The lonely weavile trekked through ankle-deep snow, glancing over her shoulder on the off chance her friends might reconsider letting her join them. But no, that was wishful thinking; they were perfectly content to help Charlie through his difficult moment. Just the two of them.

Without me.

The thought hurt. It really shouldn’t have, but it did. She was jealous they had found satisfaction in each other, jealous that their friendship wasn’t enough for them to include her in their special moment. How pathetic was that? 

In all honesty, Lexi was mostly upset by her inability to move faster. Frustrated with herself that she missed the opportunity to become something more with either of her male friends. All it would’ve taken was a few words, just… ask Charlie out, and she could’ve been his pokemon to lean on; she could have been the one he cared about most.

I should’ve stayed, should’ve pushed them more. Three is better than two for this sort of thing, right? What if their plan, whatever it is, ends up hurting Charlie? What if he needs a feminine touch Lance can’t provide?

Lexi was trying to fool herself; grasping for reasons to turn back, to intrude on her friends’ private moment. To make her feel better, ease her own anxieties and insecurities. She didn’t even truly like Charlie in that way. It had always been more of a casual crush, a ‘what if’ kind of longing for sex and companionship with someone she actually trusted. 

Everything she told Charlie had been true and nothing more.

Lance’s relationship with the fletchinder was wholesome. The vulpix liked Charlie in ways Lexi couldn’t pretend to, and perhaps not even Nicky could match. It was hard to tell, exactly, but Nicky’s crush on Charlie was definitely more real than Lexi’s, but in the end it was still just a crush.

At least we can be lonely together, came the sardonic thought as Lexi made her way to the lapras’ home. The rocky beach was not too far from the cave Charlie decided to lay his egg in, and Lexi was almost there after only a few minutes, where looming in the distance were the tiny specks of lapras. Though with how low the sun was, most had already drifted closer to shore to ready themselves for bed. 

Another ten minutes passed before Lexi was close enough to wave Nicky down, the lapras in question huddling by the shore near her parents.

“Hey, Nicky!” she called out, loud enough to lift a few necks in the distance. “Wanna hang out?”

Nicky glanced at her parents. “Can I?” she asked her mom, Crystal. She always was the more relaxed of Nick’s parents. Though, both adult lapras glared at her when she waved. They may have asked her not to yell in the past… “I’ll be back before it gets too late, promise!”

“Alright, sweetie,” Crystal said, still glowering at Lexi. “But you need to tell your friend to stop yelling so much, especially this late. Many of us are trying to sleep.”

“Tell her I’ll eat her if she keeps it up,” Nicky’s dad, Reever, said with a dark chuckle. The threat was clearly meant as a joke, but he also said it while looking straight at her, fully aware she could hear.

She stepped away from the shore, just in case.

“Reever!” Crystal admonished the huge lapras. “You can’t say that to one of Nicky’s little friends.”

“All in good fun,” he purred, leaning in to plant a lick across his mate across the snout, who giggled in response. Lexi almost gagged from how sweet the sight was. “Speaking of fun, let’s take advantage of our daughter’s absence, mhm?”

“Reeeever,” she laughed, pushing at him with a fin, “not in front of Nicky! …Meet me at the crescent rock.”

Nicky swam Lexi’s way, cheeks reddened as she did her best to pretend she couldn’t hear her flirting parents. Bumping against each other and giggling as they swam into the distance, one look at the adult lapras made their intentions clear as ice.

The teenage lapras dragged herself onto shore almost desperately, and with a squeaked, “Let’s go!” began to scoot across the snow, much speedier than Lexi thought a lapras should be on land. 

“Gonna have a little brother or sister soon, eh?” Lexi teased her flustered friend. 

“Sh-shut up, Lexi!” she said, cheeks puffed out as she looked anywhere but at the snickering weavile. “Let’s just go… Um, where are we going exactly?” 

“Welllll, Charlie and Lance are busy in the usual cave, so what about that place where you lay eggs? There’s secret stuff I wanna talk about with you, and that place should be private enough.”

Nicky bit her lower lip, probably due to the mention of eggs. “I, uh, sure. We can go there. I’ll have to carry you though. It’s sorta hard to get to if you can’t swim or fly. Guess I’m going back in the water,” Nicky lowered her head with a groan, “ugh, at least Mom and Dad are in the other direction.”

They arrived at the cove with plenty of daylight to spare. Unlike the cave’s Lexi was used to, like the one where Charlie and Lance were right now, the entrance to Nicky’s cove was halfway submerged, allowing the teenage lapras to swim right on in with Lexi on her back. Sharp stalactites lined the roof like the upper teeth of a gigantic maw, hanging low enough that Nicky was forced to duck. 

Lexi wondered how much longer it would be until Nicky couldn’t fit in here anymore.

The tunnel system wasn’t too expansive. After less than a minute of twists and turns, Nicky led them into a circular pool of crystal-clear water illuminated by the soft blue glow of magic crystals, much like the one Charlie used to light his room. 

Gripping Nicky’s shell tighter so she wouldn’t stumble into the water below, Lexi leaned forward to get a better view of her surroundings. Craning her head higher revealed that the roof was missing, just enough to open the cove to the final dregs of daylight. A soft breeze blew in from the outside, cool and pleasant against her fur and filling her nose with the salty scent of the ocean. 

“Wh-what do you think?” Nicky asked as Lexi climbed off her shell and landed on the surprisingly smooth floor encircling the pool. “I don’t usually bring guests here…” 

“It’s very pretty,” Lexi said as she tried to walk around, only to loose her footing on the wet floor. Nicky gasped as she stumbled over, only barely saving herself from an unpleasant face-plant as she caught her fall. “I’m okay!”

“L-Lexi! Please be careful!” Nicky was slapping the water with a fin in that way she always did when anxious. Plop, plop, plop. “It’s slippery here! Maybe sit down?”

“Yeah, clearly,” she said, picking herself off the ground. Taking Nicky’s advice to heart, Lexi slumped against the rocky wall parallel to the entrance, groaning heavily as she settled against the rough surface. She shuffled around until she reached some semblance of comfort, though nothing would get her used to the tiny rocks digging into her butt.

An awkward silence settled over the pair. Usually Lexi would have been the one to initiate conversation, maybe crack a joke or two to break the ice, but for once she was at a loss for words. How did she even bring up the topic of a foursome to someone as innocent as Nicky? Oh, sure, the lapras could be lewd in private, even enjoying the occasional gossip session or risquè musings. Simple stuff like which pokemon had the biggest dick—it was totally kyogre, by the way—or who was the sexiest pokemon on the island were within Nicky’s ability to manage, but anything too personal would make her clam up, her flipper going plap, plap, plap until Lexi dropped the topic. 

It was fun to tease her with a dirty joke or innuendo every so often. She enjoyed seeing the cute lapras all flustered, but not when it made her retreat into herself.

“So… what did you want to talk about?”

Lexi blinked at Nicky, surprised that the shy lapras was the one to speak first. 

Crap. Now I have to figure out what to say. This is going to suuuck. I should’ve just waited until tomorrow, then stupid Charlie and Lance could ask Nicky themselves after they finished becoming closer, without me… 

Her heart clenched at the thought, filling her with emotions she didn’t understand, and didn’t want, swirling around and around like a blizzard that even an ice type couldn’t resist. 

“Nicky?” she began hesitantly, struggling to keep the pain out of her voice. “I… I think I’m jealous of Charlie and Lance. I almost wish they never got together. How selfish is that?” 

Lexi rubbed her shoulder, wishing she could vanish right then and there. Why had she said that? Nicky was her friend, she trusted her, but this wasn’t part of the plan. This wasn’t how the conversation was supposed to go. She was here to ask Nicky if she wanted a foursome with Charlie and Lance, but the idea had soured, leaving Lexi confused and hurt. Wasn’t that what she wanted? Some quick and dirty fun?

“Me too,” Nicky said. “I don’t wish they never got together, that’s mean, but I… I understand. They’re cute together, they really are. Lance is so sweet, and Charlie is… um… Charlie.” The lapras blushed as she trailed off, and they both knew exactly what she meant. “I didn’t know you liked him too.”

Now it was her turn to be flustered. “W-well, uh, sorta? It’s complicated. I never told you because I didn’t want to hurt you, since you clearly like him more than I do. I’m more into Lance, I think? Charlie’s sexy and all, but vulpix are hot. Lance also has a dick.”

Nicky snorted with laughter. “That’s so you!” she said between giggles, the sound filling Lexi’s heart with joy. Shy Nicky was adorable, but having her be comfortable enough to laugh at one of her jokes was indescribable. “But it’s not just s-sexual, right?”

“I don’t know what it is,” she admitted. “I have wet dreams about him, and I get off thinking about him, especially being knotted by his big, fat—”

“O-okay, I get the image!” Nicky interrupted with a squeak. 

Lexi grinned. “Are you suuuure? I still have to tell you how often I think about his cute blue balls!” Her smile faded. She was avoiding the topic by being lewd again, wasn't she? Worse, she was making Nicky increasingly uncomfortable in the process. “Sorry, Nicky. Habit. To be honest, most of my fantasies involve… kissing and hugging. I still fantasize about being knotted, duh, but the intimacy and closeness gets me off the most, you know?”

Nicky was clearly flustered, but she wasn’t nervously slapping the water as she whispered, “I get lonely too. Especially after Charlie… h-helped me.”

“I still can’t believe you two did that.”

“I know! It was like I was a different pokemon. We almost had sex, Lexi, sex! Wow… I still dream about what it would’ve been like.” Her nervous tick returned as she spoke, splashing water onto Lexi’s feet claws. She stepped away from the pool’s edge before Nicky noticed. “Oh, sorry… I’m a little anxious talking about it.”

She waved her off. “Nah, it’s cool. What isn’t cool is Charlie.”

“What do you mean?”

“He cheated on Lance with you!”

“My fault,” Nicky whimpered. “I’m the one who asked him to watch me lay. Then I encouraged him to help me f-finish, even if I only kinda needed help. It would’ve been lonely, but I usually create an icicle and use that. He didn’t need to touch me th-there.”

“It’s both of your faults, but Nicky, listen: you’re the one who stopped it before it went too far, right?”

“Yeah, but—”

“And you’re the one who told Charlie to tell Lance?” she interrupted. 

“I… yes? Why does that matter? I still started it.”

“It matters because Charlie is the one who tempted you with what you couldn’t have, Charlie is the one who offered to have sex with you, and Charlie is the one who almost broke Lance’s heart.” 

“But I—”

“Stop taking all of the blame!” Unleashing a loud groan, Lexi leaned against a wall and stared into Nicky’s large brown eyes. “Look, the situation is complicated, confusing, and, heck, unfair. You were trying to help Charlie feel better about himself, and yeah, you got carried away, but in the end you were the clear head, you realized it was wrong, and you were the one who got left alone afterward, while he got the chance to come clean to Lance and get his ‘happy ending’. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me so mad!” Lexi swiped at the ground, rending the rock with her claws.

The lapras stared at her. “I’m mad too,” she spoke slowly, as though confused by her own words. There was a hitch to her voice as she continued, “Mad at myself, because Ch-Charlie should have been mine. I… I hate thinking that way, I know no one owns him, but I can’t help it! I wish I had told him earlier. I wish it was me helping him feel better. I wish he knew that I understand what he’s g-going through, more than L-Lance ever c-c-ccould. I wish s-someone l-l-loved me too.”

“Hey, don’t cry.” Nicky looked down on her with blurry eyes, while she stepped forward and placed a claw on her shell. She smiled up at the much larger pokemon. “We have each other.”

Nicky laughed, until her entire body was wracked with sobs. “Th-thanks,” she hiccuped after a moment. “We can be l-lonely together.”

The defeat in Nicky’s voice hurt Lexi more than she could describe. 

“Maybe we don’t have to be lonely?” she suggested, realizing this was the perfect opportunity to tell her about the potential orgy, even if she was… oddly detached about it.

Nicky sniffled. “What do you m-mean?”

“Well, Charlie, Lance, and me were talking, and we sorta… if you wanted to… they’re up for a foursome.”

Nicky’s reaction wasn’t what she expected. The lapras stiffened, which made sense, but then she flatly declared, “No.”

“No?!” Lexi gasped. This was not how this was meant to go. “What do you mean, no?”

“Why should we do anything like that with them,” Nicky replied snarkily, “when we’ll be the odd ones out? They’re the couple, they’re getting the most fun out of trying new things. Then when it’s all over, we’ll go home and just be… loners. That’s how I felt after Charlie ‘helped’ me lay my eggs, don’t you get that? I can’t h-handle that again, I just— I c-can’t!?

She was crying now. Wrapped with sobs, shaking with pain. Her best friend was in agony, and as she witnessed it, she realized she felt the same way. This was why the orgy didn’t sound fun. This was why she wasn’t excited when she mentioned. Because after a night of fun, of releasing her pent up lust and exploring things she’d always wanted… she’d be lonely. 

Except, that wasn’t all. The hurt went deeper, jabbed into her heart like a spike. Being lonely together… wasn’t that what I wanted? Wouldn’t that have made it okay? Why does it sound so wrong?

Because she didn’t want to be lonely together with Nicky, she realized with a jolt, she wanted to be together with Nicky.

“What if we weren’t lonely?” Lexi asked. When the crying lapras looked her way, she nearly clammed up. But Charlie’s words rang in her head, ‘why didn’t you say anything? If you did I might have been receptive’ and with her heart beat pounding in her ears, she went for it, “What if we were together too?”

“B-but w-we’re not together,” she countered in a choked huff. “D-don’t tease me, I-I-I’m not in the mood!”

“I’ve had a crush on you since I evolved!” she blurted. 

“Wh-what?”

Her heart threatened to explode, but she didn’t stop, “I think you’re pretty, okay?! B-but you’re also really fun to hang out with, a-and to talk to, and I just, I didn’t realize until now just how much I love being around you. I even love the adorable way you plop your flippers when nervous. So no, I don't want to be lonely together, I want to be together!” She bit her lip, and rubbed her shoulder. “I-I-I—, o-only if you wanna try it?”

The world closed in on her, ears ringing and stomach twisting itself into knots. Opening her heart to Charlie hadn’t been nearly this stressful. Her anxiety climbed rapidly as the seconds passed without a word from the lapras, Nicky’s own anxiety clearly shown as both flippers struck the water so hard and so fast that Lexi couldn't have remained dry even if she tried.

“R-really? You do?” Nicky eventually said. “That’s… I mean, I thought you just… liked… teasing me.” 

She winced at the call out. “I’m an idiot,” she acknowledged, her claws poking into her shoulder as nerves got to her, “I know I am, but I’m being serious here! One-hundred percent. No dirty jokes, no teasing. I like you.”

“I thought you liked Lance?” Nicky wasn’t crying anymore. Whatever happened, no matter how Nicky felt back, she decided that was a victory in itself. 

“Only kinda!”

“Am I backup?”

“No!” she insisted, even if a part of her wondered the same. A part of her she crushed between her claws. “I sorta liked all of you at some point! Like, I fantasize more about Lance, and wonder Charlie, but I’m always the happiest when I’m with you. It’s… confusing. Feelings are hard. Um, what about you? Do you… do you like me too?”

If Nicky immediately averting any and all eye contact wasn’t hurtful enough, the uncommitted, “Uhhhh,” that followed only further crushed her hopes. “Y-you’re a very good friend, and please don’t be mad, but I never thought about it before?”

“It’s fine!” she waved off, forcing a smile despite how horrible her chest felt. “I understand. We can forget I ever asked.”

“I didn’t say no!” Nicky added quickly, perking her ears and her hopes. “This is crazy, it’s happening so fast, I’m confused, and— I need a moment to think about it, okay?”

Lexi nodded and sat down, doing her best not to interrupt the lapras as her expression grew focused. 

Nearly an eternity of intense anxiety passed before Nicky finally said, “Okay. Let’s try it out and see what happens.”

 “You mean— try out being girlfriends?!” she exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear. “Wooo! Yes! This is going to be amazing!” The mood whiplash from thinking she was being turned down to suddenly having a partner sent her over the moon.

Nicky let out a nervous giggle. “This really is exciting, isn’t it? Oh, gosh, my heart’s pounding…”

“Mine too!” Lexi laughed before rushing Nicky and giving her neck a big hug. 

The lapras tensed from the contact at first, making her fear she messed up. But after a moment she lowered her large head against her back, returning the affection with a low, gentle hum.

“This is nice,” she murmured into the hug. 

“It is,” Nicky agreed, voice rumbling against her back. “I’m not as nervous as I thought I’d be.”

“That’s good.” She never wanted to let her big wet friend go, and without putting much thought into it, she planted a lick against her neck, lingering only briefly before nuzzling her girlfriend.

“Did you just kiss me?” Nicky’s voice wasn’t accusatory, but there was a nervous flutter to her tone. 

“S-sorry,” she apologized lamely. “Is that okay?”

Nicky’s much larger tongue greeted her in reply. The bold action from the usually shy lapras was a pleasant surprise, but she didn’t stop there. Lexi squealed as it happened again, that huge, warm, slippery organ of Nicky’s enveloping her from rump to ears in a single lick, tingles jolting down her spine from the wet point of contact.

“Gosh, Lexi,” the lapras murmured once she pulled away, “is it weird to say you taste like Aspear berries?”

Lexi giggled almost drunkenly at the silly remark. Being compared to a sour berry would have been insulting if it weren’t Nicky’s favorite. “Wow… Going a little fast, aren't we?” 

Nicky pulled away enough that they could look into each other’s eyes.

”I… I thought you like it fast?” she whispered. The lapras began plopping the water with her flippers, before adding, “You kissed me, so I thought—”

“I was kidding!” Lexi interrupted before Nicky could spiral. “We can go fast, or slow, or whatever makes you most comfortable, alright?”

“O-oh, that's good. Can we talk then? Kissing is fun, but I’m so much bigger than you, and it feels so… I don’t know, like I’m inhaling your face?”

“Made me feel like a lapras snack,” she joked at the lapras’ not-quite exaggeration, still feeling all tingly from the full-body lick.

Nicky's smile flickered, giving way to a brief frown. "Um, I'm not sure what to talk about now."

Lexi reached for her flipper, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Then let's enjoy being together."

The warmth returned to Nicky's face as her smile widened. "That sounds lovely," she agreed. Lexi nestled against the curve of Nicky’s protective shell, and in turn, Nicky gently rested her large head atop Lexi, releasing a contented sigh. "Thank you for being with me."

"Anytime," Lexi whispered, a soft promise that lingered in the air as they sat side by side, embracing the newfound connection between them.