I like connecting bits of my Fanfics together. So you guys will be seeing that in this one too :)

Just so you guys now, I seperated out the different scenes (because this fic has different parts) with the grey line thing and bold print! That way hopefully it'll be easier to read.

One with the show!

It all started with a sneeze.

They had just made their way through the snowy passes leaving Dedenmill Town and all seemed well as usual. The morning's sunrays warmed them pleasently, especially after a week of traveling through the wet freezing weather. The golden light dappled the forest floor, occasionally waking a Koratta or a horde of Subame.

The girls walked ahead happily giggling and whispering to themselves. From behind, Satoshi could see Eureka sneak a peak back at him and Citron, a devious smile crossing her young face.

The Kanto boy stretched, feeling his shoulders pop lightly.

"It's good to get outta there. Right, Pikachu?" He grinned at his Pokemon, scratching him behind the ears. The mouse leaned into his hand, letting out a pleased 'chaaaaaa!'. Curiously, he looked over to Citron.

The boy still looked so tired. The faint purple circles under his eyes were only emphasised by his frames. His nose was a bright cherry red, and his normally pale skin, even more washed out. He hadn't spoken much all morning and was lacking behind a little more than usual, even for himself.

Is he okay?..

"Hey, Citron, feeling al-"

"Ah-ah-choo!" The inventor covered his face with his elbow. Something about him reminded Satoshi of a Lillipup left out in the rain. Serena and Eureka stopped, looking back at the boys.

"Y-yeah. I'll be fine.." he tried to dismiss his rather gross runny nose, blowing it into a hanky from his pocket.

He didn't convince any of his companions. Eureka looked on sceptically, then leaned over towards Serena. The honey haired girl tipped her head, curious about whatever idea she had.

"Let's test it.." Eureka whispered, then took a step towards her brother. "Onii-chan," his sister started, putting her tiny hands on her hips. "You got a REALLY big booger, right here." She pointed to her nose, and emphisised the 'really' maybe a bit too much.

Satoshi at first was confused, but it immeditely was obvious why the girl did that. Citron's face fell, looking incredibly shy and embarassed as he turned and blew his nose again. Eureka continued her rudeness.

"You also have chapped lips, it looks really gross. You smell funny, have you changed your clothes? You sh-"

"Eureka," Satoshi interupted, noticing the inventor starting to tear up. Why was she being so mean? He hadn't done anything wrong. "Stop picking on him!"

"I am not!" She defended herself, then pointed at her brother. "He's sick!"

"S-sick?.." The Kanto boy looked back at his friend, he looked the worst he had ever seen him. "Citron?" he asked, needing confirmation before accepting Eureka's bluntness. Slowly, the blond nodded.

"Onii-chan's always a huge cry baby when he gets sick. Normally those things I said wouldn't bother him so much. See?" She stook her tounge out at Satoshi, then turned to Serena. "How close are we to the next town?"

The girl pulled her map from her skirt pocket, checking where they were. While they were busy talking and debating what to do, the trainer turned to his friend.

"Citron, why didn't you tell me?" Satoshi asked gently, extending a hand to the boy's shoulder. Surely he should have said something. If he had, he could be resting and getting better, instead of wondering through the forest looking like a neglected Cubchoo. Gingerly he placed the back of his palm to the boy's forhead, feeling his raging fever.

"I..I.." he sniffled, tearing up again. "I'm sorry!" The boy threw his arms around his friend, rubbing his boogery face onto the front of his overshirt.

"It's.. okay." Although this wasn't the time, he really couldn't ignore the warm flutter in his stomach that came from being on the recieving end of one of their hugs. With mild disgust, yet overwhelming concern, Satoshi returned it, patting his back lightly.

"We're only a little more than an hour and a half away." Serena looked up, slightly surprised at the two boys embracing in front of them. "I-if we keep going, we can be there before noon."

"He shouldn't be walking around like this." Satoshi said paternally, stroking the blond boy's head. "Right?" The inventor wordlessly nodded.

"Ugh..Onii-chan, pull yourself together." Eureka sighed at her hopeless brother.

"No." he whimpered, his voice muffled by Satoshi's tear and snot covered shirt. "I'm tired, I don't want to walk right now.."

"I can carry you." The raven haired teen offered. There was the strange whirl of emotions starting in his chest again. If there was any way he could be of help, even if it ment a tedious walk and an aching body the rest of the day, he'd do it. The boy looked up, rubbing his face clean with his sleeve.

"Wou-"

"You'll carry him for nearly two hours?" Serena asked, a tint of jealousy in her words. She, like Eureka, looked more than slightly annoyed.

"I'll carry him for days if I need to." The trainer responded proudly. "I'm strong, I can do it." This seemed to set the sick boy off again, as he mumbled and whipped his face on Satoshi's chest.

Serena pinched the bridge of her nose, getting more aggrivated by the second.

"No, no. What if Eureka and I go ahead to the next town? We'll get him some medicine and supplies. Then you and Citron can set up camp and wait here for us. Once he's better, we can get going again." She smiled down to Eureka. "Besides, we can get ice cream. It'll be a Girls' Day Out."

Eureka's face lit up. Ice cream AND not having to baby her brother? Seemed like a win-win.

"Sounds great!" The girl yanked on Serena's hand, determined to get away as quickly as possible. "We'll be back soon! Bye!" With that, she bolted away, dragging a very confused (yet relieved) Serena with her.

"Th-they left.." Citron sniffled, letting go of Satoshi.

"That's alright." The Kanto boy smiled reassuringly at his friend. "I'll take care of you. Here," he took the boy's backpack from his shoulders and slung it over his own. "Let's move a little into the forest, then I'll set up the tent and you can relax."

(back with Serena and Eureka)

"Thank Arceus, we got out of there." Eureka unscrewed the lid of a tiny jar, and handed Dedenne a Mago berry treat.

"Why were you determined to leave so quickly?" Serena asked. Of course it was a bit annoying, but surely things weren't THAT bad.

"I love my Onii-chan and everything," she started, placing the jar back in her pouchette. "But he's kinda hard to deal with when he gets like this. Last time he had the flu, Papa had to go to the story every few hours for tissues or tea. You know, stuff like that. He thought he had some weird virus that I can't even pronounce.." She sighed. "He can really be hopeless sometimes."

"Oh.." It was silent as the girls walked along. A look of contemplation came over Eureka's face, giving her the appearence of being far wiser than her years.

"That's one of the reasons why I want to find Nii-chan a nice wife. That way he'll always have someone there when he needs them."

Serena paused. They had never talked about why she was so bent on embarrasing him and asking every girl they came across to be his bride.

"She'd have to be supportive of all his dumb inventions, and tell him he's cool all the time. She'd have to be willing to do anything to make him happy." The girl went on, not realising that she was now talking to herself. "She'd have to be brave, because Onii-chan really isn't. Did you know he had to sleep with a nightlight until he was 10? Oh! And she'd be really cute too. With BIG sparkly eyes! You know, like-" She made flashy signs with her hands, "KIRAKIRA!"

"..like Satoshi.." Serena mumbled under her breathe, her mind buzzing as she remembered their entire journey. Thinking back, perhaps, she wasn't the only one who had a crush...

(back at camp)

Satoshi had kept his promise and set up the tent for Citron, insisting that he get some much needed rest. As he worked outside to set up camp, the blond shuffled around in his sleeping bag, trying to get comfortable.

"Ugh.. I can't breathe!" he growled, removing his glasses to wipe his water eyes. His head pounding with the pressure only a sinus infection could bring, and his runny nose had tagged off, and was now congesting his air ways. Surely there was something that could be done, right?!

Irritated, he reached into his backpack. Although their medical supplies was fairly low, there was a few miscellaneous things he could use. After much deliberation, he pulled a handful of cough drop wrappers, an empty inhaler (only Satoshi knew that he suspected to have asthma), and an odd small container.

For a minute he just sat, feeling like a flustered 5 year old. Then he reached out for the medication.

"Urgh!" The inventor strained, trying desperately to open the minty green jar. After a few more futile attempts, he sighed, giving up as he threw himself back down on the pillow. Being sick and frustrated, he whined, much unlike his usual self. "This sucks!"

"Citron? You okay in there?" Satoshi peeped his head in the tent flap. He had just started brewing a kettle of tea, when he heard the distressed boy. Cautiously, he crawled in and made himself comfortable at the edge of his sleeping bag.

"Yeah.. I just couldn't get this open." The blond pouted, pointing at the discarded jar sitting near his glasses. Curiously, Satoshi reached over and grabbed it.

Menthe Vaporub: Appliquer sur la poitrine

"What's it say?" He asked, not knowing a word of French.

"It's a Vapour Rub, you apply it to your chest to help you breathe easier when your sick." The blond looked up at him from the top of his sleeping bag. "Or atleast that's what you're supposed to be able to do. I just couldn't get it."

"Need a hand?" The Kanto boy got a firm grip on the jar, and gave it a good strong turn, as the top popped off. "There!" He flashed a smile at the boy. It was nice to feel useful, it also didn't hurt to show off a little.

"Th-thank you." Citron sat up. Inside he knew he should've just asked for help to begin with, instead of letting himself get irritated. But now that Satoshi was here, he seemed to feel alot calmer. Gingerly, he tried taking the product back, only to have it pulled away.

"Here, I got it." Satoshi scooted closer nearly in the boy's lap and removed his gloves. Something about how helpless he looked made the Kanto teen want to try to give making him feel better a shot. He'd do the same for him, right?

Curiously, he dipped his hand into the jar, extracting a decent sized dollop of the vapour rub. The slippery gooey feeling between his fingers and the gel's pale, almost tranlucent colour reminded him of slime. Although it did give off a pleasent minty smell.

"Um.."

For a minute they sat in silence, their gazes going between Satoshi's freshly slicked fingers, Citron's clothed chest, and then each other. A candy pink blush deepened across the blond boy's already flushed cheeks.

"O-oh.. yeah.." Shyly, he undid the first two buttons, exposing a small patch of pale skin. Satoshi's face heated up, unable to control the sudden rush of hormones flooding his body.

You know, I don't think I've ever seen him shirtless. It's weird, but not really in a bad way. I probably am just not used to it yet. I mean, he probably felt this way about me at some point. I'm kinda shameless about taking mine off. It's nothing unusual..

"Is that enough space?" He eyed the little opening, seeing his collar bone dipping down. It really didn't look like enough room for him to apply the greasy mint paste. "Won't the rest of your shirt get messy?"

"You're right." The boy hesitated, then undid another three buttons. He paused again, his brain seemingly analysing, then went back and completely opened his nightshirt. "I-I think that's good. What do you think?"

"Yeah, pretty good.." Satoshi's peachy blush darkened, slowly becoming aware that devious thoughts were forming in his mind. His eyes followed down the inventor's body, taking in every detail of his fair skin and softly defined chest for the first time. Looking further, he saw his stomach and even further, the rim of a blue pair of striped boxers..

He's actually kind of.. attractive..in his own nerdy way..

Quickly, he pulled his eyes back up as he tried to regain his focus.

OH, COME ON!

He mentally scolded himself. What was he thinking?! Citron was his friend, and on top of that, a boy. He wasn't supposed to be having these feelings, right?! But then again, was there really anything wrong with it? That's how he was really feeling after all. There was something oddly appealing about the pale boy, he just looked like a soft porcelin doll.

He shook the thoughts away, deciding to reason everything out later. Placing the jar back on the ground, he leaned over to his friend.

"Ready?"

"I guess so." With that, he placed his fingertips to the boy's chest. Citron cringed, his nightshirt falling off his thin shoulders. "I-it's cold."

"Sorry." He apologised, then brought his hands together, warming the gel. As he worked the translucent product between his palms, the boy couldn't help but sneak peeks at his friend's exposed body. Although he tried desperately not to look, it was as though his eyes were attracted like magnets.

"...thanks, by the way." Citron smiled. "I know it's probably not very pleasent seeing me like thi-"he said, shyly jesturing to himself.

"Don't be stupid." The raven haired boy said abruptly. "It's not like you're deformed or anything. Sure you're a little skinny, but you're still cute-" He tried to stop his words, only catching them a second too late.

Wait! Shit, I didn't mean to say that outloud!

Citron seemed to be confused as well, his face had turned bright pink as he looked away. Without his glasses to shield him, Satoshi could see a sweet bashful smile spread across his lips.

"Y-you thi-"

"Forget it, let's try this." The Kanto boy quickly changed the subject, holding up three heavily slicked warm fingers. Cautiously, he reached out again, running them along the boy's chest.

He could hear his heart beating loudly in his ears as he worked the product on to his soft skin. His normally steady easy demeanor shot by a haze of unfamiliar hormones.

This is just to help out, nothin' more.. nothin' more.

But no matter how hard he wanted to deny it, that just wasn't the case. All the blood that had once been in his head was traveling between his legs. Being so close to each other alone in their tent, and then the act of running his hand up and down the other's chest seemed to send a signal to his body that this wasn't as innocent as he thought it was.

Once his fingers were clear and Citron's chest had a nice coat of the minty gel, he retracted his hand, blushing harder than ever before.

"I-is that good? Or do you want more?" In his head he was silently praying that they could stop, out of fear that Citron would discover the growing problem down in his lap.

"I think it's fine." The boy quickly covered himself back up, buttoning his nightshirt and slinking back into his sleeping bag. His face was a deep magenta pink. Had he been thinking the same thing? Or was he just weirded out by Satoshi's unfamiliar nervous behaviour? "Thank you."

"N-no problem." The teen stood akwardly, wanting to turn around as quickly as possible. "I-I'll bring you your tea when it's done." Without waiting for another reply, he left the tent and made his way across the camp site.

"Pika-pi?" Pikachu came bounding to his side, his happy expression turning into concern at the frustrated look on his trainer's face. The boy took a seat away from the tent and everyone else, taking deep breathes to try clearing his head.

Okay, think. Why did that turn me on? I just wanted to be a good friend, but NOOOOO. Stupid body had to go and mess things up.

"Kuso." he cursed under his breathe, yanking on fistfuls of his hair. Although he was a teenager now (and a boy on top of that), he still had no clue what to do with all the excess hormones and testosterone that was pumping though his blood. There was no one he could turn to for help. Yeah, you could say masterbation was always there, but where are you going to accomplish that? Alone in the woods? That'd be kind of creepy. Late at night in bed next to the boy you're fantasising over without his knowledge? That'd be even MORE creepy. Maybe punching a tree really hard would help?..

Damnit, Citron. Why do you need to be so helpless..and smart.. and fun..and cool..and..and cute?..

His amber eyes slowly went wide, putting everything together in his normally dense head.

Wait a second, I've been thinking this for a while now. I think it started around the Scary House incident..

Satoshi thought back, remembering that morning after their spooky visit that night before. He had seen how shaken up Citron was, and tried to comfort him once they had gotten some alone time at a quaint cafe. It was then he noticed the shy sweet expression that crossed the blond's face as they ate their breakfast in silence. At first he brushed his feelings off, but now it was starting to make sense.

He had already known for a while now that he enjoyed hanging out with him the most. The boy was just fun and easy to be around. There was just something so inviting and infecious about his smile, his laugh, and even just his eyes. He also knew that he'd get warm fluttering sensations in his chest when they were close, or had a moment.

I never thought about it before... but..do I LIKE him?

All the times he'd hugged him, all the times they complemented or supported each other, it all felt so geniune. The happiest memory he could muster, was of their gym battle. The whole day, from their match that morning to staying up late together in Prism Tower made him smile harder than anything else could.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a gentle tapping down on his calf. Curiously, he looked over. Horubii was sitting there, holding a small satchel of blue berries in his tiny paws.

"Ho-bii." The rabbit pulled an Oran berry from the pouchette with one of his ears and handed it to him.

"Huh? Th-thanks." Temporarily his frustration wained, accepting the little fruit and popping it into his mouth. Some how it seemed to make him feel a little better.

"bii.." Carefully, the Pokemon wrapped the fruit up again, brought it into it's hand like ears, and hopped over to their tent. Satoshi watched as he let himself in to see his trainer.

(a little later)

As afternoon drew near, the girls still hadn't returned back (perhaps they were just enjoying themselves). Satoshi still sat by the tree, drawing in his sketchpad.

His brain was buzzing over his newest self-discovery. No matter how he looked at it, no matter how much he wanted to reason around it, he couldn't deny the fact that he had developed a crush on the drippy-nosed blond boy resting in their tent.

I shouldn't be embarrased, right? I mean, you don't choose who you fall in love with. It doesn't matter that he's a guy, because I didn't fall for him because he has a dick.. It's because he's HIM.

The trainer continued to doodle, the pencil bringing peace to his confused, hormone drugged mind. All that he had been pushing out of his head came down on the paper like a flood.

Across the camp, Pikachu and Harimaron were roughousing, entertaining themselves while the others went about their buisiness, either sleeping in their Pokeballs or exploring the nearby forest. Rentorar, on the other hand, sat protectively by the tent, his starry tail curled over his massive paws.

"Lucha! Cha-bul!" the fighting type sounded upset. Satoshi looked up, seeing Gekogashira and Luchabul disagreeing again. The frog held what appeared to look like a large green fruit away from him.

"Gek-a."

"Hey, you two!" Satoshi hurried over, seperating them before they could get in a fight. He kept them on either side. "What's going on?" The Pokemon both tried to get their story across first.

This was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now.

"Okay, fine!" The trainer pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think it's time for lunch. You two," he started, "I need you to stop argueing long enough to figure this out." He took the fruit, and split it down the middle and handed it back to them. "Okay? I'll take care of feeding everyone in a second."

Begrudingly, they seemed to agree, taking the food and going off their own ways. Satoshi sighed, trying to think of what to do as he took several small bags of PokeFood and distributed it to each of their bowls. Veguly aware of the rumbling in his own stomach, he tried to remember the last he had ever cooked, if ever at all. The teen plopped down in the grass as Pikachu and the others ate, mumbling happily as they filled their bellies.

Okay, think. What can I make that's simple, and will actually stay in Citron's stomach? I don't wanna risk him throwing up.. Hm, nothing spicy. He doesn't like spicy food. What about soup?.. how do you make soup? Carrots? Green Peas? Wait, he doesn't like peas either..

He poundered for a minute, holding a finger to his chin thoughtfully.

..Oka-san always makes Okayu when I'm sick..

Curiously he got back up, rumaging around through the group's dried food supplies and finding a bag of rice.

"Can't be too hard, right?"

(meanwhile, in the tent)

The blond was slowly waking from his nap, noticing Horubii hadn't left his side. Instead, the rabbit had chosen to curl up in the crook of his elbow, enjoying the heat leaching from his trainer's fever struck body. Citron smiled, deciding not to wake the Pokemon.

His lense-less eyes peered out the tent's open skylight, a blurry scene of clouds floated by as his mind wondered.

I wonder when Eureka and Serena will be back..

The thought of Eureka whining at him to pull himself together in addition to the two girls' overwhelming giddiness was giving a headache just thinking about it. The inventor sighed, closing his eyes again.

His brain began to wonder, thinking of the dark haired trainer somewhere outside the tent. Their incident earlier was still imprinted deep in his mind.

He called me cute.. he even blushed. Has he ever done that before?

The inventor smiled. He'd known for a long time that he had a crush on Satoshi. Somewhere along the line, his admiration and respect for him had turned into a sweet, kind of genuine love. He truely enjoyed hanging out, battling, talking, and even just sharing a tent with him. Over their long months together, he could safely say that Satoshi had become his best friend.

But even though he felt this way, didn't mean that Satoshi did. The Kanto boy WAS terribly dense after all. Surely he hadn't picked up on his emotions. Besides, he probably didn't like boys anyway..

It's nice to dream though..

..But what if he does? It hadn't been an illusion. He'd seen the peachy flush that overcame his face. Normally Satoshi was so bold and confident, and yet, in that brief moment, it seemed like he'd broken down to the stammering mess that Citron typically found himself in.

Being the nerd he was, he followed the scientific method:

Let's pose a question.. Does Satoshi feel the same way about me?

Okay, think. Background research.

He thought through their interaction earlier, and the scattered facts he knew about Satoshi. He'd told him that he's never been in a relationship. Heterosexual or homosexual. Then there was his constant enthusiasim when it came to his inventions. They were always complementing each other, praising each other and being supportive when they needed it. There were even times where Satoshi could be clingy.

Not to mention how weird he was acting earlier..

Although Satoshi was trying to hide it (and admitantly, he did a fair job), he could tell very clearly that their brief intamite contact had taken a quick effect on the Kanto boy.

So there's our current research. What hypothosis can we form?.. there is a distinct possibility he COULD like me...he's never expressed that he doesn't..

Citron blushed. He had evidence and a theory. From what he had gathered, the possibility was certainly there. But what could come next would be a bit harder.

..I need to test it.

(later)

"Citron?" He heard Satoshi whisper from outside the tent, bringing him out of his mental planning. "You awake?" the inventor blinked, his eyes trying to get their focus back.

"Yeah, come in." The zipper opened, revealing a rather stressed, yet proud looking Satoshi. He had a bright glint in his eye, his hands craddling a small blue bowl in a towel.

"Feeling better?" a warm mild smell wafted through the tent, waking Horubii. The rabbit hopped up, handing his trainer his glasses. Careful not to spill the steaming bowl, Satoshi sat on his knees at the foot of Citron's sleeping bag.

"A little. Thanks." The blond sat up, looking between Satoshi and the dish.

"I brought ya lunch." He grinned shyly. "My mom always made this when I got sick. So I thought maybe you'd like to try."

"You cooked?"

"Yeah. I know, I'm shocked too." Slowly, he handed his friend the food. "It's called Okayu. Basically it's like a rice porrige. I also added some powdered ginger and green onion." He watched hopefully as Citron sniffed the new white concoction. "Normally my mom would put fresh ginger, umeboshi and shiromiso instead, but we didn't have any."

"What's that?" the inventor took a small bite, seemingly taking to the Okayu fairly well as he ate it slowly.

"Umeboshi is a like a salty pickled plum, and shiromiso is fermented soybean paste. You make it into a broth."

"Huh? Fermented?" the blond looked slightly off put. Apparently pickled and fermented foods weren't too common in Kalos.

"Yeah, it's better than it sounds." He smiled. "So, you like it?"

"I do." he took another spoonful, scooping up some of the little green flakes. "You should make it again sometime."

"Really?" Satoshi smiled even wider. Hearing Citron complement him made his chest flutter again. "I thought it turned out a little too runny. If you want, next time I can ask my mom to send some of the other stuff for it."

"That's okay. I'd prefer it exactly as it is." the inventor scooped another spoonful, and held it over the dish towards Satoshi. "Would you like a bite?"

"Hm?" The trainer blushed. His brain went immedietely to the scenes in anime where the cute boy would offer the main girl character a bit of his cookie or something, completely oblivious to the implications. The scenerio seemed to fit all too well.

Geez. Relax, champ..I don't think he's aware of it.

"S-sure." He let Citron feed him a bite of the Okayo, then return the spoon to his dish.

"Thanks, by the way. You're the reason I'm feeling better. Well, Horubii too." He pet the rabbit lightly, who seemed to appreciate the aknowledgement. He nuzzled his trainer's hand affectionately.

"It's nothing. I'd do anything fo-.." he paused, quickly rephrasing his words. "-to help you get better. Being sick sucks." In his head, he completed his original thought.

I'd pretty much do anything for you.

"Yeah." the inventor put his bowl beside him on the ground, repositioning himself on top of the sleeping bag. If he didn't know better, Satoshi'd swear that he was trying to be cute. Citron sat with his knees to his sides, resembling a shy anime girl and pulled the hem of his nightshirt as far over his legs as it'd go. One of his hands found it's way into his hair, ruffling his bangs lightly. "Hey, Satoshi?"

"Hm?" Satoshi pulled himself out of his wondering thoughts.

"This is going to sound kind of weird, but," the boy tilted his head down slightly, a small smile forming on his pink face. "You really are my best friend."

Satoshi felt his heart skip a beat as he looked back into Citron's pale eyes. Now that he had become aware of his developing feels for the inventor, every little thing sent his hormones into a frenzy. Now hearing his words only made the fuzzy emotions even worse.

Oh no.. I'm getting in too deep.

"I want you to know that no matter what, no matter what we say or do, you'll always be my best friend." Citron scooted closer towards Satoshi, coming to the edge of the sleeping bag and bringing them only a few inches apart. He spoke peacefully, almost in a whisper. The two were nearly touching, Citron's bare knees brushing lightly against Satoshi's.

"Y-yeah.. m-me too.." The trainer felt his face flush against his will. What happened to his bold confidence?! Why did it need to fail him now of all times?!

This was just the effect the inventor had on him.

They sat in akward silence. Satoshi trying to fight his emotions away, and Citron (seemingly) innocently playing with the hem of his shirt, buttoning and unbuttoning the last snap.

Come on, don't do anything weird. He probably doesn't feel the same way. Does he? But then again, what if he does? Is he trying to give me a hint? He's being too cute. But then again, he's always cute.. GOD, WHY DO I NEED TO BE SO DENSE?!

He felt a shift infront of him. Quickly the teen brought himself back to reality, finding Citron closing the little space between them. The blond wrapped his arms around Satoshi's neck, and pulled him into a warm hug. The heat of his fever raditated between them. The faint scent of mint still lingured from earlier that afternoon.

Gingerly, the raven haired boy hugged back, letting his hands find their way around Citron's waist. It felt so blissful yet nerve wrecking all at the same time. The blond didn't let go immedietely, instead opting to gently nuzzle against the crook his neck, seemingly finding comfort in Satoshi's arms.

W-what do I do?! This had gotta be a sign, right? No, it can't be. But he's being really intimate... wow, he's so cuddly..I wonder if I... WAIT! FOCUS! Come on, Satoshi! Pull yourself together! H-

Satoshi drew his focus again, feeling Citron move slowly. The Kanto boy's heart beat hard against his chest. The blond hadn't let him go, no, infact... he seemed to be leaning in a little closer..

"Satoshi," he looked up through his gold coloured bangs. There was something flickering in his pale eyes, some sort of spark. His arms drew the trainer a tiny bit closer, only leaving a few iches between their faces.

"Citron.." he could feel the blond's breathe on his cheek.

Maybe..I can kiss him..

Perhaps this didn't need to be thought out. When it really got down to it, Satoshi was more of an emotionally driven person. So maybe it was best to just act.

Having made up his mind, he leaned in slightly, keeping his hooded fiery amber eyes locked on Citron's. His pulse beat heavily though his veins, all the hormones and anticipation driving his brain wild. And although he wasn't sure, he could swear the inventor understood too.

Just as he felt Citron's breathe against his lips, a shrill sound broke them apart.

"We're back!" Eureka's bright voice came from outside the tent. "Onii-chan! We got you some tissues!"

"Huh? What's this?" Serena's voice came from outside too, sounding curious about what was cooking on the fire.

"It looks gross." The girls continued their babble, mixing with the russel of shopping bags or Pokemon chatting.

Citron let go of him, sitting back on the sleeping bag, his face a brilliant pink.

"Um..thanks for the lunch." he smiled nervously, picking up the warm bowl and taking another spoonful. "It's really good."

"N-no problem.." Satoshi rubbed the back of his neck, embarrasement painting his cheeks. "I think..I'm gonna help them put everything away.." Slowly he stood, keeping his head down, trying to hide in his mess of dark hair. "If you need me, just call."

With that, Satoshi left, zipping the tent as he went.

Citron sat for a minute, his eyes not lifting from the spot the Kanto boy just sat. His brain mulled over his results, calculating and analysing. After a few moments, he turned, looking at Horubii. The rabbit stared up, uncovering one of his eyes with a floppy large ear.

"Horubii," the inventor started, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "I think we have our conclusion.."

Satoshi... was about to kiss me...

Sure, you could say it was a spur of the moment thing. And deep down the blond knew that his theory would need future testing. But for now, he'd wait and let things settle down. Then when it seemed right, he'd act again.

He.. really likes me?..

This was fun to write :) hope you guys like it!