CHAPTER 63

Before the three of us could decide on where we wanted to go, Bea’s friend, Green, burst through the doors. She runs up to Bea and launches herself at her, in a move I can only describe as a glomp. Bea falls back into the booth in a fit of giggles as she catches the excitable ball of energy. A moment later, Gardevouir appears in the doorway, walking at a sedate pace.

“What’s got you so excited, Green?” Bea asks between her giggles. Green gives her a huge smile as she reaches into her loose top and pulls out four pieces of paper.

”What are those?” I ask as I try to look at the paper she stuffs in Bea’s face. They look like rectangular pieces of paper, all cut to the same size, with a little bit of embossing on them. From this angle, I can’t really see what it says, though.

”S.S. Anne? What are these for?” Bea asks as she looks over towards us with a questioning gaze.

”The S.S. Anne is a luxury liner that travels between Vermillion and Celadon cities. It is commonly used by high-class trainers, or those with more money than sense, during the season instead of taking the common route to Saffron City. This results in a competitive atmosphere which tends to result in mini-tournaments with high ticket prizes,” Flannery informs us. 

“I didn’t know all that about it. As a Kanto native, I had heard of it, but my grandpa was too attached to his lab and research to take us,” I lied slightly. I knew of the S.S. Anne as per the games that I played way too many years ago, but I didn’t know its function in this world.

“How did you get these?” Bea asks the bouncing ball of energy that is still hugging her. Green just shrugs and starts to mime something. I’m not sure what she was trying to say, but Bea seemed to understand. 

“You were walking along, and someone came up to you?” Seeing Green nod, Bea continued. “They said you were a winner of something and offered you these tickets?” Green continued to nod and then shrugged. 

“Huh, I guess that some people are just lucky,” I remark to no one in particular as I softly pet Skadi, who makes a noise that sounds like she agrees with me. Green just gives me a big smile as she nods like a bobblehead.

”And since you got four tickets, you decided to invite us with you?” Flannery asks while tilting her head to the side slightly in a cute puppy-like gesture. “Why us? You hardly know us.” 

Green taps her index finger on her chin for a moment, like she is thinking, before her face lights up. With a big smile, she just hugs Bea again and points at her. The face that Bea makes makes me pause for a moment before bursting out in giggles, Flannery copying me a moment later. Her face is somewhere between perplexed, resigned, and horrified, all at once, creating a face that could give a cubist painting a run for its money.

”S-so w-when are the tickets good for?” I ask as I work to get my laughing under control. Yet, the sudden silence after my question makes me look around as Green’s and Bea’s faces rapidly pale as they read the tickets. “What’s wrong? It’s not like it would leave in the next hour, right?”

”Instead of the next hour, try the next thirty minutes,” Bea says with a strained voice. 

“Well, I’m ready if you are… I mean, besides the fact that we really should start running…” I say as I take a mental inventory and realize I already have everything packed. I see Flannery nod in agreement out of the corner of my eye.

“Running seems like a good idea,” Bea remarks quietly as she takes a look at Green. Green, in turn, looks at the nearby Gardevouir. I hear a faint hum as they share that brief look that causes Green to pout before she stands up again and grabs Bea’s arm before pulling her towards the Pokecenter doors. I send a look at Flannery, who just shrugs as the two of us slip out of the booth after a quick kiss and follow the two of them.

You would think that we would miss our ride, and we nearly did. The four of us, plus Gardevouir, made it to the gangway just as the staff was doing their last call. Green handed over our tickets that she won, and a few seconds later, we were aboard.

A moment later, the deep bass of the ship’s horn vibrates our organs as it fires off a long blast before I suddenly feel the ship starting to move through my knees and forehead, which are currently on the deck. The only reason my hands are not is that they are currently covering my ears. The only thing that makes it better is that the blasts only lasted for a few seconds.

Before the staff can come over and make a fuss, I am on my feet again with the help of my ever-lovely girlfriend. It takes me a few more moments before my ears recover and I can hear my friends once more. I end up catching the tail end of Bea informing Green about my current problem and Flannery whispering sweet things for me to hear. I flash my cinnamon-spiced lover a greatful smile and lean into her a little more. 

Now that I am functioning again and able to take a look, I finally take in the ship that we have embarked on. The walkways I was just getting to know are made from some sort of dark-colored wood with a slightly textured coating. The vertical walls of the ship are painted a pristine white with silver and blue accents. 

Towards the fore section of the boat, the pathway we are in expands into a wide flat area, with a number of well-dressed people standing around and chatting while holding a drink of some sort. Looking in the other direction, towards the aft of the boat, I could see various doors that likely lead to different cabins, dotting the hallway until the pathway disappeared around a bend. I watch for a moment as Vermillion City slowly pulls away from us as we make our way out to sea.

It takes me a moment, as I was watching the slowly shrinking city, but I soon realize that a crewmate for the S.S. Anne was talking to us. As I tune into what is being said, I find that we need to finish our check-in and get assigned our rooms. He does inform us that the ship isn’t anywhere close to being full, so it is likely we can get a good room. After giving us directions, he waves us off and makes his way down the hall.

The four of us share a quick glance, and we all just shrug at the same time. I happen to see the corner of Green’s mouth start to twitch as the rest of us start to giggle at our reactions. The four of us make our way deeper into the ship, following the directions that the crewmate provided for us. Before long, we step into a huge ballroom where a few people are chatting and a bored-looking person is sitting at a table with a small computer on it. 

The computer isn’t as small as a laptop, but much smaller than any computer I have seen. In the few years that I have been here, I have found the progress of technology to be odd. Smartphones and tablets exist, but LED or LCD screens are still a rich person’s purchase. Yet on the flip side, you are just as likely to find someone with a wired phone or a huge console-style television. It’s like a weird mix of the nineteen seventies and the twenty tens all thrown together into a working mess.

It only takes a few minutes for us to finish the check-in procedures for the cruise. Flannery and I got a cabin with a single bed, while Green and Bea are also going to share a room instead of having two separate rooms. I quickly check and see that we are on different floors, but that isn’t much of an issue, as we are all on the same ship. 

A quick elevator ride later, and my lovely girlfriend and I found ourselves in a rather opulent room. Along one wall is a gigantic bed that the four of us, plus our smaller Pokemon could have slept on. Across from the bed is a clear glass wall partition that shows the shower and bath clearly from the bed. On the wall opposite the door is a pair of French doors that open to a balcony that overlooks the front of the ship. The floor of the room is covered in a plush ice-blue carpet that our feet sink into. 

“Holy shit…” I exclaim as I look around the room. One of the balcony doors is currently open and letting in the pleasant sea breeze. I do happen to notice that there is a lack of blackout curtains; instead, there are sheer curtains that hardly block any sight.

“No kidding… I wasn’t expecting to get a honeymoon suite,” Flannery says beside me. “On the flip side… I am totally going to enjoy the view of you in the shower.” She sends me a lidded look that makes me smirk and give her a light kiss.

“I will enjoy your show as well~” I tell her before stepping further into the room, “what do you think about changing into something a bit more appropriate for the cruise?”

“What do you have in mind?” Flannery asks in return as she steps up to me and wraps her arms around my waist.

“Hmm…” I intone as I wrap my arms around her waist in return. “How about we exchange bags and pick out each other's outfits?” I ask with a small smirk on my lips.

“Oooh, I like that plan… No limits?” She asks as her voice takes a sultry tone.

“No limits.”

“Even if I don’t pick anything for you?” She confirms as she leans closer, her hot breath setting my skin ablaze in passion.

“A~n~y~t~h~i~n~g~” I sing-song back to her, as I feel a heat starting to build in my core, wondering what my horny lover will pick.

“Purr-fect.” She purrs as our lips meet in a passionate embrace.

I slowly pull away from my lover as our kiss ends. I give her a soft smile before I reach for her bag on her hip. I suddenly feel hot fingertips slide along the bare inner flesh of my thigh, causing a shiver to travel up my spine. I lightly bite my lower lip to hold in any involuntary sound as Flannery takes her time to unstrap my thigh bag. An extremely long yet agonizingly short minute later, she steps back with my bag in her hands and her tantalizing heat lingering on my sensitive flesh.

I let out a quiet whine as she pulls away, but I make sure to grab her bag before she can slip too far away. I give her a smoldering look, promising vengeance as I step towards a small table nearby to pick out her outfit for the night. How mean should I be… I was forced to walk back naked the other day. Should I return the favor? I slowly search through her bag as I think about what I want to see my beautiful mate in.

After a few minutes, I stumbled across something I forgot about: the cat ear hoodie. I pull out the white and pink hoodie from her bag and hold it in my hands. I find that it isn’t made of any heavy material, so it could easily be worn in the cooler weather despite it being summer. I keep looking for a few seconds, but I don’t see anything else that catches my eye. As I go to grab some underwear, I pause and smirk to myself. I quickly seal up her bag as I remember something I have in my bag that would complement this hoodie perfectly.