.
"What are you doing?" Leaf quietly asks while looking away.
Gary rolls his eyes as he grabs her arm to lead her to the park in front of them. "If I win, Ava can play basketball."
Walking onto the 7ft court, Leaf takes a deep shaky breath. "What if I don't want to play?"
"It's okay if you're scared, Greeny." he taunts, which causes her to look at him in annoyance.
"I'm not scared!"
Smirking, he says, "Prove it." Gary then spins the ball on his finger. "You haven't beaten me since we were 10."
Tying her long hair up into a ponytail, Leaf walks towards Gary. "Fine. If I win, you have to do one thing I ask for."
He snickers as he says, "I'll do anything." With a suggestive wink, which earns him an eye roll from her as she grabs the ball from his hands to score a layup.
"2-0, Oak." She smirks at him while checking him the ball.
"Oh, you know I always give you a lead. It boosts your confidence." He pulls a stepback shot, but embarrassingly airballs it. "It's the wrist." He tries to say.
"Excuses get you nowhere!" Leaf laughs as she tries to dribble around him, but Gary is slightly taller than he was in high school. Also, neither of them have played in 8 years, so they are really rusty. As Leaf throws up a shot, Gary blocks it. He's starting to remember how to play, especially since he is a natural. "You can't shoot!" Leaf taunts him, but it's also true since his broken wrist all those years ago messed up his shot.
Grinning, Gary fakes out Leaf with a crossover that makes her fall; however, Gary stops dribbling to grab her arm and lessen the impact of the fall. She watches him victoriously since he has to shoot the ball now because he stopped his dribble. "You have to shoot!" She teases, and he rolls his eyes while hitting her feet with the ball so that he can dribble it and dunk it on the 7ft hoop.
"My shot may be off, but I can still dunk, Greeny." He smirks as she stands up to get the ball.
"Whatever, Gary. 2-2" Leaf glares at him because she will not allow this arrogant asshole to beat her.
The two play for a long time until the score is 19-14 with Gary up. Being older and having not played the game in years, both adults are exhausted, but neither one will call it quits. Also, neither one can shoot consistently, so most points are just dunks or layups.
Leaf now has the ball, but Gary's long limbs allow him to constantly block her shots and keep her away from the hoop. She then hears someone shout, "Mommy, pass!" where she spots Ava running behind Gary. Smirking since the girl's shout also confused the man, Leaf passes the ball where Ava makes a layup.
"Yeah! 16-19!" Leaf exclaims while high fiving her daughter.
Gary pouts at them as he lines up at the 3-point line. "No fair. It's 2 against 1!"
"You make a lot of excuses, Gary." Leaf teases him as she checks the ball to him.
He winks at her while dribbling the ball. "It's fine. Cheaters never win." And he effortlessly dribbles past both girls to dunk the ball. "Game!" he proudly exclaims.
"Can we play again?" Ava excitedly asks after she retrieves the ball. The exhausted adults look over to the benches and see Whitney and Silver. Jimmy had stopped by to tell Silver about the brunettes playing basketball, which made Ava want to go too.
Gary smiles at his daughter while picking her up towards the hoop. "My kids need to know how to dunk, Ava." he tells her, which makes her smile widely as she throws down the ball and hangs onto the rim.
"Slam dunk!" she exclaims. Gary sets her down where he ruffles her hair, much to her annoyance.
"We'll play some more tomorrow, okay? Mommy and daddy are tired, and everyone needs to eat dinner." She frowns, so Gary bends over to extend a pinky to her. "I promise we will play tomorrow." As she connects her pinky with his, she smiles. Gary then stands up and turns his attention to the exhausted woman beside him. "I won." He grins, which earns him a playful punch to the arm. "Ow, Greeny! That hurt."
"Good." Leaf proudly says. Of course Gary Oak is not going to allow her to get away with it, so he wraps an arm around her neck while using his other hand to ruffle her hair. She swats his hands away and exclaims, "Stop, you jerk!"
When Gary lets go of her, he sprints over to hide behind Whitney and Silver. Ava follows and Leaf angrily storms over. "You're too easy to tease, Greeny!" The auburn haired man taunts.
"Oh, you're so dead, Gary Oak!"
"It's Gary Motherf-" all adults pause as they look down at the 7 year old. Gary covers her ears and he mouths, "Motherfucking Oak to you!"
Leaf raises her eyebrows at the man as she charges at him, but he picks up their giggling daughter as a shield. "Daddy, put me down!"
"Protect me from mommy!" he laughs.
"Stop hiding behind a 7 year old and fight me like a man, Gary!" Leaf exclaims while trying to get at him.
Silver rolls his eyes before grabbing Whitney's hand and the basketball on the ground. "We'll see you at the apartment." he annoyedly tells them.
As he and his girlfriend walk away, Whitney says, "I told you they'll be okay."
"Hopefully. They need to get along to co-parent."
"I'm pretty sure they're gonna get together. They have chemistry!" gushes the pinkette.
Silver rolls his eyes, but he will support his family no matter what. "Hopefully." He repeats.