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Ash really liked being Champion.
He liked a lot of things about being Champion. Not the crowds, and the fame, and the popularity, no — okay, he did like being deemed the coolest, strongest guy in the room just a little bit — but the simple, unexpected pleasures that followed his second victory over the Champion's League.
A Champion's salary was handsome enough to afford him a high rise suite in Indigo Towers, near the Plateau. That didn't sound like a humble, simple joy, sure.
But, he liked sitting out on his balcony, overlooking the Plateau. The league was off-season, so the light pollution wasn't terrible. He could see the stars glimmering in the sky, and the modest glow of homes and shops down below. The cool breeze nudged his bangs; now trimmed into a short cut to frame his face. The handmedown sofa he'd borrowed from his childhood home squeaked under his weight, bearing a few patched up tears in its fabric. He'd helped his mother redecorate her living room with his winnings, and snagged this baby in the process.
He liked how he could sink into its plush, after having broken it in over so many years. He still liked eating dinner on the sofa, like Delia would allow him to when his favorite program was on.
But, the old CRT television he had propped on the balcony wasn't on, and it didn't have his attention. His eyes were glued to the smiling eyes with blood-red markings, not a foot away. He held a fork up to her jowls, and watched razor-sharp fangs tear through the noodle casserole he'd done his best to bake. It was a little burnt and unevenly cooked, but to her, it may as well have been delivered to her tastebuds by Arceus themself.
She pulled back after a bite, and sank back into the sofa awkwardly. Her icy blue eyes flicked over occasionally to be sure she was sitting the same way Ash was. She tried folding her paws over one another in her lap. No matter how much she observed him and others, moving the way a human did always felt slightly awkward for her. She was slightly self-conscious of her long, crimson mane spilling into Ash's lap, forcing him to hold their plate over its volume.
As always, Swyn was a bit too aware of herself. She wasn't the self-flagellating, apologetic furball she'd been when they'd met, and Ash was happy for that. But she never quite lost that endearingly dopey side-eye she wore when she was feeling self-conscious. It betrayed the terrifying beast she carried herself as, in battle. He liked this side of her, just as much.
"So, not for nothin'." Swyn licked her lips again. "But, ah. Why'd you invite me out here, again?" She gestured her claws around to the balcony. "I don't, ah… see the purpose. Ain't you supposed to eat at the table? That's th' human thing to do."
"Yeah. Maybe it is." Ash shrugged his shoulders. "It's also a human thing for couples to sit and eat together. Don't Zoroark also do that?"
Recognition flickered in the Zoroark's cool hues, like a memory long since buried and tucked away. "Me 'n Raj used to, yeah… Before Rura was born." Raj was her late partner, Ash recalled. 'Her mate,' as she called it, before he stepped into that role, within the last year. Rura's father.
"He used to bust my ass about eating my fill," she grumbled, with a weariness that made her sound annoyed. But the light in her eyes betrayed her. "'e'd jab his claws into the toughest o' berries 'till the juice leaked off of 'em. Tried his best to make it look appetizin', even if it was barely ripe enough t'eat."
Ash couldn't help but notice the parallel, as he jabbed his fork into a particularly rough cut of casserole; half of it was burnt, and the other half was a little undercooked. It would be gross to him, but he knew that Zoroark were a little hardier. He also knew she'd chew him out if he tried to down a piece he didn't like. If she knew he was showing deference in eating the pieces he liked less… Well, they'd end up arguing. He smiled, and held a bite up to her jowls.
She stared at the morsel, and chomped it down in one bite. She licked her lips unceremoniously and messily. Bits of food stuck to the sable fur on her muzzle. Ash didn't bother to even notify her. He was just happy to see her enjoying herself. He smiled widely.
~He would push, and push, until I relented.~ Swyn opted for telepathy while she ate. Her carefully constructed facsimile of proper decorum and dialect that she saved for others reared its head, without a conscious thought. ~Raj insisted that I maintain my strength.~
She swallowed in one go, and licked her lips again. "Stubborn ass. Wouldn't give an inch 'till my gut stopped growlin'."
Ash grinned. There was the real Swyn. She'd lived bordering on Nimbasa, but her pack's dialect reminded him a lot more of the accents he'd heard in Castelia. "Sounds like a pretty smart guy!"
"He was." She eyed Ash again, and lowered her head to nudge the plate towards Ash with her snout. "Eat."
Ash snorted, eyeing her warily out of the corner of his eye. "Are you full?"
Swyn exhaled through her nostrils. Her gaze landed on the plate, and she jabbed her claws right into the casserole, and jabbed the messy collection of noodles, sauce, and layered cheese directly in his face. Ash stared at her, blinking. She didn't falter, staring him down intensely.
"It's what Zoroark couples do," she insisted.
"...Touché." Ash surrendered, and opened his mouth to eat her offering off of her claws. Kinda weird, but romantic too, when he thought about it. If she didn't sweat the tomato sauce smeared over his 5 o'clock shadow, then he certainly wouldn't.
He watched Swyn lick what remained off her claws, and blushed. "I'm not going inside until you've eaten enough, you know. You used to be skin and bones."
Swyn looked down at her lap, and pinched her belly. There was a bit of give to the pudge between her claws. She could no longer see her ribs. "Ah've put on weight. Perhaps too much."
Ash was in the middle of another bite, opting to shake his head to dismiss this. "Mm-mm."
Swyn looked over at him inquisitively. "Trynna make sure I'm of proper weight to give child?"
Ash accidentally swallowed and choked. He thumped his chest, before spitting out the food that nearly went down his windpipe.
Swyn stared on in concern. "'s it somethin' I said?"
"Let's…" Ash coughed again. "Slow it down a little, huh? I just like how it looks."
The concern on the Zoroark's face gave away, and her eyes narrowed into slivering crescents. The mischief in her jagged-fanged grin was palpable, when she poked his chest with her claw. "Ahhh, I see. I get it now. You have a type, don'tcha, Ash?"
"I like seeing you healthy." Ash rolled his eyes, taking hold of her claws before she could poke him again. "Ain't it enough that I worry about my Pokémon? My friend? My girl?"
Swyn's eyes widened. She did her best to imitate a human's pitiful pout, but it made her look terrifying, more than anything. "So you don't like my figure?"
"Weeellll…" Ash prolonged his sigh for dramatic effect, betraying the smile creeping up the corners of his lips. He playfully palmed the pudge that'd built up around her waist. It was still rather narrow, as a Zoroark's was, but it was pleasantly soft. "Maybe I do like it."
"Good answer." Icy light glimmered in Swyn's eyes. Without warning, she was atop him, like a shadow lurching in the night. Her trainer hardly had time to set their dinner aside, before she was upon him, nuzzling affectionately into his neck. He laughed, tickled by the overwhelming volume of her mane, but there was little he could do about it. He was within her clutches.
She licked his cheek, in lieu of lips to kiss him with. "I do like lookin' good for you. Well played, Leader. You win."
"Pffhaha!" He grinned and blushed, squirming ineffectually under the curtain of crimson and dark gray taking up his field of vision. with some work, he managed to link his arms around her waist.
"It's 'Ash' now, not 'Leader,'" he corrected her.
Her grin widened. "Ah? Should I call you Master, instead?"
Ash squinted. "Don't make it weird."
"You're the one makin' it weird," Swyn corrected. "I'm just deferring to hierarchy."
"And we've been over this." Ash scrunched his nose. "We don't have o—" He paused.
Through the shadows, he could discern her grin's white glimmer. "You're fucking with me."
"Das' our thing," she confirmed with pride. "Playful deceit is how us Zoroark show affection. If I'm gonna sit on a scratchy old sofa, is' only fair play that you entertain our customs."
"You mean you don't like sitting on a cheap old couch cushion, eating half-baked casserole?" Ash grinned, mirroring his Zoroark's own. Sure, his was short those razor fangs, but a couple of sharp canines were close enough. At least, Swyn thought so. They were one of his favorite features of hers. If he grew out a mane, they'd really be in business.
But, that was an afterthought, for her. She happily nestled into his mane-less shoulder as it was, and found solace in his strong arms, and his familiar scent. Her heart felt as full as her belly, and her worries and anxieties felt distant. She'd shed them, like the pale, coarse fur she'd once worn. Her coat was glossy and rich with color now. Her crimson mane was soft and voluminous.
She was a new Zoroark. The past still lived within her, tucked away somewhere. But, she could look upon it from a distance, and celebrate how far she'd come, thanks most of all to Ash.
"I like it, if I'm doing it with you."
"Well, good," Ash muttered into her mane. "We're doing this for the rest of our lives."
He heard a purr rumble in her throat in response, and he kissed her cheek.
Ash really liked being Champion. He liked the strength it offered, to protect his comrades. To help them heal, and become their best selves. He liked the wisdom he'd earned to do so.
He was proud to be Swyn's Champion.