Secrets Kept
In case you decide to be anal and look up the exact size of a tauros on Bulbapedia… Yes, I did take some creative liberty on their size based on the average weight of a bison, which they are based on. Why am I bringing this up? May and Gary's conversation in this chapter. I've had people fact-check me and get defensive when I mess with things like that. Just figured I would throw it out there in case anyone decides to go "Nuh-uh! That's not true!" Deal with it. :p
Anyways… Thanks, as always, to pokemaster101 for reviewing!
This chapter was not easy to write! It is the longest I've written for this particular story (just over 8,000 words!) but I think you will enjoy it. Gary and May needed a good sibling scene, and Gary and Tracey… Well… Those of you who have read Secrets Told, I know you've been waiting on this one. ;)
Let me know what you think! The next chapter is mentally finished and just needs typing. It should be up within a few days.
Chapter Twenty-Three
With their friendship back on stable ground, Gary and Tracey found the passing weeks to be enjoyable. The tension was gone and its place was filled with casual conversations, jokes, and laughter. They were more at ease with each other than ever before and with Gary in a better mood than before, it certainly seemed as though a new page had been turned. All of this meant that they were able to spend more time together than ever, even between the work in the lab, Gary's work on the new habitat design, and Tracey's work on his online college courses.
Being so close constantly had a two-fold effect on both teens. On one hand, it strengthened their friendship but, on the other, it also cemented their mutual attraction. In no time, they found themselves sharing those same stupid smiles and the same flirtatious exchanges as before. Had anyone been watching these exchanges, they likely would have thought that the two teens were acting like a couple. Of course, they limited these particular interactions to times when no one else was around to see.
Tracey noticed a change in Gary during this time. It was subtle compared to how he had been after the sharpedo tagging trip during the summer but was rather drastic compared to before the trip. The younger researcher was, quite simply, happier. He was still his stubborn self, but there was less arguing with and snapping at other people. He wasn't staying out quite so late with his friends and he had yet to show any symptoms of a hangover. It seemed that all was going well.
It took a few days for Tracey to figure out the cause behind the change but he eventually realized that Gary was settling into himself and was becoming more comfortable with aspects of himself that were beyond his control. Gary hadn't told anyone else and he still faced fear and discomfort over the idea of doing so, but the feelings of overwhelming fear, isolation, and helplessness were starting to wane. He made a very conscious decision to not dwell on the emotions; he dealt with them as they came and let them go as best as he could, instead focusing on the good things in his life.
As the professor's next trip drew closer it seemed that time went faster. Though they said nothing, both teens felt a growing sense of apprehension. The professor wouldn't be gone long but May's twenty-first birthday fell the day before he was due to leave. The woman's age had never really affected her ability to obtain alcohol – a little flirting went a long way with a sales clerk and, if all else failed, Amanda was always up to a road trip to Johto, where the legal age was only eighteen. Being legally able to buy alcohol in Kanto certainly meant that booze would be more readily available, which could only lead to more parties in Pallet. The thought sent a faint thrill of nerves through Tracey but made Gary feel downright queasy. To say that Gary no longer trusted himself with alcohol would be an understatement.
May's birthday arrived in no time. It was much like any other normal Thursday: May helped out in the lab in the morning before disappearing in the afternoon while the boys continued working through the afternoon. Presumably, May had gone to Viridian City for whatever class she had on Thursday afternoons and was then headed straight home. However, it was far more likely that she had skipped the class and met up with some friends to go shopping instead. It wasn't something she did often, but this was a special occasion.
Later that night, May appeared in the doorway of Gary's bedroom, knocking quietly on the partly open door. Gary barely glanced up from his computer screen, where he was skimming over the website for the conference his grandfather was going to.
"Grandpa leaves tomorrow morning," May announced conversationally.
"I know," Gary replied disinterestedly. He had a feeling he knew where this conversation was going.
May closed the door behind her and plopped down on the bed with a mischievous smile. "I figured I would let you know that we're going to have a party tomorrow night."
Gary sighed and closed out the window on the computer. "Of course you are," he groaned.
"I said we," May corrected, her eyes narrowing slightly. "It's not just my birthday; we're celebrating Wyatt coming home from the hospital."
"He's been home for a month," Gary pointed out, still looking at his computer screen as he tried to decide what to do next.
"Yeah, well, between people going back to school and no one's parents going away, we haven't been able to do anything. This is the first chance we've had."
"Are you actually going to help out in the lab this time?" Gary asked blandly. He knew the party was inevitable and he knew that, if necessary, he could work in the lab with a hangover. What he didn't know was whether or not he could count on his sister to help out over the next few days.
May rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh. "I have classes, you know."
"May, you're taking three classes: you have plenty of time. It's only a few days, just help."
"Fine," she finally sighed, stretching languidly. Gary was mildly surprised that she didn't put up more of a fight.
She was quiet for a few minutes while her brother clicked from window to window on his computer, clearly trying to find something to occupy his time. The silence was broken only by an occasional beep from the computer, followed by Gary's periodic typing. May assumed that he was having some online conversation with one of his friends.
"I want to help in the stables this week," May spoke up after some time had passed.
Gary finally turned away from the computer to face her. "You know there's more to it than just brushing the horses and playing with Pele, right? There's cleaning the pens –"
"Plus maintaining the field and equipment, exercising the horses, doing their weekly physicals, and feeding them," May interrupted. "They were my responsibility before you moved home. And I want to work with the tauros."
"No," Gary replied flatly, not even taking a second to think it over. It was dangerous work to care for the tauros and there was no way he was risking his prissy party-girl of a sister being trampled to death with his grandfather out of town.
"Why?"
"Because the tauros are dangerous, May. You can help with the horses all you want, just talk to Tracey, he's the one who does most of the work in the stables these days."
May sat up and crossed her arms across her chest in defiance. "I know how dangerous the tauros are," she shot back. "Each of those pokemon are at least four feet tall at the shoulder and over five-hundred pounds, they'll charge at anything, and those horns are easily a foot long –"
"Well, aren't you just a walking Wikipedia page," Gary interjected sarcastically.
"Caring for them is a lot like caring for the horses, and they respond better to females," she pressed on. "Who do you think was responsible for them before you came home?"
Gary paused at this. Tracey did most of the work with the normal-types, with help from May, but that didn't mean that it was the way things had always been done. Responsibilities had been shifted rather often in the time he had been home. His consistent presence alone meant that the chores were split amongst more people, plus he had constantly taken over new responsibilities, which shifted the others even more. May had always worked with the business side of things: she kept track of the inventory of pokemon, food, medical supplies, and laboratory equipment; she was in charge of ordering supplies and food; and she was incredibly adept at applying for and obtaining new grants for the lab. It was a lot of work – work that she was good at – but he had never imagined that she had ever been responsible for any of the animals, much less the horses and tauros.
"You were in charge of the tauros?" he asked disbelievingly.
"Yes," she exclaimed testily. "And the fairy-types, and the bird-types! I can do a lot around the lab, you know!"
"Then why do you make such a big deal about helping out?" Gary asked, suddenly confused. If she was capable of so much around the lab, then why did she always disappear when he and Tracey needed help in the professor's absence?
A grin spread across May's face at this. "Didn't you ever notice how much I helped out every time before this last trip of Grampy's?"
Gary frowned, thinking back to the other times his grandfather had been out of town. Of course she had helped then; he had been in school for the first few trips so May had to help when he was in class. Sometimes she would leave for a few hours for a class in Viridian or take a day off, but that wasn't very different from what he and Tracey did. Tracey had been taking online college courses since Gary had moved back to Pallet so he would take certain mornings off to work on his schoolwork, plus he and Gary would alternate chores or cover for the other if anything came up.
Realization dawned on him and he sighed. "Was this another test of his?"
"Yup!" May chirped, her grin widening. "He was never really against you testing out of school. He just wanted to see how far you would push for it."
Gary rolled his eyes with a groan. "Of course he did," he muttered under his breath. "So, you pretty much ran the whole business side of the lab and took care of the horses, tauros, fairies, and birds?"
May nodded as she sat back down on the couch. "Plus the cats, some of the other fire-types, oh, and me and Tracey alternated the bug-types." Gary gave her a questioning look, to which she smiled. "I didn't party as much back then," she explained. "It was a lot harder to be with my friends and find time to do my yoga every day… You being in the lab meant that I got to do other things, but I do sometimes miss doing what I used to do."
"Just because Gramps put me in charge of half the lab doesn't mean you're not allowed to do those things, May," Gary pointed out. "You can do whatever you want in there, just do me a favor?"
"Only if I get to, at least, take care of the tauros and fairies."
"I already said you can do whatever you want, but if Gramps gets another crazy idea of you staying out of the lab, tell him to piss off."
May burst into laughter at his request. "Ooh, I'm going to tell him you said that," she crowed gleefully.
Gary gave her an odd little smile that was half smirk. "You should," he said matter-of-factly as he turned back to his computer. "Maybe he'll take the hint and stop with these stupid tests of his."
Her laughter died down and May's grin faded into a smaller smile. "I think you've proven yourself by now," she replied. "You took the hardest classes you possibly could last year and still managed to do so much in the lab." A mischievous grin appeared on her face. "If he tries testing you anymore, we might have to consider institutionalizing him."
"May!"
"What?" she laughed.
Gary shook his head, biting back a laugh of his own. "You're terrible."
Her grin returned and she giggled. "Of course I am: that's why we're having a party tomorrow!"
"To celebrate you being a terrible human being?"
"Exactly! Are you going to actually participate in the festivities this time, or are you going to disappear into the ether again?"
Gary groaned and ran a hand through his hair as the events of the last party flooded his mind. "May, I've never had such a bad hangover. I don't think I would describe that night as disappearing into the ether."
"Then don't drink so much this time."
"I don't know, May. We'll see," Gary replied. He still didn't feel much like drinking this time but didn't feel like trying to explain why.
May pouted but relented. She wondered why exactly her brother seemed reluctant about joining tomorrow's party but knew prying would get her nowhere. With nothing else to discuss, she stood, walked over to where Gary was sitting, and lightly wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You know I love you, right, brat?" she asked, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.
Gary smiled. "I know."
"And?"
He gave a half-hearted roll of the eyes but the smile remained. "I love you too," he muttered.
May grinned and ran her fingers through his hair playfully before pressing another kiss to his cheek. "Give me a kiss, you little shit," she growled teasingly.
Gary turned away from the computer screen with a grin and, rather than pressing a peck to her cheek, dragged his tongue up her cheek as messily as possible. She pulled away with a screech, slapping his shoulder as hard as she could, which only made him laugh.
"You never complain when Umbreon does it!"
"That's because she's a dog!"
"Canid," Gary corrected, still laughing. "She would be insulted if you called her a dog."
May hit his arm again and rolled her eyes as she turned and headed to the door. "Whatever you say, Gary. Remember: no disappearing into the ether tomorrow!"
She left the room with a final grin, leaving the door open behind her. Still snickering to himself, Gary finally shut down the computer and stood only to flop down on his bed. He reached over to the nightstand, retrieved the book he had been reading the night before, and found the dog-eared page he had left off at. Umbreon wandered in a few minutes later and hopped up on the bed next to him. She curled up at his side with a little yawn and stared at him pointedly, occasionally nudging him with her nose until he finally put the book down, turned off the light, and settled down next to her.
The next morning came soon enough. It was Tracey's turn to get up early to feed the pokemon their breakfast and Gary woke a little while before his alarm to a long tongue slobbering across his face. Startled, his eyes snapped open to find Arcanine standing at the side of the bed, wagging his long tail while Umbreon stretched languidly on the bed.
"May told you do that, didn't she?" Gary mumbled sleepily as he reached over to turn off the alarm clock before it could go off. Arcanine only responded by licking his face again and, chuckling tiredly, Gary reached over to muse the fire dog's thick fur.
He found himself in the lab a few minutes later, still munching on the bagel he had snagged from the kitchen on his way down. Tracey seemed mildly surprised to see him in the lab a bit earlier than normal but gave him his usual cheerful greeting as they set about their typical morning routine. May surprised them a short time later by making an early appearance in the lab wearing torn jeans and scruffy sneakers with her normally-styled hair pulled back in a simple ponytail. To their surprise and delight she got right to work, getting dirty and sweaty alongside both boys, all the while laughing and conversing with them as though they did this every day. It was an enjoyable way to pass their time working.
As usual, May disappeared after lunch, though this time she had told them where she was going – a liquor store in Viridian City – and asked if they had any requests for her to bring home. Aside from dinner from Pallet's local burger joint, they had no special requests and she went on her merry way. The boys continued with their work but were interrupted a short time later with a surprise visitor in the lab.
They were in the process of cleaning up after feeding the pokemon their lunch when a blonde boy on crutches entered the lab, flanked on one side by Arcanine and the other by Umbreon. Gary looked up when he heard the door open, grinned when he saw his friend, and darted over to greet him.
"I'm off of house-arrest!" Wyatt announced, appearing happier than Tracey could ever recall seeing the troublesome teen.
"How's your leg?" Tracey asked, waving his greeting across the lab.
"Still attached, so I'm assuming that's a good thing," Wyatt replied, grinning as he came to a stop at the closest lab bench. "The fractures are pretty much healed and I haven't had any infections, but I lost a few chunks of muscle so I still probably have a few months of physical therapy left."
"How come you're not at school?" Gary asked curiously, leaning against the lab bench next to him. "Classes don't get out for another hour."
Wyatt sighed and reached over to absently fiddle with the knobs on the microscope near him. "Therapy," he said blandly.
Gary appeared confused and Tracey could see that he was thinking something over. "I thought you didn't have physical therapy on Fridays," he said slowly.
"I didn't say it was physical," Wyatt muttered, not looking up from the microscope.
"Oh," was Gary's only reply, though he appeared quite surprised by this revelation.
"Yeah," Wyatt said, finally looking away from the microscope to gaze out the window. "The doctors thought it would be good for me for nightmares or some shit," he shrugged disinterestedly as though it was something unnecessary. Tracey could tell from across the lab that it was a façade and it seemed that Gary had reached a similar conclusion.
Gary hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Screw it, he thought, and gave a small laugh. "That's what Tracey's for," he quipped, glancing over at his dark-haired friend.
Thoroughly surprised by this confession, Tracey frowned and sent Gary a quizzical look. Wyatt looked over at Gary with an odd look before glancing over at Tracey as well.
"Yep," Tracey replied with a grin, quickly recovering from his surprise. "He pays me with sketchbooks and iced coffee."
A small smile tugged at the corner of Wyatt's mouth as he looked back at Gary, who merely shrugged his shoulders. "We all have our shit," Gary said, shooting his injured friend a smile. "Besides," he continued as he moved away from the lab bench to help Tracey clean up the last few items that were scattered across the counters. "I doubt you're the only one with nightmares."
Wyatt looked at him doubtfully while Tracey quietly wiped down the counters. "Really now?" he asked skeptically.
Gary looked up and met his eyes form across the room. "Yes," he said surprisingly directly. "You were a bit distracted on the beach – there was an awful lot of blood and gore. Like I said, we all have our shit." He gave a half-glance in Tracey's direction and was mildly surprised when he saw that the pokemon watcher had stopped what he was doing and was watching him closely. Looking back at his other friend, Gary was both relieved and a bit surprised to see that Wyatt looked somewhat reassured by this.
"Thanks," he said quietly, giving a small smile, which Gary returned.
"You should go see the pokemon," he suggested, straightening a stack of freshly cleaned food dishes. "I'm sure they'll be glad to see you're not dead."
Wyatt laughed and adjusted his crutches while Tracey simply shook his head at Gary's typical straightforward nature. Most of the day's work was done, thanks to May's help, so Tracey followed the two younger teens as they made their way outside and towards the field where the ponyta and rapidash were. Predictably, Pele trotted over to the fence the second she saw them heading towards the enclosure. Gary slowed down to let Wyatt approach the enclosure before them and gave Tracey a smile.
"That was pretty bold of you," Tracey intoned softly.
Gary smirked a bit as he watched his other friend interact with the excited ponyta at the fence. "Pele's getting big," he observed, attempting to change the subject.
"Are you planning on being open with anything else?" Tracey asked. He was only partially serious: a larger part of him just wanted to see Gary's reaction to the question. Gary's smirk turned into a faint scowl and he shot a glare at Tracey, who couldn't help but laugh. "I'm kidding," he said, grinning.
To his surprise, Gary laughed as well. "No, you're not," he replied with a shake of the head. He approached the fence a few feet to the side of Wyatt and leaned against it, still facing Tracey. "I know exactly what you're trying to say and the answer is not yet." He knew he was, once again, being unusually open around one of his friends but didn't think much of it. Wyatt, like many people who frequented the lab, was rather taken with the horses and was currently so distracted that Gary doubted he had even noticed him at the fence.
Tracey walked forward and joined Gary along the fence on the opposite side of Wyatt. "I was half-kidding," he admitted. "I think it was really great of you to do that, you know."
Gary turned and gazed out at the field, watching as the other horses made their way over to join Pele at the fence. "A while back someone pretty much told me that I'm a good friend," he said, glancing at Tracey again. "Maybe I'm just trying to convince myself that he's right." He gave Tracey a final smile and turned back to greet Apollo, the older rapidash.
Pleasantly surprised by Gary's words, Tracey also smiled and reached out to pet Apollo. He stayed outside only a short time longer before heading back inside to finish up in the lab. It had been quite some time since Gary had gotten to spend time around the lab and surrounding ranch with his close friend, so Tracey decided to leave them alone to hang out before May returned. He was happy to see Gary and Wyatt being so carefree, especially considering how anxious Gary had been after everything that had happened at the last party.
At that particular thought, Tracey felt a wave of nerves flow over him. What would happen at tonight's party? Would Gary be good and stay away from alcohol? It was doubtful, especially with Wyatt's presence. He just hoped Gary would remember his horrible hangover and rethink any decision to drink too much.
It was a few hours before Tracey saw Gary again. By then, the lab work was finished and May had returned. May had promised to bring home cheeseburgers and fries for dinner so, naturally, her return was all that was needed to draw Gary and Wyatt in from whatever they had been doing outside. Tracey and May were leaning against the kitchen counter, engrossed in a conversation about the lab, when the other two boys came through the back door. As the two teens dug through their bags of food, May opened the refrigerator and retrieved four bottles of beer, which she opened and distributed around the kitchen without even pausing her conversation with Tracey.
There was an oddly casual feeling to the kitchen that evening, even as Tracey hesitantly took the beer that May offered him. They didn't usually discuss the lab like they were and though it struck Tracey as unusual, he rather enjoyed relaxing with May over a drink. Gary and Wyatt joined in their conversation after a while, Wyatt staying at the table to rest his leg while Gary stood to fetch them all a second drink. After handing Tracey his second beer, Gary leaned against the counter next to him.
The conversation continued to flow naturally, moving from one topic to another as they talked and laughed together. Occasionally Tracey and Gary's arms would bump but neither seemed to care. Funnily enough, it seemed that they were constantly on the same page and would sometimes finish the other's sentence or build off of what the other was saying. They always shared a discreet smile when this happened.
Time passed smoothly and May left the room as her friends began to arrive. The boys helped themselves to a third beer and Tracey began to feel a bit drunk. He was having a harder time focusing on the conversation and found his thoughts drifting to his researcher friend every time they accidentally touched. Not wanting to say something out of place, he opted to stay quiet, which wasn't difficult with the two teens he was with. Gary and Wyatt easily became more animated and talkative as time wore on and their drinks began to affect them. Some of their friends showed up and joined them in the kitchen. Once this happened the beer was finished and the teens moved on to the liquor, pouring shots of a dark rum with a sea monster on the label which May had jokingly picked up for Wyatt's return to Pallet, much to their amusement.
A large order from the local pizza parlor was delivered around this time and, even though pizza sounded good to Tracey, he decided that this would be a good time to head upstairs to his room. It wasn't the easiest decision to make: he genuinely enjoyed spending the time with Gary and being around the other boys really wasn't that bad. He was having a good time but loosening up and seeing Gary being similarly affected by the alcohol had a dangerous potential. He didn't want to encounter another rift between them, like they had faced after their kiss, so going upstairs seemed to be the best decision.
He left the kitchen quietly, trying not to draw attention to himself as he made his way to the stairs. He had almost made it to the second floor when he realized he had been followed.
"You know, Trace," Gary's voice came unexpectedly from behind him. "You don't always have to lock yourself in your bedroom anytime there's a party." There was a mischievous smirk playing along his lips as he leaned against the banister.
Tracey smiled down at him from his position halfway up the stairs. "Parties aren't really my thing." It didn't seem necessary to go into the details of why exactly he was heading to his room. He turned and was about to continue up the stairs when Gary spoke again.
"You don't have to drink anymore," he said. "You don't even have to stay up late." Something in his voice made Tracey turn back to face him once more. The smirk had softened into a light smile and he seemed to genuinely want Tracey to join everyone downstairs.
Tracey was hesitant. "What would I do?" he asked, slowly descending the stairs. He had enjoyed his time in the kitchen but once he began feeling the beer hitting him, he mostly just watched the others. He hadn't really participated.
Gary grinned as Tracey approached him. "Whatever you want, just... stay for a bit before you disappear upstairs, okay?" His voice softened a bit at the end and Tracey couldn't help but smile back.
"I guess I could at least have some pizza," he agreed with only a touch of reluctance.
Gary's grin widened and he waited for Tracey to reach the bottom step before turning and leading the older teen towards the kitchen. Upon reaching the kitchen, Tracey snagged a slice of pizza and a can of soda in the hopes that the extra food would help absorb the alcohol in his stomach. Gary made his way back to his spot along the counter, now between Darren and Adrian, just as Chase was pouring a round of shots, which Brandon was passing out. He grimaced at the sight of the amber colored liquid but took a shot glass anyway. He could eat a few slices of pizza and draw the line after that.
Being the only one in the kitchen to decline a shot, Tracey was able to watch in amusement as the others tossed their drinks back, only to follow it up with a chorus of groans and curses as they chased their shots with various other drinks.
"I don't know why I let you guys talk me into these things," Gary commented as he grabbed a slice of pizza and quickly proceeded to down it.
"Okay, first of all, May only said no tequila," Chase spoke up before throwing back another shot of the amber liquor.
"Secondly, you didn't put up any sort of fight," Adrian finished for him with a grin as Chase shuddered and downed the remainder of his rum and Coke.
"No more Fireball for you: you'll hurl," Wyatt said from his spot at the table motioning for someone to pass him the bottle. Gary took the bottle and held it just out of his reach with a playful grin. "And what's this about no tequila? What'd you do?" He stretched his arm as far as he could but he was only able to just barely touch the edge of the bottle with his fingertips.
Darren snickered into his drink. "He got pretty fucked," he said, nodding towards Gary, who placed the bottle of alcohol on the counter behind him so that he could hold up his middle finger at him. Wyatt complained loudly in response to the alcohol being set down even further out of his reach.
"It was a fun day in the lab afterwards," Adrian commented languidly as he picked up the bottle and passed it to Wyatt to stop his whining.
Normally Tracey would have to force a smile at the memory of that day, but seeing the banter in the group of friends made him laugh instead. Gary shrugged his shoulders at Adrian's comment and helped himself to another slice of pizza as Darren spoke up again.
"He completely disappeared into the ether that night too, like, poof! Couldn't fuckin' find him."
"So that's where May got it from…"
"Traveling amongst the nine realms, Gary?" Adrian laughed.
Gary rolled his eyes at the reference. "I didn't disappear, I went outside!"
"Wait, are we talking about the Aether from Thor?" Chase asked, setting down a shot glass. He had just taken a shot of vodka and was quickly becoming quite inebriated.
"Yes, Chase, we're having a planetary convergence that's completely fucking with physics," Gary retorted dryly, rolling his eyes as he retrieved a soda from the refrigerator. Tracey and Wyatt both laughed at the comment and Gary joined them at the kitchen table.
"No," Darren replied exasperatedly. He pulled out his cell phone and used the voice command to bring up a thesaurus while Gary and Tracey shared amused glances. "Ether: air, atmosphere, heavens," he read aloud, causing several of the other boys to roll their eyes.
"Well, look at this fancy-ass mother-fucker," Wyatt exclaimed, laughing. Darren threw an empty plastic cup at him, eliciting a laugh from several of the room's occupants.
"So you found the Tesseract then?" Adrian asked, grinning at Gary, who snorted in response.
Tracey laughed while Wyatt opened the bottle of liquor and poured a shot for himself before offering Tracey and Gary each one. After seeing everyone's reaction to the drink, Tracey shook his head; Gary, however, accepted another shot.
"Don't you have to, like, be Loki or something to get the Tesseract?"
"Chase, eat something!" Darren yelled, unable to keep himself from laughing at the drunk teen.
"Dude, totally not gonna lie," Wyatt interjected, slamming his now-empty shot glass down on the table. "If I were gay, I'd totally do the actor that plays Loki."
Gary barely managed to swallow his shot before bursting into laughter. "I think you're done," he replied, pulling the bottle away from Wyatt.
"I know I am not alone on this! Admit it, you would too!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Gary said, waving a hand dismissively. His eyes met Tracey's and, feeling the full effect of the alcohol, he laughed.
Though Tracey laughed along, he searched Gary's eyes for some sort of sign of how he felt about this particular tangent. Considering how rarely he was around Gary's friends, he truly had no idea if this was normal or what would follow it. Gary seemed to be genuinely amused, as did Darren and Adrian; Chase seemed a bit torn but still snickered at Wyatt. Somewhere beneath the amusement, Tracey could see a glimmer of uncertainty in Gary's eyes. He was either covering it or trying to ignore it, Tracey couldn't quite tell.
"Man, c'mon, guys!" Brandon spoke up for the first time in a while. "I'm trying to eat, the last thing I want to do is picture some guys fucking," he said, brandishing his half-eaten slice of pizza. A flash of anger surged through Tracey at his words but he suppressed it. There was no point in being angry with a drunk person.
"Heh, fuck off," Wyatt replied lazily. "It was a joke, dipshit."
From his spot at the table, Tracey could see Darren roll his eyes at Brandon's comment. He noticed the glimmer of uncertainty in Gary's eyes disappear, only to be replaced by annoyance. "Saw that coming," Gary muttered under his breath. Only Tracey heard him.
"Now I want to watch Avengers!" Chase said suddenly, drawing everyone's attention away from Brandon's comment.
Adrian and Darren laughed at his excitability but agreed, while Wyatt looked over at Gary hopefully. "Can we?"
"You can do whatever the hell you want."
Wyatt cheered and within minutes the boys had left the room in a flurry of teenage banter, leaving only Tracey and Gary remaining at the table. They shared a small laugh and held each other's gaze for a moment. Darren suddenly darted back into the kitchen to grab the box of pizza they had all been eating from. He paused in the doorway, pizza box in one hand and drink in the other. From the living room, they could hear the other boys calling for him to hurry up. Fortunately for them, the living room was vacant as May and her friends were all outside by the pool.
"Don't you go disappearing," Darren said pointedly, eliciting another laugh from the two teens at the table. "I mean it," he said, heading back to the living room.
"Now do you see why I worry so much?" Gary asked, standing to retrieve a bottle of vodka from the counter. He kept his eyes down as he poured two shot glasses of the liquid. It was only as he passed one of the glasses to Tracey that he raised his eyes. To Tracey's surprise, he was still smiling.
"I do," Tracey admitted. He hesitantly took the small glass from Gary and waited until he sat back down before continuing. "I never really understood what you were so afraid of… It's funny how much you guys feed off of each other."
Gary raised his shot to his lips and tossed it back, grimacing at the burn of the clear liquid. Tracey followed his lead by swallowing his own drink; being unused to it, he gasped and sputtered at the strength of the alcoholic flavor. He quickly glanced around the table for something to follow the shot with but with his can of soda empty, he had few options. Gary noticed his struggle and pushed his own soda across the table to Tracey, who quickly grabbed it and took a swig.
"We have fun," Gary agreed. "Mike wasn't here to make any bullshit comments. It's usually more fun without him, even though Brandon has his moments too."
"You know what I think?"
"Yes, I do." A smirk appeared on Gary's face and Tracey rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
"I don't think you have much to worry about with them. I don't know about Mike, and Brandon and Chase might need some time to get used to it, but the others… Gary, they're not going anywhere."
Gary smiled as he looked back over at Tracey. As much as he loved how incredibly supportive and reassuring Tracey always was, he knew exactly what Tracey was going to say next. It would be the thousandth time he had said it. Much to his surprise, Tracey didn't say it – instead he simply smiled back.
There was nothing new to this smile, it was the same one as ever, but something about it made Gary's heart beat just a bit faster. That mutual attraction between them reared up again and he had to force himself to stand and distance himself from Tracey to keep from simply leaning across the table and kissing him. With Tracey's cheeks adorably flushed and his smile a bit broader than usual, Gary was finding it more difficult than usual to control himself around him. It had been much easier with his friends in the room acting as a buffer but since they had left, it just got harder.
Meanwhile, Tracey was facing the same dilemma. He, however, was looking at it from a slightly different angle. With alcohol in his system, he was feeling more bold than usual and, honestly, he was growing tired of this game between them. He stood and walked over to where Gary was now standing at the counter. Pushing away his hesitation, Tracey took a breath and pulled the nearby bottle of vodka towards him before pushing it towards Gary.
"Let's have a drink," he said, turning to the table to retrieve their shot glasses.
Gary looked at him in confusion. His look turned curious when he realized that Tracey was serious. "Are you sure?"
Tracey nodded and pushed the shot glasses closer to Gary. "Come on," he teased. "It's not like it's tequila, right?"
Shrugging, Gary screwed open the bottle and reached for the shot glasses. Their eyes met as Gary poured the two drinks and Tracey grinned that same silly little grin that he so often got around Gary. Gary returned the grin and gave a small laugh when he accidentally sloshed vodka over the side of one of the shot glasses. Still smiling, Gary capped the bottle and passed a glass to Tracey. Their hands touched briefly, sending a tiny shudder through each of them.
"Cheers," Tracey said a bit lower than usual. He wasn't entirely sure if he had lowered his voice intentionally or if it was the alcohol doing it for him.
It didn't matter; they tossed back the shots simultaneously. Gary felt the alcohol immediately and couldn't help the smile that curved his lips once again. On some level he knew that the booze was starting to be in charge of his actions but he decided to throw caution to the winds and do something risky.
Once he was done making faces and drinking some more soda to get the taste out of his mouth, Tracey looked back up at Gary to find him standing much closer than before.
"Doing shots when you're supposed to be in the lab tomorrow," Gary murmured, leaning in closer. "You're such a rebel," he teased. As he spoke, he reached forward and hooked his fingers through two of the belt loops on Tracey's shorts and pulled him closer, so that the last word was murmured against the older teen's lips.
Emboldened by the alcohol and the fact that they were entirely alone in the kitchen, Gary pressed his lips to Tracey's in a surprisingly passionate kiss. Having already lost some of his sense to the alcohol, Tracey's immediate response was to twine his fingers though Gary's hair and kiss him back. Gary ran one of hands up Tracey's back to rest at the base of his neck while wrapping the other about his waist, pulling him closer. Despite the fact that anyone could come into the kitchen at any moment, the kiss went on, their lips moving fervently against one another.
That perfect feeling of passion and rightness that they had felt last time returned with just as much power as before. For a moment they were completely lost in each other until Tracey felt a brief flash of sense flood through him.
He pulled away and met his friend's eyes, trying to make a quick decision. After a few seconds, he grinned. "We shouldn't do this here."
Gary took a moment to respond but when he did, he cupped Tracey's cheek and pressed a small kiss to his lips. "Let's go upstairs," he said softly, returning Tracey's grin.
Sharing yet another laugh, they left the kitchen and snuck past the living room, darting up the stairs and into Tracey's bedroom. The door was barely closed behind them when Tracey pushed Gary against the door and pressed his lips to his. The passion returned immediately and Gary had just enough sense to reach back and lock the door behind them before placing his hands on Tracey's hips. One arm curled around his waist like before while the other trailed up and down his side, eliciting a soft groan from Tracey, who once more found his fingers buried in Gary's hair.
Tracey pulled back slightly. "Aren't you glad they decided to watch The Avengers?" he asked teasingly.
Gary took advantage of the space between them to slide his hand across Tracey's stomach and up his chest. He could faintly feel the muscles that were concealed by the older teen's baggy clothing and grinned. "Aren't you glad you stayed downstairs?" he retaliated before returning his mouth to Tracey's.
As their lips moved together and their hands began to wander, somewhere in the back of Gary's mind he made the realization that this was truly happening. After a year of crushing on Tracey, countless fantasies, and so many teasing little kisses, this was finally happening. A real kiss where there was no weighing pretense on either mind and they were behind a locked door and no one could interrupt them. It was sloppy, he really didn't know what he was doing, and Tracey didn't have much more experience than he did, but it still sent wave after wave of electrifying energy through them.
Nothing had ever felt better.
One of Tracey's hands slid beneath his shirt and Gary couldn't suppress the little gasp that bubbled up at the unexpected contact. Chuckling softly at the reaction, Tracey moved his other hand down to Gary's hip and, mimicking Gary's move in the kitchen, hooked his fingers through a belt loop and tugged his younger friend away from the door. Gary took the subtle hint and moved forward, lightly pushing Tracey with a small laugh of his own. He expected Tracey to immediately kiss him again, so Gary was surprised when he felt Tracey's fingers curl along his side to tickle his ribs, pulling another gasp and laugh from him.
Tracey laughed as well, grinning as Gary squirmed and tried to push away his hands. In an attempt to distract him, Gary kissed him again – a difficult feat, considering that they were both laughing.
The playfulness that came up between them took Tracey by surprise and he wondered if the alcohol was to blame or if this was just another side to Gary that he hadn't seen before. Either way, he thoroughly enjoyed how utterly natural it felt.
Neither teen noticed how far they had moved until Tracey's legs hit his bed and he tumbled backwards onto it, dragging Gary down with him. Gary looked surprised by the sudden change in position but took advantage of it by straddling Tracey's hips and pressing his mouth to Tracey's in yet another harsh kiss. Enjoying this dominance more than he expected, a small moan escaped Tracey and he wound his arms around Gary, pulling him as close as possible. Gary could feel Tracey's body reacting to their position and groaned at the feeling of the growing hardness against him.
Using the groan to his advantage, Tracey slid his tongue along Gary's and delighted in the moan that resulted. He was suddenly reminded that he was more experienced than his younger counterpart. Without ever moving his mouth from Gary's, Tracey rolled over on the bed so that Gary was beneath him as their kiss moved to a new level, their tongues exploring each other's mouths in a kiss that was sloppy, messy, and somehow perfect.
The playful atmosphere disappeared and was replaced with raw need as their hands explored, groping along each other's bodies. Time seemed to escape them as they simply relished in each other's presence, completely in the moment with no other thoughts coming into play.
Lost in the dense fog of drunkenness and desire, this went on, neither one willing or able to stop until the fog cleared. That moment came far sooner than either hoped.
With his hand pressed to the other teen's groin, the implications of this scenario suddenly became more clear to Tracey. Neither one of them truly knew what they were doing; furthermore, they were both quite drunk and unable to think or entirely function properly. Sighing softly, Tracey pulled back from the kiss.
Almost immediately, Gary pushed forward, reclaiming Tracey's lips with his own, his tongue passing along Tracey's lip until the older teen granted him access. Within seconds the intensity returned. Gary's hand roamed along Tracey's thigh, inching higher as their tongues rolled together. Tracey had to force himself to pull away again.
He gazed down at Gary for a moment, one hand cupping his cheek as he took in the sight before him. With his hair incredibly mused and eyes darkened with lust, Gary had never looked more appealing to Tracey but he had to stop. This was too fast for either of them. He smiled faintly, coming to a decision: they would go further only when they were sober and ready for it.
"We should stop," he murmured, trailing his fingers along Gary's cheek as he pulled back further.
Though clearly disappointed, Gary nodded faintly. Even being drunk and more turned on than he could ever remember being, he knew Tracey was right.
With a small groan, Tracey lowered himself onto the bed, laying down next to Gary atop the covers. To his surprise, Gary laid against him, cuddling slightly into his side.
"Now what?" he asked softly, smoothing his hand along Tracey's stomach and chest.
Placing a hand over Gary's, Tracey hummed thoughtfully. "Let's just enjoy this right now," he finally said, entwining their fingers together.
"I like that idea," Gary replied quietly, snuggling closer to Tracey with a sigh. He felt incredibly comfortable and had the inexplicable desire to just freeze time and stay in this moment forever.
Tracey leaned down to press one last kiss to Gary's lips and sighed softly as the younger teen returned it. It was considerably more innocent than the others, but was far from platonic. That ever-present chemistry boiled between them and threatened to take over in yet another explosion of passion but Tracey pulled back before it could. Gary didn't push for another kiss and instead rested his head on Tracey's chest with a content smile. Tracey wrapped one arm around Gary's shoulders while reaching over with the other to run his fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes, a content smile of his own curving his lips as he relaxed against the pillows on the bed.
As Gary relaxed against Tracey, listening as his heartbeat slowed into a steady rhythm, he knew that they had just taken another step forward. There was no going back from here.
Nothing would ever be the same between them again.
… … …