Here's the second half of today's special! Enjoy, and please review if you feel the urge! Hope you like it.
Pikachu threw Empoleon a look before the two scrambled off, headed further up the trail so their trainers could speak.
There was absolute silence. Dawn looked at Ash's face, searching for some hint that he was messing with her. But, he was absolutely serious. He was just surprised. That was all. She turned to fully face him, fists balled up and the blush she was already sporting turning scarlet in anger. "Y-You dumbass!" She felt so embarrassed. She wanted to run off and cry, but darn if if Johanna hadn't raised her to be anything but a coward.
Ash balked in shock, not expecting that outburst. His brows furrowed, aware he'd messed up. "Sorry," he said, really processing the situation. "I just need a second."
Dawn swallowed thickly. "Alright." She turned back to watch the sunset.
He followed suit, watching the horizon blankly as he tried to figure out how to answer. She liked him, but did he like her? Thinking about it, he was a little surprised at his own answers to that question. He hadn't ever pondered it before, but between the way he'd felt about her recently and his desire to have her at his side… That added up to a crush, didn't it? But, last time he'd felt like this, it hadn't ended. Heck, it hadn't even started.
So, instead, he tried not to think about comparing the bluenette to what had almost happened years ago. That was then and this was now. And, right now, Ash liked having Dawn's company. He liked her enthusiasm and her interest in the same things he liked. He liked having her cheer for him. It made him feel good. Their battles were always a treat, even with the power advantage he had. Their slowly entwining dreams were always good to look forward to. He'd been reluctant to even think about it until now, but he knew something else to be true: Dawn looked very nice.
And, so, finding no reason that he didn't like her and plenty of reasons why he probably did, he felt a little more at ease in admitting his crush to himself.
"I like you, too," he finally said, not daring to look her way. "Sorry about before. This isn't my thing." Bashful, he frowned, fiddling with the brim of his cap.
"I guess there really was no need to worry," Dawn spoke up, voice still wavering a bit at her previously assumed rejection. "I forgive you." She looked up at him and he looked down at her. Dawn thought it was all perfectly good.
"So… What does this mean? For us?" he asked, realizing once again that he was lost.
Dawn giggled. "Well, I think it makes us boyfriend and girlfriend."
Ash quickly bore a toothy grin. "That works for me!" It'd take a little getting used to for him to start calling her that. Wait. "Uh… What do boyfriends and girlfriends do?"
All the while, they'd been steadily leaning in closer and closer.
Dawn thought this was all still perfectly fine. "I've got got one idea."
Her eyes had a peculiar look that Ash was certain he ought to know the meaning of, but didn't find himself at all worried that he couldn't name it. However, he did realize what she was doing. Moving in closer to her, he connecting the movement pattern to one he'd seen before. She was trying to kiss him! Unlike the times with Melody and… Well, another girl, he wouldn't have her go at it alone!
As Dawn closed her eyes, Ash puckered his lips, tightly shutting his eyes, waiting stockstill as she approached…
Only for a light bumping sound accompanied by a jarring bit of force along his forehead to rouse him.
"Ow," Dawn said quietly, backing off and rubbing her forehead.
Ash removed his cap, rubbing at his own face. "Good thing we're both hardheaded, I guess."
The coordinator couldn't help but laugh at that.
He chuckled, too, pleased to see the smile back on Dawn's face that he'd grown so used to.
"Let's try again," she encouraged. "I didn't come this far just to tie things off with a headache."
Ash was quick to place the cap back on his head, turning the brim towards the back in his typical showy flare, a smirk picking up in the corner of his lips. "You're on."
The whole display earned an amused eye roll from his new girlfriend.
This time, they were able to lean in without bumping into the brim of Ash's cap. Between the height difference and their inexperience, finding each other's lips was an awkward shuffle at best. After a few failed attempts, the two succeeded. The gentle touch was enough to send an unfamiliar jolt through Ash's spine, and a wonderful warmth built in Dawn's chest.
All the same, the kiss was very brief, parting when the two had gotten their fill.
That said, it was more than enough to set the mood. Ash got to look down upon Dawn's glowing features under the sun, be it her growing smile, flushed cheeks, her bright blue orbs, or the remarkably beautiful locks that cascaded past the frame of her face.
And, Dawn was greeted with Ash's own goofy grin, his kind, but unwavering dark hues, and the rustling of his dark messy hair in the ocean breeze. For once, she could swear she saw a tint of red in his face, too.
While the two were looking at each other with contentment, Pikachu dared to look over his shoulder. Seeing that whatever drama had occurred was over and their trainers were smiling, he tapped Empoleon with his tail.
"Pikapi! Pikaka!"
"Empoleo! Empo!"
The two starters scrambled over, eager to congratulate the two. Empoleon hugged Ash while Pikachu hopped onto Dawn's shoulder.
"I guess you're happy I was able to get through to Ash, huh, Pikachu?" Dawn teased, scratching under the electric type's chin.
Picking up on the playful mood, Ash wrapped his arms around Empoleon as well. "Yeah, if you were betting on Dawn confessing to me, you definitely won Empoleon. She's crazy about me, you see."
Empoleon and Pikachu just laughed. Five minutes ago, Ash hadn't known a thing.
"Yeah, that's it," She agreed. She did like him, so there was no point in denying anything.
Seeing no reason not to turn the embrace into a group hug, Empoleon reached over, hugging Dawn, too. Pikachu was nestled between the two trainer's cheeks, chirping happily.
"This is great!" Ash enthused. "Pikachu, Empoleon, now you two don't have to worry about being too far apart! Since me and Dawn are dating, you can visit more often even when we aren't traveling together!" Couples probably visited each other, right?
Dawn blinked before turning to Ash. "Oh, we've never been on a date!" she noted. "We should probably go on one, if we're dating!"
Ash nodded, serious once again. "Yeah! Gotta do this right!"
"...How the hell'm I gonna do this right?" Hands that were likely already sweating fumbled with buttons, dealing with a stubborn set that weren't quite cooperating with him.
The young man struggled with a white and blue striped button-down shirt draped over his shoulders. This was really the last thing he ever wanted to wear out… Even marginally formal clothes were stuffy and uncomfortable. But, Delia had insisted he pack at least one piece of formal wear. What if you meet someone famous, she implored. Ash denied this'd have any importance, but was smarter than to fight a stubborn request from Delia.
Truthfully, this scenario was far more daunting. After a bit of back-and-forth with Dawn on where the date would take place, they'd settled on a moderately fancy restaurant towards the end of the boardwalk near the edge of the island. It wasn't anything out of their price range, but she'd made the admittedly good point that they should try to make their first date special, and start things on a high note.
That sounded well and good, but it had Ash sweating bullets. "This is supposed to be a big deal… What's a boyfriend even supposed to do… Yes!" He finally thumbed one of the plastic buttons into the other half of his shirt, securing it at last.
Only to look down in horror to find that his shirt was uneven. "Crap… I got this thing totally wrong again." With a pout, Ash scrambled to undo and redo the buttoning. "Man, what a pain… You think I can make a good impression, Pikachu? This is supposed to be something special, right?"
"Pika! Pikachu!" Standing atop the wooden table inside their room, courtesy of the center, Pikachu flailed his arms in emphasis. Of course Ash could! He and Dawn had always gotten along… As for how to act, Pikachu's ears drooped, his stubby arms crossing over his torso. His understanding of the whole 'dating' concept was only marginally greater than Ash's. Beyond having a good time, he had little advice to offer.
"That's alright," Ash assured. He turned to the other, smaller pokemon that were out. Ash had done his best to share the news with their current parties. Everyone would have to learn slowly but surely. "You guys have any advice?"
Clefairy hopped up onto the bed, eyes shimmering. "Clefairy Clefairy Clefairy! Clefaaaaa~!" she sang.
Rosa quirked her brows before looking to Ash. ~She said to finish the night by naming a constellation after her. Every girl wants to be one of the stars…?~
Ash's eyes bulged. "W-What the heck?! That's so weird!"
Primeape gentle pushed Clefairy out of the center of the bed, ready to give his advice to Ash instead. "Prime…! Primeape!" The fighting type crossed his arms. "Primeape-ape, ape-ape."
~He says forwardness is the only way. To keep your girl, you have to prove you're a real alpha male! Don't take anyone's crap! Take charge!~
"I can take charge…! But… That's a little weird for Primeape to say… Buddy, where'd you learn about this?" Ash raised a brow.
"Prime."
~He said Anthony told him.~
"Isn't Anthony… single?" Ash groaned, growing frustrated. "I don't know what to do…!"
Suddenly, Buneary hopped up onto the dresser that Ash was standing in front of. "Bun!" she ordered, yanking on his shirt. When Ash turned around, the rabbit began plucking at his buttons. "Bun Bun Buneary! Neary Buneary!" she yelled, absolutely passionate. "Buuuun, neary!"
She moved back, looking proud.
Ash looked at his shirt. She'd buttoned it! Not a single hole or button was out of place. "Buneary, how'd you learn to do this?!"
Empoleon rolled his eyes from where he lounged on one of the beds. "Empo."
~He says Hoenn fashion,~ Rosa clarified.
"Well, what'd Buneary say?"
Rosa shrugged. ~She talks fast… But, something about making it a magical evening and fairytales? Be Dawn's prince or something… It's a girl's ideal type?~
Else where in the room, Pikachu quietly tiptoed out of sight. If that was what Buneary wanted out of him, he was going to play dumb a bit longer!
Ash looked up at the ceiling. "A prince, huh? I know a little bit about those. I guess I can act like that." He sighed. He wanted things to go well, but that felt a little out of character for him. But, if it was what couples did, then he would become Dawn's prince for sure! "Thanks for your advice, everyone. Now we just have to wait on Dawn."
"No you don't~" She sing-songed, opening the bathroom door as if on cue. "I'm ready!" She winked, smiling at Ash. Though her sun dress wasn't particularly fancy, she accessorized it well with what little she had to work with and her hairstyle was delicately ornate enough to pull it all together.
The coordinator winked, holding out a hand to Ash. "Ready to head out?"
Taken with her looks, he momentarily forgot his nervousness. "Yeah…"
Dawn waved to the pokemon. "You guys be good! Pikachu, Empoleon, if anything happens, you know you can tell Nurse Joy to call the restaurant we told you about!"
The two starters nodded.
As Ash followed Dawn out, both members of the teams present flashed Ash encouraging smiles.
Walking up to the restaurant, Ash was absolutely taken with the wafting scent of seafood. He licked his lips. In fact, he was paying so little attention that they were walking up the steps before he realized what was happening. So, in a rush, he darted up the steps before Dawn, ripping the door open.
Dawn's eyes widened. What the heck was that?! All the same, he'd opened the door for her, so she stepped through quickly. "Thanks," she murmured.
"No problem," he quietly said back.
The hostess smiled at the couple. "Welcome to Germaine's! Will the two of you be dining with us tonight?"
The two quickly exchanged a look.
Ash tried to speak quickly. He was supposed to be leading, after all! "Yeah, just the two of us!"
The hostess quirked her head. "Very well. Please follow your server to your table. Thank you!"
Ash and Dawn quietly walked behind an older man. His air of importance and officiality only increased their tense posture. By the time they were seated in the plush booth, neither found themselves able to relax into their seats.
The privacy the booth offered thus turned to a sense of isolation.
"What will the madam and sir have to drink this evening?" the waiter inquired, sliding the menus down before the couple.
Dawn quickly flipped through the small selection while Ash quirked his eyebrows in confusion.
"Just water, please."
Deciding to follow her lead, Ash repeated the same. "Water, please."
"Very well." The man wrote it down and then walked away.
Now, they were alone for real.
Dawn turned to Ash, the singular candle on their table lighting up her face in the dimly lit restaurant. "This is nice," she said, trying to start a conversation.
Ash nodded, trying to think of an appropriate response. Faking a bravado he didn't feel, he sat his shaking elbow down on the table, smiling at Dawn. "Anything for you!"
Clearly, she wasn't expecting that reason. "Oh! Thanks…" Hadn't she found this place, though? What was he talking about?
Thankfully, they had a brief interlude to the silence. The waiter returned with their waters.
"Would it be time to select one of our hors d'oeuvres, mister and madam?"
Ash's heart dropped. What the heck was an or-durr-ve?!
Thankfully, Dawn spoke up. "Oh! We haven't even looked at the menu. I guess we need another minute to decide on appetizers. Unless you know what you want, Ash?"
Appetizers! He knew what those were! But, as he quickly scanned the menu, he didn't see any he knew! Where were the mozzarella sticks!? The fried pickles?! They didn't even have rice balls, for crying out loud! Still, he couldn't let Dawn down! He had to take control of the situation!
"The fig-almond bry?" he weakly said, trying to come off confident. He didn't know how to pronounce that last word. Maybe like try?
The waiter raised a brow. "The gentleman would like the fig and toasted almond brie?"
"Yeah," Ash quickly squeaked.
"Very well."
The trainer almost relaxed into the booth in relief.
"What bread would you like?"
Ash almost broke into a sweat. "Uh… I mean, w-whatever you would recommend!"
An almost knowing smile crossed the waiter's face. "Very well, sir, I'll ask the chef what he recommends. Thank you for trusting us in this." With that, the man walked away.
Dawn looked to Ash, in awe. "I didn't know you liked cheese like that!"
There was cheese in that?! Ash wondered. He did like cheese, though. "I mean, yeah? I'll eat it on anything. Fruit'll be good on the side, right?"
Dawn shrugged. "I don't know! I've never had brie! It smells ba-..." She stopped. Wait, if Ash knew about Bri and he seemed okay with it, shouldn't she?! She didn't want to come off uncultured! "It smells b-basically filling!" she lied. "Like, I smell it, and I think, whoa, I can't eat that, I won't have room for anything else, haha. B-But, I bet you'll totally like it, Ash!"
Encouraged by Dawn's lies, Ash nodded. "I just hope we still have room for our meals!" he said, comfortable talking about food.
"Oh, I guess we should figure out what we want to eat," Dawn mused. With that, she opened her menu.
Ash followed suit. Most of the items looked bad from their description and many he just didn't know what they were. One rather shocked him, though. What were crab legs?! That stayed on his mind even as he looked through the menu.
The silence that lapped over them during their menu reading was anything but comfortable.
Both were elated when the minutes passed by and the server returned.
"The chef recommended sourdough. Please enjoy." The waiter placed a delicate dish of soft, pale cheese down before the couple. On top of the cheese was the fruit and nuts as well as several carefully carved slices of bread. "What might I get the couple for their entree?"
"I would like the fruit medley salad sandwich with the curry rice, spicy, please," Dawn politely said. She hoped that'd taste good together. Did fruit really go on sandwiches? She didn't even know what kind of curry they served here!
Ash, however, finally barked a question he'd been wondering. "Do you guys serve Krabby?"
The waiter looked taken back. "... Sir, we serve crab here."
"Krabby?!"
The waiter cocked his head. "Sir, it is crab. Crab is not a pokemon."
After causing that fuss but still being confused, Ash felt a little embarrassed. "J-Just checking." He recalled what the owner of that little shack had said earlier in the day. "Some places are a little sketchy, you know. But, I want the crab legs with the mushroom soup."
"We would never harm our dearest pokemon, my good sir," the waiter patiently explained. "I'll get these turned in."
As the man walked away, Ash could have sworn he heard snickering.
"Ash," Dawn said.
The trainer tried to pull himself together. "Yes… darling?" Did people actually call each other that?
"What's crab?"
"It's, uh, very rare," he said, no exactly lying. "It's not common, like… like those fish in Misty's gym!" Nailed it.
Dawn nodded, suddenly imaging a spiky fish. That might taste good if it was salty. Maybe she should have gotten what Ash got. Oh well. At least she had the appetizer to try! "Time to try the brie!" she enthused before remembering her bravado from earlier. "I'll only eat a little… So, have as much as you like!" She hoped it didn't take too long for their food to get here.
Picking up a piece of bread and his form, Ash smiled. Hey, this didn't look too bad! It looked like some seeds on cheese. Was it like a reverse cheeseburger or something? Sesame seeds but on the cheese instead!
Spreading the cheese on his bread slice, Ash quickly popped the whole thing into his mouth… Only to sorely regret it. Still, he couldn't spit it out with Dawn watching him, having just bit off a piece of her own bread. She was chewing it so carefully, so thoughtfully! She must actually like it!
So, Ash forced himself to swallow the bread piece. "Wow! That is filling!" he lied. "I'm gonna wait for our food. Don't wanna fill up, haha."
It was that filling to him, really?! Dawn looked down sadly at the three fourths of a bread piece she still had left. If she kept going, would Ash think less of her? All the girls on television shows she rarely watched always ate so little around their boyfriends. Holding in a mournful sigh, she looked down at the brie. She actually really liked it.
Faking a chipper attitude, Dawn smiled at Ash. "I told you! I can barely finish what I've started…"
Ash picked up his drink, trying to wash down some of the cheese's taste. "W-with your figure, it's no surprise!" Weren't princesses always described as slender? Dawn was, so it wasn't like he was lying.
Dawn nodded. Right… The girls with boyfriends kept thin. "I'm so glad you noticed~" she teased, figuring she should try to flirt.
The trainer smiled sincerely that time. She was cute when she acted like that. "I mean it. You're pretty."
Not really used to flirting for more than a second or two, and certainly not with someone she liked as much as Ash, Dawn looked to the side, bangs forming a slight curtain around her face. "Thank you… You look nice this evening, too."
"Thanks. My mo-" Should he really admit his mom picked out this shirt for him? "My most important secret is that I keep this shirt in my bag. It gets dirty easy, so no one else can know or they might intentionally get my stuff dirty."
Dawn was quite certain she remembered Ash and his bag getting dirty, but decided not to say anything. Maybe he kept it in a special bag. "Well, it's worth it! I hope my sundress isn't too casual."
He actually had no idea what was "too" casual. She looked pretty in her shorts, too, though, so what did he know? "If it's good enough for the sun, it's good enough for me." Did that make sense?
The atmosphere was almost calming down. Though Ash's disgust with the food was still too strong for him to calm down on top of the pressure he felt to act like a prince for Dawn, and Dawn's hunger, as well as disillusionment with TV-style romance was weighing them both down, if they were together, it was fine, right?
When their entrees were placed before them it was truly tested.
"There we are," the waiter politely said. "Please enjoy your meals."
The two looked down.
Ash's disgust was only multiplied. These looked like very small Krabby legs!
Dawn, however, was confused by the blended goop in her sandwich.
"Better dig in!" she enthused, not really wanting to eat the sandwich.
"Right," Ash agreed, desperately trying to figure out how to even eat these. Was he supposed to eat it, shell and all?! Thankfully, he spotted a man across the way eating the same thing. He was supposed to crack the legs with this weird silver thing on the plate!
Picking it up, Ash tried to crack the shell, but found that nearly impossible. It was too slippery and too thin! Still, he couldn't give up.
Dawn, meanwhile, took advantage of Ash's distraction to try a big mouthful of her sandwich, hiding what she'd eaten behind the other slice of it. It was actually really good! Yet, that haunted her. She would probably be only able to eat one half of it…! But, it was so good…!
The trainer let out a frustrated snort, finally just picking up the crab leg and cracking it with his hands, the same way he might break a branch for firewood. His eyes lit up in delight, seeing the white and red meat within.
Dawn, however, yelped. The juices from the crab had landed all over her and it stank!
"Oh, crap, Dawn, sorry!" Ash apologized, getting up out of his seat to walk to her side of the table.
"It's fine!" she said, not sure if she was lying or not. She blindly reached to the side as she spoke to Ash, accidentally knocking over her drink in pursuit of a cloth. "Ah!" Water rushed all over the table, spilling into her lap.
"Dawn!" Ash shouted, reaching for the cloth and handing it to her.
"No, no, move!" she said, trying to get out of the booth, but only succeeding in tripping over Ash's foot and landing face first on the carpeted aisle.
When she looked up, everyone in the restaurant was looking at her and Ash.
He looked down at her, only able to see the back of her from his position. "Dawn…?" He crouched down, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
She turned around, looking up at him with her mascara running a bit. "I wanna go…" she whimpered. "Can we please leave?"
He hated that it took all of this to get him out of it, but he was all too happy to oblige. "Yeah. Hey, how much was your stuff? I'll leave the money on the table."
Dawn stood up, face heated red from shame. "H-here's my half."
Certain somehow that he should have paid but not in the mood to argue, Ash only took what she gave him before putting his half on the table too, using the cup that hadn't been spilled to hold it down.
With that, Ash took Dawn's hand and led her out of the restaurant, the latter hiding her scarlet-ridden face with her free hand.
Above them, the vacuum of space heralded no melody between the stars. Similarly, no words were exchanged between Dawn and Ash as they walked up the same hill-winding path where they had confessed to each other just hours ago. The lights of the restaurant were barely visible in the distance. Ash's hands smelled awful from the crab he didn't get to eat and they were balled in fists at his side. Dawn walked beside him, her dress clinging to her body where it was wet, but otherwise fluttering in the night breeze.
"What happened back there?" she finally asked, finding her voice again now that the cool air had helped her chill out.
Ash looked at her from the corner of his eyes before audibly sighing. "I dunno, Dawn. It's never been like that with us, not even when we first met."
She frowned, thinking of the girls on the television again. Is that why those couples always fought? "Do all couples feel like this…?"
"I dunno," Ash said, repeating himself. "This is my first relationship."
The coordinator looked up to the sky. She supposed any star would do. "I wish we knew what to do."
As they crested the hill and spotted the orange roof of the Pokemon Center in the distance, Ash let out a low laugh. "We could always do like when we traveled: wing it when we don't know what's up and learn from our mistakes."
Closing in on that welcoming building, Dawn looked over at her boyfriend. "You're right," she said, epiphany voiced. "It's our relationship!" Gosh, calling it a relationship like that felt so serious… "U-Um, if we're boyfriend and girlfriend, we can only handle it the way we can handle it!"
Walking into the automatic doors with her, Ash cocked his head. "Uh… Are you just saying we need to be ourselves?"
With a nod and a laugh, she answered, "Yeah, that's what I mean."
Ash pumped his fist in the air. "Great! 'Cause, like, doing all that crap was driving me nuts!"
"Me, too… I can't act weird like that, it's too much!" she confessed.
"Yeah, and we're not ordinary people, anyway! So, we should just act like our magnificent selves!" Ash boasted, smiling down at his girlfriend.
"Well, my magnificent self needs a change of clothes," Dawn continued.
A roaring stomach interrupted them.
Ash looked down at Dawn, wide-eyed. "Holy crap, was that your stomach?!"
Dawn crossed her arms, huffing. "Okay, look, I'm gonna cut the crap. That junk I said about brie? I was lying. I know it's a cheese, but it wasn't filling. I'm starved, Ash."
Barking out a laugh, Ash couldn't help but find it funny. Dawn was never as vocal as he was about being hungry! "Well, what do you say we go get changed and head on down to Exploud Ernie's Earnest Eats?"
Dawn clapped her hands together. "Yes! I want one of his spicy veggie burgers with extra mushrooms and some of those onion rings! Oh, I want a double veggie patty!" she enthused, practically drooling at the idea.
Winking, Ash raised his hand. "It's a deal. We'll even bring the team again. Except… no battle this time. We can just take a walk in the moonlight, huh? You and me." As stupid as some of the advice he got was, maybe Clefairy was right. The stars were pretty tonight.
Dawn raised her hand, touching palm to palm with him. "It's a deal," she echoed.
And, for the rest of the evening at least, it was a happy ever after. Tomorrow's problems did them a favor and waited until tomorrow.
