Secrets Told

Thanks as always to licoricejellybean for reviewing – a prequel sounds like a good idea! I think I might do that when I finish this story, I'm hoping to do a few more Gary/Tracey fics as well as some palletshipping ones. I'm glad Ash's maturity was believable as well!

Thanks as well to Defiant Vixen! I'm glad you liked the explanations and bickering : ) As far as a flashback goes…. I'm definitely going to prequel now – my two best reviewers have suggested something about seeing how Tracey and Gary got together, so I have to now!

This fic's going to wrap up in a few more chapters and I'm planning on doing both a sequel and a prequel. Whichever one I decide to do first, I'll post the first chapter of it at the same time I post the last chapter of this one.

August 2013: updated a bit... just some minor revisions, nothing major!

Chapter Thirteen: Ideas

Tracey set down his sketch book next to him with a soft sigh as he looked out over the ranch. Dusk was settling around Pallet Town, finally giving the residents a break from the intense summer heat and the glaring sun; only a few pokemon were still out on the ranch while Tracey sat under a tree absentmindedly doodling to relax after the long day of working in the lab. It was steadily growing darker but he remained rather indifferent to the descending nightfall; if anyone needed him, they would know where to find him. This was, after all, his favorite spot in the whole town: the enormous ancient oak tree that grew on a slope that led down to one of the lakes of the ranch. Lately, it had seemingly turned into Gary's favorite place to make out with him, not that Tracey minded – the setting was peaceful and rather well sheltered from the view of the house or the lab, not to mention he was thrilled that his boyfriend was now so open with kissing him.

At the thought of the shared kisses that had occurred in this same location, a faint smile danced across Tracey's lips. Leaning back against the tree behind him, he closed his eyes, taking the chance to inhale the scent of the wildflowers that grew unhindered in the field off to his left. He could tell that tonight would be a beautiful night. It was a pity that no one was out here to share it with him.

Almost as soon as that thought crossed his mind, he could hear footsteps crunching over the burnt grass and fallen leaves that littered the ground. Turning to peer around the tree, he found Gary approaching him with a bit of hesitation in his step; he obviously suspected, rightly so, that Tracey had heard about the squabble between him and Ash. Glancing Gary over, Tracey couldn't help but smile as he noticed that his boyfriend had changed into boardshorts and a t-shirt while his hair was a bit damp and messy, as it usually was whenever he returned from the beach. Knowing that he normally kept a spare bathing suit and change of clothes in his car, Tracey figured Gary had run into friends at the beach after his argument with Ash. No doubt the teen had stayed an extra couple of hours to hang out.

Gary plopped down on the grass next to Tracey with a cheerful greeting and a quick kiss on the cheek while Tracey gave a soft laugh. "You're already in reconcile mode," Tracey observed, giving his boyfriend a knowing smile. "Have fun at the beach?" Gary nodded and Tracey let him go on about one of the other teen boys getting stung by a jellyfish until he finally fell quiet and looked at Tracey expectantly, silently inquiring about his day. "Ash told me about your argument."

"I figured he would," Gary replied quietly. "Mad at me?" Tracey shook his head and Gary couldn't help but be surprised – Tracey had refused to talk to him for well over an hour the last time he had gotten into a fight with Ash. "You're not?"

"Not really; you guys were tempting fate by being together for so many hours. I'm glad you two were able to get along so well as long as you did, usually you can't be around each other for two hours and you somehow lasted six before fighting. It's just that…"

"Just what?" Gary prompted gently, a look of slight concern crossing his face.

"I get along with your friends – why can't you just get along with mine, Gary?"

"Hey, I got along with Misty when she visited back in November," Gary reminded him. He could vividly recall the redhead's visit, if only because of how hard May had tried to hook them up during her visit.

"Got along?" Tracey echoed in disbelief. "Gary, you two bickered the entire time!"

"According to May, it was flirting."

"You're gay!" Gary quirked an eyebrow as if to ask Tracey what his point was. "Gay guys don't flirt with girls – they flirt with guys," Tracey pressed on.

"Trace, I've flirted with plenty of girls; how do you think I managed to hide my sexuality from my friends for so long? Hell, I've even kissed a girl!"

"Yeah, and you practically burned your tongue with how much Listerine you used afterwards," Tracey added dryly.

Gary rolled his eyes and huffed. "That was to get rid of the alcohol taste; Amanda was trashed, remember?"

Tracey shook his head with an imploring sigh. "Gary… You used something that is over twenty percent alcohol to get rid of the slight taste of a drink that you like as well. Even though you're not even old enough to drink it as it is!" he added as an afterthought.

Gary gave a small shrug, not particularly caring about the details of the event he had described to Ash earlier that day. It wasn't as though he could regret making out with his best friend's older sister, not when it led to furthering his relationship with Tracey. Nevertheless, the memory was uncomfortable despite the fact that neither his sister nor his best friend had ever brought it up, indicating that the older girl hadn't told either of them. Gary had to admit he was rather grateful for that.

"You don't even care about that, do you?" Tracey's soft and calm voice inquired, pulling Gary out of his thoughts.

"Is being psychic a prerequisite for being a pokemon researcher?" Gary shot back sarcastically. That boy always seemed to read his mind, it was a bit eerie.

Tracey laughed softly and rested his head against Gary's shoulder, smiling when he was pulled closer against his boyfriend's body that smelled so enticingly like the ocean. A hand slowly moved along his back before tangling in his hair and Tracey leaned back into it, nearly distracted from the conversation. "Nah, it's a prereq for dating you, isn't it?"

"So you admit it, huh?"

Another small laugh escaped Tracey as he looked up at Gary with a content smile. "Maybe," he said cryptically, sighing as a gentle kiss was placed on his lips.

They pulled away slightly and Tracey met Gary's eyes happily, noticing a hint a mischief in the brown depths. "Then what am I thinking right now?" he murmured against Tracey's lips, his fingers still toying with the other boy's hair in a way that made Tracey what to purr.

Forcing himself to focus on the question, he shook his head slightly until Gary took the hint and let his hand move down to rest at the back of his neck. "You want to have sex, then cuddle, then go eat. And have a shower somewhere in there – maybe have sex in the shower and dry each other off instead of cuddling. Food afterwards, either way."

Gary laughed and brushed his nose against Tracey's. "You really are psychic."

"No, you're a teenage boy – you either want sex or food, both if possible."

"And what about you, Trace?"

He smiled and pressed a small kiss to Gary's lips, pulling back quickly when Gary tried to deepen it. "I'm not a teenager anymore, Gary – I'm almost twenty-one now."

Gary crossed his arms across his chest and scowled playfully. "Pedophile," he muttered.

Tracey gave a short, surprised laugh and shook his head with a slight roll of the eyes. "Sure, Gary, whatever you say."

"It's true," Gary pressed, causing Tracey to shake his head once more. "I was only seventeen when we started dating – you were almost twenty!"

"Gary, we started dating three months before your eighteenth birthday. I'm only a year and a half older than you."

"Isn't that statutory rape?"

"Gary," Tracey began beseechingly.

"Technically it is."

"Not when the older one is on the bottom, you pain in the ass."

Gary tilted his head to one side, as though he was about to comment on Tracey's word choice but thought better of it as he suddenly stood up. "Come on, let's go inside," he said as he pulled Tracey to his feet.

"Teenage hormones," Tracey complained playfully, rolling his eyes as Gary led him up towards the house.

Gary gave a small chuckle and affectionately squeezed Tracey's hand. "It's okay, Trace, you can rape me anytime," he teased.

"Well, there's the light at the end of the tunnel," Tracey replied dryly. "Here I was, under the impression that you would never let me top you."

"I was kidding."

"I wasn't."

They were quiet as they approached the house while darkness fell around them and the ranch, simply walking hand in hand and enjoying the simple but meaningful gesture. As they entered the house through the backdoor, Tracey frowned slightly when part of their earlier conversation popped into his head, reminding him that one of his best friends was still ignorant to his relationship with the young researcher. Sighing softly, he knew Gary was not going to be thrilled with what he was going to say or suggest.

"You know," he began softly, with a small amount of trepidation in his voice. "We're going to have to tell Misty at some point soon."

Gary groaned and rolled his eyes. Couldn't they just wait until she decided to visit next – sometime perhaps three or four months down the line – and just kiss in front of her or something simple like that? He had a feeling that Tracey was actually going to sit down with her and tell her everything. One thing was for sure: this was going to be the final formal 'coming out' incident. After Misty knew, Gary couldn't care less how anyone else found out.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly, allowing his tone to clearly indicate how displeased he really was.

Tracey smiled, though he knew that Gary was annoyed, he also knew that he had won. He couldn't wait to tell Misty; she had been the hardest person to keep the secret from as she was actually closer to him than Ash was. Maybe, if he planned it right, he could get Misty to stop by with Brock before Ash went back to the Sinnoh region for his competition. Then maybe the three trainers would decide to trek back to Sinnoh together and he could tag along, dragging his boyfriend along behind him. It could be fun – a little adventure never hurt anyone, right? And he was dying to get out of the lab to see some truly wild pokemon, even get in a battle or two; or, better yet, see Gary battle.

Now that he thought of it, he had to tell Brock as well, seeing as he had become quite good friends with the gym leader. If he and Misty came at the same time, they would be killing two birds with one stone by telling them at the same time.

A grin graced his lips as he thought it over. It was a good idea, he figured, if he could just get his stubborn boyfriend to go along with it.