Summary: A common misconception about Red, “ultimate Pokémon master”, “hero of the Kanto region”, “dark and broody mystery” Red, was that he was cold and unsociable. An unapproachable figure, both idolized and feared. Some particularly harsh tabloids would even dare call him heartless, as if it wasn’t clearly obvious that it was the total opposite, with how happy and healthy his Pokémon were.
Okay, so maybe he wasn’t exactly approachable ; it didn’t mean he was incapable of feeling affection, or whatever other rumor those gossip magazines liked to make up.
And, as Red’s childhood friend, tumultuous their friendship might have been because of their clashing personalities, Blue knew well that, deep down, Red was not only really sweet, but he also was extremely touchy-feely with the right people.
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Posted: 12/01/2022
Status: Completed
Author's note: Haven't written since June and this wasn't beta-ed so please bear with me--
I call the rival "Blue" in this one. Might use "Green" if I write another, depends on my mood lmao.
(Some other characters are briefly mentioned, but they're not the focus so I didn't tag them.)
A common misconception about Red, “ultimate Pokémon master”, “hero of the Kanto region”, “dark and broody mystery” Red, was that he was cold and unsociable. An unapproachable figure, both idolized and feared. Some particularly harsh tabloids would even dare call him heartless, as if it wasn’t clearly obvious that it was the total opposite, with how happy and healthy his Pokémon were.
Yes, sure, he never spoke (he just couldn’t, but the masses certainly didn’t care about that specific detail), had a bad case of resting bitch face (greatly enhanced by the fact his beloved cap was almost constantly hiding part of his face), and flinched away from the slightest touch. And yes , he tended to avoid people (too much noise), and rarely ever looked at anyone in the eyes (too much), and, okay, he did flip off a couple of particularly pushy paparazzi (too invasive) before deciding enough was enough and left to Mt. Silver…
Okay, so maybe he wasn’t exactly approachable; it didn’t mean he was incapable of feeling affection, or whatever other rumor those gossip magazines liked to make up.
And, as Red’s childhood friend, tumultuous their friendship might have been because of their clashing personalities, Blue knew well that, deep down, Red was not only really sweet, but he also was extremely touchy-feely with the right people. Not many had that privilege, but the few who did could certainly confirm this : Red was nothing if not affectionate. He gave his mother the tightest bear hugs, and still did to this day, despite being several heads taller than her. Daisy didn’t quite get bear hugs, but she did get appreciative shoulder pats, and he let her fuss over him as much as she wanted without complaining. Another recipient of the shoulder pats was that girl Leaf, who used to be good friends with them when they were kids, before she had to move away to Hoenn. As for Blue himself, well…
According to Red’s mother and Daisy’s vague memories of childhood, Red and Blue, born only a couple of months away from each other (with Blue being the oldest, a fact he liked to lord over him, even though they were essentially the same age), were inseparable since they were in diapers. Neither of them have any memory of that time, obviously, but Red’s mom recalls her son crawling up to Blue with determination in his eyes, and squishing Blue into a hug he, allegedly, returned with the same enthusiasm. Daisy liked teasing him sometimes about it, cooing about how adorable it was, then lamenting over the fact that they gradually stopped right before starting their Pokémon journey.
(Fights hadn’t been new with those two. They squabbled, then made up with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. But this time was different, they were both emotional preteens, Red was being bullied at school, and Blue had started to realize that the reason his parents were never home was because they’d pretty much abandoned him and his sister and dropped them into their grandfather’s unwilling hands. This time, Blue’s words cut too deep, and Red, unable to use words of his own, made things physical. They had a fist fight at age 10, and left for their journeys by age 11 without ever making up.)
Throughout their journey, they barely saw each other long enough to do anything but have a Pokémon battle (which would almost always end in Blue barely losing). And then Blue would goad Red into continuing his journey and getting stronger, in order to ultimately fight him at the Elite Four. Maybe, by the time they fought at the top (because Blue had no doubt that they would both make it all the way there), they would have both gotten their emotions somewhat in check.
(They didn’t, of course. Blue ran away from the Elite Four in tears, and Red was completely unresponsive with a faraway look in his eyes, the first signs that he was going to disappear without a trace.)
(Through their journey, they never once touched. Blue couldn’t help but wonder if he was the only one feeling the loss. He couldn’t help but lament over the fact that their last physical interaction had been a goddamn fist fight .)
It takes a couple of years and an over-achieving Johto trainer for Blue to finally hear from Red. The Johto champion burst into his gym, one day, rambling about a “totally epic” fight, a “shit load” of snow, and other ramblings about something or the other that Blue had quickly tuned out, focused on writing his gym’s weekly report.
He quickly tunes back in, however, when the kid gets all up in his personal space, grabs his face, and says, in an unusually serious tone :
“I’ve found him.”
And immediately passes out on the floor.
He spends the next few days taking care of the brat who, as it turned out, caught a bad cold after fighting on “Mt. Cold-as-Balls” (Blue would give the kid a lecture about language, but it wasn’t like he was any better, so it would be a bit hypocritical of him. Also, it wasn’t his responsibility to act as a guardian to some random trainer who was only a little younger than him, thank you very much). During that time, he learns something both interesting and absolutely infuriating .
The little bastard he’s been embarrassingly angsting over (some would call it pining, Blue shall forever deny that claim) really went to live as a hermit on Mt. Silver, of all places. Blue would scoff at the sheer ridiculousness of that decision (really, he couldn’t have hidden somewhere less deadly than the icy mountain of death?), but that was just the right amount of dramatic for Red, honestly. Blue’s actually surprised he didn’t think of that possibility earlier.
So, at age fifteen, after making sure the kid was fine, Blue closes his gym for a couple of days and takes the trek up Mt. Silver, donned up in his thickest winter gear and keeping his most powerful team at his belt.
By the time he reaches the summit, he feels utterly miserable . It’s cold, the air is thin, and the wild Pokémon are very aggressive. Blue likes to believe he is a strong trainer, but he and his companions are drained by the time they reach the shadowy figure standing at the very top, staring down at the world below ( which, dramatic much? ).
All things considered, their reunion is pretty underwhelming. Red turns around, pokéball ready, sees the state of Blue and his team, and puts the pokéball back on his belt. He nods to himself, takes Blue’s wrist, and leads them back to the cave he’s been living on for the last few years. No words are spoken, Blue too overcome with emotion to get any word out. (He does not cry. Shut up.)
(Red’s grip is gentle, almost hesitant, and Blue desperately wants to take him into his arms and tell him how much he missed him. But it’s been so long, and their last encounter had been such a mess, he’s afraid he’ll scare him off. So he doesn’t, and lets himself be dragged into the surprisingly cozy cave, not taking back his hand, but not trying to take any more than he’s given either.)
He spends the night there, and awkwardly tells Red about what he missed out on while he was up there. There’s a certain tension in the air, and Red doesn’t touch him again, but it’s civil. They both grew, in the time they spent apart, both mentally and physically.
(But Red is worryingly pale, and Blue thinks it’s a miracle he hasn’t died of frostbite yet, considering his frankly weather-inappropriate outfit. He is somewhat more muscular, probably from all the hiking he needs to do in this place, but he’s clearly underweight, and looks like even a friendly smack on the shoulder could break him. He looks like he hasn’t been living so much as barely surviving . His Pokémon look perfectly healthy, although they could certainly use some grooming, so Blue suspects Red has been neglecting himself in order to keep his companions healthy. He respects the intent, but he doubts said companions enjoy seeing their trainer look more and more like a corpse each day, all for their sake.)
Blue finally goes down the mountain after having rested enough, finding the trip down much easier than the trip up. Red’s mother is the only person he tells of Red’s whereabouts, and she’s so relieved to learn her son is alive and mostly safe (although clearly malnourished), that she breaks down in tears in front of him. Blue’s comforting skills leave much to be desired, so he does the one thing he thinks might help, from having seen her and Red interact during their childhood : he hugs her. It’s awkward, but she clings to him like her life depends on it, so he lets her.
(He knows that, at that very moment, they both wish they were hugging someone else.)
After that, Blue makes a habit of climbing the damn death mountain once every month, to check on its single human resident. With him, he brings all sorts of supplies : clean clothes that both fit him and will actually keep him warm, various toiletries, and lots, and lots of food, courtesy of Red’s mother, who went into a cooking frenzy the moment she learned of her son’s physical state.
The first time, Red gives him a strange look. He seems almost ready to refuse the gifts, but a sharp glare from Blue and a healthy amount of guilt-tripping ( “Your mother went through all this trouble because she was worried about you, you know!” ) seem to do the work.
After that, Red begrudgingly accepts the “care packages” every time, Blue keeping a close eye on him to make sure he actually eats the damn food instead of giving it to his Pokémon. They have their own food, and seem to agree with Blue’s sentiment, pushing their trainer to finish his food.
(Even his Pikachu, the “little yellow bastard” as Blue calls him, seems to agree with him for once, and their rivalry has been going on ever since Red got the testy rat.)
As some kind of routine settles between them, Blue starts noticing things. Red starts being more responsive, looking in his general direction to show he’s actually listening. Sometimes, he even signs to Blue, one-word “sentences”, the meaning of which Blue often has to guess because of the lack of elaboration. It’s the bare minimum, but it’s communication , and Blue has never been so delighted to be the recipient of Red’s curt answers than he is now.
(It probably helps that Red’s not constantly close to death like he was before, and is thus more amenable to conversation than he was before. He has slowly but steadily been filling out, finally looking like a living person. His skin has gained back some color, his still-messy hair is softer, and he isn’t in a constant state of frostbite thanks to the new clothes Blue had to force him into. He finally looks healthy. He finally looks alive. )
Red doesn’t touch him, not directly, but sometimes, he brushes the back of his hand on Blue’s shoulder to get his attention. The touch is so light, Blue barely even registers it, which is a bit counter-productive. He figures Red still doesn’t want to touch him, but needs a way to get his attention if he’s going to sign to him. Blue understands, really. He doesn’t feel like he deserves Red’s hugs anymore, not after everything.
As it turns out, though, Blue’s initial assumption was slightly off. He realizes it as time passes, and they get closer, yet Red continues barely brushing him with such restraint that Blue starts getting suspicious. He doesn’t want to scare Red off from their tentative, newly-rekindled friendship, but knowing Red, he’s probably in need of that one little push. Ever since he was a child, the boy had often lacked drive, Blue having to drag him around or push him a little, or he would just stay there, unsure. It would seem that this part of him hadn’t changed, and so Blue decided he would push once more.
“You don’t have to hold back, you know.” He says, trying for a more casual tone. “I’m not gonna explode if you touch me, Red.”
Red looks like a deer caught in headlights, and puts his hands firmly in his lap, as if they were the ones that would explode if they dared touch Blue again.
Well , that could have gone better.
Pikachu gives Blue a glare that seems to say “Look at what you did”, and Blue can’t help but feel admonished by that small, overpowered rat.
When the time comes for Blue to leave, the goodbyes are a bit more awkward, and Red is clearly still avoiding physical contact. Blue walks down the mountain, all the while worrying about having potentially scared off his friend(?).
But, the next time they see each other, Red is back to normal. More than that, he actually touches Blue. It’s small things, at first, like grabbing his wrist to show him a cool rock he found, or straight up poking him when he wants his attention. Then it evolves into more casual touches; he sits closer to Blue by the fire, their sides meshed against each other, generating a pleasant heat. Sometimes, Red doesn’t release his wrist after grabbing it, keeping his hand there in a gentle but firm grip.
One time, Red hugs him as he prepares to go back down. Blue startles, but melts into the hug before Red can even think of shying away. They make it a habit after that.
(Blue, in all his hormonal glory, tries his very best not to be affected by the new intimacy, the way every touch makes him feel like he’s been zapped by the yellow hell beast, but good . He’s not religious, but he still thanks Arceus and all that is holy for the fact that Red seems oblivious to his plight. His Eevee isn’t, however, and keeps giving him smug, infuriating looks. He pets her anyway, because she may be an annoying princess, but she’s his annoying princess.)
Despite his own internal crisis, it takes a while for Blue to realize he’s actually being awkwardly flirted with. More specifically, it takes Red trying to swoop in for a kiss for it to finally click into place, a fact that neither Red nor both their Pokémon (the traitors) will ever let him forget. In all honestly, it barely qualifies as a kiss. It’s more like an awkward press of lips, with their noses bumping uncomfortably. It’s terrible.
He stays frozen as Red sits back, dark eyes burning holes into the rock of the cave and cheeks pinker than they would normally be from spending time on the snowy peaks of Mt. Silver.
“… Red.” He starts, slowly. Red doesn’t look up, just stays there, unmoving and tense. “… That was the shittiest kiss I’ve ever had.”
Red looks like a kicked puppy. Which…ok, fair, that was insensitive. But he couldn’t help it, okay? He’s had a couple of kisses before, from tentative relationships that had never ended working out, but that one really took the cake for how bad it was.
So he leans back into Red’s personal space, and gently grabs his face.
“Here, let me show you how it’s done.”
And after that, Red seemingly decides to stop holding back. He’s clingy, constantly touching him in some way or another, ranging from small touches to all out bear hugs. And Blue? Blue is thriving. He loves the attention, loves the intimacy he’s missed for so many years. And one day, just as he was preparing himself for his usual trek up the Death Mountain™, he’s surprised by a knock on his door. On the other side of the door, there stands Red.
(Red’s clinginess takes an entire new level once he steps back into civilization. He casually drapes his arm over Blue’s shoulders, holds his waist, even sneaks in a kiss on his cheek and forehead. The tabloids have a field day with those shameless public displays of affection. Blue feels a tad embarrassed, but he’s not complaining either.)
(And, later, the tabloids metaphorically explode once they spot the matching rings on their fingers.)
Author's note: I left the identity of the Johto champion (Ethan/Lyra) up to interpretation, but my characterization of them probably fits Ethan more. That said, it can also be a more hyper Lyra, it's all up to you! =)