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It all started with the little note Silver received from Gold. A sigh had escaped his lips almost instantly as he read the familiar handwriting, spelling out ‘G O L D’. Gold was really making Silver buy his present. What ticked Silver off more was the little kaomoji drawn beside it. Seeing the little kissy face drawn beside Gold’s name made Silver feel real, genuine rage.
Now, of course, Silver hadn’t realized at the time the real problem he’d have to face because of that little note.
The problem of buying Gold a good present.
So, he did what he did when he usually had a problem he couldn’t solve. He went to his seniors.
Red
The hot springs were gorgeous in the winter. The grueling trek up the snowy mountain made sinking into the warm water so much better, Silver thinks. He was grateful Red had even invited him. It was a bit awkward, between the two of them, but Silver knew it was his own quietness.
“Man,” Red groans, stretching his arms above his head before settling them against the rocks behind him. “This place is one of the most relaxing places ever.”
“The trip up here was an experience, though.” Silver murmured, sinking further into the water. Red let out a loud laugh.
“That’s just a part of the adventure! The cold nights, the long treks, the battles, it all feels like too much. Until you hit what you were searching for, and you and your companions can just take a minute to breathe.” Red explains, using his hands to gesture around while he talks.
Red was Silver’s senior, sure, but he had just as much energy as Gold. Of course, their energy often went to different things, Red’s being a passion for battle and Gold’s being more towards Pokemon themselves. Yet the two of them always came up to Mt. Silver together. Maybe that’s why Silver found himself seeking Red’s advice on this stupid secret santa. He knew Gold well, he had to.
“Adventure, huh.” Silver wonders, and Red hums.
“Yep! Gold and I always try to do new things when we’re together, but the trip up here is something that stays the same.” Red begins to blabber excitedly, and Silver can’t help but listen intently. “He’s such a fun guy, I’m glad I can hang with him. It sucks that he couldn’t come…” Red trails off, before looking at Silver.
“Oh! I’m really glad you could come, though, Silver. It’s so rare I get to hangout with you, one on one.” Red admits
“It is. Though, I’ll admit, I kind of had selfish reasons for coming with you up here.” Silver says, and Red tilts his head.
“Oh? And why’s that?” He asks, and Silver sighs, lifting himself so his shoulders are out of the water.
“Gold’s being an idiot and is making me buy for him for the secret santa. I don’t know what to get him.” Silver admits. “I thought you would know him best, considering how close you are. So I wanted your thoughts on what I should get him.”
“Oooooh. I see.” Red nods, frowning as if he were thinking. “That’s… difficult.”
“Yeah. It is.” Silver puffs his cheeks in annoyance, slinking his shoulders back down into the water.
“I mean… he doesn't really need any new camping gear.” Red thinks out loud. “Nor does he need anything in terms of clothing. At least from what I’ve seen!”
“Alright, so nothing like that.” Silver notes and Red hums while he thinks.
“Honestly, as much as we hang out, I don’t think I’m nearly as close and you and Gold are. He always talks about you like you're his best friend.” Red admits with a sheepish grin, and Silver feels himself getting flustered. Were he and Gold that close?
“Best friend? What a loud mouth he has.” Silver’s a little snarky, sure, but Gold always seems to bring out the bitterness in him. Even when saying sappy stuff about their friendship.
“You say that, but I can see how much you care. You and Green are so similar sometimes, it’s kinda funny to me.” Red’s comparison isn’t too far off base, and Silver hates to admit that.
“I guess I can see that comparison. Either way, thank you for sharing your thoughts.” Silver tries to be polite, and Red waves him off.
“Don’t thank me. I should thank you for letting me drag you up here.” Red laughs. “I’m actually glad Gold couldn’t come, at least a little. I get to grow closer to you now because of it.”
Silver finds himself agreeing. Red might not have helped much in terms of Silver’s little gift problem, but it was nice to be able to chat with someone new.
Green
“So, let me get this straight. You have to buy Gold a gift..” Green states, looking to Silver for confirmation.
“Yes.” Silver nods.
“For his secret santa, that he’s planning.” Green shuffles a few papers in his hands.
“Mhm.”
“Well,” Green taps a stack of papers to be uniform, setting them in a file folder. “You could buy him a better personality.” He deadpans, organizing the files laid in front of him.
“I can’t afford him therapy, I’m working with a budget of like 5000 poke.” Silver sighs, setting down the box of papers he was carrying.
“You could get him new goggles.” Green suggests off hand, while Silver begins unpacking the box of papers.
“He’s fussy enough about his goggles. I doubt he’d appreciate any new ones I got him.” Silver grumbles. Green stops his organizing, humming a moment.
“I could see him doing that. He’s a diva, to the fullest meaning of the word.” Green says stuff like that about Gold, but Silver knows he cares deep down.
“He can be a bit dramatic, yeah.” Silver nods. “But he can be serious when he needs to be, too.”
“That’s true. He might be a bit of a loudmouth, but he’s reliable.” Green says. “He proved that at the battle frontier.”
“But him being reliable doesn’t help with my gift.” Silver sighs, and Green gives him a straight look.
“I don’t know how much I can help you. You know him best.” He’s not wrong, and Silver knows that. “He’s so high energy, and yet somehow you two are best friends.” Silver notes that people keep saying that. The fact that he and Gold are best friends.
I mean, sure, they were close, but Silver had always just thought that Gold had better friends than him. Maybe that was a bit self deprecating, but with how social Gold was, he doubted he was the best friend.
“I guess.” Silver murmurs, and Green stops organizing and stretches his arms.
“Now enough about Gold. Let’s go take a break.” He says, and Silver follows behind as the two trail out of the room together.
Blue
“Silver!” A familiar voice calls for him, and Silver looks up to see Blue’s mom walk into the living room. “Oh, c’mere!” She opens her arms, and Silver stands for the hug. Despite not being related to the family, Blue’s parents both were nothing but warm to him. They treated him like he was their own.
“It’s good to see you.” Silver says as they hug, before pulling away.
“It’s good to see you as well! Have you been eating well? Are you well?” She asks him a barrage of questions, and Silver smiles.
“I’ve been doing well, for the most part.” Silver sits down on the couch, and Blue’s mom follows.
“For the most part?” She pushes, and Silver relents.
“Yeah. I just have a problem with a gift. I don’t know what to get my friend Gold for christmas.”
“Well, tell me about him!” Blue’s mom insists,
“Um…” Silver pauses. “He’s kind of an idiot. But he’s not stupid. He’s loud, but trusting. I can’t think of someone I’d prefer watching my back.” He flushes, realizing how well he’s speaking of Gold.
“It sounds like you care for him a lot.” Blue’s mom smiles, warmly. Silver scratches the back of his neck. “Does he have any hobbies?”
“Uh… he gambles.” Silver deadpans, and Blue’s mom blinks in surprise. “Oh! And he plays pool. He’s good with baby Pokemon too.” Blue walks in with water in her hands for everyone as Silver explains more about Gold. His sister just gives a little smile, Silver was never so expressive about how he felt about someone like he was with Gold.
“He seems like he has quite the list of hobbies!” Blue’s mom smiles, almost knowingly, and Blue decides to pipe up.
“Colorful hobbies for someone with a colorful personality.” She deadpans, taking a sip of her water. “I hadn’t realized how much trouble you were having with Gold’s gift, Silv.” She says, and Silver shrugs.
“I can’t think of anything he’d want.” Silver admits.
“You could get him some new sneakers?” Blue suggests, and Silver instantly shakes his head no.
“He likes to buy those expensive shoes, the brand name ones that look bad.” Silver explains, and Blue chuckles.
“Not willing to fork up thousands of poke for some shoes?” She teases.
“More like not having thousands of poke to fork up.” Silver admits, and Blue gives him a little nudge from her spot beside him on the couch.
“Aw, you’re admitting you would spend more if you could. Gold would be crying tears of joy hearing you say that.” Blue bugs him, and Silver pulls a grossed out face.
“Thank God he’s not here then.” Silver grumbles, a little bit flustered by his sister’s teasing.
“It sounds like you are fond of the boy, Silver. I’d love to meet this friend of yours sometime.” Blue’s mom pipes up, and Silver takes a sip of his water.
“I’m surprised you haven’t!” Blue leans into the arm of the couch while she talks. “Honestly Silv, you two are best friends. He’s gonna cherish anything you get him and anytime you spend together.”
“That doesn’t help me at all, Blue.” Silver groans. Another person thinking he and Gold are best friends.
“You’ll figure it out! Now c’mon, I wanna treat my brother and mom to lunch.” She picks herself up off the couch, and Silver follows behind. Despite not getting any further, he takes what time he can get with his sister and mom.
Yellow
Viridian is cold, in the winter, Silver remembers. Even as a kid he remembered being bundled head to toe by his father as they walked through the snowy streets. But, despite the cold, it was calming. To be sitting on a bench in the city, hot chocolate in hand. And, a friend beside him.
“I’m buying for Gold.” Silver mumbles into his scarf, holding the cup in both of his hands. He stares down at it as the cold nips at his uncovered cheeks. “But I can’t think of anything to get him.” He glances towards Yellow, who is listening intently.
“Gold… mmm,” Yellow paused, thinking. “He tends to like… girls? And…” Her hands curl around the to-go cup of piping hot chocolate. “Pool? He carries around the pool cue. Oh! You could get him a pool table!”
“...He has one.” In his mom’s basement, Silver thinks. The place he deems ‘The Man Cave’. Silver’s sure he’s seen magical girl posters in the self-proclaimed ‘Man Cave’, though. “Also, that’s a little out of my price range.”
“Oh.” She looks down, frowning. “He sure is tough to think of a gift for.” Yellow ponders out loud. “For such a social guy, I really can’t think of anything he’d need.”
“My problem exactly.” Silver sighs, before taking a sip of his hot chocolate.
“Though,” Yellow pauses, looking up to the sky. The snow falls around them, a few flakes landing on her face as she continues. “I think he’d cherish any gift he would get, especially if it’s from you.” She smiles, and Silver feels the flush on his face.
“Well,” Silver started, then paused. Hopefully Yellow just thinks it's the cold weather making his cheeks flushed. “That doesn’t help me one bit.” But hearing that sure did make him feel nice.\
“I wish I could help more!” Yellow admits, “I just think he’d love anything you got him.” She stands up from the bench.
Silver follows after, standing beside her. He’s taller than her by a large margin. “Knowing he’d like anything does make me feel a little better, I guess.” Silver admits, and Yellow smiles brightly.
“Well, even if I can’t help past saying that, we can go do some window shopping and maybe find some ideas!” They follow Yellow’s plan. Silver doesn’t find anything he wants to get for Gold, but spending the day with Yellow was nothing but refreshing.
Crystal
“So, let me get this straight.” Crystal’s arms are crossed in front of her chest as she stares at Silver.
“You went not only to me , but to Red, Green, Blue and Yellow,”
Silver nods.
“To ask them what you should get for Gold.”
Silver continues nodding.
“And instead of helping, they instead all reached the same conclusion of you and Gold being best friends.”
“Yeah.” Silver says. That’s exactly what happened.
“You and Gold are both idiots.” Crystal deadpans. What?
“What?” He mimics his thoughts, and Crystal tugs on his arm.
“C’mon, we’re going to make friendship bracelets. This is what you get for joining me on my shift.” Crystal pulls him along back to the tables with children. Crystal places him beside a lonesome girl, who’s making a bracelet happily. “Maybe you’ll figure it out with a little bit of reflection.” She says, walking away.
He picks up some of the string, and begins fitting his own wrist with it. It was a stretchy material, so he fit it rather easily. And then he started putting beads onto it, mindlessly.
Silver sighs, holding the bracelet’s strings between his fingertips, staring at the pattern he’s started. A simple black and white pattern, with a single silver piece at the end. He stares at it, unsure what to add to the bracelet.
“Mister,” The child beside Silver speaks up, looking him dead in the eyes. Intimidating. “Who’s your best friend bracelet for?” The girl looks genuinely curious, and Silver pauses for a moment.
“... My best friend.” Silver says, recalling what Crystal said she was instructing today. Bracelet making. The little girl smiles up at him.
“What’s their name?” She asks, and Silver pauses. And thinks, just for a second, of what his friends had told him.
“He always talks about you like you’re his best friend.”
“You know him best.”
“He’s gonna cherish anything you get him.”
“He’d cherish any gift he would get, especially if it’s from you.”
“You two are both idiots.”
And then he gives a small, soft smile.
“His name is Gold.” Silver explains, hooking a little gold bead beside the silver one. “He’s kind of an idiot.”
Gold
“You got me a friendship bracelet.” Gold said, staring straight at the little bracelet’s box, unblinking. “You made me a friendship bracelet.” Gold repeats almost word for word his previous sentence, this time rather joyfully, and Silver sees the tears in Gold’s eyes. He takes a step back, knowing what’s coming.
And what come it did, as Gold instantly slipped the bracelet on and then proceeded to tackle him to the ground.
“YOU MADE ME A FRIENDSHIP BRACELET!” He wails, and Silver attempts to shake him off.
“Get the hell off me you oaf— ” Silver grumbles, and Gold lets Silver fling his body around like a rag doll.
“YOU ARE SO SWEET! MY BEST FRIEND!” Gold sniffles, and Silver sighs, giving up.
“I’ll take it back.” Silver threatens, and Gold jumps away.
“You can’t!! It’s mine!” Gold protects his wrist, hiding it from Silver.
“Then quit being a gross idiot! Jesus.” Silver huffs, and runs a hand through his hair, flashing his wrist. Gold instantly zones in on the very, very similar bracelet on Silver.
“You…” Gold starts, and Silver’s eyes widen.
“Don’t.” He pleads, and Gold begins tearing up again.
“You made… matching..” He continues, working himself up more and more. Silver grimaces.
“Don’t say a word. ”
“YOU MADE US MATCHING BRACELETS!!” Gold wails, jumping into Silver’s arms. Silver catches him, and then promptly drops his big idiot of a best friend on the ground.
“Quit making such a ruckus.” Silver bitches, despite his warm cheeks. He was lucky, he thought, to have a best friend who cared for him so much.
Not like he’d ever admit that out loud.