Author's note: Hey, guys!
You know, I don't think I've promoted stuff before, have I? That's because I never think to! So I'mma start now.
Do you like Mystery Dungeon fics? Do you like PikaBun? Do you like tsunderes shipping with shrinking violets? Well, I know a fic that has all of this and more!
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon- Explorers of Legends
by MewLover54!
Whew! What a mouthful that title is! It's a pretty good fic, though! I always enjoy reading it and it updates every week! It deserves way more reviews than it gets, so I suggest checking it out!
With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the chapter! It's a mite shorter than usual, but it said all it needed to say. Until next time, that is!
Chapter Twenty-seven: Aftermaths
"(Pikachu...)" a distant voice called.
In the darkness, he stirred.
"(Pikachu...)"
Who was that...?
"(Hey, Pikachu...)"
Was the voice getting louder...?
"(Pikachu...?)"
He cracked open his eyes. Light suddenly flooded his vision. Glancing around, he saw a brown rabbit. Buneary, yeah, that was it. His girlfriend.
As she locked eyes with him, she smiled. "(Hey!)" she said.
"(Hey...)" Pikachu groggily replied. He blinked, his eyelids heavy. After a moment, a thought occurred to him. He squinted in the low lighting of the forest. Hadn't it been bright when he'd fallen asleep? "(... What time is it?)"
"(Dinner time! Everybody's eating, so I thought I'd bring you your food.)"
He blinked again. As he processed this, he groaned and covered his eyes. "(Dang it... I slept too long... Now Ash can't travel today...)"
"(It's okay! Ash didn't seem to mind. He saw how tired you were and just let you sleep.)"
"(... Mkay...)"
"(Here.)" He heard a bowl being shoved along the grass. "(You hungry?)"
He thought about it, paying attention to his stomach. All he could focus on, though, was how heavy his eyelids felt.
"(Ehhhh... I'm too groggy...)"
"(Oh, okay, then. Well, I'll leave it here, in case you do.)"
"(Alright, thank-)" Suddenly, he caught a whiff of something wonderful. Something sweet, yet tangy. His eyes shot open. "(Wait.)" His head snapped towards the bowl. It was the usual pellets, but they were covered in a red condiment. His eyes widened. "(Is that ketchup?!)"
Buneary giggled. "(Yeah. I kind of... begged Brock to let me put ketchup on it...)" He heard the sound of her tapping her paws together. "(It was his last packet.)"
Last packet?!
Leaping up and startling Buneary, he dove for the bowl. He took a big whiff. The delectable scent made his stomach growl.
He gave a dreamy smile. "(Thank you so much, Buneary...)" Grabbing a messy handful, he shoved it into his mouth and chewed. He swooned. "(Mmmm...)" Swallowing, he let out a noise halfway between a groan of pleasure and a sigh. "(I love you~)"
He paused. Wait.
Blinking, he looked at Buneary. She was staring back at him.
... Oh dear. This was awkward.
"(Um...)" he continued, "(I-I mean... thanks... I really appreciate it... and stuff...)" He paused awkwardly. "(This was... nice of you.)"
After a moment, Buneary shook off the shock. "(Uh, sure! No problem!)" She gave an awkward chuckle.
Oh, good lord... If Pikachu wasn't so tired, he'd probably be blushing right now. Instead, his insides were squirming in embarrassment.
"(So, uh...)" Buneary continued, smiling brightly, "(yeah! You enjoy your meal! I'll be over by Piplup and co., if you need me!)"
"(Okay, sure...)"
She quickly hopped away.
Insides still squirming, he reached for another handful of ketchup-covered pellets and shoved them into his mouth.
Perhaps it would be best if he just didn't speak anymore...
Once Pikachu had finished his delicious meal, he cleaned the stickiness off his paws, woke himself up a bit, then headed over to where his friends and girlfriend were chatting.
Stopping by their group, he gave a sheepish smile and a wave of the paw. "(Hey, guys!)" he said.
Piplup folded his flippers. "(Well, if it isn't Mr. Relationship Ruiner!)" he said.
Pikachu's ears dipped slightly, though he kept his smile. "(Hey, come on, I said I was sorry...)"
Pachirisu giggled. "(Nope, you done goofed!)" he replied.
"(Hey...)"
Buizel heaved a sigh, putting his wrists on his hips. "(... Did you have a good sleep?)" he asked. "(And please tell me you didn't have any more eevee dreams...)"
Pikachu blinked. After a moment, he smiled happily. "(Actually, no, I didn't!)" he replied. He paused. "(Actually, I... don't think I had any dreams at all.)"
"(Really?)" Buneary asked curiously.
He turned her way and froze when his eyes met hers. Oh no. Now he was remembering that thing he'd said earlier.
"(Y-Yeah! All dreamless and... stuff.)"
"(Wow, neat!)" Pachirisu replied, thankfully distracting him. The squirrel giggled. "(Maybe the eevee's taking a break!)"
Pikachu's eyes widened.
Buizel rolled his eyes. "(Oh, please,)" he said. "(Don't get him started on that again...)"
"(Yeah,)" Piplup agreed. He flailed in annoyance. "(Otherwise, we'll be here all freaking dayyyy!)" He went back to folding his flippers. "(And, this time, I will peck him.)"
Pikachu chuckled awkwardly again.
Pachirisu tilted his head. "(So why did you dream about an eevee so much, huh?)" he asked.
"(I... I dunno,)" Pikachu replied.
Buizel sighed. "(He probably got the idea in his head, then thought about it way too much,)" he said.
Suddenly, Pikachu felt a paw on his shoulder. He turned to see that it was Buneary. His face went warm just from seeing her so close.
"(And then you got paranoid, right?)" she asked in concern.
"(Y-Yeah...)" Pikachu replied.
"(And the more paranoid he got,)" Buizel continued, "(the more he thought about her.)"
"(And the more he thought about her...)" Pachirisu said slowly, "(the more he dreamed about her. Is that right?)"
"(Pretty much. That's what I think, anyway.)"
"(Urgh,)" Piplup said, rolling his eyes, "(honestly, Pikachu... I helped make this relationship happen, so don't you dare ruin it!)"
Pikachu chuckled awkwardly. "(I'll try not to...)" he replied. Piplup glared at him, making him panic. "(I-I mean, I won't! I definitely won't!)"
Buneary sighed, removing her paw from his shoulder. "(Guys, go easy on him, please...)" she said.
Pachirisu beamed. "(We are going easy on him!)" he replied.
Buizel smirked. "(Yeah, this is them being nice,)" he said.
Buneary sighed again, softer this time.
"(Hmph,)" Piplup said. "(Well, he'd better make up for it with a good game of tag, that's all I can say!)"
Pikachu chuckled. "(Yeah, sure, Piplup,)" he replied.
"(Hmph. Fine. Then I'll go round up some pokémon to play with. Pachirisu, you're coming with me.)"
Pachirisu blinked. "(I am?)" he asked.
"(Yes. Now come on.)"
Pachirisu beamed. "(Okay~!)"
The two of them left to gather some pokémon for their game.
Pikachu heard Buneary giggle lightly from beside him. His heartbeat increased at the sound. He turned to see her soft smile.
"(Those two, I swear...)" she said quietly.
He chuckled awkwardly again. "(Y-Yeah...)" he replied.
Dang, he'd done nothing but stutter since earlier. Well, at least she seemed to have taken what he'd said as casually as he'd said it...
"(Tag, you're it!)" Staraptor cried, tapping Infernape on the back with a wing, then flying off again.
Infernape jumped in surprise. He frowned in mock-annoyance. "(Oh, come on!)" he called back.
"(I tagged you fair and square, bro!)"
"(Urgh...)"
Infernape scanned the area. The other pokémon who were playing all looked back at him, anxiously trying to guess his next move.
Elsewhere, Pikachu could see Gible nibbling on a rock, Croagunk staring into space, and Mamoswine lounging, while chatting to Torterra.
Eventually, Infernape chose his target and dashed forwards. Squealing in mock-panic, Sudowoodo, Cyndaquil and Happiny all fled in separate directions.
Smiling, Pikachu began to run away, as well. Just in case Infernape changed his mind and came after him, instead. He didn't want to be an easy target, if that was the case.
He watched his other friends run away, too, a fun time being had by all.
Later that night, Pikachu and Buneary lay nestled against one another, Buneary already snoozing lightly.
Pikachu wanted to sleep, too, but he was having a bit of trouble. Less than before, though, since his mind felt oddly free of stress tonight. It was a welcome change.
Still, though... he couldn't stop thinking about earlier. About what he'd said.
He hadn't been thinking at all when he'd said it, being so caught up in the moment of actually eating ketchup. He'd meant it, of course, but not in that way.
... In fact, with all that had happened lately, he hadn't had time to so much as think about telling her that. About meaning it the other way...
His heart pounded in panic just thinking about it.
... Should he tell her?
If so, how should he tell her?
... Then again, it was probably far too soon after the 'cheating' fiasco to even broach the topic. Things probably needed to cool down a bit first.
Yeah. Yeah, that seemed like the best idea.
After all, every time he rushed into things, they ended up a horrible mess. He couldn't afford for the same thing to happen here. Not when the thing he wanted to say was so important.
... Plus, if he was honest with himself, he was kind of scared. This was a big emotion that he'd never felt before in his life.
Was it even love? He assumed so. He had no idea what it was if it wasn't this.
He glanced sideways at his girlfriend. Inside the pit of his stomach, a fire burned. It wasn't passionate and explosive, like he could recall it being in the past. Instead, it simmered, like whenever Brock left his cooker on a low heat to cook soup. It felt warm. Fluffy. Cosy.
Unlike earlier - when he'd screwed things up almost beyond repair - it didn't feel cold anymore. It felt like a blanket. Comforting. Reassuring. It was a feeling that he realised he never wanted to lose.
He smiled to himself. Yeah. If this wasn't what love felt like, then, quite frankly, he had no idea what it was. So he could only assume this was it.
... And it felt good.