Author's note: Hey, all!
Hmm, maybe this fic'll be a bit longer than I thought. Still not massively long, though.
If you like fluff, though, that shouldn't be a problem, right? :D
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Remember: reviews creates friendship rainbows! Spread the reviews to spread the friendship!
Chapter Three: Chances
There was a long pause. The air was thick with tension as Buneary stared at Pikachu, her eyes wide and her mouth gradually getting wider. The longer Pikachu waited for a response, the more nervous he became.
"(Um...)" he said, shuffling awkwardly, "(so...)"
"(You...)" she replied, "(wanna... date me?)"
"(... Y-Yeah?)"
"(Really?)"
"(Yeah.)"
There was another pause. Then Buneary squealed and tackled him in a hug. Yelping, he almost fell over from the impact.
"(Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, yes, I'd love to date you, yessss!)"
"(Ack! Okay... well... Ack!)" He tried to steady himself.
"(I can't believe this is finally happening!)"
"(Yeah, well... I... Ack!)"
"(I'm so happy...)"
"(Yeah, well... Ack!)" He finally lost his balance and fell over. Buneary landed next to him on the grass, giggling to herself. Her arms remained loosely wrapped around him.
Pikachu took a deep breath to calm himself. "(Well... like I said, I don't... really know how I feel yet, but...)"
"(Oh, that's okay!)" Buneary glanced shyly down at the grass. "(You're giving me a chance, at least.)"
"(Y-Yeah...)"
He couldn't help but stare at the intense affection in her gaze. She really liked him, didn't she? Possibly more than he'd thought...
Her voice softened immensely. "(... Thanks for giving me a chance.)"
"(Oh, no problem...)" There was a pause. "(Uh, so...)"
She looked up at him. "(Hmm?)"
Oh, great. He had no idea where to go from here. "(Um...)" He smiled awkwardly. "(So, what do we do now?)"
She giggled at him. "(Well, why don't we go back for now? People will start to wonder where we are.)"
His smile became more relaxed. "(Yeah, you're right.)" He stood up, causing her arms to slide off him. He held out a paw. "(Come on.)"
She beamed, placing her paw in his. He gently pulled her to her feet. As they walked back to camp together, he felt her press into his side.
His heart did several somersaults in his chest as he realised that, oh lord, he had a girlfriend now.
Well, this would take some getting used to...
As Pikachu and Buneary arrived back at the campsite, the humans all looked in their direction in surprise. After a moment, they wore relieved smiles.
"Oh, there you guys are!" Ash said.
"We were worried for a minute there!" Dawn said. "Though I guess there was no need, huh?"
"(Yeah, we're fine!)" Pikachu replied, turning to smile softly at Buneary, who was still nuzzled into his side.
"(Mmm-hmm~)" the rabbit agreed happily.
"Wait a minute..." Brock said slowly. "Something feels different here..."
"What do you mean, Brock?" Dawn asked curiously.
"(Huh?)" Pikachu asked, looking up.
Brock put a hand on his chin in thought. "Normally, Pikachu would look flustered around Buneary..." he replied, "but he looks strangely comfortable right now..."
Dawn looked over at them. "Oh?" she asked.
"You think so?" Ash asked, also looking over.
Pikachu blanched. Good lord, Brock was observant...
"(Hey, he's right...)" Buizel said, edging over with a smirk on his face. "(You do look awfully cosy...)" He chuckled. "(You two dating, or something?)"
Pikachu felt heat rise to his face. "(Um...)" he replied.
Pachirisu skipped over. "(Hey, yeah!)" he said happily. "(You look like a cutesy-wutesy couple right now!)"
"(W-Well...)" Pikachu replied awkwardly.
There was a pause as they waited for him to deny it.
"(... Wait, you're not, are you?)" Buizel asked, looking surprised.
"(Uh...)" Pikachu's blush darkened.
"(Hee~!)" Buneary said happily.
Buizel's eyes widened. "(... Holy crud, you are, aren't you?)" he asked.
"(What?)" Pachirisu asked, his smile widening. "(For realsies?!)"
Embarrassed, Pikachu looked at the floor. "(Uh...)" he replied, "(y-yeah...)"
"(Ha, no way!)" Buizel said.
"(Oh, wow!)" Pachirisu cried.
"(... It's about time,)" Croagunk suddenly said.
Pikachu jumped in shock and turned to the frog. Where did he come from?
"(So, you finally bucked up and asked him out, eh, Buneary?)" Buizel asked.
"(Actually, no!)" Buneary replied happily. "(He asked me out!)"
They all stared at Pikachu. The mouse shuffled uncomfortably.
Buizel blinked. "(... Really?)"
"(Yep! Well, sort of, anyway. He's willing to give me a chance!)"
"(Aww, that's so cute!)" Pachirisu said, paws to his chin in glee.
"(Atta boy, Pikachu!)" Piplup called out. "(Following my awesome advice!)"
Buizel glanced in the penguin's direction. "(So, this was your doing?)" he asked.
"(Darn right it was!)"
"(Well, congratulations, you two!)" Pachirisu said.
Suddenly, there came an influx of pokémon voices.
"(They're dating?)" Monferno asked.
"(Really?)" Grotle added.
"(He actually asked her out?!)" Staraptor asked.
"(No way!)" Gliscor cried.
"(How cool!)" Sudowoodo cried.
"(Cute!)" Happiny called out.
"(Neat,)" Mamoswine said.
Buizel turned back to the new couple, smiling. "(Yeah, congrats, you two,)" he said. "(Never thought you had it in ya, Pikachu.)"
Pikachu chuckled sheepishly. "(Thanks...)" he replied.
Suddenly, he felt his paw being gripped tighter. Glancing to the side, he noticed Buneary beaming at him. Face still red, he smiled back at her.
"I knew it!" Brock cried, making everyone jump.
Pikachu glanced at him to see him clenching his fist, a strange fire in his eyes.
"What's going on?" Ash asked curiously.
Dawn paused. After a moment, her eyes widened. "Wait..." she said, "are they dating now?"
This caused Brock to explode with emotion. "Yes!" he replied. "Pikachu has finally returned Buneary's feelings of love!"
"(W-Well, that might be going a bit far...)" Pikachu said with an awkward smile.
"They are in the springtime of their youth! Which is where I wish to be, with either Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny!"
"Or any other pretty girl that comes along..." Dawn said with a wry smile.
Ignoring him, Ash blinked at Pikachu. "You're dating now, buddy?" he asked.
Pikachu chuckled awkwardly. "(Yeah...)" he replied.
Piplup waddled up to the group. "(And, to think...)" he said, shrugging, "(not long ago, he didn't even know she liked him.)"
"(Pfft!)" Buizel said, holding back a laugh. "(What, really?)"
Pachirisu giggled to himself. "(Wooow!)" he said. "(Talk about being a dopey-dope!)"
"(Hey...)" Pikachu said in dismay, his ears drooping slightly.
"(You seriously didn't know?)" Buizel asked.
"(But we always said it!)" Pachirisu said. "(Like, over and over and over again!)"
"(Well, yeah, I know, but...)" Pikachu replied, "(I wanted to be sure...)"
"(It was the most obvious thing ever, but okay...)" Buizel said, shrugging comedically.
"Aww, that's so cute~" Dawn said.
Brock was still clenching a fist, his gaze intense.
Ash continued to stare at Pikachu. "... This isn't gonna get in the way of training, is it?" he asked. Dawn lightly elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey!" He grinned. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" He turned to smile at Pikachu. "Congrats on your new girlfriend, buddy."
Pikachu smiled back. "(Thanks, Ash!)" he replied.
As embarrassing as all the attention was, it was nice having such supportive friends.
Dawn glanced at the sky. "Wow, it's sure getting dark out..." she said.
This snapped Brock out of his trance. He stood up straight. "That's right," he replied. "We should probably get some sleep for tomorrow."
Ash pulled out his pokéballs. "Alright, guys!" he said. "Return!"
Dawn and Brock followed suit. "Return!" Dawn said.
"Return!" Brock said.
This continued until only Pikachu, Buneary and Piplup remained. Dawn lifted the pokéball to recall Buneary, but paused.
The rabbit locked gazes with her trainer, an unspoken conversation passing between them.
After a moment, the rabbit smiled. "(One sec!)" she said. She turned to Pikachu.
Pikachu looked at her in confusion. "(Hmm?)" he asked. "(What's-?)"
Before he could continue, she licked him on the cheek. His eyes widened at the surprise contact and all the blood rushed straight to his face.
"Awwww, that's so cute~!" Dawn cried.
Ash gave a grin that was halfway between amused and exasperated. Tears streamed down Brock's face and Piplup looked very proud of himself.
"(G'night, Pikachu~!)" Buneary said.
"(Yeah...)" Pikachu replied, feeling dazed, "(g'night...)"
Smiling, she let go of his paw and hopped forward. "(I'm ready now!)"
"Alright, then," Dawn replied. "Buneary, return!"
The rabbit disappeared in a flash of red light. Pikachu continued to stare at nothing.
That night, as the humans slept soundly in their sleeping bags, Pikachu lay awake on the grass at Ash's side. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to drift off.
He had a girlfriend... He could hardly believe it. It was still so surreal.
Grazing his fingers across his cheek, he recalled the lick from earlier. Well, he couldn't deny that it had been pleasant. Nice, even.
He still had no idea what made him so special, but it did feel nice to be appreciated. In a more-than-friendly kind of way.
Rolling over onto his back, he rested his head on his arms and stared at the sky. It was a beautiful, clear night, and the stars were twinkling bright against the dark backdrop.
... Just what was a guy supposed to do once he got a girlfriend, anyway? He had absolutely no idea.
How was he supposed to know if it was working out? How long would it take to find out? Would he even make a good boyfriend? He couldn't answer any of these questions...
He glanced sideways, only just able to see Dawn's small yellow bag nearby. His girlfriend was sleeping in that bag. His adorable, fluffy girlfriend...
Shaking away his thoughts, he heaved a sigh and stared back at the sky. His thoughts were so jumbled at the moment, he could barely make sense of them. At least now he knew why Ash didn't concern himself with these kinds of feelings anymore. They were so very confusing...
He recalled the feeling of Buneary nuzzling against him. Tackling him in a hug. Thanking him for giving her a chance. Holding his paw in hers. Licking him on the cheek...
As he closed his eyes and rolled over, a tiny smile forced its way onto his mouth. Heh. That silly rabbit...