With Nick and Callie happy watching movies, now we move onto the climax of the Valentine's Day arc! Blake and Ayame, what will their Valentine's Day night have in store? Will it be everything they want? Will Ayame and Olivia's plan come to fruition? Or will Blake manage to dodge having sex again? We'll have to find out!

Also, thank you to everyone who read my story "The Heir to the Dragon". I would appreciate if you continue to read and support it in the future! You can get there through my profile! The story is finally completed! Thank you for reading!

The Semi-Final Round of the second Pokemon Academy Best Girl contest has begun! Which three of these six girls will make it to the Finals? So far we've only got a few votes in, and by that, I mean only four people have voted! We can do better than that! Show your support for your best girl and vote on the poll in my profile! We want this competition to be close, after all! Who's going to win?!

Semi-Finalists: Ayame, Sylvia, Marion, Sango, Elaina, Valerie

KedharS: Hopefully their relationship is going well, and they're making up for lost time!

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Don't worry, Callie still has several facets of herself to show, and she'll be exploring them eventually. Hopefully it will go well.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 686

"Here we are!" Ayame set a plate of tube pasta slathered in reddish-pink cream sauce down in front of Blake, while setting a plate for herself down, too. "It isn't my first time making chicken penne, but it's not something I'm used to, so… keep in mind that it might not be the best, 'kay?" Her face heated up and she silently thanked her mother for showing her how.

"It's okay, it already smells delicious," Blake assured her. "I don't think it's possible for you to make something I wouldn't eat, that's how much I love your cooking."

Ayame turned bright red as she sat back down in her seat, leering at him in flustered embarrassment. Why did he have to say stuff like that?!

Right now, the two of them were having a very intimate night together. It was what they both knew they needed. After Blake being gone for so long, going to a dance wouldn't have given her nearly enough private time with him. Plus, Blake wasn't comfortable being around a lot of people right now, he really wanted to just spend the evening with Ayame.

Hell, even a romantic date at a restaurant was something that was a little too public for Blake's tastes, which was why Olivia was their savior once again.

Blake was a little wary of having dinner in a private dining room detached from Olivia's dorm room, but he didn't say anything. Aya was comfortable with it after all, and that was enough for him. The only concern was if Olivia got a little too nosey on her date.

He was glad that Olivia seemed to be… ahem. "Distracted" by a lady friend, because that meant she wouldn't be sticking her nose in. At the same time, the knowledge of what she was going to be doing was a little embarrassing. He didn't want to think about how there was most likely lesbian sex happening a few doors away from him.

Mainly because it was putting a little too much pressure on the relationship dynamics that he was sitting in the center of. Right now, sex wasn't something that was a factor in his relationship with Aya, and thinking about it was… well, the idea of sex had been floated before between the two of them, so it wasn't like it was coming out of nowhere.

But right now? It wasn't something that he was all the comfortable with thinking about. He just wanted to have a nice night with his girlfriend, to make up for all the lost time between the two of them when he was trapped in that alternate world. There was so much that he wanted to do now that the two of them were together.

Meanwhile, across the table, too nervous to even start eating, Ayame was thinking about sex herself, in a much more explicit context.

Because tonight, it was happening. It was absolutely happening. She wanted it to happen so badly, but at the same time, she didn't want to pressure her boyfriend into doing anything. That made the whole thing seem so much more complicated.

Blake had been gone for two weeks, and it had broken her heart. She didn't want to feel that way ever again. But at the same time, she was a little worried about her intentions of sex again. Months before, the issue had been dropped because she realized that she had been trying to use sex to make her feel more secure about the relationship, and that wasn't a good thing.

Right now, she was afraid that she was in the same situation, trying to use the idea of the two of them being intimate to give her validation and make her feel less insecure about their relationship, especially considering how problematic things had gotten when Blake had disappeared.

But no, she wasn't, right? No, she was just acting on the emotions that she had felt before. That was something reassuring. She had wanted to be with Blake a long time before he had disappeared, this wasn't anything new, and that reassured her that her motivation wasn't a problem. Which was good, because leaving the table of her romantic Valentine's Day dinner to go throw up would probably have spoiled the mood.

"Aya, this is delicious!" Blake's gushing praise over her cooking made the feelings of nausea that still lingered go away. She brightened up with a big smile and nodded her head in excitement, relaxing and sticking her fork into her own pasta.

"Really? Oh, that's good," Ayame said, sighing in relief. She brought the delicious-smelling pasta up to her mouth and took a bite, and felt the taste of tomatoes and cream burst across her tongue, overjoyed. She had done perfectly!

Knowing that she hadn't messed up on the dinner reassured Ayame and told her that she didn't have to be so worried about the evening. At the same time, the knowledge that her best friend was currently getting intimate in the room next door put a different kind of pressure on her, the kind that she wasn't sure that she was okay with.

Olivia had been pressuring Ayame ever since last night to have sex with Blake. And Ayame wanted to, she really did, but the pressure wasn't helping her. In fact, it was only making her more nervous! She wanted to be with him, she did, and she could feel that, in some ways, Blake probably wanted the same thing.

But how was she supposed to say it? She had never had a boyfriend before, this would be her first time. So to suggest to him… no, she didn't have the courage to do that!

Sometimes she wondered, now that she was happy and content in her relationship with him, how had she ever had the strength and bravery to confess to him? It felt like that was a different Ayame Toujou sometimes. She just needed the same strength that had led her to kiss him herself that first time, and try to do it again!

It was why she had put herself out there and let Olivia go to work making her as pretty and inviting as possible, to see if she could tempt Blake into feeling a certain way about her. She had pulled out all the stops to try and get him, and now that they were alone together…

Now that they were alone together, Ayame thought that there wasn't really any rush, was there? Just being with Blake like this, after he had been gone for so long, that felt like more than enough. Sure, she would have loved to be with him that way. But need? No, she didn't need it. She was happy to be with him just like this.

But she really, really wanted more. But right now, she wanted to focus on the present, and just enjoy the date for what it was.

"I'm glad that you like it," Ayame said. "I really should thank Olivia for letting me use her kitchen, this date is wonderful."

"I'm glad we can be alone like this," Blake agreed, flashing a smile. "I'm glad… I'm…"

To Ayame's surprise, Blake did something that she had only seen him do a few times.

He started to cry.

"Blake?" She asked softly, reaching out to him before pulling her hand back, not sure if she should reach out to him or not. She hadn't expected this sort of reaction on a romantic date.

"It's nothing Aya, really," Blake said, reaching up and wiping his eyes. He was smiling, but he was still crying. "I'm just… I'm happy."

"…Oh," Ayame said, letting out a sigh as her heart lightened a little. So he wasn't bothered by anything. "Blake…"

"When I was in that place… that horrible place… being able to share a meal with you like this was a dream," Blake explained softly. "I didn't think that I would ever have the chance. I didn't… I didn't think that I would ever see you again, Aya."

Ayame's heart ached in sympathy. She had thought the same thing, had that same exact fear. Blake had feared that he would never see her again, and she had been afraid that he was gone for good. And now, here they both were.

"But now…" Blake couldn't help but smile. He was crying, but the smile just wouldn't leave. He was too happy for that. "Now I'm back. And I'm celebrating a day with you that I never thought I could. And knowing that… it makes me so much happier than I ever could have imagined, Aya. To be here, it's a miracle."

Ayame felt the same way.

"It is a miracle," she said, setting her fork down and resting her chin in her hands, beaming at Blake. "You made it back to me, and that's what really matters. I love you, Blake."

It was so casual, it was startling. He stared at her, feeling his face heat up. He was about to tell her that he loved her, too, when a muffled moan came from the far door.

Ayame and Blake both blushed. Olivia, she… wow.

"That, um, ahem." Blake cleared his throat, shaking his head. He hadn't expected something like that to happen, he wasn't used to things like sex. It was an experience that he wasn't aware of. He shook his head again, and sighed. It was bringing to mind thoughts that he had wanted to get rid of. Because Aya was here, and thinking that way…

Even at a glance, it was obvious that Aya was just as embarrassed as he was. Her face was red, and she was no longer smiling at him, her attention focused on the meal instead, devouring it hungrily as if it would make what they just heard go away.

Yeah, I get it! Ayame mentally screamed at her best friend. There was no way that was an accident. For one, the Empress's bedroom wasn't even on the other side of that door, it led to her main quarters! That had clearly been a moan solely for the benefit of the two of them, because she was trying to hook them up.

It wasn't like Ayame wouldn't need the help. If she wanted to sleep with Blake, then she would have to get him in the mood. That was something that she tacitly accepted to be true. But that didn't mean she wanted Olivia's interference with this! She was startled, to say the least. And the annoying thing was that it seemed to have the opposite effect. She glanced up at Blake, and saw that he was avoiding eye contact, which just reinforced how embarrassing this whole debacle was.

Ayame knew that it was up to her to get the mood back. She cleared her throat and Blake glanced up at her.

"So, that… fishing today, did you… did you have fun?" Ayame asked. "I mean, I know it's not really your idea of a good time, but-"

"Anything with you is a good time," Blake assured her, surprising Ayame. She scowled at him good-naturedly, feeling a mixture of excitement and frustration at how casually he had treated his love for her and his love of her company! How was he so smooth, damn it?!

"And we managed to do it," Ayame added, "catching the Luvdisc and releasing them together." She was trying to regain the flow of the conversation lest it devolve into Blake flinging compliments that would make her feel all floaty and happy and…

Wait, why was this a bad thing again?

"Yeah, and you even got that shiny," Blake laughed. "Imagine the luck that must have taken! You should have bought a lottery ticket!"

"Or I could have asked my sugar daddy to give me some money," Ayame grinned, flashing a toothy smile and wiggling her eyebrows.

Blake's jaw dropped in mock horror and he placed his hand over his heart. "Are you just using me for my money? I knew it!"

"Don't worry, Blake, I'm not after you for your money any more than you're after me for my body," Ayame joked.

"That doesn't make me feel better!" Blake exclaimed, the two bursting out laughing. Then the weight of what they had just been joking about sunk in, and Ayame felt her face heat up in shock.

"Err, when I said that, I meant, um, the way you're always complimenting me about my ass," she stuttered, like that was somehow better. "I didn't mean to imply that you're, you know, or that we should, um…"

Stop talking you moron! You're torpedoing your own chances of actually doing something tonight, you realize that, right?! As usual, Ayame's mouth was running counter to her actual desires. She wanted Blake to feel more comfortable about having sex tonight, not less!

"Aya… you know that Luvdisc? I was thinking, doesn't Marion's hotel idea seem like a pretty lame prize?" Blake laughed. "I mean, it would be one thing if we got the prize with the hotel already being built, but come on, that's not a great prize." Blake was trying admirably to push the conversation in a different direction, which Ayame appreciated.

"Yeah, I know, imagine if someone else had gotten it," Ayame said, making sure that her words were properly balanced out. This was important. "Someone who wouldn't be able to wait for it to be built, who wasn't confident in their relationship…"

Ayame's words were light, but the implication hung in the air. Blake kept his mouth shut and stared at her silently. They were both thinking it. Where will we be when the hotel is completed? Will we still be together?

Both of them wanted to answer that question with a strong "yes", and the fact that they had caught the pair of Luvdisc and invoked the jinx went a long way to reassuring them that they would.

There were still doubts, though. Ayame really, really wanted to be with him, forever. And Blake felt the same. But this last event had made them both feel the creep on their hearts, the fear that they wouldn't be able to make it work, not through lack of trying, but because something else might end up happening to one of them.

"I think we'll be fine," Ayame decided for both of them. "Because… we won't lose to something like time. We'll make it through, I'm sure."

That assertion of confidence was enough to assuage her own feelings of doubt. Ayame wasn't going to let her uneasiness get the better of her!

Blake, on the other hand, found himself a little uneasy for a different reason. It hadn't crossed his mind during the day, but now that it had been brought to his attention, he was dealing with some emotions he wasn't used to.

Mainly the fact that he wasn't sure what he actually wanted to do tonight.

Blake wouldn't deny that Aya was hot. She was. That had been what had attracted him to her all the way back at the beginning. From the moment he met her, he thought that she had checked all of his boxes, and that (along with her adorable reactions) had given him the joy of messing with her.

But when they had actually gotten together, he hadn't been sure what he wanted to do with her. There were some complicated issues that they still hadn't worked out, especially considering that Aya would be leaving in a few months, and what would they do then? How would their relationship go from there, when they could no longer see each other every day?

He didn't have the answers, and the fact that he didn't made him too cautious to really pursue things any further than they were right now. Aya…

Blake knew that Aya wanted more. And he didn't mind that she did, because she wasn't feeling "down" about the fact that he wanted to take things slowly. He just wasn't comfortable about it yet, and Aya respected that. But he also knew that she wanted to. If not because she made it clear enough herself, because…

Because he felt the same way.

Blake wanted to be with her. She was the woman he loved, and when he was trapped in that horrible place, one of his greatest regrets was that he hadn't gotten the chance to show her just how much he loved her, and more than that, he hadn't gotten the chance to feel her love for him. They both wanted it, so… what was the problem?

Blake wondered if he was afraid of moving forward because he was afraid about what would end up happening when they ended up sleeping together. How that would change things between the two of them.

He didn't want them to change. He liked things the way they were, and he hoped that Aya did, too. But he couldn't deny that at the same time, he wanted more.

Was he ready for more?

Blake still wasn't sure. But the time he had spent in the other world, the lonely void in his heart at the thought that he would never see Aya again, those experiences had taught him that he had to show her how much he cared about her and wanted to be with her. He could say it as much as he liked, but he wanted to show her. He wanted to share that love with her.

Blake didn't want any regrets, he didn't want to make Aya feel sad.

Was that enough for him to be ready? Wait… the more he realized that his brain was going in this direction, the more he started wondering if that was a coincidence. He took a moment to study Aya, and noticed that she was even more nervous and flustered than he was. Not that she looked it, of course, she was very good at maintaining her composure. But as her boyfriend, Blake had more than enough experience seeing her get flustered and embarrassed to know when she was trying to hide it by playing cool.

Blake decided to test his suspicion.

"Sex," he said out of nowhere.

Ayame's fork flew across the room as her whole body recoiled, her cool veneer shattering to pieces as she turned scarlet.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Ayame exclaimed. Blake, Blake had just said what she thought he said, right? She wasn't hearing things?! "What?! What?!"

"Yeah, thought so," Blake said, resisting the urge to smile. His face was heating up too. The fact that Aya had been thinking about it, it just… it made it more real.

"What… what?!" It was basically all she could say.

"I thought that things were a little too… well, intimate," Blake said. "And trust me, Aya, that's okay. I'm not upset or anything, but… you don't have to try and get me 'in the mood' okay? This was Olivia's idea, wasn't it?"

Ayame wanted to object, but she wasn't quite sure what she would be objecting TOO. The accusation that she was planning to have sex with him? Blake's insinuation that Olivia had something to do with it? The fact that sex was something that existed?

In the end, her honesty was what got to her. Red as spaghetti sauce, she sighed and nodded her head, unable to look Blake in the eye.

"It… Olivia wanted to help," Ayame said. "But it wasn't her idea. The truth is, I was… trying to seduce you, Blake. You're right. Not because the boss was pressuring me, but because it's what I want. And I know that we said that… that we'd wait, but… well…"

She squirmed in her seat, she wasn't sure if she should say this, but she couldn't lie to her boyfriend, not when he was looking at her so adamantly.

"…I want to be with you," she said. "And I want you to want to be with me. But I didn't… I don't want to pressure you, so…"

She gestured at her clothes. "I was hoping that if I could set the mood right, then you might… want to make a move on your own, that's all," she explained quietly.

"Aya, I want to be with you," Blake said. "Really, I do. But…"

"But not right now, I know," Ayame interrupted, nodding her head. It hurt to hear, but that was just how their relationship was. "I get it, okay?"

Blake didn't like being cut off like that.

"BUT," he said, his voice insistent, "this is my first time, so I probably won't really know what I'm doing."

And Ayame's entire world exploded.

"WHAT?"

That's a pretty big bomb alright, nicely done Blake. And no, there won't be sex next chapter you perverts, this is a T series.