white gold

Holiday greetings, friends! I tried my hardest to write something related to the Pokemon A/U, which proved to be a bigger challenge than I thought. Hopefully the winter break will force me into a writing mood. (*´・ｖ・)

---

In the early morning haze of Goldenrod City, a girl exited the casino. Her legs were shaking as she stumbled on her heels, arms folded firmly over her stomach. Somehow, she made her way to the side of the road where the cobbled pavement met the seawall.

Terra lifted herself over the railing and threw up. Vodka sprayed into the waves below. She coughed, pushing hair out of her face as she struggled to breathe. A hand nudged against her back and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Arceus! Don't do that," she growled, but it came out a hoarse whisper.

"Sorry." Ethan rubbed her back soothingly. "You shouldn't have drank so much."

"Who knew it would take that much liquor to get him to talk!" Terra grinned despite herself. "Where is he now?"

"Passed out behind a slot machine, last I saw."

He passed her a Fresh Water, which she accepted gratefully. Terra took gulp after gulp of water and the soreness in her throat became a lot more bearable.

"What's our next course of action?" Ethan asked.

"We know where their headquarters are, thanks to that Executive," Terra said. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "We should regroup with Maya. Exchange information."

"If the information he gave us is true, we've got a long journey ahead of us." Ethan pushed his cap back, unusually serious. He pulled a pair of pink boots from his messenger bag. "Here, you'll be a lot more comfortable walking in these."

Terra stared. "They look familiar, like--"

"Yup, they're Maya's. I got her to let me borrow them."

"You're lucky we're only a size apart." Terra kicked off her heels. "They're a little tight, but thanks, Ethan."

He nodded. "Let's head back to my grandparent's house. Noctowl can lead the way through the alley. We don't want to be spotted."

The large bird perched atop a nearby streetlamp suddenly perked up. Without so much as a rustle, it spread its wings and took to the air.

"Come on."

♦

Red sat with his hands folded on the table. The windows were fogged up, but he could still make out the heads of people walking by below, and the strings of Christmas lights that hung on frosted tree branches.

He had managed to drag himself up to the 6th floor of the department store. It was the group's usual meeting spot. Since it was winter, the concession stand had added hot drinks and roasted chestnuts to their menu. It made no difference to him; he had long become adjusted to an icy environment.

It was the holiday season; he should have felt joyful. Elated at the prospect of snow and winter festivities. For some reason, all he could feel was a soreness in his eyes whenever he blinked and a hollow feeling in his stomach.

Memories of the past usually came floating back during this time of year. As a result, he hadn't slept much. It was difficult for him to adjust to sleeping on an actual mattress. He had spent too many months up at Mt. Silver, leaning against the cave walls. Most nights he found himself dozing off in a sitting position, propped up with a stiff pillow.

On the rare occasion he dreamt, the dreams always centered around her and their memories together. He was tired of hearing the ocean, and the colour of red-orange hair in the sunlight gave him a headache.

"Order up! So it's a hot chocolate for you, and a caramel macchiato for me."

Blue set the two steaming drinks on the table and slid one over to Red, who accepted it gratefully.

"Thanks."

Blue gave his friend the one-over and frowned. "Come on, what's the matter with you? Looking all gloomy. It's the holidays! Have you forgotten?"

"I'm fine." He took a quick sip from his cup. It was sickeningly sweet, but he liked it.