A/N: Hey, fellows! How's it going? Here's a new chapter for you. Gah, expect some mistakes, as I don't have a corrector on me right now, and there might be some internal issues in the story as well. But I had to post this now, right after finishing it, or else I'd just flunk it and start again, as I've done a few times already with this chapter. I just can't get it right! Anyway, here we go.

Chapter XI: Warmth

Feeling uncommonly cheerful, Silver hopped off of the back of his big, black honchcrow and then looked around at his surroundings. The city he had just arrived in was small and tranquil-looking. So, Violet City… Haven't been here in a while, huh?

Without himself noticing, the boy whistled a couple of carefree tunes as he advanced towards the simple light-coloured, one-storey houses that sat on the edge of the street, each looking more or less like the others. After checking the name of the street from a nearby sign and determining the right number, he turned to one of the houses.

"What do you think, is this the one?" he merrily asked the honchcrow, who only eyed him back with an indifferent expression that clearly said, 'How the hell would I know?'

With a small but altogether not that grumpy 'hmph', the boy recalled his pokémon and then walked towards the door, again idly whistling. Okay, nice house, neat garden… Yeah, I can picture her living here.

Although he had known Crys for years, he had never really had a chance to visit her house before. Well, first time for everything, and she said I could lend her kitchen. Silver supposed it was okay, since on the phone earlier, the girl had said that her mother would be out of town for the day anyway.

So it's gonna be just the two of us… Upon that though, and since he had reached the door, the boy came to a halt. For some reason, the mysteriously good mood he had had all morning faded for just a tiniest bit, and suddenly he was feeling nervous.

Hey, what is it? Why am I getting so worked up? He mentally scolded himself, quickly assuming that the nervousness came from the fact he wasn't really used to visiting people's homes. Well, apart from Green's, though, and Red's, since that guy held various get-togethers quite often.

But anyway, it's good that she agreed to help. Yesterday, we didn't have time to talk much, since Gold just kept messing around… And besides, Crys must have been exhausted after the long trip, so Silver had dragged Gold along and left after only a brief exhance of greetings and how-you-beens.

Well, no point in standing here all day. After a rapid shake of his head in the hopes of making it clearer, Silver took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

"Coming!" chimed a familiar voice from somewhere inside the house.

The sound of a couple of hurrying footsteps, and an opening door, and there she was, standing in front of him.

"Ah, Silver! Come in, come in!" Crys chirped with such a happy face that it made Silver's cheeks abruptly feel a little hotter. What's with that face? Such a cheerful girl.

"Sorry for the mess", she said, while leading him through the house. "Me and Mom have a little different sense of organizing, so, uh…" She trailed off and gave a soft laugh, which seemed to ignite some mysterious, warm feeling inside Silver. Well, I'm glad she's back.

The inside of the house seemed pleasant and full of light. The walls were painted with white paint, but Silver thought he could distinguish the shade of the lightest blue in there somewhere. The floor and the furniture were of light-coloured materials in general. Silver gave curious glances at the surroundings.

Although he had expected everything to be in a tiptop, almost clinical order, he was surprisingly wrong. Not that it was messy, but – after a while of struggling to find a fitting word – cosy, with a cupboard full of various kinds of decorative items here, a disorganized bookcase there, a read newspaper on a coffee table. Silver liked it. With all these small marks of living, the house really seemed to be somebody's home.

Finally, they reached their destination and arrived in a small kitchen, which was equally full of all kinds of homely things. Ashamed, Silver thought of his own hideout, in which the closest thing to a kitchen was a small cupboard in one corner and a microwave oven sitting on top of it.

"I looked up a couple of books that might be of help", Crys said, nodding at a pile of cookery books on the dining table. "So we're baking a cake, right?"

Ah, yes. The task. That's what I'm here for. "Yeah. It's the tenth chapter", Silver said, giving the Special Jewels for Life to the girl. She opened it and started reading aloud.

"'Chapter 10: Bake a cake and share it with friends.

Congratulations, you have reached the tenth Jewel! That, my friend, means we are halfway through already. Time sure flies! On this fine occasion, undoubtedly worthy of celebration, let's bake a cake and invite some friends over to enjoy it. As we all have our own preferences, you can choose the recipe yourself, and you can decide the number of the guests on your own as well. From one to countless, i's all fine, as long as there's enough cake for everyone to enjoy, and as the cake itself is made with the warmth and love every home-made cake requires. Have fun!'"

Crys closed the book and looked at Silver with a very sweet expression. "Really? It has been ten tasks already? That's wonderful, Silver, I'm proud of you. Honestly speaking, at first I didn't think that you would do any of them." She gave him an apologetic smile.

"Honestly speaking, I didn't either", Silver mumbled. Yeah, what miraculous chain of events had brought him to this point where he practically started his mornings by opening the small, slim book, like it was some sort of a necessity, like eating breakfast, or brushing one's teeth?

"Anyway", he said, dismissing the question to somewhere in the back of his mind, as he couldn't think of an answer to it anyway. "Thanks for letting me lend the kitchen. The one in my hideout is... well, you know."

She shook her head and again smiled like the whole world was all blue skies and sunlight. Silver concentrated on putting the book back to his pocket to hide the confused embarrassment he was suddenly feeling. "No, it's okay! I'm glad to have company, it'd just be weird being home alone after the trip... Ah, have you already decided who you want to invite?"

Hm? Oh, right, she means the mission. "Nah, I don't want to invite anyone, I don't want any hassle. And technically, you're here, so it should be enough", he said, his tone grumpy, in the hopes of it making Crys drop her obvious 'But there has to be guests because the book says so'.

And apparently it worked, as there was only a disapproving frown and a shake of head. "I see. Whatever you want, Silver."

For a second, the boy thought he saw a strange look in Crys' eyes, but she turned towards the cookery books, so he couldn't be very sure. "So… what kind of cake do you want to bake?" she then asked, and Silver took the change of subject as an excuse to start skimming through the recipes.

Soon they had decided to make a strawberry cream cake – not that Silver liked sweet things that much, but Crys had looked at the picture with such a longing expression that Silver thought they might as well make that one. Well, it doesn't really matter to me what we're baking, anyway. And she said she already had all the ingredients for it.

After they had washed their hands, put on aprons – which uttered loud opposition from Silver at first, which, in turn, uttered a menacing glare from Crys – and gathered everything they needed on the kitchen counter, Crys asked Silver whether he had any experience in baking. After his strict and honest "No, not at all", she gave a small sigh and explained him the basics.

"… But I'm pretty sure we'll manage just fine, since the instructions are really simple", she said with a reassuring smile.

"Right." Silver eyed the long recipe. "So we'll just have to follow all these twenty-something steps… Yup, nothing can go wrong. Absolutely nothing." Crys just chuckled and told him to measure the flour.

After a while, Silver was getting the hang of it. Hey, what do you know, it's not that hard. Whether it was because the recipe in fact was quite simple after all, or because of Crys' thorough way of instructing, Silver soon found the measuring, mixing and whisking more enjoyable than he'd ever thought.

Or maybe it's just the company… Silver stole a glance at Crys while she was putting the cake into the oven and explaining the importance of the right cooking time and temperature. He couldn't resist a small smile working up towards the corner of his mouth. Her enthusiasm is kinda contagious, huh.

"…So now we'll just have to wait. Oh, it's so hot in here! Maybe I should open the window to cool it down a little…" Crys turned to face Silver. "Huh? Something wrong? There's not any flour in my face, is there?"

Silver quickly swallowed his smirk. "No, nothing. Never mind."

After that, the two sat down in the kitchen table, and Crys turned the conversation towards the past few days.

"Hey, tell me all about the Jewels. Was there any interesting ones while I was away?"

"Well…" Silver flinched a little. Yeah, these – what, four days – had been full of things that you could call interesting. But Silver really didn't want to talk about half of them, so he just mentioned with a few words that he had gone over to Green's for a couple of days, among other things. Then he quickly changed the subject to Crys' trip overseas.

"Oh, there were so many things to see!" she exclaimed, her whole expression suddenly brightening. Silver knew she meant the pokémon, and was not surprised, since she then started to talk about the many exciting inhabitants of the Unova region. Silver smiled by himself again while watching her animous explanation, nodding in times and sometimes asking further questions of some pokémon that picked his interest.

Hm. Funny. Just sitting here and listening to Crys… There it is again, that strange, warm feeling. Silver glanced at the oven. I don't think the heat has anything to do with it, though…

Soon the sharp beep of the timer confirmed that their little break was over. Crys lifted the cake out of the oven and told that they were going to slice it into three layers after it had cooled down.

"The next thing to do, however, is the topping", the girl said, checking the recipe. "Would you mind whipping the cream? The mixer is right there in the corner."

Silver nodded and reached for the cream. After that, Crys excused herself for a moment, saying that she had something to take care of, but that she'd be back in a minute. Silver was left in the kitchen alone with the mixer and the bottle of cream.

"Hm, add sugar, mix until thick..."

Silver couldn't almost believe the situation he was currently in. There he was, making whipped cream in a friends' kitchen. These last ten days had been full of all kinds of new things that Silver had experienced for the first time. Of course, some of them embarrassing, troublesome or just plain terrifying, but all in their own way intriguing. How did I even spend my days before the Special Jewels for Life? I don't even remember. And to think it's all because of Crys...

The mixer's buzzing sound drifted into Silver's ears as the cream twirled around in the bowl, making small, constantly changing circles.

Why is it that just seeing her makes me somehow calm? And listening to her, looking at her laughing... why does it make me suddenly want to smile like crazy? Silver frowned at the bowl. I must be loosing my mind.

"Okay, all done! How about you?" Crys was standing at the door, looking at Silver.

"Uhm..." He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I think it looks kinda like what it's supposed to", the boy said, checking the cream, which had miraculously turned into a fluffy mass. When did that happen?

"What? Something on my face?" he dryly added, since Crys was still staring.

"Yes, actually... There's some cream on your left cheek."

Damnit. Silver rubbed his cheek and wished that he could as easily wipe off the freshly appeared blush. So uncool.

...

With the whipped cream ready, there was only little left to do. Crys somehow turned a pile of strawberries into a sweet-tasting, thick filling when Silver wasn't looking, but not before picking the prettiest ones to be put on top of the cake.

Then they built the cake, putting the strawberry filling on one layer and cream on the other. Then the rest of the cream and the strawberries on top - Crys made Silver do the decorating, saying that it was his cake, after all - and then, after all that, it was finally ready.

Whoa. Silver looked at the cake on the kitchen table. The cake stared back, the red strawberries glimmering in the kitchen light. Did I - did we really make that? It actually looks good.

"I hope it tastes as great as it looks", Crys said, appearing at Silver's side, briefly brushing through his arm. Silver felt his neck tingle for some reason. "You can wait at the table, I'll get the plates."

"Hey, Crys?" Silver asked after sitting down.

"Hm?" The girl was reaching for the upper cabinets, her back facing Silver. "What is it?"

"Um... I just wanted to say thanks."

Apparently she had gotten what she needed from the cabinet, as she turned around with a pile of plates and dessert spoons in her hands. "Oh, you don't have to thank me! Like I said, I would've been just lonely and bored if you hadn't come over, and it's always nice to help -"

Silver shook his head. "No, not just about today. I mean, thanks for these past days, the Jewels, you know, everything. I..." He trailed off and frowned. "Wait, why is there so many plates?"

Ding-dong.

Suddenly the smile in Crys' face seemed somehow unnatural and frozen. Silver's eyes narrowed.

"Crys..."

"Yes?"

Ding-dong. "Who did you invite?"

Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Crys' smile faltered for a tiniest bit before answering. "Oh, you know, just... Pretty much everyone."

…

"Crys, hi! You're back! How was Unova? Now, tell me everything, I've heard it's so amazing! Right? Oh, say something, Blue!"

"Yo, Super-Serious! I heard there was cake here! And - is that an apron, Silv?"

"Haha! I didn't even know you were travelling, sorry! After you, Yellow..."

"Crystal! Did you bring any souvenirs for me? You promised you would!"

"Cake? Did someone say cake?"

"Ah, wait, Diamond, we should greet our elders first. Pearl, that means you too."

"C'mon inside, Ruby! You can ask about the garden later, ya know!"

Silver stood at the door and patiently waited for everyone to get inside. So much for the nice and quiet. Should've known she was up to something when she so suspiciously left the kitchen for a while...

Crys was handing a small paper bag tied with a ribbon to Emerald, who stared at it eagerly, asking what was inside. The small hall suddenly seemed to be cramped and full of life. Everyone was looking around, laughing or chatting with each other. Silver hemmed. Well, how could I be mad?

After they had all sat down at the kitchen table, in the mindst of the general hassle caused by the cake being cut, Silver leaned towards Crys and muttered with a smirk, "You know, if you wanted a welcome party, you could've just said so."

She flashed him an apologetic smile and put a plate in his hand. "Go on, taste it!"

As Silver put the first spoonful into his mouth, he thought about how clever the person who invented baking must've been. Seriously. Or does it taste this good because there're friends here to share it with?

Hm. Whatever. He took another bite.

...

'How was the task? Was it

a) a piece of cake

b) nothing special, or

c) difficult?'

A piece of cake. Yeah, pun intended. And with Crys helping me, it really was easy.

'What happened?'

I baked a strawberry cream cake with Crys. She invited the whole gang over. It was pretty fun. Even Gold didn't annoy me as much as usual.

'How did it make you feel?'

I don't know. There was that strange feeling. Strange but nice.

…

It was quite late until Silver was back in his hideout. After sleepily scribbling the answers in the end of the chapter, he closed the book and got into bed.

I'm so tired... The boy pulled the blanket over his shoulders and closed his heavy eyes. Who knew that baking a single cake could take so much energy?

He snuggled his head deeper into the pillow and gave a small laugh. And the cake actually tasted good. Great, even. Somehow, eating it made me feel warm and fuzzy...

He let out a long yawn. That feeling was kind of like how I felt when I was with Crys earlier... Exactly the same... Don't know its name, though...

Hovering at the edge of sleep, the boy smiled.

So let's just call it warmth, just like in the book... If I remember right, it was talking about warmth and something... Like for baking a cake, you need warmth, and...

Warmth... Now, what was it?

Warmth...

Warmth, and...

...

...Love?

...

A/N: Aaaaand there, we're halfway through! So it's only downhill from here… Just kidding. What it really means is that there's still an equal amount of harrassment and suspense in store for poor Silver, and, I hope, lots of fun and enjoyment for you guys. So, pass the cake and spread the love! Over and out.