"Good evening, passengers. In just a few minutes, dinner service will be provided. In the meantime, we invite you to look at Sinnoh to your left before the sun sets, where you can see Mount Coronet and the impressive mountain range it sits in..."
Red leans his head against the cool walls of the cabin, following the jagged peaks of Sinnoh's mountains with his eyes and wishing he were there instead. The chilly circulation in the airplane is not unlike the icy breezes that plague Mount Silver, but still not frigid enough to soothe his flushed forehead. It helps that Unova is a slightly shorter flight than to Kalos and that the League ensured all Tournament VIP got the roomier space in first class, even though Unova is only closer by an hour and the stiff decor of the first class section makes it a challenge to relax.
He feels Green lean over to check out the sights from the window. It only takes a minute for Kanto and the sun to disappear behind them. Red tugs at a stray thread on his jeans – one that Pikachu would likely be playing with if Pokemon were allowed to roam in the cabin.
"Man," Green says, leaning back into his own plump seat. "Hope the airplane food is as good as Kalos did it."
It isn't, they note, as they poke at some semblance of breaded meat and Unovan-style pasta, but the dessert tray afterwards makes up for it. Red steals several spoonfuls of ice cream behind Green's back while he's distracted chatting up a flight attendant, telling her glorified details of what it's like to be such an in-demand Champion (former, of course, but Red's mouth is too full to cheekily interrupt).
Red plops the provided airline pillow against Green's arm, ignoring the protests, and pulls his hat brim down in a half-hearted attempt to sleep.
Taking the slow cruise to Kalos felt so much smoother compared to air travel when he first made the trip to the far west. Green's strange, roundabout arguments to get Red back to living in society (or the very least, at sea level) worked only after a deal was met to share keys to his Viridian apartment and to not complain whenever Red stopped by to raid the fridge. Green complained anyway.
Switching frequently between Green's couch, his mother's house, and nearby regions seemed to be the best way to occupy his time and appear too busy to return to the League. While Red's thoughts were still frozen miles above in the sky, wondering how to adapt to a land he once knew, Green had always kept rooted to the ground, pouring over foreign language books and paper applications which Red didn't glance at twice. He wished he did, after coming back from a three month trip to Hoenn and noticing Green's fridge was not only empty, but unplugged from its socket.
His stays in Pallet become a bit longer after that, and his mother never questioned or complained as they quietly fell back into how they were before he left. He waited for the inevitable interrogations, the tears over his silence, the frustrated shouting at her son's recklessness and explanations he never offered. Instead, she was as placid as the town itself, only ever asking for help with the dishes and dusting, and for Red to call at least once if he went on another grand adventure. Whenever Red did return, the television was tuned into the same channel and the backyard garden more barren than when he was a kid. He brought his mother berry seeds from Sinnoh and old fashioned wind chimes from Johto, hoping that at least he'll see saplings in the garden during his next visit.
Green returned for holiday breaks sometimes, and predictably liked to remind Red about not seeing him before he left for Kalos, and some other complaint about telling Red his departure dates on numerous occasions while Red's attention was focused on flipping through his worn Pokedex. An argument flared up, some hair-pulling was made on Green's part, and it miraculously concluded with their agreement that neither of them had been very good listeners to each other.
A change took place after that, slowly building like the rolling waves curling against the cruise liner he took to Kalos. Red knocked on Green's apartment door with no prior announcement of his arrival and went straight for the fridge, noting more kinds of cheeses than he thought could even exist while Green sputtered and gaped from the entryway.
The world seemed so much bigger with Green at his side, who translated a regional map for him after several hours of rants ("You can't just crash at someone place when they're in the middle of exams!") and asked unnecessary questions ("So did you swim here or use Pikachu as a flotation device?"). Red noticed little differences as he pretended to remember all the foreign names being rambled off to him: the reading glasses slipping down Green's nose, the spiky hair no longer quite as messy compared to his rambunctious childhood days, and the sharper, more mature features that hit Red like an Onix's Rock Slide.
They were becoming adults, and while Green always worked to be one step ahead, Red wasn't sure he would catch up this time. So he stuck to Green even closer to keep up, almost as though they were young children again, but Red couldn't shake the thought that it wasn't quite the same feeling.
He also noticed the tension in Green's shoulders, the low glances when Green thought Red wasn't looking, the funny-looking frown that he tended to make when there was something he wanted to say, but chose to bitterly swallow it down for the sake of pride.
Only then did Red realize he'd noticed that same tension and frowns coming from Green for years, long before their journeys as Trainers, but never before gave it a second thought. Merging Green's life back into his own meant facing what he'd left behind. Knowing this fact, Red decided to move forward and ask the question.
Naturally, Green was annoyed that he wasn't the first to ask about a dinner date.
The most he can get is a light dozing after the cabin lights dim. Green, far more used to overseas travel, snoozes away as Red eases out of his seat and emerges into the spacious aisle. The rest of Kanto's and Johto's elite are with them, some reading with tiny lights and some curled up in blankets. Misty appears to be drooling over her shared armrest with Brock as she sleeps, and Morty stays fixated on staring out the window, despite the night making it too dark to see anything.
From what they'd been told, everyone would travel together, from the same flight to the same hotel. Red roams up the aisle once, ticking off a mental checklist of each face, then goes back down again to the front.
Lance looks up from his book when Red approaches and waits silently. Next to him, Claire glances over briefly, then sighs and returns to gazing at nothing out the window.
"Hello, Red," Lance starts carefully. "Having trouble sleeping? It's not easy getting used to traveling like this."
Red looks up the aisle, checking every face again before speaking lowly.
"Where is he?"
Claire's hard stare falls on him again. Lance taps a finger against the book's worn cover, waiting several moments as though he expects Red to clarify. When Red doesn't, he chuckles and turns a page.
"Pikachu and the others are in special pokeball holding containers below. Remember seeing them before we boarded? He'll be just fine."
Red returns to his seat and drops down hard, teeth sinking deep into the inside of his mouth and eyes looking past the airplane window, searching for anything in the darkness to distract his thoughts. Green jerks awake from the motion, drops his pillow, then immediately ruffles up his hair to ensure it hasn't lost its style.
"You sleep at all?"
"A little," Red lies. He bumps a knee against Green's. "Sorry."
He leans against the wall again, observing dark shapes swirl outside the window. Green takes a breath like he wants to speak, but sighs loudly instead and settles back into his seat.
Nothing in Kanto and Johto combined is this noisy, Red thinks, as they finally stumble out of the Castelia airport. Heavy buses line the doors outside with metal barriers keeping photo-happy fans out of arm's reach. Red feels his vision cross when the cameras start flashing off a storm, and he keeps his hat low until he climbs into the dimly lit bus. He doesn't bother with looking behind him, knowing Green will linger for a bit to smile for the cameras, soaking up the attention worthy of his family name.
The jetlag weighing down his eyelids doesn't stop him from looking out the bus windows during the ride to Driftveil. Castelia itself is huge, and it's a while before the scenery changes into a smooth countryside. Red's heard of vast deserts and powerful rivers throughout the region, relentless and challenging to even the hardiest of travelers. It doesn't take long for Green to see the glint in his eye and pull on his ear, peeling Red's cheek off the window.
"Don't even think about it. Tournament first."
"We could still travel here after it." Red bats at the hand to free his ear. Green shrugs and sinks back into his seat, stretching out his legs as much as he can. "You want to?"
"Tournament first."
In Driftveil, Green walks around the new hotel suite like every bit of decor was added for his arrival. Red's not used to the full Champion treatment, having left before it could kick in. The bed's bigger than the one in their Viridian apartment, and the sleek bathtub has jets. Red's hesitant to kick his dusty shoes into any of the polished corners, and getting near the bottled water with enormous price tags looks risky. Nothing about the room is like the few hotels he's bothered to stay in, or like the traditional Ecruteak inn Green once took him to where the rooms were cozy and the roll-out futons were all they needed to be comfortable (despite Green's complaints about back pains the next morning).
Dropping his pack on the cushioned, decorative bench seems to be the safest place. He takes out his pokeballs first, eager to get them back on his belt and Pikachu freed. A distant roaring of airplane jets still rings in his ears.
Finished basking in the high-class ambiance, Green drops a hand on Red's shoulder before he can open the pokeball. "Let's get changed and go to the dinner, alright?"
"Go ahead. I'll start training." He rubs an eye hard enough to see white spots. His body still feels miles above the earth, and it must show.
"Dinner, then sleep," Green insists, giving his shoulder another firm tug. "Then training at whatever dumb hour you decide to wake up tomorrow morning."
Red's body is buzzing too much to give much protest. He takes his pokeballs anyway, just to feel their familiar weight on his belt, and follows Green down the elevators and to the dining hall.
The massive room is already packed with Leaders and League representatives by the time they arrive, all crowding around circular tables or picking appetizers off silver platters from several waiters running around. Red sits between Lance and Green and eats as quickly as he can, ignoring the conversation topics floating around him. The food is admittedly a treat after picking at the in-flight dinners and filling up on ice cream. He pushes aside his plate within minutes and nudges Green's leg under the table. Green looks over to him and takes the longest sip possible of his soup, choking on the last drop when Red's foot comes back with a more encouraging kick.
The chatter in the room drowns out Green's pointed grumbling as they leave the dining hall in a hurry. Red turns his head away from the other tables, feeling stares and hearing whispers from the more distant-region Leaders who have never seen the much-rumored Champion in the flesh. He makes a quick detour to loop around the Kanto Leaders' table, stepping back when passing by Surge, who appears to be in the middle of some animated story with frantic arm gestures.
He counts only seven Kanto Leaders at the table. Green yanks his arm when Red takes a step back towards the Champion table where Lance still sits.
"Hey. This way."
Red nods silently and digs his fingers into the side of his temple once Green turns away. He wishes he pressed the League for cruise tickets to Unova instead.
Green taps his foot irritably during the elevator ride back to the top floors. Red closes his eyes and sways on his feet, the walls of the elevator seeming to curl in like an airplane cabin. He rushes out in front of Green when the doors ding and open up.
They bump elbows as they shower together, desperate to wash off the jetlag and get into bed faster. His head is swimming by the time he lies on the overstuffed pillows that crane his neck up oddly; they're immediately shoved to the floor. Green falls in after and reaches under the sheets to squeeze his arm. Despite the long journey, it takes Red several hours to fall asleep, with black and red shapes burning beneath his eyelids.
