A/N: I'm back! I hope that as this story gains momentum, you all will like it, too!
Years came to pass, battles were fought and won, chaos was repressed throughout the regions, and by the time he was seventeen, Red had returned to Kanto to settle down. For the first time in nearly four years, he found himself walking up the pathway to his house in Pallet Town.
He paused momentarily on the top step. Looking around, his eyes slowly took in the familiarity of his surroundings. Pallet Town was quiet; it always had been. The silence to Red was peaceful. The hills rolled lush and green over the landscape, fresh from spring and ready to soak in the summer sun. The faint silhouettes of the purple mountains peaked against a blue sky spotted with puffs of sparkling white clouds. If he looked out further, Red could see the fir trees of the Viridian forest rising up, dark and ominous, out beyond the fields.
He allowed himself a small smile as the breeze rustled through his hair and splashed on his face like a cool burst of water. Pallet Town was home. He always knew it.
Red pressed the doorbell gently, and in moments, the door opened, and a fresh burst of air hit him. It even smelled like home.
His mother stood in the doorway, pressing her fingers to her lips as her eyes met his. "Red?" she whispered in disbelief. "Oh, Red..." And she smiled, gesturing for him to enter. "Come in, sweetie, come right on inside."
Red entered the threshold of his home, and almost immediately, he fell into his mother's arms.
"My little boy, all grown up," she murmured, hugging him close and stroking his hair gently. "How come I never noticed that you were growing up so quickly?" She pulled back to look up at her son. "You're as handsome as your father was." A smile spread on her lips as tears pooled in her eyes.
Red smiled back at her, feeling a tightness in his throat. "I missed you, Mom."
"Oh, Red. I've missed you, too." She held out her arms once more, and Red hugged her back tightly.
On the other side of Pallet Town, the Viridian Gym Leader was enjoying his first Saturday off in quite some time. He'd been at the gym early in the morning to get things in order and lock up, but by noon, he was back home in his grandfather's Pokémon research lab. Green Oak's life had settled into a casual but comfortable routine. He genuinely enjoyed life as a gym leader, despite the fact that he hadn't had as good of a challenger since his battle with Red during the Pokémon League.
But then again, that had been years ago.
Green reclined in his seat as he scrolled through pages and pages on the computer screen. He checked the statuses of his Pokémon, Blue's Pokémon, and the other recent interactions that had taken place in the PC storage system.
The screen bleeped, and a new announcement took place at the top of the feed. Green scrolled up and opened the latest update. When he saw Red's face and information next to the pictures of the Pokémon he'd deposited, Green's eyes widened. Minutes later, the computer screen was blank and his chair was empty.
"Do you need to stay here for a while, honey?" Red's mother asked him softly during tea-time.
Red looked up at his mother, who was seated beside him on the sofa, in surprise. He lowered his teacup onto his saucer. "I don't know," he murmured thoughtfully. "I was planning on looking for somewhere to stay, but..."
His mother shook her head, her wavy, black hair bouncing on her shoulders. "You're staying here for the night, at least. You look like you haven't had a decent meal in years!" She reached out and gently pressed her fingers to her son's cheek.
Red internally agreed with her. Ever since the Mt. Silver days, he had remained in a terribly perpetual state of thinness and paleness. His face appeared white and somewhat gaunt underneath his tufts of raven-black hair, and though he was strong, his body had never fully grown past the scrawniness of his younger days.
I'm seventeen years old, almost eighteen, and I look dead, thought Red miserably.
"I was thinking of going to visit a friend, actually," Red said slowly as his mother rose and headed into the kitchen. He stood and followed her, and before her excited smile could droop, he hurriedly added, "...But I'll be back for dinner."
His mother smiled warmly. "Is it Blue?" she asked. "That pretty girl with the loud voice?"
Red couldn't help but crack a grin. "No, Mom...but I'll invite her over soon."
"Green? He's come by quite a few times, you know. Looking for you, of course." He could hear the smile in his mother's voice.
Red raised an eyebrow, trying to conceal his surprise. "Really? Is it important?"
"I think you should pay him a visit, sweetheart." Red's mother delicately began washing and polishing the teacups. She occasionally looked up and out the window above the sink. All of Pallet Town lay before it, as well as the Oak Research Lab in the very back. "You boys are such good friends, it'll be good for you both to stop working so hard and relax..."
Red barely heard her. He was trying to remember the last time he had seen Green or Blue, or both. It could have been a year ago, possibly...or was it earlier? So many things had happened, and there had never been time for any of them to sit back and just talk. There was always a battle going on, always someone who needed to be stopped, always an organization that needed to be put down, always something in the way.
Red was suddenly filled with a longing to see the two of them again.
"I'll do it soon," Red answered his mother. "I'm going to visit a different friend. She...she lives in Viridian City."
"She?" Red's mother looked excited. "Have I met her?"
"Maybe...I'm not sure. Yellow's her name."
"Ah, well I won't keep you. Have fun, dear!" A hopeful tone laced her words, and Red immediately knew what she was thinking.
He said goodbye and left out the front door, heading down the walkway and to the main road. He didn't feel like flying to Viridian that day; it was too nice of a day and he had decided to give all of his Pokémon a break, save for one.
"Pika?" Red knelt in the soft, warm grass of his front lawn, where he had let his Pokémon slumber under the lazy spring sun. Pika had been asleep since the moment he had scrambled from Red's arms and curled up in the grass. Red carefully stroked the mouse's yellow fur. "Wake up, Pika; we're going to see Yellow and Chuchu."
Pikachu's ear twitched, and one eye blinked sleepily open.
Red smiled. "Come on," he whispered. "Want me to carry you?"
Pikachu shook its head as it rose to its feet, shaking off bits of grass that clung to its fur. Red sat on the grass, his legs crossed underneath him, and held out his arms.
Pikachu leapt into his arms and burrowed against his red jacket. Red let out an "oomph!", laughed, and cuddled Pikachu to him. "It's good to be back home," he whispered into Pikachu's pointed ear, "but I need to make a quick errand first. Okay?"
A shadow appeared beside Red, and he looked up and about instantly. Behind him towered Green, his russet hair still as spiky as the day they'd met, and his usual smirk on his face.
Red was silent, but allowed himself to smile at Green. In his mind, Red was so thrilled to see a familiar face that he'd have gone up to Green and squeezed the living daylights out of him, but he impulsively kept his cool.
"You deposited all of your Pokémon, eh?" Green said, shoving his hands in the pockets of his purple cargo pants. "On vacation?"
Red shrugged. "I don't know." Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, he looked towards Pikachu and stroked its fur tenderly.
"Well, how long are you in town for?"
"I...don't know," Red repeated helplessly. His voice was faltering.
Green raised an eyebrow, and the gesture alone only confirmed Red's suspicions that Green was concerned. "I just wanted to know if you'd be up for going to the lab today."
"I can't," Red admitted. "I'm going into Viridian City."
"Tomorrow? I have the weekend off."
Red grinned. "Right."
"I had today off, I can take Sunday off and have a full weekend off." Green's expression only told Red that he was dead serious.
"What about all the youngsters and kids from the Pokémon school who want to be the next big thing?"
Green shrugged. "A day won't kill them."
"They're eleven. Waiting a day is like a waiting a year to them."
Green chuckled. "It's still like that to a seventeen-year-old." He lowered himself and sat next to Red on the grass, several feet away. "Imagine, then, how long of a time it must've felt for Blue and I every time you've been gone."
Red was stunned. Unable to find words immediately, he just spit out the words in his mind. "I've been busy."
"So've we."
Red sputtered. "Green, seriously...just give it to me straight; I don't know what you're-"
"You look as though you just pried the lid off of your own coffin and came back into the light," Green replied lightly. "It's a relief to see you in the sun for once."
Red's expression darkened. "I know I'm pale, but what's that got to do with anything we've been talking about?"
Green exhaled sharply. "We're worried about you, moron."
"You don't need to be," Red responded, feeling extremely uncomfortable. He rose to his feet, Pikachu leaping to stand on all fours at his side. "I really need to leave, now, so if you'll-"
"Red." Green's voice had a commanding undertone to it. Red hated it instantly, but he immediately turned to face Green when he heard it.
Green seemed to be at a loss for words momentarily, and his eyes dropped from Red's gaze. "Can you come tomorrow or not? I need to know whether to keep the gym locked or not."
The familiar icy edge to Green's voice, oddly enough, reassured Red. The sensitive topic would be dropped.
"I don't know," Red repeated a third time. He dropped his gaze, turned on his heel, and made his way to the main road. He didn't bother looking back to see if Green was still watching, because he knew that it wouldn't be like Green to do so.
In a little under forty-five minutes, Red stood in front of Yellow's tiny cabin in the Forest. The Viridian Forest was hell to new trainers, but to a Healer like Yellow who could communicate with Pokémon through telepathy, it was perfect. She lived quietly and alone, just how she liked it.
She opened the door with a smile that stretched to her round, rosy cheeks. Freckles dotted her nose and her bangs fell messily into her golden eyes.
"Red!" she cried, leaping to hug him tightly around the middle. "Oh, it's so good to see you! Are you hungry? You look it. C'mon, I'm making lunch! You can help...oh, and you brought Pika! This is so wonderful; what a great surprise!"
Yellow ushered him inside and began bustling about her humble home. Red stood in the doorway, looking around. The last time he had been in Yellow's house, he had been injured and she had helped him recover. Four years ago, it might've been. Red exhaled deeply. Time seemed to fly past him before he could even get a full grasp on his memories.
"You can sit down, you know." Yellow poked her head out from the kitchen doorway, her long, blond ponytail swooping behind her. "I take pride in running a comfortable home, and from the looks of it, you walked here. Sit!"
Red obeyed her and settled into her cozy, plaid sofa. Because he felt the need to speak, he did. "The place looks great, Yellow."
Yellow returned to the main room and beamed. "Thank you!" She set down a steaming bowl of soup in front of him and placed her own across from his. Her Pikachu, Chuchu, trailed behind her at her feet. On the ground, Yellow also knelt and placed two small bowls of the soup, and Red's Pikachu was immediately drawn to the scent.
"Eat up," Yellow murmured with a smile, patting both Pikachus and scratching both of them tenderly behind the ears. She rose and moved to the armchair sitting opposite of the plaid sofa. Glancing up at Red, she smiled gently. "That applies to you, too."
Red sighed, picking up his spoon. "I haven't been in Kanto for two hours and I've received numerous jabs about my appearance."
A sad look entered Yellow's eyes. "I'm sorry." Her eyes brightened once more as she changed the subject. "I'm glad you're back," she said cheerily. "I assume you've already visited your mother?"
Red nodded. "I ran into Green. I haven't seen Blue yet, but I'll hear her when she's coming."
"She's in Johto, visiting Silver," Yellow informed him. "She'll come back the minute she hears you're in town. How was Green?" She carefully sipped the soup off of her spoon.
Red paused for a moment. "He's the same as always." He took a spoonful of soup.
Yellow looked confused. "If you say so. He's been a bit odd since he got back from Hoenn, you know."
"More than usual?" Red muttered.
Yellow giggled softly. "Well, he buries himself in his work, and when he's not running the gym, he's researching."
"That's how Green usually is." Red looked puzzled. "All work and no play makes Green a dull boy. A dull, cynical, irksome, condescending, sometimes arrogant boy."
Yellow laughed as she reached down to adjust the bow on her Pikachu's ear. "You're oblivious, and so is Green. All boys are. He's trying to keep his mind off of something. I just know it."
A/N: Woo, characters are being introduced! I apologize for the slowness of the story so far, but the more I write, the more will come out of the character development! Please R&R, feedback and critique is always appreciated!