Author's note: Hey, guys! I'm back with more fluff to spread on your sandwiches!

Hope you enjoy it!

Reviews make friendship rainbows!

(Reviews that are relevant to the chapter, of course. Otherwise, they make nega-rainbows...)

Chapter Two: Truths

Finally, after much hiking, the humans decided to settle down for the evening.

While Brock began chopping up the ingredients for a stew, Ash and Dawn kicked off their training with a battle. Choosing Buizel and Pachirisu, they stood several paces apart and launched their instructions.

As usual, Ash and Buizel fought with power and brute force, while Dawn and Pachirisu opted for the prettier, more flowery approach.

Pikachu watched in awe as the various attacks were flung across the battlefield. He always did love watching other pokémon battle. Not as much as he loved battling himself, but spectating did sometimes give him ideas for his own techniques.

In his excitement, his gaze wandered over to the other pokémon who were watching. When his eyes landed on Buneary, who was cheering for Pachirisu, he paused.

Of course. In all the excitement, he'd almost forgotten. He needed to find out, once and for all, where he stood with her.

When he felt his heart do a somersault, he looked away.

Instead, he focused his vision on the penguin nearby, who was also cheering for Pachirisu. Well, he supposed now was as good a time as any to ask. Normally, he wouldn't leave midway through one of Ash's battles, but he figured he'd be okay doing it, just this once.

He edged closer to the penguin in question. "(... Hey, Piplup?)" he asked.

Looking surprised at being addressed, Piplup spun his head in Pikachu's direction. "(Huh?)" he asked. "(Oh, hey.)"

"(Uh... can I talk to you for a minute?)"

Piplup gave him an incredulous look. "(... Right now?)"

"(Yeah... and... elsewhere, if that's okay.)"

Piplup quickly looked at the battlefield, then back at Pikachu. "(Uhhh... what about the battle?!)" He waved a flipper towards it in emphasis. "(I totally wanted to see Buizel get his butt kicked!)"

"(Yeah, m-maybe next time. This is... kind of important...)"

Piplup blinked. "(Oh. Well...)" He shrugged with a sigh. "(Alright, fine.)"

Quietly, and without attracting too much attention, Pikachu led Piplup away.

"(Alright, what was so important?)" Piplup asked impatiently, flippers on hips.

"(Well...)" Pikachu replied, glancing away.

"(Hmm?)"

"(... You know Buneary?)"

"(Yeah...?)"

Pikachu paused. It was now or never, he supposed. He took a deep breath. "(... Does she actually like me?)"

There was a pause. "(... Huh?)"

He looked at Piplup. The penguin seemed awfully confused by the question.

"(Does she like me? As in... like-like me?)"

Piplup stared at him for a long moment, looking dumbfounded. Then he burst out laughing.

"(Oh, you're a riot, Pikachu!)" He jumped forward and patted Pikachu on the back. "(I never took you to be such a comedian!)"

Pikachu stared. "(Uh...)"

Piplup looked him in the eyes, the amused expression frozen on his face. Then his eyes widened and he jumped back in shock. "(Oh, good lord, you're serious.)"

Pikachu frowned lightly. "(Hey, this is serious business! You're always saying that she does, but... does she really?)"

Piplup continued to stare at him. "(... Are... are you really that dense?)"

Pikachu's frown deepened. "(Heyyy!)"

"(No, seriously, are you? 'Cause you're pretty much all she talks about!)"

Pikachu was taken aback by this comment. "(R-Really?)"

"(Yeah! When she's not nuzzling you or cuddling you, it's always 'Pikachu this' and 'Pikachu that'! She never freaking shuts up about you!)" Piplup danced around in frustration. "(How can you have never noticed that?!)"

"(But... well...)"

Piplup stopped the dancing to look serious. "(That girl is completely smitten with you!)"

Pikachu blushed. "(But... are you sure?)"

"(What do mean 'Am I sure'?!)"

"(Well...)" Pikachu looked away, fidgeting. "(I mean, you guys are always teasing me about it...)" Taking another deep breath, he looked back at the penguin. "(But I'm asking you really seriously now... does she like me?)"

"(... Pikachu.)" Piplup stepped forward and placed his flippers on Pikachu's shoulders, looking him dead in the eyes. "(I would not joke about this. I am absolutely one-hundred percent sure that Buneary is crazy about you!)"

"(... Really?)"

"(Yes, really.)" Piplup stepped back and proudly smacked a flipper on his own chest. "(Trust me, she's a keeper.)"

Pikachu looked down at the grass, lost in thought.

There was a pause before Piplup continued. "(Buneary's like a sister to me, you know.)" Pikachu looked up at him. "(And you're like a brother.)" Pikachu's eyes widened in surprise. "(So, of course I wouldn't mess with either of you like that.)"

"(Oh...)"

There was another pause. Then Piplup started dancing around in frustration again. "(So, just ask her out already!)"

Snapping out of his trance, Pikachu's eyes widened. "(Wait, what?!)"

Piplup stopped dancing, once more wearing the serious face. "(You heard me! She really likes you, so just ask her out!)"

"(W-Well...)"

Piplup paused, looking alarmed. "(Unless... unless you don't actually like her that way?!)"

"(N-No, no! I mean... I don't really know how I... but then I...!)" Pikachu's face burned in embarrassment.

"(... Wait. You don't know?)"

"(... Not really.)"

"(Huh. Well...)" Piplup folded his flippers. "(Are you willing to give her a chance?)"

Oh, legends. "(W-Well... I... guess?)"

He'd brought this upon himself - he knew that - but he wasn't sure he could handle what direction the conversation was suddenly taking. It was all way too sudden.

"(Well, then, I stand by my original statement.)" The penguin began his frustrated dancing anew. "(Just freaking ask her out already!)"

"(B-But...)"

Piplup stopped dancing. "(Man, what I wouldn't give for a girl to be that crazy about me! Not just any girl, though...)" He went quiet for a moment as he glanced at the ground. Then his head snapped back up. "(Don't waste this chance! Even if, lord forbid, it doesn't work out, at least you'll have given her a chance!)"

... Well, Pikachu couldn't really fault that logic. Still, the thought of asking Buneary out...

Piplup put his flippers on his hips. "(Look. I see potential with you two. So, don't squander it, okay? I wanna see Buneary happy.)"

"(... Alright.)"

Piplup grinned. "(Good man!)" His gaze softened. "(I wish you all the best.)"

Pikachu smiled back. "(Thanks, Piplup.)"

The penguin suddenly looked quite smug. "(You made a good choice, coming to me!)"

Pikachu's smile turned exasperated. "(Yeah, yeah, I'll bet...)"

After a moment, both smiles became genuine again.

"(Good luck, Pikachu.)"

"(Thanks.)"

Piplup gave him an encouraging grin. "(Go get 'er, tiger!)"

Pikachu returned the grin. "(Yeah!)"

They exchanged a high-five.

Pikachu and Piplup quietly made their way back to the group, where Buizel and Pachirisu were just finishing up their practice battle. Most members of the group didn't even seem to have noticed their absence. As soon as Ash and Dawn caught sight of them, though, they were immediately called on for a practice battle of their own.

As Pikachu fired a few electric attacks and dodged a few sparkly water attacks, he couldn't help but notice that Buneary was cheering for him, rather than her own teammate.

He heart did a weird somersault at the thought.

A short while later, the humans and pokémon settled down to eat their dinner. As per usual, Buneary took the bowl next to Pikachu. As she picked up a pellet and nibbled on it, he silently observed her.

'She really likes you', Piplup had said. 'Give her a chance', he'd said. Well, he supposed he could do that...

As the rabbit beamed in his direction, he felt his heartbeat quicken.

Would it really be so bad if they dated? He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about her, but he certainly liked her a lot. He also couldn't deny that she was rather cute...

"(You did really well in the battle!)" Buneary said.

"(Huh?)" he replied, snapping out of a trance. "(Oh, uh, thanks...)"

Buneary blinked at him. "(You okay? You seem kinda quiet.)"

"(Yeah, I'm fine...)"

Looking down, he focused on nibbling his pellet, instead.

If she really did like him - like Piplup had kept insisting she did - then didn't she deserve to be given a chance?

"(... So, what were you and Piplup doing earlier?)"

He almost choked on the pellet. "(H-Huh?)"

"(Well, I saw you two sneak off during training. Were you talking, or something?)"

Pikachu's face burned. "(O-Oh, you saw that?)"

She giggled. "(Yeah. Can't get by me!)"

Chuckling sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his head. "(Yeah... we were talking about... something...)"

"(What were you talking about?)"

Panic began to set in. "(W-Well... uh...)"

She tilted her head curiously. "(Hmm?)"

"(Well...)" Lowering his paw, he fiddled with his pellet, avoiding her gaze.

"(... Is it a secret?)"

"(Well, no...)" He paused. "(I'll... tell you later. After dinner. I was kinda planning to, anyway...)"

Her tone brightened up. "(Oh, okay!)"

He glanced away, continuing to nibble on his pellet.

After dinner, the humans and pokémon resumed their training. This continued on until the sun dipped in the sky, at which point Brock decided to call a ceasefire. While the humans began to set up camp, Pikachu realised that now was his perfect chance to talk to Buneary, before she and the rest got returned to their pokéballs for the night.

He approached her. "(Hey, Buneary?)" he asked.

She turned to him with a smile. "(Oh, hey, Pikachu!)" she replied. "(What's up?)"

"(Well, uh... that thing I said I'd talk to you about...)"

"(Oh yeah?)"

"(Can we... talk about it elsewhere? In private?)"

She blinked in surprise. "(Oh... well, okay, sure.)"

Swallowing thickly, he led her away from the campsite.

Pikachu hadn't been sure where he'd been leading Buneary, but the moment they arrived at a secluded area, surrounded by bushes, he knew that it was the perfect place.

Stopping in his tracks, he turned to face her. Expression curious, she stopped opposite him.

"(So, uh...)" she said, "(what was this thing you wanted to talk about?)"

He faltered. "(Uh...)" he replied.

"(It must be pretty big for you to wanna tell me in secret...)"

"(Aheh, well, yeah...)" He glanced away awkwardly.

"(... What is it?)"

Oh, legends above, was he really about to do this? Just what was he getting into with this?

"(Uh...)"

Her tone quietened. "(... Is it bad news?)"

"(N-No, no... it's just...)" He rubbed his arm.

"(Is... something wrong with Piplup?)"

"(No...)"

"(Is something wrong with you?!)"

"(No...)"

"(... Then what is it?)"

He took a deep breath, steeling himself, then looked her in the eyes. "(Piplup... said you like me.)"

Her eyes widened, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "(O-Oh, he... did?)"

"(Yeah...)" He paused. "(He... was pretty confident about it. Is he right?)"

Her blush slowly grew darker. Suddenly, she yanked her fluff up to her face and hid behind it. "(W-Well...)" She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. "(Maybe...)"

Pikachu felt his own face heat up. Oh, good lord. Well, there was his answer, he supposed. His definitive proof. Buneary liked him. She, honest and truly, liked him. Romantically.

He felt his heart twist into warm knots at the revelation. Strangely, though, it wasn't painful. Instead, it felt... pleasant.

"(W-Well...)" He scratched his ear awkwardly. "(In that case...)"

She peeked over the top of her fluff. "(Hmm?)"

"(I mean, I don't really know how I... but then I... but then you...)" Good grief, he was bad at this.

The fact that he tended to stutter horribly when nervous was only making it worse...

"(... Hmm?)"

He took another deep breath. "(I'm willing to... give you a chance, if... if you like...)"

There was a pause as her eyes widened. "(R... Really?)" Gosh, her tone was so soft...

"(Yeah...)" He rubbed his arm again. It helped to calm his hammering heart, ever-so slightly. "(I mean... I'm not really good at this sort of thing and I don't... quite know how I feel yet, but... I'm willing to try...)"

The fluff dropped back down to Buneary's waist, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"('Cause dating you might be nice... I mean, I like you and think you're cool and stuff, so...)" He paused, gathering what little courage he had left. "(... What do you think?)"