It's been a while since I've written anything, hasn't it? I've been on a manga kick for a while now, reading mainly pokemon stories in the manga world, and this is my first time writing with those characters. Hopefully all goes well, because Yellow is my absolute favorite pokemon character ever, even more than Serena [whom I totally adore].

Enough fangirling out of me! This was inspired by Carrie Underwood's song "The Night Before [Life Goes On]." As songfics aren't allowed on the site, I did not use any of the lines from the song in this, including in the dialogue, and I tweaked a few things to fit this wonderful little couple as well. If you've never heard this song, I highly suggest you listen to it, as it's amazing!

Cool night air always felt good on her skin. The lightness of it usually let her mind wander, or allow her to fall asleep easier when she was stressed. Now, though, she was too focused on the raven-haired, crimson-eyed boy beside her, the moon's light turning his skin pale.

"Why are we up here again?" she asked, taking another glance down at the ground below them. She had no problem with heights, but sitting on the roof of her cousin's house in Viridian City seemed a bit much.

Red grinned at her, though his eyes still looked sad, as she imagined hers did. "You can see the moon a lot better from up here. It makes the lights look like stars, too, see?"

He was right, of course. It was all so pretty, she didn't want to take her eyes off of it. She was going to miss this.

A gust of wind hit her, causing her to shiver and her ponytail to flutter. Without words, Red took off his jacket and placed it on her shoulders, hugging her from behind. Even though they had been dating for a few months, she wasn't too used to this kind of behavior from anyone. However, tonight she embraced it.

"This is so great," she spoke softly, the city lights sparkling in front of her. Her heart fell as she recalled why they were there. "I wish it didn't have to end."

Red sighed, his breath tickling her neck. "Me neither, but we have until tomorrow. We have to make the best of it. I'm still seeing you off, you know. Goldenrod's medical school will be lucky to have you, Yellow."

Yellow tilted her head back, gazing up at him. "Just like Pallet's trainer school is lucky to have your expertise. And just like I'm lucky to have you." She was excited to go to medical school, sure, but being so far from her best friend, her boyfriend, was going to drive her crazy. They'd spent the entire summer together, sometimes just them, sometimes with their friends. The eighteen-year-old didn't want tomorrow to be the first day of their separation.

Just thinking about that made her sad, but then, she was always an emotional person. She closed her eyes, a tear tracing its way down her cheek, landing on Red's arm. His position shifted, and she opened her now-blurry eyes to see him standing, holding a hand out to help her up. "C'mon, let's go."

She took his hand, curiosity burning in her. "Where are we going?" she asked, leading them to the ladder on the side of the house. Normally, she would grab her straw hat on the way out, but he led her to the sidewalk instead.

"Let's just walk around, enjoy each other's company." The streetlights shone on both of them, still fully dressed at night. What a strange sight they must make.

"Imagine how much this place will change before I come back," she whispered, slipping her small hand into Red's larger one. "It's already changed so much. It looks like it's changing right before my eyes."

Red stopped walking, holding Yellow back, too. The streetlight right above their heads illuminated them, making Yellow's already pale hair appear paler. She studied his face worriedly, knowing that he's never acted like this. Before she could say something, he mumbled, "This isn't fair." His voice sounded hollowed, pained. A little louder, he repeated, "This isn't fair! I wish there was a way for you to go to school and for us to still be together."

"We'll still be together; we're not breaking up." She wouldn't even think of breaking up with him, especially after all the effort she and Blue put into him noticing her in a romantic sense. "We just. . . won't be physically together." Saying it out loud made her realize how bad it sounded, and how real it was. "I'll come home for the holidays, and any breaks we get," she rushed to say. "Johto's not that far, when you think about it, not as far as Kalos or-"

Red leaned in with his arms around her, stopping her mid-sentence with a slow kiss, causing her face to burn a red only a shade lighter than his eyes. "I know," he whispered, his arms still around her. "This isn't like when we were younger. Everything is so much more complicated now." He took a breath. "We'll make it work, Yellow. I don't know how, but we will. I just don't want to share you with Goldenrod City." They started walking back to her cousin's house, fingers still intertwined. "Y'know, my mom was in a situation like this before. My mom was going to Celadon City for school, but her boyfriend was about to leave for Sinnoh to take on the gyms there. They didn't like being apart, so they tried to make it work. They called each other just about every day, but eventually the calls stopped coming from either side. Eventually, they broke up. Once she graduated, she met my dad, they got married, settled down, and had me." He paused a moment. "I guess what I'm saying is, we should learn from their mistakes and find a way to make it work ourselves."

"Exactly. I'm never letting you get away from me," she smiled. "And I know that I at least have winter break, and that's a whole two weeks we'll have together. I'll call every day, too. We'll be okay."

A bit of silence held them as they approached the house. "How do you think Pika and Chuchu will take the separation?" It was a good question, Yellow thought, which is why she asked it. "They love each other almost as much as we do."

"I think they've been coping together like we were. Are," he corrected himself. "And hey, Chuchu can see Pibu more. You'll be able to see Gold and Silver. . . You'll never be alone." He opened the front door, letting her in first. Pika and Chuchu were curled up together, sleeping be the fireplace. Yellow's cousin, her Uncle Wilton's daughter, looked up from her book, her cyndaquil dozing on her lap.

"You two have been gone for a while. Yellow, you'll want to go to bed soon, otherwise you might sleep in and miss the boat," the sandy-haired girl commented. If she had counted that as long, they must've been on the roof a lot longer than she thought.

Yellow smiled, letting go of Red's hand to embrace her cousin. "Thanks for watching Pika and Chuchu, Rosemary, and for letting us stay here."

Rosemary smiled at the two. "You know it's not and problem. Anytime either of you are in town, you're welcome to stay." The twenty-three-year-old's face grew mock-serious. "Now, bedtime!"

Red and Yellow laughed, picking up Pika and Chuchu, both of whom squirmed a little in their sleep. They went to their respective rooms- no way would Rosemary let them stay in the same one, and she'd be too embarrassed to do so anyway- to put their pikachus in bed before meeting outside again. "Good night," Yellow murmured, rushing in to hug Red and burying her face in his chest. He was caught off-guard, but his arms found their way around her, holding her tightly against him. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He'd spent what felt like an eternity not knowing he felt that way (the majority of which he thought she was a boy, but that was beside the point), and now Yellow would be leaving. "We'll make this work, remember?"

She nodded, giving him a light, lips-barely-brushing kiss. "I remember. Calls every day, visits every break. . . And once that's over, it'll be summer again. You'll have me for a whole summer."

He kissed her, a little longer and deeper than hers. "I can't wait." They let go of each other, each giving the other a lasting look before retreating into their rooms and shutting the doors.

Yellow slumped against her door, shutting her eyes and letting out a slow breath. Only ten hours, eight of which she'll spend sleeping, until she'll have to leave. Honestly, she was surprised she hadn't fallen asleep yet, given her habit of constantly napping. That being said, she yawned, covering her mouth with a hand. Pushing herself off of the door, she let her hair down, allowing her long blonde hair to spill down her shoulders, hanging nearly to her waist. She shed her canvas dress and black shirt, kicking off her boots, and changed into her pajamas. In no time, she had brushed her teeth and had settled into bed next to Chuchu. Her other poké balls, along with the rest of her belongings, were in her bag by the door, waiting to be picked up and brought to Johto with her. Well, it had everything except her sketchbook, which was on her lap now.

She flipped through the pages, watching as her drawings increased in quality as time went on. One of the last few, dated a few weeks ago, was a full-color picture of her with all of her friends: Red, of course; Blue, her best girlfriend; Green, the boy who had taught her how to battle properly; Gold, her rambunctious friend who had Pika and Chuchu's child Pibu; Silver, Blue's old friend and brother figure; Crystal, her kind friend who can catch just about any pokémon; Ruby, who is an amazing fashion designer; and Sapphire, a wild child. All of them were smiling, even Silver, who rarely smiled. This was one of her personal favorites.

Then, the last one, dated a couple days ago, was just her and Red, or rather, their silhouettes. They were walking into a sunset holding hands; a nice, romantic scene. There was no way she wouldn't miss him. She was an independent person, yes, but she was so used to spending time with him now. She was glad that they were both committed to making their relationship work, even if they both knew there was a chance it wouldn't work out.

She shut her sketchbook, setting it on the nightstand so she wouldn't forget it tomorrow. This was just the night before the next chapter of her life began, and she wouldn't want to be starting it with anyone other than Red.

Would you believe I wrote this in a day? Probably, given how short it is XD I was actually on vacation when I wrote it, and used the last piece of paper in the house, writing incredibly small and in the margins in order for there to be enough space. Worth it!

Now, coming as soon as I finish it, I have a multi-chap story set in the Miraculous world that I'm excited for. If it's not up here by the time season two comes out, feel free to PM me angrily.

Also coming out, I have some ideas for more manga oneshots, some of which I may just put in a collection for a specific ship. This would mean that most of my oneshots for Specialshipping would be together, and the same for OldRivalshipping, MangaQuestshipping, etc.

A couple more things and then I swear I'm done. School starts in a week for me, so I may not be writing as much as I usually do. Then again, maybe not, because I am taking a creative writing class. So really, it just depends on how much work I get and how busy I am.

Finally, I have a poll up on my profile, and I would appreciate it if everyone votes on it [especially given the outcomes of my last few polls. . .]

Don't forget to leave a review, and I'll see you next time!