"Of course I did," he offered with a hint of worry to his voice.

Did he not pay enough attention to her? That was an issue he'd remedy as quickly as he could. Nonetheless, he reached out a hand to give her Steelix a gentle pat on its firm head. The large steel type suited his bodyguard. It was carefully reforged as a more armor plated Onix -- another pokemon he felt suited her. Although he wasn't often one for physical contact, there was something about the time they spent together during the holiday season that made him feel as though he was free to do so. Maybe it was due to the fact he finally had people whom he could actually celebrate something with. Fingers gently intertwined with her own as he knelt down in the snow and used his free hand to help his Delphox mold his next piece.

"It's like my father once told me, togetherness is a source of inspiration," he spoke blandly. "If we do things like this more often, our work life will go much more swimmingly."

While he was neither here nor there in the idea of his late father, the man did often speak wisdom that stuck with him. As always though, he spoke what was on his mind, reflecting to his partner. His Delphox who proudly wore a Santa hat continued to pat down the snow.

"I didn't really celebrate the holidays, however, they were viewed as unnecessary. What of you and your family?"

It wasn't often they had the chance to speak so transparently.

VUR95L4k - 10 = 74

x0 bottom
x1 middle
x1 top
x1 decoration

prompts used
- dress your pokemon in a holiday costume

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

RHUGONE

It was near impossible for him to hold back the eyeroll at her cocky question. Perhaps she'd been a bit too haughty given her current success with him as her fighting dog. But maybe, as he came to grow closer to her (much to his chagrin,) she deserved to sit on her high horse for a bit. Whether it be the Stockholm syndrome taking its toll, or the gentler nature of the season, Roman couldn't help but give a shrug of his shoulders.

"I guess I did," he offered halfheartedly. "Most of our coworkers don't offer much as far as intrigue goes."

He truly had no interest in some of their newer additions to the velvet room. French remained drab. On top of that, he knew the two were whispering insults about the other staff in that ridiculous Kalosian lilt of theirs. The two were almost as ridiculous as the Amazoness and her compact boyfriend who were acting like a bunch of touch starved fools over the hill. If it weren't for the fact that he could somewhat relate, he'd have hurled an insult or two their way. But maybe they deserved the time off, too. He felt a hint of jealousy in the connection the two had -- it was caring and careful. (His socket offered a phantom pain behind where he'd fit the glass eye in. Lorelei was far from careful.)

"I've never really been one for games in both the literal and metaphorical sense, you know. But I suppose that's because I never had the time."

TC4HgTEl

x0 bottom
x2 middle
x1 top
x0 decoration

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

LORELEI DU'MOT

For a moment, Fritz reeled in pure surprise at the admittedly kind gesture. It wasn't the first time they'd simply relaxed at one of their homes and did each other's nails or something along those lines. But the fact that she wanted to spend her holiday time with him meant something that even words could not describe. A soft smile tugged at his lips as he halted his work and looked up at her. His eyes seemed to shine a bit almost as if he were attempting to hold back tears. The holidays fell hard for him given his mother's passing -- she was really the only other person in the world he seemed to care about other than himself. (Ironic he's nothing like she was.)

"I think I'd like that a lot, Aimee."

Was that the first time he'd ever called her by her actual name? It was hard to say. But rather than let himself look like a total fool, Fritz poured his focus back into his snowboy. Some time together would be nice, as their team could get more acquainted with one another. In fact, it seemed even his Dewott was rather excited at the notion. It admired the admittedly dopey Dragonite within Aimee's party. Almost like it wanted to be big and strong like the Dragonite too someday.

"Should I bring anything other than my charming self?"

And like that, he was back to his normal Fritzy behavior.

YFaIdmAX

SNOWBOY PARTS:
x1 bottom
x1 middle
x1 top
x1 decoration
SNOWBOY COMPLETE

prompts used:
- n/a

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

@aim

To say he felt a little moved with Taiga's return was an understatement. She really decided not to let his ass freeze to death, huh. Goddamn, if he wasn't higher than a kite in that moment, he'd likely burst into tears. A little show of powdered courage helped him stay a little warm in the bitter cold, but Charizard's heat, her own body heat, and the drink she brought him was more than enough to keep his spirits lifted. He couldn't help but laugh as he leaned back into her touch as he attempted to get another part done.

"Babe, you're really too good to me, you know that, right?"

9bb64Txm

bottom: x2 = duplicate destroyed via sabotage
middle: x3 = 2 duplicates destroyed via sabotage
top: x3
decoration: x0

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

@taiga

"who's aimee?" a pause. another pause. a third -- "oh, that's me, haha!"[break]
axolotl didn't seem to really realize what she had done. it was a kind gesture, sure, but she was a kind person when it came down to it and would easily give up her time if fritz had just so asked or shown any prior interest; thus, she wasn't very moved when he accepted - simply smiling with excitement like a little kid who had a playdate planned. "yay! it'll be so much fun. we can talk about boys and gossip and --" her thoughts were cut off by her glaceon slipping past her feet on purpose, knocking her over as if to say to shut up for annoying it with all her talking. the wild pokemon seemed to still be very wild indeed, making assisted living have to pull out her metaphorical life alert and reach out both arms to fritz. tears were brimming in her eyes, her tailbone having gotten a not-so-tender beating all winter long with how ice seemed to be the opposite of her environment she prospered in.[break]
"it huuurts!" she whined, tears brimming in her eyes as she rubbed at them while her glaceon sighed, being beaten down verbally by the rest of her team - especially the motherly barney who seemed to pick up the glaceon and growl at it menacingly. the glaceon was put to work with the snowboy now, as means of getting even.
[break]

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

@fritz