Fuck, Gary had enough to deal with as it is.

There was a stinking pile of laundry begging for his attention in the basket by the toilet, a large stack of dirty dishes in the sink, and he still had to clear an old guestroom for stinky Ash.

Needless to say there were still 5 reports that was overdue and he had to send over to another professor in the Hoenn region.

Goddammit all. Gary ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. If only he could bully Tracey to get him clean up this mess...

But he needed Tracey to draw some sketches on the rare Larvitar they had found. That particular Larvitar had a differently shaped head spike from the usual ones. He suspected that some industry dumping their wastes into a river had caused this particular mutation.

It's okay. Even though everything was overwhelming, he could get through this. He's Gary Oak, for pity's sake.

In half an hour he'd made the old bedroom inhabitable. It was directly above his bedroom, and was once occupied by an old maid in the Oak family. They'd all been sacked though, when Gary's parents had died. His family simply shrunk and did not need them any more. Gary had learnt to become independent from a young age, able to cook a variety of dishes and did his own laundry.

As he surveyed the old room he felt a sense of foreboding. The wood-paneled floors glinting gently in the sunshine, freshly washed and cleaned did cheer him up, though.

The doorbell rang.

Gary slipped into the hall, a nasty taste in his mouth. He wasn't sure what to expect. The cheery, tactless Ash from his childhood, or a complete stranger? It was funny. Throughout his life he had worried about people forgetting him. But he's the one who forgot them, instead.

Hand slippery on the knob, he took a deep breath, turned it and pulled.

He opened it to Delia and a tall, good-looking boy with a rather defined, rough-shaven face. The boy had a shock of ink-black hair, wide chocolate brown eyes, and a quizzical expression on his face.

A complete stranger it is, then.

Delia was smiling apologetically.

"Hi," Gary tried to smile. "Do come in. Delia, would you like a cup of tea?"

"Oh, no. I wouldn't want to trouble you anymore, oh Gary. Thanks so much for being able to have Ash over."

Gary was about to say it was no trouble at all, but the words wouldn't come out. The fact was that this was the most tiresome and unhappy thing he had to deal with for a very long time.

So he shut his mouth firmly, nodded, and when the tall stranger went in after him, closed the door firmly on Delia's slightly pinkish and worried face.

Alright.

"So, Ashy-boy, long time no see, eh?" Hands in the pockets. Standard cool mask on. Slight cocky smile pulled his lips.

The stranger was staring at him.

He was starting to feel uncomfortable already. Alright, he wanna stare, stare on.

Gary critically examined the stranger.

Toned, tight body, yet slender. Large hands, heavily muscled and coarsely calloused. The face was familiar yet unfamiliar. There were similarities he could see if he looked really carefully at the stranger and compared his memories of Ash's face. The face had lost its roundness, gaining a more refined and rough look. The cheekbones were razor-sharp. And the molten brown eyes were intense.

Woah. Gary had to swallow saliva and look away.

And then he saw it. The red half of the pokeball, hanging from a simple black string around his neck.

"You're wearing that thing?" The shock was apparent in his tone of voice.

"U-um yeah, ever since I became a master." The voice was totally unfamiliar. It wasn't that brash, bright voice of the 10 year-old Ash that frequently haunted his mind. It was deep, coarse and rough like his face.

And right, he'd forgot. Ash had finally achieved the dream that he'd set for himself 11 years ago, the dream that Gary had given up himself. It wasn't that he couldn't achieve it. Gary had given it up because he'd realised he didn't want it enough. When he'd seen Ash at the Silver Conference that year, he'd understood from a single golden moonlight moment. He'd often wondered at Ash's bright unsatiable passion for battles. Gary himself just wasn't that into it.

"You're a big-shot now, huh?" He felt a wry smile tug his lips.

"You're not so bad yourself." The brown eyes gave him an appraising look. "From what I heard, Professor Gary Oak, you're the leading researcher on Pokemon Evolution and Pokemon gene mutation, and has won five acclaimed awards. And also, as I see for myself, you're a hottie."

"Excuse me?"

"You're hot."

What? "That's so random..."

"Not at all. Gary the hot researcher, Gary the top 10 sexiest men in Kanto alive... I've seen it in the tabloids. Fangirl stuff." He explained when he saw Gary's eyebrow rise.

"Lots of free time, I see."

"Yeah." The black-haired man grinned widely, and Gary finally felt some warmth for the man at that familiar smile.

"Come on, I'll show you up to your room."

He gave the broken pokeball necklace another confused glance. What the hell? Is Ash really that sentimental?