FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The cold breeze of Japan wafted over Jason's face as he walked through its bustling streets. With the day being Christmas Eve, several pokemon were rushing here and there on the Christmas rush shopping for whatever presents they were to give to their loved ones.

"Oh shit..." Jason whispered to himself as the Lucario fished around in his pockets frantically. "Crap crap crap crap... I completely forgot..."

It's been almost a year since he left Japan to be with his family for a while. He promised he'd stay there for only three months but due to... complications... he was forced to stay there for a year. He felt his heart rise to his throat as the fear began to set in... what would he think that his beloved had broken his promise? Jason could just imagine the fury that he would have to face for leaving him in the dark for almost a year.

"Think, Jason... what would he like for Christmas?" he asked himself as he produced a wallet from his pocket and checked the contents. "Well... I guess he could use a new leather jacket." He mumbled. "His old one seemed rather worn out anyway. Oh wait... it's been a year since I last saw him... I hope he didn't get fat during that period, I'm gonna have to be guessing what size he is."

Jason made his way through the sea of pokemon all on a Christmas rush. He weaved passed corners and alleys, streets and lanes until he managed to make his way to a department store. He had half-expected his troubles to be over but it only got worse. Hundreds of pokemon swarmed the store, each desperate to grab whatever clothing or product they so wanted to buy before someone else could. Jason just stared from the outside, mouth agape in astonishment. "H... how am I gonna get in now?" Jason asked as his eyes darted from left to right, searching for an opening. "Eh, what's the point? It'll probably be out by the time I get in anyway." Jason placed his hands in his pockets and walked away.

The sun slowly set on the horizon, coloring the sky with a beautiful orange hue. The setting sun seemed to signal the pokemon around him as they began heading to their homes to celebrate the holiday with their friends and family. Jason felt almost guilty seeing their smiling faces. He left someone here with the hopes that he would be back soon... only to return eleven months later. Jason's only hope now is that he hasn't left him for someone else.

"Well, might as well give the mall another shot." Jason sighed and made his way to the nearest mall for a little Christmas shopping.

Even at this late hour, there were still relatively many people swarming the stores but not too much that Jason wouldn't be able to get in. He managed to buy a small cake from a bakery that was just about sold out, and with immense luck, he managed to get his hand on a stylish leather jacket.

"Yeah... this should fit him." Jason mumbled as he held the leather jacket in front of his body for measure. "I think his build is close to mine anyway..."

Soon, he left the mall with a satisfied smile on his face. He wasn't able to go to a bank to exchange him US dollars into Japanese Yen but at least he had enough spare yen from last year's stay to afford the cake and the jacket. Jason fished out his phone from his pocket and decided to call him so that they could meet at the park. And as if on cue, the phone rang with _his_name on the caller id.

"Hello?" Jason cooed as the answered the call... only to be yelled at from the other end with harsh and angry words. "I know... I know... I'm sorry." Jason's apology was quickly shot down by words of spite. Jason could feel the tears rising and his throat quivering as guilt quickly washed over his body. The voice on the other end of the phone was furious, but the sound of sadness and sorrow was evident as well. Oh what pains had he put him through? "Look, I'll meet you at the park... where we first started... I'll explain everything there." A nerve-wracking silence followed but the voice soon accepted Jason's invitation. Jason almost leaped with joy that he wasn't all too mad at him and that he still has a chance to salvage their relationship.

Later that night, as the moon rose and the stars dotted the night sky, Jason sat at the park bench waiting in anticipation of his arrival. He immediately began to think of the different possible scenarios... what he would say, how he would react to every possible word. Every passing moment made Jason's heart ache with all the anticipating of the worst possible outcome. He began pacing back and forth, waiting and waiting and waiting... until a fist landed squarely at the face causing Jason to crash to the ground with an aching muzzle.

"Consider that your punishment for leaving me in the dark." Jason's assailant loomed over the downed Lucario and extended a hand, helping the Lucario stand up.

"I know... and I'm sorry, Raiki-kun." Jason sheepishly answered to the Luxray who looked at him furiously. "Sit with me and I'll explain everything."

The two of them sat together at the bench as Jason began explaining his story: how his city was attacked by an army of rogues and that he had to stay and fight to defend his land and his people. "And I also foresaw the rebuilding of the city." Jason added. "You see... I couldn't come back in time... I had a duty for my people."

Raiki just sat there, listening intently to Jason's story. At first his expression was that of anger or irritation, but his face slowly softened into something more of concern. He was mad that Jason stayed for almost a year in America but what really infuriated him the most was the thought that Jason might've loved another. "I see... well, I'm glad you're alright." Raiki said with a wry smile.

"Hmph, barely." Jason replied with a slight chuckle and a sigh. "You haven't heard the ENTIRE story yet... but let's save that for some other time."

"Very well." Raiki answered and stared at the large Christmas tree at the center of the park. "Did you... um..." Raiki asked, trying to find the proper words to say.

Jason stared into Raiki's eyes and immediately he knew what Raiki was trying to say. "No, Raiki, I don't love anyone else. Each passing day that I stayed in America, all I could think was how you were feeling. I was afraid that you'd grow impatient and forget about me."

Raiki gently caressed Jason's cheek and placed his hand on Jason's shoulder to comfort the Lucario. "Yes, I did grow impatient at times. I tried to call you several times, tried to reach you, but you never responded. I was afraid that you didn't care for me anymore."

"Not in your lifetime." Jason laughed and leaned against Raiki's shoulder. "You have no idea how many strings I had to pull to be able to get here for the holidays. We're still a little busy fixing things back home and I'm supposed to be one of those who supervise the operation. I literally just abandoned my people just to be with you."

"I'm flattered." Raiki chuckled and wrapped his arm around Jason's shoulder. "Are the other's aware of your actions?"

"Only some of them know what I did." Jason answered. "I'm sure they won't mind losing ONE soldier. Besides, they can always call me when they need me... I highly doubt it though, I left behind some pretty trustworthy people to watch over the city."

Raiki smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. Will you finally be settling here in Japan?"

Jason stared into the distance of the night sky and contemplated on the thought. "I'm not sure yet. I don't really have a permanent place to stay here as of the moment..."

"You could always live with me." Raiki suggested.

"Possibly..." Jason mumbled. "I'll have to think about PERMANENTLY staying here... but I'll be here for the holidays so that's still a lot of time to think about it."

"It's just a few weeks." Raiki pointed out, the sadness evident in his voice.

"I'm sorry Raiki-kun..." Jason apologized, nuzzling Raiki's cheek to comfort the Luxray. "But things are still messed up back at home. If the situation lightens up I promise I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Alright..." Raiki mumbled, his gaze dropping to the floor with sadness.

"Hay, cheer up." Jason chuckled and poked Raiki's cheek causing sparks of surprise to dance around Raiki's mane. "I got you something." Jason turned and took the paper back from the ground. "Merry Christmas Raiki-kun."

Raiki was surprised when he saw that Jason had prepared him a present but that state of surprise quickly vanished as he shook his head. "Um... thank you." Raiki said as he accepted the present and looked inside. "It's a... a leather jacket." It was faint but Jason could see the excitement in Raiki's eyes... the very slight... almost non-existent excitement.

"Try it on." Jason said with a gesture. "I want to make sure I got the size right."

Raiki stood up and wore his new leather jacket. He stretched his arms from left to right, he bent front and back to get a good feel of the jacket's fit. "It's a little loose if you ask me."

"Well, the size below that would've been too small and the size above that would obviously be too big." Jason answered.

"Regardless, I like it." Raiki said as he gazed at his reflection in the frozen fountain. "Thank you."

"Also..." Jason added as he pulled out another, smaller paper bag. "...an apology cake. They were almost sold out, this was the last one I could get my hands on. Lucky for us it's a vanilla ice cream cake. Hope you have a sweet tooth."

"Who doesn't?" Raiki asked as he sat down next to Jason.

"People who don't like sweets." Jason answered sarcastically as he took out two spoons for the two of them to enjoy the cake.

The two of them sat together, sharing an intimate moment with each other. They finished the small cake soon and they turned their gaze towards the large Christmas tree at the center of the park. They just sat there sharing stories of their experience during the year. Raiki did most of the sharing though 'cause Jason's experience was mostly about a rebellion. Later that night, the snow began to fall. The beautiful rain of white powder and crystal glimmered under the light of the moon, catching Jason's attention. The curious Lucario, although he's seen snow every winter, stared wide-eyed at the shining scenery.

"Careful Jason-kun, you might turn into an Espurr if you stare too long." Raiki jokingly said as he waved his hand in front of Jason's face.

"Yeah... yeah... whatever." Jason mumbled with a grin.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Raiki reached into his pocket and produced a small box. "I wanted to give you this as a gift for when you were supposed to come back a few months ago... I guess it's now your Christmas gift."

"Well, now this is something I didn't expect." Jason smiled as he accepted Raiki's gift and opened it. "Is this... a pocket watch? How did you know I always wanted one?"

Raiki shifted in his seat and tried to remember. "Remember when we would always pass that pawn shop downtown?"

"Yeah..."

"I always catch you staring at the display cases." Raiki continued. "I couldn't figure out what you were looking at back then until I caught you asking about the pocket watch. I don't really understand why you were trying to hide your interests from me, you acted as if you weren't doing anything when I asked you what you were doing in the pawn shop."

Jason let out a shy chuckle and stared at his new pocket watch. "I don't know... I guess I was a little insecure about my interest in the classics in a quickly modernizing world."

"Well, you don't have to hide anything from me." Raiki answered, placing his hand on Jason's shoulder with a compassionate smile.

The two stared into the other's eyes, lost in the moment of affection. Jason's face flushed as he saw the Luxray lean in closer 'till their noses bumped against each other. Raiki didn't want to rush things, he doesn't really know if Jason wanted this or not... but Jason does. Jason slowly inched closer, wrapped his arms around the Luxray as their lips pressed against the other's. The kiss lasted only a second or two, but it was more than enough to show they love each other.

"Merry Christmas, Raiki-kun." Jason whispered as he broke out of the kiss.

Raiki let out a warm smile and gave Jason a hug. "Merry Christmas to you too, Jason-kun."