After a few seconds of dreaded silence, he finally spoke up.
"Tell me what's wrong." He spoke in a voice that was a tad bit more gentle and concerned than before.
I paused for a moment, unsure of what to say.
"Exactly what I told you before... I had a nightmare. It isn't a big deal.. really." Well.. half of that statement was true, wasn't it?
"...You're really not gonna tell me, are you?" He said, his quiet voice sounding somewhat upset by the fact that I can't tell him.
"...I'm sorry.." I choked out reluctantly. "I just.. I just can't talk about it yet.."
I heard Red sigh on the other end of the line, and then it was quiet for a moment. I slowly rested my forehead on top of my knees that were pressed against my chest as I held my phone close to my ear.
"..Alright." He finally responded, his voice still sounding a bit upset.
It was quiet for a second or two before I finally spoke. "...Let me ask you a question now." The tone in my voice still sounded a bit soft and quiet, but instead of sounding monotone and emotionless, it sounded a bit more concerned.
"Are /you/ okay, Red?"
Then everything went dead silent again, this time for what seemed like eternity. The only sound I could hear was Red's shallow breathing on the other end of the line. I'm pretty sure it took about 30 seconds before he finally spoke.
"...It's Christmas tomorrow." He muttered quietly... and then I remembered something.
What was that thing... that thing he told Pikachu on the first day we met..
Right before I interrupted him, he said...
"I miss my family, Pika.."
I had to ask.
"...Are... are you gonna visit your family?" I stuttered nervously. I assumed this had to be a touchy subject, but.. I couldn't help but ask.
I heard Red's breathing stop the second I finished my sentence. My heart seemed to stop in my chest for about 4 seconds until I finally heard him exhale sharply and continue breathing, but much slower this time.
"...I haven't seen them in awhile.." He choked, his voice sounding weak now. "I... I think I might..... it depends."
"Depends on what?" I questioned back almost immediately... I really hoped I wasn't pushing him too far. I just had to figure it out.
It was quiet for about 3 seconds before he answered. "...It depends if I can..... I... I haven't.. been off this mountain in two years..."
Two years?!
"...You seriously haven't seen them in two years?" I asked quietly.
"..No. No, I haven't.." He muttered quietly. His voice sounded like he was about to cry...
"...You should go see them." I muttered softly.
".....I'll... I'll think about it..." He muffled quietly, his voice cracking slightly.
"...Where does your family live..?" I asked softly.
"...My mom lives in Pallet Town.." He muffled once again.
"Oh, really? I don't live too far from there." I said, my voice sounding a tad bit more positive in effort to break the depressing tension that seems to settle in whenever we have a conversation. I almost asked where the rest of his family was, but.. I felt like that'd be a bad idea- so I kept my mouth shut about it for now.
"Really? Where do you live?" He asked, his voice still sounding a bit weak even as we attempted to change the topic.
"I actually live in Virdian City." I answered casually.
"Hm. My old friend, Blue, is the leader of the gym there- or so I've heard. I haven't seen him since I was 12." He said flatly, the tone in his voice seeming to get less weak with every word he spoke.
"Oh, yeah, I've heard of him. Never met him, though." I responded casually once again. "I hear he's kind of a dickstrip, though."
"Ahah, yeah. Dickstrip, that's a nice word." He responded with a slight laugh. Hey, at least our conversation was on a much lighter note now.
"I know, right?" I laughed slightly as well.
"Heh- but, uhm.. anyways, yeah... maybe.. maybe I'll think about visiting. I'll probably leave in a few hours." He said, his deep voice sounding a lot calmer now.
"Yeah. Hey, maybe I'll walk down to Pallet and see you when you get there." I responded happily, a small half-smile on the left side of my (pale/tan/dark) face.
"Yeah.. yeah, I'd like that." He answered back, his voice sounding a bit more uplifting now.
"Soo.. so I guess I'll see you then~!" I said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, see ya then." He responded smoothly.
I let out a very short, 'hm' sounding sounding laugh. I slowly lowered the phone from my ear and was about to hang up until--
"Wait!" Red shouted from the other end as I quickly pulled my hand away and put the phone back to my ear.
"Yeah?" I answered quickly.
".....Merry Christmas, (y/n)." He said softly before hanging up the phone himself.
I chuckled slightly under my breath and put my phone down on the side of me.
"Merry Christmas, Red.