Ari, Eve, and Dulse make their way down the Pokemon Center hallway. They make it to the main hub and are met with a smiling Nurse Joy. “Well, well, look who made up.” She says playfully.

“Made up? You’re making it sound like we were actually fighting.” Dulse sighs.

Ari laughs, rubbing her eye. “Nope, just a little quarrel, that’s all.”

“Ari, you do know what ‘quarrel’ means, right?” Dulse stares at Ari in disbelief. 

“Huh?” Ari tilts her head.

“Nevermind…” Dulse puts his hand on his face and shakes his head from side to side.

“Anyway, were you able to fix it? The Pokefinder I mean.” Ari asks.

“Uh, yeah.” Dulse puts his hand onto his neck. “It wasn’t too difficult putting it together a second time.”

“That’s good! Glad I didn’t mess it up too bad!” Ari’s smile beams.

“... but you didn’t mess it up at all…” Dulse whispers to himself.

“Hmmm?” Ari asks, curious about what Dulse said.

Dulse sighs and places his hand on Ari’s head. “It’s nothing.”

Ari looks up at Dulse with a puzzled look on her face, Dulse can’t help but think she looks kinda cute. He shakes his head. -What am I thinking?- Dulse pulls his hand away and turns away from Ari, flustered. 

Ari, concerned, asks, “Dulse, are you alright?”

Dulse covers his mouth with his hand. “I-I’m fine…”

Ari tries to get into Dulse’s view but he keeps turning away. “Dulse… are you sure you’re alright?”

Dulse takes a deep breath and then exhales. “Yes, just tell me. What do you have planned for today?” He tries to change the subject.

“My plans for the day? Nothing in particular. But now that I’m thinking about it, shopping sounds fun. Haven’t really visited any shops yet.”

“Sounds good. Let’s go shopping.” Dulse walks right out the Pokemon Center doors, not waiting for Ari to catch up.”

“What’s up with him? Could he still be angry with me?” Ari puts her hand on her chest, feeling it tighten.

Nurse Joy smiles. “No dear, I don’t think that’s it. This time, it’s just Dulse being Dulse.”

“Oh… okay.” Ari is full of questions.

—

Ari, Eve and Dulse arrive at their first store, a clothing store. It’s full of women's clothing like dresses, blouses, pants, skirts, swimsuits and lingerie. 

“What are we doing here?” Dulse asks, uneasy. His eyes graze over the underwear department.

“I’m looking to buy a new outfit!” Ari puts her hands up waving them back and forth. 

“I see…” Dulse tilts his head back and forth, trying to shake the uneasiness away. 

Ari grabs Dulse’s hand and drags him to look at the blouses. “Come on! I’ll need your opinion!”

“My opinion!?” Dulse is unsure about this.

—

“What about this?” Ari comes out of the dressing room wearing a white off the shoulder top, a red polka dot skirt, and white knee high boots. She put her hair up in a high pony and she’s wearing silver jewelry. 

Dulse looks at Ari with a blank expression. “Looks like everything else, fine.”

“Right… Well, I like it! I’ll just get this outfit.” Ari laughs awkwardly. She looks to Dulse and sees him playing with Eve, not caring about her clothes. This makes her a bit sad. “Okay, I’m going to change back.”

“Kay.” Dulse nonchalantly responds.

Ari walks back into the changing room and sees herself frowning in the mirror. -He doesn’t care about what I’m wearing? Why does that hurt?- She changes her clothes and then exits the dressing room. 

“You’re done?” Dulse asks, standing up. 

“Yeah…” Ari responds. 

“Cool.” Dulse turns around and starts heading to the checkout lane.

Ari follows but then her attention is drawn by the lingerie section. This gives her an idea. “Heyyy, Dulse~”

“Hmmm?” He stops walking and starts to turn around.

“Do you think this would look good on me?”

Dulse is slowly turning to look at Ari. “I’m sure it’ll look fine on y- ARI!” Dulse sees what Ari is referring to. She’s holding up a red frilly underwear set. “P-put that down!” He starts to blush.

“Come ooon.” She teases. “Just imagine it~”

Dulse’s face is bright red. “Ari, please!” He looks away. 

Ari notices his ears are bright red as well. She laughs. “Okay, okay. Sorry. Let’s go check out.” Ari grabs Dulse’s hand and leads him to the checkout lane, she’s smiling the whole time.

—

“Where to next?” Ari asks.

“I don’t know but I’m exhausted after that stunt you pulled…” Dulse lets out a deep sigh.

“I said I was sorry!” Ari pouts.

“Yeah, yeah…” Dulse rubs his neck.

-He does look pretty tired…- Ari ponders for a moment and then she gets excited. “I know where we can go! Come on!” She grabs Dulse’s hand and guides him down the sidewalk.

Suddenly, they find themselves in front of a cake shop. “Found it!”

“A cake shop?” Dulse looks to Ari.

“Yeah! I figured it’s a good place to rest! Plus, I never got to give you that cake the other day, so now I can treat you to some!”

“Oh, I see.” Dulse stares at the cake shop sign. It has a Pikachu wearing a chef's outfit on it. 

“Well, let’s go in!” Ari grabs Dulse’s arm and drags him inside.

—

“Mmmm! This cake is sooo good! How’s yours, Dulse?”

“It’s good.” Dulse takes another bite.

Ari stares at Dulse’s cake intently. Dulse notices.

“You wanna try it?” He asks.

“I-Is that alright?” Ari looks excited.

“Sure.” Dulse uses his fork and cuts off a piece for Ari. He then holds the fork over the table for her to take the bite.

Ari hesitates. -A bite off his fork? Doesn’t he know how intimate that is!?- She then shakes the thought away.  -Knowing Dulse, he’s probably not thinking that way.- She then takes the bite and laughs.

“What?” Dulse is confused about the laughter. 

“It’s just… it kinda feels like we’re on a date!” Ari laughs some more.

“Uh huh…” Dulse looks at Ari blankly.

“No reaction? Wow, I didn't expect that. Still, this is nice. Thank you for coming out with me today.” Ari gives Dulse a sweet smile.

Dulse feels his chest tighten when he sees Ari’s smile. He responds with, “Yeah, no problem.”