Arc III: A Different Relationship

Chapter 11: Chasing a Dream


As Pikachu reached the large, colorful and flowery bushes that Buneary was supposedly hiding in, he stopped outside of them. He made a move to part them, but he paused. After holding the pose for a long while, he sighed and let his arms go slack. He really wanted to go inside, but… his nerves wouldn't let him. Every time he tried to muster up the willpower, his heart did a weird sudden somersault, killing his resolve.

Even with Togekiss' and Meloetta's guidance, he was totally baffled. How the heck was he supposed to do this? What would he even say to her!?

He'd never done anything like this in his entire life. Sure he'd spent hundreds of moments together with Buneary before, but never with the knowledge he had right now. Both of what she felt for him and… for what he felt for her.

Heck, was she even here, still? He'd wager that it'd been a good… half an hour or so since hearing the info from Emolga. In that time, he wouldn't be surprised if the bunny had migrated elsewhere.

Well… it was worth a check anyway, right? Arm trembling, he placed his paws onto the bush. Afterwards, doing his best to steady his breathing, he nodded to himself. He had no idea how he was going to do this… but he had to do it. Not just for himself, but for her.

He was going to make her happy again!

After one more deep breath, he pushed on through. As soon as he got to the other side, he looked up while walking forwards to see if she was still- Ack!

With a painful thump, Pikachu hit his head hard. Seeing stars, he fell onto his backside. Groaning, he rubbed at his head. That'd really hurt…

His vision slowly became less star-filled, so he looked up to see what he'd walked into. To his surprise, he saw Buneary on her rump and rubbing her head, looking dazed and becoming teary-eyed. Oh, whoops… what bad timing.

"[Owww…! That hurt…]" she complained, sniffling. "[That's gonna bruise for sure...]"

Hearing her on the verge of crying, he jumped to his feet and moved over. "[Oh no, I'm so sorry, Buneary! I-I didn't see you there!]"

As soon as she heard his voice, she yelped loudly with a shocked expression on her face. "[P-P-Pikachu!? O-Oh, um…!]" She hopped up onto her feet. Afterwards, she blushed and bashfully rubbed her ear, all signs of being about to cry completely gone. "[Heehee, fancy meeting you here!]"

He began to blush as well. "[Oh, er, eheh, yeah…]" He bashfully looked down to the side. "[F-Fancy that.]"

Darn it… he couldn't handle looking straight into her eyes with these newfound feelings. His confident determination was starting to collapse again…

For what seemed like an eternity, they both just awkwardly stood there, avoiding each other's gazes.

Eventually deciding that something needed to be said, the mouse began to speak. "[Um… so, I-]"

"[E-Er, well, it's been super nice, but... I've... gotta get going!]" she interrupted suddenly.

He looked at her, eyes wide. "[Huh? But-]"

"[Dawn's probably missing me! So, yeah, er… buh-bye!]" She turned and began to quickly hop away in the opposite direction.

He paused in surprise. As Buneary almost reached the bushes on the opposite side, however, he sprang to life. "[No, wait, Buneary! I wanna talk!]"

Seemingly ignoring him, she continued onwards anyway, jumping through the bushes.

He considered just giving her some more time alone. After all, it was clear she was in no mood to see him… But no! If he did that, who knew how long it would take for her to stop hiding away from him? A day? A week? Years? And all while feeling depressed… dejected… alone…

… No way. He wouldn't let that happen. He wasn't going to let her stay upset like this!

Frowning determinedly, he ran forwards and into the bush that she'd gone through, chasing her down on all fours. As he went through to the other side, he saw her turn a corner around another bush. He quickly followed her. For a while after, he pursued her, weaving around many bushes, rocks and trees whenever she did. It wasn't an easy task, though; she was fast!

It was so surreal. Usually, she was the one trying to spend time with him… and now she was freaking trying to escape him, like he was a pokémon collector, or something! If the situation weren't so drastic, he may have laughed at the whole ordeal.

Realizing that she was starting to get away, he tried to rack his brains for an idea. If this kept up, he was never going to get her to stop.

Suddenly, he thought of something that, in hindsight, should've been the first thing he'd done. Using Quick Attack, he felt himself become light as a feather. Kicking off, he zipped forwards far faster than before, quickly closing the distance between them. Even as she tried to turn around another bush.

As he almost reached her, though, he hesitated. He didn't want to tackle her to the ground, as easy as that would be to do. The thought of hurting her when she was like this left him feeling uncomfortable...

After some thought, however, he had an idea. He rapidly zoomed past her and turned, sliding to a stop. Standing, he outstretched his arms, steadied himself and braced for impact.

Yelping, she hopped right into his arms, unable to react in time. Pikachu slid backwards from the impact, but he held firm.

"[W-What the-!?]" Buneary uttered, stunned.

Pikachu grinned. His plan had worked! Now he could…

… Wait, no. Now that he'd caught her, where the heck was he going to go from here!? He hadn't planned this far ahead!

Noticing that he had his arms partway around her, something occurred to him. Something that made his cheeks burn. He was hugging her, wasn't he? Oh, lord, and so suddenly, too!

As his breaths began to grow panicked, he instinctively began to pull away. However, before he did, it hit him. He'd never hugged her before. Not once in his life. Even after all of the affection she'd showed him for so long...

The fierce embarrassment bubbling up inside him continued to grow. However, he didn't break away. This was something she'd… maybe always wanted from him. So, instead, taking a deep breath, he embraced her.

She stiffened, seemingly not expecting his actions. Soon enough, though, she blissfully melted into the hug, sighing softly in content.

He wholly expected the embarrassment to overwhelm him at this point. Surprisingly, however, it didn't. Instead, it melted away into a… warm feeling. Like a marshmallow over a campfire.

A smile grew on his face. He could really get used to this.

They held the hug for what seemed like forever and a day, neither of them wanting it to end. He could only imagine what was going through her mind, though with how hot her face felt against his neck… or how both of their hearts were beating in sync faster than a jet… he had a little bit of an idea.

Eventually, they slowly broke off the hug. She didn't seem like she was going to run away again, so he relaxed.

She stared at him, eyes sparkling. "[You… hugged me…]"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "[Eheh, yeah. I-I guess I did, huh?]"

She continued to stare at him for a while. Eventually, she let loose a small squeal of delight. "[Wow, amazing! Heeheeheehee~!]" She began to do the small, excited dance that he'd seen her do many a time. The same one that had warmed his heart so many months ago, whenever he'd seen it in Sinnoh.

He hummed happily. "[Glad you liked it.]"

Stopping her dance, she gazed at him curiously. "[Why'd you do it, though? I thought you… weren't into that.]"

"[W-Why'd you think that?]" he asked, despite half-knowing the answer.

"[Well, you've never returned any of my- I-I mean anybody's hugs before.]"

He sighed. "[Well…]"

Ear drooping slightly, she looked away and fiddled with her waist fluff. "[And you always looked so uncomfortable, too.]"

"[… You wanna know a secret?]"

She looked back at him. "[Huh? A secret?]"

"[Yeah. The truth is that I… um…]" He looked down to the side while twiddling his fingers. "[… I've really missed your hugs.]"

He saw her blink a few times out of the corner of his eye. "[… Really?]"

"[Y-Yeah. They kept me going in Sinnoh, y'know? I know I never used to show it, but… well, you know how I am...]"

"[I-I… You liked my… O-Oh, gosh…]" she muttered, the blush across her face glowing brighter than the sun.

He looked up at her again. "[Heh, yup… which is why this week's been feeling really lonely.]"

"[Huh? It has? Just because of… my hugs?]" She continued to fidget with her fluff. "[They're not all that good, are they?]"

He began to nod, though he stopped. After a pause, he shook his head instead. "[No. Er, I-I mean, yes, yes, they are! But… well, it's not the only thing I've missed.]"

"[R-Really? But… w-what else could you be missing?]"

He took a deep breath. "[… You, Buneary. I've really missed spending time with you.]"

She brought a paw to her mouth in surprise. "[Wh… What?]"

"[… Any week where I don't get to see you is a lonely week. And no amount of awkwardness from me will ever change that.]"

She paused for a long time. Eventually, she made a loud, happy squealing noise before jumping forwards to hug him. "[Heeheehee~! D'aww, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me~!]"

Feeling far less embarrassed than before, he hugged back, a happy grin stuck to his face. "[I just hope it's enough to make up for being such a jerk to you.]"

Breaking away slightly, she gave him an odd look. "[Huh? But you've never been a jerk to me. You're way too nice for that!]"

"[Thanks, but... you're wrong.]"

"[How?]"

"[Well… you remember when you nuzzled up to me earlier this week, and I… pretended not to…]" He exhaled. "[… Yeah. I was a complete jerk.]"

She made a surprised noise. Afterwards, he saw a sad look flash by her eyes. "[Ah… right. N-No, you're not…]"

"[But I really upset you with that, didn't I?]"

"[Um… a little, maybe. But I shouldn't have… let it get to me so much.]"

"[It's alright, I don't blame ya. I mean… I might've felt the same way if… um…]" He paused for a second to think of his wording, "[… someone I was really… um… great friends with never returned my… friendly affections.]"

"[… Yeah?]"

"[Yeah. So I'm not too surprised.]" He rubbed the back of his head. "[I'm not even all that surprised you tried to hide away from me, either. Haha…]"

Her eyes widened. "[W-What?]" She shook her head frantically. "[N-No way, why would I wanna hide from you? You're really cool and, well, awesome!]"

He chuckled softly, both at her compliments and her shoddy argument. "[Nice try, but I noticed, missy. Not immediately, but I noticed…]"

"[W-Well, I… I…]" She paused for a while before pulling her fluff up to her face. "[Ohhh, I'm sorry… I-I… was… a little sad, I guess, so I… you know…]"

He smiled gently. "[Heh, yeah…]" He sighed. "[… I'm real sorry, Buneary. I wasn't awkward around you because I don't like you...]"

"[… You weren't?]" she asked softly, peeking over her fluff.

He shook his head. "[No way. In fact, I… I think that…]" The heat in his cheeks returned, this time fiercer than before. "[I think I did it because I… I-I might like you too much. I-I think.]"

She gasped loudly and dropped her fluff, both ears unrolling. "[Y-You- I- You… Huh!?]"

He went back to shyly twiddling his fingers. "[I… I-I don't know exactly how long I've felt this way, but…]" Taking a deep breath, he reached for her paw and gently took it in his own. She raised her other one to her mouth in wonder. "[Buneary… I-I-I-]" He swallowed hard, "[… I really like you!]"

It felt as if time had crawled to a stop as a silence fell over the two of them. One so deafening that even the sounds of nature around them were being blocked out.

Buneary could only stare at him, as if her mind was still desperately trying to register what he'd said. The longer she stayed like this, the wider and wider her eyes seemed to go, soon being followed by her mouth.

Eventually, after what felt like an agonizingly long time, she tried to speak. "[I… Y-You… Me… Ohh…]" She began to droop to the ground, her eyes nearly rolling into the back of her head.

He gasped briefly. "[Buneary!]" Reacting quickly, he moved forwards and slung an arm under her body before she could hit the ground. "[You alright?]"

After a few seconds, her eyes went back to normal, staring straight into his. Afterwards, she began to… laugh?

"[Heeheehee…! Ohhhh, I get it!]" she said, wiping a tear away as her ear curled up again.

He blinked. "[Err… you do?]"

She grinned weirdly. "[Of course! This must be a dream. Pikachu would never like me back that easily! Heehee, you almost had me going there, Dream-achu~]"

Trying to ignore his heart doing a sudden somersault at her words, he gave her an odd look. "[Um… Buneary, this… isn't a dream.]"

"[Of course it is! This is way too good to be real, so it must be a dream.]" Her smile dipped slightly. "[A real nice dream...]"

A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. "[B-But...]"

She cupped her paws together. "[Ooh, I hope I can get a little bit further than our last dream, before you completely reject me for some prettier girl~]" She rubbed her chin. "[I wonder if it'll be that Meloetta girl, just like last time…]"

His ears drooped at that. Did she often have dreams like that? Ones where he rejected her for someone else?

… He pulled a determined face. He wasn't prepared to let her bad dreams become reality. "[No, really, Buneary. It's me, the mouse himself,]" he reassured.

She shook her head. "[It can't be. I really wish it was you, but… well, he's not into me, so- Eep!]"

After taking a deep breath, he'd interrupted her by moving his head forwards to gently rub his nose against hers. Something that made both of her ears spring up.

As he pulled away, her face took on a look of shock. "[Th-That…]" She held a paw up to her sensitive nose. "[That felt… real?]"

"[Of course! I wasn't kidding when I said I'm the real deal,]" he replied with a smile. "[And I'm not kidding when I say that… my feelings for you are the real deal, too. I'd never reject you, Buneary.]"

She held both of her paws up to her mouth. "[Pikachu…]"

"[So… I was hoping…]" He looked away and closed his eyes for a second, steeling himself. Afterwards, he looked directly into her sparkling eyes, giving her a hopeful smile. "[Would you maybe… consider… dating me?]"

There was a breathless pause.

Suddenly, tears began to well up in her eyes. Despite that, she didn't look sad.

Instead, she gave him one of the warmest smiles he'd ever seen. "[P-Pikachu…]" she uttered quietly, her voice nearly breaking.

Before he could react, she shot forwards and wrapped her arms around him, bursting into happy tears. She tried to say something, but it only came out as blubbering. However, feeling her nodding over and over again against his shoulder… he kind of had a hunch he knew what she wanted to say.

Breaking out into a beaming smile, he hugged her back just as much. If this really was a dream… he never wanted it to end.


TO BE CONTINUED!


Finished:

Older stuff - 03/04 (April)/2015

Newer stuff - 14/02 (February)/2018 (Happy Valentine's Day! (In UK time, anyway))

Word count: 2,668

VGS2's pointless notes: Oh my god, it's so cheesy. It makes me cringe like a mother clucker, it does. Still, I didn't want to change way too much of the original scene… so hey, I hope you enjoyed this chapter with some crackers, Gromit!

Huh… y'know actually, I was browsing some of the bizarre music from Rayman Origins the other day... and noticed that one of the songs was actually called Chasing a Dream. Huh. Well, thankfully this fic ain't quite as wacky as that game was! That said, it's just as hard to take seriously, probably, but hey. XP

Shameless promotion: Being Valentine's Day, I'd better give another shout-out to ravengal, 'eh? If I don't, she'll whoop me one, son! O,o (Disclaimer: Just kidding, not really. I hope.)

Y'know, recently, she uploaded a new fic based on Poképark called Smile For Me. It follows the adventures of the jolly Pikachu and his best friend, Piplup, as they explore the titular park. They'll form strong friendships, have great battles, fun, jolly times and… perhaps they'll even find romance!? Sounds fairly exciting, for sure! :P

'Tis a shame that it's gotten such a small amount of reviews. Perhaps you guys could go and drop her one. Or several. Or many.

Fun mistakes of the day: #1: 'Pikachu slide backwards a little from the impact,'

(That's an order, Pikachu! Slide backwards, but only a little bit!)

#2: '"[P-P-Pikachu…]" she uttered quietly, her voice nearly breaking.'

(Puh-puh-Pikachu? XD Reminds me of them old advertisements for that ol' chocolate bar. "Puh-puh-puh-pick up a penguin!™")

Alrighty, and that's that. Tata for now, and enjoy your Valentine's Day! c:


Next up: Boosting friendships!