I don't own Pokémon.

Lonely No More- Chapter Two

"And why are you asking me for Misty's clothing and shoe size?" asked the elder Oak sibling, her hands firmly on her hips. May had been minding her own business in their grandfather's lab when she was rudely interrupted by her brother who had some harebrained idea up his sleeve that she hadn't quite grasped yet.

Gary flopped down on the office chair his sister sat at moments before, wheeling it across the room before spinning around to face her. "She's a bridesmaid of yours, isn't she? Surely, you'd know her measurements by now."

"Well of course I do, Gareth," the brunette retorted. Her eyes danced with amusement as her brother cringed at the nickname she had been using since they were both young, you know, when she wanted to piss him off. "The dresses have already been sent away for alterations. What I'm not getting is why you need to know. Did you finally get over yourself and tell her how you feel?"

He scoffed, a frown beginning to tug at his lips. "It's not like that. Never will be. Listen. Her kid broke my window and instead of payin' me back, she's gonna be playing maid for me for the next week. And I want her to look the part," he closed his eyes, smirking now. "Just something for me to look at while she's there."

"First of all, ew. I don't want to hear about your twisted freaking fantasies. Second of all, I don't know why you try and lie to me. We all know she drives you crazy and you like it. Guys like you need a girl like her to give a good chase." May was practically a love guru. She could read people like you wouldn't believe. And her brother always hated that she could see right through his bullshit. Every relationship he was in, she would always have something to say. Chastising him for leading women on, giving him a look every time he came home doing the walk of shame, (but, in his case, it was never a walk of actual shame). She headed over to her work station, grabbing a notepad and her glittery pen. Gary was annoyed at May's accuracy but he didn't say anything. He watched as his sister scribbled something down on it before ripping the paper off the spiral hooks. She was by his side a moment later, handing over the folded up page.

"Just so you know, if you plan your wedding before mine I will chop you up into bits and feed you to Arcanine for dinner," she smiled sweetly at her brother, prompting him to snatch the paper away and snort in reply.

"Yeah, I won't be marrying anyone any time soon. But thanks for the heads up, oh gracious one," he spoke, the latter bit of the sentence in a mocking tone.

"If you say so," she teased in a singsong, turning around to head back over to her computer.

o-o-o-o-o

Misty had dreading this all morning long, and it wasn't even just the cleaning she was dreading. It was being alone with Gary Oak. Ever since Tracey and May's engagement party, the two hadn't been alone. They hadn't gotten the time to talk. The redhead had always made some excuse to leave early when the group all got together. It wasn't that she found the man repulsive or anything. Quite honestly, she was ashamed of herself. She felt as though she had taken his rare kindness for granted. Maybe he got the wrong idea, that she was just another girl that threw herself at the world renowned Pokémon Professor. Misty was interested in him, just not in the way he was generally interested in women. She wasn't blind. Any girl he brought around, she was only ever seen once. She was there for one thing only. Maybe it was a mutual understanding. Maybe he dropped them once he got what he wanted. Maybe it was a mix of both. But one thing was for sure, that wasn't the way Misty Waterflower dealt with romances. She was a romantic fool. She wanted everything; the cutesy, gag-worthy bits of a romance and the hot and heavy bits of a romance. She just wasn't sure if Gary would ever be willing to go along with it, and she was too stubborn to even entertain the thought.

The redhead glanced in the rearview mirror back at her daughter. She was bouncing her little feet along to the radio that Misty had pretty much just tuned out while she was stuck in her own head. They were only a few minutes away from the school. And after that, it was time to head straight to Gary's. She wanted to play it cool. Like it was just a neighborly favor. But when said neighbors had sexual tension that you could cut with a knife, things were just a teensy bit different. Misty could behave herself, but she didn't know about him. Especially considering the text he sent her last night.

About ten minutes had passed, and she was parking in Gary's backyard. Misty figured that she might as well just get this over with. She pulled the keys out of the ignition to her car and tossed them in her purse, leaving it on her passenger seat for when she was ready to go pick Holly up from school. The car door opened with a loud creak, making the redhead cringe like she did every time she got out of her vehicle. It was an old, mean machine but honestly, she wouldn't have it any other way. It was the last anniversary gift she got from Ash and she still treasured it to this day. They might not be right for each other romantically, but she will always love him. Misty didn't think anything—or anyone, for that matter, could change it.

She was about to head for the front door when she remembered something particularly quirky about Gary, causing her to stop in her tracks. He hated when people came to his front door. For whatever reason, he always preferred visitors coming around the back. She never explored the entirety of his home, but she was fairly sure that his work space was somewhere around in that area. So, it made sense that he wouldn't want visitors trotting through whatever he had going on that day. Misty climbed up the stairs leading to the back porch and opened up the screen door. Gary's home had a complete wraparound porch with furniture scattered all across. This was a way for his Pokémon to get exercise, but they were out of harm's way when he wasn't around to watch them. (Okay, so it wasn't completely fool proof. Some of his more daring creatures learned how to get that screen door open- yes, Umbreon, we're looking at you- but they never ventured too far when they did get out). As soon as the door closed behind her, she was immediately greeted with the criminal mastermind herself. Umbreon looped through her legs and peered up at her with a smile. Misty had to stop and scratch the dark type under her chin before passing by, heading to the back door that led inside. Near the bottom of the door was a medium sized flap that let the little monsters come and go as they pleased. As for the bigger ones… well, Alakazam was the help on that end. He could just teleport them, after all. The redhead curled her knuckles and knocked a few times, hoping that it wouldn't take Gary forever to answer the door. It was a cold morning in Pallet and not even the screened in porch could take the chill out of the room. After a few minutes of silence, Misty puffed her cheeks up in annoyance and pulled her phone out of her back pocket.

It rang once, twice, three times before the bastard finally answered.

"Mr. Wonderful on line one," Gary greeted, no doubt grinning to himself over that little joke.

Misty scoffed into the phone. "Where the hell are you? I can't come in unless you unlock the goddamn door!"

"So much anger in one little body," he murmured before continuing, "check under the mat. There's a spare key. Had to run and help my gramps over in the lab. I'll be back soon. Make yourself at home."

"Did it occur to you that maybe, just maybe you could have sent me a text beforehand? I'm freezing my ass off out here!" Misty whined, propping the phone up between her chin and shoulder as she knelt down to grab the hidden key. "And watch who you're callin' little! I—"

"Hey genius, maybe you should learn to check your phone more often. I sent you a text over an hour ago."

The redhead's cheeks began to flush in embarrassment as she let herself in. "Guess I really should pay more attention to that. Sorry, Gary. Been a hectic morning," she told him, not bothering to argue. She made her way down the hall leading into the living room and flopped down on the couch, looking around at the room. Most of Oak's Pokemon were out of their balls and wandering around. One of his more recent catches, a big ol' Gengar watched her from a far, trying to get a good feel for her. He knew that she was the subject of his master's affection, but he wanted to test her to see if she was a good fit.

Gary, surprised to hear such a wholesome reply, chuckled a bit. Misty didn't want to admit the warm, fuzzy feeling that gave her when she heard it. "Don't worry about it. Hey, uh, I'm wrapping things up now so I'll see ya soon." He got the urge to warn her against his ghost Pokémon, knowing that Gengar loved playing pranks, but he figured that she couldn't get herself into that much trouble while he was gone.

"'kay. See you," Misty said just before ending the call. She slumped against the couch, aimlessly scrolling through her phone, figuring that she had some time to kill before Gary showed up. But something else caught her attention mid scroll. It sounded like a faint crying. The redhead felt chills run down her spine. That wasn't a pokemon cry. That was most definitely a human. But should she get up and investigate? Or should she just call Gary back? Misty tucked her phone back in her pocket before slowly peeling off the couch, green eyes glued to where she heard the noise coming from. The sound just got louder and louder, so the redhead let her curiosity get the better of her. She grabbed the fireplace picker from where it had been propped up against the mantle and headed back down the hallway. Umbreon tried to stop right in front of her in an attempt to get her away from the heart attack that was bound to happen, but it was of no use. The redhead got about halfway down the hall before the crying ceased. Confused, she stopped in her tracks. That was when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She whirled around only to see Gengar making a face at her. It wasn't a menacing face, but it was enough for Misty to jump well into the air, arms flailing around.

The ghost pokemon fell over on his back, unable to keep his laughter in. Misty wasn't quite so amused. She went to go and pick Gengar up off the floor to give him a talking to, only to be caught by Gary coming in. All he saw was Gengar rolling around in a fit of laughter, and Misty above him shaking her fist at him. When his eyes met with the redhead's she turned her shaking fist on him.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a prankster ghost? Don't tell me you texted that to me too," Misty closed the gap between her and Gary, letting her fist fall to her side. But her gaze was still penetratingly sharp.

"Guess I fucked up, there," he paused, rubbing the back of his head a bit. "Gengar just wants to make friends, Red."

"WELL HE HAS A FUNNY WAY OF SHOWING IT!" If there was one thing Misty disliked more than Bug Pokemon, it was Ghost Pokemon. She watched as Gengar floated up, hovering over his master's shoulder with a wide grin stretching across his lips.

"Geeeeen," he cried, nearly startling Gary by being so close to his ear. Granted, he wasn't quite used to this himself. The professor nodded towards his pokemon, as if he understood what he was saying.

"He says you passed the test. Whatever that means," he shrugged, then promptly nudged Misty with his elbow, a playful smirk gracing his features, "c'mon, let's go get you into that uniform of yours."

Misty grumbled under her breath, crossing her arms against her chest as she followed him further down the hall. "Greeaaaaat. Can't wait."

o-o-o-o-o-o

"Gary Oak you've GOT to be kidding me right now," she shouted from the guest bathroom, having only just turned around to look in the full-view mirror on the back of the door. The dress looked short, but it appeared to be even shorter on her. It was a sexy maid Halloween costume that was basically a sleeved corset and a short, lacey skirt. Said skirt just barely covered her upper thigh. And, to go along with it, he had paired it with a set of kitten heels. "There's no way in HELL I'm working like this. Especially not around a horndog like you!"

"You won't even give me a quick fashion show?" He asked, startling Misty in the process with his voice coming from the other side of the door. He was obviously trying to sound pitiful, but all it did was make the redhead scoff.

"No, you perve! I came to clean your house, not to co-star in a porno," she called out to him, her blood beginning to boil as soon as she heard him chuckling at her.

"A porno, huh? I wasn't thinking of that, but now that you mention it-" Gary was having too much fun picking on her. He would never force anything on her, but this was all just entertainment.

Misty groaned from her side, trying desperately to pull up the corset. Her bust was spilling out in the most uncomfortable way. "In your wildest dreams, Oak," she threw back at him, still trying to work the damn thing.

"Yours too, Waterflower," he was now leaning against the wall next to the door, arms crossed over his chest with one foot propped up against the wall. Like a damn fly boy.

She couldn't stand it anymore. She wanted to ring his neck with every fiber of her being. Misty shot out of the bathroom and gave Gary the epitome of stank eyes, and all he did was look at her from head to toe, completely ignoring her death stare.

"Do you want to die?"

"At least I'll die a happy man."

Misty elbowed him in the gut, causing him to jolt forward a bit in surprise. "Well, glad you got to see the show, but I'm going to put my clothes back on. I'd rather not-" before she knew it, Gary had her pressed against the wall, his lips hovering over her ear.

"Or you could just be wearing nothing at all," he whispered into her ear. "C'mon. Did you really think I wanted you over here just to clean my house?" Gary made no further advancements. He knew what he was doing. Arceus knows, he did it enough. But this time, he wasn't doing it for some fling. Hell, he didn't even think Misty would even try on the outfit. He thought she would smack him before even going as far as changing into that skirt, much less the whole ensemble. This was definitely a pleasant surprise. He had a plan up his sleeve.

There was a part of her that wanted to push him away. The same part that pushed away any man that looked at her like that. But there was also a part of her that wanted to say fuck it and just let go. To knock her walls down. "So, you invited me over for a booty call?" she asked, peering up at him. Gary just laughed at her.

"No. Actually, I wanted to show you something." And, just like nothing had happened, he had released his grip from her, leaving her more than flustered. He spun on his heels and headed down the hall, motioning for Misty to follow him. But what she didn't see was the triumphant grin on his face. He knew he was winning this war.

"C- can I change first?"

"If you want. Meet me upstairs, in the study."

Who would have known that Gary Oak was the King of mixed signals? The redhead sighed and hurried back into the bathroom, relieved to be able to get back in her normal clothing. A baby blue long-sleeved blouse and her favorite pair of jeans. She would take that over this slutty get-up any day. As she was changing and heading upstairs towards the study (she was still trying to figure out what room that was in), she kept playing over and over again about what just happened. Was he playing around with her? Was he serious? It was enough to cause a fire down below, that much was for sure.

By the time she reached Gary, she found him knelt down in the corner of the room with what looked like medication for a sick pokemon tucked in his hand. The closer she got, the better she saw what was going on. He was knelt in front of a one-tailed vulpix. It was the smallest of its kind Misty believed that she had ever seen. "Where did you-"

"I found her. Crying in the woods behind the house. She must have gotten left behind by her parents," he quickly administered the medicine, prompting the vulpix to whine. Gary then peered up at Misty, looking more serious than any previous time he had looked at her today. "I wanted to ask you to look after her while I'm gone. Though I wouldn't say no to any other activities afterwards," there he went, grinning again.

Misty grabbed her trusty mallet and whacked him upside the head with it. Playfully, of course. "Why me? Professor Oak, or even May could look after the little one. At least they're more seasoned with what to do." She knelt down beside Gary to get a good look at the baby. Vulpix picked her head up and stared at Misty for a moment, visibly unsure of the stranger danger in front of her.

"I saw the way you took care of Togepi all of those years ago. And I see the way you treat Aqurill now. They're like your children, too. I want to know she'll be well taken care of while I'm gone, so I want to leave her with you," he explained, sparing her a ghost of a smile.

"Of course. I can do that," Misty was honestly flattered that he trusted her enough with this. "The potion you gave her… does she need that every day?"

Gary gave a quick nod. "It's for immune support. Packed with vitamins and nutrients that she's not getting from her mother. Once a day is all she needs, though. But, I like to sit with her afterwards. It appears she needs the physical contact, though she is a bit timid." He reached over with one hand for Vulpix to sniff, chuckling softly when she bumped her nose against his hand after smelling it.

Misty planted her butt on the floor and leaned over Gary to reach out to the baby pokemon with the palm of her hand outstretched. Both of them were well aware of the proximity as she pressed against him, but neither of them seemed to mind. "For a perve, you sure know your stuff," the redhead peered up at him, sending a wink, "gotta say I'm impressed."

The brunet smirked back at his favorite redhead in return, "you act like you've doubted me in the past." And with the pointed look he got from Misty, he waved his hand dismissively. "Alright, alright. So, will you do this?"

"Of course." Misty couldn't help but be in awe of this moment. She had never seen Gary look so… soft. He really did care about pokemon, not just the ones he caught. He might have been a douchebag when they were growing up. But now… he had matured so much. (Well, in some aspects. He still was a horndog, after all). Maybe she should consider letting her walls down. "Hey, Gary?"

"Yeah?"

"We never talked about that night. That… party May and Trace threw celebrating their engagement. And you and me-"

"We're both consenting adults, Misty. We don't have to be so discreet about broaching the subject," he ran his hand across his stubble-d chin, looking over at her again. "We both had too much to drink, and we kissed."

"I don't know how you can be so matter-of-fact about this. Had you not stopped me—"

Gary unintentionally stopped her by wrapping his arm around her shoulder. But since she stopped talking, he might as well fill in the blanks. "Little Red Riding Hood, I'm going to tell it to you like this. I didn't want to stop you. But I respected you enough to know that you were only upset with Ash." He hadn't meant to make this half-embrace he had her in so emotionally charged, but here they were. They both could feel it.

"That's not the only reason why I kissed you," she admitted, looking down at her lap rather than at him. "I was upset, yeah, but I also just wanted that—"

"You wanted the Gary booty. You can say it," he teased her, prompting her to whack him in the chest half-heartedly, her gaze shooting up to his once more.

"I want more than that. You should know by now that I'm a hopeless romantic." Misty let those words hang in the air, half expecting Gary to come up with another joke. But, what happened next threw her for a loop. He brought her in closer to him, his free hand coming up to cup her cheek. "What are you doing?" She asked in a breathless tone, watching his every move like a hawk.

"Giving you more."

His lips met with hers and from there it was a sealed deal. The redhead pulled herself on his lap, arms wrapping around his shoulders. Gary let her get comfortable before his arms hooked around her waist to keep her there, almost as if he was afraid she would just disappear. It was foreign for him to fear losing someone. He had made it a life goal not to get attached to someone, not after his dad left. But, somehow, someway, he was willing to make a sacrifice for one Misty Waterflower. May was going to gloat for- well, maybe ever. But he figured that it didn't really matter. Not right now, anyways. In his own little way, he had been trying to let Misty know from the start with how he felt. The two had always had an interesting dynamic, even if it was only within the last few years that they got to know each other, fully. And while all of his previous attempts of manning up had been futile, it looked like things were starting to look up.

Vulpix watched as the pair continued to lock lips, apparently unaware of her presence anymore. Her one little tail flickered back and forth, content just to lay there. She didn't know what was going on, but her master seemed happy, so that was enough for her.

Well, here we are! Hope y'all enjoyed!