Well, today was nice, although saying 'goodnight' to Hilda had felt somewhat awkward. I thought travelling around the world had made me more comfortable with and better at interacting with others. Well, I knew it had, after speaking with some of the Neo-Team Plasma members that were part of the original Team Plasma. They had said so themselves.

It was different with Hilda, though. Maybe it was because I have feelings for her. I wonder if it felt awkward for her? I'm an expert at helping pokemon with their emotions, but it feels like absolutely none of that skill carries over to human emotions. I can definitely tell that Hilda is as happy to see me as I am to see her, but I don't know if Wally is right or not about her having feelings for me, too.

I really hope she does.

I walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. as I get ready for bed, I continue to think about all that has gone on today. Finding Hilda, shopping, spending time at the café telling each other how we've been these past two years. I spit out my toothpaste and rinse my mouth, quickly washing my face afterwards.

Once I'm in my pajamas, I walk out and lay on the couch. Sighing, I slide under the blanket and close my eyes, slowly falling asleep.

Ugh, I can't believe I just ran away from Natural after telling him goodnight. Slipping on my PJs, I thought back on the day. It had been a lot of fun, and swapping stories with Natural had been amazing. It made me feel better, knowing what had went on during those two years we had been apart. I know we've both grown as people, and that comforts me.

It makes me feel like we really can start a relationship together, if he does feel the same way I do. Being with him is one of the only things I really want. I want us to find out more about ourselves together. For instance, see if we could find his birth parents, since that was something he had mentioned before. I wanted to find my dad, too. He had run off on my mom and me when I was really young; I have a few vague memories of him, but nothing very solid. The only reason I fully know what he looks like is because of pictures my mom had.

At any rate, I knew I wanted to be with Natural. So, starting tomorrow, I would do my best to find out how he felt. And, with that being decided, I crawled under my sheets and fell asleep.

The alarm I had set on my X-Transceiver was ringing. Sitting up, I dismissed it. Stretching, I looked around the room. I want a shower. Grabbing some of the clothes that I had gotten in another town, I tiptoe through the living room, so I don't wake Natural up. He looks so soft and sweet, laying there on the couch. Thankfully, I'm able to go straight into the bathroom. I take a quick shower, tie up my hair, and brush my teeth. I hope that Natural is up by now.

Walking back into the living room, I sneak over to the couch to see if he's awake. When I peek over the edge, his eyes fly open, and I fumble backwards and fall on my butt. I just barely manage to hold back a squeak.

"Are you okay?" he asks, eyes filled with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You just startled me, is all."

"Yeah, that one second I was able to see your face told me as much. Sorry I startled you." His sleepy smile of an apology made my heart melt. I felt like a candle, my face was so hot. I watched as he stood up and stretched, a pale strip of skin appearing and disappearing as he did. "Is the bathroom taken? I would like to shower."

"No, I just got out," I replied. Hesitating slightly, I finally ask, "do you want to go get breakfast together after you're finished?"

"Yes, I'd love to."

I felt like my face was going to split in half from my smile. "Okay, see you then."

"Be back soon," he replied, shutting the bathroom door behind him.

"You two are so cute together."

"Holy shit!" I jumped out of my skin for the second time this morning. "May, you scared me!"

"I'm sorry. I'm also sorry that I did a bit of eavesdropping," she winked. "I hope y'all's breakfast date goes well, you'll have to tell me about it as soon as y'all get back."

"I will," I said, not even denying the fact that I, at least, considered it a date.

"So it is a date?"

"I consider it to be one, but I'm not sure what he thinks it is. For all I know, he still thinks it's just us hanging out."

"Mmmm, I'm sure he sees it as a date as well. Maybe he thinks like you, though, and hasn't gotten his hopes up about it being a date. The two of you need to communicate with each other. Yesterday was a good start, but if you don't talk about your feelings soon, you'll miss out on a lot."

She's right, I know that. But the thought of telling Natural how I feel still scares me. "I'll do my best to start the conversation," I tell her.

"And that's all I'm asking you to do. Don't rush it, but don't take too much time, either, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you so much for all the advice, May." My levels of appreciation for her were off the charts right now.

Suddenly, I hear the bathroom door open. "Good morning, May," he waved. "Are you ready, Hilda?" he asked, a light blush across his cheeks. It was probably just from a hot shower, though…

"Almost, let me put my shoes on. I'll be right back." I power-walked back to my room, pulling on my new over-the-knee striped socks, and shoving my feet into my boots. As I walk back out to meet him, I mutter 'wish me luck,' under my breath as I pass May. I wave goodbye to her as Natural and I walk out the door and see her mouthing 'good luck!' and giving me a thumbs-up.

"So," Natural starts, "where did you have in mind?"

"Um."

He grinned. "You hadn't thought of it yet, had you?"

I shook my head. "No, honestly. We could go to a café, if you'd like, or we can just stay here at the pokecenter."

"It looks nice out, so how about we walk to a café? I know there's one pretty close to here, I remember passing it on our way back here last night."

"That sounds fantastic," I reply. "Lead the way." I follow him out the door, having to walk a bit faster than usual, since he has long legs compared to me. I want to hold his hand. The thought crossing my mind doesn't surprise me, but it does elicit a blush. I begin to imagine how it would feel to have my fingers intertwined with his. Taking a deep breath, I begin to reach out. I fell his hand brush against mine. Blushing even more now, I quickly grab his hand and twine my fingers with his. I can feel his shock, but I keep my face forwards, struggling to do the same with my eyes. Then, I feel his hand squeeze mine tightly, and even though the pressure quickly lightens, he doesn't let go. Finally, I peek to my left, and I see a huge smile and bright blush on his face. I straighten my shoulders up now, suddenly realizing how I was slouching some. There weren't many people around just yet, but everyone that saw us started smiling.

"Alright, here we are," Natural said, squeezing my hand once more. It felt nice and easy, like it was just a reflex.

He pushed the door open, and we walked up to the counter, looking at the items behind the glass. I still haven't let go of his hand, and he hasn't made any signs of wanting to let go. I begin to debate with myself, trying to decide between a huge chocolate chip muffin or a strawberry and cream scone. Either way, the coffee I would be ordering would stay black.

"Are you ready to order?" he asked.

"Yes, whenever you are."

"What would you like?"

"Strawberry and cream scone and a black coffee." I see him make a face, but he doesn't say anything. "What?"

"How can you stand drinking your coffee black? That's just hot bean water."

I stick out my tongue at him. "Well, I enjoy my hot bean water."

He just grinned.

"You two ready to order?" asked the guy behind the counter.

"Yes," Natural replied. At the nod of the clerk's head, he says "Two strawberry and cream scones, one black coffee, and one coffee with sugar and cream."

The man behind the counter nods and motions for us to sit down. as we find a table, our hands finally separate. I brush my hair behind my ear, and grin when I see Natural swiping his bangs out of his face. I had known as soon as I saw his new hairdo that it would become a habit for him. We have some small talk as we wait for our breakfast to arrive.

Stuffing some of the scone in my face, I prepare myself. I have to ask him this question. The pressure is making me nervous, and it's drying my throat out, making me choke some. I take a huge swig of my coffee, swallowing it before it has the time to burn my tongue. I set it down a little harder than necessary. "So, Natural, I have a question for you."

"You can still call me N, Hilda. I'd actually prefer it, unless we're in private." The latter causes him to blush. "So, what's your question?"

"Um, I was just wondering about, uhm, how exactly do you feel about me? like, am I just a good friend to you, or do I maybe mean more to you than that?" I was holding back my nerves, choosing to look at the table and my scone instead of looking at him.

"Of course you're more than just a good friend, Hilda. Even if I didn't have feelings for you, you would mean more to me than just a friend."

I peer at him from beneath my lashes. His face is so red, he almost looks like a Christmas decoration. Looking up, I ask him if he really has those kinds of feelings for me.

"Yes, Hilda. I've had feelings for you before we even had our final battle. I missed you so, so much during these past two years. Sometimes I missed you so much that it almost physically hurt. Some nights I regretted my decision to leave Unova, but I also knew it was something I needed to do. Travelling through Unova helped me a lot, but I needed more than that." I could see that he was holding back tears. "I hope you can forgive me for leaving so suddenly, with no notice at all. I've done wrong by you because of that, and I truly hope there is something I can do to make it up to you."

I couldn't help it. I smiled, holding back a few tears of my own. "I have feelings for you as well, Natural. Ever since I first saw you in Nuevma, actually. I felt a connection with you during that first battle. I didn't know what it was, but I figured it out along the way. And that's why I've been searching for you for so long. So, I'm willing to forgive you, under one condition."

"And that condition?"

"Be my boyfriend. You mean so, so much to me, Natural. It feels like we belong together. We both saw in black and white at the beginning of our journey back in Unova, and we taught each other about all those shades of grey along the way."

His hand feels warm on mine. "I accept your condition. Now, how about we finish eating? I'm hungry, and I can tell you are as well," he adds, noting the loud growl my stomach had released.

"Sounds fantastic," I say, picking up my scone so I can resume stuffing my face.

He starts pouring the packets of sugar in his coffee, stirring the milk in as well. he catches me watching. "Enjoy your hot bean water, I add this stuff because I love myself."

"It doesn't count as coffee once you add that stuff. Just like when you put lemon juice and sugar in water, it isn't water anymore. It's lemonade."

"Pfft. Doesn't matter, coffee is still better with this stuff added."

"It's not coffee, though," I say. This debate continues through the rest of breakfast.

Once we pay, I grab his hand, swinging our arms between us as we walk back to the pokecenter. The world seems so much brighter now, and not just because the sun is slightly higher in the sky. Looking at N, I smile. I'm ready for whatever this day holds.

Welp….. I broke my promise. I'm sorry, y'all. I really am doing my best, but I was scrambling to get ready for school, and now school has started. It might actually help me get chapters out more regularly; I'm planning on setting up a study schedule and I could easily add in a break time that I could use to write! (I also was playing Octopath Traveler in my spare time… Great game, I recommend it. I wrote a oneshot for it, if you wanna check that out)