aroceu's fici. between crowded bodies on the bus, almost not quite there
Their legs are so close together, and Gold can’t stop staring. There’s a thin crease on Red’s pants, next to his, and it takes all of Gold not to reach out and flatten it down, press his fingers on Red’s thigh with his fingers. Red’s looking out the window. Gold’s trying not to be a weirdo and look at him.
At their feet, pikachu perks his head up from rubbing against Red’s ankles to glare at Gold like he knows. “Hey,” Gold says. “Your pikachu doesn’t like me very much.”
Red tears his gaze away from the outside to meet Gold’s. He shrugs and shakes his head, rubbing his fingers against pikachu’s cheek.
The gesture is fond – it makes something soft stir inside Gold. “I’m serious,” Gold says, though he’s grinning. “Why does your pikachu look at me that way?”
Red’s lips quirk. He goes back to staring outside.
“Red,” Gold whines. “You can read your pikachu’s mind, what’s he saying?”
“I can’t read his mind,” Red says, peering out the glass window.
Gold huffs, but he feels Red’s elbow at his side, against his own, the touch making Gold’s skin feel hot. The bus stops and lurches, and their bodies bump together. Hands – shoulders – thighs touching, and Gold’s blush goes all the way up to his ears.
Red’s hat is ducked down as he moves in front of Gold. “This is my stop,” he says to Gold, because he’s visiting the old champion at the Viridian Gym and Gold doesn’t want to impose. Well, he does but he’s not going to because Red might not like it.
Red sends him a half-smile over his shoulder, and Gold’s heart feels caught in his throat.
“See ya,” he says, after Red has already left.
ii. the battlefield is our home
People call Gold the champion now, even though Red’s still the real champion in Gold’s eyes. Red had defeated Team Rocket first, gotten to Mt. Silver first, and Gold doesn’t like to forget it – the way their last battle had ignited something beautiful in Red’s eyes, that Gold can’t stop thinking about.
Red watches when Gold battles in the Indigo League. He has challengers to defeat, who’ve gone through Lance, and sure they’re difficult but they’re never going to be as difficult as Red had been. They have a similar passion to Red, sometimes they remind Gold of himself – and Gold thinks it’s a funny thought, since he’s not that old – but Gold thinks about the way Red battles, the quiet, glinting determination, and knows nothing will ever match up to that.
“Good battle, huh?” Gold says, after today’s challenger slinks out after the fainted feraligatr. Gold hadn’t even hesitated with his aipom, who high-fives him as Gold makes his way to Red on the side.
Red nods, and then tilts his head consideringly. After a long moment:
“… why did you use earthquake?”
“Spice things up,” Gold says cheerfully.
Red sends him a look, like, your typhlosion had fainted, which, well, okay it did. Gold rolls his eyes and says, “I’m having fun with my battles, c’mon! What’s a little earthquake against a feraligatr?”
“Potential loss.”
“I don’t lose,” Gold says proudly, putting his hands on his hips. “Not even to you.”
Red shrugs. He glances away and says, “One day,” a smile hinting at the edge of his lips, a hint of a thing that makes it feel like it’s a secret between them.
Gold says, “Is that a challenge?” and Red shrugs and Gold hopes it’s a yes. Gold will take any opportunity to watch Red battle, even if it means losing against him.
iii. over a meal, each moment precious
In Gold’s head, these are all dates. He knows they’re not, because he and Red still mostly stand a foot apart, say goodbye without much afterthought, and don’t, you know, kiss. Plus, Gold’s the one who usually invites Red out, because he “can’t get enough” (when Silver asks) and it’s as easy as ringing him up in the Goldenrod pokemon center Red’s staying at because Red’s staying in Johto for a bit and Gold doesn’t have any reason to relocate anytime soon.
Especially with Red always close by.
They’re in the city, today. There’s a huge blooming fountain where water pokemon can swim in and hang out, and Gold’s taken out his politoed while Red’s poliwrath is out, splashing each other eagerly.
Gold grins from where he and Red are eating lunch nearby. (Not a date, not a date, not a date.) “I’m beginning to think you like Johto more than Kanto,” he says to Red.
Red gives him a dead-eyed look, like, you’ve got to be kidding and Gold laughs. “I’m serious,” he says. “You’ve stayed in Goldenrod for two weeks straight now. What’s there to do here?”
Red shrugs. “This,” he says, indicating the two of them.
Gold looks out to their pokemon to pretend he isn’t blushing. “Yeah, but this is boring,” he says, knowing that he doesn’t really mean it. “We should go somewhere fun one day. Like Kalos! That’d be really fun.”
“Why Kalos?”
“Dunno. It has a bigger city than here, though,” Gold says, gesturing. “More fountains for politoed to play in? Oh, I heard they have a palace that was built by a king. Wouldn’t that be cool?”
“Unova gets a lot of tourists,” Red offers.
Gold slams his fist on the table. “We should plan a worldwide travel and go everywhere together! Find more cool fountains and all that.” He wouldn’t just go for the fountains, of course, but for all the challenges he and Red can face – for all the miles they can cover together.
Red sends him a smile over their milkshakes. The sky is blue today, and under the shadow of his hat Red’s eyes are bright. “You and me,” he says.
iv. the only stars are the city lights
Gold goes back home to New Bark town every weekend, but otherwise stays in pokemon centers while he’s out. Even though he and Red have seen movies in Goldenrod, eat lunch in Goldenrod, spend a day battling it out (they’re currently twelve-twelve even) in Goldenrod, Gold won’t stay at the same pokemon center as him because – that’d be weird.
They’re walking back. Gold is walking Red, really, who is glancing at him more than usual, under the washed sky of the night.
Gold jokes, “Is there something on my face?”
Red shakes his head, ducks it down. Gold likes being with him, even when there are stretches of silence that Gold mostly fills – having Red talk to him, smile at him, occasionally laugh at him is more than enough. Red staring determinedly at his shoes while they walk is more than enough.
Gold says, “Ah, today was a good day,” and puts his hands behind his head.
Red agrees, “It was really good.”
“I like it when you talk,” Gold tells him; Red’s voice is still a bit raspy from years of lack of use, but it has an edge that makes Gold feel warm inside.
Red looks him in the eye and says, “I like you.”
It takes Gold a moment to process the words. His ears feel hot in the cool night air, suddenly; he’s sure his red cheeks are visible in the streetlights. “Seriously?” he says to Red, who doesn’t respond, simply stares at him.
Gold takes Red’s hands. He looks determinedly down at Red’s mouth; Red’s own eyes flicker to Gold’s lips. “Okay,” Gold says in a breath between them, as their mouths inch closer.
Red tastes like cold snow, like dinner. He tastes good.
v. we like airplanes
Their legs are so close together, and Gold can’t stop staring. His pichu is out with Red’s pikachu in the pokemon cabin, so it’s just the two of them right now, and some other passengers peering at them curiously (Champions Campaigning Overseas? the headline had read) and Red isn’t staring out the window, but at him.
Gold’s saying, “I can’t believe we’re actually going to travel the world together.” He jitters excitedly in his seat.
Red says flatly, “I can.”
“Hey,” Gold says, and Red turns away, that smile on his face again, and Gold leans over to whisper to him a secret. “Now we can go on even more dates.”
Red reaches over and takes his hand on the armrest. Their fingers overlap, and heat prickles deliciously over Gold’s skin. “We’re on one right now,” Red tells him.
Gold snorts. “On this airplane?” he says, and the way Red merely blinks at him definitely means yes. “You’re just a sap, aren’t you?” he says to Red.
Red’s mouth twitches, and Gold’s fingers tighten around his. “I can’t wait to see the world with you,” he says to Gold, as good as any other moment they spend together, and Gold knows that he can’t wait either.