A hundred eyes were on them, not openly staring, but Brandy's fancy Joltik-like eyes meant she didn't miss a single person who was sneaking looks at their table. It didn't bother her. Most of them seemed curious or gave her a quick, encouraging smile. A few were glad to have all the maids back and were enjoying the view again. Brandy couldn't blame them. All her Partners looked gorgeous; the tears in Calcine's dress made her look like a badass, and Brandy had put her legs up on the round, plastic picnic table so Morgan and Sparky could massage each thigh.

Staring was only to be expected.

Usually, Brandy's Partners would make all kinds of comments with her legs on display, but a thoughtful silence had laid itself over the group like a blanket. After all that stair climbing, the massage was a purely mechanical attempt to help Brandy's aching calves. The interest the table's sexy show was getting from the crowd of barbecue guests sharply contrasted with her Partner's disinterest. It made total sense after the revelations they'd had, but Brandy hated seeing them looking so lost in their own heads. A Trainer's job was to keep all her Partners happy. Brandy had been blessed enough that they usually made that relatively easy. Right now, she would have to push aside her aches and put some work in.

"You need to heal those scratches," Brandy said, staring across the table at Calcine. "We're out of danger now."

"I want to see this through to the end," Calcine said, fingers drifting over the cut in her dress. "I want to hear what Blaze has to say, and I'd hate to miss out on the chance to sway her if she's not sure."

Brandy nodded. Calcine wasn't severely hurt, so she didn't need to press. Maybe in the future, she'd have to overcome Calcine's protective streak to force her to look after herself, but for today, it could wait. She wiggled a sock-covered foot at Calcine. "Can you still do heated massages?"

"Spoiled," Morgan said, squeezing Brandy's thigh. "Let Sparky and I look after you. We missed out on the fight."

"Shame, you'd both have been good against Mardi and her Grass typing." Brandy said, "Your Gust, or Sparky's Bug Bite. Could have been over in moments."

"She's trying to cheer us up," Sparky said, pattering her fingers over Brandy's thigh, little electric jolts coming from her fingertips that made her leg kick. "Telling us how cool we are."

"As if we don't know," Morgan sniffed. "Shameful."

"I'm shameless, inherited off you both." Brandy grinned.

That got a snort of a laugh from them both, and they didn't complain when Calcine made good on the ask for a foot massage. Her fire was a little hotter than Brandy remembered, not a gentle flood of warmth but a wave of relief that flickered out from her palms. Brandy tried not to giggle, but it did tickle a little. Calcine had lost that fine control of Incinerate when it'd upgraded to Flame Charge, and her larger palms as a Carkol made everything more intense. It made sense. Calcine had grown a lot since they'd first met, more outspoken and ready to take the lead.

Arceus! Brandy loved them so much. Morgan was right. She really was spoiled.

But that silence came back again, slowly creeping in the edges. Eyes sunk down as the unspoken topic returned. If Brandy wanted to dispel this cloud, she had to tackle it head-on.

"I'd fall in love again, you know?" Brandy said. "Would be easy."

"Eh?" Sparky looked up, her blue eyes narrowing. "Fall in love with who?"

Brandy bumped Sparky with her thigh and gave her a dazzling smile. "You. I'm sure of it. If something broke our bond, you'd tease me until I learned to love you all over again. Wouldn't stand a chance."

"I'd not let you go." Calcine said, "Not until you saw sense."

Short and simple. She'd have a loyal bodyguard from Calcine no matter what happened. Brandy didn't doubt it either. Calcine simply wouldn't allow it to happen.

Morgan kept massaging, head ducked and hiding behind her brim as the attention naturally drifted her way as the last one to answer.

"How awkward," Morgan said softly. "I'm the only one here with experience of a broken bond. Not exactly a good record."

Oh, shit. Maybe putting her on the spot wasn't the best idea.

"You don't have to say anything." Brandy tipped up her hat brim and looked her in the eyes. "Sparky and Calcine would help."

Morgan dug her fingers into Brandy's thigh, tight enough it stung a little as Morgan leaned over her, those red eyes shining bright up close. "I like you, Brandy. You let people be themselves. Encourage it. I wouldn't need their help. Even with a broken bond, I'd remember the lesson you've taught me. Better to fight to be who I want than hide from the world and hope it'll change. You're mine. If you forget that, I'll just have to put on a show to remind you."

"What if I keep forgetting?"

"Then I'll keep reminding." Morgan gave her a thigh a kiss and pulled back. "That's a promise."

Brandy's heart beat faster. There was such certainty in Morgan's voice, as if there was no doubt she'd have a thousand ways to make Brandy fall for her again, and that was the kind of infectious confidence.

"A pledge," Calcine said, holding out a hand. Morgan put her hand in Calcine's palm. "We're not letting you go."

"A pact," Sparky said as she added her hand to the pile. "No matter what happens, we'll return for these thighs."

"I-" Brandy started to say but was shushed to silence by Sparky.

"You don't get a say in this," Sparky said. "This is Pokémon stuff."

Brandy laughed and patted her cheeks, feeling the blush on it. She'd wanted to provide a distraction, and they'd found one. The best Partners a Trainer could ask for, and if they were planning to win her heart again, she shouldn't interrupt it.

Not that they had anything more to say, staring at their stacked hands before Morgan blew a gust of wind at Sparky with a flick of her finger.

"I thought you were going to give a speech," Morgan said as their hands separated. "You were just being rude."

"You're the speeches one! And I am the rude one," Sparky said proudly. "Just because we're a team doesn't mean we don't have our roles to play, and mine is being a rude little shit."

"I could do that," Morgan huffed, but Brandy noticed how her mouth had curled into a smile, and a sparkle was in her eyes. "But you do make me look classy by proximity. I assume Calcine's role is-"

"Eye candy," Sparky said, and they both nodded to each other in agreement. Calcine just shrugged. Seemed she wasn't going to argue with them about that.

Things lightened up from there. Sparky and Morgan peppered Calcine with questions about the fight and discussed how they could have done it as a team. Sparky's Electroweb and Morgan's Gust would have made it simple to deal with Mardi. Morgan could have flown them up the lift shafts and avoided it altogether, or Sparky could have webbed their way up the stairwell, nullifying Zipper's office furniture boulders. The versatility she had with the whole team left her with so many options.

They were excitedly going over the mechanics of a web-powered catapult when they were all lifted up in their chairs as a massive blood-red tail snaked beneath them. Spitfire stank of charcoal and meat as she gave each of them a firm hug, and along with all the breast Spitfire was slinging on her chest, Brandy felt like one of Spitfire's burgers smothered between two thick bread buns.

Fuck. She was lucky none of her Pokémon were psychic. That was such a dumb analogy.

"How are my main Maids doing?" Spitfire asked, just beaming with smiles. Her red hair was tied into one huge red ponytail, and people had been making paper cranes and slipping them in. Brandy could see a few phone numbers peeking out of them. There'd been a lot of kissing the cook going on while she'd been away.

"Exhausted, if I'm honest," Brandy said, "But happy you're happy."

"I'm buzzing!" Spitfire beamed, "People have loved this! I've had someone want to book me for a birthday party and another to do a, uh, underground barbecue."

"Wouldn't ventilation be an issue?" Calcine said.

"Not with this tail," Spitfire said, slapping one of the enormous segments. "Though I don't think it's the food they're hiring me for anyway. I'll probably spend it doubled as a heated bed."

"I think you'll be stuffing a lot of buns," Sparky grinned. "It's cool everything has gone well for you."

"It's been great! Cinnamon has had a ton of fun serving people. She wants a Maid Dress of her own. Watching Blaze act like she was going to say no was so funny. She almost swallowed her tongue just thinking about it. Lixi is out doing her Calcine impression."

"I'll be back!" Sparky said, hopping off the chair. "Don't wait up for me!"

"I'm right here," Calcine said.

"Yeah, but you need rest, and she doesn't!" Sparky said, giving the group a quick bow. "And she needs to see my dress. I'll be baaaack."

There was no way Sparky was going to be back anytime soon. That was a Joltik on a mission to get laid.

"Should we get back to work?" Brandy said, "I'm sorry we abandoned you for a bit."

Spitfire licked Brandy's cheek, her tongue like a hot towel pressed to Brandy's flesh. Not unpleasant at all; she really wanted to wrap herself up in it, but she only got a lick for now.

"You have all done your part. Right now, there's only a few hungry people I've left to feed," Spitfire said. "So what'll it be? You've earned a proper meal."

"Nothing spicy," Morgan said immediately. "Brandy's still got to meet the robot sisters, say thank you to you properly, and see Blaze for her judgment. I'm not doing all that while her mouth is a deadly weapon."

"I'll have a Brandy Burger." Calcine said, "Hot as you can make it."

Hopefully, that name didn't catch on. Brandy didn't want to be associated with mouth-sizzling pain. Her stomach grumbled at the thought of food, even burgers that could melt through steel.

"Just something filling for me," Brandy said, "Stuff me full of leftovers."

"Leftovers? For you, Brandy, I'm only using prime meat."

"Oh, okay, that's good too," Brandy said, settling back into her massage, enjoying the soft feeling of Spitfire's breasts against her head. The lack of reply made her peek up at Spitfire's golden eyes. "That was a dick joke, wasn’t it?"

"You really are hungry," Spitfire said and gave Brandy a peck of a kiss on the forehead. Spitfire was running hot, and after a day of non-stop flirting, Brandy couldn't blame her. "Sit tight, hun. I'll get you something to eat."

"You sure you don't need more than that?" Brandy said, "I know it's been a long day, but I want to look out for your needs."

"I'm a cook, no actually, a chef now," Spitfire thumbed her chest. "And that means I can let something simmer to enjoy it later. You sit there being hot, and once the day is all wrapped up." Spitfire flickered her tongue between her lips. "Then we'll see if there's one last thing to celebrate."

Brandy couldn't wait. For the food. Her stomach was grumbling.

Calcine seemed amused, and Morgan was openly grinning at Spitfire's shameless planning. Everyone was still staring at them, so Brandy stretched her legs to give them something to stare at and relaxed. She'd helped everyone out, cheered up her Partners, made the barbecue a success, and looked fucking great while doing it.

Win or lose the Gym Badge, she didn't care. Spitfire was right. Some moments were worth savoring.