Story Notes:
Pokemon, recognizable characters, and settings are copyright to their owners. The specific characters and story are copyright to the author. The author in no way is making a claim to Pokemon or any related properties. This is meant as a work of parody.
Tough Times, Part I
"Edwin?"
At the mention of his name, a young man with brown hair and green eyes turned his head, twisting around in his chair. With all the noise that was echoing around the lobby of the Veilstone Pokémon Center, he was impressed that whoever was calling him was able to make themselves heard. Anxiously, he looked for the source of the summons. He soon found it in the form of a nurse standing near the entrance to the Special Care wing of the Pokémon Center. She beckoned to him and he stood up, threading his way around the table and chairs scattered about the lobby.
"Yes?" he asked. "What's going on? How is...?"
"She's okay," the nurse said. "She's resting now. You can come back and see her if you wish." Edwin, or Ed, as he preferred to be called by all save for one person, nodded and the nurse led him through the door. Every time that he had come to the back area of any Pokémon Center, all he could ever think about was how much he hated the smell. The whole place just smelled like a big vat of disinfectant. The smell reminded him all the more that it was a place you went when something was very, very wrong. After a short walk through the hall, she took him to a room. "She's in here. I'm going to fetch the doctor on call, so we'll be with you in a minute. But you go right ahead in. She keeps asking for you."
"Thank you," Ed said. The nurse turned and walked off. He took a deep breath and opened the door. The occupant of the hospital bed inside the room immediately reacted to his appearance.
"Edwin!" she said, nearly shouting.
Ed smiled and walked to the bed, sitting on the edge. "How are you feeling, Val?"
Valene, Ed's Zangoose, grimaced and squirmed a little bit where she lay. "Hurts."
"I know, Val," he said. "I know." He looked down at her swollen belly, hidden underneath the sheets. Ed rubbed a hand over it. "That egg will be out of you before you know it. And I'm sure the doctor will be able to tell you what's wrong right now."
"Hope so," Val said. She covered her face with her crimson-furred forearms. The fur blended right in with the red stripes that zigzagged across her face and body, making the white fur that covered the rest of her body appear as though it was splashed with blood. "Val feel so ugly."
"No, you're not," Ed said. He bent down and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "You're as beautiful as ever, love."
Lowering her arms, Val smiled. "Just saying that," she asserted, purring nonetheless. "Because you sleep with Val."
As the conversation might have suggested to an outside observer, Ed's relationship with Valene the Zangoose was a little different than the typical trainer-pokémon relationship, or in Ed's case Coordinator-pokémon relationship. Val had been in Ed's life for almost eight years, since he was twelve years old. He'd raised her from an egg, and taught her to be the best show pokémon he had ever trained. They'd used to travel around the world together, entering Pokémon Contests (and usually winning them). They had been best friends. An unexpected onset of heat nine months ago, however, had pushed their relationship to a higher level, and now the young human and pokémon were lovers. Two months after that fateful day, they had made the unexpected discovery that Val was pregnant. As she hadn't mated with anyone other than Ed, that kind of narrowed down the possibilities for the father.
The news had effectively put Val's career as a show pokémon on pause, at least until her egg was laid. Ed's primary show pokémon had become Naida, his Milotic. With a little work, she had become about as successful as Val had been. They'd traveled around the four major regions until Val had become too pregnant to travel much, at which point they'd settled in Veilstone City in the Sinnoh Region. Ed was working for the Veilstone Department Store so that he wasn't dipping into his savings from contest wins too much, and they had a small apartment on the city outskirts where it was relatively quiet. Things had been going fairly well for the odd couple until Val had begun to complain about stomach pains. Not wanting to take any chances, Ed had immediately taken her to the Pokémon Center. The big fear that neither of them was talking about was that something was going wrong with Val's pregnancy.
A little knock came at the door, and a man dressed in scrubs with an ID badge identifying him as a doctor came in. The nurse from before came in behind him. "Good evening," the doctor said. "I've just been looking over the information that the nurses gathered, and I think I have some answers for the both of you."
"What's wrong with Val?" Ed asked. "Is she going to be alright?"
The doctor nodded. "Your Zangoose is fine," he said. "The stomach pains she's been having are no big deal. She's just going into labor."
Both Ed and Val's eyes popped open as wide as they could go. That certainly seemed like a big deal to them. "But...," Val stuttered. "Why has Val not..."
"You mean, why aren't you giving birth right now?" the doctor prompted. "Often, in humans as well as pokémon, labor will halt for a time and then start back up again. It's not unheard of for the first few hours of contractions to be relatively painless."
"It gets worse?" Val whimpered. She looked frightened.
"Well, that depends," the doctor said. "Sometimes, when the final push comes, it can take as little as five minutes, or as long as five hours, even longer. It's different for everyone." He shrugged. "There's really no way to know on that score. Sorry."
Ed squeezed Val's hand to try to comfort her. "So, the egg is fine, then? No problems?"
The doctor cleared his throat. "Ah, well, that's a little more difficult to explain." He scratched his head. "I've looked over the scans from the ultrasound we conducted, and..." He looked at the nurse. "Well, to put it simply, there isn't any egg."
This pronouncement was met with blank stares. "...What?" Ed asked, not sure he had heard correctly. "What do you mean 'there isn't any egg?'"
"I mean that, for reasons that I can't even begin to fathom, it appears that your Zangoose is preparing to give a live birth." The doctor looked between Ed and Val. "Tell me, was this Zangoose born live?"
"No," Ed said, shaking his head. "I raised her from an egg myself. She was born completely normally, as far as I know."
"Hmm...," the doctor said, rubbing his chin. "What was her mate?"
"Uh..." Ed struggled to think of a response. It probably wouldn't do for anyone to know the status of his and Val's relationship.
Fortunately, Val thought quick and saved him the trouble. "Other Zangoose," she said. Ed could tell from her voice that it pained her to lie about the father of her child, but he was grateful that she did, and the doctor bought it.
"Then I'm afraid I'm at a loss to explain it," the doctor said. "It may well be that this is some kind of mutation that we've never seen before. I honestly don't know."
"But is everything healthy?" Ed said.
"As far as we can tell, we have two completely healthy Zangoose," the doctor said. "I'm as certain as I can be when I'm sailing in completely uncharted waters. But there is a heartbeat, and all the other vital signs that the nurses were able to measure are what I would expect to see in a newly-hatched Zangoose." He looked at his watch. "Unfortunately, I have a few more patients I need to see before the day's end. Regardless, it doesn't seem as though the birth is imminent, else she'd be in a lot more pain. If anything happens, just call the nurse and she'll call me."
Ed stopped the doctor before he could leave. "Please, isn't there anything you can give Val to make her a little more comfortable?"
The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I don't know how it might affect the infant. If this was going to be just a normal egg-laying, then that would be another matter, but..." He shrugged. "I just don't want to risk it. I know your Zangoose is in a little pain, but she'll just have to bear it for now." The doctor walked out, and the nurse followed him.
Ed sighed and looked back at Val. She stretched her arms and winced as she felt a little twinge of pain. He scratched behind her ears, hitting that spot that he knew she loved. She grasped his arm and tugged. Ed let himself get pulled down.
"Bit of a public place we're in, isn't it?" Ed asked.
"Don't care." Val kissed Ed. She put a lot of feeling into it. Ed was suddenly very aware that they hadn't had sex in almost five months. Not that Val was in any position for that now, but she was probably feeling it as bad as he was.
"I love you, you know," Ed said.
Val hugged him. "Love you, too," she said. "But you do this to Val again, and I hurt you."
*ring* *ring* *ring*
"Yes?"
"I have something you might be interested in."
"I'm listening."
"There's an...unusual pokémon here at the Pokémon Center."
"Hm, you don't say."
"You don't sound very enthusiastic."
"Forgive me, but you have said this in the past. And I've wound up risking my people for something that didn't pan out. Cyrus will be most displeased if the same thing should happen yet again."
"This is different. The pokémon I'm talking about is pregnant. And she's preparing to give a live birth."
"...What? Impossible! That can't be!"
"It's true. All the tests have confirmed it."
"What species?"
"Zangoose."
"Astounding...You'll pardon my earlier skepticism. You have done well."
"Thank you. Can I expect the usual payment?"
"This time, I think we shall wait to see if the situation is more fruitful. But, yes, I think the same amount can be arranged. You will keep me informed?"
"Of course. Until next time, Commander."
*click*
A gasp of pain pulled Ed out of sleep. Until a moment ago, he had been snoozing rather peacefully in a chair next to Val's bed. Now, though, he was wide awake as he saw that Val was squeezing her eyes shut in agony. Her jaws were clenched, the muscles trembling.
"Val?" Ed asked. He bent over her. "What's wrong? Is it...are you...?"
Val grabbed his arm, her grip almost tight enough for her claws to draw blood. "Call...doctor...," she hissed through her teeth. "Time."
Ed left her side and dashed into the hall. He turned his head this way and that, frantic, until he was finally able to override his panic and force his legs to start moving. He ran out of the Special Care wing and burst through the doors into the main lobby, which was now virtually deserted. The only person around other than Ed was the nurse on duty, who happened to be the nurse that had been with the doctor earlier. Ed ran up to her, his eyes wild and his breath coming in wheezing gasps.
"What on earth...?" the nurse asked, thrown off by his dramatic entrance.
"Baby!" Ed blurted, gesticulating wildly towards the back of the Pokémon Center. "Baby!" For some reason, he was unable to form any other word at the moment. But it was enough for the nurse. She pressed a button on the intercom behind the duty desk.
"Doctor, you're needed," she said calmly into the microphone. "Patient 47's status is 'birth imminent.'" There was a faint response, and the nurse shut the intercom back off. She turned to Ed. "Come with me."
Ed followed the nurse back into the Special Care wing, his wits starting to return to him now that medical staff was aware of the situation. They went back to Val's room. She was bracing her arms against the edges of the bed, instinctively going into a position to give birth. Her teeth were bared, and her breath was coming in short, hissing gasps. Seconds later, the doctor rushed into the room, pulling on a pair of latex gloves.
"Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "I was going over a few things when I got the call." He took a quick look at Val. "Looks like there's no time to move her to a better room. We'll have to do it here." The doctor grabbed a chair and scooted it up to the end of the bed. While he put on a surgical mask, the nurse yanked the sheets off of Val. He spread Val's legs a little wider to get a better look.
The nurse peeked in. "Already coming along nicely," she said. She added, "At least, I assume. I've never had to birth a live pokémon before."
"Do...not...say...that!" Val hissed, her face contorted with pain. Ed put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. Whether she noticed or not, he couldn't tell. She just screamed louder.
"Okay, Valene," the doctor said. "I can see a head. You need to focus on breathing and push as hard as you can. I know it's excruciating, but the baby needs all the help it can get to come out."
Over the next thirty minutes, Val pushed as hard as she could. Ed felt helpless while it was going on. The most he could do was offer encouragement to her, although she probably wasn't listening to him that much. Val had to stop a few times to catch her breath, but the baby wouldn't let her rest for very long before she would get the urge to start pushing again. The hardest part was getting past the shoulders. They all thought Val would pass out, but she made it. Once the baby's arms were out, the rest was relatively easy.
Finally, it was all over. Val collapsed back onto the bed. She was exhausted, and she had a look of immense relief and satisfaction on her face. Ed brushed her head, but was distracted by a sound he hadn't heard in nearly eight years. The tiny, mewling whine of an infant Zangoose filled the room.
His face beaming, the doctor held up a little mass of wet, matted fur. "Congratulations, Valene," he said. "It looks like a healthy female."
Val lifted her head up. She was able to do little else besides smile weakly, but Ed could read pride in her eyes.
Ed looked more closely at the newborn. "Doc," he said. "What's with her fur?"
"Hm?" The doctor looked at the infant. Her white fur was crisscrossed with the same stripe pattern that Val had, but the fur was not red as it would be in a normal Zangoose. Instead, her stripe pattern was painted in a golden-brown hue, with flecks of red sprinkled around. "I wouldn't pay it any mind. Her fur should transition to pure red in a matter of weeks. You see this kind of thing often in newly-hatched Zangoose."
"Oh," Ed said. Now that he thought about it, Val's fur hadn't been exactly the pure Zangoose red when she'd been born, either.
"Now," the doctor said. "There doesn't seem to have been any tearing during the birth, so luckily Valene won't need any stitches. We're going to take the newborn to get cleaned off, and we'll need to perform a few quick examinations. But as soon as that's done, she'll come right back here." He turned to speak to the nurse, but she was already gone. The doctor frowned. "Hm...I guess she went to prepare the room already. Ah, well, no matter." He turned back to Ed and Val. "This will only take about ten minutes. I'll be right back. And, by the way, we'll need to keep Valene and the baby overnight to make sure there are no complications. You should be able to leave in the morning." He went out of the room, taking the baby with him. Her cries faded down the hall.
Ed stroked Val's arm. She looked completely wiped out. He bent down and kissed her cheek.
"Good job, Val."
*ring* *ring* *ring*
"This is Mars."
"The child has been born."
"When can you arrange for us to receive it?"
"That may be difficult..."
"I hope you are not suggesting that we should give up."
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean that it shouldn't be done here. It's too public. He would likely interfere."
"That would be undesirable. He has proven in the past to be maddeningly capable of...slowing us down. And this would be a valuable asset to understanding the power that we seek."
"Yes. It may be best to wait until the child has been moved to a softer location."
"You are suggesting we strike when the mother has taken it home?"
"It would be the easiest time to take the child."
"Very well."
"I have to go now. If I'm gone too long, it may appear suspicious."
"Then go. You have done all you can, in any case. You shall not have to worry about money for a very long time."
"You are most generous."
*click*
Twenty minutes passed, rather than the promised ten, before the doctor returned with Val's baby, clean and wrapped in a white, fluffy blanket. "I'm sorry that took so long," he apologized. "The nurse was a bit slow in getting things ready." He turned his head as the nurse wheeled in an odd-looking contraption that seemed to be some sort of a crib. "The baby should sleep in this tonight. It's a sort of an incubator that we usually use for abandoned eggs that people bring to us. But it should suffice for what she'll need." The doctor looked at Ed. "If you'd like, we could prepare a separate room for you to sleep in."
"That's okay," Ed said. "I'll stay here with Val."
"Well, you're certainly welcome to, if you think you'll be comfortable." The doctor stepped over to the bed. While he'd been talking, the baby had begun to cry again. "And now, I think someone wants her mother."
Val sat up and held her arms out, accepting her child from the doctor. She cradled her gently, supporting her head. The little Zangoose's eyes were still closed, but she had definitely figured out the right way to open her mouth, and was loudly making great use of it.
"If there's anything you need," the doctor said, "just call, and we'll come help." He nodded to Ed. "Until tomorrow, then." He and the nurse both left the room, closing the door behind them.
Val rocked the baby softly, the pain from barely half an hour ago forgotten as she looked at her. "So beautiful...," she marveled. "Our daughter..."
"Yeah," Ed croaked, his throat threatening to close up altogether. He listened to the child's crying. "She's a feisty one, just like her mother. I wonder why she's crying so hard."
"Oh!" Val said, coming to a realization. "Hungry, maybe." She held the baby closer to herself, directing her head to one of her breasts. Ceasing her cries immediately, she latched onto the nipple, suckling greedily.
Ed smiled as the newborn took her first meal. "She's definitely as pretty as you are, Val," he said. They both were quiet for a while as the baby nursed. After a bit, Ed spoke again. "What should we name her?"
Val thought for a minute. "Aurelia," she finally said.
"Aurelia," Ed repeated. He liked the sound of that. "That's a good name."
As though she'd understood who they were talking about, the little Zangoose's eyes drifted slowly open. Ed drew in a breath as he saw that they looked human, and were not the red color that Zangoose had. Instead, they were green.
Val smiled. "Your eyes, Edwin," she said.
Ed felt a swell of pride rise up within him. He leaned down and touched a finger to the tip of his daughter's nose. "Hello, Aurelia," he whispered. "I'm your daddy."
In the morning, Val woke up first. She felt a lot better than she had the previous night. Remarkably, much of the soreness that she had been feeling immediately after giving birth had gone away, although a bit of a dull ache remained around her pelvis. She felt her belly. After so many months of being pregnant, it felt strange to have lost all of that extra weight. Well, almost all of it. Val could tell that she weighed a little heavier relative to before she mated.
Still lying down, she looked to her left. Through the clear plastic that made up the sides of the makeshift crib, she could see that Aurelia was sleeping peacefully. She looked right, and saw that Ed was similarly snoozing, although he was sitting up in a chair next to her bed. Val slid out from under the covers, wobbling a little bit as her feet hit the floor. Her legs felt a little weak, but she managed to hold herself up. She reached into the incubator and lifted Aurelia out. The Zangoose kitten stirred as she felt her body shift, and she gave a few whines as a precursor to a full-out cry.
*Hush,* Val soothed her, speaking the pokémon language. *It's all right. You're safe with me.* She carried her daughter back to the bed and lay back down, holding her close. Aurelia immediately went to nurse again. Val chuckled quietly. *Just like Edwin. First thing every time.*
"Hm...?" Ed mumbled groggily, waking up. "You say something, Val?"
"No," Val said sweetly, her face conspicuously innocent.
"Right." Ed smacked his lips and yawned. "So, how's she doing?"
Val turned her eyes back to Aurelia. "Hungry again. Greedy girl."
"She'll have competition when we get back home."
Val laughed. "Val know you say that."
Someone knocked at the door. Ed pulled a sheet over Val, to make her a little more modest while she was breastfeeding Aurelia, before the doctor came in. "Good morning," he greeted them. "How are we feeling?" He spotted the little Zangoose half hidden under the sheet. "Well, she certainly seems to be feeling fine. Already eating, I see."
"Yes," Val said, her smile wide.
"The nurse has the discharge paperwork all ready," the doctor said to Ed. "We got a statement from your insurance saying that they'll cover seventy percent, so that leaves you the balance: about two hundred."
Ed's eyes widened. He hadn't realized his employer's insurance policy was that good. "Sounds great," he said. "When can we leave?"
The doctor shrugged. "As soon as you want. There's no reason to keep you here. Can you walk by yourself?" This question was directed to Val.
"Think so," Val answered.
"Then I'd say you're good to go. Come on up front, and we'll get you on your way." The doctor turned to go, but paused and looked back. "There is...one question I have, though."
Ed and Val looked at each other. "What?" Ed asked.
"The thing is...this kind of birth is the first of its kind," the doctor said. His words came in a rush. "And I was wondering...if it might be possible, once the child is older, of course, to examine her a little more closely. Try to figure out what might account for live birth in a pokémon. Would you be willing to let me do that?"
Val looked uncertain. "Well..."
"You don't have to answer right away," the doctor hastened to add. "I understand it's an odd request. But it would be of great value to both medical and pokémon science."
"I think about it," Val said. Her words were noncommittal, but her tone made it clear to Ed that she had already made up her mind and was just being polite.
The doctor nodded, apparently not catching it. "Certainly. Take all the time you want. I don't want you to feel pressured into anything." He started walking out. "Whenever you're ready, come to the lobby."
They waited to check out until Val had a chance to avail herself of one of the showers in the Pokémon Center. While Ed stayed with Aurelia, she gave herself a thorough scrubbing, cleaning herself completely of any residual material left over from giving birth. She came out feeling refreshed and ready to make the trip home.
The checkout procedure was pretty straightforward. All Ed had to do was sign a few forms stating that his pokémon had received treatment at the Pokémon Center, had stayed overnight, and that any health issues that arose after leaving the center were no longer the responsibility of the medical staff, unless it should turn out that the issues were due to malpractice. Finally, he had to pay the balance of the bill, and he did so by authorizing a direct withdrawal from his savings account. He had a comfortable amount of money saved up, and two hundred wasn't an overly concerning sum to have to part with. Thanks were exchanged all around, and soon Ed, Val, and Aurelia were outside. They quickly caught a bus and were headed away from downtown, back towards their apartment.
Val caught her share of stares while they were riding the bus. Apparently a newborn pokémon was an unusual sight in Veilstone City. Ed wasn't surprised; trainers usually were only in Veilstone for the gym and the department store, and anyone else who owned a pokémon generally kept them inside as pets. A few people looked indignant at having to share a bus with a pokémon, but most were just curious and a couple of people asked about Aurelia. One teenaged girl sat next to Ed and Val and gushed the whole time they were on about how cute the little Zangoose kitten was. It was with a certain measure of relief that Ed and Val got off the bus at their stop. From the stop, it was a short walk to their apartment building. They took the elevator up to the fifth floor, and at long last walked back into their home.
The apartment wasn't a large place, but it wasn't small either. Immediately upon entering one would be inside the living room. A hall across from the door led to the bathroom, a spare bedroom, and finally the main bedroom that Ed and Val shared. A kitchen was separated from the living room by an island that served as both counter and dining table. Fluffy white carpet was laid down throughout the apartment, and the walls were also done in white.
"Home, sweet home," Ed said. Val stepped inside, and Ed followed and closed the door. He looked around. A chair was lying on the floor, where he'd knocked it over the day before in his haste to get Val to the Pokémon Center, so he picked it up and set it right again. "Shall we show Aurelia her room?"
"Yes," Val said. They walked down the hall, and opened the door leading into the spare bedroom.
Because Ed had already had the experience of raising Val, he knew what it would take to raise their child. Zangoose who were born into domestication required much the same sort of accommodations as human infants. Consequently, Aurelia's bedroom had been set up in virtually the same way as a human baby's bedroom. There was a crib in the middle of the room, and a comfortable chair in one corner where Val could nurse Aurelia.
The only foreseeable difficulty was the speed with which Aurelia would grow. Since Zangoose reached adulthood at age four, that meant that Ed and Val's daughter would be an adolescent by around one and a half. To account for this, the crib that they had bought for her was convertible, and had features that allowed it to be altered from a crib to a regular bed. It was also larger than a normal crib, and would easily be big enough for their daughter well into the future.
For now, though, it was a regular old baby's crib, and Val laid Aurelia down in it. She was already asleep, having drifted off somewhere between the bus stop and the front door. She had one tiny claw stuck in her mouth.
"Cute," Val said.
"She sure is," Ed agreed. "But just think, in a month or so she'll be talking. And she'll probably be able to take care of herself by the time she's six months old, if she's anything like you."
Val hit him on the shoulder. "Don't say that," she admonished him. "Val want to enjoy this."
"Sorry." They watched Aurelia sleep for a few minutes more, and then crept quietly out of the room. They were both starving, having not eaten in almost twenty-four hours, so Ed made breakfast and they ate together in the kitchen. Afterward, once the dishes were soaking in the sink, they went to the living room. Ed and Val cuddled up on the couch and took the first real break they'd had since leaving yesterday. "It's been a very exciting couple of days."
"Mm-hm," Val said. She put her head against his shoulder. "Val not had much time for Val."
"Well, I don't mean to get you down," Ed said, "but neither of us is going to have much time for ourselves for a while."
Val looked up, a glint in her eye. "Should use time we have now." She tilted her head up and kissed Ed. Her tongue forced its way into his mouth with a frenzied eagerness that almost caught him off guard. She put her arms around his body and clutched him to her tightly.
Ed tore his lips from hers. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. "We just ate a pretty big breakfast. Too much activity might make you sick."
"I manage." She gripped the bottom of his shirt and started pulling it up.
"You just went through something pretty physically demanding," Ed said. Val had his shirt off and was fumbling with the button at the tops of his pants. "Do you think it's a good idea to do it so soon after-"
"Shut up!" Val said, exasperated. "Val wait five months for this. Not waiting longer." She looked him directly in the eyes. "Val not pregnant anymore. Edwin not have to protect her." She grumbled under her breath as she unzipped his pants. "Normal male response when female ask to mate is 'yes ma'am.'"
Ed laughed. "Yes, ma'am."
"Better." As soon as she had his pants off, she got on his lap, straddling him. All Ed was wearing now was a pair of thin cotton shorts.
Val's human mate stroked her sides, looking up and down her body. "You're the most beautiful girl in the world," he said. He cupped her furred breasts, squeezing them gently. Val sighed as Ed bent his head down to suck at her nipples. He was a little surprised when a few drops of milk that Aurelia had not managed to drain dripped onto his tongue. The liquid tasted sweet, and triggered vague and clouded memories, mere sensations really, in the back of his mind. "Now I know why Aurelia is so greedy when she's hungry."
Val kissed him again, tasting the flavor of her own milk clinging to Ed's tongue. She exhaled into his mouth when he put a hand between her legs. His fingers traced lazy circles over the thin fur covering her sex, exciting her despite the vague hints of the pain she had felt the night before that still lingered. Val was willing to ignore the minor discomfort in favor of enjoying something she'd been missing for a while. She moved her mouth from her mate's lips to his neck, teething him softly while he tended to her. Considering how long it had been since the last time they'd indulged in each other, it didn't take much time for her to want something more.
"No more," Val growled, pulling Ed's hand away from her. "Ready now." Ed let Val push him down so that he was lying lengthwise on the couch, with her perched atop him. This was her favorite position, and his as well because he got a wonderful view of her entire body. He watched Val unbutton the flap on his shorts, freeing his penis from its cottony confines. She stroked his length, watching the expression on his face go from aroused to the hazy look he got when she was touching him. Grinning, she raised herself up slightly and placed the tip of his erection at her entrance. As she slid down over him, Val hissed a little at the stinging sensation she felt. She was still tender, but the pleasure overwhelmed the pain as soon as her lover was hilted inside of her.
Ed laid his hands on Val's hips. She put her paws on his stomach and slid them up, leaning over until she was flat against his chest. They kissed for a moment, feeling renewed in being joined together once again. Val then rose back up, trailing her claws back down Ed's body until she was sitting up on his pelvis.
When Val felt she had made him wait long enough, she began to move her hips up and down. He slid out of her to the tip before she came down again. This was what she had missed for so long while with child. The feeling of being filled by her mate, of having the final piece to her puzzle. She didn't ever want to have to go without that again. His cock pushed deep into her body, giving her the satisfaction that came from being as close to someone as one could possibly be.
Ed knew that after being bottled up for such a long time, he would have to work hard to hold back for Val. To keep his mind occupied, he tried concentrating on continuously tracking his eyes along the crimson "M" pattern on her stomach and chest. The folly of this plan quickly made itself evident when he realized that every two seconds his gaze was sliding over her breasts.
Okay, new plan, he thought. Uh... baseball... football... games... Pokémon Contests...Val-no! Bad Edwin! He was feverishly trying to think of something, anything, to avoid cumming too soon and disappointing Val. The problem was it just felt too good. Her vagina was gripping his member, working over every inch of the ever-so-sensitive skin like a million tiny little fingers, until he felt like he was going to explode.
Fortunately for Ed, Val was just as sexually frustrated as he was, and growing close to her own orgasm. She moaned out loud, and the thrusts of her hips grew weaker as she felt her insides begin to spasm. To make up the difference, Ed gripped her waist with both hands and began to pump up into her. Neither of them was able to stop it from happening anymore. Val arched her back and howled an intense exclamation of ecstasy, her bushy tail rhythmically thumping against Ed's legs. At the same time, Ed squeezed her hips tightly as he pushed his penis as far into her as he could manage, loosing his seed deep inside of his pokémon mate.
Expended, they both relaxed their bodies, awash in the afterglow that followed their vigorous lovemaking. Val exhaled heavily and sank down on top of Ed. She kissed him lovingly, brushing the back of one paw against his cheek.
"Needed that," she sighed.
"Me too," Ed said. He peeked over the back of the couch and could just barely make out the digital clock on the microwave in the kitchen. The whole encounter had taken barely ten minutes, a record low. Ed laughed sheepishly. "Look at us. We're like a couple of teenagers."
Val looked amused. "Edwin is teenager," she pointed out. "Not turn twenty for one more week."
"Good point." Ed thought about that for a minute. He was not yet twenty years old, and already he was partly responsible for a child. "I wonder what my parents would think if they knew I had a daughter..."
Smiling, Val kissed him again. "Not matter what they think," she said. "I think you are perfect father for Aurelia." Before Ed could respond to that, a cry sounded from down the hall.
"Sounds like the other woman in the family needs some attention," Ed said. Val made to get up, but he beat her to it. "You go ahead and get cleaned up, Val." He started pulling his clothes back on. "I'll check on Aurelia."
"Alright." Grateful, Val got up from the couch and went down the hall to the bathroom.
Ed went into their daughter's room. She had woken up and was lying on her back, throwing a veritable tantrum. He chuckled and lifted her out of her crib, carrying her to the chair in the corner. He sat down, cradling her like he had seen Val doing at the Pokémon Center and on the bus. Quieting down, she clawed lightly at his chest and put her lips out in an instinctual effort to nurse.
"Sorry, I'm not equipped for that," Ed said. She looked up at him with those uncharacteristically green eyes of hers as though she was questioning his statement, her gaze the curious gaze of an infant. "I'm serious. Dads don't dispense breakfast as easily as moms. Besides, you ate barely two hours ago." She scratched his right arm with her soft kitten claws on one paw, while playing with one long ear with the other paw. Yawning, bored with her useless father, Aurelia closed her eyes and instantly went back to sleep. Ed brushed her stomach lightly with one hand. The fur was much softer than Val's. "You know, you're a lucky little girl. Most pokémon only get their mother. But you get both of us."
Across the street, watching Val and Ed's apartment building, a lone figure in a dark grey trench coat sat on a bench smoking a cigarette. The coat was covering up his clothes underneath, an odd coverall-style uniform of black and gray that bore a yellow emblem in the shape of a stylized letter G on the chest. He'd been there for an hour, ever since the young man and his Zangoose had returned home. He had strict orders not to move from the spot he was in, and he intended on following those orders on pain of the extreme displeasure of his boss.
The man turned his head slightly as a black luxury car with heavily tinted windows pulled up to the curb. As the car came to a halt, the rear passenger window rolled down. Inside, whoever was sitting in the car was too far in to be seen clearly, even in the daylight.
"Has the target returned?" a questioning voice inquired from within the vehicle. The voice was female, and the man recognized it as the voice of his commander.
"Yes, ma'am," he answered.
"Good," his commander said. "You will remain here until someone relieves you. We shall strike tonight." The man sitting on the bench nodded once, and the window rolled back up. The car drove off, leaving behind no evidence that it had been there apart from the faint smell of exhaust lingering on the wind.
See you next time..