THIS STORY LIVESSSSS! Sorry for such a late update. I've literally rewritten this chapter three times, and the first two had a completely different plot from this final product, haha.

Why had he done that?!

Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God-

Kellyn puts his face in his hands and lets out an embarrassed sound. He's an idiot. A goddamn idiot.

'You're lucky you're pretty'? Where had that come from?! He's mortified. Honestly, completely mortified. Yeah, they'd been a subject of gossip back in school – but they'd been young! Everyone talks about silly stuff like that when they're young! It'd been a joke! That was all – just a joke! There hadn't been any concrete evidence to support their claims, had there? Sure, he and Keith had spent basically all their time together, but Rhythmi had been there too! Of course, there had been the times where Rhythmi had been off studying and it was just the two of them – but that was it! Just friends!

The ocean roars in his ears, and Kellyn lifts his head to look back at the rapidly disappearing Pueltown harbour. The boat rocks back and forth as they speed away, and Kellyn knows he'll be at Boyleland easily within the next half-hour. He wrings his hands, leaning back to stare at the sky, and tries to calm down. Stop panicking!

How had he pulled that off so smoothly?! He'd been halfway down Union Road when the embarrassment and consequences of his actions had hit him, and he'd spent the rest of the trek with his head down and his cheeks an uncomfortably bright shade of red. How was he supposed to go back to the Union now? God.

It was almost like he hadn't been in control of his actions at all! He'd just been joking around with three fellow Top Rangers, and then somehow that had slipped out? When he thinks about it, though, he realises that Keith hadn't looked as mortified as he'd previously imagined. He remembers shock…but that was about it? Of course, there had also been the red hue that had suddenly stained his best friend's cheeks…

Ugh!

He hunches forward, clasping his hands together on his lap. He can feel his face heating up again. It was supposed to be a harmless joke, but then Keith had reacted the complete opposite way Kellyn had expected him to, and…and it didn't bother him as much as he thought it would have? He'd never really thought in depth about his own emotions – he'd always put his job and, before, his school grades about his own feelings. But looking back…had he and Keith always had that underlying connection, even way back in Ranger School? After all, rumours never usually started unless they had the slightest bit of evidence…right? Kellyn unclasps his hands and straightens his back. He stares out at the oceanic scene across from him.

He's…feeling substantially less mortified than he had a few mere minutes ago. Sure, he still felt the uncomfortable sense of embarrassment, but that was more because he'd done it in clear view and hearing range of other people.

He's fidgeting, he realises. He flattens his hands against his thighs and sighs.

"-kind of fell off the cliff and into the mini army of bidoof."

"And, what, you swooped in like Superman to save him?"

"Uh, no, more like Tarzan-"

The laughter bubbles up again at the memory. He'd caught Keith's eyes just at that moment and had done – obviously – what every respectable best friend did: he went along with it. He'd mock-swooned, leaning heavily against the wall as he'd mouthed the words "my hero", and Keith's smile had been blindingly bright, and…actually pretty cute?

Kellyn stops. The muscles in his jaws tense as the realisation hits him. Does he…does he have a crush on his best friend? The entire Chroma Ruins mission that they'd been on the past day or two had been liked nothing had ever changed between them. They'd joked around with each other, challenged each other (because they were still kids even if they were now two of the twelve Top Rangers in Almia), but had worked extremely well together. Kellyn thinks back, wondering just where the line began to blur.

"What d'you think this Sven guy's like?"

Kellyn had laughed. "We haven't even been Top Rangers for a day yet, and you've already got a new idol?"

"Well." Keith had shrugged, unashamed. "I've seen him in the newspapers. That counts, right?"

"Keith, you were literally stationed in Fiore. You worked in the Ringtown Ranger Base. You've worked alongside literal heroes."

"Yeah, but," Keith had shrugged again, "this Sven guy's been in the papers a lot lately. Fiore happened years ago."

"Wow, Keith. Ouch. Way to lay the smackdown on my home region."

When had interacting with Keith become as easy as breathing? He'd come to the Almia region not so long ago, a blatant fish out of water, but now it feels like home. Sure, Fiore would always be his childhood, but Almia…

He'd never been a mischievous person by other people's standards, but something about Keith's excitable and playful personality had resonated with something within himself, and they'd gotten on like a house of fire a few days after meeting each other for the first time. The sudden rush of these realisations makes Kellyn huff out a laugh, and he leans back again, staring at the sky, and he wonders how exactly he was so blind. It definitely had to be some extreme type of denial for him to be so blatantly oblivious to this before. Everyone else around them had seemed to latch on immediately – hell, the Vientown Rangers had always joked around with him about his school experience and the one-day internship, and who exactly had been present for both of those events? Kellyn snorts. Wow, I'm an idiot.

The cry of wingull above him only startles him briefly, and it takes Kellyn longer than it should have done to realise that the boat had slowed and is currently docking at the small port off Boyleland. As it comes to a stop, Kellyn climbs to his feet and leaps onto the dock. With a wave and an exclamation of thanks to Captain Boyle, Kellyn sets off.

He heads straight for the Ranger Depot. The doors slide open automatically as he approaches, and he ducks inside. With a smile, he hands his styler over momentarily to the operator and turns his back to lean back against the counter. The sound of the ocean is muffled through the glass doors and is mostly swallowed up by the sound of the air conditioning blaring out. The operator across the counter hands him back his styler and wishes him well, and he's off again.

Kellyn stops just before the stairs that lead up to the main village. He turns to look out at the horizon, and then smiles as he hears a cry. Starly flutters down next to him, looking ruffled but extremely satisfied.

"Nice flight, then, bud?" he says, and Starly chirps in agreement. His partner may still a pokemon in its first evolution, but Starly's definitely a lot more resilient than anyone could guess. Honestly, the fact that his partner can easily fly between Pueltown and Boyleland was amazing in of itself, but at least the situation at Boyleland isn't so severe that he desperately needs his partner's aid. He'll let Starly rest for a bit.

As he ascends the stairs, he pauses momentarily as a group of children sprint by him, following the joyful Mime Jr. he'd saved from the Dim Sun cargo ship not too long ago. The reappearance of the island's pokemon definitely makes it a livelier place as opposed to the quiet state he'd found it in when he'd first come here. With a huff of laughter, Kellyn makes his way towards the volcano as he remembers his mission. The call had been about a group of villagers mentioning that there'd been disputes between different pokemon in the volcano cave, which could certainly make it more dangerous should an unknowing tourist or anyone else stumbled into the cave.

Kellyn flips up the screen on his Fine Styler, contacting the Ranger Union, and is unsurprised when Rhythmi's face appears. "Just calling in. I'm here at Boyleland."

Rhythmi nods. "The villagers mentioned that the fights were going on a bit deeper in the cave system. It's probably best to investigate everywhere that you can," she advises. Then she smirks. "Or if you need me to, I could probably convince someone to send another ranger as backup."

He knows exactly what she's getting at. How could he not? He flushes a deep red, and he definitely can't blame in on the heat. "Rhythmi!" he hisses, scandalised.

She giggles. "Don't worry, Linda and Marcus are busy right now, and everyone else is out of patrol or in the research room. It's just you and me," she says, and Kellyn thinks that that really shouldn't sound so ominous. His blush hasn't even started to die down, but he really should get going, so he starts making his way to the cave as he looks down at the screen.

"Rhythmi…"

"So, wanna discuss what happened with you and Keith back then?"

The mortification is back – he can feel it. Because despite his newly-realised feelings, the entire situation had been embarrassing. "Not really."

His other best friend pouts. Her blonde curls bounce as she leans forward on her hands. "Aw, come on, Kellyn!"

"Don't you have other work to do?"

"Nope."

Well, there goes that idea.

"You two are so unbelievable, though. Did you know that? Honestly, half the time I forget that you two aren't even a thing."

He stops at that. "What?"

Rhythmi gives him a look. "You're kidding, right? The way you and Keith act, I'm surprised you're not married yet."

He blushes again. "Rhythmi."

She regards him. "You're not telling me I'm wrong," she observes. Then a look of glee crosses her face. "Oh my God, you're not telling me I'm wrong."

He brings a hand up to his face to hide it partially. He's going to pass out from all this blushing at some point. "Rhythmi," he squeaks out, and he realises that all he's really saying now – just an exasperated and embarrassed exclamation of his best friend's name.

"Oh my God, that's so cute! When did you realise?!"

Well, he's already in too deep. "Uh, literally in the last hour?" He looks up, realises where he is, and turns back embarrassingly, realising that he's gone too far the wrong way. Rhythmi seems to know as well, because she looks too smug not to.

"So…" she tilts her head to the side. "When are you going to tell him?"

Kellyn stumbles over his feet. "You know," he replies weakly, "I actually have an important mission to do right now, so maybe all this emotional-discussion talk can be saved for a later date?"

Rhythmi looks disappointed, but she nods. "Okay, Kellyn. Good luck." Then she smirks. "The offer for backup still stands, though!"

"Rhythmi!" he calls out, his voice echoing, and the screen goes black. He lets out a tired noise, rubbing at his eyes, and Starly chitters a concerned noise from his shoulder. "I'm fine, Star," he reassures his partner, and flips the screen down with a click.

So Rhythmi knows as well. Of course, she would – why wouldn't she? Kellyn laughs to himself, his blush finally starting to subside. Everything about this seemed like some cliché romance story: everyone knows but the two people involved. Wow.

A drifloon's soft croon catches his attention. He looks over at it, sighs, and readies his styler. He's got a mission to do, all of this can wait until later, right? Starly chirps, fluttering away from his shoulder, his partner clearly having regained their strength. He smiles up at them.

Kellyn raises his arm, aims his styler, and exhales slowly. So, he likes Keith. Okay. That's fine.

That shouldn't change anything, should it?

Kellyn initiates the capture sequence. The drifloon is captured in record time, and Kellyn is quietly in awe of that. The Fine Styler really is amazing.

Not yet, it shouldn't. Keith's his best friend, he's not going to start acting differently because of something like this. It's not like they weren't close before, right?

The newly-captured pokemon drifts to his side. Kellyn smiles up at it. He starts to make his way in the correct direction.

He's just going to have to say something one day, though.

He hesitates slightly at that thought.

But that's fine. He'll cross that bridge when he gets to it.

He comes to a stop.

He'll just have to keep working alongside his best friend in the field, all too aware of his own feelings.

Oh, great. He's blushing again.

It'll be fine. He just needs to work as a Top Ranger while being aware of his own growing feelings for his best friend. No big deal. Just be a Pokemon Ranger who has a crush on their best friend.

Kellyn groans, covering his face with his hands.

Oh, he is so screwed.