After Ash, Dawn and Brock's escapade into the mountains, it was only natural they were followed by Team Rocket, although this time it was (almost) completely coincidental. Mentions of rare Pokemon were not uncommon anywhere in the Pokemon world as means to attract tourists, researchers and trainers in order to prosper a town, but Team Rocket had long learnt that anywhere the twerp went, rare and possibly powerful Pokemon were bound to be found. It was kind of a formula they had found long ago, and sticking to it gave them a far better chance of gaining rare and/or powerful Pokemon. The only miscalculation in this otherwise flawless formula was if they tangled with the twerp directly it would lead to their downfall.

Even so, when it happened across their ears in Snowpoint that the twerp and his gang would be heading towards the mountains in search of Pokemon and adventure none of them rose any protest as they made immediate plans to follow the young trainer and his Pikachu.

And that, in truth, is how they came to be stuck here. In the blizzard. Blind and practically frozen. With a buried, also frozen balloon. Oh, and facing off against a bristling Umbreon at the entrance of what appeared to be their only safe haven from the storm.

It had started when James had spotted a faint sliver of light in the distance against the frigid blue mountainside, and they had all jerked towards it, attempting to ignore the limbs that were frozen and focus on the body parts they had that still functioned. Unfortunately for James, that only included one leg. He was more or less left behind in a slow hobble as Meowth and Jessie ran for the warm glowing cave.

Only to bluster in, penetrating the heat ring of the fire with a resounding 'Ahhhhhh!' before they noticed the occupants of the cave. An Arcanine by the fire and Pikachu with two people in a sleeping bag, which looked like… the twerp… and another twerp!

Umbreon, however, wasted no time.

'Leave,' she spat at Meowth, leaving no room nor time for a pleasant reply. 'Or I will make you.' Her eyes glowed a fierce yellow, underlining her order with strong reinforcement.

Jessie jumped, her attention torn from the surprising view she could see by the fire, only to be drawn towards the hostile Pokemon of the night in front of them. 'W-what did she say, Meowth?' he requested in a wobbly voice, shifting instinctively into a defensive ready-to-run stance.

'She… she's telling us to get out,' he replied, already behind Jessie's legs, the usual spunk drained from his tone from the exhaustion of the storm and the fear from this openly dangerous female Pokemon. Well, as they said, "Charizard hath no flame equal to that of a female's scorn."

He gulped, his sharp eyes trailing to the pair much deeper into the cave. 'I tink we're intrudin' on something here, Jessie.'

'You think?' Jessie snapped, about to insult him more just to ease her own tension, but she was interrupted by a heavy huffing, and James clomped in behind them. 'Whoa, that was hard!' he puffed out, leaning heavily on Jessie, whose eye twitched. 'Wow, it's nice and warm in here… holy Arceus! Is that the twerp and the first rival twerp?'

Jessie wacked him on the head, also conveniently pushing him off. 'Shut it!' she hissed. 'You aren't helping!'

It was then James noticed the angered Umbreon facing off against them. He didn't seem too worried, though. Love hearts danced in his eyes, and he sighed over dramatically, clasping his hands. 'But, Jessie, can you believe it? Our little twerp has finally become a big twerp!' He giggled, waggling his eyebrows. The overall effect was quite creepy.

Jessie promptly hit him again while Meowth rolled his eyes.

It was at that moment Pikachu's eyes fluttered, and at the sight he received at the far entrance, he jerked up and dashed to Umbreon's side. 'What are you guys doing here?' he snarled, immediately ready to get rid of them in Ash- and Gary's- defense.

Umbreon sniffed impolitely at him. 'I have it under control,' she ordered curtly. 'Rest.'

Pikachu's small eyebrows shot up, and he looked outside, where the snow was still falling thick. 'Should we really send them back out there?' he questioned, his posture easing. 'They could die out there…'

'Yeah, we could! We totally could!' Moewth squeaked from behind the Rocket duo. 'You wouldn't be that cruel, would you?'

'What are you talking about, Meowth?' James asked in curiosity as Jessie paused enough in shaking his collar to look towards the Pikachu and Umbreon team and back to Meowth.

'They're considering throwin' us out,' Meowth answered, his brow bent in obvious fear. 'Pikachu's been the' good Chansey, while Umbreon is all for getting rid of us.'

Both Jessie and James deflated slightly, for once doubting Pikachu's ability to save the day. 'Oh…'

Umbreon ignored Team Rocket, her golden eyes trained on Pikachu's deep earnest ones. 'Weak heart, weak mind,' she simply stated, before her head swept back to the shivering Team Rocket and glowed a blinding white. The intense light that seemed to emanate from Umbreon's fur itself grew and grew, intensified from the shining icicles all around them and the hue of the fire.

Pikachu squeezed his eyes shut in surprise and he curled a paw over his eyes until he felt it subside. Lifting his eyes, he took in the cave. Team Rocket was nowhere to be seen.

'Showoff,' Arcanine mumbled from his spot, his fur ruffling.

Umbreon didn't respond, and instead trotted towards the fire, settling near it to start delicately licking her paws.

'Hey, hey!' Pikachu shrilly demanded, dashing back towards her. 'What was that? They—'

'Don't worry, I transported them somewhere where they will be safe until this cursed storm passes,' Umbreon coolly cut him off. She then regarded Pikachu's angrily flustered expression with a strange mix of curiosity and affection. 'Your weak heart is not all bad,' she suddenly assured him out of nowhere, catching Pikachu off guard.

She let out something of a chuckle. 'You are just like your master, I can see now. Kind, open and generous. Admirable traits, even if they are weak.'

Pikachu stared at her, feeling his own fur ruffle out in discomfort, unable to separate compliment from insult. Finally finding no polite reply within his mind to that, he huffed, nodded quickly to the dark Pokemon and made his way back onto the sleeping bag, settling himself down with a few quick turns to mess the covers up just the way he liked it.

He heard Arcanine laughing softly, and despite it all, allowed himself a small smile as he closed his eyes. At lease that was progress with Gary's Pokemon, which he could feel he would need in the near future, especially if Ash and Gary continued on their current path.

A few miles away, Team Rocket suddenly materialized within the small cabin Brock and Dawn were in. With no warning, both trainers were quick to assume the worst, and poor Jessie was immediately rendered unconcious due to the unfortunate luck of materializing next to Brock while everyone in the cabin (including Dawn) were left to wonder just where had Brock kept his trusted frying pan in able to access it so darn quickly?

Gary himself couldn't quite pinpoint when he had started to think about Ash as the first and foremost pinnacle in his life. Ash had always been a constant in his life, perhaps the only one, ever since their early days in Pallet.

And it seemed, from every single adventure or important moment in his life, Ash was there through it all. Offering him words of encouragement and friendship, all while demanding challenges and respect. Ash became a constant in Gary's life, always there, and when far, in his mind.

It was then no surprise to Gary that he just happened to stumble upon Ash and his small group of friends in the Sinnoh.

They had parted happily, but at that very moment, as he watched Ash walk away, grinning happily with his arm stretched high in fond farewell, he realized that he had seen this sight far too much. And every time he did a pang raced deep through his heart.

Maybe that was the moment. When he had suddenly and surely realized, that he absolutely despised Ash leaving him to the uncertainty of when they would see each other again.

And Gary finally realized, after all these years, that all he really wanted was to be with Ash. Of course, even after he realized this, he still didn't quite realize the full meaning of what it meant until he saw Ash again, and yet again realized that he not only wanted to be with Ash, he also wanted to BE with Ash.

As in, spend as much time as possible with Ash. Share all of his victories and defeats. Be the ne t bring that carefree smile to his face. Raise Pokemon together. Experience everything about Ash that was Ash.

But most of all… he wanted to be the one by Ash's side.

And, after this, came to constant internal debate of how in a Magmar's hell was he supposed to explain all of that baggage to Ash? Even worse, the thought of Ash rejecting him happened to cross his mind more than a few times. But it was worse than that… it became his worst nightmare.

Gary spent weeks with this tumbling about his head like a Tanglea on crack, unable to come to his own conclusion or course of action. It was at this point he had reached Snowpiont, and thoughts of Ash had been pushed from his mind in order to focus on the Pokemon he had been meaning to research here. So, it was only divine fate (either that, or Gary's own shitty luck) that had suddenly landed Gary with Ash- the centre of his thoughts, concerns and woes.

All of these thoughts had drifted through is head at some point between when he had found Ash, when he was warming him, and definitely when he was lying as innocently as he could next to Ash in his sleeping bag, as cozy and content as he could ever remember feeling in his life.

And here they were again, gently touching upon his mind as he lightly tapped upon the door of coherent thought, but still drifted within the hold of sleep.

It wasn't until he felt the body close within his hold move unexpectedly did he jerk awake with a short snort that undoubtedly started the other person in his arms, whose quick jump only rushed his awaking process.

As such, by the time he was rendered fully conscious, Ash was already wide awake, and had been for who knows how long. The smaller man was still in the same position he had supposedly fallen asleep in, with his chest against Gary's and his head just below the others, their faces lined up.

Ash's huge chocolate orbs blinked when he realized Gary had awoken, and he jerked back slightly, his face flushing. 'Uh—Gary-I-' he cut himself off abruptly when Gary raised an eyebrow at the very un-Ash like reaction. '… Morning…' Ash ended up mumbling, sounding pleased, yet nervous.

Gary stared at Ash for a few moments, still blinking. Ash started to fidget, and his head shrunk in his shoulders, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious. He opened his mouth to say something undoubtedly awkward and attempted to shuffle backwards, terrified Gary was second guessing his position right now- second guessing him.

He didn't need to worry, though. The minute he tried to even scotch a bit away from Gary, he was pulled back firmly. Ash tilted his head to look at Gary with wide and pleading eyes, all sounds on his throat dying.

Then Gary sealed the deal.

He smiled. Sweetly and contently, his eyes falling half-mast as he lowered his head and pressed a quick, gentle kiss to Ash's cheek. 'Morning to you too, Ashy-boy,' he whispered. Ash inhaled deeply, his breath catching, almost unwilling to believe what was happening was real. Then his face broke into a huge grin, and he dropped his head onto Gary's chest, a small giggle escaping him.

'Wow,' was heard from him. 'This is happening so fast. You haven't even asked me out yet.'

Gary chuckled, nudging Ash's head up with his shoulder. 'That's what you're worried about? No "how did this happen?" "Are you sure you like me?" or even "What would Pikachu say?" ' Gary laughed again, mostly because Pikachu's head suddenly appeared in both of their vision with an annoyed 'chu!'

Upon this, Ash gave a massive start and scrambled out of the sleeping bag, mostly entangling Gary and himself in it in effort to grab Pikachu and smother the tiny mouse in strangling hugs. Pikachu started chattering furiously in happiness, nosing Ash and licking him in the face.

'Pikachu! You're alright! I was so worried… and the storm!' Pikachu pulled back, purring happily. 'Pikachu chu chu pi!' To their side Umbreon snorted, but watched them fondly.

'He must have come in earlier while we were asleep,' Gary mused, watching them with a smile.

After a few moments, Gary pushed himself up and gave Umbreon a quick scratch, then moved onto the snoozing Arcanine.

The wolf Pokemon was slowly roused from sleep, yawning and looking around in slight confusment before letting his massive head flop back down again. Gary sweatdropped. 'Come on, you lazy thing,' he tried again, growling slightly.

'Oh, of course I'm thinking all of those things,' Ash suddenly piped up from the floor, still snuggling Pikachu next to the glowing embers of the fire. 'Except what Pikachu would think. He already approves. See?'

Gary turned in confusion to see Ash holding Piakchu in his direction, both of them grinning widely. It took him a few minutes for what Ash meant to click. He laughed. 'Yeah, I get it. But don't worry. I think both of us have had this coming a long time. I mean...' he coughed slightly, now sounded nervous and uncomfortable; something Ash had almost never seen in the usually cocky Gary. He drank it up egarly.

Gary continued. '... What I really mean is that every time you left, I mean, walked away and we went our separate ways... it hurt... you know? It felt like I would have to wait an eternity to see you again, and I never knew when I would.'

Ash was silent, for once thoughtful. 'How long?' He asked simply, blinking at Gary.

Gary tilted his head, taking a seat next to Ash. 'What do you mean?'

'How long... how you felt that way?'

Gary's eyes twitched, and he looked down shortly, thinking and blushing at the same time. 'Without knowing... when we were travelling the Jhoto...'

Ash laughed lighty. 'I... I was much longer before that,' he stated easily. Gary looked to him in surprise, to which Ash smiled easily. 'Why do you think I was always so desperate to show you what I could do?'

Gary mind jolted at that, and he was suddenly bombarded with mental images of a much younger Ash chasing after him, yelling at him, demanding matches and vowing never to fall behind. And everything suddenly fell into place. The pieces finally made sense.

There was a smack as Gary's head collapsed into his hands and lifted and fell a few times, each hit echoing in the cavern. 'God, I was an idiot...' he grumbled, indeed feeling like the biggest one in the entire world.

Ash watched him, feeling the usual tingling overtake him like a drug. With his smile almost cracking his face, he shifted next to Gary and crawled into his lap. 'That's in the past,' he said curtly, grabbing Gary's face in his hands and tilting it down to his. 'Forget it.'

The storm, which had died to a light snowfall in the still dark early hours of the morning, continued outside as the two of them slowly entwinded themselves in each other, simply drinking in the other's presence in the need to fill years of absence.

'Looks like the storm has really cleared up…' Ash said, straightening by the entrance, gazing with wonder at the sparkling icicles and snow dust covering the rising and falling land laid out below him, still clad in his sweatpants. 'It's beautiful…' He shivered as a light gust of leftover wind swept by, and his hands rubbed at his arms. '…And freezing. Geez!'

He jumped when a pair of arms encircled him from behind and pulled him snug against a warm chest. He felt Gary's head rest on his shoulders without hesitation, his surefire cocky attitude back in its arrogant yet captivating glory.

Ash couldn't help but shiver slightly as Gary's warm breath ghosted over his neck and cheek, and he felt his old rival smirk, snuggling happily into him from behind.

'Ash Ketchum,' he stated boldly. 'Would you like to go out with me?'

He asked it so casually, Ash actually took a moment to consider what he said, before he relaxed fully back into Gary's hold. 'What took you so long?' he finally questioned, a smile on his lips. From their feet, Pikachu was heard squeaking furiously in agreement.

While Ash meant it in jest, Gary fell deep into thought. 'I dunno,' he said slowly, thinking back. 'I was just… confused and distracted for so many years.'

Ash nodded, grinning. 'Yeah, you were pretty much a dick.'

Gary laughed, nosing Ash in the cheek, who gave a small adorable squeak of pleasure. 'I had that one coming, didn't I?'

Ash didn't answer. He just squirmed around until he was facing Gary with a smile. 'Yeah. Now, let's go. Dawn and Brock are probably waiting for us- I mean, me, and I can't wait to tell them about everything-'

'Mnmmm…' Gary said, losing Ash's voice and focusing on his moving lips, leaning forward. Ash didn't get the notion at all, and he had suddenly pulled himself from Gary's arms in order to dash for his clothes and pull them on excitedly.

Gary stood there, dumbstruck on disappointment for a moment before Pikachu tugged on his pants and gave Gary an apologetic 'Pika-chu…'

Gary shook his head, meandering over to Ash and bending over in front of the crouching boy.

'Ash,' he said. Ash looked up, his eyes bright. Before he could do anything, Gary grabbed Ash's chin and pushed his lips right upon Ash's, tilting his head to the side in order to fit his perfectly against Ash's.

Ash's eyes widened as Gary pushed forward, then tentatively pursed his lips back against Gary's feeling the warmth of the other boy seep throughout his whole body. Their lips not only fit perfectly, but complimented each other; Ash's round and full ones, and Gary's thin but well practised ones moulding around each other.

Gary finally pulled back after a few moments, a lazy self-satisfied smirk in place. 'Yeah,' he said softly. 'Now let's go find Brock and Dawn, yeah?'

Ash jerked himself out of his blissful stupor and grinned stupidly at Gary. After all these years, he truly never would have guessed that all of this would happen, and in such quick succession, too. Grinning, he pranced up, pouncing on Gary from behind, who was less than pleased when he promptly kissed the icy floor.

Ash couldn't help but suddenly feel much more excited for what the future would bring him, now that he finally had Gary by his side.

All together now; D'AWWWWWW.