PRESENT DAY

Chapter 5:
The Pyjamas

Penny finished brushing her teeth – with the brand new Garchomp-modeled toothbrush Nemona had gotten her (Nemona's was themed after a Zangoose). After spitting toothpaste into the sink and rinsing it down the drain, she looked at her appearance in the mirror. Her cheeks were really starting to gain a bit of chubbiness, now that she was scrutinizing them. A layer of pudge hung from her chin, too. Of course, most of her had been gaining a bit of weight, really... Maybe, she thought, she ought to try getting into a habit of exercising with her girlfriend, now that they were living together.

But the idea felt... so out of reach. Penny was a night Noctowl who typically stayed up past midnight and Nemona was a morning Swellow who woke with the sunrise. Then again, maybe the combined incentive of looking a little better for Nemona and getting to admire Nemona in her workout clothes could be enough to light a fire under Penny... Or would she just be holding Nemona back? It wasn't like they'd be able to jog at the same speed... Or maybe Nemona needing to catch her breath constantly would create a weird sort of balance? Or would Penny need to be catching her breath just as frequently at this rate? Well, it was maybe something worth considering, either way. Nemona was doing so much to adapt herself into Penny's life, it was only right for Penny to reciprocate more than she had done.

The sensation of warm, rough fluff scratching lightly against Penny's calves and shins was welcoming and familiar. Each of her Veevees had a distinct feeling to them when nuzzling her legs. She didn't even need to look down to know it was Flarey begging for some attention before bed. But she also knew she needed to start heeding Nemona's training advice – 'You're in charge. Not them. This is your space. They might be your family, but you're still their Mother.'

Others she'd sought advice from, including the Day Care employees, had essentially given her the same advice – she was being too soft. And some of her 'mons were taking advantage of that. Unlike humans, Pokémon didn't always mature in the same way or at the same pace. Penny suspected many Pokémon, or maybe even most, never really developed beyond what would be equivalent to a human child. Though clearly there were exceptions, even within the same species. But then, there were also exceptions in humans when it came to all sorts of things, too.

Either way? Flarey was being a right little git as of late. And she didn't need his selfishness on Nemona's first night moved in.

"Oi," Penny snipped quietly, wriggling one of her ankles loosely at the fluffy fur. It felt a little like tapping the side of her foot against a warm radiator, but one that was soft instead of hard. "It's bed time, Flarey," she firmly informed her beloved but currently frustrating pet.

The Flareon looked up at her with his Baby Doll Eyes and mewled a pathetically juvenile sound. He wanted attention. Probably wanted a snack, too, even though that should've been completely out of the question at this point in the evening.

"Flarey. Mate." Penny sighed, rinsing off her toothbrush. Her fiery fluff of a 'mon flinched with fear at the sound of the running sink – he knew exactly what that sound meant – and he scampered off out of the bathroom. She finished her thought as she placed the toothbrush in its mug and followed him out onto the hardwood floor. "It's bloody bed time. Right?"

Penny tapped her foot, staring down at him and his waggling little rump. She tilted her head, her loose braid slipping across one shoulder as she glared at her fussy Pokémon with wide, impatient eyes.

"All your siblings have gone off to bed, little man," she passively explained. Flarey's brows lowered, and he made a little half-growl of discontent and disinterest. He pawed at her gray-socked-ed foot, his ears folding downward. It tugged at Penny's heartstrings to see her little 'mon so desperate for attention, but she knew it was best to not give in. Penny knelt down, arms wrapped around her knees, and hardened her resolve.

"Flarey." She stared directly at him. "I am going to bed, too. Eh? We will have cuddles tomorrow. I promise. Go on, then." She flicked her wrist out toward the one empty Veevee bed in the lot. She watched intently as Flarey hummed and hawed, looking back at her twice before resigning to himself that he wasn't getting his way this time, and no amount of begging would change that. "Good boy," Penny said to him quietly, not wanting to wake the half of her pets that were already fast asleep. "I'll see you tom-..."

Penny suddenly felt a vibration from her pocket, startling her off of her sentence. It completely caught her off guard, too, since her personal RotomPhone was off on the coffee table in silent mode. The buzzing from her pocket from her PoryPhone. But it was well late to be receiving work e-mails...

Penny hesitated. Whatever it was about, surely it would need her full attention. But she didn't like the idea of Nemona being her nosy self about it. Not until everything was ready, at least. So Penny slowly rose from her knelt position, then tip-toed toward the couch, perking her ear toward the crack in her bedroom door. Erh, their bedroom door, it was a two-person bedroom now, officially.

Penny could hear Nemona humming gently along with some kind of pop song playing tinny music from her Exploudify app on her RotomPhone (that music streaming thing). That meant she was doing some cleaning of some sort, for sure, likely still rearranging clothes. And she had a habit of tuning out the world around her when she got into Cleaning Mode. So Penny could afford a quick peek at her PoryPhone.

Her alt account – the one she was using only on this phone – had received an e-mail.

[ From: Doctor Bellis ]

[ Bonsoir de Pasio, mon collègue, ]

[ It is as you say. The data I have processed from the sample you sent does appear to have some degree of compatibility with the Sync Stones from my region. Regarding your intended application of such a combination of utilities, I will confess I am uncertain as to how, precisely, such energies might react in tandem with your construct. This also doesn't take into account your intentions with the Ferrum technology you wish to integrate into things. However, I do feel confident, based on my readings, that the crystals native to Paldea very well could react with the Sync Stone embedded in your PoryPhone to produce a similar effect as Ferrum's Gaia energy using the method we've come up with of rerouting and stabilizing the Terastal energy, at least in localized doses. ]

[ Having said all of this, I would advise a healthy degree of caution when attempting to operate it, especially given the nature of the Ferrum tech involved. In fact, I'd strongly advise against use of the add-on tech until I can confirm compatibility. However, send me the data that your application records during your field test, and I can double check it with my own readings to confirm stable viability. ]

[ Viel Glück, Penny! Don't keep me waiting too long! ]

'Lovely jubbly, there's that, sorted! Well... until the processing's done and I can test it properly...'

Penny could feel her heart racing with excitement, made all the more frustrating to contain given how she had to continue keeping this all a secret. Her fucking dream was so bloody close to being as real as was physically possible with modern tech.

Her stomach felt suddenly empty as her head swirled with the possibilities. Nemona was going to be over the moon when she found out about this... but to get the right effect, Penny had to keep everything under wraps for a little while longer...

Her hands trembling and her heart pounding with giddy glee, Penny typed out a quick response, hovering beside the couch awkwardly as her feet shuffled a bit against the smooth flooring.

[ To: Doctor Bellis ]

[ That's wonderful news, Doctor. I'm nearly done compiling the needed data on my end to conduct the field test. I would be more than happy to supply you with said data after I record it, as well as video footage of the test. Expect it as early as tomorrow evening if all goes well! ]

[ Thanks again! I can't wait to see what our collaborative efforts lead to! ]

As tempting as it was to try re-checking the progress on her project, she wasn't going to risk it. Not at this hour, and not twice in one day. She just... had to cross her fingers and hope that her preparation had been precise, that her hack wouldn't fuck anything up, and that no one would be the wiser when all was said and done.

'Arceus... I need to calm the hell down...'

Penny could tell her entire body was wigging out a bit with excitement. And realizing she was about to go lay down with her amazing girlfriend and had to not say a peep about any of this only made it harder to get her hands to stop quivering. She locked her PoryPhone and sneakily hid it in a compartment in the entertainment center as per usual – because the game case cupboard was the last place Nemona was going to snoop around. Nemona knew Penny had a PoryPhone, of course, but she had no clue why just yet. But Penny didn't even like Nemona seeing the thing, as it would inevitably invite questions and curiosity and hype, and Penny might be rendered too vulnerable by the beautiful woman's pleading, and slip-up in a moment of weakness.

So. Away the PoryPhone went for the time being.

Penny shook out some of her excitement a little in the bit of space between the parlor area and the kitchen. She wiggled out her arms in loose, limp flinging, hopped a bit on her toes, and even allowed herself a little squeal into her palms. Strands of red and blue hair had popped out of her faux-hawk style braids and stuck out over her forehead, and she swept them back over her skull as she sucked in a deep breath. She released... breathed out... let the buzz of it all fade into the background...

A couple of her Veevee's who weren't asleep yet were giving her confused looks, but they settled back into dozing off when she calmed down.

Penny was ready to head to the bedroom, even though she suspected she wasn't nearly ready for bed yet. It wasn't actually that late, but it was late enough to send her 'mons to sleep. Penny would usually stay up on her computer, but given Nemona's new permanent presence, that would likely not be the case that evening, hehe...

Penny wrapped her knuckles lightly on the cracked-open door.

"Mm?" Nemona's song-humming shrunk into a single, questioning noise. The sound of the music died down.

Penny opened the door slowly. Nemona was dressed in her green silk jammies – erh, her 'pyjama set,' that was. It had golden accents and trim, creating a pattern of flowers and leaves that seemed based on a Meganium's foliage. Her hair was loose over her shoulders, a cascade of jet black with green streaks, and the bags under her eyes looked more noticeable than they had when she'd arrived earlier that evening.

"Hey, Luv," Penny peeped gently, leaning into the doorway, her fingertips wrapped around the door's edge. "What're you up to?" Penny asked the question with trepidation.

Nemona was hovering by Penny's dresser, rearranging clothes around. Well, the dresser was part Nemona's now, given the lack of space. But Penny could tell that Nemona was definitely shifting Penny's clothes around, too. And it gave her a sudden and intense pang of unease that she managed to quell well enough, given her many years of practice hiding her internal screaming.

"Just, urh, tidyin' up a bit before bed," Nemona mumbled, smiling timidly.

It was so strange and surreal, seeing Nemona acting so... pensive, nervous, even. Though Penny assumed that Nemona must've had a lot on her mind.

"Are you, umm... moving my stuff around?" Penny inquired calmly, trying not to freak out despite feeling 'off' about the concept.

Nemona blinked dumbly at the shirt she was refolding at that time.

"I-... Heh." Her small smile grew into an awkward grin as she placed the shirt on top of other folded shirts into a drawer. "Sorry, Penn, I got a little carried away, I guess. Just... was getting lost in my own head a bit," she muttered, gesturing a limp hand in a circle toward her temple. "Needed to do something with my hands to chill out, take my mind off-..." The sentence trailed away as her lifted arm went limp. A sniff of air, then Nemona cleared her throat, scooped up the unfolded articles still on the bed, and shoved them into the drawer unceremoniously. "I-... I can finish this in the morning..." she blew off her task.

"It's all right," Penny assured, entering the room. "I-I mean... I'd prefer if you, yanno... asked me first. Before you start rearranging my stuff? That's all."

Nemona's eyes flinched in a self-frustrated frown and she nodded.

"Right. Sorry. Carried away, as usual..." She palmed at her forehead tiredly.

"I said it was all right," Penny chuckled softly, closing the door behind her to give them some privacy. "Just, like... keep it in mind in future."

"Mm-hm. Of course." Nemona nodded quickly, her springy fluff of bangs flapping up and down. "No, I... I will. My... brain just needed something to-..."

But Penny had taken hold of Nemona's arm before the woman could finish the thought.

"I get it, I get it," said Penny. "Ooh, soft," she suddenly remarked with some surprise, her hands brushing up across Nemona's smooth, shiny jammies.

"Hah. Oh, yeah," Nemona suddenly said, snapping her fingers with her free hand. She twisted the other arm round to return Penny's handhold, but craned herself toward the dresser. "That reminds me-..." She opened a drawer and fished out a couple articles of clothing unfamiliar to Penny. "-... I got you a little something to commemorate the occasion, heheh."

Nemona held it up: it was a set of pyjamas with a black and purple color scheme. It looked to be satin and silk, like the set Nemona was wearing. The patterning and trim evoked Umbreon and Espeon, with some sun and moon iconography on the sleeves.

"It should be your size," Nemona said with a cheeky little smirk, eyeing Penny up and down a little. "But if it's not, I can totally swap it out for one that is."

Penny was gobsmacked, though not entirely shocked. Nemona wasn't one to flaunt her cash in obvious ways, and tended to get low-key gifts (likely in an attempt to appear 'normal'). But this was... no doubt kinda fancy. Probably the most expensive gift she'd received from her girlfriend to date. The material felt super high quality, luxuriously soft.

"Wh-Whoa, 'Mona, it's... it's awesome," Penny said, letting go of Nemona's hand and taking the silken shirt in to admire it. Just holding the article made her afraid she'd damage it somehow. Sizing it up against herself, she beamed at the gesture. "Thank you so much, Luv."

"No worries," Nemona said, sitting herself down on the bed. She pressed her palm against her cheek and mumbled, "Ugh, it's gonna look so cute on you..."

"Tsh, and that's a tall order for any outfit," Penny deprecated herself, to which Nemona flicked a dismissive wrist. "M-Maybe I should shower first?" Penny reconsidered, suddenly self-conscious about wearing such fancy clothes.

"If you want to," Nemona said passively, leaning back on her hands against the bedding. "I'll take one in the morning, I'm way too out of it tonight."

Penny couldn't help but find it ironic that Nemona was insisting on how tired she was – and Penny believed it and all – and yet the woman kept finding things to unpack, to tidy, etc.

"All right," agreed Penny. "I'll, uh, wash up, then, and you get settled into bed, eh?"

Nemona suddenly sprung up from the bed, making for the door.

"A-Actually, I gotta pee first," she blurted out, as if the concept had just struck her.

"Oh-... OK," Penny murmured back with a laugh, watching her girlfriend stumbling off in a rush, letting out a squeak as she nearly tripped over Vaporee's bed cushion in her haste.

As Nemona used the restroom and brushed her teeth, Penny retrieved underwear to change into after her shower, as well as this brand new set of jammies. 'Diagla's sake, these things feel so smooth and cozy. Is this the sorta stuff Nemona has worn to bed her whole life or something...?'

It wasn't like Penny had never seen 'Mona in pyjamas, but it was a very rare sight. When she'd visited Penny at the flat before moving in, she'd often just gone down to a tank-top and sweatpants or shorts for bed – she didn't seem the type to sleep in just her underwear too often, which Penny found amusing and wondered if that was something that might change now, under these new circumstances...

Penny shook off such thoughts, having un-braided her hair by the time Nemona returned. It was a loose tangled mess of wavy blue and red now, the braids having left the locks curled.

"Mmkay!" said Nemona. "Have a nice shower. Stay safe!"

"Thanks," Penny replied with flat facetiousness, shaking her tightly curled hair loose a little. "I'll, uhh, try not to do anything dangerous..."

As the two crossed paths, they exchanged kisses on the cheeks – went to break apart, then kissed on the lips – and Penny headed off for her evening shower.

It gave her a few minutes to dwell on everything going on. Stuff with work was mostly slow, but Rika had been a little... grumpier than usual as of late. Geeta and Clavell both seemed on edge, too. And Nemona had been getting run pretty ragged chasing leads around regarding where and how Titan and Tera 'mons kept emerging to cause problems across the island. Penny was doing her damnedest to not abuse her position even further by prying into upper rank e-mails... but she didn't need to snoop to know that the leaders of the Paldean League were majorly stressed about something. Letty's appearance in Mesagoza and whatever 'job' they'd mentioned were no-doubt connected to these matters. Naranja and the League only called Letty in for one of two things: pseudo celeb schmoozing tied to some kind of tournament or event... or freelance mercenary work tied to something dangerous, like the 'Twin Titan Incident' a year and change back in the desert. Nemona had come home pretty wiped out and even angry that day, as Penny recalled...

And near as Penny knew, there weren't any kind of impending events or major tournaments happening across Paldea... So-...

But whatever was up, Penny had to suppress the urge to worrywart over it right then and there. She finished her shower and went about brushing her mop of hair out a bit, ready to blow dry it. Often, she'd get her Veevees to help with hair drying, but... she normally didn't shower this late, and she didn't want to mess up their sleep pattern. Her visage a fuzzy blur in the mirror without her glasses, Penny let her concerns fade into the background as best she could. One upside, at least, was that if the League was fussing over something more important, then she was less likely to be found out for her own side activities using her special access...

Penny dried her hair for a spell using her blow-drier – styled after an Armarouge's shoulder/arm. As she did so, her mind running circles around herself as the worrying began to take hold. Paldea had experienced a fair share of problems over the past year, increasing in frequency as the months had gone on. First it had been Tera Pokémon invading towns. Then it had been Titan Pokémon starting to show up after years of being a no-show. Within the past month or so, weekly tremors and small earthquakes had begun rattling the island region. And there'd even been frequent sightings of prehistoric Pokémon outside of Area Zero.

Something strange and suspicious was going on, all right, and Penny felt confident that Scarlet being summoned had something to do with it. Penny wondered if the research project she was working on might prove useful in some way with these problems – not to mention Nemona's own 'secret technique' having already been utilized to deal with various threats when she'd gone solo to handle them. Nemona almost gotten caught one time but had managed to convince her coworker, who'd observed her from a distance, that he'd just been misreading what he'd seen. The idea of Nemona lying to cover her own ass was itself kind of a revelation, and a reminder of Penny's influence.

In the long run, what Penny was working on – and what Nemona was mastering – would benefit Paldea, anyway. She was certain of it. It was worth the rule-breaking if it was for the greater good and all that, eh? For her own part, Penny just needed a proof of concept to demo, and she'd have it ready soon enough. In the meantime, she had a beautiful girlfriend waiting in her bedroom to attend to.

Penny opened a small drawer beneath the sink, full of dedicated hair care items. She snatched up a hair tie and used it to wrangle her red and blue mess into a loose bun. She couldn't understand how Nemona managed to sleep with her hair down, but then again, Nemona was a very different beast from a very different background... And Penny was under no circumstances going to complain about excuses to see that mane laid out before her, that was for sure.

Quietly sneaking through the flat under the dim glow of the stove light, Penny re-entered the bedroom slowly. She was completely unsurprised to find Nemona already having a kip, laid across the bed perpendicular to its orientation. She'd clearly just kind of laid of down while sitting on the bed's side, her lower legs dangling off the edge and her hands folded neatly over her waist... and fallen asleep. A small stack of shirts sat folded beside her, and her RotomPhone was sitting on the bed face-down next to those. Her lips were slightly ajar, her expression an awkward tangle of frown of awe. Her hair spread out beneath her head and abdomen like a pool of ink, green highlights snaking through an elegant slash of black paint-strokes.

As cute as this was, Penny wanted to, you know, also sleep in the bed? So she'd have to wake 'Mona so they could snuggle up in bed the right way. She delicately lifted the stack of recently folded shirts, placing them with care on top of the dresser – avoiding knocking over the various knick-knacks. Then, Penny oh-so-carefully leaned over the foot of the bed and planted a big wet kiss into Nemona's forehead.

"Mmhh-..." The soft sound Nemona made was like a Meloetta's sweet note to Penny's ears.

The skin of Nemona's forehead wrinkled against Penny's lips as 'Mona's brows lifted before her eyelids did. She stared with bleary eyes up at Penny for a moment of blinking confusion before her gaze shimmied down and up again, and a weak smile crawled onto her expression.

"... I was right," Nemona said groggily, rubbing at her face. She yawned out, "It is so cute on you..." And she gave Penny's whole form another once over, her eyes half-lidded above a sly smirk.

"If you say so," Penny said back, applying a layer of smoothness to her snark as she climbed onto the bed. She lingered over her girlfriend for a couple seconds, the pair of them swapping warm glances. "I'm, erh... guessing that you're... maybe a little tired for-...?"

Nemona nodded gently, her eyelids closing with a small sigh. Penny hated it, seeing that twinge of guilt in Nemona's face. It was fine. Penny could understand that 'Mona wasn't often in the mood for 'that' kinda stuff. Hell, it had been slow going working themselves up to it to begin with. And that wasn't a bad thing. It wasn't like they wouldn't have more opportunities now, being roommates and everything. Sure beat trying to sneak a 'private lesson' in between Penny's senior year classes, that was for sure...

"Don't feel bad," Penny assured, cupping a hand against Nemona's jawline. "We're roomies now, innit? I'm always gonna be here when you're ready and willing..."

One side of Nemona's mouth curved upward in a smile, but her brows and her tired eyes conveyed self-doubt.

"But it's... not just what I want, Luv," Nemona sighed softly. "I don't want you to feel like your needs aren't being met."

"You joking? I get to look at this gorgeous specimen—" She 'booped' Nemona on the nose. "—every single day. And I get to love her. And be loved by her? And now, even share a life with her? Trust me, my 'needs' are more than being met..." She could tell that even with all this convincing, Nemona wasn't letting herself off the hook entirely. So she asserted a soft demand of, "... OK?"

Nemona cleared her expression of its downtrodden vibes and nodded. Her throat bulged as she swallowed, still flat on her back.

"OK," said Nemona softly. "But it's a want, then. And I... I do want try something romantic and stuff. Soon. Before the cramps start kickin' back in and all, but... maybe tomorrow night?"

Penny laughed a little through her nose, endeared by Nemona's clutching for any semblance of people-pleasing with this kind of thing. The poor woman would probably force herself to be intimate through period pains if she thought it would make Penny happy (it would absolutely not, of course).

"Sure," replied Penny to the offer of 'maybe tomorrow,' stroking her hand from Nemona's cheek up across her head. She sifted together disheveled bunches of black and green locks that had spilled across the bed and tucked them together at Nemona's side.

"I'm, uh... ready to conk out," Nemona stated, yawning through her words again.

"I noticed," Penny said warmly, smiling down as she stood up. "I'll join you."

"I know it's... a bit early for you," mumbled Nemona, rolling herself around the bed to the left side, and reorienting herself 90 degrees so her head lined up with her designated pillow – she dropped her skull into said pillow with a heavy 'poomph'.

"That's all right." On her own side of the bed, Penny placed her RotomPhone on her nightstand. As she plucked her glasses off and set them beside her phone, she clicked off her small desk lamp, drowning the room in darkness, save for some trickles of moonlight drizzling between the curtains of the window on Penny's side of the room, above the dresser.

"... 'mm... happ tuh bee hurr..." Nemona drowsily dribbled out, rolling onto her left side to face Penny. "... mee... tess... orro..."

Penny adroitly gathered Nemona's mass of hair and swerved it behind Nemona's back. Nemona let out a sleepy, pleasant hum as she wriggled slowly, worming her arms around Penny. Penny reciprocated the gesture, rearranging herself so her head was on her pillow and her face pressed up against the top of Nemona's head. Her arms and legs were woven between Nemona's, their limbs grasping at one another's abdomens. Nemona's soft chest was flush against Penny's lower waist, her nose tickling at Penny's shoulder, warm breaths spilling across Penny's skin in a slow, relaxing rhythm. Penny knew she'd lose circulation like this after too long, but was totally going to enjoy it as she let Nemona stumble off into dream land.

The softness of Nemona's body was multiplied by the silken pyjamas they both wore. Penny soaked in the blissful coziness of it all, still in awe that this was where their lives had led them. It wasn't fate, or magic, or divine circumstance... They had both chosen this path. Penny was sure of that.

"Happy to have you here, Luv," replied Penny quietly, planting a kiss into Nemona's brain through a layer of soft, sweaty hair and dried scalp. Her girlfriend's distinct, individual scent was like a calming candle lit balm in the stillness they secluded themselves in.