A/N: This story was written for its-eeveechu on Tumblr, who requested Yellow x Crystal with the prompt "hold me just a little longer". It's a little writing warm-up for me while I'm adjusting to college life.
A soft breeze blew through Pallet Town, bringing with it a mild chill that whispered of the beginning of autumn. This breeze also brought with it a Butterfree that was carrying a young woman with blonde hair. The Pokémon fluttered its silvery-white wings to correct its course, steering itself and its passenger towards one of the houses that dotted the natural landscape of the town.
This seemingly ordinary house was in fact the home of Red, a legendary Pokémon League Champion and Pokédex holder of the Kanto region. The visitor, Yellow, was also a Kanto Pokédex holder and a good friend of Red. She had to pass over Pallet Town on her way back from a trip to Cinnabar Island and decided to drop by Red's house for a surprise visit.
Kitty placed Yellow gently on the ground a few paces away from Red's door. Yellow eagerly bounced forward and knocked on the door. "How surprised do you think he'll be?" she asked Kitty, grinning widely. "I feel like I haven't seen him in forever!" In reality, it had only been a couple of weeks.
Yellow waited at the door for a few more moments before it…continued to stay closed. She shifted on her feet, anticipation starting to wear on her nerves. Should I give him more time? Maybe he's in the middle of something, she thought. Or maybe he didn't hear me, and I should knock again? She tried knocking on the door with more force, but it hurt her knuckles and she stopped after a couple of knocks. She didn't want to bang on the door, but that was a good way to knock with more force. On the other hand, Red's house wasn't that big; her knocking should have been loud enough for him to hear it no matter what room he was in.
"I guess he's not home," Yellow concluded, frowning. "Let's check at Professor Oak's lab before we leave. The professor might know where Red is."
Professor Oak's laboratory was on the far edge of Pallet Town. It was the kind of place that you wouldn't find unless you had a reason to look for it – though, in a place as sparsely populated as Pallet Town, that could be said about most of the buildings there. The professor was a relatively trusting fellow and didn't lock the door of his laboratory as long as he was inside, so when Yellow arrived, she returned Kitty and walked right in.
"Professor Oak?" she called.
"Back here!" came the response from the opposite corner of the lab.
As she made her way in that direction, she looked in awe at the shelves upon shelves filled with Poké Balls containing the Pokémon that the professor was studying. Some of them had been caught by the professor himself; others had been caught by Red or the professor's grandson, Blue. However, most of the Pokémon had been caught by Crystal, a Pokédex holder from the Johto region who had been hired by the professor to help him collect data on all the Pokémon species in the world. Yellow had always admired Crystal's courage and reliability, and it was amazing to see the results of her work firsthand.
The professor was sitting at his desk in the back of the lab, checking something on his computer. He swiveled to face Yellow when she approached. "I didn't expect to see you today, Yellow! How are you?"
"I'm doing well, thank you," she replied. "And yourself?"
"Good, good," he said, leaving Yellow unsure as to whether he was answering her question or reacting to her response. "So, how can I help you?"
"I was looking for Red, actually," Yellow admitted. "Do you know where he is?"
"As it happens, I do," Professor Oak replied. "I just sent him to Route 1 with Crystal to investigate a report I received that a swarm of Poochyena have appeared there."
"Route 1, got it," Yellow said. "Thank you, Professor!"
"Not a problem," the professor said, returning to his work.
Yellow landed at the south end of Route 1, just north of Pallet Town, to begin looking for Red and Crystal. It didn't take long before she heard voices coming from further up the route, and she cut through a field of tall grass to get to them.
When she emerged, the first thing she saw was a tall man battling a pack of wild Pokémon with his Poliwrath. She didn't recognize the Pokémon he was fighting, but she did recognize the man himself with his red hat and black hair that was spiked so sharply it was nearly vertical. It was Red, which meant that the Pokémon he was fighting were probably the Poochyena that Professor Oak had mentioned.
In front of Yellow, a girl with blue hair styled into two gravity-defying pigtails knelt on the ground. This was Crystal, and Yellow wondered if she was preparing for a capture. She ducked back into the grass so that she wouldn't distract her friend, excited by the prospect of getting to watch the Catcher in action.
However, Crystal didn't pull out any Poké Balls, and she kept shifting her right leg to the side like she was trying to keep weight off it. Concerned, Yellow slipped back out of the grass. "Crystal?" she said.
Crystal started and looked over her shoulder at Yellow. "Yellow! How long have you been there?" she exclaimed.
"I just got here," she said, kneeling by her friend's side. "What happened?"
Crystal gestured to her ankle, which was swollen slightly and covered in red marks. "One of the Poochyena bit it," she explained. "Now I can't walk, and I can't even kick a Poké Ball to capture them."
"I'm sorry," Yellow said empathetically. Then she smiled. "Luckily, I can help you with that! Let me see your ankle."
Crystal shifted and extended her right leg, grunting in pain as she moved it. Yellow held her hands just above Crystal's ankle and closed her eyes, concentrating on the injury. Crystal stared in amazement as the marks began to fade and the throbbing pain in her ankle went away. Finally, Yellow sat back, panting from the effort.
"Wow," Crystal breathed, running her fingers over her healed skin. "I mean, I know you got powers from the forest and all, but…I never knew you could heal people."
"Neither did I, until recently," Yellow admitted. "It's still not perfect – your ankle may still be a little weak – but I'm working on it. Here, let me help you up."
Yellow hooked her arms under Crystal's, and Crystal wrapped her arms around Yellow as Yellow pulled her to her feet. She dropped her arms, but Crystal didn't let go of her.
"Yellow," Crystal said slowly, "this may sound weird, but…can you…hold me just a little longer? Please?"
Yellow blinked in surprise but hesitated only a moment before hugging her friend tightly. She didn't know why Crystal needed it, but if she needed a hug, Yellow wasn't going to deny her one.
A few moments later, Crystal released Yellow and Yellow let go of Crystal in return. "Thank you," Crystal said softly.
Yellow smiled, and Crystal returned the gesture. However, there was something sorrowful in Crystal's smile. "I really miss working with them."
Yellow's brow furrowed. "Working with who?"
"The kids at Mr. Dervish's Pokémon Academy," Crystal murmured. "Whenever they got injured, I would pick them up and give them a hug until they felt better, or at least calmed down enough to show me what was hurting."
"I understand," Yellow said reassuringly. "Do you wish you were still working there, instead of with Professor Oak?"
Crystal pondered the question for a moment before replying, "I…no, I don't think so. I miss the kids, but…I'm happy with this job. I really am." She smiled again. "How could I not be, when it's allowed me to meet so many great people like you?"
Yellow ducked her head at the compliment, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face. "I'm glad you enjoy it," she said.
Crystal glanced over Yellow's shoulder and grinned. "Let's go, Yellow. Looks like Red needs a little help," she said.
"Hey! Give me back my ha-a-at!"