Hey, Besanii here. Lately on Tumblr I've been asking people to send me a pair and I'll write a little oneshot for them out of boredom. It's been real interesting so I thought I should log them all here too. :)

Penguinshipping

With the preliminary rounds over, all they could do was wait. The four coordinators sat at a table, chattering about topics little of importance to keep themselves distracted.

"Ursula's appeal was really good." One of them muttered quietly, and the other three suddenly looked at her.

"Dawn?"

The young girl looked up and smiled weakly, though she couldn't mask the worry in her eyes.

"You were just as good." The other girl of the group informed her. "Your appeal was beautiful."

"And exquisitely captivating." The eldest of the group added, his calming voice soothing all of them every time he spoke.

Dawn sighed, looking down at her lap. What if she didn't get through? She would have done all that work to not even put up a fight? She would be devastated.

But then her eyes flickered up to the fourth friend of the group, who hadn't said a word. It was not like her oldest friend to be so quiet, but she knew why. His appeal had not gone well at all.

His eyes were looking at nothing in particular, and his finger ran absent-minded circles on the table. She placed a hand on his, and it snapped him out of thought as he looked over.

"No need to worry." She muttered, and it brought a light smile to the corner of his lips.

—

Devastation didn't cut it. She was elated for herself, she had made it, she was through! But Kenny's appeal had gone wrong, and there was no room for mistakes in the grand festival.

She watched as his face dropped, though he had prepared himself for it in the break. He'd seen it coming, and so he could still hold his head high and know he'd gotten this far.

Pride stood in her way, but being his friend for so long, she could see right through his mask of optimism and saw the disappointed young boy beneath it.

Nobody called him on it when he made an excuse to hurry and leave. They all knew it would have been how they'd react if they hadn't gotten through.

Dawn felt her heart swell for him, not even managing to feel happy that she'd made it. She hurried through the halls and muttered an excuse to Ash and Brock about how she needed to take a walk alone to think then ran in heels out of the building.

He had not gotten far, his feet dragging in defeat were slowing him down greatly, and Dawn's distinct footsteps made him stop and turn. She stumbled to a stop as sad eyes met hers, and he sighed. "Not now, Dawn. I just want to go home."

"Home?" She squeaked.

He nodded. "I don't really want to stay, I'm sorry." He turned to continue walking.

"Kenny!" She called, running to his side and slowing to a walk as she reached him. He didn't stop moving, but looked at her as she spoke. "I'm really sorry you didn't get through." She told him, "But you can try again at the next one! You can learn from this, and it will make you stronger!"

He forced a smile, appreciating that she was attempting to cheer him up. "I know."

She went quiet, not sure what to say after that. All she knew was that her best friend, her oldest friend, was hurting, and that made her hurt. She needed to find some way to make him feel better.

"Kenny?" She whispered.

He glanced at her, not failing to notice her change in tone. A tone he'd never heard from her before, and it was strange and foreign.

She blushed and peeked up at him through her thick blue eyelashes. "You look really nice in your suit." She made a point of looking him up and down, and then smiling when he turned bright red in the cheeks and neck.

"Yeah?"

She nodded, offering her hand to shake. He looked down at it, and slid his fingers into her palm, gripping it tightly. Was he imagining it? Or were there electric shocks pulsing between them? When he looked her in eye, he realised it was not his imagination, there were sparks there as well.

With very little time to react, she was suddenly so close he couldn't see her. He froze, completely unsure of himself, but warmth pressed on his cheek, and lingered for a few seconds. The heat washed through him like a wildfire, uncontrollable, numbing and leaving him rather dizzy, so when she pulled away, he could only stutter nothingness.

She giggled. "I thought that might cheer you up."

He never realised losing meant winning so much.