AUTHOR'S NOTE

Welp, at the risk of offending the entirety of Europe, here's the next chapter. The closest I've been to France is...Canada. (Yes, I know, that's not actually close whatsoever! Language is right though, at least where I went). So I'm sure I've gotten some details completely wrong. But I hope you enjoy, nonetheless!

CHAPTER 9
Kiss And Tell!

Bonnie had found herself very conflicted over the past couple weeks regarding what Todd had told her. She had her own reasons for wanting to find her brother a keeper, of course - but her way had been tried and failed on multiple occasions, and at this point, if there was a different way to go about it, she was more than willing to give it a try. But first, she needed to figure out the identity of this mysterious keeper.

She had some guesses, of course. Todd had mentioned that Clemont must have felt this way for a while, so she worked her way back from when they were children, wondering which girls Clemont might have fallen for. She ruled out his teachers fairly quickly - surely, Clemont respected education too much for romantic feelings to have entered that environment. And there were no other girls at university that would have even spoken with him enough for him to develop a crush. That left a very limited list for her to work with, which really only consisted of a girl that used to live down the street from them, and the lady who had worked at the Juice Shoppe seemingly forever. But Clemont had not shown any interest in either of them, and in her opinion, neither of them were really keeper material for her brother.

The obvious choice would have been Serena, but she already decided that was unlikely to happen. Based on the way Serena told her he wouldn't...take her to the dance? Bonnie filled in mentally, since Serena had never finished that sentence, she felt fairly confident Clemont did not have a crush on her. Which was really too bad, she thought sadly. Serena was everything she had ever wanted in a big sister, but she had a feeling pushing that thought on either of them too hard would not end well. And so, once she had eliminated all the girls she could think of in her brother's life, she was forced to consider alternative options.

Not once in 12 years had the possibility of Clemont being gay occurred to her. For every girl he had turned down, for every time Clemont told her he didn't want a girlfriend, she simply chalked it up to him being difficult, or wanting to make the choice without her help - which she had no intention of letting him do. But the thought wasn't unreasonable. After all, Clemont loved electronics, and science, which she had to admit very few girls they had met had the proper appreciation for. And despite all her fears about Lilia, the one girl that had liked those things, Clemont hadn't seemed interested in maintaining anything but friendship with her. And so she opened up her mind to the idea of Clemont not being with a girl, and immediately, she found someone that made sense.

Of course, it had to be Ash. He had always been supportive of Clemont, and Clemont had responded to that support in a way Bonnie never would have thought possible; with courage and a renewed sense of purpose that made its way into everything he did. And once she really, truly thought about it, she started reflecting back on their journey together. Every touch between them, every blush that crossed Clemont's face. Every time he had ever even spoken with Ash, there was a smile on his face which was unmatched by anything else. Now she just needed a way to prove her theory. She was going to need solid, concrete proof if she wanted to talk to Clemont about it, which she certainly did. After all, it simply wouldn't do to make a mistake. But thankfully, the opportunity presented itself to her fairly quickly.

"Three times," Ash growled as he walked in the door, throwing his backpack down on the couch. "Three separate times! In one day!" He sat down on the couch next to his bag, groaning with his face in his hands.

"What's wrong?" Clemont asked, looking at him curiously. He had spent most of his day sitting on the floor while he sorted through spare parts he had pulled off off failed inventions and half-finished projects he had no intention of going back to, but this sounded like it was worth taking a break for. "What happened?"

"You and your Kalosian greetings," Ash mumbled into his palms. "I just don't understand them." This was probably a conversation he should have had with a Kalos native sooner, but he had hoped to avoid the whole ordeal after the first time it happened, which had already proved to be impossible. "I mean, how much of a kiss does it really need to be?" He had been approached by women three times during the afternoon, each one insisting on giving him a kiss on the cheek in greeting. Which would be fine, he supposed, if only they hadn't seemed so upset when their actions caught him off guard, leaving him gaping at them in confusion rather than returning the greeting.

"It's not really a difficult concept, Ash." Clemont adjusted his glasses, grinning at how cute his secret crush was being right now. "People have been doing it in the Kalos region for years." This wasn't the first time he had heard Ash complain of his discomfort with faire la bise, though he seemed more annoyed by it than usual today.

"So I hear," he grumbled, then looked accusingly at Clemont like it was somehow his fault. "How is it that I've traveled through all of Kalos, and haven't had a problem until now?"

"Lots of reasons." Clemont sighed, standing up and offering his hand to Ash. "I do tend to agree it occurs more frequently in Lumiose. I think it's the amount of tourists we have here." He himself had been surprised with la bise on several occasions, mostly from overly cheerful "challengers" who came to his Gym only to try and catch a glimpse of the famous Gym Leader.

"I guess so." Ash grabbed onto his friend's hand, allowing himself to be pulled off the couch. "Hey, Clemont?" He asked, genuinely curious. "How come you've never tried to greet me like that?"

"It, um...it isn't as common between men." The statement wasn't untrue, though the pair were certainly close enough for it. "Besides, we see each other every day. There really isn't any need for us to."

"Ooh, what are you two talking about?" Bonnie bounded into the room with Dedenne on her head, his little claws digging into her hair with the gentlest of grips. Every time Ash and Clemont had been alone over the past couple days, she had made sure to invite herself into their conversation, hoping that it would be something she could use to her advantage.

"Kalosian greetings," Ash murmured, his eyes firmly fixed at a point on the ceiling. "They confuse me." He might have found them less confusing if Clemont had taught him about them - or at the very least, that might have saved him confusion about something else. But he was trying not to think about that right now.

"But they're easy!" Bonnie giggled, reaching up and grabbing her Pokemon partner. "Dedenne and I practice all the time!" She swung Dedenne around to face her, planting a big kiss on both his cheeks, drawing her head back before Dedenne could affectionately Nuzzle her. "Hey, I know," she said innocently. "Why don't you practice them, too? Then you won't be as confused!"

"Dedenne is a Pokemon, Bonnie," Clemont gently reminded his sister. "If Ash wants to practice, he'll need to do so with a person."

Jackpot, Bonnie thought a grin appearing on her face. "Well, why didn't you just say so, silly? You're very skilled at it, big brother! Ash should practice with you."

"Bonnie, I...I don't think Ash would want to learn that from me..." Clemont stuttered nervously, feeling his face grow hot at the thought. While he normally held himself together very well around Ash, even Ash putting his arm around him made him go weak in the knees and caused his mental function to cease. He didn't even want to think about what kind of shape he would be in if he had to kiss him, even in a non-romantic sense like la bise was.

To Bonnie's delight, and Clemont's dismay, Ash had other ideas. "Sure I would!" he said, his eyes lighting up. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had the thought that this wasn't the wisest idea, but he chose not to listen to it. "Clemont, will you teach me?"

It was a look that Clemont couldn't ignore, one that he was very familiar with. It was the same expression that Ash wore when he was marveling over an invention, or had just taken a bite of one of his kitchen creations. Try as he might, there was no way he could refuse anything Ash asked of him when he looked so starstruck.

"O-Okay," he stammered, approaching Ash nervously. Bonnie watched them with baited breath, hardly able to contain her excitement. This interaction should tell her everything she needed to know. "You just...lean in like so..." he held his left cheek gently against Ash's, quickly drawing back and repeating the process on the other side. "And then again." He had looked at the floor as he took a step backwards, a blush cascading over his own cheeks, but he tilted his head up now to see Ash's reaction.

"I...don't think I've ever been greeted quite like that," Ash said, scratching his head in confusion. The action had left him only the slightest bit flustered, and somehow, he felt a bit cheated by the complete lack of enthusiasm Clemont had displayed.

"He didn't even touch you!" Bonnie pouted, crossing her arms in a way that made Dedenne scurry back up to sit on her head with a surprised squeak. "Most people are a lot more expressive."

"She's right," Clemont admitted, the Vivillions in his stomach fluttering as he was forced to realize he couldn't get away with just standing close to Ash. "A lot of times...there's a sort of...hug, that goes along with it." He felt himself growing mildly jealous at the thought of all the girls his crush interacted with on a daily basis, that had every opportunity and probably the desire to throw their arms around him. "I'll show you something a little different."

He braced himself for the next attempt, shutting his eyes tight as he grabbed onto Ash's shoulders. He was standing closer to him this time; close enough that he could smell Ash's cologne, and feel the way he tensed up as Clemont held him. He pressed his face softly against his friend's, and held it there for a moment, trying to gather courage for the next step. But in the end, he could only kiss the air next to Ash's cheek, for fear of losing control of himself right there in the middle of the living room. He stepped backwards, trying to remain calm. Technically, he did owe Ash a kiss on the other side, as well, but being that close to him was intense - too intense for him to repeat without at least a small break.

"I liked that better," Ash said softly, and Clemont could have sworn he saw another rare blush creeping its way onto Ash's face. "But...that still wasn't as expressive as what I've been...dealing with." He said the last part with a grimace, remembering how all three girls today had locked him into a tight embrace.

"Yeah, Clemont," Bonnie said wickedly. "Put your heart into it. You can do that, right?"

"Um," Clemont said uncomfortably. "I'm trying to show Ash the proper way to do this," he reminded his sister.

"Maybe I could try?" Ash asked, not knowing quite where this sudden desire to return these actions was coming from. He could tell that Clemont had been uncomfortable, and as his best friend he should have just said that he understood much better now, letting Clemont get back to whatever he had been working on. But a selfish part of him still wanted more, and he could not ignore how it demanded this of him.

Clemont parted his lips, about to say something, but Ash didn't give him a chance to respond. He closed the gap between them, his arms snaking their way around Clemont's neck as he held him close. With their chests firmly pressed together, he could feel his friend's hitched breathing and rapidly beating heart that matched in time with his own. He had only been planning on giving him the lightest possible peck on the cheek, really, just enough to say he had actually done it. But being this close to him was almost intoxicating, and when his lips made contact with Clemont's skin, he could feel himself practically melt against him. A small whimper escaped Clemont as the corners of their lips touched briefly, his head swinging ever so slightly as he debated returning la bise with the same amount of passion. He was quite sure that the length of this kiss extended any tradition he was familiar with, but the longer it went on, the more he found himself not caring, and he felt his arms come up to pull Ash into an even tighter embrace.

The action could very easily have gone much farther, had a gasp and a bang not emitted from the doorway, interrupting them just as Clemont had been about to pull back and give Ash a real kiss. Both boys abruptly looked at the door to see Serena standing there, shopping bags fallen from her hands, staring at them in shock. "Serena!" Ash exclaimed, jumping away from Clemont. "Clemont was just teaching me about Kalosian greetings!"

"Y-yeah..." Clemont said, nervously adjusting his glasses. His eyes darted around the room, as he wondered if it would be better to just escape or ignore the situation. But he hadn't done anything wrong, he reminded himself. He had only been helping a friend, and if it got a bit heated, well...hopefully he had been the only one to notice.

Thankfully, after her initial shock, Serena didn't seem phased by their behavior. "That's not how you do a Kalosian greeting at all!" She picked up her shopping bags and placed them high on her arm, sweeping her way towards Ash. "If you really want to get better at them, you should practice with me. As a Pokemon Performer, my fans insist on them all the time!"

Helplessly, Ash let Serena lead him to a different part of the house, as he glanced back over his shoulder at Clemont. If he hadn't known any better, he would almost say that Clemont looked aroused. His furious blush and dilated pupils certainly seemed to indicate exhilaration of sorts, and he was staring after them with a desperate longing that made Ash want nothing more than to be in his arms again. But he was sure that Clemont was not staring at him, but at Serena. Stupid Ash, stupid he told himself. He shouldn't have been so selfish.

Clemont breathed a sigh of relief as the two exited the room, dropping to the floor and putting his head in his hands. That had been too close. He had almost kissed Ash back there, an attack that his friend didn't deserve when he had simply been trying to practice something that was not meant to be a romantic gesture in the first place. And what would he have said if he had kissed Ash? Sorry, but I've been harboring a secret crush on you and I just couldn't help myself. Want to go out Saturday night? No, when the time came, he would much rather confess first. That way the only embarrassing thing between them would be words if Ash didn't feel the same way.

Bonnie could hardly contain her excitement as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. She was sure, now, that she had a complete picture of what had been going on. She took a second to savor in the pure delight of being right before she approached Clemont, smiling so widely that her face felt somewhat sore.

"Is there something you want to share with me, big brother?" Clemont lifted his head slowly, staring at her with dawning horror. He had forgotten that Bonnie and Dedenne were still in the room, and had undoubtedly witnessed everything that had just happened.

"No, I don't think so," he replied, his voice sounding a little higher than normal. Slowly, he shuffled back towards the spare machine parts that were strewn about the floor, looking for something to pretend to be absorbed in while Bonnie talked to him about something - which, judging from her mischievous expression, was something he would rather she not bring up.

"Are you sure...?" she asked him, placing Dedenne on the ground so he could play with the pile of colourful, block-like parts he had just spotted. "Because I think you might have something to tell me." She watched her brother sort through the machinery, frowning and removing something from a pile to examine it closer. She sighed deeply. "You're going to make me say it, aren't you?"

Clemont looked up at her, his expression a mix of terror and humiliation. There was nothing for him to say. He knew that Bonnie had seen everything; that she had figured out his secret. And unlike Serena, Bonnie did not understand the value of keeping things to herself. Ash would probably know within a matter of hours, and from there it could only get worse.

"All those times I tried to find a keeper for you...and you weren't interested in any of them. Why didn't you just tell me?" She leaned in closer and closer, until she was practically eye to eye with her brother.

"Because...you would have just proposed to men, instead...and that would have been worse. A lot worse." His voice was ridden with shame, and his voice hovered only a hair above a whisper, worried that Ash or Serena might walk back into the room at any moment.

"Not if I knew there was someone...specific, you were interested in." She glanced meaningfully at the direction Ash and Serena had gone in, hoping for a confession from her brother.

"Someone specific?" Clemont asked, pretending he had no idea what she was talking about.

"I'm not blind, you know." She straightened up and crossed her arms, her side-swept braid bouncing backwards as she tossed her head back. "Either Ash gives the worst Kalosian greetings I've ever seen, or he was trying to kiss you for real. And you wanted to kiss him back, didn't you?" She took his silence as an admission of truth. "Ash is a keeper! I think you should tell him."

"W-what? Bonnie, I...I can't do that!" His eyes were shining with tears now, from the stress brought on by the situation. There was no way he could ever tell Ash how he felt. He had tried to tell him in the past with no success at being able to stay on topic, and he didn't even have enough courage to give him a written letter with his feelings - not that the letter even still existed, since he had torn it to pieces after Serena had seen it. He just wasn't brave enough to tell Ash how he felt. The fear of rejection was too strong.

"Then show him." She looked down at him, smirking. "Find some way to let him know how you feel, otherwise I will." She didn't seem to be kidding, and Clemont gulped in horror, returning his attention to the floor. Bonnie liked to play games with people, even impish ones such as this, but he found it unusually mean that she was reveling in what was practically blackmail. "Don't worry," she added, almost as if it was an afterthought. "I'll give you some time. After all, it will mean a lot more to Ash if it comes from you directly."

Despite how cold the threat might have seemed, Bonnie's intention wasn't to hurt Clemont. Rather, she was doing this to help him. She had to make sure her big brother found someone to spend his life with; someone that would protect him, and help him when he needed it, and most importantly love him more than anything else in the world. She knew she wouldn't always be there to take care of him, even if that was something Clemont himself hadn't figured out yet. And in his heart, Clemont knew this. But still, he felt better when his thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of a small pair of arms around him.

"I love you, Clemont," Bonnie whispered to him, holding him tight. "I just want you to be happy. And I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that you are!"

"I know, Bonnie," Clemont said, returning the hug. "I know."

The kiss had been all too conclusive, Ash decided once he was back behind closed doors. As much as he had thought that accusation, that he had feelings for Clemont, was an absolute fabrication...after that, he could not deny that there was something there, even if he wasn't sure he would call that something love.

He fully admitted that Serena was much more practiced at faire la bise than Clemont was. She moved with an unexpected confidence, and more importantly, she was able to tell him how to politely navigate his way through the interaction. But her touch did not leave him breathless, and when she had stepped away from him, he found he did not want to try again. Confused by her disappointment at that, he had escaped up to his room and closed the door behind it, leaning against it as he reflected on what had happened. Some time alone would do him well. Unfortunately for him, he was not as alone as he thought.

"Ash, are you okay?"

He leapt up, startled, and managed to bump his elbow hard into the doorknob. "Ouch!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" Clemont bit his lip, trying not to laugh. "You just seemed..."

"I'm exhausted," Ash admitted, though he did not elaborate on why. Clemont didn't need to know that he had not stopped thinking about him since their almost kiss, or that he had been trying to reason with himself to not come up with an excuse to do it again.

"Look, about earlier..."

"Say no more," Ash held up his hand. "I'm dreadful, I know. Serena told me as much." She had complained that his actions were stiff; that he should be friendlier in general instead of being so surprised. He had taken that to mean one thing, and one thing alone: he was awful at Kalosian greetings.

"I wouldn't say that," Clemont laughed nervously. "But, um..." he paused, wondering how he was going to say this, or if it was even a good time to do so. "About that...last attempt..."

"I'm really sorry," Ash said, cutting him off. "Gee, I thought it was awful when girls did that to me! It had to be terrible for you, me being a guy and your friend and all."

"O-oh..." Clemont stammered, not sure what to say. "No, I actually..."

Ash waved away his response, frowning. "It's alright, Clemont. You don't have to say anything." He turned around, placing his hand on the doorknob. "I'm going to head out for a bit. I'll see you tonight?"

"Y-yeah..." Clemont replied, as he walked out. He stared at the door as it slammed shut once more, feeling like his world was falling apart. "Ash," he mumbled softly to himself, wishing he was still in the room. "I was only going to tell you how much I liked it."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

That scene was actually the first one I had written for this story - though it underwent quite a bit of editing this week. I'm really glad I was able to write enough around it to get it published! From here on out, Bonnie will have a bit more of a major role in the story. Ash is too stubborn and clueless, and Clemont is too scared, so they aren't getting anywhere without help. I do have some ideas already on just how "helpful" she'll be, but I am definitely open for suggestions!

Stay tuned for Chapter 10, and thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!