Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

"Gary Oak, you stupid pain in the ass."

The brunette groaned and buried his head under his pillow.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" a female voice shrieked.

Groaning again, he lifted the pillow enough to peer at his red haired companion. "What do you want now, Misty?"

"Umbreon's sick now, too," she said matter-of-factly, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

He gave her his undivided attention then. "Where is she?" he inquired, very concerned.

"Resting on the couch in the living room. I'm sure she'll be fine," Misty reassured. Suddenly her eyes narrowed and Gary winced. "You, on the other hand, won't be."

"Please don't berate me now. My head is killing meee and—" he sneezed. "And my nose is all stuff,y and I can't breathe, and—"

"Serves you right," she interrupted. "Honestly, what possessed you to go swimming in that freezing lake? You could have gotten hypothermia and killed yourself!"

"It wasn't—cough—my fault!" the sick boy defended.

"Oh, really? Whose was it, then?"

"Ash's."

"And pray tell, how is all of this Ash's fault?"

"He bet that he could swim across the lake faster than I could."

She eyed him incredulously. "You risked freezing to death for some stupid challenge from Ash?"

"Hey, I'm an Oak. I never back down from a challenge."

"Well, who won?"

"Me, of course," he said smugly. He struck a triumphant pose before breaking into another fit of coughs.

"You are ridiculous," Misty said. She paused momentarily before asking, "And how did Umbreon get sick?"

"Well, uh, she and Pikachu had a little bet of their own..."

Misty only shook her head as she walked out of the room, only to return less than a minute later with a tray. "Sit up," she commanded, and he obediently did so.

She placed the tray on the night table beside his bed and touched her forehead to his. "You still have a fever," she remarked.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Gary said sarcastically.

Misty frowned. "You know, if you didn't want me around, you could've just said so." She stood up. "I'm leaving—"

"Don't leave me," he said quickly, grabbing her hand.

She eyed him skeptically.

"I hate being alone when I'm sick."

Her gaze flickered to their intertwined fingers. "Your hands are freezing. Why didn't you tell me that you were cold?"

"I... didn't want to bother you," he admitted sheepishly.

The water Pokemon trainer walked over to the thermostat and raised the heat before sitting back down next to the male. She picked up a mug off the tray and handed it to him. "I know you said that you weren't hungry, but you need something in your stomach… This soup should be light enough for you to handle."

He muttered a "thanks" before taking a sip of the soup, relishing the feel of the hot liquid trickling down his sore throat.

"Don't forget to take your medicine and vitamins after," the girl reminded, pointing to the small bunch of pills on the tray. "...Is the soup okay?"

Gary nodded.

"Do you want anything else?"

He shook his head.

She stood up again. "I have to check on Umbreon. I'll be right back."

"Misty?" his weak voice called.

She looked down at him. "What is it?"

"…Sorry for being such an ass."

"You're forgiven."

"Another thing."

"Hm?"

"Thanks for helping up with me during my time of need."

"Must you always dramatize everything? You aren't dying…," she paused before adding, "are you?"

He shook his head and grinned. "Nope, not yet. You still have a lot more Gary Oak to look forward to."

"…Are you quite through?" she asked.

Gary pondered for a moment and shook his head again. "One more thing."

"Out with it, then."

"I just... Well, I wanted to say 'thanks' for putting up with me for all of these years. I know that I'm not exactly the easiest or most pleasant person to deal with…"

She scoffed.

"…but you do it anyway. So… thanks. Really."

Misty shrugged. "Someone has to."

"...Why do you?" he asked.

"You know why," the red-head replied.

"But why do you… me... uh, well—" He was interrupted by a very quick kiss on the lips.

"Because you love me, too," she said with a smile.

He smiled back and leaned in for another kiss, but she only shoved him back down onto the bed.

"No way." She shook her head. "You're still sick. That's all you're getting until you feel one-hundred percent better."

"Aw, c'mon!" the brunette whined.

"I'm not having sex with you while you're contagious."

"I was only thinking of cuddling," he said innocently, but a mischievous smirk appeared on his lips. "However, if you really want to—"

"Gary..." she warned

"Kidding, kidding!" he exclaimed, holding up his hands.

"You're such a pain in the ass," she muttered as she left the room.

"I love you, too!" he called after her.

And there ya go! A random, fluffy, egoshippy oneshot. :P The idea came to mind this morning, and I thought I'd try to elaborate on it a bit more. R&R? :D

I'm a little stuck right now on Homecoming. x_x I know what I want to write, but I can't figure out the best way to write it. Gah! I'll update ASAP, I promise!