disclaimer: I do not own pokemon or any of the characters

There was one thing Green noticed. It was how strange Red was behaving lately. Ever since his defeat by the Johto boy, Red had been staying with him, spending his days accompanying Green or sometimes the other gym leaders would come and snatch Red away from him. Green cursed silently at that but he did not mind that the other gym leaders are spending time with him; Red needed the social interaction with people badly. Even though Green was worried about Red day and night, he was at least by chance, relief that his childhood friend slash rival slash best friend slash crush was in good hands.

Knowing the other gym leaders would not hit on Red, Green glared at nothing at particular when he thought of such act. Most of the leaders knew of Green's affection for Red, it seemed the only one oblivious to the said feeling was Red himself. No one really blamed the youngest champion, in addition, it was amusing to watch Green struggling with him. Being the professor's grandson, he had lots of pocket monsters at his possession, or you should say his spying minors. Green grinned at his own tactic to gather information darkly, like sending rattata to trail the group or pidgey to watch from the sky and have them report back to him.

Anyway, Green coughed, back to the point. Red's strange behavior. His battling partner had been receiving a lot of phone calls lately from his pokegear, and Green just gave him the little device a month ago. Not that he wanted the boy all to himself but it was getting irritating. The phone calls were getting even more frequent after a while. At first, it was once a week, Green had questioned Red what and who was it. The quiet boy only shook his head and said it was nothing. Maybe some phone calls were nothing serious, but Red would always go out right after the call and come back really late. All wore out too. His minors could not supply him any information. Being the possessive self he was, he did one thing that he thought he would never ever do. So Green decided to check Red's call list.

Lance. Lance. Lance. Lance. Lance. Lance. Green. Misty. Lance.

In his blind fury in the middle of the night, Misty's name was left out from the list. Lance, the dragon master that Green defeated when he was the champion, he never liked the leader of the elite four. He just had a feeling that Lance would be trouble. And how true that gut feeling was to him now. The brunet gripped the little pokegear so hard that it would almost snapped in half, but he dropped it out of shock when the sleepy monotonous voice of Red rang through his ears. "…Green." There he was, his crush, leaning on his elbow on the extra bed to support his weight while he stared at Green with his red eyes. "…What are you doing…?" He knew Red rarely talks; he knew the boy would only do it around the person he cherished and treasured. But now was not the time to be proud of himself.

Green calmed down and collected himself after the shock and coolly reassured that everything was fine and told Red go back to sleep. "It's nothing, go back to sleep." Along with his trademark smirk to plus. Right after that, Red's messy bed hair flopped back onto the pillow, light and soft breathings could be heard from him. 'That was a close call.' Thought the Viridian gym leader quietly, thanking god for his good reflexes, minus the dropped pokegear. Picking up the device slash evidence, Green put it back where it belonged. With that, he climbed into his own bed and switched the light off. The questioning, investigation and maybe murder will have to wait.

xxx

The calling of dodrio could be heard when the sun rose from hiding, Green opened his eyes the moment even before the three headed bird Pokémon began. He looked at the other bed, which was occupied by Red, who was still asleep warped in his Pikachu comforter. The sight brought forth Green's desire to just jump into Red's bed and hug him. Shaking his head to get the idea out, he stood from his bed and prepared for the day ahead. Like the usual routine he had but with a few bit of changes. Green had showered and started cooking their breakfast when Red approached him, still a tad bit drowsy.

When they both had settled down with breakfast, Green just could not hold it in anymore. "Red… Where have you been going lately…?" The former champion looked at Green with indifference, giving him a look that said it was nothing. The gym leader sighed; it would be very difficult to get information out of his friend. "Are you sure?" Giving the younger boy his genuine worried face, Red only nodded and continued his breakfast silently.

Green cursed inwardly as he gathered both of their dining plates to sink. If Red was not going to tell, then he would just have to follow him when he went to Lance again. Smirking to himself as he cleaned the dishes away, Red only stared at his best friend and shrugged it off, making his way to the living room while waiting for Green to be done with the dishes. They were running the gym together after all.

xxx

It was around afternoon that Red received a phone call. Green was having a lunch break from the gym with Red. The little device rang and Green glared sternly at the caller. The dark haired boy answered the call right after it rang twice, he never replied back to the caller, only nodded as if the person on the other side knew. But when it was Red, one would expect less from his social aspect and accept it just like that. Green readied himself when the other kept his pokegear; Red glanced at Green with his expression slightly discomfort and excused himself from the gym.

The last gym leader waited for a while before he told his trainee to go home for the rest of the day and closed the gym off regardless of the trainer waiting outside. When they complained, Green only glared at the bunch and rushed off to follow Red. The poor bunch could only shiver on spot and come back maybe another week after. Green let out his Pidgeot and ordered his only flying Pokémon to search Red as he clung to the large bird's feathery back. While they were on the sky, Green could see the signature red cap of Red's few hundred meters away from Viridian Town. As he expected, Red was heading toward the elite four headquarters. The spying teen motioned for his Pokémon to fly down so he can follow the former champion by foot.

Tailing ten steps behind quietly, Green could somehow see the expression on Pikachu's face; he was clearly not happy and irritated at something. Just like the first day both of them had their first Pokémon given by his grandfather. But Red was passive as usual, making his way to the gate guarding the elite four headquarters. The officer guarding the place saw Red but did not stop him from passing, after Red was some distance away, Green proceeded as well. The officer had a skeptical look but they did not stop the gym leader after flashing out his license. Gym leaders may have the privilege to visit the elite four if they want to.

The hallways were quiet as always since the last time Green himself came. The Elite Four would hole themselves up in their own training ground unless they were called for a challenge. No one was allowed in beside gym leaders, champions or former champions. Green may not been to this place for a long time, but he remembered exactly where and each of these corridors head to. The ginger head personally gave him the tour when he became the champion himself. Without any hesitation, the Viridian Gym Leader headed straight for the dragon's lair. The training ground made especially for Lance's Pokémon.

As Green suspected, the dragon's lair was occupied. He could hear sound of heavy flapping from a winged creature and the roars of dragon type even before he reached the door. Knowing he might expose his presence if he walked into the training ground like that, he stayed behind the slightly ajar door. The small gap allowed him some leeway to spy on them, what he saw was something he least expected to happen. There were two Charizards, flying with extreme speed going at each other. Green concluded from the sight that maybe Lance was only having a battle with Red, training Red's only dragon Pokémon. But that did not rid Green of his anger and suspicious toward the dragon master.

Red was staring intensely at his Charizard alone, concentration sharp on every movement made by his orange dragon as the dragons danced on air. Pikachu was nowhere to be seen, maybe Red kept the yellow mouse inside the pokéball despite knowing the fact that Pikachu hated it very much. While on the other hand, the older man was not paying attention on his own flying lizard. His gaze never left the younger trainer next to him, a creepy smile pasted on his lips. Green was holding himself back from just busting inside to grab Red and get out of here. His mind wandered off as he stared at Red's flying Pokémon, he knew Red's Charizard was slightly smaller than Lance's in size but it was no pushover either, having the upper hand in speed, Green grinned cheering mentally in his head. It was when his best friend's Pokémon began to lose concentration over the battle, the orange lizard was growling at a particular direction and that was when Green saw red.

The discomfort on Red face when the dragon master's arms enveloped around the younger's torso, no wonder Charizard was distracted. Lance was whispering close to Red's ear, Green could not decipher what he said but the looks on his beloved's face was enough. Even though Red knew he was trapped could not get out of the restraint, he tried his very best to pry the arm near his waist and struggled off the strong hold. Clearly not happy with the predicament, Red could not call for his other Pokémon for help as he left them behind in the room somewhere when he let Charizard out. Cursing himself for the stupidity of letting his guard down, he could only gripped at the arm circling him tightly with a glare to the ground. The sound of a loud slam snapped Red out of his glaring spot, soon after the thin layer of dust dissipated; the former champion's Charizard was being crushed by the other larger dragon using its weight to its advantages. Fearing for his Pokémon's safety instead of his own, the ebony teen called out to the fallen beast.

While everything was going on in the training ground, Green was speculating how he was going to step in and grab Red. It was crystal clear that the young gym leader was furious beyond any words, but he must cool his head before he rushed into the war that he must win. Browsing around the arena with his keen eyes, Red's bag and other pokeballs were left on the table for refreshment. Caressing the pokeballs he had with him, they could not help him at the moment; he would have to save Red himself. After gathering himself once more, he slammed the door open with force, not caring a single bit if he had damaged it. The loud commotion was not well received when the Dragon Master heard it, he glared at whichever intruder who would dare disturb him, and to his surprise it was the young Viridian Gym Leader. The ginger head wondered how Red would look and feel like now, having his best friend to see him in such circumstances. Lance knew the raven boy had a light attraction to the intruder, but seemingly the brunet was not making any move, he thought that he might as well steal the former champion first before it was too late. Smirking to himself, he held the boy in his arm tightly to himself. "What do I owe you for the visit?"

"Oh no, I was just looking for Red." Green did not say anything else regarding that statement as he only glared at the other man for touching Red. And that was when it happened. While both Lance and Green were having their glaring contest, Red felt suffocated, the unwanted situation was making him ill and he wanted out, and fast. Without thinking, he stomped on the Dragon Master's foot and rushed to his orange friend when the elite four released him due to pain. Like its master, Lance's Charizard got off of Red's when the lizard saw his master in pain. Red took the chance to climb onto his flying Pokémon and flew off by the opening of the arena, leaving his belongings in his rush.

Both trainers by the ground could only stare at the disappearing shadow of the dragon as seconds passed. The younger of the two snapped out of the shock first and threw a fist to the older one's face. "Do not touch him. Again." Spat the gym leader angrily at the elite four, Green did not really care that Lance had a bigger authority than he did, but that was not important now. The thing he needed to do the most now was to go after Red, who knows what that idiot will do in that state of mind. Grabbing Red's bag and his pokeballs, the brunet trainer called out his trusty bird Pokémon for another icy flight. Green knew where his childhood friend was heading, Red was still the same, just like the yesteryears, where he would hide in a quiet and isolated place when either he was upset or flustered. From an abandoned playground to the cold Mount Silver, Red sure knew how to pick the best place to hide from humanity. But Green took pride as the person who always found Red when everyone was in panicked because of his absence. With Red's yellow bag securely slung on his shoulder, Green mounted his Pidgeot and motioned for it to fly to the mountain.

xxx

Mount Silver was harsh as ever, but it seemed that a blizzard was blowing hard today. Green made Pidgeot lands on the summit of the mountain so that he could walk from there. He knew the little cave Red occupied was not far from the summit. Moving around the thick layer of snow that had accumulated since, Green managed to reach the entrance to the cave before Mother Nature struck again. Going deeper into the cave, light orange hue was illuminating the cave softly but brightly, the brunet could only guess that was from the fire Red made. However, in front of his eyes lied only an injured dragon without his trainer with him but a familiar red hat was on top of the dragon's head. Charizard's condition looked worst for anymore flying; the fatigue from the battle before with its counterpart might have caught up to him while en route towards the mountain. The gym leader dropped the yellow bag on the ground near the injured Pokémon and took out medical supply, even though his mind was full of worry for his raven friend, at least, he needed to treat his Pokémon first before the ailment make for the worst. After patching up the orange dragon, Green headed out of the cave to search for his partner.

The brunet did not know where Red went in this blizzard, but with the help of Arcanine, who would sniff out Red's trail, he will be able to find Red soon, he hoped. The more he followed the said canine, the more he noticed about the dark colored blobs and patches on the pristine white snow. He noticed them before after leaving the cave, but he shrugged it off and never thought anymore of it. Green patted on his companion to stop advancing as he bent down to investigate the weirdly patterned patches. Upon his touch, Green could feel some warmth from the discolored snow fading away slowly, along with the scent of copper. At first, he did not want to admit what he concluded it was, but with the snow melting away on his palm, the color of light pink was inevitable. Pulling himself onto Arcanine, he ordered his loyal canine to track Red quickly for fear of losing the person he loves. The heavy blizzard was not making it any easier either. The determined trainer could only pray for the other's safety as he ventured into the white icy hail.

"Please don't do anything stupid Red… Not before I got there…!"

Luckily, apparently Green's prayers were heard for once and he could see a blurry lithe figure through the snow not too far from where he was. But patches of red were getting closer to each other more frequently than before as well. When Arcanine stopped his track, his master looked ahead and the canine swore that his master had turned a few shades paler than usual even from the cold. The beast shook and whined softly at his master waiting for the next command when his master was only staring silently with his eyes wide from the view in front. There was a large tree in front of them, one which was being climbed by his master's mate. The smell of copper and iron was very heavy now to the large canine's brown nose; he inched nearer to the tree when Green was not responding to him, hoping to break the other trainer's fall just in case.

From the view below, Green could only see Red trying to reach for a branch which was too far away for his hand to reach. The object of Red's attention shaped oddly like an Oran berry. Both of them knew that berries were hard to go by in the mountain, but it was possible to find berries if they try hard enough and Red did just that. Always thinking of his Pokémon's well being no matter where and when despite his own. The former champion's jeans had tears and the same color from the patches on the snow could be seen soaked through the blue, small cuts and wounds were covering both his arms as well. With his heart clenched, he slide down from Arcanine's warm coat and tried to follow Red's every move without startling him. It would be extremely dangerous now if he make any noise to distract the boy from above.

Green was relieved when he saw his childhood friend grabbed the berry while holding onto the nearest tree branch he could. But it was short lifted when the fragile branch snapped from Red's weight and unable to balance himself, he fell from the tree, holding onto the little blue berry to his chest. Protecting the fruit. Green ran and jumped, trying to catch his precious friend's fall, as long as he could soften the impact, he could not care less what happen to himself, as long as Red was fine. The taller trainer cursed at gravity when he successfully caught the red eyed trainer in his arms but there was the fall to think about. Hugging the injured boy closely to himself, he waited for the ice cold pain.

A howl from his beastly friend snapped him out and an orange and white blur was all he could see before his back met with warm and soft body. That was Arcanine; the large orange canine came to their rescue and broke both their fall and now licking at their face as if asking if they were alright. Green immediately thanked his Pokémon for saving them before he went to check on Red who was shivering and paralyzed from the aftershock. "Red, Red! Are you okay?" The boy nodded slightly and murmured quietly about Charizard while showing the Oran berry to Green. "I know," The older boy answered as he took off his brown jacket and wrapped it around the shivering boy before he held on to him tightly, ordering Arcanine to take off to the cave's direction immediately. Even with Green's body heat and his jacket, Red was still shivering from both the harsh weather and blood loss. His eyes were threatening to give in to fatigue but the sheer stubbornness to see his Pokémon well kept him awake.

Eventually, Arcanine got back to the cave in record's time while the blizzard was still blowing but not as hard as before. The canine bowed down so that both trainers could get down easily. Green helped out the other to stand on his feet but pool of deep red began to form around his shoe every step he took. Charizard was alarmed to see his master and his current state and approached the two slowly, worry etched onto his fiery eyes clearly. The dragon's owner smiled slightly and presented the Oran berry that was in his hands all the time to his Pokémon, who gladly took it in one bite. The dragon breathes out a small puff of fire to express his gratitude and well being before catching his master, who fainted from overexertion after knowing his Pokémon will be fine. After Red fainted on the large dragon, Green wasted no time to get the first aid kit from the abandoned yellow bag to treat Red's injuries.

As Green predicted, there was a large gash on the unconscious boy's thigh, preferably from sharp stones. He carried the boy away from Charizard's arms onto his Arcanine's warm coat so that he could tend to the wounds with the boy resting on his friend. With both fire Pokémon's help, the cave was warm and there was enough hot water to clean the dirt away from Red's skin and wounds. From light wounds on his arms to the deeper wound on his thigh, he had to remove Red's damaged jeans before it got infected. Green wrapped fresh bandage all over Red's wounds before he hugged the boy to his chest lightly as not to hurt the boy anymore. "Please don't do that again… Red… I can't afford to lose you," whispered the gym leader softly against Red's ears as he too soon drifted off to sleep on Arcanine. The fire Pokémon could watch over their master as the blizzard roared continuously.

xxx

Green jerked up from his sleep when he had the most vivid dream of losing Red. Looking back frantically at the person beside him, he sighed in relief to see Red still resting, looking much better now than before. The firewood had long burnt out since the cold night and light was seeping into the cave, from the sound of the wind, it seemed that the blizzard had died down to only a windy light hail. Looking back to Red, the professor's grandson decided to change the wrapping on the boy's thigh, leaving those on his arms untouched. The ugly cut was healing rather quickly with the help of modern medicine, but the pinkish skin remained a contrast to Red's milky pale skin. Because of the area he was handling with, Green was trying his hardest not to blush and finish the treatment quickly before an even more awkward situation arose. It did not bother him when he was treating the wound for the first time because of the urgency. But now that Red was in a better state, his hormones decided to take charge in his brain and kick his senses away.

It was when Green was tying a knot to the fresh bandage over the wound that he felt a sudden twitch. Was it too tight, did he hurt the boy? Did that mean Red's awake? All sort of questions were popping in his head. The youngest gym leader stopped his ministration and looked up. His childhood friend was indeed awake and staring at him quietly with hazy eyes; he was probably still half asleep and tired from all the hassle from the day before. Green swallowed and began to pull off his jacket before covering Red's exposed lower body. The brunet coughed trying to distract himself from the stare, "How... are you feeling now?" Calmly and slowly, Green gazed back to the former champion. The other trainer only nodded at the said question and kept on staring blankly as if waiting for an outburst from the brown haired trainer. Green scratched his head trying to figure out what he was suppose to do now, he wanted to scold Red for his recklessness but that would cause more pain to Red at the moment. After much consideration within a few minutes, the brunet smirked and knocked the raven's forehead, pretending that he was not angry with Red. "Next time if you feel like pulling a stunt like that again, let me know first." With that, the spiky haired teen pulled the former champion who was rubbing his forehead softly into his arms tightly. Red could only hug back and listened to Green's breathing.

"...I'm sorry... Green," Pulling away from the warmth, Red's face was hidden from his view with his head down but Green swore he saw a light shade of pink dusted on the other's cheeks. Green was worried that if Red had caught a fever and wanted to check his forehead for temperature, but he was not prepared for what was going to happen next. The look of surprise and shock was clear on Green's face when Red pulled him down for a kiss. On the lips. He was right, his former rival's face was covered in light pink, but this time, Green knew the real reason behind it. How could he resist the first step from his crush, with that blushing and nervous expression, after all the frustration he had put up with Red, this face was the best reward Green ever wanted and it was all his and not someone else. Thought the taller trainer possessively and he slipped his palm behind the raven's head and pulled him even closer to his self. Taking advantage of the kiss Red had started, he deepened the kiss with much vigor. Green wanted to do much more, but the light push on his chest prevented him from doing so. There will still be next time, Green grinned after licking Red's soft lips one more time before moving away from the flustered teen.

While both Red and Green were staring at each other, both of their Pokémon were trying to mind their own business as well. Charizard although wounded, wanted to chew Green off his master, because of the incident with the red head before the dragon was agitated with anyone who would approach Red. But a soft growl from Arcanine who was stuck in the same position for few hours, asked the dragon to let them be and motioned for the dragon to look at their masters' expression before doing anything regrettable. The winged Pokémon only softened his glare at the canine's master by a bit when the orange dragon saw Red not rejecting the other's advances. Truly, the man's best friend was right. With last puff of hot breath, Charizard went to keep the cavern warm with his fire, leaving his master to his doings. On the other hand, Arcanine made himself comfortable resting on the ground, trying not to move as much as he can with two trainers leaning on him.

Panting from the lack of breath, Red found his missing hat nearby and quickly covered his face with it, not ready to look at Green's reaction. Which made the gym leader chuckled amusingly and quietly, he knew one method that would make the former champion look at him again. Caressing the bandaged arm lightly, the brunet whispered teasingly beside Red's ear. "Do you really hate me that much…?" Adding the tone of being hurt in his voice that was all that need to have his crush's eyes on him again, hat lowered and face still flushed nicely across his cheeks. Pressing his forehead against the others, vivid green eyes await the answer patiently. Red could only blink and whisper back to Green.

"No… I like Green… very much."

It sounded like a bell from heaven to Green. To finally have the answer he had always been fantasized on his own. To know that his crush… or should he now say lover, felt the same way as he did. Relief washed all over him and he let out a breath he did not know he was holding all the same time and decided to ravish Red for being so cute. Let his pride be damn, he would drop anything just for Red. Anything. Red smiled lightly before gasping at the little ministrations Green was doing on his torso. And that was all that mattered inside the cave on the top of the mountain.

xxx

Outside of the Viridian Gym, a group of new trainers was making a lot commotion about the temporary closed gym, whining to get a battle with Green. The commotion was getting too loud in the neighborhood that Leaf stepped in from her camping spot nearby. Glaring at each of them with her murderous eyes, making a girl lose her sleep was not a good thing, each of them thought at the same time.

"All of you pansy! If you don't shut the hell up, I will battle each of you… and if you lose… Don't ever show yourself in this town till you're stronger!"

With that, six shadows of her strongest Pokémon that would rival her childhood friends arose behind her. Each of the young trainers shivered in fright and fled the area, but some took up the challenge and lost with no mercy.

"Damn it, Green, you better explained when you come back!" grumbled the lady as she stomped back to her camp with her Pokémon. But a quiet mumble could be hear coming from her direction, "Well… If you give me all the juicy detail, I might forgive you~" And a creepy low laugh accompanied with it.

At that moment, Green sneezed and thought it was only from the cold.

xxx

On the other side of the region, inside one of the bars in Blackthorn City, Lance was having a drink with his sister Clair. A glass of wine in his hand, he sighed, looking at the red color of the wine longingly. "Care to tell me what happened to your face, brother? Looks like someone punched you." The auburn haired man only shook his head and chuckled darkly.

"Oh no, I just saw possible a new type of dragon. I was hoping to catch it for myself. But it fled and another came and attacked me. Both of them fled before I can do anything."

Behind the elite four stood the newest champion of both Johto and Kanto region, Gold and his red headed friend. "Are you sure you didn't try to steal the other's mate? Aren't dragon types possessive of their mate," grinned the boy before he was punched in the head for saying something stupid, courtesy of Silver. The dark haired boy glared at his rival before arguing about having a Pokémon battle outside to see who the stupid one was.

Lance was not amused, "He might have been correct about that." Gulping down the liquor, he asked for another refill. While his sister did not question more on the matter and just enjoy the time she could spend with her only family.

For the second time that day, Green sneezed once again and this time, Red's worried glance was all over him.

ps. This is my first fic on pokemon and I like this pairing a lot. I wrote this as a friend's bday gift... and it's 2 months late... Well, thank you for reading this until the end. I hope to write more pkm fictions in the future i hope..