Friends with Benefits

There's just one life to live, and there's no time to wait, to waste, so let me give your heart a break.

This was the life.

Loud music pumped into the raven-haired boy's ears as he drank some unknown drink that the bartender offered him to cool down his headache.

It wasn't helping. But he drank it anyway because it tasted good and it made him feel numb in a way.

Ash Ketchum is now twenty years old, and had a girlfriend of one year. That girlfriend was Misty. As some people would say, they finally got together! Fewer people thought, however, that Ash was gay. He scoffed at them.

'I'm not gay!' He would yell at the curious bystanders. He loved Misty, and that was that.

Then why did he feel like this?

Sure, Misty and Ash were great friends from the beginning, after their rough start with the bike incident. Their friendship blossomed more and more, and after Ash finished his pokémon journey in Unova, he decided to take a break from training and just move on in his life. He was nineteen at the time and as he saw more and more young trainers, he started to get embarrassed.

And it was also embarrassing for him for trainers to ask how old he was. Most people thought he looked fifteen at the least. Ash raged against them and yelled, 'I'm nineteen!'

Unfortunately, his height hasn't changed ever since he turned fifteen. He was still a rough 5'3 and his voice only went down an octave deeper. Only by a little bit.

He was now twenty and he hated being short and loathed at how his voice still sounded like a young teenager. He was basically an adult now. And every time he tried to make his voice sound deeper, people looked at him weird. So he stopped doing that, and had to suck it up with who he was.

Sighing, he asked for the unknown drink again, wanting to be drunk and to forget life for a while. Even for just a moment.

"You okay, kiddo? Maybe you should stop drinking if you're here alone," the bartender asked, hesitant to pour him another drink. He already had four, but he wasn't too drunk.

Ash's left eye twitched at what the bartender called him. Kiddo. Ignoring his concern, he replied, "Yes. I'm fine, just please pour me another drink. What are you serving me anyway?"

"A mimosa. They're not too strong alcohol-wise but you drank four already, this being your fifth. But whatever floats your boat, kid."

He inhaled sharply at the 'kid' part.

"I should be asking for your license. But I'll let it slide this time."

Thank God for that. He was only one year under the age limit for alcohol, but it didn't matter to him. He'd only got drunk once, and that was a mistake due to peer pressure. He was sixteen at the time and he was surrounded by people holding cups of beer while he was the only one drinking Sprite.

So of course he felt awkward and drank just a little too much beer. And gave him a pounding hangover the next morning. Oh well, he just shrugged it off and thought he won't make the same mistake ever again.

Wrong.

Ash just shook his head and drank his mimosa out of the champagne class, going a little more slowly this time. He admired the citrusy taste along with the alcohol and wanted to savor every moment of it.

Boy, was he going to get yelled at by Misty for being at a bar and drinking and being out so late.

But that's all they've been doing. Fighting and nothing else. He doesn't even get sex. Misty was the type of girl that wanted to wait for the perfect moment.

'Yeah, well I'm a boy. I have needs, you know. Screw you.'

He shook his head again and was going to take another sip when he heard some kind of commotion near him.

"You shouldn't treat girls like this, you know! We have feelings! You can't just wiggle your way into my pants and then afterwards just leave me in your own dust! It doesn't work that way! And wipe that goddamn smirk off your face!"

"Well, sorry, but I'd thought you'd be smart enough not to open your legs every time you see some hot guy walk in the club. Again, thanks for the compliment."

"What?! Gary, you motherf-!"

"Good riddance!"

Gary? Gary Oak? No. Not possible. He hasn't seen Gary Oak in five years. The last time Ash saw him was in Sinnoh, and he was doing research. Of course he kept up his arrogant attitude around Ash, but sometimes he was nice. Only sometimes.

That voice sounded like Gary, but it couldn't be. No way. He kept on drinking his mimosa and ignored it.

"Can I have some beer? What kind? Oh I don't know, do you have Corona Extra? Yes, I'll have that with lime please, thanks."

'Oh my God, it really is Gary.' Ash could recognize that voice from a mile away. He just shrugged it off at first because maybe he was getting drunk.

But nope. It was loud and clear.

'Shit shit shit shit.' He repeated in his head. He tried his ever so best to just slightly turn away from his rival. He started nibbling on the rim of the champagne glass. He did not want to deal with Gary right now. No way in hell. Nope. No way.

"Kid!"

He nearly jumped ten feet from his seat when the bartender shouted at him. He let out a measly "yes?"

'Fuck.' Gary definitely knew Ash was there now. Great going, mister bartender. Awesome.

"Did you want another glass of mimosa?"

"Uh, y-No." No. He had to leave. To stay far away from him.

The bartender looked at him weird. He shrugged it off and thought he was probably drunk by now.

Ash wanted to get up and leave the club. But he couldn't. He could feel his eyes on him. Like his eyes were gluing him to his seat. Ash felt really nervous. And he couldn't explain why. He hasn't been nervous around Gary before. But maybe since it's been five goddamn years since they last saw each other, he was afraid of what his rival would say.

'Why should I care?' He asked himself. He tried to get up from his seat, but it was seemingly hard to do. But he attempted to get up and stand on his two feet. Score!

But then he walked right into him. Because apparently when Ash got up, he got up as well.

Ash looked at him, and wanted to yell at him, but nothing came out as Gary Oak stood in his way. With that snobby smirk and those enchantingly green eyes of his. And Ash became scared.

"Well, well, look who it is. I would've never imagined you in a place like this, Ashy-boy."

His heart went up to his throat at the sound of that goddamn pet name. He always hated it when he called him that. It made it sound like they were gay and going out as a couple.

Or maybe he was over-thinking that.

"U-Um…hi Gary," he talked, cringing out the sound of how weak he sounded. He contemplated on using his fake, deeper voice, but then Gary would know and he would make fun of him for that.

The older boy sniggered at his junior. "Surprised to see me, eh Ash? What has it been, five years? Too, too long…Don't you ever keep in touch?"

At that moment, Ash felt bad. They were friends, but…but still. It was Gary.

"I…I'm sorry, I just, I was busy. And I figured you were too."

"Yeah, I was for a while. But then things started slowing down and nothing new was coming up, so gramps decided to give me a break."

"Huh? So that means you don't work in Sinnoh anymore?"

"Nope, I figured I should work from home. Honestly, I was getting a little homesick, and grandpa's not getting any younger."

'…How long…has he been home?'

It's like Gary read his mind. "So yeah, I've been home for a good couple years now. I heard that you quit training. What's up with that?" He asked, sitting down afterwards to drink his beer.

Ash also sat down, he was feeling a little overwhelmed from both Gary and the alcohol in his system. "Yeah, I decided I was getting too old for that stuff and just stopped."

"Too old? Oh, that's right, you're twenty now…"

Oh, great. Now Gary doubted his age. He rolled his eyes, "Gary. You've always been a year older than me. Don't tell me that you're doubting me."

He smirked once again. "Well, I don't know, Ash. You've never seemed to reach the puberty department."

It took everything for Ash not to bite his tongue off. "I've grown plenty, thank you!"

"Yeah, maybe your temper. But you're still that short, squeaky voiced Ash that I've always known."

"What?! I'm not squeaky voiced! Okay, my voice has gotten way deeper than it was before!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Ashy-boy."

He growled at his counterpart, his heart burning with rage. Ash never knew why Gary could always get under his skin. Everything he says always has some arrogant edge to it and it makes him mad. And he realized that Gary will never change.

The brunette smiled deviously, taking another swig of his beer. "Well, that's not a pretty face. You've never changed, Ashy."

"I can say the same about you!"

"Well thanks for the compliment," he sarcastically replied, finishing his beer and now nibbling on his lime.

He was about to remark, but then his pokégear buzzed against his jean pocket. He frowned and looked at the caller ID.

It was Misty.

'Shit, I'm fucked.' He debated on returning the call or not. He was already mad and he didn't want to take out his frustration on her.

He sighed and turned off the pokégear. He'll just deal with her later.

Gary arched an eyebrow. "Who was that?"

"It's none of your business."

"Aww, come on. Was it your mom? Are you still living with her?"

His heart ached in pain and misery when he heard 'mom.' Gary noticed the sudden change of mood. And Ash knew he noticed.

"I don't want to talk about it. It was just Misty."

Gary gulped, the sourness of the lime running through his throat. Obviously something happened to his mom, and he didn't know it. But he decided to keep away from that topic for now.

"Misty? So you kept in touch with her then?"

"Well, she came and visited me after she heard I was back. So we kinda just kept in touch ever since then…"

"Hmm, well a little birdie told me that you two were going out. Is that true?"

Ash was silent. He honestly didn't know the answer to that question. He just decided not to respond and started fidgeting with his thumbs.

Gary could read him like a book. "So you two are having trouble then?"

"What the…Gary, are you some kind of psychic? Do you have Alakazam somewhere that's telling you whatever's on my mind?"

The brunette laughed at the confounded boy. "You're too easy to read, Ash."

Ash scowled at the man before him and turned to face the bartender to ask for another mimosa. Gary asked for another beer as well.

While they were waiting for their drinks, Ash kept secretly looking at Gary, who was still nibbling on his lime, and pondered at how much he's grown.

He was taller than Ash, by quite a few inches, like he's always been. His shoulders grew nice and broad, and he kept his lean and fit frame. He's also earned some muscles on his arms as well as his legs.

'He must've done a lot of field research…' Ash thought as he travelled his eyes to his head, noticing that he grew his hair out again and it was in a wild state and – did it seem darker? Ash shook his head. It was probably just the lighting in the club.

Then he met his eyes. His beautiful, wondrous green eyes. The same eyes that always took his breath away no matter what. He didn't even notice that Gary was staring right back at him.

He gasped, noticing what he just did, and realizing that his heart is now beating a mile a minute. He finished up his mimosa quickly and walked out of the club, not looking back.

XX

His head still buzzed with confusion and excitement as the alcohol was still taking over. He kept thinking about Gary. He kept seeing those eyes. That hair. And he kept hearing that voice.

He tried everything to keep Gary out of his mind. He even tried the 'out of sight, out of mind' thing back at the club when he suddenly just got up and ran. But that didn't do shit. When he got home, he played video games, drank more alcohol, and took a nap that lasted five minutes, but nothing could get his own rival out of his mind.

Absolutely nothing.

His eye twitched and he rubbed it to make it stop. He stepped outside in the crisp air, and even though it was two in the morning, he could already smell the dewy grass. He loved that smell.

Gary smelled like that sometimes.

'Fuck! I can't get him out of my mind no matter what I do!'

Ash groaned silently and started walking on the sidewalk, not really paying attention to where he was going or what he was doing. He tried to make his mind go blank by focusing on things that surrounded him. The trees were slowly turning to their autumn colors, stars blanketed the night sky, and the air was silent.

He was starting to get dizzy from the alcohol, and suddenly, every object were in twos, so he shut his eyes tightly and opened them again, trying to get them adjusted. But he realized he was in a different area. He was in front of a house, not his own though. It was so familiar though.

He heard a door open but his vision was getting dark and blurry, he couldn't see anything. Everything he heard sounded far away too. He could hear someone calling his name, but he couldn't pinpoint who it was.

Suddenly, he felt cold and wet. Actually, very cold.

He gasped and coughed out water that went into his mouth unexpectedly. He was soaking wet, his skin forming goosebumps.

"Have you finally lost it, Ash?"

"Ah!" That voice again. It was him again. Then his vision came back and realized that he was in Professor Oak's house. In his bathroom. And in the tub half-naked with only his boxers on.

And Gary was right there.

Ash blushed furiously and pushed his rival out of the way so he could grab a towel to cover him up.

"Gary! What…What am I doing here? And why am I half-naked!?"

"Well, you walked in the house like you owned the place, and then you start babbling nonsense about what you did today or whatever, so I figured you were completely out of it, so I stripped you out of your clothes and threw a bucket of cold water over your head to snap you out of it."

Ash was dumbfounded. 'When did I…do all that? I don't remember anything…'

Gary smiled and shook his head. "Listen, why don't you just go lay down and I'll fetch you some water and some aspirin."

The raven-haired boy looked at him, and he then realized how tired he was and how his headache got even worse. He nodded, letting Gary lead him to his bedroom. The brunette lent Ash one of his shirts to wear to bed so he wouldn't be cold.

Ash blushed. 'Gary's being so nice to me now…I swear he's some sort of paradox or something. Mmm, this shirt smells so good…'

Ash settled himself on the ever so cozy bed and tried to regulate his breathing. Gary returned with a glass of cool water and aspirin. The younger boy also noticed that his senior changed into different clothes, into a white t-shirt and blue sweatpants.

He looked away. 'Out of sight, out of mind…' he chanted in his head. But then he stopped as soon as Gary sat next to him. He was pretty close to Ash, and he brought him even closer when he wrapped his arm around Ash's shoulder.

"So, sounds like your life is pretty messed up."

Ash looked at Gary again, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when I said when you talked to me about what you did today, I was lying. I didn't want to tell you the truth until you got yourself settled. You told me that you and Misty are fighting, you haven't seen your Pikachu in a while, and that your mom's moved out of the house."

'I told him all of that…? Well, that's just great.' Ash sighed. "Sorry, I…I didn't mean to throw my troubles against you like that."

Gary smiled sincerely. A smile that Ash hasn't seen in a long time. "It's okay. You just need a nice rest away from everything."

'Ain't that the truth…'

Ash finished his glass of water and set it on the bedside table. His headache was finally decreasing, and he realized that he was very snug and warm against Gary's chest. His heart was racing against his chest, and it almost hurt.

'Why do I feel this way for Gary…? Shouldn't I feel this way for Misty? It's her I love…right?' But he wasn't so sure.

"Yeah. My life's pretty screwed up right now," Ash admitted.

Gary just chuckled. He squeezed Ash's shoulder and pulled him closer.

"I just don't know what to do…"

Gary's hand wandered down to his waist, and mentally smirked when he felt him shudder. His lips moved toward the junior's ear, whispering huskily,

"Then let me make all of your troubles go away…"

XX

A gasp emitted from Ash's throat as Gary devoured the younger boy's arousal, slowly drawing it out before he sucked it back in.

How Ash got into this, he has absolutely no idea. All he remembered is that he somewhat agreed for Gary to cast away his troubles, but to do something like this?

Strangely, it was working as Ash hesitatingly but confidently gripped his rival's wild hair, pushing him deeper. It just felt so good, and everything felt numb. This was better than being drunk, Ash thought.

Sure, he was cheating on Misty, and what they were doing was very, very wrong.

But at the moment, Ash did not care.

The raven-haired boy closed one eye tightly as his shuddering orgasm came, releasing himself fully into the brunette's mouth. And he swallowed it all. And Ash loved that.

Whether this was a friends with benefits with no strings attached agreement or not, Ash did not care.

Hehe, don't worry guys, there will be a LOT more steamy action in the upcoming chapters! I'm a little rusty on writing Palletshipping and yaoi since I'm used to writing hetero stuff xD, but I'll try my best for you guys, so please review your thoughts on the plot so far! :)