Archive of Our Own

It had only been a couple minutes since Blue put his things down, barely a moment on his own before the doors slid open with a hiss. He had been expecting someone to share the room with, though he had fleetingly hoped for a moment more of peace, but alas, he knew what he was signing up for when he said he was fine with a shared room. Nurse Joy had looked busy, so it was whatever.

Eevee purred, happily running over, and a cheerful 'pika!' caught his attention.

When he finally turned around, he was momentarily surprised to see Red standing there. Imposing and firm in front of the door's frame, a flash of surprise in his face too, though it did not last as long—not that Red was an expressive to begin with.

"Fancy seeing you here," he greeted with a simple smile, and Red replied with a nod. He let out a chuckle, turning his head over to Eevee and Pikachu circling each other—at least someone here found it easier to show emotions. "Fancy see you here, to you too, Pikachu."

Pikachu's cheeks sparked as it squeaked, then it was quickly back to chasing tails with Eevee. He smiled at them, another movement on his peripheral drawing his attention away. The door closed shortly after, Red walking quietly to the bed on the other side of the room, sheets still made, pillow in place, and it was like there was a world and a half between them, even if there were only a couple steps apart.

"Didn't think I'd see you here," he admitted, as nonchalant as he could.

Red let his bag slide from his shoulder down his arm, dropping it in front of the small nightstand by the bed. In the meantime, Blue sat on the edge of his own bed, leaning back on his arms, curiously watching his friend, his rival, the person he practically grew parallel to. They were taller now, changed, but some things stayed the same. And it was still his voice filling in the space where they were.

Red turned around too, a smile on his lips as he brought his fists close to his chest, then made an exploding outwards motion [Surprise]. Blue laughed, rolling his eyes as he tilted his head, cheek resting against his left shoulder. Red sat across from him, loosely crossing his arms on his knees, hunched forward as his attention drew to their pokemon. Unlike him, Blue kept his eyes on him. Calm expression, relaxed shoulders, worn clothes, that stupid hat.

Before he could let his mouth get the better of him, Red straightened up a little, keeping his left arm on his knee, eyes still on the other two. He pointed down with his right index finger, then lifted his hand to pinch his index and thumb three times as he extended his arm a little [Here what-are-you-doing?].

"On my way home, lend a hand where needed before I—" At the implication, Red turned to him sharply, curious eyes that asked questions though Blue chose to be vague in his response, "—head out again. The usual. I'm a pretty busy guy, got lots of places to explore and pokemon to see. Should keep me occupied for a while."

Red nodded, prompting for more. Childishly, Blue wanted to say nothing else, give him a taste of his own medicine and all that. He could vaguely remember the last time Red told him anything without his asking, back when they were younger or when they needed to actually communicate for reasons outside of their friendship. A very one-sided relationship on the sharing information department.

In time, though, he focused back on him—on his hands.

Something short, a single word, but still enough to get on his nerves.

Palm up, shaking it back and forth twice.

Where?

He scoffed, slowly turning his head to his own nightstand, catching his bag beside his pillow in his peripheral. He did not carry much, like Red, the basics as he hopped from town to town until he reached home, Pallet Town. It was a given he would spend the first two days back with Daisy—her sticking to him or the other way around, that was yet to be determined—then he would catch up with his grandpa, roam around town a bit, check up on his pokemon, then he would be off. To adventure elsewhere—somewhere in Kalos if his application went in on time, or an entirely different region like Unova or even Alola—the latter would be nice, it would give him the chance to see and spend time with Gramps' cousin, Samson Oak—he wondered if Daisy would tag along if he asked, even if for a couple weeks.

"Alola is lovely this time of year," he said absentmindedly, eyes drifting to the window between their beds. It was a point of separation, almost, splitting the room in perfect halves, each on their own side. He huffed mentally, quietly wondering what his luck was that Red landed in this room compared to everyone else. "It's far too. Very far. Couple hours on a plane. Tedious, though."

"Vee." Blue blinked, then a couple times in rapid succession before he properly focused, Eevee carelessly walking over on his thighs. He dropped his left hand on its head, wiggling his fingers in its fur to ground himself. "Vee?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine, just thinking about… you know, our future travel."

"Vee," Eevee purred, almost in disappointment, ears flattened by its head, face dropping at the reminder. It made him chuckle, though, so it was worth something, somewhat.

A pang of hurt shocked him, already knowing the damn voice in the back of his head. Red said nothing, because he was not looking. But he did not want to look right now. Unfair, he knew. But Red would get his attention by other means, right? Throw the pillow, send Pikachu over, or… or simply walk over. There were few places he would go. If Red walked right up to him, he knew he would not run, even if he wanted to, his instinct would always be to stay.

With him?

For him?

He could not draw the line.

"Anyways," he muttered, the room so quiet his breath was thunder in paradise, "I'm gonna go train and explore the town. I'll see you around."

Eevee jumped as he started to get up, eyes locked on the floor, dragging to the door without ever looking at him. For all Blue knew, Red could have left the room a while ago, never having made a single sound in his exit. He knew that was not the case, hearing sparks in the air with quiet, little squeaks. Bed springs loud as ever too. He ignored it all, one foot in front of the other to the door, a gust of air pulling him out as the door swished open, padded steps behind him.

"Vee?"

Blue looked behind him, finding Eevee instantly, looking up at him and back though he refused to follow its gaze. He sighed as he turned to face outside, stepping out, and Eevee followed with hurried yet uncertain hops.

The door swished closed two steps away from it, and his body froze where he stood. Eevee stopped too, by his feet, looking up in worry. It was evident in his face, how affected he was, how utterly pathetic he was for all these stupid games. Childish games, to make it worse. His body kicked into motion, rushed steps as Eevee hopped and yipped, a too loud worry in its little body.

He paid no attention to his surroundings, deaf to the lively sounds of trainers and pokemon alike, sharing joy and adventures and—

It was loud.

Almost another world to his senses. Blue ducked his head and sped-walked, taking a deep inhale of warm afternoon air when he was out the doors. A little to the side, with the door opening and closing, trainers and pokemon walking in and out.

He felt lightheaded.

Eevee called, only concern, and he could not look away for a couple seconds. Then minutes. More than ever, he felt like an absolute idiot.

"It's fine," he muttered, fake reassurance for the both of them. "It's fine. Let's go."

Much to Eevee's disappointment, Blue began to move again. Each step dragging behind the other, each step taking him further from the center. It was fine, everything was fine. If he was lucky, their paths would not cross at all for the rest of the day. And if he was luckier, they would only spend one night together—and he could always go back late or sleep early, anything that would prevent them from interacting. From talking. From seeing each other.

Blue dragged his hand down his face, groaning into the heel of his palm.

"This is so stupid."

Slowly, and by force, Blue anchored his wandering mind to the present. Visiting shops to taste the local foods, admire the art, even joining impromptu battles. The kids seemed happy, excited even, when he agreed to battle them. They knew his face, they knew his name, and they were absolutely thrilled to fuss and squeal over his pokemon. So that was a nice distraction, too, moving on from battle and simply letting his pokemon entertain the children. It allowed him the chance to step aside, back to wallowing in his thoughts.

At least he was outside with fresh air.

A small yellow body ran into frame, and his freedom was compromised.

Cold metal pressed on the side of his face, and he raised his hand to grab the can, not even bothering to push it or him away. He knew better. Red was stubborn, and he would have loved to say he was twice as much.

Red walked in front of him, not begging to be looked at, though Blue decided to not answer either way. Until fingers found their way to his forehead, lightly yet firmly shoving him back. The sudden impact had him closing his eyes in surprise, so at least he had that. Once he recovered, instinctively, he swatted the hand away, huffing as he turned to the side. Who did Red think he was? A right pain in the ass, that was for sure.

Red, as always, tried again, fingers finding their way back undeterred. This time, a stronger hold under his chin, pulling his face up. He saw him, a flash of a familiar face under shadows, red eyes like fire with a matching determination. All the same, just as annoying.

"Lay off," he growled, swatting his hand one more time. The skin where Red touched tingled, burning slightly like spending too long under sun without protection. Nice at some point, no longer after a while.

In some feeble attempt to maintain an intact ego, he began to stand up, back against the bark of the tree so he would be as far from him as he could. Red responded simply, a strong hand on his shoulder to push him down again.

Pieces of bark chipped off against his jacket, the roughness seeping through his clothes into his back. Subtly, he could feel the threads catching on the dryness, ultimately failing as he went down, and all he could hope for was no holes.

That would have really pissed him off.

He closed his fist tight around the can, the metal denting slightly under his fingers, pushing it the ground hard. Sure, he wanted to punch Red in the face—a nice throwback, really, to their younger days. No pokemon, no adults to stop them—just them, their fists, and sentiments unspoken. Briefly, barely, the laughter of children broke through and reminded him of their external situation, which only made him madder. For sure Red had carefully picked this situation and moment, forcing him under the eyes of innocent children and judging parents.

Blue really, really wanted to punch Red.

Just on his peripheral, movement. Red crouched down to be eye-level, something conflicted in his face, that same old unreadable expression Blue could see through—sometimes, not often, but to his luck, this was one of those moments.

Left hand still on Blue's shoulder, Red pointed at him; right palm hovering on his stomach, fanning up, outwardly [You upset].

Blue let out a dry chuckle, rolling his eyes away fully. He let his head drop back against the trunk, words sharp on his tongue, "What? Am I not even worth both hands? Gotta save your energy and time for other things, huh?"

They were verging on the edge of an explosion, he could feel it. A line burning, fire with sparks, slowly, slowly, too close—

"Hmph!"

Blue tried to back away from the forceful hold on his cheeks, only bumping his head against the trunk again, finally facing him. Red stared, intently, studying his face, looking for an emotion or thought Blue's lips would not give. So he glared at him, brow twisting into something ugly, nearly snarling as Red only held sturdier.

A thumb on one side, index and middle on the other, the other fingers holding his jaw. It was humiliating, infuriating, who did Red think he was?

A flash of hesitation. Red hesitated. Red hesitated.

His glare soften into surprise, morphing back to a glare in an instant.

Red raised his right hand, held his palm downwards, did a little push [Stay-still].

"And now you're bossing me around? You really let that Champion title get to your head, huh?" Bitter. Blue was bitter, about the title and much more, that much was obvious to the both of them—based on today alone, the intensity had remained.

Red scowled, frustration in his brow, but not towards Blue. Still, his hold eased, slowly, slowly prying his fingers from Blue's face. He could feel the ghost of Red's hand on his face still, pushing on muscle, scorching hot. He breathed out steadily, forcing his shoulders to relax into the trunk, eyes on him regardless.

First, Red sat down, crossing his legs. Then he stared at his legs for a second, trying to find the words, or so Blue assumed. They rarely did this, the whole communicating thing, so they were both out of the water.

Someone who could not talk. And someone who did not want to talk.

Blue scoffed mentally. What an idiotic situation.

Red started, much to Blue's surprise, pointing at himself then he placed his hand on his collarbone, swishing downwards and outwards. Pointing in opposite directions, right hand on top of his left, three taps [Me want talk…]—

"I said lay off!" Blue smacked Red's hand, hard, rubbing his forehead where he had been poked yet again. Red grinned at him smugly, quite proud of himself. This time, Blue did not retaliate, instead, he squinted at him, "Talk? You don't fancy talking, last I heard."

Red rolled his eyes. He brought his pinched index and thumb to his lips as if he was going to whistle, then extended out his arm. Pointed at himself [Ask me…]—

It was something he was used to, Blue reminisced idly, couple seconds spent simply staring at Red's hands. Motions and gestures, swift movements with confidence. Their conversations were short, mostly Blue doing the heavy lifting in the talking part. Though, he did like the slowness of this, slowing the pace of whatever they were doing for this. Blue hmphed, digging a fingertip under the tab of the can, the quiet hiss alongside Red's final word.

—Hands brought close to his chest before extending outwards, fingers doing a finger-snap motion without the sound […something].

The can was cool still, the drink too, despite how long it had been clutched in his palm. The fizz itched his throat.

Well, this was new.

Red was a private person, for as long as he had known him. And the things he knew of him only came about from practically growing up together. Side by side, from childhood to… now. There was plenty he did not know about him, things he probably would never know, yet here he was, Red, offering to answer a question of his choosing. A question.

"You're not fair, you know?" he said into the can, lips brushing the metal for a moment before he took another sip. Red stared at him, tilted his head to prompt for an explanation, and Blue decided to not push his luck by making him ask. "One question. Is that all I get? You know me," he smiled as he side-eyed him, and Red rolled his eyes, "I'm much too curious."

Nonchalant as always, Red perched his left elbow on his knee, cheek against his fist. With a too smug smile on his face, his right fist made two clockwise circles in front of his cheek [Greedy].

Blue sighed dramatically, exhaling the tension from his shoulders, more or less melting into the trunk of the tree behind him. The bark scratched at his back through his clothes, and the nearby laughter of children and his pokemon was as clear as earlier. For a moment, he had forgotten where he was and what he had been doing—since Red appeared, at least, and disrupted his peace.

That was a start, at least.

"Found something scary at the mountain?" Red raised his brow. "I mean, why did you come down?"

Red seemed to think about it for second, then he looked behind his shoulder, which Blue followed. Among the crowd, he found the small yellow body of Pikachu running and playing with Blue's pokemon. Before he could ask if it had something to do with Pikachu, Red turned back to him, a flash of hesitation in his otherwise neutral face.

Right hand wrapped on his right fist, shook twice like a show of gratitude. Red shook his right hand twice like he had been hurt [Friend(s) hurt].

Blue winced, sharing a face like Red's.

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense." He said quietly, looking to the side as he took another sip. The drink was no longer sweet, mostly the itch of the fizz in his mouth. Red was strong, that much he knew, but he supposed there was always someone out there who was stronger. That reminder did not sit well with him. Instead of thinking about it further, he cleared his throat, "So, um, how'd it happen? Fought a tyranitar or something?"

Red shook his head. He pointed at his right eye then out; hands like a telephone, fingers against his chest, two pulses [Look-after camp]. He made a V-sign, flicking his wrist twice; then he curled his right fingers three times in a gathering motion above his open palm, then brought both hands his chest; then finally he closed his right fist above his open left palm in a circular motion [We gather resources].

At that Blue, rolled his eyes, giving him an accusatory raised brow after. Red looked away, almost sheepish. Blue retaliated with a kick to his knee.

"Are you stupid? Leaving your pokemon like that?"

Red pointed at his temple with his thumb twice, wincing and refusing to make eye-contact [Know, know].

Blue sighed, slapping his palm to his cheek, tilting onto his hand as he stared at him. Red looked different, he noticed then. He supposed that was a result of his solitary life up in the snowy, icy mountain. Challenging weather with challenging pokemon, an extreme living condition, and really, it would have been more surprising if Red had not changed at all. A couple scars and bruises littered his arms, nothing that demanded fussing.

He sighed into his palm, digging the heel of his shoe into Red's knee, very lightly but still enough to be annoying. His usual annoying, but only a little. Red moved his hand, reaching over to pinch the muscle above his ankle. Lightly, too.

"So you came down?"

Red nodded.

"Logical," he muttered, fixing his eyes on the white visor of Red's cap. "At least you still have enough brain cells to think to bring them down. Heal them up properly… Are…" he slowed down, taking a slow exhale at Red's slightly saddened expression, "are they alright?"

Again, but slower, Red nodded.

"That's… good. Have you had the chance to see them yet?"

Red shook his head. He straightened a little, like he was about to sign, but slouched shortly after. Blue watched his shoulders slump, not defeat but something calmer, almost accepting. That was curious.

A shiver ran up his spine, a quiet squeak escaping his lips when Red ran his finger up his legs. It was a very light touch, the back of his nail gliding up the fabric of his pants. He clutched the can, his own fingernails lightly digging into his cheek.

That was a reason, a weird way to convey it, yet clear.

Wanted to see you first.

Blue let his hand drop onto his lap, closing his eyes just as Red glanced up. He dropped his head back against the trunk. Red squeeze his ankle, demanding attention but he did not look at him. In place of that, though, he felt his face warm up a little, dust a pale pink he could feel tickling on his skin. The sensation was uncomfortable, even more because he knew Red was looking at him.

A steady and firm hand took hold of his chin, forcing his head to face forward, staring right at him had his eyes been open. In the back of his mind, tender and innocent memories jogged to the present, the external child laughter that seeped into his mind too. Even then, as children, Blue was a right jerk and ignoring Red was… very mean.

At some point, though, Red got handsier, more demanding, and it became harder to ignore him. Tugging his clothes, holding his hand, his wrist, his arm. Holding his face, sometimes Red simply resigned himself to hold him in a tight hug, neither able to do anything. Blue would not be able to run, Red would not be able to sign.

It was stupid.

Very stupid.

Blue chuckled, slowly opening one eye with a scowl that twitched into a smile.

Red squeezed his face a little, always firm, then smiled too. Something smaller, but all the same softer.

In the minutes in between, Red had somehow gotten closer. Blue's right leg was now perched over Red's left knee, a tangle of legs with Red's hand on his face. He brought the can to his lips, their hands bumping but Red did not let go as he took sips of the drink. The fizz was mostly gone by now, and the sweetness seemed diluted now. It was fine, still fine.

"Want some?" He smirked, holding the can from the top as he offered it. He let out a short laugh when Red made a face. "Kidding, kid—"

Red let go of his face, hand snatching the can from Blue's hand. He held it from the bottom, tilting it up as he drank. Blue's eyes drew to his throat, absentmindedly watching his Adam's apple bob with each gulp. There too, on the skin of his neck and little exposed collarbone and shoulders, he noticed light scars and mostly healed bruises. In the back of his mind he wondered how bad the rest of his body was.

Though, of course, he was not going to ask.

"That's gross," he hummed, eyes following the can to rest on Red's right knee. He blinked up, locking eyes with him almost instantly. Red stared back, very nonchalant and calm, studying his actions and movements as always. And Blue, well, Blue was no stranger. "That was for me, wasn't it? Rude. Now it's got all your spit on it. Gross."

Red blinked, looked at the can, back, then rolled his eyes. Unamused. The same as always, and that was almost reassuring, in a very nostalgic way. Blue hummed softly, lowly, and there was a creeping edge of mischief creeping up. He wanted to mess with Red, like when they were kids—not so much ignore him, but the other kind of messing. Poke him, say stuff, just—he waved his hand around in his mind—do something like before.

Red seemed to think the same, though probably under a more innocent light than wanting to annoy him. Then again, Red could be a right pain in the ass too, so Blue did not put it past him to repay with the same coin.

"Whatcha staring at? Missed my face that much?" He started, right on it, almost startling him out of his thoughts. Red made a face in response, faux disgust and offense, an eye-roll added for effect, and Blue laughed. He tilted his head, looking at him with half-hooded eyes and a playful smile, rolling the heel of his shoe on the ground behind him, lightly tapping Red's side. "You're a bad liar. You missed me."

Red shifted the can to his left hand, pressing the cool metal against the side of Blue's leg. It was not chilling cold, but annoying still, enough that he made a face that had him smirking in victory.

Before Blue could reply, Red lifted his right palm, tipping it left to right a couple times [Maybe].

Blue slapped himself, dragging his hand down his face but he did not take his hand off. Instead, he used it to hide the creeping blush on his face, even though he was kicking himself mentally for his stupid reaction. More likely than not, Red was simply playing along to his dumb, very dumb words, but in the off-chance—

His thoughts got interrupted by loud squeals, a horde of children breaking off in dozen directions. He leaned over as Red turned around, a wash of drizzle hitting them in the face, though mostly Red.

"Blast—" His scolding cut off when he looked up, finally seeing the grayed-out sky. Just a moment ago, the sky was clear and the sun was high, and in a blink, it seemed to have vanished. It was surprising, though he kept that to myself.

Red got up first, offering his hand behind him which Blue took, pulling himself up as he grabbed the pokeballs from his belt. His team walked over as the children ran to their parents, their thanks loud and waves frantic. Blue gave a couple waves too as his pokemon greeted Red.

"Alright, all of you, back in." In pairs, a red glowed surrounded them then transferred them into the pokeballs, minimizing in his hands. He shoved them into the belt, repeating the action until he had all of them back. Eevee jogged in between his legs, purring against as it pressed its little face against his pants. "Hey, you too. You'll get wet."

"Vee," Eevee dropped its ears, kinda flopping over his shoes.

"Don't complain later," he huffed, leaning down to pick up Eevee. He unzipped his jacket, letting Eevee settle in as he zipped it as much as he could, the soft fur brushing under his chin and neck. "Gah, you're dirty too. My clothes."

Eevee licked his jaw apologetically, a small smile in its mouth.

"Alright, let's head back then."

Just as Blue took the first step, he stopped abruptly, shutting his eyes at the sudden pressure on his head. He opened his eyes, seeing Red's hand and a shadow in front of his eyes. Red drew his hand back, and his eyes followed, finding a cap-less Red and Pikachu draped on his shoulder.

"Eugh, you look weird."

Unsurprisingly, Red rolled his eyes.

The pair made their way back to the Pokemon Center, side by side, leisurely like there was no rain falling around them. The people around rushed to their homes, people and pokemon running together, some laughing too. Yet they did not match that urgency, simply taking their time.

Blue caught movement in the corner of his eye, so close that it could only be Red. He turned slightly, enough to see him shielding Pikachu from the rain with one hand. It did little as Pikachu seemed to try to find shelter under his jaw.

He let out a small laugh, muffled into Eevee's coat mostly, "You can have your cap back, you know? I'll just wash my hair when we get back."

Much to Pikachu's displeasure, Red shook his head.

"The least you could do then," he said with humor, even if at the expense of Pikachu, "is walk faster."

"Pika!"

Red dropped his hand into Pikachu's face, smiling when the little guy pushed back into it. His other hand grabbed Blue's arm, firm but not forceful, tugging him along into a faster pace.

He laughed again, "Didn't say I was coming with you though."

Then it was like before, a flash of before at least. Red turned back to smile, though older Red raised a brow, as if amused of the statement. Blue smirked back at him, more than ready to put up a challenge he did not when they were younger. A hint of a challenge, the kind that drove Red to everything he did—the fire of his determination, his drive, Blue knew how to trigger that, and now seemed low-stakes enough to play around.

As the sky darkened, the rain picked up, pouring around them. Their hair and clothes stuck to their bodies the longer they spent outside, and the wind thrashing against them sent chills right down to their bones. It was stupid to be playing around like this, especially when they had two pokemon to look after, but Red picked up on that little glint in Blue's eyes, like unpredictable waves out at sea. His like fire, the unstoppable eruption of a volcano.

"Run along, boy, you're getting all wet." Blue taunted with a laugh.

Red let his hand glide down, some distance getting between their bodies, but soon enough, he was holding Blue's hand. His fingers brushed past Blue's bracelet, tugging it down a little down his wrist until their fingers found each other. Not intertwined, but holding each other, though it was mostly Red holding him as Blue awaited the next move, waited to answer.

They ran, then, once Red pulled them along with a wide grin. Pikachu secured in his left arm, tucked against his chest, Blue's hand in his right. Red began a jog, and really, there was nothing else to do than follow. Just like when they were kids, chasing each other, running after the other under the rain to whichever house was nearest at the time.

It felt like before, for a moment at least.

Free of everything, their only goal to get out of the rain.

It was a shorter path once they started running, annoyingly enough.

They burst through the doors of the center, earning themselves a scolding from Nurse Joy and some side-eyes from the others—Blue did not miss the way some of their faces changed after recognizing who they were, but that did not matter, really, as he laughed under his breath, pushing into Red's arm as he pushed back.

Like most others, they were soaked. The floor was wet with muddy footprints and black water, a couple chanseys moping up with some others helping, their pokemon too. At that, the duo quickly made their way to their room, silently agreeing that they did not want another scolding.

Back in their shared room, each on their own side, Blue unzipped his jacket so Eevee could jump down to the floor. It shook the water off its fur, though it remained wet, which made it unhappy.

Blue laughed into his fist, Eevee looking up at him disbelief, "Told ya, should've gone into your pokeball. Now you're on your way to become a vaporeon."

"Vee." Eevee dropped its ears and face, trying to shake more of the water, only for its owner to continue laughing.

Blue looked up after a while, finding Red looking at him, like he had been waiting. Red made a claw with his hand, shaking it back and forth down on his head twice, tilting his head [Shower?].

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure. Might as well."

Without waiting another second, Blue spun to face his bed, rummaging through his bag for his change of clothes and other toiletries. Like others who got caught under the rain, the communal showers had a decent traffic of people walking in and out, some followed by the friends or pokemon and others on their own.

Before they entered, Blue spoke up, "Hm, which bathroom do you go to, you giant weirdo?" He asked, giving him a dumb smirk. Red only huffed with a simple grin, though Pikachu was offended on his behalf, red cheeks sparking up a little. As soon as he noticed, Blue grabbed the hat still on his head, tossing it to Pikachu's face. "Watch it."

Pikachu shook the cap off, a little angrier now, then it looked around himself, noticing the wet floors and steam in the air. More importantly, it noticed the people walking by, which was enough to kill the spark.

Red leaned down, scratching the base of its ears to cheer it up.

"Just like its owner, huh? Acts before thinking."

Unlike Pikachu, Red's attacks affected none more than his target with no collateral. A punch in the arm and a grin, Blue sticking his tongue out to him.

They grabbed a towel and headed in. Despite the traffic, the stalls were not that busy, Blue leading the way to two empty stalls right by the other. Eevee dashed into the first one, more than happy to be cleaned up already.

"Alright, see ya in—" Blue stopped as Red lightly shoved the back of his shoulder, following him right in, pulling and latching the curtains close. He scoffed, giving him a questioning look, "What do you think you're doing?"

Instead of replying, Red just hung his towel, dropping his hands to the hem of his shirt, crossing his arms over his head as he pulled his shirt over. In a blink, Blue was face to face with a shirtless Red, instantly snapping his head to the side, heat blooming in his face. He stuttered some, struggling to form a coherent response, mind blanking.

It had been a while since they bathed together. Back when they still got along in the majority, not to say they did not get along now—it was different, that was all he could think at the time.

"I can go into the next stall," he managed to squeak, a shiver running down his spine when Red moved closer. A hand landed on his side, a forehead dropped on his shoulder. His heart was beating like crazy, so loud he feared Red would hear, even over the sound of water running and other sounds and—

Red moved, just a small head movement, lifted then dropped his head. This time, Blue did not feel the flatness of a forehead, or even the sharpness of a chin—instead, he felt something soft, scratching very lightly on the skin of his neck.

Red's lips.

A kiss on the side of his neck.

He sucked a breath in, trembling on the spot as a couple thousand thoughts rushed and merged in his mind, all too focused on the way Red's lips pressed on his skin. A little pressure applied, pushing down. He knew what that meant, Red wanted a reaction, any kind of reaction yet his body and mind disconnected, able to give absolutely nothing in return. He stood like a fool, dumbly, until Red's finger slid under his shirt. His index lifted the shirt a little, the rest of his hand still on the band of his pants.

"Okay," he managed to breathe eventually, and he was sure Red only heard him because of how close they were standing. For a moment, he thought he had not spoken at all, only when Red acknowledged him did he speak again, now with Red's temple pressed to his. "I'll stay, I'll stay, jeez. You're not shy enough, huh?"

Although he joked and added a weak laugh at the end, his whole demeanor betrayed his faux confidence.

Red paid it no mind though.

"Alright, you, let's get you cleaned up," Blue spoke when Red swayed away, prying himself from Blue's back. Despite his face burning up, he forced himself to move, turning his head to Eevee who was looking up at him with suspicion. He ignored that, crouching down to pet its little head, "Yeah, I'm talking about you. Don't act all surprised."

"Vee?" Eevee tilted its head, then tilted it to lick at Blue's palm.

Blue stood up and moved to take his shirt then pants off, reaching over to turn the handle. In an instant, a stream of water rained onto the damp floor, splashing over to a unsuspecting Eevee. He laughed on the side of his fist, relaxing a little.

For a minute, he had forgotten it was just them two, that was until Red appeared in his field of vision, holding the bottle of shampoo. Red pushed two pumps into his outstretched hand, lathering it in both hands before working it the foam into Eevee's wet coat. Beside him, Red and Pikachu joined, though unlike Eevee, Pikachu did not seem that eager to get cleaned up.

"Piii," Pikachu growled lowly, a very early warning as its cheeks sparked. Red was unbothered by it, massaging the foam into its body and arms, clicking his tongue with a wince.

"Having an easy time there?" Blue chuckled. Red gave him a look, then a sigh. "Alright then, nothing else you can do about that," he hummed as Pikachu darted from Red's hands. He stood up, rinsing his hands, casting occasional glances at the puff of white and brown near his feet. "Your turn."

Blue walked over to Red, running both hands into his hair just to mess it up, earning a wince and an annoyed look. He smirked in response, gasping when Red wiped his hands on his chest, covering him in shampoo lather.

"That's rude," he said, looking between his stomach and his stupid smirk.

After their childish actions, both moved along to undress themselves fully, even though Blue remained hesitant about it. His heart was pounding in his chest like crazy, only distracted by the puff of Eevee blinding tumbling into vision. He bit his tongue to not scold it to wash off, simply walking back to the shower, deciding that this was not a fight for him.

Blue kicked the stool away from the wall, gesturing Red to it, "Com'ere, I'll wash your hair, since I'm so helpful and I doubt Pikachu will be as nice."

Red took hold of his wrist, a tad firm, then pointed at Blue's hair with his other hand.

"Yeah, yeah, you can wash mine later. Sit down already—" he looked down at Eevee, still blinding following him "—and you, get under the water already. You'll bump into something and hurt yourself."

Red sat on the stool and Blue grabbed the human shampoo, eyeing the label on the bottle as he walked behind him. Eevee purred, carefully making its way to the sound of water, and when it got close enough, Red picked it up in his arm, helping wash the lather off the shiny coat.

"Oh, thanks." Blue hummed, pumping some shampoo onto his hand, then worked it into Red's hair. He pushed down on his head harder than he needed, just to be annoying, enough that Red had to turned around and glare at him a couple times. And each other, he only smiled innocently, "Sorry, sorry, I guess I just don't know my own strength, huh?"

Eventually, they switched positions. Blue was curious about Red's response, but he decided to deal with it, focusing instead on working the body wash onto his arms.

Red's hands landed atop his head, flattening out his hair. Red spent a couple times simply… flattening his hair, which was weird, but Red was weird, so he said nothing. Rather, he let his head fall back, Red's hands gliding down the side of his face as he bumped into his chest, giving him a raised brow and stupid grin.

There was a second where they stared at each other, only a short while before Red smiled, booping Blue's nose before pushing him to face forward again. Red ran his fingers through chestnut hairs, drawing lines back and forth, massaging Blue's scalp. Slow and meticulous movements, nothing harsh like he had done to him. For a moment, Blue felt guilt, only for a moment because the next second, he had hands on his skin. Gliding from neck to shoulders.

"Weirdo," he muttered, a little strained. Red's hand snaked around his neck, the back of his finger brushing up from his jaw to his lower cheek. "Get a move on, we're wasting time."

From one second to the next, Red had the shower head in his hand, an evil glint in his eyes and a smirk that made Blue shudder. Soon after the first attack, though, a fight broke between the two, fighting for the shower head a little more roughly than they probably should. There was a mess of lather and water and limbs, stupid smirks and challenging glares, all until Blue accidentally stepped on Red and almost slipped, catching onto Red's bicep.

"Okay, I give, I give," Blue spluttered water as Red held the shower head over him, blindly reaching to the wall to shut the handle. He turned to the side, raising his hand to shield himself a little until the water stopped, their stall falling into silence at last. He spit some water out, again, blindly reaching a hand back to hit Red. A hand caught his arm though, so at least he knew where Red was. "Idiot."

"Vee, vee."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going, I'm going." He breathed in as he rolled his eyes, yanking his arm free to walk towards his Eevee. He grabbed the smaller towel from the hook, dropping it on Eevee, then he grabbed the other towel, burrowing his face into it. His words muffled into the towel when he spoke, "Might be dinner time soon. If you didn't make us waste too much of our time, that is."

Blue patted himself dry then tied the towel around his waist, crouching down to finally dry Eevee. It was relieved, pushing into the towels and Blue's hands, purring and letting cute little sounds. He glanced over at Red, seeing his naked back—he was reminded of the scars and bruises, and was unsurprised to find that his assumption had been right, Red's body was littered in marks and signs of battle.

Sensing his gaze, Red looked over his shoulder, their eyes meeting quickly. Like his name, eyes red. He tilted his head, Red blinking without reaction.

"Your back," he started, unsure if he should ask, "…the scars. Does… It doesn't hurt, does it?"

Red shook his head, giving him momentary relief. He gave a short nod, turning back to Eevee, mostly to keep his hands busy for a couple seconds. Eventually, he grabbed his clothes from the floor, wrapping Eevee in the smaller towel and securing it in his arm. He grinned at it as Eevee settled down, smiling up at him, quite happy about the situation.

"Ready, then?" Once again, he glanced over at him just as Red was getting up. Pikachu perched on his shoulders, happy to be away from the water. Red nodded, and they slipped into their slippers, heading back to their room.

The path to the showers and rooms was still busy, more people having taking shelter as the rain probably picked up more. They sped walk, then, mostly to get out of the way, and Blue with the urge to get food soon.

With the door closed, they put on clean clothes, tossing their wets ones on a basket. Blue unwrapped Eevee, letting it dry its paws on the towel before jumping on the bed, running in circles with its tail swishing around happily. He smiled, scratching its chin fondly.

Pikachu dashed about in the other bed, promptly making its way to Blue's bed, jumping over to land beside Eevee. They circled playfully, creasing the sheets a little with their weight, though nothing to fuss about.

Just as he lifted a knee on the bed, a hand landed on his right shoulder, instinctively turning his head to the left. Red got ahead of him, though, and their faces bumped into each other, a light touch before another graze of lips on his jaw. Pink dusted his face. He took a second to compose himself, hold his breathing steady before he turned over his shoulder, expecting Red to say something.

With a his left hand, Red made the motion of bringing a spoon to his mouth.

"Oh, right. Uh, you want to go now?"

Red shook his head.

"You want to eat here?"

Red nodded.

"Alright, I can go—"

Again, Red shook his head, which surprised Blue. The implication, mostly.

"Wait, are you sure? You don't have to. I can– I can go get it."

Red shook his head for the final time, smiling as his hand dropped on Blue's head.

Blue swatted his hand away, finally turning to face him fully. He placed his hands on his hips, tilting his head at him, and squinted. There had to be something he was missing, for this old, old, childhood-old Red to make an appearance in their current stage of lives. Too generous to not be suspicious. Maybe Red was pulling a prank, or was going to pull a prank—put something in his food or whatever else—and he could not allow that… if that even was the case currently.

With not many leads to go on, Blue could not even begin to decipher. Regardless, Red moved on, flashing another charming and cheeky smile before heading to the door. Pikachu did not follow, which was unexpected, though it made sense, seeing as the pair of Pikachu and Eevee seemed content with themselves rather than their trainers. Blue eyed them, then looked back at the door, finding Red facing him.

It was odd, though Red seemed to expect him to look—always waiting, just like when they were younger. On good days, Blue used to be patient. As he got older, he got crueler, ignoring him. It was no surprise, then, when Red began to persist and use force, driven by what Blue assumed to be hurt at being ignored.

Did he really need to think about this now?

He decided to not.

Red pointed a clockwise circle on his face, lips pressed into that stupid smile of his, yet Blue waited. Right palm closing a door, then pointed at himself finally [Face all me]. Before Blue could reply, Red was sliding out of the room with the basket of dirty clothes, smile turned smirk, flashing the quickest wink as the door closed.

In the solitude of the room, aside from their pokemon companions, Blue flopped onto the bed, the two smaller creatures scurrying to get away from impact zone. He dragged and dropped an left arm over his eyes, feeling the unbearably burning skin of his face against his arm, almost going dizzy from it. His face, his eyes, and whole body, everything was set ablaze as he laid. A tender weight pressed on him, Eevee nuzzling into the side of his body then climbed up to lick beside his chin.

He had no room to think about Eevee's good intentions. Everything, every last inch of his mind was filled with thoughts of Red, of his stupid face and stupid smile, of their random encounter and the lingering touches, of the fact that at morning tomorrow, one of them would be gone until who knew when.

Fingers dug into the fabric of his shirt, clawing against the muscle over his heart, each thump against his fingers, vibrating down his arm and up his chest to his head. It was driving him insane—the endless thoughts, the paths and directions to follow, all mangled up in a mess that led him nowhere but back to him—to Red, learning nothing new with a thousand more questions.

"Vee? Vee, eev." Eevee pushed down on his chest with tiny paws, strength growing the longer he spent not reacting. It reached a point, even, as time flowed away from his fingertips, where Eevee growled in the back of its throat, so clearly baring its teeth before retreating to jump on his chest, hard. "Vee!"

The air was knocked out of his lungs, forcing his body to double over coughing while gasping for air, Eevee pushing into his lap with worry. He coughed into his fist, heaving a couple times, closing his eyes as he exhaled long.

"You…" he grumbled, no punch behind his warning. He inhaled and exhaled, rubbing his eyelids. Colors flared back and forth until he opened them, blinking a couple times to get used to the room's light. From darkness to light, and eventually his settled heart. Eevee climbed his chest, pushed its face onto his cheek. He finally acknowledged it, a weak smile plastered on his lips, "Yeah, yeah, I'm alive. Don't do that again, you hear me?"

Eevee pushed again, purring against his skin.

He ran a hand behind its head, cradling it, running his index back and forth on soft fur. He looked at its worried face, slowly returning to normal before he looked to the side, finding Pikachu staring at them with matching worry. It carefully approached him, like he was the hurt and injured one, which, in hindsight, he probably was compared to them.

Pikachu waddled over, sitting beside his thigh and he caressed the top of its head too. It replied with a satisfied chirp, bringing a smile to his lips.

"No more moping," he announced, a half cocktail of confidence and faux. The two jumped back as he got up, making his way to the other bed, barely three steps, and began to rummage through Red's things. Pikachu put up no fight, maybe out of pity, but he decided to let it be seeing as he got to be nosy scot-free.

Nothing of much interest, to the surprise of absolutely not him—clothes, some snacks, some change. Though, there was Red's pokedex, that he vaguely remembered having more things added at Gramps' suggestion. He held the item in his hand, admiring the roughed up case. Still red, still shining with bumps and scratches.

He chuckled, "Even your pokedex is like you, idiot."

With the only item of interest, he made his way back to his own bed. He knew it made no difference, hiding or not, since the room was way too small to even pretend to hide. His only option was to leave the room, and a quick glance to the door, then Pikachu's squint and attentive ears, he decided that it was not a worthwhile chase.

"Alright, what do we have here?"

Blue scooted back against the wall, pillow behind him. The two were quick by his side, peeking over his arm to see too. He flicked the lid, pressing a button to turn it on, momentarily amused that it was not password protected.

His first instinct was the actual pokedex, quickly scrolling with his thumb through the list. Every number was filled. All of Kanto's pokemon right there, at his disposal like in his own dex. He tapped some random entries, glossing over words and stats, repeating a handful times before he got bored.

He clicked out, then again into a different menu that was not the default. There was not much there either, three icons—a pokedollar, a letter, and a VS symbol.

Although he already knew what each was, thanks to overhearing his grandpa discuss it, and Daisy filling in the gaps—he skipped the first and went for the second one. A contact list, a very short one that did not even fill the screen.

"Pi!" Pikachu jumped closer, nosing the screen and Blue's hand before settling back. It seemed happy.

Professor Oak. Mom. Daisy.

He ignored the pang in his chest, even if this was what he expected. Red was like that, always keeping to himself. Despite the whole region knowing of him, knowing his face and his feats, few could reach him, even fewer he reached out to.

Out of dumb curiosity, own stupidity even, he clicked on their names.

It opened to a chat. An empty chat.

The same with his mother, the same with Daisy.

Blue could not keep the scoff within his lips as he clicked out. He switched to the next icon, finding Red's current team. At that, he smiled though, allowing himself a minute to be stupid nostalgic—he remembered this team, the one that had beat him back in the championship, Red's trusty team.

His eyes landed on Charizard, making him think of his own Blastoise. If they both stayed until the next night, they would have the chance for the rest of their pokemon to see each other again. Maybe they would have time for a fight too, or they could just chill out, do nothing, be none but two idiots existing.

Too many variables, however. He remembered what Red had told him, his pokemon were injured. Although he had no doubt of Nurse Joy and Chansey's skills, with the other trainers, he hesitated to think there would be enough time.

There would be, no?

Red was stuck in the Pokemon Center until his pokemon were better. He, on the other hand, was free to leave whenever he wanted. Right then, if he so desired.

So this was up to him?

He almost wanted Red to be the one to decide. It would be much easier to hate him than deal with the guilt of leaving.

In his pause, Pikachu jumped ahead again, pressing himself. On the side screen, a panel of options opened up. Blue's eyes caught the flicker, blinking back to the dex, finding what he expected—Pikachu's move-set. Absentmindedly, he pressed one, and a robotic voice called a 'Pikachu, thunder!'.

Of course, Pikachu did not attack, but it did brush against his arm, letting out a small spark that shook him like static.

"Hey!"

Pikachu laughed at him.

Just then, the doors slid open, and the man of the hour walked in.

Red's eyes landed on the red item in Blue's hands, meanwhile, Blue's eyes landed on the tray in Red's hands. Two steaming bowls and two smaller ones stacked up, which reminded him that he was rather hungry.

Red walked over, door closing behind him.

Blue ignored the initial question, throwing one back at him. "You have Daisy's number? Do you know how bad that looks from an outside perspective?"

Red rolled his eyes, setting the tray on the nightstand beside Blue's bed. One hand grabbed one of the bowls, the other pointed at the dex, then made a palm against his chest and extended out [She offer].

"Weirdo," Blue dragged his pointed word as he flipped the dex close, reaching over to put it beside the tray. He crossed his legs before accepting the bowl and chopsticks Red offered, giving a smile to his frown. "Also, I guess living in that stupid mountain means you don't have to spend much, huh? You got quite the savings there."

Red put the smaller bowls on the floor, their two pokemon jumping down in glee. He grabbed his own bowl, taking it to the feet of the bed where he sat. He replied with a shoulder shrug, then placed his palm on his chest, swiping out with a head tilt [Want?].

Blue shook his head, scoffing with a grin. "I have plenty of my own."

Red shrugged again.

The first few minutes went in silence as they ate, the sound of udon slurping and their pokemon cheerily eating. Blue made a mental note to feed the rest of his team in the morning, if not later tonight—if the center calmed down by then.

After a minute or so longer, Blue could not take it, swallowing before he set the bowl in his lap, looking at Red and him looking back over his own bowl.

"You don't lock your dex? That's dangerous, you know? Though," he spoke, tilting his head and flicking his eyes to the ceiling as he thought, "well, there isn't much to steal, since you don't have much. Money aside, and maybe contacts."

Red tilted his head, then Blue looked back at him, a more serious expression. Sharp eyes that made Red straighten up, bowl in his lap too, lips pressed into a line. His words were even, an undertone of threat in them.

"You make my sister set foot in that stupid mountain for even a second, and I will have your head, you hear him?"

The words must have taken Red by surprise, because his eyes widened, lips parting slightly. He blinked a couple times, then shook his head, breaking out of the shock into a small smile, a fond eye-roll tacked at the end.

Red curved his right hand over his left holding the bowl; then made a hug motion, smirking teasingly [Over protect].

Blue blushed, looking away with stuttering thoughts.

Blue peeked, mostly a side eye, catching Red curl two fingers down down his chin.

Cute.

That idiot—

Red smiled so brightly and smugly, and he wanted to smash his half-empty bowl in Red's white shirt. However, he reiterated his point, his family brain kicking in rather than his… usual self.

"I mean it," he grumbled into some udon, eyes on the curry rather than him, "if– Just– Ugh. I don't know. I don't know. You and your stupid mountain. Just– Don't endanger her or whatever. I swear, Red, I will revive your just to kill you myself if anything happens to her."

Blue slurped the udon, brain struggling to think of a proper sentence or response. Despite knowing Red would never, his brain overthought it. As always, he was overthinking everything.

He winced when he burnt his tongue, a prickling tear rolling on the line under his eyes. It was enough to shake him out of his head though, enough to spare a glance ahead, only to see Red quietly eating too—like him, thinking.

Red was always thoughtful, always thinking and considering things. Words, actions, reactions. Not like Blue but not too far either, which always put them on opposite ends of the same side. It was a weird start to their rivalry, a peculiar base to the rest of their relationship, and Blue still had no idea how he felt about it. He wondered if Red felt the same. That, or what other emotion.

Blue only let a minute or two pass by before speaking again, on a personal feud with silence. Red's eyes flicked up to him, curious and innocent, and for a second, it was like they were kids, sitting in his bed after playing all day outside. There was a speck of curry on the top of Red's lips, his own eyes flickering between it and Red's eyes, finally settling on his face as a whole.

"Are you going back?"

Blue did not have to specify. Red already knew, and nodded.

Despite already knowing the answer, Blue was still disappointed.

"What do you even do up there? Ah, doesn't matter. Training, I bet." Blue waved lightly with his bowl, then settled back. His eyes flicked to their pokemon, their bowl almost empty too, then he was back to looking at his human companion. With a sigh, he continued, "It'll be a while until I next see you, huh? Or, well, not that long. A couple weeks, then I'll be gone for a couple months. You probably won't even notice up there. Hey, by the way, how do you keep track of time?"

When Blue focused his eyes back on him, he tilted his head, finishing slurping his udon. Red held his bowl in his lap, staring at him intently, a mix of something in his eyes. Something he could not distinguish, which made a shiver run up his spine. For all he knew about Red, this was new.

And it felt wrong.

"Hey, you alright?"

Red frowned, turning his head to the side aggressively, brow knitting even more somehow. He opened his mouth like he was going to speak, pursing his lips shortly after. There was nothing Blue could do but wait, stare at him and wait.

Red closed his eyes as he inhaled sharply, shoulders raising as his chest puffed up, slowly sighing though little tension left his shoulders. One hand, a repeated sign, more insistence behind it.

Where?

Blue sighed, eyeing Eevee as he replied. "Don't know yet," he admitted. Despite knowing there was a letter at home with a response—a letter sealed still, Daisy keeping it safe until his return, he could not help the wash of anxiety washing over him. The thought of rejection froze him, yet the thought of acceptance…

If he got accepted, he would be boarding a plane and then he would be off to Kalos. Studying abroad, just as Daisy had said. His fingers twitched against the bowl, the remaining warmth against his palm, reminding him of the tension when he was holding that pen. Line after line, answering questions carefully.

Daisy had sat with him for hours studying, testing him, and more than anything, she had been there when he wanted to throw the towel. Late into the night, early mornings, she was there as he prepared, as he took the exam, and she had been the one to send it off. Her hands shook, he remembered. Maybe it had been his hands shaking, he could not tell apart.

They said it would be a couple weeks until results, seeing as it an application all the way from Kanto. A couple months turned into three months, and he had returned to the Viridian City for his Gym Leader duties, until she called him up, voice shaking on the other end.

The letter arrived, and he had stood in place, silence falling between them. All the way from Pallet Town, Daisy took over sorting out the gym stuff. He had been in shook for a couple days after, so he was grateful for his sister, everything she could do from the other end of the region. And now he was traveling back, the fate of the next couple years of his life in that letter.

It would be a while—that, he knew for certain. Everything else, he had no clue.

A new city, a whole new Region with no one he knew. New pokemon, new places, everything new and unknown. It was exciting as it was petrifying.

Blue blinked when a light pressure pressed on his knee, blinking a couple times until he focused, staring into fiery red eyes. Intense like fire, yet controlled like nothing else. A mountain, maybe. Tall and steady, firm. He gasped, unsure when he had even stopped breathing.

"Sorry," he breathed out with a sigh. Again, he dropped his eyes, this time to put the bowl back in the tray. At some point, he had finished eating, not realizing. The weight of the empty bowl messed him up a little, his movements stronger than needed. A smile crept into his lips, nothing joyous about it though, "Got thinking."

Red stood up to place the bowl on the tray too, sitting again on the bed but much closer now, one knee on the bed touching Blue's leg. A hand cradled Blue's face, sending his mind into overdrive again, luckily blanking this time.

Red brushed his thumb on the corner of Blue's lips, bringing it his own lips to lick.

Blue's eyes went wide, face ablaze.

Red held eye-contact, and he could not break from it, from those red eyes that fixed him in place. His heart hammered as his mind record-scratched, eyes flicking between smug eyes and smug lips.

His lips parted too early, no words to be given.

"Ev?"

Blue blinked finally, shaking his head as Eevee jumped the bed straight into his lap, pressing paws on his chest in a concerned motion. It nuzzled up, the top of its head squishing the side of his face to get a reaction.

"Vee," it called, lowering its ears, which finally kicked Blue back into his action.

"Gah, there is too much in my head. Everyone get off my back," he muttered, trying to sound annoyed and failing, though he kept at it. He picked Eevee up, settling it in his lap and keeping its paws away from his chest. Eevee's coat was fully dry now, which was one less thing to worry about at least.

"Vee, vee."

"Nope. Not telling."

"Vee!"

Blue smirked, raising his brow at the insistence. "I'm fine. Really."

Pikachu gobbled the last of its food before jumping onto Red's lap, a couple weak sparks on its cheeks. Red scratched its head and under its chin, smiling fondly.

Pikachu hopped around Red, him following with amusement until it dashed in front of Blue, sniffing up and Eevee went to it, bumping their snouts playfully. The pair jumped to the side, behind Red where they had more room to chase and circle each other, chirping and buzzing and all too happy with each other.

Blue brought a knee to his chest, hugging it as he nested his head in. His arm hid his smile, content and relaxed, watching the pair play. Biting and weak shocks and tail whips were added to the mix, crumpling the sheets under them carelessly—not surprising, considering who their trainers were.

It reminded Blue of his and Red's childhood squabbles, how quickly they turned aggressive. They always ended up crying their eyes out, holding hands as they walked back home. It was stupid, in hindsight. How much they hurt each other physically then how much they fussed about making sure they other got home afterwards. Again, stupid. Nothing unexpected from two young, very dumb kids.

He looked at Red, wondering if he was thinking the same.

Red looked back, palms facing down, one hand up while the other went down, twice; making a v with his fingers as he flicked his wrist between himself and Blue [Similar us].

Blue smirked, "Of course."

And Red smiled back.

Pikachu tripped on his tail, falling on his back as Eevee pounced, joy of victory cut short when a hand cushioned it before it could call a victory.

"Hey! Eevee was winning!"

Red smirked, lifting Eevee as the little pokemon melted into Red's palm, making a weak, disappointed sound. Red brought the Eevee close to his face, brushing his other hand under under its chin to lift its spirit, receiving a couple licks to his finger.

"Eevee might forgive you, but I won't." Blue said, letting go of his knee as he fell back against the wall. Although soft, the pillow behind him was uncomfortable. "And if you think you can charm your way out of it, you better keep dreaming."

Red's eyes blinked up to him briefly, promptly returning to giving affection to Eevee. The little pokemon settled quickly, already forgotten about the interrupted spar, content with the attention. Blue watched them, distracted only when yellow entered his field of vision, curled up in his stomach with a small yawn.

"Long day, huh?" Blue hummed, running his hand along Pikachu's back as it huddled up, nuzzling into his shirt. "Might be too early to sleep, no?" He questioned, looking up to see Red shrug. In the meantime, he saw Eevee settling around the back of Red's like a scarf, much too proud.

"Either way," he continued, cut short with a yawn as he stretched his arms above his head, crossing them behind his head as he settled back. A lazy smile on his lips. "We probably should head to bed. Don't know about you, but I may have to leave early tomorrow morning."

Red raised his brow. And Blue tried to ignore the feelings, the thoughts. Everything, basically.

"You never stay long, and I shouldn't either. Daisy's waiting for me so," he shrugged, picking Pikachu up carefully, settling it down as he scooted to the edge of the bed. He stood up, moving casually with Red's eyes following his every movement, just watching and… thinking, likely. As much as he tried to pay it no mind, Red's loud staring made up for his silence.

Eevee jumped from Red's shoulders, tail tickling his neck as it left, running straight to the pillow to bury its head in it. Blue tilted his head with a smile, watching Eevee yawn and make itself comfortable quickly.

He looked at Red, who gave a short nod.

They grabbed some toiletries and headed back to the shared facilities. Less crowded than earlier, with most people having the same thoughts and preparing to sleep. There were a couple waves and smiles, luckily, no conversations. As much as Blue had it in him to put a front, he did not feel like it—above that, he knew Red would have it worse, probably leading to him escaping back to their room on his own.

A handful minutes later, they were refreshed and back in the safety of their room, a sudden wave of exhaustion crashed onto Blue, leading to another yawn as he sat on the edge of his bed. He rubbed his eyelids with the heels of his palms, hoping to get rid of some of the tiredness to only make it worse. He smiled dumbly at that.

Another battle to not fight.

Blue leaned back on his hands, blinking slowly as Red fussed over Pikachu. In their short absence, Pikachu seemed to have fallen into deep slumber. Eevee, on the other hand, was still rolling about, pawing at the air with no more signs of being tired or even close to ready to sleep. That was curious, since Eevee was usually the lazier of the two, with Pikachu being the more 'energetic' one.

"Weird day, huh?" he said quietly, glancing at Eevee and very lightly pulling on its tail to get its attention. He smiled when it flicked its tail on his hand, then again but more lightly. A light touch, almost a cloud against his hand.

Unlike Eevee, though, Blue was ready to crash like Pikachu, lifting his arms so he fell back on the bed. Eevee jumped over, licking at his temple, wanting to play and definitely ignoring his tiredness.

"No, go to sleep, rascal." He mused, clumsily throwing his legs over the bed as he shifted his body. His head was still way below the pillow, though at least he was in position, even if his feet were hanging off the bed. With the little strength gathered, he flipped onto his stomach and squirmed up—Eevee, helpful as ever, jumped onto his back to play.

His nagging muffled into the found pillow, regardless.

There was a click before the room fell into dimness, a glow from only one lamp. Blue breathed in and out, wanting nothing more than to melt into the mattress.

The weight on his back was lifted off, carried elsewhere he did not have the desire to look. In its place, however, the bed dipped with a much heavier weight. A hand pushed him on the shoulder, and unwillingly, he rolled over, closer to the wall.

And it was not until the room fell into complete darkness and the blanket was pulled over them that he realized, snapping his eyes wide to the darkness on the wall in front of him. Red behind him, a lazy arm on his side, sharing the same blanket. He froze, translating into tension—something that was much too hard to ignore given all their points of contact.

Suddenly he was awake and aware, kinda regretting not letting it be and just fall asleep. Then, unconscious, he would not have to deal with any of this.

"You have a bed," he whispered eventually, quietly even though they were the only ones in a private room.

Red grabbed his arm, lifting his sleeve to his elbow, and lightly traced lines that turned to letters. It aided into kicking Blue's mind further awake, now needing to pay attention and remember words letter by letter.

T-A-K-E-N.

He scoffed. "How much room do they take anyways. You can share."

Red scooted closer, pressing his chest to Blue's back, close enough to brush his lips against Blue's nape. Fleeting kiss that moved down to the base of his neck, stopping right on the junction between his neck and shoulder.

I-A-M.

"With them. Not me."

D-O-N-T-W-A-N-T.

Blue closed his eyes with a sigh. He could feel his breathing slowly matching Red's, something steadier to copy, and he did, allowing his mind to drift into thought. Nothing complicated, simple thoughts—Red's body heat, the blanket against his naked arm, wondering if Eevee had fallen asleep yet, how late it was, what he needed to do next morning.

That, again.

He exhaled, not bothering to open his eyes as he burrowed his face into the pillow.

At this point, he had no doubt Red could read him like an open book, or maybe Red had learned some psychic abilities up in that damn mountain. The idea was crazy enough, but it was Red, so whatever.

Red started drawing lines on his arm again, sending shivers up his arm and down his spine. He inhaled and exhaled, fluttering his eyes open to the darkness once again. Red's hand was rough and calloused, he noted.

W-H-E-R-E-G-O-I-N-G-?

Red was insistent, the same as always. But he could make him sweat a while longer-—he, too, the same as always.

His lips broke into a dumb smirk, nothing Red could see but hear only, "I'm not telling you. Get a clue, man."

Red squeezed his side, annoyed. Blue could only widen his smirk. Red's hand flatten on his arm, his thumb squeezing the muscle just under his elbow. Not hard but not lightly either. He could handle that.

It was childish. It was stupid. And it was absolutely thrilling.

"You won't miss me."

W-I-L-L.

"Liar."

Red pinched him in the arm, pressing his forehead on the back of Blue's neck.

Blue believed him, sort of. Good enough.

"Go to sleep already. That's enough conversation."

Red squeezed him again. It was warm, very warm and cozy. He thought, out of tiredness maybe, that he could get used to this—sharing a bed with someone, being held, whatever this was. And dumbly, foolishly even, he thought he would choose Red in all situations.

Would Red choose him?

The answer did not matter right then, because Red was there tonight. They would part in the morning, and then they would not see each other for quite a while.

He considered telling him where he might be going, knowing Red would not follow.

Aside from his supply drop, they rarely saw each other. Red in his mountain, him in the Viridian Gym—their paths crossing only a couple days a month.

It was nostalgic to think about. The start of their journey, traveling parallel to each other, until the championship. Their paths diverted from there. Ahead, no longer in the same direction—only ahead.

"I'm gonna miss this," he mumbled absentmindedly. The words slipped from his mind to this tongue, but he decided to let it be, because he did mean it, even if he had no inclination to actually explain the depths of it. Red hugged him—a hug, no longer a squeeze, but a hug.

Blue pushed his head back a little, feeling Red's nose squish under, making him grin as Red put up no fight. He replied softly, too, raising his left hand to brush the back of Red's hand with his fingertips.

"The bed, I mean. This is a good bed."

Red headbutted him lightly, and he finally laughed. He patted his hand, playing up the 'appeasing' bit.

"Kidding, kidding. I'll miss you too, I think. It's not like I'm not coming back, you know," he spoke softly, drifting as he did. A part of him wanting to turn around and face him, even if to see his face in the darkness. Place his hand on his face, trace the lines of his face with his thumb, wondering if he could engrave it in his mind. He doubted the odds of forgetting him—this was the boy he grew up with, through childhood to now, day after day after day, bouncing back between rivals and friends and that weird in-between that was right now.

"Get some rest," he whispered into the darkness. A squeeze to acknowledge it, then a tighter hug to wish him the same.

Finally, Blue let himself drift off, knowing he would see Red's face in the morning.

The room was silent when he fell asleep, still silent when Blue woke up. A handful hours later, he blinked awake. His mind woke up quicker, aware of the warmth in his back, the limbs tangled with his, and the too-early morning light that lit nothing.

Red had stayed, which meant he had to be the one to leave.

Without much difficulty, Blue pried himself from Red's hold, momentarily amused at how easy it was. He sat up with a sigh, turning to look down at Red's sleeping face, fighting off the urge to poke and see if he could wake him up. Out of the two, Red was the early bird, except today—he was not sure how to feel about it.

Movement flicked beyond him, head snapping up to see Eevee sitting up, rubbing its little face with its paw, sleepily. He smiled, gesturing to the door with his head.

Eevee jumped down quietly as he scooted out of the bed. The facilities were empty due to how early it was, which he almost preferred. It was a quick wash, then he was back in the room with their clothes basket, now clean. He changed and packed his things, throwing his bag over his shoulder. Only a little time had passed, yet Red showed no signs of waking up.

"What a shame," he whispered. Eevee nudged his cheek, and he scratched its head. He turned to the other bed where Pikachu, like trainer, continued to sleep. A thought rushed to his head, and he gave in to it, "Eh, might as well."

With Pikachu in arms, Blue made his way out of the room. Everything was quiet except for his footsteps, everything quieter in the actual Pokemon Center where some trainers were sleeping with their pokemon.

Nurse Joy looked up as he approached, smiling bright. "Morning, Blue. Would you like some breakfast before you leave?"

He nodded with a smile too.

"Alright, I'll bring it out shortly. Would you also like to feed your pokemon?"

"Yes, please. Oh, could I ask, are Red's pokemon healed yet?"

"They are. All healed and healthy now."

Sheepishly, he ran his fingers through his hair, "Um, would it be alright if you gave them to me? I'll take them to Red after, I promise!"

Nurse Joy chuckled, shaking her head. "Alright, I'll have Chansey bring them out to you. She'll keep an eye out so you don't go running off with them though."

With that Nurse Joy walked away to the back of the center, Chansey returning first with the tray of pokeballs. Shortly after, Nurse Joy was back with a trolley, bowls of food hot and ready to be eaten. He thanked both before pushing the trolley outside, instantly hit with a gust of morning breeze.

He walked to the side of the center were a clearing was. It was empty, of course, which was exactly what he wanted.

The temperature must have dropped enough because Pikachu woke shortly after, startled at the unknown surrounding before realizing it was in Blue's arms.

Eevee jumped from Blue's shoulders, Pikachu following with a yawn.

"Alright, breakfast for you all." Blue picked up the pokeballs from the tray, tossing them high in the air. Flashes of red lit up the sky momentarily, and the ground shook when Red's team landed. Powerful as ever. He smiled at their confusion, smirked once they realized their trainer was not there. "Relax. He's sleeping inside, promise. Figured we could eat something together."

The group was doubtful, eyeing him with suspicion until Pikachu and Eevee intervened on his behalf, and they finally settled down just as he brought out his own team. They greeted each other amicably, fussing about in a language he did not try to catch, settling the bowls of food for them in the meantime.

The morning was livelier with the bunch awake, and he joined the pile, eating his porridge quietly. He was the talker out of the two, but this time, he choose to be silent, simply watching the pokemon eating and interacting with each other.

Red's trio of starters, Lapras and Snorlax, Pikachu. Everyone else back at home with the professor…

Randomly, he wondered what he would do once he got to Kalos—if accepted—would it be better to get a new team or stay with his current one?

He eyed his own Blastoise, Pidgeot, Arcanine, Rhydon, Alakazam, and of course, his dear Eevee. They were a solid team, got him through quite a lot. He had sent Gyarados, Exeggutor, Aerodactyl and Machamp home early—again, his pokemon were solid, what he needed as a Gym Leader.

He would have to talk to Daisy once get got home, he supposed.

The sun raised leisurely, the birds waking up with chirps the flutters of wings. The pokemon played a little, mostly caught up with each other. Blue gathered the now empty bowls, stacking them up in the trolley, grabbing the empty pokeballs.

Bittersweet, he thought.

It was.

"Alright, listen up you lot," he commanded attention, an easy smile on his lips regardless. He had to be quick, if he wanted to leave soon, so no more delays. "I won't be dropping by for a while. So I'm asking you all to keep Red safe, alright? If he wants to stay in that damn mountain, so be it. But keep him safe—for me."

Red's team seemed confused for a moment, then at the same time, they understood and promptly nodded with determination. He smiled at them, offering a grateful nod in response. He raised the pokeballs, and one by one, rays of red returned to their respective pokeballs. He set them back in the tray, moving over to get his own team except for Pidgeot.

"I'll be back," he said as he caressed Pidgeot's head. It replied by nudging his face, content before stretching its wings. He gestured to the other two, and followed them back to the center.

People were waking up by then, people and pokemon alike. He waved and smiled at Nurse Joy and Chansey as he walked by, heading straight to Red.

Two kids ran past him, big smiles and bright eyes, and he caught the tail-end of a challenge—a pokemon battle. He scoffed with a smile, quickening his pace.

Red was still asleep when he set the tray down, having turned on his back in his absence. His face peaceful. Older, he noticed too. No doubt about that, he was older too. He could see better as the light seeped through the curtains, and everything had changed, yet everything was the same.

At least they were champions now.

Pikachu jumped on the bed, looking back and forth at Red and Blue, though it made no move to wake Red up. He was sure he would have ran out if Pikachu did, for whatever reason.

He just wanted to be gone by the time Red woke up, give him a taste of his own medicine, perhaps. He had always been the one to go to Red, especially these last couple years. He knew where Red was, he knew where to find him, and he went to him, month after month, having given up on trying to convince to come down a long time ago.

He knelt in front of the bed, crossing his arm loosely on his knees, cheek on the heel of his palm. He stared at a sleeping Red, simply curious about Red's reaction once he found out he was out of the region entirely. Somewhere Red did not know, somewhere very few—not even his grandpa—knew. For a while, a short-long while. And they would not see each other in that time.

Red would not be able to reach him, and he would not reach out to him.

He could stay, though. Leave him a note and let him know where he was going. Not that Red would be able to stop him. Not that Red would go along.

Blue patted his pockets, lighting up when he found the thing he was looking for. He pulled out a blue marker and uncapped it as he stood up, looming over his sleeping… rival, friend, person.

Pikachu was not happy about his actions, but let him do it anyways.

Blue left the room after capping the marker, Eevee hopping beside him. The world outside was lively and waking up more and more, some even having dashed outside to eat, enjoying the rising sun with hot food and plenty friends. He gave a couple waves and flashed a couple last smiles, caressing Pidgeot's chest as he picked up his bag to secure on his back.

"Well then," he said casually, Eevee settling in between his legs as Pidgeot waited for the take off signal. He spared a final glance at the Pokemon Center, thought of the sleeping person inside, then patted the side of Pidgeot's neck. "Let's go."

_

The only reaction Red could give was a exhale through his nose, rolling his eyes as his lips broke into a grin. Pikachu laughed beside him.

Through the mirror, incredibly smitten, he read the message written in blue ink in his arm one more time before washing it off.

Smell ya later, loser.