Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, whether it be the manga or anime. Hehe, if I did, I would have sent the manga over hear in its entirety a while ago, lol.

A/N: Well, this is the latest intallment of my "couples mission". Today's feature, Red and Yellow :P, enjoy, and please remember to review:

Promises

(A RedXYellow Oneshot)

Yellow, a young girl of thirteen who hails from Viridian City, was sitting at a lake near the outskirts of said town. Her Pikachu, Chuchu, and Raticate, Ratty were at her side, watching her as she threw a line from her fishing pole into the lake. She propped the rod up on a nearby tree and stretched as she tried to find a comfortable sitting position. Afterwards, the blonde pulled out a sketchbook and some pencils from her satchel, flipped through some pages, grabbed a pencil and began to draw.

"Ratta raticate? (What are you up to, Yellow?)" Ratty turned to his trainer, a quizzical look was on the rat Pokémon's face. Yellow understood him; she had the ability to read his mind, and the minds of all Pokémon since she was gifted with the powers of the Viridian Forest.

"Oh, just drawing to pass the time, Ratty." the young lady smiled as she put the eraser of her pencil to her chin in thought.

"Pika…pikachu? (Oh…what are you drawing?)" Chuchu questioned as she jumped on Yellows shoulder, but before she could get a good look, her trainer had faced the sketchbook down so Chuchu couldn't see it.

"You'll have to wait 'til I'm done, Chuchu." Yellow laughed as she gently removed her electric mouse from her shoulder and set her on the ground.

"Pikacha…pi pi chu cha pipipi? (Let me guess…a certain boy trainer by the name of Red?)" the female Pikachu gave a mischievous smile as she sat back down next to Ratty, who looked like he was on the verge of laughter as well. Yellow just gave a soft blush as she sighed; she had been found out.

"…Am I that obvious?" The girl softly spoke as she straightened out her shirt; a nervous expression was on her face.

"Raticate rat raatt. (Well, you just act different around him.)" Ratty gave an understanding look to his trainer, who just gave a look that seemed to request an explanation. "Raaatticate…ratta. (You're nervous and you blush a lot when you're near him…I don't think he's noticed it though.)," the large rat continued, hoping to soothe any concerns his trainer might have. She only looked down at her sketchbook in response, and slowly resumed drawing.

"I…I don't know what's worse…the fact that I can't confess my feelings for him, or that he doesn't seem to notice me. Am I a hopeless cause? I mean, he's one of the best trainers in the country and I'm…well, I'm just a simple girl from Viridian Forest who always needs saving, it seems…" Yellow sighed as she put her sketchbook down and reclined back on the soft grass behind her. Ratty and Chuchu just looked at each other with concern. Ratty walked over to his trainer and nudged her side to get her attention. The blonde leaned up and looked at her Pokémon, his whiskers were drooped, signifying that he was sad for her.

"Raaaticate…ratata ratttticate raticate? (Don't worry about it, Yellow…I think he might feel something towards you too, I mean think about it, he's always been there for you, right?)" Ratty's whiskers perked up a little when he began to remember some of the times that he had seen Red. Yellow immediately sat up in response, her face was a little brighter. She closed her green eyes in thought.

"Ratty's right…he's always been here for me. There was the time we first met…he had saved me from an angry Dratini. Then he caught me when I passed out from the fight with Lance…he also kept his promise of trying out for the Viridian Gym Leader position…hehe he didn't even seem to be mad when I revealed that I was a girl instead of the boy, Caballero Amarillo, just shocked really." she thought to herself as she stood up and stretched. She then picked up her belongings and began walking along side the edge of the lake.

"Pika pikachu? (Hey, where are you going?") Chuchu asked as she and Ratty walked to catch up with their trainer.

"I think I'm going to give Red a call, you know…to see how he's doing?" Yellow blushed a little as she gave a smile towards her companions, but as she was walking, she failed to notice a slick spot of mud and she slipped. All of her things flew up into the air: the sketchbook, the tackle box and her satchel landed on the edge of the lake, while she and her fishing rod fell into the lake. Ratty and Chuchu frantically ran to the edge, ready to jump in to save their trainer.

"Yellow!" A voice yelled as the two Pokémon readied themselves to jump, catching them off guard. Then they heard a second splash of someone else diving in. They looked in the direction of the splash, and on the shoreline they saw a red jacket and a matching hat on the ground lying as if they had been thrown off. Chuchu and Ratty just looked at each other in confusion and looked back at the lake.

When Yellow fell in the water, she shook her head in shock and began to make her way to the surface, but not long after she started swimming, she felt a pair of arms scoop her up. She looked to see who had grabbed her, but the water was too murky for her to get a good look. They finally surfaced, and made their way to the shore, which she climbed on and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she looked to see who it was that helped her. What she saw was a young man about her age, with jet black hair that was drenched, so it was halfway covering his eyes. At first she didn't recognize him, but when he faced her and she got a look at his warm, brown eyes, she blushed. It was Red.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" The young man asked as he leaned back in exhaustion, a smile on his face.

"Y-yeah, I' m fine, Red. Thanks for helping me." Yellow gave a week smile as she shivered from being damp, it was kind of felt like déjà vu to her though; that was exactly what he asked the first time they met.

"Oh, here, this'll help you warm up." Red nervously smiled as he handed her his jacket, which was lying on the ground next to them. She took it and wrapped it around her body, thankful for the warmth it had. Just then Chuchu and Ratty came rushing up and snuggled with their trainer, glad to see that she was okay. Yellow just gave a small laugh as she rubbed her Pokémon's heads in a comforting way, then she gave a small blush as she looked at Red.

"So…what were you doing here, Red? The next Pokémon League Championship isn't for a few months…" The blonde inquired as she rung out her long, blonde hair.

"Um…well, I just figured I'd drop by to say hi, but you weren't in town, so I figured you were here fishing in the lake. Good thing I guessed right, hehe." Red blushed a little as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Y-yeah…we'd better head back to town so we can dry off. We're going to catch a cold if we stay out here soaked to the bone." Yellow laughed as she stood up and began gathering her things. Red followed suit and helped her collect some of her belongings as well. As he was picking up some of the spilled items, he came across a sketchbook, and looked curiously at it. He blushed and gave a soft smile, as he saw that it was a sketch of him and his Pikachu, Pika, laughing together. Yellow noticed that Red was looking at her sketchbook, and nervously began to pick up the rest of the things. She saw that he was smiling though, and this caused the girl to become slightly confused.

"Yellow…" Red sighed as he turned around to face her. His face was a little difficult to read, it looked scared, yet happy.

"Red…I'm sorry about the sketchbook…I…" Yellow stammered, but before she could finish, Red just let out a laugh as he politely shook his head.

"No, no, it's not about the sketchbook, I'm actually very flattered…but what I meant to say was that I was going to tell you the actual reason why I came here," the black-haired teen nervously looked away as he picked up a few more loose items. Yellow just gave a look of curiosity as she walked over to him so they could begin putting the items away in her satchel. "Um…w-would you…like to come to my house for dinner tonight? I thought it might be nice if we…you know…hung out, being as we haven't done so in a while…" Red stumbled over is words as he handed Yellow her bag. She just blankly stared at him, not sure what to make of what he just said. Red just looked down, "I understand if you don't want to…" the young man began to speak, but was interrupted by Yellow, who gave a soft giggle.

"Red, I'd be happy to have dinner with you and your family. That is, if your mom doesn't mind." The blonde smiled as she put her bag over her shoulder.

"Oh, it's all good; my mom said it was okay if I invited you…she said she wanted to meet you anyway." Red laughed as he shook his head to get some of water out of it. Yellow just blushed at what Red said, but managed to laugh at the mess that the boy's hair had become, it was even spikier than what it normally was. "So it's settled, Aero will give us a lift there. We'll dry off at my house, I'm sure my mom has some clothes you could wear…" Red smiled as he summoned his Aerodactyl and hopped on his back, then gave Yellow some help climbing up, after she recalled Ratty and Chuchu to their poke-balls. With that the two trainers took off towards Pallet Town.

As they were flying, Yellow tapped Red on the shoulder, "Not to sound ungrateful or anything…but I could have made my way the shore by myself…why did you jump in after me?"

Red's entire body stiffened when he heard the question, Yellow couldn't see his face, being as his back was turned, but his face was cherry red, "Well…I saw you fall in, and I didn't know if you were in trouble, so I kinda…just jumped without thinking, really. I couldn't stand the thought of not seeing you again…" Red's voice slowly trailed off. Yellow was stunned, at first she didn't know what to do, but eventually she found herself giving Red a hug around his waist from behind.

"Thank you, Red…for always being there to catch me…" She softly whispered as leaned her head to rest on his back.

Red just smiled, "You're welcome, Yellow…any time." With that, they continued flying towards Pallet. After a few minutes, they arrived at Pallet and Aero landed right in front of Red's house and allowed the two trainers to dismount. Red recalled the prehistoric Pokémon to his poke-ball and he walked up to his door, Yellow following close behind. He opened the door and slowly walked in, "Mom, I'm home, I have a friend with me."

"That's good, dinner's almost ready…oh my…you two are soaked! What happened?" Red's mother questioned as she came from around the corner and saw that the two teens were drenched. Like her son, she had black hair and brown eyes, but her face was a little softer than his, nor was her hair spiky.

"It's okay, mom, we're fine…we just went for a swim before we came here, that's all." Red nervously laughed, trying to avoid an awkward moment.

"Oh, and you didn't even offer this beautiful young lady a fresh change of clothes?! What a fine husband you'll make for her one day, Red," the older lady jokingly scolded, then she leaned next to Yellow and gave a jovial smile, "Don't worry, dear, I'll teach him how to be a good husband before long." Red and Yellow were both vividly blushing at the lady's comments.

"M-mom! You're embarrassing me!" Red yelled; it was obvious by his tone he was far passed annoyed.

His mom just laughed, "Oh, I'm sorry, Red...just go get changed, dinner's almost ready." With that, Red went upstairs to his room to change, while Yellow followed his mom to her room so she could get some clothes.

As she put on a shirt that Red's mom had given her, Yellow introduced herself, "Thank you for your hospitality, ma'am. I'm Yellow de Viridian Grove." Then she put a towel to her hair to dry it out.

"You're very welcome, Yellow. It's nice finally to meet you face to face. All I know about you is from what Red's told me. I find it hard to believe that you passed for a boy, with how pretty you are. That was very clever of you, Yellow." Red's mom gave a laugh as she sat down next to her.

"W-well it wasn't my idea…wait…Red's been talking…about me?" Yellow blushed as she tied her hair back into a pony tail.

"Oh my, yes. Ever since he came back from Johto, he hasn't stopped talking about you." The lady of the house let out a soft chuckle as she stood up and went down stairs. A confused Yellow followed suit after finally realizing that she had been left behind. When they made it down the steps, Yellow saw Red sitting at the table with a nervous expression on his face. His mom noticed this, and gave a mysterious grin as she began to serve the food.

"You know, I think I'll leave you two to eat by yourselves while I eat in the living room." The older lady smiled as she handed the two trainers their plates. The two teens' faces just became a light shade of red.

"Why would you do that, mom?" Red nervously laughed.

"Well, my soap opera's on, and it'll give you two the opportunity to catch up on old times." His mom smiled as she walked away, but before she turned the corner, she gave a quick glance at Red, making sure to get a good look at his face. He was looking down at his plate, trying to avoid eye contact with Yellow, the woman just gave an understanding sigh, "My, my, it seems my little champion has been defeated…not by an opponent, but by his own heart."

Back in the dining room, Red and Yellow were sitting at the table, slowly eating their food. There was an air of unrest about them; this was by far the most awkward situation that they had been in.

"C'mon, Red…say something…you've gotta break the ice sooner or later, right?" Red quietly thought to himself as he ate some of the tuna casserole that was on his plate. Just then he felt one of his poke-balls wiggling, he looked and saw that it was Pika's. The electric mouse was giving a confident smile and nodding his head, as if trying to coax his trainer to at least give it a shot. After taking a deep breath, the young man finally managed to speak, "So…how are things?"

"Um…they're pretty good; there isn't anything really worth talking about. Everything's so peaceful now days that I either spend my days fishing, or maybe even watch one of Green's Gym battles every now and then. A lot of those poor trainers have no idea who they're dealing with when they walk into that gym." Yellow laughed as she put some food into her mouth. Red just sighed when he heard her reply.

"Yellow, I'm sorry about not being able to keep my promise of becoming the Viridian Gym Leader. I feel like I let you down…" The young trainer mumbled as he moved some peas around his plate.

"It's okay, Red, it wasn't your fault. I'm actually glad you didn't take it…if you had, your condition might have gotten worse. Running a Gym can be exhausting on a body. Look at our Leader friends like Misty, Erika, even Green himself, they're tired all the time, but you were suffering from chronic numbness…who knows what could have happened if you had taken all the burdens of being a Leader? You probably would've ran yourself into the ground, and you wouldn't have said a word to anybody about it either, you would've kept going until you couldn't have continued…because you have such a passion for Pokémon…and for your friends. That's what worries most about you, and yet it's what I…admire about you too. Don't worry…you didn't let me down, Red." Yellow softly spoke as she looked nervously at her food, trying to avoid eye contact with Red. The young man just looked at her with a dazed look, he wasn't sure what to say, but finally he closed his eyes in thought and cleared his voice.

"Y-Yellow…" He began, his voice a little cracked with nervousness. The girl lifted her head so she could see the boy. "I…I like you…I mean, a lot…um…ever since I realized that you were the girl I saved in the Forest…I keep on finding myself in a daze. Back then, I thought you were…cute, but now…well…you're beautiful. Um…b-but that's not the only reason why I like you, of course…you're smart, funny, kind, friendly, brave, talented, and so much more…" Red stammered, his face matched his name in color; Yellow's face wasn't much different as she just looked at Red with shock and amazement.

"Um…thanks. I-I really like you too, Red. At first, I thought I only admired you…since you saved me, but after a while…I wasn't able to stop thinking about you. I'd catch my mind wandering as I doodled in my sketchbook, and more times than not, you were the subject of my drawings. After a while, around the time we fought Lance…I realized it was because I…liked you. After I showed myself to be a girl, I was afraid you didn't want to talk to me…being as we haven't seen much of each other since then…" Yellow nervously spoke as she tried to read Red's expression.

Red just gave a kind laugh, "That's only because I didn't know what to do when it came to you…it was only today that I managed enough courage to do something like ask you to dinner." Yellow just laughed at the comment, relieved that she finally had confessed, and also happy that it was a good day over all. The two trainers finished eating, consuming their food much easier, being as they had finally talked out one another's feelings. Afterwards they cleaned their dishes and made their way to the living room.

"Mom, I'm gonna give Yellow a ride back to her house." Red announced as he opened the door and allowed Yellow to pass.

His mom just smiled, "See, you're learning already. That's the 'lady's first' principle, that's a good start, Red."

"Thanks, mom, I try. I'll be back in about fifteen minutes." Red waved goodbye as he closed the door, leaving his mom with an understanding smile on her face. After he went outside, he summoned Aero again, and the two trainers headed back to Viridian. After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the city and landed right in front of Yellow's home. Red dismounted and gave Yellow a hand climbing off. "Well, I guess I'll see you later."

"Yeah, maybe I'll have you over next time." Yellow smiled.

"Pika! (Gotcha)!" She heard one of the Pokémon exclaim, the next thing she knew, some small sparks came flying from Red's back, causing him to jump up in shock. Soon he began to fall forward, but managed to catch himself just as his face came just mere inches from Yellow's. The two trainers' faces were vivid red as their eyes locked. Yellow noticed Red give a nervous smile as he moved his face and gave her a small peck on the cheek.

"What…was that for?" Yellow questioned as she placed her hand on her cheek.

"Because…I want this day to be special for both of us. I didn't kiss you for two reasons…one, my mom would likely throw a fit, and two…I don't want to take your first kiss, at least not right now…that should only be reserved for that special someone that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt is meant for you and you alone. Trust me, I fully intend on filling that role for you, it's just we're too young to consider going 'steady' right now. Just think of it as a…rain check of sorts. I promise I'll save mine for you, if you'll do the same…for me." Red blushed as he walked over to his Aerodactyl. The next thing he knew, Yellow had wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"I promise, Red." She whispered as she let go and let Red climb back on Aero.

"Okay…I guess I'd better get going, then." Red smiled as he coaxed Aero to take flight, and soon afterwards, the two were out of Yellow's sight. As he was flying he pulled a poke-ball from his belt and smiled. "Thanks, I guess I owe you one, Pika. You really now how to bring people together, don't you?" The electric mouse just gave a thumbs up as Red returned the sphere to his belt and continued home.