A Little Blushing Never Hurt Anyone
Ash's POV
"Ugh… Pikachu, what am I gonna do?" I shouted, throwing my hands up in aggravation.
Girls are so complicated!
"Pika?" The mouse pokemon asked, cocking its head in confusion.
"Dawn…" I sighed as he sat down next to me.
Dawn, everything's always about Dawn! She's the thing that wakes me up in the morning and she's the keeps me going through a hard day of training. Dawn's the most beautiful, the most amazing and the most… wonderful girl I've ever met. I… I l-love her.
Dawn's POV
I was just walking by, honest! But when I heard my name I just had to stop! I mean, wouldn't you?
"What's Ash yelling about?" I muttered more to myself than to anyone in particular, as I stood outside Ash's tent.
"Piplup!" My partner yelped excitedly, a little too excited.
He'd give us away if he wasn't careful!
"Shh! Piplup, keep it down! Let's just sit here and listen for a second," I said to him quietly as I sat beside the door.
"Pika! Pikachu!" Ash's Pikachu cried, looking at its trainer curiously.
"No! I can't tell Dawn! Are you crazy!?" Ash yelled looking at the pokemon in shock.
What? Why can't he tell me! What could be so bad that he couldn't tell me!? Oh know… he didn't find out from Kenny what DeeDee meant did he!? I WILL KILL YOU KENNY!
"Chaaa?" Pikachu continued softly, his voice layered with concern.
Hmm… maybe it's not that…
"Because Pikachu, what if Dawn doesn't… ya know…" Ash started, blushing at whatever thought he had going through his head right now.
"Pika?" The mouse pokemon asked smiling softly as he looked up at his still blushing trainer.
"Yeah I love Dawn! If I didn't we wouldn't be having this problem!" Ash exclaimed in a whisper, probably so I couldn't here.
But I heard. I definitely heard.
"Pikachu!" The pokemon cried, saying something that I didn't quite catch.
I gasped, not really meaning too, but I did. It was so much to take in! Ash l-loved me!? He loved me! For how long? And why!? Why in the world would Ash Ketchum love… me!?
"Pip-" My little blue penguin began.
Thankfully, I grabbed his beak before he could give a way our position. Whoa… that sounded stupid.
"Shh!" I hushed him, still wanting to listen.
"Lup…" Piplup sighed, looking down with embarrassment.
"Yeah, sorry Pikachu… I'm just not sure what to do…" Ash sighed, looking truly distressed.
I don't know why, but I just never imagined Ash to be the kind of guy who would be so confused over a girl… namely me! I guess he hides it well! That's another thing to add to the list of things he does amazingly.
"Pika chu?" Pikachu asked next.
"Why do I love her?" Ash started, repeating what his pokemon had apparently asked.
W-whoooooa… i-it just… it just sounds more wonderful every time he say it!
"I dunno… maybe cause when I look at her I can't stop myself from blushing? Or cause when she laughs my heart jumps? I don't know…" Ash finished, smiling dreamily as he looked up at the tent's ceiling.
"Pika?" The mouse pokemon yelped as I did the same.
W-wow… I didn't know he f-felt that way about me…
"Of course I can't tell her! She's Dawn! Besides, I'm sure she likes someone else… like Kenny, or Paul…" Ash sighed interrupting my thoughts.
HE THINKS I LIKE KENNY!? OR PAUL!? PAUL!!!
"Besides, I have hinted about it some…" He continued.
I thought he'd been acting strange!
"Pikachu…" The yellow mouse sighed.
"Yeah, that's true," Ash agreed. "She's not the most perceptive person…"
HEY!
"Pika!" Pikachu yelped accusingly.
"I guess I'm not either, huh? But really! If I tell her she might freak out or something! I mean she really overreacts sometimes!" Ash said, agreeing and defending himself, while still INSULTING ME!
"Chu…" Pikachu said sweatdropping.
Pikachu too!?
"WHAT!? That Ash Ketchum! Jeeze! I am so gonna get him back for that!" I whispered to Piplup as I thought angrily about Ash.
"Piplup!" My pokemon shouted, pointing to itself confidently.
"What's that? You've got a plan?" I asked, my eyebrow raising.
Back in my tent I sat talking to Piplup and waiting to hear this amazing plan that he has.
"Okay Piplup, what's your plan?" I asked suspiciously.
"Pip! Pip piplup! Pip Lup!" He answered, in a very lengthy explanation.
"Hmm… that is a good plan. Let's see how much he really likes me!" I agreed, grinning evilly. "Besides, a little blushing never hurt anyone!"
"LUP!" Piplup yelped.
"Alright guys! Dinner's ready!" Brock shouted, as he set out the food.
"Thanks Brock!" Ash said excitedly as he sat down. "This looks delicious!"
"Yeah! It really does!" I agreed, sitting beside him.
Now it's time to put my plan into action! I turned to Piplup and winked, singling him to start our plan.
"Lup lup lup, Pip-lup!" Piplup muttered as it walked over to the table and accidentally pushed our bench over.
I made sure I was leaning towards Ash when we fell and just as I had planned, I fell right on top of Ash.
"Dawn, are you okay?" Ash asked, his voice full of worry.
He is so cute.
"Yeah," I answered, pretty convincingly I might add before I winked to Piplup. "Jeeze Piplup, watch where you're going!" "Piplup!" He said, rubbing his head and walking off quickly.
"Thanks for catching me Ash," I whispered right in his ear.
"N-n-no problem D-dawn!" He yelped, obviously noticing our position and blushing furiously.
He sat up quickly, helping me up with him.
"Tha- oh!" I cried, falling into his arms.
"Y-you okay?" He asked, blushing even more.
"Now that you're here…" I whispered, so quietly that he could barely hear it.
"W-what was that!?" He gasped, shocked.
"Huh? I didn't say anything," I replied innocently.
"Oh…" He muttered quickly.
"Umm, Ash? Are you planning on letting go of Dawn anytime soon?" Brock asked, clearing his throat.
"What!? O-oh! R-right!" He agreed, blushing again, before letting go. "Sorry Dawn…"
He rubbed his head in embarrassment and… I was really wishing Brock made him let me go.
"Haha, no problem Ash!" I replied smiling.
As soon as dinner was done I rushed into my tent, changed and sat down with Piplup to talk about our plan.
"That went perfectly Piplup! It was so funny!" I laughed.
"Lup!" He agreed, laughing with me.
"Yep! I guess it's time I told Ash I know…" I muttered, a little sadly.
"Lup! Pip! Piplup!"
"What do you mean I can't tell him yet?"
"Lup!"
"You think I should keep this up?"
"Pip!"
"Hmm… I guess I could keep going…"
"Piplup!"
Ash's POV
"Ugh…" I moaned as I sat up in my tent.
It was really late, about 2 am, maybe? I was really tired, if it hadn't been for the specific person who woke me up, I would've just went right back to sleep.
"Hey Ash?" Dawn muttered as she lifted the flap of my tent.
Of course, it has to be Dawn… it couldn't be someone I could ignore, huh?
"Oh, hey Dawn! What's up?" I replied, instantly waking myself up.
"Nothin' much. Can we talk?" She asked timidly.
I wonder what's on her mind? She's usually more outspoken and she has been acting pretty strange lately. And I could have sworn that she said it was alright now that I was there! I just know it… then again I guess it could have just been wishful thinking.
"Sure," I said, motioning for her to come in.
She stepped in and sat down beside me, her head drooped.
"Thanks…" She mumbled.
"Sure. What'd ya want to talk about?" I wondered aloud.
"Well…" She sighed, her head drooping further. "I-I just don't know if I can keep going…"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Zoey, Nando and Kenny are getting stronger everyday! B-but… I…" She sobbed, jumping into my lap.
I nearly imploded right then and there! My face must have been redder than Pikachu's cheeks.
"D-dawn! Umm…" I stuttered, shaking my head swiftly. "Don't say that! You're just as strong as them! And you're always training! No need to worry, right?"
"Y-yeah," She replied, looking up at me as she wiped her tears. "T-thanks Ash…"
"Y-yeah! N-no problem…" I mumbled, blushing even more then I already was.
"I'm gonna go to bed," Dawn whispered, winking at me before she left. "Goodnight Ash."
Why'd she wink!? What was that all about!? Ugh… girls are so confusing.
"G-g-goodnight!" I yelped, sighing with relief before collapsing onto my pillow.
Dawn's POV
"Ah! It looks like a great morning for some training!" Ash said, stretching as he exited his tent.
Ya know, I've never noticed how cute he is, but the non-stop training, is really annoying.
"It is a beautiful day, but how about taking a break from the training today?" Brock suggested, staring up at the clear blue sky.
"Yeah! Instead we could go to this!" I exclaimed, holding up a flier I had found in town.
"A pokemon doubles contest?" Ash asked, a little surprise.
"Yeah! It'll be fun!" I insisted, grinning at him.
"But Dawn!" He whined.
"Please Ash!" I pleaded, using my newfound knowledge to my advantage. "For me?"
I stuck my lip out as far as I could, giving him my best puppy-dog face as I leaned in closer to him.
"U-uh…" Ash stuttered, his face already heating up. "Yeah… alright…"
"Yay!" I cried happily as I pulled him into a hug. "Thanks Ash!" Knowing that he loves me is the best thing that's happened so far!
"Y-yeah! N-no p-problem Dawn!" He mumbled, blushing even more.
"Then let's go!" I yelled, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the arena.
"PIKA!" Pikachu shouted, running after us.
"PIPLUP!" Piplup yelped, following Ash's pokemon.
"Umm… I guess we're going to a contest…" I heard Brock sigh as he followed far behind us.
"Hello! We're here to enter the Pokemon Couples Contest!" I shouted as I ran up to the desk with Ash on my arm.
"We are!?" He exclaimed, his eyes widening as he looked at me. "I-I thought we were just here to watch! A-and we're n-not exactly a… *whispers and blushes* c-couple."
It was so adorable! He went all quiet and stuttery when he said couple and his face was so red! It was so cute!
"Nope! Come on Ash! It'll be fun!" I protested, grinning brightly.
"B-but Dawn! C-contests aren't really my thing and the last couple times I entered I just faked it!" Ash argued, blushing once again.
"Just wing it! Besides you're awesome at everything! And you looks… well, let's just say you don't need to work on anything there!" I replied winking before turning back to the cashier.
This is so much fun!
"Sign us up!" I told her as Ash stood there in shock, his face still beet red.
"Are you ready to win this Piplup!?" I asked turning to my little blue partner.
"Piplup!" He cried in agreement.
"What about you Ash?" I continued, turning back to him.
"U-uh… yeah!" He said, looking down at Pikachu. "You ready?"
"Pika!" The pokemon exclaimed, punching into the air.
"Come on, let's get our pokemon from Nurse Joy," I said.
"R-right!" He agreed, walking over and asking for our pokemon.
"Sure! They're all healed up!" Nurse Joy answered, handing us our pokeballs.
"Thanks Nurse Joy!" We answered together.
"S-so… D-dawn?" Ash muttered under his breath as we walked away.
"Yeah Ash?" I asked turning to him.
"D-did you mean what you said before?" He whispered, his face turning red for like the tenth time today.
I'm sure he mean when I said he was cute, but I'm not gonna make it that easy!
"Yeah! Of course! You know I think you're a great battler and even a pretty good coordinator!" I complimented, grinning at my pretty clever answer.
"O-oh. Right! Thanks…" He said rubbing the back of his head as he blushed further.
"Come on Ash! We've gotta go prepare our combinations!" I giggled as we ran outside.
Ash's POV
"And finally we've reached the finals of our couples competition! On this side we have Ash and Dawn! And over hear we have Jessalina and Jameson!" Miriam announced, as we got ready to battle.
"Come on Ash! We can do this!" Dawn shouted, looking over to Jessalina and her strangely familiar partner.
"R-right!" I said, hopefully more confidently than I felt.
I sure hope so, cause so far we've only been just hanging on thanks to Dawn! I don't know what's wrong with me! Every time I look over at Dawn I get all queasy and weak and I can't think straight! It's never been this bad before! But I've gotta do this! For Dawn!
"Ash!" Dawn shouted, drawing me out of my thoughts and back into the battle.
"Right! Pikachu use thunder!" I ordered quickly.
"Pika!" He cried, lightning firing towards our opponent's pokemon.
The battle continued and I got more distracted by the second.
"P-pikachu! Use… umm… volt tackle!" I shouted, unsure of what to do.
"PIKACHU!" My pokemon yelled.
Pikachu ran at our opponent's Carnivine, tackling the pokemon into the ground as Piplup blew a bubblebeam towards their Yanmega. It was awesome! But more importantly, now I knew I could do this! I just have to keep focused.
"Pikachu! Use Thunder!" I yelled as Pikachu followed my orders.
"And Piplup, use whirlpool! Come on Ash! Let's do this!" Dawn shouted, winking at me.
"R-r-right!" I yelled, blushing again.
The match went on and while Dawn kept… I want to say flirting, but that couldn't be right! She couldn't be… I mean, with me? W-why… well, all I know is the entire time we battled my face was bright red, but in the end we managed to pull through and finish off our opponents.
"AND THE WINNERS ARE, ASH KETCHUM AND DAWN BERLITZ!" Miriam yelled, over the cheering crowd.
"OMG!!! ASH! WE WON!" Dawn yelled, running into my arms and kissing me before she ran back to Piplup.
And I could've sworn that she was blushing… nah! I was too shocked to move and all I could think of was D-dawn. Dawn… just k-kissed me. Dawn just kissed me!
"Whoa…" I sighed, as I blushed insanely red.
"Chaa?" Pikachu asked curiously.
"O-oh! P-pikachu! Umm… g-great job!" I said, rubbing my head anxiously as picked him up.
D-dawn just kissed me, my face is redder than a tomato and my heart feels like it's about to explode!
"Pikaaa!" The electric type cooed.
"Thanks to everyone who competed and to our judges who helped us pick our winners! Who we now award this couples ribbon! I hope they have long and happy lives together!" Miriam said happily, taking out the two ribbons.
"W-we're n-not…" I stuttered, blushing.
But I so wish we were!
"Thanks so much for everything!" Dawn yelled, grinning as she grabbed my hand and the ribbons.
Why didn't she let me finish? I mean… does… I… great now I'm blushing again.
After the awards were given and everyone and left the arena, I grabbed Pikachu, through my stun… ness? Stunness, is that a word? Anyway, I grabbed Pikachu and made his way over to the Pokemon Center. As soon as I entered however, I noticed Dawn and Piplup in the corner of the lobby, laughing and talking about something.
I crept over with Pikachu, crouching behind a large potted plant so I could overhear their conversation. I know eavesdropping is bad, but still, I was curious!
"I know Piplup! This is soooo funny! It's amazing! I've never seen anyone blush that much!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Piplup! Pip!" Piplup agreed.
What does she mean? Was she trying to get me to blush?
"I am so glad that you suggested this! It's so much fun making him crazy! Him loving me is the best thing ever! But… maybe we should stop now…" Dawn said, a little sadly.
"Piplup!"
"One more?"
"Pip!"
I got up and walked away, but I could help thinking, why the hell is she doing this!? And how does she know I love her?
"Chu?" Pikachu suggested to my silent question.
"That's right! She must have overheard me talking to you!" I said, finally understanding.
This is why she's been flirting with me! This is why she said that stuff! And I knew I heard her say I was cute and that I made everything better! I knew it!
"Pika! Pikachuu!" My pokemon said frankly.
"I guess I did kinda insult her, huh? But still, this is way worse! I say, let's get her back! Come on Pikachu!" I said rubbing my head in embarrassment, before hurrying out the door.
I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut!
"Pikaa…" Pikachu whined, shaking his head and following me out.
"Aashy? Are you in there?" Dawn said from right outside my tent. I opened the flap of my tent and blushed as I noticed her in nothing but pajamas. Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought… or harder, depending on how you see it…
"Umm, h-hey Dawn, what's up?" I asked smiling.
"W-well… can I come in?" Dawn continued.
"Of course," I replied, letting her through the flap.
She walked in and sat down beside me.
"Well, I was thinking about earlier… and the battle? And… I realized…" Dawn muttered slowly.
"Y-yeah?" I said, hoping to hurry her along as my face heated up again.
"You are the most amazing person I've ever met. You're brave, bold, exciting, an amazing trainer…" She told me, walking her fingers up my chest.
I tried not to blush as she crept closer to me, pushing me up against the side of the tent.
"And the insanely cute," She finished.
"I-I… u-umm, uh… I…" I blushed more then I have in my entire life, and fell back onto the ground.
"Ash! ASH!? Oh my God! I killed him! His heart exploded!" She screamed, laying on my chest and making me blush even more, hopefully she didn't notice. "Oh Ash! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to… I just was so happy! And then… upset about your insults and I just… I…"
It was too much though. I just couldn't hold it in. I broke out into a grin and started to giggle.
"Ashton Ketchum! Are you faking!?" Dawn cried.
"N-noho!" I giggled weakly, opening my eyes and grinning wider.
"ASH!" She shouted, slapping me in the face.
"Oww! Hey, what was that for?" I yelled, holding my face.
"I was really worried about you!" She mumbled, slapping my arm lightly.
"Yeah, well it's payback for everything you've done this week!" I told her.
"What!? You knew!?" Dawn gasped.
"Yeah! I heard you and Piplup talking!" I exclaimed, a little angrily.
"Oh." She said blushing.
"See? Not so fun, huh?" I noted.
"No. Sorry about that…" She sighed, looking down at her lap.
"So… umm… when did you find out?" I muttered, blushing as I said it.
"Find out what?" She asked, obviously confused.
"That… umm… I… uh…" I stuttered nervously.
"That you loved me?" She said, continuing my question.
"Y-yeah…" I admitted, blushing.
"When you were talking to Pikachu. I guess we both better stop that, huh?" She said, obviously meaning the eavesdropping.
"Haha, yeah…" I agreed, rubbing my head as I blushed for the umpteenth time today.
"Hey Ash?" Dawn whispered.
"Yeah Dawn?" I breathed back.
"I do have one other secret I've been meaning to tell you…" She sighed, blushing again.
"Oh yeah? What's that?" I wondered aloud.
"I love you too," Dawn admitted, smiling.
"Really!?" I asked shocked.
"Yep," She answered.
"Wow…" I sighed, blushing again.
"Ya know what?" Dawn asked me grinning.
"Hmm?" I murmured, still a little shocked from her confession.
"You look really cute when you blush," She said, leaning in for a kiss.
I grinned, blushed and kissed back.