Four more months. Four... more... months.. and summer will be here and I may actually be able to have a life again.
I deeply apologize for this long delay. Truly deeply sorry. I'm just glad that Fanfiction hasn't taken my account and thrown it out the window yet!
Disclaimer: I do not have rights to Pokemon. I do however have rights to my own mental state of mind... No, just kidding, I don't even have that.
four : bound;
He mentions briefly to Red how he feels like they've been unceremoniously thrown together with Blue as a twist of fate; Red sheds his dense personality for a moment to smile knowingly and say, "I think you and Blue are bound together tighter than I am with either of you, y'know?"
Summer was here again, and Green hated it. He felt restless, and he knew his Pokemon were restless, too- Golduck thrashed around in its Pokeball and Charizard had taken to blowing out flames for no apparent reason every time it was let out of its confines. He'd told Charizard to cut it out, Yellow wasn't going to like Viridian Forest burning down- but the big orange dragon merely blinked at him, either out of annoyance or disappointment, and huffed loudly, sitting down where the flames inevitably burned the patch of grass they were in. Golduck would grimace before putting out the flames with a well-placed Water Gun, and Machamp would only sigh.
And Yellow wondered aloud why the grass wasn't growing as well.
The only reason why Green tolerated summer was because it meant that Red came down from Mt. Silver more often. It made no sense to the common man (Arceus knew that Green had tried to understand), but Red's only explanation was a shrug, and the muttered phrase "It's too hot".
Oh yes, too hot, but he could stay up there during winter, where it was freezing cold.
But Green wouldn't complain aloud; instead he stayed in the usual training clearing of the forest, where only a select few could find him. He noted with satisfaction that only the Kanto Dex Holders could find him (although Gold was not short on trying); it just meant that he had more time for training, more time for harder work, and when Red arrived, his silent specter sat on the sidelines till Green turned to him and jerked his head to signal Get into the ring.
Oh, he never won, but it was a great challenge, nevertheless.
Summer also meant that Red kept his training sessions shorter than usual in order to make for their traditional sandwich lunch. Sometimes Red would silently produce a bag of sandwiches, tear them in half, and hand them to Green; sometimes Green would get up half an hour earlier to make the sandwiches; sometimes neither of them would make the sandwiches and Blue would 'conveniently' drop in with an extra bag she had as she was 'just dropping by'. Green once observed casually that she always dropped in on the third Saturday of every month, and Blue just laughed at the coincidence of it all.
Coincidence was not in Green's vocabulary, but again, he didn't complain because food was food and Blue somehow made really good cheese and ham sandwiches.
He brought it up one day while he and Red sat under the shade of a big tree. "Why do you think Blue keeps coming down here?" he asked pensively.
Red shrugged, as per his usual demeanor, and Green kept talking, even though he didn't like talking, and silences comforted him. "I mean, she visits Crystal and Silver a lot. That's the only reason why she's in Viridian so much. Right?"
Red clearly did not feel inclined to answer.
Green brought it up again a week later. "I mean, Yellow's here, too. And we all know that Blue and Yellow are best friends."
Red shrugged and gave Pikachu some of his sandwich.
It wasn't till two weeks later that Green broke their silence again. "I don't understand," he muttered. "It was just the two of us, wasn't it?"
A silent nod.
"How strange then, that we've been thrown together with Blue." Green motioned in the air, his voice a monotone still, but his thoughts mulling over in his mind. "It's like- it's like-" He frowned, lost for words, because Red wasn't providing any help. "It's like we've all been unceremoniously fated to be together," he finished awkwardly.
This time, Red didn't just fix Green with a blank stare. He actually seemed to be thinking over the conversation for a while, thinking, contemplating. Finally, he coughed, and Green almost dropped his apple at the sudden noise.
"Uh…" Red took his cap off to absently play with the bill of the cap. "I think you and Blue are more fated than some of us. You know?" And he finished his sentence with an awkward uplift of the tone before putting the cap back on and reaching for the last sandwich Green had left.
His best friend stared at him, mouth hanging open at how many words Red had just said in a row. The red-eyed boy just stared right back at him, chewing the sandwich with the tiniest- yes, just the tiniest- smirk on his face before handing over the sandwich to Pikachu on his shoulder.
Drat, Green fumed, even that yellow electrical mouse was mocking him.
He didn't say anything in response, because that was just how Green operated, and neither did Red. Neither one of them breached the subject, especially not when Blue was around, but even when she was gone they operated as though it was one of those taboo subjects that children learned to fear and hush at. Green tried comforting himself with the thought that there was no such thing as fate; Red merely smirked knowingly as he fed his Pikachu and watched his two best friends bicker over something simple.
Neither one of them brought Blue up much anymore, instead choosing to sit in comfortable silence and read books while their Pokemon lounged in the sun and enjoyed their rest. It had been a year since Green and Red had had their little talk (if you could even call it that, Green thought to himself later), and Blue dropped by more frequently now, often dropping in when Green and Red least expected it. (Well, Green didn't expect it. Red simply did not care.)
Finally, Green put his book down. "I asked her to dinner," he said in the flattest tone possible, a tone conveying how utterly disinterested he was.
Red didn't put his book away like his best friend. "Really," he answered, his voice still soft as ever, eyes scanning the page. "Lose a bet?"
"No-o," Green muttered.
Red merely smiled knowingly, the corners of his mouth lifting. "It's about time, then."
"Funny. That's what she said."
Yeah, summer was pretty bad, Green reflected, but at least he had a reason to remember it fondly now.
Hey look! It's done. :) I hope you guys enjoyed this little chapter- I am a little rusty on the creative writing so go easy on me, please? :D Reviews, as always, are greatly appreciated.