A/N: Oh, how I love me some angsty Red/Green. :3 I was rather shocked at how quickly this chapter was finished, but I hope you enjoy!

After Red's eruption, he'd immediately turned away in a huff, went to collect his Pikachu, and stormed out of the ranch. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Green couldn't help but grin mischievously to himself. Red hadn't shown that kind of attitude since he was eleven, trying to catch up to Green, who had always been one step ahead of him.

Then again, Green thought, Red did prevail at the Pokémon League, and quite nicely, too. There was no denying that Green held a high amount of respect for Red as both a trainer and an individual, not that he would say otherwise (unless it was to Red himself). Many other people held him in high regard. He was that trainer, the one that used to live on Mt. Silver, the one who helped to defeat Team Rocket at the Silph Co., and the one who was always there to fight and battle for what was right.

The fiery glint in Red's eyes during a battle was something Green was endlessly amused by. He hadn't battled against Red since the Pokémon League; they'd since been fighting on the same side. One-on-one, Green felt, was the best way to read Red. Though since Mt. Silver, Red's Pokémon had become nearly flawless in reading his body language, so speaking wasn't always necessary.

Thoughts and contradictions to those thoughts flew about Green's head as he sat on the slope of one of the grassy hills. Eevee came back to him, as if sensing his discomfort, and Green willingly pulled it into his lap.

As he stroked Eevee's fur, he thought about Red in the way he had for years now. He knew Red well, much better than most people knew him. Now, there was something that he didn't quite know about Red, and it endlessly bothered him. Red used to be an open book. Now, he'd closed up, locked up, and tossed away the key.

As his rival and best friend, Green took it upon himself to become that key.

He was both genuinely curious and genuinely concerned, but once more, he would never admit to Red's face that he was worried. Gym Leaders didn't worry about Champions who could survive extreme cold for years and train alone. They knew from experience in battling them that the Champion was more than capable.

As the youngest and newest Kanto Gym Leader (though Janine wasn't much older), Green had always felt a bit out of the loop. He didn't mind, of course, he worked better independently. That way, everything went his way and according to his will. He didn't like having to report back to anyone. He was confident and sure of himself, and that way, everything was under control.

However, he didn't know another Gym Leader with the problems he'd been hiding. The one he hadn't gotten completely under control was simple.

He was gay.

Green sighed as he became more aware of the feeling that he'd tried to repress upon realization. No matter what he did, he knew that it wasn't a situation in which the problem could be easily resolved.

He was a bit shocked that the tabloids and Pokémon gossip columns hadn't caught on. He'd been the heartthrob of the Gym Leaders when he'd first gotten his position at the Viridian Gym, and to his dismay, he'd seen pre-teen girls buying wall posters of him at the PokéMarts. It was already a horrible encounter, but when the girls had noticed him, he'd been forced into autographs, pictures, smiling...

From a young age, Green had known that he didn't feel for girls in the way he was supposed to. Love interest bored him. Sappy stories made him want to vomit. He found the majority of females to be either obnoxiously whiny or obnoxiously giggly. Then, there was Blue, who was a completely different story.

He'd dated other girls before, starting when he was around sixteen, solely to cover up any potential rumors. The girls were always loud, talkative, and flirtatious, and he hated it. If the girls had known that he clearly wasn't interested and decided to speak to him normally, then maybe he would have at least gotten along with the girl. He'd even hoped at one point that these encounters would change him, make him...normal. But his near-celebrity status in Kanto made normalcy among the female population almost impossible, not including the fact that he didn't feel any attraction to women at all.

Blue, who had once upon a time annoyed Green with her mischievous antics and rather unorthodox ideas, was the one girl with whom he could spend time with without wanting to crawl out of the window of a restaurant's bathroom (he'd considered it once). Of course, the tabloids had been all over that; every time Blue and Green were seen out together, it was a new story in one of those romantic, feminine magazines that teenage girls would buy.

Blue was in tune to Green's emotions, or lack of, depending on his mood, as well as he was to hers. He could read Blue with ease, and with time, she could read him with ease. He genuinely cared for Blue, though when they were together, sometimes he'd regret that thought. Out of all the people he knew, he knew for a fact that she would be the only one to have the slightest inkling that he was gay. She, however, was kind enough to not bring it up.

Green hadn't been in a public 'relationship' in quite some time, however. At one point, late at night, he'd gotten an unwelcome visit from one of the gossip column reporters:

"Green Oak? Do you have a special lady at the moment?"

"No."

"Will you ever?"

"Probably not."

"...What about a special guy?"

"No. Now get the hell out of my office."

He always hated how they'd portrayed him as so eager and delightful in their edited rendition of the interview. Green scowled in disgust at the memory.

As he continued to stroke Eevee's fur, the Pokémon nodding off to sleep in his lap, Green continued to think.

Despite his faked relationships that only lasted for several weeks at a time, he would still find himself hopelessly attracted to men. Once, in Johto, when a group of girls were giggling about how nice Gold's butt looked in his shorts, Green had peered out from the magazine aisle to check. He would've agreed, had the waistband of Gold's pants not been sagging on his backside, baring his Igglybuff-printed boxers to fangirls region-wide.

He shuddered involuntarily. It was a horrid memory.

Even if none of those events had occurred, there was still one reminder as to why Green felt the way he did.

Red.

He assumed that he'd always harbored feelings for his rival that were beyond friendship; he just didn't know how to identify them until four years ago. He remembered feeling a sinking in his gut. He'd known that he was attracted to men, but to be attracted to Red seemed so much harder. He hadn't anticipated his locked-away feelings to land on somebody, and Red nonetheless.

He had given up on telling Red the very moment he'd realized his feelings. He was mature enough to know that it wasn't true love, or even love at all, it was simply a confused, hormonal reaction. The affection he felt for Red only grew over time, but he'd gradually gotten better at repressing it.

After all, Red couldn't find out. Nobody could. He didn't know how the Elite Four or the other Gym Leaders would react to his sexuality. His grandfather and Daisy...who knew? He didn't want to risk worrying Daisy, since she had a life of her own now. She was living with her fiancé and about to embark on a new life. She didn't need to worry about her kid brother anymore.

Green felt as though his grandfather would cautiously accept him until he found out about Red. With Red involved, it could damage both of their reputations. And, of course, Green cared too much about Red to let that happen.

He would stay strong and silent. In the, end, it would be for the best. Red would most likely be gone again soon, anyway.

After his rather unfortunate encounter with Green, Red angrily made his way back to the other side of Pallet Town. His mind was whirring away, thinking of how damn pushy and irksome Green had become all of a sudden. As he walked, his eyes stared down at the pebbly shoulder of the road, but he wasn't truly seeing.

He was thinking hard, about Green, about Mt. Silver, about the battle he'd lost three years ago. Green now knew that all of Red's confusion and disconnection had spawned from the battle on Mt. Silver.

I knew I was going to lose. Red's mind was frantic. Why didn't I change that? I could've won had I believed I could...right?

It was no use. Either way, Red knew that someone would eventually have to beat him. He just didn't imagine that it would be so soon.

Pikachu ran alongside Red, attempting keep up with Red's fast, angry pace. "Pika?"

Red stopped in his tracks and crouched down. He reached out one gloved hand, and Pikachu instantly rubbed its head against it.

"What do you say we stay with Yellow for a while, huh?"

Yellow had offered Red a place to stay during his first visit, and he'd politely declined up front. After all, he had a mother to take care of him and a home to stay in, but Yellow had also seemed to sense Red's awkward transition back into life in Pallet Town. She'd simply smiled at him and informed him that her offer would remain standing for as long as he was in town.

In a week, after keeping his mother company for a bit longer (she had been excited to know that Red had a roommate, and a girl nonetheless), Red had moved into Yellow's spare bedroom. She had been delighted to host him; she rarely ever had visitors, let alone roommates. She'd prepared the bedroom in advance, leaving it with a cozy, homey feeling to it. Red had smiled and thanked her as he unpacked the little he'd brought.

One night, a bit over a week after Red had encountered Green, the two sat in Yellow's living room. The windows in the cabin were open, letting in the nighttime breeze. Summer was right around the corner; the evening was the only time in which cool air wafted through the forest.

Red leaned on the large sofa, feeling utterly relaxed as the cushions billowed around him. He sighed in content. He and Yellow were watching a program on the Kanto Gym Leaders, or celebrities, for whatever reason. Yellow was leaned on the armrest of the loveseat adjacent to him, her knees drawn up, and her Pikachu in her lap. She cooed in whispers to the Pokémon as she adjusted the flower tied to its ear.

Red was barely paying attention to the screen though he was looking directly at it. His eyelids were beginning to droop. Hadn't there already been a magazine printed to channel all of this useless gossip, anyway?

He was about to fall asleep when he heard the reporter announce a familiar name.

"In other news, where has the most mysterious of the Gym Leaders been running off to? Green Oak of the Viridian City Gym, said to be dating a trainer by the name of Blue..."

Red sat up straight, wrinkling his nose. "Green? And Blue?" The thought of Green and Blue kissing, let alone hugging, let alone touching...it was nearly impossible. He straightened up and turned to Yellow. "Where did that come from?"

Yellow simply shrugged. Her Pikachu curled up against her violet, button-down pajama shirt. "The tabloids have been infatuated with Green's personal life. He seems to do a pretty good job of fending them off, though." Red looked confused. "Yes, but why?" He stretched his arms above his head, his feeling of drowsiness waning. "There's not much to Green besides rigorous training and silence."

Yellow giggled lightly. "They want to find out more. Green's mysterious. They love that sort of thing."

Red raised a thin, black eyebrow. "Blue?"

She laughed again. "They're seen together quite a lot. But you know Green...he's never one to favor Blue's antics. They're like oil and water."

Red had to crack a slight grin at that.

Yellow smiled gently in the dim lamplight of the cabin. "Oh, Red, it's good to see you smile again."

Red's brow furrowed slightly. "I don't see why people think I'm so different."

"You've been very quiet lately," Yellow admitted. "It's been a gradual shift in your personality...of course your friends would notice."

Red was quiet as he tried to think of a response.

"I'm just here to let you know that I'm not here to force an answer out of you," Yellow said soothingly. "I think you just need a relaxing break. Look at you now. You're talking and smiling...and it's just like how you used to be." She sat up straight, crossed her legs, and let down her ponytail. Her light, golden hair fell gently on her shoulders.

Red looked at Yellow, and even though he knew that she was a gentle, beautiful girl, he couldn't feel any attraction to her. Once, years ago, around the time of the Elite Four scandal and his Johto travels, he'd had feelings for Yellow. Then again, Red realized sullenly, he hadn't found out that Yellow was indeed a girl until the Mask of Ice was defeated...

"You've gone silent again." Yellow smiled, though she looked slightly dismayed. "Did I...did I say something to offend...?

"No." Red immediately shook his head. "No. I was just thinking."

"You do that quite a lot." Her smile brightened once more, and she rose from the loveseat. "I'm off to bed. Don't stay up too late. You need sleep more than you need to think."

Red nodded. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She left him alone with a smile, her bare feet pattering gently of the polished wooden panels of the floor. Her Pikachu's paws scritch-scratched on the floor as it followed her to her room.

Red smiled to himself after she left. It was a smile that lasted a split second, but as soon as it disappeared, he felt hollow once more.

He sat in silence for maybe ten minutes more before he rose to his feet, clicked off the floor lamp, and scooped his sleeping Pikachu up from the floor.

Yellow's bedroom light was off. He made his way silently to his temporary room. As he slid under the covers, the sheets cool against his skin, he took in the quietness of the Viridian Forest and decided that he was glad he'd taken Yellow up on her offer.

A/N: Band camp starts very soon...so hopefully I'll be able to write another chapter before all of my time is eaten up. Please read and let me know your feedback! I love these characters very much, I hope I'm doing them the justice they deserve. c: