Don't Forget, But You Did
By Amaimon25
Comashipping
Rated M for later chapters
'Thoughts'
Chapter 11: The End
PREVIOUSLY. . .
Gary was shaking. He didn't know what to do at all. What if what Ash is saying is true? Could he be happy?
And then the sound of sirens just came out of no where, and so close. It frightened Gary. And he pulled the trigger.
BANG!
There wasn't that many guests that attended. Maybe it was because it was raining. Or maybe it was because everyone said that they were to busy to come. Ash thought it was the latter. True friends would have come, no matter what the weather was.
Ash stood there, looking down at the ground as drops of rain fell on and around him. He wore a black suit.
He didn't know what to do. What to say. How to act. All he felt was sorrow and guilt. All this was his fault. If he didn't fall in love. If he didn't decide to go to Sinnoh. If he didn't go and meet Paul. If they didn't start dating. If he didn't bring Paul back home. Back to Kanto to come and live with him. If Paul didn't meet Gary. Then none of this would've happened.
He wouldn't be dead.
And as the dark-haired boy thought this, all he did was look up at the sky. He slowly closed his eyes. And all he could feel was the harsh drops of rain that hit his face. And you couldn't tell. You couldn't tell if he was crying, or if it was just the drops of rain.
He could remember. He didn't remember all of it. Everything just went by so fast.
He remembered that he heard sirens. They were erupt. And he heard the gun shot.
But he wasn't feeling any pain. He didn't feel any pain at all. He couldn't feel blood seeping from his head like he did last time.
So he looked up and he saw Paul. Clutching his shoulder with a hand. Ash remembered vaguely that he called his name.
He reached Paul, checking if he was okay. He was in pain, but he was fine.
He turned to look at Gary. And saw that his eyes were full of fear. Full of regret, and sorrow. Gary was broken.
He knew where he could be going. He wouldn't be able to handle it.
And...Ash could remember...he could remember Gary's eyes piercing his own.
Gary's tear stained cheeks shivering from fear. All of him was shaking. He was shaking when he put the gun up to his head. He was shaking when he put his finger on the trigger.
And he pulled the trigger.
Ash remembered yelling at Gary to stop.
But what he didn't remember was what Gary said before. Was it his imagination? Or was it reality?
Did he imagine Gary say those words?
...Ash could remember Gary. A gun held up to his head, shaking like hell. His face stained with tears. Him staring at Ash, with those eyes. And he remembered his mouth moving saying something to him. Saying words.
Saying I love you.
And he was back in reality. He was back in the rain. He opened his eyes and noticed that the rain wasn't hitting him no more. There was an umbrella over him. He turned his head towards the hand that was holding the umbrella. It was Paul.
The mauve-haired boy gave him a sad smile. And Ash gave him one back. He was one of the few that actually came. His mother, Gary's grandfather, Misty, Brock, some old childhood friends, and the Professors that worked with him over the years.
The rain lightened a little.
Ash looked up at Paul, "Are you okay? Let me hold the umbrella."
Paul moved his hand out of the way as Ash made a move for the umbrella. "I can hold it. It's fine."
"But, your shoulder. You could injure it mor-"
Ash was interrupted from his ranting by Paul speaking, "Ash, relax. It's been over a month. I think I can hold an umbrella. And it wasn't even this shoulder."
And with some apprehension, Ash let it go. "Fine."
"Is it almost time?" asked Paul.
"Umm..." There was a small pause as Ash went to check his watch. "Yeah, just a couple more minutes until it begins..."
Again, there was a silence between the two.
And as the minutes passed, the guests started to gather. And once they were all there, the service began..
"Hello, everyone... Friends, family, loved ones...We're here today to mourn the life of a loved one...Gary Oak..."
Months have passed since that day. And everything seems to...sort of gone back to normal. No one barely spoke of Gary. But when they would, they always remembered how Gary before his death. Not the reason...
"Hey, Ash? Would you come down here for a second?" he heard Paul's voice coming from down stairs.
Ash Ketchum was currently upstairs in their bedroom. Just lying in bed thinking. Not of anything in particular. Just thinking. Once he heard his name being called, he got up from the bed and went towards the living room. And as Ash entered, he couldn't believe what he saw.
"Congratulations!"
There, in his living room, were his family. His friends. His lover. All of them congratulating him on something. Something that he didn't even know about. Was it an anniversary? Not that he could remember? Ironically...
"Huh?" was the only thing that came out of his mouth. He had no idea what was going on at all. "Congratulations on what?" he asked everyone.
And from the crowd of friends and family, Paul stepped up. And in his hands, were tulips. His known favorite flowers. Paul had this blush on is face, which was rather more unusual than this congrats party.
"Paul, what's going on? Is it our anniversary or something? If so, then I don't think all my memory is ba-"
"No! no, Ash. This isn't an anniversary or anything. It's just that they're just celebrating before hand. I told them not to do this, but since they your stubborn friends," Paul looked back at them with a glare before turning back, "they decided no to listen to me."
Ash blinked a few times in confusion. "Oh, and what is the cause of this early celebration?"
Paul's blush became more vivid. "I-I...well, I wanted to ask you...if...will you...ummm..."
Ash cocked his head to the side, waiting. What was Paul so nervous about?
And with a sigh, Paul got down on one knee. And Ash could do was gasp.
"Um, Ash Ketchum. We've been together for around three years now. And, I-" Paul interrupted himself, finally remembering that he still had the bouquet of tulips still in his hand. He raised the flowers up in offer for Ash to take them. Ash took them, not being able to say anything, just listen. "A-anyway, we've known each other for three years now, and I could honestly say that I've never been more happier in my life. I want to make you the happiest person in the world, even if that is possible. And even if it isn't, I'll try my best to make t that way. I-I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and to grow old together. And have a family...but we'll figure that out later!...Ash Ketchum, I love you more than my life. And with this ring..."
As Paul said that, he started pulling out the ring box from his pocket. And slowly opened to show a huge diamond ring. Perfectly sculpted, over a band of silver.
"And with this ring...I would like to ask you to marry me...So, Ash, will you marry me?"
And everything was silent, for what seemed like forever. All waiting for Ash's answer.
And Ash's answer first came in tears. His hand clutching harder on the bouquet of tulips. His lips quivering as he tried not to cry. And with a nod, he said yes.
And everything seemed to explode in laughter and joy. Paul stood up and brought Ash into a big hug. Grabbing him from the waist and spinning him around, until he himself got dizzy.
He put him back on the ground as tears threatened come out of the mauve-haired boy's eyes. He carefully took out the ring out of the silk box and put it onto Ash's finger. And with a teary smile, Ash wrapped his arms around Paul's neck and whispered, "I love you.."
For only Paul to hear.
"I love you too..." Ash got in return...
He remembered...
The End!
Thank you everyone for your support in keeping this story alive. I am now going to work on trying to get my other two finished, before I actually start working on another one.
Thank you for the reviews and criticism.
Good-bye!