Since my other story about Alain and Mairin has a more serious tone, I wanted to write a more light hearted story about these two. I hope you enjoy it! :)

"You found the egg Mairin, so you can take care of it," Alain said briskly, increasing his pace ever so slightly.

"B-but Alain!" Mairin whimpered, stumbling over her feet as rushed to catch up with the dark haired boy. "I don't know how to take care of it, so you have to help me!"

"And what makes you think that I know how to take care of a Pokemon egg?" Alain asked, not looking back at his young companion.

Mairin smirked slightly. "Because you work with Professor Sycamore, and I know for a fact that he raises all of the starters from eggs in his lab." Her smirk widened as she watched Alain twitch. "He also told me a certain assistant of his raised their Unfezant from a Pidove egg–"

Alain closed his eyes, sighing. "Yes, I do have experience with Pokemon eggs, aright? I still don't see how that involves me with that one you just stole."

Mairin stuck her tongue out at him. "I didn't steal it, I found it abandoned!"

"Whatever you say Mairin, I honestly don't care," Alain replied. "It's your egg now, and I want nothing to do with it."

The redhead glared at him for a moment, stumbling over a loose stone on the forest path. She swift regained her balance, but as she did another smirk crossed her face. "Fine, I'll take care of it all by myself! I don't need your help, I'm perfectly responsable, I can do– agh!"

"Mairin!" Alain cried, quickly whipping around as he heard the same cry Mairin always made before she crashed into the ground. His hands were stretched out, ready to catch his fallen companion, and hopefully stop the egg from splattering on the ground.

Instead what Alain found was a perfectly balanced Mairin grinning up at him, the brown Pokemon egg safely tucked away in the arms of a yellow flower Florges. Alain flushed slightly as he realized Mairin had faked the fall. The young girl laughed, skipping ahead of Alain.

"See?" She declared,"Even you know I can be clumsy! Are you really going to leave a baby Pokemon in my hands without any help?"

Alain rubbed his forehead, muttering under his breath. Finally he looked down at Mairin, sighing. "Fine," He groaned, "I'll help you take care of the stupid egg."

"Yes!" Mairin cried, leaping into the air, pumping her fists.

"Mairin, be careful–" Alain began, but he had spoken too late. Mairin came crashing down, stumbling as she landed from her jump, and tripped over her own feet.

"Agh!" Mairin cried as she landed face first on the dirt trail. "Ow..."

"Flor?" Bébé called. Alain sighed, jogging to catch up to Mairin, who had already pushed herself to her knees. He grabbed one wrist, dragging her to her feet.

"Honestly," He muttered. "Is there anyway you could not trip every other step?"

"Nope!" Mairin said happily, speeding off ahead once more. Alain looked towards Bébé, who was still cradling the small egg in her arms.

Perhaps it was for the best that he was helping Mairin out with this.

"Mairin, you do not need to decorate the incubator," Alain snapped as he watched Mairin place another sticker on the container. The girl paused, looking up at him with her amber eyes, pouting.

"I wouldn't want to hatch in this boring old thing though!" Mairin muttered, pointing towards the black incubator Alain had gotten out of storage for the brown egg. She stuck the flower sticker onto the clear plastic screen of the incubator. "It needs to be bright and happy for when he hatches!"

Alain crossed his arms. "And what makes you think it'll be a 'he'? You can't tell until it hatches."

Mairin smiled, pulling off a Vivillon sticker to place on the glass. "It's a boy," She said happily, "I just hope he won't take after his grumpy old daddy!"

"'Daddy'?" Alain asked.

Mairin grinned, "Yes, that would be you!"

Alain closed his eyes, "I am not its 'daddy'!"

"Of course you are!" Mairin practically sang. "You said that you'd help take care of him with me. That makes me his mommy, and you're going to be his daddy!"

"Just because I'm going to help you care for it doesn't make me its father!" Alain cried.

Mairin simply started humming, pulling off a sticker that was shaped like a Furfrou, sticking it on Alain's nose. His blue eyes narrowed at the girl, hand reaching up to remove the sticker. He stuck it onto the incubator, not sure of where else to put it. Mairin smiled at this action, and handed him the pad of stickers. He took it, and she suddenly raced off, giggling.

Alain sighed, now left alone with the egg, and started sticking the stickers onto the incubator. He had a feeling, that no matter how much he argued, he would end up being this egg's 'daddy'.

"Alain! Alain! Alain!"

Alain jerked awake as he heard a hammering on his bedroom door. The boy quickly sat up, eyes wide, heart racing. He quickly sprang from his bed, only wearing a pair of basketball shorts and quickly darted to the door.

"Are you alright Mairin?" He called, voice desperate as he threw open the door to his bedroom at the lab. Standing outside was Mairin, wearing a yellow nightgown, her eyes watery and panicked. "Mairin?"

"Th-the egg!" She cried. "It's glowing, and I don't kn-know what to do and–"

Alain's eyes flickered down towards the incubator clutched in Mairin's arms. The brown egg started to glow after a few seconds, dying back down moments after. He flicked on the light in his bedroom, stepping aside so Mairin could enter. The egg lit up again, the glow lasting just a bit longer this time, before dying down once more.

"It's okay," He muttered quietly. "That's what happens before the egg hatches, bring it in here."

Mairin quickly darted into his room, holding the incubator close. Without waiting for him to say anything else she scrambled over to his bed, hopping onto it and setting the incubator down in the middle. She stared at it as another golden glow surrounded the egg, the light shining through the sticker-covered glass.

"What do we do?" She asked quietly. "Should we get the professor?"

"...No," Alain said after a moment. "We're able to handle this ourselves."

"Yeah!" Mairin whispered excitedly. "This is our egg after all! What do we do?"

Alain hesitated, trying to gather his thoughts from his waking mind. "Take it out of the incubator, don't touch it too much though. Lay it on my pillow or something. I'll go grab some towels and something to feed it for when it hatches."

"For when he hatches," Mairin corrected, excitedly leaning forward to stare at the egg as it lit up once more.

Alain watched her for a moment, before heading downstairs to the main part of the lab. It was dark, but he knew the lab so well that he didn't bother turning on any lights until he reached the storage room door, knowing that he'd need to be able to see to locate the supplies he needed.

He hastily gathered everything into his arms, checking the storage room one more time to see if there was anything else they could need. Satisfied with what he had, he started to shake up the bottle of formula as he raced back to his room, not wanting to leave Mairin alone for long. He squinted his eyes as he entered his bedroom, the glow of the egg brighter than ever. It was a good minute before it died down, allowing Alain to stroll forward to exam it.

Mairin was perched over the egg, bouncing on her knees slightly in her excitement. He sat on the edge of the bed, looking over the egg. It was light brown in color, with a tan stripe zigzagging across the center of the egg. He saw no cracks in the shell yet, which made him frown. Typically a young Pokemon would have tried to make some indent at this point. His eyes shifted back towards Mairin, who was nothing but eager.

Perhaps there was something wrong with the egg, that could explain why it was abandoned. Alain felt his heart twisting with worry, not wanting Mairin to have to experience a sickly hatchling with her first egg. He had encountered several sickly young in his time with working with Professor Sycamore, where the hatchling was simply too weak to survive. Sometimes a sickly Pokemon were able to hatch, but passed away shortly after. Other times they would live through the night, only to die in the morning.

Other times they didn't hatch at all, and died in the shell.

He looked over the egg once more, there were still no cracks. Alain gulped, but he was quickly forced to look away as it started glowing once more. The baby still had to be alive if it were glowing, which was from an energy similar to the light of evolution– it was a release of energy as the Pokemon prepared for a new stage of life.

The glow died down once more.

"Alain, look!" Mairin said softly, and Alain slowly turned his head. Near the top of the shell was a small crack it the egg. "He's hatching."

Another crack appeared, and Alain let out a small sigh of relief. "Yeah, he is," The boy whispered, watching as a third crack started to form. The cracks were all progressive, one after another with little pauses– a sign of a healthy baby.

Alain pulled out one of the towels he had brought, laying out in front of the egg. Another crack started to form, and the brightest glow of light yet filled the room with a powerful flare. Both Alain and Mairin looked away, the sound of the shell reaching their ears as it crumbled from the intensity of the light. He heard Mairin let out an excited squeal, and the light then died down for a final time. Nervously Alain turned his head once more to get a look at the newly hatched Pokemon.

"He's so cute!" Mairin squeaked happily, looking into the brown eyes of the newest member of the lab.

"Vui?" The little Pokemon cooed quietly, a pair of long ears flicking up. The little Pokemon was a light brown in color, just like its egg shell had been. A cream-colored scruff covered its neck, and the tip of its bushy tail was colored the same. The little Pokemon stumbled to its paws, wobbling as he tried to stand.

"An Eevee," Alain said, looking over the kit. "Quite a rare Pokemon."

"Who cares!" Mairin squealed, "I want to hold him! Can I? Can I?"

Alain held out the towel. "Pick him up with this first," He said, "We need to make sure he's healthy before we handle him too much."

"Told you he was a boy," Mairin said smugly, taking the towel and scooping it around the Pokemon as she lifted him up. The little Pokemon yipped as Mairin flipped him over, cradling him like a human baby. Alain could see the small pink pads of the Eevee's feet, which were pawing at the air. "It's he just the cutest thing ever?"

Alain leaned over, reaching out with his thumb, forcing the little Eevee's eyes wide open. It yelped at the suddenly contact, which Alain ignored as stared into its eyes, then he pried open its mouth. "He looks healthy," Alain commented, moving his hands from its mouth to its paws. He pressed down on the pads, a small set of retractable claws sliding out as he did so. "I can't imagine why he was abandoned."

"He wasn't abandoned!" Mairin snapped, hugging the little Eevee to her chest. "We're his parents now and we're not leaving him! Anything before that doesn't matter!" She looked into his brown eyes. "He needs a name!"

Alain sighed, pulling out the small bottle of formula he had brought from downstairs. "I don't nickname Pokemon, if you want to name it then that's up to you."

"Come on Alain, you're his father! You get to help name him!" Mairin said. She let the towel slip away from around the Eevee, wrapping him into a hug. The small Pokemon sniffed her fingers, wrapping his mouth around one and sucking on it. Mairin giggled, pulling her finger away.

"He's hungry," Alain said, holding out the bottle. "Do you want to feed him?"

"Yes!" Mairin cried, snatching the bottle, and carefully holding it out to the Eevee's mouth. He sniffed the bottle, let out a happy squeal, and began to drink. "Hmm... A good name... Eevee... Eve... Even... No, um... Everton. Ee... Ethan... Ethanael..." She pressed her lips together. "Help me out Alain!"

He sighed, folding up the towel. "You name him."

Mairin glared up at him. "Come on Mr. Boring-pants, just give me one name idea!"

"'Borning-pants'?" Alain muttered. She kept glaring at him, and Alain quickly started to rack his brain for any sort of name. Why did she insist on naming everything...? "Um... how about... Kaden?"

Mairin looked at the Eevee, "Hmm... too long!"

Alain stared at her. "Too long? That's only two syllables! And you're the one that suggested 'Ethanael'– is that even a name?"

"Of course it is!" Mairin chirped, eyes still focused on the little Eevee. "But Kaden is too long... Um... How about just Kade?"

"It's your choice," Alain muttered.

"Alright!" Mairin said, a huge smile passing over her face. "Kade it is! Welcome to our little family Kade!"

Kade said nothing, his little eyes pressed shut as he drank his milk. Mairin let out another little squeal of excitement, happily nuzzling the Eevee. Alain watched them for a moment, a small smile spreading across his face.

Professor Sycamore found them all three of them fast asleep the next morning, curled on top of Alain's bed, Kade nestled between his two 'parents'.

"No," Alain said.

"Come on!" Mairin whimpered, "Serena had a Sylveon, and she was awesome!"

Alain sighed, shuffling the food dishes in his hands as the lab Pokemon jumped happily around his feet. They were in the greenhouse at the lab, feeding all of the resident Pokemon who lived here, and who Alain was amazed that they hadn't trampled him yet in their excitement for the meal.

Kade was perched on Mairin's shoulder, squealing with excitement at all the commotion around them. The young Eevee had adjusted to lab life quickly, and settled into the hearts of the workers there as if he had always been here. While quite adventurous, Kade panicked if he was left alone. They had learned this the hard way when Alain and Mairin had made an emergency grocery run, and had come back to Mairin's room being torn apart.

Though captured in a Pokeball belonging the Mairin, the young Eevee made it quite clear that he was both Alain's and Mairn's. Alain had quickly learned that Kade would rub up against his legs at any present opportunity, and had tripped over him more than once. Surprisingly it was Mairin that never stumbled or fell with the Eevee constantly dancing at their feet. But after several incidents of nearly being squashed by Alain and the professor, Kade had learned that riding on Mairin's or Alain's shoulder was the safest place to be.

"Well, Serena's Sylveon was a girl," Alain said, setting down another food dish for Psyduck. "Kade is a boy, and we are not evolving him into a Sylveon."

Mairin gave Alain her famous pouting face, but it had little effect on him at this point. Kade let out a squeal of excitement, jumping from Mairin's shoulder and towards Alain. His eyes widened, barely managing to scoop up his 'son' from the air with his free arm. The Eevee cooed happily, and Alain set down his final dish of Pokemon food with a sigh.

"Then what do you think he should evolve into?" Mairin asked, reaching down to pet a young Froakie.

Alain twisted his lips, looking at the Eevee in his arms. Kade yipped happily, climbing up Alain's arm and settling up onto his shoulder, claws digging into his shirt. "Umbreon is pretty cool," Alain said after a moment of thought.

"No way!" Mairin said, "You already have three dark types on your team!"

"Kade is part of your team though," Alain said, petting Kade behind the ear.

"He's both of ours!" Mairin said adamantly– she had never allowed anyone to say that Kade was only hers. "Hmm... How about a Leafeon, those are so pretty!"

"You have Chespie, and Bébé can learn grass type moves," Alain replied, grinning as she glared at him. "What? You said I have too many dark types, I can say that you don't need anymore grass types!"

"Fine..." Mairin muttered, glancing at Kade. He jumped off of Alain's shoulders, bolting across the greenhouse as the doors opened. Strolling in came Charizard and Garchomp, the two dragon-like Pokemon rumbling out a greeting as the Eevee raced up to them. "...Jolteon would be cool, but I don't know if I could handle him being any faster."

"Agreed," Alain said, carefully navigating around the eating lab Pokemon. Once he was free of them Mairin joined him, amber eyes lost in thought as she stood by his side.

"Espeon," She said after a moment, "It's pretty, but hopefully not too 'girly' for you."

"Psychic powers are the last thing Kade needs," Alain muttered, feeling exhausted at the mere thought. Kade had currently climbed up Garchomp's back, perching himself on top of the dragon's flat head. He whipped his tail side to side, grinning happily. "Just imagine– there was be no way to keep him out of the Pokepuffs!"

Mairin watched Kade jump off of Garchomp, and she flinched. Charizard however quickly seized Kade by the scruff, letting out a low rumble. Kade cooed at the Charizard, who set him on her back. The Eevee slide down between her wing joints, landing on Charizard's tail. Mairin watched as the Eevee carefully make his way across the tail, Charizard holding very still as he did so. Mairin looked into Kade's eyes, where she could see the reflection of Charizard's flame in them.

"Vui!" He yipped as he reached the end of the tail, looking into the flames happily.

Mairin looked up at Alain. "I think I know what he wants to evolve into."

Alain sighed, "Seems just as dangerous as psychic powers if you ask me..." He muttered, but he shook his head. "I'll see what I can do."

Mairin smiled, and threw her arms around Alain. He stared down at the young girl, giving her a small smile.

"Ee-vui!" Kade cried, brown eyes going wide as he looked into the small box Mairin was showing him. Inside rested a clear yellow stone, the image of flames running through the center. The Eevee happily reached out with his paw, but Mairin pulled the box back at the last second.

"Now remember," She told the little Eevee, whose ears were back in disappointment as the box was taken from him. "Once you evolve you can't change back. Make sure this is what you want to evolve into before you touch the stone, alright?"

"Vui!" He cried, spinning in a circle.

Professor Sycamore chuckled, "I don't know if she's doing this on purpose, but she truly is acting just like a mother now."

Alain nodded in agreement, watching as Mairin nervously held out the box with the fire stone once more. Mairin had gathered the whole lab together to watch as Kade evolved, but clearly the girl was having second thoughts. She carefully set the fire stone on the ground in front of the Eevee, a tremble in her hands.

"She was quite serious about the parenting thing," Alain muttered, and he smiled as Mairin reached out to stop Kade from touching the stone. "And who's to say she's not– she was the one that cared for him."

"Make sure you're sure about this Kade!" Mairin said nervously. The Eevee stared at her in frustration, clearly just wanting to touch the stone and evolve.

"Kade's 'daddy' was there too," Sycamore said with a grin, elbowing Alain, who rolled his eyes.

"Just let him evolve already!" Alain cried to Mairin, who hesitated once more, then finally moved her hands away from the stone.

"Vui!" Kade cried, leaping forward and pouncing on the fire stone. There was a grin on his face as he began to glow.

The bright light took ahold of Kade, his whole form glowing with the light of evolution. The fire stone seemed to be drawn into him, a fiery light flickering between the white energy. Kade began to grow, the scruff of fur on his neck expanding in size alongside his body. His tail became longer and fluffy, and a tuft of fur sprouted on his head.

The light died down, and a Flareon sat in the place of the Eevee. He opened his eyes, which were now a sleek black color. His fur had turned a dark orange, and his scruff was a bright yellow. The little Flareon sat down, sneezing, several embers coming from his mouth. Kade blinked, looking up at Mairin happily.

"Flare!"

Mairin smiled, "You look awesome Kade."

"Eon!" He cried, jumping into Mairin's arms. The young girl cradled the newly evolved Pokemon, both of them grinning ear from ear.

A smile passed over Alain's face, and Mairin looked towards him. She held out one arm, and he rolled his eyes playfully. A smirk spread across her face and she stood, Kade still cuddled in one arm and she stomped over to Alain. He found himself being pulled into the hug as well, Kade's warm fur pressed against them as they embraced. With a small sigh Alain returned the hug, wrapping Mairin and Kade up into his arms.

Kade slipped between the hug, slinking onto Mairin's shoulder, then jumping onto Alain's. Mairin refused to release him, so Alain was stuck in the hug. He didn't loosen his grip though, one of his rare true smile pushing itself onto his face. Kade jumped onto Alain's head, peering down onto his father's face.

"Flare?" The Flareon asked softly, and Alain let go of Mairin, petting the top of Kade's head.

This was his family, and this lab was his home.

And Alain wouldn't have it any other way.