Secrets Kept
This chapter looked very different when it was originally plotted. Sometimes characters have a mind of their own! In this case, Gary's been fighting me on a particular plot point for the last two chapters so I gave in and let him do it his way! Brace yourself! This is another long one!
That said, the end of this chapter launches my favorite arc in this fic. It's plotted for three chapters and I'm sure it'll end up being four, but I'm so happy to finally be writing this part! Fair warning, things get a little heavy in this one, but I think it balances out towards the end. Don't worry, the next chapter will have lots of fluff and happy bits! This is actually the last angsty chapter in the whole fic!
Pokemaster101 – So glad you liked their trip! It was fun to write, but I couldn't ruin it for them with bad news with Scyther! Can't wait to see Gary go to Sunburst, huh? ;) As far as the other Pallet guys go… Brandon came around in Secrets Told but not Mike. I don't know how close to the original those two will play out, but Gary's kinda over it with them right now. As far as Darren goes… Well, I think we'll see some answers soon.
… … …
Chapter Thirty-Five
Gary rushed up the stairs to Tracey's bedroom as soon as he'd heard enough detail to know what was going on. The very thing that they had known was going to happen had happened some time in the early morning. It seemed to have been peaceful, beneath the tree with Pidgeotto and Venonat right there.
Peaceful or not, expected or not, his boyfriend needed him now.
Tracey's bedroom door was cracked when he reached it and Gary could hear Marill and Venonat's subdued chatter from the hallway. Gary pushed the door the rest of the way open, leaving it hanging open behind him as he set their breakfast down on the desk. The pokemon were on the bed, Marill patting Venonat consolingly while Tracey stood at the window, facing away from him, phone to his ear and Umbreon sitting by his side, her head resting against his thigh.
Gary patted each of the pokemon, taking an extra moment to stroke Venonat's fur. Both pokemon had lost a companion, but Venonat had spent most of her time with Scyther these last few weeks and she was especially upset. She leaned into his touch and gave a small, grateful chirp while Marill nuzzled his other hand. Gary's heart broke a little. These two were always so cheerful and bright, and seeing them so down was almost as painful as losing Scyther.
But they weren't the only ones who had lost a companion today.
He forced himself to turn away from the pokemon and crossed the room to Tracey, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Tracey's free hand came up to grasp Gary's and he gave it a quick squeeze as Tracey leaned back against him. Gary could faintly hear the other voice through the phone. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but he could tell it wasn't his mother – her voice was softer. It could have been his sister – Tara's voice usually carried through the phone just as loudly – but Gary could have sworn her voice was lower…
"Thanks, Misty," Tracey said, his voice tight.
That was going to be his next were close and they spoke nearly every day. Tracey had told him all about how talking to her had helped him during his Sinnoh trip. Gary was grateful that Tracey had a friend like her that he could count on. He tightened his grip on his boyfriend and pressed another kiss to the side of his neck, waiting patiently for him to be done.
As soon as he hung up, Tracey tossed his phone on the bed and turned in Gary's arms and buried his face against his shoulder. He was trembling when he threw his arms around Gary's shoulders and took a shuddering breath.
"I'm so sorry, Trace," Gary whispered.
There was nothing he could say to make it better, nothing he could do to make it less painful. All he could do was hold him and hope that it helped.
"You know I'm here for you, right?" Tracey nodded and Gary felt some of his tears soak through the fabric of his rashguard. He was still cold and wet and needed to change into actual clothes, but that hardly mattered right now. "I'm here for you," he repeated. "However you need me, Tracey."
"I know," Tracey whispered back. "Just… stay like this."
Gary held him closer and pressed another kiss to the side of his head. "Okay," he agreed.
They stayed that way for a long while until the tears and trembling calmed a bit. Still, they didn't move until Tracey's phone rang again and he sighed, sounding like he just wanted to be left alone, which Gary felt was perfectly reasonable given the circumstances. He glanced over at the phone on Tracey's bed and scooped it up when he saw Mom flashing on the screen.
"You probably want to answer that, huh?" he asked, passing it over.
Tracey nodded and took the phone from him, answering even as he burrowed further into Gary's arms. "Hi, Mom," he mumbled, sounding so tired and sad that Gary felt as though his heart was breaking once again just hearing it. He had a feeling there would be a lot of that today.
Knowing that he still needed to change and check in with his grandfather, he reluctantly pulled away and pressed a soft kiss to Tracey's temple. The last thing he wanted to do was leave him alone right now, but it would only take a few minutes and it would give Tracey some privacy with his mother. "I'm gonna go check in with Gramps," he murmured. "I'll be back soon, alright?"
Tracey grasped his hand before he could fully pull away and pressed a kiss to his knuckles, giving him a tiny grateful smile. Broken-hearted, but still so sweet. It took Gary everything he had to force himself to leave. He ducked into his room to quickly change, leaving the wet boardshorts and rashguard on the floor to deal with later, before darting down to the lab.
It was eerily quiet when Gary peeked in a few short moments later. The lab seemed empty at first glance but as he stepped further into the room he was able to see his grandfather in his office. The older man looked up at the sound of his footsteps as he crossed the lab and stood to meet him in the doorway.
"Good morning, Gary." The greeting was subdued and a bit sad.
Gary wasn't surprised – his grandfather had always been fond of Scyther. "Hey, Grandpa," he greeted quietly.
His eyes landed on the examination table across the room, where a large body was covered with a sheet. He didn't have to look closely to know that it was Scyther. He was distracted briefly by the reminder of a responsibility that was usually his, though his grandfather always helped with it.
"The necropsy..."
"Yes," the professor sighed. "I know it was old age, but regulations for accreditation…" He looked over at Gary, brow furrowing. "I'm going to do this necropsy, Gary. I think right now Tracey needs a friend and you two are quite close."
With that, the gnawing feeling inside was back, stronger than ever. Maybe this wasn't the best time, but it felt necessary – it felt as though he needed to explain now. Then they wouldn't have to worry about making any excuses or having to worry about being caught.
Gary took a deep breath. "About that…"
The professor placed his hands on Gary's shoulder's and met his eyes. "I know how much you care about your friends," he said gently. "Even if you don't always want to admit it. Take some time off with Tracey, help him get through this, then worry about the lab, alright?"
A sigh escaped him. Of course. Not to be too deterred, he tried again. "But, Grandpa–"
He was cut off by the ringing of the telephone from inside his office. "I'm sorry, Gary, I need to get that," his grandfather said apologetically. "Take the rest of the week off with Tracey, I'm sure you could use the break as well."
The rest of the week was only a few days and, as much as he liked the idea of spending that time with Tracey, that did nothing to pacify that need to explain. He let out a sigh when his grandfather went back to his office and turned to head back into the house, promising himself that he would try again later.
…
… … …
…
He tried again later, after spending a few hours with Tracey in his boyfriend's bedroom, and again after lunch, but each time his grandfather seemed to misunderstand why he was coming down to the lab.
It was much the same as always: everytime he tried to tell him, he froze, even if it was a briefer freeze than usual. But just as he was able to breathe and he opened his mouth to try again, his grandfather would speak up, either offering a few words of comfort or redirecting him away from what was going on in the lab.
As nice as it was to know his grandfather cared about Tracey enough to encourage Gary to spend the day with him, he wanted to scream. Why couldn't his grandfather just let him speak?
He didn't need to be comforted - he needed his grandfather to listen, to give him the moment he needed to unstick his throat, to get the words out. He understood that his grandfather wasn't doing it to be hurtful, he was worried about Tracey and he was trying to give Gary what he thought he needed, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.
Tracey seemed to notice some change in him everytime he came back from the lab, though he wasn't sure what exactly was giving him away. He tried to hide it as best as he could, but Tracey was difficult to hide anything from. Gary knew Tracey saw right through the forced smile, but he refused to put any more stress on his boyfriend, and so Gary forced any thoughts about it out of his mind. Instead, he focused solely on Tracey and the movie marathon that the day had turned into – fetching snacks and drinks, providing all the hugs and kisses he could, and attending to any need that could possibly arise.
That changed in the evening when Tracey fell asleep against him during the final Lord of the Rings movie. Without needing to worry about stressing Tracey, Gary found himself stuck in a swirling mess of thoughts that only grew more tangled and messy as time went on. His concern for Tracey, the horrible churning in his stomach at the thought of telling his grandfather, the inevitability of death and just how he would feel in Tracey's place…
It was too much to deal with. He needed a distraction, or a different perspective – something other than sitting with the thoughts and no outlet.
Maybe he could talk to his grandfather without trying to tell him this time. The professor would be working on the necropsy now – he preferred to do larger ones that hit closer to home in the evening, after everything had been done and there would be no interruptions. It would, oddly enough, be the perfect time to talk to him. Necropsies were always quiet and while the atmosphere was certainly lacking, he had found that he and his grandfather tended to have more serious conversations during them. Perhaps it had something to do with having something to focus on during them that made it easier for Gary to let his guard down. It wasn't an easy decision to make – he went back and forth on it for a long while, attempting to talk himself out of it each time.
Finally he sat up and pressed a kiss to Tracey's forehead. He ran his fingers through Tracey's hair, musing it gently and luxuriating briefly in the feel of those silky strands against his hand. Tracey barely stirred at his touch, unusual considering he was the lighter sleeper of the two of them. Marill and Venonat were sound asleep on Tracey's other side and Gary opted to leave them be. He looked at the foot of the bed where Umbreon was curled up. As if sensing his gaze, she opened one eye and watched him expectantly.
Gary reached out to give her a gentle pet. "Stay with Tracey, okay, Bre?" he asked quietly.
She gave his hand a quick lick and turned her head towards Tracey, resting it atop his calf as she watched over him.
Gary pressed another gentle kiss to Tracey's cheek. "Love you," he murmured before pulling away from his sleeping boyfriend and leaving the room.
When he reached the lab, one of the corners was partitioned off, as his grandfather always did with necropsies. The door into the lab closed rather loudly behind him and he heard his grandfather utter a soft sigh from the other side of the partition.
"May, dear, I've told you -"
"I'm not May," Gary interrupted tiredly, pulling on a lab coat and grabbing a pair of gloves. He took a deep breath and rounded the corner of the curtained off section of the lab.
There was a pause before his grandfather's quiet voice returned, "You don't have to do this, Gary."
"I know," he replied simply. He looked past his grandfather to the examination table - the necropsy was well underway, gruesome and unpleasant to view this far in, but highly important, as his grandfather had explained during the very first one he had helped with. He looked back to his grandfather. "You said that the best thing about a necropsy is the chance to tell a trainer that it wasn't their fault and that they did everything they could… I want to be able to tell Tracey that… He's important to me," he added quietly, silently begging his grandfather to ask, please just ask.
He hadn't been able to get the words out earlier, but if he was asked directly, he wouldn't be able to do anything other than tell him.
But his grandfather only gave him a small smile and a nod before turning back to the table and gesturing for Gary to join him. Gary's breath left him in a sigh, but he stepped up next to the examination table regardless. He had done plenty of necropsies before, here at the lab and working with Birch and Ivy, and while he thought he'd be able to lose himself in the focus that the procedure required, that wasn't quite the case.
It was impossible to separate from the reality of this particular situation and the only thing keeping Gary from slipping into regret was the exact thing he had told his grandfather. This was for Tracey.
Still, it was undoubtedly the most difficult necropsy he had done and he found himself grateful for his grandfather's quiet patience. When he found himself occasionally freezing up in uncertainty, struck by just how hard this was hitting him, his grandfather's gentle voice would guide him to the next step. The professor most certainly noticed how difficult it was and his gentle direction was one of the only things making it possible to stay and focus. He took his time pointing out different things and what they meant, just as he had every time before, even if this was a far more somber atmosphere than any other necropsy Gary had helped with.
When it was finally completed and the clean up was done, a gentle hand landed on Gary's shoulder as he was washing his hands.
"Thank you for helping," the professor said quietly. "I know how hard it can be when it hits close to home."
Gary nodded distractedly as he turned off the water and tried not to think too much about the necropsy and how he was going to go back to Tracey and explain to him that he had snuck off to help when he'd said he wasn't going to. The last thing he wanted to do was make Tracey think about what had been done to his pokemon. He left the lab as quickly as he could and darted upstairs to the bathroom, suddenly desperate for a shower. It felt as though all of the failed attempts at explaining to his grandfather clung to him and, after doing this, he felt like a terrible boyfriend.
The sudden urge to wash away everything was stronger than the need to explain had been all day. Gary turned the water as hot as he could bear and began furiously scrubbing at his skin, desperate to remove any trace of the necropsy. Finally realizing the futility in this, he sucked in a deep breath and buried his face in his hands, trying to breathe through the overwhelm as best as he could.
He stayed that way until the water ran cold and the shivers became too intense to stay in any longer. It took every ounce of energy left in Gary's body to drag himself out of the shower and across the hallway to his bedroom. He managed to muster up just enough energy to pull on a t-shirt and some clean pajama pants, but found himself sinking to the floor at the foot of his bed. He needed to get back to Tracey, but his limbs felt too heavy to move and all he could do was rest his head against his drawn up knees and let the tears fall.
He had no way of knowing just how much time passed, but he knew it must have been a long while when he heard a familiar voice in the hallway.
"Arcanine? What's the matter, buddy?"
Arcanine gave a tiny whimper from the other side of the door and Gary instantly felt even worse. He hadn't heard his pokemon come to the door but he wasn't surprised to know he was there. Knowing what was most likely coming, Gary took a steadying breath and folded his arms atop his knees, resting his forehead against them.
Sure enough, there was a gentle knock and the sound of the door creaking open. "Can I come in?" May's voice asked quietly.
Gary sniffled and wiped his face. "Yeah," he mumbled, knowing she would come in even if he said no.
She pulled one of the soft throw blankets from the bed and wrapped it around his shoulders as she joined him on the floor. Pressing a kiss to his temple, she rested a hand on his back, gently smoothing her fingers between his shoulder blades. "I thought you might have a hard time with this one," she admitted softly.
He wished he could tell her why, and the fact that he couldn't tore at his heart. He'd already spent so much energy trying to tell his grandfather today that he couldn't find the strength to even try anymore. Already utterly overwhelmed by everything the day had thrown at him, the tears were back in no time.
"Oh, sweetheart," May sighed. She stayed next to him, her spare hand coming up to pull him into a hug from the side as she waited for it to subside. "Anything I can do?" she asked when it did a few moments later.
Gary shook his head. "I'll be fine," he said shakily, wiping his face with a corner of the blanket. "but Trace…"
She was quiet for a long moment. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" she asked softly. He nodded, though he was too tired to even try. She waited another moment before trying again. "I won't tell anyone," she promised.
Exhausted and nearly at his wit's end, something about her words made him want to try, but the tears were back again, and though he tried to make the words come, they just wouldn't. It was all too much. There were too many emotions, the secret of the relationship too heavy to keep with all of this, and the necropsy and the complicated mess of death and grief, and now relief at the lifeline she was offering – it was all such a jumbled mess and he couldn't speak for it.
But the words still burned in his throat, choking him as he tried to breathe through the maelstrom swirling within him.
I'm gay.
She would be okay with it, he knew it, he had known it, but when he opened his mouth to form the words, all that came out was a choked sob.
Not again. He silently begged whatever forces of the universe that may be out there to just let the words come, just this once.
It was always painful when he tried and failed to say it but this time… This time it hurt so much worse. This was the fourth time today and Tracey deserved so much better than this. He deserved to have someone who had stayed in the room with him, holding him even as he slept – not this overwhelmed mess sitting on the floor, crying to his older sister.
But May only tightened her hold and pressed a kiss to his hair. "There's more than just Scyther going on, isn't there?" she pushed. "For you to be this upset?"
He nodded, grateful for another lifeline. His grandfather hadn't asked outright, but maybe she would and maybe –
"You don't have to tell me," she murmured, "but I'm here."
The tiny glimmer of hope that had flickered to life at the question went out and Gary felt the last scraps of energy leave him. He didn't have it in him to face another failure tonight.
They stayed on the floor like that for a long while, staying there even after the tears calmed. Exhausted by the day and calmed by May's quiet comfort, Gary started to drift off and she was starting to do the same - he could hear it in her voice when she roused him with fingers gently musing his hair.
"I think it's time to get to bed," she whispered, earning a sleepy groan but Gary raised his head nonetheless.
Arcanine had joined them and was lying next to them on the floor, his head resting upon his giant paws, watching Gary with worried eyes. His long tail thumped gently against the floor when Gary looked over at him, and Gary gave him a tiny smile before looking up at May as she stood. She pulled aside one of the blankets on the bed and patted the mattress.
"Come on, you need rest. No lab tomorrow, we've got it under control."
Far too tired to do anything else, Gary hauled himself to his feet and climbed into the bed, slipping under the covers. May smoothed the blanket over him and leaned down to press a kiss to his temple.
"Remember what I said," she murmured before moving away from the bed.
The words reminded him of what he was about to do when his mouth had decided it could only sob instead of speak. Gary rolled over in time to see her plug in the string lights along the ceiling. She paused in the doorway, looking back at him.
"May?"
I'm gay.
"Thanks," was what came out instead.
She gave him a small smile. "Get some sleep, sweetheart. I love you."
"Love you too," Gary mumbled.
He buried his face in the pillow as the door closed gently behind her and heaved an exhausted sigh. Head pounding from all of the tears shed tonight and too tired to be frustrated with himself and his inability to just fucking say it, all he could do was close his eyes and let sleep pull him under.
Gary awoke some time later to the mattress dipping under added weight and a warm body slipping into place next to him. His eyes fluttered open as the bed dipped again. Crimson eyes stared down at him briefly, Umbreon's silhouette softly illuminated by the string lights in the otherwise dark room. She gave his cheek a tiny lick before turning in a circle and curling up against his other side.
He gave her a tiny, sleepy smile as he started to slip back to sleep but his eyes snapped open when he realized he had meant to go back to Tracey's room after changing. He didn't think he could possibly feel any worse, but here they were.
Tracey's arm draped over his waist, a warm, comforting weight that Gary wanted desperately to just melt into. But he couldn't do that, not after leaving Tracey like that.
Gary laced their fingers together and rolled over to face Tracey. He caught sight of Marill and Venonat cuddled together next to him and would have smiled at the sight in any other circumstance. Tonight he felt far too guilty to focus on the pokemon.
"Sorry," he mumbled, voice still thick with sleep. He cleared his throat and tried again, this time sounding slightly more awake. "I meant to go back to –"
"It's fine," Tracey whispered, snuggling closer to him.
Gary disagreed, but with exhaustion clinging to him, he simply didn't have the energy to say anything. He brought up his free hand and tangled his fingers into Tracey's hair, gently running his fingertips over his scalp.
A few sleepy, quiet moments passed between them until Tracey broke the silence again. "You helped with the necropsy, didn't you?" he asked softly.
Gary stiffened at the question. It wasn't that he'd wanted to keep it from Tracey, it just wasn't something he wanted to talk about. "Yeah," he whispered back reluctantly.
Tracey nodded. He closed his eyes and bit his lip, and Gary squeezed the hand in his. "Anything unexpected?" he asked, voice tight as he blinked back tears. A tiny, concerned squeak came from Marill but Gary stayed focused on his boyfriend.
Reminded of why he had decided to help with the necropsy, Gary leaned in to press a kiss against Tracey's forehead. "No," he whispered. "It was all consistent with old age." A tear trickled out and Gary gently thumbed it away. "You did everything right, Trace. You did everything you could." The words couldn't change anything, wouldn't fix anything, but hopefully they would soothe some of the hurt Tracey was feeling.
Still, more tears came and all Gary could do was keep his arms around Tracey and hold him until they passed. Despite the wetness soaking through the soft fabric of his shirt, Gary didn't dare move until long after the tears were gone and Tracey had fallen quiet, his breath even and steady, face peaceful regardless of the drying tear stains. Gary's fingers returned to Tracey's hair as he gazed up at the ceiling and the painted stars, all just barely visible with the string lights on.
It was peaceful. This was the first time they had ever laid this way, Gary realized. He was usually the one to fall asleep with his head on Tracey's shoulder or chest, but this… This was nice – or would be, in different circumstances – and Gary quickly decided that they should do it more often. Preferably not after losing one of their pokemon.
He sighed and pressed a final gentle kiss to Tracey's hair. Hopefully sleep would come quickly.
…
… … …
…
May was exhausted and it wasn't even the end of the week yet. It was earlier than she needed to be heading down to the lab but she had given up on a restful night of sleep hours earlier. As she headed into the lab, she was surprised to see that the pokemon had already been fed their morning meal. Even more surprising, the lab was spotless with no sign of death or a necropsy anywhere. The lab benches positively sparkled under the lights and even the glass-fronted supply cabinets had been reorganized and wiped down.
Apparently she hadn't been the only one unable to sleep.
She could hear her grandfather in his office, speaking to someone, explaining how a pokeball would break when the pokemon it held died. Who on earth was he talking to? Confused, she headed towards the office rather than to her computer. Tracey and Gary both knew what happened to a pokeball, and they were most likely both still asleep. At least, she hoped they were both sleeping peacefully. Who else could possibly be in the lab so early?
She caught sight of shaggy blonde hair as she came to the office door and paused. Wyatt was the last person she expected to see in the lab this early, but here he was, holding up the bottom half of what she knew to be Scyther's pokeball. Tracey hadn't been ready to retrieve the broken ball yesterday morning.
"There's a release of energy," her grandfather was telling Wyatt, "and it's enough that it breaks the mechanism holding it together, you see?"
Wyatt peered closely at the ball. "Looks like it's been scorched," he observed.
"Yes, the energy release is usually in the form of heat," the professor explained. "Do you know why?"
"Should I?"
"I recall Gary helping you study for –"
"Oh!" May saw the realization spark in his eyes. "Law of conservation of energy!"
She smiled and reached out to ruffle his hair affectionately. "Good job," she praised. He flashed her a quick grin and took one last look at the pokeball half before passing it back to the professor. "Why don't you start on the water samples?" she asked. "I told Gary to stay out of the lab today."
"Already on it," Wyatt replied, flashing her another grin.
She waited until he had left the room before looking up at her grandfather.
"I was surprised too," he said once Wyatt had left. "He wanted to help."
"He's grown a lot," May acknowledged.
The professor nodded wisely. "He's not the only one," he noted.
She wasn't quite sure if he was referring to Gary or herself, but decided it didn't really matter right now. "Gary was really upset last night," she began without preamble. "I'm worried about him."
"Yes," he agreed with a sigh. "I noticed that as well. I do wonder if I should have let him help with the necropsy."
May's eyes widened in surprise. "You let him help with the necropsy?" It came out louder and more shrill than she meant, and she quickly lowered her voice. "Grandpa, I thought you didn't want him helping."
"He wanted to. He said he wanted to be able to tell Tracey that he did everything he could," he explained. "I didn't think it was something to argue over – you know how stubborn he can be."
She sighed, raking a hand through her hair. Stubborn was an understatement, but this was still a surprise to her. Insisting on helping with something that Gary knew wouldn't change any outcome was a bit odd, especially for that reasoning. She thought she had heard every excuse in the book when it came to her brother refusing to listen, but that was a new one.
Just what was going on with Gary lately? He had been in such a good mood the last few months, so happy – carefree even. What had changed?
He had been overwhelmed before heading off on his Sinnoh trip, but that had passed, so what could possibly be bringing him this much pain? What she had seen last night wasn't overwhelm, or at least not just overwhelm: it was pain. He'd said it wasn't just Scyther, but she couldn't think of a single thing that would affect him like this.
She knew he cared more about his friends than he liked to let on – not that he was much good at hiding it, least of all from her – but this was a different level… This wasn't just empathy, this was much more intense. There was something about him and Tracey lately, these last few months. They were very nearly inseparable and while they had plenty enough reasons to be close, something felt different, especially with Gary being this upset.
Maybe she was looking too far into it. Maybe this just hit too close to home – his scizor was his favorite bug type to work with after all. Maybe he had overestimated himself when deciding to do the necropsy.
Whatever was going on, she knew how unlikely he was to actually tell either of them, but with Tracey dealing with Scyther's loss, Gary wasn't likely to go to him either.
"What should we do?" she asked quietly.
She absolutely did not want to see a repeat of that first year back home. Her little brother had been happy for months and she wanted him to stay that way. The last time she had seen Gary this upset was the first time he had gotten drunk – and sick – at a party, and that was when everything had started: the moodiness, the skipping school, being sick every other day from drinking with his friends. At least the last two weren't a concern these days.
Her grandfather gave her a gentle smile. "Trust him and give him his space," he replied. "He'll come around."
May sighed and shook her head, nearly too tired to argue. She hoped he was right. "You have more patience than me, Grampy."
The corners of his lips quirked into a faint smirk. "I'm aware."
That would usually make her smile, but today it only reminded her of her brother, the very reason she was so tired this morning.
It made her wonder. She had made a comment to Darren months earlier about them being so close, but she hadn't been particularly serious then. But if Gary was this upset when Tracey was dealing with something…
There was more going on and it was all connected, somehow.
She wasn't sure how, but it was definitely connected. She was tempted to pry and dig and figure out what it was, but that rarely went well with Gary, stubborn and proud as he was. She also didn't have the time for that: it was Thursday and that meant she had her two summer classes in Viridian today.
For now, all she could do was follow her grandfather's lead and hope that everything worked out alright in the end.
…
… … …
…
For once, they didn't wake up to the alarm on his phone. Tracey blinked awake to the late-morning sun streaming in through the window and was confused for a brief moment before he remembered. They were in Gary's room, his head atop his boyfriend's chest in a position that was a definite reversal of the norm for them. He could feel Venonat and Marill curled against his back and the hand that was draped over Gary's waist brushed against sleek fur that could only belong to Umbreon.
He slowly became aware of gentle fingers threading through his hair and hummed contentedly. It felt so nice and, comfortable and relaxed, Tracey felt himself slipping off again. No wonder Gary always fell right back asleep whenever he did that.
Wait… That meant Gary was awake before him. That never happened.
Tracey's eyes snapped open at that realization and he quickly pushed himself into a sitting position. "What time is it?"
"Dunno," Gary returned groggily. He looked as though he'd hardly slept and Tracey felt a flash of guilt when he remembered the night before.
The necropsy.
Had his boyfriend been up all night thinking about it? He'd sounded so guilty when he had admitted to helping with it last night. Tracey desperately hoped that wasn't the case, not after how kind and caring Gary had been the day before, how helpful and worried he had been all the way through.
Showing his boyfriend a fraction of the appreciation he felt for him was far more important than finding out what time it was.
Tracey reached out and cupped Gary's cheek, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his lips. "Thank you for everything yesterday," he whispered.
"I didn't do much, Trace."
Umbreon gave a huff from Gary's other side, clearly disagreeing.
Tracey frowned. Where had this doubt come from? It hadn't been there just the other day. It hurt to hear him sound so dismissive of himself. He wasn't about to let Gary talk like that, but it was first thing in the morning and the fog from sleep was still a little too thick to think much.
All he had the energy for was honesty. "You made me feel loved."
There was that adorable blush he loved to see so much. Even if Gary couldn't meet his eyes, this was better than that doubtful dismissal.
Gary said nothing and instead reached out to pull Tracey against him in a tight hug. Breathing the tiniest sigh of relief, Tracey let himself be pulled in and buried his face against Gary's shoulder, winding his arms about his waist and savoring his boyfriend's warmth for a few quiet minutes. This had been perhaps the most helpful thing so far: the simple quiet support of being held and being able to cling to his boyfriend without judgment.
He eventually pulled away when his stomach started to grumble. What time was it? He'd had no appetite all day yesterday, and now his stomach was woefully empty. Food was going to be necessary soon. He glanced around the room in search of his phone, but it looked like he had left it in his bedroom last night. Hopefully it wasn't too late – Tracey didn't need to worry Misty or his family by missing their phone calls.
Gary seemed to understand without him needing to say anything, and he reached over to the bedside table to peer at his own cell phone. He grimaced, immediately seeking out the charging cable and plugging it in. The power percentage flashed on the screen: eighteen percent, Tracey saw. Far lower than Gary usually let it go.
"It's after eleven," Gary answered the question before Tracey could ask it.
Tracey felt his eyes widen as panic took him. He had never slept so late, save for occasions when he was sick. Even on days when he was especially exhausted, he would be out of bed hours earlier, returning for an afternoon nap if needed. Not this time apparently. His mother was probably worried.
"Shit." Tracey scrambled to climb out of the bed but Gary caught his arm. "Mom's probably already tried calling–"
"Tracey, it's fine," he soothed. "She'll understand."
He didn't doubt that, but that wasn't the concern. "I don't want to worry her," he explained.
Gary released his arm and nodded his understanding. "Why don't you go call her while I figure out breakfast?"
Tracey took a steadying breath and nodded. He pressed a quick kiss to Gary's cheek and reached over to ruffle Umbreon's fur fondly before climbing out of the bed. Marill and Venonat followed him into his room and he closed the door behind him, quickly retrieving his phone and noting the number of missed texts and calls this morning. Wasting no time, he sank onto his bed and dialed the house phone.
Gary appeared in the doorway some thirty minutes later, an iced coffee in one hand and a bag from the bakery in the other. He was dressed down in torn jeans and a hoodie, which somehow made him look even more exhausted. Tracey gratefully took the drink from him and accepted a kiss on the cheek before wrapping up the phone call with a promise to call back later.
Gary passed him the bakery bag and Tracey quickly retrieved the sandwich that was in there, still fresh and warm and his mouth watered at the smell of bacon and cheese on a buttery croissant. There was nothing else in the bag, save for some napkins. Tracey hoped Gary had already eaten and wasn't skipping meals like he sometimes did when his mood was off.
"Thank you," he murmured as Gary plopped down on his bed and laid back against the pillows.
"You're welcome," Gary said through a yawn and closed his eyes as Tracey unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite.
He closed his eyes, savoring the simple pleasure of a tasty breakfast on an empty stomach. He could pretend everything was normal for a few minutes: just another morning where Gary had picked up breakfast on the way back in from the beach and was resting for a few quiet moments before they went back to work in the lab.
If only.
Tracey finished off his sandwich and crumpled the wrapper, dropping it into the bag and setting it aside as he glanced over at his boyfriend. As if sensing his gaze, Gary opened his eyes and glanced his way. Their eyes met briefly before Gary looked away.
A hand reached for his and Tracey took it, twining their fingers together. He studied his boyfriend for a moment, noting the thoughtful frown as his gaze flitted around the room, sometimes coming back to Tracey but always darting right back away.
He was hesitating and Tracey was again confused. Gary was being so cautious today – it was odd. It must have been lack of sleep, because he hadn't been quite so careful the day before. He gave Gary a tiny smile and his fingers twitched against Gary's, not quite a squeeze but a reassurance all the same.
"Just say it," he prompted softly.
"I think you should go home for a bit," Gary finally said, still avoiding his gaze. "Your family's important to you and everything with Scyther happened here, not at Sunburst."
That was what he was so worried about? "I was thinking about it," Tracey admitted. "I just didn't want to immediately run away." He still needed to talk to the professor and his parents about it, even though he knew it wouldn't be a problem in the slightest. He just hated to leave the lab for too long.
"Going home when you're upset isn't running away, Tracey."
"I know…" he sighed. "I'll talk to my parents about it later. I just wanted to be with you for now."
Gary looked up at that. "Really?"
He didn't know why that surprised Gary after all these months of being nearly inseparable, but he was rather cute when he was surprised. Tracey couldn't help but dip his head for a gentle kiss. "I like spending time with you, in case you haven't noticed," he pointed out.
"I've noticed," Gary replied quietly. "You can do what you want, Tracey, but don't stay here just because of me."
A small smile curved Tracey's lips. He appreciated few things quite as much as he did Gary's respect for his family. They were close and spoke frequently, and Gary never complained, not when a text message from Josh turned into a twenty minute phone call in the middle of one of their drawing sessions. Not when some stolen time outside was cut short by a phone call from one of his parents. Not even when a makeout session got interrupted by Marie calling, upset and in tears from her first breakup, as had happened last week.
He really was lucky.
"I'm not," he assured him. "I want to go home, it's just… you can't exactly plan ahead with these things, you know?"
Gary's thumb stroked over the back of his hand and Tracey found himself once again grateful for just how sweet his boyfriend could be. It was a thought that had occurred to him over and over again the day before. Gary didn't offer platitudes or much in the way of words - odd for someone who was usually so talkative – but what he gave was so much more valuable than that. A helping hand, a shoulder to cry on, a distraction when he needed it. It was exactly what Tracey needed and he would miss it terribly when he did travel home.
He wanted so desperately to bring Gary down to the Orange Islands with him, but this wasn't the time for that.
"I'll talk to your grandfather about it, alright?" he relented.
Gary nodded. "I still need to check in with him. Why don't you take a shower and get dressed?" he suggested. "I'll meet you down there in a bit."
Tracey glanced down, suddenly aware that he was still in yesterday's clothes. He'd been in too much of a hurry to call his mother back to get dressed sooner. A shower sounded nice. He agreed with a tired nod and Gary left him with a kiss on the cheek and an assurance that he would see him in the lab in a few minutes.
He took his time in the shower, something he didn't do frequently, and took even longer to get dressed and head down to the lab. He wasn't exactly excited to be heading down to the lab today. It felt strange when he knew he wouldn't be working in there, and, with the knowledge of last night's necropsy, it felt almost foreboding. Tracey finally took a deep breath in the hallway outside the lab and pushed the door open to find the lab mercifully empty.
He made his way across the lab, the movement pure habit as he stopped at the clipboards beside the door. Most of his chores had already been completed by Wyatt and May, and he noticed a third person's familiar handwriting. Gary had completed a surprising number of chores in the forty minutes Tracey had spent upstairs puttering about. He shook his head, wondering why he was surprised.
"You don't need to worry about the pokemon," the professor's gentle voice came from his office doorway.
Tracey looked up from the clipboards, a tiny smile flickering across his face as he saw the professor lean against the wall outside his office. "I know," he assured him. "It's just habit."
The door next to Tracey opened just then and Wyatt entered, pushing Gary ahead of him in a flurry of bickering. "May and your grandfather both said no lab! Listen for once in your life!"
"Checking the ponds isn't overdoing it!" Gary argued back, though he looked even more exhausted than he had in his bedroom. He leaned against the counter across from Tracey, scowling at his friend with his arms crossed over his chest while the professor and Tracey shared an exasperated glance.
"I don't care–"
"Thank you for helping, Gary," the professor cut in, swiftly diffusing the argument, "but we do have it under control today."
Gary sighed but didn't argue and instead looked over at Tracey, his scowl quickly melting away despite Wyatt's glare. "Have you talked to him yet?"
Tracey shook his head as Wyatt checked a few chores off the clipboards and headed right back outside. "I just got down here."
The professor turned back to Tracey, his gaze questioning. "Thinking of going home for a bit?" he asked kindly.
"If that would be okay."
"Of course! You know you don't need permission for that, Tracey. When were you thinking of going?"
"I hadn't thought that far ahead yet," Tracey admitted. "With Gary leaving next week, I –"
"Don't worry about that, Trace."
"We'll manage," the professor agreed with Gary. "Wyatt has already stepped up to cover your work, and Darren and Adrian have already volunteered to help out. You don't need to worry about a thing."
"And I'm still here for another week," Gary added.
The professor turned his gaze back to him, expression stern."You'll be out of the lab during that time," he retorted firmly. "We don't need you overdoing it before your trip."
Gary only shrugged his shoulders, apparently too tired to argue it. He would probably find his way down to the lab no matter how many times he was told to stay out.
"You usually visit home in June," Professor Oak continued, looking back at Tracey. "Why not just stay as long as you normally would?"
It was a little more complicated than that: Tracey usually went home for the solstice and stayed for a week or so, but that was still almost three weeks away. He hated to leave the lab for that long, even if everyone told him not to worry about it every time he went home.
Gary looked up curiously at that. "Solstice?" he asked quietly.
Tracey nodded, only slightly surprised that Gary had worked out that detail that quickly. "That's kind of a long time to be gone," he pointed out, but both his boyfriend and the professor shook their heads.
"Oh, nonsense–"
"We already told you not to worry about that, Trace," Gary cut his grandfather off. "Stay for the solstice and come back when you're ready. It's not a big deal."
A look of surprise crossed the professor's face at the mention of the holiday and he peered at his grandson curiously. Gary's gaze dropped to the floor rather suddenly – he'd noticed the professor's look – and Tracey felt a wave of sympathy for his boyfriend. No wonder Gary was acting off today: here he was, trying to help him out while trying to pretend that they were just friends.
"That's a good idea," he mused, drawing the professor's attention off Gary. They clearly weren't going to let him worry about it either way. "If that's okay with you, Professor, I think that's what I'll do."
"Of course." The professor gave him a warm smile. "You can change your mind anytime, Tracey," he assured him. "You're always welcome here, but if you want to stay home longer, that's fine too. We'll understand."
Well, that was that. Tracey wasn't sure why he had been worried in the first place. He glanced over at his boyfriend. "I'll call home and work out the details." That would realistically be a three minute conversation where he spent more time trying to convince his mother to let him pay for his own ferry ticket than anything else. It would be easy enough, but the thought of leaving his boyfriend and his hugs and support hurt more than he thought it would.
"Before you go, Tracey," the professor's voice pulled his attention away from Gary as he gestured for Tracey to follow him into his office.
Having a feeling where this was going to go, Tracey felt his stomach drop. He hesitated before following the professor into his office and Gary gave him a gentle push, his fingertips just barely pressing into his lower back.
Breathing a small sigh, he crossed the lab and entered the office in time to see the professor pick up a broken pokeball from his desk. Tracey's throat tightened at the sight of it. Despite the conversation, he could almost pretend… but not when presented with the halves of his pokemon's ball.
He took a deep breath and stepped forward, extending his hand to accept the pieces.
"I'm so sorry, Tracey," the professor said softly as he delicately dropped the two halves into his hand. "Scyther was a special pokemon."
Unable to speak for the lump in his throat, Tracey could only nod. The ball was light and cold, the feeling alien compared to an occupied ball. He was surprised when a hand landed on his shoulder, warm and comforting. He blinked back his tears and glanced up at Gary, who gave him a soft, understanding smile.
"Do you want to go back upstairs?"
Tracey couldn't help the relief that ran through him at the suggestion. Gary really did know him well. He nodded and looked back at the professor.
"Thank you, Professor," he breathed.
The professor gave him a warm smile. "We're here for you, Tracey."
…
… … …
…
Gary sighed as he sank into the desk chair in his bedroom. The lab work was done and he'd finished everything that needed doing for the day, save for what he was booting up his laptop for. Tracey had left for Sunburst three days earlier and without him in Pallet, Gary had little desire to do much of anything outside of the usual lab chores, which he did despite his grandfather repeatedly telling him that he didn't have to.
He'd passed up surfing the last three days in favor of sleeping in and skipped Adrian's birthday party in favor of going to bed early. Wyatt had commented on it enough times that Gary wanted to avoid him. Adrian was probably still annoyed with him for skipping his birthday party, and he couldn't quite get a read on Darren. It felt like he was just giving him some space, but Gary couldn't help but wonder if he was pissed at him for leaving his graduation party without saying anything and then skipping Adrian's birthday party with the lame excuse of not feeling well. Gary simply didn't have the mental energy to decipher it right now.
His grandfather and May had left him alone for the most part, aside from the periodic check-ins throughout the day and the constant reminders that he didn't have to be in the lab. Though he appreciated the space, a part of him wished they would push him on it and ask him. Maybe then he could get it out, but it seemed unlikely they would do that. The shame of being unable to just say it ate at him and the guilt of helping with the necropsy still clung to him, and it all left him with a sort of mental exhaustion that he hadn't known was possible.
To think that he had been worried about school a week earlier…
But the day was almost over. Now all he had left to do was a video call with Birch and Ivy to talk about the upcoming sharpedo tagging trip. He could sleep once that was done, which was all he felt like doing.
Despite all the exhaustion and all the little anxieties building up, he couldn't help but smile when he heard, "Hi there, troublemaker."
Her serene voice always put him at ease and he gave her a small smile. "Hey," he greeted quietly.
"I hear you've been quiet this week," she commented. "Missing Tracey?"
Gary sighed. Of course his grandfather had said something. There wasn't any point in trying to deny anything with her – she would see straight through it if he did. "Yeah," he admitted. "I'm fine, just, y'know…"
"Worried?"
"Hard not to be when he's so depressed."
"It's hard to see a loved one hurting," she agreed, her smile sympathetic.
Gary nodded, choosing not to look too deeply into her word choice. Thinking about love felt a little strange, even if the feeling was there. He was saved from replying when another ding from the computer signified Birch's arrival and he breathed a tiny sigh of relief.
They got straight down to business, with Birch explaining apologetically that this was going to be boring. He didn't mind much but, with Birch and Ivy discussing some of the university-related details, Gary soon realized that mental exhaustion and boredom were not a good mix. He needed to do something to be able to stay awake and he scanned his desk, quickly locating his sketchbook and a pen. It had been days since he had last opened the sketchbook and his heart absolutely wasn't into it, but doodling helped enough that he could half-listen to the professors' conversation until his presence was relevant again.
He glanced up from time to time as the professors went over the itinerary on the screen, pausing in the doodles any time his name was mentioned. They were following a slightly different format this year and there were several days throughout the trip where he would be left to his own devices, including the first several days, which were spent largely in the classrooms at Valencia's university. He already knew all of the information that the students would be learning, and Ivy and Birch saw no point in making him sit through the coursework. He was more than okay with that. With Sunburst being an island over, maybe he and Tracey could see each other one of those days.
He glanced back up at the screen, considering asking about it. The professors were discussing the tasks that needed to be completed in the first few days while Ivy typed out a to-do list for each of them. Gary scanned over the page, noting his short list of responsibilities. There were a few tasks on the first few days, but nothing that would take long – he could easily wrap them up on the first day and have the second free. The possibility made his stomach flutter with excitement.
As he was about to ask about it, he noticed a detail that had him biting back a laugh.
In her typing haste, Professor Ivy had misspelled Birch, replacing the r with a t.
Gary set his pen down, waiting for one of them to notice, but the two professors were too wrapped up in their conversation to pay attention to the document that they were typing in. Finally Ivy paused and looked up to glance at Birch and Gary.
"I think that should do it. We'll have some flexibility should the weather give us any trouble, and some extra time to squeeze in an extra snorkel trip. That'll check off the last few objectives…" She paused, her gaze landing on Gary. "I see that little smirk, troublemaker. What are you up to?"
"Nothing," Gary answered honestly, with perhaps the first true grin since that last morning surfing with Wyatt.
"I'm not buying it," Birch countered, looking rather amused.
Gary couldn't hold back his laugh as he shook his head and glanced back at the document. "How did you both miss that typo?"
"Typo?" Professor Ivy asked. Her gaze shifted to the other side of her screen and Gary watched her skim over it. "What did I – oh!" Her eyes widened and Gary laughed again. "Oh no!" She laughed as she moved her cursor to correct it as Birch's hearty laugh boomed through the laptop speakers.
"That's what the grad students call you, Philena," he chortled.
"You sure that's not what they call you when they hear that poochyena story?" Gary asked, unable to resist.
Professor Ivy laughed merrily. "Uh-oh, Jonathan! You'd better watch out, Gary's not going to take any of your shit!" She gave Gary a playful wink and he laughed in turn.
"Jeez, now you're both ganging up on me?" Birch sighed, barely holding back an amused grin. "What happened to me being your favorite professor?"
Gary grinned. "I never said you were my favorite." The two professors were honestly tied for his favorite, but he didn't often get a chance to pick on Birch, so he was going to milk the opportunity for all its worth. The banter felt good after the last few days.
Birch gave a dramatic gasp and held a hand to his chest. "Betrayed by my own assistant!"
"Our assistant."
He ignored her and sniffled, pretending to wipe his eyes. "After all these years and everything I've taught you…"
"Alright, Jonathan, enough now," Ivy interjected, rolling her eyes. "I have a storm to prepare for and I still need to talk to Gary about the lapras project."
Gary paused, frowning. "Storm?"
She nodded, too busy writing something to notice his immediate wariness. "We've got an early hurricane this year," she explained. "Nothing to worry about."
Great. Another thing for Tracey to have to deal with.
The mention of the storm was enough to get Birch to quiet down and he nodded seriously. "Yes, of course," he said quickly. "Let's hope it stays small and doesn't cause you much trouble."
They wrapped up quickly from there and Gary waited patiently for Birch to leave the call. Professor Ivy had already said she wanted to talk to him about the lapras tagging trip that would follow the sharpedo one, and that would be the perfect time to ask if it was possible to see his boyfriend one of those days.
Ivy turned her attention to Gary as soon as the computer dinged, marking Birch's departure.
"Your grandfather was right, you're being awfully quiet," she said before Gary could open his mouth to ask.
Just like that, the light-hearted amusement from just a few moments earlier dissipated. Unsure what to say in response, Gary fell quiet and gave a half-hearted shrug. Asking about Tracey would just have to wait.
Ivy was quiet for another moment before starting again. "I know Scyther wasn't your pokemon, but you still helped take care of him. He was still a pokemon that you interacted with every day. It's alright to be upset too."
He should have known talking about the lapras project was just to cover up talking to him about Scyther. It was probably a good thing honestly. "I know," Gary mumbled.
"What's on your mind, Gary?" Ivy pressed gently. "You can tell me anything."
A small sigh escaped him. There was a particular thought that had been bothering him, one that kept coming back to him ever since Tracey had headed home. Just thinking it made him feel awful and voicing it was the absolute last thing he felt like doing, but she had asked and he was trying to be more open when something was bothering him. And she wouldn't let him off the hook so easily if he didn't want to talk. They would come back to the conversation until he talked.
Better to just get it over with now – maybe then he would feel like doing something other than lab chores and wasting away in bed.
"Is it bad that I feel relieved?" he finally asked, voice quiet and gaze anywhere but on her.
Ivy was quiet and Gary tried not to squirm under her gaze. "Well, you never liked to see anything suffer when you were little," she said after a moment. "I imagine you would naturally feel relieved that this creature you helped care for is no longer sick and in pain."
"I guess so." It made sense, but it didn't make him feel any better.
"And I know that seeing Tracey so upset and worried about Scyther bothered you as well," she continued gently, "but now he doesn't have this looming ahead. It's happened and now he can start to heal. There's nothing wrong with feeling relieved, Gary."
"I still feel like an awful boyfriend."
"It's not like you wanted Scyther to die," she pointed out. "Relief is just a single emotion, and it's perfectly normal to feel all sorts of emotions with death. You know that."
Gary heaved a sigh and raked a hand through his hair. That really wasn't something he wanted to think about right now. "Yeah…" he mumbled.
Ivy was quiet again. "Your grandfather told me about the necropsy," she admitted after a moment, and waited until he looked up before continuing. "He was so proud of you, especially for why you chose to help. An awful boyfriend wouldn't do that, and your grandfather would agree if he knew about you two."
And there was the other thing that was bothering him. The thing that was always bothering him.
Four tries in one day with his grandfather, followed by another that night with May… He couldn't face another attempt just yet. It was too much to even consider right now.
"Did something else happen?"
Something must have shown on his face. Gary sighed and hung his head. "I tried telling him…"
"What happened?"
Gary sighed again and shook his head. That little prompt was all it took for him to spill all the details about the various attempts to tell his grandfather. The frustration poured out and Ivy listened patiently, her expression sympathetic, even when he had to pause to blink back tears or catch his breath. All the shame and hurt came flooding back to him and he couldn't bring himself to even think about the attempt to tell May, much less tell Ivy about it.
She gave him a moment to regain his composure once he was done speaking. "It sounds like he misread what you needed," she observed gently. "I'm sorry, Gary. I'm sure he didn't mean to be dismissive."
"I know he didn't," Gary assured her. He knew his grandfather cared and that he was doing his best with the information he had. It was still frustrating, but he knew it wasn't meant to be dismissive or vindictive, and that made a difference. "It just sucks."
"I'm guessing you're not feeling very motivated to try again right now."
Gary shook his head. "Maybe after all this is over, but I just…" He trailed off, shaking his head again. He didn't have the energy to think about it right now.
"Don't have it in you?" Ivy asked, her voice gentle. Gary nodded and Ivy gave him an understanding smile. "That's okay. You have enough on your mind without thinking about telling them. It's okay to not be ready, or to be ready and just not able to because of the circumstances. That doesn't mean it'll never happen. It will. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but it will, and I'm here for you however long that takes. You know that, right?"
His eyes were suddenly stinging as he nodded. He didn't know how she always managed to say the exact thing he needed to hear, but it never seemed to fail.
"It's easier now that one of my friends knows, but…" he trailed off with another tired sigh.
"You told one of them?" The professor's voice was excited and Gary looked up to see her beaming. "Gary, that's wonderful! Tell me about it."
Her excitement was infectious and he couldn't hold back a smile of his own. Wasting no time, he dove right in, explaining how that first afternoon back on a surfboard had gone, the conversation he'd had with Wyatt on the beach, and all of the ways his friend had surprised him with how supportive he had been since then. For a moment, it felt like everything was okay, like the last week hadn't happened.
Ivy listened raptly all the while, her smile growing with every new detail.
"I'm so happy for you!" she exclaimed when he was done. Her smile was a bit watery and Gary returned it easily. "You couldn't even say it to me in Hoenn, and now look! Now you've got a friend making excuses for you! That's a big step."
"I'm pretty sure one of my other friends knows too," he admitted, cheeks a bit pink from such open support. "I just haven't told him yet."
Her smile stayed firmly in place. "You'll get there," she reminded him. "Be easy on yourself until then, alright?"
"I'll try," Gary promised. He hesitated briefly, sensing a chance to ask the question he had wanted to. "Um… Those first few days of the trip…"
"Hoping to see your boyfriend?" Gary gave her a sheepish smile, which was met with a kind laugh. "If Tracey's still down there, you're welcome to take the ferry to Sunburst any of those days. Just get your work done and don't disappear on us."
"Got it," he agreed easily. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," she replied warmly. "Anything else on your mind?"
He almost said no, but remembered a particular detail. "Yeah, actually. What's the deal with this hurricane?" He was confused as to why Tracey hadn't said anything. He wasn't trying to keep it from him, was he? That didn't sound like Tracey at all. Communication was important to him: it didn't make sense to not say something.
"Tracey will be fine," she soothed, honing in on the worry so quickly that Gary couldn't help but laugh. "It's a small storm, completely normal for this time of year. There'll be a bunch of wind and rain, we'll lose a few tree branches, and maybe go a day without power, but it'll be just fine."
"This is normal?" He had been fortunate to avoid anything worse than thunderstorms in his times in the Orange Islands and this wasn't an issue they had to worry too much about in Kanto.
Ivy nodded. "It's how we know summer's begun. Remember the currents we followed last year with the sharpedo tagging?" Gary nodded. "Well, those currents cause the storms shift course quickly, but they usually don't have enough time to strengthen too much before they pass Sunburst and Valencia… Did Tracey not tell you about the storm?"
Gary shook his head. "No. That's why I was asking."
A look of understanding came over her face. "This one came up fast and he's probably been helping his mother prepare the house. They have extra work with his father's office and helping the rehab center. I'm sure he didn't mean to leave you in the dark."
That made much more sense. Tracey had been quiet all day and he never just went silent without reason. Plus he'd heard his text alert go off a few times early in the call with the professors, so there was a solid chance he already had an explanation waiting for him.
The conversation only lasted a few more minutes, with Professor Ivy needing to finish some of her storm preparations. Apparently the storm was due to hit the next afternoon but she assured him again that it was nothing to worry about and left him with the simple task of doing something fun with his friends before coming down to Valencia.
He felt far better when the call ended than he had when it began. It felt as though a weight had been lifted. She had given some valuable perspective on the details with Scyther that had been bothering him most, and knowing what his grandfather thought about him helping with the necropsy had helped as well. Most of the fears about being a terrible boyfriend were soothed; he doubted he would ever not feel bad anytime the words wouldn't come with his grandfather, but some of the residual hurt and frustration had eased.
It was enough to make him want to follow through on his promise to do something with his friends.
He just needed to send a couple of text messages.
And check if the text alerts he'd heard earlier were from Tracey.
Sure enough, when he retrieved his phone from where it had been tossed on his bed earlier there were five missed messages from Tracey. The last three were photos with a caption about going for a walk with his sisters: Marill and Venonat playing in a tidepool, a distant pod of lapras on the ocean, and a brilliant sunset over a beach that Gary recognized as the cove that Tracey always talked about. Above those, sent several minutes earlier was a longer message:
- Hey… I'm sorry I haven't said anything all day but there's a hurricane hitting Sunburst tomorrow night. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but it came up fast and we've been preparing the house and Dad's office all day. It's not a big storm, don't worry. We're used to this, it'll be fine. Dad's more worried about strandings than damage. Call me when you get a chance? I miss you 3-
Gary breathed out a sigh of relief and dropped gracelessly against the pillows on his bed. Everything was okay. He was still worried but he could call Tracey in a minute.
There were two messages he wanted to send first, both pertaining to his promise to Professor Ivy.
The first one was far easier:
- beach tomorrow afternoon? -
Wyatt's affirmative response came through a moment later and Gary gave another small sigh of relief. He sent back a quick reply, promising not to bail on this trip like he had the last three days. With that sent, he opened up a text to Darren and hesitated, taking a deep breath.
The second half of his conversation with Professor Ivy had reminded him of what he had been planning to do the next time he had his best friend alone for long enough. The attempts with his grandfather and all of the emotions that came with them had briefly chased him away from that plan, but her support had reignited a bit of that determination beneath all of the exhaustion. The energy wasn't there right now, but he could at least open the door.
He took another deep breath and began typing.
- Sorry I've been such a flake lately. Can we hang out sometime this week, just us? -
Gary dropped the phone on the bed as soon as he hit send and tried to shake some of the nerves out of his hands. He took another deep breath and rolled his shoulders, trying to alleviate some of the tension.
This was fine. Everything was okay.
It would be alright.
Now he just needed to call Tracey and find out what was going on with this storm. Then he was going to sleep in until noon, go surfing with Wyatt, and try to have as normal a week as possible before he left for Valencia.
And then he would get to see Tracey.
…
… … …
…
It didn't take long the next day for Wyatt to start bugging him about the last few days, which came as no surprise to Gary. He kept quiet - relatively speaking - the whole drive to the beach and the whole time they were on the water, but that changed as soon as they stopped for a break. They were sat in the sand, boards tossed down next to them while Wyatt chowed down on an ice cream cone from the boardwalk. Gary's appetite had been largely nonexistent and so he nursed a soda and hoped that the sugar would be enough to get him through the afternoon.
"Alright, spill," Wyatt's voice came a bit muffled as he bit into his ice cream.
Gary rolled his eyes. "What?" Wyatt knew everything going on, so why bother asking?
The other boy rolled his eyes in return. "You've been out of it since Tracey left," he pointed out.
"I'm fine," Gary retorted. It wasn't entirely true, but it was much closer to the truth than those words would have been just yesterday afternoon. Talking to Professor Ivy had helped and the hour he spent on the phone with Tracey afterwards had helped even more.
"No, you're not." Wyatt shook his head and leaned back in the sand, eyeing the waves. "C'mon, you can miss him but this is, like, consuming you."
Fair enough, Gary supposed. It had probably seemed that way to him, but there were reasons it had consumed him – he thought his reaction had actually been rather reasonable, all things considered.
Gary took a sip of his drink and looked out over the beach. It was a busy afternoon and there were children playing in the sand with their parents and a handful of other surfers scattered across the waves, but they were relatively secluded in the spot they had chosen.
Confident that no one was going to overhear them if they talked more about it, he took a breath and answered honestly. "Wyatt, I did a necropsy on my boyfriend's pokemon. What did you expect my reaction to be?"
Wyatt sighed and Gary realized how defensive his response had come out. Great. He'd just wanted to have a good time with his friend – partly to appease Professor Ivy, but mostly because he had wanted to but hadn't felt at all up to it for nearly a week.
"I'm not telling you to walk it off," Wyatt replied. "I get it - you took care of Scyther, you have an evolved one of your own. It hits fucking close, I don't expect you to be normal right now, but c'mon, man. You've been isolating and you turn into a dick whenever you do that. Can you blame me for not wanting that?"
"No," Gary answered honestly. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry," he muttered. "This isn't exactly a great situation to be in."
"You're handling it a hell of a lot better than you used to."
That was reassuring. Gary was quiet for another moment. "It's been hard," he admitted cautiously. Wyatt gave him a look that very clearly said 'no shit', but he was mercifully quiet and let him gather his thoughts. "I've been worried about Tracey… He's been taking it really hard."
Wyatt gave a little huff and held out the remainder of his ice cream cone in a silent offer. Gary shook his head and Wyatt shrugged his shoulders, biting into the cone. "It's not even been a week, man," he pointed out. "Of course he's gonna be upset."
"I know, but he's not even drawing."
"Neither are you," returned a voice from behind them.
Startled, both boys looked up to see Darren behind them. He was wearing his board shorts and rash guard, his long board beneath his arm, which was enough to shock both of them into silence. As far as Gary knew, Darren hadn't even been to the beach since the attack last summer.
Wyatt recovered first and shot Darren a grin. "Look who decided to join us!" he whooped, patting the sand next to him.
Darren dropped his board in the sand and plopped down across from Gary, ignoring the spot Wyatt had patted.
"That's not the same –" Gary started to retort. He pointedly pushed the thoughts of what he had been planning on doing the next time he hung out with Darren out of his mind. This wasn't the time.
"I tried getting you out of the house three days straight and you bailed every time," Wyatt cut him off impatiently. "And you skipped out on Adrian's birthday party and didn't even bother coming up with some lame excuse. Don't try saying it's not the same."
Gary winced. He still felt bad about that one, but he would apologize when he saw Adrian next.
Darren and Wyatt shared a brief look. "You can be worried about Tracey just like we can be worried about you," Darren pointed out, looking back at Gary.
Unsure of what to say, Gary stayed quiet. This wasn't what he had expected in the slightest. He busied himself with his soda and stared down at the sand, mind whirling. His friends had been worried – not annoyed.
Worried.
Worried enough for Darren to show up at the beach and for Wyatt to lecture him. If they had been this worried, then they definitely deserved an explanation. But an explanation meant telling Darren – which he'd been willing to do, but…
Gary took a deep breath, trying to steady those thoughts.
He might as well just be honest.
"Alright," he relented after a moment. "You're right. This one fucked with me a lot, for a few reasons… You know why," he added with a glance towards Wyatt before he looked back at Darren and took another deep breath. "And I know you do too."
Wyatt kept quiet, for once, his face carefully neutral. Gary was quiet for another moment, gaze dropping to the sand as he gathered his nerves.
He could do this.
He took another breath and raised his eyes to meet Darren's. "We're dating."
Darren's grin was instantaneous and he reached out to playfully punch Gary's shoulder. "I knew it!"
Wyatt grinned broadly and clamped a hand on Gary's shoulder, shaking him slightly. "Finally!"
Gary gave a shaky laugh, unable to fight the flood of relief that came over him. After all the attempts with his grandfather and the frustration he'd felt, the shame over being unable to just say it, all of the stress over the past week…
He'd needed this.
Not wanting to derail the entire afternoon with his confession, he pushed on to attempt to explain what needed explaining. Then they could move on. He was looking forward to that part. "I know I've been isolating the last few days –"
"I mean, you've had a pretty solid reason."
Gary shot Darren a grateful glance, though he continued as though he hadn't been interrupted. "But I talked to Professor Ivy last night about some stuff that's been bothering me, and now I just want to have a normal week before I go to Valencia, so… Yeah," he finished lamely.
"Coming out to your best friend is part of a normal week?"
"Telling you something you already know is."
"Shut up, Wyatt."
Unable to help it, Gary burst into laughter. These two bickering was one of the most common, most normal things that occurred in his life and to have that be their response to him coming out…
The sheer relief was overwhelming.
Finally was right.
But the relief was short-lived.
"So," Wyatt looked back at Gary, his expression turning thoughtful. "I get the necropsy fucked with you. You're worried about your boyfriend, you feel bad about Scyther," he listed off, raising a finger with every reason. "But there's gotta be something else for you to be this off."
Gary groaned. He had already talked it over with Professor Ivy, but he had already decided that his friends deserved the explanation.
"I…" He sighed and shook his head. "I tried telling my grandfather four times in one day," he admitted after a moment.
Darren winced sympathetically and Wyatt's hand settled on his shoulder, squeezing briefly as he gave him a wry half-smile. Gary had almost forgotten that Wyatt understood what it was like to have a closely-guarded secret. It was a subtle reminder that he wasn't alone and, with that, some of the still-lingering shame and guilt lifted. He returned Wyatt's smile and glanced over at their other friend, who still looked sympathetic.
"Are you gonna try to tell him again?" Darren asked curiously.
Gary shook his head. "Not yet." Just like last night, it was still too soon to consider trying with his grandfather or sister. Especially his grandfather. It had just taken too much out of him this time around.
"Well, if you want some help whenever you're ready to try again… I've got your back."
Gary gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Dare."
"Or, if you wanna just get it over with, I could stop warning you when you two are making out in the lab," Wyatt chimed in with a grin.
"Oh, is that what you were doing when you dipped out on my graduation party?"
Wyatt snorted. "Please. He was doing the same thing you were when you snuck off with your girlfriend ten minutes later."
Gary caught sight of Darren's darkened cheeks and laughed. He hesitated briefly, a reply on the tip of his tongue – was it too soon?
Fuck it. Now that they knew, he could say whatever he wanted.
"Hey, in my defense, me and Tracey had a serious conversation before I sucked his dick," he said conversationally, taking a casual sip of his drink.
Wyatt clapped his hands gleefully and howled with laughter while Darren sputtered for a response. Gary hid his grin behind his cup and fixed Darren with an expectant stare, waiting for his retort.
"Serious conversation, huh?" he asked after a few seconds of incoherent sputtering. "What, is data analysis part of your guys' foreplay?"
Gary laughed again and was about to reply when Wyatt cut in, his voice still choked with laughter as he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes. "Oh, come on – you know it was fuckin' lapras migration patterns or some shit!"
"I wish," Gary admitted. "Instead we were talking about school."
Wyatt wrinkled his nose. "That's worse," he complained.
"Yeah, no shit." Wyatt and Darren laughed at the blunt reply and Gary waited until they had settled down before he spoke up again. "Sorry for skipping out on your graduation party," he said honestly, meeting Darren's eyes. "I know you were excited about it."
"Pfft," Darren waved the apology off. "You like pokemon more than you like people and you can't stand parties. I was just happy you showed up."
"You're not mad then?" Gary couldn't help but ask.
"Oh, I'm pissed," Darren replied, narrowing his eyes. His lips threatened to twitch into another grin and Gary laughed, already knowing where this was going. "Keeping secrets from your best friend. How dare, Gary! How dare!" He was trying – and failing horribly – to sound hurt but he had never been able to keep a straight face. He dissolved into laughter at that point while Wyatt rolled his eyes at the two of them. "I'm kidding."
"I had no idea," Gary deadpanned, drawing even more laughter from his friend.
Wyatt nudged Gary in the ribs with a grin. "C'mon, let's get in the water before he starts talking about Cerulean again."
That sounded just about perfect to Gary, but they weren't the only ones here. Darren had brought his board, but that didn't necessarily mean anything: he'd been wary about the water long before Wyatt's accident. "Are you gonna join us?" he asked, looking over at his other friend. "Blastoise and Gyarados are out there."
Darren nodded, sobering quickly, and patted his board. "I'm ready!"
Wyatt cheered and was on his feet, heading to the water with his board in hand before either Gary or Darren could say another word. They shared a grin and picked up their own boards, following along at their own pace even as Wyatt jumped straight in and began paddling out.
Despite his enthusiasm, it took a bit of coaxing to get Darren out in the water. It wasn't too difficult after helping Wyatt just a few months earlier, and before long all three boys were out in the deep water as if no time had passed, as though they hadn't just had a serious conversation, as though he hadn't been skipping out on his friends constantly for months.
After so long of hiding, it felt nice to be able to just be free with them for once.
…
… … …
…
It was quite late when Gary made it home to return his board and change into dry clothes. He wouldn't be home for long and would be heading right back out to Wyatt's house soon enough for a night of video games and junk food with Darren and Adrian. He had already called his grandfather from the beach to check in after being gone all day and had talked to Tracey, albeit briefly. Despite the storm in the Orange Islands, his boyfriend had seemed to be in a good mood when they talked. They had been interrupted by Tracey's younger siblings all but dragging him outside to play in the storm – something Tracey assured him was perfectly safe and normal on Sunburst – before Gary had a chance to bring up the time at the beach.
That was fine. With less than a week to go before his trip to Valencia, he'd be able to tell Tracey in person in no time. He grinned at the realization and quickly decided that he would do exactly that. Finally a decision that came easily.
His text alert went off before he could get too lost in just how good that felt and he couldn't help but roll his eyes when he looked at the screen.
- not bailing on us, are you? -
It took a considerable amount of effort to not laugh, but he supposed he couldn't blame Darren for feeling the need to check, all things considered. That brought about a few uncomfortable thoughts. His friends – especially Darren and Adrian – had put up with him constantly disappearing and breaking plans with bad excuses for months and, before that, they had put up with him being absolutely miserable to be around. He needed to do better, at least with Darren and Adrian. Things had been good with Wyatt for months, but he still needed to do better with the others.
Gary pushed himself off his bed, where he had been lying while talking to Tracey, and quickly finished getting ready to head over to Wyatt's. Adrian would likely be there by now and the three of them would be waiting on him so they could start what would be a night of junk food and video games.
Before long, he was headed down the stairs, bag slung over one shoulder and lost in his own thoughts as he wondered idly what Tracey was up to right now.
"It's nice to see you spending time with your friends again."
Gary nearly jumped out of his skin at his grandfather's voice coming from the living room. He had assumed the older man was either in his office or the study down the hall. He dropped his bag against the wall in the hallway and stepped into the living room, resting his arms on the back of the couch as he peered over his grandfather's shoulder.
"Don't you ever read anything more interesting than journals?" he asked, unable to resist. The professor chuckled and swatted him with the journal, but Gary laughed and caught the page, peering at it curiously. "Ugh, too many numbers," he complained, passing it right back to his grandfather. After seven hours at the beach, he didn't have the brain power to make sense of data analysis.
"It's actually quite an interesting study on the symbiosis between corsola populations and coral reefs in Hoenn. The same area you were working in last year." He turned back a few pages to show Gary a map.
"Professor Birch was telling me about that… We definitely saw more fish on the dives where we saw corsola," Gary recalled. That was an understatement and he knew it. Those reefs had been positively teeming with life and had been some of his favorite dives ever.
"Well, I'll leave it on your desk when I'm done. There's a few other articles you might be interested in."
"Thanks, Grandpa."
Gary fell quiet, struck by the realization that this would be a good time to talk to him about the same things he and his friends had talked about that afternoon, but he quickly decided against it. As good as he felt after today, telling his grandfather was a far larger task than telling Darren. Before his thoughts could go too far down that route, his phone chirped from his pocket, quickly followed by another few chirps.
He rolled his eyes as he checked his phone and groaned. All three of his friends were texting him, pestering him about when he was going to get there. Another two messages came through as he peered at the screen and he shoved the phone back in his pocket, ignoring the next message that came through entirely. "I gotta go – they're ganging up on me. See you tomorrow, Grandpa."
"Have fun. Drink some electrolytes," his grandfather called after him.
Gary laughed as he retrieved his bag and hurried to the door. It was a reminder he didn't need and his grandfather knew that.
The drive to Wyatt's took no time and the minute he entered the house, his friend's voice called from the living room, "Gary, save me! They're talking about colleges again!"
Gary couldn't help but laugh. Adrian was definitely there if the conversation was about school and, while he hoped his friend would give it a rest for a few hours, he couldn't help but pick on his other friend. "Hey, Wyatt, I hear Cinnabar has a good marine biology program," he called back, laughing harder when he heard Wyatt groan loudly. Wyatt was the only of his friends who knew something about his current thoughts on school – thanks in no small part to his nosy nature.
When he reached the living room, he found the three of them scattered about the room, a stack of pizzas and a pile of snacks upon the coffee table. There was a movie on the television but they didn't seem to be paying it any attention.
"Took you long enough!" Darren crowed, throwing a handful of potato chips at Gary as he walked past him to sit in one of the armchairs. "We thought you were gonna bail on us again!"
"Yeah, the thirty text messages in five minutes made that pretty clear," Gary retorted, stealing Darren's beer in retaliation.
"Hey–!"
But Adrian cut Darren off before he could complain too much."I heard you guys had some good waves. I wonder if that storm in the Orange Islands is pushing more waves towards us," he mused thoughtfully.
Gary tried not to think too much about that and instead changed the topic to what he had wanted to tell Adrian first thing. "Sorry I missed your birthday party."
The other boy shrugged it off. "Wyatt said you were having a hard time with all of Scyther's stuff," he explained. "It was pretty quiet anyway."
The mention of Syther made Gary pause. He glanced at Wyatt, whose expression was as neutral as it always was when Tracey came up in conversation around the others, but Darren caught his eye from the other side of the room and waited until Gary looked at him before he glanced pointedly at Adrian. Gary understood the silent encouragement perfectly.
He was quiet for a moment, thinking quickly.
Well… It was just Darren and Wyatt, and Adrian was the most open-minded of his friends anyway.
Why not just get it over with? Then he wouldn't have to hide it from the friends that were around the lab the most. That would make it all so much easier.
"Actually, about that…" Gary began slowly. He saw Darren's widening grin from the corner of his eye and poineedly ignored him – he didn't need the distraction right now, not when Adrian was looking at him curiously. He took a deep breath and pushed on. "One of the reasons it fucked with me so much is because… me and Tracey have been dating."
There. It was out.
All three of them knew now.
Adrian's eyes widened comically as he struggled for a response. For a moment, Gary was worried that he had made a mistake.
It was Wyatt that saved him from getting too anxious. "C'mon, Aidge, use your words," the blonde boy prompted, grinning.
Adrian sputtered for a moment before he laughed and shook his head. "Sorry," he apologized quickly. "I just wasn't expecting that at all!" He broke off with another little laugh as something akin to realization came over his face. "Oh, wow, you two are perfect for each other!"
"Yeah," Wyatt cackled. "Tracey's the only person patient enough to put up with all your shit!"
The amount of glee in his voice made Gary wonder just how long he had been waiting to be able to say that and he shook his head while his other friends laughed all the harder. Leave it to Wyatt to lighten a serious moment. Unable to do anything else, Gary gave in and laughed as well.
"How long have you guys been dating?" Adrian asked curiously once the laughter had died down.
"October."
"Damn!" Adrian sounded surprised and Gary was honestly surprised to hear him curse. "I think that's the longest you've ever kept a secret," he added with an impish grin.
"I – hey!" Wyatt and Darren burst into laughter once more and Gary couldn't help but join in after a moment. "Fair enough," he conceded. He was struck by some curiosity of his own and looked over at Darren. "How long have you known, Dare?"
Darren was quiet for the briefest second before laughing again. "You're gonna hate me."
"I swear, if you say Christmas or something - "
"Halloween."
"What?" Gary squawked. "You knew the whole fucking time?"
"Language," came a near-perfect imitation of his grandfather.
"Shut up, Wyatt!" Gary ignored their laughter and turned back to Darren."You knew the entire time and didn't say anything?"
Darren fell quiet and fidgeted a bit, his gaze dropping down to the floor. "I wanted to let you tell me whenever you were ready," he explained quietly after a moment. "Kinda thought it would be shitty of me to take that away from you."
The relief Gary had felt upon telling Darren and then getting Adrian's positive reaction couldn't hold a candle to the feeling that washed over him at those words. Not only had Darren known – the entire fucking time – but he had kept quiet for that…
There was such a rush of gratitude that he couldn't speak for a moment. Of all the reactions to him coming out, all the things his friends could have said, that was one of the last things he could have possibly expected. It meant so much more than any other reply could have.
All he could do was meet Darren's eyes with a small, grateful smile and hope his friend understood how much it meant to him.
There were a lot of moments like that, that night. None were quite so memorable as that, but Gary found himself struck here and there by the realization that everything was… normal. Better than normal, in fact. For once, there was nothing to hide. His friends picked on him a bit any time he got too distracted by a string of texts from Tracey, but it was the same way they picked on each other for doing the exact same thing with their girlfriends.
Nothing was different.
Everything was the same, except everything felt free and open. He was sure it would hurt when he went back home the next day and had to hide around May and his grandfather, but even that somehow felt less constricting than he would have expected it to. The task of telling them still seemed too daunting to do just now, but with his three closest friends knowing, it suddenly felt far more attainable than it ever had before.
…
… … …
…
Between the conversation with Professor Ivy, the afternoon of surfing, and the night of video games and goofing off with his friends, Gary felt more like himself the next morning. After a short morning surfing trip with Wyatt, he found himself in the lab in the afternoon. His grandfather still kept telling him that he didn't need to help out, but he set about completing the pond maintenance and taking care of the horses regardless before heading back into the lab and settling at his desk. There was some data analysis he was itching to get out of the way before heading down to the Orange Islands and so he found himself doodling on sticky notes as the computer did the work for him. Wyatt had helped feed the pokemon their afternoon meal and had already been sent home by the professor with the insistence that he had helped out more than enough to have earned an afternoon off.
A few text messages from Tracey came through as he was working: just an update, no pictures or sketches, to Gary's disappointment. It sounded like the storm had passed and he was doing alright – as well as he could be given the circumstances – but the fact that he still wasn't drawing worried him. As he typed out a reply to his boyfriend, the phone in his grandfather's office rang.
"Hello, Philena," his grandfather's voice greeted cheerfully from the other room. He hit send and turned back to his computer as he heard the professor ask about the hurricane.
There was a brief quiet before, "That's quite the stranding… Ah, of course. I'll go get him."
Gary looked up curiously at that. A stranding? That was probably common with the storms in the Orange Islands, but it wasn't something he had ever thought to look into.
His grandfather appeared in the doorway of his office. "Gary," he called quietly across the room. "Professor Ivy would like to talk to you."
Gary set down his pen and stood, following his grandfather back into his office. Sure enough, Professor Ivy was on the screen, though she looked rather tired and a bit frazzled. Understandable, considering she had just dealt with a hurricane the day before.
She smiled at the sight of him nonetheless. "Hello, troublemaker," she greeted, as calm and kind as ever.
"Hey," Gary returned, frowning. "Everything okay?"
"The lab and home are fine," she assured him, "but we've got a problem. There's a bad lapras stranding because of the storm. There's over twenty beached across three islands."
Gary's eyes widened. The southern Orange Islands lapras population was only around a hundred individuals. "Fuck, that's a lot." It slipped out before he could stop it but Ivy only nodded, her expression serious.
"Language," his grandfather scolded from beside him.
Gary met his reproachful stare with a brief, unimpressed look before turning back to the screen. "Want me to come down early?"
"Only if you feel up to it before two field projects –"
"I want to help," Gary said firmly. He would make it work.
Ivy gave him a small smile. "I knew you would. Sunburst has the worst of it; there's at least sixteen but Tara and Matthew were still checking the coastline when I spoke to him. There might still be more."
"Tracey's dad and sister?"
She nodded. "They'll be overseeing the rescue with the Sunburst rehab center," she explained.
Gary took a deep breath. This wasn't how he had wanted to meet his boyfriend's family, but he could do this. At least he would get to see Tracey sooner. As long as he kept repeating that to himself, he would be okay. Fortunately Professor Ivy gave him a moment to gather himself before she began explaining the situation.
The lapras on Sunburst were the worst off, thanks to a steeper beach and worse tidal fluctuations than the other islands. They were stuck in the sand dunes, trapped by the sand and in need of being dug out, and too far from the water to be washed out by the rising tide. With how far they were from the water and how many there were, the odds weren't good. It would take so long to get even one or two out, but to get all of them out…
The hope was to dig them out, but it was all but impossible to get machinery out on the beach to do that, and it would likely stress the lapras too much to be much of an option.
Gary wasn't about to feel discouraged.
"What about using pokemon?" he asked. Arcanine was notorious for digging up the fields and was always getting scolded for the holes he left in the yard, and Umbreon was almost as bad. Not to mention the other pokemon he had that were plenty capable of digging stranded lapras out of some sand.
"We just don't have the trainers, Gary," Ivy explained. "Our League is too small for that."
But he had the pokemon. He could bring down a team when he went but…
Tracey was already there.
And Gary's pokemon listened just fine to Tracey.
"Then send my pokemon to Tracey." Both professors were silent for a long enough moment that Gary frowned. "They'll listen to him, and he's already right there!" he argued. "He's probably already helping, knowing him!"
"Arcanine and Umbreon do love digging, and your golduck certainly enjoys excavating new sections of the duck pond," his grandfather mused. "It might not be enough for all of them, but it could buy some time before trainers come from the other islands, Philena."
"It would," she agreed, "and we can absolutely do that, but Gary, I need to warn you… These events get worse the longer they go on, and this is one of the worst I've seen. I know you want to help, but this isn't going to be easy."
"No, but it's important," Gary retorted.
Ivy nodded. "It is, but even so… Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes." There was no hesitation. It wasn't a question of whether or not he could do this – he was going to do this.
Professor Ivy nodded again. "Okay," she agreed. "Go ahead and send me the pokemon you want and I'll get them transferred over to Tracey. The ferries to Valencia are reopening in the morning, I'll get the details sorted out and give you a call in a bit, alright?"
They hung up quickly and Gary wasted no time in putting together a team of the three pokemon his grandfather had mentioned, plus Blastoise. Arcanine, Umbreon, and Golduck could help dig the pokemon free from the sand, and Golduck and Blastoise could help get water to the lapras. He took a few minutes to quickly explain the situation to them and recalled them one at a time, sending them off to Professor Ivy.
He paused when he reached Umbreon. She was almost always with him and the thought of not having her with him felt plain wrong. Her ear twitched as she stared up at him, clearly wondering why he was hesitating. He scratched behind her ears and thought for a moment before walking to his desk to retrieve a piece of paper and pen. There was another moment of hesitation as he considered his options.
Three words - see you soon - and a quick doodle of Arcanine digging on the beach later and he was kneeling in front of Umbreon, holding the note out. "Give this to Tracey when you see him, okay?" he asked quietly.
Umbreon licked his cheek and gently took the paper between her teeth, her tail wagging gently. Gary stroked her ears one last time before holding up her ball.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Bre. Keep Arcanine outta trouble, alright?"
She gave a small bark before leaning briefly against his legs in her own sort of hug. He pressed the button on her ball and blue light engulfed her. Gary hesitated only briefly before setting her ball in place on the transfer machine and pressing the send button.
It already felt weird not having her by his side, but he didn't have time to dwell on that. He needed to pack for this and the month he'd be spending at Valencia, and he wasn't remotely prepared for either. He rushed upstairs to his bedroom and paused in the doorway with a soft groan of despair. His room was a mess, his laundry was overflowing out of the bin and onto the floor, there were books scattered on every surface, and he had no idea where half of his board shorts and rashguards were - which he needed for the trip. He wasn't even entirely sure what field gear he would need, if any.
He was quickly starting to regret spending the last several days moping about. He had given himself enough time to clean up and prepare for the sharpedo and lapras projects, but that hardly mattered now that he was leaving several days early.
Fortunately there was a knock on the open bedroom door and he looked up to find May in the doorway.
"Grandpa told me what's going on," she explained with a kind smile. "What can I help you with?"
Gary glanced around the messy room. "I don't even know where to start," he admitted.
She peered around the room, her eyes landed on the overflowing laundry bin. "How about I start your laundry for you while you find whatever bags you need?" she suggested.
Gary took a breath and nodded, immensely grateful for his sister's ability to come up with a plan on the fly. He was usually pretty good at that himself – which he'd learned from her – but when all of his plans had been turned upside-down and there was so much to do at once, it helped to have her there to point to the priorities. She gave him a reassuring smile before picking up the laundry bin and heading downstairs to start on that while Gary took another minute to breath and get his thoughts in order.
He had already known what he needed to bring to the Orange Islands, he was just going a few days earlier than planned, and he wasn't even leaving until tomorrow morning. There was plenty of time to get everything together.
He had barely dug his bags out of the closet when he heard footsteps and voices on the stairs. Darren and Adrian appeared in the hallway a moment later and Gary felt his heart sink.
Fuck. He had forgotten about the plans they had made last night – and he had actually wanted to go this time! A marathon of gory alien movies at Darren's house with a stack of pizzas was far preferable to what he was about to do. But this was more pressing than a teenage movie night.
That did little to soothe the guilt that washed over him when Adrian fixed him with an unimpressed look.
"You're bailing on us again," Adrian observed, crossing his arms. He was usually the most understanding of his friends, but this time he actually looked annoyed.
"I swear it's not a bullshit reason this time," he promised. "There's a really bad lapras stranding in the Orange Islands." Adrian's glare dropped away and Gary turned his gaze to Darren. "Tracey's dad is leading the rescue. I'm gonna be staying with them until the rescue's done. I already sent my pokemon to Tracey to start helping."
Darren's confused – and disappointed – expression faded into sympathy at the mention of Tracey's father. Good. He understood what this all meant. Gary gave him a grateful smile.
"We get it," Adrian said. "It's part of being a researcher. We can do something when you get back."
"Yeah," Darren added, "you got this. It'll be fine."
Gary hoped he was right.
…
… … …
…
