inspired by the wongfu short , 'strangers, again'. The song lyrics are from the song 'Cambridge' by Kina Grannis! Goodness, I've been updating lately, but this one was written in a daze (and I'm starving) so hopefully you enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the piece of cake I'm about to eat.

seventeen : fight;
When they're twenty, they have their first real fight over the videophone: he claims that he's busy in the Gym and she claims he doesn't care enough to visit her in Sinnoh- they know it's the same fight they've had before, but this one seems worse (maybe because both are actually invested in a relationship together this time).
thirteen : erase;
When they're twenty-one, she breaks it off and tells him that they would be better off forgetting everything they've done together- he doesn't look her in the eye as he says flatly: "You know it's not that easy, Blue."
twenty-three : haunt;
He hears from Sinnoh (Diamond and Pearl, to be exact) that Blue's planning a trip back to Viridian City, so he packs his bag, leaves his backup team in charge of the gym and goes away to Cerulean, where he knows Misty and Brock are staying for the holidays- but even their cheerful attitudes do not banish the memories that haunt him late at night.

Green can sense the tension building up, rising rapidly to the surface. It's immediately obvious in every sense of the word, from the way Blue's eyes spark, not with admiration but anger, to his involuntary clenching of his fists despite his visibly calm exterior. In a way, he wishes that one of them were as explosive as Ruby, or Sapphire, or even Crystal when she was really riled- maybe then they could get everything out of the way. There wouldn't be any skirting around the issue, dancing around hot coals- there would just be talking over the issue.

It's the same argument tonight- well, not argument, but pointed jabs at each other. Ever since Blue moved to Sinnoh, Green notes that she's become more aggressive- more so than usual. He figures that it's her way of saying that she cares, her way of indirectly telling him that she misses him (because heaven forbid that Blue ever explicitly admit that); but he can't understand why she can't come back to Kanto every once in a while instead of him going to Sinnoh. He figures that he's done it enough, he's met all her friends, but what about her friends back here? Maybe, he figures, that's his way of telling her that he misses her.

Or, maybe not, he thinks to himself when Blue pulls the 'you're the gentleman, you come here' card. When he doesn't give in, she just sighs- loudly, and he braces himself for what comes next- inevitably she will begin to tell him about all the friends she's made in the modeling business. Inevitably those friends will have male names, and even though Platina assures him that Blue's not serious about the flirting (and she knows this how?), it still irritates him.

I need to hear this
I chose you long ago
Have you chosen me yet?

Tonight it just seems worse than usual, maybe because he has had a bad day, and has she even noticed? No. She hasn't bothered to ask, either. Green notes drily that the entire conversation has revolved around the topics of: Blue's career, Blue's recent purchases at a mall, Blue's new acquaintance Monty, Blue's roommate stealing her eyelash curler. In contrast, Green thought, he'd had to deal with Professor Oak's sudden illness, Crystal's twisted ankle, their entire herd of Ponyta escaping from their corral, Daisy's frenetic wedding plans with Bill. Clearly, who had the worse end of the deal?

Not that she cared.

So he tells her, mentions it briefly. "You know," he says in that low tone of his, "it would be nice if you asked about my day once in a while."

He supposes the tension has been building up for a while, because that's when everything explodes. He doesn't remember who begins yelling first- all he remembers is raising his voice when Blue begins to yell at him about how he doesn't care, about how he doesn't seem to want to make sacrifices- but he has his own share of complaints too, and so he retorts with how he's the one making sacrifices all the time, and Blue is the one who takes without giving and how on earth is their relationship supposed to work? She's taken aback, obviously, because Green has never raised his voice except in the midst of a Pokemon battle- and she begins to backtrack, but Green is too angry, too tired, too hurt to say anything more- so he simply shuts the computer off, and goes to bed angry.

He supposes later that that night was the beginning of the end.

I'm starting to wear thin and find it harder to forgive
Every time you let us slip down your list of priorities

She never apologizes, and he doesn't bring it up again, but sometimes late at night a whisper comes back to him, whispering about how she wasn't coming back to Kanto anytime soon. He pushes it away, because that's just how Green (and Blue, the whisper reminded him) is- stubborn, headstrong, determined. So the relationship continues on, a relationship based on tolerance.

He's not really surprised, then, when a year later she finally says it. "Maybe it's time to move on," she says, rubbing her eyes. "For the best, you know?"

He's not really surprised, but it still comes as a shock because this is Blue, the girl who spent the better half of her life trying to trap him into a relationship. "I don't know," he says quietly, surprising even himself. "Is that what you want?"

Blue's never been so small, so quiet, so vulnerable before. "Yes," she says, but after a pause, as though she is struggling with her decision. "It's not like we see each other anymore. It's… we're… strangers, I suppose."

Green wants to retort acidly, And whose fault is that? He resists, though. "Fine." The word hangs in midair, filling the silence, reminding both of them that it's over, the game's finished- but who has won?

She tries to regroup, get some sort of closure from her latest scheme. "It'll be easier if we forget everything we've been through, you know?"

And now Green can't believe that she's using that in this situation. His eyes rest on the picture that sits next to his computer screen, a picture Gold took one day while the Dex Holders were on the beach in Johto. He can't honestly recall a time before Blue's move to Sinnoh where things had been that happy, and Green doesn't forget things easily.

So he doesn't look at her as he utters his final words to her- "You know it's not that easy."

And just like a year ago, he shuts the computer down.

Now please don't take this wrong
You know I want you
But don't think I won't move on

He throws himself into training, into research, into anything he can get his hands on, and it worries his friends and family. The flow of trainers into his Gym slows to a trickle before drying out completely- Lorelai has to make a trip down at one point in order to tell him to slow down, take it easy because the Elite Four hasn't been getting any challengers due to their inability to achieve all the badges. Green doesn't back down, but he does agree to take a week off when Lorelai threatens to revoke his Gym Leader privileges.

Red comes down from Mount Silver for a visit one day- Green suspects that Crystal and Gold were visiting and they probably informed Red about Green's rigorous training. The tall, silent boy stands in the doorway of Green's Gym, silhouetted against the bright Kanto sunlight, quiet as usual with his hands shoved into his jean pockets.

He doesn't say much for the duration of his visit, and Green is thankful for someone who doesn't grate on his ears like everyone else. He battles Red for a bit- loses of course- but spends most of the time silently sitting with his best friend in the kitchen, reading papers. Red doesn't attempt to comfort Green verbally; his presence alone is enough to cheer Green up.

It's an odd relationship, Green notes, but then remembers that he's said the same thing about himself and Blue.

Red stays for almost a week, and on the last day, he finally speaks in a low, raspy tone. "Are you happy?"

"What do you mean?" Green is defensive.

Red silently gestures at the kitchen. "This. Everything."

Green narrows his eyes at him. "Yes."

Red simply raises an eyebrow, and Green now feels obligated to defend his choice. "She ended it. If she's happy, then that's fine."

Red's eyebrow rises even higher. "I wasn't talking about Blue. I was asking about you."

The Viridian Gym Leader doesn't say a single word, but stalks out of the room.

I can get by on my own
I'll stand without you
Look how I have grown

Red leaves with a pat on the back, and Green's Gym is empty once again. Green briefly considers going to the Hoenn region, because he remembers that Sapphire once asked if he could train her Pokemon; but then he recalls that Ruby and Sapphire are often a package, and he doesn't really feel like being reminded of a relationship. So he stays in his Gym, and sometimes Yellow drops by with a batch of cookies she "just happened to make", or Crystal and Gold will come in because Gold "wants to challenge" Green. Silver will even venture in for a bit, but he understands that he reminds Green of Blue, so he doesn't stay long.

One day, Green receives word from his junior Dex Holders that Blue is coming back to Kanto "for a visit", they claim. Green sits at his desk for a while after hearing that, pondering his choice- stay, and be reminded of the perfect stranger Blue had become, or leave, and wait until the storm had passed? He wishes that he is stronger than this, but clearly he is not where Blue is concerned. So Green decides to leave, and decides that nobody will think to find him in Cerulean.

Misty and Brock welcome him in, of course- they are too nice to say otherwise, and Cerulean is still as beautiful as ever. Green wanders the streets late at night, enjoying the city by the sea and enjoying the company offered to him by his fellow Gym Leaders; but somehow he has managed to forget that Cerulean is exactly where he fell in love. He snorts when he uses that clichéd expression, but it's true, and he hates himself for it.

The thought crosses his mind that now that they are strangers, they could start over, but Green swiftly dismisses it because he still remembers the hurt. Green does not forget easily. He wishes he could, he wishes that Blue doesn't have such a grip on his heart, and he wishes that he could move on from where she left him. He wonders often if she's forgotten, if she's done as good a job in moving on as he has, or is she stuck, too? He often wonders, late at night, about a brown haired girl with the prettiest eyes and the brightest smile.

(She sneaks into his house, because she's Blue, and is touched that the picture of them by the beach stands by his bed- the only picture in the entire house.)

But, darling, if you know that it's through,
Can't keep doing what you do,
Is it time to let go of you?

Reviews as always, greatly appreciated :) Thank you for reading through!