Red Eyes -OriginalShipping-

Do you know Red?
„The boy that doesn't say a word?"
"The boy whose thoughts you never know?"
"The creepy boy with the red eyes?"
"The Pokémon Master?"
Yes, exactly this boy.
But at the same time: Not that boy at all. This might be the Red you know – it isn't the one I know.
You can say, I know Red since birth. I'm not the only one who knows him that long, but I seem to be the only one who understands him. He doesn't say a single word? He doesn't speak at all? What do you know?!

"Good morning, Red.", I say. He just turns his head and nods. He looks at me with the same emotionless face he always shows to everyone. He's standing at the fence, next to the water that leads to Route 21. He's standing here every morning, and it seems like he waits for me to greet him every day. I walk up to his side and stare at the sea. His gaze follows mine, and we stand there in silence, like we do every morning.
"I got a letter today.", I begin to talk after a few minutes of beautiful silence, "It seems like there will be a tournament again in a few days. Tomorrow, I'll have to return to the Gym in Viridian City for a week."
Red turns his head and stares at me. You might think he shows no emotion at all, just like he seems to do every second of the day. But there's the difference between you and me:  I can see behind his eyes. Behind his red eyes lie all his thoughts. This time he is startled, and I'm the only one who knows.
"Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as possible. Also…", I try to calm him, "I heard you have to attend the Pokémon League Challenge soon, too. You're the Champion, after all."
Red lowers his head and nods. He doesn't seem to be very happy, but he chose his own fate when he became the champion. Well, at least that is what most of the people think. But I know better: He had always carried a big burden on his shoulders.

"The poor boy…", the old lady from next door tells me when she comes to visit my sister Daisy this noon, "Ever since his father died, his taciturnity became even worse."
I don't reply. She might be right, but her concern sounds so hypocritical.
"His father was the Kanto Champion, wasn't he?", my senile grandfather, who once was a famous professor, asks me the same day.
"Yes, grandpa.", I answer, not bothering to continue this conversation.
"We all knew Red would become the Pokémon Master of Kanto!", one of the young children living in Pallet Town tells me, "He just had to!"
And that is the problem. Everyone had always told Red he'd become a master, just like his deceased father had been. And Red, thinking he must become what everyone wanted him to be, became the Champion. Without hesitation he tried to fulfill everyone's hopes. He didn't think about his own good.
That is his only flaw in my view.

I visit Red again the same evening. He is sitting in his room, silently hugging his Pikachu, starring at me with his small, red eyes.
"Are you really leaving tomorrow?", is what I can read in his eyes. I nod.
"I have to, even though I don't want to leave yet. But I'll be back in a week, so don't worry.", I tell him, sitting down beside him on his bed.
He loosens his grip on Pikachu, and it jumps down from the bed and hurries downstairs, where Red's mother already prepared its dinner.
"I can call you every day, if you want me to.", I tell him, even though I know phoning him is pretty weird since he usually doesn't say anything, "And I can report on everything that happened."
Red nods eagerly, and I can't help but grin. It's pretty rare seeing him acting so expressive.
"I'll leave very early, so… See you in a week.", I mumble, getting up from his bed.
His hand clasps the seam of my jacket and I flinch in surprise. I hear him shaking his head eagerly behind me.
It's really weird how much we changed in all these years. Not too many years ago, I took pleasure in teasing him – but I could never win against him, no matter how hard I tried. I loved being alone, travelling with no one but my Pokémon. My Eevee was my best friend, and I needed no one else.
That was until he defeated me, the short-term Champion, and got me off my high horse. He had always been better than me, and I finally understood why: Because everyone wanted him to be. That was the first time I could see behind his sad, red eyes.
And ever since then, since we returned from Indigo Plateau, he was my "best friend". And I was the only one who understood him. He knew it, and I knew it.
And now I can't imagine a life without Red. And it's the same for him. It's really weird…
I turn around to look him in the eyes, trying to tell him I have to leave for my home now, or otherwise I would oversleep tomorrow – but I can't say it. What I see in his eyes makes me become speechless.
"Don't leave me yet."
"I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you so much, even though it's just a week."
I really am bereft of words.
"I… I know. I told you I'd call, didn't I?", I finally get to say, and I try to hide my unease with a smile. But he can see behind my eyes, and he knows how I really feel. He tightens his grip.
"I know that very well.", his gaze tells me, "But could you just stay with me for a few more minutes?"
I sigh and sit down on his bed again. He leans his head against my shoulder and closes his eyes. I gently pet his head and stroke through his silken, black hair. And we're sitting there for minutes, embraced by beautiful silence.
Yes, it's really weird what became of us.
We aren't friends anymore. "Friends" wouldn't be the right word. It's more like… soulmates.

"The creepy boy with the red eyes?"
You don't know him at all. His crimson red eyes show more emotion then your dull eyes do. Behind his eyes, I can be myself.
"The boy whose thoughts you never know?"
You may not know them, but I know everything I need to know. You just have to take a closer look.
„The boy that doesn't say a word?"
Well…

"I really have to go now.", I break the silence after sitting on Red's bed, hugging him closely and listening to his heartbeat. I gently kiss him on his forehead and loose my hold on him. And while I stand up and walk towards the door, I hear him arise, too.
"Green…", I hear the sound of his gentle voice, "Please, come back soon."
I turn around to smile at him for the last time today.
"It's not like I'm gone for years. You exaggerate.", I say and laugh, "But yes, I promise."
"Thank you.", he sighs, and smiles at me with the most beautiful smile I've ever seen.
And he says the words I love to hear the most.
"Green… I love you."