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Grey clouds hung in the sky of Viridian city. The weather was dull and devoid of any color - as so often in Kanto; and so very different from Alola.
Right there, at the window in his small apartment stood Green – having a firm grip on his coffee mug.
His gaze traveled over the streets of the sleepy city. His alarm clock had read 4:02 am the second he woke up. In fact, he had hoped to avoid having a jetlag - but his body had something else on mind.
Sighing softly he took a sip of his coffee. Only 24 hours ago he was able to enjoy his morning coffee while listening to the sound of the waves. Every day he walked along the beach and felt the fresh salty breeze on his skin.
For nearly half a year he had been in the Alola region. When Green received his invitation he had been in Kalos; he was invited to compete against challengers as the strongest Pokémon trainer at the top of the new Battle Tree. Since he had finished his studies he quickly decided to accept the offer – to start yet another new and exciting journey.
But it wasn't until he arrived at the airport that he discovered – he wasn’t the only one who had been summoned. Just as he went through the check-in his eyes fell on a lone figure at the edge of the hall. An all too familiar cap and a certain Pikachu on the shoulder; it didn’t took him more than that to immediately recognize his former rival.
For years there was no trace of Kanto's champion. Except for Professor Oak no one seemed to know where the young trainer was. He simply disappeared without any trace.
Green had wondered where his former childhood friend might be. On countless sleepless nights he imagined what it would be like to finally meet Red again. How he would apologize for his behavior; or how he would start to rebuild their friendship.
Never though did he expect to run into him at the airport. To travel to the same destination with him; to battle against trainers – the two of them, side by side.
He had imagined this moment so often; yet the moment their eyes met he forgot everything. Dropping his coffee-to-go he froze on the spot. While his beloved Eevee jumped from his shoulder to reunite with said Pikachu he himself couldn’t move a single muscle in his body. His eyes grew bigger and bigger with every step Red took towards him.
As soon as his rival had reached him, his mouth dropped open; nothing but a whispered “Red…?” came out of it though. “Yo.” – accompanied by a hesitant smile – that was all Red said to greet him. It was all it took for his eyes to become watery. His gaze became blurry. He even had to suppress a small sob to escape his mouth. The last thing he noticed was the confusion and worry in those brown eyes; after that he had to cover his face with his hands, no longer able to suppress his emotions.
“You jerk! Why are you here now…?”
The two of them must have seemed unusual and bizarre to the other guests. One crying and cursing, the other one trying to comfort him in an almost helpless way. And at first it only embarrassed Green that everyone else saw him breaking down like that. However noticing that the other trainer was on the same plane made him feel almost mortified. It only grew worse the moment he noticed that they were seated next to each other.
With a small smile he took another sip of his coffee.
He had to admit – their start as battle duo did not go quite so smoothly at first. First he couldn’t open up to the other at all. It took several days for him to get used to live in the next room to Red at the hotel; the sudden change – from not knowing where the champion went to seeing first thing in the morning – was quite unreal. To work with him every day, to walk with him every day, to have lunch with him every day.
Yet with each passing day he managed to get more comfortable around the other man. The two of them made an extremely strong battle pair – and even watching Red battle a trainer by himself felt simply amazing to Green.
They started to grow closer and adapted to one another.
All of a sudden Green choked on his coffee as the thought crossed his mind. Coughing, he put his cup down on the table under the window. Shakily he sat down on the chair as he pounded on his chest. Gasping for air immediately after his coughing fist his eyes grew big.
He and Red… actually they had gotten a lot closer to each other, he noticed. And just like that all of the things the two of them did together came back to his mind.
Their shared walks on the beach or day trips in their free time. The many conversations about almost everything - about their trip through Kanto back then and what each of them had done afterwards; one time Green even told him how often he wondered about his whereabouts. Upon hearing that Red had reached for his hand and squeezed it gently, with a bright and emotional look in his eyes. On another night Red took the gym leader to a spot where it was dark enough to see an infinite number of stars. There he recounted how he had often gazed at the stars at the top of Mt. Silver during the night, wondering where Green was. It was Green's turn to grasp his friend's hand then.
The more the young man thought about their journey, the more he noticed how often they actually had touched each other; a pat on the back, an arm around the shoulder and countless long and intense glances.
The realization hit him abruptly and he felt his cheeks grow hot. What had felt so familiar and natural... did the two of them become closer without Green noticing? Closer than simply going from rivals to friends? Had he maybe even developed feelings for Red?
And if so… would it be possible for Red to feel the same way…?
The sound of the bedroom door jolted him out of his thoughts. From his bedroom - how appropriate - came Red; with tousled hair and a sleepy expression on his face. He gave a nod to Green, a silent "good morning" to which the other was already accustomed. What he was not accustomed yet however was another realization.
After the flight back to Kanto he offered the Champion to spend the night at his flat. In his bed even. And – to make it even worse – he remembered that they had shared a bed at few nights in Alola as well.
As if on cue his face grew even hotter, feeling a blush creep on his cheeks. "Good morning!" he croaked in a much too high-pitched voice. He quickly cleared his throat but Red had already noticed that something was wrong. The tiredness seemed to be gone completely and quickly he sat down on the chair next to Green. Questioningly, he put his head to the side, his gaze intense and directed straight towards Green.
"Ah... no, it-it's nothing!" Waving his hands he tried to look at anything else but Red. The realizations were bad enough - but having his apparent crush sitting right in next of him was something else entirely. He clutched his hands around his mug yet he could not hide the slight trembling of his fingers.
His silent friend did not miss this either; slowly and cautiously, as if he was approaching a wild Pokémon, Red took one of Green's hands in his own - pulling it towards him a little bit. Gently, he stroked the back of his hand with his thumb. As if enchanted the gym leader's gaze went to their now joined hands; following Red's every movement.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to collect himself a bit. Another memory from the sunny tropical island flashed through his mind; when they had gotten lost on their way back during the first week. For hours they walked along the shore in the darkness, both trapped in their own worlds.
After a while Green started to worry; what if they wouldn’t find the hotel? Where they even on the right path? And how could it be so dark on such a sunny place?
Abruptly the man in front of him halted and turned sideways to face Green. His gaze seemed to go right through him - and as if he knew exactly what Green was going through he extended his hand to him.
At first Green wanted to wave it off; to drop some cool remark about whether Red was afraid of getting lost. But then it occurred to him how he had stopped behaving that way a long time ago; he had lost his only friend like that and he didn't want to repeat this mistake.
Embarrassed he glanced to the side while hesitantly reaching for the other's hand. Feeling Red's firm grip – as he reassuringly stroked his thumb over the back of Green's hand – he almost immediately managed to calm down.
And just like then he felt an incredibly comforting warmth and tranquility. For a brief moment he was able to collect himself properly, to organize his thoughts and to make a resolute decision. The instant he opened his eyes again - and his and Red's gaze met - was enough to push him forwards. Quickly - before his courage left him again - he leaned towards the Pokémon trainer, pressing their lips together. Time seemed to stand still for a second. By the time Green realized what he was doing and that Red himself had frozen, it occurred to him briefly that he might have ruined everything once again.
However, as he was about to break away from the other man he felt a hand on the back of his neck, pulling him in closer.
A slight smirk fell on his lips as he tilted his head slightly to the side. His pounding heart beat
faster and faster.
Their kiss deepened while at the same time they both inched closer together. He squeezed his friend's hand gently. His other hand moved to the other's firm bicep, clinging to it. Time seemed to freeze and for a prolonged instant the two of them existed only in their own world.
The second they parted felt like an eternity. With his eyes closed, the gym leader leaned ahead, resting his forehead against his former rival's one. A pleased sigh escaped him - after which he heard a soft snicker-like sound. Something like that coming from Red was new as well. "Good morning indeed." said Red.
His eyes flew open and met with Red's. In them he saw the emotions he had encountered so often over the past months - only now he could actually name them.
They remained like that for a little while - in the silence of the cozy kitchen.
"I've been wondering" Green began hesitantly. All he got as a response was a nod, a nonverbal sign to keep going on. "And it strikes me that ever since Alola... you and I... have been... a couple?" His voice grew softer, gentler with each word.
They still kept their gazes locked; Green could even see the growing grin in the other’s eyes.
“What else would we be?” countered Red in a gentle voice.
Once again, Green felt his cheeks grow hot. So was he the only one who hadn't noticed how their relationship status had changed?
"You could have at least told me that!" he mumbled with a slight pout.
A simple shrug of his shoulders was the only reply he received. How typical of Red.
The hand on the back of his neck wandered to his face; gently stroking his cheekbones instead. “Did you plan all of this?” the gym leader continued his inquiry. The other man continued to caress his cheek, gently shaking his head. "It felt right, though," he simply replied.
The pleasant warmth once again spread through Green’s chest. He leaned his cheek into the warm hand and closed his eyes again. "Yes. It did for me too."
Slowly - so as not to break the silence the two had created around them - they moved closer to one another again; leaned against one another once more. It was still dull in the sky, the steam was still drifting from Green's coffee mug, and the whole world still seemed to be asleep. But when their lips met again, none of that mattered anymore. All that mattered was that they were together now.