The two boys walked down the path way towards the sidewalk in silence for a few minutes. Ash looked over at Gary embarrassed when he noticed the brunette delicately rubbing his jaw.

"Hey Gary, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. I really thought I caught the banister."

"No problem Ash. It's cool really. I kinda forgot how much you flail around," he said with a laugh looking out from behind his hair.

Ash stuck his tongue out at his childhood rival. "Well thanks for catching me."

"You're welcome," he smiled. "So we've got a few hours before your mom cooks dinner if you're wanting to make it back for that. Kinda sounded like she wants us back for dinner. Would you like to grab a movie or something?"

"Sure that sounds fun. Let's head to the theater and we'll see what's showing," Ash said with a grin. "If you're coming to dinner mom's probably making something great. We better not miss that..." he trailed off with a grin.

"I'm down for some good food."

The researcher and the trainer made it to the theater a few minutes later. They chose a movie and Gary insisted on buying the tickets. Glancing around Gary headed over toward the concession stand to grab a drink. Ash hopped in front of Gary with a smile. Gary shook his head with a smile and waved him to the counter first.

The young girl behind the counter looked up with a smile at the young men. "Hi, what can I get for you?"

"I'll have a large Coke and a bag of peanut butter M&M's please," Ash said.

The girl quickly got his order. "That'll be $5.86."

Ash reached into his back pocket for his wallet and came up empty. He began frantically patting his pockets.

"Crap, I'm sorry. I must have left my wallet at home. I'm sorry. Just cancel that..."

Gary cut him off. "Just add another large Dr. Pepper to that, and I'll grab the bill," Gary said with a wink and a smile. He turned to Ash as they picked up their drinks and Ash grabbed his candy. Before Ash could even say anything, Gary said, "Don't worry about it. I don't mind at all. I think it's kind of cute that hanging out with me made you so nervous you forgot your wallet", he finished with a laugh and another wink.

Ash spluttered and turned pink. "That's not why I forgot my wallet..." he trailed off lamely.

Gary just chuckled as they walked into the dark theater. They found seats in the center back of the theater and settled down as the previews began, Pikachu in Ash's lap and Eevee in Gary's. Ash focused on the screen almost immediately letting Gary look at him at out of the corner of his eyes. He smiled remembering all the times they used to go to the movies as a kid. He turned his attention back to the screen and put his arm up on the armrest. A few minutes into the movie his attention was broken when Ash mistakenly put his own arm and hand up onto the armrest. He practically held Gary's hand and snatched his arm away. Gary laughed quietly in the dark. He relinquished the armrest but Ash never took it back. With a small smile he put his arm back up palm up.

Ash was pretty oblivious to everything but the movie. He was embarrassed when he accidentally took Gary's armrest. He put his hand back in his lap but noticed that Gary put his arm back with his hand facing upwards half open. He noticed too as Gary leaned over towards the armrest, closer to Ash, as he adjusted his body in the seat.

About halfway through the movie Ash finally decided to move his arm up onto the armrest. He barely brushed his arm up against Gary's but he wasn't about to put his hand in Gary's. He just couldn't imagine that Gary was actually into him, and he didn't want to find out in the middle of the movie. For the rest of the movie he was very aware of his right arm though.

An hour and a half later the boys were back out in the late evening light. They headed back down the side walk towards Ash's house.

"So we've got about an hour before we have to be back", Ash said. "You wanna walk around the park for a little bit?"

"Sure. Sounds like fun." The two pokemon trailed behind their trainers towards the park. Ash and Gary chatted about the movie until the found themselves on the end of the dock jutting out into the small lake. Ash stood at the end looking out over the water. There were a few people on paddle boats and small flocks of Farfetch'd and introduced Ducklett and Swanna drifted across the surface.

"Ummm, Ash..." he looked at the raven haired boy nervously.

"What Gary?" Ash asked looking down into the water.

"I like you Ash..."

Ash continued to watch the small fish swimming just under the surface of the water. "Yeah Gary, I like you too."

Gary looked up at Ash's face surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. It's cool we can be friends again."

"Uh, Ash, that's not what I meant."

He had Ash's attention now. He looked up finally.

Gary reached out and grabbed Ash's wrists. "I mean I like you. Like I'm attracted to you..."

"What?" he said in surprise stepping backwards.

"Ash watch out", Gary said as Ash stepped off the dock backwards.

Gary tightened his grip but Ash's weight and the suddenness of him falling took him over the edge as well. Ash splashed into the water with a yelp. Gary arched up and over him landing further out in the lake. Ash surfaced and Gary burst up seconds later. They treaded water, staring at each other. Gary looked hurt as he pushed his wet hair back.

"Ash I'm sorry..."

"No Gary, I'm sorry. You just took me by surprise."

"I shouldn't have said anything. Now you'll probably not want to talk to me anymore..."

"Why do you say that?"

Gary turned and started making his way towards the shore. "Well clearly you aren't into me like I was hoping you were."

"Wait Gary," Ash said paddling after him. "Wait!"

Gary turned back once he was able to touch the bottom of the lake floor. "What?"

Ash reached him and grabbed his hands under the water. "I am into you Gary. A lot. I just never dreamed you'd be into me..." He looked into Gary's eyes. "I've had a crush on you for years now."

Gary smiled at the younger boy. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Gary's smile widened. "Cool."

Ash laughed. "So let's get out of here. We're not getting any drier."

The two boys waded ashore, water streaming off them. They were soaked completely through and their clothes clung uncomfortable and cold against their bodies. The squelched along, trudging back along the path.

"My mom is going to freak out when we get home", Ash said.

"Yeah, well if I trusted your Charizard", Gary said looking pointedly in Ash's direction, "I'd say we could have him speed dry our clothes. But he'd probably just go to sleep or set us on fire."

Ash laughed, "Your probably right. I mean he's better behaved than he was, but drying clothes takes control that I'm just not sure Charizard has."

Pikachu and Eevee stayed clear of their trainers and the puddles and water they left behind as they followed behind the two boys.

Before they knew it they were dripping up the path to Ash's front door. Ash reached the door first and tentatively opened it.

"Mom!"

He could hear her in the kitchen. Whatever she was cooking smelled amazing.

"MOM!" he screamed louder.

"Yes dear?" the muffled voice of his mother sounded from the kitchen.

"I need you to come to the front door please!" he yelled in response.

Shortly Delia and Mr. Mime rounded the corner. Delia's eyebrows raised and her mouth opened.

"What in the world did you do Ash Ketchum?! And don't you dare drip on the floors..." she trailed off pointing her finger. "Don't answer that. I'll be back with towels."

As she walked by the open door she saw Gary standing uncomfortable and embarrassed behind Ash.

"You too?!" she said. "My goodness. Take off your socks and shoes and I'll hear all about it when I get back."

She and Mr. Mime headed up the stairs and were back before the boys had even managed to get their shoes off. She handed each of them two towels and stood with her hands on her hips looking from Ash to Gary and then back to Ash. She didn't know whether to laugh at their predicament or scream. And she really needed to get back to dinner.

"So Ash dear", she paused dramatically, "would you like to explain why the two of you look like drowned Rattata on my front porch?"

Gary looked like he wanted to melt through the floor and she quickly amended her statement.

"Drowned but still very cute Rattata, Gary Oak", she said with a smile so he'd know she was just giving the two of them a hard time.

Ash started speaking from under the towel as he roughly dried his hair.

"Well we went to go see a movie and afterward walked down to the park and walked around. We went out on the dock and I slipped off the end. Gary tried to catch me." Ash stopped coming out from under the towel. "Well actually he did catch me, but I pulled him in on accident. I didn't mean to." He stopped again looking at his mom.

"You two are going to be the end of me. Here I've been slaving over a hot stove all evening preparing an amazing meal, which you'd better go check on Mr. Mime", she said pointing towards the kitchen, "and now you aren't even going to be able to eat it when it's ready", she finished shaking her head. Both the boys looked down at their feet embarrassed. "But it seems I should thank you again Gary for trying to prevent the mishaps that seem to follow Ash wherever he goes", she said with a smile and a laugh. "Now when the two of you are dry enough that you can come in, go upstairs and get showered and cleaned up. I won't have anyone that's marinated in that Muk-smelling lake water at the table", she said with another smile to take the sting out of her words. "And put those wet clothes in a laundry basket and I'll have Mr. Mime wash them before we sit down to eat so they'll be ready for you to take home Gary."

She turned to head back inside and stopped. "Since I foresee at least another hour before the two of you are ready for dinner I'll have time to make a dessert. Gary what do you like?"

He looked up in surprise as he was wringing the water out of his own hair. "Oh Mrs. Ketchum I've been enough trouble. You don't have to make anything special for me. Anything you make will be delicious so you just make whatever is the least trouble."

"Nonsense. It's a thank you gift for trying to keep Ash's feet firmly planted on dry land. Actually any land", she said pursing her lips to not laugh as she remembered the stair incident.

"Umm...how about chocolate cake if that goes with what you're making?"

"That'll go just fine Gary", she said beaming at him. "You know I could get very used to the idea of you being around", she said with a secret air and a twinkle in her eye.

She actually winked at Gary before she could help herself and he felt a blush creeping over his face. Surely things weren't that obvious yet.

And with that Delia closed the door and left the two boys on the porch to finish drying off best they could. Finally satisfied they had dried enough and that his mother wouldn't have a stroke from finding wet footprints all the way up to his room the two boys hurried inside and up the stairs into Ash's bedroom. Ash hurried into the bathroom so he wasn't on the carpet with Gary on his heels.

Gary's teeth had begun to chatter as the cool air combined with his damp clothes chilled him. Ash looked at him with concern in his chocolate eyes.

"You take a hot shower first Gary. If you catch a cold I'll never hear the end of it from mom", Ash said with a grimace.

He flipped the water on and warm steam began to fill the bathroom. Gary pulled off his shirt and was unbuttoning his pants when Ash realized he was staring at Gary Oak's lean, smooth, muscular body. Gary became aware of it too and looked up with a smile on his face.

"See something you like Ashy-boy?"

Ash blushed furiously and averted his eyes. "Maybe", he replied coyly. He turned to grab two towels from the cabinet. He tossed one to Gary and threw one through the door onto his bed.

"Throw all your clothes by the door before you get in the shower. I'll grab them and put them with mine outside the door. And then while you're getting dressed I'll take a shower.

Gary sat his towel down beside the tub and watched as Ash closed the bathroom door behind him. He peeled his wet pants off with some difficulty followed by an expensive pair of underwear. "Oh god, Mrs. Ketchum is going to be washing my underwear..." he thought as he stepped into the warm shower.

He sighed in contented bliss as the warm water ran over his body. He just stood under the water streaming out of the shower head, relaxing his body.

Ash waited until he heard the shower curtain get pulled closed before he opened the door and grabbed the pile of wet clothes and their towels from the porch. He threw them into a basket stopping to admire Gary's very cute underwear. Thinking about Gary in his underwear made the front of Ash's pants suddenly tighter. He looked down and quickly tossed the underwear in with the rest of the clothes clearing his mind. He tugged off his own wet clothes and wrapped his towel around his waist. He set the full laundry basket outside his door and closed it again behind him. Then he just sat on the bed and waited.

Once Gary was sufficiently warmed, he lathered his hair with shampoo and soaped up his body. Several minutes later he was still just standing under the water when he finally made the considerable effort to turn off the water and get out. At least he was clean and warm now. He got out and dried himself off. He was wrapping his towel around his waist when he heard the knock at the door.

"Is it safe to come in?" Ash's muted voice came through the door.

"Yeah, you're good. Come on in. Hope I left some hot water for yo..." he trailed off as he turned towards the door and saw Ash standing there wearing nothing but a towel. Now it was his turn to stare open mouthed. The towel was riding low on his hips and Gary's eyes were drawn down, following the v-shaped definition. His gaze drifted back up Ash's smooth, flat stomach to his lightly muscled chest. Then he realized his mouth was open and snapped it shut.

Ash stood there amused but also surprised by the brunette's reaction. He took his own time to re-admire Gary's body now that he was clad in his own towel. Wet it clung to Gary's body and Ash was very aware of the bulge beneath the towel. Ash thought Gary was built like a god, beautiful, tan complexion and well-defined muscle.

They both looked up smiling at one another. Ash blushed and Gary smirked with that sexy grin that had always made Ash weak in the knees.

Ash cleared his throat. "Well, I'm going to hop in the shower, you can grab anything out of my closet to wear."

"Sounds good. After your out and dried off I'll try to do something with this mess", he said pointing to his still damp hair.

Ash laughed. "If you need to come back in while I'm in the shower just come in. I'll probably be faster than you though," he said with a wink.

Gary rolled his eyes with a smile to Ash as he closed the door. He wandered over to Ash's closet and started browsing. He pushed shirt after shirt aside. Sighing he continued to look. All he could find were very Ash-typical t-shirts. And while they were cute on Ash he didn't think they'd look good on him. Finally buried almost in the back he found a black button-down shirt. He pulled it out and held it up. He tossed it down on the bed and started pulling open drawers looking for pants. The first drawer contained underwear. Grinning he pulled it all the way out and started digging through it. Nothing but boxers on top, further down he found some cute briefs, but he kept digging hoping he'd find something. Something gold glimmered softly in the dark. He snagged the metallic fabric and pulled it out. His mouth fell open as he spread the waistband between his hands. A thong with a keyhole cut-out in the pouch. He grinned like a kid. He dropped his towel to the floor and stepped into them, slipping them up his legs. He adjusted himself and turned to look in the mirror. He thought they were perfect. He couldn't believe Ash had underwear like these hidden away. He'd seen them for sale online but hadn't purchased this style yet. He went back into the drawer and found at least a dozen pairs he'd kill to see Ash in.

Closing that drawer he moved onto the next one. Two drawers later he found blue jeans. He pulled out several pairs before finding a medium dark wash he liked. He continued to look though in case something better was buried deeper. He was so occupied with finding clothes he hadn't noticed the shower turning off. And he certainly didn't hear the bathroom door opening quietly behind him.

Ash showered as quickly as he could in typical Ash-fashion. He got out and dried off wrapping his towel tightly around his hips. He opened the door slowly to the bathroom as he checked his reflection in the mirror. With the door opened he turned to his bedroom to look for Gary. His eyes ran around the room and was shocked when he saw Gary's nude body rising up in front of his dresser. Well not quite nude he realized. He had on Ash's gold thong that had been buried in the bottom of his underwear drawer so his mother would never find it. He couldn't stop staring at Gary's tight ass as he held up a pair of blue jeans. Ash crept across the carpet quiet as a mouse until he was right behind the brunette.

"Those look good," he said softly sliding his hands around Gary's waist.

Gary jumped and whirled around. "My god you scared me. But thanks," he said blushing.

Ash's eyes ran down Gary's body. "My, my. They look even better from the front..."

Gary blushed harder. "Go get dressed so we don't keep your mom waiting," he said swatting Ash on the chest and moving around him to the bed where the shirt was still laying.

"You're right as usual."

Ash pulled out another pair of jeans and tossed them on the bed behind him. Ten minutes later the boys were both dressed in the bathroom styling their hair. Finally satisfied with their appearance the headed towards the door. As they opened the door Ash flipped the light off.

"Gary, wait", Ash whispered to him softly.

"What Ash?"

"Thank you for taking me out today." He smiled at the older boy. "I had a really nice time," he said pulling the door shut behind him. He leaned over a quickly kissed the young researcher on the lips leaving Gary in surprise as he headed down the hall towards the stairs.

Gary rushed after him and grabbed him by the wrist spinning him back around. His green eyes were shining from behind his perfectly messy hair.

"Thank you for going out with me." He pushed Ash up against the wall and leaned in slowly, his lips gently meeting Ash's.

They kissed for what seemed like an eternity but in reality lasted less than a minute. When they broke apart Ash's arms were wrapped behind Gary's head and Gary's were tightly around Ash's waist.

"Boys! Are you coming down?" Delia shouted up the stairs. "Dinner is ready!"

"We're on the way mom!" Ash shouted.

They exchanged another quick kiss and headed down the stairs hoping the heat in their cheeks wasn't showing.