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Red, Gold eventually finds out, is more than just a strong trainer.
The only information he actually had about Red was that he disbanded Team Rocket three years ago and was once the rival to the current Viridian City gym leader. Meeting him in person was more refreshing than Gold thought it'd be.
Of course things were tense at first, Red silently accepting his challenge and the longest battle Gold had ever been through lasted until the sky was full of stars. A quick attack from his Typhlosion was the last attack Gold needed to take down his opponent’s Charizard. When Red’s fire type went down Gold was on his feet, running over to give his Typhlosion a one armed hug while using his other hand to affectionately pet the Pokemon’s head.
“You were awesome!” Gold exclaimed, grinning widely as he praised his Pokemon. It was then he looked back over to Red to see a shocked expression, though it was quickly hid with the tilt of his hat.
As Gold returned Typhlosion back to his ball Red was already making his way past him, Gold falling into place beside the trainer when he signaled him to follow.
“That was a really great battle,” Gold said excitedly, the grin he had on once the battle had ended never faltered. “I've never battled someone as strong as you!” The compliment had momentarily made Red pause, offering a small smile and a nod to him in return.
Curious as to where they were headed Gold was about to question Red on it when they entered a cavern with supplies neatly resting inside the cave. He felt a bit flattered that Red was showing him his home- well, living space. Maybe it was home for Red since he did spend three years at Mt. Silver.
“Nice place, er for living in a cave that is.” Gold rubbed the back of his head, a small smile on his face to which Red gave him an amused one. At least he took it the right way.
When Red began to let out his Pokemon Gold felt dumbfounded as to why he’d be letting out his pokemon in their current state, until he saw the revives. Red offered him a revive with an eyebrow rose, expectantly looking at him. Embarrassed, Gold waved him off hurriedly, throwing his backpack around to get out his own revives.
“I’m good, thanks!” Red shrugged and returned to healing up his Pokemon while Gold did the same, he spoke up shortly after. “I-I’m used to Pokemon Centers, sometimes I forget all about revives.” Gold laughed quietly to himself, shivering from the drop of temperature. It was, of course, freezing at Mt. Silver, but he never thought about the night temperature. Suddenly a thin jacket and pants that went down to his knees didn’t seem like the right fashion choice, for winter that is.
Red must have noticed his shivering as not even a minute before he started shaking Red had his Charizard using flamethrower on a bonfire in the middle of the cave. Gold rushed over to the fire, curling up on the floor with his knees to his chest, taking in the welcomed warmth. Gold muttered out a thanks when Red returned to the fire, two sleeping bags in his hands as he began laying the bags near the fire.
“There’s no need for that, really! I can find my way down the mountain.” When he arrived at Mt. Silver before the sunset he didn’t intend on camping out in the mountain. Flying out in the hail at night wasn’t the best idea either, but Gold didn’t think he’d have a battle that lasted until nighttime.
In reply Red gave him a plain look as if to ask if Gold was joking. With a sigh and slumped shoulders Gold decided to give in, as exhaustion was taking over and there was no point in arguing with someone who’s lived on the mountain for years.
“Fine, you win.” Gold sighed while Red smiled in satisfaction. The expression made Gold laugh, to which Red gave him a curious look.
“Nothing.” Gold shook his head with a smile, removing his hat and getting into his sleeping bag. “Good night, Red.” Gold yawned, shifting so he was facing the fire, Red doing the same and barely tilting his head at the other.
‘Not much of a talker, huh?’
It was Gold’s last thought as he drifted to sleep.
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The following morning Gold had decided to leave the moment he got up, an unreadable expression was on Red’s face, but it was covered up with his usual nonchalant look. Gold didn’t think much of it as he flew away on his Pokemon.
It was to Red’s surprised when Gold returned that afternoon with two tupperware bowls and two bottles of moomoo milk.
“Hey Red!” Gold waved at him from a lower level on the mountain, balancing the food on one arm. “I figured you probably haven’t ate yet, so I brought some stuff!” Gold smiled, which widened as Red came down to greet him. He returned his Charizard and the two trailed back to Red’s place.
Once they were both settled in Red took his bowl, eyeing it curiously.
“My mom made it, it’s vegetable soup. Her cooking is great! Otherwise, I wouldn’t be bringing it over, right?” Gold grinned, bumping his shoulder against Red and he could have sworn he heard a small laugh from the other. “And I got fresh moomoo milk this morning, so dig in!”
After eating in comfortable silence, Gold sipped on what was left in his bottle of moomoo milk, stealing a glance at Red and breaking the silence. “Hey Red, how can you stand the cold in that outfit?” Now that he thought about it his own outfit was probably warmer than Red’s.
“...” Red simply shrugged, taking a sip from his bottle.
“You kind of just get used to it, I guess?” Gold questioned, setting down his now empty bottle of milk. The nod he got in return was expected.
“You don’t like to talk much, huh?” Gold asked amusingly, and laughed when he got a shrug. It did answer his question anyway.
It’s not that he’s never heard Red talk, during their battle he could hear him faintly yelling out attacks. If Red didn’t feel like talking it was fine with him. Gold was talkative enough for the both of them.
“That’s ok-.. Hey, where you headed?” Gold questioned, getting up to follow Red out of the cave. The older of the two turned around, tilting his head towards where he had previously been.
“Training?” A nod. “Oh! Well, I’ll leave you to it! See you around!” Gold smiled turning to leave. He felt.. Disappointed that he had to go so soon, but he assumed Red needed his space to train. Gold didn’t have anything in particular to do the rest of the day, but he’d manage. Maybe one of the gym leaders were up for a rematch.
“... Thanks.” It was barely audible, and Gold had almost missed it while shuffling around his backpack. His head jerked towards Red, staring up at the other in awe as they flew off on their Charizard.
“No problem!” Gold grinned, and if Red’s back wasn’t towards him he could have possibly saw the small smile on his face.
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After a week of visiting Red every day it began to become a routine for Gold. Do anything he had planned said day, then go see Red. Unfortunately, after getting all the badges and exploring every inch of Johto and Kanto the only things he could think to do were to challenge the Elite Four or accept challenges from anyone who called him on his pokegear. There was always training, something he admired Red for doing every day, but he was satisfied with his team's strength. Gold figured his pokemon could use a break after battling through two regions.
Red didn’t seem to mind his company either, in fact he welcomed it. Though it’d be a quiet welcome, but he’d always give a small smile and a slight hat tilt. Knowing the fact that one of the strongest trainers in the world enjoyed his company made Gold feel oddly chipper.
To Gold it felt like an accomplishment every time he got Red to speak up. Slowly, as the weeks went by Red began talking casually. First with short replies, and sometimes on occasions he’d talk more than two sentences. Gold’s not sure why it made him feel giddy.
During one evening Red was listening silently as Gold told him about the changes in Kanto since he had left for Mt. Silver. The magnet train that lets people travel from Kanto to Johto quicker, Cinnabar Island being destroyed by a volcano eruption, a new radio tower, etc. Red seemed to be somewhat amazed about how a good bit of events had happened since he left, but didn’t comment any further on it.
“.. And even Team Rocket tried to get their boss to come back, but Lance and I disbanded their small group.” Red let out a scoff at Gold’s mention of Team Rocket, but seemed visibly relieved that they wouldn’t be up to any trouble any time soon.
“The sun is starting to set… I better head home now, see you Red!” Gold turned to leave the cave, only for his wrist to be held by Red.
“What’s up..?” Gold eyed him curiously. It was strange for Red to make sudden movements like that unless there was trouble, but nothing seemed out of place.
“...” Red wore an unreadable expression as he hesitated before letting go of Gold’s wrist and turned to face away from him, waving him out.
“Well okay.. I’ll be back in the morning!” Gold didn’t push on any further, opting to head back home before it got too dark out. On his way back to New Bark Town he was left feeling curious as to what had gotten into Red.
Gold landed in front of his house, returning his pokemon and spotted Lyra playing with her Marill.
“Hey, Lyra!” Gold waved, smiling at the sight. The girl had paused her game of tag with her pokemon, waving back towards Gold and jogging over to him.
“Hey Gold! You’re getting home pretty late, talk Red’s ear off?” She teased, hugging her Marill when it caught up to her. It wasn’t surprising anymore to anyone close to Gold that he was spending most of his free time with Red.
“Er, I wouldn’t say I did..” He intentionally left out the fact that he did most of the talking today anyway. “But he acted kind of strange before I left.” Gold frowned.
“How so?”
“Well.. He grabbed my wrist when I was about to leave and waved me off. It’s not too late out so he wouldn’t be worried about me getting home, right?”
“That could be, but..” Lyra paused, shifting from one foot to another. “Maybe he’s just lonely.”
“But I spend every day with him, how could he be?” Gold furrowed his brows. If Red wanted him to stay he would have said so, or in his case gesture to the small campfire.
“Oh, that’s not what I…” Lyra shook her head, a small smile on her face. “Nevermind, I’m sure you’ll figure it out Gold. I better head home now, bye!” Gold wanted to question her more on the matter, but Lyra was already on her heels heading back home.
Gold ate his dinner silently, repeating Lyra’s words in his head and feeling more frustrated by the minutes. He excused himself to bed early, turning in his bed restlessly. The place on his wrist where Red had grabbed him was burned into his memory, yet it felt cold from the loss of contact.
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True to his word Gold was at Red’s living space on Mt. Silver during the morning. Red greeted him with a wave and a curious look when Gold let out a yawn.
“I didn’t sleep too well.” He explained, rubbing at his tired eyes. Red patted the seat next to him by the fire and Gold was by his side in an instant.
Red looked at him expectantly. Gold sighed and continued. “You see me plenty enough, right?”
Red slowly nodded as if he was unsure to where this was heading. Gold let out a sigh of relief, but his confusion and frustration over Lyra’s words still bugged him. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t lonely. Crazy, right? Of course you wouldn’t, not with me around all the time.” Gold let out a small laugh, however Red stared at him silently.
The silence began to feel uncomfortable for Gold, so when he turned his head towards Red, ready to speak he didn’t expect to feel a pair of warm lips on his own. His eyes widened by the sudden contact, but soon they were closed when Red decided to deepen the kiss. Gold didn’t have much experience with kissing, but Red was taking the lead on it anyway. When Red pulled away he left Gold feeling light. Gold was half thankful and half disappointed. Thankful because he needed the oxygen, and disappointed because at the same time he wanted it to last longer. His face felt heated and if he had a mirror he was definite that the color of his face probably matched the color of Red’s hat.
“Wh-what was that-”
“I love you.” It was said so casually that Gold almost needed to double check.
And like that the pieces started to slowly place together. The way Red would give him lingering gazes, small quiet laughs towards his jokes, wanting him to stay if it got too late, throwing a blanket over his shoulders when he got too cold, sitting shoulder to shoulder with him the closer they got, and most importantly the fact that he never seemed bothered by his company. It all became clear for Gold.
“R-really?” Gold asked hopefully, trying not to cringe at his flustered stuttering.
“Of course.” Red confirmed vocally and with a nod.
Gold grinned, deciding for once he’d let his actions speak for himself, pulling Red in for another kiss. He was less experienced than Red, but it didn’t stop him from kissing the other. Lips moved messily against each other and Gold was the first to break the kiss this time, small puffs of his breath appeared in the cold.
“I love you too.” The words lit up Red’s eyes and it was all he needed before he was pouncing back onto Gold, a smile matching Gold’s on his lips.
Even if Red didn’t speak too much Gold was fine with that. They each had their own ways of showing the other how much they cared.