She was so pretty.
She was hunched over her latest painting, her slender hands methodically gracing across the canvas. The front of her dress had splatters of paint on it, but he felt that it made her just that much more mesmerizing and perfect. Her long, blonde hair was swept into a messy bun today. Wisps of hair had fallen out of place, leaving the wind to blow them every which way. Once in a while she would reach her hand up and push the strands away, brow furrowed in concentration, just to have them escape and dance about again. He was sitting against the trunk of a tree, but he desperately yearned to walk over to her and tuck those strands behind her ear…
"Just ask her out already, Red."
The scarlet-eyed boy jumped and clutched his racing heart, before looking up to face the culprit. He groaned upon recognizing the owner of the voice. "You! Where in the world did you come from?"
"From the deep confines of your soul, duh. Now, as your inner conscious, I command you to get up and go. Immediately, before I stab you with my pool cue."
Red chuckled. "Really? Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried to do that?"
Gold flinched visibly, before giving a nervous laugh. "C'mon, it was an accident that time! Besides, this time I have Silver to protect me… right, Silv?"
The redhead looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what happened last time, but if it involved hurting you, then I won't stop him."
"You're the best best friend a guy could have, aren't you?"
Silver ignored him.
"Well, then," huffed an irritated Gold. He turned his attention back to Red, who had gone back to staring dreamily at Yellow. "Dude! Stop staring. It's kinda creepy."
"If Gold thinks it's creepy, then it's definitely creepy," Silver commented, leaning against the tree.
Red groaned.
Gold glanced at Yellow, who was still so absorbed in her painting that she hadn't noticed the three boys just a few yards away. "Does she even know you're here, Red?"
"I think she forgot. She brought me to this spot because of the scenery here. Said she thought it was a nice place to hang out. Then she took out her supplies and started painting. She completely blocked everything else out." Red sighed and stared at the horizon. One thing was true, though—it was amazing here. It was a beautiful day, and he could spy Pokemon flitting about playfully everywhere. And with the shimmering ocean in front of them and the tranquil forest behind them, Red felt like they were cut off from the rest of the world. It was just him and Yellow…
"Yo! You still with us, lover boy?"
…and Gold.
"Can I go yet?"
Don't forget Silver.
"Seriously, though. You should ask her out already. Everyone knows you like her," Gold said, exasperated.
"Everyone but her." Red absent mindedly dragged his finger in the dirt.
"That's because you've never made a move! You can't expect a girl to know that you like her if you never show any indication of it. It's common sense. Theoretically."
"I didn't know you were capable of common sense," Silver muttered, flipping a page.
The Johto boy pretended not to hear him.
"And I should be taking love advice from you, why?" Red raised an eyebrow and stared pointedly at him as his finished his lopsided heart in the dirt.
Gold bristled, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. It's just that I've never seen you make a move on Crystal. And everyone knows you like her," he drawled, mimicking Gold's tone perfectly.
The dark-haired teen turned bright red at the mention of the blue-haired Capturer. He whipped out his pool cue, and pointed it directly at his senior. "You… you shut up! I do not like Crys! She's just a close friend, that's all! And even if I did, that wouldn't be any of your business! Which... which I don't!"
"Yeah. 'Cause blushing like that and threatening me with your cue totally convinces me," Red smirked. He scuffed out the heart with his hand.
Silver snickered.
Gold immediately whirled and pointed the stick at the other boy, his goggles nearly falling off his head in the process. "What are you laughing at?!"
"You," Silver replied, not even bothering to look up from his book.
Gold swore and was about to retort when Yellow finally noticed them. She put one more stroke of paint onto the canvas and put down her brushes before jogging over and waving, a cheery smile on her face. "Hi Gold! Hi Silver! When did you guys get here?"
"Hey Yellow! And not that long; just a couple of minutes ago. Silver and I were talking to Red here about how much he loved—"
Wham!
"Sorry about that, Gold!" Red said, a smile tightly plastered on his face. He turned to the bewildered girl. "Yellow, would you mind going to get a cold bottle of water for Gold? I think being in the sun too long has dehydrated him."
Yellow furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, and looked at Gold, who was gasping for air and doubled over, holding his stomach. Then she turned to look at Silver, who had a slight, satisfied smirk on his face. She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. She'd been friends with them long enough to know they were a bit... odd. Better off just going with it. "Um… okay? I'll uh, be back in a minute."
Once Yellow was out of sight, Gold started yelling. "What was that for, Red?!"
"You were about to tell her I liked her," the DexHolder said simply.
"Well, you didn't have to punch me so hard!"
"Sorry." He didn't sound the least bit sorry.
Gold sighed, and sat down, wincing in pain. "I don't get why you don't tell her though. She obviously likes you."
"What are you talking about? She's so oblivious."
Gold stared at his senior in shock. "You're kidding me, right?"
"What?"
"You're telling me you didn't see that look in her eyes? When she saw me and Silver here?"
Red shook his head.
Gold threw up his hands. "She was clearly upset— she doesn't want us here! She wanted it to be just the two of you! And that smile— it was so fake. And you know what? I'll bet that when she brought you here she'd wanted to spend some time with you, just you two, not have you sit against a tree feeling sorry for yourself. She probably thinks that you've been ignoring her. You're the oblivious one!" Gold was fuming now. He had gotten up and was pacing back and forth, much to Silver's annoyance.
Red was silent.
"Yo! Don't just ignore me!"
Red played with his fingers before speaking softly, "Do you… Do you really think she likes me back?"
Gold swore again and raised his fist, only to be restrained by Silver, who calmly asked, "Dude. Do you really think hitting the Pokémon League Champion and star athlete of like, everything, is a good idea?"
Gold grumbled, and swatted his friend's hand away. He looked at Red, who was still playing with his fingers. "Look, dude. Maybe I'm not the best person to be giving you advice about this. But ask any of our friends, and they'll tell you that Yellow likes you too. And if you don't believe any of us, then you know what you can do— ask Yellow herself. I mean, she should know better than anyone, am I right?" Gold flashed one of his trademark grins.
Just then, Yellow started running back with a bottle of ice water.
Gold turned to Red, and glared at him. "Look, lover boy, this is your chance. You can find out once and for all if Yellow likes you or not. Or suffer in agony for the rest of your life. Not like it actually makes any difference to me. Your call, dude."
Yellow finally arrived, panting, and handed the bottle to Gold. "Sorry I took so long! I forgot my keys and had to go in through the back door."
"No problem. Thanks, Yellow!" Gold grinned. "Now, me and Silver need to go. We need to… uh… to..."
"Buy dresses for Gold," Silver finished matter-of-factly, closing his book. "The bright pink and super frilly kind. Isn't that right?"
"Yup!" Gold chirped. "We're gonna— wait, what?"
Before he could open his mouth to say another word, Silver dragged the squirming, hot-headed teen away from sight.
"Huh? Oh... bye Silver! Bye Gold!" Yellow waved as the duo disappeared into the winding forest path. "That was... interesting. Right, Red?" She turned to look at him, only to see him already staring intensely at her. She jumped, uncomfortable. "Uh… Red?"
"Huh?" At her words, he snapped back to reality. "Oh, sorry, I just wanted to— uh... nothing." Red gave her a reassuring smile. "Forget about it."
I just wanted to see if that smile was fake. If those eyes were hiding secrets.
Red sighed. After all of Gold's prodding, he was right back where he started— leaning against a tree watching leaves fall while Yellow painted.
Why couldn't he get up the courage to ask her?
She was right there.
They were alone.
It was the perfect chance.
I mean.. I've collected all the badges in Kanto, won the title of Pokemon League Champion, befriended Mewtwo, been trapped in ice, turned into stone, saved the world a couple times... How hard can this possibly be?
C'mon, I can do this. Just... just get up and... and...
Red cradled his head in his hands, and started rocking back and forth.
"Red?"
He looked up, and came face to face with a pair of brilliant green eyes. They were so pretty... like two deep pools of water... drawing him in... closer... and closer...
"Uh... Red?"
He jumped when he noticed how close they were. He hurriedly leaned back, putting ample space between himself and the girl.
"Red? Are you okay? You're acting strange..." Yellow's concern was obvious, and she bent down next to him, hesitantly reaching to feel his forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever. Maybe you're dehydrated too..?"
He made a decision. "Hey, Yellow!" Red said suddenly, grabbing her hand. Her hand was so small, and soft. But, no. Not time to think about that right now. He had to get the words out of his mouth before he lost his courage. Which was already slipping away. He let go of her hand and wrung his own together. "Remember that time I was defeated by the Elite Four? And trapped in ice by Lorelei? And then you went on that whole adventure to come save me just because Blue told you to? And could have possibly died when you fought Lance?"
Yellow cocked her head in confusion, while staring at where Red had clasped her hand. "Yeah..?"
"I'm not sure I ever thanked you for that."
"You did."
"No, I didn't."
"But—"
"No. How about... how about I take you out for dinner tonight? On me. As my thank you? I mean, I know it's not nearly enough to fully express my gratitude for everything you've done for me, but it's a start." Red dearly hoped she couldn't see how his arms were shaking.
A mad blush crept up Yellow's face.
"I-I don't know, you really don't need to. I mean, not that I don't want to, cause I would love to, it's just that I'm really busy, and you have thanked me, and—"
Maybe Gold is right. Maybe she does like me back. Maybe the feelings are mutual, and her heart's beating as fast as mine...
"—that's all you need to do, no need to take me out for dinner or anything big like that. Thanks is enough! Again, not that I wouldn't want to—"
Or maybe he's wrong, and I'm nothing but a friend to her. Why'd I listen to him in the first place?
"—but I really don't think it's necessary, all I did was do what any friend would do, not that we were really friends at the time—"
Damn it! At this rate, I'm going to drive myself crazy before I figure it out!
"—but there was that whole thing when you saved me when I was little, and I guess I owed you for that—"
She's so cute when she's rambling like that...
"—so you can consider that your thank you and then you also helped me catch Ratty—"
Just... so... damn... cute...
"—and really, I think that's more than enough thanks—"
And so pretty, too...
"—so there's no need for you to do—"
I just want to…
"—anything like that because—"
To…
"—you've already—"
"Stop."
Yellow looked up in surprise at the sudden interruption. "...huh?"
Red gathered up all his courage and gently lifted up her chin so that they were eye-to-eye. He thought her widening gaze was absolutely lovely.
"Red?" Yellow's voice trembled, voice squeaking, as she struggled to retain her composure. "What… what are you doing?"
He delicately tucked those few loose strands of hair behind her ear and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Please?"
"B-but..."
He leaned in closer. Their noses were almost touching now. He could clearly see the golden flecks in her eyes. His piercing gaze trapped her as he put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer.
And then, he kissed her.
It was... was... how could he describe it? This sensation... this feeling... he didn't know anything except that he never wanted to end.
He was kissing Yellow.
He.
Was kissing.
Yellow.
Yellow, who he had known and pined after for years, was in his arms. Who was kissing him back.
Finally, the need for air was too great, and the two broke apart, neither letting go of the other. The boy smiled softly at how red her face was, knowing his own was probably the same color. He drew in a deep breath, and said what he had wanted to say for so long.
"I like you, Yellow." Do you like me?
The girl's face got even redder, and she ducked her head to hide the blush. When she looked back up at the boy, she had the most beautiful smile on her face.
"Red, I... I like you too."
His heart soared.
"Ha! What did I tell you? I'm right! I'm always right!"
Red twisted around to see a crowing Gold dancing around in glee, with a bored-looking Silver trailing behind him.
"I told him! I told him, didn't I, Silver? I told him she liked him back!"
Silver sighed. "Look, I really don't care—"
"Ooh, I am good! I'm a... a love wizard! Who's awesome? I am! I'm awe—"
A bright flash later, long, green vines wrapped around Gold and hauled him off the ground. "Hey... hey! Red! Call off your Venusaur right now!"
"Let me think about it... nah." Red grinned. "Thanks for the advice though. I appreciate it."
"Then you'll show your appreciation by letting me down!"
"Maybe later."
"Silver! Help me!"
The redhead looked up at the wriggling boy above him. "No thanks. I told you I wouldn't stop him, remember?" And with that, he turned around and started lazily strolling back through the forest.
"What? Wait! Silver, come back! Don't just leave me here! Silv! What kind of best friend are you? You can't do this to me! Ugh... Red! C'mon, dude, you can't just leave me dangling here! You have to... wait... what? Red, stop making out with Yellow and help me here!"
Ignoring Gold's indignant screams in the distance, Red whispered in Yellow's ear, "Does this mean you'll have dinner with me tonight?"
She snuggled deeper into Red's embrace and sighed contentedly.
"Definitely."
END
A/N:
So, I decided to try a one-shot, hopefully you guys like it!
Any comments will be appreciated :)
Thank you!
I do not own the picture. I don't know who the artist is, but if the artist should not want me using his/her picture, just tell me and I will take it down.
8/8/12: Oops! I didn't know it was Red's birthday today... well... I'll consider this story as his present xD Happy birthday, Red!
4/14/13: Hey guys~ So I reread this the other day and gasped at the sheer horror of my writing, so I edited it a bit. And a GIANT thank you to everyone who reviewed and/or favorited! You guys rock!