Secrets Told

Thanks, as always, to Defiant Vixen and llicoricejellybean for reviewing! Sorry for the delay but between work and the latest chapter of BTW, I had a hard time getting a chance to work on this one. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long!

Chapter Sixteen: Truce

Early in the afternoon a few days later, Tracey leaned against the kitchen counter with a soft groan; he'd felt a headache coming on since that morning and it had since developed into a full blown migraine. A high-pitched scream from outside caused his head to pound as he looked out the window to see May and Gary splashing each other in the pool – May was still fully clothed and Tracey could only assume that her little brother had thrown her in, eliciting that screech that had only elevated his discomfort. A small laugh escaped Tracey as Marril, who was swimming near the two siblings, hit Gary with a weak Bubble attack, causing May to squeal and hug the little mouse while Gary simply splashed both of them. Umbreon was paddling in circles in the shallow end of the pool with Venonat perched on her back while Gary's Arcanine watched on from the grass nearby.

It was a cute scene, not quite typical for a Friday afternoon, but certainly not unusual. Tracey wanted desperately to join the fun but the fact that a triple dose of aspirin had done nothing to help his throbbing head kept him from changing into his bathing suit and diving in. Instead, he went to the open backdoor and stood in the doorway, watching quietly while Gary and May remained unaware of his presence until Professor Oak appeared at his side.

"He's been more cheerful these past couple of months," the professor observed, nodding his head in Gary's direction.

Tracey smiled and agreed. "I used to tell him that he would be happier if we didn't hide the relationship. I don't think he believed me back then."

"Typical Gary," the professor said with a small laugh. "Stubborn as a Tauros… Are you feeling alright, Tracey? You're a bit pale."

"I'm fine," Tracey assured him with a forced smile. "I just have a headache."

Professor Oak peered at him with a touch of concern evident on his face. "Let me know if it gets worse; you might be feeling some effects from being so close to a Poison Powder attack," he replied. There had been an event between a Vileplume and a Sandslash that morning while Tracey had been feeding some other pokemon nearby. He hadn't been close enough to be severely poisoned but the professor had warned him that he might feel a bit of dizziness or nausea later; so far, the only abnormal thing Tracey had experienced was his headache but the professor obviously hadn't put the possibility of poisoning out of the picture just yet. "You should go lay down for a bit – our traveling trio is supposed to stop by later on; Delia and Brock offered to make dinner for everyone tonight. You certainly want to be feeling better for that."

The professor left the kitchen a moment later while Tracey remained in the doorway for a few more minutes before rubbing his temples wearily and heading towards the living room to lie down on the couch. He distantly heard the backdoor close a few minutes later, the sound was followed by one of May's childish giggles and then the sounds of the two siblings racing each other up the stairs. A moment later, the bathroom door on the second floor slammed closed and Tracey could hear his boyfriend yelling at May. Shaking his head slightly, Tracey closed his eyes and tried his best to tune out the various noises throughout the house.

He fell asleep rather quickly and awoke rather suddenly when someone dropped a book on the coffee table in front of the couch he was laying on; blinking groggily, he looked up to find Gary grinning down at him.

"Didn't realize you were sleeping," Gary said a bit apologetically. He cocked his head to the side, a small frown furrowing his brow when Tracey groaned uncomfortably instead of shooting him one of his normal playful glares. "What's wrong?" he asked, kneeling next to the couch and brushing a few stray hairs out of Tracey's face.

"Headache," Tracey explained as Gary gingerly placed a hand on his forehead.

"You feel kind of clammy," Gary replied doubtfully. Tracey simply closed his eyes again and smiled faintly when he felt Gary's lips brush his forehead. "Haven't I told you to be careful around poisonous pokemon, Trace?" he teased gently. Having gotten too close to more than one Poison Powder, he could recognize the symptoms as easily as his grandfather could. "I'll go get you something for it."

The doorbell rang the second that Gary stood up and they could hear May's swift footsteps on the stairs as she hurried to let in their guests while Gary rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was Ash and Misty annoying him as he tried to take care of his boyfriend. With a sigh, he hurried towards the lab to find a dose of the antidote that Professor Oak made especially for humans to take when exposed to poisonous attacks. It wasn't hard to find the medicine in the back room of the lab and it only took a moment for Gary to calculate the correct amount of antidote to give to Tracey. What did take awhile was finding something to put the dose in; in the end he had to run back to the kitchen to find a glass to pour it in and by the time he made it back to Tracey in the living room several minutes later, Mrs. Ketchum and Misty were already in there with him.

Delia was fussing over Tracey in her usual motherly fashion as Misty talked quietly to her friend; she glanced up when Gary entered the room and narrowed her blue eyes immediately at the sight of him. Pointedly ignoring the girl, Gary sat at the edge of the couch and helped Tracey sit up even though he was certain that he wasn't so sick that he actually needed the help. Tracey accepted the glass of antidote without argument and swallowed the bitter liquid, forcing down a gag as he did so.

"That's disgusting," he muttered, leaning against Gary while the younger boy rested a comforting hand on his back.

Gary laughed softly as Mrs. Ketchum entered the room with a glass of water for Tracey; he hadn't even noticed the woman leave the room. "You'll feel better in a little bit," he said, taking the glass from Delia and holding it for his boyfriend.

Delia lingered a moment longer, offering to fetch anything else Tracey and Gary might need before hurrying towards the kitchen when a crash echoed from that direction, indicating that someone – most likely Ash – had broken something. Misty sank down in an armchair facing Gary and Tracey, knowing that there wouldn't be anything for her to do in the kitchen with Delia and Brock babysitting Ash and May. Her eyes remained on Gary for a few listless minutes during which Gary's hand slowly trailed up and down Tracey's back in a comforting manner while Tracey slowly drank the water Delia had brought out for him. Gary seemed to keep a concerned gaze on his boyfriend while Tracey quietly assured him that he was just fine; Misty had to admit, albeit grudgingly, that it was a sweet scene. She couldn't deny that the concern in Gary's eyes was laced with love and affection.

Illness seemed to bring out a different side to people and it certainly brought out a caring side that she had doubted existed in Gary. She turned her attention away from them as Gary placed what must have been the fourth or fifth gentle kiss against Tracey's temple in the past ten minutes; desperate for a distraction, she turned her attention to the heavily worn paperback that lay forgotten on the coffee table.

"Frankenstein?" she asked in surprise before she could help herself. Tracey rarely read novels, she knew this from several years of friendship, and it was doubtful that Gary's prissy elder sister would read something so wholly gothic and morbid, leaving the owner of the novel to be Gary himself.

He glanced up at her with a mildly exasperated expression. "You sound surprised," he observed simply, quickly returning his attention to Tracey.

A small smile curved Misty's lips as she took the bait. "Well, you know, I didn't think you would do something like read novels like the rest of us mortals. I could never get into Frankenstein, it was just written so…"

"In English," Gary deadpanned without even looking at her. Tracey shot him an imploring glare and shook his head slightly.

"I'm just surprised, that's all," Misty pressed, smiling at Tracey before smirking at Gary. Despite how little she liked him, she had to admit that bickering with him was entertaining; it kept her on her toes and she was certain that the reverse was true for Gary. "I mean, I half expected you to be into something like, oh, I don't know – the Satanic Bible, or something – being a Hell-spawn and all."

Gary laughed at that and lazily ran a hand through his hair. "Touché," he replied in amusement. Tracey stood at that moment and he quickly followed suit, frowning slightly in concern.

"I'm fine," Tracey patiently told him. "I'm just going to go lay down for a little while… Maybe take a nap while that antidote works. Stay down here, you'll just be bored if you go with me." Gary looked ready to argue but he sighed and shrugged it off when Tracey looked up at him tiredly.

"Alright," he agreed reluctantly. "I'll check on you in a little while though," he added, kissing Tracey's check as he smiled and stepped around him to head upstairs with a sincere warning for Gary and Misty to behave.

Gary plopped back down on the sofa once Tracey was out of his line of vision but kept a sharp ear for any sounds out of the ordinary; once he was certain that Tracey was in his bedroom, he sighed and rested his chin on his hand, gazing morosely out the large windows that overlooked the ranch. Arcanine, Houndoom, and Umbreon were all outside running around with some of the other pokemon including, much to his surprise, Ash's Bayleef. A slight smile touched his lips as he watched the animals play for a few minutes before turning to meet Misty's gaze, which he had been able to feel on him the whole time.

"What?"

"You're a lot nicer when Tracey's around," Misty noted dryly. Gary shrugged and snatched up his book from the coffee table, determined to ignore her as best as he could. "I guess he's got you pretty whipped," she continued in a more cheerful tone, purposely baiting him. He ignored the comment and kept his eyes focused on the pages of the book though she could see that he wasn't reading. "So, was that all just an act? Or was that actually the way you treat Tracey when you're with him?"

Gary finally glanced back up to find Misty absently toying with a lock of red hair, another smirk on her face. She had grown into an attractive young woman with a slender build and long legs that indicated she swam often – he would probably like her if he were at all interested in girls. There was a scathing remark at the tip of his tongue but, thinking of Tracey's warning, he bit it back.

"Why do you care?" he asked in a flat tone that he normally adopted when he was particularly annoyed and was trying to hold back. "You've already made up your mind about me." With that said, he stood and stalked off to the kitchen where he slipped through the backdoor and headed across the lawn to the ancient oak tree that was his and Tracey's favorite hangout spot. About halfway to the tree, he realized that Misty was following him. "You don't give up, do you?" he snapped, whirling suddenly to face the girl, his patience nearly at an end.

"You never answered my question," she replied coolly, seemingly unfazed by his harsh tone. "There was a reason why I asked it, you know."

"And what was this reason of yours?" Gary asked, continuing across the yard.

"Will you just answer me!"

"Yes, that was real – are you happy now? That's how I always treat him; do you honestly think I would treat someone I love like trash?" Having finally reached his destination, he sat down at the base of the tree and glared up at Misty.

"It's hard to tell with some people," she replied as she sat cross-legged in front of him. "No offense, but you haven't really helped yourself by being a jerk all the time. You should at least be happy that Tracey has friends that care about him enough to be concerned with who he's dating."

"Brock and Ash don't have a problem with it, neither does my grandfather or Delia. Are you trying to say that they don't care about him?"

"Your grandfather lives and works with you two; I think it's safe to say that he sees things the rest of us don't. Mrs. Ketchum is good friends with him, she trusts his opinion."

"Brock and Ash?" Gary pressed, leaning back against the trunk of the tree with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Look! I don't have to defend myself for not trusting you before. Maybe I'm a little overprotective of my friends, but can you honestly say that you aren't a bit overprotective of Tracey too? I mean, he had a headache and got a little too close to a Poison Powder and you were acting as though he was in the hospital. That's just a bit protective, if you ask me."

"I didn't ask you."

"And I don't care," Misty sighed as Gary rolled his eyes. An awkward silence fell between them for a few moments while Misty stretched out her legs and looked out over the sprawling lawn at the pokemon milling about. "It's nice out here," she said simply as Gary went back to the book that he had brought outside with him.

"It's even better when you aren't followed by annoying redheads," Gary muttered under his breath. Misty, to her credit, ignored him.

"To be honest, I thought it was kind of sweet," she said softly after a few more minutes passed in silence.

Gary glanced over at her with a confused expression. "What was?"

"You and Tracey. Inside. You've been great with him all week, actually, today just kind of…"

"Nailed the coffin shut?"

Misty nodded and laughed softly. "You're morbid, you know – coffins and monsters. I bet you like zombies too.

"Dawn of the Dead is a classic," Gary replied with a shrug and a small smile.

"I have to admit, I did like Resident Evil."

Gary closed the book and set it down in the grass next to him. "I prefer the video game," he admitted and Misty laughed again.

Another small silence fell in place until Misty broke it. "You're not as bad as I thought you were," she admitted a bit sheepishly.

"Wish I could say the same about you," Gary replied with a slight smile that left Misty under the impression that he was joking. "By the way, sorry about May. She's the overprotective one."

"I couldn't tell," Misty said sarcastically. "Truce?"

Gary rolled his eyes a bit but extended his hand. "Truce. For now, at least," he agreed.

Misty took his hand and they shook civilly before her grip tightened, playfully testing Gary's strength. He winced first and withdrew his hand, glancing down at a still-healing cut on his palm. "How'd that happen?" Misty asked curiously.

"A Sharpedo snagged me when we were trying to put a tracker on its fin," Gary explained, grinning at Misty's wince.

"Is that the 'research' you were doing to get away from your boyfriend and sister?"

Gary nodded and began telling her a bit about his three-week stay in the Orange Islands. He was surprised by her interest in it, though he knew he shouldn't have been, given the girl's specialty in water pokemon and the fact that she had traveled through the tropical archipelago with Ash and Brock. As great as his – and Misty's – surprise was, it couldn't beat Tracey's when he came outside over an hour later to find the two still talking civilly, despite a few bouts of bickering over the course of their conversation. Joining in their conversation as they headed towards the house for dinner, Tracey couldn't help the sincere grin that spread across his face. Seeing that the two were indeed capable of being together unsupervised without killing each other made him all the more confident about suggesting that he and Gary join the other three on their journey to Sinnoh.