Author's Note: Hey everyone! Just a few things to throw out there before you begin reading. Italics mean that the character is thinking, not speaking. Also, Ash and Gary are somewhere in their late teens, because it would be a little too creepy if I were writing about 10yr olds loving each other. I'm not exactly sure how old though, maybe it'll come up later. This fic is rated M, just to be on the safe side. I'm not sure how sketchy it's gonna get, but if it does, I don't really wanna see 13yr olds reading this. Thanks everyone, hope to hear from you via reviews! - Saberae

Chapter 1

It was a bright day, and Gary winced when his eyes opened to greet the shining sun. Abruptly closing them, and shielding his face with his hand, he attempted to gather his disconnected thoughts. He was lying in the lush grass of summer, in what was formerly the shade of a large tree, but was now basking in the warm afternoon sun.

"Must've dozed off…" Gary muttered to himself, sitting up.

"Glad to see you're finally awake," a nearby voice said, confirming Gary's conclusion.

Gary quickly turned his line of sight in the direction he heard the voice. The sun was still conveniently positioned so as to blind him, and as a result he blinked a few times with nothing more than a blank stare adorning his face.

"Wh-what are you looking at me like that for?" the voice stammered. Apparently Gary's blank stare wasn't as neutral as one would think.

As his eyes adjusted to the sunlight, and came into focus from their sleeping state, Gary finally collected his thoughts. His childhood friend/rival/friend was sitting a few feet away from him in the cool shade, holding a long fishing rod over the river they were perched by, with Gary in the raging inferno known as the sun.

"Oh, hey Ash." Gary said, very matter of fact, "I forgot you were still here."

"What do you mean you forgot?" Ash questioned, slightly miffed at the thought of being forgotten.

"I just figured that your attention span would have shorted out by now." Gary shrugged, smirking away from the victim of his instigation.

"What was that?" Ash growled, shooting a glare in Gary's direction.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Gary replied, leaning back onto the grassy slope.

~~~POKEMON~~~

"So, I thought you were going home?" Gary questioned, breaking the silence of Ash's fuming, giving the smoldering boy a one eyed glance. He turned slightly to get a better look at his friends face. "Wait…is he blushing?" Gary cocked an eyebrow, before closing his eyes and returning to his original pose.

"Oh, um, ya, I decided to keep at it with the fishing. I thought I might have been able to catch one if I kept it up a bit longer…" Ash replied, rather hurriedly.

"You know they don't come out too much in the afternoon, it's too hot for them," Gary responded, sighing at his friend's lack of fishing-knowledge. "Speaking of which, it's too hot for me, move over."

Gary shuffled over into the shade not bothering to stand, motioning for Ash to move over so that he could get himself out of the blistering sun. Ash began gathering their few supplies, so as to move them out of the brunet's way, and slid over to give to give the toasting teen some room. Gary moved into the shade, and the cool grass felt good on his heated arms and legs as he went to lie down once more.

"Ouch…" Gary cringed, sitting up to remove the rock that had stabbed him in the back. "That kinda hurt." He glanced over at Ash. "He's blushing again?" Confused, Gary tried to figure out what the deal was with the boy next to him. "The heat maybe…? Wait…" Gary glanced down to where his hand was supporting him, and found it to be right on top of Ash's. Gary quickly, but nonchalantly, removed his hand, and turned to face the river.

"Hmm…" Gary was usually good at analyzing situations, and Ash was typically an open book, an easy test subject for Gary's predictions. "I wonder…" Gary smirked.

~~~POKEMON~~~

Ash had readjusted his position to be a little further from Gary than before, and was presently staring off at the babbling river, watching the water shimmer as it hit the rocks. He had calmed down a bit now that a few minutes had passed. It was getting more and more difficult to deal with his stupid emotions, and stupid hormones. Overtime, Ash had found himself having a little crush on his childhood friend, and rival, Gary Oak. As a growing boy in his late teens, he assumed that it must simply be a phase, and that he would move on given enough time. However, the phase had lasted a bit longer than anticipated, and as a result, he had a rather elaborate crush, and longing for Gary after just a few months. Even so, Ash had absolutely NO intention of ever telling the target of his affection about it, EVER.

Little did poor, unsuspecting Ash realize, the target was catching on.

Author's Note: Read the next chapter, I wrote the two chapters essentially one right after the other, so it progresses a bit more in the 2nd chapter. Thanks for reading! - Saberae