Despite their loss, Fuyuhiko didn't feel frustrated after that battle. 

No, it only reminded him that it wasn't over yet; they could still win against Team Alpha. Not alone, but together, he and Duri, they could take Hiro down once and for all. They had a chance, they had a place, and they knew where they were headed. They could do this. 

Dan seemed distant after it, though, and he kept looking out of the window and being so quiet aside from the few times he was asked questions by the others, which Fic seemed worried about, so once in a while, the two talked in hushed tones. Thankfully it did seem to cheer him up a bit, and he went back to talking with his friends soon. 

As for the two of them? They were sitting at the back of the van for "timeout" after the battle. He and Duri had been chewed out thrice. By Peko, Dan and Fic. Seriously, who said Dan was the chill one? He was definitely the scary one of the AO.

So, right now, it was just awkwardly nice silence. Well, until it was broken

"Hey, erm, Fuyuhiko, d-did you mean what you said back there?" Duri suddenly asked. 

Fuyuhiko was surprised by this question, "H-Huh?" 

"W-When you said that y-you liked me, d-did you really mean it?" Duri flushed and looked away. 

"O-Of course I did!" He felt the heat rush onto his face too. God dang it, it was so embarrassing! What was he thinking back then?! "W-Why would I say it if I didn't mean it?!" 

"O-Oh! S-So it wasn't a lucid dream," Duri smiled slightly, and Fuyuhiko looked up to see him gently take Fuyuhiko's hand, face so red he was a tomato. But he still seemed happy. "T-Thanks." 

He flushed as well, "N-No worries!"

"Congrats on finally getting together," Fic sarcastically said while turning around with Shun, a deadpan look on their face. 

"I-It's a good thing right?" Shun asked. 

"Knowing this group of knuckleheads, Shun? I have my doubts. They'll get reckless and do stupid stuff." 

"HEY!" Fuyuhiko sputtered at that, his face definitely scarlet now. "A-As if you're any better with your own crushes!" 

"Excuse me, at least I didn't antagonise them the way you did with Duri," they rose an eyebrow at the increasingly mortified Fuyuhiko. "I mean, seriously, all that tension was not healthy for anyone." 

"H-HEY!" 

"They're not wrong, you guys squabble like kids," Peko deadpanned from the front, driving them to Masana Town while Hajime and Nagito laughed. "Seriously, get a new habit, please. It's getting tiring." 

"I-It's not like I wanted to-" He was interrupted by Duri's soft chuckle, and he turned to see the programmer smiling and wiping some mirthful tears away from his eyes, "Y-You are really funny." 

"T-thanks!" Fuyuhiko flushed at that. 

Dan looked over and sighed, "FINALLY, they get together. I didn't think anyone would be as oblivious as Shun and Ajit or Lia and Wynton, but I was wrong." 

"HEY!" Lia looked insulted. 

"We weren't that bad... right?" Shun was skeptical about the truth. 

"I doubt it," Ajit shrugged. 

"Maybe it's just to Danny boy's standards," Wynton chuckled. 

The red-streaked male could only pout at his friends as they chortled at the scene, and Fic patted his back, "Don't worry, Dan, they just don't want to admit they were the mess you claimed them to be."

"E-Excuse me!" Lia protested, with the others pouting as well, but soon they were all laughing. Even Hajime and Nagito joined in as they snorted at this, causing the two to flush hard at this. 

"Alright, no more teasing back there, or no food!" Peko said from the front, and almost immediately Dan gaped, "NO NOT THE FOOD!" 

"NO BURGERS?!" Wynton was devastated, and even Fic looked pale, "No more practicality?"

"Not in the slightest," Peko shrugged, causing Dan to go, "NOOOoOO!" as he tried to fall onto Shun's lap, but the Water-type trainer shifted so that his head was on Fic's lap, a smirk on his face. 

Fuyuhiko was wondering how long it would take him to realise that Dan was lying on his crush's lap, yet at the same time, he wanted to see how this would end. In fact, he took a picture of this, since Fic seemed out of it as well, and smirked as he showed it to Duri, "Any bets on how long it'll take them to realise?" 

"My guess? 10 minutes," Duri snorted. "Dan may seem dumb as heck and only battle-oriented, but he's all too aware about his own feelings and so he knows when something is embarrassing, although I did give him time to process the scent Fic exudes so he could react accordingly." 

"True true," Fuyuhiko laughed. "You are no one's fool, huh, Duri?"

"I guess you can say that," Duri chuckled. "You aren't either, Fuyuhiko." 

The two shared a smile before they dissolved into snorts. This was actually kinda fun!

"Anyway, how much longer till we arrive at Masana Town?" Ajit asked. 

"A few days tops," Peko frowned. "I already asked Teruteru to get the human meat sent, but will we arrive in time to stop Team Alpha?" 

"We will, let's have faith in that," Fic said. 

"You know it," Duri smiled. "We'll catch Team Alpha this time!" 

"Taking them down will require Intypegration, though," Shun pointed out, and Duri blinked, feeling as confused as Fic, Peko, Fuyuhiko, Hajime and Nagito did. 

"What's that?" Fic asked Dan, and he answered, "It's a special mechanic Haavik introduced, but we managed to harness ourselves more naturally since Haavik basically forced the fusion." 

"Yeah. We call it Intypegration cause it allows the Pokemon to gain a tertiary type or power boosts," Wynton explained. "When 2 trainers grow closer and share a common emotion, they can fuse their Pokemon temporarily in a battle and use it to fight. Sometimes it can be the two Pokemon gaining a Tertiary type, others it can be a fusion. For Haavik's group they get the latter, while for us, it tends to be a bit balanced. For fusions among friends, we tend to get the first, but when fused with Mythical Pokemon from the Mirror Cave, it's the latter." 

"Huh, did the second happen before you joined us?" Hajime asked. 

"Yeah, we came to you right after the Troupe escaped," Shun said. "We've all unlocked the second type of Intypegration, but Dan..." 

"Hey it doesn't matter! Drago and I are still the strongest pair there is!" Dan refuted. 

The others all smiled, and Fic said, "We don't doubt it Dan. Not at all." 

The two then stared into each other's eyes before looking away, red faces clear while the others guffawed. 

Fuyuhiko and Duri smiled at each other, relieved they were getting a break, but knowing that they still had to be ready. 

"Strategy discussion?" Duri offered quietly. 

"Sure," he nodded, and the two inched closer to each other as they began strategising. 

Fuyuhiko found that he enjoyed how close they were, and the amount of happiness he felt when he was close to Duri.