"Are you absolutely sure you won't stay the night?" Aniseed said, though her tone revealed that she already knew the answer. "Or, at the very least, fly you home?"

"No," Calcine said, letting out a held-in breath of pure terror as she descended from the penthouse to the street. It was good to be back on solid ground. "If we stay, it'll just start up again in the morning, and Brandy might really end up in the Poké-center."

She gave her terribly horny Trainer a pat on the rear. She was slung over Calcine's shoulder, wrapped up in her warm cloak, and snoring away like a train engine. Calcine knew snoring came from the vibrations in a relaxed body, and Brandy had hit a point of peak relaxation long ago. It'd been so sweet to watch her drift off to sleep in the warmth of their arms. 

"Well, thank you for sharing her; I hate having to feed the bond without my Partner here, but..."

"We know Joyce's by now," Sparky grinned. "Trust us, she'd want you to press every redhead you could find up to a wall."

Aniseed reached down to flick Sparky's nose, which just made her fur spark with excitement. "You're not wrong, but I miss her. Filling that gap with another woman reminds me of who should be there instead."

"You should call her," Calcine said, "Paint a scene for her. I think she'd like to hear it."

"Wouldn't she just feel left out?" Aniseed sounded genuinely worried about the possibility. Calcine tried to think of a way to soothe her, but Sparky was quicker off the mark.

"Aniseed," Sparky said, wanting to put a hand on her shoulder but having to settle for a hip. "You are ridiculously gorgeous. There's no way she's not missing an ass that good."

Morgan let out a quiet chirp. She was slung over Calcine's other shoulder, just as soundly asleep as Brandy. 

"How does she know we said ass?" Calcine said.

Another chirp. 

"Uncanny." Calcine snorted. "I thought she was well composed for a Dark type, but it seems she channels all that instinct into one particular lust."

"She's a good bird," Aniseed said. "Maybe Maxi would like to hear about the Murkrow who worshipped me."

"Lay it on thick," Sparky nodded. "Give her all the juicy details. You and Spitfire double-teaming Brandy. Spitfire wrecking me. Lixi and Calcine fighting to eat Brandy out."

"We didn't fight," Calcine said. "We disagreed on who should go first."

"Was a Championship tournament for her pussy. You're lucky Aniseed can repair dents in her floorboards."

"I might borrow some of this colorful phrasing," Aniseed said, a hand over her mouth to hide any polite laughs. "I'll give it a try. If it goes badly, I'll hunt you both down."

Calcine shrugged, getting a double snore out of Brandy and Morgan as the air got pushed out of their stomachs. "Sparky would love to be hunted down. Maybe do that if it goes well? You'll have to get creative if it goes badly."

"It's a deal. This is what Brandy was heading towards arranging herself, wasn't it? Before we had to calm her down about finding out, I was family adjacent."

"She's a goof," Sparky said, flicking her fingertips over the sleeping Trainer's nose and making her snuffle. "Her parents fucked so much she gets annoyed thinking about it."

"I have noticed an overabundance of passion is a Joyce trait," Aniseed said, hands over her heart. She was only in a slim black nightdress, so it was a sight that made hearts thump in sympathy. "Take care of her. I'll be part of the family someday and will be even more annoying than her parents if I have my way."

"We will," Calcine nodded. "I'll get Morgan to give you a Dex call in the morning. She'll be mortified she didn't say goodbye and thank you."

"I'll think about her every time I try to sit down tonight," Aniseed said fondly. "I don't think I've ever been complimented that much in one go. She has a gift with words."

"She is all mouth," Sparky nodded, "You should hear her when she's feeling smug. Insufferable."

"I suffer you both just fine," Calcine said. 

"Well, you're a tolerance machine. You don't count."

Aniseed leaned down to give them both a kiss on the cheek. Sparky didn't even try to hide her staring down Aniseed's cleavage. "Spitfire and Lixi were arguing about which pizza place has the hottest delivery women last I left them. I'd like to get back up there and maybe order a nice pizza to go with the delivery."

"You're rich as heck. Give her a huge tip!" Sparky said, "She's going to earn it."

"I'll make her week, don't you worry. Take care and good luck with your Tournament fight." Aniseed said with a polite curtsey before drifting off back up the building.

Calcine and Sparky both watched her go, with legs like those you didn't pass up the view. 

Motostoke at night was still somewhat noisy, and only pure exhaustion kept Brandy and Morgan from waking up as Calcine carried them both home. Sparky, of course, couldn't help. Their arms would trail on the ground. Or at least that was the excuse she'd used. They got a few looks from Pokémon on the way back, but there was grudging respect given to women who'd gotten their fill, so they only had to endure a few catcalls and cheers. Sparky drank the attention up, bowing and showing off Brandy's legs to whoever would look. 

It was shameless, but Calcine loved that about Sparky. She wasn't a complicated Bug. She knew exactly what she wanted. To be pressed flat and fucked until she couldn't speak properly. The jingling badge on Calcine's shirt was more complicated. Pokémon weren't meant to have badges, and yet...

"You've gone all thoughtful quiet," Sparky said, getting a handful of Calcine's butt. She got smushed in the face with Morgan's hat for her mischief, the curious thing steadfastly hanging on to its spot on Morgan's head even when she was upside down. "Pfff, I'm serious! I know when you're deep thinking."

"Lot to think about," Calcine deflected, "Someone breaking bonds, the Tournament match, Mercury is still out there somewhere. Us."

"Us?" Sparky said, "This about what Fenny said?"

It seemed like forever ago they'd gotten scanned in Fenny's lab. But Fenny had said Calcine shared a special bond with Sparky, a power-sharing agreement. Rare and special by bond standards, which were usually the strongest between humans and Pokémon. 

"Brandy used the 'love' word a lot last night. Got me thoughtful, is all." Calcine said. 

"If you're fishing for an 'I love you,' then I'm happy to do it." Sparky smirked, "You're big, strong, and always there for me. I love you."

"It sounds insincere when you set it up like that." Calcine hip bumped the bug. "I'm serious. I worry I don't carry the weight sometimes."

"You're literally carrying them both. Their tall asses would flatten me." Sparky grinned. "Which I'm all for, but it's a slow way to get home. This why you went for the badge? You're nervous you aren't good enough?"

"Brandy's special."

"Yeah, obviously." Sparky said, "But you are too. You look amazing as a Carkol. You always make sure Morgan and I get time with her, and you're super hot when you get super hot. Calcine, come on. If anyone is allowed to be insecure here, it's me."

"You're our strongest fighter. You could have handled Mardi and her gang with one hand behind your back."

"I'm a furry pipsqueak punching above her weight class." Sparky said, "Joltiks aren't special."

Calcine hip-bumped her harder, making Sparky stumble. She was too agile on her feet to fall, spinning under the street lights with her arms out as she made a show of being unbalanced. "Don't talk about yourself like that."

"Oh, annoying you, is it?" Sparky grinned. "Don't like someone putting themself down when they're clearly awesome?"

"I get what you're doing, but I mean it." Calcine rumbled. "I'll fight anyone who says you're not amazing, even you."

"You can beat my ass any day." Sparky got in a hug, which was tricky with Calcine carrying two people over her shoulders, but Sparky was nothing if not flexible. "I'm not going to do sappy speeches about how you need to believe in yourself or that you're loved. Because you're the smart one, and you know better. I do love you in my own annoying way."

"Incredibly annoying."

"And learning to be more so every day." Sparky squeezed harder. "Brandy loves you, I love you. Morgan is here too."

"You're also mean."

"I'm allowed to be mean to Morgan. She's a cheat and a scoundrel, and she loves it. She'd be preening her feathers if she could hear me."

"I enjoy her ideas. She helps liven things up."

"The coin-bouncing game was inspired." Sparky reluctantly agreed, "Fine, if you're forcing me to say I love Morgan, too, I will. But this is actually forced now. I genuinely love you. Morgan will take some work."

Calcine snorted and gently squeezed the two women in her arms. They were still snoring, thank Arceus. This would be mortifying if either of them were awake. 

Something left unsaid hung in the air, something big, and Calcine needed a run-up. She was still getting used to her emotions flowing on the surface, and this one was scorching. 

"I don't know how I'd go on without Brandy in my life," Calcine said as Sparky's rows of blue eyes watched her anxiously. "I always struggled to find purpose. I think I only did the gym because I wanted to be her, and she let me so I could try to find my voice. Be more confident in saying what I want."

"Which is?" Spark said with an impish smile. 

"Still a hard thing to do." Calcine wished she had a free hand right now. She wanted to touch Sparky so badly. Calcine settled for leaning into the hug. "But just because it's hard, doesn't mean it isn't worth saying. I love you, Sparky. You're always there for us. I notice that. Respect the hell out of it. Adore it."

"I have four eyes. If you make me cry, it will be a mess." Sparky said, her words a little choked.

"I like making a mess of you. That's not going to stop me." Calcine said proudly. "We're going to put these two to bed, and then I'm going to practice saying what I want."

"I'd make jokes, but I think my mouth is going to be full," Sparky said, burying her face in Calcine's side. To hide a tear or sheer fondness, it was hard to say. Either way, Calcine was there for her to lean on. 

After they had both walked silently for a time, enjoying the good vibes, Sparky sighed and said wistfully, "It's been a really good time here. I'm going to miss Motostoke. " 

"Me too, but we can always come back someday. We can drag Lixi off and have her to ourselves while Brandy and Morgan get some couple time."

"As if Morgan won't be perched outside Aniseed's window tapping on the glass," Sparky laughed. "But it sounds like a date. In which I get spoiled the most."

"Spoiling people is fun to me," Calcine said, "That's one thing I've learned from Brandy. It's good to make other people smile. Or cry a little."

"Didn't cry."

"You will when we get into a bed. I'm going to be very thorough sending you off to sleep."

She could feel Sparky vibrate with excitement on her side. It was nice to know the right words to say. Maybe finding her purpose would take some more doing, but for now, Calcine had some clear goals she'd set herself, and she was going to see them through with a Pokémon she loved. That was a good enough start.