Secrets Told

Thanks to Virgo Writer, DaDwarf, and Defiant Vixen for reviewing! I can't tell you guys how thrilled I am to see this story being received so well! I wanted to have this chapter up sooner but I was so focused on Beyond the Walls that I couldn't come up with much for this one until I finished three or four chapters for that one.

Chapter Nine: Enliven

Gary leaned back on his bed with a laugh; it felt nice to be in a light-hearted situation with friends, it was something he had missed throughout the week. The two friends he had picked up while Tracey had been entertaining Ash were spread out in his room; the kitchen had been empty when they arrived at the house so Gary simply assumed that Tracey and Ash had retreated to the lab and he took it to mean that he was allowed to hang out and do whatever. So they went upstairs and that was where they had been for the past half hour. He had been wary when he had been expected to pick up one of his friends who'd had a rather… argumentative response to him a week prior but that had faded when he was informed of the reasoning behind said reaction – something about divorcing parents. Showing a perhaps rare bit of sympathy, Gary had forgiven him surprisingly easily, having passed the age for holding grudges years ago. It didn't entirely stop him from being annoyed with the other teen, but it abated the distinct anger he had felt towards him.

He opened his mouth reply to the joke that he had been laughing at and paused when a movement in the doorway caught his attention. Glancing over, he smiled as Tracey's Marril entered the room but the smile faltered when he noticed that the mouse wasn't acting like its cheerful self.

"What's up, Marril?" he asked quietly as the little water pokemon jumped up on the bed next to him and looked up at him with large eyes that seemed to be filled with worry as opposed to the normal cheer.

It wasn't unusual for Tracey's pokemon to come into Gary's room so he wasn't the slightest bit surprised when Marril came in. Both Gary and Tracey's pokemon were fond of their trainer's partner and often sought them out for attention and treats – Houndoom and Arcanine in particular loved begging Tracey for treats while Umbreon liked to lie next to his desk in the lab for hours when he was working; Gary's other pokemon all seemed to love Tracey but his three favorite canines absolutely adored him. Tracey's Venonat had a certain fondness for sleeping on Gary's bed while Marril would often fall asleep in his lap while he worked either in the lab or on the computer in his bedroom. What was unusual was for the aquatic mouse to not be squeaking in joy at the sight of him.

Marril gave a chirp that sounded oddly sad and pointedly looked in the direction of Tracey's bedroom before looking back up at his trainer's boyfriend. Gary frowned and looked down at Marril for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on. "Something wrong with Tracey, buddy?" The mouse gave another small squeak and nodded its head. With a small sigh, Gary stood and followed Marril out of the room, muttering a quick excuse to his friends and heading down the hallway to Tracey's bedroom.

He was sitting on his bed, facing away from the door and, judging by his body language, Gary could tell that he wasn't happy. Gary crossed the room in a few strides, climbed on the bed behind Tracey, dragged him back against his chest suddenly, and planted a kiss against his lips before flashing him a grin. He frowned when Tracey only gave him a weak smile in response; something was definitely wrong, that move usually earned him a laugh at the very least.

"What's wrong?" Tracey merely shook his head. "Trace? Come on, tell me." With no response, Gary figured he would have to resort to guessing, though he assumed it wouldn't be too difficult to figure out what was bothering him. "Did May tell Ash?" Tracey shook his head again. "Then he doesn't know?" Gary asked hopefully.

Another shake. "He saw us in the driveway," Tracey said flatly.

A frown furrowed Gary's brow; if Tracey's behavior was any indication, Ash's reaction must have been bad and that surprised Gary. He had always seen Ash as an open-minded person; the boy had known for years that Tracey was gay so why was this a big deal? Wasn't he allowed to have a boyfriend? "What happened?"

"He wasn't too thrilled." Tracey glanced at Gary as his expression darkened and sighed softly. "It was just a shock to him, Gary, please, don't overreact to this. Finding out that you were gay was probably enough to overwhelm him, he really didn't need to find out about us at the same time. He just needs –"

"Time to let it all sink in," Gary finished for him with a slight roll of his eyes. "That's your solution to everything."

"That's because it's true." Gary gave him a look with poorly veiled disbelief evident in his dark eyes. "You and Brandon made up after awhile, didn't you?" Tracey pointed out. "I heard you guys laughing, so I assume you're getting along fine now. Was I right that he needed time to come around to it?"

"His parents are getting divorced and his girlfriend broke up with him last week – I was the most convenient thing for him to take it out on," Gary explained.

"And he needed time to get used to it. Gary, Ash is my best friend, I know him. He'll be fine in a little bit; he recovers quickly, you know that."

Gary huffed and crossed his arms uncomfortably, still annoyed at the fact that Ash had upset his boyfriend. "Yes, I do. We were best friends for years, remember?"

Tracey nodded and a look of curiosity appeared on his face. "What exactly happened between you two, anyway?" He frowned as Gary groaned loudly and leaned back against the wall with a scowl.

"First Grandpa, now you – between you two and May, I'm not going to have any secrets left!" He glared out the window and ran a hand through his messy hair, causing Tracey to smile despite the confused expression that he wore. "I had a crush on him," he finally admitted without looking a Tracey.

Unsure whether he had heard properly, Tracey tilted his head to the side and peered at Gary curiously. "You liked Ash?" Gary nodded silently and Tracey laughed softly at the absurdity of it. Gary liking Ash? Impossible to picture! Sure, they had a tentative friendship now but they had hated each other when Tracey came into the fold. Perhaps hate was the wrong word to use; they had a strong rivalry that harbored hurt and betrayal from Ash and, apparently, attraction covered by indifference and dislike from Gary. "Gary, he doesn't even have hormones!"

It was Gary's turn to laugh at that. "Some best friend you are – he had the biggest crush on May when we were kids!"

"Seriously?" Gary nodded again. "He walked in on Misty getting dressed once and had no reaction to it."

"Oh my god, that means he's turned gay!" Gary jumped up from the bed as though he were about to run out of the room and track down his childhood crush but Tracey grabbed his wrist with another laugh.

"Don't even think about it!"

Gary sat back down with a laugh of his own and kissed Tracey's cheek. "He was probably in shock; I doubt he realized she was even a different gender until then."

"Actually, I think fear for his life may have overridden any reaction he may have had."

The two boys were quiet for a minute, simply looking at each other. It was interesting, Gary thought vaguely, how their relationships with Ash were so vastly different and yet they understood him the exact same way. In a way, Ash had been the reason they had gotten together in the first place – Ash being the reason Gary had figured out his sexuality and then being the force that had brought Tracey to work in Professor Oak's laboratory. He figured Tracey was right; finding out about him was likely a major shock to Ash that he needed some time to wrap his head around.

Smiling, he focused on Tracey, whose hand was still on his wrist. Gary gently slid his wrist from Tracey's grasp until his hand was free to hold Tracey's. "So," he began in a teasing tone. "Have I succeeded in cheering you up yet?"

Tracey glanced up and to the side as he often did when he was trying to think about something. He gave Gary a small smirk. "For the most part… I think I could use a kiss though," he added with his best attempt at puppy-dog eyes. He wasn't as good at it as Gary was but it was cute and effective nonetheless.

Gary grinned and acquiesced, leaning forward and capturing Tracey's lips with his own, he could feel Tracey relax as his arms wrapped around him and dragged him closer. Sighing contentedly into the kiss, Gary gently pushed Tracey down onto the bed, hands running through his raven hair as he leaned over him, still deepening the kiss. He heard Tracey moan softly into the kiss and mentally smirked; he loved pleasuring his partner even in small ways like this. They went on for several minutes, breaking only when necessary, until they heard someone clear their throat in the doorway and looked up to find Ash looking more uncomfortable than ever.