The Champion Tournament was an event that everyone looked forward too, and the people that were most excited were the Gym Leaders, and the Gym Challengers who had managed to obtain all the eight of the Galar gym badges. This year's tournament was no different, and even though Nessa had been knocked out in the first round, it had been an incredible battle with the top Gym Challenger. She knew that this trainer was a special one, and she couldn't wait to see their match against Leon, as they had proceeded to breeze through the rest of their battles.

Unfortunately, Nessa would have to wait longer than she had anticipated for that match, due to the fact that she was currently trying to help stop three rampaging Dynamax Pokemon from completely destroying Hammerlock.

"Drednaw! Use Liquidation!" Nessa yelled up to her Gigantamax partner. The giant turtle let out a bellow before a wall of water formed in front of him, and he charged at a Dynamax Ninetales, while carefully avoiding hitting any buildings in his vicinity. The Ninetales shrieked when Drednaw hit it dead on, and it staggered backwards.

"Go now!" Nessa yelled to the group of civilians behind her. They quickly thanked her and raced down the street, which had been cleared of the Ninetales that had been blocking it, to get out of the city. Nessa sighed with relief. She had been lucky that she had managed to contain the out-of-control Dynamax Pokemon in Hulbury inside of the Gym, because that had allowed her to race to Hammerlock to help with the more serious situation here.

"Dragon Pulse!" Nessa turned to see Milo directing his Gigantamax Appletun to attack a Dynamax Duraludon, who was getting dangerously close to a row of houses. Milo had also gotten lucky in Turffield and subdued the rampaging Pokemon there without much trouble, and was able to meet Nessa in Hammerlock to help Raihan defend his home. It seemed that the source of the rampaging Dynamax Pokemon was somewhere in the city, as the amount and ferocity of the out-of-control Pokemon were much higher than the other cities with Gyms around Galar.

"You alright, Ness?" Milo called out as he looked over at her, and Nessa nodded.

"Yeah, I'm good! You?"

"Yep. Good job getting those people out of harm's way!" Milo smiled at her before turning his attention back to his Appletun, who had just taken a rough hit from the Duraludon's Dragon Claw. Nessa turned back to Drednaw, who was still locked in an intense fight with the Ninetales, but she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned around.

Nessa's eyes went wide when she saw the Dynamax Gyarados rise up from behind a row of tall buildings, it's glowing red eyes locked onto Milo. It's jaw opened and the glowing white light forming inside its mouth prompted Nessa to yell a warning to Milo, but he was too busy shouting out orders to Appletun to hear her. Without giving herself time to think, Nessa sprinted as fast as she could towards him. The telltale high-pitched screech of a Hyper Beam being shot off hit her ears, just as she slammed herself into Milo as hard as she could, knocking him off of his feet.

Nessa glanced over her shoulder just in time to see the Hyper Beam luckily miss her and hit the ground at her feet. The pavement exploded below her, and she screamed as she was launched from her feet and slammed hard into the side of a building. She slid to the ground and cried out again, a white-hot pain shooting through her torso. Dizziness filled her head as she tried to push herself up, and she felt a sticky wet sensation falling down the side of her face.

"Nessa!" she heard Milo scream, but it sounded distant, and she raised a shaky hand to her wet face, pulling it away to find it stained dark red: blood. She was bleeding pretty badly from her head somewhere, and a wave of panic coursed through her as she inhaled sharply. She quickly realized that was a mistake, for an unbearable pain shot through her rib cage. She let out a wet cough, the coppery taste of blood filling her mouth as she groaned in agony.

She tried again to push herself up, in spite of the painful protests from her body, but she heard a loud cracking noise in front of her. Nessa managed to lift her head enough to see that the building she had hit was starting to crumble, the wall leaning precariously in her direction. The color drained from her face as she watched the building slowly start to fall, and her broken body would not respond to her brain screaming for her to move out of the way. Nessa squeezed her eyes shut as she braced herself for the crushing impact…

...But it never came.

Cracking open one eye, Nessa saw Milo standing before her in her dizzy haze. He had his arms over his head, and the fallen wall was braced against his hands. His arm muscles strained with the effort of holding the rubble up, and Nessa blinked slowly, trying to clear the fog from her mind. He...He was okay…She was so grateful for that...

"M-Milo…" Nessa choked out, spitting blood onto the ground as more ran down her face from the wound on her head and into her eyes. She reached a trembling hand out towards him, but what little strength she had left quickly faded and she collapsed to the ground. The last thing she heard was Milo screaming her name before everything went black and she lost consciousness.

"Milo!"

Nessa's eyes shot open as she flung herself upright, but she realized that was a mistake rather quickly as a sharp pain shot through her, forcing her to fall backwards with a groan. She cringed as the pain slowly faded away, and she managed to prop herself up on her elbows as she blinked slowly and looked around.

She appeared to be in a hospital room, the white, sterile-looking furniture and the IV stuck into her arm being dead giveaways. She laid back onto her pillow and stared up at the ceiling, her memories slowly returning to her.

"Milo…" she said again, a wave of relief washing over her. Ah right, they had been fighting the Dynamax Pokemon together, when she pushed him out of the way of the Hyper Beam...and she had almost been crushed by a building...and that was all that she could recall. She must have been hurt pretty badly to have ended up in the hospital, and the dull pains that shot through her whenever she moved told her as much. She was glad that she was alive...but she was more so that Milo was safe...or at least she hoped that he was…

"Ah, you're finally awake."

Nessa sat up when a voice hit her ears, and she smiled when Kabu entered her room and made his way to her bedside. Nessa sighed with relief at the sight of him looking unharmed. Kabu had also been helping out with the Dynamax situation, and although she knew that the old man could handle himself well enough, she had still worried for him. He was pretty much like a second father to her, and to Milo as well. They two of them could contribute much of their success as Gym Leaders to Kabu's patient yet strict training regimens.

"Kabu! What happened? Is Hammerlock okay? What about the Dynamax Pokemon? And Milo-"

"Slow down," Kabu said, cutting off her rambling as he chuckled and sat down in the chair next to her bed. "I'll tell you everything." Nessa nodded and leaned back against her pillows, trying to get comfortable without jolting her wounds.

"Now then," Kabu began as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Hammerlock is fine, no casualties. The source of the out of control Dynamax Pokemon was stopped by Leon, his brother, and the new Champion."

"Ugh, no way! Did I miss the match? What rubbish luck!" Nessa complained, groaning as she dragged her hands over her face.

"Unfortunately, yes. It was held yesterday. You've been out for three days."

"T-Three days?!" Nessa gasped. She was out cold for three days? What happened to her?

"Yes. You sustained a rather nasty gash to your head, and you had three broken ribs. You are very lucky that Hyper Beam did not hit you head on, or you'd be dead right now." Kabu said, his gaze turning serious. "That was risky, what you did."

Nessa clenched her jaw, one of her hands reaching up to brush at the bandage wrapped around her head, while the other balled into a fist in her lap. She had almost died, but if she had done nothing, Milo would have been obliterated by that Hyper Beam for sure. The very thought of that made her sick to her stomach. She...could not imagine her life without him, and that's why she acted so rashly. She just...didn't know exactly why.

"Ah, but that's how it is sometimes," Kabu continued, a sly grin crossing his face. "When you love someone, all rational thought seems to elude you, especially when that someone is in danger."

"L-Love?" Nessa said, her face heating up considerably as she stared blankly at Kabu. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes, love. You're smart, Nessa, but so, so dense." Kabu said, chuckling when Nessa's face scrunched up with annoyance. "It's quite obvious to everyone around you that you love Milo...Well, to everyone except for you and him, it seems."

Nessa didn't respond, opting instead to try and focus on regulating her breathing to calm her rapidly-beating heart. Love...She...was she in love with Milo? Her brow furrowed and lips pursed as she thought hard about it. Milo was a treasured friend, her best friend. They had been through so much together since they met, paying visits to each other's cities, watching each other's gym matches, cheering each other on. The bond that they shared was something that Nessa had never expected she'd ever have with someone else. He was really the most wonderful person she had ever met. The fact of the matter was undeniable and inexcusable at this point.

"Oh...oh my god, Kabu...I'm in love with Milo." Nessa said, her jaw dropping as she turned to Kabu with a horrified look on her face, which caused him to laugh.

"Well, it's about time you realized it," he teased, "but you don't look happy about it."

"Uh, well, it's just…" Nessa mumbled, her face flushing a bright red as she looked down at her lap, "I...don't know what to do now."

"You should tell him."

"But, what if he doesn't feel the same way about me? I don't want to make things weird between us…" Nessa said, swallowing thickly as her stomach dropped. He was her best friend, but if she did tell him about her feelings and he rejected her, could their relationship still remain the same? Kabu erupted into a fit of laughter, which surprised Nessa enough to pull her from her negative thoughts.

"Oh, I don't think you'll have to worry about that," he said, "As soon as you were out of surgery, Milo didn't leave your bedside or let go of your hand for two days straight. He's not here now only because I told Raihan, Leon, and Piers to drag him out of here for a proper meal and a nap." A surge of happiness coursed through Nessa's chest, making her feel a warmth that she hadn't felt before. Milo really was worried for her, wasn't he? Maybe there really was a chance that he felt the same about her…

"Well," Kabu said as he stood up, "Milo will certainly want to know that you finally woke up. I'll go grab him for you. The boys probably have him tied down in the cafeteria."

"Alright, see you later." Nessa said, "And, thanks Kabu. For everything." Kabu looked over his shoulder as he grabbed the door handle.

"You're welcome. Good luck." Kabu said, smiling softly as he opened the door and left the room. Nessa took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm the nervous churning of her stomach. She'd need all the luck she could get if she was going to tell Milo how she felt without bumbling through the confession like a giant goober. Ugh...How was she going to do this?

She didn't have much time to think about it, because in no time at all the door to her room was suddenly being flung open. Milo rushed into the room, panting hard as if he had sprinted here at full speed from the cafeteria. His eyes went wide as the biggest smile she'd ever seen (and she'd seen some pretty big ones from him) crossed his face.

"Nessa!" he said, rushing to her bedside and immediately taking one of her hands in his. Nessa felt her cheeks heat up as his larger hand engulfed hers, something that had happened before but took on an entirely new meaning for her now. "I'm so glad you're awake!"

"Hey, Milo." Nessa said, hoping that she was doing a good job of masking the nervousness in her voice. Milo continued to smile at her as he sat down in the chair and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Are you feeling okay? Do you need any more pain medication? I can call the nurse if you do? Oh! And if you're hungry I can go and get-"

"Whoa, slow down there big guy." Nessa said, giggling as a dusting of pink covered Milo's freckled cheeks and he scratched at his chin.

"Er, sorry. I was just...so worried about you, Ness." Milo said, his voice dropping in volume as the smile fell from his face. "I'd...well, I'd never been that scared in my life, when I saw you hit that wall...and when that building was about to fall on you I was just so...terrified that I wouldn't make it in time to save you."

"Oh, Milo…" Nessa said, guilt bubbling up inside of her as she averted her gaze, "I'm sorry for worrying you, but when that Gyarados was aiming that Hyper Beam at you, I just had to do something."

"But Ness...You could have really been hurt so much worse than you were, and you were hurt pretty bad already. Why...why would you put yourself in that kind of danger for me?" Milo said, and her gaze lifted back to his, the sad look in his eyes making her feel even more guilty. Why indeed? She knew the answer now, but would she be able to tell him that? Nessa took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she steeled herself for what was to come. She exhaled as she opened her eyes, the fiery look of determination in them causing Milo to raise a confused eyebrow.

"I did it because...I'm in love with you, Milo." Nessa said, the confession finally spilling from her lips as her intense gaze locked with his. Milo blinked at her a few times, his expression blank, before his face flushed a deep red and he jerked backwards, almost falling out of his chair.

"Y-You...I don't think I heard you right." Milo said after he had steadied himself, and he laughed sheepishly as he rubbed at his neck, "'Cause I could've sworn that you just said that you loved me."

Nessa giggled and rolled her eyes, reaching over to take his large hands in hers. "Well, I'm glad that your ears seem to be working properly, because that's exactly what I said." Milo continued to stare at her, his jaw dropping as a completely dumbfounded look crossed his face. Nessa couldn't stop herself from bursting out laughing, and she immediately winced as her injured ribs screamed in protest.

"A-Are you...serious?" Milo finally managed to squeak out, his face somehow flushing an even deeper red when Nessa smiled at him and nodded, her fingers entwining with his.

"Yes, of course. I definitely wouldn't lie about something like this." Nessa said, "Is that...um, a good thing?" She swallowed thickly as she waited for him to say something. Milo stared down at their hands for the longest five seconds of Nessa's life, before he suddenly looked back up at her with the most ecstatic smile on his face. Nessa's heart leapt into her throat at the beautiful sight.

"Oh, yes!" Milo almost yelled, his hands squeezing hers as he tried to contain his giddy excitement, and a huge smile slowly spread across Nessa's face. "Wow! I just never thought that you'd ever feel the same way about me as I do about you!"

"What?" Nessa breathed, happiness surging within her chest has tears of joy threatened to spill down her face. She hoped that she wasn't in a coma still, because damn this was going so much better than she should have ever hoped for.

"I love you too, Nessa!"

The words that she wanted to hear the most spilled out of Milo, and the tears Nessa was trying to hold back fell down her face. She wiped at her cheeks as she tried to stop them, and one of Milo's hands came up to cup her face, his thumb brushing away her tears.

"Er, Ness? I don't think you're supposed to cry when someone tells you they love you…" Milo said, grinning when Nessa laughed and playfully slapped his shoulder.

"Shut up...These are happy tears." Nessa said, a blush rising on her cheeks when Milo's hand lingered against her face. "I was...worried that you wouldn't feel the same and I'd make our friendship really weird…"

"Oh, no way! How could I not fall for you, Nessa?" Milo gushed, beaming as he brought his free hand up to cup her other cheek. "You're the most amazing person that I've ever met. I've loved you for a while now!"

"Really? Since when?" Nessa asked, her eyes widening with shock. She couldn't believe that he'd really been in love with her and she hadn't noticed. Maybe Kabu was right about her being dense…

"Um, remember that time when I saved you from that Wooloo stampede?" Milo said as he averted his gaze, embarrassed, "It hit me then that I like you so much more than a friend, because the thought of you getting hurt just made me feel so scared. I'd do anything to protect you."

"Aw, Milo, that's so cute." Nessa said, laughing as she placed a hand over one of his that still cupped her face. "I feel the same. That's why I couldn't stand by and watch you possibly get hurt, or worse…" The thought of how close either of them came to death made a chill run up Nessa's spine, but Milo placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and the warmth of his touch seemed to spread throughout Nessa's body.

"Well, thank you for saving me, Ness. But please don't do that again. I don't think my heart could handle that kind of worry a second time."

"I'll keep that in mind. I should be thanking you too. You kept that building from falling on me. So, thanks."

They both laughed, and when Nessa's eyes met Milo's again, she grew shy at the look of absolute adoration that he was giving her. A happiness that she had never felt before swelled within her. She loved Milo, and by some miracle he loved her too. What an amazing end to a rather hellish situation.

"Golly, I'm just so happy!" Milo finally said, his arms wrapping gently around Nessa, and he was careful not to move her too much. "I really want to just pick you up and twirl you around, but I don't think that'd be too good for your injuries…" Nessa smirked as she snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him close enough that their foreheads touched.

"Well...how about you just kiss me instead?" Nessa whispered, her nose brushing against his ever-so-slightly. Milo gawked at her for a moment, causing Nessa to giggle, but he recovered quickly as he eagerly pressed his lips to hers. Nessa giggling ceased as she returned the kiss, her lips curving into a smile against his own. Milo pressed a bit harder, but stopped, and Nessa snorted when she saw the look of uncertainty and hesitation in his eyes. She pulled away slightly, tilting Milo's head up before brushing her lips against his again, and they seemed to fit together better at this angle. Milo sighed and Nessa could practically feel the tension leave him as he embraced her tighter, while one of Nessa's hands moved to his neck and the other buried itself into the soft hair at the back of his head. Nessa felt like she was floating on air, and as the kiss deepened, she found herself wishing that this moment would never end.

"Ha! It's about time, you two!"

"Jeez, get a room already!"

"...They are in a room, you dolt."

Milo jerked away from Nessa so abruptly that he did fall out of his chair this time, while Nessa covered her face with embarrassment. She peaked through her fingers to find Leon, Raihan, and Piers standing in the doorway, and she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted at them.

"Don't you guys know how to knock? Barging into a woman's room is just asking for an ass-kicking." Nessa said, the venom in her tone causing Raihan and Leon to share a worried glance.

"I tried to stop them, but these two idiots couldn't wait any longer to come see you." Piers said with an exasperated sigh. Nessa couldn't help but smile, and she wondered how he managed to put up with his two doofus boyfriends all the time. Piers then smiled as he continued, "Glad to see you're doing well, though."

"Hehe, well enough to be sucking-face with Milo-" Raihan said, but was cut off when Leon jabbed him in the side with his elbow.

"That's too far." Leon scolded, and Raihan laughed nervously as he looked over at Nessa and Milo.

"Er, right, sorry guys." Raihan said, and a big toothy grin crossed his face, "But really, congrats on the new relationship. We were all wondering when it was finally gonna happen."

"Ugh, did everyone know except for us?" Nessa groaned, smacking a hand over her face. Milo just laughed and took one of her hands in his, smiling fondly as he entwined their fingers together. A smile made its way back to Nessa's face as she looked back at the trio of men. "But thank you guys for worrying about me. I appreciate it."

"Of course. That's what friends are for." Leon said, and Piers nodded. Raihan also gave an enthusiastic nod, before rushing over to the side of the bed and pulling out his Rotom phone.

"Yeah, yeah, enough of that! It's time to take your first pic as a couple!" Raihan said excitedly, and Nessa glowered at him.

"I don't exactly look picture ready, Rai." Nessa mumbled, running a hand through her messy hair as she glanced down at the unflattering hospital gown that she wore. Milo just blushed and averted his gaze, and Nessa couldn't help but think that he looked cute.

"Ah, don't worry about that! This one is just for you two, and it won't see any social media unless you guys are the ones to post it. I promise!" Raihan said, winking as his Rotom buzzed around him. Nessa glanced back at Piers, who mouthed 'I will kill him for you if he breaks that promise' and she knew that he meant it.

"...Alright, but if you break that promise, I'll make sure you never see the light of day again." Nessa warned as she wrapped her arm around Milo's back and pulled him closer to her.

"Oh yeah, she's a keeper, Milo." Raihan said with a laugh, and Milo grinned as he moved his arm behind Nessa's back to place his hand on Nessa's waist.

"I already know that." Milo said, beaming at Nessa as she giggled. They smiled as Raihan's Rotom snapped a few pics, and before the last one was taken, Milo turned and kissed Nessa's cheek.

"Aw man, you guys take such cute pics! Teach those two dorks over there how it's done, please." Raihan said, earning a glare from Piers and a pout from Leon. Raihan walked back over to his boyfriends as they bickered with him, and Nessa rolled her eyes at their antics, but smiled nonetheless. She was glad that she had such wonderful friends.

"Hey, Ness?" Milo whispered, dragging her attention away from the loud, bantering trio. She blushed when Milo pressed his lips to hers briefly, before pulling away to look deep into her eyes. "I love you. I'm gonna take you on the best dinner date when you get out of here, okay?" Nessa's eyes lit up as a bright smile crossed her face, and she nodded.

"I'd really like that. I love you too, Milo." Nessa whispered back, she cupped his face to pull him in for another kiss. It seemed that she had no excuses left to explain away her feelings, feelings that she knew now had been lying dormant inside of her for quite some time now. She was grateful for that, because she loved Milo, and he loved her just as much, and neither of them would have it any other way.

So I know in-game it's said that the gym leaders contained the rampaging Dynamax pokemon inside the stadium, but I tweaked that a bit for this fic to make it more exciting .

But anyway, that's a wrap! Thank you all so much for the reviews and favs along the way, these two are fun to write for and I'll probably be writing for them again sometime (not for a while because uhhh *stares at my giant pile of WIPs*) Thanks again for reading!