The Hot Springs

Gwen, Brendan, and May made their way down the final slope of Jagged Pass, and they were thoroughly exhausted. We're almost there, Gwen said breathlessly. The sun was on the verge of setting, so it was just about time for them to be finding a bed for the night.

"Thank Arceus, I thought we would never get out of there," Brendan said. He smiled to May, who blushed a deep crimson when she smiled back. Brendan could see that something was on her mind, he just couldn't tell what. That thought faded quickly when they broke the tree line and saw their destination: Lavaridge Town.

"Oh man, I can't wait to get a nice bath in those hot springs!" May said.

"There are hot springs here?" Brendan asked in surprise.

"Yeah, Lavaridge is famous for them," May said happily.

"Oh man, I haven't had a good hot spring bath in a long time," Brendan said. "I think it was in Ecruteak City three years ago."

"Wow, that's a pretty long time. But from what I hear, the Pokémon Center here has a premium room that has its own private hot spring," May said.

"Well, let's hope we can get that room. When I went to Ecruteak's springs, there were a lot of senior citizens," Brendan said, earning a laugh.

That must have been unsightly, Gwen said as they walked through town, heading toward the Pokémon Center. As they passed the PokeMart, a person accidentally bumped into Gwen's arm, specifically the one that had been hit by Aesir's Rock Slide on Mt. Chimney. Gwen cried out, grabbing her arm. She hadn't been using it that much during their trip down Jagged Pass, so she hadn't really thought much of the throbbing coming from her arm.

"Gwen, are you alright?" Brendan said as he rushed to her side.

Yeah, I'm fine, it just hurts from that battle, she said, trying to play it off as no big deal. One look at Brendan told her that he wasn't buying a word of it. Maybe it's a good thing that we're going to be at the Pokémon Center tonight.

Brendan nodded. "Yeah, come on, we need to get that arm looked at."

The trio made a faster pace to the Pokémon Center, and they went straight to the counter. The Nurse smiled at them. "Hello, welcome to the Lavaridge Pokémon Center and Hot Springs. How may I help you?"

"Well, for starters, all of our Pokémon need to get some healing, we were just battling some really tough opponents on Mt. Chimney," Brendan said. "Specifically, my Gardevoir's arm needs to be looked at."

The Nurse motioned for Gwen to come closer and hold her arm out. Gwen did as instructed. "Hmm..." the nurse said as she examined the arm. "You just evolved, didn't you?" she asked.

Y-yes, Gwen said.

"And you got this injury before evolving, correct?"

Yes, Gwen said again.

The Nurse nodded. "It looks like that arm was broken by whatever hit it. That alone would've been no problem, but now the bones have grown drastically when they weren't in-tact." She then looked at Brendan and May. "Well, if you want me to check over your other Pokémon, give them to me now, and I will get started on them. And you, miss Gardevoir, are going to be getting treatment overnight.

Oh, okay. I understand, Gwen said.

The nurse then turned to Brendan and May. "Since your Pokémon will be here overnight, why don't I get you a room for the night?"

May nodded, "We were actually about to ask you that," she said with a smile. "What rooms are available?"

The Nurse typed for a bit on her computer and the results came up. "Well, as luck would have it, the room with the private spring is available if you want it."

"We'll take it!" May said, almost too enthusiastically. The Nurse raised an eyebrow knowingly as she pulled out the room keys and handed them to Brendan and May.

"You two have a good night," the nurse said as she took Gwen and their Pokéballs into the treatment area.

May then led Brendan to their room. When they got inside, they were amazed at how luxurious it was. There were two queen-sized beds with one television in the center. At the back was a shoji door, which Brendan figured led to the springs.

"Hey, I'm going to get ready for my bath," May said, sounding like she was planning something. "But you should go first."

Brendan looked at her questioningly, but didn't ask about it. "Alright," he said as she went into the bathroom. There were two towels in the main room, and two wash cloths. Brendan disrobed, leaving everything folded neatly on the room's dresser. He wrapped himself in a towel and stepped outside to where the spring was, closing the door behind him. It was very steamy, but he could make out the edge of the water well enough. He got to the edge and took his towel off, leaving it on the ground while he stepped into the naturally boiling water. The effects were immediate. He was absolutely in heaven now as all his worries just seemed to slip away into the water. He was just about to relax completely when he heard the sound of the shoji opening and closing. He turned around and saw May standing there, only a towel and her necklace on. She was blushing as her hair was down, and it was reaching to her mid-shoulders.

"Umm, May, are you doing alright?" Brendan asked. "You've been acting…antsy since before we got here."

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" May asked as she neared the spring trying to play innocent.

"I'm uhh, not sure," Brendan said. "Probably because of what happened today."

May smiled as she took her towel off, turning away from Brendan so he didn't see too much too soon. "Um, for now, would you mind turning away?" she asked. Brendan did as she asked. She then walked to the edge of the water, her towel neatly folded as she placed it behind Brendan. She then dipped her feet in and steadily lowered herself into the water next to Brendan, laying her head on his shoulder, guiding his hand to brush over her breast. Brendan smiled as best he could, considering how nervous he was, as he put his arm around her. May then leaned up and kissed Brendan's cheek. "You know, I will never forget how far you went for me today," she said.

"Honestly, I'm just glad I got there in time," Brendan said, kind of nervously.

"But you did. I mean, hell, we were about to die today, and would have if it hadn't been for Gwen," May said. "And, you saved my Pokémon first. That really means a lot to me."

Brendan looked her in the eye. "You know, I'm sure you would've done the exact same thing if I had been kidnapped," he said.

"I guess that's why we make such a good couple," May said, her voice fading slightly. She was losing her self-control. "You know, even if we are dating, I still haven't thanked you properly yet, for saving me or for the necklace," she said.

Brendan blushed deeply as he let her get on top of him, touching her skin, anticipating what was going to happen.

Back in the Pokémon Center's treatment room, Gwen was in a pod filled with hot spring water as a machine ran healing light over her arm. She didn't understand how it worked, but she could feel it working wonders already.

Then there came a new feeling. Only, it wasn't coming from her. It was coming from…Brendan? When she felt what he was feeling she immediately realized what was happening, and shut that mental link as fast as she could.

Oh Arceus, please tell me that's not going to become a regular thing! Gwen pleaded.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Anyway, as stated before, from now on, this story will be in the M-rated section.

As always, let me know what you think in the reviews. Be honest, but be polite as well.

Until next time! – jmoul18