Chapter 2: Fancying The Crush


Buneary wandered through the cold wasteland, alone and depressed. She'd been looking for something that belonged to her for a long, long time… but she still hadn't found it.

Where was it? She'd searched every nook and cranny that she'd been able to find, but… it was almost like it had vanished out of existence. She just couldn't find it…

She felt her eyes water again. Wherever it was… she hoped it was okay. If anything ever happened to it…

Through her blurry vision, she noticed something shining in the distance. Gasping, she wiped her tears away and looked properly.

… She'd found it. At long last, she'd found it! It'd been right under her nose the entire time… but she'd found it!

The tears came back at full force, but not without a beaming smile to go with them! She was so happy!

She hopped towards it as fast as she could. When she reached her glowing treasure, she gently picked it up. It was glorious. So beautifully, amazingly glorious…

It began to shake all of a sudden. Huh? What was it doing?

She tried to get a better look. It exploded into fire, knocking her a big distance away.

Picking herself up, she looked at it in horror. No. No, no! What…?

While the smoke cleared, she scrambled towards the treasure desperately. Please… just please be alright…!

When she reached it, the smoke immediately cleared. However, the treasure had disappeared… and been replaced by Piplup, who was coated in soot while looking dazed and confused.

… What?

He shook off the soot and continually stomped his foot angrily. "[Don't tell me that you're still ignoring them!]" he yelled.

Everything fizzled out.


Buneary groggily woke up. Huh…? W-What just happened? She looked around frantically. She relaxed when she figured out she was inside her pokéball. She could tell, because she'd set it to the special 'city park' skin. The one with the super cute flowery fields, and all the grass, and the huge buildings in the distance. The last of which she couldn't actually reach, but just having them be there made her happy enough. It was nostalgic and scenic. And cool.

She got up into a sitting position. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she tried to figure out what was going on. She couldn't exactly complain about having that dream interrupted, because it was garbage… but seriously, what was going on? Why had she woken up so suddenly?

Getting up, she realized what it might've been. Oh yeah, that old pokéball quirk. Whenever someone calls out your name, you tend to be 'alerted' to it. Considering it wasn't very strong this time, she guessed that it wasn't Dawn calling her out of her ball, so… was someone gossiping about her? Tsk. The nerve!

Shaking her head to wake herself up a bit, she wondered what to do with herself. She was tempted to try sleeping again, but she didn't want another unpleasant dream, so… heck, why not? Time to find out about whoever was gossiping about her. Probably Piplup, considering his surprise appearance in her dream.

She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the outside world. Thanks to what she assumed was pokéball technology, she saw an image of everything outside her ball. She saw Dawn talking to a bunch of people, such as some green-haired butler guy, an old man butler guy and… Cynthia the Sinnoh champion?

Huh… they must've gotten to her villa already. Somewhere Dawn had been invited to stay, while she waited for the tournament she'd been interested in to start. All so she could watch Cynthia, the absolute fangirl.

Chuckling to herself, she tried to eavesdrop on the pokémon in the room. If she had to guess, Piplup must've been talking to one of Cynthia's pokémon, or something.

She saw someone's axew - who was being stroked by Dawn - Piplup, and a pikachu.

The rabbit's heart thudded harshly in her chest. Wow… a pikachu in here talking to Piplup. That brought back some memories… There was no way it was Pikachu, though. That is, the man who she'd fallen for. For him to be in this very room, which Dawn herself was only in by chance… the planets would have to align, or something!

She sighed dreamily and lay back down on the virtual grass under her feet. Oh, Pikachu… that nice, hunky, funny, charming mouse. How long had it been now? A few months? A lot of months? It really didn't matter. It'd been way, way too long for her liking. All so she could do that weird photo shoot for 'Pokésheik', or whatever they'd called it. Something that had been a load of fun, but hadn't compared to spending time with her favorite yellow mouse.

She watched Piplup and the pikachu talk amongst themselves. She couldn't hear them very well over the humans' chatter… and even if she could lip read, it wouldn't matter. She couldn't get a good look at the pikachu's face, because he was facing Piplup.

Oh well, it was cool to see one, all the same. It got her in the mood to daydream up a storm… so she would!

She relaxed and let her mind wander back to a random moment in the past…


Huffing and panting, Buneary hopped across the fields as fast as she could. Glancing backwards, she spotted Pachirisu, who was hot on her heels.

"[I'm-a gonna catch youuuu!]" the squirrel called out, still running. "[It's only a matter of time, Buneary! Give up, or face my tagging wrath!]"

"[N... Never...!]" Buneary panted out, hopping even harder. She hopped in different directions in an attempt to throw her off, but it didn't help too much. The squirrel was still after her!

Just as all seemed lost, Pachirisu's footsteps stopped. Glancing behind herself, Buneary saw her stopped dead in her tracks, staring elsewhere intensely.

Pachirisu gasped. "[Togekiss spotted at eight o' clock and a half! Hyaaaagh!]" she shouted, sprinting off elsewhere.

Curious, Buneary stopped to watch. Pachirisu zipped towards Togekiss - who had just been milling around near some flowers - and jumped onto her.

Unrolling her ear for a better listen, Buneary heard Pachirisu shout something excitedly. "[Got'cha, got'cha, tag, you're it!]" the squirrel cried.

"[Wahh!]" Togekiss yelped, looking flabbergasted. "[I-I'm not even playing, sweetie! It's u-unbecoming of me, and-!]"

Pachirisu sprinted away. "[Woooo, now count to twentyyyy~!]"

"[… Oh dear. Um… err…]" The bird looked around awkwardly, not seeming quite sure what to do.

Piplup, who had been hiding somewhere nearby, sighed and moved over to her. "[Hey, I'll take the tag for you, if you want,]" he said, holding a flipper out.

Her face brightened. "[O-Oh! Thank you, Piplup!]" She tapped his flipper while smiling sheepishly. "[Um… s-sorry…]"

He smiled back at her. "[Don't mention it. Anyway, time to count!]" With closed eyes, he began to count upwards from one.

Togekiss' own smile went more natural and she stayed nearby him.

Huh, how kind of him. Still, that was Buneary's cue to get the heck outta dodge, as they say.

She hopped away from the area, though at a more relaxed pace this time. Being chased by Pachirisu had worn her out to no end, after all.

She hopped behind a bunch of trees. She jolted and gave a cry of surprise when she nearly hopped into Pikachu, who was sitting down in hiding.

"[Ah!]" Pikachu yelped. "[Um… friend or foe?]"

"[F-Friend. Barely,]" Buneary responded, trying to ignore her heart beating faster at the sight of him.

He breathed out a sigh of relief before grinning cheerfully. "[Alright, cool. Hey, Buneary!]"

She beamed. "[Heehee, hey, Pikachu~]" She moved over to give him a quick nuzzle.

He chuckled awkwardly, though his smile remained. His usual reaction, which Buneary assumed was a good one.

"[So!]" she continued, sitting down. "[Hiding from Pachirisu?]"

"[Heh, you bet. That little girl's a speed demon,]" Pikachu replied.

She giggled. "[No kidding! She hasn't slowed down a bit since we met her.]"

"[You got that right! Taking a break, like me?]"

"[You bet'cha!]"

"[Good call.]"

"[I think she… sort of tagged Piplup, though, so he's next up.]"

"[Ah… thank the lord,]" he said in relief. "[Now I might actually have enough energy to not die later on today.]"

She laughed. "[Youuu pansy~!]"

"[Hehe, hey...]" he said, looking like he was trying to frown but failing miserably.

She winked and stuck her tongue out him cheekily, making him chuckle some more.

Beaming, he went quiet, seemingly letting the air go comfortably silent. Beaming just as much, she followed suit.

While he was gazing forwards, she stole a glance at him. Ooh, he was so handsome… and even nicer and funnier, still! He was just so great… and she loved every moment she spent with him.

She had such an urge to go on the flirting offense with him just all the time… but she was still so unsure. He could barely handle a nuzzle right now without going really awkward, so anything more would probably be a bit too much. Even after knowing each other for almost a year.

She didn't mind, though. Just having him nearby was enough to make her happy. She just hoped that it was the same the other way around. Even if just a little bit...

"[Hmm, we should probably get going,]" Pikachu said, getting to his feet. "[It's kinda sorta cheating if we hide away all the time.]"

"[Aww...]" she replied. She pouted. "[I was all happy resting, too...]"

He chuckled. "[Hey, now who's the pansy?]"

She huffed in mock annoyance. "[Gimmie a break! Running from Pachirisu's a hellish workout, like you know.]"

"[Heh, true enough... but it's either we get going or we get a telling off from Piplup, for being cheap. So y'know...]"

"[Yeahhhh, fair comment,]" she replied, getting up. She sighed. "[It's a shame, though... we haven't hung out like this in a while, have we? Not since all the shenanigans with the Grand Festival, and all that.]"

He frowned sadly. "[I guess not, huh? Hmm...]" He perked up. "[Well, hey. Why don't we do just that after we've all finished chasing each other senseless? Hang out after our food and talk about stuff?]"

She gasped and nodded vigorously. "[Ooh, that'd be lovely!]" She nuzzled against him again. "[Yes, please~!]"

His face went red, most likely out of bashfulness. "[Neat!]"

"[Hah, finally going for a date, eh?]" Cyndaquil said, suddenly standing next to them.

Pikachu yelped and jumped away from Buneary. "[Cy-Cyndaquil, what!?]"

"[Knew you'd go for her eventually~]" the baby mouse continued, amused. "[Maybe I should call you uncle now.]"

Pikachu groaned, his face going more red. "[... You'd like that, wouldn't you?]"

Cyndaquil giggled cheekily. "[Yup!]"

Buneary exhaled through her nose, paws to her hips. Why did this always have to happen? The others really enjoyed ribbing on Pikachu, just because of her feelings for him. He was very bashful, so it got to him quite easily. Tsk…

… She forced the idea that it was because he didn't like her that way out of her mind. No way, she didn't want to think such a silly thing. After all, he enjoyed hanging out with her and didn't mind her playful behavior when people weren't watching,

So yeah, no need for paranoia. Things were set to be brighter than they'd ever been!

Cyndaquil kept on giggling. He stopped and stared forwards suddenly. Eyebrows raising in surprise, he squealed and ran away.

Buneary and Pikachu gave him a weird look. Something slapped the rabbit on the head, making her yelp along with Pikachu. Looking, she saw a blue flipper on his head.

… Whoops.

"[Aha, two at once!]" Piplup cried from behind. She turned to face him and Pikachu. She saw a proud look on the penguin's face. "[An easy win, and I get to make the couple hang out some more!]"

"[C-Couple!?]" Pikachu yelped before looking exasperated. "[For crying out loud…]"

Buneary put her paws to her hips. "[C'mon, Piplup, that was totally unfair! And you can't tag both of us...]"

"[Not my fault you weren't paying attention!]" Piplup responded. "[And sure I can! After all, it means more alone time for the both of you!]"

"[Oh, you jerk...!]"

"[Well, beats doing it alone, I guess. Especially with... um...]" Pikachu started, petering out.

"[Such good company?]" Piplup interjected excitedly.

Pikachu blushed and looked away bashfully. "[... S-Something like that, yeah.]"

The penguin grinned. "[Knew it~!]" He gave Pikachu a few friendly pats on the back before running away cheerily. "[Have fun, you two!]"

"[We will...]" Pikachu groaned back.

With the two of them alone, Buneary sighed. "[Darn it all... sorry, Pikachu,]" she said, starting to feel emotional. She felt her eyes water. "[You got tagged and embarrassed all because of me...!]"

He gave a cry of surprise. "[H-Hey, no, it's cool!]" He moved closer and to pat her on the shoulder. "[I don't mind a good game of tag. 'Specially since we can have a little bit of our hangout time now, huh?]"

"[... You'd like that?]" she asked, a warm, fluffy feeling filling her chest.

"[You bet!]"

She stopped tearing up and beamed. "[Well, alrighty then~]"

He breathed out a sigh and smiled back. "[Cool. Let's get our counting done, then we'll catch ourselves some poor chump!]" he cried eagerly, pumping a fist.

She giggled and pumped a fist with him. "[Yeah!]"

Covering their eyes, they started counting together. Of course, she couldn't resist edging a little closer while he was distracted. How could she when he was such a perfect guy? So much more than anyone else...


Lying against the virtual grass of her pokéball, Buneary sighed dreamily at the memory. That wasn't even her favorite one with him in it, but she still adored it. She didn't deserve to be so close to such a fun, handsome gentleman... but she was, and she freaking loved it!

Too bad he was so bashful all the time, though. Mostly just whenever she gave him lovey-dovey attention in front of others. She tried not to think too hard about it, though. He was really awkward and dorky, that was all. If anything, it only made him cuter.

One day, though... one day she'd go full on flirt mode with him. And it would be glorious.

She went back to paying attention to the outside world. Everything seemed normal enough. The pikachu had gone, though. Instead, Piplup was talking to the axew. A baby, from the looks of things.

... Heh. Cute.

Hm? Buneary noticed the door opening again. She saw some dark-skinned girl walk through it, along with Ash... Ketch... um!?

... W-What? What? What!? He was here? Why was he here!? O-Oh lord, oh lord, did that mean... the pikachu from before had been...?

As if to answer her question, Ash turned around enough for her see who'd been hidden on his shoulder clearly. The man who set her heart ablaze every time she saw him. The man who was currently setting her heart as ablaze as it could go.

PIKACHU!

Buneary's face burned up something fierce, and her insides were doing literally everything at once. Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh god, oh gosh...! He was here! He was honest to goodness here! In the same place as her!

She went unbelievably giddy. When she'd heard they'd be coming here to Cynthia's place, she'd had no idea she'd be seeing her big crush again. She couldn't complain at all, though. Goodness no. Her face was stretched out from the huge smile on her lips... and she could already feel the happy tears pouring down her face!

She almost burst out of her pokéball right there and then. Ready to tackle him into the biggest hug of her life. However, she stopped herself. Barely.

No... this was the first time they'd spoken in months, now. If she tried that straight away, he was bound to have a heart attack, or something. Plus... a part of her felt really bashful about the idea, herself. She'd gotten rusty, clearly.

Hmm... she could try getting away with a little affection, though. If he'd missed her as much as she'd missed him, he probably wouldn't mind at all. Maybe not even if she tried doing it in public! Plus, it would help her get into the groove of things!

Yes, she had the perfect idea, now. All she had to do now was work up her nerves, and then the magic could begin!

She would go up to him… and say hi.

… And then nuzzle him into the ground.

Until then, however, she was perfectly content admiring his gorgeous face from afar again, just like old times.

The familiar feeling of her heart melting into a puddle at his bright smile brought endless comfort to her. It made her confident that things were going to turn out a-okay. And this time, nothing would change that. Nothing at all...


TO BE CONTINUED!


Finished: 18/05 (May)/2018

Word count: 2,832

VGS2's pointless notes: Looks like Buneary's clearly ready to get her mouse flirting thang on! But will she succeed? It's a total mystery! :O *Cough*

Shameless promotion: Hey there! Today, I shall (technically) kick off the proper shameless promotions with someone called Xtreme Gamer! He's a guy who's been on the lagomorphing scene for a very, very long time, now. Wouldn't be surprised if he was one of the first peeps to write a fic for the couple!

He has one true lagomorph story, 'You'll Always Be A Winner To Me', but he writes a frickton of other pokémon stories, too (mostly human based.) Glancing at a bunch of them, I can tell that he's really good at making the characters feel like the ones from the anime. All without making them boring as sin like the show itself does, too. Bonus! XP

I can already tell that he's someone all of ya will like a lot, especially you human shippers, so go give him some reviews!

Fun mistakes of the day: #1: 'She her eyes water again.'

(I can't decide if this sounds extremely pretentious, or extremely badly translated.)

#2: 'She saw someone's axew, who was being stroked by Dawn, Piplup, and a pikachu.'

(Everybody in the room wants to stroke Axew, apparently. At once, at that. XD)

#3: '… She forced the thought that it was because he didn't enjoy her that way out of her mind.'

(Whoops, wrong word. XD)

#4: 'After all, he enjoyed hanging with her'

(Not exactly wrong... but when used in the POV where I don't use much slang, it's a little... weird. XD Foreshadowing for my next fic, where Pikachu and Buneary form a suicidal pact. Don't miss it!)

#5: 'With the two off' them alone,'

(Buneary calls upon her personal assassin.)

#6: 'She saw some dark-skinned girl walk through door,'

(Iris gave up on her dragon master dreams and became a ghost master, instead, it seems!)

#7: As if to answer her question, Ash turned around enough for her see him clearly. The man who set her heart ablaze every time she saw him.

(She couldn't get Pikachu, so she went for Ash instead, I see. XD Well, they do share a voice actress, so...)

#8: 'She went unbelievably good'

(Because she was evil before, apparently.)

#9: 'It made her confident that things were gong to turn out'

(Things shall turn out to be gongs.)

Alrighty, you guys, thanks for reading this rubbish! :D Tata for now! c:


Next up: Getting to know some people!