Chapter 2

Hope this chapter is a good one.

So what? Even if life was great up until now, and there was no real reason to believe that would change anytime soon, why did I feel so beaten? So what could it be? Was it really my desire for something, someone, in my life? I knew I wanted someone to care for, but it was a bit strange to think that I needed it so badly. So badly that it hurt.

Okay, so suppose I do get that someone. What then? I think I need to start thinking beyond my dreams, because look where I am now – at the top and somehow not as happy as I should be. Don't get me wrong, it had been the best eight years, but it still felt like something was lacking.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu whispered as he tugged at my nose. I glanced down towards the yellow Pokémon.

We were sprawled out on a slight slope in the park, with him lying on my chest. But I guess he had sensed me thinking deeply. Honestly, I wished I could just concentrate on the clouds drifting above, but in the end that didn't really matter. No, for once I was going to try and think.

"I'm a bit unsure of the future," I said. Pikachu's ears twitched a bit, trying to understand. "That's all."

My friend eyed me warily, and I could tell he wanted me to open up even more. Sometimes I was entirely unsure of just how much of our human crap Pokémon could understand. At times, they seemed so clueless of everything around them, but at other times, and like now, Pikachu understood exactly that I was unhappy.

But would he understand if I told him?

"Ash, is that you?" I heard a voice coming from the path a few feet from me.

No, it wasn't a voice. It was his voice.

I gave a slight wave to signal I'm okay. You can move right along now. As hard as I am thinking, I'm trying to solve all my problems without bringing you into the equation. Because, let's be honest, how rational can I think with you in my mind?

I felt the grass stir beside me, and the presence of Gary's body followed shortly after. He wasn't necessarily close; I was just that attuned to how it felt when he was near me. It felt good. Too good.

"The Dratini we treated yesterday seems a bit better. Thanks a lot," he said softly.

I opened my left eye and looked at him. He was sitting with his hands around his knees, watching as the sun rose. He was as unreadable as ever – but that was a good thing. Any Gary was better than an obviously angry Gary.

"That's good. I hope today goes well also," I said as I turned my gaze to the sky.

Gary made some sound as he agreed, then, "What are you doing out here so early, by the way?"

I took a few seconds before I took Pikachu in my arms and sat up, before turning to face Gary. "I could ask you the same question."

Gary lifted a small bag I hadn't noticed before. "Just had to fetch this from someone. They are leaving for Viridian City like," he glanced at his watch, and I caught sight of his soft and beautiful hands, "now, so had to go early."

I nodded and made an 'oh' sound, but Gary just looked at me expectantly. I didn't really know what to tell him – hell, I didn't even know what I was doing there myself. Gary extended his arm to rub behind Pikachu's ear as he waited for me to answer. I hadn't realized Gary had been that close, and I could practically smell his amazing aroma as the wind blew softly from behind him. What was it called again? Hmmm.

Oh yeah, lavender.

"I'm just taking in the quiet. Early morning in Pallet is something else," I finally concluded, hoping that it was kind of convincing.

Pikachu jumped onto Gary's lap and he gave my Pokémon a nice scratch on his belly.

"So you're happy to be back?" he asked.

"I think I am. A bit too early to tell, but I'm looking forward to it," I said.

Gary gave me a glance, smile forming on his face. "Good. Glad to see that brain of yours still remembers where you came from."

Ha Ha. Real funny Gary.

"Come on, let's get going," I said and got up, followed by Pikachu jumping onto my out stretched hand, and then finally settling on my shoulder.

"You should come visit, now that you have the time," Brock's voice came from the computer.

"I'll come as soon as I get the chance. I started helping out at Professor Oak's lab," I explained.

Brock made a face of surprise before laughing, "You gonna become a researcher now, Ash?" he asked.

I snorted, "Hell no, I'm helping out with the Pokémon they got here."

"Well, just don't get too busy. We are still your friends, you know," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah," I said stupidly.

Truth was, I'd very much like to see my old friends again. Brock, Misty, all of them. I think I still actually owe Misty a bike; then again, I owe so many girls so many bikes. Oh well.

Gary called out to me from another room, "Ash, can you help here?"

"Just a sec," I called back to him, "Listen Brock, I gotta go. Talk to you later, and relax – I will visit you."

Brock chuckled, "We'll see. Anyway, bye then."

The computer terminal shut down and I made my way over to the room where Gary and a few aides were busy working. I walked over to where Gary was bent over a table, with a Dratini sprawled out on it. He was inspecting the Pokémon's mouth, and I already saw where I was needed.

I moved over to the other side, and cupped the little face in my hands, and the Dratini looked at me in fear. I told it to relax, and with some effort, the Pokémon finally calmed down. Gary took a small flash light and peeked into the mouth briefly.

"Okay, next," he called to an aide.

We did this with all the Dratini, and it took quite a while to ease them all down. But in the end, it was all done. Gary was continuously checking their mouths and relayed the results to an aide, who wrote it down on a clipboard.

It was hardly exciting work, but I wanted to help the Dratini with whatever was wrong with them. The last Dratini we looked at was the one that had bitten Gary, and I could see he stressed a bit when he had to look at its mouth.

He frowned once he saw the Pokémon's mouth.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Nothing. It's mouth is fine," he said as he straightened up. "All the others have the little white spots in their mouths."

"So it's okay?" I asked and took the Pokémon into my arms.

"I don't know," Gary shrugged. "Maybe it's a symptom of the virus, and it skipped this one."

"I don't understand."

"It's like with the common cold. Most people get a sore throat and a running nose, but not always. Like me, for instance, I just get the leaky nose."

I frowned, "What other symptoms do the Dratini have?"

"Well, they are very tired. And anxious, almost, afraid. And they all seem to have stopped talking. Only this one had made a noise," Gary explained.

"So maybe it's getting better," I said and looked at the Pokemon in my arms. It was obviously tired, but I could swear it looked a bit better than the day before.

"Hopefully. We'll just have to wait and see," Gary said.

I handed the Dratini over to an aide and followed Gary as he left the lab. We went to the kitchen and grabbed some lunch. We had worked all morning – me tending to the Dratini while Gary inspected them all.

I hoped something else would come up soon, because no matter how much I wanted to care for the Dratini, it was already beginning to bore me. Well, I guess I couldn't complain. This is what I wanted after all.

Last night was actually quite awesome. Gary and I just joked and talked about random stuff the whole time. Of course, we constantly teased each other, but I guess we are so used to it by now, that any conversation would feel awkward without it.

"Here," Gary said as he pushed a plate with a sandwich in front of me.

"Just one?" I asked.

Gary rolled his eyes, "You're huge, Ashy-boy. You'll get by."

"What? I'm not fat! This is muscle! Not that much, but I need my food," I defended.

"Then make your own, I'm not your bitch," Gary said with smirk.

Not yet, Gary Oak. Not yet.

Shit! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! Don't think things like that, 'cause now you're blushing and he's looking at you and smirking and… shit. Stupid.

Ugh, I'm such an idiot.

"Did I say something to embarrass you, Ashy-boy?" he said with his eyebrows raised, and his mouth curled into an amused smiled.

Stop calling me that! Gah.

"Er, no." I said and averted my gaze from his eyes and took a bite out of my sandwich. That Gary made. For me.

Fuck, what's wrong with you, Ash Ketchum?!

It was quite a new feeling to just relax on the sofa and watch TV. It felt normal, and… I dunno, boring, I guess? Ugh, I swear, I have to find something very interesting to do and soon, otherwise I might just go insane.

An ad flashed for the upcoming Pokémon tournaments, and Pikachu immediately sat upright and tugged at my shirt and pointed to the screen.

"Maybe next year, Pikachu. I'm taking a little break," I said while playing with one of his ears.

He let out a small whine, but settled next to me and continued staring at the images of various Pokémon engaged in battle. My face flashed onto the TV, and there was a message next to it:

Will recent Pokémon Master, Ask Ketchum, battle?

And will you be able to beat him?

I laughed at the ridiculous message and got up, going to the kitchen. Mom was busy with dinner, and she needed to finish now. I'm hungry. She motioned for me to sit.

"Sit, Ash. I'm done," she said.

Yay!

"What did you make?" I asked her.

She turned around with a pot in her hand and scooped some of the food into my bowl. "Just some stew, honey."

I didn't need any further motivation and started devouring the food. Pikachu joined us when the ad was over, and it was kind of a little competition between him and me of who could eat the fastest. But naturally, Pikachu's stew was drowning in ketchup. So much ketchup.

"So how do you enjoy the work at Professor Oak?" Mom asked.

I wanted to say it bores me already.

"It's great. I can get used to it," I said instead.

Her face lit up, "That's great. And from what I saw last night, you and Gary can still be friends."

Er, I suppose friends are okay.

"Mom, we never stopped being friends, it was just a little weird when we both started on our adventures."

Mom smiled at me. Yeah, defending our friendship really did prove what my mom just said. But hell, I aint complaining.

The little mouse beside me let out a humongous burp, sounding almost like an Exploud. Holy crap!

"Pikachu!" I laughed.

"Pika, pika," he said shyly, but then I let out an equal burp.

We all just laughed.

"You two are exactly the same," Mom said.

The lab was quiet, and only one or two aides were monitoring the various Pokémon. Gary was sitting at a desk and working on some papers, and Professor Oak was outside. Yes, I love this place actually.

I approached Gary and when he saw me, he smiled a bit.

"Ash, I have a favor to ask," he said, without even greeting.

"Sure," I said and sat down on a nearby chair.

"I have to go to Viridian City to get some supplies. Would you come with me?" he asked.

Okay, so that had nothing to do with treating Pokémon. Unless he needed my help with moving the supplies. Er?

"I'm going with the car this afternoon. Just thought you'd like to get a bit of air," he explained.

He was actually right. It was only my third day in Pallet and I was already bored. "Sure thing, Gary."

"Great. I just have to finish a few things then we can go," he said and returned to work on his papers.

I went to look outside for Professor Oak, and found him where his was crouching around a few Bulbasaur. Seeing them made me miss my own Bulbasaur, and I wish he was with me now, instead of storage. I could always just go inside and get him.

"Ash, good to see you," said Professor Oak when he spotted me.

"Thanks. These Bulbasoar look really good," I commented.

"They do. Hopefully they'll all find a nice trainer," he said.

"All of them?" I asked.

Professor Oak stood upright and gave me proud smile, "Believe it or not, your antics inspired quite a few kids in Pallet to want to become Pokémon trainers. I had to get a whole bunch of starter Pokémon so everyone could have one."

I gave a shy laugh, "Gee, I didn't know I had that effect on the kids here."

"No need to be modest. Maybe you should go collect your Bulbasaur and bring it out so it can talk to these here and sort of prepare them."

I nodded and walked back inside the lab. Gary wasn't at his desk, but I just made my way to the storage room to get Bulbasaur. There were quite a few Pokéballs, but I found the right one soon enough.

Holding Bulbasaur in my hands brought back a lot of memories. So many. He was definitely one of the Pokémon I relied on the most, but then again, all the Pokémon I had was essential to my team.

Nostalgia is a bitch.

I snapped out of my reminiscing and started to go back outside, but was stopped by soft sobbing coming from a door leading to the supply room. The door was slightly ajar, and I peeked in.

Gary was sitting against a wall, with his head between his legs. He cried softly, and my heart broke for whatever reason caused Gary to be sad. I moved closer, but he didn't notice me.

"Gary?" I asked in a soft voice.

He stopped sobbing, and gave a weak laugh. "Now I'm hearing your voice too. How sad."

"Gary," I said again and put my hand on his arm.

His head snapped up and he stared at me with shock. He gaped at me, and I could see he was struggling to speak.

"Ash! Wh-What are you do-doing here?" he asked nervously.

"I just heard you crying and came inside to check on you," I said and gave him a comforting smile.

"Oh," he said and turned his gaze to his side, looking at the blank wall.

"Why are you crying, Gary?" I dared to ask.

He didn't look at me when he said, "It's nothing."

I nodded, and then Gary got up. He pushed past me without saying anything and he left me standing alone in the storage room. Okay, this is so weird. Why on earth would Gary be sitting here and crying?

I went to the main room, and Gary was sitting at his desk, working. I didn't think about bothering him, afraid to make him angry. So I just went outside to where Professor Oak was, still with all the Bulbasaur.

I let mine out, and in a matter of seconds he spotted the others and started playing with them. No matter how beautiful the sight was, Gary crying had me worried and I kept wondering what was wrong.

Gary was driving, and I was just sitting and staring at the familiar scenery as we zipped nearer to Viridian City. I had left Pikachu with Professor Oak if he needed his help with the Dratini. I swear – Pikachu acted as the Dr. Phil of Pokémon sometimes. Or like a Chancey.

Gary had returned to his normal self, and I dared not probe him and ask what was wrong. No, I knew of better.

"Say Ashy-boy, how does it feel to be the 'Pokémon Master'?" he asked after a while, a grin on his face.

"Okay, I guess. Nothing too spectacular. I mean, there isn't a crowd of paparazzi following me, so that's good," I said and Gary laughed.

"Not what you expected, then?" he asked.

Erm, how do I say this?

"No, it's all good. It's just, I don't know what to do next," I explained.

Gary looked at me from the corner of his eye. He kept shifting his gaze from the road to me, and I felt myself blush. "What, Gary?"

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just checking if the correct Ash Ketchum is sitting beside me. You always seemed so brash and did everything without thinking."

I gave a laugh. "Gary, I was a little boy back then. I've grown up in the mean time."

Gary fixed his gaze on the road, but I could see he had this pleased smirk on his face. Fuck! What's it with Gary and smirking? I'd just like to wipe it off his face. With my mouth.

Okaaay, time to look at something else. Like that Pidgey in the tree. And the Spearow that's about to attack it. Oh wait, here comes a whole flock of Pidgey. Yup, the Spearow is fucked. Fucking fucked.

Ash! Stop. Thinking. NOW.

Not thinking.

Not thinking,

Not thi-

"Ash, why are you pulling your face like that?" Gary asked. I glanced over at him. He had a slight pout and his eyes were all beautiful and… and now he had me thinking again. Shit.

"I… uh… I wasn't pulling my face," I defended.

"Yes, you were," Gary said matter-of-factly.

"Was not!"

"Ash, are you sure you have grown up?" he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and refocused my attention on the trees. So now I had to try and not think without pulling a face. Or move my face so Gary couldn't see.

"I can still see your face," he said with traces of laughter in his voice.

"Eyes on the road, Gary. Eyes on the road."

A/N: Ohmigawd, I watched Date Night last night and was in the mood to write a bit of comedy. So... Hope it was okay. Haha. If you'd like a more hilarious fic, check out my other one, this one is gonna be a lot more serious. Anyhow. Thanks for reading. And like I said. When you click that review button, it makes my day.