My Asylum In A Wintery Storm
Stretching out under the sheets of his bed, Gary couldn't help the pleasurable moan escape his lips. It felt so good to be back in his own bed. As much as he enjoyed travelling, he enjoyed waking up in his own bed even more. Glancing down by his feet, he guessed Umbreon felt the same way. Watching him lightly sleeping with his limbs all sprawled out in every which direction was just a slight indicator. Sitting up, the teen stretched his arms up, enjoying the popping sounds that emitted from his worn out back muscles. In truth, the young researcher knew he should take today easy to give his body a break, but he couldn't. He made a promise after all…
Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, the brunette stripped down to change into a pair of comfy athletic pants and a pair of sneakers. Foregoing a shirt, as he knew he would only sweat in it, he headed downstairs leaving Umbreon to snooze a little longer. Passing the guest room, Gary couldn't help but notice that Ash wasn't in his bed. The two agreed last night that they were going to start around 0800, and by the researchers watch it was only 0715. Shrugging, Gary made his way down the stairs to find his grandpa sitting in the living room with his morning coffee and newspaper.
"Morning, Gramps."
"Good morning, Gary."
"Have you seen Ash this morning?"
The professor peeked over his newspaper to glance at his grandson. "No, but he's probably still sleeping upstairs." Oak called after Gary as he moved into the kitchen to grab himself a cereal bar. Tearing open the wrapper, the teen returned to the living room.
"I just checked, and he's not there." Quickly finished the bar in three bites, the teen brushed his hands off over his athletic pants in an attempt to remove the crumbs.
"Then he's probably out with the Pokemon. He's usually out there every morning around 0500." Bringing his paper back up to eye level, Oak continued. "I keep telling him he can start around 0900, but he doesn't listen." Reaching to the coffee table beside him, Professor Oak brought his coffee mug up to his lips for a long swig. "He's such a hard worker," the professor commented while setting his mug back down upon its coaster. "I just wish he would stop overworking himself."
Gary felt a pointed look through Sam's newspaper, making the teen slightly nervous where he stood.
Deciding to leave his grandpa alone to his reading, Gary moved to the kitchen to get himself a glass of orange juice when he noticed a sleepy Umbreon had made his way downstairs. Kneeling next to his partner, Gary softly removed the sleepies from his Pokemon's eyes before he laid down Umbreon's breakfast dish. As the two finished up in the kitchen, Gary made to brush his teeth before heading out back to find Ash.
"Now where could he be?" Looking around the arena, Gary noted that it looked like a ghost town without all the Pokemon. Even the adjoined stables were empty. Heading out into the pasture, Gary was floored at what he saw.
Through the moon's glow last night, the teen hadn't noticed the full extent of damage done to his grandfathers property, but he could quickly understand why his grandfather has hired Ash on, if things looked this horrendous now the brunette didn't want to think about what this place looked like before Ash got here.
Locking his eyes on the teen in question, Gary quickly sprinted over towards his childhood friend who was cornered against the barn. Most of the lab Pokemon were huddled behind him, cowering in fear of the two burly men who stood in their way. By his foot, a few of the younger Pokemon clung to him where as some of the older ones stayed back but had no problem showing their teeth. Even little Eevee had her ear's pinned back in anger.
"Step aside, brat, and you won't get hurt."
Watching the smaller teen back himself back up against the barn, the larger of the two men were instantly on him, pinning his hands above his head in one of his large bear hands, while the other swung back to leave a devastating blow to the teens side. The cries of the lab Pokemon could be heard a mile away when the trainers limp body slammed against the woodwork. Laughing at the cry that escaped his victim's lips, the man continued his assault until the force of Umbreon's tackle set him flying into a heap upon the ground, directly atop his partner.
"Get off of me!" The two were instantly on their feet.
"Blastoise, Hydro-Pump! Umbreon, Hyper-Beam!" Gary commanded. The two men looked at each other, now soaking wet, before scrambling to their feet and jumping the fence shouting promises to return. Once he was sure the men were gone, Gary sprinted over to Ash who looked like a drowned rat having been caught in the after-blast of Blastoise's Hydro-Pump. "What the hell was that all about?"
"Like I said, things haven't been so simple around here."
"You had a whole arsenal of Pokemon behind you! You should have used them!" Glancing back to the Pokemon huddled against the barn, his anger softened at the sight of their fear.
"Not really, all the Pokemon here are rescues from Team Rocket." Holding his side, Ash leaned into Gary's support. "A lot of them don't trust me and the professor because of what Team Rocket put them through."
"Team Rocket are the thugs you were talking about?" Ash could only meekly nod; his whole body was on fire, limiting his bodily functions. "We should get you inside."
"No, just give me a second." Drawing his hand to his head, Ash opened his eyes slightly only to have them permanently glued to Gary's exposed flesh. Skimming his eyes over Gary's well chiseled body, the younger teen felt his face heat up with embarrassment.
"Well, let's go put some ice on you to reduce some of this swelling." Calling Blastoise back into its Pokeball, Gary turned to help his friend up. "Come on, if I remember correctly there's some cold packs in the store room and some Icee-Hot."
Walking back to the lab, Gary couldn't help but notice Eevee timidly following behind. Every so often she would glance back to check on the other Pokemon who were following them in as well, but the researcher could easily see that her full attention was on Ash. Getting the younger man to sit down in one of the cleaner offices in the lab, Gary turned to grab one of the cold packs. Throwing it against the counter a few times, creating the cooling chemical reaction, Gary set it down for a moment to turn to his friend.
"Take your shirt off, Ash."
"Huh?" Watching Gary rummage through one of the overhead cabinets, Ash felt his face heat up again. "Do I really need to?"
"By the way you're favoring your side, I would say yes." Grabbing a towel and the tube of ice-hot, the brunette researcher turned around to find his darker haired friend struggling to remove his black t-shirt. "Here," kneeling before him, Gary stilled the teen's hands and easily slid the offensive article of clothing over the other boys head with little to no pain afflicted.
"Thanks," Ash spoke softly, a little embarrassed by the help received.
Not really listening to what his partner was say, Gary couldn't help but have his eyes roam over the dark discolorations upon the younger teen's body. Some of the marks were faded green-yellow, whereas most of the others were still in their dark blue and purple discoloration stages. Dropping Ash's wet shirt onto the floor, the researcher went to slowly drying off his skin before applying the cold pack, wrapped in a dry towel, to the area of greatest discomfort.
Adjusting his hands so the younger teen's could easily take over the task of holding the cold compress to his side, Gary turned for a moment to see Umbreon and Eevee sitting in the doorway intently observing the two. Quickly standing, the brunette filled a Dixie cup with some tap water from the sink before snatching a generic bottle of anti-inflammatory medication.
"Take these; it should reduce your pain and the inflammation." Watching the tablets slide down the trainer's throat with ease, Gary lifted the tube of Icee-Hot into his hands. Squirting an ample portion into his palm, the researcher moved away the compress to gently rub in the medicated gel. Smoothing his hands over Ash's battered side the teen couldn't help but glance up every so often to see the visible twist of pain in the teen's face. "Sorry," adverting his gaze back to his duty Gary didn't dare look up again. "Rough hands."
"It's fine…"
Completing his task at hand, Gary sat back on his haunches with a satisfied smile. "Well, it doesn't feel like anything is broken or out of place." Maneuvering the cold pack back over the reddened area, Gary offered a small smile.
"That's good. We should get started on those repairs before Team Rocket returns. I'd give it another two weeks too before the weather starts changing for the worst too."
It dawned on Gary at that moment that the winter months were fast approaching. The warm sunny days would soon be replaced by cold, wintery nights complete with snow and ice. "Yeah, let's get started."
Watching his friend stand, Gary's eyes trained themselves to his side looking for any signs of weakness. Finding none, he reached down to pick up the trainers grey t-shirt off the ground and toss the compress into the trash. Laying Ash's soaked shirt out over a plastic chair, Gary followed Ash into the arena.
"When I got here about four months ago, I had no idea where to start." Ash muttered calmly, watching the lab Pokemon play with each other. "I've just been able to do patch work jobs to keep this building up and functional." Following the younger trainers gesture, Gary's face pulled into a frown. "As you can see, it hasn't been working out so well."
Assuming that the intruding Rockets caused the large hole in the wall this morning, Gary sighed in defeat. "I wish Gramps would have called me sooner—or even just called."
"He didn't want to bother you, Gary."
"Still, if I knew things was this bad at home I would have been here in less than a day."
"Professor Oak knew you would too, that's why he didn't say anything; made me promise not to say anything too."
"Still…" Looking down at Ubreon who was lightly touching his leg, Gary couldn't help but smile. "Well, I'm here now. So, what do you say we start with the arena?"
Ash blinked a few times, probably wondering why the older teen didn't want to start outside with the pasture fencing. It took a few moments for a piece of plaster to fall from the ceiling to crash into the corner across the room. Winter was coming, and currently, this building should be condemned. "Sounds good, it's just there are so many problems with this place I don't know where to start."
"I'd say demolish this whole building—stables, barn and pasture included." Eevee and Umbreon turned their heads quickly at this statement.
"Uh…"
"Might as well," Gary offered. "This place was outdated years ago. Let me call Charlie in town and get him out here for an estimate."
"Gary, Charlie packed up his business months ago and left for Viridian City."
"Well, let's just give him a call."
Following Gary back to the house, the two boys slowly crept past the study, careful not to disturb the professor and his work. Quickly darting up the stairs, Ash followed Gary into his room. Sitting on the older boys neatly made bed; Ash flopped back and stretched out. Winding back the clock a bit, they could both remember a time or two when they were little and they shared that bed during a sleep over. Resting silently upon the covers, Ash remained silent as Gary spoke with Charlie.
"I don't really care about an estimation on the price right now, we really just need this job done." Sighing, Gary leaned back in his chair to stare down the blonde through the tele-screen. "I could think of no better man to get the job done either."
It was settled, Charlie and his crew were to arrive in two days to start renovating the lab. Spinning around in his office chair, Gary smiled at his friend. "How about we get lunch before heading out to start clearing out the lab?"
Sitting up slowly, Ash bobbed his head in a nod. "Okay." Standing, a shiver ran up the younger teen's spine, alerting the older boy across from him.
"Cold?"
"Not really?" Another shiver followed the first. "Maybe…"
Turning towards his dresser near the desk, Gary pulled out one of his old red hoodies. Checking the size, he smiled and threw the raiment to Ash. "That should fit you."
It was a simple red hoodie, nothing special about it other than the last time Gary wore it was when he was probably 10-years old. He wore a small back then, and now he was forced into the large sizes to compensate for his muscle tone and wide shoulders. Feeling a chill come on himself, Gary slipped on his grey hoodie and followed Ash down the stairs.
Ash sat at the dining room table with a glass of water. Once Gary joined him, he produced two plates complete with a sliced apple and a sandwich made of lunch meats and a piece of cheese. "Sorry if it isn't what you like, but it's all that we've got."
"It's fine, thanks." In truth, Ash wasn't expecting to share a lunch with his childhood friend. Biting into the slice of apple, he leaned back into his chair to watch Gary quietly munching on his own. Taking another bite, the young trainer snuggled into the warmth of Gary's old hoodie. He remembered this hoodie too, it was the same one that the young researcher wore to camp the year before the two started out on their Pokemon journey. It was the same summer when Gary started to hate him.
"You okay?"
Brought from his thoughts, the dark haired teen flashed his eyes up to his friends. "Yeah, just thinking is all."
Gary smirked, "that's new for you."
There was that witty banter Ash had become so accustomed to after camp that year. When the two returned home, nothing was the same. At camp, the two never fought. In fact, everything was normal between them—nothing out of the ordinary.
Polishing off his apple, Ash looked to the sandwich that Gary neatly cut in half. Picking it up, he took a small bite. "So where did you want to store everything from the lab?"
"Store everything from the lab?" Startled, both boys looked up to see Professor Oak wander into the kitchen.
"I called Charlie today, Gramps." Gary spoke between his bites. "He said he'd come down from Viridian to renovate the lab."
Choking slightly as he took a sip of water, Samuel Oak turned to his grandson. "Gary, I don't have that kind of money anymore."
"I wasn't expecting you to pay it off, Grandpa. I'll cover it." Swallowing his last bite, Gary leaned back into his seat. "Besides, the University I work with pays really well." Ash knew Gary was well off before, but now he wasn't sure what the sum in the boy's bank statements were anymore.
"Speaking of your research, Gary, what did you end up deciding to specialize in?"
"Ancient Ruins," he answered smoothly.
While Sam seemed extremely proud with his grandson, Ash was slightly put out. Not that he would admit this out loud, but over the years he secretly missed his dear childhood friend. With Gary's area of expertise, Ash quickly realized that after Gary's vacation he would most likely never see his friend again. "Good for you, Gary." The smile on his face never reached the young teens eyes.
POKEMON: Gotta Catch 'Em All
Laying in bed that night, Ash curled onto his side snuggling further into Gary's hoodie that he accidently brought home. All afternoon, the two teens worked diligently in clearing out all the offices and saving any piece of equipment that they could. It wasn't much, but it would be things that the Oak's could either sell or reuse in their new facility. Charlie would be there tomorrow afternoon at the earliest, so it was a good thing that they had everything cleared out and ready for the demolishment.
The final thing the two had to accomplish before the night was over was to put all the lab Pokemon back into their Pokeballs. Some had balls of their own from their previous trainers that dropped them off at the lab, but most didn't. Very few went willingly into the balls, refusing to be captured. If Ash was honest with himself, that was the hardest part all day; they were afraid of the dark, just like Pikachu.
Pulling the one Pokemon that refused to be caught closer to his chest, Ash buried his face into her soft, silky fur. Taking one of her small brown paws into his hand, he curled his fingers around it, softly whispering into her ear, "no one will ever hurt you ever again."
"Ee…" Eevee turned her head towards her new trainer, placing a soft kiss to his nose before curling her body back into a comfortable position and falling asleep.
POKEMON: Gotta Catch Em All
Kira: Just so you all know, it's freezing here where I live because of the lovely lake effect. Thank you for an overnight 12-INCHES OF SNOW! Haha, yeah, it's a little cold and the snow just keeps falling so I just had to incorporate the winter season into this. Hopefully, I'll have this finished by December 24th as I plan to make it a holiday story. Also, if any of you have noticed, I changed the title because while surfing through some other stories I saw a recent one that had the same title; can't have that. Let me know what ya'll think of the new title, and I'm working on a proper summary for this as well. As usual, leave me a comment on whether you loved it, hated it, or whatever. Reviews make me update faster. Thanks guys!
-Dark Angel Kira-
