See, I realize my problem. I realize that sometimes with these one-sentence drabbles, I write things that usually don't get fleshed out in my head. In a way, I appreciate that because it challenges me and makes me actually sit down to assess it. So, carol of the bells, here's for you. I hope all of you like it!
Disclaimer: I own THE WORLD AND BY DEFAULT POKEMON BWAHAHAHA /dies from delusions
22 – Jealousy
She tries to tell herself she's not jealous that Gold gets to roam everywhere he wants; he tries to tell himself that he's not jealous Crystal has such a stable life.
"Crystal?" Professor Oak knocked once and the door swung slightly open. The aged professor walked in, holding a stack of papers. He adjusted his reading glasses as he continued to read Green's report about the herd of migrating Rapidash, saying absently, "Crystal, do you mind if you combine Green's report to the reports Birch and Rowan sent over before creating a condensed version to send to the Pokemon Association?" He looked up, his glasses sliding down his long nose, and was vaguely amused to find the blue-haired teenager frozen in position as she held the hand of what looked like an extremely relaxed Gold. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"
"No!" Crystal exclaimed, leaping up- Gold took his time stretching, but he too straightened up as he waved happily at Professor Oak. Crystal accidentally knocked a pen off the table, but her teacher pretended not to notice as he casually raised his eyes to the ceiling.
"We were actually-" Gold began, but Crystal stomped on his foot before he could finish and so he obediently shut his mouth and sat back down.
"Mm." Professor Oak ignored that, too. "So, Crystal, could you do it? Today would be the best day to reach both Birch and Rowan."
For everything else that he ignored, he most certainly did not notice the slight slump of the shoulders that betrayed Crystal's disappointment. "Sure, Professor," she answered a little dully, giving him a half-hearted smile as he beamed at her and walked out, once more immersed in Green's detailed field notes. She turned to Gold, feeling her heart sink a little bit. "Sorry," she muttered. "I guess that picnic isn't going to happen today."
He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips before standing up. "Sure. Don't worry about it. Maybe next week, when I'm back from Johto- I bet Silver just likes sending me away so he can spend more time with Blue. If you know what I mean." He grinned and tugged on Crystal's ponytails. "Though I can't really say I mind, if it means coming back to dull old Pallet Town to see you."
"You have all the right moves," Crystal said teasingly, giving him a playful shove. "Now clear out, Gold. I have work to do. As always." She pulled a quick grimace before swiveling around in her chair to focus on the various papers her mentor had left for her. Gold stood there for a moment, admiring how her hair shone a bright shade of blue- "Gold, leave!" and so he left.
…
He did not leave for Johto right away. He hadn't been planning to, and besides, the ferry he had meant to catch didn't leave for another four hours. He'd intended on spending that time with Crystal before hightailing it to the port- well, that plan was shot now, he supposed. Gold lived on adrenaline, on cutting things close, on sliding in right in the nick of time. If there was one thing he absolutely detested with every fiber of his being, it was waiting and being quietly patient- a main reason why he was always at loggerheads with Silver.
He reflected on it, twirling his cue stick and walking through the Viridian Forest. Usually, Gold admitted, he didn't have a plan. He liked winging things, and at most he would plan maybe five minutes ahead. He was not a long-term thinker; he could do it if he wanted to, but Gold preferred to take the rush and take things as they were thrown at him. It was part of the reason why he lost half his battles, but won the other half with brilliant strategies, for he was always being pushed to think on his feet.
He was a constant volcano, exploding briefly into bright action but then subsiding into passive dormancy before the cycle began again- unstable, unsteady, and most of all unpredictable.
Crystal, he thought fondly to himself, was different.
She was more of a constant tide, always pulling and pushing but always with the same even tempo. She'd not wanted to be his at first- he had to back away, slow down, play a waiting game that he wasn't expert at. His flashy moves had failed to impress her; it was only when he had come to embrace the tiny miniscule details that she loved about him that she realized how far she was in the relationship. He'd waited, he'd loved, and he'd been rewarded-
-but Gold often felt like they were still poles apart and separated by many oceans. He missed her dearly as he was on his random trips around the four regions; even spurring on arguments between Ruby and Sapphire failed to amuse him the way Crystal did when she told a funny story. The way he lived, the way he slid into things and lived in chaos exhausted him, and he longed for something Crystal had- or maybe it was Crystal herself he longed for.
He was a nomad, she was a settler; he longed for the kind of roots she had.
…
The Rapidash observed burned brighter during the eclipse… Crystal rubbed her eyes. It was the fifth time she had read Green's cramped, tiny handwriting and she was tired. She mentally berated herself for not telling Professor Oak about the picnic lunch Gold had surprised her with that morning; he had been young once, surely he would have understood! He wasn't his grandson, after all.
"Work's work," she said aloud, leaning over her papers one more time. "No slacking off, Crys."
And now, I'm talking to myself again.
Her eyes settled on the clock that sat near her work window, a present from a grudging Silver and a beaming Blue. The clock had a digital background that displayed whatever picture you wanted, so Crystal had chosen a picture of her and Gold to remind her that although they were so far apart, they were at least still going strong.
Three thirty. Crystal checked her planner- yes, Gold was due on the ferry at four. He was probably galloping towards the port on the back of some wild Tauros. Inevitably he would probably create a stampede and he would probably have to save the town with some wild move that she would deem insane. "I wouldn't be surprised," she said dryly to the open window, "if that actually happened and was on the news right now."
Her fingers drummed the pen against the desk, eventually settling into a synchronized rhythm with the beat of her heart. Where was Gold going? she wondered. She couldn't remember anymore if it was Hoenn or Sinnoh or maybe it was that region Isshu. She knew he was stopping off in Johto first, but then again it was Gold. Things were subject to change when he was around.
He was a coursing river, tearing headlong through its course, while she compared herself to a calm, brightly winking flame.
She based her life on plans, on routines, on preset schedules that ran like clockwork once she had them perfected. Often times, she hated it when people burst through her neatly arranged walls and defenses, breaking them down in order to throw her routines into complete chaos- but with Gold she found that she eventually came to appreciate his spontaneity. Often times she gave him trouble for tossing them headlong into another catastrophe, but she did admit that he always got them out of trouble.
He lived for the taste of danger, and Crystal found that she, too, was developing a craving for adrenaline. She got it when he was around, but he was never around long enough- always off somewhere exploring, discovering new Pokemon, documenting sometimes (sometimes being the key word) for the three Professors, depending on what region he was in. He was free to explore, free to roam- but she was left here, working on the same old routine every day.
He was a nomad, and she was a settler; she longed for the sort of open plains he ran in.
Crystal liked plans, and rarely stepped out of routine, so even she surprised herself when she reached for her Pokegear and dialed a familiar number.
He picked up on the third ring, like he always did- that was something familiar about Gold, at least. "Crystal?" He sounded surprised. "I wasn't expecting you to call."
She smiled into the phone. "Yeah," she agreed into it. "I wasn't expecting it, either."
He pauses before he says it completely out of the blue, out of sequence and order. "I miss you."
She smiled even wider as she played with her hair, the report forgotten. "I miss you too," she replied. Same old answer, same old feelings- it never changed, and for that, Gold and Crystal were both thankful, for it was something that grounded them both in an ever changing relationship.
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