Title: Morning Rush
Rating: R
Word Count: 1,369
Genre: Romance, Humor
Warnings: Implied sex
Summary: Green/Red. Red wrecks a kid's day, amusing Green in the process.
Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.
Author's Notes: Written for chiharu at livejournal as part of pokegamefic's summer fic exchange.

THIS IS A CENSORED VERSION; the nsfw version of this fic can be found at AO3 (username Skylark) or Dreamwidth (username Outstretched—visit my "Master fic list" and then scroll down until you see this fic). The prompt was "Something about people mistaking Red for the gym leader of Viridian and getting their ass kicked while Green rolls his eyes on the sidelines."

Thank you to Koyuki for beta-reading this!

Green jerked awake and nearly bumped foreheads with Red. "Jesus Christ," he breathed, "What the—wait—what time is it?"

Red slipped in beside him on the tiny cot, pushing and nudging at the other man until he made room. "You didn't come back," he said simply, and Green suddenly remembered. He lay back, a hand covering his eyes.

"It got too late," he explained, his voice calmer, chagrined. "I went to take a nap in the break room and—I'm sorry."

Red didn't say anything; he just curled up against Green's side, threw an arm across his chest, and listened to him breathe. Silence settled around them both, and the gym leader's eyes closed, dragged back down by the undertow of sleep.

They opened again when Red kissed him. His eyes glimmered crimson in the predawn light. Red hesitated for a moment more before he leaned forward and kissed him again, his lips brushing against Green's jaw.

Soon, Green was fumbling with Red's belt buckle as the champion interrupted him with more kisses, slow lingering ones that made his fingers still and his mind stall out.

—

Green woke up forty-five minutes later when his cell phone began to ring. His second-in-command, Bonita, was banging on the door. "Green?" he called. "I can hear your cell in there—there's a challenger waiting for you!"

The gym leader muttered a curse and rolled out of bed, sticky and naked and ten minutes late. At the commotion, Red came fully awake all at once.

"The gym," he explained, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes. "We opened ten minutes ago, and—" The ace trainer knocked again. "God damnit," he groaned, "Gimme a minute!—Where the hell are my pants?"

Red tossed Green his shirt as he shrugged into his sleeveless jacket, and his shoes were on by the time Green found his pants underneath the bed. When the gym leader resurfaced, settling his necklace over his head, Red was fully dressed. Green nodded, not that surprised; he was Red, after all.

"See you later," Green said quietly, and Red dropped a quick kiss on his cheek before he headed for the door. Green knew he'd sneak out the back way, hopefully without attracting too much attention.

"Oh, good, you're—Red?" he heard Bonita say before the door clicked shut. Green chuckled as he hopped on one leg, trying to get his pants on. He almost had it, when—

"Hey, wait, where are you going? You're Green, aren't you? Come back and fight!"

Green lost his balance and fell on his face.

He was out of the break room in under thirty seconds, still pulling his jacket on, and found Red staring down a scrawny kid who couldn't be more than ten years old. The kid was squinting up (and up and up), obviously undaunted.

"You're not running from me!" the kid shouted. "I came all the way from Canalave, and I'm not leaving until I get your badge!"

"Dennis," his second-in-command said, "I'm sorry, but this is—" Red raised a hand, and immediately the ace trainer fell silent.

He lifted his cap and regarded the boy silently. Dennis glared back. As Green jogged closer, he saw Red smile.

Green grinned. He knew that smile.

Red bowed his head in quiet acceptance. Green reached the three of them as Bonita began to protest, and he clapped him hard on the shoulder. "Take it easy, will you?" he said to his second, way too cheerful for seven AM. The ace trainer stared at him; his grin widened. "It's good to mix things up, anyway."

Pikachu was asleep with Eevee at home, so Red sent out Espeon instead. The Pokémon looked back at its trainer, confused—Red shrugged—then out at the challenger's Fearow.

"Fly!" the boy shouted, and the bird darted towards the ceiling, where it was masked by the bright glare of the lights. Espeon continued to stare at Dennis, its forked tail slowly swishing back and forth.

Someone who wasn't watching closely, like Green was, would never have seen Red's lips move. "Swift."

Espeon disappeared as a shower of stars erupted around it, streaking straight for the flying Pokémon with the sound of shattering glass. The Fearow shrieked in terror as it was enveloped by the attack—then, silence. Espeon reappeared and watched as the bird slammed into the ground at Dennis's feet.

The boy stared at his fainted Pokémon, then slowly up at Red, horror dawning on his face.

Green decided it was a good time to go grab some breakfast.

—

He passed Dennis on his way back into the gym with an armful of donuts. The defeated trainer was swaying on his feet. "You all right?" Green asked a little too loudly, slapping the kid hard on the back. "Ah, cheer up, kid. Green's just out of your league, that's all."

The kid stared at him; Green beamed back. "Pokémon Center's that way," he said, pointing. "Better luck next time, right?"

He whistled as he strode back inside his gym. Red was still standing on the leader dais, looking slightly repentant. "Come on, man, you're doing great," he said with a laugh. "You're not doing anything I wouldn't do myself, anyway."

Bonita stormed up to him, holding the thick book of gym rules and regulations. "Green," he growled, "I'll have you know that you are currently breaking ten different—"

"Time and a half," Green interrupted.

"—I beg your pardon?"

"If you stop complaining, you can take the day off and I'll pay you time and a half."

His second blinked, considering.

"Bonita," Green said, "Take the day off or I'll tell Salma about that time you got drunk and we—"

Before Green finished his sentence, his second was already storming out the door. Green grinned and turned to Red. "Congratulations! You're my new second."

Red raised an eyebrow.

"And I think I deserve a day off, too," Green continued, pulling up a chair and dropping into it. He leaned back with a contented sigh, putting his hands behind his head, and winked at Red. "Have fun."

Red shrugged and turned back to the arena. Out on the battlefield, Espeon was neatly grooming itself.

It wasn't long until more challengers arrived. Some (the smarter ones) looked at Green first, or pointed at him, or began to ask Red a question, but—

"Sorry, man. Sprained my...kidneys," Green replied with a theatric wince. "Both of them. You'll just have to fight my second instead. Go easy on him, all right? It's his first day."

Red rolled his eyes and proceeded to ruin another child's life. Green grinned and took another bite of his donut.

Yes, today was a very good day.

—

"I'm not doing that again," Red told him quietly as Green locked the gym up.

"Come on, it was fun," Green said. "It's been a while since you've fought anyone, right? Besides me, I mean."

Red shook his head. "There's no challenge in it."

"Welcome to my life," Green laughed, but there was an edge of bitterness to his voice that he couldn't quite hide. Red looked surprised, but Green had already turned away.

"Seriously, though," Green said, "I had a good time. Did you see that last kid's face?"

Red turned to him, and Green looked up, his hand stopping on the doorknob.

"You're a good gym leader," Red said. "Better than anyone else. I can't do that." He looked away then, tugging on his cap.

Green sighed, pulling Red into a rough hug. "You take the fun out of everything, you know that?" Red shook his head. "But sometimes," the gym leader pressed. "Just once in a while?"

Red gave him a sly smile and tangled his fingers in Green's jacket. "What's in it for me?"

Green bent down until their noses brushed. "I think I can make it worth your while," he said.

A few minutes later, Red yanked Green's jacket off as the gym leader fumbled to unlock the doors again.

"I guess I can take another day off," Green gasped, "Right?"

Red's eyes narrowed. "Shut up and open the door."

It was going to be a long night.