Pikachu's ears are sparking - a tell-tale sign of an incoming thunderbolt. Green steps back, bracing himself, but Sylveon reacts in the exact opposite way. A Moonblast strikes Red's Pikachu head-on and Green covers his eyes from the light.
In the ensuing silence, he opens his eyes. Pikachu is sitting on the floor dazedly, though Red immediately scoops it up. Sylveon hums softly, satisfied, and steps back.
"Uh, Red?" he says, unsure.
Red looks up, Pikachu cradled in his arms. Its ears spark slightly and it tries to sit up, but one look from Sylveon stops it.
Sometimes, he's concerned about Sylveon.
"Do you want to talk?"
Red shifts uneasily, eyes flicking from place to place but never meeting his own. Green exhales silently; he knows that look.
To his surprise, Bruno is the one to push Red forwards. Green doesn't hear whatever it is Bruno says, but he assumes it's something good since Red signs a careful Yes and Green just about collapses in relief. Sylveon, being the wonderful partner she is, snags Red's arm with a ribbon and tugs him to the stairs. Green walks up next to him and they head upstairs.
The way up is silent. Pikachu, who has perched on top of Red's shoulder, glares at Sylveon, who simply hums. Red leads them up to his room and the door shuts behind them with a resounding click.
Green takes a deep breath, bracing himself, and then opens his mouth to speak. "I'm sorry," he says, unconsciously lacing his fingers together. "I shouldn't have said that. It's not true."
Red shrugs awkwardly, walking to sit on the bed. Green sits next to him after a brief moment of hesitation and Sylveon jumps up as well, curling into a fluffy ball of white and pink.
It's okay, Red signs. Not your fault.
"Come on, Red, let me have this," Green jokes, feeling his lips twitch up in a smile. "I shouldn't have pushed so hard and I shouldn't have exploded on you. That was my fault, not yours, and I'm sorry for that."
Red simply nods, seeming a little more relaxed now. Pikachu doesn't look happy, eyes narrowing. Sylveon reaches up and twines a ribbon around one of Pikachu's little paws gently.
What's it doing? Red signs, gesturing towards Sylveon. Green strokes Sylveon's side lightly, running his fingers through soft fur.
"I don't know," he says. "Sensing Pikachu's emotions, maybe." That's what the tendrils are used for, after all.
Sylveon gives them an innocent, fanged smile and lets go, humming peacefully. Pikachu still doesn't look happy, but stops glaring at Green in favour of jumping down to curl up next to Sylveon.
"So," Green says eventually, just to break the silence.
Red shrugs.
"Red," Green says, "we do have to sort this out, you know."
I know, Red signs. But how?
"I… don't know," Green says after a moment of thought. "I thought you would know."
Red just shrugs, seemingly as clueless.
Sylveon looks between both of them, hums disdainfully, and then snags Red's hand with one ribbon. Red jerks, flailing ungracefully, (Green snickers at the sight) but doesn't pull his hand away.
With a quiet hum, Sylveon lets go and gives Green a look. It's that look - the look that says do-something-you-idiot.
What? he tries to say back, shaking his head in confusion. Sylveon gestures towards his face and then twines a ribbon around his hand, closing its eyes exaggeratedly.
When Green still doesn't react, Sylveon makes a moving motion with its mouth and points to its ribbon, still wrapped around his hand
Mouth moving… Green tries to imitate Sylveon and Sylveon nods affirmatively. What did Sylveon mean - oh. Talking.
Ribbon… ? What did Sylveon mean by that? Ribbon, wrapped around his hand, which was what Sylveon did when sensing his…
"I may be wrong," he says carefully, "but I think Sylveon wants us to talk about our emotions."
Talk about our emotions? Red signs, eyebrows furrowing.
Green nods. "Yeah… Adults do it all the time, so we should be able to do it too, right?"
When Red doesn't respond, looking rather hesitant, Green sighs. "Dude," he says. "It would be nice to just leave it, but if we want to be friends, which I hope you do, we're gonna have to talk it through. Communication and all that, you know?"
Red doesn't react for a moment and Green is sure Sylveon is uncomfortable with how tense he's feeling, but eventually Red nods.
"Oh thank Arceus," he mutters. The feeling of relief is like a shot of dopamine. "Alright, so. Why did you not talk to me for two weeks straight?"
You first, Red signs, l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶o̶w̶a̶r̶d̶.
"Ok-ay," Green sighs, resigning himself. "So. You left the whole volcano incident pretty abruptly, but you seemed sad and guilty before that, so I was worried. And then you didn't reply to me or say anything for two whole weeks, and I got kind of frustrated. So I called you to try and sort this out but you just didn't seem to care at all and I guess it just all came flying out in one big explosion."
He pauses, taking a calming breath, then keeps talking. "It doesn't actually excuse my actions, but I do hope you get how I feel now."
Red doesn't say anything, face blank as always. Sylveon lets go of his hand with a slight wince.
"So," Green says cautiously, "you mind telling me why you didn't say anything for two weeks, buddy?"
Guilty, Red signs after a moment. Sad. Didn't want you to know.
"Why not?" Green says, confused. "What, am I that bad of a friend?"
It sounds like a joke, but he's actually kind of worried.
No, Red signs. I failed. You didn't. That's why.
"You… failed." Green says, feeling an odd mix of confusion and exasperation. "What."
Wasn't there. Didn't help anyone.
This is ridiculous.
"You were all the way across the ocean!" he says. "How could you have gotten there in time? It's honestly pretty surprising you got there so soon. Besides, the rangers had it covered. They didn't need you - that sounds bad. No - Red - I know that look and you need to stop feeling that way. Look, there's no way you could have realistically gotten there in time."
Red stares downwards, picking at the sheets. Pikachu squeaks worriedly.
"Look. Look, Red," Green says, pitching his voice softer. "I get it, you're the champion, you save people, it's what you've always done. But, there's good self-standards and then there's blaming yourself for any small thing. You might want to reconsider your own standards, bud."
Red looks up finally, still petting Pikachu.
"Okay," Green says after a breath. "Rant over. You were sad and guilty and didn't want to see me because I 'didn't fail'."
Red nods.
"So, now that we know how we both felt," Green says, "how do we solve this?"
Apologize? Red signs hesitantly.
"Did that already," Green says, exhaling. "Not sure how much it helped."
Red simply leans back on his hands, staring at the ceiling. Green exhales silently and brushes a hand through Sylveon's fur.
There's a tap to his shoulder and Green looks towards Red.
I want to be your friend, Red signs.
"I mean, yeah," Green says, not sure whether to feel surprised or confused, "so do I… why are you telling me this?"
Then can we keep being friends?
"Ye-es?"
Okay.
Wow. It had seemed so complicated in his head, but Red just fixed everything with a wave of his fingers.
"Guess we're still friends, then," he says. "I promise not to blow up on you like that again. I'm sorry about what happened."
I won't not message you for two weeks again, Red signs. Green stares at Red's hands for a moment too long, verifying what Red said, then smiles.
"That would be nice."
Here he is, he thinks with a hint of irony, sitting with his former rival in silence. And yet, it's one of the happiest moments of his life.
