Hello, LightRedemption here. This is my first time uploading my story on FFN, and you're not going to get much other than that from me. The story is what important, rates and reviews are always welcomed though.

Disclaimer (apparently I have to do this): I don't own any characters used in this story.

The setting of this story is set in the world of the game Pokémon Fire Red/Leaf Green a.k.a Gen III.

Prologue:

Something to this day

"Hello?"

"Hello, is Miss Sabrina there?"

"No."

"Oh? Have you any idea where she is at the moment?"

"I'm sorry, but who is this?"

"I'm Erika, gym leader of Celadon?"

"Ah, my apologies, I didn't recognize you."

"That's fine, really. May I ask where Sabrina is?"

"She is at Vermillion at the moment, visiting if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh... well thank you."

"Would you like me to tell her you called when she gets back?"

"That would not be necessary."

With that, Erika hung up the phone. She sighed in frustration. She had been trying to call Sabrina for a long time, but only got around to do so recently. She was busy, both of them were. With a new champion coming up the Hall of Fames, the gym leaders had been handed a handful of annoyances to take care of. According to the League, the eight of them were to gather up in a meeting, held as soon as possible, in order to discuss the matter of how to deal with the Champion's decision of not staying as one of the Elite Four. It was such a bother, they all thought, but Erika was different. Her personality and image forbade her from showing her discontent. It's not like she wanted to be able to be cynical and cold like "you-know-who", but she at least wanted to stay true to her own feelings. If only people didn't expect so much of her.

Speaking of which, Erika has been trying to reach Erika in order to inform the colleague of the news of the meeting. It was the responsibility which she so eagerly accepted. However, she has been unable reach the female psychic. Still, since Sabrina is visiting Surge, it is highly likely that he would tell her instead. Erika felt a bit of discomfort thinking that. It was supposed to be her job after all, and she didn't want people doing her job for her. She can imagine it now. Surge mentioning the meeting, Sabrina acting surprised, and people would think that Erika could not do her job right. Erika would definitely not stand that. It might be a bit late, but she had made up her mind. She figured she would be able to catch Sabrina somewhere around town before she gets in touch with, and everything would be alright.

So, she decided to go to Vermillion herself.

She could not understand why she did it though, once she had already set foot on the S. S. Anne. Thinking back, she realized she just made extra effort for such an insignificant thing. However, what done is done, and she would rather not drown in her failure. She had a job to do, after all.

...

Erika has been staring at the wall for the last hour, sitting firmly on her chair. The S. would arrive at Vermillion at dawn tomorrow, but it is almost dinner time and she did not want to fall asleep. However, in her haste, she had not gone with any means of entertaining herself. That is why she was now bored out of her mind, having to resort to drying concrete to keep herself from falling asleep. Even when alone, her unconscious need to maintain a calm demeanor simply forced her to stay up tight, even at this moment.

"That's it."

Erika lightly snapped at the wind and stood up. She tried meditating before, it never worked. That was why Erika decided that she needed to go elsewhere in order to be entertained. She was on a cruise, after all. Wasting the whole day away like this seemed like such a bad way to spend the time. Out of the room, making her way towards the sun deck, Erika could already feel the night wind brushing against her face, swaying her hair back and forth. It was not long enough to be messy from that, though, and she was thankful. Interestingly enough, the sun deck was quite empty at that moment. It was a weekday, and today was just not a crowded day. She took that as a stroke of luck, since she wanted some place to think that didn't feel like being trapped to be in. Settling down a nearby wooden lounge chair, Erika had the entire river to herself at this point.

That was when her mind started to drift, onto various things. First would be why she was on this cruise at the moment in the first place. Erika found an easy answer for herself on that one. She was here to see Sabrina and deliver the message. A second question popped up in her head: why? She scoffed; it was silly to her. Obviously it was because she would not want other people to look down on her. However, she pondered at that. Would people seriously think less of her just because of something like this? Probably not, she settled. Then why was she even here? She was going to see Sabrina, end of story.

Smiling, Erika accepted that it was just as good a reason as everything else. She had not seen Sabrina in a while. They had both been busy shaping up their respective gyms as well as training in order to up the ante for the Pokémon tournament next year. However, this was the season of rest, though, since a new champion has just been crowned recently. Erika realized that she had always been closer to Sabrina that everyone else was. The female psychic usually acted uninterested in a lot of things, which is why she was never really popular among the gym leaders. However, Erika herself never did feel that hostility towards her that Sabrina a lot of times displayed to people, even their colleagues sometimes. Erika wondered about that, since it seemed very peculiar to her. However, her train of thought was soon interrupted by her surroundings, more specifically the sound of a chair settling itself besides hers.

"Hello."

Erika noticed a woman had pulled one up and rested next to her. Her greeting went unanswered though, which she thought was odd. Taking a closer look at the woman, Erika immediately caught glimpse of the majestic black mane behind the woman. It was extremely familiar, not to mention the cynical attitude that the long-haired woman was giving off.

"Sabrina?"

Sabrina tilted her head. She really was not expected someone to notice her in a situation like this. She had taken the un-busiest day of the cruise in order to have it for herself, yet she had somehow run into an acquaintance. She did not care much for the person who was here first, of course. The only reason she pulled her lounge chair up close was because they shared the best spot to enjoy the sea view on the entire deck. However, after a brief moment, Sabrina had recognized the person who was calling to her.

"Erika, it has been a while." A smile appeared on the speaker's face.

"It really has." Erika seemed happy as well, although her expression seemed a lot perkier than her friend. "I was actually looking for you!"

"How so?" Sabrina craned an eyebrow. Usually people would just stay away from her, if it weren't for something important.

"A new champion has been crowned." Erika stated, but was rather bemused by Sabrina's unchanging expression. "We are to gather up in a meeting three days from now, at the Indigo Plateau. I was assigned to inform you."

"I'm not going." Sabrina stated coldly, which earned her a surprised gasp. Erika didn't mean to be so caught off guard, but she could not help it. "Don't be like that. You know I really hate that kind of occasions."

"But you have never refused to go to one before!" Erika couldn't help but protest. A sinking feeling started forming within her stomach, since all the effort she put into this trip might have just been wasted.

"Well, I can't take it anymore." Sabrina shrugged. She had no mind to argue at the moment, although if it came she would be hard-pressed to suppress it. "I won't go anymore. It is not like my being there ever mattered to anyone. People would just go ahead and decide without me anyways."

"That's not true!" Erika couldn't help but retorted. She knew what her friend said was wrong. However, getting that piece of mind across was harder than expected. "You... I..."

"ERIKA!" Sabrina's sudden action silenced the female botanist. "Just, stop, please? I'm not here to fight anyone."

"But..." Erika simply could not finish her sentence this time around. The large ship's phone echoed through their ears, ending any hopes of a comeback for the botanist:

"Passengers, please help yourself to the dining hall to enjoy our luxurious dinner. Our theme tonight is: Couple's night."

"Do you wanna come?" Sabrina extended her hand towards Erika, earning her a confused look from the short-haired woman. "Don't look at me like that. You're coming too, obviously. Why not just go together?"

"Oh, yes, most definitely." Erika smiled, but her heart felt like it skipped a beat. For a moment there she thought Sabrina was asking her to go to couple's night as an item. What a silly though, she settled. Taking her friend's hand, Erika stepped off the chair and walked with Sabrina towards the lower floor, where the dining hall was located. Their hands never broke apart, however, and she was not at all complaining. Something in the back of her head reminded her that this was definitely not Sabrina's usual behavior, but Erika simply chose to ignore that. There is nothing wrong with it, so to speak, so she didn't see the point of getting all worked up over it. It was not long before they reached their destination. The room was a lacking one, so it was not hard to find a table to their likings.

"What would we be serving you ladies today?" The waiter, apparently trying his best to acquire a French accent, came over to them and said. "May we suggest the couple's deal; it is our special for the night."

"Oh, but we're... not a couple." Erika smiled awkwardly, trying to stop the waiter from getting the wrong idea. However, it didn't fly that well.

"We would have the special, please." Sabrina ended the conversation with about the most pretentious smile Erika has ever seen her mutter. The waiter had not the slightest idea, though. He simply took off, leaving the two women alone.

"Why did you..." Erika inquired, but was cut off once again.

"Simply because that would save us both some money, and there are simply no reason not to." Sabrina's smile turned genuine over the course of the conversation. "Is it really that bad?"

"No, I guess not." Erika smiled in return. She was just being paranoid again. There was simply no reason to worry. "So, why are you here Sabrina?"

"Surge called me." Sabrina answered bluntly, causing Erika to feel a rather disappointed. She had no idea why, but swallowed it.

"Why?"

"He wanted to ask me out."

"Oh..." Erika felt her expression dropped at that point. Calming herself down, she felt as if she had been thinking of something rather dangerous. She tried her best to continue. "So did you accept?"

"Are you crazy? Of course I didn't!" Sabrina forcefully retorted. Her flustered reaction caused a smile to creep on to Erika's face, without the botanist even knowing it. "What are you so happy about?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Erika controlled herself and settled down. She couldn't help but feel happy though. "Why didn't you though?"

"Why would I? I barely know the guy!" Sabrina couldn't understand what Erika was thinking even considering it. "I'm not even interested in men."

"What?" Erika could not help but flinch at that notion. So Sabrina was a lesbian? Who knew?

"You didn't know, did you?" The female psychic seemed rather nonchalant towards her friend's reaction. It was to be understood, she though. "No one ever asked, so I never did tell. Surge knows though, he used to be my close friend when we were younger, although he's like 12 years older than me. The damn guy, military man type, thinks homosexuality doesn't mean shit."

"Sabrina..." Erika didn't expect the foul language from her friend at all, but she didn't delve on that. Instead it was the discovery of her friend suddenly having a thing for the ladies that was on her mind. "Did you ever...?"

"What are you getting at?" Sabrina crossed her arms and huffed. Erika could be getting at a lot of things with that question.

"Well I mean: have you ever dated before?" Erika could feel her face blushing because of that. It was a funny sight, but Sabrina didn't catch it.

"Not really, I was aware, but I was just socially introverted." The female psychic shrugged. There was little she knew about dating a girl, if that what her friend wanted to ask. "Have you?"

"Eh?" Erika was taken aback by that. Obviously she had never considered it before. "What do you mean?"

"Really, you never noticed?" Sabrina seemed a bit surprised as well to see Erika shaking her head rather profusely. "Well, since you're usually with your girls inside the gym, rumors have been going around for quite a while."

"I honestly have no idea." Erika made a hand gesture of swearing honor. It amused her friend to no end. "What?"

"Well, I'm sorry." Sabrina could not help but chuckle. "You just seem kind of defensive about it."

"I don't mean anything. I just honestly never noticed."

Their conversation was cut off as the waiter returned with the order. It was something quite peculiar, at least that was the vibe being given. Moments later, their course was handed down on the table, pretty much everything you would expect for a romantic dinner.

"Would you like some fine wine?" The waiter asked.

"Yes please, her too." Sabrina held up her cup with a hint of flare in her eyes. Erika didn't catch a glimpse of it though, and she just accepted the wine, even though she had no intention of drinking it.

"Is there anything else, ladies?"

"That would be all, thank you."

With that, the waiter left the two to be alone once again, which they appreciated. The meal was rather huge for their apatite, so they made a note to no try and act otherwise. The continuation was rather quiet though, as both of the women preferred to dine in silence. It was not until the wine gets to Sabrina that the conversation picked up.

"You should have this." Sabrina held out her own wine glass and offered it to her friend, but Erika wouldn't have it. She was not one to fully reject an offer though. "It's really good."

"Maybe later." The botanist exclaimed.

"I would hold you up on that."

Soon, the two of them felt like no longer pushing themselves to eat anymore. Sabrina handled the check, which Erika didn't feel like stopping. She made a mental note to repay the woman afterwards though.

"Come to my room, I have my wallet with me there." Erika's invitation flew over Sabrina, who was already tipsy at this point. She seemed like she would simply go with whatever her companion suggested. Of course, her hands still held the wine bottle they had earlier. After the two made it to Erika's quarters, Sabrina found herself looking for the glasses within the room, ignoring what the other female was doing altogether. While Erika was trying to find the cash she brought, Sabrina was serving herself some more wine.

"Here, my share." Erika has finally reached her wallet, but turned around to find her friend quite less than sober. "Sabrina, you're drunk already."

"So?" Tipping herself under glass, Sabrina approached her friend, even though her motions weren't quite coherent. "You promised you'd have a drink when we get here, remember?"

"Well, I do, but..."

"But what? Are you going to walk out on a promise?" Sabrina was now sporting a wicked smile on her face, much different than her usual demeanor. "Come on~"

"Fine." Erika huffed. She usually would not be so difficult, but something about Sabrina just made her feel more at ease, more of herself. "Give it to me."

The botanist craned an eyebrow, seeing Sabrina coming at her while drinking the wine glass intended for her. She had no idea what her friend was thinking at all. However, she was caught dead off guard the female psychic's lips rested upon her own. Frozen in shock, she could feel her mouth being forced open, with the liquid, just like a stream of rose bouquet, streaming inside and down her throat. This exchange continued slowly for over a full minute, even after the wine was swallowed up whole.

"How was it?" Sabrina asked, licking her lips as she let Erika off. A smile was apparent on her face, while the botanist simply stood there in disbelief. "I told you this wine were good."

Erika was unable to answer. Her heart beats in frenzy. She gulped as the psychic's face seemed to become closer. What do I do? She panicked. If Sabrina pressed herself against her again, she had no idea of how she could react. What she expected didn't come though. Sabrina dropped after that, which Erika unconsciously caught within her arms. It was obvious that Sabrina drunk herself to sleep.

Erika's pulses races within her, as she was beginning to feel hot. It could possibly be the wine; she wouldn't know. However, the problem persisted. Erika's mind became frantic with various thoughts. She had no idea of what she would do. The most obvious answer would simply be letting her friend down to the bed, which she did just that. How to continue, was the real question. Her better judgment told her just to leave the woman alone, but there is definitely something else inside of her, yearning for affection that saw only Sabrina as an immediate attraction. Erika motioned closer, before she decided she should just stop thinking.

Edit: The story is now officially extended. Proceed for the official first chapter.