A/N: Sorry if anything's off, I haven't actually finished this arc yet…

Disclaimer: Stupid legal stuff. I don't own Pokémon, and I never will. Simple.

Ah…the sky is clear, the sun is warm, and there's a tree with just enough shade…perfect nap conditions. How long have I been here? One, two hours…oh, wait, someone's calling me…

"Dia…"

I mumbled something and rolled over on my side.

"Dia, please wake up." Wait, this voice sounds familiar. "Please?"

"Hm?" I yawned sleepily, sat up, and opened my eyes…and saw Platina staring back at me. I immediately scrambled backwards, hitting my head solidly against the tree I'd been snoozing on. This earned a giggle from her, and the pain in my head vanished. Okay, I exaggerated, but she was still really cute when she giggled. "What's up?" I asked, still recovering from my wake-up call.

"Well…I was just wandering around my house and got bored…so I was wondering if you wanted to come over," she replied.

How anyone gets bored at Platina's house is beyond me, but hey, I'm not turning down a personal invitation. "Sure, let's go." I grabbed my cap, straightened my vest and jeans, and away we went. She was also dressed per the usual – light-colored shirt, dark vest, pink skirt, and her signature white stocking cap. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Nothing at all.

The trip took all of five minutes. Thankfully, Platina's driveway was not one of those mile-long strips that I never understood the need for. The place did seem kind of empty, though…

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"My parents are at an important conference and the help has the day off," she explained. "But since everyone left…"

"I get it," I replied. "So, what did you want to do?" I make it a point as a guest to be a guest and let the host do what he or she wants to. I'm pretty sure that's in an etiquette book somewhere.

"I don't know…we just got a new fountain, would you like to see it?" she asked.

I don't know the first thing about fine sculpture or architecture, but everything in this place is worth seeing once. "Sure," I said, and we started around the side of the house. We were passing through the garden when I managed to trip on a hose and take out one of the lawn ornaments. Great start. "Sorry about that…"

"It's fine," she answered, helping me to my feet. "We were going to replace these soon anyway." Even so, I still felt guilty about it. I managed to get around to the back of the house without falling over something else.

Now, when someone says fountain, I think of the ones in parks with little cherubs spouting streams of water and coins in the bottom. What greeted me in the back was something else entirely. It wasn't so much a fountain as a waterfall planted right in the side of the swimming pool. I could imagine those guys on stunt shows riding their inner tubes off the top of this thing. Not only was it massive, every inch of the base was inscribed with ornate details.

"This is amazing," I marveled, and started around the pool to get a better view, my eyes still glued to the "fountain." I'm pretty sure Platina ran up behind me shouting something, but my obliviousness struck twice in one day and I wrapped my foot around a pool chair.

Ever seen those comedies where someone's falling into a pool and they grab someone else and pull them in too? Apparently that really happens sometimes.

Platina looked like she wanted to scream but didn't have time before we both hit the water. I floundered around for a second before surfacing and helping her out of the pool. "I'm really sorry about that…" I started to apologize, fully prepared for an earful…

"It's okay, it's my fault, I should have put that chair back…" she replied, trying to press some of the water out of her clothes. Wait…I just destroyed one of her family's statues and pulled her into a pool, and she's not angry? "Um…we should probably change…"

Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. "Okay, I'll just wait out here and…wait, we?" She nodded. "But I don't have any spare clothes…"

"It's fine, we have plenty," she said. I tried to object, to tell her she didn't need to bother, that it was my fault anyway, but she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the house, and my voice caught in my throat. We went through the back door, down and around two hallways, and finally into what seemed like the master bathroom. There were two closets on either side of the room; one for men's clothes, one for women's, and both fancier than anything I'd ever worn. She let go of my arm and vanished, face red, into the other half of the room, which I assumed to be the bath. I simply stayed rooted to the spot, figuring I'd done enough damage already.

For the next twenty minutes, nothing spectacular happened. Then Platina came back around the corner clad in a bathrobe…and that was spectacular. I know, it's an out-of-place thought. I don't know what it was, she just looked…radiant. I must have been gawking because she blushed and glanced downwards. "Um…you can go now…"

"Oh…right, sorry," I said, and took off to find the shower. Way to go, Dia, she'll really like you now. I shed the still-drippy clothes and hopped in the shower, which had to be at least twice as big (if not more) than mine. I stayed there and sulked until Platina's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Dia, I set some clothes out for you…" No detectable anger, but still.

"Okay, thank you," I called back, and my guilt deepened. I mean, I know it was an accident, but it was still my fault. I finally decided soaking my head wouldn't do any more good and got out…to a small surprise on the counter. Somewhere in chateau le fancy, she'd managed to turn up a t-shirt and jeans. I still felt bad about having to wear them, but at least I wasn't using anything too expensive. I came back around the corner to find Platina still in her robe. "Aren't you going to change?" I asked.

She looked up at me with eyes I couldn't read. Not that I'm good at reading eyes. "Dia…I want to tell you something."

Yep, here we go. I braced myself as best I could and waited.

"I…don't want us to be friends anymore."

Okay, saw that coming. I sighed and started towards the door.

"Because…" I faltered for a moment. Because?

"I want to be…more…than friends," she finished.

I froze. Wait a minute. I was one hundred percent sure I'd just got myself kicked out of Platina's life for good, and now she was saying…

"What?" I asked, still dumbfounded.

"Dia…" she said, walking towards me, "I love you." Then she leaned in, closed her eyes, and placed her lips on mine. In that moment, a warmth like I've never felt before spread throughout my body. It was as though all my cares and worries had simply melted away. My arms moved of their own accord and wrapped themselves around her waist; in turn, she laced hers around my neck. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but it seemed like forever…which I'm pretty sure wouldn't have minded a bit. Even after we separated, the warmth still lingered in my heart and on my lips. So I'm cheesy; so what.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, and stepped back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

I just looked at her and grinned. I'd all but ruined the day and she was apologizing to me? "It's fine," I said, pulling her next to me again. "I should be saying that. And Platina…I love you too."

She blushed (again) and looked at me with what had to literally be the eyes of an angel, then rested her head on my shoulder. I placed my head against hers and just stood there, absorbing the moment. I believed that at that moment the entire world paused and allowed us that minute of peace.

Of course, reality is reality and hates being ignored. It interrupted in the voice of two growling stomachs. True, I hadn't eaten since breakfast. Platina blushed and looked away, which made me grin. She really is too cute when she does that…

"Come on," I said, "I'll cook you the best dinner you've ever had." She smiled and nodded, and we headed towards the kitchen. I had no idea how to outdo her chef, but I owed her the effort at least. Wait, didn't some famous person say once that the greatest spice in cooking is love?