"I'm happy to see everyone, but why have you traveled all this way to Galar? Is it related to the Beachside Resort Project...?" Jason questioned, standing off to the side with Ellaine as everyone prepared drinks, snacks, and party games. There was a non-zero chance that Lusamine had flown over the three women specifically for him, but while he would be grateful if that were the case, he hoped it wasn't.
"That's correct," Ellaine confirmed, removing a weight from Jason's heart as she explained, "More precisely, I was asked to provide my professional opinion regarding Faba's illegal research, as well as present my personal findings related to Ultra Wormholes. I'm not the biggest fan of meddling with other worlds, but I couldn't deny that there is much we can learn and gain from their exploration."
"I feel the same way..." Jason expressed, prompting Ellaine to stare at him curiously as he appended, "I understand the appeal of wanting to see and explore other worlds. And from the viewpoint of long-term survival, it is a matter of paramount importance that a species spread beyond the planet that birthed it..."
Shaking his head, Jason stared off into the distant haze of memory as he muttered, "I used to think that way when I was young. But as I grew and experienced more of the world, I began to feel that a species that fails to treat its host planet well deserves to meet its end. And were it not for this incident of our planet evolving, I'm not convinced we would have endured another fifty years without wiping ourselves out..."
[The Blue Star That Refutes Its Flatitude places a reassuring hand on your shoulder and gifts you 500 AP]
'Thank you for the donation. But please try to be more considerate with the timing...' Jason expressed, resisting the urge to exhale in exasperation before meeting Ellaine's gaze. The mature beauty was staring directly at him, and within her captivating yellow eyes, he found gentleness, a hint of weariness, and what he wanted to believe was love.
"When we return to Alola, I'd like to hear more about your philosophies on life..." Ellaine whispered, linking her fingers through Jason's and bumping his shoulder with her own as she teased, "Off the record, and over a glass of wine..."
"Few things would make me happier..." Jason responded, giving Ellaine's shoulder a reciprocal bump and briefly shifting his gaze to her lips. Lucky for him, she appeared to be thinking the same thing, as she didn't hesitate to lick her lips and turn her head, permitting him to kiss her. He was a little surprised when they kept kissing, but instead of disengaging, he moved in front of her and slid his hands habitually along her sides...
...
..
.
After an evening of fun and games, including a particularly invigorating game of strip poker, Jason enjoyed a short but restful night's sleep. The following morning, he was pleasantly surprised when Ellaine volunteered to assist with his morning routine, putting him in a superb mood that was only marginally diminished when Korrina, Maeve, and Nanahoshi refused to let him accompany them to their matches. Instead, they encouraged him to spend the day with Lillie, Runa, Dinah, and, most importantly, Ren.
"You know, if you grow any more muscular, you're going to end up looking like a Machoke..." Lillie teased, lying stomach-down atop her and Jason's shared bed with her hands propping up her head and her feet kicking behind her.
"It does feel like I keep growing larger..." Jason conceded, continuing to perform shirtless crunches while Ren, seated cross-legged with her arms wrapped around his calves, kept him anchored.
"Not that I mind, mind you. In fact, I quite enjoy how it feels like you're able to envelop my entire body when we embrace. It's very reassuring," Lillie revealed, her narrow-eyed smile gaining a hint of mischief as she playfully appended, "Though it may become an issue if a certain part of you continues to grow. I'll do my best to remain as limber and flexible as possible..."
"If you become any more flexible...I'll be able to twist you into a pretzel..." Jason countered flatly, causing Lillie's expression to fill with equal parts mirth and temptation. Seeing Jason's naked upper body glisten with the proof of his exertion, combined with the way his muscles along his abs and sides became visible each time he tensed...he was like a work of art she had personally witnessed being sculpted to perfection. It made her want to take up sculpting herself...
"What do you think of my resuming my ballet and dance lessons? Will you come and watch...?" Lillie questioned, her pulse quickening at the thought of Jason's intense, captivated gaze boring into her as she performed and refined herself for his eyes alone. And then, in the shadows of the stage's wings...
"I could watch you watching paint dry...and it would be a memory worth cherishing..." Jason answered, interrupting Lillie's wayward thoughts mid-delusion.
"Mmn...I understand completely..." Lillie affirmed, her gaze wandering Jason's body without direction or purpose. Things might be different if she had pressing or important matters to attend to, but with nothing to do, she felt as if she could ogle him for hours.
'I think I understand the mentality of Constellations...' Lillie mused, her eyes briefly drying out before gaining a hint of glaze as she didn't blink for more than a minute. If she could follow Jason's every move and send him support in the form of Achievement Points, she would reward him for each and every bead of sweat that trickled off his body...
fwish
Breaking Lillie out of yet another reverie, Runa abruptly used Teleport to relocate from her blocks to her back. What followed was a sensation of hunger that wasn't her own, so while Jason transitioned to planking with Ren applying varying degrees of pressure to his back, she got up to feed, burp, and spend some quality time with Runa—quite literally borrowing a page from Jason's book by reading to her and encouraging her to try and sound words out, be it with her mouth or using telepathy...
...
..
.
After exercising and performing training drills with Ren for much of the morning, Jason enjoyed a long bath before agreeing to accompany Lillie on an impromptu lunch date. Ren and Runa were slumbering peacefully in their Poké Balls, so they had a fair amount of time to themselves as they opted to be driven to their destination. Lillie's Poképhobia was improving by the day, but she was far from being able to comfortably ride in a Flying Taxi—a trait she and Jason shared.
"This city is certainly beautiful. But it also feels...disconnected? It feels like it's missing something compared to Alola..." Lillie noted wistfully, her gaze fixed on the scenes passing outside the window. Meanwhile, Jason's gaze was mostly focused on her.
"Disconnected is an apt way to describe it..." Jason affirmed, caressing Lillie's hand, clasped within his own, with his thumb. Then, joining her in staring out the window, he contended, "I would need to experience it in the off-season to be certain, but I imagine most of the people who live in this city aren't here because it's their ideal place to live. Rather, they feel they need to live here to pursue opportunities that aren't readily available elsewhere..."
"Did your world have similar cities...?" Lillie questioned, turning to face Jason and instantly providing him her undivided attention, her emerald-green eyes practically sparkling with intrigue.
"Some of which had nearly as many residents within a few hundred square kilometers as there are people in this world..." Jason revealed, unable to prevent a smile from adorning his face at Lillie's wide-eyed, cutely surprised expression.
"Right. I keep forgetting just how many people inhabited your world. I don't doubt you, but I can scarcely imagine it..." Lillie expressed with a mix of awe and trepidation. She recalled Jason mentioning that his world had as many as nine billion inhabitants. She could likely calculate how much food and water such a population would require, but just thinking about, it felt like an amount that would leave the land barren and drink the lakes of her world dry...
Noticing the subtle changes in Lillie's expression, Jason gave her hand a gentle squeeze and said, "Since we're on the subject, there's something I want you to know..."
"What would that be...?" Lillie asked, meeting Jason's gaze and tilting her head in confusion.
"I'm sure I've made this clear over our chats, but the only reason I'm for linking our worlds is so I can eventually return here. Beyond that, I don't believe our worlds should have anything to do with one another..." Jason made clear, his tone measured but his expression serious.
"You're afraid that people far worse than how you see yourself will infest and ruin our world—is that it?" Lillie asked, hitting the nail on the head as if the truth were written across Jason's forehead.
"I'm certain that many things will have changed in the hundred years it takes for Terra's evolution to complete. But I am even more certain that those who made my world a living hell for so many will retain the sense of entitlement that allowed them to seize and maintain their power. And with the backing of malicious or opportunistic Constellations, there is bound to be an unfathomable amount of bloodshed..." Jason contended, his words gaining gravitas the longer he spoke.
[The Dragon Who Slumbers Beside a Hearth nods approvingly and gifts 1,000 AP to the Aspirant]
Contrary to Jason's expectations, Lillie, after waiting for him to finish his words of warning, adopted a broad, bright-eyed smile. She didn't doubt that things would be just as chaotic as Jason described. But as there was little she could do about matters fifty to a hundred years in the future, she reassuringly confirmed, "My only aspirations for your world are to see you and those you might bring with you safely to ours. The League might have other ideas, but that shouldn't be our concern. Our priority at the moment should be becoming the best version of ourselves—for us, those we care about, and those who will come to be from those bonds..."
"Smart, beautiful, and wise...have I ever told you how much I absolutely adore you...?" Jason asked, his expression softening into a look of deep, smoldering appreciation. He unquestionably owed his life to Korrina, but to Lillie, he owed his future...
"Let's cancel our lunch plans and eat in my Sanctum..." Jason suggested, causing Lillie's cheeks and the tips of her ears to tinge red instantly. Her expression, however, remained calm, her eyes glistening but her voice as steady as a rock parting a stream as she reminded him, "Nightly activities should be saved for nighttime..."
"That they should..." Jason confirmed, a faint sigh escaping his nose as he attempted to dial things back internally. Before he could, Lillie left him at a complete loss by leaning into his shoulder and appending, "But that really only applies when there is work to be done. Since we technically have the day to ourselves, I see no reason why we can't use our time as we please. So long as we're together..."
"I take back my earlier words..." Jason muttered, leaving Lillie confused until he adopted a broad smile and asserted, "Saying I adore you, even absolutely, doesn't cut it. You honor me more than I could ever possibly deserve by allowing me to love you..."
With her face and neck turning red, Lillie gave the impression that she might literally explode with emotion. Instead, after intaking a long breath through her nose, she adopted a deceptively calm smile and passed the buck of being embarrassed to Jason, stating, "You should steel yourself. After that little remark, I have no choice but to ride you until one or both of our hips give out..."
"Then it's a good thing I upgraded my hot spring..." Jason joked, forcing a smile. Lillie's words might sound playful, but the truth was that, even after all his dieting and exercise, his stamina still lagged behind the inhabitants of the Pokémon world. And when it came to stamina in the bedroom, Lillie may as well have been the Champion of her own League...
...
..
.