Chapter 36: Snow


"(Hey! Oh! Check it out!)" Ambipom shouted as she looked out the window.

Upon hearing her, the rest of the gang started gathering around to see what she was getting so excited about.

All at once, everyone quietly gasped as they saw the snow gently fall which covered the land in a white, sparkling blanket.

After several days of traveling, the gang came across a ski resort that had some available rooms to stay in. When they arrived, the weather was mostly calm – albeit a bit gloomy – but now it was like a winter wonderland! Yup, they were certainly getting close to Snowpoint City alright!

A little after they checked into their rooms, the crew were hanging out in the lobby of the resort, deeply immersed in their own conversations for their upcoming contests and battles.

...That is until they heard Ambipom shouting with glee at the window.

"Hey look it's snowing!" Ash exclaimed as he got out of his chair.

Dawn and Brock looked over and immediately followed suit.

"Oh wow! It's so pretty!" Dawn beamed as she joined them.

"I heard it's gonna be like this for the rest of the day." Brock remarked with a smile.

"Oh yeah?" Ash wondrously replied, still staring out the window.

"Yeah, and that's not all either! I read in the brochure about some sort of phenomenon that happens around here." Brock said with a grin.

"Hmm? What is it?" Dawn asked, glancing over at him.

"They're called sundogs. They're basically colored spots of light that appear in the sky. They're caused by refraction of light through ice crystals in the atmosphere." Brock excitedly said.

Ash looked at him rather perplexed. "Sun...dogs? Why's it called that?"

"Beats me, I just hope we get to see it with this much snow around!" Brock laughed.

"(All day huh?)" Pikachu muttered as he looked over at his friends, locking eyes with Buneary.

A silent conversation passed between them and they all excitedly smiled in unison.

"(And you know what that means...!)" Buneary giddily said.


"(How's yours coming along?)" Buneary asked as she leaned over to get a good look at Pikachu's work.

"(Pretty good but it's a little hard to get your ears down.)" Pikachu remarked as he patted the snow a little harder. "(How about you?)"

Buneary giggled. "(Hee~! Check it out!)" She proclaimed as she took a step back. Pikachu looked over and saw that her snowman-version of him was near identical, ears and cheeks and all! "(Ta-da!)" She exclaimed, showing it off for all to see.

"(Wow Bun! That's really, really good!)" Pikachu said with a smile.

"(Thanks!)" She replied, her paws on her cheeks, the coldness of the snow helping to quell the burning sensation in her face. "(Now all I need is to get your backside right!)" She said before pausing to look at him. After a moment passed, she gave a rather evil smirk, one that Pikachu was quite familiar with.

Uh-oh.

"(O-Oh yeah?)" He nervously stammered, dreadfully knowing where this was going.

She quickly hopped over to him and cuddled up against his side. "(But I don't quite remember what it looks like...)" She said before turning to whisper into his ear. "(How about you show me~?)"

Without even saying a word, Buneary could tell – as if on cue – the effects that her words had on the poor mouse as she could feel his body beginning to warm up against hers.

"(W-Woah Bun!)" He managed to blurt out, his face reddening.

She gave him a large, gleeful smile. Suddenly, they heard another voice call out to them.

"(Hey guys! Check it out!)" Pachirisu exclaimed from a few feet away.

They both looked to him and noticed the squirrel standing next to something on the ground. Nearby was Sudowoodo who was down on his back, making motions in the snow. He quickly got up and stood next to his creation.

"(Ta-da!)" Sudowoodo proclaimed as he motioned towards their snow angels.

Both Pikachu and Buneary tilted their heads in mild confusion. Sudowoodo's snow angel looked quite nice but Pachirisu's on the other hand...

Guess it shouldn't be that surprising given the squirrel's tiny paws. Actually, thanks to his large tail, Pachirisu's snow angel looked more like a perfect...circle.

"(Oh...it looks so...good Pachi!)" Buneary said, putting on a large smile.

Pachirisu immediately beamed and hopped from one foot to the other. "(Thanks! I knew it was really impressive!)" He exclaimed before pausing to look beyond them. "(Hey, cool snowmen!)"

"(Thanks! They're still not done though!)" Buneary laughed as Pikachu rolled his eyes and turned to resume working on his creation.

Buneary did the same however as soon as she put her paws on the snow-chu, she took a moment to look at her boyfriend. She couldn't help but notice how brilliantly golden his fur appeared against the iridescent white backdrop of this winter wonderland. How his little smile immediately compelled her to smile back at him. How he-

Her paw gripped a little firmer on the snowman until she accidentally broke off a piece. Blinking, she looked at her paw, then back to him. She gave a tiny, evil grin.

"(Hey Pika~!)" She called out.

"(Yeah?)" He replied, looking up. As soon as he did, a soft snowball made contact with his cheek, causing him to jerk his head back a little. Snow still covering his face, he saw Buneary giggling up a storm.

"(How'd you like that? That came from your snow-butt!)" She laughed.

Wiping the snow off from his face, Pikachu saw her continuing to giggle, her smile as radiant as it always was. Grinning back, he rolled his eyes.

"(You're so funny Bun.)" He sarcastically muttered before he heard Ambipom speak up.

"(Hey, you two having a little spat?)" She snickered as she walked up to them.

"(Haha, no just pelting each other with snowballs. No biggie.)" Buneary remarked.

"(Ohhh gotcha. Well it's a good thing I'm not involved. Nobody stands a chance against me!)" Ambipom proudly proclaimed.

"(Huh? How do you figure?)" Pikachu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"(Uhm, forgetting something?)" Ambipom replied, pointing back at her two tails.

"(Tsk, you think just because you have those that you'll automatically win?)" Buneary scoffed as she turned her head away from the monkey. As soon as she did, Piplup approached them.

"(Who's winning what now?)" The blue penguin asked.

"(Just telling them that I'd win a snowball fight pretty easily.)" Ambipom shrugged.

"(You? Get real!)" Piplup huffed, assuming his usual proud pose. "(I'm the Water-type here!)"

"(That's not the same as an Ice-type!)" Ambipom retorted.

"(It's close!)" Piplup shouted back.

"(Hey, hey, I'm the one with Ice Beam, if anything, I'm closer to being an Ice-type than you!)" Buneary said, taking a step forward.

"(So what are you saying then?)" Piplup asked, locking eyes with her.

"(I'm saying...you wanna see for yourself?!)" Buneary practically shouted.

"(You're on sister!)" Piplup declared before taking a step back and raising a flipper in front of himself. "(But one rule: no attacks, just snowballs 'kay?)"

"(Sure.)" Buneary said with a shrug. Pikachu couldn't help but awkwardly laugh, a bead of sweat forming on the side of his head as he rubbed his temple.

This girl he swore...

"(Great!)" Ambipom excitedly proclaimed, waiving her arms in the air. "(Now as for teams...)"


It was war!

Snowballs were flying across the snowy battleground in random directions yet seemingly none were hitting their targets.

Shouting, projectiles flying...it was chaos! Total and complete chaos!

Meanwhile off in the distance, Mamoswine was lounging around in the snow, enjoying a long nap.

There were three kingdoms – technically snow forts – that were set up: Pikachu and Buneary, Ambipom and Piplup and a three-way team of Pachirisu, Staravia and Sudowoodo, the latter group composed of those who didn't exactly have the best throwing arms. Surprisingly, Buizel wasn't around to join in on the fun, having left to go check out the ski slopes. Meanwhile, Happiny was inside enjoying some hot beverages with Chimchar. They didn't want to say it out loud, but everyone was thanking their lucky stars that the absurdly strong baby wasn't throwing projectiles...she probably had the strength to fire them straight through solid trees! And Chimchar...well, being the Fire-type that he was, probably had seen enough snow from their little ice island misadventure.

The most impressive-looking snow fort was Ambipom and Piplup's which was not only meticulously built, but for some reason, was ordained with impractical features like windows and pine needles.

Across the way was Pikachu and Buneary's which was more of a trench dug into the ground and a sturdy wall of snow erected around it. No doubt, the two lagomorphs put their natural burrowing skills to good use.

Lastly was the other team's fort which was both decorated yet haphazardly made because...again...everybody on that team either had wings, branches for hands or very stubby paws.

"(You got eyes on anyone?!)" Pikachu shouted amongst a hail of snowballs pelting the wall of their fort. He was hunched over in the snow, patting down more projectiles to use.

Buneary carefully peeked around their snow wall and saw that Ambipom had her back to them, preparing ammo of her own.

"(Yeah, Ambipom two o'clock!)" Buneary shouted before Pikachu handed her a snowball. Steeling her nerves, Buneary stepped out from the snow wall and threw it only to see it collide with another snowball in midair, much to her surprise.

"(Oh yeah! Not today!)" Piplup confidently yelled.

Gritting her teeth, Buneary quickly retreated back behind the wall and eyed Pikachu's snowball-making progress. "(How's it coming along?!)"

Pikachu looked at her and smirked. "(Ready!)"

"(Take this Piplup!)" Staravia shouted as he threw a poorly-made snowball at the penguin only for Ambipom to swat it into a million pieces with one of her tails.

"(Too slow bud!)" The purple monkey yelled with a confident smile as she returned fire. Staravia was so caught off guard that the only reason he wasn't pelted right then and there was Pachirisu tackling him out of the way.

"(What are you doing man?! Stay vigilant soldier!)" The little squirrel dramatically shouted into the bird's face.

"(Err...sorry.)" Staravia said, trying to suppress a chuckle. Their little exchange was cut short when they heard someone shout something in terror.

"(Ambush!)" Piplup cried out. As soon as he did, a hail of snowballs pelted both of their forts.

"(Get down!)" Pachirisu commanded as he got down on the ground and covered his head, the incoming snowballs sounding like thunder.

Sudowoodo managed to peek over their fort and saw both Pikachu and Buneary standing atop their wall each with a large pile of snowballs, constantly throwing them in every direction.

Ambipom grimaced as she gripped some snow in her paws. "(Return fire!)"

With that, both opposing teams threw what they had at the couple.

"(Alright, now!)" Pikachu yelled as he jumped forward.

"(Hey, we said no attacks!)" Piplup shouted as he threw another snowball.

"(Wasn't going to use one!)" Pikachu replied with a proud smile as he quickly turned his body in midair and began twirling, his tail slicing the snowball being thrown his way and causing them to explode into frozen water particles.

"(What the...?)" Piplup muttered before a snowball suddenly exploded mere inches from his face against his fort. "(WOAH!)" He cried out before losing his balance and falling on his backside. Regaining his composure, he looked up and saw Buneary constantly throwing projectiles at them. Panicking, Piplup quickly crawled behind the fort and took a spot next to Ambipom.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, the blue penguin put a flipper up to his beak in contemplation. So that's their plan eh? One defends and the other throws? His curiosity truly piqued, he ever-so-carefully peeped around his fort and his eyes widened in absolute shock.

He saw that the roles were now reversed with Buneary using her ears to smack away any snowballs coming their way and Pikachu being the one to throw them! What's more is – without even missing a beat – they switched again, constantly defending each other or going on the offense.

"(Wow...)" Piplup wondered aloud in complete awe at the incredible teamwork. Another snowball exploded nearby, causing him to take cover again.

"(Don't just sit there Pip, grab a snowball and help out!)" Ambipom yelled as she crouched down to make more projectiles.

Piplup laid on his stomach, his flippers covering his head. "(It's no use! It's like they're working in perfect sync!)"

"(So then what do you propose we-?)" Ambipom asked before a snowball made its way over their fort and landed between them. They merely blinked at where it landed, too dumbfounded at the thought that their defenses were just breached.

"(That's it!)" Piplup angrily shouted as a look of sheer determination dominated his face. "(Distract them will ya? I'm gonna extend an olive branch!)" He commanded before he turned to Pachirisu's fort and promptly started crawling on his belly towards it.


"(Eighty-six those snowballs Sudowoodo!)" Pachirisu yelled as he patted some snow in his paws.

"(I'm going as fast as I can!)" The Rock-type shouted back as he disposed of some lumpy, unacceptable snowballs.

"(Well you gotta work faster! Listen, do you wanna make it outta of this alive matey?!)" Pachirisu firmly yelled.

"(I'm just-!)" Sudowoodo shouted before he paused, something catching his eye. "(Huh?)" He muttered as he realized that Piplup had entered the immediate vicinity, still crawling on his belly through the snow.

"(Intruder!)" Pachirisu cried out, holding the wad of snow in his paws, ready to use.

"(Wait, wait! I come in peace!)" Piplup desperately yelled, his flippers waving in front of his face.

"(State your business or face the wrath of Team Zippy!)" Pachirisu commanded.

Piplup lowered his flippers, a confused look on his face. "(Team Zippy?)"

"(Yeah...what? It's a good name!)" The squirrel replied with a proud smile.

"(...Okay well anyway, I'm here to offer a truce.)" Piplup remarked.

"(A truce?)" Staravia muttered rather incredulously.

"(Yeah. Look, those two are clearly too good of a team together.)" Piplup replied, pointing a flipper at Pikachu and Buneary who were still working in perfect tandem. Turning back to the others, Piplup gave them a rather evil smirk. "(So here's what I propose...)"


A few minutes later, the onslaught of snowballs from the couple finally ceased. Panting, Pikachu and Buneary took cover back behind their snow fort, both restarting the process of patting down more snow.

"(Almost got 'em that time. I think it's best if you throw and I defend.)" Pikachu said, not taking his eyes off his current duty.

"(Right. Probably best to aim for Piplup or maybe-)" Buneary remarked before Ambipom's voice rang out.

"(Hey! You really wanna see my snowball skills?! Well get a load of THIS!)" She proclaimed before suddenly stepping away from her fort, revealing that she was holding a snowball in both her paws and in each of her hand-like tails. Without missing a beat, she immediately began throwing the projectiles. When each paw was empty, she promptly picked up more snow and threw it, often without even patting it down resulting in loose snow being tossed.

"(We're under fire, it's now or never Bun!)" Pikachu yelled as he flinched from the sounds of their fort being pelted.

"(Okay! Good luck Pika!)" She shouted back, giving him a fist bump.

"(You too Bun! Won't need it though!)" He replied with a smirk before they got into position.

Jumping out from behind the wall, Pikachu evaded Ambipom's projectiles, often swatting them away with his tail. As he did, Buneary emerged from the other side and began throwing her snowballs. From her position, she could see figures crouched behind Pachirisu's fort and so she tried covering as much area as she could.

Determined to finish things, Buneary jumped high into the air and was prepared to unleash a hail of snowballs down at Ambipom and the rest of her opponents when something caught her attention. Still gliding in the air, she got a better look at what was behind Pachirisu's fort. She gasped as she saw...that its occupants were just hastily-prepared snowmen!

Meanwhile, Pikachu managed to swat away Ambipom's final snowball before the purple monkey retreated behind her fort.

Pride filling his chest, Pikachu smirked. "(Is that all you got?! What was all that big talk for-?)" He said before he noticed that off to the side, some bushes were rustling. Blinking, he saw Buneary about to land onto the ground next to him when all of a sudden, Piplup and the rest of Pachirisu's team emerged from the bush and threw a hailstorm's worth of snowballs directly at her!

Gasping, he rushed forward. Okay no problem, he'll just swat them away like-

His thoughts were interrupted by a cold sensation striking him squarely in the back. He couldn't see her, but he could clearly hear Ambipom shout something to the effect of "(Yeah, bullseye!)".

He grit his teeth. Damn...they got him. Still seeing the other snowballs coming closer to Buneary, Pikachu kept moving forward, not allowing himself to stumble for even a moment.

Can't stop now. Can't...stop...

As soon as Buneary landed on the ground, Pikachu stood in front of her, closed his eyes and spread his arms out, accepting his fate.

This was gonna suck so har-

"(PIKACHU!)" Buneary cried out as the electric mouse was quickly pelted into oblivion. And yet...she was left unscathed.

Covered from head to toe, the snow-ladened mouse fell over.

"(Woohoo! We got him!)" Piplup cheered, followed by the others.

"(Yeah but we didn't get Cherry!)" Pachirisu remarked, intensely eyeing Buneary as she quickly moved towards her now-felled boyfriend.

"(Pikachu, NO!)" Buneary shrieked as she grabbed him from under his arms and dragged him back to their fort and placed him in the deepest part of their dug-out trench. She laid him on his back and tried to wipe the snow off his body of which there was still practically a mound's worth covering him. "(Pikachu! Pikachu! Speak to me!)" She cried out as she touched his face, brushing off some more of the frozen water.

Pikachu gently opened his eyes and looked at her, his gaze far away. "(Bun...it's...so cold.)"

"(Just save your strength, I'm gonna get you out of here!)" She firmly replied, her paw still on his cheek.

"(No Bun. I'm...I'm done for.)" Pikachu whispered, lightly shaking his head.

"(Don't you say that! You hear me?! DON'T YOU GIVE UP ON ME!)" She dramatically cried out, shaking him a little. "(W-We can negotiate with them; you can still walk out of here!)"

"(What? You want me to beg?)" He whispered, looking into her eyes. She silently mouthed her protest as her eyes widened in horror. "(You're the cleverest girl I know and you're too stubborn to see...they made up their minds ten minutes ago.)"

"(Pika...)" She choked out in-between sobs.

"(Bun...just promise me one thing.)" He said, his voice progressively softening.

"(Wh-What is it?)" She sniffled.

"(Can you...can you...?)" He said with great difficulty, weakly reaching up to her as she grabbed his paw.

"(What?)" Buneary hesitatingly asked, looking deep into his eyes. "(WHAT?!)" She cried out.

"(Can you...get me an apple cider after this?)" He said, his voice returning to normal. "(They looked pretty good at the ski lodge.)"

Buneary paused. "(Oh, yeah no prob Pika.)" She replied, her voice also returning to how it always is.

"(Thanks...maaaybe with extra lemon?)" He asked with a smile.

"(Yeah of course.)" She said, returning his grin.

"(Okay good...but Bun!)" He suddenly cried out as he reached to touch her face again. "(Just make it out of this alive will ya?)"

"(You got it Pika!)" She said, trying to suppress a laugh.

"(Okay...now it's time...to die!)" Pikachu declared before he suddenly turned away and exaggeratedly coughed. He leaned back and closed his eyes. "(Hrrghh! Blarghh...)"

Getting back into character, Buneary threw herself over him and dramatically cried over his body. "(Oh legends, Pikachu NOOOO!)" She screamed before a flash of anger appeared across her face and she moved away from him. Determination filling her soul, she stood up and raised a fist in the air. "(As Mew as my witness, I will avenge you! I will fulfill your last wish and win this battle!)"

"(...And an apple cider with extra lemon.)" Pikachu whispered; his eyes still closed.

"(And an apple cider with extra lemon!)" Buneary repeated.

"(Yessss...)" Pikachu said to himself with a little smile.

Composing herself, Buneary looked at the snowy ground.

"(Okay then, no more miss Nice Bunny!)" She muttered as she crouched down and quickly started compressing the snow together in her paws. "(You wanna play rough?! Okay!)"


A few minutes passed and Piplup had managed to quickly make his way back to Ambipom's side, all the while snickering at Pikachu's demise.

After some more time had passed, he peeked around the fort only to see that all was still quiet.

"(Man...it's been a while now. You think they gave up?)" Piplup asked as he turned to his partner.

"(Buneary? Not a chance!)" Ambipom said with a knowing smirk. "(I'm guessing this is just the beginn-)" She muttered before Buneary's voice rang out from behind the fort.

"(Alright, listen up everybody! I'm giving you one, and only one chance to surrender!)" She called out.

The duo looked at each other. She can't be serious right? Holding back, it took everything for the two of them not to burst out laughing right then and there!

"(Oh yeah?! You and what army!)" Piplup shouted back.

"(Yeah! Yellow Guy is out! You stand no chance against Team Zippy!)" Pachirisu exclaimed from behind his fort.

A moment of silence passed before Buneary spoke up again.

"(Alright then...suit yourself!)" She firmly shouted before calmly climbing atop her fort, both of her ears lowered behind her head and her paws raised high in the air, making her appear like she's giving a look of resignation.

Ambipom snickered. "(Aww what's the matter? Sad that sweet cheeks got taken out?)" She laughed as she stood up, causing everyone to momentarily look at her.

"(Ready to call it in?)" Staravia asked, peeking over from Team Zippy's fort. Before Buneary could reply to that, Ambipom was already back on it.

"(Yeah, ready to submit to my awesome skills? Or are you gonna stand there and cry big icy tears over your boyfriend? And who took out Pikachu again? That's right, I did!)" She proudly proclaimed as she put her paws on her hips and puffed out her chest, closing her eyes in sheer satisfaction. "(You know, I always thought that couples were-)" She ranted before suddenly, a large snowball smacked and exploded against her face, causing her to tumble backwards, her mouth instantly filled with frozen water. "(D'OW! SHON OF A BISH!)" She exclaimed as she landed on the fort's side, crushing it beneath her body and taking out half her and Piplup's kingdom with her.

Completely caught off guard, everyone quickly turned to the culprit and saw Buneary leaning forward, her ears uncurled and fully extended in front of herself, the faintest amount of snow atop her fluff.

Baffled, Piplup leaned over to his fallen, knocked-out comrade. "(Ambipom? Ambipom?!)"

Quickly, Buneary jumped back behind her fort only to immediately return with snowballs in each paw. She stared them down, a menacing look in her eyes.

Staravia took a step forward. "(Okay hey, they took out one of your team members, and you took out one of theirs so you two are even.)"

Sudowoodo looked over at him. "(Actually, both our teams took out Pikachu and she only got someone from Piplup's team. So technically that means-)" He said before another snowball exploded in his face. "(Shon of a BISH!)" He shouted before falling backwards with a loud thump.

All eyes turned back on Buneary who had somehow managed to reload in such a short amount of time.

"(Okay, now we're even. Seriously!)" Staravia pleaded.

Another moment passed of them staring down at each other. It was suddenly broken up by Piplup quickly tossing a snowball at her only for the bunny to return fire with lightning-fast reflexes and causing the projectiles to explode in midair.

"(EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!)" Piplup declared as he turned and ran from his now destroyed fort.

"(Come back here you coward!)" Staravia shouted as he and Pachirisu desperately started to haphazardly fling snowballs every which way.

Letting out a furious battle cry, Buneary threw her projectiles back with each snowball coming towards her being demolished in midair by her own.

"(This isn't good!)" Pachirisu yelled as he took cover behind their misshapen fort.

"(You're telling me!)" Staravia shouted as he squatted next to him. Their attention soon turned to several snowballs landing right in front of them, having been thrown over their only cover. Horrified, they looked up and saw Buneary high in the air, flinging her projectiles down below at them!

"(Daah! Team Zippy's fortress has been compromised!)" Pachirisu screamed, his tiny paws doing their best to cover his head.

"(Abandon ship!)" Staravia yelled as he quickly took flight.

Meanwhile, Pikachu crawled out of the trench, a good amount of snow still clinging to his fur. As soon as he got above ground he laid upon his stomach. His ears twitching to the sound of battling, he looked over and to his surprise, he saw his girlfriend high up in the air, energetically throwing snowballs every which way and their opponents being routed! He blinked. Woah...

Perhaps due to being a Flying-type or by some inexplicable miracle, Staravia managed to evade every snowball being thrown his way as he flew through the air. At the same time, Pachirisu darted out from his fort and was dashing across the snowy field, trying to find some other kind of shelter.

Pikachu couldn't take his eyes off her. His hypnotic trance was broken only when he caught a glimpse of Piplup off in the distance on the opposite side preparing to counterattack. Before Pikachu could even warn her, she immediately threw a snowball in Piplup's direction, causing the penguin to haphazardly stumble back and crash on his rear end as her projectile exploded a foot away from him. Landing on the ground, Buneary quickly reloaded. This time, Staravia had landed on one side while Pachirisu was quickly making his own snowballs a fair distance away. Together, the three opponents surrounded Buneary in a triangular pattern.

For a moment there was quiet peace.

And then...

...ABSOLUTE CHAOS!

"(For Ambipom!)" Piplup proclaimed as he threw his snowball.

"(For Sudowoodo!)" Staravia shouted as he did the same.

"(For Team Zippy!)" Pachirisu screamed as he reeled back to throw at her.

As projectiles from all sides came at her, Pikachu's eyes widened, first in horror, then in absolute shock as Buneary began twirling in midair and started throwing snowballs back at a lightning-fast pace.

"(FACE MY FROZEN FURY!)" Buneary furiously roared as every snowball coming her way were destroyed in midair and meanwhile, some of hers were getting through and nearly hitting her targets.

Pikachu just continued to watch her in total amazement. How...how in the world was she doing that?! Not only was she incredibly quick but somehow still so graceful...not to mention crazily cool! Unable to hold it back, his mouth hung open in an awe-inspired smile, his eyes sparkling at the sight of her. She was just...just...!

Suddenly – as if time was slowing down – he got a good look at her twirling form in midair, holding snowballs in one paw and throwing them with the other. Her determined face, her immaculate beauty, her tone of playfulness underlying her drive to win. As he continued to look on, he experienced something...something rather strange. All at once, he felt some sort of electrifying feeling course through his body before it settled in his chest. While his heart beat a little faster upon seeing her sheer skill, it wasn't like before when he saw her do something amazing, or when she flirted with him or when they shared a moment together. It was just...different...in one of the most inexplicable of ways. All he could be sure of...was that somehow even under a blanket of snow...he felt quite warm as he watched her in that moment.

"(AAAH! I'm hit!)" Piplup dramatically screamed as he held his arm. Pretending to breathe heavily, he stumbled backwards and began to run in the other direction.

"(Mayday! Mayday! Gotta retreat!)" Staravia shouted as he once again took to the sky and directed his flying body in Piplup's direction, leaving Pachirisu alone on one side of the battlefield. Upon seeing their retreating forms, Pachirisu waved his tiny arms in sheer fury.

"(You traitor! You never leave a man behind!)" The little squirrel yelled, eyeing the sky where the bird flew.

Seeing two of her opponents on the run and the third alone, Buneary landed on the ground and quickly grabbed a rather large snowball before she slowly approached Pachirisu. The electric squirrel could only give her a terrified look as he waved his paws in front of himself.

"(N-Now hold on! I-I...)" He muttered, only to witness Buneary silently advancing towards him.

Pikachu apprehensively looked on as Buneary reached Pachirisu and stood in front of him.

"(Yes?)" She said in a low voice.

"(I-I'm sorry we had to take out Pikachu b-but it's a snowball war. S-So...)" Pachirisu stammered before he quickly covered his face, waiting for what was coming next. "(D-D-Do your worst!)"

Pikachu gulped hard as a moment passed of Buneary standing over the little squirrel, firmly gripping the snowball. Oh legends above, she was gonna decimate him!

Before he could call out to her, he merely blinked in surprise as he saw Buneary give a little smile and gently press the snowball against Pachirisu's forehead. Upon making contact, the snowball proved to be softer than all of their others because it immediately broke into a soft powder.

The snow still covering his head, Pachirisu slowly looked up at her, utterly bewildered.

"(Huh?)" He confusedly muttered, gazing at her face.

Her smile only grew as she leaned forward a little. "(Tap!)" She laughed as she beeped his nose. "(Gotcha Little Wing!)"

Pikachu's mouth hung open.

Another moment passed before Pachirisu blinked and finally smiled back at her. "(Aww man. Oh well...)" He said with a carefree shrug. "(Good game! I'm gonna go get some hot chocolate!)"

"(Hee~! Okay, get yourself warmed up!)" Buneary chirped as she pat him on his shoulder.

Watching them, Pikachu gave a little grin accompanied by a nod. That's his girl. That's-

As she turned in his direction, she made eye contact with him. Upon doing so, she gave him a playful little wink. Immediately, his heart started thumping hard in his chest, a feeling all-too familiar to him, especially after that rather strange sensation he had just a few moments ago. Aside from feeling like his body was emitting enough steam to melt the snow covering his body, Pikachu felt a strange sort of confusion somewhere deep down. What he was feeling right now versus that from before truly felt different. What in the world was going on?

Questions continued to swirl in his mind as he watched Pachirisu scamper off towards the ski resort.

Her smile becoming more determined, Buneary quickly hopped over to their fort, grabbed her remaining snowballs and pursued their last two opponents.


"(Gotta find shelter!)" Piplup yelled, still clinging his arm as Staravia glided next to him.

"(But where? All I see is the ski resort.)" The bird replied, looking forward. Indeed, the wooden lodge wasn't too far and it wouldn't be long until they reached it.

"(Okay, we'll just get there, wait for her and then ambush her!)" Piplup said. "(Then after that we can-)"

"(Are you guys forgetting that I have good hearing?!)" Buneary practically shouted from behind. Horrified, the two bird-Pokémon looked back and saw that the bunny was catching up to them, hopping along with snowballs in each paw!

Suppressing a terrified gasp, they both put on a burst of speed.

"(Y-You wouldn't attack an already injured man would you?! That's not fair!)" Piplup cried out, motioning to his "injured" arm.

"(All's fair in love and war!)" Buneary yelled, she too picking up speed. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, steadied herself and closed one eye. Carefully aiming, she flung a snowball at Staravia, smacking him squarely in the back.

"(D'ahh! I'm hit! Going down!)" The bird shouted, as he spun out of control and landed in a soft snow bank with a loud thud.

"(Ahh! No!)" Piplup screamed as he looked back, still running.

Grunting, Staravia pulled his head out of the snow and saw that Piplup wasn't slowing down. "(Hey! Where're you going?! You can't just leave me here!)"

"(I'll make sure everyone will remember your sacrifice!)" Piplup shouted as he continued to run towards the ski lodge.

"(Why you little-!)" Staravia growled before he noticed a shadow hovering over him. Hesitantly, he looked up only to see Buneary's cold stare, having somehow already made several snowballs that were by her feet. "(H-Hey there...)" He stammered, nearly shaking in place.

Grinning rather evilly, she merely looked at him. "(Hey.)"

She began to raise her arms holding the deadly frozen water balls before Staravia waved his wings in front of himself.

"(W-Wait! You don't wanna let Piplup get away right?)" He cried out.

"(He won't.)" Buneary calmly replied.

"(B-But wouldn't it be better to get the mastermind behind taking Pikachu out? Wouldn't pelting me just be pointless?)"

Buneary looked at him, clearly thinking it over. A moment passed before she nonchalantly shrugged.

"(Yeah I guess so...but I'm gonna do it anyway!)"

Staravia's eyes widened in complete horror as Buneary started to reel back. "(OH...MY...GOD...!)"


Piplup continued running. He was perhaps about fifty feet away from the ski resort when he heard the familiar sounds of snowballs smacking against a solid surface.

"(D'AHH! SHON OF A BIIISSSHH!)" Staravia cried out from distance.

Piplup shook his head as the anguished cries of the bird lingered in his mind. He left him. He left him to his fate.

"(Oh...oh legends. Oh legends no!)" Piplup dramatically shouted to himself as he continued to hold his "injured" arm.

At long last, he reached the resort which was only a few feet away now. He was so close that he could peer into the windows and clearly see Ash and Dawn sitting and enjoying some hot beverages, the rest of their group behind them having the time of their lives.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He made it. All of the sacrifices, the horror, the...err...snow-shed...he could walk away from it. He would just get inside and-

"(Thought you could get away did ya?)" Buneary's voice rang from behind.

A shiver going up his spine, Piplup stopped in place and nervously looked back. He saw her. The bunny's paws were gripping snowballs and her wrists were placed upon her hips.

"(B-B-Buh-Buh...)" He nervously stuttered, shaking in place, a horrified expression plastered on his face.

Buneary scoffed. "(So it was your idea huh?)"

"(N-No...I-I...err...)" He stammered, taking a few steps back towards the wooden side of the resort.

She clicked her tongue and walked forward. "(I thought as much.)"

Piplup's eyes widened as he saw her get into an attack position.

"(H-Hold on! You got everyone else, I'm already hit...have some mercy!)" The penguin pleaded, taking another step back.

"(Oh, mercy? You mean like the kind of mercy you showed Pikachu?!)" She growled, her anger boiling over.

"(No please! I promise, we won't ever gang up on you guys like that again!)" Piplup cried out, taking another step back.

"(No...you won't!)" Buneary snarled, her expression becoming rather dark.

"(N-No! I...!)" Piplup managed to say as he saw her raise her snowballs. Terrified beyond all rational thought, he spun around and ran...

...Only to smack face-first into one of the resort's windows.


"Hey, these drinks are great!" Ash beamed as he raised his cup to his lips. By sheer coincidence, he was given a mug with a pikachu's face with the handle being designed to resemble the electric mouse's tail.

"Yeah, I'll say!" Dawn laughed as she warmed her hands around her hot cocoa.

Inside, the ambience was quite relaxing. Gentle jazz music played in the background as the rest of their Pokémon enjoyed themselves, some in the middle of conversations, others playing a board game or puzzle. Clearly, the resort was built to accommodate company of all sorts since there was plenty of room to spare.

Indeed it was so nice that the two trainers didn't even notice Piplup smacking his face into the thick glass window nearby as he was pelted into total oblivion.

"So where's Brock?" Ash asked in-between sips of his drink.

"He went to the ski slopes." Dawn replied with a grin and shrug.

"(SHON OF A BIIISSH!)" Piplup yelled as he was massacred by snowballs, his shouting being muffled by the thick window as he slowly slid out of view.

"Huh? The ski slopes? Why?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow.

A rather smug look appeared on Dawn's face as she pointed to someone behind them. "Heh, take a wild guess." She muttered as she stared at several attractive girls in ski gear, holding snowboards.

"Ohhh..." Ash mumbled before they looked at each other and laughed.


A few minutes later, everyone was inside the resort, some sitting on the nice furniture, others warming up near the fire and enjoying the lovely food and beverages that were provided. As soon as Buneary and Pikachu entered the lodge, Brock arrived with Buizel and Croagunk. As he sat down, Brock had a rather embarrassed frown. A few minutes later, he got a hot beverage and spent the next few minutes explaining what had happened.

"Woah! So Croagunk went all the way up there just to drag you back down?!" Ash blurted, nearly spilling his drink out of surprise.

"Mhmm." Brock muttered, warming his hands around his hot decaf coffee.

"Hmmph..." Ash snorted, leaning back in his seat. Brock merely looked down at the floor before the young trainer began to smirk. "...Couldn't help yourself could ya?"

Croagunk merely looked between them.

Buizel scoffed and folded his arms over his chest. "(Don't look at me, I went up there to actually enjoy the slopes.)"

Both Ash and Dawn started howling with laughter.

Off on the side, sitting on a cushiony chair near the fireplace, Pikachu amusedly shook his head as he held a little cup of warm apple cider with extra lemon. Draped around his neck was a blue scarf, courtesy of Buneary who hadn't stopped attending to him after his tragic "sacrifice" in the snowball fight. First it was the scarf, then it was the cider and finally, she insisted that he stay nearby the fireplace to warm up. It was sweet, if not a little much, granted she was doing the same with the others that were "killed" and "maimed" from the battle. Around him were Piplup, Ambipom, Sudowoodo and Staravia all relaxing, each wearing a blanket or article of clothing to help recover.

"(Brrr...oh man, I'll never get used to the cold! This is worse than that ice island we got stranded on, remember that?)" Ambipom groused, her paws rubbing her arms to generate heat.

"(Well you fell into a snowbank sooo...you know.)" Staravia replied with a shrug.

"(Yeah...pretty brutal.)" Ambipom nearly laughed, giving Buneary a side-glance.

Snuggling next to Pikachu on the cushiony chair, the bunny looked rather proud and nodded her head. She too, was wearing a scarf around her neck albeit a much more fashionable, white and fluffy one.

"(Hmph! Well you deserved it!)" She jokingly proclaimed.

Ambipom playfully rolled her eyes before resting her gaze on Pikachu. "(You're a lucky mouse you know that?)"

Pikachu's ears flicked upon hearing that and he looked up from his drink. "(Hmm?)"

"(Yeah! You know, having your girlfriend avenge your 'death' and all and then win the battle.)" Ambipom said, making air quotes for the word "death".

Pikachu merely looked at her and gave a half-hearted chuckle. "(Heh, yeah I uhh...yeah.)"

Buneary giggled as she rested her head on his shoulder. "(Hee~! Someone has to look out for him, right?)"

Immediately, Pikachu's face began to warm as his eyes darted between his friends. Aside from a little snickering, everyone was contently looking at them, each with a gentle smile. In that moment, all he could really hear was the crackling of the fire, its light reflecting off each of their bodies.

Feeling strangely hesitant, he looked down at Buneary and he was met with those same famous, sparkling eyes. As he stared, he could see the warm glow of the fire in them. All at once, he could feel his heart beating harder than a drum, his warming face quickly turning into a full-on blush. He could feel himself quickly becoming short of breath as he gazed into her eyes. His focus rested on her pink nose and suddenly right then and there he didn't care if anyone was looking...he wanted to gently press his own nose against it. He wanted to hold her close and press his lips against hers which in that moment looked so inviting. He-

...

...

...!

...What...? WHAT?!

His body on the verge of shaking, his mind moved at a lightning-fast pace and he did the next best thing: giving her a little smile, he gently moved forward and nuzzled her cheek. His sudden action immediately earned several coos and quiet gasps from their onlookers.

Gulping rather hard, he could only hope that Buneary thought that the intense burning in his cheeks was from the fireplace.

"(Heh, my hero alright~!)" He awkwardly laughed.

With bated breath, he awaited her response. It was only when she started to lightly laugh did he give a sigh of relief.

"(D'awww~ Of course, anytime!)" She cooed, nuzzling him back and wrapping her arms around him.

"(Tsk, so cute. Dawn was right, I just might need a camera.)" Ambipom muttered with a smirk.

"(Indeed, certainly a power couple in the making.)" Piplup chuckled.

Pikachu ignored them because if he was being honest with himself, he was completely content. Sitting by the fireside, enjoying hot drinks, their friends all around, being with the girl he admired more than anyone in the world.

This was it. The life. What more could one ask for?

And yet...

While that intense, all-too familiar feeling began to ease up, something else remained. Deep down he could feel a strange, cozy warmness that oddly felt like it was coming out of his chest. It wasn't like when he got flustered or embarrassed, a feeling akin to an eruption of fire in his cheeks. No...this was far...far different. It was strange because it wasn't nearly as passionate-feeling yet it was oddly profound. Like some sort of comforting embrace that always awaited him, as if he could turn to it whenever he needed.

What...what was it?

They stayed like that for a little while. Occasionally, Pikachu would overhear the humans' conversation.

"Oh man, these biscuits are great!" Ash exclaimed, holding up a light brown cookie in the shape of a star, a thin layer of sugar coating it.

"Ash, they're not called biscuits." Dawn laughed.

"Oh. What're they called again?" Ash remarked before taking a bite out of it followed by a sip of his drink.

"They're called...bis...biskwi...uhh...what...what are they called again Brock?" Dawn sheepishly asked as she turned to the older boy.

"Bizcochitos. They're a delicacy found only in this part of the Sinnoh region!" Brock beamed, holding up one himself. His was of a more rounded shape with some kind of sun symbol in the middle. "They go great with coffee!"

"Well whatever they're called, I can eat a truckload of 'em!" Ash laughed, savoring every bite of the little snack.

Pikachu chuckled and was about to listen some more when Pachirisu spoke up in-between munching on a bowl of trail mix, him being the only one not wearing any winter clothing.

"(Hey, why'sh everyone wearing scarves n'shtuff?)" The little squirrel managed to mutter.

"('Cuz, Buneary pelted them into next week.)" Buizel replied with a smirk. "(Why're you asking? You were there remember?)"

Swallowing his food, Pachirisu gave a little smile. "(Yeah, but I don't need that stuff to be warm.)"

"(Tsk, because you didn't get massacred.)" Ambipom replied, turning away in a huff. "(All Buneary did to you was break a snowball over your head.)"

"(Well...)" Buneary muttered, looking between them.

"(Can't take it too far y'know?)" Pikachu followed, hugging her a little tighter.

"(Yeah, yeah I suppose. Gotta be gentle with the kids.)" Ambipom grumbled.

"(Heh, yeah. Pikachu, you've got a winner there! Just food for thought~)" Piplup chuckled.

Pikachu tilted his head a little at that. "(Huh? What do-?)"

"(Ohh, I get it!)" Sudowoodo said before snickering a little. "(Yeah Pikachu, you know...just something to keep in mind for the future. The hopefully, very near future!)" He laughed before everyone else started joining in on the fun.

Still not getting it, Pikachu merely blinked. What were they on about? Future? And why were they laughing? Just because Buneary was gentle with kids doesn't mean-

His eyes widened upon realization.

Oh. Ohhhh...oh dear.

Unable to hold it back, Pikachu started shaking like a leaf. Ch-Children? Him and Buneary?

"(C-C'mon guys...)" He pleaded, looking between them.

"(What? We're just saying! If you two decide to have baby mice and bunnies running around, we'll know that you'll both be good with them!)" Piplup laughed.

Pikachu looked around and noticed that Staravia merely shrugged. Oh great, it looks like he too wasn't denying it. Uggh, where was the bird that slapped his teasing tormentors on the back of the head when he needed him?!

Pachirisu looked rather confused but as soon as the word "baby" came out, his eyes lit up. "(BABIES?!)" He exclaimed, his tiny paws up to his mouth. "(You're having babies already?! Ooh, ooh! Can I babysit them?! I call dibs!)" He squealed, waving his paw in the air.

Horrified, Pikachu and Buneary looked at him, only to hear everyone else laugh even harder.

"(N-No! That's not...I mean...they're just joking!)" Pikachu stammered.

The little squirrel deflated a little. "(Oh. So no babies?)"

"(No babies Pachirisu.)" Buneary gently said.

"(Oh. So...like, maybe next week then?)" The squirrel asked, looking up with hope in his eyes.

Immediately, everyone's raucous laughter turned into howling guffaws.

"(Pachirisu!)" Buneary shouted, a faint pink blush appearing on her face.

"(Yeah, what're you two waiting for? Time's a-wasting'!)" Ambipom managed to say as she struggled for air.

Pikachu frantically looked between them. "(H-Hey! We're not gonna...I mean we haven't...uggghhh!)" He frantically stuttered only for the laughter to continue. Unable to say anymore, he buried his face into his paws and sat back with a groan.

Buneary looked at him. A moment passed before her embarrassed expression morphed into a sympathetic smile as she patted his shoulder. "(It's okay Pika.)" She whispered into his ear before she gave a tiny evil smirk. "(We can wait~)"

Cheeks flaring up again and his mouth feeling dry, Pikachu swiftly moved his drink up to his mouth and downed it. As soon as he was done, he gave a big, satisfied exhale.

Giggling, Buneary raised a paw up to her mouth. "(Hee~ Feeling better now?)"

Smiling back at her, he nodded his head. "(Yeah, I-err...)" Pikachu said as he looked at his now empty cup and got an idea. "(Oh would you look at that! Gotta refill, be right back!)" He announced before quickly getting up and started walking across the room.

"(Okay, hurry back! Those babies aren't gonna get here by themselves!)" Ambipom chuckled.

Not looking back, Pikachu felt a chill go up his spine but before he could respond to that, he heard a familiar-sounding slap ring through the air. "(Ahh! Why that time?!)" Ambipom cried out as some others snickered.

"(Too far Ambipom. Too far.)" Staravia sternly remarked.

Fighting the urge, Pikachu smirked and walked into the other room. Unbeknownst to him, Buneary watched him go.


As Pikachu dispensed some more apple cider into his cup, he stared out the window. Or rather windows. Indeed, the room he was standing in was adorned with arched-shaped glass that went from the ceiling down to the floor, tables covered in white cloth going from left to right and some indoor plants and other decorations beautifying the area all around. Off to the side, he could hear some other patrons and employees chatting yet they were speaking so softly that it was easy to ignore. It was thankfully tranquil enough to be alone with his thoughts.

Ooh boy, even after officially getting together with Buneary, their friends still somehow managed to find ways to tease him about it.

Lifting the now filled cup to his lips, Pikachu gently sipped and savored the rather sweet sensation that graced his tongue. Lowering the drink, he looked forward. Yeah...it looks like they were really stepping up their game because he couldn't remember a time when they started talking about babies. Lightly shaking his head, Pikachu heaved a sigh. Well, no use in moping around, he should probably go and rejoin th-

"Hey! Check it out, it's snowing!" A young girl in ski gear declared, gesturing towards the window.

Looking at her, Pikachu followed to where she was pointing at and saw that it was indeed gently snowing, the sky possessing a heavenly, golden hue. Pikachu blinked as he was immediately filled with a gentle sereness.

Nimbly, he jumped onto a table and placed his cup down and stared off into the outdoors. It was times like these that really made it worthwhile to just slow down and take it all in. The iridescent snow falling from the heavens, the way the sun was blocked with the sky being clouded and thus giving off a mystical vibe, how all was calm and quie-

"(Hey Pika!)" Buneary practically shouted from behind as she quickly nudged him.

The sudden crashing back to reality made the mouse jump half a foot in the air!

As soon as he landed, he looked back only to see her trying not to cackle up a storm, her paws covering her mouth.

"(B-Bun!)" He shouted, trying to regain his composure.

"(That's my name!)" She giggled.

"(Wha...what are you...?)" He said in-between breaths before finally inhaling and steadying himself.

"(Just checking to see how you're doing. I could tell that that whole "babies" thing got to you huh?)" She said, her laughter finally dying down.

In silent shame, he could feel a blush beginning to form on his face and he looked away. "(I-I mean...n-no...)"

"(C'mooon Pika~!)" She smirked, leaning forward a little. "(I know you better than practically anyone. I can tell when you're starting to get flustered.)"

His ears drooping, Pikachu continued to stare out the windows, his face gradually turning crimson.

"(Okay...maybe a little bit.)" He shamefacedly muttered.

"(Knew it~!)" She quipped before she paused to look at him. "(Whatcha lookin' at?)"

Swallowing hard, Pikachu pointed forward. "(It started snowing see?)"

Looking into the outside world, Buneary watched the snow gently fall and made an amused sound.

"(Pretty.)" She whispered.

"(Yeah.)"

"(Wanna...get a little closer?)"

"(Yeah sure.)"

With that, they hopped off the table and walked closer to the window. In that moment, it seemed as if the golden glow of the obstructed sun was enveloping the both of them.

They continued to stand there in silent admiration. Staring out, Pikachu once again felt at ease although he couldn't deny that the same wondrously strange, powerful feeling deep down remained. He looked over at her and saw that she was entranced by the view. His heart twisting in knots, he leaned over to gently hold her paw but as soon as he did, a sudden electrifying feeling shot through him, causing his fingers to tingle before it went up his arm and gathered in his chest. Taking it all in, he waited to see her look back at him. When they made eye contact, he gave her a little smile.

"(S-So...that was some snowball fight huh?)" He nervously laughed.

Blinking, she grinned back at him. "(Yeah! We worked really well together if I say so myself!)" She remarked, nudging his arm.

Rolling his eyes, Pikachu looked off to the side. "(Heh, yeah. Before I got taken out...)"

"(Well, you did save me! So there's that!)" She giggled.

Pikachu laughed back. "(Yeah. A-And that was really awesome what you did back there Bun. Taking everyone else out and winning the game I mean!)" He beamed, reliving that incredible moment of her twirling in midair and throwing projectiles every which way.

"(Hee~! Well someone had to avenge your horrible death!)" Buneary said with a proud shrug.

"(And Pachirisu...)" He said, trailing off before she looked at him.

"(Hmm? What about him?)" She asked, tilting her head.

He looked back at her and gave a warm smile. "(You just handled things so great. I know if it was Piplup or anybody else, they would've pelted the poor kid into oblivion! But you...you didn't.)"

She continued to look at him before rubbing the back of her head. "(Well...yeah I guess. I mean, it was only a game right? No need to take it too far.)"

Pikachu closed his eyes and nodded his head. "(Heh. It's no wonder then...)"

"(Wonder what?)" She asked.

He looked back at her. "(...It's no wonder why he looks up to you.)"

She jerked her head back a little, those words echoing through her head. "(M-Me? He looks up to me?)"

Pikachu gazed at her rather proudly. "(Don't tell anyone I said this, but he hasn't been able to stop talking about how awesome you are. I mean, about everything! Contests, battles, fashion, taking care of everyone. He really admires you Bun. All of them do. Happiny, Piplup, Mamoswine. You're the one they look to when things get tough.)"

She was at a complete loss for words. Her? She was the one they look up to? As...as a...leader?

"(I-I...)" She stuttered, scratching the back of her ear.

"(And you know what Bun?)" Pikachu gently asked.

She looked back to him. "(Wh-What's that?)"

Pikachu's smile widened. "(I do too!)"

She stared into his admiring eyes, unable to stop a massive blush appearing on her face.

"(Y-You...I...I mean...you think I'm...ohh!)" She managed to say before quickly turning around and pulling her fluff up to her face.

Laughing a little, Pikachu gently placed his paw on her shoulder and turned her to face him again. Her face still in her fluff, he put his paw on her cheek.

"(It's true Bun. I absolutely adore you. In fact...)" He said as he placed his paw under her chin and slowly lifted her now completely reddened face out of her fluff to look him in the eyes. "(I admire you!)"

"(Pika...)" Buneary whispered, her eyes beginning to well up. "(Thank you...thank you so much. I feel the same...)" She said before suddenly burying her face into his chest and holding him close.

His heart beating faster than ever, he rubbed her back and rested his cheek atop her head. They stayed like that for what felt like a long while as the snow continued to fall.

"(Hey.)" He gently said into her ear.

"(Hey.)" She replied, her face still in his chest.

"(I like you.)"

"(I like you more.)"

"(I like you most.)"

"(Liar~)" She giggled before breaking the hug and looking at him, their faces both crimson.

Without saying another word, they gently locked lips and as they did, the sundogs began to glow in the cloudy, golden sky.


Author's Notes:

Anybody call for a steamy, piping-hot plate of character development?! Well here ya go!

Ooh boy, a new experience for our favorite mouse, wonder if or when this will lead to things?

Two more chapters until we finish Act II, hang tight!

Until then, catch you next time!