DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON.

Never in my life did I think that I would be friends with Gary Oak.

I had this long-held belief for many reasons: he was one of my best friends' worst enemies for years, he had an ego the size of Mount Silver, he was arrogant, self-centered, obnoxious—

Alright, you get the point.

To put it simply, we had known each other almost as long as I have known Ash.

…and by knew each other, I mean that we acknowledged the other's existence and only had a handful of exchanges.

Not long after I returned home, however, I ran into the infamous Oak at the Pokémon Center: I needed to heal a few of my Pokémon after a rough week of battling, and I learned that he had had an encounter with a large group from Team Rocket. Being the ever so courteous person that I am (ha…), I invited him to the gym while our Pokémon were treated.

A month after that, he had returned to the gym to run an errand for Professor Oak, and we ended up spending the day together again.

Our encounters soon became pretty frequent… and well, anticipated.

As I said earlier: I would never have expected to be friends with Gary.

So imagine my surprise when I began falling in love with him.

It wasn't until we were seventeen that we became a couple. His confession had caught me off guard, but I can't recall ever feeling that happy in my life.

…except when he proposed to me exactly three years later.

…and another year after that when we got married.

If anyone were to ask, I would be the first to tell you that being in a relationship with Gary Oak is work: very hard work. With our stubborn personalities, it was only inevitable that we have a few fights here and there.

Regardless of any adversities that we've faced in our relationship, I love every little thing about him.

I love that I can do and say anything around him.

I love how passionate he is about his Pokémon and his work.

I love how he can be protective without being overbearing.

I love that he is always there for me.

I love how he looks at me like I'm the only person in the world.

I love that he is the first person I see in the morning, and the last at night.

I love that he knows me better than I know myself, and that no one knows him as well as I do.

I love being the only person that has ever seen this certain side of him.

I love that even after being together for seven years, he was still able to surprise me with flowers on our third wedding anniversary.

I loved the look of joy on his face today after I told him that we would be starting a family in about seven months.

There are so many things that I never expected to happen in my life (like spending the rest of my life with Gary Oak).

…but I've learned to love and welcome every single one of them.

This is just one of a number of little one-shots/drabbles that I came up with while procrastinating. Haha.

If you liked this, then make sure to read the companion story, "Happiness."