Baffled Hearts - a Brock x Ash (Pokemon) fanfic

Chapter 1

After a long journey with team Rocket popping up here and there to cause troubles, Ash, Brock, May, and Max finally made it to the Pokémon centre in a small town called Songria. The moment they set foot in the Pokémon centre, Brock let out an excited, hormone-fuelled yell and lunged towards the pink haired lady that was Nurse Joy.

'Nurse Joy! The Goddess of my life, the Angel of my dreams. My humble self have travelled through thick and thin just to be able to meet you, and to finally unit our lo-' before he could finish his over-the-top, cringy profession of love, Max stepped in, grabbed Brock by the ear, and pulled him away as he cried loudly after Nurse Joy.

Ash smiled weakly. He couldn't help but think about what happened moments before they reached Songria; team Rocket had ambushed them again. Frustrated with countless failures to capture Pikachu, they had adopted a more aggressive tactic this time and attacked them with many explosives to hold them back as they took Pikachu. Ash rushed forward recklessly to save Pikachu, and accidentally stepped on a buried explosive. The ground beneath him shook and rumbled. This is it, Ash thought as he closed his eyes and braced for the impact. Suddenly a hand gripped tightly around his wrist and yanked him back. Ash felt his back slammed against something hard and what felt like two metal bars closing in on his chest. Feeling the impact of the blast subside, Ash slowly opened his eyes and found himself safely encircled in Brock's arms. Brock had always been tanned and fit, and, from what Ash accidentally glimpsed once when he walked in on Brock getting changed, Brock was very muscular. Being embraced so tightly in a mass of muscles there was no way this was comfortable. But despite that, Ash felt, he felt safe, and protected. A weird warmth lurked in the pit of his stomach. Ash couldn't quite tell if he liked it or not. Brock let go of Ash, and his voice boomed in anger as he commanded Mudkip to use water gun to blast team Rocket off to the horizon. As team Rocket got blasted off again, Pikachu fell from the net that held him and Ash lunged forward to catch Pikachu just before he hit the ground.

'Ash!' May called out loudly and waved her hand in front of him, bring him back to the present, 'stop spacing out, Nurse Joy is asking us how many nights we're staying for.'

'Um, I guess we're all a bit worn out from team Rocket chasing us around this whole day, why don't we stay for two nights so we can all get some decent rest before we head of to the next gym?'

'Sure, I'll register you for two nights. Here, let's me show you your rooms.' Nurse Joy said joyfully as she led the way to their rooms.

As Nurse Joy shepherd them to the rooms, Max noticed that most rooms are empty. Curious, he asked, 'Nurse Joy, why are there so many empty rooms? Most Pokémon centres we've been to are nearly fully packed!'

'Oh yeah, I've been wondering this when we reached Songria, but isn't this town unusually deserted?' May chimed in.

Nurse Joy stopped walking and turned to them, looking worried, she said, 'the truth is, there have been two gangs that settled here for the past few days, and there have been many gang fights since, especially at night. That's why there've been so few travellers stopping by lately.'

'What about Police Jenny? She should be able to help.' Max asked.

'Well, you see Songria has always been a really peaceful town hidden deep in the mountains, there has never been any troubles, up till now, that's why there's no Police Jenny stationed here.' Nurse Joy explained.

'Ah! No Police Jenny?! Oh no, she's the sun of my life, the very fire that burns in my chest and keeps me aliv-' again, not able to finish confessing his undying love for Police Jenny, Brock was dragged away by Max.

'I've already contacted the main cities and they will be sending a police dispatch here soon. On the bright side of things, this means you can have a room each and enjoy the free space and privacy.' Nurse Joy said.

'Why thank you, Nurse Joy, that's very kind of you, but we don't want to be too much trouble. We'll take two rooms, one for Max and I, and one for Ash and Brock. Is that alright with everyone?' May asked and everyone agreed.

After May and Max settled in their room, Ash had to forcefully close the door to finally stop Brock from harassing Nurse Joy. Finally settled, Ash started unpacking his things to prepare for the night – toiletries, towels, clothes, sleeping bags... On the other side of the room, Brock crouched at a corner and continued to sob about being rejected by Nurse Joy. Ash glanced over sulkily, he can never understand Brock's obsession with older women – he confessed to them, they turned him down without batting an eye and left without ever looking back, yet Brock continues to chase them. But I'm the one who's beside you, no matter how many times you get shot down. Ash thought as an ember of frustration grew inside him.

'Brock, isn't that quite enough? Come on and get ready, we have to meet May and Max in 5 minutes for dinner.' Ash said, slightly annoyed.

Slightly surprised by Ash's annoyance, Brock apologized sheepishly and unpacked his bag, glancing over his shoulder to look thoughtfully at Ash from time to time.