Ash and Dawn: Together

Discovery

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASH!"

The young trainer smiled brightly as he blew out the candles to his large birthday cake. It was his favorite: his mother's strawberry vanilla cake, topped with fresh strawberries. She made it for him every year and it was the best part of his birthday. Well, slightly different this year since he had been recovering from his accident from the last 2 months. But still, late birthday cake is better than no birthday cake.

He looked around the room at the gathered set of friends and allies he had made over the years. Some of them, he expect them to come to this late party but a few were certainly surprises. Thankfully, the party wasn't at his home. There was no way they could that many people inside his relatively small house, with only a few bedrooms in total. They were currently at a nice resort spa located a few miles outside of Pallet Town. Ash was originally concerned that he might have to dip into his prize winnings but thanks to the simple fact that the owner of the resort was a old friend of Delia's, they didn't have to pay much if everyone put in a bit on the group discount.

"You're getting older, Ashy boy!" spoke Gary, grabbing his friend from behind and giving him a set of rough noogies to his head.

"Gary, stop!" Ash said between laughs. He was glad to have his oldest friend around for this day. Zoey came up to them and pried him off, laughing a bit at his actions. "Lay off him, Gary," she chided playfully.

He simply chuckled. "Ash can take it. He's got a hard head after all." This got a chorus chuckles from all present. Now, Ash wasn't the most observant of people, save for anything related to Pokemon of course, but he couldn't help but notice Gary and Zoey or rather, how close they seemed to have gotten. It first came up a few days after his accident. They always visited everyday, which he appreciated. It was the fact they always came and left together. The first few times he didn't really pay it much mind but after a while, it really started to nag at him. Then there was how they acted around each other. They were...very friendly with each other. Zoey wasn't exactly open to new people, at least not to the point that she would allow them into her personal space. But Gary was strangely intimate with her: touches on the shoulder here, pats of the hand there. And she didn't seem to mind it. Maybe she likes him or something. He should have Dawn talk to her or something. They would make a good couple.

"It's ok, Zoey. Nothing short of a fall from orbit could hurt that head," Added Misty. He let the comment slide. The days of their consist bickering over every little thing were over. Now, it was just light teasing that neither really took seriously. She had been with him for a few days now, since they arrived at the resort. She's been more helpful than most but she would try to find reasons to stick around him. He didn't really understand why she would do that. If she wanted to hang out, she could just ask him.

"Well, next time, don't do something like that again or I'll fine you for it!" that was Barry. He had only arrived yesterday, along with 2 others from Sinnoh. Brock told him of the small get-together a week before hand. He was ever more excitable than normal once he heard about his brush with death, which hastened his arrival. Despite the rivalry, Barry did care for Ash and it worried him to no end when he heard about the accident. Hence why he threatened to fine him. His way of showing he cared.

"statistically speaking, given how physically strong Ash is, I suspected he'd survive almost anything," Spoke Conway. Yes. Conway was there as well. He found out about the party and trailed Barry on the ship from Sinnoh to Kanto. Ash...tolerated him. He does find his battling style to be annoying and frustrating to no end but he considers it a challenge, to keep him stimulated in battle. That is, until he actually arrived. Something odd had been happening to Ash since he came to the resort. He noticed how he would look at Dawn. It wasn't anything really different from how he normally acted around the girl but this was the first time he felt this way about the bespectacled boy since he and Dawn had been sexually involved. He felt...anger towards him. Not super strong rage or anything but a slow, simmering heat in his stomach. He just didn't like how he leered at Dawn or surprised her by sneaking around. A few times, he caught himself considering punching him out and he really couldn't explain why. The last time he felt like this was with that jerk, Jean. Even after all these months, he still hated that guy with a Moltres' fury. And right now, Conway was dangerously close to getting that same treatment.