Letters to You (RedxBlue)

Letter 10: Yours, Red

Blue is relieved when he receives Red's next letter in the same amount of time that it typically takes. He was worried that he might've made things weird between them, even though he had made sure not to breathe a word about the pokégear thing in his letter.

He makes himself late to class by reading it fresh out of the mailbox when he shouldn't be.

Blue,

Don't parents raise their children to follow their own dreams? My plans don't involve going back to Kanto anytime soon.

Blue wants to cry. For some reason, he's equating himself to Red's mother, and he feels abandoned. Blue takes a deep breath to return some rationality to his mind. Whatever he's got, he's got it bad.

So you're saying your grandfather is Professor Oak? He always said that completing the pokédex was his dream, but over the years, I've found that it's never done. It's actually been kind of difficult getting all of the attachments and downloads and such that allow data from new regions to be collected. Some fancy college student like you would probably think my pokédex is old.

I still don't really get what you're studying, and I guess I really never understood what Professor Oak was doing either. Why study pokémon when you can live with them?

Blue rolls his eyes. This boy is obtuse.

I'm sorry I didn't comment on this earlier, but I want to take back what I said about good trainers never being done. It's not about being good. There's no need to criticize yourself? You don't see the first gym leader of every region complaining about their lack of strength, do you? This kind of conversation takes me back years. Brock isn't all that tough, but he's the one who showed me how to battle and why we battle. If you want to quit school and go back to training, do it. If you need me, you know where to find me.

Blue rereads the paragraph three times anxiously. On the one hand, he doesn't think Red is quite so obtuse anymore. On the other hand, it doesn't help when Red is literally offering himself to him, and the idea actually sounds good. But Blue can't take time off school now, and it really does matter to him. Fuck, why doesn't Red just come to him? It might take the edge off of this need he's feeling.

I thought about what you said about letting the professor's invention rule lives, but any way I think of it, this is my dream. I catch pokmon because I enjoy it. He just made me aware that it was a dream I could have.

I've never dated actually. Blue almost falls over in the middle of standing still. Whose pokégear number was that then?! I've always been training. The couples here in Hoenn, though, are so in your face about it. They have a pokémon called Luvdisc, which is rumored to strengthen the relationships of couples who spot it. A lot of the couples around here wear matching Luvdisc bracelets. I haven't seen a wild Luvdisc yet. I'll catch one, but I almost don't want to. It seems cheesy.

Blue is still reeling from what he's just read. He's breathless with it, actually, and doesn't know what to think beyond surprise.

Classwork isn't too stressful, I hope. Remember, if you need a break, you can always go out. Tell me what Hammerlocke is like.

An almost sick feeling begins to well in his stomach, then. Blue runs a thumb over the classwork line. 'I hope,' he mouths to himself.

You accuse my Pikachu of knowing that I'm a dumbass, but Pikachu and I have always seen eye to eye. Did you know that you can catch Pikachu in Viridian Forest? You also accuse me of neglecting my pokémon, but all of the pokémon that aren't with me, are with your grandfather actually. So if there's any neglecting being done, it's being done by him. Espeon didn't seem put out when I saw him again. The other pokémon I have with me are Blastoise, Charizard, Venusaur, and Snorlax. Well, not all of them at the moment, I'm trying my hand at pokémon breeding right now. But once I'm done with that, I always travel with them. My Blastoise is a jokester. Charizard is the very first pokémon I ever got. He's as proud as I am at any given moment. We've grown together. Venusaur is gentle. Snorlax eats and that is his personality. A shocked laugh escapes Blue's lips.