Author's note: Hiya! It is the return of the gift that is gracious!

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Seven: Worries

Pikachu and Buneary spent most of their date wandering around, paw-in-paw, and observing the beauty of nature. The way the sun shone through the trees, casting golden shapes on the bushes. The way the tulips' many colours would sway to and fro in the breeze. The way the butterfree and beautifly would circle around each other in a rhythmic aerial dance. The way the starly would sing pleasant melodies from the tree tops. It was lovely.

For the entire date however, Pikachu found it impossible to look Buneary in the eyes. Every time he tried, his heart would do that weird flip-flopping motion and freak him out, causing him to look away again. At least now he understood what the flip-flopping meant...

Now that he was aware of his feelings, just what was he supposed to do?!

Well, Buneary had feelings for him, too, right? She'd basically confessed to him, and that was why she'd agreed to date him in the first place. So, the logical solution would be to tell her, right? After all, it would make her happy, right? To know that her crush was returned?

He glanced at her. When their gazes locked, he quickly looked away again. Oh, legends, how was he going to go about this?!

His heart was pounding in his ribcage, both from excitement and sheer panic. He'd never been good with his feelings, so the thought of confessing to someone? Even someone who was his girlfriend and who very obviously liked him back? His nerves were frayed.

"(You okay, Pikachu?)" Buneary asked.

"(Yep! I'm fine!)" he replied, still not looking at her.

"(Are you sure?)"

"(Yep! Never better.)"

"(... Okay then.)"

As the afternoon wore on, Pikachu began to grow frustrated with himself. He wanted to say something - needed to say something - but his own cowardice was holding him back.

Buneary deserved to know this, didn't she? After all, she'd been patient with him. Waiting for him to return her feelings, for several months now. Ash had already gotten seven badges, and Dawn had gotten four ribbons.

He'd given her a chance, with no promise that he would return her feelings, and she'd gone along with it.

He frowned in determination to himself. Yes, she deserved to know.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to his girlfriend, who was staring out at the surrounding fields.

"(Buneary?)" he asked.

She turned to him curiously. "(Yes, Pikachu?)" she replied.

"(There's... something we need to talk about.)"

Her eyes widened slightly. "(Oh? And... what's that?)"

As he looked into her brown eyes, his courage started to fail him. "(Well...)"

She put one paw to her mouth, the other still holding his. "(Pikachu?)"

His mouth moved, but no sound came out. Now he just felt like a beached magikarp, flapping his gums uselessly.

"(... Pikachu?)"

He closed his eyes for a moment, composing himself. He couldn't back out now! He had to say what he needed to say.

He opened his eyes again. "(Buneary.)"

"(Y-Yeah?)"

"(We need to talk about... us...)"

Her eyes widened again. There was a pause. "(O-Oh?)"

"(Yeah.)"

"(Wh... What about us?)"

His nerve began faltering again. "(Well...)" His heart was twisting painfully in his chest, and breathing was suddenly becoming difficult. "(It's about our relationship...)"

"(... Oh...)"

"(Yeah... you and me and... us...)" His confidence was slowly beginning to return now. "(And about how we're dating.)"

"(I... see...)"

"(Yeah.)" He paused a moment. "(Dating you has been... really fun, Buneary. I'm glad I tried it out.)"

Buneary looked away, scuffing her foot on the ground. "(That's good...)"

"(I had no idea what having a girlfriend was like...)" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "(It was certainly an experience.)"

"(Heh...)"

"(And... well... I said I'd give you an answer, didn't I?)" He lowered his arm. "(Well, I... have an answer now.)"

"(... I understand.)"

He blinked, not expecting that response. "(... Huh? You do?)"

"(Yeah...)"

He smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. It suddenly felt like there was a huge weight off his shoulders.

"(Oh, well, great!)" He chuckled awkwardly. "(Sorry... I'm really bad with words and I was a nervous wreck for a minute there! But I'm glad you understand.)"

"(Yeah...)" She slowly pulled her paw away from his.

He blinked again, confused by this action. "(Huh?)"

She turned away. "(It's okay...)"

Now he felt concerned. "(Buneary?)"

She was silent for a few moments.

He edged forward slightly. "(Are you okay?)"

"(Yeah...)"

It was then that he noticed how moist her eyes were.

His own eyes widened. "(Are... are you crying?)"

She sniffled, quickly wiping her eyes. "(I'm... alright.)"

Wow. But why would she be crying? Unless she was just that happy? Surely, that had to be it.

He smiled slightly, reaching a paw towards her. She moved away from it, causing his smile to drop.

She refused to look at him. "(Well... this is it then...)"

"(Huh?)"

"(Thanks for... giving me a chance...)" She swallowed hard.

"(Uh, yeah! No problem...)"

"(Well, I... guess I'd better be getting back to the others.)" Her voice suddenly cracked at the end.

His ears drooped. Something certainly felt off here. "(Well, okay then...)"

"(S-See you later...)" She quickly hopped away, back towards camp.

As he watched her retreating form, he couldn't help but ponder her reaction. He'd assumed she was happy about his confession. That she was just overwhelmed at the thought of her feelings being returned.

... So, why hadn't it looked like she was happy?

... Unless she wasn't happy.

No. Surely, that couldn't be it. She liked him, didn't she? So, why wouldn't she be happy about his confession? It didn't make any sense.

... Unless she didn't like him anymore. Perhaps she'd changed her mind in the last few days and hadn't wanted him to like her like that?

No. Surely, that couldn't be it, either. It hadn't been that long ago when she'd poured her heart out to him. Told him all the reasons why she liked him. Surely, she couldn't have changed her mind that quickly.

So, what else could be the reason?

... Unless she'd misinterpreted something he'd said. He supposed that was a possibility. He racked his brain, trying to figure out what he might have said.

Well, in all fairness, he hadn't actually said that he liked her, had he? But she'd said that she understood, so it was okay, right?

... But what if she hadn't?

Frowning to himself, he decided that he needed to talk to her again. Whatever was going on, he needed to figure it out.

Slowly, he began his walk back to camp.

As Pikachu emerged from the bushes into the area where the others were, he immediately halted in his tracks. In the distance, he could see Piplup, Pachirisu and Buizel, all crowded around Buneary. Piplup appeared to be hugging her, while Pachirisu and Buizel appeared to be patting her on the back.

Suddenly, he saw her shake. His heart stopped in his chest. Oh no. Was she sobbing?!

His heart now racing in panic mode, he got on all four paws and ran towards them.

"(Buneary!)" he cried.

Everyone present turned to him. Both Buneary and Piplup's faces were soaked from their own tears. Buneary immediately tried to wipe hers away.

Pikachu skidded to a stop before the crowd of four. "(Are you okay?!)"

Piplup pulled away from Buneary. "(Pikachu, how could you?!)" he cried, looking heartbroken.

Pikachu jolted. "(Wh-Wha-?)"

"(Now, Piplup...)" Buizel said, putting a paw on the penguin, "(as sad as this is, we have to be fair to him.)"

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

"(He did hold up his end of the bargain, remember?)"

"(Yeah,)" Pachirisu agreed sadly. "(He gave her a chance, just like you asked him to.)"

Piplup spun to look at him. "(But-!)" he cried.

"(Yeah...)" Buneary agreed, sniffling, "(and we can't ask much more of him than that, can we?)"

Piplup gave her a sad glance. After a moment, he sighed. "(Yeah, I guess not...)"

"(What's-?)" Pikachu began, utterly confused.

They all turned to him again.

"(Well, I'm glad you tried it out, Pikachu,)" Buizel said.

"(Yeah...)" Pachirisu agreed. He sighed. "(My poor shipping, though...)"

Buizel shot the squirrel a sympathetic glance.

Pikachu was still so very confused. "(Wait, what are you-?)" he asked.

"(Pikachu,)" Buneary said, giving the mouse a slight smile. "(Thanks again for... giving me a chance...)" She hiccupped slightly.

"(Uh... no problem, but...)"

"(And I... I promise not to flirt with you anymore...)"

His breath caught in his throat at this comment. "(You... won't?)"

She shook her head. "(Mm-mm.)"

He stared at her in shock, not understanding. "(But...)"

"(I just hope we can still be friends...)"

He felt his heart cave in beneath his ribcage. "(You're... dumping me?)"

Piplup, Pachirisu and Buizel all fell to the floor. After a moment, they jumped back to their feet, looking exasperated.

"(What do you mean?!)" Piplup cried in fury. "(You're dumping her!)"

He blinked. "(Wait, what? No, I'm not!)"

"(Yes, you are! Man, I knew you were dense, but forgetting you dumped your freaking girlfriend?!)"

"(I didn't dump her!)"

Buizel huffed. "(She came hopping over to us in tears, because you'd broken up with her,)" he explained.

Pikachu looked between the four faces in panicked distress. "(But I didn't!)"

Buneary blinked. "(Is... that not what you were trying to say?)" she asked.

"(No! I... You thought I was...?)"

He felt his world crash around him. She thought he'd dumped her? Had his wording really been that bad that she'd thought a confession was a break-up?

He slowly lifted himself onto his feet, staring at the ground in horror. Wow. He'd really done it this time, hadn't he?

He looked up at her, desperation likely showing in his eyes.

"(I... I...)"

They all tilted their heads at him.

"(... Pikachu?)" Buneary asked.

"(I... I'm so sorry... I'm... really bad with words, Buneary and I...)" His ears drooped. "(I wasn't dumping you! What I was trying to say was that...)"

He paused as he glanced around. Everyone in the group was staring at him. He was suddenly starting to lose his nerve.

"(What's wrong?)" Piplup asked.

"(I... I...)"

Could he really say this with everyone watching? Or should he ask to speak to Buneary in private? He looked over at her again, seeing the way her curious brown eyes watched him.

... No. He'd already made enough of a mess, as it was. He had to fix it. Right here and now.

He took a deep breath. "(... My... My wording may have been terrible... I admit that... but... what I was... trying to say was that...)" He paused a long moment, gathering his courage. "(... I like you.)"

Buneary's eyes widened.

Feeling more courageous, he tried again, much louder. "(I really like you!)"

Everyone stared, wide-eyed, at him.

"(R... Really?)" Buneary asked meekly.

It was only now that he realised how hard his heart was pounding. "(Y-Yeah. I don't wanna break-up. I... I want us to keep dating and... being together, because... I like you...)" Suddenly, he felt his face explode in heat. "(A lot.)"

Trying to ignore how embarrassing this was, he watched for her reaction.

"(Oh, halleluiah!)" Piplup cried, throwing his flippers in the air happily.

"(Wow,)" Buizel said, smirking and folding his arms. "(Well, I'll be darned.)"

"(Huzzah!)" Pachirisu cried, jumping for joy. "(My shipping! It lives!)"

Buneary continued to stare for a few moments longer. Then her eyes started watering.

Pikachu began to panic. "(Oh no, Buneary!)" he cried. "(I'm sorry, did I do something wrong again?!)"

She broke out into fresh sobs, holding her paws to her face. Panicking, Piplup quickly moved over and hugged her.

Pikachu felt awful. Twice, in one day, he'd made her cry. It was making his insides twist into painful knots, and he was sure he was going to start crying, himself, if it continued.

"(I'm...)" Buneary said through her sobs and hiccups, "(so happy!)"

He blinked. Happy? She was happy?

He took a tentative step forward. "(B-Buneary?)"

Pulling away from Piplup slightly, she smiled at Pikachu, her face stained with tears, but her eyes shining.

After a few moments, she let go of the penguin and rushed towards Pikachu, tackling him into a hug and sobbing against his shoulder.

"(I'm so happy...)"

Concerned, he gently hugged her back.

"(Hey, guys!)" Sudowoodo suddenly called out.

"(Hi!)" Happiny said.

Pikachu looked up to see Sudowoodo being carried over, one-handed, by Happiny. It would have been an amusing sight, if not for the current predicament.

Sudowoodo was gently placed on the ground. "(Is Buneary feeling better?)"

"(Yeah,)" Buizel replied, "(I think she's okay now.)"

Sudowoodo smiled, saluting. "(Oh, that's good!)"

"(Yay!)" Happiny cried in joy.

"(... So, Buneary...)" Pikachu said slowly.

She looked up at him. "(Mmm?)" she asked.

"(Um... are we still... you know...?)" He looked away in embarrassment and shame.

She gave a light giggle. "(Only if you want to.)"

"(Of course I do...)"

She made a happy noise, nuzzling against him. "(Then yes~)"

He couldn't help but smile in response.

... As far as being a good boyfriend went, though, he clearly had quite a way to go...