Hi all! Diodeshipping week continues, and so here is another fic!

Fun fact: This fic was inspired by a picture I saw of Clemont giving his Pokemon head scratches - you'll have to visit my Ao3 page for the link, since this site eats them (I'm there under the same name, Light in the Void) Because of that though, the original title was なでなで (nade-nade) because that's the onomatopoeia for patting something in Japanese haha

Anyway, please enjoy!

Cross-posted on AO3 and tumblr.

Head Scratches

Clemont tilts his head back against the tree trunk, eyes closed as he enjoys the dappled sunlight gently warming his skin. Nearby, the rustle of cloth tells him of Serena's presence as she readies the snacks for their afternoon tea. Ash and Bonnie are further off, playing with some of the Pokémon; the sound of their laughter is carried on the gentle breeze, bringing a smile to his face.

There's a vague feeling in the back of his mind that he should be using this time to fix up the schematics he's been working on for another of his inventions, but Clemont ignores it. It's such a peaceful day, and it really is nice once in a while to just let his thoughts drift.

"Ah! Chespin!" Serena exclaims, exasperated. "Give that back!"

His eyes snap open. "Serena? What's wrong?"

The words are barely out of his mouth before Chespin comes trundling past him, a Poké Puff clutched in his arms. "Chespin!" he cries, aghast. The grass Pokémon hops over his legs and darts around the other side of the tree trunk, out of both their reach. Serena sighs, settling back down onto the grass. "I'm sorry," he tells her, feeling ashamed. He should have known to keep an eye out for Chespin's gluttonous habits!

"It's okay, it's not your fault," she says, shooting him a smile. "Besides, there's plenty more. That everyone can eat later," she adds, directing a stern glance at Chespin as the grass Pokémon inches back towards them. The Poké Puff in Chespin's paw already has a huge chunk bitten out of it. "Those are for everyone to eat, Chespin. If you scoff them all now, there won't be any left for anyone else!"

"Ches," Chespin replies with exaggerated nonchalance. The small Pokémon, apparently satisfied that neither human is going to take the treat away from him, plonks down onto the grass between Clemont's legs and continues eating. Clemont frowns at him.

"Geez, you're such a glutton!" he huffs. Chespin ignores him, too busy devouring his ill-gotten goods. Clemont sighs, leaning back against the tree trunk once more.

"Here." A blue and yellow Poké Puff is suddenly in front of his nose. He takes it automatically, before glancing between it and Serena with confusion. Serena smiles wryly. "Since Chespin has already started, we might as well eat them now too," she explains, getting to her feet and brushing the grass off her skirt.

"Thanks, Serena," Clemont says gratefully. He takes a bite as she calls for the others to come and eat, enjoying the sweet taste of the treat. He becomes aware of eyes trained upon him and frowns down at Chespin. The grass Pokémon is staring up at him – or rather, his Poké Puff – with eyes wide with hope, mouth watering. "You already ate yours," Clemont admonishes. "This one is mine."

The grass Pokémon grumbles and looks away, flopping back against Clemont's stomach with a thoroughly disgruntled expression. Clemont sighs through his nose – there's no reason he should feel guilty – and sets a hand on top of Chespin's head, idly scratching away as Ash and Bonnie join him under the tree. The rest of their Pokémon crowd around Serena as she hands out Poké Puffs.

"Chespin, you don't want a Poké Puff?" Bonnie asks curiously, laying down on the grass to share a pink Poké Puff with Dedenne.

"Cheeeeeespiiiiiin," the grass Pokémon replies vaguely, happily melting against Clemont.

"I dunno, Chespin looks pretty comfy where he is," Ash laughs, accepting a Poké Puff with thanks from Pikachu, who has carried it over. "It must be nice, having your head scratched like that," he continues wistfully.

Clemont blinks down at his hand, still running across Chespin's head. He hadn't realised he was still doing it. "Chespin has already had his share," he informs his friends, finishing the last bite of his treat and dusting the crumbs of his hands. The grass Pokémon in his lap grumbles at the lost of Clemont's hand, tiling his head back to look pleadingly at the inventor.

"Chespin ches!"

Clemont can't resist the pleading eyes of his Pokémon. "Oh, alright then," he says with a smile, carefully massaging over Chespin's head with both his hands. The small Pokémon's eyes flutter closed and he snuggles back against Clemont, drawing a quiet chuckle from the blonde.

Such a glutton, he thinks affectionately as his hands work, Chespin making appreciative noises. He loses himself in the gentle motions for a few minutes, until he hears Ash chuckle. Clemont looks up at the other boy questioningly, but Ash merely nods towards his knee. "Don't look now, but I think someone else might want some attention too," his friend says with a grin.

Bemused, Clemont looks down and blinks at Bunnelby peering hopefully over his leg, ears twitching. A tail curls itself over his shoulder; out of the corner of his eye, Clemont sees Luxray crouch beside him, the big Pokémon watching intently. "You two want head scratches too, hrm?" the blonde asks with a grin.

"Bun!" is Bunnelby's enthusiastic reply, while Luxray merely inclines his head. Clemont chuckles. "Okay then, just wait patiently for a few more minutes please…"

Chespin is almost fast asleep by the time Clemont is finished. Despite the sleepy protest he makes when Clemont lifts him out of his lap, he is soon curled up again in a patch of sunlight, gently snoring. Clemont hides a grin and pats his lap.

"Alright, Bunnelby next."

Bunnelby doesn't need telling twice; he hops into Clemont's lap eagerly. The soft texture of Bunnelby's fur is different to the velvety smoothness of Chespin, making it easier to scritch his nails in the spot behind Bunnelby's ears. As he works, Clemont tries to convey all the thankfulness he feels for all the hard work Bunnelby does, in battle and outside it.

After Bunnelby comes Luxray, the normal-type making space for the big Pokémon to simply flop down across Clemont's legs. He laughs, obligingly burying both his hands in Luxray's soft fur. He hums quietly as he runs his fingers through black fur, occasionally drowned out by the pleased rumbles of the Pokémon on his lap. Sometimes small sparks of electricity crackle over his hands; harmless discharges that merely make his fingers tingle.

It's very relaxing, sitting here in the warm sunlight as he pats his Pokémon. He stops paying attention to anything happening around him, closing his eyes and focusing on the feel of Luxray's fur. Clemont barely even notices when the weight lying across his legs lessens in favour of a new weight, just simply transfers his hands to the new arrival. If part of his mind notes that he doesn't actually have any other Pokémon to pat, it simply chalks it up to the thought that it must be one of Ash or Serena's Pokémon.

He's running fingers through hair, when it finally dawns on him that the fur he's touching doesn't exactly feel right. Clemont opens his eyes, only to find Ash staring up at him, his head in Clemont's lap.

"…Hi?" Ash says brightly, his smile sheepish.

"Argh!" Clemont yelps, face flushing a brilliant red and he jerks his hands out of Ash's hair as though it burns him. He wants to leap as far away as he possibly can as well, except that Ash is laying in his lap and he can't move while Ash is laying in his lap…?!

Ash pouts for a moment before his expression turns contrite. "Sorry for startling you," he says apologetically. "It just looked really comfy and relaxing and I kinda wanted to see what it felt like?"

Clemont places a hand over his heart, feeling it thumping against his ribcage at a frantic pace from shock and nervousness. "I - It's okay," he manages to say, stumbling over his words. "I'd be happy to scratch your head too…?"

The offer is worth every bit of the flush it brings to his cheeks, just to see Ash's face brighten. His grin is blinding; Clemont feels his heart skip a beat. "Awesome! Thanks, Clemont!"

His face still beet red, Clemont slowly replaces his hands on Ash's head, threading fingers through soft black hair. It feels…. very intimate to the blond, especially when Ash closes his eyes with a soft, content sigh. He scratches gently against Ash's skull, feeling the dark-haired boy relax against him. In contrast, Clemont doesn't dare close his own eyes again, convinced that this will turn out to be some strange dream. He finds that he can't tear his gaze away from Ash's peaceful face; can't feel the gentle, tender smile curling the edges of his lips.

Bonnie pouts from her seat next to Serena as she brushes Dedenne's fur. Her brother and Ash have long since been lulled to sleep by the gentle motions of Clemont's hands. One of his hands is still tangled in Ash's hair from when he nodded off; Ash's face is pressed against Clemont's leg. Pikachu is curled up next to them, enjoying a patch of sunshine.

They look so peaceful that neither Bonnie nor Serena have the heart to wake them just yet. Even so, Bonnie pouts again as she glances towards them.

"I wanted a head rub too…"

FIN.

Thanks for reading!