To my fellow readers! I will be taking a break for a little while after this chapter so I won't be writing for about a week. For right now, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. This one will be a little something special I whipped up. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon! All of its character and content are owned by Gamefreak and Nintendo.

Chapter 25: When a Heart Flutters

She had woken up that morning with a lot on her mind. It was early...too early. Why was she up at 4:00 in the morning? She'd gone to bed just fine, but nightmares just seemed to come back to her each night. She was glad that her mother was safe, but...there was still that foreboding feeling. She couldn't shake the thought from her mind. And then there was Tadashi. Just the thought of him in that moment increased her heart-rate a little. A blush crossed her features as she clutched her chest. Why couldn't she stop thinking of him?

Her mind ran back to the first time she, quite literally, ran into him. She didn't know what to think of it at first. She was knocked on her back and looking up at the sky as if she'd gotten hit by a train or something. As she sat up, she remembered seeing him rubbing the back of his head from the impact. Now that she thought of it, she thought he was kind of cute. But the feeling of being rudely bumped into, and the fact that she was angry at the fact that she was delayed her arrival to Santalune City, quickly overshadowed that moment.

Then there was the second time she bumped into him. Ironically it was on her way out of Lumiose, again, and in the same manner. Honestly, she wanted to kick him where the sun didn't shine. Her memory forwarded itself to the Parfum Palace shortly after their first heated battle. The insults she had slung his way in that fight caused her to cringe at herself. She remembered them working together rather well to resolve the missing Furfrou incident. Now? She wishes she'd stood beside him to watch the fireworks instead of in the background.

And so the events continued until it sped up to several days ago when she was bawling her eyes out on his shoulder with her arms draped around his neck. She vividly remembered herself nearly closing the gap between their lips. Stupid Victor. And shortly after that, she was crying on him again because of how stupid he was going after Charizard after he nearly killed him. She picked up her plushie and made her way over to Tadashi's room again. As she got there, she thought about knocking. She just wanted to check and see if he was okay. Yeah, that was it. That was all she wanted to do right?

She raised her hand to knock, but then slowly retracted it and lowered herself to the floor by his door.

'Why is this so hard?' She thought to herself as she looked back at his door.

'I did it before...but he happened to be awake then. What if I wake him up and he's mad at me? I don't want him looking at me like he did on that day...' Clarice thought as she remembered the heated words that he spoke to her when he and Lucario took out Tyson.

He didn't insult her or anything...but it was just the way he said 'I said do it!' that made her quake in fear. She didn't want to be reprimanded. Still, this feeling she was having just now. She had to know what it was. It was bothering her greatly. But she just couldn't bring herself to knock.

Inside the room, Tadashi was sitting up in his bed as he was kept awake by the pain in his burnt arm. The left one wasn't doing too bad but his right was just borderline unbearable. Scratch that...it WAS unbearable.

Tadashi grunted quietly to himself as he threw back the covers to cool himself off. A sigh escaped his lips as he glanced over at Lucario who was awake.

'Hey Lucario...' Tadashi said as he leaned his back against the wall.

'You seem troubled Tadashi...is something the matter?' Lucario inquired curiously.

'Well...it's a bit of a small issue. It's my team set up. You see, before you were placed in my party, I had a Skiddo. I traded him in for you and I haven't brought him back since. He's been through a lot with me and is probably close to evolving too. I don't know...what do you think I should do Lucario?' Tadashi wondered.

'Well...I feel a little bad that you traded in one of your first catches for me. I'm honored that you did, however, perhaps you should allow him back into the party for the time being and substitute him. Maybe catch him up until he evolves?' Lucario suggested.

'I think you may be onto something there. I might just do that, thanks Lucario,' Tadashi replied.

'Glad to help...now, let's talk about something that I've noticed and I'm certain others have too...' Lucario stated with a smirk.

'What's that?' Tadashi inquired.

'Clarice...' Lucario said simply.

'Huh? Why, is something wrong?' Tadashi asked curiously.

'You mean besides you being an oblivious Slowbro...yes' Lucario muttered.

'What do you mean by that? We've patched things up, we're on good terms now. We're friends incase you haven't noticed,' Tadashi replied, raising a brow in question.

'Please don't tell me you are that oblivious to her? I'm surprised that you and I are able to communicate on the same aura level...' Lucario stated with a grimace.

'Hey, if this was about her being in my room that day, she needed someone to talk to and you know me...I can't turn someone in need away,' Tadashi replied.

'And you did the right thing. You didn't seem to see the hints I was trying to give you back there however, which if you had, things would be more clear by now Tadashi,' Lucario said flatly.

Tadashi thought about it for a moment. What was it that he had missed? His mind went back through every event involving her, from the smacking into each other in Lumiose, to their heated clashes several days afterwards. Their teamwork at Parfum Palace and at the Glittering Cave passed before his eyes. He was still confused about it, until his mind replayed the scene in his room. There had been a moment there where they were closer to each other than they had ever been. All he remembered was her face getting rather close to his as she looked into her eyes. Her touch against his cheek was incredibly soft. He remembered the knock that interrupted everything.

His thoughts forwarded to the moment he was about to be blasted into oblivion by Charizard, only to be saved by Clarice and in turn get saved by Diantha before they were both barbequed. He remembered that she cried in his arms, both times. He even vaguely remembered her resting his head on her lap on the way to the Pokemon Center. And if he was correct...she brought him to his room. All of this crossed his mind before finally slapping him in the face. How could he have missed it? It was right in front of him all this time.

'Well aren't I a-yeah...I you already said it...' Tadashi sighed as he looked over at Lucario.

'Finally having it catch up to you huh?' Lucario chuckled. Shaking his head at Tadashi's ignorance to Clarice's feelings.

'So...now what?' Tadashi wondered, looking back at Lucario with a curious gaze.

'Why not ask her yourself? She's sitting right outside your door...' Lucario said plainly.

'And how long were you going to wait to tell me this?' Tadashi grumbled, looking at his partner with an irritated expression.

'Until you realized it or she knocked, one or the other,' Lucario snickered.

'Sometimes...I wonder if I should have left you in the PC instead of Skiddo...' Tadashi grumbled as he looked at the door.

'N-no need to be rash Tadashi...' Lucario replied worriedly.

'That's what I thought...' Tadashi responded.

He looked at the door for what seemed like an eternity. On the other side of that wall, according to Lucario, was Clarice. He wasn't sure what to do at this point. Should he go out and talk to her? Or should he stay in his room and pretend as if he didn't know? What was he going to do? He sighed softly and rubbed his temples. He looked down at himself. He was decent...he had on his pajama bottoms at least. He sighed as he made his way to the door.

This was it. He'd already let her in once, this time should be no different right? She probably just wanted to talk. As he went to open the door, Clarice was standing in front of it, her hand raised in a knocking position.

"H-hey..." Tadashi said as he saw her standing there awkwardly.

"H-how did you know I was out here?" Clarice stammered.

"I took a wild guess...kidding, Lucario told me," Tadashi said as he looked back at her.

"Well...remind me to bean him over the head with something blunt..." Clarice grumbled as she looked up at him.

"So...what's up?" Tadashi inquired, tilting his head curiously.

"I...I couldn't sleep. I've got a lot on my mind...can we...I mean, is it okay if I come in? Again?" Clarice inquired.

Tadashi sighed softly as he looked at her. Something was obviously troubling her and like last time, he just couldn't say no. He nodded and opened the door a bit more for her to enter. He closed it quietly and locked it. And for good measure he put a chair in front of it. After Trinity somehow getting into his room the first time, he wasn't taking any chances.

'Don't mess up now...' Lucario teased.

'Go back to sleep...' Tadashi muttered back, turning to Clarice as she sat down on his bed.

"So...um...Tadashi, h-how are your injuries doing?' Clarice inquired.

"They're doing alright...they still hurt though..." Tadashi replied softy as he sat down.

"I see...do you mind if I help you change your bandages? Those look like they need to be replaced..." Clarice inquired softly.

"Er...no, I don't mind at all..." Tadashi said as he sat down next to a blushing Clarice. She looked cute when her cheeks were tinted pink the way they were.

Clarice began to unravel the bandages around his burns. She slowly removed the gauze pad which Tadashi swore was the worst part. He gritted his teeth to prevent himself from yelling.

She glanced at the burns along his arm and saw that they were better than they were previously. She remembered how bad they were when he came back with Diantha. She wanted to strangle him then too.

"It looks like they're healing up rather nicely...that makes me so glad..." Clarice stated as she motioned for him to go into the bathroom.

He stood up with her and they walked in there together. He sat down on the toilet seat and watched as she picked up some soap and washed her hands. She then began to wash the wound with the soap. Making sure it cleaned up nicely before putting on new bandages. She patted it dry with a cloth, and then looked in the cabinet for a first aid kit. Finding one, she took it out and took out some antibiotic ointment. She then proceeded to rub the ointment on his wound. Tadashi winced a bit as she did this.

"Oh don't be a baby..." she said quietly.

"It hurts...what do you want?" Tadashi mumbled, getting a light thump on the head from her.

"I'll make it hurt worse if you don't let me finish..." Clarice grumbled.

Tadashi sighed and simply nodded. Clarice took her time cleaning the wound and then, when she was done, she took out a new pad and placed it on his shoulder. She then began to wrap the wounds loosely so that when it healed, the heat wouldn't be trapped inside the burn. Satisfied with her work, she stepped back and admired it.

"I think that should do. Your wraps looked too tight...and they were dirty. You really should change them regularly you know..." Clarice scolded.

"I know...I just...get distracted sometimes is all," Tadashi sighed.

"That's okay, come, let's go sit...being in your bathroom is a little weird," Clarice said quietly as they walked out of the bathroom.

They sat down and stared at each other for what seemed like hours, but it was really only a few minutes. Neither said a word to one another. This went on for a bit longer until Clarice broke the silence.

"Tadashi...I'm going to level with you..." Clarice began.

"You are probably the biggest idiot I've ever met!" Clarice continued, her voice not going up in volume due to fear of the others hearing.

"Did you come in here just to insult me? Because if that's the case, there's the door..." Tadashi muttered.

"I'm not going anywhere Tadashi, now you listen and you listen good. Because I don't like repeating things to people who don't seem to comprehend them the first time..." Clarice continued.

Tadashi frowned as she continued, not exactly liking where this was going. Lucario on the other hand could see her aura at this point. It was flashing between pink and brilliant red. A smirk crossed his features as he suspected something interesting was going to happen. He didn't need to be awake to see it. Their auras spoke for them.

"This entire time, you've been nothing but a pain in my butt. From the time we met I've had rotten luck. And on top of that I lost to you in a battle. I'll admit I was crushed but I got over it. And later on...you did something really stupid. You nearly died Tadashi...do you have any idea what that would have done to me?!" Clarice continued, her voice still remaining stern and low in volume.

Tadashi blinked as he listened to her speak. This was the third time she got this serious with him while they were alone. There was a firey passion in her eyes that he'd never noticed before.

"I don't know if you realize this or not Tadashi...but ever since that night I have done nothing, NOTHING but worry over you. And then you had the gall to go out and try to fix your Charizard who, might I add, tried to kill you," She replied sternly.

Tadashi remained silent. He thought it was best to let her rant. She was right after all, he did do some pretty stupid things. He wasn't exactly proud of them either. He wouldn't blame her if she left the group entirely so she wouldn't be dragged into all of this. He looked up at her, only to see that her eyes were closed and that she was breathing in deeply. Her shoulders rose and fell as she opened her eyes.

"But...if any of that hadn't happened...I wouldn't have realized something..." Clarice said with a soft sigh.

"I...I like you Tadashi...not in a silly childish way but...in a more...well..." Clarice blushing, clutching her plushie tightly in her hands.

"I like you too...Clarice..." Tadashi replied. Getting a wide-eyed look from Tadashi.

'That's a funny way to say 'love' Tadashi...' Lucario grinned.

'One more word out of you and I'm returning you to your pokeball...' Tadashi snapped back.

'Touchy, touchy...' Lucario replied.

"I-is something wrong Tadashi?" Clarice inquired.

"Er...no, it's nothing..." Tadashi said with a soft smile.

"I see...well, I...I probably should get back to my room. There are only a few more hours until everyone wakes up. I want to at least try and get some more sleep. Clarice said as she slowly stood up.

"Yeah...that's a good idea," Tadashi said, getting up and walking over to the door she he could open it for her. He removed the chair and then found himself looking into her greenish-gray eyes. In that moment, he didn't know what happened. All he remembered was her lips touching his cheek softly. She held her lips there for but a moment before releasing and looking up at him.

'I missed...I couldn't do it...' She thought as she looked into his eyes.

'I-I guess I'll have to settle for that for now. It's a start...a slow one at that. But...I know that when the time is right, I'll feel more confident about it..' Clarice thought as she turned to head towards her room.

Before she could, she turned around one more time to see Tadashi's face. Priceless as it was, she couldn't help but feel a bit sad that she didn't follow through with her original plan.

Tadashi was flabbergasted. He didn't know what to do with himself at this point. She had just kissed him. Not on the lips but he knew she wanted to. She probably felt it would have been a little too soon, which he would agree with. He reached his hand up to touch where her lips had met his face and gently stroked it. A faint smile crossed his features as he glanced back at her. He didn't know what possessed him to do what he did, but he returned the favor.

Her eyes widened a bit as well, mimicking his earlier action only with a heated blush on her face.

"Thank you...for helping me..." Tadashi said with a soft smile.

"You're welcome...well, goodnight..." She said as she hurried off, quickly making it into her room and shutting the door. She slid onto the floor, her heart racing a thousand miles a minute it felt like.

Tadashi closed his door behind him as well and walked over to his bed. Had he really just done that? He wondered if he was just dreaming all of this, but a quick reminder from Lucario that he could 'see' the whole thing, proved him wrong.

'Smooth...' Lucario complimented.

'I get the feeling that could have gone a little better...' Tadashi mumbled to him.

'I think so...but then again, I think she's waiting for a more appropriate time to express to you more of how she truly feels. Anyways, you should lay down and get some rest. Your injuries haven't fully recovered yet,' Lucario reminded.

'You're right...I'll get on that...' Tadashi said as he climbed back into bed.

Clarice snuggled herself back into the sheets of her own bed and sighed. She managed to muster up the courage for that moment but blew it on the follow-through. Still, she was happy about one thing. He had the same feelings for her. He had kissed her too! A contented sigh escaped her lips, along with a giggle before she flopped back onto the mattress and closed her eyes with a smile. She would get there...eventually.

And that's a wrap ladies and gents. As I stated, there will be times where I will take a one week hiatus from writing. This will be such a week. However, next Thursday, sometime during the day, you can count on the next chapter. So, how did you like their little moment? I know some of you were hoping for something more but I'm not going to rush it that quickly. :P Anyway, stay tuned next week to find out what happens next time on The Flames of Revolution!