Author's note: Howdy, guys and gals!
I'm back with another chapter of my fluffiest fic! The one where the main couple get together in chapter three!
Unlike my other fic, where Pikachu's issues keep him from dating Buneary, and there's a complex story to tell, but, instead, people are griping that 'the plot's dragging' and 'he's not getting it through his thick skull' and- *grumble grumble grumble*...
I'd hate to see how people feel about the even bigger slow burns I have planned...
... Ahem. Anyway! That aside, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Though, for the love of Arceus, please tell me things you like, instead of simply what's annoying you. Please? Pretty please? I like improving, but a little encouragement wouldn't hurt either, right? Right?
Chapter Thirty-six: Inspirations
Pikachu continued to walk alongside Ash, all the while trying to come up with a plan of action. A way to convey his feelings to Buneary.
Okay, so the previous ideas were a bust. Maybe he was reaching a bit too high with them. Especially the ones where he was overly smooth or sappy. Maybe he should aim for something a bit more on his level! A much more realistic approach!
Okay, yeah, that sounded like a good idea! Now he just needed an ideal lead-up...
"(Buneary, we need to talk.)"
No, that sounded way too ominous.
"(Buneary, I need to tell you something.)"
... A bit less ominous, but still ominous.
"(We've known each other a long time...)"
A bit rambly, honestly.
"(There's a thing I've been feeling.)"
Nope. Way too vague.
"(I think... I should tell you how I've been feeling lately. You see...)"
Oh good lord. No, no, no! That made it sound like he was breaking up with her again! Urgh. Somehow, the daydreams were getting worse...
... Nope. He was hopeless. He needed some sort of help, or he was never going to get anywhere.
He absolutely had to get this right! He wanted her reaction to be positive! Beyond positive! He didn't want her to be angry, or sad, or... or even amused! Though mostly sad. It always killed him a little inside whenever she was sad. Especially when it was him who'd made her sad.
He paused. Wait. Wait...
... Her reaction.
His eyes widened, remembering something he'd briefly thought about almost a month ago. What if... what if she didn't actually love him back?
Oh no, he'd barely given that any thought! What if he poured his heart out to her, told her he wanted to be with her for... maybe forever, he wasn't sure yet... and she... didn't return it?
Well, sure, she obviously liked him. Hence why they were dating. But... what if it wasn't strong enough to be love?
Heck, what if she didn't believe him? Or didn't understand what he meant? He'd never considered any of this!
He shook his head, trying to clear it. His thoughts were going all over the place again. He needed to get them under control, darn it!
... What was he going to do, though?
He glanced up at Ash, who was walking alongside him with a pleasant smile on his face.
Heh. Now there was a guy who had no worries in the world. One who had one thing on his mind, one primary focus, and that was becoming a pokémon master.
Thinking about it, the boy was lucky. He didn't have to burden himself with how to confess to a girl, because that wasn't a priority for him. Heck, it wasn't even on his agenda, period. He currently had his sights set on getting his beacon badge and that was it.
... Then again, he also didn't know the amazing feeling of having a girlfriend. Wanting to spend all day, every day, with her. Laughing and joking with her. Holding hands with her and going on dates with her. Snuggling up to her at night.
Having someone in his life who went beyond friendship. Ash didn't have that. He had no idea what that felt like.
On one hand, it was a little sad. On another, it was how Ash chose to live his life. Pikachu had long since accepted that.
Regardless, none of this solved his current problem.
At lunch time, Pikachu couldn't stop glancing in Buneary's direction. His girlfriend didn't seem to notice, however, as she ate her pellets and happily chatted with her friends.
As he nibbled on his own pellet, he wondered exactly what to do. When would be the ideal time to say something? Should he take her aside at some point and do it? If so, how far away? A little far away? Pretty far away? Really far away?
Or would it be okay to tell her in front of their friends?
... No, probably not. That would be rather embarrassing. It was true that he'd done it in front of them the first time - when she'd been crying and they'd been calling him dense - but he'd been desperate to fix their crumbling relationship back then. Besides, that had just been him telling her that he liked her. Love was a different matter. Who knew how they'd react if he said that in front of them?
No, it was a private matter, at least for the initial confession. Especially if she didn't return it. It would be rather humiliating to be told she didn't love him in front of their friends.
Though, even if it went well, it was still a private matter. Feelings that she should hear before anyone else. He'd learned a lot about being a better boyfriend in recent months, so he'd be darned if he wasn't going to do this right!
The question was... how?
Dinner time came and went, and Pikachu still had no answer.
This was getting ridiculous now. Sure, he'd only decided with absolute certainty last night that he was going to confess to Buneary, but still. The fact that his brain had been tying itself in knots since that morning wasn't a good sign. It was likely to burn itself out before he got a chance to tell her anything!
Urgh... maybe he did need some help, after all.
Just a little bit of help. Not too much. Maybe someone to give him a bit of advice, and push him in the right direction. Someone who could help him with his fears, maybe.
Who would be the best choice, though?
There was Buizel, who'd given him advice before. Heck, he'd been the whole reason that the 'cheating fiasco' had been sorted out so quickly. Though the weasel had been rather rough with him, and his advice tended to be rather... blunt, to put it nicely.
Hmm, then there was Piplup, who'd gotten him and Buneary together in the first place. He'd given Pikachu the confidence to approach the rabbit about her feelings, though he did tend to be a little... overdramatic.
Hmmm...
As he was helping to stack the bowls, so that they could be handed back to Brock, Pachirisu walked past, a few bowls balanced on his tail. Pikachu paused at the sight of him.
Hmm... Pachirisu? Maybe. He didn't think he'd asked him for any advice yet. Maybe it was worth a shot. What would he ask him, though?
He didn't quite want to reveal what he was planning to do, because he wanted Buneary to be the first to hear it. So what could he ask, instead?
He spent the rest of the night pondering it.
The next day, after giving it much thought, Pikachu had an idea of what he wanted to ask. He just had to phrase it in a way that, hopefully, wouldn't cast too much suspicion on himself.
When the group stopped for a lunch break, he waited for his chance. His chance to catch Pachirisu alone and ask him some questions.
Eventually, at the end of lunch, he found the perfect opportunity. Much like the previous night, Pachirisu was moving around with several bowls stacked on top of his tail.
Pikachu subtly moved over to cut him off. "(Heeey, Pachirisu,)" he said, putting on a smile.
Pachirisu stopped, smiling back at him. "(Oh, hey!)" he replied. "(What's up, Pikachu?)"
"(Hey. Yeah. Can I talk to you for a sec? In private?)"
Pachirisu blinked in surprise. "(Huh? Well, okay, sure!)"
"(Great.)" Pikachu looked around. "(Uhhhh...)" He spotted a row of bushes in the distance and pointed at it. "(How about over there?)"
"(Kay, sure. Lemmie just get rid of these bowls first.)"
"(Kay.)"
Now inside the bushes and out of sight from the others, Pikachu took a deep breath and turned to look at Pachirisu.
The squirrel smiled up at him. "(So, what's up?)" he asked.
"(Um...)" Okay, he'd given this a lot of thought. He just had to phrase this right. "(... How do you think... Buneary sees me?)"
Pachirisu blinked, tilting his head. "(... Huh?)"
"(Like... what do you think she thinks of me?)"
"(She... likes you? I mean, you are her boyfriend, right?)"
"(Well, yeah, but... like... you know?)" Ah, curses! He was losing it! He shook his head to get himself back on track. "(No. What I mean is... how much do you think she likes me?)"
Pachirisu blinked again. "(... A lot?)" He giggled. "(At least, I'd hope so, since she's dating you!)"
Pikachu gave a small sigh. This was going nowhere.
"(Okay, um... do you...? I mean...)" He thought over his wording very carefully. "(... I've... been wondering lately... if... Buneary feels... anything stronger for me?)"
"(... Huh?)"
"(Like... stronger than liking me... you know?)"
Pachirisu blinked a couple of times. Then his face lit up in dawning comprehension. "(You mean like love, right?!)"
Pikachu jolted at how loud that had been. He put a finger to his lips. "(Shh, please don't shout that!)"
Pachirisu quickly put his paws over his mouth. "(Oops, sorry. But you mean love, right?)"
"(Yeah. I... just wondered how... you know, strong her feelings were.)" Pikachu glanced away awkwardly. "(Like... does it just stop at 'like', or is there more?)"
"(Ohhhh! Okay!)" Pachirisu beamed at him. "(Wow, I can't believe you're thinking about this!)"
"(Yeah... well... it's been on my mind for a while.)"
"(Aww, how cute~! Well, I think she loves you! I mean, she has to, right?)"
Pikachu looked back at Pachirisu, confused. "(Huh?)"
"(After the stuff you pulled, and her breaking up with you twice, she has to love you to still be with you, right?)"
Pikachu's face grew hot with embarrassment and shame. "(Well...)"
Pachirisu hopped up and down excitedly. "(It has to be love! It has to be! It's just like those old fairytales my momma used to tell me, to help me sleep at night!)" He paused. "(... You know, before the whole 'kicking me out of the home' thing.)"
Pikachu chuckled awkwardly. "(Oh yeah...)"
Pachirisu smiled again. "(Anyway, yeah! I wanna believe it's love!)"
A happy warmth spread through Pikachu. So Pachirisu believed that Buneary loved him, did he? Well, that was reassuring. There was no guarantee that he was right, of course, but it did ease his mind a little that the squirrel thought this way.
Pachirisu paused a moment. "(Wait. Do you love her?)"
Pikachu faltered. "(Um... uh...)" He fidgeted, glancing away and back again. "(I'm... uh...)"
Pachirisu blinked curiously at him. "(Huh? You don't look so sure...)"
... Oh, good. It seemed he'd misunderstood his reaction.
"(Well...)"
"(Oh.)" Pachirisu's shoulders slumped sadly. "(You're not sure? Well... think it over, okay?)"
"(Y-Yeah, sure. I'll... do that.)"
Pachirisu's posture straightened again, his smile returning. "(Okay. Thanks! And good luck with everything! Keep that train a-chugging!)"
"(Sure, I'll-)" Pikachu blinked. "(... Train?)"
"(Yeah! Thought I'd try something different from the ship puns. Not sure if I like this one yet. Maybe I'll go with airplanes next time.)"
"(Ah.)" Pikachu chuckled.
"(Anyway, yeah! Better get back, before they start thinking Team Rocket nabbed us!)" Turning around, Pachirisu ran off through the bushes, back to camp. "(Later!)"
"(Yeah, later!)"
... Okay, well, he had a much better grasp on things now. At least, he thought he did. All he had to do now was figure how the heck to deal with Buneary.
It didn't seem like Pachirisu fully understood love, but that was okay. He was just a kid, after all. He didn't need to understand it yet.
Despite that, the squirrel had still managed to give him some half-decent advice. He already felt a little bit more confident than he'd been before talking to him.
"(Kay...)" he muttered to himself. "(Just gotta work on my wording...)"
He poked his head out of the bushes, briefly glancing around to make sure that no one was listening. It didn't look like there was anyone nearby. Nodding to himself, he pulled his head back inside the bushes.
He took a moment to brace himself, breathing in, then breathing out. Then he gave his confession a try.
"(... I love you?)" he said. No, that sounded far too awkward. Even a little bit unsure. "(I love you!)" Nope, that sounded overly enthusiastic. "(... I love you.)" Nah, it sounded too dramatic.
... Wait, should he even be using wording this strong?
"(... I really like you? No, no...)" She knew that already. Hence why they were dating. "(I... love... like... really... uhhhh...)" He paused. "(I think you're... pretty neat? No!)" He smacked himself on the head.
... Wait, was he really saying this out loud to himself? Gosh, he was such a dweeb...
Shaking his head, he decided to worry about it later. He really did need to get back, before Ash started thinking he'd been taken by Team Rocket, or something.
... Not that the trio would do it without loudly announcing it, like the attention-seekers they were, but still. It was always best not to worry Ash too much.
Giving a small sigh, he headed through the bushes and back to camp.