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Green narrows his eyes, staring at the flowers sitting on his desk.
“Bonita,” Green said slowly. “Where did these come from?”
Green was no stranger to admirers; he was handsome, successful, and famous. But normally the gifts never made it inside the Gym, let alone his office.
Bonita grinned.
“You’ll never guess who stopped by today. Here’s a hint: what color are those roses?”
“…Red?” Green asked, shocked. Red had come off the mountain? Had visited? And he’d brought flowers.
Green reached out and touched the petals lightly.
“He was very insistent,” Bonita said.
Green frowned. He picked the flowers out of the vase and tossed them in the trash can.
“What the hell, Green?” Bonita asked, looking confused.
“Whatever game he’s playing, I want nothing to do with it,” Green muttered.
Green had long since grown out of that particular dream.
“Did you get the flowers?” Red asked, looking hopeful and eager.
Green wanted to punch Red in the face. Granted, that was a natural state of being for Green but this was something special.
“Just what do you think you’re doing, anyway?” Green retorted.
“Isn’t it obvious? I love you,” Red said.
Green laughed and rolled his eyes. “Sure you do,”
Red looked torn between being hurt and being offended.
“What brought on this revelation, hm?” Green asked, he couldn’t help his morbid curiosity.
“You didn’t come visit,” Red said, frowning like he wasn’t sure how to say what he wanted. He hadn’t been talkative at the best of times, and having to talk about his feelings was probably torture. “You’ve come up every 6 months since I went up Mt. Silver, but you…you didn’t come this time. At first I thought you were just busy, you’re a gym leader and everything, and you’d show up eventually, but you never did. And I realized you were one of the few constants in my life, and I missed you,”
“So you thought you’d just…what? Come down off the mountain and sweep me off my feet?” Green asked.
Red’s expression changed from open honesty to embarrassment. “Well, maybe it wasn’t the best plan,” he admitted.
“No, it wasn’t,” Green said firmly. “Do you know why I didn’t visit this time? Because I got over you,”
“Wha-?” Red started, but Green cut him off.
“Shut up. I had a realization of my own: my entire life was so tangled up with yours I couldn’t see straight, and that had to change. I wasn’t going to let myself get lost in Legendary Champion Red’s shadow. So I got my Gym and got over you and I’m happy. So just…go tangle someone else. Please. ‘Cuz I can’t – I won’t do it anymore,” Green said, tugging at his own hair in frustration.
Red was staring at him in shock. Clearly he hadn’t expected that. Green wanted to laugh at the entire situation. I was in love with you our entire lives and you come to your senses after I get over you? Typical. Just typical.
“Oh,” Red said, barely more than a breath.
“Yeah,” Green said, rubbing his forehead.
“I’ll just…leave you alone then,” Red said, looking utterly confused and tragic. What was he going to do without Green being there, without that measuring stick, that crutch?
It wasn’t Green’s problem anymore, and he refused to feel bad for it.
“C’mon, Pikachu,” Red said, motioning at the yellow rodent, who was looking up at Red worriedly, like it could tell Red was upset.
Green watched them go, and when they were gone Green locked the door behind them. He picked up the closest thing he could reach – a coffee mug he’d left on the side table when he’d left for the Gym that morning – and threw it at the wall.
He sunk to the floor, closed his eyes, and let his head fall back against the door.
“Fuck,” he said. Eevee nudged his hand with her nose, and climbed into his lap. He petted her absent mindedly.
“Well that was either the smartest or the stupidest thing I’ve ever done,” Green said with a snort, not opening his eyes.
Red hadn’t wanted him until Green had made the decision that there was one part of him, of his life, that Red wasn’t allowed to take. And Green never backed down once he’d decided something.
Typical.