“Ah, I love Summer.”

 

My hammer beat nails into the dark brown planks we were using to set up the last of the stalls, giving satisfied cracks as it drove them in. The sweat on my brow felt good, and I’d long since cast off my shirt so I could get a good breeze on me.

 

One of the two men helping me wasn’t handling the work as well as I was. His breathing was too heavy, the front of his shirt was soaked, and I could tell his arm was getting tired. He must have seen me looking and turned to me with a question on his tongue.

 

“You? Love Summer?”

 

I smirked as I hammered another nail with a few neat strokes. “What’s wrong with that?”

 

“Nothin’, I suppose,” he shrugged, slowly moving another nail into place while his arm seemed to decide whether or not it wanted to obey him. “It’s just odd, you know? I wouldn’t have guessed Mr. Frost himself to be a fan of the heat. The gym is basically an icebox.”

 

“I guess,” I shrugged, giving a tug on the plank to make sure it was secure. “But you really can’t appreciate the cold unless you feel the heat every once in awhile. I’ll bet the nice, cold gym is starting to sound pretty good to you right now…”

 

He groaned, as if even mentioning something refreshing was teasing him at this rate. Picking up one of the last nails I’d have to drive in, I gave him what I thought was a more satisfying reason. “Besides, tomorrow’s a very special day for Azureus Town. The festival’s only once a year, and we have some new residents who’ve never even seen what we’re famous for. Brings it a good bit of money, too!”

 

The other guy helping me chuckled and nodded. “Can’t argue with that. Though I thought you of all people’d be a bit bummed about tomorrow, yeah? You gotta say goodbye to your wife for the better part of a year.”

 

This made the other guy’s head snap on a swivel, confusion twisting his face. Ah, I forgot. He was new here.

 

“You’re married?”

 

“Yeah, that’s what everybody keeps telling me,” I led him on with a smirk, putting a few more questions in his head than answers. I had to mess with him a little. Couldn’t help it.

 

“Well, where’s the lucky lady, then?”

 

My second friend piped up with a wave of his hand. “Oh, you’ll see her tomorrow. She’s got a pretty big role to play in the Festival.”

 

Laughing, I steadied myself just long enough to drive the last nail in on my end. “She does. And this is the last stall that needs to get put up and painted. I think it’s gonna be the hot chocolate stand.”

 

My poor, naive friend was even more confused by that. I could feel the questions rolling across the slopes of his brain like a snowball collecting mass. But my part of the work was done for now, and the sun was already starting to go down. I still had one more thing to do before I said goodbye to my wife.

 

He’ll just have to wait and see.

 

“Hey, think you guys can handle the rest of this? I gotta go check on things inside.”

 

“No prob, sir,” said the more veteran of the two, waving me away. “We got this. Just needs to get painted up and we’ll be done.”

 

“Cool. You and your Pokemon get rested up for tomorrow,” I got down off the ladder and let my feet plant on the ground, grabbing my discarded shirt and slinging it over my shoulder. “Oh, and make sure we have plenty of coats to sell. I hear the hotel is booked up.”

 

As I walked away, I could still feel the newbie’s confusion. I would cackle, but that would be unbecoming of my station.

 

Besides, teasing him was only a small part of my joys for today. Most of them came just from the town itself. I walked the short distance to the gym, casting my eyes at all the stalls that were being setup by humans and Pokemon working together. Places being roped off to define the celebration area, long tables where food was going to be served. Everybody and their Pokemon companions were working hard not just for the sake of the town, but to make sure Yuki gets a proper sendoff. My chest felt full.

 

Stepping around the podium in front of the gym, I cracked open the doors and felt the refrigerator-like blast of cool air across my skin. WOW that was good! I couldn’t help but spread my arms, take in a deep breath of chilling air and return to my element. As I was basking, though, I heard the steady taps of familiar boots step up to my side.

 

“Have fun out there, Mister Jack?”

 

I recognized that deep, Northern accent. Rich and hot. Natalia, my assistant Leader. I turned my head and saw her standing there, wearing her long blue coat with her Glalie Bruno floating behind her. She was a sweet girl from a country whose name she laughed at me for pronouncing, very shy, but incredible at coordinating both her Pokemon and the trainers she taught.

 

I just hope things weren’t going downhill as quickly as they did last year.

 

I responded with a worried sigh. “That depends on what you’re about to tell me. Everything go okay in here?”

 

“Oh yes, not having problems,” she affirmed for me, setting me at ease immediately.

 

“Ah! So, nobody has their tongue stuck to a Vanillish this year?”

 

She giggled back at that, one of her mittens trying to hide the noise as her tall, furry hat shuddered a bit. “Not a one, I am thinking they learned their lessons last year. Is good.”

 

“Fantastic. Anything else to report?”

 

“Yessir. You had three trainers come looking to challenge you. Two of them had three badges, but one is carrying five. I told them you are too busy. To come back after festival. Is good?”

 

“Yeah, that’s fine,” I smiled, already feeling my fingers itching to throw down at a battle. “Remind me tomorrow night, though. I haven’t had a five-badger come through in a good bit, and I’ll need to freshen up the Rank Five team.”

 

“Yessir.”

 

“Excellent. You guys are doing an awesome job here. We’re on schedule so far, so make sure everyone finishes up and gets some rest. No battling. We need active Pokemon for tomorrow. Now, if you have that handled, I’m going to talk to Yuki.”

 

“Yessir. I’m sure your wife will be happy to seeing you.”

 

“...You too?”

 

“Heheh. I think it’s sweet.

 

She giggled and cupped her mitten hands at her stomach, bowing her head and turning back to her duties. I laughed to myself and made my way to the back of the gym, taking a look at all the decorations: the summer flowers frozen in clear blocks of ice, the tinsel and streamers and giant snowflakes made into the shape of several Ice-type Pokemon, the snowglobes being filled and the blankets being stuffed with discarded Swanna down...

 

Yes, it was looking to be a fantastic celebration.

 

I stepped over the dais that I met the challengers to my gym on. I noticed a few chips along the arena’s borders that hadn’t been re-frozen after the matches I had yesterday. Trainers were getting tougher and tougher. When I was climbing up the ranks, I didn’t face this sort of competition at all. But that’s really what you want to see as a Gym Leader. Progress.

 

At least that’s what I tell myself to keep from feeling like a rookie all over again when they earn my badge.

 

At the other side of the gym was a wide, beaded curtain leading to a long set of stairs. Carpeted, of course, to keep one from having a very unfortunate and very literal trip back down. The air was getting wonderfully colder the higher I climbed. It only led to the atrium atop the gym, but the shift in temperature was like hitting the summit of a mountain…

 

Which made sense, of course. Me and my wife liked it cold.

 

There was a large door at the very top of the stairs, and my knuckles gave a couple casual taps before I turned the leather-wrapped knob to hear it click. I peeked my head in at an angle, smiling as I called into the large room.

 

“Honey, I’m home!”

 

The room was a large, white floor with great dome made of crystal-clear Nevermelt Ice, which let the sunset paint the whole thing orange. There was a large, round cushion in the middle of the room, along with a table, some chairs and a couch for visitors. We liked to entertain guests up here, especially if they’ve never met her before.

 

A slight rustling responded to me. Then, I heard her voice from above, the soft, pretty thing that it was, sounding just a little on the groggy side. Must have got her out of a nap.

 

“Mmm… Honey, is it? I think you’re taking those rumors a bit seriously.”

 

I walked in and looked up to the source of the voice, seeing my spouse in all of her splendor. Her talon-like feet clung to a rod suspended from the frozen dome. Her sky-blue feathers fluffed as she stretched her neck out from what I could only assume was a damn good nap. She regarded me with an amused annoyance, golden eyes squinting and hooked bill turned towards her favorite intruder.

 

“I’m starting to get used to it,” I replied to Yuki, my Articuno wife. “If I know anything about rumors, it’s that they only become a problem when you start denying them.”

 

“Oh, I’m suuure that’s your reasoning…” Yuki responded with tempered sarcasm as she stretched her back leg out from her perch and slowly let herself fall backwards. Clinging to the perch, she hung upside down like a Zubat, her neck curling upwards to meet me eye-to-eye before she spoke again.

 

“Well then, where’s my ring? Humans get rings, don’t they?” As she spoke, I watched her throat slide up and down, her talented voice-box serving as the lips she didn’t have.

 

“You’ve got a point,” I admitted, reaching my hand into my pocket and pulling out a small Pokeblock dispenser. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time. For now, will one of these work?”

 

I flipped the top off and popped one of the soft, candy blocks into my palm, offering it to her. Maybe I should be doing this on one knee? She opened her hooked beak and let her long, pink tongue slither out and wrap around the block, bringin it between the two points of her oral scissors and taking it back up into her perch with her.

 

The great bird righted herself, fluttered her great wings and crooked her neck up to swallow the thing. So began our normal ritual, me giving her a treat after her dinner.

 

She spoke again, but with the Pokeblock working its way down her throat her vocal chords got a little choked up. “Rff. Sheesh are sho ghoord.” Finishing her great swallowing feat, she ruffled her feathers and took another breath. “Whoo. You should give me a big bag of these for my trip.”

 

Laughing, I shook my head and moved to the fluffy cushion beneath her. “Why would I do that? You’d never come back! You only love me for my candy. This marriage won’t work out.”

 

“So are we divorced, then?” She mused, surprising me more with her knowledge of humanity. I shouldn’t be shocked, given we were raised side-by-side, but she picked up an awful lot of things that we weren’t exactly taught. “Does that mean I don’t get my ring?”

 

She fell forward and made a full swing around her perch, turning herself to face me again. I remember when she used to do that on my arm, before her growing claws started to rake my skin. I don’t get jealous of wooden logs much, but in this case…

 

“We’ll work it out,” I mock-assured her, leaning back on the beanbag-like edge of her comfy nest. “That’s what couples do.”

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

Our banter stopped for a minute as I relaxed into the cushion, my body finally feeling the effects of the strain I’d put on it. At least twelve hours of constant, relentless work to get everything set up for tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow…

 

I should be happy about it. We go through it every year. But, as everything got quiet, my brain caught up to me and started prodding me and reminding me of what was to come.

 

Yuki showed me how well she recognized the face I must have been making. Like clockwork, I watched her spread her wings and float down towards me. The breeze I felt didn’t come from the fluttering of her cold wings, but from the Flying-type energy she was using to slow her descent, giving me enough time to put my legs up into the air.

 

She landed on the soles of my shoes and dug her claws in, balancing on top of me while I tried to keep my legs still under the surprisingly heavy bird’s bulk. Another game we used to play. She cleared the silence with a trilling chirp, craning her long neck down until her beak was touching the tip of my nose. She initiated an impromptu staring contest with me, her yellow eyes focusing into until her pupils were pin-pricks.

 

I blinked first, feeling a sigh break out of my closed lips. “Hah. I’ll be fine.”

 

“I know that you think that,” she replied coyly. “And I know that I’ll be fine. But you’re worried that I won’t be. Just like I’m worried that you’ll be too worried about me to keep up with your training.”

 

“I thought it’d get easier after three years.”

 

“Nope,” she said flatly, leaning her body back up and wobbling to balance herself on my bent legs. “But you and Father trained me well. I’ll be fine. And I’m sure I’ll be able to convince myself that you’ll be fine, too.”

 

Her teasing tone made me roll my eyes, kicking my legs up and watching her flutter off of them. “I’m just worried about something happening to you. Like, you getting hurt or captured.”

 

“You’ve got my Pokeball,” she reminded me, circling around her room with barely a single beat of her translucent wings. “I can’t be caught as long as I’m already caught, right?”

 

“I’ve heard of some people who can still capture an owned Pokemon.”

 

“Mmhmm. And one of these mythical humans and their silly science devices would have to climb my mountain and beat me first. Not to mention get past all the friends that I’ve made there. I have other friends, you know. I’m quite charming.”

 

“You’ll need to introduce me to these friends of yours.”

 

“They’re all wild Pokemon, Jack. They may trust me, but… that’s gonna take some more time.”

 

I chuckled, nodding as I pretended to be incredulous. But it made sense. She was raised with humans, while the mountains where she was flying for the Summer has Pokemon that have never even seen a human. “Yeah. I guess I’m always gonna be worried that you’re not gonna fly home come Winter.”

 

“Well,” she landed behind my head, placing her chilly crown on my bare chest and staring upside-down again into my eyes. “Then you’ll come and find me. Just like if you’re not here when I get back, I’ll find you. And you’d better be alright when I do. I’ll be cross with you if you got yourself hurt.”

 

We have had a similar conversation for the past three years on this same day, but we really can’t help but worry about each other, it seems. She could be teasing me, of course. I did teach her plenty of bad habits when we were growing up together. I doubted it, though. Any trainer worth his balls could read his Pokemon’s emotions, and right now there was plenty of warm, loving heat… along with a light, sad breeze.

 

I chuckled and cupped the side of her feathered face with my palm, fingers finding her avian ear and carefully rubbing it. Her feathers fluffed and her eyes closed at the delicate touch. I knew all of her favorite spots. When you get right down to it, a Pidgey and an Articuno aren’t too different.

 

“I wish I could keep it cool enough for ya,” I told her, her eyes cracking open and brow piquing against my bare chest. “Make it so that you don’t have to stay cooped up in here when the Summer sun’s up.”

 

“Mm. It’s fine, Jack. You can’t appreciate the cold unless you get a little hot from time to time.”

 

Hah. I couldn’t argue with that. I started sitting up, prompting her to bring her head back and walk like a giant Torchic to sit in front of me. I had to stop myself from chuckling, but it made another funny memory jump into place.

 

“So, no poking holes in a cooler?”

 

That got her to laugh, the giggle sounding remarkably human as she brought her wing to her beak in a practiced gesture. “Father was soooo angry with us. I thought it was quite cozy, myself.”

 

I grinned and nodded. “Yeah, he was pissed. Glad he never found out half the stuff we pulled. Remember when I taught you Ice Beam?”

 

“Uh-huh,” she chirped. “Those Murkrow didn’t bother us again after that. I guess they don’t appreciate frozen branches and feathers as much as I do.”

 

“I guess not. But neither did the Daniels. It was their Persim tree.”

 

“Chilled Persim are delicious. I don’t know what their problem was.”

 

“Not a clue,” I replied, still smiling as I looked over her fluffy feathers, the streaming down and the gentle fog of cold air that wafted from under her wings. By the time my eyes had finished traveling up her body to meet hers, they were beaming down at me. I must have been quiet for a moment too long, and she caught me staring.

 

“...I’m glad too,” she finally said, leaning her body towards mine, beak bumping my chest.

 

“Hmm? About what?”

 

Her voice deepened a bit, adding a slight purr to her words that a human couldn’t emulate if they tried. “That he didn’t find out half the stuff we pulled…”

 

I knew that tone, and I knew that she was referring to various… activities that we got ourselves into when she was kept inside on warmer summer nights thanks to insomnia, the darker parts of the internet and a pair of budding teenage libidos...

 

“Yuki…”

 

“Mmm?” Again, purring, her smooth, cool beak nuzzling up to my collar-bone. “Don’t judge me. You’re the one who came in here without a shirt…”

 

“This is true.”

 

I felt her wings stretch out around me, feeling the surprising heat that came from beneath them while enjoying the way the air cooled as it passed through the feathers. Her head cocked and her throat settled on my chest, trilling words vibrating against my ribcage. “It’s gonna be a while before we see each other again… Big Brother.”

 

I smiled even as I felt her beak sliding against my throat adoringly. Big Brother indeed. She was as tall as I was standing. My hands went to where her wings met her soft body and dragged along the sensitive nerves, watching the Ice-type shiver. I knew what she wanted. I wanted it too. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t tease her a bit.

 

“Don’t you think calling me your brother before we have sex is a bit odd?”

 

“Mm. I don’t know,” she said slowly, the sharp tip of her beak dragging over my bare shoulder. It was my turn to shiver as she spoke. “I kind of like it, don’t you?”

 

I did. But that doesn’t make it not odd.

 

“Besides, I was your sister before you apparently made me your wife. Marrying a Pokemon… wouldn’t that be the odd thing nowadays?”

 

You should never argue societal norms with a Pokemon. I relented, sliding a hand down to undo my belt. “Point taken,” I said, moving my hands up to her long throat and starting to knead it. My body was warming up. I could tell just by how much colder everything felt. It was so cold that snow could stick to the floor in this room, but here I was, pulling off my pants underneath an Ice-type Pokemon on the only patch of warm cushion my body was able to heat up.

 

She must have felt me fidgeting beneath her, because she pulled her wings back and ran them over my chest as she backed away. Her cool, smooth beak slipped down to my crotch, and already I could feel the heat of her breath against my skin. Her feathers may be cold, frozen even, but they were incredible at keeping heat trapped in her body.

 

“Now, let your wife take care of her big brother…”

 

I rolled my eyes and leaned my head back, letting her have her way. I was staring up at the orange sky as I felt her sharp, textured tongue touch me right at the root of my sex. The tip of it was cool, but the base of it was warm, almost hot with a thin, stimulating layer of bumps across it. Her wings were stretched out beside my hips, and my fingers couldn’t help but comb through them as I felt that wet, darting dagger of hers slice across my skin. Her feathers weren’t ice, but they were just as beautiful.

 

I took in cool breaths and exhaled white fog, my body melting under the ice of her wings and letting me float there, remembering the other times we did this. Remembering the first time, how desperately we tried to find a way to make oral work. But her beak was too sharp, and she didn’t like having anything pushed into her throat. But that tongue… I could live without a deepthroat if that tongue was always waiting for me.

 

Even now, it was twisting its way around my shaft, two of her longest feathers draped over my thighs to tease the sides of the skin. Handjobs were overrated, too. Her wings were softer than fingers, and their cool touch brought me sharp jolts of pleasure. She kept sliding and darting that lithe tendril of a tongue around my aching shaft, showing me her perfected methods.

 

If I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s been practicing on other males. A thought that made me a little jealous and turned me on all the same. Hah, what was wrong with me?

 

She also demonstrated how well she knew me, feeling the pulses in my member with the tip of her textured tongue and sculpting me to my hardest point. I could feel my skin stretching over my throbbing veins, and I couldn’t stop a groan from leaving my lips.

 

That’s when my arctic angel slid her beak away from my cock and dragged her body along mine. The softer feathers of her breast hugged around my exposed sex, wiping away the cooling drool and bringing it ever closer to the heat of her core.

 

The warmth of her vent washed over my crotch, my eyes shutting as I bathed in the summer-like blanket of heat she covered me with. The world outside could be a frozen tundra, and I could still sweat beneath her. Her wings splayed over my shoulders, her eyes peering into mine as the cold air of our den fought against the sweltering heat between us.

 

“You’re quite the woman, Yuki…”

 

I got a chirping giggle in response, her tone deeper as her body relaxed against mine and her throat loosened. “Mmm… and you’re a real monster,” she replied, letting me feel her long tail-feathers trace my ankles as she leaned back. My cock was pressed right against her moistened vent, the soft, cool feathers along her lips giving way to the steaming tunnel between them. “Making a wife out of your poor, helpless sister…”

 

I felt the pressure between our bodies give way as I slipped inside of her. Damn, she was burning up inside. She always was. I watched her literally swallow her voice, so used to keeping our trysts quiet that habit was keeping our lovemaking as hushed as possible. She took me easily, her body loose and lax like a fitting glove. Once she got me to my hilt, though, that glove turned into a vice, suddenly clenching and rubbing along my sex like several eager tongues.

 

I couldn’t help but gasp out as it hit me. I took a few breaths to calm myself before shaking my head, marveling at just how weak she made me. “Helpless. Right.”

 

She began to ride me, barely moving back and forth while her sleeve treated my shaft like a Miltank’s teat. We stole steaming breaths from one another, my arm wrapping around her neck as she kept her body low against mine. It was our favorite position. The least awkward, at least, that we could find and still pretend to be asleep under the covers. There wasn’t a lot of information on Articuno mating habits, let alone with a human.

 

But that didn’t stop us. I heard her throat open in a strangled moan, her beak moving down to cool my throat as her icy crown mashed against my brow. My fingers roamed her feathers, committing them to memory again as I struggled to keep myself from getting too much pleasure from this. I had time, and I wanted to enjoy it. The clenching, steaming tunnel combined with the cool kiss of her outer vent on my crotch whenever she slid around, though, making it even harder to hold back. My skin never got used to the heat of her body as it was cooled right back down, sucked right back into the forge and again removed to be quenched in the trough.

 

Her next moan turned into a funny little squawk. Apparently my hips had decided to move, pushing up into her. She fought with her throat to form her scolding words. “W-w-a-a-a-rn me b-before-”

 

“Shh.”

 

“A-ah! D-d-o-oon’t y-you sh-sh-shuush m-”

 

My hips swung up and popped hers, making her peep like a chick and lose her words. A weakness of hers: she actually had to concentrate on getting that complex organ in her throat to say human words. My feet planted on the cushion and I started bouncing myself into her, hands moving down to hold her against me.

 

I heard more attempted syllables, but they always droned out into long, trilling calls that she could only attempt to stifle. She let her beak scold me, biting me in the shoulder as her body shuddered violently above me. She clenched every muscle she had, especially the ones trying to keep my cock still inside of her. She even tried mashing herself against me, wringing the head of my cock with her velvet sleeve, but it only encouraged me to lift her up and collide with her again. Harder.

 

But I was going to cum at this rate. I slowed myself down, going back to grinding and stirring my shaft inside of her. As soon as I stopped thrusting, though, I felt her bite down harder.

 

“N-noh. C-low-s..”

 

“Ooh,” I grinned, playing a little ignorant as I continued stirring myself lazily inside of her. “Are you close?”

 

“Mmm-hmm!” She nodded and practically whined, pulling at the skin of my shoulder and trying to get her hips to bounce like mine. Much harder on her legs than it was for me.

 

“Were you about to cum?” I kept teasing her. I got a deserved growl as she tried to just drop her weight against my shaft, knocking the head of my cock against her womb. The bite got rougher, maybe even breaking the skin. It was too cold to tell. I could go on. Make her beg. And she would plead with that sweet, struggling voice of hers. Get her to call me Husband, Brother or Master, whatever I wanted really.

 

But she’d have me doing the same next time.

 

“Alright, alright. Hold on…” I set my feet apart again, giving another few rolls of my hips to build myself back up to speed. Her hot breath washed against my sore shoulder as she relaxed herself again, keeping her vent clenching as I started to thrust up into her again. She got louder and louder as I sped up, almost drowning out the dull, wet thuds of my balls swinging up and slapping her soaked vent.

 

“Oh… I’m,” I started to warn her, but one word was all she needed to hear. She tried again to copy my pace, squeezing kneading me from inside of her. Her chirping began to strain itself as she tightened up, and her clenching turned into a tight fluttering. She came, and I shoved myself as deep as I could so that I could ride it out.

 

Something about the way she bit down just a little harder finally hit a nerve. I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding as my eyes struggled to keep themselves open. My lower half went into squeezing fits, trying to wring everything I had left in me into Yuki. My head swung back and hit the cushion as I let her drain me, already feeling her satisfied, relieved panting against my bare shoulder. I spilled into her, throbbing and sore, but endlessly satisfied.

 

I felt my legs finally give out and slowly splay themselves, her body following mine to keep itself from breaking away. I gulped and started breathing again, letting cold air fill my lungs as her glistening crown of ice soothed the sweat on my brow. I felt her nuzzling my throat again, aware of her soft wings that had been hugged against me all this time.

 

A long time seemed to pass. I couldn’t even say when the sun had finally set, but the sky was definitely purple now, and the stars were starting to twinkle into view. Our breathing had calmed, and my softened cock was being cradled inside of her, her sleeve gently petting it. I opened my mouth to say something to break the silence, but her echoing, soft giggle did that for me.

 

“A-a-and…And… you have sex with Pokemon, too. You’re s-s-such a pervert. This marriage could ne-e-ever work…”

 

I closed my eyes and started chuckling, bringing my palm to my brow and shaking my head. I want to say she ruined the moment, but… no. Not really. This was our kind of moment.

 

My hands moved to her neck, watching her feathers lazily fluff at my attentions. “I’ll make it work. I’m gonna make you the world’s first sister Pokemon bride.”

 

“Mn… ring?”

 

“Ring included.”

 

“Pro-o-o-mise?”

 

“Promise.”

 

She let out a satisfied trill and snuggled down onto me like she used to in our bed. I knew I’d have to leave soon, shower, sleep and wake up bright and early to kick off the ceremony tomorrow… but a nap wouldn’t hurt anyone.

 

But my tongue just wouldn’t let me rest until it got the words out.

 

“I love you, Yuki.”

 

I felt her whole body ruffle slightly, the same way I got goosebumps just from saying the words. It’s not like I never did, but sex was usually just play for us. Usually… but nights like this…

 

“I love you too, Jack…” The words were whispered, her throat barely moving as she spoke them. She was tired, but I think she also felt how fragile the moment had become. How those words just made everything… heavy, and reminded us about tomorrow.

 

...I can always shower in the morning…

 

-----------------------------------------

 

Unless I overslept and had to be prodded awake by my Frosslass, Onna. My shirt was frozen from the sweat that had soaked it, and my pants had caught more than a few dollops of what fell out of Yuki. Oh, she was wide awake of course, but the cheeky bird was just sticking her tongue out at me as I scrambled to dress myself. “You just looked so cute,” she had said. Sure. She just liked to see me scamper. Onna was clever enough to bring me a change of clothes. No underwear, of course. I swear they’re working together…

 

But here I was, standing in front of a festival crowd on a podium in front of my gym, trying to give a speech and ignore my commando attire.

 

“As you all know, this is just as happy a time as it is a somber one. Our dear friend Yuki, icon of our town and fellow guardian of its skies, must fly to the South to hide from the Summer’s heat here. We sit along the equator, here in Azureus, and our temperatures are uncomfortable even for us. While many of our Ice-type Pokemon can remain in their balls or seek refuge in our gym, a place where you are all welcome, Yuki doesn’t want to lose her sky, and we’re not going to take it from her.”

 

I looked to the ball on the podium in front of me, hidden from the rest of the crowd. We’d said our goodbyes, reassured one another that nothing was going to happen and other placations, and got ourselves excited for another show. I was smiling. I knew she was smiling too.

 

I took another look at the crowd and saw them all staring expectantly. Even the ones who were new to this ceremony, looking at the people carrying jackets as if they were completely insane. I loved that look. I really did.

 

My smile turned into a grin. “But she doesn’t want to leave her town with simply a wave goodbye. While she will be back when she doesn’t have to stay indoors to avoid the heat, she wants to give us something to remember her by until then.”

 

I picked up the ball, cupping it with both hands and smiling down at it, watching the red surface reflect my smile back at me through the cuts and marks it’d weathered over our years together…

 

Taking a breath, I held out the ball to the crowd and spoke aloud in my Gym Leader voice.

 

“One more weekend of Winter!”

 

I tossed the ball high into the air and watch it burst in half, a thick white cloud emerging as Yuki’s loudest, most angelic cry pierced through the sky. Immediately, a cool air washed over me, a relieving breeze that soon fell over the cheering crowd. Yuki adored this last little bit of attention, knowing she’d be missed and that there was always somewhere to come back to. She fanned her great wings and circled Azureus, the white clouds thickening and darkening as the offensive midday sun was shrouded.

 

The locals were already putting on their coats when the first flurry of snow fell.

 

The ball slowly fell back into my hands, and I put it back into my pocket with a single nod of my head. That was the signal for the rest of my trainers to release their Pokemon, Ice types from every region doing their part. Blizzards and Ice Beams and Icy Winds, all swirling along with the storm to increase its output as Yuki made her final rounds.

 

There was already an inch of snow when Yuki did her last circle, giving another loud cry to let everyone know she was finished. “Everyone, wish Yuki a safe journey!”

 

The loud cheer came from the throats of children and the parents who had taken them to enjoy a midsummer snow day. The stalls opened up, and the first one to get attention was my baby: the hot chocolate stall. The second most popular? The one selling coats to all the ignorant tourists.

 

I stood at the podium and watched Yuki soar. I knew where she was going. Our family used to vacation in that mountain range, even if we never went quite as deep as her new nest. I couldn’t help but worry… but I knew she was safe.

 

That’s what mattered.

 

When she finally flew beyond my eyes, trailing behind a foggy tail of clouds towards the South, I stepped down from the podium to greet a few of my fellow trainers. As soon as I stepped down, the new guy that was helping me out yesterday came up to me. He was grinning ear to ear. Shivering a little, but grinning all the same.

 

“Wooow! That was amazing! I’ve never seen an Articuno before.”

 

“Not many people have! She’s been in my family about as long as me. I’m sure you can find my grandpa around here somewhere if you want him to tell you the story about how he found her egg. I think I’ve heard it enough for one lifetime.”

 

He chuckled at that, rubbing his arms a bit. “Sounds like a p-plan. So! Where is she?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Your wife. What’s her part in all this? I still haven’t seen her.”

 

I closed my eyes, smiled to myself and reached out to this man, patting him firmly on the shoulder. “Go get yourself a coat. They’re free for the people who helped out yesterday.”

 

“Oh… okay,” he said, more confusion brewing his eyes. I swear I might be part Dark type. He’d learn the truth soon enough. I stepped around a couple kids having snowball fight, made my way to the hot chocolate stand, and enjoyed feeling the sweet, steaming brew make its way down to my stomach.

 

A smile creased my face. Winter wasn’t too far off, but until it came I’d have to make sure to appreciate the heat. It’ll make the cold seem that much more special when it returns.