Author's note: Hey, guys! Did someone order fluff? *lorry backs into parking lot*

Fun fact! Some bits of this chapter are actually similar to a few parts of VGS2's fic, Game-Changer... though he said it's okay to use them, so awesome!

The perks of close relationships!

With that said, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Five: Questions

Several days passed since Pikachu's date under the stars. During that time, Ash, Dawn and Brock passed through a small town, stocked up on supplies and travelled into another forest.

Pikachu, however, continuously planned. After the last disaster, he was determined to make his next date with Buneary - as well as any dates that came after it - perfect.

Every time they stopped for a break, he scanned the location, making note of what there was to do and how much fun they were likely to have there. He also made plans for what to say - or, rather, what not to say - so as not to upset her again.

He considered having more dates at night, but figured it might be nice to have some during the day, as well. Besides the fact that the scenery would be more visible, it might help ease the memory of their first disastrous date.

Most days, however, were just too busy. Either Team Rocket would capture him, some random strangers would need help with something, or their trainers would spend the day training.

Soon enough, however, the pokémon were given a day off...

As a few of the pokémon were discussing what to do on this bright and sunny day, Pikachu shimmied over to his girlfriend's side.

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

She turned to him, also smiling. "(Yeah, Pikachu?)" she replied.

"(I was thinking... do you wanna, maybe... go on a date today?)"

Her eyes widened. "(A date?)"

"(Yeah!)" He hesitated. "(Unless you're busy, of course.)"

She beamed at him. "(No, I'd love to!)"

He beamed back. "(Great!)"

Piplup puffed out his cheeks nearby. "(Aww, but you said you were gonna play with us...)" he grumbled.

Pikachu blinked, glancing at him, then looking back at Buneary. He smiled sheepishly. "(Oh, sorry. You had other plans?)"

"(Well, yeah...)" Buneary replied. She turned to Piplup. "(But...)" She smiled. "(They just got cancelled.)" Giggling, she pulled down one eyelid and stuck out her tongue.

"(Heyyyy!)" Piplup cried, dancing around dramatically.

Pikachu couldn't help but laugh. "(Well, if you say so,)" he replied to Buneary.

With his paw clasped around Buneary's, Pikachu led her away from the campsite. Far enough for some privacy, but not enough to make anyone worried. Once he reached his desired destination, he pushed aside the nearest bush.

"(Well, here we are!)" he said, leading her through the shrubbery.

The area was grassy and dotted with buttercups. In front of them, crystal clear water ran along a stream, sparkling in the afternoon sun. Various wild pokémon flitted around on the other side of the stream, either resting, taking a drink, or eating from the nearby berry bushes.

Smiling widely, Buneary sat down. "(Wow, you picked a nice spot,)" she said.

Pikachu felt a swell of pride. "(Aheh, thanks,)" he replied, sitting down next to her.

For a short while, they sat in comfortable silence, admiring their surroundings and enjoying each other's company.

Eventually, Pikachu smiled sheepishly at Buneary. "(Heh, sorry for taking you away from your game.)"

She beamed back at him. "(Oh, don't worry! I'd much rather spend time with you.)" Pikachu felt warm inside from the comment. "(Besides, I'm sure Piplup can live without me for a day.)"

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "(Yeah, he can be a bit of a drama queen sometimes.)"

"(Sometimes? Try always.)" She giggled at her own joke.

He chuckled harder. "(Yeah, you're not wrong.)" Suddenly, he remembered the bush of berries nearby. "(Hey, do you like belue berries?)"

"(Probably. What flavour are they?)"

"(I think they're sour.)"

"(Yeah, I like sour.)"

"(Alright, cool.)" Standing up, Pikachu walked over to the bush and plucked off two belue berries. Carrying them back, he sat down and held one out to Buneary. "(Here you go.)"

She took it gratefully. "(Thanks.)"

As he chewed, Pikachu tasted a tinge of spice - which he normally didn't like - but it was fairly light. A moment later, he was hit by a biting sour flavour. He cringed heavily as it assaulted his taste buds.

"(Whoa...)"

Buneary laughed. "(Wow, that's sour!)"

He gave an exasperated smile. "(No kidding...)"

"(A little bit spicy, too. I kinda like it, though!)"

She bit into it again, cringing heavily and pulling a very strange face, her mouth twisting in all directions. It looked so ridiculous that Pikachu burst out laughing.

Buneary puffed out her cheeks in mock annoyance. "(Heyyy...)"

Pikachu tried to restrain his laughter. "(S-Sorry... It just looked really funny.)"

"(Hmph.)"

He bit into his own berry and cringed heavily. It was quite nice, but, good lord, was it ever hard to eat.

Jeez, it was no wonder Aipom had pulled that face, back during the Battle Frontier, when she'd ate one of these.

"(Pfft!)" Buneary suddenly said.

"(Hmm?)"

He looked up at her to see her covering her mouth. After a moment, she burst out laughing.

"(You're right, it is funny!)"

He frowned in mock annoyance. "(Heyyy...)

When she continued to giggle at him, he couldn't help but chuckle along with her.

Buneary was so much fun to be around. It wasn't as if he didn't enjoy hanging out with his other friends, though. He just didn't remember a time he'd gotten along so well with a pokémon. His closest friend - not including Ash, of course - was probably Piplup, but he certainly couldn't have this much fun with him. Normally, the penguin would be much too busy inflating his own ego. Whenever Pikachu was with Buneary, however, they'd be quite content just enjoying each other's company.

Any other friends he'd made in the past - whether from Kanto, the Orange Islands, Johto, Hoenn - just didn't compare, either. Sure, he'd liked them all, but it was different somehow. He hadn't clicked with them nearly as well.

He smiled. He supposed having Buneary as a girlfriend wasn't all that bad.

... Now that he thought about it, though, the rabbit had always made a special effort to hang out with him, hadn't she? Oftentimes avoiding the other pokémon altogether. Well, once she'd gotten over her shyness, anyway. It had been a while before she'd stopped hiding behind her fluff around him.

Regardless, she seemed to have done it for a very long time. Since they'd met, in fact...

"(... Hey, Buneary?)"

"(Hmm?)"

"(Can I ask you something?)"

"(Sure, go ahead!)"

"(Well...)" He hesitated, embarrassed. "(How long have you liked me for?)"

Buneary paused, her eyes widening. "(Huh?)"

"(Well, you've had... feelings for me for a while now, right? So... when did it start?)"

"(... Oh... well...)" She looked down at her berry, fidgeting with it. "(Since... we met?)"

Pikachu blinked. "(That long?)" Slowly, Buneary nodded her head, still not looking at him. "(Huh... and... why was that?)"

"(... 'Cause you were cool.)"

"(Huh? But I don't remember doing anything cool that day...)" Pikachu cast his mind back, trying to remember. "(Hmm... all I did before we met was nearly get run over...)"

"(Heh, yeah...)"

"(Hmm... before that, I was trying to catch Aipom...)"

"(And, before that, you caught a potato.)"

Pikachu snapped to attention. "(Huh?)"

"(I saw you catch the potato that Croagunk threw.)"

"(You did?)"

"(Mmm-hmm.)" She suddenly brightened, looking up at him. "(You jumped off Ash's shoulder, caught it in mid-air... then did three somersaults and landed on your feet.)" Her eyes sparkled.

He chuckled sheepishly. "(Oh yeah... I guess I felt like showing off, for some reason. I didn't think anyone was watching, though...)"

Buneary giggled. "(Well, I was!)"

"(Heh... well, I guess that explains a lot.)"

He'd always assumed that Buneary had merely been passing by that day. That she'd saved him out of the goodness of her heart. He'd always thought it was strange that a random wild pokémon would do that, but he certainly hadn't complained.

He paused as he realised something. "(Wait. So, catching a potato is what made you like me?)"

Buneary blushed, looking back down at her berry. "(Well, no... Well...)"

"(Hmm?)"

She paused. After a few moments, she laughed awkwardly. "(I guess it's pretty silly, huh?)

He chuckled. "(A little, but hey. So long as that's not the only reason you like me...)"

Buneary's head snapped up in shock. "(Oh, no, of course not! You're amazing! You're nice and sweet and cool and modest and just...)" She looked down bashfully. "(Just all around wonderful...)"

He blinked at her, his face suddenly feeling much warmer. "(Oh...)" He paused a moment. "(Really?)"

"(Yeah...)"

Wow. Nice? Sweet? Cool?

... Wonderful?

She really thought all that about him? That was a little overwhelming, honestly... Nice, but overwhelming.

Was he even deserving of such praise? He hadn't been aware he was anything special, but Buneary's words would suggest otherwise...

It was a strange feeling he was experiencing right now, his heart twisting into knots the way it was. No one had ever paid him such compliments before. Then again, no one had ever crushed on him before, either, had they? Not to his knowledge, anyway.

Then again, Buneary had apparently crushed on him for months and he'd never noticed... Well, that wasn't completely true. He just hadn't believed anyone who'd told him she liked him. He'd had trouble understanding why anyone would, honestly.

That brought him back to the thought of no one crushing on him before. Well, at least he assumed they hadn't. When Buneary had started crushing on him, the other pokémon had been only too happy to tease him about it. Since they'd never done it before - in any of the regions with any of the teams - he could only guess that she was the only one who'd ever felt that way.

... Just what did she see in him that nobody else did? Exactly what made him so special in her eyes?

Then again, what had Piplup seen in that marill? Or Corphish in that mawile? Or Sceptile in that meganium? Or Totodile in that azumarill and quagsire? Or Brock in pretty much every girl he met?

"(Well... thanks,)" he said with a soft smile.

"(No problem,)" she replied with an equally soft smile.

"(... Heh... I do have to wonder why no one else thought that.)"

She looked up at him. "(Huh?)"

He gave her an embarrassed smile. "(Well, you know... no one else has ever liked me the way you do...)"

She blinked at him. "(Oh, really?)"

"(Yeah...)" He paused. His smile dipped slightly. "(I'm sorry I didn't notice for the longest time. Your feelings, I mean. Heh, I'm kind of an idiot, I guess.)"

She gave a light giggle. "(No, you're not!)" She paused. "(Well, maybe a little~)"

He mock-frowned at her. "(Heyyy...)"

She giggled again. After a moment, she smiled at him. "(It's okay, though. Even if you don't... return my feelings... I'm glad you gave me a chance.)"

Somehow, his heart stung a little at that comment. "(Heh...)"

"(... As for those other pokémon, they really don't know what they're missing.)"

He blinked at her. "(Huh?)"

"(Yeah! If they're not crushing on you...)" She bashfully smiled down at her berry. "(Then they clearly can't see how amazing you are...)"

"(O-Oh yeah?)"

"(Mmm-hmm...)"

Oh, gosh. He could almost swear there was a strange warmth spreading out from his heart.

"(You... really like me, don't you, Buneary?)"

Buneary's face reddened. Still not meeting his gaze, she nodded. "(Mmm-hmm...)"

His own face reddening, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "(I've no idea why, but... thanks.)"

Buneary fidgeted with her berry, saying nothing for a few moments.

Eventually, when she spoke again, her voice was meek. "(Well... you're really cool... and nice...)" She paused. "(You...)

"(Hmm?)"

"(It's... difficult to put into words...)"

"(Oh.)"

After thinking it over for another few moments, she continued. "(You're nice... and sweet... You... rescued me when we met, remember?)"

"(Oh yeah, from Team Rocket?)"

"(Yeah.)" She smiled softly. "(You didn't have to, but you did anyway...)"

He chuckled bashfully. "(Yeah, well... you didn't have to rescue me, either, but you did anyway...)"

"(Heh...)" Her smile dipped slightly. "(Well, I couldn't let you get hurt...)"

"(Thanks... and I couldn't let you get pokénapped.)"

Her light smile returned. "(Heh...)" She paused a moment. "(You could have waited for the humans to arrive, but you just... handed yourself over...)"

He laughed awkwardly. "(Yeahhh, well... I dunno. Normally, I wouldn't be so bold, but... something compelled me to do that, somehow...)"

Still smiling downwards, she continued to fidget with the berry in her paws.

After a moment, she continued. "(... You're really brave and strong... like, remember Roark's onix? You took him down, despite the type advantage.)"

"(Yeah, well... only on the second try... and not easily, at that.)"

"(True... but you still did it with no fear at all.)"

"(Well, yeah... but that's only 'cause I'm used to fighting onix... The first time I battled one, I was pretty darn scared.)"

She glanced up at him. "(Yeah?)"

"(Oh yeah! Those things can be terrifying, I tell ya!)"

She chuckled lightly. "(Yeah, I suppose so...)" She paused again, smiling distantly at a spot over his shoulder. "(You're always looking after other pokémon, too... Always breaking up fights...)"

He rubbed the back of his head. "(Well... I try, I guess. They don't always listen to me...)"

She turned to face him, still smiling. "(They should.)"

"(Yeah, well... you know how pokémon can get when they're riled up.)"

She giggled lightly. "(Yeah.)" She paused again. "(Well, either way, that's why I like you.)" She looked up at him with a smile. "(I honestly don't know why no one else can see it... but I'm not complaining!)" She smiled wider. "(Less competition, you know?)"

He felt heat rise to his face. "(Aheh...)"

"(Like I said, I'm glad you gave me a chance.)"

"(Well, I'm... glad you like me.)"

Buneary made a small squealing noise. "(Aww, you're so nice~)"

Pikachu looked down in embarrassment, smiling to himself. "(Aheh, well...)"

Suddenly, the bushes behind them parted. "(Hey! Lovebirds!)" Piplup called out.

Pikachu jumped a foot in the air. Annoyed, he scowled at the penguin. "(Piplup!)"

"(Sorry. Just thought I'd tell you that Brock's getting lunch ready.)"

Pikachu heaved a sigh. "(Alright, thanks...)"

Leaving the way he'd come, the penguin let the bushes fall back into place. There was silence for a few moments, then Buneary giggled.

"(Well, I guess we'd better get back to the group, then,)" she said.

Pikachu gave her a weary smile. "(Yeah, I guess so...)"

After a moment, her eyes widened slightly. "(Oh! We didn't even finish our berries!)"

He glanced down at the half-eaten berry in his paws. "(Oh yeah, we didn't.)"

After a moment of thought, Buneary shoved the rest of the berry into her mouth. She cringed harder than before. Trying to hold in his laughter at the ridiculous sight, Pikachu did the same.

When the two of them stopped cringing, Buneary beamed at him. "(We should definitely do this again, don't you think?)"

He observed her smile for a moment. That bright, happy smile that lit up her features whenever she was around him. The one that made her positively glow. The one that made her look rather... cute.

... Yeah, he supposed it really wasn't so bad having her as a girlfriend, after all.

He beamed back. "(Definitely!)"