The Ball had finished, with the majority of hams already having left to get home. The Ham-Hams were collecting as a group just off the path, near the two sleeping forms of Howdy and Dexter. Pashmina looked down at the pair.

"What exactly are we going to do with them?" She asked.

"I think we should leave them here, total punishment for their behaviour today." Replied Sandy, sternly. Stan looked over at her.

"I can get Dexter home, I guess. Boss, can you carry Howdy?"
"Of course I can!" He replied. "How heavy can one Ham be?" Boss bent down and tried to lift Howdy onto his shoulder, struggling under the weight of the ham. Eventually he had Howdy dangling over his shoulder by his legs, and Stan was carrying Dexter on his back. "Come on," Said Boss under the weight, "Let's get these idiots home." The pair walked off towards town, with a chorus of goodbyes from the group. Stan looked back over his shoulder, winking at Pashmina, who blushed. Sandy smiled at her as Stan disappeared into the hazy dusk.

"So you had a good time in the end, Pashmina." She giggled. Pashmina blushed.

"Yes, I did." She said. "Anyway, I need to get home. I'll have to tell Penelope all about the Ball tomorrow." She said. "Bye, guys!" She called as she ran off down the path.

"Yeah, it's a shame Cappy and Penelope couldn't come." Said Panda. "But I'm sure we can tell them all about it tomorrow. I'd better be getting home as well," he added, and headed off down the path. The three couples left looked at each other and laughed.

"It's certainly been an interesting few days." Commented Maxwell.

"That's a total understatement, Max." Replied Sandy. "And I think Howdy and Dexter are going to be rather disappointed in the morning."

"Is that because they missed out on their dance with Pashmina, or because it looks like someone else is after her as well, then?" Asked Hamtaro. Bijou giggled.

"What a terrible thing to say!" She exclaimed.

"True, though." Replied Pepper. "Stan and Pashmina falling for each other, it's obvious." Oxnard glanced up at the sky, noticing quite a few stars were now visible.

"Not to want to break up this nice chat," He said, "But the dance over at the high school finishes soon. It might spoil the day if Kana ends up bolting my cage door permanently shut to stop me escaping." Pepper laughed at him.

"Hehe, guess you're right. Lead on then, Oxi!" Oxnard blushed slightly and turned back to Hamtaro.

"You going to be long?" He asked. "Don't forget you and Laura are sleeping over tonight."

"I won't be long, I'm just going to walk Bijou home." He replied.

"We'd better get going too, Sandy." Agreed Maxwell. The group split up and headed off in the directions of their homes. Hamtaro and Bijou were left standing outside the finely decorated entrance as the light faded further. Hamtaro held out his paw, which Bijou took with a smile. The pair walked off away from the tree, as the last few couples filed out.

……

Hamtaro stood with Bijou underneath her window, unsure of what to say. The moon was now out and shining brightly, and Bijou's dress was illuminated by it's glow.

"I had a great time." He said eventually.

"Oui, Hamtaro. Me too." She looked at him. "Thank you for asking me." She paused and blushed slightly. "And for telling me your true feelings." She added.

"I would have burst if I didn't!" Smiled Hamtaro. "I've been wanting to tell you for ages, Bijou, but I guess I was too scared. But I do love you, Bijou."

"And I love you, Hamtaro." She replied, pulling him close. She leaned in, and kissed him gently on the lips. He froze for a few seconds.

"Wow." He managed eventually. Bijou giggled, her cheeks flushed red.

"I will see you tomorrow, Hamtaro!" She said, heading up the tree. Hamtaro watched her as she climbed up the tree. He waved at her as she peered down from the window.

"Bye, Bijou!" He called. She blew him a kiss, which caused him to blush again. He stood, watching up at her window for a good few minutes, not wanting to leave. A car zoomed down the road, bringing him to his senses.

"Laura could be back at Kana's any minute!" He cried, shaking himself out of his daze, and then dashing off. When he arrived a few minutes later, he leapt in through the window and lay on the floor panting. Oxnard came over.

"Didn't think you were going to make it there! They're due back any minute." He smiled. "What took you so long?" Hamtaro's cheeks again turned red.

"Just saying goodbye," He said, guiltily. Pepper laughed.

"Hamtaro and Bijou," she began to chant, "Sitting in a tree, K-I-…" Hamtaro butted in.

"Er, hey, that sounded like a car. Could be the others!" He smiled, embarrassed. The three dived back into their cages.

"So you kissed Bijou then, Hamtaro?" Asked Oxnard.

"Yeah." He replied, blushing again. "What about you and Pepper?" He asked. Oxnard stammered.

"Well…yeah." He managed. Pepper blushed slightly.

"Oxnard, it's not nice to kiss and tell!" She said, smiling. At that moment, a key turned in the lock, and in came Kana and her family, Laura in tow. Kana's mum looked at the girls.

"Close call." Thought Hamtaro.

"You two will probably want to go up to Kana's room." She said. "I'll bring up some tea in a minute."

"Thanks, mum." Replied Kana, as the girls picked up Hamtaro and Oxnard's cages. Dylan looked over at them.

"Hey, could you take Pepper too?" He asked. "It'll be easier if you feed her along with Hamtaro and Oxnard. Plus I'll know where she is then!" He laughed.

"Sure, Ok." Replied Kana, as the two girls went up to her room. Hamtaro looked up at Laura excitedly.

"She better tell me all about the dance." He thought, as they went in and closed Kana's door behind them.

……

Hamtaro sat in his cage, in the darkness.

"Do you think they're both asleep?" Whispered Oxnard.

"I think so." He whispered back. Oxnard looked relieved.

"At last! I thought they would never stop talking!" He sighed. Pepper giggled from her cage.

"Now come on, Oxnard, they had a great time. They wanted to tell you all about it." Oxnard looked back at her and yawned.

"Yeah, but they didn't need to tell me five times. I'm tired." Hamtaro laughed, and Oxnard yawned again. "Well, goodnight." He said.

"Just you hold on, mister!" Said Pepper. "Not without a goodnight kiss!" And she slipped out her cage and walked over to Oxnard's, and opened his door.

"I'll just go to bed, guys." Said Hamtaro, but they didn't seem to notice him. He left the pair saying goodnight and lay down in his bedding. Laura had certainly enjoyed herself at the dance, which Hamtaro was pleased about. As far as he knew, Travis hadn't kissed her, though.

"Still," he thought, "That might be a good thing. They could just take it slow." He yawned. "Wow, I'm as tired as Oxnard! Dancing is tiring…" And with that, he snuggled down into his bedding. He heard Pepper creep back to her own cage, and guessed the others were doing the same. Soon enough, Hamtaro was asleep again, running through a field of flowers, chasing Bijou through their long stems.

……

The End

……

And there we go! Finished. I'm usually far too critical of my work, but overall, I think it went quite well. There's a couple of chapters I'm not too happy with (Chapter 16 went through about 3 rewrites, and I'm still not 100 happy with it), but overall I think it's good. Depending on how well it's received, I do have some very basic ideas for a sequel which I've started to build up, so there's definitely potential for another one. I'd like to finish off my Rainbow Rescue sprite rip project first though, so who knows.