Trapped in the Darkness - Chapter 25?
A Pokemon Fanfiction
This chapter is pretty shippy, I'm sorry;;
Please enjoy!
Pearl: The author claims no ownership to Pokemon at all!
~000~
It wasn't until eight that people started coming downstairs. Red looked up through his hair when they began to arrive, groggy and hungry as the rubbed their eyes and tummies. Red's mother welcomed them with open arms, sitting them all down at the small futon in the middle of the floor and giving them all plates filled with proteins and carbohydrates. They started discussing things after they sent their plates back for seconds.
"How's Sapphire doing, Professor?" Ruby asked, sipping his orange juice carefully. Oak put on a smile (that was entirely fake Red thought bitterly) and assured the Hoenn trainer his friend was fine.
"She's a fighter," Oak said, laughing somewhat. "I expected as much. She's probably still asleep, but I'm sure she'll be up and want to walk around soon enough."
"Where are the others, Professor?" Platinum asked, finishing off her second piece of toast. Oak pointed over his shoulder to the wall.
"At our house. We couldn't fit all of you in Red's house," he said. "There are a lot of you. Twelve in all."
"Thirteen," Red found himself muttering densely. Oak frowned at him.
"Yeah," Platinum murmured gently. "There were thirteen of us before." Red was afraid she was about to start crying again and immediately guilty for saying anything, but her face was only grim. He looked back up at Oak, her dark-blue eyes worried. "How was Black after we left him yesterday, by the way?"
Oak paused, taking a sip of his coffee. He took a moment to answer. "He didn't talk much to us. He really only stayed with the other girl. Her name was. . .?"
"White," Red murmured. Oak nodded and thanked him.
Pearl nodded. "Makes sense," he said. "She's the only other one who knew N before."
"Other than Silver," Diamond corrected. "Although they didn't have such a strong bond as Black and N did."
Red's mother placed more plates in front of the small group of teens and took the empty extras away. Her face was worried. "The poor dear."
Diamond took a bite of his scrambled eggs. "Black's tough," he said. "From what I understand, and from what White's told me, I think he's going to cope with this by acting harsher to us. Watch what you say around him, alright?" The group nodded.
"I might not agree with the way he's acting," Pearl snapped, shoving toast into his mouth. "But I won't get angry with him." He chewed his toast as he put more jam on another piece. He swallowed. "It'll only create more tension." Platinum nodded again and took a careful bite of her hash-browns.
"How's Green?" she asked after she was done chewing. Red shifted uncomfortably in his seat and put his head down, facing away from the group. Platinum glanced his way, suddenly apologetic she had asked. Oak waved his hand away at Red's response.
"He's fine. He should be waking up this afternoon. His body just needed time to rest and recover," he replied. He muttered something under his breath that the others didn't quite catch, and Red's shoulders stiffened. "We can go and see him a little later."
The front door opened and Silver, Crystal, and Gold rushed in, slamming the door quickly to keep out the cold. The temperature seemed to have dropped rapidly overnight, and the cold of winter seemed to have already come.
The three sat on the floor near the table until Red got up and gave his seat to Crystal. He moved to look out the window. It was almost nine-thirty.
"Want anything to eat?" Red's mother asked. There were three nods, Gold more eager than either of the others.
Red sat with his back to the wall, pulling his knees up to his chest as he absentmindedly watched his mother bustle away. He thought the only reason his mom was so eager to make everyone breakfast was because she hadn't made breakfast for him for a few years. Guilt pooled into the pit of his stomach and he stared out one of the windows opposite to him to try and ignore the rest of the group.
He only wanted to see Green.
He eventually just listened into the conversation occurring at the table to see if time would go faster.
Green and Sapphire were apparently sleeping in the lab. They had their own little room they had to share, but it would be better for them to recover there than anywhere else. It would be easier for the doctors to treat them there and it would also make a quicker recovery for both of them.
Black and White were still asleep. Black was up all of last night, and White stayed up with him so he wouldn't be alone. They would most likely be keeping to themselves for a while. They didn't have too many injuries, so Oak said they would also most likely be leaving before everyone else could.
"What a bummer," Crystal said, sighing. She rested her head on her arm, playing with her food for a moment before taking a bite. "I really liked spending time with White."
Gold crossed his arms, his plate already clean. "Maybe we'd be better off without Black," he muttered. "All he does is complain."
Silver scowled and punched Gold in the arm. Gold was about to retaliate when Crystal punched him too. He recoiled back, shrinking against the wall hurt and confused.
"You would complain a lot too if one of us left you," Silver growled. Gold looked away, knowing he was right. "Maybe it would be better if Black and White left. Then they wouldn't have to see a jerk like you." Gold immediately retorted a reply.
"Oh that's real nice, coming from a jerk like you!"
"I don't say shit like that!"
"I was talking about before N decided to run into the place like a maniac!"
"He was trying to help those-"
"That's enough!" Platinum snapped. The two boys immediately stopped their arguing, surprised by the usually quiet girl's response. Her expression turned sad. "This isn't a good way to remember him, alright? If Black leaves, maybe its better to be with his loved ones and away from us. We can probably only bring bad memories."
Red knew she was right, but he didn't like thinking about it. He was growing uncomfortable with the group of trainers at the table and he stood. The attention at the table turned to him, and he heard his Pikachu, who had scampered off to take a nap and only woken up when the door was opened. He shook his head, a sign he wanted the little mouse Pokemon to stay there.
"Where are you going?" Oak asked. Red looked at his sling before looking back at the Pokemon professor steadily. He brushed bast him and walked towards the front door before he responded.
"Out."
Red's mother appeared back in the room. "Don't go too far, dear."
"Yeah."
He was about to open the door when Oak talked again.
"Don't do anything stupid, kid."
His hand strayed on the doorknob. He debated saying a million different things but just settled on, "Yeah."
Red opened the door, not even cringing at the chilly air around him. He snorted. This was nothing compared to the air of Mount Silver. He easily walked away from his house to the Pokemon lab.
Pallet town was the same. It was always the same. The tiny little town right below Viridian City and above Cinnabar Island. There was the little piece of ocean that lapped at the tiny shore, the same two houses, and the looming lab that was still painted that ugly shade of yellow. After both Red and Green breezed through the League and both got seats high up in it, there were a few trainers that wanted to find out where the two prodigy country-boys had come from.
They were disappointed to say the least when they found it.
Red stopped in front of the Lab. He hesitated before knocking, but when no one opened the door for him he decided to walk in himself. Twisting the doorknob, he opened the door to find the first floor empty. He shut the door behind him and blew his bangs out of his eyes, choosing to ascend the stairs rather than search the remainder of the first floor.
Red seemed to know where he was going, because before long he was standing at the foot of Green's bed with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Red felt relief fill his limbs as he saw Green sprawled out on the bed, snoring quietly.
That was Green for you.
Red didn't know why he was here so early, he knew Green wouldn't be up for at least another hour. But as relief started warming his features, he could feel the tiredness he'd been ignoring creeping up on him. He spied a chair in the corner of the room and pulled it up beside Green's bed before he sat down.
"You'll be the death of me," Red muttered softly. He rested his head on the bed, leaning over in his chair as his eyes drooped. He let his hand hover over Green's for a moment, but then let it rest on top.
It was almost like they were holding hands. Red, now slightly comfortable, closed his eyes and let Green's now even breathing act as his lullaby.
~000~
Green woke up in another bed, and he felt the slight panic that his plan was some sort of fever dream came and his eyes shot open. He was attached to an IV of some sort, and he really wanted to pull of off before he noticed something else.
Red was here.
Green calmed down, and grinned when he realized his plan was a success. He wasn't really sure why he was in a bed again, and he also wasn't very sure how he had gotten home either, but he wasn't complaining.
The raven was sleeping soundly, one of his arms in a sling while the other. . . was being held tightly by Green's left hand. The Viridian gym leader was now full awake, the color rising to his face at the simple action.
Green struggled to sit up, his whole body aching from everything that had happened, but he kept his eyes on Red. He looked around to see some sort of explanation, but there was none. There was only another bed that held Sapphire in it, sleeping hard as her broken ankle rested on a tower of pillows.
Green was pretty sure she definitely didn't have anything to do with the fact that his best friend was holding onto his hand like a lifeline.
Green's heart quivered in excitement and elation and a million other feelings that swept through his brain, but all he did was smile down at his friend, using his free hand to brush Red's bangs out of his eyes.
"I'm just that irresistible, aren't I?" Green joked, his voice a whisper. He realized how much of a tool he had just sounded like and shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Arceus, I'm an ass."
Green realized he was babbling on and on, but he didn't mind. He kept his voice down until he noticed Red made a face and buried his face into the bed-sheets, squeezing Green's hand gently. Green froze on the spot when Red lifted his head and trained his tired eyes on the auburn-haired rival.
Red stopped, his crimson eyes seeming to search for something. Green felt self-conscious and looked away before he returned his eyes on Red and grinned at him. "Good morning!"
Red's calm eyes slowly trailed down to see his hand firmly clamped together with Green's. Neither of them pulled away, but the silence between them was giving Green a tight feeling in his chest. He tried reading Red's expression but found no answers.
". . . something."
This caught Green's attention. "What?"
Red looked back up at his rival, looking through his hair. "You needed to tell me something. Let me hear it."
Green was somewhat taken aback by the comment (well, honestly it was actually more of a demand) but he still wracked his brain trying to remember before it hit him. He opened his mouth as his face flushed again, closing it again when he tried to figure out how to say it.
Red seemed to wait patiently. Green opened and shut his mouth a few more times, only making himself feel more like an idiot each time he did it.
"W-Well," he stammered. "That thing. That I needed to tell you. Right." He tried to find words but none came to him. He needed some time to think about this, dammit! Green tried stalling to buy some time. "Do you have anything to tell me first?"
Red didn't buy the stalling and his half-lidded gaze turned annoyed. Green laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.
"Didn't think so," he trailed off.
Green was fidgeting like a four year old. Finally he gave up and looked back at Red before he leaned forward, closing his eyes tight and pursing his lips before. . .
There was a cry from outside that cut the two of them off, Green slightly miffed at the interruption. He tried to change the subject again.
"Well that was a pretty loud cry," he muttered. Red nodded, but he wasn't tricked into forgetting about Green. Green coughed. "Wonder what it came from?"
Green got his answer when there was the sound of the front door slamming and running sounds coming up the stairs.
Crystal burst into the room, panicked and looking for Red. She seemed to be surprised to see Green awake but was too preoccupied with whatever had happened to care. The two quickly let go of each other before she caught sight of them while the Johto-girl tried calming herself. She then launched herself off into a jumble of words that were hard to understand.
"Black's gone! He just took off running when he saw the Pokemon!"
Green put up his hands in a surrendering gesture, confused. "What?"
Crystal tried again. "When that Pokemon cried out, there was a White Pokemon in the sky! Black saw it and took of running. We need to go help him before he hurts himself!"
Green was already pulling his IV out. Red hadn't noticed until Green was standing and pulling on his jacket, and he glared at him to try and intimidate him back to the bed. It didn't work, because Green just gave a reassuring smile and he pulled his boots on.
"Come on," he said. "We need to get him back with us."
~000~
Green's such a moron oh my god, I am so sorry Red.