'Allo loves! How's it been? I know most of you are anxiously awaiting the next chapter.
So, I've got some people saying they want more about Ash's past. Well it's going to take some patience—the really big stuff isn't going to be revealed until the end. I'll try to add a couple things here and there, but all of it will be laid out in black and white for all to see when the story is finished.
Well, anyway, in thinking of this chapter and how Gary has help Ash escape, I was listening to an older song by Evanescence called Anywhere. It's a very pretty song—I think a lot of what happened in chapter 4 really goes with the lyrics. Gary will actually be dictating some of the words to the song at the beginning of this chapter. I highly suggest listening to the song—Evanescence is well known for their darker sound, but the song has a more My Immortal feel to it.
So here we go!
Freak on a Leash
Ch. 5: You And I Were Meant To Be
As they climbed up the wet grassy hill, Ash paused. Gary, still tightly holding onto his hand, was pulled back at Ash's cease of movement.
"Ash?"
Ash's eyes were fixated on his former home—now a mere dot in the wide landscape. He took a couple steps backwards, back toward the carnival. Gary grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Forget this life," he whispered. Ash looked back at Gary anxiously. "Was it a good idea to leave, Gary?"
He repeated himself. "Forget this life," he whispered even quieter. "Come with me. Don't look back your safe now."
Ash's eyes locked with Gary's, hesitating to answer back. Swallowing, he nodded, taking a step forward as the two started walking again.
"This new life," Ash thought to himself. "What will it hold? Will I ever be able to get my memories back?"
"We're almost there," Gary said. "Just over this hill is my house."
"And what if Giovanni comes after us? Will we be able to keep running from him?"
His thoughts plagued his mind—it was hard for him to try and imagine everything that could happen. And, what would Giovanni do if they did find them? What would he do to Gary? There was no way he was going to jeopardize Gary's life.
"You've stopped again. Is something wrong?"
"Gary…" he said, the cold night wind blowing his hair, "I want to go back."
"We're not going back."
"I don't want…" he stifled a cry, lifting up his shirt, showing Gary his bruised stomach, "I don't want him to hurt you. I don't," he paused again, "I don't want him to kill you."
"Well he's not going to."
"But Gary!" Ash protested.
"He's not going to get us. I'm positive. And if he does, we'll just run."
"But I don't want to spend my life running away! All I want…I want to be free."
Gary grabbed his hand and continued pulling him along. Ash felt startled, as if Gary was forcing him to come with. "Gary…" he whispered.
"Freedom has its price, Ash," Gary said, stopping again. "You weren't going to get your freedom by sitting there in that cage. Your only other option was to run. So what do you want? Go back and sit in the cage for the rest of your life, wishing for freedom, or do you want to come with me and we'll keep running until we get what you want?"
Ash turned around and looked back at the carnival. He had been through so much down there—more bad had happened there than good. And Gary was right—he wouldn't get freedom by staying. But…what was it his heart really wanted?
"Ash?"
"Let's go," he said, turning his back to the carnival. "You said it was just up ahead, right?"
Gary watched as he walked right on past. He cracked a smile at the other's determination in his voice. "Right—just a little bit longer."
Ash didn't look back after that, as the carnival got smaller and smaller, until it was out of sight.
--
It was late at night, but Misty knew he'd be back fairly soon. She received a call about an hour earlier, telling her that Ash would be coming with him that night. She was so excited—lately, she'd been really worried—after Gary had told her that Giovanni had beaten him up, she was always nervous for the boy's safety. Her thoughts could be at ease now, knowing that Ash would be safe.
The door opened, and Misty got up from her chair in the living room anxious to see her friend. Her soft footsteps made little noise as she crossed the room and into the hallway, smiling at the sight she saw in front of her. There was Ash, huddled in Gary's arms, shivering like no tomorrow. A grin from ear to ear, she cleared her throat to alert the two of her presence. As Ash looked up, her grin grew even wider, as she opened her arms to him.
"Misty!" Ash said as he ran into her arms and accepted her hug. A huge smile spread across his face as he was wrapped in the red head's embrace.
"Ash, I haven't seen you in forever!" she said excitedly, ruffling his hair. She let go of him, holding him in front of her at arms length. "You're here! We need to go somewhere!"
"But we just got here Misty…"
"I know, but we need to go somewhere. There's so much you haven't seen—all this cool stuff in the world that you've been denied for years! We need to get as much in as we can!"
Ash smiled at Gary's sister. He was really lucky to have a friend like her.
"Brock is in the kitchen—Gary called and said you were coming, so I got him over here so he could make you something good to eat."
At the mention of food, Ash's stomach did a back flip, and he raced into the kitchen so he could greet his friend and his stomach could greet his friend's cooking. As he entered the room, he saw the familiar figure with his back turned to him, wearing a pink apron and humming to himself.
"Is that for me?" Ash asked wide-eyed, staring hungrily at the pan filled with delicious food.
"You bet, kiddo," Brock smiled, looking back at the boy while turning what was in the pan. Ash was so excited—he couldn't wait to eat what Brock had cooked for him.
"It'll still be a little bit," Brock said, "Why don't you ask Misty to give you a bath?"
Of course, Gary heard this from all the way across the house, where he had been talking to his sister.
"Oh hell no. No one is giving MY Ash a bath except for me."
"Gary?" Misty asked. She couldn't help but giggle at her brother's comment and the determination in his eyes, and the silly pose he had made getting his point across to the entire house. "So he's your Ash now, hmm?"
"Damn right."
"Well then I'll go run a bath of YOUR Ash and then you can go upstairs and give him one," she said, getting up from her seat and heading upstairs. "Just remember to be gentle with him!"
She continued giggling as she traveled up the stairs, Ash taking her place beside Gary.
"Brock said I had to get a bath from Misty in order to get some food."
"No, I'm giving you a bath."
"Wha!" Ash shouted, backing away from Gary. Right now, more than anything, he was dead scared of being undressed in front of Gary. It was just too embarrassing! "You…you're giving me a bath?"
"Yup," Gary replied, picking Ash up, holding him in his arms as a bride would hold a groom. "And you're gonna sit there like a man and take it!"
"Gary, wait…!" he shrieked as he was lifted off the ground, his cries of protest rather loud. "I mean, it's just that…"
"I'm giving you a bath and that's final."
"But Gary!" Ash whined, dragging out the A in his name.
"Tub's almost ready, guys," Misty shouted from the second floor.
"Lemme go!" Ash cried.
"No!"
"C'mon! I don't wanna!"
"Too damn bad."
"Gary!" he whined again. He started kicking his legs wildly, moving frantically in order to get out of Gary's arms. Gary just shrugged it off and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He then started walking up the stairs, the squirming boy draped over his shoulder.
"Stop it! I'm serious, Gary!" he complained, hitting his back with his fists and his continuous kicking. Gary's trek up the stairs became even more strenuous when Ash had kneed him in his crotch, causing him to stumbled down a couple of steps as he winced in pain.
"Gary!" Ash shrieked, mortified that he had accidentally kicked him in his sensitive spot, but relieved he was being released. But, instead of moving out of his arms, Ash stayed absolutely still, only making Gary more determined to get Ash into the tub. He grabbed him again, this time holding his legs and he continued up the stairs.
"Must…give…Ash…a bath…must…see…him…naked!"
Truly, Gary had some of the most perverse thoughts now than any others he had had in his life.
And finally, he had made it up those damn steps. His sister stood at the door of the bathroom, leaning against the frame of the door.
"What took you so long?"
"Sorry…" Gary panted.
"Have sex on the stairs while coming up, huh?" she giggled. Making fun of her brother was just too much fun.
"No," Gary took in a deep breath. "Little shit kneed me in the nuts."
"Misty, help me!" Ash cried, reaching a hand out to Misty as if he were in real peril.
"Oh no," she said, backing away from him. "I'm not going to release the relentless wrath of Gary Oak upon my soul. You are on your own."
"Thanks, Misty."
And the door slammed shut as Gary dragged Ash into the bathroom. He stooped down, clutching the toilet seat, panting furiously. "In the tub," Gary ordered between his staggered breaths.
"No!" Ash shouted rather defiantly.
"I said," he breathed, standing up from his crouched position, "In the tub. NOW."
"Or what?"
"Or face the relentless wrath of Gary Oak upon your soul."
"You don't scare me," Ash mocked, sticking his tongue out. Gary, rather than being angry at the boy, chuckled. "Well if you're not getting in the tub, I'm putting you in there myself!"
"Gary, no!" Ash shrieked as Gary picked him up again, and this time, before Ash could start kicking and inflicting pain upon Gary, he was dropped into the tub with his clothes still on. Turning around to get the soap, Ash sat there in his sopping wet clothes, utterly amazed that he had done that.
"I thought you loved me!" he whined.
"I'll love you more when you smell like strawberries!" Gary chimed, turning around and rolling up his sleeves. Ash looked pretty scared, shivering in the tub out of apprehension as to what would happen next. He had never had any good experiences with baths, mainly because the person in charge of bathing him was awfully rough.
"Hey now," Gary said, crouching next to the tub. "What's wrong?"
"N….nothing…."
"I promise," Gary said, holding his hand up, "this'll make you feel 100 percent better. Just take off your clothes and I can get you all cleaned up and into some new ones, okay?"
Gary's attitude had changed in a matter of seconds—his joking, fierce, stubborn side had hidden under the calm, gentle side that had shown Ash how to love. "O…Okay," Ash whispered, peeling off the wet shirt. It had gotten rather heavy with water, giving Ash some difficulty lifting it over his head. Gary set the soaps down and helped the boy heave it over his head, setting it to the side when it had come off. The bandages underneath his garments had gotten wet as well, peeling off of him and revealing the tender wounded flesh. He reached out a finger and gently touched the wound, causing Ash to flinch.
"We need to get those cleaned up when we're done," Gary said, looking down. Of course, looking down might not have been the best thing, since Ash had unknowingly slipped the remainder of his clothing off and sat in the tub stark naked. Gary's face instantly grew red as he turned his head away for only a minute, clearing his thoughts and convincing himself there was a reason why he shouldn't pounce on the boy right there and then.
"Bath…bath…Ash needs a bath…"
He squirted the strawberry scented shampoo into his hands and rubbed them together, letting the stray bubbles fly. Ash closed his eyes, expecting the worse as Gary's hands grew nearer, and nearer, and….
Gently touched his head. His fingers began massaging Ash's head and hair, mixing the shampoo deep into his scalp. Ash let out a relaxed sigh as he slid into the tub's warm water. This felt absolutely heavenly. Gary's fingers combed through Ash's hair, relieving it of the knots and loose ends that had made it so messy.
And then he felt another wave of pleasure hit him as the warm water decended down his face and back, soaking his hair as Gary washed out the shampoo. One hand still entangled in his locks, he repeated the step to get all of the soap out, continuing the measure until necessary.
Once it was all out, he uncapped another bottle. This one also smelt like strawberries, but had a more pale color to it, and instead of being somewhat transparent like the last one, it was completely opaque. He repeated the process he had done with the shampoo, massaging it into Ash's scalp as Ash melted into the warm water.
And then he stopped. "We need to let this stay in your hair for about a minute or two," Gary looked to the side, blushing like mad. "St…stand up. I'll wash your body."
Ash grew a bit weary as he said this. He knew that since he and Gary had officially become an item, they would move onto the more intimate part of being in a relationship. Or, that's how Jesse had explained it once when Ash had seen James fooling around with one of his many girlfriends. The fact that Gary was going to see him unclothed made him a bit apprehensive. None the less, he stood up.
Gary took a sponge and went right to work, scrubbing Ash's body from head to toe, massaging his skin. The wonderful feeling of the one he loved touching him like this, even if it was just to give him a bath, sent him into a light-headed state. He gently caressed the boy's wounds, being careful as to not hurt him.
And he got lower. Ash grew more nervous. He closed his eyes, the tomato red color in his face growing darker and darker. He could feel Gary getting lower and lower, and then…
"You can sit back down now," Gary mumbled, turning his head to the side. Gary's face was red as well, making him look more like a tomato than Ash did.. Ash stifled a laugh and sat back down as Gary finished bathing him, washing the remaining conditioner from his hair.
"Bath's done," Gary said, unplugging the drain. "Now was that as bad as you made it out to be?"
The two laughed, the water in the tub sinking through the drain as Gary picked a towel up from the side and handed it to Ash. "Wait here—I'll see if there is some of my old pajama's that could fit you."
Ash nodded in response as Gary left the bathroom. He let out a heavy sigh—this had to be one of the most intimate moments he had had with Gary yet. And they had only been together like this for…a couple of hours. It had almost happened—Gary had almost touched his…his…oh, Ash began blushing again just thinking about it! He'd seen Gary before when he said he "didn't know what he would do to him," and that was just from a simple kiss. The sexual tension in the air, it was enough to drive either of them over the edge or insane.
The door opened again as Ash stood lost in thought—Gary had found a pair nearby and had brought them back to him in no time. "Alright, um…" Gary mumbled as Ash grabbed the underwear from the pile of clothes, slipping them on as Gary continued his rambling. "Well, this was as good as I could get—all of my old clothes are even bigger than you!" he joked, laughing nervously. "You should grow a bit more, and then maybe you won't be such a shrimp."
All Ash did was beam at him, flashing him one of the most adorable smiles Gary had thought he could ever muster. "Thank you."
Somehow, through Gary's rant, he'd gotten the pajamas on and he didn't even notice. The light blue long sleeve set with blue stripes made Ash look even more cute, and Gary could help but feel there was something wet running down his face. He also wondered when the bathroom had become so pink and sparkly and fuzzy.
"Gary, you're bleeding!" Ash gasped. Indeed, Gary had gotten a terrible nosebleed, probably from the fantasizing he had done of how cute Ash looked and how cute he'd look squirming underneath him with nothing on.
"I….it's nothing," Gary mumbled, swatting Ash's hand away, trying to cover it up. He coughed a couple of times, wiping the blood with his sleeve.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Then let's go eat!"
Oh God, he couldn't handle it anymore. His raging teenage boy hormones were practically screaming, "Ravish him! Make him scream your name in ecstasy and beg for more!"
Gary shuffled behind Ash, opening his arms to the boy, who seemed totally oblivious to what was happened. It didn't really hit him until he felt two strong arms wrap around his waist and pull him close.
"G….Gary?" Ash stuttered. This only cause the brunette to pull him closer, as he felt Gary's hot breath on his neck. He faintly picked up something from Gary—he'd whispered into his ears almost too softly to be head. "I love you."
"W…what?"
Gary's eyes, glazed over with lust, fixated themselves on the boy's hair. He just stood there, as Ash felt the other boy's grip on him getting tighter, and tighter. It was an amazing feeling, and yet at the same time he felt suffocated.
"C'mon guys!" a voice from downstairs, most likely Brock's, yelled. "Food's ready!"
The lust in Gary's eyes quickly vanished as he softened his grip, until finally he had let go of the boy.
"No, Gary, no," his mind told him. "He's been through a lot. It's not the right time yet."
Although his hormones were screaming that he must've been crazy, Gary stepped away from Ash, taking only a second to regain his composure.
"Well, should we go downstairs? From up here, it smells like Brock cooked you something good."
The topic shifting back to food, Ash bolted down the stairs ahead of Gary, the sound of his hungry stomach the only other noise heard between the two boys.
--
It was now 4:51. Gary had taken Ash from the circus almost three hours ago, and in that time they had shared interesting conversations, taken a bath, and eaten dinner. 20 minutes ago, Gary had given Ash a room and told him to rest as long as he needed.
4:51 and he still couldn't sleep. Usually, if he had stayed up this late, his head would hit the pillow and he'd be out like a light. But tonight was different.
The door creaked. Gary bolted upright in his bed, watching the entrance to his room slowly let light from the hall in. All he saw though was a shadow that stood in the light, walked in, and closed the door. He heard the footsteps coming closer to his bed, the creaking of the floor echoing in the room as he didn't dare move, breath, or make the slightest sound.
"Gary?"
A sigh of relief. It was only Ash.
"What's up? It's almost 5 AM."
"I can't sleep."
"Sure you can. You've had a long day. Just close your eyes, count sheep, and you'll be out in no time."
"No, I mean…I'm scared."
There was an eerie silence between the two, a cough heard from Gary the only thing that was heard.
"Can I sleep with you tonight?"
"Oh," Gary coughed again.
"I mean, if it's too much trouble, I'll leave. I mean, I didn't mean to disturb you, it's just…well…I feel…"
"Don't worry about it," Gary said, smiling at the boy. Although Ash couldn't see it, he swore he could feel it and its warm glow shining onto him. Gary scooted over in his bed, lifting the covers and inviting Ash in. He hopped into the bed, the bouncing motions sending a wave of comfort to Gary. He didn't have to turn away—before he could, Ash had cuddled up into his arms and rested himself there.
"You want to sleep like this?"
"It's okay, isn't it?"
Gary's smile grew bigger. He liked this. It was very…comforting. It made him feel as if he weren't alone anymore. "Of course it's okay." Ash just smiled back at him and snuggled deeper into Gary's chest, taking in his scent as he inhaled deeply.
"Gary?"
"Hmm?"
"I think…" he paused, taking in another deep breath, "you and I were meant to be."
"Really now?"
"Really."
Their steady breaths penetrated the air, a long pause before Gary pulling Ash closer to his chest.
"Me too."
Ash's smile grew wider. "Goodnight, Gary."
"Goodnight, Ash. Sweet dreams."
TBC
It's done! Finally!
God, it took me forever to write this chapter! I spent so many nights on it because I kept having brain farts in the middle of writing it! Grrr!
Yeah, next chapter isn't done. But, there will still be a chapter preview. I just need to dig deep into my mind for a second…
Okay…
Ch. Preview
"They've surrounded the building!" Professor Oak whispered, the men in the next room carefully monitoring his conversation for as much information as possible. "You're going to have to sneak out another way."
"Gramps, have you finally gone senile?" Gary murmured under his breath rather harshly. "If they're surrounding the place…"
"Go upstairs to the laboratory. Look for the regular Pokeball sitting on the desk. In it is your ticket to escape."
"Ticket to escape? Gramps, you make no sense!"
"Press the button
to open up the roof, and then you'll be able to leave. Ash, I'm
trusting your skills as a communicator between Pokemon and humans to
talk to Charizard and…"
"Charizard!" Gary gasped. "But that thing is…"
Ooh, I cut it off right there! You're all probably super pissed now!
Really though, I need to think about the next part. That should be a good enough lead as to what could happen in the next chapter. I'll update ASAP. Now, what is it I always say? Ha ha, just joking! Read and review, over and out! -Nibzo