／人◕‿‿◕人＼ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
koyuki) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
southofreality2010-10-16 05:23 pm
koyuki) wrote in southofreality2010-10-16 05:23 pm
speaking a dead language (Green/Red + various, 2/3)
Title: speaking a dead language
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~3300 this chapter
Genre: Angst/Supernatural
Series: Pokémon
Characters/Pairings: Green/Red, implied Ethan/Silver(/Lyra), Leaf, various others
Warnings: language, violence, additional warnings under the cut.
Summary: Sometimes, there are people you just can’t live without. For Green, Red is that person.
A/N: The last part of this is actually not finished yet, and it might take a while since I have three tests next week. Don't worry though, I promise I'll get it out before the end of the month. Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rykea for being amazing as usual. ♥
Additional Warnings: highlight for plot-sensitive details. homophobia, language, violence, implied sexual situations, character death
one | two | three
speaking a dead language
(14)
Between Ethan's training sessions, Green still has a gym to run and challengers to fight, so it's no surprise that he's been passing out almost immediately when he hits his bed.
A week into Ethan's training, Green stumbles home sometime after 3 AM, irritated because this has been happening for the last seven days and he still has unfinished paperwork that was supposed to have been done by yesterday and needs to be up in less than four hours.
It's after he collapses on his bed, not even bothering to pull the covers over himself, that he see Red poke his head in through his window.
Red, he thinks. He's happy for all of five seconds before his brain supplies, Of course that bastard would show up now of all times, for the first time in years. Still, even though he's a little annoyed, Green has missed his boyfriend. He's too tired to move though, and can barely even make vague motions with his arm for Red to come closer.
"Red," he manages to moan.
Red steps into their apartment with grace and glides over the floor towards his bed. (Their bed, Green reminds himself, even though Red hasn't slept on it for years.)
"Red," Green says. He attempts to grab onto Red's jacket when he's within arm's reach, but it slips right through Green's grasp.
Red fumbles with the covers and manages to tug them out from beneath Green and pull them over him.
"Red," Green tries again, even though he's already half asleep, because Red's here - here again, finally - and there are so many things that need to be said.
Red puts his index finger over Green's mouth to hush him, and slides under the cover onto Green's (their) bed. Green manages to turn slightly so he can face Red, but Red covers Green's eyes with his hand, his touch cool and airy but achingly familiar.
This too, Green thinks, is okay for now.
Except Red isn't there when he wakes up in the morning, two and a half hours after his alarm should have gone off. He mumbles a string of curses under his breath as he scrambles through the apartment, pulling on his pants and shoving a slice of toast in his mouth in his hurry to get ready.
It's unfair, he thinks, that Red would be the one who'd make him late when it always used to be Red's job to make sure he got to work on time. More than that, he's annoyed that Red would just leave after bothering to show up for the first time in so long, and plans a series of snappy insults for when (if) Red comes back.
Still, despite all this, Green can't help but be a little happy because - Red. Green has no proof other than his waking under the covers instead of on top of them and a faint smell of cinnamon on his pillow that hasn't been there in years, but that's all he needs. For now.
It isn't until noon that Green realizes he lives on the third floor.
*
(3)
Mt. Silver, Green remembers, was always Red's idea.
"Hey," Red says, clearing his throat for good measure when Green doesn't turn his way after a few seconds.
"What? Sorry." Green looks up sheepishly from his paperwork.
"It's been a year," Red says.
Green has to pause to consider what he's talking about. Their one-year anniversary had been a few months ago (which Red almost forgot), and he couldn't remember any other dates either of them would deem as important.
"One year since what?"
"Since that."
Oh. That. The event that would not be named.
Before Green can ask why Red is bringing it up, Red says, "We should - go somewhere. Celebrate."
Green stares at him.
Red blinks. "What?"
"You barely even remember our anniversary, and yet you can remember the date for that? And you want to celebrate it?" Green asks.
Red walks over to his chair and drapes himself over Green, tugging the paper out of his hand. "We've survived the worst, right? That deserves some sort of celebration."
Survived the worst. Green hopes there's some truth to that.
It's a bit of an unusual choice of a destination, but since it's Red, perhaps that was a given.
"It'll be fun," Red says even though Green's idea of fun did not involve hiking up mountains that were perpetually caught in snow storms and continuously fighting off wild Pokemon while doing so.
"It's secluded," Red tells him, and that's reason enough. No prying eyes, no scathing glares that they have to deal with every day. "There's a bed and breakfast. We can watch the sunrise from the top." He shoves a handful of brochures about Mt. Silver in Green's face that detailed the scenic routes (what scenic routes? Green's pretty sure they all look the same through the snow), the wild Pokemon (seen those, caught that), and the tourism industry (there was a tourism industry? Who'd want to vacation there? Besides Red).
Still, Red's said more about Mt. Silver to Green than he has said at all in the last week, so for some reason Green can't understand, he must really want to go. Green has a soft spot for Red, and maybe in some small, tiny way, he might be convinced that this, them, the persecution, is his fault, and even though it doesn't sound like his idea of fun, he agrees.
Something like a ghost of a smile flitters across Red's face when he finally gives in, and before it even really registers in Green's mind, Red's tugged him out of his chair for a kiss and is pulling him towards their bed.
Oh. Green thinks between kisses. Mt. Silver really is great.
"I had a few Rocket grunts show up at the gym today," he says to Red over dinner. "Tried to get into the gym." Green sighs. "I thought you took care of them, and they were gone?"
Red hums and runs his fingers over Green's knuckles. "Vacation will be good for you."
Green wants to roll his eyes because it's Mt. Silver, and he's not sure how freezing his ass off would be good for him. Still, when he sees Red's smile, he thinks that it might all be worth it.
But then, Red disappears.
No one wants to tell him anything. They were supposed to leave for Mt. Silver in a week, but now Red's gone, and no one wants to talk to Green at all. They'd made plans and packed their bags and arrange vacation dates, and Green had wondered if he was crazy for going through this much trouble for Mt. Silver.
But now Green has an armful of vacation brochures for a place he doesn't want to see, a suitcase of clothes with nowhere to go, and a week of vacation with nothing to do.
Afterwards, long after unpacking his clothes - their clothes - and putting them back into the closet and sitting around his apartment for a week doing nothing but paperwork, he forgets about Mt. Silver. Still, sometimes he finds the brochures lying around to remind him of the terrible vacation that never was.
Green never throws them away.
*
(15)
It's raining the next time Ethan shows up at his gym. Green has never been a big fan of cliché, but even he feels a bit sorry for Ethan when Green sees tears running down his face with the rain. He waits for Ethan to say something, but the boy is unusually silent and just stands in front of his gym door. After a moment, Green sighs and pulls Ethan in, muttering something about the gym not being a Pokemon Center or a charity.
He's toweling Ethan's hair dry when Ethan finally cracks.
"He said no," Ethan says. Green stops, feeling a surge of numbness rush through his arms, and puts the towel down. "He said - he said he felt the same, but." Ethan takes a shaky breath and wipes the tears off with his arm. "But he's afraid. For me. Because of his father. He doesn't think I could protect myself."
When Ethan's downcast eyes turn up to look at him, the determination in his eyes is burning so brightly that, for a moment, Green almost thinks they're tainted red.
"Help me," Ethan pleads. "I want to be strong. Not just for me or him or us. For Lyra. For anyone who needs me to be. I need you to teach me."
Green looks away, answer choked in his throat. He couldn't because it wasn't him, hadn't ever been him. That had always been Red's job.
"I don't know how."
*
(9)
They're not supposed to be here. Green's not really supposed to be here right now either though Lance has taken pity on him and let him tag along which is why he is, but they're definitely not supposed to be here.
"Stay with me and don't do anything stupid," Lance had warned him when he agreed to let Green come.
But now, seeing those Rocket grunts walking around... when Red was -
A flash of hot red and white runs across his vision and Green jolts towards them. "What do think you're doing?" he hisses, and can feel Lance trying to grab at his arm to pull him back, Green, don't - at his lips.
But even Lance can't stop Eevee - who's already at Green's feet, her dark eyes staring down her opponents with nothing but uncontained rage. Maybe it's not their fault, but Green's never been angrier in his life, not even at his grandfather.
And someone needs to pay for this.
When he finally beats the last grunt, Green makes sure to kick him while he's still down. Hard. Multiple times, for good measure.
"Green - Green." Lance grabs his arm and tries to pull him back. "That's enough. You don't have jurisdiction here. The Elite Four - the police, we'll take over from here."
"What the fuck do you mean I don't have jurisdiction?" Green hisses through his teeth. "Fuck you. In case you forgot, I used to be the champion too." He leaves I could still beat you now hanging in the air between them. Green knows all too well the power of words, but he doesn't feel even a bit sorry when he sees Lance flinch. "This is my gym. And Red was my -"
Green can't bring himself to finish his sentence.
Lance's expression deflates, and Green turns to avoid looking him in the eye so he doesn't have to see the pity he knows is there. To Lance's credit though, he doesn't let go of Green's arm. Green lets out a huff.
"Yeah, whatever, I get it," Green mutters, and pulls his arm out of Lance's grasp. Lance looks worried, but Green just waves him off. "Don't worry about me, I'm a big boy," he says and walks off in the direction of Viridian Forest.
He feels much better later when he's finally calmed down. But then, Green realizes that he can't even remember why he was so angry in the first place.
*
(17)
Green lets Ethan stay in his gym for the night and even offers to stay with him because he honestly doesn't have anything more to offer.
"I'm sorry," Ethan says, even though it's probably Green who should be apologizing. "I've been a burden. How can I expect other people to rely on me if I can't even rely on myself?"
Green shrugs. "No man is an island."
Ethan smiles at him weakly. "Thanks. But this is the last time I'll bother you. You can go home - you don't have to stay with me. Sorry. I've kept you here long enough."
Green is tired and wants to leave, but he doesn't know how to explain that his apartment hasn't felt like (or been) home in years.
It's still raining when Green leaves the gym. He doesn't bother to go back inside to grab an umbrella because it's late enough already, and somehow, he can't really find it in himself to care.
His shoes squeak against the stairs as he walks up the three flights to his apartment. The dim light in the hallway flickers as Green fumbles with his keys, the cool metal tingling and icy in his hands after having been drenched in the rain. He doesn't bother turning on the light when he gets inside, toeing off his shoes and quietly navigating through the maze of his apartment in the dark towards his bed. Green casts a glance towards his windows just as he's about to collapse into bed, wet clothes and all, but what he sees makes him stop dead in his tracks.
A pair of haunting red eyes is staring back in his direction, directly at him.
"Red," Green whispers, and it almost sounds loud against the silence of the room.
Red pushes off the window frame he'd been leaning against and takes one step, two, three towards Green, gliding across the span of the room.
Green desperately tries to remember any of the snappy remarks he'd planned for this, or, failing at that, he would even settle for anger or annoyance - anything - at Red, for having been gone so long.
Instead, his heart is racing at a million miles per hour, tight and constricted and at the hollow of his throat.
"Red, I -" I missed you.
Red doesn't say anything, looks up at him once before tugging at Green's jacket, pants, shirt, clothes, and Green's helping him do the same. Red isn't wet, but he's cold, even colder than Green, who had been in the rain, and the sensation of his cool fingers especially burn against Green's warming skin.
Soon, they're tumbling back into the bed, one after another, choked breaths and moans, and all Green can see through the night are dark hair, red eyes, and ecstasy.
*
(16)
Bravado and arrogance aside, Green doesn't think of his own story as particularly special. Sure, not everyone was related to a world-famous Pokemon professor, nor, perhaps, were they dumped on that professor after an untimely accident.
But then again, broken homes are nothing new or uncommon. Maybe it was unfair that Green wasn't doted on like the sister who looked like his mother and was rather scorned like the bastard father who took her away - all because of his eyes, but whoever said life was fair?
Still, even though Green doesn't like his grandfather, doesn't owe him a damn thing, he's at least grateful to have been raised instead of shunted out the door. And Eevee, the light of his life, who his grandfather had hesitantly given up if only because it got Green to leave - even Green has to thank him for that.
Then there was Red, the only thing Green had ever wanted - the only thing he'd ever had and lost, and well, even that wasn't so rare. After all, love is a suffering everyone goes through. At first, Green is stupid and young and completely in love like that would change the world or mean something.
But then Red is gone, and no one wants to let him know why Red is gone and avoids his eyes when he asks. Still, Green thinks it's better than to have never had Red in the first place. After all, Green is still stupid and young and in love, and he doesn't know how not to be.
Green may be stupid and young, but he's not naive so he doesn't martyr himself over it.
Those things, after all, are only common tragedies.
*
(18)
"You look like hell," Leaf comments when she arrives four days after Green's seen Red. Green shrugs noncommittally. Leaf pauses. "You seem really happy, though."
"Really?" Green hums, hands going for the dark circles he knows are under his eyes but almost smiling despite himself.
"Something good happen?" Leaf asks tentatively. "I haven't seen you this happy since..." She leaves the words hanging in the air, but Green has trouble following what she means.
"Since what?"
Leaf avoids looking at him. "Anyway, I'm glad you're in a good mood for once, but you still need to take care of yourself. I think I got a call from every single trainer at your gym in the last three days. You're freaking all of them out."
Green shrugs and stuffs his hands in his pockets.
"So what's been keeping you up? Somebody you should be telling me about? I hear there's a new boy hanging around the gym..."
Green scoffs and rolls his eyes. "First of all, he's a dumbass kid who wanted me to train him. Second, he already has someone he likes. Who isn't me. Third, even if I did, I wouldn't be telling you." He smirks and pokes her in the shoulder. Leaf is one of the few people Green can trust, who'd supported them from the beginning, but he doesn't want to tell her just yet. He wants Red to remain his secret just a little longer.
Leaf pouts and punches him playfully before dragging him to the diner they always go to when she's in town, and tells him all about her new beau.
After they finally settle in their seats and the waitress takes their orders, Leaf becomes unusually quiet and serious, and that's when Green knows he should start to worry.
"Your grandfather," Leaf starts slowly and cautiously, "is worried about you. You should call him sometime."
"Yeah?" Green rearranges his silverware and begins picking at his napkin. "Who'd have thought?"
Leaf sighs. "He's already apologized."
"About Red. He has other things he should be sorry for."
"Green, you can't keep pushing people away. I was joking earlier about the new boyfriend thing, but you have to move on. You can't be hung up over this forever. You should move out, get a new apartment, and then... Even you need som-"
"I have you."
Leaf flinches back at his words, almost guiltily, as if she blamed herself for not being around.
"Leaf, don't - I mean, I'm fine. I don't expect you to take care of me. And I know you're there if I need you. I'm fine."
They sit in uncomfortable silence until the waitress brings their orders.
"Sorry," Leaf says and looks longingly at Green's fries, as if he would keep them from her. Green sighs and pushes the plate to her side of the table.
"Seriously, why haven't you been sleeping? I'm surprised you're not toppling over. Do you have bad nightmares or something?"
"I don't dream," Green mumbles, and Leaf is quiet.
"You're too young not to have any dreams," Leaf finally says, and it takes a moment for Green to register what she means.
"Leaf," he says pointedly, and Leaf bites her lip, knowing that she's treading on thin ice.
Green sighs. "Look, I'm sorry. But -" He can't help the smile that flits across his face. Sure, he feels like hell because he'd stayed up every night waiting, just in case Red came around. Even if Red had disappeared again that morning, it's okay now because Green knows Red is back.
"Green?"
Green can tell her because she was the first person they'd told, was one of the only people they'd told, and he can trust her with this as well.
"I - Red is back, Leaf!" he says, astonished by the truth in his own words. "Red came back."
He waits a moment for her shock to fade. What replaces it, though, isn't joy or excitement, but sorrow pooling in the bottom of Leaf's eyes.
"Green," Leaf whispers after a long moment, "Red is dead."
part three
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~3300 this chapter
Genre: Angst/Supernatural
Series: Pokémon
Characters/Pairings: Green/Red, implied Ethan/Silver(/Lyra), Leaf, various others
Warnings: language, violence, additional warnings under the cut.
Summary: Sometimes, there are people you just can’t live without. For Green, Red is that person.
A/N: The last part of this is actually not finished yet, and it might take a while since I have three tests next week. Don't worry though, I promise I'll get it out before the end of the month. Thanks to
rykea for being amazing as usual. ♥Additional Warnings: highlight for plot-sensitive details. homophobia, language, violence, implied sexual situations, character death
one | two | three
speaking a dead language
(14)
Between Ethan's training sessions, Green still has a gym to run and challengers to fight, so it's no surprise that he's been passing out almost immediately when he hits his bed.
A week into Ethan's training, Green stumbles home sometime after 3 AM, irritated because this has been happening for the last seven days and he still has unfinished paperwork that was supposed to have been done by yesterday and needs to be up in less than four hours.
It's after he collapses on his bed, not even bothering to pull the covers over himself, that he see Red poke his head in through his window.
Red, he thinks. He's happy for all of five seconds before his brain supplies, Of course that bastard would show up now of all times, for the first time in years. Still, even though he's a little annoyed, Green has missed his boyfriend. He's too tired to move though, and can barely even make vague motions with his arm for Red to come closer.
"Red," he manages to moan.
Red steps into their apartment with grace and glides over the floor towards his bed. (Their bed, Green reminds himself, even though Red hasn't slept on it for years.)
"Red," Green says. He attempts to grab onto Red's jacket when he's within arm's reach, but it slips right through Green's grasp.
Red fumbles with the covers and manages to tug them out from beneath Green and pull them over him.
"Red," Green tries again, even though he's already half asleep, because Red's here - here again, finally - and there are so many things that need to be said.
Red puts his index finger over Green's mouth to hush him, and slides under the cover onto Green's (their) bed. Green manages to turn slightly so he can face Red, but Red covers Green's eyes with his hand, his touch cool and airy but achingly familiar.
This too, Green thinks, is okay for now.
Except Red isn't there when he wakes up in the morning, two and a half hours after his alarm should have gone off. He mumbles a string of curses under his breath as he scrambles through the apartment, pulling on his pants and shoving a slice of toast in his mouth in his hurry to get ready.
It's unfair, he thinks, that Red would be the one who'd make him late when it always used to be Red's job to make sure he got to work on time. More than that, he's annoyed that Red would just leave after bothering to show up for the first time in so long, and plans a series of snappy insults for when (if) Red comes back.
Still, despite all this, Green can't help but be a little happy because - Red. Green has no proof other than his waking under the covers instead of on top of them and a faint smell of cinnamon on his pillow that hasn't been there in years, but that's all he needs. For now.
It isn't until noon that Green realizes he lives on the third floor.
(3)
Mt. Silver, Green remembers, was always Red's idea.
"Hey," Red says, clearing his throat for good measure when Green doesn't turn his way after a few seconds.
"What? Sorry." Green looks up sheepishly from his paperwork.
"It's been a year," Red says.
Green has to pause to consider what he's talking about. Their one-year anniversary had been a few months ago (which Red almost forgot), and he couldn't remember any other dates either of them would deem as important.
"One year since what?"
"Since that."
Oh. That. The event that would not be named.
Before Green can ask why Red is bringing it up, Red says, "We should - go somewhere. Celebrate."
Green stares at him.
Red blinks. "What?"
"You barely even remember our anniversary, and yet you can remember the date for that? And you want to celebrate it?" Green asks.
Red walks over to his chair and drapes himself over Green, tugging the paper out of his hand. "We've survived the worst, right? That deserves some sort of celebration."
Survived the worst. Green hopes there's some truth to that.
It's a bit of an unusual choice of a destination, but since it's Red, perhaps that was a given.
"It'll be fun," Red says even though Green's idea of fun did not involve hiking up mountains that were perpetually caught in snow storms and continuously fighting off wild Pokemon while doing so.
"It's secluded," Red tells him, and that's reason enough. No prying eyes, no scathing glares that they have to deal with every day. "There's a bed and breakfast. We can watch the sunrise from the top." He shoves a handful of brochures about Mt. Silver in Green's face that detailed the scenic routes (what scenic routes? Green's pretty sure they all look the same through the snow), the wild Pokemon (seen those, caught that), and the tourism industry (there was a tourism industry? Who'd want to vacation there? Besides Red).
Still, Red's said more about Mt. Silver to Green than he has said at all in the last week, so for some reason Green can't understand, he must really want to go. Green has a soft spot for Red, and maybe in some small, tiny way, he might be convinced that this, them, the persecution, is his fault, and even though it doesn't sound like his idea of fun, he agrees.
Something like a ghost of a smile flitters across Red's face when he finally gives in, and before it even really registers in Green's mind, Red's tugged him out of his chair for a kiss and is pulling him towards their bed.
Oh. Green thinks between kisses. Mt. Silver really is great.
"I had a few Rocket grunts show up at the gym today," he says to Red over dinner. "Tried to get into the gym." Green sighs. "I thought you took care of them, and they were gone?"
Red hums and runs his fingers over Green's knuckles. "Vacation will be good for you."
Green wants to roll his eyes because it's Mt. Silver, and he's not sure how freezing his ass off would be good for him. Still, when he sees Red's smile, he thinks that it might all be worth it.
But then, Red disappears.
No one wants to tell him anything. They were supposed to leave for Mt. Silver in a week, but now Red's gone, and no one wants to talk to Green at all. They'd made plans and packed their bags and arrange vacation dates, and Green had wondered if he was crazy for going through this much trouble for Mt. Silver.
But now Green has an armful of vacation brochures for a place he doesn't want to see, a suitcase of clothes with nowhere to go, and a week of vacation with nothing to do.
Afterwards, long after unpacking his clothes - their clothes - and putting them back into the closet and sitting around his apartment for a week doing nothing but paperwork, he forgets about Mt. Silver. Still, sometimes he finds the brochures lying around to remind him of the terrible vacation that never was.
Green never throws them away.
(15)
It's raining the next time Ethan shows up at his gym. Green has never been a big fan of cliché, but even he feels a bit sorry for Ethan when Green sees tears running down his face with the rain. He waits for Ethan to say something, but the boy is unusually silent and just stands in front of his gym door. After a moment, Green sighs and pulls Ethan in, muttering something about the gym not being a Pokemon Center or a charity.
He's toweling Ethan's hair dry when Ethan finally cracks.
"He said no," Ethan says. Green stops, feeling a surge of numbness rush through his arms, and puts the towel down. "He said - he said he felt the same, but." Ethan takes a shaky breath and wipes the tears off with his arm. "But he's afraid. For me. Because of his father. He doesn't think I could protect myself."
When Ethan's downcast eyes turn up to look at him, the determination in his eyes is burning so brightly that, for a moment, Green almost thinks they're tainted red.
"Help me," Ethan pleads. "I want to be strong. Not just for me or him or us. For Lyra. For anyone who needs me to be. I need you to teach me."
Green looks away, answer choked in his throat. He couldn't because it wasn't him, hadn't ever been him. That had always been Red's job.
"I don't know how."
(9)
They're not supposed to be here. Green's not really supposed to be here right now either though Lance has taken pity on him and let him tag along which is why he is, but they're definitely not supposed to be here.
"Stay with me and don't do anything stupid," Lance had warned him when he agreed to let Green come.
But now, seeing those Rocket grunts walking around... when Red was -
A flash of hot red and white runs across his vision and Green jolts towards them. "What do think you're doing?" he hisses, and can feel Lance trying to grab at his arm to pull him back, Green, don't - at his lips.
But even Lance can't stop Eevee - who's already at Green's feet, her dark eyes staring down her opponents with nothing but uncontained rage. Maybe it's not their fault, but Green's never been angrier in his life, not even at his grandfather.
And someone needs to pay for this.
When he finally beats the last grunt, Green makes sure to kick him while he's still down. Hard. Multiple times, for good measure.
"Green - Green." Lance grabs his arm and tries to pull him back. "That's enough. You don't have jurisdiction here. The Elite Four - the police, we'll take over from here."
"What the fuck do you mean I don't have jurisdiction?" Green hisses through his teeth. "Fuck you. In case you forgot, I used to be the champion too." He leaves I could still beat you now hanging in the air between them. Green knows all too well the power of words, but he doesn't feel even a bit sorry when he sees Lance flinch. "This is my gym. And Red was my -"
Green can't bring himself to finish his sentence.
Lance's expression deflates, and Green turns to avoid looking him in the eye so he doesn't have to see the pity he knows is there. To Lance's credit though, he doesn't let go of Green's arm. Green lets out a huff.
"Yeah, whatever, I get it," Green mutters, and pulls his arm out of Lance's grasp. Lance looks worried, but Green just waves him off. "Don't worry about me, I'm a big boy," he says and walks off in the direction of Viridian Forest.
He feels much better later when he's finally calmed down. But then, Green realizes that he can't even remember why he was so angry in the first place.
(17)
Green lets Ethan stay in his gym for the night and even offers to stay with him because he honestly doesn't have anything more to offer.
"I'm sorry," Ethan says, even though it's probably Green who should be apologizing. "I've been a burden. How can I expect other people to rely on me if I can't even rely on myself?"
Green shrugs. "No man is an island."
Ethan smiles at him weakly. "Thanks. But this is the last time I'll bother you. You can go home - you don't have to stay with me. Sorry. I've kept you here long enough."
Green is tired and wants to leave, but he doesn't know how to explain that his apartment hasn't felt like (or been) home in years.
It's still raining when Green leaves the gym. He doesn't bother to go back inside to grab an umbrella because it's late enough already, and somehow, he can't really find it in himself to care.
His shoes squeak against the stairs as he walks up the three flights to his apartment. The dim light in the hallway flickers as Green fumbles with his keys, the cool metal tingling and icy in his hands after having been drenched in the rain. He doesn't bother turning on the light when he gets inside, toeing off his shoes and quietly navigating through the maze of his apartment in the dark towards his bed. Green casts a glance towards his windows just as he's about to collapse into bed, wet clothes and all, but what he sees makes him stop dead in his tracks.
A pair of haunting red eyes is staring back in his direction, directly at him.
"Red," Green whispers, and it almost sounds loud against the silence of the room.
Red pushes off the window frame he'd been leaning against and takes one step, two, three towards Green, gliding across the span of the room.
Green desperately tries to remember any of the snappy remarks he'd planned for this, or, failing at that, he would even settle for anger or annoyance - anything - at Red, for having been gone so long.
Instead, his heart is racing at a million miles per hour, tight and constricted and at the hollow of his throat.
"Red, I -" I missed you.
Red doesn't say anything, looks up at him once before tugging at Green's jacket, pants, shirt, clothes, and Green's helping him do the same. Red isn't wet, but he's cold, even colder than Green, who had been in the rain, and the sensation of his cool fingers especially burn against Green's warming skin.
Soon, they're tumbling back into the bed, one after another, choked breaths and moans, and all Green can see through the night are dark hair, red eyes, and ecstasy.
(16)
Bravado and arrogance aside, Green doesn't think of his own story as particularly special. Sure, not everyone was related to a world-famous Pokemon professor, nor, perhaps, were they dumped on that professor after an untimely accident.
But then again, broken homes are nothing new or uncommon. Maybe it was unfair that Green wasn't doted on like the sister who looked like his mother and was rather scorned like the bastard father who took her away - all because of his eyes, but whoever said life was fair?
Still, even though Green doesn't like his grandfather, doesn't owe him a damn thing, he's at least grateful to have been raised instead of shunted out the door. And Eevee, the light of his life, who his grandfather had hesitantly given up if only because it got Green to leave - even Green has to thank him for that.
Then there was Red, the only thing Green had ever wanted - the only thing he'd ever had and lost, and well, even that wasn't so rare. After all, love is a suffering everyone goes through. At first, Green is stupid and young and completely in love like that would change the world or mean something.
But then Red is gone, and no one wants to let him know why Red is gone and avoids his eyes when he asks. Still, Green thinks it's better than to have never had Red in the first place. After all, Green is still stupid and young and in love, and he doesn't know how not to be.
Green may be stupid and young, but he's not naive so he doesn't martyr himself over it.
Those things, after all, are only common tragedies.
(18)
"You look like hell," Leaf comments when she arrives four days after Green's seen Red. Green shrugs noncommittally. Leaf pauses. "You seem really happy, though."
"Really?" Green hums, hands going for the dark circles he knows are under his eyes but almost smiling despite himself.
"Something good happen?" Leaf asks tentatively. "I haven't seen you this happy since..." She leaves the words hanging in the air, but Green has trouble following what she means.
"Since what?"
Leaf avoids looking at him. "Anyway, I'm glad you're in a good mood for once, but you still need to take care of yourself. I think I got a call from every single trainer at your gym in the last three days. You're freaking all of them out."
Green shrugs and stuffs his hands in his pockets.
"So what's been keeping you up? Somebody you should be telling me about? I hear there's a new boy hanging around the gym..."
Green scoffs and rolls his eyes. "First of all, he's a dumbass kid who wanted me to train him. Second, he already has someone he likes. Who isn't me. Third, even if I did, I wouldn't be telling you." He smirks and pokes her in the shoulder. Leaf is one of the few people Green can trust, who'd supported them from the beginning, but he doesn't want to tell her just yet. He wants Red to remain his secret just a little longer.
Leaf pouts and punches him playfully before dragging him to the diner they always go to when she's in town, and tells him all about her new beau.
After they finally settle in their seats and the waitress takes their orders, Leaf becomes unusually quiet and serious, and that's when Green knows he should start to worry.
"Your grandfather," Leaf starts slowly and cautiously, "is worried about you. You should call him sometime."
"Yeah?" Green rearranges his silverware and begins picking at his napkin. "Who'd have thought?"
Leaf sighs. "He's already apologized."
"About Red. He has other things he should be sorry for."
"Green, you can't keep pushing people away. I was joking earlier about the new boyfriend thing, but you have to move on. You can't be hung up over this forever. You should move out, get a new apartment, and then... Even you need som-"
"I have you."
Leaf flinches back at his words, almost guiltily, as if she blamed herself for not being around.
"Leaf, don't - I mean, I'm fine. I don't expect you to take care of me. And I know you're there if I need you. I'm fine."
They sit in uncomfortable silence until the waitress brings their orders.
"Sorry," Leaf says and looks longingly at Green's fries, as if he would keep them from her. Green sighs and pushes the plate to her side of the table.
"Seriously, why haven't you been sleeping? I'm surprised you're not toppling over. Do you have bad nightmares or something?"
"I don't dream," Green mumbles, and Leaf is quiet.
"You're too young not to have any dreams," Leaf finally says, and it takes a moment for Green to register what she means.
"Leaf," he says pointedly, and Leaf bites her lip, knowing that she's treading on thin ice.
Green sighs. "Look, I'm sorry. But -" He can't help the smile that flits across his face. Sure, he feels like hell because he'd stayed up every night waiting, just in case Red came around. Even if Red had disappeared again that morning, it's okay now because Green knows Red is back.
"Green?"
Green can tell her because she was the first person they'd told, was one of the only people they'd told, and he can trust her with this as well.
"I - Red is back, Leaf!" he says, astonished by the truth in his own words. "Red came back."
He waits a moment for her shock to fade. What replaces it, though, isn't joy or excitement, but sorrow pooling in the bottom of Leaf's eyes.
"Green," Leaf whispers after a long moment, "Red is dead."
part three