Disclaimer: Pokemon isn't owned by the author of this story. Rights go to their respective owners. The image is from an unknown source.
Leaf did it. Once again. Truthfully, it had been done many times before. But every time she scaled the mountain it gave her a sense of achievement. Maybe it was climbing a mountain as dangerous as the reputation Mount Silver holds, or maybe it was getting to see Red after one or two whole weeks. She didn't know, but whatever it was she sure liked it.
There, lost in her own train of thoughts, Leaf didn't realize she'd almost arrived until she did. For a newcomer, he'd have to watch each of his steps to challenge the Pokémon master, Red. That was the main reason that most people came up here, except Leaf. The sheer amount of times she came up here made the climb like riding a bike to her. Even the pokémon didn't bother her anymore, and even sometimes seemed a little friendly towards her, if that was possible.
She had arrived at the cottage. It was made out of a cave, but Red built it to make the mountain feel a bit more... homey. She knocked at the door once and went in immediately without hesitation, trying to protect herself from the unwavering, relentless cold. After going in, she immediately bolted the door as if just closing it will still let the cold come in. She may have gotten used to most of the aspects of the mountain, and yet, the cold somehow always managed to take her by surprise. Huddling close to the fire for warmth, she looked up when Red decided to make his presence known by walking up to her, kissing her cheek and saying, "You know, you could always bring yourself a jacket or two when you come up here."
Leaf looked down at herself. She was wearing her usual sky blue-slash-light green tops with a red skirt. She again forgot to bring a jacket, a sweater, or anything of the sort. She couldn't figure out why, but the prospect of meeting Red was enough to make her forget almost everything. It may be cliché, but that's the way it was, and she wasn't going to complain.
Speaking of him, there he stood, in navy blue jacket replacing his usual red one which covered a black t-shirt, which in turn, hid his somewhat muscular body. There was the half-baggy half-tight jeans, which she never saw him out of (there is an exception, which however is a story for another day) and the red baseball cap with a white semicircle outline at the front. Just looking into his deep brown eyes was enough to make her forget that she was about to give him a piece of his mind about staying up here. But no, that would be deviating from objective; her clearer part of mind told herself. So, she instead said, "And remind me, why do I have to come up here in the first place?"
This took Red by surprise. "Umm... because I'm going out with you and you like hanging out with your boyfriend?" he took a shot in the dark.
Leaf inwardly groaned. How could the nicest guy on earth (well, in her opinion) could be so incredibly dense at times? "No, Red. I'm talking about you living here," she said.
"What about it?" he asked.
"What about it?!" her voice raised. "It's been four years, Red. Four years since you came up on this stupid mountain. Four years since you cut off all communications with your mom and the outside world, except via me. Your mom's sick of this, Red. I'm sick of this."
"So, what are you saying?" Red asked.
Leaf sighed. Did she have to spell everything out? She was hoping not to, but couldn't avoid the moment since it was there nonetheless. Well, here goes nothing. Leaf thought and said, "Red, I'm saying I think it's time you came down from the mountain. Don't you think it's time anyway?"
Red was shocked. One look at his face and anybody could say that he was not expecting this. After several tense moments and gulps from Red, he seemed to have found something suitable to say. And when he did, he nearly yelled, "How can you just say that? I have a home here."
"Yes, a home where you spend all your time doing nothing," Leaf retorted. "Think for a second here, Red. It's a cottage you live in here. Your real home is in Pallet Town, where there are people who love you. Did you know your mom waits for you every day for you to come back home?"
"That may be, but it doesn't mean I can't have a home here. And I don't 'spend my time doing nothing'. I train my Pokémon." Red stated.
"Speaking of which, don't you think there's been enough of that? You're already the Pokémon master for heaven's sake!" she almost yelled. "How far more are you willing to take it?"
At this point, Red's face went cold and he visibly shifted while Leaf bit her tongue. She knew that the strength of his Pokemon was a touchy subject for him. Red had never disclosed to her why, instead always choosing to avoid the topic. Leaf also didn't pursue it, respecting his privacy on that certain matter. She knew secrets might not have been healthy, but she didn't see how. And as Red grew uncomfortable on the mention of such topic, she tended to avoid it. But now that she had crossed the line, there was no coming back from it. The worst was just to come.
Leaf braced herself for it, but it didn't come. There wasn't any of him yelling or him coldly saying, "I'm breaking up with you" or any other horrors Leaf had imagined. Instead, when she looked at him, he didn't look angry at all. His expression just slowly changed into one that resembled regret, or shame.
"You know, it wasn't my goal to be the strongest trainer," Red began. "It was just to beat Blue. Showing that, yes, I was and could be better than him. And I did that, too. But then, I met Mewtwo. Charizard had to evolve to even out power him. Then I knew, to defend myself, I had to be the strongest. I had met Team Rocket. I knew there were people out there far more capable. That's why I came up here. To be able to defend myself and mom when needed since Dad, well, you know. But after that kid, Ethan, tied with me, I realized it was virtually impossible. But I didn't let that beat me. But what you just said, about how far I'm willing to take it, to answer that, well I don't know. As long as I'm able to defend myself and those I love, yeah, which sort of includes you," Red added as he saw Leaf's expression turn into one of that of mischief, "there isn't going to be a point in being the strongest. So to answer your question, Leaf, yeah, I will be coming down. Tell you what, try and see me in the Pallet plaza in a week, okay?" Red asked.
Leaf was taken aback. Not that she didn't like it, which she did, she wasn't expecting this. To add to the moment, Leaf went ahead and firmly pressed her lips against his. Red was startled for a second, but he was quick to kiss back.
"I'll hold you to it," was all she whispered.
Leaf checked her watch impatiently and tapped it twice. This was a bad habit she had gotten into when waiting for something, or in this particular case, someone. She was standing in the middle of Pallet plaza, beside the water fountain, lightly dressed even though the chill of the winter occasionally made her shiver. She usually made it a point of pride to not be taken down by the cold, to not run from it. Sometimes she did have to put on a jacket to escape it when it was extreme, but that made her love it all the more.
There he was, finally. After a long, long time, he had finally come home, Leaf thought to herself. Looks like that argument, or rather, shouting match was of some good after all. Because it led him here. He had switched back to his usual red jacket, which enclosed a black t-shirt. He had the usual blue jeans on, which Leaf thought there were several copies of since he never saw him out of it. To be honest, she did see him out of it once, but she tried not to think about it around people to avoid the blush that came with the thought.
Taking her mind off the train of thought it currently was in, she went ahead to greet her boyfriend Red with a warm hug and a kiss after which she muttered, "Welcome home."
"I'm not home yet. But I am close, so thank you for that warm welcome," he replied.
"So what do you say about making our way there?"
"Yeah. But before that, aren't you cold?" he asked as he draped his jacket around her shoulders.
"What, this? This bit doesn't bother me," she replied.
"Then what was that show with you trying to lock the door like you were running from a ghost a week ago?"
"That was mount Silver!" Leaf exclaimed, trying to put something on her defense. "A completely different story.
"I'll take your word for it this time," he replied.
"Oh, you better take my word for it," she said while trying to turn the look of amusement on her face into one of threatening and failing at doing so.
The couple laughed and bickered as they made their way towards Red's home for the first time in years. And as they did so, only one thought crossed Leaf's mind. The prodigal hero was home. And to her, that's all that mattered.