Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Secret No More ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: DefiantVixen 
Anime/Manga: Pokemon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.08.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 167 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Pokemon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.08.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 167 | Status: Completed
Secret No More
Summary: With Tracey a female in disguise, 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?
AN: Hello there, everyone. Once again, major apologies for taking a while to update ^^; So many story ideas, so little time to write them. Suggestions and comments are always welcomed. Thanks so much in advance!
-
Chapter 8:
Lingering outside the living room, which was unnervingly silent despite holding three very vocal youths, Tracey took a moment to compose herself. She really didn’t want to have this conversation, especially right here and now. Sure, she had spent years going over the conversation again and again in her head, but she still felt it was too soon. Or rather, too sudden.
Releasing a sigh, Tracey turned around and gently took one of Gary’s hands in hers. She could feel his annoyance directed at his childhood friend in the next room coming off of him in waves. While it was endearing to her that he was so protective of her, she knew far too well that when Gary was this upset, he tended to run off at the mouth a bit. And getting into an all out verbal brawl would not help lessen the stress she was already under.
“Gary,” she said as she looked him in the eyes as she held his hand gently against her chest, the back of his hand over her beating heart. “I know you’re dying to say something, but can I please do this on my own?”
Gary appeared disconcerted about the idea. “But-!”
Tracey quickly silenced his protests by placing a finger to his lips, this action reliably able to halt his words immediately. “I know,” she said gently. “But you’re angry and I don’t want this conversation to turn into a huge yelling match. Besides, this is something I should have done at the very beginning, so it’s entirely my fault.”
Gary looked ready to protest again, the fact that Tracey was blaming herself, and herself alone was enough to irritate him. However, as he looked into her eyes, those same shimmering and pleading eyes that always made him practically melt; he knew that he could not argue with her.
“Fine,” he muttered in reluctant defeat, appearing unhappy with the arrangement. “But if they say anything I don’t like, I’m stepping in, got it?”
“Yes,” Tracey said as her expression brightened lightly with gratitude. She removed her finger from his lips and leaned up on her toes to press her lips against his in a lingering kiss, Gary immediately wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her closer.
“Thank you for understanding,” Tracey said as she pulled back and gave him a small smile. “I’ll make it up to you somehow, ok?”
“You better,” Gary said as he gave her another kiss before stepping away and moving to open the doors leading to the living room. He made sure that Tracey was behind him so when they entered, she didn’t have to see the looks of accusations that are no doubt directed at her.
He looked down when he felt something brush against his leg and a smile graced his lips when his beloved Umbreon peered up at him. Next to the dark canine was the water mouse, Marill, who was lightly touching Tracey’s leg with her paw, letting her master know that everything will be ok.
Although very cute, Marill won’t hesitate to use Water Canon on anyone who dares hurt Tracey.
“Let’s get this over and done with,” Gary muttered.
Ash, Misty and Brock looked up from their silent inner musings to watch the door open and then Gary, who was the first to step into the lounge room where a heavy and tense cloud of uncertainty hung in the air. His profile was tall and strong, defiant and defensive. It appeared that all it would take one wrong against Tracey to set off his torrent of anger and rage.
Eying the occupants through narrow and fierce eyes, Gary felt his annoyance grow when Ash refused to look him in the eyes.
A gentle hand appeared on his shoulder and Gary felt himself relax, but only a little. He looked over his shoulder and into the raven eyes of Tracey, who gave him a soft smile, one that still held a sense of gratitude. She truly was thankful for his presence as she was certain she wouldn’t have been able to handle this stress all on her own.
“Would you like something to drink?” Brock suddenly offered, breaking the silence in the room with his empathetic tone. “It might help calm your nerves.”
“Um, no,” Tracey replied with a small nod of her head and a grateful smile. “That won’t be-”
“A nice cup of tea never hurts anyone,” Brock interrupted as he took to his feet, his expression holding this sense of understanding to it and he quickly made his way in the direction of the kitchen. He was in his reputable ‘big brother’ mode again and he won’t be satisfied until he does something of use. “I’ll be right back.”
Tracey wanted to protest, to tell him not to bother with doing something for her, but he was already out of ear shot and was even humming a light tune to himself. She sighed and turned to Gary, who had raised an eyebrow in Brock’s direction.
“He’s never been the one to take no for an answer, has he?” she said in light amusement.
Although, previously, Gary had been annoyed at the older male, he felt this mild sense of relief in knowing that at least someone was taking the news of Tracey’s true gender well. Then again, Brock knew before Tracey even had to tell him, so it wasn’t that much of a shock to him.
Another silence fell over the room and Tracey moved to step out from behind Gary’s protective stance and took a seat on the couch, facing Ash and Misty who were sitting on the other side. Immediately, Gary took a seat next to her, his posture still defensive and on edge. Umbreon and Marill soon took their places beside their masters, Marill perching herself in Tracey’s lap as Umbreon curled up by their feet.
Tracey felt a small sense of calm wash over her as she gently strokes Marill behind the ear. Marill has been by her side for years, even before she started dressing herself as a guy.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Ash finally asked, lifting his head to look at Tracey with oddly confused, unreadable eyes.
“I wanted to,” Tracey replied to his question softly as she swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat. “I just didn’t know how.”
“Didn’t know how?” Ash repeated as he blinked his eyes slowly in a sense of disbelief before stiffening in his seat with a sense of indignity. “Tracey, we’ve been friends for years!”
“You know you can tell us anything, right?” Misty added gently when she noticed that Tracey visibly winced from Ash’s loud statement. She knew that this was hard for the slightly older female and she felt a sense of sympathy for her.
She has known Tracey for a long time now and while she didn’t know everything about her, she knew enough to know that Tracey was a genuinely kind and sweet person who didn’t like to made a fuss over. She also knows that she must have a very good reason for hiding her gender in the first place.
“Yes, I know,” Tracey said as she nibbled on her bottom lip.
Ash shook his head vehemently. “Then why-?”
“I was scared, ok?!” Tracey practically cried as she bowed her head suddenly and squeezed her eyes shut. She pulled Marill against her chest for comfort, but quickly uncurled one of her arms when Gary leaned over and took one of her hands in his, squeezing it lightly to let her know that she’s not alone.
Lifting her head up to look at her boyfriend, Tracey smiled sadly when she realized that it was taking all of Gary’s self-control not to get involved with this conversation.
“Scared?” Ash muttered as he physically leaned back in surprise. “Scared of what?”
Drawing a shaky breath through her mouth, Tracey focused her attention on the dark haired male in front of her. “I guess I’ll start from the beginning,” she said.
“Yes,” Brock said suddenly as he placed a cup of hot tea on the coffee table in front of her, startling the small group with his abrupt appearance. “That would be the best place to start.”
“Don’t say a word while she’s explaining everything, alright?” Gary practically threatened, speaking up for the first time since entering the room. With his eyes narrowed, he took a moment to glare at everyone, waiting and searching for even a hint of protest, and fortunately, there was none.
Wrapping her lithe hand around her tea, Tracey took a small sip to slow down her rapidly beating heart before placing it back down, wrapping her arms around Marill once again. “It started about six months before I met you and Misty, Ash,” she explained as she absentmindedly started to scratch Marill behind the ear again. “I was training to be a Pokémon watcher under the steady gaze of my Mentor, Cedric. He trained me in the ways of anticipating the Pokémon’s next move and how to safely sneak up on an unsuspecting Pokémon as they slept.”
She paused for a moment, a soft smile gracing her lips when the memories of her youth returned to her. Cedric was an old friend of the family, a man of about middle age and full of enthusiasm for life. She could still remember the excitement she would feel every time Cedric taught her something new, or when she encountered a new Pokémon she couldn’t wait to sketch. She had so much fun getting to know each Pokémon she encountered, even learning how to predict and dodge a Pokémon’s attacks.
Sometimes, her training involved her dancing with the Pokémon to understand how they move and why they act the way they do. She could learn so much just by being with the Pokémon.
“It was a lot of fun and I loved being his apprentice,” she said brightly before her expression quickly turned sad and as subconsciously gripped at Gary’s reassuring hands once again. “Until one night I overheard him speaking with a couple of people in strange uniforms. It wasn’t until I crept closer did I realize that he was talking to a couple of members from Team Rocket and he was planning to hand me over to them. He was training me to be a soldier of Team Rocket.”
A stunned silence filled the room, the atmosphere quickly turning to that of shocking disbelief.
“W-what?” Ash stuttered as he gave a prefect rendition of a fish out of water expression. “You’re wanted by team rocket?”
The electric mouse, Pikachu looked alarmed, his ears folding back in a sense of concern. “Pika?”
Misty gasped softly and placed a hand over her mouth, her sea green eyes shimmering with a sense of sadness. “Oh, Tracey,” she murmured.
“I didn’t want anything to do with them,” Tracey continued as tears slowly began to well up in her eyes. “So I ran. I didn’t know where I was going or what I was going to do, I just ran. I cut my hair short and disguised myself as a guy, fearing that Team Rocket might come after me.”
Looking down at the blue mouse Pokémon on her lap, Tracey pulled her closer and nuzzled the top of her head with her cheek. “Marill and Venonat were my only companions. They’ve been with me through everything. I couldn’t ask for better Pokémon.”
Again, the silence of the room was almost deafening, no one really knowing what to say.
“I’m sorry I lied to you,” Tracey murmured as she finally lift her head and hastily rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, her eyes watering from the memories of running away, fear taking over her completely.
Yeah, it may have been a few years, but she could still feel the sting of betrayal and fear of being forced into something she did not want to do.
“I...didn’t mean to deceive you, any of you, it’s just...I was scared that Team Rocket might come after me again,” she carried on to say and turned toward Gary, moving to lay her weary head on his shoulder, Gary’s arm immediately wrapping around her sframe. “But then Gary promised that it wouldn’t happen.”
Gary’s face creased into an expression of defiance and possessiveness. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
A soft smile tugged at the corners of Tracey’s lips, feeling safe whenever Gary is near. “Do you understand now, Ash?” she asked, turning her gaze back to the young man.
Ash had his head down, his eyes hidden from everyone in the room. He appeared tense and sombre. “Yeah...” he murmured before slowly lifting his head, his expression nothing but a mixture of guilt and regret. “I’m sorry, Tracey. I didn’t mean to say you betrayed us. I mean, I was shocked, you know? You don’t expect these kinds of things,” he tried to explain.
Still feeling a tad bitter for the emotional torment Ash put Tracey through, Gary snorted lightly. “I would have thought that after saving the world a few times you would be a bit more open-minded.”
“Hey!” Ash said, wanting to protest against the other male when something seemed to dawn on him and he abruptly turned to Tracey with a sense of jealousy in his gaze. “Wait, why did Gary know before us?!”
“I’m living here, you dimwit!” Gary said as he bristled lightly. “I was bound to find out eventually. Besides, Umbreon would look at me strangely whenever I called Tracey a ‘him’.”
“Really?” Ash said as he looked intrigue. He then quickly turned to Pikachu, who was standing on the coffee table, speaking in their own little language to Marill. “Did you know Tracey was a girl, Pikachu?”
Pikachu twitched his ears and blinked a few times before he tilted his head to the side, mutely asking Ash why he was so worked up about something so trivial. “Chu?”
“I’m not surprised the Pokemon knew,” Tracey said as she laughed lightly as Ash’s deadpan expression. He and Pikachu have a close relationship, so he must be feeling a tad foolish for not picking up on Pikachu’s knowledge of her gender. “They have much stronger senses than us humans.”
Gary couldn’t help but look at him slyly. “But you already knew that, right Ash?”
Ash gave a small twitch of annoyance, the same expression he always wore when Gary said something that discreetly questioned his Pokémon training ability. “So, how did Gary learn your secret Tracey?” he asked, hoping to take the attention off of him.
Tracey stiffened in her seat as a dark blush appeared on her cheeks. “Er, well...” she stuttered.
“That’s none of your concern,” Gary quickly said, his eyes narrowing defiantly.
“My, someone’s protective,” Misty said as she gave the pair in front of her a sly, knowing look, a smile of sheer amusement on her lips.
“Yes,” Brock quickly agreed as he nodded his head, placing a hand to his chin in thought as a knowing smile, too, graced his lips. “Overly so, I dare say.”
“Come to think of it, you were always pushing us away from Tracey whenever we got too close,” Ash said as he tapped his cheek in thought. “Why is that?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Gary asked in a slightly miffed tone before giving a smug smirk, tightening his grip around Tracey’s shoulders. “Tracey is my girlfriend.”
Ash blinked slowly at first before a light dusting of red splashes across his cheeks. “What?! You’re seriously dating him?!”
The blush on Tracey’s features deepens a shade or two more. “Yeah, that’s right,” she said with a gentle smile, despite her embarrassment.
“Why?”
“Why?” Tracey blinked in confusion at Ash’s question. “Because I love him, that’s why.”
“Already using the L word, I see,” Brock suddenly began to tease, taking a seat next to Gary to nudge him in the ribs, earning himself a twitch from the disgruntled male. “How deep is this relationship, then?”
“D’aww,” Misty coos from her seat, fidgeting with delight. “That’s so sweet!”
Gary bristled and lightly pushed Brock away from him, practically pulling Tracey into his lap as a sign of possessiveness, Marill jumping out of Tracey’s arms to land on the table next to Pikachu, squeaking happy at the two of them. “Would you jokers cut it out?!”
“Look, I know this is quite a lot to take in,” Tracey said as she tried to defuse the situation, noticing Ash’s rather blank and pale expression. “And we didn’t mean to keep this from you. We just weren’t sure how you would react.” She then turned to Ash and gave him a somewhat weary smile. “I think our fears are pretty well founded, don’t you?”
Gary followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes slightly, giving the indication that Ash was still on his bad side. “You always did wear your emotions on your sleeve.”
Ash winced from the look and scratched the back of his neck. “...Who else knows?” he asked.
“No one else,” Tracey said as she shook her head. “Not even the Professor.”
“We weren’t keeping everything from you personally,” Gary added before shrugging lightly. “We wanted to keep our personal lives to ourselves. We’ve always been secretive kind of people, I guess.”
“Hmm, that’s true,” Brock hummed as he pulled himself into his contemplative stance again before climbing to his feet to address his fellow Pokémon trainers. “I think we should end this conversation here for now. Ash has a few things he needs to ponder.”
Sighing deeply, Tracey practically sinks against Gary’s side as their other two guests nod their heads in agreement and climbed to their feet as well. While she has no doubt Ash and Misty have some thinking to do, Tracey can’t help but feel that a weight has been lifted off of her shoulders.
Now, all she needed to do was to explain things to Professor Oak. Surely, that won’t be as stressful, will it?
Summary: With Tracey a female in disguise, 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?
AN: Hello there, everyone. Once again, major apologies for taking a while to update ^^; So many story ideas, so little time to write them. Suggestions and comments are always welcomed. Thanks so much in advance!
-
Chapter 8:
Lingering outside the living room, which was unnervingly silent despite holding three very vocal youths, Tracey took a moment to compose herself. She really didn’t want to have this conversation, especially right here and now. Sure, she had spent years going over the conversation again and again in her head, but she still felt it was too soon. Or rather, too sudden.
Releasing a sigh, Tracey turned around and gently took one of Gary’s hands in hers. She could feel his annoyance directed at his childhood friend in the next room coming off of him in waves. While it was endearing to her that he was so protective of her, she knew far too well that when Gary was this upset, he tended to run off at the mouth a bit. And getting into an all out verbal brawl would not help lessen the stress she was already under.
“Gary,” she said as she looked him in the eyes as she held his hand gently against her chest, the back of his hand over her beating heart. “I know you’re dying to say something, but can I please do this on my own?”
Gary appeared disconcerted about the idea. “But-!”
Tracey quickly silenced his protests by placing a finger to his lips, this action reliably able to halt his words immediately. “I know,” she said gently. “But you’re angry and I don’t want this conversation to turn into a huge yelling match. Besides, this is something I should have done at the very beginning, so it’s entirely my fault.”
Gary looked ready to protest again, the fact that Tracey was blaming herself, and herself alone was enough to irritate him. However, as he looked into her eyes, those same shimmering and pleading eyes that always made him practically melt; he knew that he could not argue with her.
“Fine,” he muttered in reluctant defeat, appearing unhappy with the arrangement. “But if they say anything I don’t like, I’m stepping in, got it?”
“Yes,” Tracey said as her expression brightened lightly with gratitude. She removed her finger from his lips and leaned up on her toes to press her lips against his in a lingering kiss, Gary immediately wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her closer.
“Thank you for understanding,” Tracey said as she pulled back and gave him a small smile. “I’ll make it up to you somehow, ok?”
“You better,” Gary said as he gave her another kiss before stepping away and moving to open the doors leading to the living room. He made sure that Tracey was behind him so when they entered, she didn’t have to see the looks of accusations that are no doubt directed at her.
He looked down when he felt something brush against his leg and a smile graced his lips when his beloved Umbreon peered up at him. Next to the dark canine was the water mouse, Marill, who was lightly touching Tracey’s leg with her paw, letting her master know that everything will be ok.
Although very cute, Marill won’t hesitate to use Water Canon on anyone who dares hurt Tracey.
“Let’s get this over and done with,” Gary muttered.
Ash, Misty and Brock looked up from their silent inner musings to watch the door open and then Gary, who was the first to step into the lounge room where a heavy and tense cloud of uncertainty hung in the air. His profile was tall and strong, defiant and defensive. It appeared that all it would take one wrong against Tracey to set off his torrent of anger and rage.
Eying the occupants through narrow and fierce eyes, Gary felt his annoyance grow when Ash refused to look him in the eyes.
A gentle hand appeared on his shoulder and Gary felt himself relax, but only a little. He looked over his shoulder and into the raven eyes of Tracey, who gave him a soft smile, one that still held a sense of gratitude. She truly was thankful for his presence as she was certain she wouldn’t have been able to handle this stress all on her own.
“Would you like something to drink?” Brock suddenly offered, breaking the silence in the room with his empathetic tone. “It might help calm your nerves.”
“Um, no,” Tracey replied with a small nod of her head and a grateful smile. “That won’t be-”
“A nice cup of tea never hurts anyone,” Brock interrupted as he took to his feet, his expression holding this sense of understanding to it and he quickly made his way in the direction of the kitchen. He was in his reputable ‘big brother’ mode again and he won’t be satisfied until he does something of use. “I’ll be right back.”
Tracey wanted to protest, to tell him not to bother with doing something for her, but he was already out of ear shot and was even humming a light tune to himself. She sighed and turned to Gary, who had raised an eyebrow in Brock’s direction.
“He’s never been the one to take no for an answer, has he?” she said in light amusement.
Although, previously, Gary had been annoyed at the older male, he felt this mild sense of relief in knowing that at least someone was taking the news of Tracey’s true gender well. Then again, Brock knew before Tracey even had to tell him, so it wasn’t that much of a shock to him.
Another silence fell over the room and Tracey moved to step out from behind Gary’s protective stance and took a seat on the couch, facing Ash and Misty who were sitting on the other side. Immediately, Gary took a seat next to her, his posture still defensive and on edge. Umbreon and Marill soon took their places beside their masters, Marill perching herself in Tracey’s lap as Umbreon curled up by their feet.
Tracey felt a small sense of calm wash over her as she gently strokes Marill behind the ear. Marill has been by her side for years, even before she started dressing herself as a guy.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Ash finally asked, lifting his head to look at Tracey with oddly confused, unreadable eyes.
“I wanted to,” Tracey replied to his question softly as she swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat. “I just didn’t know how.”
“Didn’t know how?” Ash repeated as he blinked his eyes slowly in a sense of disbelief before stiffening in his seat with a sense of indignity. “Tracey, we’ve been friends for years!”
“You know you can tell us anything, right?” Misty added gently when she noticed that Tracey visibly winced from Ash’s loud statement. She knew that this was hard for the slightly older female and she felt a sense of sympathy for her.
She has known Tracey for a long time now and while she didn’t know everything about her, she knew enough to know that Tracey was a genuinely kind and sweet person who didn’t like to made a fuss over. She also knows that she must have a very good reason for hiding her gender in the first place.
“Yes, I know,” Tracey said as she nibbled on her bottom lip.
Ash shook his head vehemently. “Then why-?”
“I was scared, ok?!” Tracey practically cried as she bowed her head suddenly and squeezed her eyes shut. She pulled Marill against her chest for comfort, but quickly uncurled one of her arms when Gary leaned over and took one of her hands in his, squeezing it lightly to let her know that she’s not alone.
Lifting her head up to look at her boyfriend, Tracey smiled sadly when she realized that it was taking all of Gary’s self-control not to get involved with this conversation.
“Scared?” Ash muttered as he physically leaned back in surprise. “Scared of what?”
Drawing a shaky breath through her mouth, Tracey focused her attention on the dark haired male in front of her. “I guess I’ll start from the beginning,” she said.
“Yes,” Brock said suddenly as he placed a cup of hot tea on the coffee table in front of her, startling the small group with his abrupt appearance. “That would be the best place to start.”
“Don’t say a word while she’s explaining everything, alright?” Gary practically threatened, speaking up for the first time since entering the room. With his eyes narrowed, he took a moment to glare at everyone, waiting and searching for even a hint of protest, and fortunately, there was none.
Wrapping her lithe hand around her tea, Tracey took a small sip to slow down her rapidly beating heart before placing it back down, wrapping her arms around Marill once again. “It started about six months before I met you and Misty, Ash,” she explained as she absentmindedly started to scratch Marill behind the ear again. “I was training to be a Pokémon watcher under the steady gaze of my Mentor, Cedric. He trained me in the ways of anticipating the Pokémon’s next move and how to safely sneak up on an unsuspecting Pokémon as they slept.”
She paused for a moment, a soft smile gracing her lips when the memories of her youth returned to her. Cedric was an old friend of the family, a man of about middle age and full of enthusiasm for life. She could still remember the excitement she would feel every time Cedric taught her something new, or when she encountered a new Pokémon she couldn’t wait to sketch. She had so much fun getting to know each Pokémon she encountered, even learning how to predict and dodge a Pokémon’s attacks.
Sometimes, her training involved her dancing with the Pokémon to understand how they move and why they act the way they do. She could learn so much just by being with the Pokémon.
“It was a lot of fun and I loved being his apprentice,” she said brightly before her expression quickly turned sad and as subconsciously gripped at Gary’s reassuring hands once again. “Until one night I overheard him speaking with a couple of people in strange uniforms. It wasn’t until I crept closer did I realize that he was talking to a couple of members from Team Rocket and he was planning to hand me over to them. He was training me to be a soldier of Team Rocket.”
A stunned silence filled the room, the atmosphere quickly turning to that of shocking disbelief.
“W-what?” Ash stuttered as he gave a prefect rendition of a fish out of water expression. “You’re wanted by team rocket?”
The electric mouse, Pikachu looked alarmed, his ears folding back in a sense of concern. “Pika?”
Misty gasped softly and placed a hand over her mouth, her sea green eyes shimmering with a sense of sadness. “Oh, Tracey,” she murmured.
“I didn’t want anything to do with them,” Tracey continued as tears slowly began to well up in her eyes. “So I ran. I didn’t know where I was going or what I was going to do, I just ran. I cut my hair short and disguised myself as a guy, fearing that Team Rocket might come after me.”
Looking down at the blue mouse Pokémon on her lap, Tracey pulled her closer and nuzzled the top of her head with her cheek. “Marill and Venonat were my only companions. They’ve been with me through everything. I couldn’t ask for better Pokémon.”
Again, the silence of the room was almost deafening, no one really knowing what to say.
“I’m sorry I lied to you,” Tracey murmured as she finally lift her head and hastily rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, her eyes watering from the memories of running away, fear taking over her completely.
Yeah, it may have been a few years, but she could still feel the sting of betrayal and fear of being forced into something she did not want to do.
“I...didn’t mean to deceive you, any of you, it’s just...I was scared that Team Rocket might come after me again,” she carried on to say and turned toward Gary, moving to lay her weary head on his shoulder, Gary’s arm immediately wrapping around her sframe. “But then Gary promised that it wouldn’t happen.”
Gary’s face creased into an expression of defiance and possessiveness. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
A soft smile tugged at the corners of Tracey’s lips, feeling safe whenever Gary is near. “Do you understand now, Ash?” she asked, turning her gaze back to the young man.
Ash had his head down, his eyes hidden from everyone in the room. He appeared tense and sombre. “Yeah...” he murmured before slowly lifting his head, his expression nothing but a mixture of guilt and regret. “I’m sorry, Tracey. I didn’t mean to say you betrayed us. I mean, I was shocked, you know? You don’t expect these kinds of things,” he tried to explain.
Still feeling a tad bitter for the emotional torment Ash put Tracey through, Gary snorted lightly. “I would have thought that after saving the world a few times you would be a bit more open-minded.”
“Hey!” Ash said, wanting to protest against the other male when something seemed to dawn on him and he abruptly turned to Tracey with a sense of jealousy in his gaze. “Wait, why did Gary know before us?!”
“I’m living here, you dimwit!” Gary said as he bristled lightly. “I was bound to find out eventually. Besides, Umbreon would look at me strangely whenever I called Tracey a ‘him’.”
“Really?” Ash said as he looked intrigue. He then quickly turned to Pikachu, who was standing on the coffee table, speaking in their own little language to Marill. “Did you know Tracey was a girl, Pikachu?”
Pikachu twitched his ears and blinked a few times before he tilted his head to the side, mutely asking Ash why he was so worked up about something so trivial. “Chu?”
“I’m not surprised the Pokemon knew,” Tracey said as she laughed lightly as Ash’s deadpan expression. He and Pikachu have a close relationship, so he must be feeling a tad foolish for not picking up on Pikachu’s knowledge of her gender. “They have much stronger senses than us humans.”
Gary couldn’t help but look at him slyly. “But you already knew that, right Ash?”
Ash gave a small twitch of annoyance, the same expression he always wore when Gary said something that discreetly questioned his Pokémon training ability. “So, how did Gary learn your secret Tracey?” he asked, hoping to take the attention off of him.
Tracey stiffened in her seat as a dark blush appeared on her cheeks. “Er, well...” she stuttered.
“That’s none of your concern,” Gary quickly said, his eyes narrowing defiantly.
“My, someone’s protective,” Misty said as she gave the pair in front of her a sly, knowing look, a smile of sheer amusement on her lips.
“Yes,” Brock quickly agreed as he nodded his head, placing a hand to his chin in thought as a knowing smile, too, graced his lips. “Overly so, I dare say.”
“Come to think of it, you were always pushing us away from Tracey whenever we got too close,” Ash said as he tapped his cheek in thought. “Why is that?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Gary asked in a slightly miffed tone before giving a smug smirk, tightening his grip around Tracey’s shoulders. “Tracey is my girlfriend.”
Ash blinked slowly at first before a light dusting of red splashes across his cheeks. “What?! You’re seriously dating him?!”
The blush on Tracey’s features deepens a shade or two more. “Yeah, that’s right,” she said with a gentle smile, despite her embarrassment.
“Why?”
“Why?” Tracey blinked in confusion at Ash’s question. “Because I love him, that’s why.”
“Already using the L word, I see,” Brock suddenly began to tease, taking a seat next to Gary to nudge him in the ribs, earning himself a twitch from the disgruntled male. “How deep is this relationship, then?”
“D’aww,” Misty coos from her seat, fidgeting with delight. “That’s so sweet!”
Gary bristled and lightly pushed Brock away from him, practically pulling Tracey into his lap as a sign of possessiveness, Marill jumping out of Tracey’s arms to land on the table next to Pikachu, squeaking happy at the two of them. “Would you jokers cut it out?!”
“Look, I know this is quite a lot to take in,” Tracey said as she tried to defuse the situation, noticing Ash’s rather blank and pale expression. “And we didn’t mean to keep this from you. We just weren’t sure how you would react.” She then turned to Ash and gave him a somewhat weary smile. “I think our fears are pretty well founded, don’t you?”
Gary followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes slightly, giving the indication that Ash was still on his bad side. “You always did wear your emotions on your sleeve.”
Ash winced from the look and scratched the back of his neck. “...Who else knows?” he asked.
“No one else,” Tracey said as she shook her head. “Not even the Professor.”
“We weren’t keeping everything from you personally,” Gary added before shrugging lightly. “We wanted to keep our personal lives to ourselves. We’ve always been secretive kind of people, I guess.”
“Hmm, that’s true,” Brock hummed as he pulled himself into his contemplative stance again before climbing to his feet to address his fellow Pokémon trainers. “I think we should end this conversation here for now. Ash has a few things he needs to ponder.”
Sighing deeply, Tracey practically sinks against Gary’s side as their other two guests nod their heads in agreement and climbed to their feet as well. While she has no doubt Ash and Misty have some thinking to do, Tracey can’t help but feel that a weight has been lifted off of her shoulders.
Now, all she needed to do was to explain things to Professor Oak. Surely, that won’t be as stressful, will it?