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thingwithfeathers2012-06-01 10:18 am
outstretched) wrote in thingwithfeathers2012-06-01 10:18 am
Metamorphosis (Pokemon, Kanto OT3 + Ethan)
Title: Metamorphosis
Rating: PG-13 for cursing
Word Count: 4,302
Genre: AU, Romance, Character Study
Fandom: Pokémon
Pairings: Red, Green, Leaf, Ethan; focuses and pairings change with each fic
Warnings: None
Summary: Several AU exercises (fighter pilot, college, rock star, road trip, pokemon researcher, secret agent, modern high school/waiter).
Author's Note: Forpokeprompts' May 2012 challenge. Some of these are WIPs/incomplete, but they were all great fun to write :)! You may notice that Ethan's characterization changes wildly from fic to fic; that is because in my head, my Ethan wears many different hats, and I decided to try them all out. Remember: each universe and fic is completely separate from the others, including characterization!
Day 1: The Submarines - 1940 (AmpLive Remix)
Green+Ethan, implied Red/Leaf, fighter pilot AU. WIP. Influenced bykoyuki's War!AU.
Green finds Ethan on the tarmac. He’s leaning against his plane, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Green’s not fooled—he’s not eighteen, but if he’s willing to die for his country, Green’s not going to say anything. He was there once, too.
Ethan gives a sharp salute, then pushes his goggles up a bit, assessing his commanding officer. Green links his hands behind his back and settles into an easy stance.
“Welcome to the 255th squadron,” Green says, raising an eyebrow—not friendly, not hostile. He nods up towards the cockpit, where a mareep’s tail is just peeking into sight. “Shouldn’t you be making friends?”
“We’re already friends,” Ethan says. He smiles, too bright and breezy for wartime. “Mareep, come down and say hello.”
The mareep pokes his head out and glares at Green with his one good eye. It’s all it lost in the crash; his last fighter wasn’t so lucky. “You’re sure you’re friends? ‘Friends’ is the word you’d use?”
“Definitely friends,” Ethan confirms. He lets out a low whistle and the Mareep looks at him. Its gaze softens, just a bit, before it snorts and disappears back into the cockpit, and Ethan laughs. Green sees why they picked Ethan to become a pilot, just a little.
“Come on,” Green says, “I’ll introduce you to the others.”
--
“That’s the Baron,” Green says, gesturing at a young man with a pikachu on his shoulder. The man looks up, gives Ethan a flicking once-over that makes him feel like he’s been x-rayed, and returns to his meal. “If I’m not around, you talk to him. Good luck getting an answer, though.”
“Hey, Red,” a girl said, breezing past Ethan, “Why’d you take the last turkey sandwich? You know I—”
Without a word, Red slides the sandwich across the table. She grins and drops a chocolate bar on his tray in trade.
“That’s Leaf,” Green says. He glances at Ethan, and then meaningfully at the other two; Ethan nods, understanding. “Lyra and Silver are out on a mission right now—I’ll introduce you later. Hey, Baron,” Green says. Red looks up, faintly annoyed now. “Save the new kid something for later, all right? I’m gonna finish giving him the tour.”
Red shrugs. “No promises,” Leaf agrees. Green laughs and guides Ethan out of the mess hall with a hand on his elbow.
Green shows him the layout of the base, skims past the infirmary and the showers, and ends up in Ethan’s room. Ethan’s one allowed bag is already on the bed, and the boy ignores it. He’s been sneaking Green glances the whole tour. Green’s been pretending not to notice, but this time he catches his gaze and holds it. Ethan doesn’t waver, and Green cocks his head, curious.
“You like what you see?” Green says, in a tone somewhere between sarcastic and warning. Ethan’s responding laugh is still too light-hearted, too genuine.
Green’s seen this type before. He remembers his last mission, the other plane dropping out of the sky, white paint and blue sky and flashes of orange fire. “Look,” he says. “You’re a good kid. People usually like you.”
Ethan shrugs.
“That’s not how it works, here,” Green says. “I don’t like you. And I won’t like you until you survive your first dogfight, so ease up on the charm, all right?”
Ethan’s smile fades.
“Well?” Green demands.
“Yes, sir,” Ethan says. Green realizes it’s the first words he’s said since they left the tarmac.
“That’s more like it,” he says, and turns on his heel, leaving Ethan alone.
--
“Green’s a dick,” Leaf says, later, sneaking Ethan a sandwich and a handful of fries. “Red hates being called the Baron, Green just does it to piss him off. Don’t call him that, okay?”
Day 2: Peter, Bjorn & John - Young Folks
Red/Leaf, college AU (sort of). Related to this.
“I ran into Green yesterday,” Ethan says.
Neither of them says anything. Red’s lying on the top bunk, staring at the ceiling; Leaf is at Red’s desk. Ethan, as the guest, has taken the bean bag chair. The fluorescent desk lamp is the only source of light.
“He’s your friend, right?” Ethan prompts. Leaf turns in the chair, gives him a soft look that’s somewhere between shut up and that’s enough. He isn’t looking at her, though. “I ran into him at the department store,” he says. He sounds excited, but anyone would be excited to meet the Champion. “He was out buying supplies. I told him to watch out, I had almost all the badges already.”
Leaf laughs, but stops herself quickly. “You’re a great trainer,” she says by way of apology.
Ethan smiles, tolerant. “He laughed, too,” he says. “But you’ll see.”
Red is silent.
An hour later, Ethan leaves, and Leaf climbs up to Red’s bunk. Her hands rest on the top rung of the ladder as she looks down at his face. He looks peaceful, his eyes closed. She almost thinks childlike, but they’re seniors, they’re graduating in less than a year. They’re almost adults. Is Green an adult?
“Are you asleep?” she whispers.
Red doesn’t answer, but his breaths aren’t deep enough for him to be sleeping. Leaf pulls herself up onto the mattress, trying not to shift it too much, and tucks herself in carefully around Red. Her hand rests on his stomach, feeling the slow tide of his breath.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
Red’s head tilts to rest his temple against her forehead, just slightly.
“It’s been years,” she says. “We shouldn’t keep worrying about him.”
Red’s lips part. “I can’t stop.”
Leaf sighs, her hand sliding across his stomach until she’s pulling him closer. “Me neither.”
She stares at the ceiling, feeling the cold radiating off the cinderblock wall. “He missed out,” she whispers. “Those pokemon trainers, they all do.”
--
Red isn’t in his room when Leaf pokes her head in the next day. His roommate is, and waves a brief hello as Leaf steps inside to wait. She moves to his desk again; it’s hers, mostly, Red studies in the library or on his bed.
She’s about to throw her binder open on the table when she sees that his laptop is on. An e-mail is visible on the screen.
“Green,” she whispers. The e-mail was sent an hour ago, and there’s no carbon copy—it’s just for Red. Leaf waits for it to hurt, and it never comes.
Red won’t mind, she knows; he might have even left it open on purpose. She leans closer, using her body to shield the computer from view as if Red’s roommate might care, and reads.
How are you doing?
That’s a stupid question. You’re always fine.
Gramps told me you’re at CU. I’m in town for a conference. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up.
Say hi to Leaf for me.
Her fingers touch his signature, too long and formal for such a short note, and the pain wells up.
*CU = Celadon University.
Day 3: Cobra Starship ft. Sabi - You Make Me Feel...
Green/Red and Green/Leaf (or, Green tries to stay professional and Red and Leaf aren't helping), Lyra and Brendan cameos, rock star AU.
Leaf is stumbling with laughter as she blows through the curtains, high on adrenaline, dripping wet from the hot stage lights. Her eyes glitter with gold shadow, and she swipes sweaty bangs out of her eyes as she collides with Green.
Immediately, he spins her until he’s got an arm around her shoulders, guiding her further backstage. He should be paid a lot more for this; it’s taking a good deal of willpower not to look down her shirt—what Brendan's left of it, anyway. Fashion, he thinks. “Ten minutes,” he tells her, “that’s the most I can give you before the encore.” She’s not listening, as always, though her laughter is dying down. When Green thinks she can walk on her own, he lets go.
“Can you hear them?” she says, eyes shining as she looks up at him. Behind him, Green hears a muted flapping as the curtains open again.
“Hurry up,” Green yells, turning his head a little. He’s not expecting an answer.
--
“Good performance, huh?” Lyra asks, gently touching up Leaf’s lipstick. Leaf smiles, and Lyra frowns at her. “Hold still.”
“You asked,” Leaf laughs.
Ethan is the last to arrive—he always has a hard time ignoring adulation and praise. “Sorry I’m late,” he says. Green tries not to roll his eyes.
“Red,” Green says, “How’s your guitar?”
Red flicks his eyes up to look at him in the mirror, holding stock-still as Brendan fixes his hair. Unlike Leaf, stylists adore him.
“You sounded a little flat,” Green says.
“Oh come on, Green, give him a break,” Leaf says. Lyra gives up on lipstick for now, and moves to powdering her nose.
“I’m sure Red’s got it under control,” Ethan says, slipping a leather jacket on. It’s their seventh costume change of the night, and thankfully the last—Green’s getting tired of showering Leaf with praise.
“I hope so. The show’s not over yet,” Green reminds them.
“I know! God, I love Unova,” Leaf says, stretching catlike in her chair. Lyra hisses at her. “Sorry,” she says, grinning. “But seriously, Green, can we just stay in Unova forever? I haven’t even seen half of Nimbasa yet—”
“Castelia in two days,” he says.
“Casteliacones,” Ethan reminds her, and Leaf lights up. The conversation switches to big city sights, and Green takes the opportunity to duck outside of the venue entirely, take a gulp of fresh air.
This is their first world tour, and Unova is the last region they go through before they return to Kanto for one last big show in Saffron City. Green sighs, presses his heels of his palms to his eyes, and tries to get the knots in his shoulders to relax. It’s almost brighter out here, in Nimbasa’s neon lights, than it is inside the venue.
He checks his watch: two minutes.
Green heads back to the stage, where their instruments are. The roar of the crowd is almost deafening; he can pick Leaf's name out amidst the roar. He smiles a little at that, and reaches for Red’s guitar. His fingers are sliding up the frets when a hand covers his. Green tries not to jump.
“I’ve got it,” Red murmurs.
Wordlessly, Green hands it over, listening as Red adjusts the machine heads. When the guitar’s tuned, Red strums it once, experimentally. Green nods when Red glances at him. Red gives an answering nod, and slings the guitar across his body; then he looks up again, and their eyes meet. In the half-shadow behind the stage curtain, with eyeliner and gelled hair and a ripped red shirt that brings out his eyes, he looks—well, like a rock star. Green swallows thickly, feeling vaguely hypnotized; I should be used to this, he thinks, and then, I could never get used to this.
Leaf breezes back onto the stage, then, taking dangerously long strides in six-inch stilettos. “Showtime!” she calls, grinning wide, and Green hurries off the stage. Ethan high-fives him as they pass each other.
“Knock ‘em dead,” Green yells from the wings.
“Always!” Leaf shouts, and the curtains draw back.
*Ethan is the keyboardist; Leaf is the lead singer. I hope it was obvious, but Green is their manager.
Day 4: Stars - Your Ex-Lover is Dead
Leaf+Ethan, background Green/Leaf, road trip AU.
Leaf sees Red and Green sitting together a short distance away, and frowns.
She returns her attention to the small propane stove and the can in her hand. Ethan, across the fire, looks at her curiously, but she doesn’t meet his eyes. “Can opener,” she says, holding out her hand.
“I’ll open it.”
“Sure.” She passes the can to him, staring at the fire, and listens to the faint hiss of metal slicing through metal.
“Something on your mind?” he asks.
Leaf shakes her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Ethan nods, dumping the soup into the pot. He’s scraping the can when Leaf says, “I do want to talk about it. But I don’t know what to say.”
“Okay.”
“They’re talking,” Leaf continues. “I told Green to talk to him, so they’re talking.”
He gives the spoon back to her. “That’s good, right?”
“Right.”
“You don’t sound like it’s good.”
“I want them to be friends,” she says, somewhat stubbornly.
“That’s why you guys are on this trip, right?” Leaf nods. He thinks for a moment. “I want to be Red’s friend, too,” he says. “Is that bad?”
“You're different,” Leaf says. “It’ll be good for Green, you know? Everything got so messed up—I just want things to go back to the way they were.” She hugs her knees to her chest. “I love Green,” she says. “He’s amazing. I just—”
After a moment of silence, Ethan prompts, “Just what?”
“I’m the only real friend Green has,” Leaf says. “I’m supposed to be everything for him—I can’t, you know? I’m just me. I want to be me,” she says, looking up at Ethan suddenly. “I can’t change who I am or what I want to do. I like traveling, I like seeing new places and learning things.”
Ethan’s looking at her with mild-mannered interest. “What did Green say about it?”
Leaf gives a little laugh. “We’re on this road trip, aren’t we? And Green is talking to Red,” she says.
“So he’s trying.”
“We’re both trying.” Leaf rests her chin on her knees. “I don’t want things to go back to the way they were,” she says. “That’s—I love Green. I don’t want to lose that.” She shakes her head. “I’m not making sense,” she says. “Forget it.”
She stirs the pot, feeling awkward in the silence. Raised voices make them both lift their heads, and they see Green storming off towards the car. The car door slams. Red is sitting stiffly where Green left him, and a few moments later, Pikachu comes over to sit beside him.
“I’ll stir,” Ethan says. Leaf sighs, hands the spoon to him, and stands, not knowing who to go to first.
“Hey, Leaf,” Ethan says, catching her attention. His grin is lopsided. “It’ll work out.”
“What makes you so sure?” Leaf asks.
“Because you’re amazing,” he says.
He sounds too genuine, she thinks, feeling somehow off-balance, but after a moment gives him a small answering smile. Then, she heads off towards the sand dunes.
Day 5: Greg Laswell - Comes and Goes (in Waves)
Ethan+Leaf, canon (pokemon researcher) AU. WIP.
Ethan steps off the boat. The town he can see in the distance, a little away from the floating wooden pier he's swaying on, is small and homely, familiar-seeming. At the end of the pier, a girl is waiting. He smiles, and tries to stride towards her with as much confidence he can muster as the pier rocks gently in the tide.
"How was your trip?" she asks, turning to guide him back to the lab.
"Fine," he says. "How is the professor?"
"Oh, working hard, as always," she says. "It's great to see you again! Last summer was so much fun, I'm glad you could join us here."
Ethan hitches his messenger bag a little higher on his shoulder, smiling at her. "It feels like home already," he says, and he isn't entirely lying.
--
"I'm Leaf," she says by way of introduction. "The research aide?"
"Green's out right now," he says, "But I'm Ethan. I'm an aide, too." He shakes her hand, offers to take her bags, chats with her all the way up the stairs and to her narrow bedroom.
"I'm from Pallet, originally," Leaf says. "Have you ever been there?" Ethan shakes his head. "It's a small town, like this one." She gazes out the window at the Johto fields surrounding the town, and smiles.
Ethan watches the girl illuminated in the sunset, one hand brushing the lace curtain away, a mixture of happiness and longing on her face. He licks his lips and backs quietly down the stairs without saying anything more.
"I thought you were angry at me," she says later. Ethan laughs, saying, "You were so pretty, I didn't know what to do." Leaf punches his arm, and he doesn't know whether to be angry or relieved that she never takes him seriously.
--
"Professor! Ethan is here," she calls. The lab is smaller than Green's, and a little messier, though not by much. Papers lie in neat stacks on every available surface—desks, chairs, old CRT monitors—and wires are plastered in color-coded tape across the floor.
"Come on," she says, not waiting for an answer, and brings Ethan up to the balcony, where a young man is sitting in a small conservatory, a venusaur and a sunflora on either side of him. He looks up, and Ethan is startled; his gaze is piercing, though not threatening.
"This is Red," she says. "Ethan is on loan from Professor Oak, do you remember?" Red nods, and holds out a clipboard. "Sure, I'll write it up," she says, taking it from him, "and I'll finish showing Ethan around. Dinner's in an hour, okay?" Red nods again, turning back to the sunflora, who gives a little burble of pleasure and cuddles into his lap.
"It's okay to just call him Red?" Ethan whispers as they leave.
"If you're nervous, just call him professor," she says, laughing. "We've been friends since we were babies. We grew up in the same small town together," and something about it makes Ethan wonder.
"Small town kids unite," he says, covering his worry with a smile.
--
Leaf takes him swimming in the ocean that summer, delighted to learn that he's as adept at swimming as she is: "My friends like to swim, but not as much as I do," she says. On the seashore, they monitor nesting birds and tidal pools, swing each other around the sand in joy when they find a staryu on the shore, long thought gone from the warming New Bark waters.
"I never want you to go," Ethan says on her last week there, sandy and soaked and dazzled by the noonday sun.
She smiles at him, charmed by his honesty. "Why don't you come visit?" she says. "We could always use another hand around the lab. It'll be like an exchange program."
"Your professor won't mind?"
"Trust me, he'll like you," Leaf says knowingly.
--
Dinner is a strange conglomeration of foods that don't quite match, although each dish individually is delicious. "Did I overdo it?" she says as Ethan stares at the feast.
"I've got a big appetite," he says.
"I remember!" Leaf replies, and he's secretly pleased.
*Where Red and Green are estranged rival researchers who, through their aides, learn to be friends again. Obviously Green is "Professor Oak" here; he grew up in New Bark Town and took over Professor Elm's lab, in time.
Day 6: Super Junior - Monster
Gen, secret agent AU.
"We're in," Green whispers.
Ethan's voice is tinny over the headset. "It's five floors down."
Red and Pikachu slip into point position, quiet as shadows. Green plays tail; Leaf is in the middle, staying low, as they had agreed upon earlier.
"Hurry up," Green snarls.
"Stuff it," Leaf snaps back. Red glares over his shoulder, and they lapse into tense silence.
The building is deserted. This is too easy, Green thinks, but nobody appears to challenge them, and Leaf easily overcomes the few security systems that exist. From the roof, they make it down five floors.
"Left," Ethan says, and they turn the corner.
"Get down!" Leaf yells, tackling Red to the floor and just barely dodging the razor leaves that flood the air above them. There's a crowd of men in black filling the hallway beyond, red Rs splashed across their chests. Green reaches for his first poke ball, and with a faint hiss, Eevee materializes. Without waiting for commands, she uses skull bash on the nearest target; a golbat faints.
Red's hand flies out, and Pikachu bounds forward. They've been told not to use flashy attacks, but that's never stopped them. Soon Pikachu is flitting through their enemies like a ghost, steel tail here, quick attack there.
Green army-crawls towards Leaf. "There are too many!" he shouts over the Rockets' yelled commands, the noises of pokemon roars and attacks. "This is going to take too long!"
"They must have known we were coming," Leaf mutters as she scrabbles for her own poke ball.
Ethan's voice is urgent through the headset, still trying to stay calm; "I don't know how—"
"Cover your ears," Leaf says. Red only just hears her in time, and Pikachu comes running back to his trainer. Leaf's Jigglypuff opens its mouth as Green claps his hands over his ears, and a few moments later, the hallway is filled with sleeping bodies.
She winks at Green. "You just have to be a little more creative," she says.
"You put Eevee to sleep," he says, furious. "Couldn't you have waited another second or something?"
"You guys have ten minutes before Giovanni gets there," Ethan says, interrupting them. "And if Team Rocket knows, then you'll probably have even less ti—just hurry up."
They take off at a run once they've gained their feet; Green bends down mid-stride to scoop Eevee into his arms and return her to her poke ball. Ethan shouts commands as they run through the hallway, making a few turns. "Room 503, here," Ethan says, and Leaf pushes to the front of the team, bending down before the security system, a small fingerprint reader. She grins; her ditto is out in seconds. "Nobody ever remembers to wipe down the keypad," she says, and Ditto flows into the space and forms the shape of a finger. The door slides open with a pneumatic hiss.
"Well, well, what a lovely surprise," Archer says.
"Your clearance level has changed," Ethan reports, right on cue. "Use all force necessary."
Red's eyes gleam, and Green cracks his knuckles. Ditto is already slithering behind Archer, rug-colored, seeking out the safe in the desk behind them.
The Silph Co. building isn't quite the same after they're done with it, but then again, no place ever is.
*Where the four of them are the special ops team the pokemon league wishes they had.
Day 7: El Ten Eleven - My Only Swerving
Green focus, gen (but with pairings I didn't get to), Silver cameo, modern high school/waiter AU. WIP.
Green hates his job.
It's not just that his manager refuses to talk to him, or that the waitress on shift with him gets more tips than he does, or that the chef is crazy and keeps insisting on trying new recipes on unsuspecting customers. (He isn't sure what's worse—that Ethan thinks it's okay, or that the customers don't even notice.) It's just the whole experience in general, the way layers of gum cover the undersides of the tables, the way the vinyl covering the booths is cracked and frayed, the way the blinds are always mostly-drawn. Green is developing excellent dim-vision, which will probably continue to prove useless everywhere but here for months after he quits.
He's really looking forward to when he quits.
"I don't even know how you guys are still in business," Green says for the thousandth time. His cheek is resting on his folded arms, watching dolefully as Leaf finishes wiping down her half of the dining hall tables.
"We only hire beautiful people," Leaf says, matter-of-fact. She doesn't look up, but Green gives her a cocky grin anyway.
"Speak for yourself, gorgeous," he says.
Leaf looks up, then. Her eyes flick from his scuffed sneakers to his popped collar, lingering over the too-cool earring in his ear. She doesn't even have to roll her eyes for Green to die a little inside. They both turn away from each other at the same time—Green to hide his sudden flush, and Leaf to ignore him.
Red comes in, late (as always). "Red!" Ethan shouts before Red has even hung up his coat. "Come here, I want you to taste something."
"He's trying to poison you," Green says.
Red does roll his eyes. Green takes it as a victory.
"If you're that bored, go help Silver finish washing the dishes," Leaf says. "Seriously, Red, why did you hire this kid? All he does his bitch and moan."
"Because I'm super hot," Green says, "That's what you just said."
Red looks at Leaf, and after a moment, they both shrug at each other. Red ducks through the swinging double doors into the kitchen, and Green takes a moment to admire Leaf's fine ass as she bends over the last of her tables, wiping it down with quick, efficient strokes.
"Go on, stare at me for one more second," Leaf says, in a tone so calm it sends chills down Green's spine. "I dare you."
Green thinks it's a good time to go help wash some dishes.
--
The problem is, Green can't quit. He lives alone with his grandpa on the edge of town, and he's got aspirations bigger than this backwoods town can hold. He wants to go to college, travel the world, and get his name written in the history books. All that takes money, and right now he and gramps have none. And in a deadbeat town, there aren't many jobs open to begin with.
Ethan goes to high school with him, although he's in the year below; Green's fairly sure Ethan's position at the diner breaks child labor laws. He doesn't know how old Leaf and Red are, but they look like they should be in college, and they're not. They seem perfectly happy to live in this small town and do the same thing every day.
Green sits in class. His teacher is talking about China's cultural revolution, but his mind is far away, wondering how he's supposed to write college essays when he hasn't even started living yet.
"Tell us who you are," they ask; but the problem is, he isn't anyone, not yet.
--
"Stanford," Leaf says, "Don't you think that's a bit of a reach?"
"Yeah, what would you know?" he retorts. "I bet you've never even left this county."
"I went to NYU Tisch."
"You—what?" Green walks over to her, looking at Leaf with a curiosity that makes her shift uncomfortably. "What the hell are you still doing here?"
"It's none of your business," she says, and really, it isn't, but Green's always been a nosy brat.
As he's leaving work for the day, he finds an application to a small community college rolled up and stuffed into his coat pocket. He scoffs, yanks it out, and dumps it on the floor before he leaves.
*It's early September here, and Green is a high school senior. Where Leaf has returned from the big city disillusioned and determined to win Red's heart, where Red and Ethan have this really weird relationship and nobody can figure out whether they're seeing each other or what but nobody can ask them, either, where Red is stuck in his old habits and Ethan just really loves to cook, and Green does end up quitting and leaving town, but only after working at the diner teaches him a few things, such as how to write a college essay.
// written 21-31 May 2012
Like what you see? Consider watchingsouthofreality!
Rating: PG-13 for cursing
Word Count: 4,302
Genre: AU, Romance, Character Study
Fandom: Pokémon
Pairings: Red, Green, Leaf, Ethan; focuses and pairings change with each fic
Warnings: None
Summary: Several AU exercises (fighter pilot, college, rock star, road trip, pokemon researcher, secret agent, modern high school/waiter).
Author's Note: For
pokeprompts' May 2012 challenge. Some of these are WIPs/incomplete, but they were all great fun to write :)! You may notice that Ethan's characterization changes wildly from fic to fic; that is because in my head, my Ethan wears many different hats, and I decided to try them all out. Remember: each universe and fic is completely separate from the others, including characterization!Day 1: The Submarines - 1940 (AmpLive Remix)
Green+Ethan, implied Red/Leaf, fighter pilot AU. WIP. Influenced by
koyuki's War!AU.Green finds Ethan on the tarmac. He’s leaning against his plane, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Green’s not fooled—he’s not eighteen, but if he’s willing to die for his country, Green’s not going to say anything. He was there once, too.
Ethan gives a sharp salute, then pushes his goggles up a bit, assessing his commanding officer. Green links his hands behind his back and settles into an easy stance.
“Welcome to the 255th squadron,” Green says, raising an eyebrow—not friendly, not hostile. He nods up towards the cockpit, where a mareep’s tail is just peeking into sight. “Shouldn’t you be making friends?”
“We’re already friends,” Ethan says. He smiles, too bright and breezy for wartime. “Mareep, come down and say hello.”
The mareep pokes his head out and glares at Green with his one good eye. It’s all it lost in the crash; his last fighter wasn’t so lucky. “You’re sure you’re friends? ‘Friends’ is the word you’d use?”
“Definitely friends,” Ethan confirms. He lets out a low whistle and the Mareep looks at him. Its gaze softens, just a bit, before it snorts and disappears back into the cockpit, and Ethan laughs. Green sees why they picked Ethan to become a pilot, just a little.
“Come on,” Green says, “I’ll introduce you to the others.”
--
“That’s the Baron,” Green says, gesturing at a young man with a pikachu on his shoulder. The man looks up, gives Ethan a flicking once-over that makes him feel like he’s been x-rayed, and returns to his meal. “If I’m not around, you talk to him. Good luck getting an answer, though.”
“Hey, Red,” a girl said, breezing past Ethan, “Why’d you take the last turkey sandwich? You know I—”
Without a word, Red slides the sandwich across the table. She grins and drops a chocolate bar on his tray in trade.
“That’s Leaf,” Green says. He glances at Ethan, and then meaningfully at the other two; Ethan nods, understanding. “Lyra and Silver are out on a mission right now—I’ll introduce you later. Hey, Baron,” Green says. Red looks up, faintly annoyed now. “Save the new kid something for later, all right? I’m gonna finish giving him the tour.”
Red shrugs. “No promises,” Leaf agrees. Green laughs and guides Ethan out of the mess hall with a hand on his elbow.
Green shows him the layout of the base, skims past the infirmary and the showers, and ends up in Ethan’s room. Ethan’s one allowed bag is already on the bed, and the boy ignores it. He’s been sneaking Green glances the whole tour. Green’s been pretending not to notice, but this time he catches his gaze and holds it. Ethan doesn’t waver, and Green cocks his head, curious.
“You like what you see?” Green says, in a tone somewhere between sarcastic and warning. Ethan’s responding laugh is still too light-hearted, too genuine.
Green’s seen this type before. He remembers his last mission, the other plane dropping out of the sky, white paint and blue sky and flashes of orange fire. “Look,” he says. “You’re a good kid. People usually like you.”
Ethan shrugs.
“That’s not how it works, here,” Green says. “I don’t like you. And I won’t like you until you survive your first dogfight, so ease up on the charm, all right?”
Ethan’s smile fades.
“Well?” Green demands.
“Yes, sir,” Ethan says. Green realizes it’s the first words he’s said since they left the tarmac.
“That’s more like it,” he says, and turns on his heel, leaving Ethan alone.
--
“Green’s a dick,” Leaf says, later, sneaking Ethan a sandwich and a handful of fries. “Red hates being called the Baron, Green just does it to piss him off. Don’t call him that, okay?”
Day 2: Peter, Bjorn & John - Young Folks
Red/Leaf, college AU (sort of). Related to this.
“I ran into Green yesterday,” Ethan says.
Neither of them says anything. Red’s lying on the top bunk, staring at the ceiling; Leaf is at Red’s desk. Ethan, as the guest, has taken the bean bag chair. The fluorescent desk lamp is the only source of light.
“He’s your friend, right?” Ethan prompts. Leaf turns in the chair, gives him a soft look that’s somewhere between shut up and that’s enough. He isn’t looking at her, though. “I ran into him at the department store,” he says. He sounds excited, but anyone would be excited to meet the Champion. “He was out buying supplies. I told him to watch out, I had almost all the badges already.”
Leaf laughs, but stops herself quickly. “You’re a great trainer,” she says by way of apology.
Ethan smiles, tolerant. “He laughed, too,” he says. “But you’ll see.”
Red is silent.
An hour later, Ethan leaves, and Leaf climbs up to Red’s bunk. Her hands rest on the top rung of the ladder as she looks down at his face. He looks peaceful, his eyes closed. She almost thinks childlike, but they’re seniors, they’re graduating in less than a year. They’re almost adults. Is Green an adult?
“Are you asleep?” she whispers.
Red doesn’t answer, but his breaths aren’t deep enough for him to be sleeping. Leaf pulls herself up onto the mattress, trying not to shift it too much, and tucks herself in carefully around Red. Her hand rests on his stomach, feeling the slow tide of his breath.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
Red’s head tilts to rest his temple against her forehead, just slightly.
“It’s been years,” she says. “We shouldn’t keep worrying about him.”
Red’s lips part. “I can’t stop.”
Leaf sighs, her hand sliding across his stomach until she’s pulling him closer. “Me neither.”
She stares at the ceiling, feeling the cold radiating off the cinderblock wall. “He missed out,” she whispers. “Those pokemon trainers, they all do.”
--
Red isn’t in his room when Leaf pokes her head in the next day. His roommate is, and waves a brief hello as Leaf steps inside to wait. She moves to his desk again; it’s hers, mostly, Red studies in the library or on his bed.
She’s about to throw her binder open on the table when she sees that his laptop is on. An e-mail is visible on the screen.
“Green,” she whispers. The e-mail was sent an hour ago, and there’s no carbon copy—it’s just for Red. Leaf waits for it to hurt, and it never comes.
Red won’t mind, she knows; he might have even left it open on purpose. She leans closer, using her body to shield the computer from view as if Red’s roommate might care, and reads.
How are you doing?
That’s a stupid question. You’re always fine.
Gramps told me you’re at CU. I’m in town for a conference. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up.
Say hi to Leaf for me.
Her fingers touch his signature, too long and formal for such a short note, and the pain wells up.
*CU = Celadon University.
Day 3: Cobra Starship ft. Sabi - You Make Me Feel...
Green/Red and Green/Leaf (or, Green tries to stay professional and Red and Leaf aren't helping), Lyra and Brendan cameos, rock star AU.
Leaf is stumbling with laughter as she blows through the curtains, high on adrenaline, dripping wet from the hot stage lights. Her eyes glitter with gold shadow, and she swipes sweaty bangs out of her eyes as she collides with Green.
Immediately, he spins her until he’s got an arm around her shoulders, guiding her further backstage. He should be paid a lot more for this; it’s taking a good deal of willpower not to look down her shirt—what Brendan's left of it, anyway. Fashion, he thinks. “Ten minutes,” he tells her, “that’s the most I can give you before the encore.” She’s not listening, as always, though her laughter is dying down. When Green thinks she can walk on her own, he lets go.
“Can you hear them?” she says, eyes shining as she looks up at him. Behind him, Green hears a muted flapping as the curtains open again.
“Hurry up,” Green yells, turning his head a little. He’s not expecting an answer.
--
“Good performance, huh?” Lyra asks, gently touching up Leaf’s lipstick. Leaf smiles, and Lyra frowns at her. “Hold still.”
“You asked,” Leaf laughs.
Ethan is the last to arrive—he always has a hard time ignoring adulation and praise. “Sorry I’m late,” he says. Green tries not to roll his eyes.
“Red,” Green says, “How’s your guitar?”
Red flicks his eyes up to look at him in the mirror, holding stock-still as Brendan fixes his hair. Unlike Leaf, stylists adore him.
“You sounded a little flat,” Green says.
“Oh come on, Green, give him a break,” Leaf says. Lyra gives up on lipstick for now, and moves to powdering her nose.
“I’m sure Red’s got it under control,” Ethan says, slipping a leather jacket on. It’s their seventh costume change of the night, and thankfully the last—Green’s getting tired of showering Leaf with praise.
“I hope so. The show’s not over yet,” Green reminds them.
“I know! God, I love Unova,” Leaf says, stretching catlike in her chair. Lyra hisses at her. “Sorry,” she says, grinning. “But seriously, Green, can we just stay in Unova forever? I haven’t even seen half of Nimbasa yet—”
“Castelia in two days,” he says.
“Casteliacones,” Ethan reminds her, and Leaf lights up. The conversation switches to big city sights, and Green takes the opportunity to duck outside of the venue entirely, take a gulp of fresh air.
This is their first world tour, and Unova is the last region they go through before they return to Kanto for one last big show in Saffron City. Green sighs, presses his heels of his palms to his eyes, and tries to get the knots in his shoulders to relax. It’s almost brighter out here, in Nimbasa’s neon lights, than it is inside the venue.
He checks his watch: two minutes.
Green heads back to the stage, where their instruments are. The roar of the crowd is almost deafening; he can pick Leaf's name out amidst the roar. He smiles a little at that, and reaches for Red’s guitar. His fingers are sliding up the frets when a hand covers his. Green tries not to jump.
“I’ve got it,” Red murmurs.
Wordlessly, Green hands it over, listening as Red adjusts the machine heads. When the guitar’s tuned, Red strums it once, experimentally. Green nods when Red glances at him. Red gives an answering nod, and slings the guitar across his body; then he looks up again, and their eyes meet. In the half-shadow behind the stage curtain, with eyeliner and gelled hair and a ripped red shirt that brings out his eyes, he looks—well, like a rock star. Green swallows thickly, feeling vaguely hypnotized; I should be used to this, he thinks, and then, I could never get used to this.
Leaf breezes back onto the stage, then, taking dangerously long strides in six-inch stilettos. “Showtime!” she calls, grinning wide, and Green hurries off the stage. Ethan high-fives him as they pass each other.
“Knock ‘em dead,” Green yells from the wings.
“Always!” Leaf shouts, and the curtains draw back.
*Ethan is the keyboardist; Leaf is the lead singer. I hope it was obvious, but Green is their manager.
Day 4: Stars - Your Ex-Lover is Dead
Leaf+Ethan, background Green/Leaf, road trip AU.
Leaf sees Red and Green sitting together a short distance away, and frowns.
She returns her attention to the small propane stove and the can in her hand. Ethan, across the fire, looks at her curiously, but she doesn’t meet his eyes. “Can opener,” she says, holding out her hand.
“I’ll open it.”
“Sure.” She passes the can to him, staring at the fire, and listens to the faint hiss of metal slicing through metal.
“Something on your mind?” he asks.
Leaf shakes her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Ethan nods, dumping the soup into the pot. He’s scraping the can when Leaf says, “I do want to talk about it. But I don’t know what to say.”
“Okay.”
“They’re talking,” Leaf continues. “I told Green to talk to him, so they’re talking.”
He gives the spoon back to her. “That’s good, right?”
“Right.”
“You don’t sound like it’s good.”
“I want them to be friends,” she says, somewhat stubbornly.
“That’s why you guys are on this trip, right?” Leaf nods. He thinks for a moment. “I want to be Red’s friend, too,” he says. “Is that bad?”
“You're different,” Leaf says. “It’ll be good for Green, you know? Everything got so messed up—I just want things to go back to the way they were.” She hugs her knees to her chest. “I love Green,” she says. “He’s amazing. I just—”
After a moment of silence, Ethan prompts, “Just what?”
“I’m the only real friend Green has,” Leaf says. “I’m supposed to be everything for him—I can’t, you know? I’m just me. I want to be me,” she says, looking up at Ethan suddenly. “I can’t change who I am or what I want to do. I like traveling, I like seeing new places and learning things.”
Ethan’s looking at her with mild-mannered interest. “What did Green say about it?”
Leaf gives a little laugh. “We’re on this road trip, aren’t we? And Green is talking to Red,” she says.
“So he’s trying.”
“We’re both trying.” Leaf rests her chin on her knees. “I don’t want things to go back to the way they were,” she says. “That’s—I love Green. I don’t want to lose that.” She shakes her head. “I’m not making sense,” she says. “Forget it.”
She stirs the pot, feeling awkward in the silence. Raised voices make them both lift their heads, and they see Green storming off towards the car. The car door slams. Red is sitting stiffly where Green left him, and a few moments later, Pikachu comes over to sit beside him.
“I’ll stir,” Ethan says. Leaf sighs, hands the spoon to him, and stands, not knowing who to go to first.
“Hey, Leaf,” Ethan says, catching her attention. His grin is lopsided. “It’ll work out.”
“What makes you so sure?” Leaf asks.
“Because you’re amazing,” he says.
He sounds too genuine, she thinks, feeling somehow off-balance, but after a moment gives him a small answering smile. Then, she heads off towards the sand dunes.
Day 5: Greg Laswell - Comes and Goes (in Waves)
Ethan+Leaf, canon (pokemon researcher) AU. WIP.
Ethan steps off the boat. The town he can see in the distance, a little away from the floating wooden pier he's swaying on, is small and homely, familiar-seeming. At the end of the pier, a girl is waiting. He smiles, and tries to stride towards her with as much confidence he can muster as the pier rocks gently in the tide.
"How was your trip?" she asks, turning to guide him back to the lab.
"Fine," he says. "How is the professor?"
"Oh, working hard, as always," she says. "It's great to see you again! Last summer was so much fun, I'm glad you could join us here."
Ethan hitches his messenger bag a little higher on his shoulder, smiling at her. "It feels like home already," he says, and he isn't entirely lying.
--
"I'm Leaf," she says by way of introduction. "The research aide?"
"Green's out right now," he says, "But I'm Ethan. I'm an aide, too." He shakes her hand, offers to take her bags, chats with her all the way up the stairs and to her narrow bedroom.
"I'm from Pallet, originally," Leaf says. "Have you ever been there?" Ethan shakes his head. "It's a small town, like this one." She gazes out the window at the Johto fields surrounding the town, and smiles.
Ethan watches the girl illuminated in the sunset, one hand brushing the lace curtain away, a mixture of happiness and longing on her face. He licks his lips and backs quietly down the stairs without saying anything more.
"I thought you were angry at me," she says later. Ethan laughs, saying, "You were so pretty, I didn't know what to do." Leaf punches his arm, and he doesn't know whether to be angry or relieved that she never takes him seriously.
--
"Professor! Ethan is here," she calls. The lab is smaller than Green's, and a little messier, though not by much. Papers lie in neat stacks on every available surface—desks, chairs, old CRT monitors—and wires are plastered in color-coded tape across the floor.
"Come on," she says, not waiting for an answer, and brings Ethan up to the balcony, where a young man is sitting in a small conservatory, a venusaur and a sunflora on either side of him. He looks up, and Ethan is startled; his gaze is piercing, though not threatening.
"This is Red," she says. "Ethan is on loan from Professor Oak, do you remember?" Red nods, and holds out a clipboard. "Sure, I'll write it up," she says, taking it from him, "and I'll finish showing Ethan around. Dinner's in an hour, okay?" Red nods again, turning back to the sunflora, who gives a little burble of pleasure and cuddles into his lap.
"It's okay to just call him Red?" Ethan whispers as they leave.
"If you're nervous, just call him professor," she says, laughing. "We've been friends since we were babies. We grew up in the same small town together," and something about it makes Ethan wonder.
"Small town kids unite," he says, covering his worry with a smile.
--
Leaf takes him swimming in the ocean that summer, delighted to learn that he's as adept at swimming as she is: "My friends like to swim, but not as much as I do," she says. On the seashore, they monitor nesting birds and tidal pools, swing each other around the sand in joy when they find a staryu on the shore, long thought gone from the warming New Bark waters.
"I never want you to go," Ethan says on her last week there, sandy and soaked and dazzled by the noonday sun.
She smiles at him, charmed by his honesty. "Why don't you come visit?" she says. "We could always use another hand around the lab. It'll be like an exchange program."
"Your professor won't mind?"
"Trust me, he'll like you," Leaf says knowingly.
--
Dinner is a strange conglomeration of foods that don't quite match, although each dish individually is delicious. "Did I overdo it?" she says as Ethan stares at the feast.
"I've got a big appetite," he says.
"I remember!" Leaf replies, and he's secretly pleased.
*Where Red and Green are estranged rival researchers who, through their aides, learn to be friends again. Obviously Green is "Professor Oak" here; he grew up in New Bark Town and took over Professor Elm's lab, in time.
Day 6: Super Junior - Monster
Gen, secret agent AU.
"We're in," Green whispers.
Ethan's voice is tinny over the headset. "It's five floors down."
Red and Pikachu slip into point position, quiet as shadows. Green plays tail; Leaf is in the middle, staying low, as they had agreed upon earlier.
"Hurry up," Green snarls.
"Stuff it," Leaf snaps back. Red glares over his shoulder, and they lapse into tense silence.
The building is deserted. This is too easy, Green thinks, but nobody appears to challenge them, and Leaf easily overcomes the few security systems that exist. From the roof, they make it down five floors.
"Left," Ethan says, and they turn the corner.
"Get down!" Leaf yells, tackling Red to the floor and just barely dodging the razor leaves that flood the air above them. There's a crowd of men in black filling the hallway beyond, red Rs splashed across their chests. Green reaches for his first poke ball, and with a faint hiss, Eevee materializes. Without waiting for commands, she uses skull bash on the nearest target; a golbat faints.
Red's hand flies out, and Pikachu bounds forward. They've been told not to use flashy attacks, but that's never stopped them. Soon Pikachu is flitting through their enemies like a ghost, steel tail here, quick attack there.
Green army-crawls towards Leaf. "There are too many!" he shouts over the Rockets' yelled commands, the noises of pokemon roars and attacks. "This is going to take too long!"
"They must have known we were coming," Leaf mutters as she scrabbles for her own poke ball.
Ethan's voice is urgent through the headset, still trying to stay calm; "I don't know how—"
"Cover your ears," Leaf says. Red only just hears her in time, and Pikachu comes running back to his trainer. Leaf's Jigglypuff opens its mouth as Green claps his hands over his ears, and a few moments later, the hallway is filled with sleeping bodies.
She winks at Green. "You just have to be a little more creative," she says.
"You put Eevee to sleep," he says, furious. "Couldn't you have waited another second or something?"
"You guys have ten minutes before Giovanni gets there," Ethan says, interrupting them. "And if Team Rocket knows, then you'll probably have even less ti—just hurry up."
They take off at a run once they've gained their feet; Green bends down mid-stride to scoop Eevee into his arms and return her to her poke ball. Ethan shouts commands as they run through the hallway, making a few turns. "Room 503, here," Ethan says, and Leaf pushes to the front of the team, bending down before the security system, a small fingerprint reader. She grins; her ditto is out in seconds. "Nobody ever remembers to wipe down the keypad," she says, and Ditto flows into the space and forms the shape of a finger. The door slides open with a pneumatic hiss.
"Well, well, what a lovely surprise," Archer says.
"Your clearance level has changed," Ethan reports, right on cue. "Use all force necessary."
Red's eyes gleam, and Green cracks his knuckles. Ditto is already slithering behind Archer, rug-colored, seeking out the safe in the desk behind them.
The Silph Co. building isn't quite the same after they're done with it, but then again, no place ever is.
*Where the four of them are the special ops team the pokemon league wishes they had.
Day 7: El Ten Eleven - My Only Swerving
Green focus, gen (but with pairings I didn't get to), Silver cameo, modern high school/waiter AU. WIP.
Green hates his job.
It's not just that his manager refuses to talk to him, or that the waitress on shift with him gets more tips than he does, or that the chef is crazy and keeps insisting on trying new recipes on unsuspecting customers. (He isn't sure what's worse—that Ethan thinks it's okay, or that the customers don't even notice.) It's just the whole experience in general, the way layers of gum cover the undersides of the tables, the way the vinyl covering the booths is cracked and frayed, the way the blinds are always mostly-drawn. Green is developing excellent dim-vision, which will probably continue to prove useless everywhere but here for months after he quits.
He's really looking forward to when he quits.
"I don't even know how you guys are still in business," Green says for the thousandth time. His cheek is resting on his folded arms, watching dolefully as Leaf finishes wiping down her half of the dining hall tables.
"We only hire beautiful people," Leaf says, matter-of-fact. She doesn't look up, but Green gives her a cocky grin anyway.
"Speak for yourself, gorgeous," he says.
Leaf looks up, then. Her eyes flick from his scuffed sneakers to his popped collar, lingering over the too-cool earring in his ear. She doesn't even have to roll her eyes for Green to die a little inside. They both turn away from each other at the same time—Green to hide his sudden flush, and Leaf to ignore him.
Red comes in, late (as always). "Red!" Ethan shouts before Red has even hung up his coat. "Come here, I want you to taste something."
"He's trying to poison you," Green says.
Red does roll his eyes. Green takes it as a victory.
"If you're that bored, go help Silver finish washing the dishes," Leaf says. "Seriously, Red, why did you hire this kid? All he does his bitch and moan."
"Because I'm super hot," Green says, "That's what you just said."
Red looks at Leaf, and after a moment, they both shrug at each other. Red ducks through the swinging double doors into the kitchen, and Green takes a moment to admire Leaf's fine ass as she bends over the last of her tables, wiping it down with quick, efficient strokes.
"Go on, stare at me for one more second," Leaf says, in a tone so calm it sends chills down Green's spine. "I dare you."
Green thinks it's a good time to go help wash some dishes.
--
The problem is, Green can't quit. He lives alone with his grandpa on the edge of town, and he's got aspirations bigger than this backwoods town can hold. He wants to go to college, travel the world, and get his name written in the history books. All that takes money, and right now he and gramps have none. And in a deadbeat town, there aren't many jobs open to begin with.
Ethan goes to high school with him, although he's in the year below; Green's fairly sure Ethan's position at the diner breaks child labor laws. He doesn't know how old Leaf and Red are, but they look like they should be in college, and they're not. They seem perfectly happy to live in this small town and do the same thing every day.
Green sits in class. His teacher is talking about China's cultural revolution, but his mind is far away, wondering how he's supposed to write college essays when he hasn't even started living yet.
"Tell us who you are," they ask; but the problem is, he isn't anyone, not yet.
--
"Stanford," Leaf says, "Don't you think that's a bit of a reach?"
"Yeah, what would you know?" he retorts. "I bet you've never even left this county."
"I went to NYU Tisch."
"You—what?" Green walks over to her, looking at Leaf with a curiosity that makes her shift uncomfortably. "What the hell are you still doing here?"
"It's none of your business," she says, and really, it isn't, but Green's always been a nosy brat.
As he's leaving work for the day, he finds an application to a small community college rolled up and stuffed into his coat pocket. He scoffs, yanks it out, and dumps it on the floor before he leaves.
*It's early September here, and Green is a high school senior. Where Leaf has returned from the big city disillusioned and determined to win Red's heart, where Red and Ethan have this really weird relationship and nobody can figure out whether they're seeing each other or what but nobody can ask them, either, where Red is stuck in his old habits and Ethan just really loves to cook, and Green does end up quitting and leaving town, but only after working at the diner teaches him a few things, such as how to write a college essay.
// written 21-31 May 2012
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