-That Boy- (MangaQuestShipping)
Requested by: Luvena.

"…so, I said… Crys, are you even listening?" a delicate hand was waved in front of the frowning girl's face as Gold ran in front of them again. Green and Yellow shared amused glances as she waved- only to suddenly freeze. An alarmed expression crossed her face as she caught sight of what was in his hands- or, rather, what was dangling from his grip.
"Hey, Crys!" he greeted, smiling like an idiot. "Like my friend?"

"Gold, what are you doing?" she thundered, getting to her feet. "That's…"
"Yeah, it's a krabby," he said with a shrug. "I caught it before- whoa, calm down, Crys! It's cool!" he added as she tried to pry it from his grip. He hid it behind his back, spinning as she continued to try and take it from him.

"Gold, you have no idea how dangerous that is! Put it down!" she instructed, angry at herself for not seeing this earlier.
If he's hurt… he gave her one of his mixed looks- frustration mingled with fondness- before trying to lighten the situation again. An ominous clicking noise went unheard as he reached for her hand.
"It's fine, mom. C'mon, lighten u- OW!" he let out a loud squeal and swung his hand forwards again to reveal an angry looking crab Pokémon, claw contracted around his middle finger. "Let go! LET GO!"

"Gold, stay still!"
"OWW! IT BURNS!"
"What the hell happened?"
"Hang on! I'ma comin'!" called Yellow, charging into the fray.


"Owww," Gold complained, staring at the still-swollen finger. Crystal sighed, shaking her head as Yellow handed her what appeared to be a miniature icepack. From the looks of it, she'd made it herself and had done a pretty good job- a very good job, Crystal appraised with a smile. Soft leaves encased the ice, which was sure to offer Gold enough comfort until the swelling went down. There would be bruising, no doubt about that, but that was nothing time couldn't fix. Plus, it was Gold. Nothing could keep him down for long.
Not even Lugia could… so what chance does this have?

"There ya go," Yellow said, offering them both smiles. "The krabby will be okay. It said it was sorry, but you scared it." Crystal gave Gold a pointed look before applying the pack.
"I told you so."
"Yeah, yeah…" Gold sighed, rolling his eyes. "At least kribby krabby will be okay."

"Yeah. You, on the other hand, could have lost your finger. Why were you holding it upside down, anyway? You shouldn't be so reckless," she scolded, placing her hand over his once she'd finished. "You're only a kid, Gold." Yellow slowly backed away, smile vanishing in the awkward situation.
"Damsel, art thou offering hidden affections?" Gold asked, tone becoming that of a medieval figure's. His face may have slackened for the effect to work, but his eyes continued to twinkle mischievously. "Thy eyes show thy story." Crystal blushed and swatted his arm, struggling to stay serious as he continued to speak.
"Gold…"

"Thy eyes art as blue as a… mid summer's sky. Wait, wait, that doesn't rhyme… " He frowned, trying to think of a suitable word. "Uh… thy eyes… art as blue as a… a… mid summer's noon. Yeah!"
"You're hopeless," she said with a barely concealed smile. "Borderline crazy…"
"Got me loookin', so crayzay, ma baybay," he sang with a grin on his face, voice escalating with each word. "Got me lookin' so fooooolish, I can't dooo thisss…"

"You are a horrible Beyoncé impersonator." She finally gave in, laughing until her sides began to hurt. He joined her while mock slapping himself- and falling from his crouching position onto her in the process. Instead of crying out or jumping up, the two looked at each other, faces alight in the sun. His soft hair curtained her knees, glossy in this light. His bare back was warm against her legs, his hand warmer against hers. A thousand heartbeats blossomed in the silence, each urging her to get closer to him.

"S-sorry," Gold apologized, breaking it with an awkward smile. "I-uh…"
"Ye-yeah," she replied distractedly, taking his hand in order to pull him up again. Another moment passed between them, one that resulted in him sitting upright. His hand cupped her cheek, their breaths quickened in the short space between them. Her skin tingled everywhere he touched, especially when he gave into desire.


Crystal sighed and tore her gaze away from Gold. Green had been in the middle of talking about… what? Was it Blue or shopping that she'd been talking about? Crap. She tried to remember as she straightened her bikini's blue spotted straps, only to come up blank.

"That was an interesting noise," the brunette commented curiously. Crystal blushed and turned her head as it was imitated. It was breathy and girly- two things she usually wasn't. Yellow laughed, imitating it for herself before speaking again.

"So, keep going about Blue?" she requested, making a face as she propped herself up on one elbow. Her hair, let out of its usual ponytail, flew into her face and right into the sand. "Ewwww!" she complained, rolling back onto her back. From afar, Gold caught her gaze- how her eyes had landed back on him she didn't know- and smiled at her, reigniting the tingles that had surfaced during their kiss.

The kiss… she'd been kissed before, but had never gotten a response like that before. Especially from herself… Subconsciously, her hand rose to her lips, as did his. It was too far to tell, but he looked as though he was blushing. Blushing over her. Over that kiss…
"Yuck! It's all over me…" Yellow complained, breaking the trance. Crystal abruptly dropped her hand and looked away, catching Green's contemplative gaze.

Oh, no. If there was anyone who could expose a secret, it was her. She'd been the one to reveal to the group that Red and Yellow had gotten together, been the one to first publish pictures of Ruby and Sapphire kissing in the park. She was the official gossip girl, someone who seemed to know everything about everyone. But had she figured something out about the recent kiss? She was certain that Gold wouldn't tell anyone about it…

"Ah, grow up. It's sand," scoffed Green, rolling her eyes and relieving Crystal's fears for an instant. "Buuut, anyway. So, I was walking in the sand"- she lowered her voice so that both girls had to lean in to hear her- "and what do you think I see? I'll tell you what I see. I saw… our own Crys making out with Gold!" Crystal flushed, eyebrows flying into her hair as Green laughed.
Crap! She did! She stuttered for a few seconds, opening her mouth stupidly while Green began to smile.
"The-there- no," was the best she could manage and it was taken as confirmation.

"You two are a couple?" Yellow exclaimed, looking at her interestedly. "YES! I won the bet! RED! I WON THE BET!" she yelled, jumping to her feet.
"WAIT! There's nothing like that- nothing romantic going on between us!" Crystal protested, jumping to her own feet and grabbing the giggling blond's wrist.
Sure… you know what?" Yellow asked, eyes dancing as she freed herself from the loose grip. "Ship, me! SHIP, SHIP, SHIP, me!" she sang, giggling as she ran towards her own boyfriend.

"I swear it! Yell- ah, damnit," Crystal groaned as Red joined in singing. "Green, you're… how did you...?" She glared at the traitorous friend, who only widened her eyes innocently before returning to her magazine.
"It was written all over your face. And his," she clarified as Gold's loud exclamation filled the air.
"WHAAAT?"