AN / so after writing nearly a third of this i accidentally exited out of the tab, deleting all i had done, and spent nearly two hours trying to understand chrome's cache before just giving up instead of just immediately starting on re-writing it. SO this might be better or worse, i tried to not just rush through it.

Why was walking so difficult?

Viridian wasn't even that big a city compared to others and yet Blue had been walking through it for what felt like hours. Her feet were starting to hurt, which made her face turn sour.

She had intended just to go straight through the big city, or rather, towards the other end; but soon upon entering she had gotten sidetracked by the many shops and cafes lining the streets. Like the coffee shop right in front of her. Too bad she had to walk straight past it, every muscle in her body complaining. It wasn't the right one.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Petite hands plucked it out and held it to her ear after her eyes scanned the i.d. " . . Silver?"

"Blue! Where are you? Are you in town yet?"

"Yeah I'm in Viridian." She paused for a moment, doing another quick scan of the area. "But I don't see a Coffee John's anywhere. And believe me -I've been everywhere."

A sigh protruded from the other side, followed by a few brief moments of silence. "Viridian? You're in Viridian."

"Yeah. isn't that where you said?"

"I said . ." Blue could hear him laughing softly. "Vermillion. As in the color. You know, the one with the port to Johto? With the electric-type gym? Where the pokemon fan-club is?"

Her legs grew weak. "Yes I know what it is", she replied, her tone tired and sour. "I guess I just got confused. But don't you worry! I'm heading back to the airport now. I'll be there in a few hours."

"What? You're not going to do that."

"Sure am. I'll see you later."

"Wait, Blue-"

"Byeee." A finger landed on the end button, the rest of her hand sliding the phone back into the pocket of her hoodie. She quickened her pace, one hand on her forehead in frustration. She was the one who lived in Kanto and yet she still got confused between the two cities from time-to-time. A glance at her watch revealed it wasn't as late as she thought it was. Still, she wanted to be on the next flight out, and there was no telling when that would be.

The femme was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the door to a cafe she had just passed swing open, didn't recognize the footsteps and familiar breathing until her name was called out. Then she paused, one foot nearly off the ground in her next step forward. Blue turned around slowly, her curiosity confirmed when she saw the spiky brown hair, the tall, lithe form.

"I thought it was you", Green said with a smile.

She gazed at him for a few moments, not completely sure what to say. "Hi. Uh . ." Another glance at the time revealed uneven digits. She didn't think at all, just turned on the heels of her boots and got a few quick steps in in the direction she was originally headed before a pair of hands set on her shoulders and jerked her around, swinging her head into Green's chest. They both hastily backed up just a bit.

"Well that was a lame response." Curiosity glimmered in his eyes. "Where are you headed in such a hurry?"

"Um. Airport. Silver. Vermillion. The-" She was barely able to get the last word in before she was being dragged back in the direction she had came from. "Woah woah wait where are we going?"

"The next plane to Vermillion City doesn't leave for another hour. I'll make sure you get there. But for not, I thought you'd like to see the gym?"

Although her suspicions were still high -after all, how did he know the flight schedule? Much less the one she needed to take?- Blue regrouped herself immediately, eyes shining with glee. "Ooooooh yes yes yes!"

Green laughed and released her hand, watching her immediately bounce back up beside him.

Blue hadn't gotten to see the gym since he took over. She hadn't been present during Red's qualification exam and had been too busy ever since to stop by, albeit she had been wanting to for quite a while now. Just as she thought that, the roof appeared, and, as they rounded a corner, they whole building submerged. A ninetales that had been resting near the entrance poked its head up upon the arrival of the two trainers. As they neared the pokemon got up and wandered over to them, causing Blue to bend down with a small gasp and run her hands through it's silky fur. "I haven't seen you in a while", she said, a small smile making its way on her face as the pokemon answered back with a mew. "You must be cold out here."

Green's hand came to land on top of his pokemon's head, patting it slightly. "Actually this one's a bit unusual. Doesn't mind the cold much."

Blue paused."O-Oh. Okay . . then." Was she supposed to know that? Certainly she hadn't been told before.

Ninetales stayed behind as the both of them made their way into the gym. Immediately Blue wandered off, gazing around in amazement at all the repairs and new additions that had been made since her last visit. It looked like a completely different building from inside, the interior all nice and glossy. The battleground looked pretty good as well. She could see a door at the opposite corner, and her curiosity got the better of her -especially since Green wasn't around at that moment- making her wander over and push the door open.

It was small inside. Very cramped and packed. White walls and white floors. A table was pushed up against one wall, holding on it an old-looking computer and stacks of papers strewn all across it. It looked like it had been tidy at some point but then someone had just gotten tired it taking care of it. there was another, smaller table to the right of it, and Blue walked over to it, seeing the only thing on it was a pokeball and a piece of paper with the name Bella written on it. She tipped her head, laying a few fingers beside it.

"She's one of the trainers that work under me."

Blue jumped back, surprised to find Green leaning against the doorway. He smirked at her, shaking his head.

"So I see you've found my office." He walked just inside and glanced around the room himself. "Or, what used to be my office. I just haven't cleaned this one out now."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "That's not very . . like you."

He shrugged. "It's been a bit stressful lately." His eyes went to the pokeball and he made a grab for it, but he was just shy of missing it, the ball instead ending up in Blue's hands.

"What's this girl's pokemon doing in your office-not-office?"

"She lent it to me for research. I'm just a little bit late in giving it back. Plus with the fact that she's out sick . . " He sighed, giving up on his attempts to get the pokeball back. "It's been a little harder."

Blue glanced over at the paper. "So you have Bella-that-makes-her-Ls-into-hearts. How many other trainers work under you?"

"Two. Biyanci and Mason."

"Ah-Ehheh." She knew since it became a requirement for all gym leaders in Kanto to designate other trainers for challengers to face before facing the actual gym leaders themselves, it had been putting a lot of stress on them all. Apparently Green was included in the mess, though she'd certainly never seen him stressed out before.

"I know what you're thinking. Just don't say anything, okay?" When she nodded, he held a hand out. "Now let me see her pokeball. I'll just transfer it over to Pewter."

"She lives in Pewter? Wh-Wait!" Blue followed Green out the door, her mind racing. "You have a transfer machine out here? Aren't those things, like, incredibly expensive?"

He shrugged, glancing back at her. "I have money." A pause, then: "You know, no matter what you might think, I'm not an easy person to beat in battle."

Blue ducked her head slightly. "I never said that", she muttered. She followed after him to a set of stairs, and down a long stretch of hallway until they reached another incredibly small room. While Green fumbled around with the controls to the machine, Blue took the opportunity to look into the open room across the hall.

This one looked nicer than the one downstairs, having thick mahogany floors, a very nice-looking cedar desk, some papers and a few boxes here and there. A noise made her turn, where a brief flash of light sent the pokeball away. Green was looking at her, a smirk on his face.

She tensed up, a frown quickly forming on her own.

"That's where the new office is gonna be. That is, when I get to moving everything up there." They both stepped out and he shut the door.

"You sure seem busy."

"That's why I need the break. Speaking of which, twenty minutes until the flight to Vermillion leaves."

"Oh!" She nodded. They were back downstairs, walking towards the entrance. "Well then, thanks for letting me look around. Say hi to Bella, Biyanci and Mason for me."

"If only it were that easy", he replied, following her out of the gym.

"What, are the others sick too?"

"No I'm just going out of town."

It took Blue a whole three seconds of him glaring down at her before she got it. " . . You're going to Vermillion too."

"Bingo."

"Aha", she sulked, trudging along after him. "You don't lock up the gym?"

"Someone will come by and do it."

She was glad Green was in front of her so he couldn't see the look she was giving him. Even after a few years he was still the same old Green. Something about that was not very amusing.

Their whole walk to the airport, to the terminal, to the steps of the plane was a silent one. Blue glanced at the number on her ticket and slid into the corresponding seat, Green not-so-surprisingly taking the one beside her, and taking a furtive glance from her as well. After a few minutes a woman ambled up to their row, stopped, took one glance at the both of them, and slid into the seat in the opposite row. A man in a suit stopped by the same woman's seat for a moment before picking a seat. And it continued like this for a couple of minutes or so until everyone was situated, during which Green leaned over to her and murmured "I hope you realize I screwed up the seating chart to sit by you." She grunted in reply, not really caring anymore. If no one really cared, then she wouldn't care, but it still irked her just a little.

Green seemed to see this, as he reached over and grabbed a drink from the passing flight attendant and handed it to her. 'Lemonade' he said.

It smelled like vodka. She told him this before downing it all, much to his dismay. Blue coughed a few times and he quickly took the cup out of her hands. He didn't try to protest as she leaned back against the seat, letting her eyes close.

"Such a pesky girl", Green sighed.

When Blue opened her eyes, it was to the scene of Green looking down on her. He quickly moved his head in another direction and she closed her eyes for a few moments, opening them fully to just barely see his green orbs sliding away from her. A smile made its way onto her face, and she leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder, ignoring his grunts and protests.

"WE HAVE NOW ARRIVED AT VERMILLION CITY."

"Mmmm." Blue felt her mouth opening in a yawn.

"Finally awake?"

Her eyes flitted open and she jumped back upon seeing the position she was in. She let out a sigh. "Why did you give me that drink?"

"Ah. See I, too, thought you might've been drunk when you willingly fell asleep on me."

"I wasn't on you, I just-" She huffed, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Forget it." They hit some turbulence and she groaned. "Jesus. If they were gonna spike it that much, why did they even bother with the sour-sweet half?"

"Because most people can't drink vodka straight." Green laughed, looking at her as she slumped against the armrests. "I highly doubt you could, either."

"Remind me again why you're on this plane."

"A stress-free vacation." People were shuffling off and, after helping Blue to her feet, Green led the both of them along with the tide. "I get off here and board a boat to Hoenn right after."

"Oh." That reminded her. She took out her phone and sent a quick text to Silver. Hopefully she'd be seeing him soon. Her feet fell out from under her at that thought, the only thing saving her was green, who quickly released her when she was upright.

"Here", he said, handing her a bottle of water, of which she greatly accepted.

With a tight look around and pursed lips, Blue looked up at Green and smiled. "Well, see ya!"

"Uh . . yeah." He tried to smile but she waved him off, turning around and watching him walk off and turn a corner. She then lowered herself into the nearest chair, topping the cap off the bottle and slumping into her seat. At least she was finally here. It had been a long, very eventful day, but she was here.

Blue put the tip of the bottle on her lips just as she saw a flash of red hair in the sea of people.