Careful! (Ash x Gary)

Chapter One

He stood in the shadows of the lab, his stance wavering ever so slightly. His right hand clutched the bag that was slung over his shoulder and his knees shaking. Why were they shaking? He only walked down a flight of stairs. Why should he feel a nervous clench in his stomach in front of a pair of such familiar doors. This lab he felt so nervous to enter was practically his den for his entire life. His grandfather raised him along side Pokémon that was prodded in the name of science. The weight on his shoulders felt more than just a satchel that hung at his hips.

The lump in his throat finally found its rightful place in his stomach as he cocked one foot into the doorway. His nostrils flared as the familiar concoction of antibacterial spray and Eevee's food wavered in front of his face. The skin in between his brows drew back as the realization hit that Gramps had just done his annual fall cleaning.

The anxious shuffling evolved quickly into longer strides towards the puring loaf. Gary bent down to affectionately cup his little girl's soft cheeks. In his heart, he knew that this precious Eevee would be his first companion in his future adventure.

Gary jumped as he heard his name. His neck snapped as he shifted his body until the shape of his grandfather was in his peripheral view. "Shocking, really. I would have bet at least 11 as your earliest visit, considering your frequent argument with Kecthum." His head was barely visible from the pile of papers located in the corner of Gramp's desk, which no matter what annual cleaning came around, never seemed to unclutter from its unusual placement. If Gary had thought about the pile of papers more, he would have thought about the last time that he actually did see the corner of the desk. Unfortunately, he didn't ponder the idea anymore because of it would have led to the time period of when his parents would be still breathing. He never time traveled back to that period. For good reason, too.

He could feel his heartbeat rise. "In my opinion, our argument was not my fault!" Gary's voice rose and his petting became slightly harsher. "Ash was trying to feed me a line of bullshhhh." As soon as Gramps' eyebrow found his hairline, Gary had let the word midway wash out.

"In my opinion, I agree Squirtle is just a tad more adorable." Gramps whispered under his breath, trying to fidget with the important papers that had found their way to the forefront of his oak desk. He did not look up when he heard his grandson's audible gasp.

"First, what gives you the gull to dishonor my special little Eevee with Eevee ease? And Second," Gary's rant was interrupted by Eevee's astonishingly loud burp. His gaze traveled down to the soft loaf, forgetting the source of his dramatized anger.

"On another topic, I bet you that I can already guess who you're selecting to have the 'pleasure' of joining you on your journey." Gramps had a slight amusement woven into his voice, his eyes plastered on Eevee.

"I bet that you'd lose because like I'm totally choosing Charmander. I find the flame equipped on his tail is just so..." Gary tapped his chin with his forefinger, adding to his act. "Mesmerizing." His emphasis rang thickly with sarcasm. He had bent down again to pet the scruff under Eevee's neck, causing her to vibrate with pleasure.

"That one has been yours since the day we hatched her from that egg your grandmother gifted you." Gary could hear the hurt in his voice, but Gramps quickly covered it with moving from his desk to the shelf, which also fit the theme of his lab. Random papers stuck out at each nook, almost in a rhythmic pattern.

Gary's grin almost took up his entire lower space of his face. "What ever will you do with all that fre-" For the second time that morning, Gary was interrupted. The lab doors were abruptly thrown open with loud thundering footsteps following.

"Oh Arceus, please! Please tell me he hasn't been taken." A voice had yelled, making Eevee flinch behind Gary's calf. The voice was slightly distinguishing one of a male.

Gary's chuckle set Eevee back at ease. He always found it humorous when Ash proved that inside, he was really still a child. The Van on his right foot hadn't been tied and the other one had one shoe lace still bent partially under his foot with the end poking out at the side. His grey hoodie had also been wrinkled, probably from all the other clothes that had been thrown on top of it in the corner of his room. Also, Gary would bet all of his inheritance money that under Ash's hat, he would be sporting a full head of bedhead. Even his fly was down. Ash was fifty shades of a mess, like all the years leading up to the current.

"I'm sorry Ashy-boy, I sort of fancied him, so I decided he would look nicer on my team. I guess you should have used your time more wisely with important business like sleeping instead of insisting such bizarre claims last night." Gary had stood up with a smirk growing on his face.

Gramps sat on the sideline, reacting silently to the way Ash's face had transitioned from one of sadness to one of anger.

"Ash, he's joking. Pikachu was especially saved for his rightful owner." Gramps finally decided on ending his grandson's torment before the situation escalated.

A relieved look had implanted itself on Ash's face before it was overthrown by one of excitement. "Professor, can I please see my Pokémon?" Ash tried the words on his tongue. Once he favored the way the words tasted, his body was jumping up and down, seemingly without his acknowledgement.

The way Ash reacted with his emotions reminded Gary more of a teenage girl than a teenage boy. Gary hadn't realized he was biting his lips until the soreness took over his thinking.

His thoughts abruptly slapped back down to reality by Ash's screaming. His hands were wrapped around Pikachu's bottom, holding him closely to his face. Gary did not feel his smile broaden as he watched his friend nearly suffocate his first companion.

Sometimes when Gary stopped to ponder it, he really couldn't understand his infatuation with his childhood friend. No, wait. Infatuation was the wrong choice of words. Of course Gary had zero feelings for Ash. How could he? Ash was, well Ash is a he. And he could not like a he. He just enjoyed Ash's company. He enjoyed teasing Ash, sometimes watching him fluster and squirm underneath his taunting words. Especially when Gary was feeling brave and took his teasing further. But there were no feelings involved. Gary enjoyed Ash. He enjoyed their sleepovers that consisted of staying up until the alarm clock showed 3:00 a.m., playing Pac-Man.

"I need you four to make your way up to kitchen where I will make some pancakes for this special morning. That's if more trainers don't show up to claim their first partners. I don't think another one is scheduled until 12. Anyways, I need to discuss pressing matters with Janice before you two embark on your journeys." Gramps picked up some top papers off of his desk before exiting the office part of his lab.

"You know, sometimes it sounds as if whenever Gramps speaks, it's scripted. Anyways," Gary stood and stalked over to where Ash was positioned.

Ash let go of Pikachu and watched the small animal make its way to Eevee before focusing his eyes on the Gary that was closing in on him. He tripped on his legs as he stammered backwards until his back was flush against the wall. He could feel the coolness of the drywall counteracting the hot flash that was traveling to all parts of his body. All parts. Once pinned, Gary leaned down until his lips barely brushed against the husk of his ear.

"I just needed to inform you," Gary's left hand found it's way to Ash's soft hips. On it's own, it traveled slightly to the right. Gary smirked at the way Ash's breathing quickened. Before Gary's hand made an impression on Ash's Jean's, his fingers found the zipper and pulled it back to its publically acceptable place. "Your zipper was down."

Gary turned away from the blushing and trembling mess formerly known as 'Ash' with the smirk still carved into his cheeks. He moved closer to the doors and only turned his head once, whistling for his Eevee to hither. Eevee softly trodded to her loving owner, chin pointed upwards and unaware of the tension floating in the room.
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A.N.
I hope y'all really liked this rewrite version because I'm way happier about this version than my last one. I promise more chapters will be coming soon-ish....
I'm sorry, I'm trying! Thank you for reading ❤