EDIT: Thanks for checking this story out, everyone! I added some art for this story on my twitter; StumpyArt. Give it a glance, if you have a moment, please! As always, feedback is appreciated!
"Cha~!" A cute, high-pitched yawn escaped Pikachu. He curled comfortably into a loaf on the living room sofa, his tail pinning to his back. Adjusting his feet to the plush surface, he was getting comfortable. Late afternoon sunlight filtered through the window, basking him in warmth.
He was ready for a nap.
Until a few giggles caught his attention. One deep and husky, the other high-pitched. Feeling the pillow under him shift, Pikachu opened one eye.
Of course. Ash and Dawn took up the other half of the sofa. From the looks of things, they were getting pretty cozy with one another. Dawn had an arm around Ash, and he was pretty much nuzzling cheeks with her, and joking about something or another. Dawn was complaining about his beard tickling her, but Pikachu got the impression that she didn't mind.
Pikachu smiled and rolled his eyes. 'Get a room, you two,' he wanted to say. But, this was their apartment. He was about to doze off, anyway. He didn't want to be rude. So, he shut his eyes and decided to mind his business.
"Babe, you're thicker than a Sitrus Berry."
Once more, his eyes shot open. He overheard a confident "sure am" from Dawn, but ignored it. Pikachu chose to stare down Ash, his little brows furrowed. Ash, what?
He had to wonder; did his trainer even think about the words that came out of his mouth before he used them?
Ash had his chin buried in the woman's shoulder, and made eye contact with his partner. He could probably see the intense judgement in Pikachu's eyes, since he scrunched his nose. "What're you looking at?"
Pikachu continued to stare. "What do you think?"
Ash huffed under his breath. "Don't be a grouch, buddy. You got a girl; why don't you try it?"
Pikachu's ear tilted. Ash couldn't be serious.
Ash looked like he was about to say more, but Dawn had already pulled him back in.
Good riddance, Pikachu thought, hopping off the couch to give them some privacy. Ash couldn't be serious.
Like, who said things like that?
He walked over to the Pokemon Room, and crawled through the flap built into the door, leaving the living room behind him.
It wasn't like girls actually liked when guys talked like that. Who did Ash think he was; Brock?
"Sup, Thunderbutt?"
Pikachu startled. Out of the corner his eye, he spotted Lopunny, nestled comfortably into a Snorlax bean bag chair. Glancing at the television, he noticed that she was watching Pokemon in Love.
Huh. He remembered playing a part in that movie.
"Oh, nothin' much!" Pikachu chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Just, Ash and Dawn."
A look of recognition flashed in Lopunny's eyes, slightly wider than usual. Her huge, bushy eyebrows rose, then flattened. "I gotcha. I swear, who woulda thought those two would end up even more lovey dovey than us?"
"Haha, yeah." Pikachu snorted. That was true enough; if you'd told anyone that Ash was going to be a mushy flirt, ten years ago, you'd get laughed out of the room.
Granted, it was at least directed towards one person.
A mischievous smile grew under the rabbit's cute little pink nose; a feature Pikachu often admired. She scooted over in the malleable chair, patting an open spot beside her. "Wanna watch with me, Pikachu? They got a mushy flick on~"
Pikachu smiled. Lopunny never really did grow out of her mushy tendencies, herself – even if her loud, fight-happy demeanor sometimes outshone it. This felt a lot more familiar. "Yeah, sure."
He walked his way over, and plopped down in the chair, feeling it sink a little under him. A fluffy paw wrapped around his waist, pulling him close to Lopunny's side. The warmth of her fur eased his mind. She let out a girlish giggle.
Wigglytuff had just been captured in a net, left helpless. Psyduck looked on, devoid of expression, as he often did.
"You know Ash and the others were supposed to be in this thing, too?" Pikachu put an arm around the normal type – at least, as far as he could reach, given her size. He pretty much just left his paw on her back.
"No foolin'?" Lopunny quirked a brow, looking down at him.
"Yeah. We all did a lot to chip in… but, the director cut all the humans out, at the last minute."
"That's some shit." Lopunny scrunched her nose. "And, this was always one of my favorite movies…"
Pikachu frowned, suddenly feeling a bit guilty. "Yeah… but, hey! At least all of us pokemon made it in, right?"
"True!" Lopunny perked up, to Pikachu's relief. "You sure were~ I saw ya in the crowd, ya little movie star~" She swooned, leaning down to nuzzle his cheek. She didn't mind the stray static that frazzled her face fur.
Pikachu felt his face heat up, naturally. "Haha, yeah. Looking at it now, though, I was a little husky, back then… maybe I should've trained more, back in the day."
"Aw, you looked cute~ got some meat on those bones." Lopunny batted her eyes flirtatiously, making Pikachu's face resemble the color of his cheeks.
"Aw, thanks, ha." Pikachu gave a warm smile. Maybe he wouldn't mention that it'd mostly been fat. He'd been on a ketchup spree at about that time, after Dark City's debacle.
…Huh. She'd liked him, when he looked like that? His face heated at the thought, then quickly ran cold. That reminded him of Ash's comment, from earlier.
…Would that go over?
He looked up to Lopunny and opened his mouth. She was engrossed in the movie.
...this was stupid. Pikachu promptly shut his mouth, and turned his head away. His face was already hot from shame at the thought, rather than joy. He could never take himself seriously, talking like that!
"Pikachu?"
He went stiff. "W-what's up?"
"You look like you got somethin' on your mind, sweetheart."
Crap.
"Huh? Oh… oh, it's nothing!" Pikachu forced a laugh; he was sure he heard his voice crack.
Lopunny blinked. "You know you can tell me anything, Pikachu."
"It's… it's stupid. Ash, just – he told me to try saying something to you, before. It'd come off dumb." He shook his head, trying to dispel the thought.
"Oooh, something just for me~?" Lopunny giggled, holding her paws to her mouth. Her fluff obscured the bottom half of her face. Pikachu always thought it was cute, when she did that.
"Yeah, but… I can't."
"I dare you."
Pikachu cocked his head. "What."
"I dare ya. You sure as shit ain't gonna say it without a little encouragement, so~!" Lopunny sing-songed. She knew her little electric mouse. As bold as he was, he was awfully shy, when it came to matters of the heart. It was cute.
Pikachu crossed his paws, and exhaled heavily. "…Promise you won't laugh?"
Lopunny's expression became stern. "Cross my heart."
"Okay." Pikachu breathed in, and out. Time to psyche himself up for this. He pat his cheeks with his paws, to focus.
Three.
Two.
One.
Pikachu puffed up his lungs, and shouted. "You're thicker than a Sitrus Berry!"
He opened his eyes, and time suddenly slowed to a halt.
He couldn't read Lopunny's expression. Her eyes were wide – that was weird, wasn't it?
Why, in the name of Mew, did he listen to Ash? Pikachu, why?
Her cheeks were actually dusted pink. Was that too scandalous? Or, did it go over? Maybe she was flustered – yeah! As a Buneary, she was often overwhelmed by the lightest of compliments. Maybe, now that she'd grown, her threshold was just higher? Maybe broken it? Yeah; she just had to be a little embarrassed!
Lopunny opened her mouth. "I-"
"AAA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The loudest of squawks made Pikachu go cold.
A loud 'thud' could be heard – Empoleon had fallen off the bed, clutching his stomach with laughter. "AHAHA-HA! Oh, MAN, Pi… AHA! PIKACHU! Man, that was… Ah, I can't breathe!"
His many encounters over the years hadn't killed him. Hovering over lava, falling from towers and cliffs, confronting legendary pokemon… he'd survived it all.
But, Pikachu was pretty sure he could just about die, right now. He groaned, burying his face in his paws. "Ughhhhh. Why me."
"Shut up!" Lopunny hollered. "It was cute!"
"It was…. It was something, alright!" Empoleon lifted a wing to wipe a tear from his eye. "Pikachu, I love you, man, but that… that was the corniest thing I've ever heard!"
He refused to make eye contact, right now. He buried his face in Lopunny's side, instead. "Why didn't you speak up sooner?"
"Well, I was TRYING to be a good bird, and give you two your privacy. But, I'm glad I stayed, now! Oh my Arceus."
"Eavesdropping's rude, bird brain." Lopunny scowled, hoisting up one of her ears into something of a fist. "You wanna keep chuckling it up?"
It was Empoleon's turn to run cold. "…Nah. Nah, I'm good." Why did his closest teammate have to know fighting type moves…? "You… you two have fun." He stood to climb back onto the bed.
"You're staying?" Pikachu whined, still nursing his pride.
"Look, whatever gooey junk you two are gonna say is nothing compared to whatever's going on out there," Empoleon nodded towards the door. "…Just pretend I'm not here."
"Fair point…" Pikachu hung his head. How embarrassing.
"C'mere, sweet cheeks." Lopunny sat up, and patted her lap. "For what it's worth, I liked it."
"That's a relief." Grateful, Pikachu crawled into his girlfriend's lap, and sat.
It was actually a lot more comfy than the chair, itself. Sure, it was soft, but it had a lot of give.
…She really was thicker than a Sitrus Berry.