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The sun was warm on his face. He knew he would have to sit up at some point, but it didn't cross his mind to do it soon. Distantly, he could imagine Green standing over him, hands on his hips and meeting his eyes.
"Come on, Red." He would say. "We gotta go now." They were alone, so it would lack any real bite.
Silently, he would roll his eyes and stand up. But currently, Red got to just enjoy the breeze. He wondered what time it was, Charizard and Bulbasaur would be climbing over him to get him to feed them. He could feel the phantom tingle of Charizard's tail on his leg.
His thoughts finally focused, and he sat up abruptly. Inhaling sharply, he looked around. Clearly startled, Green peeked out at Red, sitting a little further away. Red's expression must've been enough of a tell of the frenzy he'd gone into, as Green shuffled towards him. Red calmed down a little as Green came closer, and settled down a bit.
"Hey, I was wondering when you'd actually start responding to the world again." His voice was light. Red wanted to compare him to a pastry. "Or maybe you're not."
Red let out a light scoff, raising his hand to give Green a light hit on the shoulder. Before it made contact, little vines wrapped around his wrist. His attention was brought to Bulbasaur, excitedly moving his arm with her vines. She trotted over, pulling Red's hand to pat her.
Red smiled. It was a small smile, and might have looked closer to a grimace, but he was smiling. Green watched him mess around with Bulbasaur, a warm feeling in his chest. Red met his eyes, a childish giggle escaping him. Everything felt okay, for even just a little bit. Red didn't feel like he was carrying the whole Kanto region on his back, Green didn't feel detached from his friends, they weren't thousands of kilometers away from each other, trapped in their own heads.
They sat like that for a little while, before Red finally stood up. Bulbasaur let out an indignant noise, letting go of his arm. He bent down and gave her a pat on the head and summoned her back into her Pokéball, letting out a quiet hiss as he straightened up. Green shook his head as he stood up as well, stretching his legs a bit.
"We gotta meet Leaf in a few hours, I'll need you to remind me." Green hummed, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Red looked at him incredulously, gesturing to himself as if to say 'Me? Of all people?' but Green was already walking away.
They had spent a lot of the day up in Turffield, Green had been wanting to take pictures near the mural. They had ended up sitting on Route 5 for a while, Red too tired to continue their tour. So there they were.
"I heard Hulbury has good seafood." Green piped up from ahead of Red, head tilted to look back at him. Red felt Charizard's Pokéball shake on his hip, and he gave Green a thumbs up.
A small wind stirred up, and Red turned to watch as… an Applin rolled out of the tall grass with the wind and started rolling down the hill. Silently, he wandered after it. It continued to roll and roll, and Red wondered if it would ever stop. As it reached the bottom, it veered towards the berry tree. Red continued to watch in fascination as it slowed to a stop right at the bottom, laying to rest right up against the base of the tree.
Red tentatively moves towards the Pokémon, grabbing a Pokéball from his bag. Crouching down, he waited to see if it would react. His legs ached, and he was about to reach out to the Applin when—
"RED! QUICKLY IT'S GETTING AWAY!!"
Red looked away from the tree and spotted a green Applin rolling down the hill in the same fashion as the red one. Though, the green one hit a bad turn, and went tumbling towards the water. Red pushed himself into a standing position and dived, grabbing the Applin and lifting it above his head as he tumbled into the pond. Struggling to sit up, Red coughed and sputtered as he flailed. Green grabbed his arm, pulling him to sit up. Red let out a cough, holding the Applin close to his chest.
"Are you okay, Red?" Green asked, the Applin from the tree in his hand. Red nodded, holding the Pokémon in his hand out to Green. They essentially switched hands, Green giving Red the one he had originally been chasing after. They laughed quietly to themselves, and Red looked the Applin over. It let out a noise that Red could only describe as contentment.
Red set it down and stood, slipping his vest off and wringing it out. Green just laughed at him as he kicked his shoes off. Blanching, Red struggled to get his socks off.
After having Charizard dry Red's clothes, they successfully captured the Applin's. After debating for a while, Red decided to give Lapras a rest from the team, having Applin take his spot. Green seemed to have more trouble, trying to reason with his choices as they continued to Hulbury.
As they arrived in town, Red spotted the restaurant right away. He tugged on Green's sleeve, pulling him out of whatever loop he had thrown himself into. He looked up, and he grinned.
"Good eye, Red! Come on, before the paparazzi see me!" Red shook his head, slipping off his hat. Shoving it in his bag and grabbing a mask, he followed behind Green.
Their time in the restaurant seemed to fly by. Green was recognized, but they paid no mind to Red. Green waved it off as a friend he had made in Kalos, and it worked out. They ate, and Green spun tales into the silence surrounding them.
Leaf would blow Red's rotomphone up later, asking where they were, but for now, they just got to sit and enjoy the view.
In that moment, it was just Red, Green, and the broken plate from when Charizard tried to get out of his Pokéball to eat the food off the plate.