This is my first time writing a senior-junior bonding fic. But why Sapphire and Platinum? It seems interesting, tbh, and mostly, this is dedicated to my friend, Celestianahi! Thank you for drawing the comic based on my fic, Nahi! It really means a lot and I hope you'll like this (also thank you for the idea, hehe)! TwT
(And about that comic, hehe well I'll announce it soon. I'm still hesitating to publish the fic version since people prefer reading the comic form than the whole written form thingy)
I don't have much to say other than ya-da ya-da I own nothing blah blah. You get the picture, right? Haha...
Also, hey, I love friendship fics. I used to write a lot of them in my old account that I abandoned 3 years ago. XD
Ruby blinked; once, twice, and thrice. He did it all over again as the words of his juniors stated replayed in his head over and over again. He sat there on the couch, in the living room of his parents' home, registering everything that had happened.
Okay, first of all: why? Why would his juniors, Diamond and Pearl, ask him a huge favour? He was honored, of course, but why was it something unrelated to his skills?
"Excuse me?" he asked, his head was still spinning from the request.
"You heard us, senior!" Pearl exclaimed, and Ruby swore his ears was starting to get hurt. He heard from his senior Red that they also had another loud-mouthed Pokedex Holder other than Pearl. He couldn't imagine how loud that other boy would be; Pearl's yelling was already too much for his poor ears.
Diamond, the boy next to Pearl, bobbed his head. He was holding a donut on his left hand and a bagel on his right. His mouth was stuffed with food and his head looked like a perfect circle because of his food-swollen cheeks. "Yeah," he said, bits of food was spraying off his mouth and Ruby had to back off to avoid the scarf he was stitching for Sapphire from getting messy. "Please, senior? We could really use your feedback on our latest skit."
Ruby sighed, setting off the scarf and placing the needles back into his sewing kit. Sewing the scarf became harder once his glasses broke, so he guessed he didn't have much else to do besides listening to the young men's skit and his plans with Sapphire for the day. "I could but," he ran a hand through his hat. "Why me?"
"Ah!" Pearl smiled with his index finger popping from his right hand. "Because you're our senior!"
Diamond nodded his head again while Ruby just sighed. He furrowed his eyebrows. "And so are Sapphire and Emerald."
"Yeah, but," Pearl scratched his neck and took a glance at Diamond. "Senior Emerald isn't here and I heard senior Sapphire will be with Lady this afternoon, so—"
"Wait, what?" Ruby immediately stood up from his seat; hearing Sapphire's name suddenly brought him enough energy to dash through the door. But before he could take a step outside, the woman of his dreams is the first person he saw when he opened the door. "Sapph…"
"H-Hey," Sapphire stammered, surprised that Ruby was able to immediately answer the door before she could knock. She waved her hand at him as a grin flashed on her face.
"Well, she came on time," Pearl muttered. He turned to look at his best friend to see his response but he was only greeted with Diamond happily eating his donut and bagel. He just sighed.
"I thought we're gonna hang out today?" Ruby asked and watched her stepped into his house. "You and Platinum already had a Pokemon Battle yesterday."
"I know," she replied. She tried to hold his hand but she didn't want to do any public displays of affection in front of their juniors. It may make them uncomfortable. "But change of plans; we'll spend time tomorrow. I promise."
Ruby pouted. He was like a kid who got disappointed because his parents couldn't take him at the amusement park today. "But Sapph," He grabbed her hand, linking their fingers together. Their intertwined hands were like a puzzle: complete and whole. Sapphire blushed at this but squeezed his hand, nonetheless. "I got the whole day planned for us!"
He was lying at that; he didn't know what else he would do today besides cuddling with the woman he loves and Sapphire could see that. She just sighed and wrapped her arms around his chest, pulling him for a hug. Ruby didn't hesitate and embraced her as well. "It's just for a day. Besides, our juniors over there want their senior's advice when it comes to their skits."
"I'm not that invested into comedy, you know?"
"Of course, but just accompany them while I accompany Platinum, okay?"
Ruby took a deep breath and bit his lip. He didn't have much of a choice now, did he? "Alright. When will you return and where are you going?" He didn't want to sound like a demanding boyfriend and it's not that he didn't trust his junior either, but he still had the right to know, right?
"Slateport City. We'll be back here before it gets dark," Despite being two inches apart, she still tiptoed and pressed her lips on his cheeks. Her hand was resting on his chest while the other was on his shoulder. As she was about to move away, Ruby hugged her again. He buried his head in the crook of her neck before kissing her cheeks as well.
"Stay safe, alright?" he mumbled before letting go, leaving a flustered Sapphire behind.
Sapphire just coughed and tucked a loose hair behind her ear. She giggled; it was music in his ears. "Y-Yeah," she stuttered, took a glance at Diamond and Pearl before leaving his house. "See ya!" She waved and dashed off. She hopped onto her Tropius and told it to take her and Platinum to Slateport City.
The frantic wind turbulence caused by the Grass-Flying type made Ruby held onto his hat and closed his eyes. It took several seconds for the Pokemon to take off and once it did, his eyes scanned the area first, like a prey looking for its food, then closed the door.
He leaned on the door's wooden surface with a hand holding half of his face. Sapphire would be gone for like three to four hours. It wouldn't be that bad, right?
A cough caught his attention. He stood up straight and blinked again, meeting the curious eyes of his juniors. His face suddenly heated up.
He completely forgot that his juniors were right behind him.
"So senior, where should we perform our skit?"
...
...
...
...
Sapphire watched her Tropius eat the oran berries with such fervor. A smile was lit up on its face while it munched its food slowly. "Thanks for the lift, Pilo!" She patted its head while it let out a cry of happiness.
Platinum tilted her head as she watched her senior pet her Pokemon with awe. She found it quite admirable that her senior could tell what exact berry her Pokemon needed. She tried to give it a sitrus berry earlier but Sapphire declined and said her Tropius needed oran berries to reenergized. She wondered what kind of book did her senior read it from but she was guessing her senior Sapphire just knew her Pokemon very well.
That statement further proved when she was defeated from their friendly Pokemon battle yesterday; her senior Sapphire definitely wasn't called the 'Hoenn Champion' for nothing.
"Alright," Sapphire turned around, facing her junior with a bigger grin. "Why are here, Platinum? Ya said you needed my help, right?"
Her accent always fascinated the Berlitz heiress. Did she get that accent since she was a child or was it something she learned and practiced to gain? She heard how people in Hoenn talk and neither of them has the same unique accent like her senior's.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, the Understander took a deep breath and placed a hand on her chest. "First and foremost, I would like to thank you, senior Sapphire, for accompanying me on this little quest of mine. And finally, I would like to apologize for what I did with your boyfriend's precious belonging yesterday."
Sapphire's eyebrows creased at that. She was trying to remember what her junior did to her boyfriend yesterday.
"I did not know your Gallade would quickly dodge my Empoleon's attack. I miscalculated our aim and our timing that I destroyed his glasses on accident. My Empoleon and I felt bad for it." She placed her hands together and bent her body, bowing at the older woman. "I would like to buy a pair of glasses for senior Ruby as my way of apologizing to him and I need your help to know what kind of glasses that his eyes needed and what his style wanted. You are her girlfriend, am I correct?"
Sapphire nodded. "I am, but I'm sure Ruby already forgave ya for it," She placed a hand on her junior's shoulder, in hopes of comforting her. Platinum looked up and saw her senior smiling at her. "He just freaked out so much yesterday. That's all."
Sapphire remembered Ruby crying in despair the moment his glasses cracked. Its lenses made it so hard for him to see that he had no choice but to not wear them for a while. Ruby could still see, nonetheless, but he needs his glasses when it comes to some activities like reading, knitting or taking photographs.
"Oh?" Platinum tilted her head again, her eyebrows stitching together while a curious look appeared on her innocent face. "But I still feel bad for it, senior. Glasses can be quite expensive, after all."
"Well," Sapphire dropped her hand. "Yer not wrong." She knew Ruby may have the money to buy another one, but he's told her yesterday that he's been saving it for something else. She guessed it could be a new camera or an expensive piece of cloth. She didn't know; he said it was too important for 'them' that not having it would drive him crazy.
Ruby could overreact and exaggerate things at times and Sapphire learned to just roll with it.
"Alright," She patted Platinum's shoulder. "Let's go and buy him a new one. Are ya sure you have enough money for it?"
Platinum smiled and bobbed her head. "Yes, senior. The price would not bother me if I were going to be honest. But I just need to make sure if the glasses' vision would not be too little or too much for senior Ruby's eyes."
"Ah, lucky for ya, I happen to know it," Sapphire winked at her junior and grabbed her hand. "I also happen to know where Ruby bought his broken glasses last time, so come on!"
Sapphire took her junior into the busy crowds of Slateport Market. Platinum had never been to a 'commoner's market' before; all the servants in the mansion would do most for her. If she needed some food, they would cook and prepare some for her. If she needed some berries, they would either grab some for her in the garden or buy in the market for her.
Her entire vacation in Hoenn didn't help either. It was not that Diamond and Pearl weren't great companions (she enjoyed every moment she had with them), but her best friends can be quite overprotective with her sometimes. Sometimes felt like an understatement; it was most of the times. She appreciated that her friends cared so much for her, but they didn't need to treat her like a fragile doll all the time. She could take care of herself and her she also had her Pokemon with her.
"Ya enjoyin' the place?" Sapphire asked and slowed down. She forgot that Platinum may not be used with her pace. She stopped when Platinum didn't respond moments after. "Hey," she called and turned around to look at her.
Platinum's head was leaning on her left while her left hand was placed on her chest. She was observing something from a distance and as Sapphire followed her gaze, her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. Her heart pumped from excitement as a giggle escaped her lips.
"Was it your first time here?"
Platinum was speechless; she could only nod her head.
"Why?"
That broke Platinum's stare at a certain store. "Well," She turned to look at the Conqueror. "I have my own servants fetching things for me when I needed them. I always wanted to go to a commoner's market and explore it, just to see and experienced what it would be like, and now that I am here," She gripped her hold onto her shirt then let out a sigh. "It felt surreal."
"Are ya enjoyin' it?"
"I am fascinated, senior." Platinum squeezed her senior's hand. "I would like to experience it, even just for a day."
"Well," Sapphire ran a hand through her hair. If the Salamence incident didn't happen, she would probably be like Platinum around this age. It wasn't that she hated it but she could see the similarities and she couldn't help but sympathize with it. The only difference, however, was that she heard that the Berlitz Family is extremely rich while she grew up in a commoner's household. She didn't blame her father for it, though. She knew how hard it was to be a single parent. "Why don't we check it out? We still have time before the store closes."
"Are you certain, senior?" Platinum quickly questioned. "We came here to buy something important for your boyfriend, after all."
And Platinum wasn't wrong about that.
"Alright," Sapphire conceded. "We'll go to the store first then we'll return here. How does that sound?"
"I am fine with it," Platinum nodded. "But are you as well?"
Sapphire's grin returned. "Definitely."
...
...
"Ah, welcome!" the seller greeted but his smile immediately dropped. "Oh? Sapphire? Where's Ruby?"
"He's in Littleroot, sir," Sapphire replied and approached the counter. "His glasses were broken yesterday and we're here to buy him a new one."
"Ah, this must be your friend, I see," the seller smiled at Platinum while the heiress smiled back.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, sir." Platinum greeted and the seller already felt the regal aura surrounding her.
"Hello there, young lady but please, call me Arthur!"
"Ah," Platinum clasped her hands together. "Are you named after King Arthur? I read it from a book that he pulled an Aegislash from a stone. It became his partner during the war until its death."
Arthur blinked. He honestly had no idea why his parents gave him this name; he never bothered to ask them. But it would be cool if he is named after a king. He chuckled. "I guess you can count that, young lady."
"I will call you 'sir Arthur', then!"
Arthur's smiled returned. "As you wish, milady," He continued chuckling before coughing. "Anyway, here's my proposal, ladies. If his glasses are broken, you have two options: I either check to see if it still can be fixed and if it can't be fixed, you must buy a new one. Or if you don't have his glasses, that's fine as well. You can always buy a new one for him. Usually, customers who need glasses come here to buy it themselves so that's why I wondered why Ruby isn't with you two."
"Oh, well, sir Arthur, it is my fault why his glasses were broken. I was having a friendly Pokemon Battle with my senior Sapphire here that my Empoleon's attacks hit senior Ruby's glasses instead." Platinum explained in a soft tone while Arthur's face was in shock. "He is not here because I want to surprise him with it. It would serve as my apology gift."
"Ah, I see," Arthur straightened his posture. "Do you have his glasses then? Let me see how much damage it received."
"I have it," Sapphire grabbed a glasses case in her fanny pack and took it out. She handed it over to Arthur and he inspected it.
Platinum's eyes couldn't help but wander around the shop. All she could see were different pairs of glasses, large or little ones, displayed all over the place. There were was a machine located close to the counter and it kind of looked familiar from the book she'd read. She was guessing that's where the optician checks the patient's eyes just so they would know what prescription the patient needed.
"Your first time here as well?" Sapphire muttered while Platinum nodded again.
"Indeed, senior. How many times have you been here with senior Ruby? Sir Arthur sure knows you."
Sapphire giggled, embarrassment flooding in her tone, as she scratched her neck. Platinum didn't need to know that everyone in Hoenn knows about her and Ruby, especially in regards to their relationship status. "Well, ya know, Ruby goes here for a checkup every month so I accompany him."
"Do your eyes also require glasses in order to see things vividly?"
Sapphire shook her head. "The doctor says that my vision is perfectly fine the way it is. In fact, it's beyond normal. I could see things from afar like," She stopped and pointed at the poster close to the door, which was probably more than five feet away from them (Platinum couldn't tell but she assumed it was). "That poster says there's a twenty percent discount if you did your checkup here and buy any brand of glasses."
"That is amazing, senior."
"Eh, it's nothin'. I just have abnormal skills, I guess."
"Well, I think it is still amazing. You should be proud of the unique things you have, senior. A book I read once said that the weird things about you are part of who you are as a person."
Sapphire smiled weakly. She still had a long way to go when it comes to being confident about her skills. "Thank ya, Platinum. That means a lot."
The younger woman smiled and patted her senior's shoulder. "You are welcome, senior."
"Oh dear," Arthur placed the glasses down. "It seems like it can't be fixed. The lenses are cracked, the pad arms are sliced in half and so is the left endpiece. I'm afraid that you have to buy a new one."
"How much, sir Arthur?"
Arthur blinked as his eyes went round like a plate. He was expecting they would beg him to fix it. "The cheapest is around 2500 yen, but knowing that boy, he wants it to look neat." he stopped to chuckle as it echoed around the shop. "But since you're paying for it, I guess beggars can't be choosers?" He laughed again.
Sapphire chuckled along. She just hoped Ruby wouldn't complain at whatever style his new glasses would have. Sure, Platinum may be rich but they shouldn't take advantage of it. She and Ruby are years older than their juniors, so they had to set a good example when it comes to using money.
"I understand," Platinum removed her hands on the counter. "We will buy your most expensive one, sir Arthur."
Arthur's mouth dropped. Was she serious? Why would this young lady spend so much money on a pair of glasses? "My dear, please think about—"
"I insist, sir Arthur."
Arthur just sighed. Well, if it's what his customer wanted. "Alright."
"Platinum," Sapphire mumbled, getting her junior's attention. "Are ya sure about this? This is too much."
"It is fine, senior," she responded and patted her arm. "This is the least I could do from the trouble I have caused. You did mention that you are going to spend your day with senior Ruby today."
Sapphire bit her lip. She was right.
"Here," Arthur gave them five sets of the most stylish glasses his store could offer. They were all rectangular-shaped glasses with sparkle designs on its edges and all came in different colours: red, blue, yellow, green and purple. "Take your time to—"
"I would like to take two of them, please!"
Arthur's jaw dropped on the floor. "M-My dear, that'll cost you around 9000 yen. Are you sure?"
"I am absolutely certain, sir."
"But why two?"
"Just in case the other broke."
Arthur slowly bobbed his head. She wasn't wrong.
...
...
"Here, senior," Platinum gave the bag to Sapphire. "You should keep it. Please tell senior Ruby my deepest apologies again for breaking his glasses."
Sapphire accepted the bag and placed it in her fanny pack for safe keeping. Luckily, there wasn't much stuff in her bag so it fitted perfectly. "Thank ya, Platinum. But are ya sure about spendin' that much money?"
"Of course, senior."
Sapphire bit her lip. "Alright," She sighed and her eyes wandered around the market. There were still a lot of people and all the stores still seemed to have a lot of items for sale.
"Is there something wrong, senior?" the Understander asked and placed a hand on Sapphire's shoulder. She was surprised to see Sapphire smile and held her hand.
"I promised to show ya around the market and I must keep it. Now come on," She took Platinum deeper into the market while the young lady just followed her.
It was just like before but better. People were bustling all over the place, noises and conversations could be heard everywhere and the smell of fresh berries, bread, and even street food lingered in the air.
Platinum loved it. It felt amazing to be here.
"Have ya had some ice cream here? This is my favourite store," She giggled and dropped Platinum's hand. "What kind of flavour do ya want?"
Platinum placed a hand on her chin as her eyes scrutinized the menu. There were different flavours from the basic ones like chocolates to the complex ones like mixed berries. She felt like it could take hours for her to choose just one flavour. "I do not know, senior. Maybe you should recommend one."
"Well," Sapphire looked at the menu. "I always liked the mixed berries one. Ya wanna try it?"
Platinum smiled. "It sounds wonderful, of course!"
...
...
Platinum had never felt so happy. Well, there were times she was always happy with her best friends, Diamond and Pearl, but this is different.
Maybe because this is the first time she'd spent time with her senior other than through battling. Maybe because she didn't have many female companions and it suddenly felt good to hang out with another one. She couldn't tell, but if there's one thing she could say was that she is elated.
She thought this would just be an errand day but it turned out to be something more than she expected.
Sapphire and Platinum spent the whole day in the market. They visited every store and tasted every food. Platinum never had street food until now, and she loved it. She wanted to buy another but her senior warned her that eating too much street food is bad.
The last shop they went to was a book store. Platinum didn't know that Sapphire also loved reading but according to Sapphire, she needed to read more if she wanted to expand her vocabulary.
"It's silly but can ya believe that I read a lot of fairy tale books as a kid?" Sapphire explained as an embarrassed blush crept on her cheek. "A..." she paused, which made Platinum wonder. Was it something she's having a hard time remembering or was it something else? The Berlitz heiress was about to ask but Sapphire smiled instead.
"A certain incident made me stop reading them. I thought they were nonsense but the longer I get to know Ruby, I learned to appreciate my little hobby again. Besides, I wanna expand my vocabulary so I don't have to ask Ruby about some words I don't know."
Platinum was amazed at how Sapphire talked about her hobby. She has to thank her senior Ruby for helping her senior Sapphire. And did the Conqueror smile when she mentioned the Charmer's name? The Understander couldn't tell since the Hoenn Champion's bangs were covering her face.
"That is quite a story, senior. I find it fascinating. I am so elated you went back to reading!"
Platinum was generous enough to buy her senior her personal favourite books despite Sapphire's protests. The young heiress ended up talking about the books she bought for her senior and how exciting it would be to discuss it with her once she finished reading the book trilogy.
"Senior, you are going to love this book trilogy! It tells an amazing story and as much as I would like to tell you more about it, I believe I should be patient and wait for you to finish reading it. I am quite delighted that you would soon read it. Maybe in the future, we could discuss it?"
Sapphire, on the other hand, was in awe at how knowledgeable her junior was. She loved reading books as a child but she let go of it once the Salamence attacked her and Ruby. She never got back to her old hobby until recently and Platinum encouraging her to read more just makes her happy. She was glad her junior understands.
She didn't expect that she could connect with Platinum outside of Pokemon.
"Yeah! Definitely!"
It took them hours in the book store until Sapphire noticed the time. It was close to six o'clock in the evening and she promised Ruby to go home before it gets dark. She has to apologize to Platinum that they have to leave but her junior thankfully understood.
Once they got out of the store, she whistled and her Tropius came out from Route 110 to pick them. And here they were on a flight home to Littleroot. Platinum was behind her and she was sitting like how a proper lady should.
Sapphire couldn't help but to smile and turn around to look at her junior. "So," she started and Platinum tucked a loose hair behind her ear before looking at her senior. "Did ya enjoy it?"
Platinum flashed a smile. "I did, senior. It was a lot of fun. Who knew that going to the market could lead to such great adventures? I read stories about it but experiencing it now is just breathtaking. I want to do it again!"
"I'm glad ya did!" Sapphire exclaimed and offered her hand.
Platinum stared at it before shaking her senior's hand. She didn't why her senior Sapphire initiated the handshake but she felt honoured to have it.
"Here's to more adventures together, Platinum."
Platinum took a deep breath and squeezed Sapphire's hand. "Likewise, senior."
Sapphire can read; her vocabulary just sucks and she didn't know how to pronounce some words. (Go back to RS) and besides, she was such a princess when she was little so surely she read some fairy tale books or her father read some for her, heh. (Again, just me)
According to Pokespedia, Ruby is 5'4" and Sapphire is 5'2" AND I LIVE FOR RUBY AND SAPPHIRE BEING 2 INCHES APART AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Arthur's name? Ehhh I started watching Fate Zero with my senpai (Dreamingflower. Hi, senpai ily you're the best uwu) and I also just started playing FGO so yeah. A reference to Fate Zero's Saber (their version of King Arthur) so yeah ;v;
This also has so many possibilities but since I'm working on 3 multichap franticshipping fics and a lot of one-shots (frantic, laverre and possibly another agency and luckyshipping), I hardly have time to focus on a new one, haha ^^' so yeah it's just a one-shot : [