Author's note: Heya, gang!
Wow, we're up to chapter 24 already, eh? You know, the most amount of chapters I ever wrote for a fic was 33. I wonder if I'll surpass that one day? I hope so. Maybe even with this fic, who knows?
Regardless, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Also, I'm posting this on my birthday! :D Drama for my birthday? Best present.
Chapter Twenty-four: Realisations
He'd ruined it. That's what he'd done.
He'd taken something fun and happy, and beautiful and wonderful... and he'd ruined it.
Pikachu continued to sob, his paws covering his face. He'd never wanted this. He'd never wanted to do something so horrible, and he'd never wanted to hurt her.
... Yet he had.
Why, why, why couldn't he have stayed loyal?! Every dream he'd had about the eevee... why couldn't they have been about Buneary, instead?! Why?! And then the eevee from yesterday... he knew he shouldn't have followed her, shouldn't have gone anywhere alone with her. Yet he had. They'd shared a special moment together under the stars.
... He was horrible. So very horrible. The look on her face before she'd left him, it'd been full of hurt. Full of betrayal.
A stab of pain went through him. He was the one who'd caused that hurt.
Digging his fingernails into his face, Pikachu sobbed harder.
He was scum.
Eventually, the sobs died down. Thoroughly worn out, Pikachu stared solemnly up at the sky, watching the clouds drift by.
He saw one that looked like a parasect. One that looked like a wurmple. One that kinda resembled a dragonite.
... Though pretty, they did nothing to improve his mood.
He heaved a sigh, his heart weighted down with sorrow and his head heavy with fatigue. He was so tired. So very, very tired.
Far too drained to sit up any longer, he chose to lie on his back, instead.
A while passed, but Pikachu still hadn't slept. He couldn't.
Instead, he'd continued staring at the clouds. Currently, he was staring intently at a large cloud, only partially wondering if it looked like anything. Honestly, he didn't really care anymore...
It was then that he suddenly heard footsteps. Fast ones. Clumsy ones. Ones getting louder. Closer. Intrigued, he turned his head, the soft grass brushing against his cheek.
In the distance, Piplup was running towards him. Partway, the penguin tripped and fell on his face. Undeterred, he stood up again and continued running.
Accepting his fate, Pikachu heaved a sigh and sat up, as his close friend approached.
"(Pikachu!)" Piplup cried, looking frantic. "(Pikachu!)"
"(Hi, Piplup...)" Pikachu replied tiredly.
Piplup skidded to a stop next to him. "(Is it true?! Please tell me it isn't truuuue!)"
Pikachu looked down at the grass in shame, but said nothing in response.
"(You...)" Piplup continued in disbelief. "(You...)"
Pikachu clenched his eyes shut.
Piplup's voice wavered. "(You and Buneary really broke up?)"
Pikachu opened his eyes, looking up at the penguin in surprise. "(... Huh?)" That wasn't what he'd expected him to say at all. "(Well... yeah...)"
"(What?! You did?!)" Piplup flailed around frantically. "(Why did you go and do thaaaat?!)"
"(... Did... she not tell you?)"
"(No! All she said was that it was 'for the best'! For the best, my butt!)" Tears started shining in the penguin's eyes. "(You two were really good for each other, and now this happened? What... what happened?!)"
The look on Piplup's face tore a new hole into Pikachu's heart. Not only had he upset Buneary, but now he was upsetting everyone else, too.
He looked back down at the grass, saying nothing.
"(... Well?!)" Piplup snapped impatiently.
Pikachu clenched his eyes shut. "(I... did something horrible, Piplup.)"
Piplup's tone went softer. Quieter. "(... What?)"
"(Yeah, I... I did something unforgivable and now... now...)"
"(Huh?)" There was a pause. "(... Buddy, what happened?)"
"(I ch... ch-cheated on Buneary!)"
There was a long stretch of silence. "(... Wait, what?!)"
Pikachu bowed his head lower, still not opening his eyes. "(Yeah...)"
There was another pause. "(... No. No, no, no, this can't be right! No, there's no way that's true!)"
"(It is, Piplup...)"
"(No! You're just messing up your wording again! You must be! There's no way you'd cheat on Buneary!)"
The words stung like acid. Oh, if only that was true...
Slowly, Pikachu cracked open his eyes and looked up at the penguin. "(N-No, Piplup... I... I did.)"
Piplup flailed around angrily. "(No, stop messing up your wordiiiing!)"
Pikachu shook his head. "(I'm not. I know I normally don't... you know... do the wording thing very well... but...)"
"(Yeah, see?! See?! You're just messing it up again! Like the last time you two broke up!)"
The last time. Back when he'd worded his confession poorly. Oh, he remembered, alright. However...
"(Yeah, but... this time, I know what I said... and I... meant what I said.)"
Piplup blinked at him. "(... Huh?)"
"(I cheated on Buneary! With Eevee!)" He crinkled his face in despair. "(The... the one from... you know, yesterday...)"
Piplup stared at him for a long moment, saying nothing.
Eventually, the penguin's eyes widened in horror. "(Oh, legends, you're serious...)"
Pikachu looked back down at the grass. "(Yeah... I am.)"
"(... Wh... Wh... H...)" Piplup started flailing again. "(How could you do that to Bunearyyyy?!)"
"(I... I don't know!)" Pikachu felt his eyes water again. "(It just happened, Piplup!)"
"(What do mean 'it just happened'?! Stuff like that doesn't 'just happen'!)"
"(I don't know!)" He grabbed his head, which felt like it was full of television static. "(I don't know... I didn't... I mean... It wasn't supposed to... Argh!)"
"(I can't believe you!)" Looking up, Pikachu could see that tears were pooling in his eyes. The penguin scowled at him. "(You... you... you barely knew that eevee! And... and you've known Buneary for... for what?)" He started flailing again. "(Many freaking months?!)"
His paws still on his head, Pikachu looked back down at the ground. "(Y... Yeah...)"
"(And... and been dating her for two?!)"
"(... Yeah.)"
Piplup took a few slow steps backwards, attracting Pikachu's attention. "(I... I... I can't believe you!)" He scowled deeper, his eyes shining in hurt and betrayal. "(I thought you were a nice guy!)"
That was almost the same look that Buneary had given him...
His paws fell miserably down to his sides. He couldn't even provide a response.
"(You...)" Piplup's voice cracked as he spoke. "(You and Buneary... you had something good... Wh... Why did you ruin it?!)"
"(I... I don't know...)"
Piplup ground his beak in annoyance, tears spilling from his eyes. After a few moments, he took off running.
He never once looked back.
... They'd had something good. That was what Piplup had said.
Back to lying on the grass, Pikachu continued to stare up at the clouds. He was still so tired. His eyes stung. So did his head.
... But neither as much as his heart.
He continued to lie there, in no mood to move. He'd probably drag himself back to camp later - to much scorn, he was sure - but, as for now...
His tired mind, still buzzing from stress, couldn't help but think back. Back to simpler times. Happier times. Times before the train wreck of today.
... They'd had something good...
Yeah. Piplup had certainly been right there. He couldn't deny that.
They'd gotten along so well. Plus, Buneary had always been supportive in everything she'd done.
Whenever he'd had a battle coming up, she'd praise him. Encourage him. Give him a boost of confidence. It had always made him want to do the same in return.
Whenever they'd talked about the Sinnoh League, she'd always been quick to tell him that he'd do well. She'd basically been his personal cheerleader. The one that had helped him try that little bit harder.
... She'd always had a way of making him feel special.
Kind of like the time he'd been recovering from a very rough battle at Lake Acuity...
As Buneary approached Pikachu, she made a move to hug him. He flinched, gritting his teeth and bracing for pain. After a moment, she seemed to think better of it and held back.
He sighed in relief.
Covered in bandages and band-aids, he and the rest of Ash's team were still very sore from their battle with Paul's team. Despite that, though, they were in good spirits. Especially since they'd just disposed of Team Rocket for the day.
"(Good to see you're feeling better!)" Buneary said with a smile.
"(Yeah,)" Pikachu replied, smiling back. "(Thanks.)"
Her smile turned concerned. "(Does it still hurt?)"
He chuckled sheepishly. "(Yeah... but it's okay. I'm sure I'll be fine again in no time.)"
"(I hope so...)" She brightened up again. "(Hey, did you like our little circus act?)"
"(I sure did!)" He laughed. "(It was pretty funny.)"
"(Hee~! Glad you think so!)" Her smile softened. "(Dawn did it to cheer Ash up. She said he was feeling down after the battle.)"
"(Yeah, he was... though he cheered up again when he saw we were okay!)"
Her smile brightened again. "(Oh, that's good!)"
"(Yeah. He got all fired up and ready to train again!)"
"(Cool- Wait... he did?)" She paused, looking disappointed. "(So we didn't need to do the act?)"
He floundered. "(W-Well... I guess you... didn't need to do the thing... but I'm glad you did do the thing... 'cause... I think it helped... you know?)"
"(... You think so?)"
"(Y-Yeah! I do!)" He put his paws to his chest earnestly. "(It made me feel better.)"
She looked surprised. "(It did?)"
"(Yeah! You can pull some really funny faces.)"
She brightened. "(Oh... really?)"
"(Yeah! So... thanks for that.)"
She blushed, beaming warmly at him. "(Hee~! No problem~!)"
Strangely, something jumped in his chest at that.
Pikachu's eyes crinkled in despair. She was so kind. So caring.
... He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve any of it. He knew that.
Especially now...
Yet she'd always been there for him. She'd cried when he'd told her his backstory. She'd defended him when a phione had lashed out at him. Heck, she'd even saved his life when they'd first met, despite not having any reason to.
... He didn't deserve her at all.
He paused, still watching the clouds. Even so, dating Buneary had been some of the best weeks of his life. Heck, maybe even the best. Little came close, really.
All of the hugs and nuzzles, all of the nose licks...
All of the laughs they'd had...
All of the romantic dates they'd been on...
Her incredibly playful nature and how she'd lightly tease him for things...
... Heh. That oddly reminded him of the day that strange machine had made him get a little too attached to Piplup...
"(So,)" Buizel said with a smirk, "(a little birdie told me what happened today.)"
Pikachu's face burned. Darn it, Piplup. "(Well...)" he replied, "(it was the... you know, the thing! That thing that did the... thing...)"
Pachirisu popped his head out from behind Buizel. "(I didn't know you were into that, Pikachu!)" he said with a grin. "(Hope Buneary doesn't find out!)"
Pikachu's eyes widened.
"(Pfft!)" Buizel said. "(Yeah, maybe it's Piplup he wants to date, instead.)"
"(N-No!)" Pikachu cried frantically. "(I-It was all the thing! You know, the... the machine! The electric/water machine! It made us do that!)"
Pachirisu giggled again. "(Suuuure it did!)" he replied.
"(I-It did! I-I didn't wanna do that!)"
"(Do what?)" Buneary suddenly asked from his side.
He jumped, turning to face her. "(Oh... h-hi, Buneary...)"
"(You heard the news?)" Buizel asked.
"(About the machine thingy?)" Pachirisu asked.
A light seemed to go off in Buneary's head. "(Oh!)" she replied. "(Yeah, that. I heard about that...)" She looked in Pikachu's direction.
Panic rose within him. "(I-It's not what it looks like!)" he stammered. "(I mean, not what it sounds like! Or, not what it is! I mean-!)"
Buizel and Pachirisu sniggered behind him.
"(Piplup!)" he continued. "(See, he's good! He's great! M-My best friend, besides Ash! I hugged him and stuff... and it was nice and all, b-)" He paused as he saw her start to snigger, too. "(... Huh?)"
"(What, you're cheating on me with Piplup?)" she asked. "(Is that it?)"
Buizel and Pachirisu cracked up behind him.
He stared at Buneary in disbelief. "(... Wh-What?! No! I-I would never-!)
She giggled. "(I'm kidding, I'm kidding!)" She smiled at him. "(I heard about the machine from Piplup. He wouldn't stop complaining about it... and how it took away his free will, or something.)"
"(... Oh.)" His face heated up again.
Stepping closer, she gently tapped him on the nose with her paw. "(You worry too much~)"
A warmth spread out from his heart at the touch. "(... Y-Yeah. I guess I do...)"
... Heh. It was ironic, in a way. That day had been not long after his first eevee dream. He'd managed to convince himself that the dream had meant nothing, only to accidentally cheat on her anyway. With Piplup, of all pokémon.
He hadn't meant to. The machine had made him. Even so, maybe it had just served to prove how disloyal he was. How she deserved far better than him.
Acid burned in his ribcage. It twisted, convulsing into painful knots that brought tears to his eyes. He wanted to be a good boyfriend. He did. More than anything in the world. All he'd ever wanted was to make Buneary happy. Because she deserved it.
Because...
"Oh, how cute!" the café employee said. "Are you two on a date?"
... Because...
"Oh, I knew it! You look so in love~!"
Because...
... He loved her.