gratitude

[the_very_best]

Bella flies away. She visits her parents, hits up the guild for matches and wins enough to pay her guild dues, and tools around random wilderness beating up on the wildlife.

She doesn't really expect to hear from Sherlock and Tony again.

Comments

[the_very_best]

"Eon!"

[toblameforit]

"You aaaare."

Petpetpet.

[the_very_best]

Bella decides that this also belongs in the photo album. "Smile!"

[toblameforit]

Tony beams.

[the_very_best]

Dusk perks up his ears.

Bella snaps the picture. It turns out adorable. "Awwww."

[toblameforit]

Tony giggles.

[the_very_best]

Dusk noses Tony's chin in a friendly sort of way, then gambols back to Bella and sits in her lap. She feeds him a bit of her dinner that she didn't quite have room for and he chews on it happily.

[toblameforit]

"Awwwwwww."

[the_very_best]

"Dusk does his very best to be the 'cute' element in my party," says Bella. When he's finished his food she puts him away again.

[toblameforit]

"He is really good at it!"

[the_very_best]

"He is! Helps that the others aren't really made for it," laughs Bella. "Branch was pretty precious when he was a Deerling, though."

[toblameforit]

"Do you have baby pictures?"

[the_very_best]

Bella does have baby pictures! Baby Branch apparently spent most of his time looking exquisitely confused about everything. A couple shots were taken by someone else and have Bella in the picture; Baby Branch looks at her like she holds all the wisdom in the universe.

[toblameforit]

"He is so cuuuuuuuuuute."

[the_very_best]

"He was. Now he's sorta doofy-looking when he's not striking regal poses by complete accident," laughs Bella.

[toblameforit]

Tony giggles.

[the_very_best]

Bella also has baby pictures of Zag the Zigzagoon, and Fireflower the Ponyta, and Juu the Mienfoo. She didn't get Rachis as a Pidgey, but she has Awkward Teenager pictures of her as a Pidgeotto.

[toblameforit]

Tony oohs and awws over all of them.

[the_very_best]

"Have you got pictures of you and yours from way back when?" asks Bella, closing her photo album when she's exhausted the interesting parts.

[toblameforit]

"Sure," says Tony, and he brings up a video projected on the wall: tiny Tony meeting a tiny Charmander, and immediately receiving tiny cuddles.

[the_very_best]

"Awww," says Bella. "Awww! Where's Sherlock?"

[bitofafiction]

"I did mention I spent most of my childhood in the library. You will note that this is not the library."

[the_very_best]

"You weren't even there when Tony got his first Pokémon?" asks Bella quizzically.

[bitofafiction]

"Should I have been?"

[the_very_best]

"I dunno, I'm an only child, but I bet I would've been for my brother or sister if I weren't."