Chemicals React

You make me feel out of my element
Like I'm walking on broken glass
Like my world's spinning in slow motion
And you're moving too fast

Were you right, was I wrong?
Were you weak, was I strong?
Both of us broken, caught in a moment
We lived and we loved
And we hurt and we joked
But the planets all aligned
When you looked into my eyes
And just like that
The chemicals react
The chemicals react

The gently sloping hill was hushed and peaceful under the glaring light of the midsummer sun. The burnt-red poppies and garish yellow dandelions stood proud and erect in the sunshine, untouched by any breeze and too stubborn to yield to the relentless heat. The air was hot on the skin, devoid of moisture, and utterly still.

By the time Ash reached the summit of the hill, his cap was tucked into his bag and he was seriously re-evaluating the colour of his t-shirt; the black material was clinging to him as if for dear life. He was breathing heavily; the scorching air was harsh on his throat. It took him a moment to muster the strength to climb the few steps onto the veranda of the house that perched on the hill, commanding splendid views of the sun drenched valley below.

Breathing a sigh of relief when he reached the comforting shade of the veranda, Ash took a moment to gather himself before pushing open the heavy door. He wondered for a moment if he should have knocked but forgot the thought as he closed the door behind him.

"Professor Oak?"

His voice rang loudly in the quietness of the hallway. Slipping off his shoes and tossing his bag onto the floor beside them, he padded into the kitchen.

"Tracey?"

The kitchen was empty too, well, of people at least. Ash grabbed a bun from a plate on the counter, biting into it as he trotted into the sitting room. By the time he reached the end of the hallway after the bedrooms, the bun was gone and his brow was furrowed in confusion. The professor hadn't mentioned he was going anywhere.

"Maybe he's in the lab," Ash murmured to himself, appraising the white door in front of him, a door that was inviting when the professor was here but more than a little intimidating when alone.

Leaving the door open in his wake, Ash entered the lab. The cool draft of the air conditioner hit him immediately, dancing across his sun darkened skin and teasing sweat soaked strands of hair. Suppressing a shiver at the sudden drop in temperature, Ash ventured out slowly among the rows of counters and sinks and display cases that furnished the laboratory part of the professor's research.

Ash hadn't been in this part of the building very often before. He'd never had much interest in science even as a child; he didn't care for DNA and cells and experiments, not when he could play out in the garden with the Pokémon. The environment itself was making him uncomfortable already; the endless expanse of stark, clinical whiteness and immaculate surfaces had him twitching with uneasiness, as if he was on the verge of contaminating everything just by breathing the scrubbed, clean air.

As he turned to leave again, his sock caught on the sharp edge of one of the counters. Arms flailing, he managed to grab the countertop, clinging to the hard white plastic. The counter rattled and a box which was nestled on it toppled over. Fear gripped him and he quickly set the box straight again, taking the lid off to inspect the damage. His momentary panic subsided when he saw the neat little rows of test tubes still standing dutifully upright in their holders on the counter. As he pulled himself to his feet again, he couldn't help but take a closer look at the vials of liquid. The glass tubes contained a seemingly clear liquid that seemed to shimmer as he moved. When he stood back, the sunlight arced down from the skylight overhead and the test tubes seemed to explode in a rainbow of blues and reds and golds, leaving Ash quite stunned.

"Quite something, wouldn't you say?"

The sudden voice from behind him made Ash jump in surprise and spin around. His gaze fell on Gary, standing a few metres away by the window, his white lab coat shining in the sun streaming in.

Gary grinned at Ash's startled expression. He crossed the distance between them with a few long strides and gave his rival a grin that Ash couldn't help but feel was more than a little predatory.

"Where's Professor Oak?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Out." Gary was standing beside him now. He reached out and plucked one of the test tubes from the holder and held it at chest height, out of the sunlight. The colours immediately vanished and the liquid looked no more extraordinary than a glass of water would. "Do you know what this is?"

Ash shook his head mutely.

"It's a pretty rare chemical," Gary said. "Delicate too. It reacts in specific conditions, such as sunlight, and they tend to be quite violent reactions too." He wrapped his hand around the glass, protecting it. "Guess you were lucky it only decided to put on a colour display for you."

Ash swallowed. "Ah – it explodes?"

"Mmm." Gary took a step closer to him, standing at his shoulder, so that Ash could see the vial clenched in his hand. He unwrapped his hand slowly and tapped the glass with a fingertip. "See those little beads?" Ash nodded; there were tiny little colourless beads suspended in the liquid. "They contain the compounds that make it all react." He leaned a little closer again, holding up the test tube to eye level. Ash felt a little prickle across the back of his neck as Gary's warm breath traced the cool skin there. "Once they're stimulated, there's no telling what could happen."

"So knocking into that box wasn't the best idea in the world," Ash said, his voice a little too high for his liking. What the hell was the matter with him? Surely a few test tubes couldn't unnerve him so.

"Depends." There was a creak from behind Ash as Gary leaned back onto the counter behind them. "We're not entirely sure yet what stimulants have what effect. Last time we tried adding some other chemicals and that was far more explosive than light."

Ash turned to face him and was surprised to find Gary so close to him; their knees were brushing, Ash's left leg was between Gary's legs. If he bent down a little, their noses would touch. Ash's cheeks flushed pink as the impromptu thought entered his head and he blamed it on the heat. But the air conditioning blew cool air on his furious blush and a smile tugged infuriatingly at Gary's lips, as if he knew exactly what was going on in Ash's head at that moment.

As Ash made a move to step backwards, Gary reached out and placed his hand on Ash's shoulder. The warmth soaking through the thin material of his t-shirt stopped Ash in his tracks.

Still smiling, Gary whispered, "Watch." He held the test tube higher, away from the shadows their bodies cast and into the rays of sunlight which poured in through the skylight. His hand seemed to erupt in a blast of colour, dazzling both boys in glittering explosion of hot pinks and deep crimsons and angry purples. Ash squeezed his eyes shut and felt Gary's hand tighten on his shoulder and bring him closer. Blinded and powerless to resist, he followed Gary's guidance and buried his face in the taller boy's lab coat, as Gary hid his eyes by pressing his nose into the nape of Ash's neck.

Despite the helplessness the glaring light had caused, Ash couldn't suppress the tingling that grasped his body, emanating from the warmth at his neck that was Gary's breath against his skin. As Gary leaned closer, sliding his free hand up Ash's back, from the base of his spine, before tangling it in his thick dark hair. Ash gasped, gripping the lab coat with both hands.

"G-G-Gary…" he stumbled, eyes still tightly squeezed shut.

"Mmm?"

"I don't understand…"

"You don't have to understand."

And then Gary's warm lips traced Ash's cheek, and he lost whatever coherent thoughts he'd previously possessed. All there was in the world was the infusion of bright light and Gary's warm body pressed closely against his own.

When their lips met, Ash was sure his knees would buckle beneath him. Gary's kiss was heated and hungry, his tongue eager to explore. As he moaned into the kiss, Ash felt his body flush with urgency and he reacted without thought, letting his hands push the lab coat from Gary's shoulders and slowly run down his chest to the waistband of his jeans. Gripped with a sudden boldness, he responded to Gary's kiss by allowing one hand fall further; leaving the other busy undoing the button and zip that stood in his way. As he reached down and cupped Gary's growing hardness, he was rewarded with a sharp gasp for air.

Still fuelled by that desperate desire that had somehow blossomed in his chest, Ash blindly felt his way into Gary's boxers, fingers brushing and teasing. He didn't object when Gary wrapped an arm around his neck to bring him closer again; he felt his own erection begging for attention and rubbed himself against Gary's, panting at the friction.

Gasping for breath, they pressed their lips blindly together again; Ash's hands wrapped warmly around Gary's length, pressing their erections together, enjoying Gary's moans that vibrated into the kiss, heart pounding a the knowledge that he was the one eliciting the sounds. Ash felt as if his entire body was engulfed with fire and by the time Gary's hand had found its way into his own jeans, he couldn't hold it in any longer. He tore his lips free of Gary's, throwing his head back as he came. As soon as Ash relaxed his hold on Gary's hardness, the older boy reached it himself, spilling into Ash's hands, his moans accompanied by the smashing of a glass his sweat slicked hand could no longer grasp.

A fountain of light and colour enveloped them as they sank weakly to the tiled floor; a tangle of legs and arms and iridescent liquid. The chemical spread out in a wide puddle, its brightness slowly diminishing until Ash heard Gary's strained voice whisper in his ear, "You can open your eyes now."

Almost afraid, Ash slowly opened his eyes to find himself looking straight into Gary's from little more than three inches away. Gary's forehead was glistening, his chest was heaving with effort, his breathing was heavy. He looked slightly anxious and it took Ash a couple of seconds to understand why.

A faint smile danced on Ash's lips and he leaned over to softly plant a kiss on Gary's mouth. His confusion had evaporated along with the incandescent light, all hesitation had disappeared with it.

"I guess we figured out how these chemicals react."

Gary touched Ash's cheek with one hand.

"I guess we did."

Kaleidoscope of colours, turning hopes on fire
Sun is burning, shining down on both of us
Don't let us lose it, don't let us lose it

lyrics by Aly and AJ

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