Chapter Text
Tonight, under the meteor shower,
I want to touch you again,
Hold your hand, cup your cheek,
And tell you to come home.
We can sweep away all the warning sounds,
If that’s okay with you.
After all, you are my—
-
“For heaven’s sake…”
Green stood glaring up at the signboard, hands plunged deep into the pocket of his blue hoodie, eyebrows crinkling into a frown as he read the notice of yet another delay for luggage arrivals. It was late, and Green was losing sleep and losing patience. He was still fully stuck on Unovan time, which frankly sucked because he had only started adjusting when he was summoned back to Kanto. With a hurried and apologetic goodbye to his friend Burgh who he had been staying with, Green had had to leave almost straight away to return to his hometown. Now he pulled his hood even tighter over his head, as if the action could offer him some sort of comfort.
He supposed that he should feel sadder, considering the circumstances of why exactly he was in Kanto. He had come back because his grandfather, who had been subject to longtime bed care, had passed away in his sleep. Green was to attend his funeral and pay his respects, but if he was honest, he wasn’t sure how he felt about his grandfather at all. To the public perhaps, Professor Oak was a figure worthy of respect and praise, but to Green, Professor Oak was… just Oak. A family member that he felt ambivalent towards. He had some positive memories from when he was much younger, when his grandfather would let him hang around his lab. But even then, there was a distance between them no matter how hard Green tried to please him: his grandfather held him at an arm’s length, and occasionally Green would catch him staring at him with a strange and vaguely familiar expression. These moments stayed with him longer than those short glimpses of bliss did.
While Green liked playing the social game and was a good conversationalist all in all, he was not particularly good at psychoanalyzing himself, and this skill did not grow as he entered adulthood. This was probably also due to Green’s tendency to treat his emotions like strangers and opponents, but he would not, could not, admit that to himself. Right now, Green felt like he was in a floaty and uncertain state, only fit to send polite replies and reassurances to the family friends and strangers who reached out to him to state their condolences. He didn’t know what to say to himself about his grandfather’s death, let alone what to say to what he assumed were dedicated supporters and readers of his work.
As the first luggage slid out of the chute, Green exhaled heavily and padded forward to move closer to the belt, readjusting his backpack. He did not want to dwell on any of his issues, external or internal, and just wanted to head to Daisy’s place to (attempt to) sleep and recuperate. After a few long minutes, he finally caught sight of his own luggage and walked over to get it, only for his hand to fall on another person’s, who deftly lifted it off the belt and onto the floor. Green opened his mouth to speak, but the defiant protest at the forefront of his lips fell into nothing as he met a very familiar brown gaze. He froze up, his expression still one of annoyance while his eyes widened in shock. There was no fucking way this was happening, but as masochistic he was, there was also no way that he was hallucinating and imagining this. After all, standing in front of him was—
Standing in front of him was Red. His eyebrows, usually knitted together stoically, were lifted, and his bright almond eyes twinkled with a similar surprise. The line of his jaw was tight, but there was no resistance in Red’s face, only recognition. Dressed in a suit, the sight of Red was both similar and alien all at once, and Green had to tear his eyes away before he did or said anything he would regret. Instead, he focused on Red’s patent leather shoes, and addressed his next line flatly towards them. “I-I think you’ve got the wrong one. I’m sure this is mine.”
“I’m sorry about that. Seems like you’re right,” Red replied after a moment, and Green didn’t move for a few good seconds as he was suddenly reminded of exactly how long it had been since he last spoke to Red and heard his voice. Coming back to his senses, Green shook his head with a quiet “it’s okay” before pulling the luggage away and making a beeline for the exit. He couldn’t help making a backward glance after he moved a good distance away, but he quickly looked away again as he caught sight of Red’s solitary figure leaning down to pick up a luggage that was, lo and behold, the exact same as his own, with the only difference being the baggage tag. Trying very hard to ignore the piercing gaze that was boring holes into his back, he hurried past customs and the automatic doors to get to the arrival hall, where he knew Daisy was waiting. Although he liked to complain about his sister babying him, for once he was glad that there was someone he could talk to on the way back to distract him from Red and the fact that the luggage he was lugging behind him was a gift from Red back when they were together.
-
Green had always thought of himself as being rather suave and subtle, liking to flirt with everyone and being able to offhandedly brush off compliments or confessions, anything. And for the most part it was true. Even in the first term of high school, his natural confidence and charismatic air made him the object of many other students’ affections, most of which he didn’t actually return. He liked being like this. He was probably lonely, just a little bit, but this meant that he was in a position where he could control himself, and if this was the only place that he could get it, then fine, he would damn well try his best. Occasionally it got tiring to keep it up, but Green figured that it was worth it. And he himself never fell victim to this flimsy, stupid thing called puppy love, at least not until he met that rich boy with the determined face and the cool, silent demeanor—and then he knew that he had never truly liked anyone romantically up till then. And the whole time there was a riot in his mess of a heart, somewhere between his struggle to accept himself and his acknowledgment that he and Red were hardly from a similar background. He didn’t think he was fit to hang around him at all. But still, just being friends wouldn’t hurt anyone, right?
Green took to staying after school with Red after he discovered the other boy’s habit of working in the classroom after everyone had gone. When he asked Red why, he had just shrugged and said “Family reasons.” Green couldn’t even begin to fathom and comprehend what went on in Red’s household, so he just accepted the answer with a nod. Most of time Green talked, rambling about things that he had experienced or seen during the day more openly than he ever did usually. Occasionally Red would chip in if he felt strongly about something, but usually Red just let him go on. Once Green jokingly asked if he was listening at all, and Red gave him an accusing stare, asking what kind of person Green took him for. Secretly reassured, Green apologized with a grin. And after a while, on one fine afternoon—
“Do you like me?”
“W-what?” The word left Green’s mouth in a stutter, but he could not hide the blush rising to his cheeks even with the very best of his acting skills. He got up stiffly from his perch by the window and moved to glance at the door and away from Red. He knew that he was being a dead giveaway, but honestly, if he made a mad dash for the exit right now, then who knows? He might be able to save some shred of his dignity and play it off like the cool dude that he was. Maybe. But that was probably hopeful thinking, so he just shifted his weight to his other foot and avoided Red’s stare. He wrung his hands together to try to ground himself, feeling the heady pitter patter of his heart thumping in his chest. Could he just disappear? Honestly? Green would appreciate that right now.
There was a sigh as Red closed the notebook he was working on and got up. Green felt his joints lock up immediately, but Red took his time as he rounded his desk to approach Green. Before Green knew it, Red held his chin between his fingers, and tilted his head to face Red. Although Red was shorter than him, Green felt like he was shrinking and being swallowed up into the ground as Red stared at him. He should be used to the intensity of Red’s eyes by now, and usually he was, but Green was melting into the Bermuda Triangle of Red’s whole presence all over again as he moved closer. All of the alarm bells were going off in his head, telling him that no one should be allowed to come this close to him, ever, but before he knew it Red’s stare was flickering down to his lips and back up again. Red was not ever particularly pressed to use his words, and now was not any different. The curve of his mouth held a question, as did the tilt of his head. Green swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and nodded.
Red leaned forward to kiss him, and Green let himself drown.
-
“You okay, Green?” The gentle lilt of Daisy’s concerned voice jerked Green out of his reverie. Pulling his attention away from the side window—and his thoughts—to his sister, he smiled ironically. “As okay as anyone can be after an unexpected long-haul flight,” Green snarked at her, though there was no bite in his voice, only the simple ease of siblings who had grown up together. Daisy lifted her eyes from the road and glanced at him sideways and Green had a feeling that she was looking through all of his bullshit. But hey, if she wasn’t asking him directly, then he wasn’t going to suddenly start being transparent. That just wasn’t his deal, and he wasn’t suddenly going to start now, even though he did care for Daisy more than he did anyone else in his family. Instead, Green just let his head fall back against the headrest and shut his eyes, trying to let the darkness and the regular movement of the vehicle envelope all his thoughts of Red.
Red… He had changed, probably, if those few seconds of encounter could be used as a gauge. Suits… Green remembered that Red didn’t like them, finding them uncomfortable and overly formal. At school, Red’s hair was often unruly or choppy and there was always something wrong with his uniform, a missing tie, a colored belt… It was the simplest and most harmless form of rebellion, and it was the most that Red could do. At home Red was expected to show the professionalism and manners befitting someone set to inherit his father’s business. Green often got the impression that Red felt the most uninhibited when he was spending time with Green, especially after they got together. Red was probably fully involved in the business now, though Green would have to do a proper Google search to figure out how exactly he was running things at work. So distant, Green thought inadvertently, the side of his lips twitching upward wryly. They were more different than ever, and meeting Red again today did nothing but to reaffirm that. That was… fine by Green. He had moved on… somewhat, anyway.
That night, Green turned away from the luggage lying open on Daisy’s living room floor, trying to forget his and Red’s promise to go on a trip together after they graduated, a conversation that somehow ended up with them talking about how Green didn’t have a luggage of his own. Clutching the thin spare blanket and pulling it over his head, he turned his head into the makeshift pillow he was using. He tried to think of light amber eyes, a stern jaw, carmine hair, rough hands. You’re just friends with benefits with him, his brain helpfully supplied, and he dug the heels of his palms against his eyes. Right. But it would have to act as distraction enough. Green’s headspace was a mess, and he felt embarrassed at how quickly it had unraveled. But by all counts, it wasn’t just Red and the remnants of a heartbreak. It was everything. Stupid as it was, if he was sure of anything right now, then hey, it was that he was doing just fine with his fuck buddy right now, and that he didn’t need any relationship, Red or not.
Now he just had to convince his dumb heart of it.