Summary: At twelve, they were flirting the way only twelve year olds know how. At twenty, they realize that some things just never change. Ruby/Sapphire

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At twelve, their parents saw both their children flirting with each other in the way only twelve year olds could. The constant bickering and yelling at each other, while driving Norman up the wall (and often to the sanctuary of his gym), served as a calming effect- it was good to know that his son, who had often befuddled his father with his interest in feminine contests, was at least interested in girls and not- ahem- that way with other boys.

The Pokemon got used to it, too. After a while, Zuzu simply curled up inside the secret hideout and went to sleep, often being joined by Toro. The Fire type, while a light sleeper, often curled deeper into Zuzu's body, trying to escape the constant screaming that came from outside the cave (after an indignant headbutt by Dono, the two trainers wisely took their verbal battles outside). Eventually, Ruby and Sapphire would come back in, mentally tired from the constant repartee, and find their Pokemon all lying around the cave, snoozing as though nothing had happened.

At thirteen, Sapphire's self control broke and she demanded to know why Ruby didn't remember the incident at the aircar. Ruby, as usual, blinked at her in some confusion, his red eyes slightly magnified by his reading glasses. "What incident?" he asked blankly, and Sapphire, after some frustrated stuttering, threw up her hands and left, grabbing a sleeping Toro and telling it she was leaving. Ruby had looked at his stirring Swampert and asked, "What I do now, Zuzu?" His Pokemon rolled its eyes and went back to sleep, having heard that question too many times for its comfort.

He remembered, of course. Nobody forgets the first time they're told that someone likes them. It just felt awkward, rehashing old events like that with Sapphire, whom he considered a best friend and companion. At thirteen, he convinced himself- and a vaguely listening Mimi- that it was for the best anyway. Kids at thirteen didn't know what they were doing, and with all these things happening, him with his contests and Sapphire with her battles, they would have no time for each other anyway.

At fourteen, they received the news that Gold and Crystal were finally dating, and upon hearing the news from a gleeful Blue, Sapphire cast a meaningful stare at the apparently-oblivious boy. "Maybe it's about time a new couple showed up to surprise everyone," she hinted meaningfully, and Blue smirked with that annoying, knowing look on her face. The hint apparently went right over Ruby's head as he innocently replied, "Yeah, Blue. It's about time you got together with Green, don't you think?"

And he had made up some excuse about having to groom Nana, leaving a frustrated Sapphire and a stunned Blue behind. Ruby had glared at Popo later as it hovered around him, staring at him with an accusing glint in its wide eyes. "Don't give me that look," he warned his Pokemon. "You know precisely why I do this."

Popo just stared at him more until Ruby got sick of its constant gaze and returned it to its Pokeball.

At sixteen, Sapphire and Ruby had one of their worse fights in the time that they had known each other. It all started when Ruby came back to the secret hideout and proudly told Sapphire that he had won the Slateport City Contest, beating Marge in the process.

In all fairness, Ruby didn't know that Sapphire still saw Marge as competition. In reality, though, he had never known that at all. So when Sapphire exploded, demanding to know if the reason why he had joined all these "stupid contests" was just to see Marge, Ruby was considerably startled. "What in Arceus' name are you talking about?" he wanted to know when he finally found his voice.

Sapphire ran right over his words, like she did everything else. "I'm talking about how you trust that convict! She tried to kill you for crying out loud!"

Ruby pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. Arceus, the sun must have gotten to Sapphire's brain. "I don't remember her ever doing that," he replied in as calm a tone as he could muster (in its corner, Zuzu sighed and covered its eyes; it knew what was coming in the next five minutes). "And really, she's reformed, and by the way, it's been five years. Let it go, Sapph."

"Let it go? Let it go?" Sapphire was shrieking now, and outside, Pilo grumbled to itself and took to the air. Sapphire wouldn't miss it, and it didn't have any intention of waiting around for her. Sapphire continued shrieking, and when Ruby saw Dono paw the ground, he began to edge outside. She followed, of course, still yelling, although he attempted to persuade her that really, him and Marge were "just friends" and "why did she care so much" and "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, SAPPHIRE, LET IT GO, ALREADY!"

Creative insults followed, and eventually, it was Ruby who stormed in, grabbed his backpack, tossed a "Fine, I'll leave if you want me to then" at Sapphire and then left. Sapphire strode in as he left, and glared at Rono, who was shaking its head. "Stop that," she snapped. "Life would be so much easier if he remembered, and you know it."

He came back the next day, of course, and both of them continued life as though nothing had happened. It took a while of some awkward conversation; like always, he pretended it never happened and she gave him the cold shoulder because he knew she remembered. Eventually, both of them resumed their normal arguing over battles versus contests, and the forest was filled with playful insults and shrieks of outrage over a spot of dirt. But they knew it was there, the deep undertones of memories and jealousy running through their light conversation, making its presence felt to them.

At seventeen, Ruby received the news that he was scheduled to move to Slateport City, and although Sapphire told herself that it would only take a few minutes on Pilo, she knew that it would feel like an eternity before she saw Ruby. The boy, on the other hand, waved goodbye to her cheerfully and gave her a tight hug (a few seconds more than the usual hug, but he would never admit it to himself) before hopping into the van his mother had rented. Sapphire watched the van go out of sight before crumpling to the ground, crying softly as her Pokemon surrounded her, unsure of what to do.

Ruby watched until Sapphire faded out of sight before sighing heavily in the back of the van. Nana curled up against him and he patted its head. "I'm going to miss her, buddy," he admitted, and Nana purred a satisfied, Finally.

At eighteen, Ruby moved back, and he was immediately tackled to the ground by an elated Sapphire when he stepped out of the car. "Whoa there," he chuckled, removing the girl from the tight clutch she had around his neck. "Why haven't you been visiting lately?"

She simply looked at him and replied, "I forgot," and he knew it was payback for him 'forgetting' about the aircar incident. He flashed a smile at her and wondered when she had grown to match his height. "Well then," he said brightly, and he saw the flash of disappointment at his lack of response in her depthless eyes. He gestured to the back of the van, where his Pokemon were still locked up. "Want to see how beautiful my Pokemon have become?"

She declined, giving him the usual spiel about how his Pokemon were wimps, and he retorted back with the usual snarky remarks about how uncool her Pokemon looked. His mother simply sighed and walked back into their old house. "They're at it again, Norman. I need a glass of wine," she requested, and Norman nodded in understanding as he handed the already prepared glass to her.

At nineteen, he finally admitted to his Pokemon that he was in love with Sapphire, and all of them responded in the same exasperated tone. "But what do I do now?" Ruby wondered aloud, and Zuzu was forced to restrain himself from spraying his trainer with Water Gun. Just tell her already, it remarked. After all we've waited long enough.

Been tortured long enough by your incessant arguing, more like, Coco drawled from its corner, and Ruby pantomimed throwing Coco's Pokeball at it. "Hush," he commanded.

He struggled with the idea for the next week or so, and Sapphire dropping by everyday to provide his dad with a challenge didn't really help his case, either. He noticed her behavior, although still rather loud and brash, was at least more toned down than it was when they were eleven, and he mentioned it one day while they were both in the meadow, looking up at the sky.

Sapphire shrugged, and Ruby knew she did even though he wasn't looking at her. "People change as they grow up, I suppose," she answered, almost thoughtfully. Then he heard her move, and he turned his head to see her grinning at him, her blue eyes twinkling with mischief. "You haven't changed, though. You're still as effeminate as ever!"

Ruby was more interested in where she had learned the word 'effeminate' from, and Sapphire just grinned widely. "Remember that week I spent with Crystal? We went to Kanto to visit Red and Green. Let's just say Green leaves a lot of books everywhere."

Ruby chuckled, and felt his heart turn over in his chest as Sapphire laughed as well. "I've changed," he said after a while, and Sapphire turned her head to see him still watching her intently. "Oh really? How so?" she challenged.

Ruby just smirked, and the way his smile lighted up his eyes captivated Sapphire, like they had all those years ago. She was still in love with him, she had admitted to Toro the previous night, and to herself, she had added, And I'm not sure I'll ever stop.

Ruby didn't reply, and both of them held each other's stare for a moment, daring each other to look away first. It was only when they heard the familiar squeal of Ruby's Ruru that the atmosphere was broken; both looked away hastily and scrambled to their feet. "I-" Ruby began.

"Yeah, I have to go," Sapphire muttered, and she sped away, calling for her Pokemon to follow. Ruby scratched his head, feeling lost, and glanced at Coco, who sauntered up to his side and sat down, its tail swishing lazily. "I give up," he grumbled. "Relationships suck."

A week later, Sapphire's birthday fell on a Friday, and like they had every year, both families got together to celebrate. As usual, Ruby and Sapphire ditched their parents and went to their secret hideout, where Sapphire tossed the presents into a corner without much thought. Ruby stifled a horrified gasp and rushed over to retrieve them, admonishing her in the process, and Sapphire simply shook her head. "Never changes," she muttered as Ruby carefully arranged them by size.

"I heard that," Ruby said sharply, and turned around to fix her with a narrow eyed stare. Sapphire yawned and stretched. "We have this argument every year," she pointed out. "Presents are not only valid for one day. There are multiple days where you can open them. Like tomorrow," she emphasized.

Ruby continued to watch her, and Sapphire shifted, a little uncomfortable with his scrutiny. "This is where you argue that today is my special day and I should open the presents," she prompted him, but the older boy broke into a grin. "Nah, I won't do that today. At least open mine, though-" and he tossed a small box at her. Sapphire's reflexes kicked in and she caught the tumbling box, scowling as Ruby sauntered over.

Before she undid the final knot that held the white box closed, though, Ruby's hand closed over hers. Sapphire's mouth went dry at the warm touch of his skin, but she held her composure together. "What do you want now, Ruby?" she wanted to know.

Ruby shrugged. "You haven't exploded about Marge in a while," he observed, and Sapphire forced a growl to subside in her throat, like she had been doing for the last three years or so. "That was a long time ago," she tried to play it off, "and well you were right, she is reformed."

"This from the girl who still thinks I lost her Snowpoint City gym badge."

"You did!"

"I didn't go anywhere near that thing!"

"Yeah, you did!"

"No, I did not-" Ruby caught himself. "Anyway. My point is, you tend to hold grudges. And yet, no mention of Marge?"

I never hold grudges against anything related to you, Sapphire thought to herself. Except one. She knew which one that was, and she bet Ruby did, too. Instead, she plastered a smile on her face. "I never had a grudge against her."

He gave her a dubious look, and Sapphire kept the fake smile in place. "I let it drop, Ruby, isn't that what you wanted?"

Ruby wasn't dumb. Unlike the other male Dex Holders, Ruby was sensitive to the emotions of people around him, and could put two and two together. Red and Gold were about as dense as dense could get, Green and Silver simply didn't care, Diamond was too busy with his food and Pearl was too busy with his jokes. Ruby understood eventually why Sapphire thought the way she did about Marge, and it made him wonder if Sapphire still felt the same way about him. "Remember that one day when you said people change as they grow up?" he wondered aloud.

She was starting to fidget, and Ruby decided to speed it up. "I was wondering," he plowed right along, "if people forget certain things?"

"Some do." Sapphire kept her eyes on the box; her fingers twitched under Ruby's. "Some never forget."

Ruby thought about it for a moment; and then as though it had never been there, his hand was gone from Sapphire's, leaving it cold and exposed. "Go on, open it," he encouraged, and Sapphire shot him an exasperated look before opening the box and gasping in surprise.

Nestled within the velvet folds of the box was a necklace, shining lustrously with the light of a million brilliant seas. The silver chain snaked down to a small, heart shaped pendant, where a blue sapphire gleamed and shone as it caught the stray rays of sunlight. "It's amazing," she stuttered as she lifted it out. Ruby grinned with pure joy as he saw his best friend stare at the necklace; he finally took it from her limp fingers and fastened it around her neck. "There," he said, satisfied. "You look beautiful."

She blushed and did a very unSapphire-like thing- she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Ya think so?"

"I know so." Ruby smiled at her, and Sapphire lunged forward to choke him in a hug. "Thanks, Ruby," she whispered in his ear, and he only smiled and hugged her back, his hands resting comfortably in the small of her back. "Anything for you," he murmured into her brown hair.

"Anything?"

"I'm not battling with you on your birthday."

"You never battle with me any day anyway!"

"That's not true! I battled with you last Friday!"

And so it continued, like always.

When Ruby turned twenty, Sapphire surprised him with a tender kiss on the lips- their first kiss. Ruby turned bright red, and so did she- but the both of them fixed that by trying it again- and again- and again, until their Pokemon got sick of the once-surprising sight and padded out of the cave. We wait what, six years for them to get together, and the fun's over in five minutes, Toro grumbled, and the other Pokemon agreed.

Later, Sapphire asked him the question that she hadn't asked since she was thirteen. "So did you ever remember the incident in the aircar?"

Ruby simply smiled to himself, even as he put on a blank expression and looked at her. "What incident?"

As Sapphire had another fit, Ruby allowed a contented smile to wrap itself around his lips. Some things just never changed.