Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Secret No More ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
Secret No More

Summary: With Tracey a female in hiding, and now his girlfriend, Gary has a hard time keeping his hands off her with his grandfather away...but then Ash and Co just had to pay a visit. When will they leave?

Pairings: Gary/Tracey

Disclaimer: I don’t own the series Pokemon or any character associated.

Warnings: Tracey is portrayed as female in gender in this story. Yes, I know he’s a guy, and yes there have been episodes where Tracey had been shirtless, let’s just pretend that never happened for the sake of it, ok?

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Chapter 4:

Ash felt a thick haze of tension fill the room as Brock dragged Tracey quickly out of sight in a rather flamboyant way. The sight seemed friendly in Ash’s opinion, but apparently it was something of a threat to Gary. He was positively seething in his own skin; his eye was twitching violently as he shook with barely suppressed rage. It appeared as if he was using all his self control not to stomp after the two of them.

If his mood had anything to with the lack of sleep, than it appeared that Gary hadn't slept in days!

Poor Gary. Ash had no idea that working in a lab like Oak Laboratories’ could be so draining. Then again, Prof. Oak wasn’t here, so the work load might have doubled in his absence. Either way, Gary needed to relax a little.

“Why don’t we watch a movie or something?” Ash tried to suggest something that just might break the tension that was currently blanketing the entire room, but it did very little to make Gary stop glaring with murderous rage at the door that lead into the kitchen.

“I've already seen it,” Gary muttered darkly, not even bothering to look in Ash’s direction.

He didn’t know what Brock thought he was doing, especially after flirting with Tracey like that in front of him, but if he so much as tried anything, anything at all, Gary won’t hesitate to, not back hand him into a river, but personally hold his head under the water with his boot planted in his back!

“We’ve totally lost him,” Misty sighed as she threw her hands up into the air in a sign of giving up. “He hasn’t changed a bit.”

“Gary is in a really bad mood today,” Ash commented as he looked at his childhood friend/rival with concern shimmering in his eyes. He had never seen him act like this before. “I wonder what’s wrong.”

Tracey swallowed thickly as she tried her best to ease her rapidly beating heart that was literally pounding in her chest. She had no idea what Brock wished to speak with her about, he only used that serious tone of voice when he had something rather important to discuss.

But despite her unease, she managed to put a somewhat tense smile on her face when Brock effortlessly dragged her into the kitchen and watched with a mild sense of confusion when Brock busied himself with the refreshments.

“You really must tell me how you made those cookies today,” Brock said as he dropped her hand and got himself quickly acquainted with the kitchen. “They were delicious. I’m sure my brothers and sisters back home would love them.”

“Um, I can write down the recipe if you like,” Tracey replied as she nervously wringed her fingers together in front of her, feeling flustered by both the thought of Brock wishing to speak to her about something important and by the compliment about her cooking. She wasn’t very good at receiving compliments as she really didn’t know how to respond.

Tracey took it upon herself to learn how to cook, as both Gary and Prof. Oak were out of their depths in the kitchen, and there was only so many days in a row that someone could have instant noodles without being sick. When she first became Prof. Oak’s assistant that was all he really had stocked in the kitchen.

Thankfully, Mrs Katchem, and Mimey, of course, was more than willing to make a few extra meals for the both of them and happily taught Tracey the basics of the kitchen. Mrs. Katchem is a marvellous cook, so Tracey learnt from the best.

She didn’t mind doing the cooking as it was perfect for her to monitor her boys, as she had a habit of calling them now, eating habits. She made sure that they had at least two good meals a day, hunting them down with a lunchbox of food if necessary.

Shaking her head to rid herself of her current thought path, Tracey focused at the task at hand; what did Brock wish to speak to her about? The waiting was starting to get to her!

“What do you want to talk about, Brock?” Tracey finally asked as she tried to remain indifferent, but inwardly was scared of what he might say to her.

“If only I could find a nice, beautiful girl...” Brock suddenly sighed dramatically as he turned the kettle on for tea. But then glanced over his shoulder and gave her a sly look. “Like you.”

Tracey could have sworn time stop still and her breath hitched harshly in her throat. Did she hear right? Did he really know about her secret?

“Huh?” she stuttered as her mind fell blank from the shock as she immediately lifted an arm and crossed it over her chest and subconsciously took a step backwards. “I’m-”

“Don’t try to hide it from me, I can tell that you’re not a guy,” Brock said as he turned his back on the gradually bubbling kettle and folded his hands casually behind his back, in a non-threatening way. In fact, his whole posture was casual and he held a friendly smile on his face. “I thought there was something different about you the first moment we met.”

“I’m sorry,” Tracey immediately blurted out, panicking ever so slightly, her heart rate increasing and her breathing quickening. This was her greatest fear; someone finding about her true gender without first preparing herself for their reaction. “I didn’t-”

“It’s fine,” Brock cut her off from explaining herself; her reasons for hiding was none of his business and he knew that it was for a good reason. “I’m not mad or disgusted, you can relax a little.”

Tracey nodded her head as she took a moment to collect herself, Brock waiting patiently as she drew in a couple of deep, drawn out breathes and released them slowly. It would do her no good to have a panic attack; Gary would go ballistic and no doubt accuse Brock for doing something rather unwholesome.

“Sorry,” Tracey muttered again as she gave Brock a shy look, her cheeks giving off a flustered appearance. If Brock worked out her true gender all on his own, did either Ash or Misty realize as well? If so, were they as calm about it as Brock was here?

“Hmm,” Brock hummed as he placed his hand on his chin in his usual ‘pondering pose’ that his friends has unofficially dubbed for him and adverted his gaze to the ceiling. “It’s nice to know that my sexy lady radar isn’t broken.”

It took a moment for Tracey to realize that Brock was talking about her and immediately her blush darkened to a deep red and she mentally flailed for a few seconds. “What?” she practically squeaked in disbelief.

Did Brock just refer to her as a sexy lady? Surely, he must be joking. She wasn’t sexy; Gary liked to tell her constantly that she was sexy and beautiful, but she didn’t really believe it. How could a girl dressed as a guy be sexy or beautiful?

But, Gary insisted that she was, and he would never tell white lies like that. Gary had always been honest, in some cases, brutally honest, but that was what Tracey liked about him. There was no beating around the bush with him, if something or someone was bothering, he most certainly wasn’t afraid to let anyone know.

Thinking back, Tracey could not even begin to count the times that Gary stood up for her, pushing away people who tried to use her inability to say no to their advantage.

“Gary is very lucky to have someone like you,” Brock said with a tone of sincerity.

“No,” Tracey said as she shook her head slowly, a small smile gracing her lips. “I’m the lucky one.”

“I think he’s had enough torture today,” Brock commented as he turned off the kettle and pushed away from the kitchen bench. “I’ll get the others going now. We should be back tomorrow around lunch time.”

“Ah, ok,” Tracey murmured in surprise as she began to follow Brock out of the kitchen, but she grabbed the back of his shirt shyly, pulling him back. “Brock?”

Brock turned around to face her as he raised an eyebrow in question. “Hmm?”

“Thank you...for taking this so well,” Tracey said softly as she curled a strand of forest green hair behind her ear, giving off the appearance that she’s embarrassed and a little bit guilty. “I didn’t mean to hide for so long, it’s just...it’s a long story.”

“It’s alright; you don’t have to explain now,” Brock said as he raised a hand to stop her from continuing. He lowered his hand after a moment and gave her a serious look. “But you know Ash and Misty will find out one day.”

Once again, Tracey twisted her hands in front of her, her guilty embarrassment increasing. “Are you going to tell them?” she asked softly with a tone of sadness.

The tone of vulnerability in Tracey’s voice surprised Brock a little and he gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s not my place to say anything.”

“Thank you,” Tracey said as she bowed her head in gratitude before straightening and smiling brightly. “I’ll tell them when I’m ready, I promise.”

“Good, it would be a crime for a beautiful young woman like yourself to hide away like this,” he said, chuckling softly when he earned himself an embarrassed blush from the secret female in front of him. He realized that he was treading dangerous ground, especially with a possessive Gary close by, but he could not help himself; Tracey was just too adorable when she blushed.

No matter what she said, he was certain that Gary was the lucky on in this relationship.

“Now, we better get going before Gary goes all homicidal on us,” Brock joked, but inwardly hoping that he and Misty haven’t got into a sparring match. He couldn’t hear any Pokemon cries, but that didn’t mean much.

“He has always been rather impatient,” Tracey said as the two of them walked out into an eerily silent sitting room and they both outwardly winced at the tense atmosphere. Gary and Misty were literally sending each other killer glares in a silent death match as Ash sat in the background, a look of utter confusion on his face while Pikachu seemed oddly unaware of the hostility, happily munching on the left over cookies.

At least someone was having a good time, Tracey thought mildly to herself as she silently walked over to Gary and placed a hand on his shoulder, alerting him to her presence. She suddenly felt tired and had to resist the urge to rest her forehead in-between his shoulder blades, as she had done many times before.

Gary immediately dropped his glare and looked over his shoulder, looking directly into her eyes. He raised an eyebrow, silently asking her what happened between her and Brock in his absence.

‘He knows’, Tracey mouthed to him and he felt himself bristle. She quickly shook her head, however, silently telling him that nothing bad happened and gave him a small smile. A moment later, Gary raised another eyebrow when he overheard Brock telling Ash and Misty that they have to go. There were protests from the two of them, Ash being foremost, but Brock simply shook his head.

“We’ve imposed long enough today,” he said. “We’ll come back tomorrow, after both Tracey and Gary get some rest. They’ve both being busy manning the labs without Prof. Oak here to help.”

“Oh,” Ash said with a sense of guilt in his voice and even Pikachu made a noise of sympathy. “I didn’t realize that. Sorry for barging in on you like this, Tracey.”

“Oh no, it’s fine,” Tracey quickly reassured everyone with a warm smile. “It’s nice to see everyone again.”

“We’ll give you a heads up next time, ok?” Misty said as she picked up her carry bag and slung it over her shoulder. “Gary might stop sulking if we do that.”

Gary narrowed his eyes as he ‘tch’ at her. “I don’t sulk.”

Once again, Misty merely rolled her eyes. “Of course,” she said. “You brood with a pout on your lips, sorry.”

“You’re pushing your luck,” Gary said through gritted teeth, unwilling to let Misty gloat in the satisfaction that she got under his skin, yet wanted her to know that she was treading dangerous ground.

“I find it good exercise,” Misty responded through her own gritted teeth, a forced smile on her lips.

“Ok, that’s enough bantering for today,” Tracey said as she pushed her way in-between the two and tried to calm the situation from escalating further.

Taking a short moment to continue to glare at each other, the two hot-headed teens finally turn away, both of them adorning expressions of annoyance. The small group then made their way over to the front door, Tracey seeing them out as Gary lingered in the background, silently urging them to make their goodbyes short as possible.

As he stepped through the door, Brock suddenly turned around and took Tracey’s hands in his once again. “I hope the rest of your day is as radiant as your smile,” he said brightly.

“Oh, thank you,” Tracey muttered as she gave him yet another embarrassed smile.

Immediately, Gary was by Tracey’s side. “That’s enough Romeo,” he ordered with a hiss as he wrapped an arm around Tracey’s shoulders, possessively drew her against his side and placed a hand on Brock’s chest in a sign of warning. “Now get out!”

“Alright, we’re going!” Misty said loudly in begrudging defeat while Brock looked mildly amused. “Jeez, you don’t need to be so rude.”

Ash quickly shared a look with Pikachu, who was perched on her shoulder like usual, both of them having no idea what was wrong with their friends. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Tracey, ok?”

“Sure Ash!” Tracey said brightly as she tilted her head to the side. “Sorry about Gary’s mood. Like I said, he’s been working hard.”

“You take good care of Gary now, Tracey,” Brock said with a wink as the three travelling companions began trekking down the path out of Oak Laboratories.

“I will,” Tracey said as she waved, laughing ever so softly at the utter confusion on Gary’s face. “See you guys tomorrow!”

With that, she silently closed the door, causing the tense muscles in Gary’s body to relax and he breathed a deep sigh of relief.

“Finally, I thought they’ll never leave,” he grumbled as he locked the door quickly, not wanting any further interruptions. He then turned to Tracey and gave her a very sly, slightly predatory look. “Now, where were we?”

All Tracey was able to do was utter a small squeak of protest before Gary took her into his arms and kissed her soundly on the lips, ceasing any protest. She immediately felt herself fall into his arms, her hands snaking up to rest on his shoulders, letting him control this moment. She then uttered a soft contented sigh as Gary swept her up into his arms and carried her to the nearest bedroom.

Well, she did promise that Gary could have his way with her after their guests leave, didn’t she?