"Hey, Brai. Can I tell you something kinda weird?"
Ash's voice shook Braixen from her wandering mind. Up until now, the starry skies had occupied her, overlooking midwestern Kalos. After the Snowbelle Gym and a lengthy stint at the Battle Chateau, their group had started their path to Lumiose City for the upcoming Kalos League.
It wasn't the longest trek they'd made by any means, but travelers needed their rest, all the same. After coming through Camphier Town, they'd set up camp on the rolling hills of Route 5. Serena had argued that it'd be nice to enjoy the skies sans light pollution while they still could, so they'd lingered a little longer than necessary. Lumiose's man-made wonders could wait.
Serena and Clemont were sitting around the fire, talking about something or another. Bonnie was happily brushing Talonflame's feathers, Pancham and Chespin were squabbling, with Bunnelby and Sylveon lingering as mediators. Clemont's Heliolisk and Dusclops chattered; the latter telling eerie campfire stories, evidently. Luxray lingered nearby, minding his business as usual. Noivern and Hawlucha perched in a tree, gazing at the stars, while Greninja lingered among them as well; he'd been paranoid in recent days.
The group had tried to soothe him, but he was ever serious. Braixen had tried. But, his stubborn personality was one of the things that endeared her to him, so she'd wished him luck with a kiss.
Peeks had been with Ash, last Braixen had seen him, but when the young man from Kanto approached, he was nowhere to be seen. Giving them their privacy, Braixen figured.
She smiled, tickled at the thought. "Ash, darling. I'd be more concerned if you didn't say anything weird, with all of your history concerned."
"Okay, you didn't have to throw it in my face like that." His rigid jawline and sharp eyes looked a little funny transfixed with an annoyed pout. But, cracks of a smirk made it through his facade.
"I was trying to make you less self-conscious," she shrugged. "You might find it a challenge to top 'I've met Santa Claus' or 'I've cussed out God.' Though I know you love challenges."
"Palkia had it coming, alright?" Ash huffed. All the same, he smiled at her considerate efforts, and her cheeky way about them. He sat down beside her on the grassy knoll, bow legged. His dark wild tresses were nudged by the cool breeze. He still looked anxious, scratching his cheek.
"You know your ear fluff? Hair? Whatever?"
"Fur," she corrected. "Humans have hair. We have fur. But, yes?"
"Right. Well… I've always thought it looked really warm, and soft," Ash admitted sheepishly, directing his eyes to the sky to avoid hers. "To tell the truth, I've always kinda wanted to pet-"
Before Ash could finish his sentence, Braixen was already settled in his lap.
Ash was quiet for a moment; she'd taken him by surprise. "...You didn't even let me finish."
"Well?" The Fire-type huffed. "Are you going to pet them, or not?"
"Alright, Your Highness." Ash drawled sarcastically. "I'll get right on it."
His hands were hesitant, lingering over the fluff over her ears. Their acute sensitivity told her as much, anyway. After a moment of mental preparation, he started to pat at the fur experimentally.
"You said you were going to pet me," she muttered, "not treat me like a science experiment."
"Hey, it's my first go!" Ash defended. All the same, his fingers started to linger in the volume of her orange offshoots of fur, kneading them gently. He quickly became more comfortable.
She sighed blissfully, leaning back into Ash's chest in a relaxed posture. "Much better~"
"It's so soft… and warm!" Ash marveled, as he ran his hands through from one end to the other, a bit marveled that it never lost its shape. "It's like putting my hands in front of a fire!"
He went quiet.
Braixen did as well, bewildered.
"It is quite literally that-"
"Yeah, I know."
She giggled, content with his more consistent ministrations. The light tingle of her nerves brought about by his touch made her feel heavenly. "Not too rough! I might involuntarily scorch you if you yank on it. Our ears are sensitive.
"I didn't!" Ash defended. "I know how to pet a Pokémon."
"Just a fair warning! I'd hate to leave you covered in soot like I used to…"
"You did that on purpose, though."
"And, I was a brat." A comical vein popped up on Braixen's forehead. She hated admitting that.
"A cute one, though."
A defeated sigh. "Flattery will get you anywhere…" Her ears wiggled, then, in thought. Not because Ash was petting them with surprising expertise.
Certainly it wasn't the gentle, but firm way his thumbs worked the tufts closest to her ear.
She simply had questions that needed answering.
"If you knew how to pamper a Pokémon and wanted to, why didn't you, before now?" Her eyes narrowed. "I've missed out on months' worth of attention."
"Well, it felt like a weird thing to ask!" He defended. "Besides, we weren't dating before."
Braixen blinked her doe eyes, tilting her head backwards to look at Ash upside down. It was true; she'd only been properly calling herself his girlfriend — and Greninja's — for the past couple of weeks. Back at the Battle Chateau, she'd had the brilliant idea of playing matchmaker.
Ash and her dear Greninja had just patched up their relationship from a turbulent affair in Snowbelle City. Lord, they'd become one, mind, body, and soul, even. The potential was obvious! It just so happened she'd been the only one to see it. So, she'd arranged a blind date.
It'd taken them a couple of minutes to figure out her scheme, sharp as they were. They groaned and laughed at her machinations, but as she expected, found they didn't entirely hate the idea.
Precious partners became more. That alone would have satisfied Braixen; she admired and cared for Ash, beyond her love affair with his steadfast partner. But, it'd been only half her plan.
The other half was congratulating them, and swiping them both up for herself in the aftermath.
Miraculously, that'd worked. Greninja was bewildered, but given that he himself had just been nudged into a third party, it felt hypocritical to deny her that third that he'd fallen for. On Ash's end, as he'd put it, "You're a lot like Serena. And I really like Serena. What's the difference?"
For some young ladies, that might have been a grave insult. But to be compared to her lovely trainer who Ash adored? It was a compliment… and it would have made her awfully hypocritical, too, to bristle at that when she'd come to admire him through his similarities to Greninja.
But, she was getting off track. Ash had just said something baffling. She blinked at him, still upside-down. "You don't have to be courting someone to groom one another, Ash."
"...I guess so." Ash shrugged. With her bright orange button nose in the air, he left a kiss on it.
"Brai!" She squeaked involuntarily, covering her face and the burning blush she nursed. Rude!
Ash snickered at her flustered response. "Girls do that a lot, now that you mention it, huh? Serena and Bonnie play with each other's hair, all the time." Even as he talked, his fingers continued to dance through her fluff. Bless his heart. He was going to be the end of her.
"Not just girls," she corrected with an uneven huff. How did he unravel her so easily? "That might be the case for humans. But, us of the Fennekin line do so regularly. Both as a matter of practicality and as a matter of bonding." She blinked. "Are human males touch starved? That sounds awfully bleak, when you bring a light to it."
"Maybe? I've never really stopped to think about it," Ash said. "But I guess I did feel a lot less lonely when I started having Pokémon, and I could hold them all the time. Brock did a lot of the grooming and Breeder stuff, but we were still close, you know? As kids, we didn't really do that."
Braixen couldn't imagine. The touch of gentle digits, or even a brush? None of that? "Whether it be you or Serena, I think that if I lacked any and all of that attention, I might combust."
"But, don't you always light on fire?"
"I might explode."
"Got it." He continued his ministrations, working from the dense tufts near her inner ears down to the ends. "I guess that is a little sad, now that you mention it, huh? I bet this'd feel nice."
Braixen's tail was tucked to her side, with Ash in the way. It wagged a bit, just then, as Braixen schemed. She held a claw to her lip. "...Would you like me to do this for you, next? With your hair."
"Would you!?" Ash sat more upright, causing Braixen to fall back into his lap. He blushed.
"...You didn't hear me sound that eager."
Her smile widened. "I most certainly did. And I'm going to tell everyone about it."
"You're still a brat," he huffed.
"One you're no less fond of," she giggled. "But, yes. I'd love to. Would you like to switch?"
Ash stopped to think. She could tell, as his petting slowed to a halt, much to her chagrin.
"...Maybe in a bit? I wanna keep going. I like bein' able to do this."
"No skin off my nose!" Braixen trilled. "Is my fur really that silky smooth and warm to the touch?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I could feel a pea through it, I bet." Wasn't that an old fairy tale?
"You're just saying that to flatter me."
"Well, yeah. That, and… it's honestly, really, uh. I don't know. It's going to sound stupid."
"I already told you," she drolled, "Santa and God."
"Point taken. Anyway, what I wanted to say is… It makes me feel less… nervous, I guess?"
"Nervous?" Braixen blinked. "What would you be nervous about…? Ah. The Kalos League is coming up. Are you having some last second nerves about it, hun? You're quite well-prepared."
"Nah. I mean, yes! Sorta." Ash groaned in frustration. Words were hard. "I'm anxious about it, but in a good way. But, that's kind of the problem. Sometimes, I get so… antsy. Like I feel I have so much nervous energy, that I just have to move! if I don't, I feel like I'm going to explode."
"Dear me, that sounds difficult," Braixen thought aloud. Her paw hovered over her muzzle. "Is that why you refuse to stay still when we have a next destination to reach? Was that always it?"
"A little, sorta," Ash shrugged. His fingers and thumbs continued to massage her tufts in circles. It was bliss. "That's also me being excited to do the next thing. But it's like, both? I'm not good at sitting still. Even if it's just battling, or thinking about battling, I feel like I've gotta do something with my energy. Or, things just feel wrong." Ash huffed, frustrated. "I'm not always like this…"
"No, no. I understand. You just have a lot to spend. You can't allow dormant energy to compile." Braixen blushed, then. "May I take my turn to tell you something embarrassing?"
"Shoot."
"There's a reason I said that our line grooms for practicality. You can imagine our fur endures flames well. But, once we shed, it loses those special properties. Most of our loose fur is lost with superficial grooming and moving around. But, our tails and ears are so dense that some of it… well, gets stuck. And, no one likes to wake up to the scent of burning hair. Trust me."
Ash winced. "With how many times I've been burned, believe me, I get you. That sucks." His petting stopped for a moment. "...Do you need help with-"
"Serena keeps me well-kempt, thank you very much!" She chirped angrily, nursing a blush.
"Alright, alright! Just asking," Ash laughed. "If you ever need me to, though, I've got you."
The heat in her face eased; her blush one of flattery, now. Braixen smiled. "I will let you know. And likewise, if that 'nervous energy' is plaguing you, just say the word. May my lovely tufts be a canvas for you, and a soothing of your nerves." Gosh, she felt embarrassed. What a thing to say!
Ash smiled widely. "Thanks, Braixen. I'll hold you to that." His nimble fingers dropped out of her ears, and settled on her fluffy shoulders. He gave them an affectionate squeeze. "Hey, Brai."
"Yes, Ash?"
"You're a pretty great girlfriend, you know that?"
Her toothy smile grew wide. Involuntarily, she let out a trill. She blushed. "...You didn't hear that."
Ash grinned down at her. "I'll take that as a 'you're a pretty great boyfriend too, Ash.'"
"I request that you do."
Ash laughed. "...Hey, uh. Can we switch spots now, actually? I think I'm good now."
"I'd be delighted!" Braixen hopped up out of Ash's lap. She even found herself doing a little jig as he sat upright, swaying her hips. Getting to return the favor tickled her, just a bit!
She sat down in the grass, legs crossed. She patted down her skirt, motioning him to join.
Ash laid back in the grass, nestling the back of his head into the fur of her skirt. He smiled up at her; dark pools of beauty and valor making her heart pitter-patter. "Alrighty. My turn!"
"It would be my honor." Braixen gave another toothy smile, and started running her paws through his tresses. They were wild, and unkempt, but somehow, it suited him. Like the bundle of nervous energy that he carried, it was frantic. But, like his excitement, there was a rhyme and reason to it. She felt privileged to run her fine nails through it, and massage his scalp.
She felt privileged to see his nerves melt away, and his shoulders go lax against her thighs.
His ease and his smile were a natural wonder, like the many stars sprinkled across the skyline.
He was a little weird, sure. But it was an endearing and comfortable kind of weird.
For better or worse, this journey had taught Braixen one thing — she liked weird.