She would always ask herself the same question almost every single time she saw him.

Her eyes observed him with a gentle sigh escaping her pink lips. Comparing to him, who had striking popularity, good looks, and money, she was a nobody. What could she compare to? Despite her championship status, she wasn't really all that popular; it seemed that most forgot about her when she had left up to Mount Silver. And good looks for her? She didn't think she had looks; she wasn't much of a make-up girl, and she didn't wear the latest fashion trends or anything like that. Her hair was a dull brownish color, and she had the same colored eyes. Money, however, was beyond that. She wasn't the richest kid in the neighborhood, and her battle winnings weren't much, but she at least managed to survive throughout her journey with that.

He was the perfect boy, and she was the imperfect girl.

'Am I a burden?'

The Viridian City gym leader walked out of the gym, hands in his pockets. His emerald eyes flickered around, and curved his lips upward as he spotted the brunette sitting on a bench not too far from where he was at. "Leaf—" he started to call out, but was silenced by one of his fan girls throwing herself at him.

"Green!" she cried out, hugging him tightly, squealing. "I love you! Kyahh!~"

As if on cue, more girls ran up and surrounded the male. They all screamed, cried out, and squealed at the very sight of him.

"Green!"

"We love you!"

"Be my boyfriend!"

"Marry me, Green!"

Green growled a bit in annoyance, and tried to push the girls away. His eyes widened when he saw Leaf stand up from her spot at the bench. She flashed him a weak smile, and stepped back. The brunette turned away, and dashed her way towards the route that led to Pallet Town.

He somehow managed to force away the girls, and dashed right after her. "Leaf! Wait!"

Leaf sat quietly on an old swing, staring out into the warm, orange sunset. She let the gentle rays of the sun kiss her skin, making her relax and close her eyes. Swinging herself gently, the girl looked out into the scenery. The silence and the occasional chirping of Pidgey made her at ease. It was nothing like Mount Silver: cold, snowy, and lifeless. The sun's warmth soothed her, and she closed her eyes as a result to try and clear her mind.

She sighed once Green's face appeared into her mind. Opening her eyes, Leaf tightened her hold onto the chains of the swing she was on, and scowled. No matter what the girl did, she couldn't force him out of her head. Sure, she could distract herself, but in the end, he would always haunt her mind. What could she say? He was one of the closest people in her life. He was her childhood friend, ever since she moved to Pallet Town all those years ago. And all those memories they had shared throughout the years before they became Pokémon trainers were the ones she cherished the most.

Because after that, he had grown up to be cocky, egotistical, and rather rude.

Their friendship had dropped to rivalry. Green would bump into her along the way, but it wasn't as friendly as it was before. It was more competitive, due to his change in personality. The male would simply challenge her to a battle, and despite her winning, he would only let it slide as a fluke, and leave her there. The brunette wanted him to spend time with her, like they used to, but eventually, he just didn't have time for her anymore.

When he did make time for her after she had returned from Mount Silver, he had changed yet again. He wasn't that arrogant rival anymore, yet he also wasn't the same boy she had met at their childhood days. He would drop what he was doing, and make time to see her. She loved every minute of it, but it made her feel uneasy. Leaf's mind constantly formulated the theory that maybe he wasn't hanging out with her and keeping her company because he wanted to. Maybe, he simply felt sorry for her and didn't want to make her feel bad. Maybe she—

"I had a feeling that you were here."

The brunette closed her eyes, and stayed silent. She didn't bother looking back at him. Once again, her mind formulated the same theory. "You had a feeling it was here," she repeated, keeping her gaze out into the scenery. "What if I was at Mount Silver?"

"This is your favorite place as a kid, I know that you would end up here in the end," Green called out, chuckling weakly. She heard his footsteps approaching, and in moments, he was behind her, holding onto the chains of the swing.

A few Pidgey flew into the scene, along with some Spearow. Leaf shrugged in response, eying the birds with a gentle sigh. For a slight second, she wished that she was one of them, living an easy life, and flying away from their troubles. "You know me too well, it seems."

"I know all about you, silly Leafy," he mumbled with a smile. He gently started to push the swing, staring out into the scenery himself.

"You don't have to be here, you know," Leaf spilled out, keeping her head up high as she spoke. "I don't want you to be obligated to stay with me and waste your time."

The moment she finished, Green stopped the swing, and took a deep, quiet breath. Confused, she tilted her head to him, eyebrows furrowed as she studied his face. He was scowling at her words. "What the heck are you talking about? I'm not wasting my time. Not when it's with you." When she looked away, Green exhaled slowly, and leaned his head on top of hers. "Where did you come up with that?"

Leaf shrugged weakly. "I just... It's just that I feel like I'm in your way or something. I don't want you to waste your time on a person like me—"

Silence loomed around them after he cut her off with a chaste kiss on her lips, preventing her from saying anything else. Her cheeks dusted themselves with a bright blush as he pulled away, and stared at her rather sternly for a moment. "Leaf, you are never in my way. If I drop everything to be with you, it's because I want to, not because I feel obligated to." His stern gaze softened significantly. "Stupid girl, don't you know that you're special to me? All those girls out there mean nothing to me."

The brunette didn't know what to say. Without her knowing it, her lips twitched upwards into a tiny smile. "Really?"

"Duh," he teased, chuckling. "Sure, I may not see you all the time, or I might not make time to see you, but believe it or not, you're always on my goddamn mind." The male kissed her softly, concluding his words.

His lips fit perfectly with her own. They stayed like that, kissing each other gently, before pulling away. The gym leader slowly started to push her on the swing again, just like he used to when they were kids. "You're the only fan girl for me anyways. All those other girls are nothing."

Leaf stared back into the sunset, a sweet, gentle smile gracing her lips again. She was at ease now, because she now knew that she wasn't a burden to him. She made him happy, as he did to her. Maybe she was simply over thinking too much.

A/N: I feel bad because I have written almost nothing but SoulSilver and Ikari and pushed this ship aside. So I dunno here's some fluff. /w\
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. T.T