A/N:
Hello, readers! It's been a while since I've posted anything, I know. I'm actually still in a whirlwind of assignments and presentations and other delightful college necessities, but when I learned that my story Guardian (the one about Lugia and Ho-Oh) had been nominated for the Legendary Oneshot Romance Section of the Pokemon Fanfiction Awards (!), I was totally blown away and decided I had to post something in celebration (by the way, please vote for me. I've never won anything like that before! It would completely overwhelm me. In a good way).

So, this is a story I wrote a couple months ago. I was waiting for feedback on it before I posted it, but I think it's satisfactory. It's not a Legendary one-shot, but I hope you'll enjoy it! It's about my team from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. I played as a Shinx, and my partner was a Vulpix. I totally support Friendshipping in that game, so naturally Sparx and Ember became a 'ship for me. XD There are doodles of them all over my strategy guide... I may write more about them in the future, or perhaps a Grovyle/Celebi one-shot because I adore that pairing, but the next thing you see from me will probably be OrbShipping (I did promise).

Anyway, please enjoy, vote for me, and never run with scissors! Love you all!

Disclaimer: Nothing would be more awesome than owning Pokémon, but I suppose I'm not cut out for awesomeness. Sigh.

A Spark of Comfort

"Brr...it's cold, Sparx," Ember protested, shivering and shaking her long, gleaming red tails. The shadows of the two small Pokémon were long against the icy walls, and their footsteps echoed strangely in the quiet of the cave, as if invisible Pokémon walked beside them.

"Just a little further," the Shinx assured his partner, his breath a small puff of cloud in front of him. The Vulpix gave a small whimper in answer. Sparx felt a little bad— Ember hated cold places, and here they were in a snowy, icy dungeon! He knew their destination wasn't far, but when it was this cold, every step felt like it lasted longer than it should. The Shinx wasn't all too fond of the cold, either, but he would never admit that in front of his partner. He had to be a strong leader, after all.

Ember sneezed rather cutely in the cold air, wrinkling her small black nose against the offending moisture of the condensation that had resulted. "I sure hope Scizor is grateful for this..." she muttered behind him.

"If he's even here for sure," Sparx pointed out. He stepped lightly over a large rock that might trip other, less-attentive Pokémon, and glanced back to see if Ember would do the same. She did, which was a relief, as the Vulpix was rather prone to tripping over things.

"Ohhh...don't even say that..." Ember moaned. Sparx suppressed a smile. For all her whining, Ember would go anywhere as long as Sparx led the way. She was actually quite brave and enthusiastic. She was just not enjoying Blizzard Island's climate.

Neither am I, Sparx thought to himself, suppressing a shudder. His paws were practically numb from cold. This trip was kind of dispiriting. This dungeon seemed particularly dismal. Freezing drops of water occasionally dropped down on them unexpectedly, making Ember squeak in discomfort and making Sparx shake himself, hating the way the icy chill trickled through his fur. It was very quiet here, the only sound being the faint pit-pat of their pawsteps and the unobtrusive little plips of the dripping water. If the cold and the dead silence was not enough to make the trip unpleasant, there were few other Pokémon to distract them from the cold and stagnant air.

"Where are all the other Pokémon, anyway?" Sparx said curiously. "A good battle would warm us up!" The Shinx was not normally one to go seeking unnecessary fights, but his muscles felt sore and stiff from cold, and he longed to limber up, even if it was through battle.

"We already defeated a lot, Sparx," the Vulpix reminded him, trotting to keep up with the blue Pokémon's brisk pace and falling into step right behind him. "I don't know if there are any left to fight. I wish we could have asked one for directions before you knocked it out." Sparx shot her a frown over his shoulder. Perhaps he was a bit hasty in battle, but did she have to phrase it like that? She smiled slightly in response, and he knew the comment had been her idea of a joke.

They walked in silence a while, but eventually Ember spoke again. "I'm tired, Sparx," she admitted, puffing along behind him. A loud rumble came from her general direction. "And hungry," she added with a somewhat sheepish smile. Sparx sighed. He hated stopping when they were on a mission, but he had to admit that he was getting hungry, too, and his paws could certainly use a rest.

"All right," he said resignedly, coming to a stop beside a large, icy boulder and shucking the Treasure Bag, which he wore strapped around his neck, onto the ground. "We'll eat an Apple each, and then set off again. Deal?" He sat with his front paws close together, the better to conserve heat, and his black, star-tipped tail waved slowly, as if trying to warm him up through the slight movement.

"Oh, come on, Sparx," the little fox protested, already beginning to rummage through the Bag. "Let's just rest for a while and get our bearings. Please?"

"Fine," the Shinx agreed, taking the Apple his partner offered him and laying it down on the ground to eat. Sparx bit into it—the red skin was fairly icy, but the white inside was juicy and sweet, and it made a satisfying crunch with every bite. They ate quickly, being so hungry, and soon both were licking their lips, every trace of delicious Apple gone.

The leader of Team FireSpark eyed his partner as she hummed, licking the last vestiges of Apple juice from her lips with a small pink tongue. "How long do you need?" Sparx asked. He didn't mean to be so impatient; he only wanted to find Scizor so they could get out of here. But Ember was used to his mannerisms and merely shrugged.

"A while."

"That's not very precise."

"Neither was this mission," she pointed out.

"You have a point there," he sighed. He flopped down on the cold dungeon ground, finally allowing a bit of his exhaustion to show. Ember did the same a short distance away, but quickly stood up again with a slight yelp.

"What's wrong?" he asked, alarmed.

"Nothing!" his partner assured, dancing from paw to paw in discomfort. "The ground was just...it was just so cold!"

He would have rolled his eyes, but what she said was true. The ground was frigid, and he resisted the urge to shudder as the cold seemed to penetrate through his fur and reach down to his bones. He closed his eyes and tried to picture being home at Sharpedo Bluff, where the strange walls of the cliffside den gave cover against all kinds of weather, and the crackling fire provided warmth. Their shadows always looked long on the walls of the den, and flickered in the warm orange firelight as they shared stories and reminisced about their former time at Wigglytuff's Guild and ate... It was always so cozy...

He was startled out of his thoughts when suddenly a tempting scent of slightly burned berries washed over him and the sensation of warm fur made him jump.

His eyes shot open. Ember was squeezing herself close to him, laying down right next to him and pressing herself against him. "E-Ember?" he stuttered, wondering why he had never noticed her scent before and realizing how very soft her silky fur was.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I just... I thought maybe it'd be less cold if we huddled together." She looked down awkwardly at the cold ground. Sparx blinked, still struggling to find words. Her paws looked so little and delicate next to his, brown against blue-and-yellow.

Taking his silence for disapproval, Ember said tentatively, "I can move if you want..."

"No!" Sparx blurted, a little too forcefully, it seemed, because Ember looked up at him curiously. "I mean... it's helping. I feel warmer already," he covered up his embarrassment by staring at the ceiling. It wasn't very interesting, and it didn't take his mind off the tingles the feeling of her fur against his was creating, or the shiver up his spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Oh," the Vulpix blinked, sounding quite pleased. "Good! Me too!" She wriggled a little further into his side and heaved a sigh. "This isn't so bad, really," she said after a short pause. She sounded rather at ease, unlike her partner.

"I guess not," Sparx conceded, staring down at his paws and trying not to blush. Her tails felt very luxurious next to his side. He wondered what they would feel like against his cheek, and shook himself. What kind of a thing is that to think about a Pokémon's tail?

"I'm sorry I was complaining," Ember apologized softly, adjusting her paws so that she lay on them. She shook her tails slightly, and some ice shards fell to the floor with faint clinks.

Team FireSpark's leader blinked, stirred out of his odd thoughts. "That's all right," he assured her. "I think you're entitled to a little complaining now and then. I'm not mad at you." He licked a wound he had sustained from a dungeon Pokémon on his right foreleg. It still stung a little, but as usual walking around a bit on it seemed to have mostly healed it up.

"I know," his partner said, puffing a sigh in a small cloud. "But that's not why I'm sorry."

He paused mid-lick at the strange statement. "Then why?" he asked, yellow eyes curious.

She smiled sweetly at him in a way that reminded him uncomfortably of how close they were. "I shouldn't waste time complaining when I can be enjoying exploring with you, Sparx. No matter where we go, or how cold it is, everything is okay if I'm with you."

Now he really felt jittery. "I—I—" he stammered, not knowing how to respond to something like that. Ember had said similar things before, but it always seemed to catch him off-guard. It was odd how such comments could be at once both confusing and comforting. Blushing under his light-blue fur, he turned his head determinedly, facing the ceiling again. "Y-yeah. Same," he blurted. Ember smiled wider at this, and to avoid any further embarrassing conversation, he asked quickly, "So, are you warm yet?"

"Well...not quite," his partner said, cringing slightly. Sparx sighed. For a Fire-type, she sure took forever to warm up, he thought. Her fur had been warmer than his to begin with!

"Well, hurry up," he said, but his tone was more gentle than it had been before. Being this close to Ember, he realized how many different shades of brown and red were in her coat, and the way the melting snow in her fur glittered faintly. It was really quite beautiful. He shook himself again, willing himself to stay focused. He was just looking around in case any enemies happened to spot them, when suddenly—

"AAAARGH!" he cried, jumping in place and nearly springing up from the ground. Something small and icy-cold had just been pressed against his neck, and when he whirled his head around, he saw that it had been Ember's nose. "Urk! Are you sure you're not an Ice-type?" he demanded.

"Sorry," Ember giggled, a playful light in her eyes. "You told me to hurry up, and my nose was still cold, so I was only doing what you asked."

"A little warning would have been nice," he grumped. Why was his heart racing like that? There was nothing to race about. Sure, it had startled him, and sure, it had been cold, but—

"My nose is still cold," the Vulpix reminded him pointedly. Was that a twinkle of amusement in her dark brown eyes?

"Fine," he sighed, and the icy-cold nose was pressed against the warm fur of his neck again. Her fur looked very brown next to his pale blue. And her reddish-orange tails were such a nice complement to the hue... cinnamon and spice, he decided. That's what her coloration reminded him of.

He felt her mumble something against him, but he could not make out the words. "What?" he asked, and she retracted her head.

"You smell nice."

He blushed and fidgeted. "Th-thanks?" he said unsurely. He wondered if he should return the compliment... no, he decided. That would be too weird. She turned her head and buried it in his neck again, and he noticed that her nose was not icy anymore. "Hey," he protested. "Your nose isn't cold anymore."

"I guess not," she said, her voice slightly muffled by his fur. Her breath puffed lightly against his neck, and made him feel even more jittery.

"Then let's go," he prompted, eager to be free of the situation.

"Five more minutes."

"'UP AND AT 'EM,'" he quoted in an attempt at humor, mimicking their friend Loudred from Wigglytuff's Guild. Ember groaned.

"Please do not remind me of that," she whined.

"Then let's go, or else I'll use Hyper Voice," Sparx joked.

She grinned, retracting her head from his neck at last. "Oh, fine." She got to her paws, shaking her fur and muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "bossy" as she trotted on ahead, tail held high.

"Hey, I am the leader here," he called after her, the walls of the dungeon making his voice echo slightly. The leader here, the leader here, the walls mimicked back at him. "I'm allowed to boss," he added defensively to no one in particular, hastily gathering up the Treasure Bag again and setting off. He wondered uncomfortably if she actually did think he was bossy. Should he be a little less strong-willed?...

"I guess you are," the Vulpix responded noncommittally to his earlier shout, slowing down a bit.

"What's wrong?" her partner asked, catching up to her.

"You're the Leader, aren't you, Sparx?" Ember asked happily. "So, lead!"

Sparx smiled at her. No, he decided; Ember was definitely content to let him lead, and to follow wherever he went. Sometimes he worried he would lead them to the wrong places...

"Look! There's the stairs to the next floor!" Ember called out, and Sparx snapped to attention, having been lost in thought and looking at the ground. Indeed, the stairs were just ahead, and he picked up his pace as he ran toward them, Ember running eagerly along behind him.

Sure, he thought. Maybe he would not always be the perfect leader. But Ember was more than happy to follow him anywhere, or even to lead him sometimes.

"Last one there's a rotten Exeggcute!" she laughed, speeding ahead of him, her red tails a vibrant fan behind her.

Of course, no need to let her lead now...

"First one there's the one that gets fried!" he retorted, hurrying ahead to join her.

Whoever led whom, they would get there in the end.

He could think of no greater comfort than that.

A/N: If you enjoyed it (or if you didn't), please let me know. It would make an overstressed college student very happy. :)
In addition, I am pleased to announce that I have actually written my OrbShipping (Kyogre x Groudon) one-shot! Please let me know when you'd like to see it up. I'd like some feedback on it before I post it, and if you're interested, I'd love to have one of you look over it.