red x green, as an apology
green hears about red’s defeat two and a half weeks after the fact, when leaf bursts into his gym shouting about it
it burns a little, but only a little. if anyone could beat red, it would be ethan - the kid who took down team rocket’s second coming and swept through both the johto gyms and the kanto gyms with ease. lance is preparing him to take over as champion when he’s old enough
what burns worse is that red still hasn’t come home
(it’s his home too. his name’s still on the lease, even though he hasn’t lived there or paid the rent in years)
but that’s an old wound too, and green’s had a long time to get used to not being enough
so it’s something of a surprise when green unlocks his apartment door and finds red sitting at the kitchen table. pikachu chirrups at green, cheeks stuffed with pokekibble
“what” green says, dropping his bag
red never was much of a talker. maybe that’s why he just gets up, pushing the chair so it scrapes - so irritating but he never stopped doing it - and walks over to green. red leans into green’s space, tucking his head over green’s shoulder and wrapping his arms loosely around green’s waist; he smells of green’s shampoo
“love you” red says and it’s hello and sorry and i’m home all at once
