Warmth

It's a wonderful feeling when you can just stay in and ignore the storm
when you have a fire, a cup of chocolate, and Green snarking beside you.

Blue knocked quickly at the door, as another crash of thunder sounded behind her. She was soaked to the bone and her Pokémon were trembling in their capsules. I hope he opens up soon.

A chain lock tinkled as he slid the door open. "Blue—" He sounded less than surprised. "What are you doing?"

"Freezing to death, thanks for asking," she said sweetly. "Can I please go in?"

Green raised his eyebrows slightly, but overlooked it as she trudged past him and looked him up and down. He suddenly felt self-conscious; he was wearing nothing but his pajamas. Blue grinned.

To her surprise, Green smiled back. "We should probably get you dry."

After fifteen minutes, a showered, changed, and dried Blue walked back into the living room, where Green was curled up in a couch in front of the fire. He closed the book he was reading, straightened up, and pointed to the three-person, oversized plush couch opposite him. "I figured you'd like to thaw out."

"Yes, please."

"Do you want some cocoa? I was just going to make some."

"Sure."

She settled into the couch he had indicated, slightly awkward. Green was being really nice. Considering all the teasing, stealing, sneaking, and talking she did to annoy him, this almost hospitable treatment of her was staggering. And what was that smile about? Green never smiled. Not at her.

Green came back with two steaming mugs. Handing her one, he sat down beside her, no questions asked.

"So how come you're…" Green paused, trying to find a way to make it sound less rude, "…not at your–?"

"I lost my keys," Blue said simply, taking a sip. The cocoa felt very pleasant, warming her mouth and her insides, but also making her shiver as her extremities felt relatively cold. "I visited Gold and Silver in Goldenrod… I must have left my keys at the Game Corner."

"Too bad." He drank, staring at the fire. "Have you tried contacting them?"

"Yeah, I did, just before I headed here. Gold found them, but he says the PC's down because of the storm."

Green nodded. "Yeah, it's annoying. Red was supposed to send back my Macho Brace."

A pressing silence hung in the air. Blue realized with a jolt that she just had a conversation with Green without once yelling at, flirting with, or annoying him. The mug in her hands shook slightly as she tried to contain her laughter.

"What? What's so funny?"

She decided that saying nothing would make the atmosphere awkward, so she decided to go with the truth. "No, I just realized that was the first decent conversation we've ever had."

"Really?" Green said absentmindedly, standing up.

"Most of the time it's just, you know, the usual–"

"—crap?" He said with a grin, returning with a blanket. She muttered about not needing one, but her body gave it away with a shiver. He shrugged. "You flirting, me getting annoyed, Silver calling me off?"

"Yeah, something like that." She paused, fully taking in what he said. "Wait, you actually recognize it when I'm flirting?"

He threw her an annoyed glance as he sat back down and threw the blanket over their legs. "I grew up being flirted to, Blue. I know it when I see it."

She punched his arm playfully. "Get over yourself."

He shrugged, with an air of not wanting to push it, picking up his mug and drinking some more. Blue smirked as he cracked a smile.

"So you don't mind?"

"Hm?" He had already lost track of the conversation. Blue sighed.

"When I flirt."

"Oh." He swilled his cup around absentmindedly. "Most of the time, no. Only when I'm preoccupied, or Silver's around to murder me."

"Sorry about that. It's just a brother thing. Don't you get the same way when Daisy's around Bill?"

He looked amused at the idea. "Ridiculous, no way. Bill's a good, smart guy. And it's about time someone caught Daisy's eye," he said, smiling at the fire. "She's picky."

Blue was stuck on the word 'good'. "But you're nice," she said unflinchingly, then corrected herself— "I mean… not as bad as, say, Gold."

"So I'm only nice when beside Gold?"

He was baiting her. Something she usually did to him. Not avoiding the question and certainly not forgetting it, she said suspiciously, "Are you trying to get an answer out of me?"

Another sip. "Maybe."

Maybe… she was overthinking it. Maybe Green wasn't trying to bait her; maybe he'd said it without realizing what it implied. Then again… he said he'd been flirted to endlessly, so maybe he wasn't as much of a dense idiot as far as this was concerned.

Girls fawning over Green was something Blue found very easy to believe, something she would never willingly admit to him. He was a Gym Leader, an excellent trainer, and—she took a sideways glance—very attractive. Though most people saw him as a stoic person, she wondered what they would think of him if they saw him like this.

She wasn't used to seeing Green in anything other than his usual wear, so he in his (adorable, warm, downright childish) pajamas was unusual but not unwelcome. His hair was down and seemed less spiky, almost like Diamond's, but longer. The Green she knew was like a legendary Pokémon, fierce and powerful but only when necessary (And hard to catch, said a snide voice in her head). But now he seemed as tame as a Growlithe.

And probably just as cuddly too.

Blue mentally kicked herself.

"...So, bed?"

So she wasn't the only one who could make suggestive comments. Blue giggled and pretended to blush. Green struggled not to roll his eyes. "Right. You can sleep in Daisy's room."

"Are you serious? It's dead cold, and I'm guessing your blankets aren't out by this time of the year."

He raised his eyebrows. "And how do you know I can't go get them?"

"Because your attic is locked and you don't know where the key is."

Green bit his lip. She had probably been around his entire house and knew the contents of his attic better than he did. Blue smiled, amused that their conversation had started to sound a little more normal. "Do you know?"

"No, I tried the place where it usually is, but I think your Grandpa misplaced them."

Green shrugged, glancing at the single comforter they had. He then motioned for her to sit down beside him, and wrapped the blanket around them both. She looked at him, surprised, but his expression remained blank. Blue wondered if he had always been this polite.

She wished he'd say something else. Blue was finding it hard to keep her eyes off him; the colors of his hair in the firelight, the way his eyes shone lazily—and wondered why he hadn't ever had a girlfriend before. And then, Oh right. It's super-cold Green, the boy who flirted about as much as Mewtwo.

She was used to turning boys' heads wherever she went (much to Silver's annoyance), but Green's relative lack of interest caught her attention. Perhaps it was her thief's pride that she couldn't steal him… perhaps it was because of that that he interested her so much.

But he's not just a prize to you, is he?

No, she thought at once, taking a risk and relaxing her head against his shoulder. Frowning at his lack of response, she said his name. He didn't respond. Suddenly, his whole body went slack, and Blue had to push against him to keep him upright—he'd fallen asleep. Blue chuckled and (lightly, hesitantly, almost shyly) kissed the edge of his lips, pulling up her knees and drawing the comforter tighter around them.

"Good night, Green."

-xxxxx-

Green woke up the next day feeling comfortably warm, the sound of the rain lashing against the windows very calming. He realized with a jolt that he'd fallen asleep on the couch alongside Blue, whose head was on his shoulder; and looking down further, he saw that his right hand was laced through her left. His ears started feeling warm, but not because of her or the blanket.

And then he realized she'd wake up sooner or later.

Oh, hell.

A/N: This took me the longest to write out of all my Oldrival oneshots, mainly because I was finding it hard to get them into character. Again.

So the last part there is actually a preview for the next chapter—in which Blue wakes up and hilarity ensues. :D If you tell me what you'd like to see in the next, I'll consider it and possibly make it happen.