A/N: Gracious, I'm uploading something without working on the piece for over a month! I think it's a surge of inspiration. Wonder how long it'll last.

I don't really read much Red/Yellow, come to think of it. I'll call this an experiment.

Warnings: Red/Yellow, yeah. Also Red sorta-kinda understanding his feelings, but not really. Well, hey, it's Red.

Disclaimer: Ho, hum, diddleedum, this franchise I do not own!

He loved her hair.

Admittedly, he hadn't realized that her hair – or rather his, at the time – had been so long. But even before Yellow took off her hat, he'd envied her golden locks. Seeing her ponytail had turned his minor bout of jealousy into wonder and admiration.

Unfortunately, the removal of her hat was all too rare, at least in his opinion, and whenever she did take it off it was always when they were fighting or escaping or doing something important like saving the world. It was never the time or the place to want to fondle it, run it through his fingers, even though the problem was that was all he ever wanted to do every single damn time.

It came as a surprise for him, then, when he found her curled up under a tree with her sketchbook in her arms and her hat held in place with a pebble beside her. Wisps of blond hair were sticking close to her mouth because she drooled in her sleep, which he knew she hated because she got embarrassed no matter how much he thought it was cute, since he never told her so. Her face was scrunched up because Chuchu was settled on her chest, fast asleep, and making it hard for her to breathe.

Gently, he picked the yellow mouse up and moved her near Yellow's feet, where Pika joined her after jumping off his place on his shoulder. He nuzzled her a bit and, in her sleep, Chuchu gave a contented sigh. They cuddled together, and he amusedly thought they looked a lot like fluffy pillows.

Then the mouse turned and gave him a look.

After having spent several years getting to know one another, he now understood that Pika was much more intelligent than most humans gave him credit for. Lacking verbal communication, Pika chose to express his thoughts via simple eye contact, which varied from glares to comforting gazes of sympathy. This particular look meant something along the lines of, "Quit staring, you idiot, and join us already."

He backed away slowly. It wasn't like he didn't want to sit, but sitting near Yellow was a bit too far out of his comfort zone. He was dense, even he knew that, but it wasn't like he didn't understand sexual tension or hadn't thought about it. He was a soon-to-be-seventeen young man and he had the body to prove it. It was just a concept that he chose to ignore because he'd already seen how relationships complicated people (Sapphire and Ruby were a growing example), and as far as he was concerned a young man lying down next to a young woman (who was asleep, he emphasized this point) was already crossing several lines.

Pika snorted visibly. This translated to, "You're such a wimp."

He frowned. Pika understood precisely why he was feeling out of his league. His Pokémon was a parent and well past the 'courtship' phase, after all. And the little rat bastard knew it.

A flick of his tail. "It's not that big a deal."

So he said.

A pointed glance. "And I know you want to anyway –" he turned his gaze accusingly at Yellow, "– so just get it over with."

He hesitated, then sat down. Pika, satisfied, laid his head on Chuchu's fur and closed his eyes.

He was now, technically, alone. And that scared him, because he really did worry about the things a person could do to Yellow in her sleep. Like, say, running fingers through her silky hair. Which he really, really wanted to do, but knew he couldn't because doing that while somebody was asleep was just plain weird. Not to mention it would be really awkward if she woke up in the middle of it.

It wasn't fair how he was the only one who got worked up about this.

Yellow stirred next to him, her hair rustling in the grass. Without being fully conscious of what he was doing, he stretched his hand out and brushed a stray golden strand away from her closed eyes. She relaxed under his touch, but he stiffened at the contact. He made to pull away but Yellow, in a moment of dream-like intuition, reached up and latched on to his hand. He tugged, but she frowned in her sleep and gripped him harder.

"Don't," she murmured. "Don't leave me."

He relented. Even in her sleep, he couldn't refuse her.

Deciding he may as well accept his fate for the afternoon, he leaned back and rested his head on scratchy tree bark. As he closed his eyes, he saw Pika smirking from next to Chuchu.

He'd get him back later.

A/N: Pointless oneshot is pointless. I'm starting to wonder if I have a hair fetish.

But seriously. Yellow should let her hair down more. It's pretty.