Nice Guys Finish Last

A Pokemon Fanfiction by Kayley Laskitt

Disclaimer: Oh, come on, these things are about as useful as a hip pocket on a singlet. But, here it is just for the record - I own a sleek Cooper St dress, a '77 Mazda, but I do not own Pokemon or anything associated with it. Thank you. That is all.

Rating: PG-13, I guess. Might be some language in there for all I know, but nothing you wouldn't have heard if you've ever been to school.

Author's Notes: As if anyone is reading this. Pairing is indigoshippy - that is, Kasumi x Hiroshi. There's a bit of Shigeru x Satoshi as well.

Dedication: To Jesse, who got a major 97.35 for her TER score and got into Bio-Med at Melbourne Uni. I'm so proud of you - my little Jess is all grown up!

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There was only word to describe the atmosphere in Satoshi's backyard.

Crazy.

The people were crazy. The drinks were flowing like crazy. A good portion of Kasumi's presents were crazy - and a few were probably outlawed in most states. Even crazier was the music selection - from dance to rap to punk to vintage eighties. It was almost as if a chimp had been dubbed DJ for the evening, and given the company that Kasumi held, Hiroshi wouldn't be at all surprised if that was the case.

And that, Kasumi asserted, was the way she liked it.

She looked beautiful, but then no one really expected anything less from her. Bootleg hipster jeans teamed with a strapless red top that had a big 84 printed on it. Casual, because that was the way Kasumi was. Her hair hung in loose, wispy curls down her back. Now, as she laughed with Takeshi, the dying sunlight made the tiny ruby-red rhinestones stuck along her delicate collarbone glimmer and shine. Hiroshi didn't see this, though; he was too busy hiding around the side of the house.

More accurately, he wasn't hiding. He was waiting. And praying. Waiting for his cue. Praying Nanami wouldn't screw up said cue.

Just as he was beginning to regret even asking Nanami for her help, the music - a bass-heavy, headache-inducing, club mix - stopped momentarily. That was his cue.

Hiroshi rounded the corner he was hidden around, seeing Nanami poised, ready for action, and Kasumi chatting to Natsume, completely oblivious to the carefully planned plot that was unfolding all around her.

Hiroshi nodded once, sharply at Nanami, who flashed a brilliant smile and stabbed a button on the CD player with a dramatic flourish.

"Final assault," Hiroshi murmured, repeating the words Shigeru and Satoshi had said, words he had thought were, until now, overly dramatic.

The change of music didn't cause anyone to bat an eye, because the music selection had been unpredictable at best all night. Kasumi, still chatting away to Natsume, was still oblivious, and had no idea what was about to happen. But then, Hiroshi reasoned, who in their right mind would anticipate something like this?

"I thought love was only true in fairy tales . . . meant for someone else but not for me . . ."

Hiroshi found himself grinning as the people crowded in the yard slowly started to turn towards him and his microphone. Kasumi was one of the last to turn, her delicate brow furrowed in confusion. When she saw him, her confusion turned to confused amusement.

"Love was out to get me," Hiroshi sang, slowly walking towards Kasumi, grinning the whole while to mask his extreme nervousness. "That's the way it seemed . . . disappointment haunted all my dreams . . . "

Kasumi laughed with delighted surprise as Hiroshi leapt up onto the redwood picnic table, landed lightly between the quiche and potato salad, and didn't skip a beat in doing so. He winked at her boldly.

"Then I saw your face!" he sang. "Now I'm a believer! Not a trace of doubt in my mind . . ." Hiroshi dropped to his knees, still on the table, putting him at eye level with Kasumi. "I'm in love . . . I'm a believer, I couldn't leave you if I tried."

Kasumi's left hand was clamped over her mouth, and she looked as though she couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. "You're insane," she told him, shaking her head, but she was smiling as she said it.

Hiroshi grinned and jumped lightly off the table. "I thought love was more or less a given thing," Hiroshi crooned, grabbing Kasumi's free hand and pulling her with him, which was difficult given the way she was giggling uncontrollably. "Seems the more I gave the less I got. What's the use in trying? All you get is pain . . . when I wanted sunshine, I got rain!"

Hiroshi had never seen Kasumi blush so furiously before, and he liked the way he could have that affect on her.

"Then I saw your face! Now I'm a believer! Not a trace of doubt in my mind! I'm in love . . . ooh, I'm a believer, I couldn't leave you if I tried!"

It seemed Kasumi had reached a decision on whether to cry or laugh, and was doing both, her tiny hands covering her face. Then she pulled her hands away from her face and wrapped her arms around Hiroshi's neck, her wet cheek pressing against his.

"I can't believe you just did that." She was still laughing, still crying. Hiroshi could feel her shaking from the efforts of both, her body against his. "Oh my god, are you just the cutest or what?" she asked, shoving him slightly.

Hiroshi couldn't resist a quiet laugh at her words and he pulled back so he could look at her, at her liquid blue-green eyes and her slightly damp, red cheeks. "I just may be," he agreed with a rakish grin.

If he intended to say any more, he couldn't because he was cut off there, by Kasumi gently pressing her lips against his . . . she was kissing him gently, tenderly, but passionately at the same time as though she was expressing her jumble of emotions through her kisses. Her lips were salty from her tears and sweet from watermelon, and Hiroshi revelled in the way she tasted, and one thought floated through his mind.

Oh my God, the girl can kiss.

An obnoxiously loud wolf whistle sounded from someone - Shigeru, most likely, as he embodied the spirit of obnoxious - and Hiroshi responded to the challenge by wrapping his arms around Kasumi's waist tighter and swinging her down so she was lying back supported only by his arms. He kissed her again and more whistles sounded, in appreciation of Hiroshi's very debonair, very Clark Gable-Elvis-Presley move.

The kiss broke when Kasumi broke into laughter, apparently unable to ignore the charmingly childish encouragement of her friends. Grinning broadly, so broad his face was in danger of cracking, Hiroshi pulled her upright again.

"You know, I meant what I said . . . or sang," he said, the slightest hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Yeah?" Kasumi responded. "Does that mean I have to sing a song to tell you how I feel? Because I was trying to think of one."

"How about that one by the Nine Inch Nails?" Shigeru suggested helpfully. "You know, 'I wanna fu-"

Satoshi's hand clapped over his mouth.

Kasumi concealed a smirk.

"Ah," she said, looking at Shigeru almost fondly. "Some things never change."

Hiroshi rested his chin on the top of Kasumi's head. "And then some things do change," he commented. "For the better."

"For the better," Kasumi echoed.

Satoshi winked at Hiroshi. "Yeah, for the better."

Hiroshi almost laughed at loud at Satoshi's way smooth impersonation of subtlety. He pulled away from Kasumi and took her hand in his. "Want to go for a walk?"

She eyed her guests speculatively. "Think they'll mind?"

Hiroshi shrugged carelessly, grinned and pulled Kasumi towards the back gate. "Who cares if they do?"

Kasumi seemed to agree with this and the two disappeared. As the gate clicked shut behind them, Satoshi let his hand fall from Shigeru's mouth.

"Think it's for the better?" Takeshi asked, who was pretty smart and had noticed the change in Hiroshi's attitude.

"Oh, yeah," Shigeru said with quiet certainty, looking towards the direction that Hiroshi and Kasumi had left. "Definitely. For both of them."

Unbeknownst to Hiroshi and Kasumi, who were halfway to wherever, Shigeru led the other guests in a toast.

"To changes for the better," he said lifting his glass. The other guests followed suit, lifting, drinking in unison.

Satoshi grinned. "And to getting the girl."

Takeshi nodded in agreement, lifted his glass. "I'll drink to that."

END