Title: Studying Red

Characters: Red, Green

Summary: A character study on Red from Green's perspective after Red comes back down from Mount Silver.

Notes: Gameverse. One thousand two hundred forty-one words. Character study.

Song Playing: "Chairman's Waltz" by John Williams.

i. unblemished snow

Green's hands travel down the delicate skin, marveling at how soft and pure it was. Calloused hands that seem to ruin the perfection of such white beauty, yet Red doesn't seem to mind. The gym leader places a soft kiss against the open chest, his burning lips melting the many months of ice and snow that once covered the former champion's body.

No longer will he be unblemished snow, as he spends more time at sea level; with friends; here, home. The sun will ravish his body, his mother's cooking filling out the lean frame from an unbalanced diet and the fiery ices of Mount Silver, the sounds of Leaf's laughter bringing out that rare smile.

Green lowers his head against the other's chest, looking up before asking quietly, "Are you sure?"

The dark-haired boy silently nods.

ii. fragments of ice

"How are you even alive?" Green whispers, looking at his weary rival. "I can't even touch you, your body's so co—"

A single, chilled finger presses Green's lips, telling him to stay silent. Red looks curiously at his best friend, then to the very finger that's still pushed against what feels like a tropical paradise. His finger trails away from Green's lips and down his jaw, the fragments of ice disappearing as the warmth fights away what Mount Silver took.

The smallest movement sends chills down Green's spine, and his heart skips a beat as Red's other hand slips underneath the shirt and presses his hand on the other's chest. It sends more than just shocks to feel such a sensation.

The former champion now makes no delay to push the black fabric out of the way, fingers traveling across the scars and muscles that Green has built up from the gym. His slender fingers, cold as ever, make no stop as they finally come back up to grasp the other's face.

Green looks up, dazed, as Red lowers his head to press a firm, but chaste kiss.

The gym leader feels a numbing sensation… a sensation he only feels when winter itself decided to take grasp of him and steal his breath away.

iii. iridescent crimson

Green finds that he is unable to hold Red's watchful look for very long. Those crimson eyes pierce through him, shattering what thought he might have had.

And yet, the few times the gym leader manages to take quick glances when Red isn't looking, iridescent crimsons merely reflect sorrow and exhaustion. Whenever the raven-haired teen catches him staring, his eyes flicker, unbeknownst to Green, from sheer amusement and fascination of the other.

As the two sit together quietly on Green's sofa, they do nothing but listen to silence. Pikachu and Eevee are elsewhere, probably playing on the ground floor with other Pokémon.

Forest meets fire and before he could say anything, Green locks Red under him, staring deeply into the other's eyes.

"Why didn't you tell us anything?" he growls angrily, but his voice chokes. "Don't you know how much everyone missed you? How worried they were?"

But Red doesn't answer. When does he, anyway? Instead, those treacherously beautiful eyes ask what Green couldn't say.

Didn't you miss me?

iv. speak from the heart

He always knew that Red hardly spoke. Even as children, he was the quiet one, always following, fading away in the background; a wallflower.

Which might be why every time the other opens his mouth, Green immediately shuts his own. Hell, he just stops breathing altogether, for fear that he might miss those words, which despite lacking emotion and clarity, carry more meaning than half the things others say.

No, Red has a complex structure to him that Green has still yet to figure out, which is why no matter how many times his mind wanders off to those three words that Red stuttered the night he came back… it makes no sense.

"I loved you."

"But what about now?" Green asks aloud. "Do you still love me now? Or am I still despicable from all the years of taunting you?"

I loved you. I love you. I will love you.

"Green?"

He looks up, his name bringing him back to reality. His face flushes when he sees who's standing at the bedroom doorway, peering in.

"Go away," the gym leader mumbles, turning his back on the visitor. It's too embarrassing to face him, especially if he heard those words. "Fuck," he mutters under his breath.

His feet shuffle closer to Green, and suddenly, more weight is added to the bed. An arm drapes around Green's body, and he turns to see Red smiling sadly.

"I love you," he says with such gentleness.

v. doting

Pikachu is almost never seen without his trainer, but Green can understand. The bond between those two just seems so much deeper; stronger; immeasurable.

"Bui!" Green looks down to see Eevee curling up in a ball in his lap. He smiles, absentmindedly petting her. Red is doing the same, stroking Pikachu's fur with such care. Long, gentle fingers run through an electric yellow. He occasionally pulls away to allow for his fingers to stop shaking from touching lightning in the form of a fur ball.

Eevee jumps off of her master, running up to Red to call Pikachu down, which he eagerly does. Red looks at the two with amusement before walking over to sit next to Green.

"Pika pi?" Pikachu looks up curiously at the two, sitting silently.

Red merely nods, and without another sound, the two Pokémon run off into the other room to play hide-and-seek.

"You care a lot for Pikachu more than the others," Green observes. He hardly sees the others out of their Pokéballs. Yet, he doesn't bother to note that despite this favoritism, the other Pokémon hardly seem to mind.

Red simply smiles as he runs a hand through Green's hair before placing his own head in Eevee's former seat. Green runs a calloused finger across Red's jaw.

He cares. Red cares, and it shows in all the relationships he has with everyone. He dotes on them in his own way. If only those years of absence could make up for it.

vi. don't leave me

Green looks up tiredly at his alarm clock, thankful that it was the weekend. He doesn't have to go the gym, and instead, could spend some more time with his silent friend. He turns his head to suddenly see that Red's side of the bed was empty.

He jolts up, running to the living room to see if anyone was there.

No one.

"Fuck," Green curses, before flying to the phone to call Leaf to see if Red maybe visited her. "You fucker, you better not have left."

That cold body, those cold fingers, those piercing red eyes, and the way he calls his name…

"Red, you better not have fucking left," he says, shaking. The phone continues ringing, his impatience rising. Suddenly…

"Hello?"

"Leaf, is Red with you?"

"I know you're rude, but even a greeting would have been nice. But what? No, I haven't seen him except with you."

"Fuck." He hangs up. He'll apologize to Leaf later, but he knows that asking for forgiveness will be hollow. It hardly matters, because the one person who came back from that damned mountain just left wordlessly.

Again.

"You bastard," Green falls to his knees, a choked sob echoing throughout the room. "Stop doing this to me… please."