FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

<"Clean up, Aisle Eleven. Clean up, Aisle Eleven.">

Two bags of flour sat in her hands being judged, until Emily decided the one on the left matched the bag she recalled seeing in the cabinet. That one went into her carry basket as she returned the other to the shelf, moving onto the next item on her list. She already had a few other items in there she'd been tempted by, as well as the one which had prompted the initial visit in the first place: pads. They were a necessary evil, but she wished she could have brought Pan along just to see if he'd react to them like a human man.

Now one week later, they'd gotten Emily set up more comfortably in Pan's apartment; space in the closet and dresser, her laptop set up in the corner, suitcases and bags organized into a reasonable spot for access. Pan had never considered a roommate before now, but when you could share certain elements like a bed, it made adapting much easier.

She peered across the rows of cans, bags and gadgets out of habit. Pan boasted an impressive array of cooking utensils, which made any urge to cook plausible with a little adaptation. If something caught her eye, she could really do it and distract herself from the more depressing elements of their situation.

Provided she didn't end up fat from doing it too many times, of course. She'd have a much harder time doing that If they could solve their employment problems, and enjoy their time together more too.

The first problem came from proximity to her father; several potential places of employment were also places they could actually run into him. Pan didn't seem as worried about that (“We're allowed to live for ourselves. It's not like we can ask him to pay our bills for us.") but he did acknowledge that she had it worse than him under the circumstances; being family made all the difference with the awkward pressure, possible drama, and so on.

The second, interlinked problem came from the van. Technically, her name was on the registration, but so was her father's. The fact he hadn't come after it was a mixed blessing, but there was no telling how long that'd last, which meant she might have to learn to walk everywhere, just like Pan. Or anywhere else for that matter; she hadn't been out of the apartment until now, but thankfully there was a store nearby, where she was unlikely to run into anyone she knew...

“Emily?"

She froze, though only for a moment. The voice wasn't her father. She looked up and found herself following a large, fuzzy body—naked, of course— to reveal it as none other than...

“Jack!" She didn't need to feign surprise. “I wasn't expecting to see you here."

“Well I do eat like everybody else." The typhlosion drummed his gut with a wide grin, then perched his arm onto his cart, filled halfway with... condoms.

“Uh, Jack, I hate to break it to you, but those aren't for eating."

“Of course not. I'm not done shopping, silly girl. This is for restocking the cafe."

That got a double take out of her. “You ran out of condoms?" she gestured to the cart. “This many condoms?"

“Well to be fair, not this many in one go, but we had a freak water balloon fight take out the rest, and some of our clientele do actually appreciate the option." he let out a dramatic sigh, shaking his head. “Sometimes I think I've hired a bunch of horny college teenagers that haven't figured out how to adult yet."

“Must be tough."

“Not always. I did win." From the seemingly tired sigh he cracked into a mischievous grin, giving her a wink. After, his jovial demeanor softened into a more careful one. “I've been to the Bakery. How you doing?"

Crap. She let out her own sigh now; no point in beating around the bush. “I'm okay, considering. So what do you know?"

“Your father seems pretty upset, though I'm not exactly sure what about." he started counting on his fingers. “AC busted, but I learned that from my employees. He seems to be working by himself, and Clive mentioned something else going on at Atlas Apartments and he was keeping an eye out for Tobias of all people. It wasn't hard to do the math after all that."

Emily remembered showing a picture of her father to Clive, though the reveal that he'd spoken to Jack surprised her. “You know Clive?"

“Seeing as I hired him to help manage the place, yes. You didn't know I owned Atlas Apartments too?"

She shook her head. “Not a clue! I know you're a big shot with, well, you know, but I don't remember you also having... Just how many places down you own?"

He chuckled softly. “Just three. I'm not that big. Smart business practices. But we're talking about you, unless you'd rather not talk about it?"

So she told him, basically as she had Clive. She had a suspicion that he knew it went a little deeper than just 'dating' for the actual catalyst of the fight, but ultimately it didn't change the end result. “So we're both job hunting, give or take a grocery run," she concluded.

“And you and your father haven't spoken at all since you left?"

“No. I'm kinda relieved, but nervous at the same time. It's good to hear he's still able to manage the store, but now I'm worried about that, truth be told."

Jack frowned and nodded in agreement. “I would have thought he'd have that other baker there. Lyle, I think it was? I don't see why he wouldn't be unless I had bad timing and it's his day off."

“Lyle is Pan. Some customers got too flirty and it was really bugging him. I thought it was pretty funny, but the puns were atrocious."

“Really? Well color me surprised! But that means Tobias really is working alone." Jack gazed off in thought. “I imagine a week is long enough to cool down and let you two have a civil conversation. You don't even have to move back. Best of both—"

“No." She shook her head, trying not to let the rising anger show, her free hand clenching behind her back. “He started this, throwing things at Pan. If anyone is calling first, it's him... but thank you for caring, Jack. I understand what you're going for."

Jack shrugged. “At least I know you're not sitting out in the rain somewhere. But aye, it's your business, not mine. I hope you two get something figured out, or I'll have to find a new place to get spicy cookies. It's alright for me to at least say you're okay if it comes up, right?"

“Sure. Sorry you're dragged into it like this."

“Nah, I dragged myself in. Thank you for just gently pushing me out the door though." He reached out and gave her shoulder a light, warm squeeze. “Good luck with it all. I'm off to go sweet-talk a sandwich from the deli."

Emily watched him go and turn the corner with a faint smile. He'd been nice and understanding with everything, even with trying to encourage her to reach out to her father, but she wasn't ready for that; she wasn't sure she'd ever be ready for that, but having someone other than Pan offering support felt reassuring.

She pulled herself out of the haze of worries and gently slapped her cheeks. “Focus, Emily. Focus..." Rechecking the aisle she was in, she reached out and pulled a can of peaches from the shelf. Maybe Clive would like apple turnovers? They weren't usually a favorite for her, but when Pan made them fresh with actual slices inside, they were absolutely delicious.

Crap. Now she was debating saving those for herself and making Clive something different. Maybe they could make turnovers for Clive and something new for themselves? Cream filled eclairs came to mind for some reason, but with all the conversations of the bakery, Jack's enterprises (not just anyone would go raiding the health section for an obscene amount of condoms with a straight face), and amorous things, the mental image suddenly turned into a cream filled eclair shaped and colored like a Typhlosion, complete with the cream coming out of—

She shoved her face into her hands, both to hide her embarrassment and cover up her snort of laughter. What would Jack say to such a confection? Her first thought was outrage at the portrayal, but she realized that with everything else she knew about him, he'd probably just lick his lips all deliberately salacious and proceed to eat it... out!

Oh God, now she was making sex jokes in her head! Worse still, she could just see how Pan would take it further, saying they could probably get quite a bit out of Jack by making a baker's dozen as a special order. He probably had the tools to actually make them just like she envisioned. Jack would probably find them hilarious and share them around the Cafe, while ordering more! That would just be...

She dropped the can into her basket and turned about. If she recalled correctly, the deli counter was off to the right and straight ahead.

---

“Seriously: Where are we going? You made me dress up and stuck a blindfold on me. I'm pretty sure this isn't how job interviews usually go." Pan shuffled in the passenger seat of the van, clearly resisting the urge to pull said blindfold off.

“It's a surprise, but we're almost there. You'll get to take it off before we get out of the van."

Pan sighed, then tilted the seat back. “At least I won't stub my toe twice. I don't have to wear it on the way back home, do I?"

She gave him a small swat on the knee and kept driving. She'd been serious about them almost being there, though she had figured on him guessing at some point once they hit the long, straight stretch of road. She'd never come this way herself, so it'd be a bit of a surprise for them both.

But there it came into view, and she did her best to contain her awe as she pulled into the parking lot. A surprising number of cars were already present, but considering the place's reputation, it made sense.

“Are we there yet?"

“Yup. You can take it off." She turned off the van and waited for the big moment.

Pan pulled off the blindfold and oriented himself; he took in the parking lot and the building beside it. The sheer size meant it took a while to take in the whole thing, his eyes growing steadily wider. “Is that what I think it is... ?"

“Eyup."

“You got me a job interview at Cafe Plaisir!?"

She nodded, and gave him a shrug as he stared at her in disbelief. “I ran into Jack when I was shopping and ended up asking him if they were in need of someone with baking or cooking skills. Turns out they were actually looking to fill a patissier position."

“Dammit, Emily, I'm a baker, not a chef! There's a big difference there!"

“I know, but he said knowing how to do the basic stuff was a big step in the first place, so they don't mind training you up for it." She countered, then reached out and squeezed his hand. “I know this is kinda weird, coming to a, brothel-slash-whatever-it-is, but Jack said they take their food seriously. I'm sure as hell not pimping you out, and if they try to pull a switcheroo on you I totally plan to drag you back to the car."

Pan looked back towards the Cafe, the alarm not really leaving his face. “You can't be serious... You've heard the rumors about the place and all, right? You do know that a lot of them actually live at Atlas Apartments too? I'm pretty sure they get a discount because of that."

“They do? Less pressure on the rent if this works out then."

He let out a slightly hysterical laugh as he put his head in his hands. “Emily. This place is full of sex-crazy pokemon, and humans!"

“And I'm not telling you to do anything with any of them, except cook food they ask." Gently, she lifted his head up and leaned in, stroking his ears. “I made that clear with Jack when I asked; you're not expected to do anything lewd. We both know Jack, and I don't think he'd lie to us like that. Hell, I only just found out he owns Atlas Apartments! I don't think someone doing what he's doing with a place like that wouldn't have already pulled the exploit card on us if he was trying to lure you in."

Pan gave a small nod, his eyes now not quite so wide. He took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Right. Good points. I'm just overreacting a little." Focusing onto her, he cracked a smile and leaned in closer to nuzzle against her. “You just really caught me off guard, suggesting a job here of all places. I figured you'd be afraid I would go... well..."

“So horny and sex-crazed you'd forget all about me and leave me to starve in your apartment?"

“Okay, now you might be having a little too much fun with this."

They both chuckled at that, though she still sensed his hesitation at the idea. “Look. If you do get this, it's a potential step up for you. I know it's not exactly easy to apply to another job when you don't want them calling the place that basically threw stuff at you, and starting a job that doesn't use your skills sucks. If they'll let you just do part time, it gives us more room to look for options and lets us cut down on how uncomfortable it might get.

“I suppose that's true..." Pan finally looked calmed, as far as one going into the unexpected could be. “I wish I could actually have you working with me."

They'd already had this particular conversation yesterday; There was one position, and she had insisted he was the right one to apply for it. He'd been especially annoyed by that since she's also refused to tell her where it was for, other than it being for a patissier. She had several good reasons for him being the better choice, but most of them would have probably had them arguing for hours.

But if she could put off the fight long enough for him to land the job, she might be able to avoid a few, or all of them, entirely.

“I know. But hey, silver lining: At least if I'm not there, you don't have to worry about some stranger flirting with me."

“I can still worry about that with you working anywhere else."

“But here they'd probably actually think they have a shot."

Pan made a face at that last point. “True. Okay, let's get in there before I lose my nerve."

---

“Welcome to Cafe Plaisir!"

The voice—loud, cheerful and spontaneous—made them jump the moment they came through the door. A beaming lopunny waved energetically from the desk. Naked as most pokemon were known for, Emily couldn't help but take in the faint swell of her chest, the maddeningly desirable curves of her hips and legs, and the way she seemed to focus in on Pan. Even if Emily had her beat soundly in chest size, every other element laid bare immediately put her on guard.

“I'm Cheryl! Would you like to hear some of our couples specials we have right now, or do you have a reservation already?"

“Couples specials?" Pan blinked in confusion. Emily gave him a small nudge. “I mean, no, we have an interview with—"

“Oh! oh!" Cheryl seemed to light up more. “Are you the new dessert guy!? Can you make a cake with Watmel berries in it?"

Both their heads turned to the side as Emily tried to remember what a Watmel berry was. Round, pink, green stripes. That seemed right, and if it was then...

“I'm not sure that berry is a good idea for a cake," Emily eventually replied, “Maybe one of those small novelty kind, but—"

Cheryl's eyes snapped to hers. “No, no! You're right that's a terrible cake but he's the dessert guy and I can't just ask him to make something with watmel berries and not makeitadessertsoIwasjustthinkingand—"

Jack appeared through the doors ahead of them and made everyone jump. “Sorry 'bout that! Cheryl, you're going to make them late if you don't breathe, girl." he let out a hearty chuckle as he came up and put his paws on the lopunny's shoulders, now looking at Emily and Pan. “Right on time, you two! Welcome to the cafe. If you'll just follow me I'll take you to your interview."

They shared a goodbye with Cheryl (“Good luck, dessert guy!") and stepped through the main bar. Several spots were taken, both at the bar itself and at the various tables set out by humans and pokemon alike. Several more pokemon walked among them wearing aprons, taking orders, bringing orders, and sometimes just chatting amicably. Several styles were present, supposedly picked to best match the pokemon from what she could tell, but all of them had the same Cafe logo emblazoned on them.

They were also much more suggestive than Emily had expected, finding herself spotting other key details of each pokemon as her view of them shifted and their friendly demeanor sometimes shifted into a very flirty pose, or when they turned about to walk away, tails high to reveal...

She turned her gaze away and tried not to blush as they entered a hallway on the right, now having second and third thoughts about this idea. She'd meant to talk with Pan more about pokemon relationships to get a better idea of what to expect, both with Pan and living at Atlas Apartments in general, but the job hunt made for a big distraction, and they'd also been working on getting her settled in and comfortable...

Or maybe they just used that as an excuse; they both had their weak points talking about this sort of stuff outside of witty banter.

“And here we have the kitchen!"

Emily looked up to find them now entering a kitchen to put the bakery to shame. Like watching one of those cooking challenge shows, spotless counters, intimidating appliances, and fearsome stovetops and ovens filled the room. Pots and pans hung from above on racks as spices and seasonings sat orderly at stations. Two more pokemon quietly discussed something at the center of the culinary paradise.

At their entrance, the two turned in their direction. One looked like a lopunny, but unlike Cheryl, with short trimmed eyebrows, the fur around their hands almost nonexistent; they might have been fingerless gloves or similar. They wore what looked like leather shorts, a crop top and a studded jacket. Beside them stood a pokemon considerably larger in size: a pink, dog-like creature with giant tusks on its lower jaw but also dressed like an actual chef.

The lopunny addressed them all first with a grin and a wave. “Yo, Jack! Which one's the newbie-to-be?"

“The Zoroark." Jack clapped a hand on Pan's shoulder. “Pan, this is Abbie, one of our sous chefs, and the granbull is Udd, part of our morning staff. Abbie, Udd, This is Pan and his girlfriend, Emily."

“Nice! We got another one for the three-fingered gang!" Abbie flew forward with surprising grace and speed, almost skipping on air, before coming to a stop in front of Pan and holding a hand up before him, waiting expectantly.

Pan didn't seem sure what to do. Neither did Emily, but more because asking for a 'high three' out of the blue didn't seem like sous chef behavior.

Udd settled the issue for them by letting out a grunt. “You may as well do it or you'll be there all day: I've seen'em hold their arm up for ten straight minutes waiting once just to bug someone who refused to do it."

“Udd! You're spoiling the fun! At least give them a chance to figure it out before you give them a hint." Still, Abbie's hand didn't come down. If anything, knowing they knew it was to mess with them just made the smile bigger. “Come on, show me a little love at least? He's not kidding that I can do this for a long time, but we're on a deadline."

Emily and Pan shared a look, then glanced back at Jack. He said nothing, though the big smile on his face showed he was amused by everything going on. Finally Pan let out a sigh. “Alright, alright. I'll play along."

She felt his hand slip around her waist before suddenly being pulled close. The next thing she knew, his face pressed close to hers, then their lips touched. Her cheeks burned, surprise, embarrassment, and happiness all bubbling up at once as she tried to figure out how things had changed so abruptly.

The intimacy only lasted a few moments. Jack had a huge grin plastered on his face, Abbie looked completely surprised, their hand almost completely down and even Udd had a small smirk behind his tusks. The burning sensation of her cheeks flared, but she tried her best not to freak out at the sudden public intimacy.

Pan, now with a satisfied smile on his face, looked back at Abbie. “There. I showed you a little love. Now can we get back to the interview?"

Abbie slumped into a melodramatic sag for a moment, then came back up with a short bray of laughter, hands on hips “Ha! Alright! You win, Mr. Fox. I'll be good now. Interview time, go!"

It started with some basic questions: What sort of things had he cooked before, the tools he was familiar with, anything outside of baking. Emily figured they already knew about the cooling sweets, though they asked about them too, seeming interested in how he had come up with the idea in particular. She found herself just as surprised by the story, not thinking it more than a happy accident, but it turned out he had made them with the weather in mind in the first place; still a happy accident, but now it showed a certain sense for planning that made it more impressive.

Then they asked him what got him interested in making food, whether it was baking or in general.

“I actually picked up a liking for it from my dad. He's particularly fond of sweets: Cookies, brownies, those kinds of things. I couldn't exactly do much before evolving, but I participated as much as I could and tried to adapt. It got a lot easier once I had something closer to actual hands."

Udd let out an audible growl, which turned out to be a groan. “We can definitely relate to that. I didn't take up cooking til later, but those sad excuses for arms when I was a snubull would have barely passed for tolerable."

“I think I set myself on fire twice when I was still a buneary!" Abbie added with a worrying lack of traumatized reflection.

Emily covered her mouth in shock. “You set yourself on fire, twice?"

“Nothing crazy. I just singed some fur because I got it too close to hot things. Lots of pokemon are kinda flammable like that." Abbie shrugged, “I'd show you the small burn patch I got on my side the second time if it hadn't disappeared when I evolved."

Well, that was a little better...

“Anyways~" Abbie clapped her paws together, “Normally I'd ask what got you interested in this job at the cafe of all places, but I kinda got the jist of that already: Bills and daddy issues... poor choice of words on that last part. Sorry. Still..." Abbie's gaze fixed onto Emily, “From what I'm told you were the one that asked about this job for him. At the risk of more poor word choices, you don't exactly look like a budding deviant girlfriend looking to expand her relationship into a life of debauchery. We got a lot of that here, even in the kitchen."

“But Jack said there'd be a lot less of that to worry about working in the kitchen?" Emily looking back to the typhlosion at this news.

Jack's demeanor suddenly went a lot sterner. “Nobody in the kitchen is going to be causing any sort of trouble that's going to make it an uncomfortable workplace."

Abbie didn't wilt under Jack's glare. “Aye, but there's a difference between an uncomfortable workplace and being incompatible with the workplace. So long as it doesn't compromise the food, there's going to be a little teasing and stuff going on depending who's in the kitchen—that's just Cafe Plaisir for you. Telling them not to hit on you is one thing, but making them completely change their habits is another."

Emily watched as Jack's face grew a little sharper, then softened into a sigh. “Well, you're not wrong there. I'm the last one to pull a hypocritical expectation like that." He looked at Emily and shrugged. “And I did warn you this wasn't a guarantee. We're plenty flexible, but you two are gonna need to be willing to bend a little too."

It was a perfectly reasonable expectation; Cafe Plaisir catered in carnal delights, not just food. Jack agreeing to this interview at Emily's request only made that more significant.

Pan took his time thinking over his response. “It's true. This is a big step up from what I expected to find. The few restaurants in the area that'd have a similar level of demands probably wouldn't look twice at me. And It's not like I don't know pokemon social norms compared to humans. I promise that I'll try my best not to make things uncomfortable for the others; if they're respecting my space, I can definitely do the same."

That seemed to be the right answer. Abbie flashed them a big grin as she planted her hands on her hips. “Let's see about broadening your horizons back up then!"

---

Pan followed Abbie to the back of the kitchen into another room, filled to the ceiling with shelves loaded with containers loaded with ingredients. The air reeked of spices, dried goods and more, but it all muddled together so thickly no one thing quite offended his nose.

“Sorry about the smell, but it's just not feasible to deal with it all when we're pulling stuff out on a daily basis., and some of us actually use scents to pick out ingredients." Abbie guided them over to one shelf not actually ladened with food; size markers and other, more obscure labels decorated the many drawers on it. “Now strip."

“Pardon?" He thought he misheard her at first, but when he saw her slip off her jacket and then start shimmying off her top, he realized it was quite the opposite. “W-What are you doing!?"

“Changing." The matter-of-fact response didn't slow her down in the slightest; the top landed on the jacket, and the lopunny turned around, clearly sliding off her shorts despite her two ears completely obscuring the view. “Not everyone can just put on their uniform without some help, so generally we change here so we can help out. Since I don't know your sizes or what you did about hair nets or things where you worked last, I got to figure out what's right for you. Besides," She turned around with a growing smirk, her shorts now dangling off a finger, “It's not like any of this is new, and I'm not jumping you in the middle of an interview. So relax."

Abbie gave the shorts one final twirl before they went flying, deftly landing on the clothes pile. She was flatter than Cheryl, though with most pokemon having any sort of breasts like humans was low at best. Her refined figure now revealed, he realized she had to be doing some sort of training, maybe focusing on speed or power? The sheath and sack between her legs wouldn't cause much drag if that was the case, which might have also had something to do with the trimmed down wrist fur and eyebrows. Perhaps—

“You're a guy!?"

Abbie did a double take, one of the drawers now open to reveal a ridiculous amount of netting. He let out a loud snort before breaking into a snicker. “Well yeah! Girls don't have a monopoly on being cute and fluffy." He pulled out several different sizes before shutting the drawer again, still chortling as he rolled one up. “I guess you're not one of those 'the nose knows' types. Is that a problem?"

Pan shook his head, then, remembering he was supposed to also be changing, finally started undressing. “No, I just... yeah. Stupid assumption I guess. Sorry. But why 'Abbie'?

“Nickname! If you can guess what it's short for before we're done I'll give you a prize or something." Rolling another one of the hair nets, Abbie watched him undress with apparent interest. “I can't tell if you're fluffier than the other Zoroarks I know, or if your build is just a little bit different. Do you trim your fur or anything like that?"

That made him pause. Was there really that much of a difference? “No? Maybe it's because I'm wearing stuff over it and it just looks different? I'm usually wearing a shirt piece and cargo shorts on the regular, but other than that I wore a human uniform for the bakery."

“Wait, you wore the whole uniform? No air vents or anything like that? Did you at least lighten your fur color or something?"

“Whole uniform, minus shoes. Didn't really wear the hat, but it took several nets to really squeeze it down."

“Geez! Now I'm kind of glad you lost that job! Making you run around all day without any ventilation! Wait—didn't the AC break too? How did you not fucking melt like that!?"

“You make it sound like I walked to work in the whole getup. I changed when I got to work and before leaving, and I did get breaks. Before the AC broke I just opened up the vest and sat in front of a fan in the break room. I did the same when the AC broke, just more often. Even with the fancy sweets cooling things down, no one wanted to risk me falling over from heat stroke. We were doing half days more often than not."

“Right. The rawst and occa berry sweets. I got distracted imagining you spontaneously combusting in that getup." Abbie muttered about his uniform woes, shaking his head as he rolled yet another net—for reasons Pan still didn't know—until he looked up and found Pan out of his pants; his only piece of attire now being a jockstrap. “Even underwear? At least you chose ones that let you breathe a little in the back. And your legs are even fluffier than I thought. Kinda wicked looking, actually! Makes me think about race car fins... Hey," Pan could practically feel the energy building up as a grin cracked on Abbie's face, “Could you—"

“Unless you're telling me I already got the job and Jack isn't going to countermand it, I'm not putting hot rod flames on my body for your amusement."

Abbie made a pouty face, if only for a moment. “Oh well. At least you guessed what I was gonna ask." After a moment of them staring at each other, however, he gestured to the jockstrap. “All the way."

Pan huffed, but reluctantly complied. At least this time, that feeling of being naked was completely real.. “Seriously?"

“Seriously." Abbie sounded amused. “Your uniform will cover you up just fine, trust me. You only started wearing those because you were worried other things would be too obvious in uniform around humans, right? I bet that's not too comfortable. You don't actually wear them back home around your lady friend, do you?"

“Well, no..."

“Then relish the fact you'll get a little more comfort around here. Now, hold out your hands like this and swap with me." Abbie held out one of the rolled up nets, paws tucked on the inside and holding it slightly stretched out. Pan slipped his claws inside to match, watching as Abbie pulled out. “Good. Now stretch it a little wider, quarter more. Good, just like that and... stop!"

Unlike the bakery, where Pan chained several smaller hair nets together to contain his mane and cover his hands, The cafe apparently had ones which were several feet in length. They looked like they were more finely made as well, more capable of keeping fur from sticking out and making them easier to handle. He watched as the large, fluffy end of a lopunny ear got squished down and fitted through before being told to let go near the top of the ear.

“Great, now see if you can roll that down gently while I get the other one ready."

“I take it this is what we plan to do with my mane?"

“Yup!" Abbie held out another hair net. “Lucky for you and me, this is something we can do on our own if we have to, but it doesn't hurt getting the practice in. Is the marble staying on or coming off?"

“On, if that's okay."

He learned how to roll up the hair net and put it on himself. It took a couple tries before they got it right, but during that time, Pan realized he'd forgotten they were naked together in some storage room playing with his mane. Hopefully that lapse boded well for him.

“You're a bit fluffier than me around the thighs, so you'll have to wear a kind of garter belt, but apart from that your uniform is gonna be the same as mine," Several pieces of the uniform in question were pulled out and displayed, “Unless you're afraid of showing a little leg and want something longer?"

There was a hint of teasing in the tone, but Pan ignored it. “Is it really alright to have this much fur exposed in the kitchen? Isn't it more likely to get in the food?"

“Surprisingly, it doesn't change it by much in the numbers, but there's a few other things we do to help avoid it. I recommend one of those grooming brushes to help get as much loose fur off as possible for one thing. You got the girlfriend to help, otherwise most of us go down to the salon every week or so if we can't reach it ourselves... Right. That reminds me: Don't go downstairs to the salon. They're very touchy feely."

Given he had taken 'salon' to mean in town, finding out they had their very own came as a surprise. “And everyone's okay with that?"

“Oh, they're perfectly good at their job, but they're some of the horniest furfrou I know and, between getting a mouth between your legs or walking in on them getting on someone's back between sessions, I figured you'd prefer a warning."

Next came the garter belt. Rather than just holding up stockings (which Abbie said were optional, but they put them on for practice) they also had hooks for 'side stockings;' essentially wearing a stocking net around his hips, covering and only lightly compressing his fur, but easily wearable under the rest of the uniform. The 'shorts' didn't leave much to the imagination, but they were comfortable and easy to wear, reminding him of silk boxers while being just thick enough to be presentable. Combined with the shirt piece (essentially the front half of a chef uniform with sleeves) and the thick, protective apron in front that went to his knees, he didn't feel exposed at all! The fact all the pieces matched and imitated a chef's outfit reinforced this sense of completion, and they even came with a hair accessory that looked like a chef's hat.

Both fully dressed at this point, Abbie looked every bit the professional, even with the amount of leg visible and constrained ears behind him. Pan hoped he looked just as amazing, and the approving gaze coming his way seemed to confirm it.

“Seems like a good fit! Think you're ready to make some kickass pancakes?"

Pan felt himself sharing in some of that energy. “Do we get to eat them after we're done?"

“If we don't, I'm going to quit with you."

“Then hell yes."

---

“Having second thoughts?"

Emily glanced up at Jack from her seat. They waited patiently at the side for Abbie and Pan's return, while Udd pulled out everything that they would be needing. Pan and Abbie had only left only a minute ago, but Emily's mind already churned with indecision. “Yes and no. I think it's a great opportunity for Pan. I just worry about it backfiring on me."

“How so?" Jack leaned back in his seat, rocking it every so slightly. “Or is it the classic worry about him finding someone more interesting?"

She could only sigh at that. “It's that obvious, huh?"

“If by obvious you mean an easy guess, then yes." the rocking stopped, and a warm hand settled on her head. “You two have only been together, what, a little over a week? But you're still together despite a pretty big setback. Give him a little credit for that, and give yourself some too."

“But what if it doesn't work out? What if this was all a mistake?"

He shrugged. “Then it was a mistake, but that doesn't mean it's the end of the world. It's a little different for humans, yes, but that doesn't mean you two can't still be roommates if you're smart about things.You can still get good things out of a relationship that's temporary, but more importantly, a good relationship is built on more than just romance. Until you find yourself a job, work on deepening your friendship, and no matter which way it goes, everything will be better for it."

It all sounded like great words of wisdom to her, but at the same time she found herself doubting every idea that came to mind for 'deepening their friendship.' “I don't suppose there's a book all about friendship and zoroarks in one, is there? It gets a little awkward asking him questions I feel like everyone already knows sometimes."

“Internet, maybe? Lots of forums for asking stuff." He let out a chuckle, “But if it's about zoroarks, better to ask him or another one. Maybe you should try turning it around and offer to let Pan ask you some questions instead? If you answer something he's been afraid to ask, it wouldn't be so awkward doing the same."

She recalled a few questions Pan had asked that he seemed pretty embarrassed about, so the suggestion definitely felt more feasible than some of her other ideas. “I'll give that a try, thank you."

“Happy to lend an ear."

From there, they waited in relative silence—relative in that Emily pulled out her phone and tried looking up common questions about pokemon, and she periodically asked him about an answer she found. Finally, Abbie and Pan returned, dressed similarly yet differently from Udd. The backs of them looked strange at first, but it didn't take long to realize It was some sort of mesh material holding down fur, not unlike the hair nets they both wore over the fluffier parts of their body. The shorts were also surprisingly short, especially when she could see so much of Abbie's legs, but when she compared it to what had to be stockings on Pan, it made sense: All these things helped to be less stifling, while still minimizing exposed fur. It did, however, show off their backsides with impressive detail...

Still, Pan didn't seem flustered by it, and even looked ready for anything. She couldn't complain about that!

“Alright, it's cookin' time!" Abbie clapped a fist into her other hand. “This'll be simple enough: you're going to make pancakes. Udd here will walk through the basics steps with you to make sure you can make them, just in case it's somehow different from what you know or you're not familiar with anything used. If you have a question you can ask him, but you have to make some pancakes that pass muster before the time limit's up. That means if you don't screw up too badly, you can try again. I'm not gonna flunk you if you're a few seconds off at the last step or anything like that, but don't be lazy."

Emily nodded in unison with Pan, though that was out of view from both. Unlike the bakery, timeliness would be more crucial at a place like the cafe, although she wasn't sure how relevant that was for making desserts.

And the timer began.

She waited and watched. Measuring cups, pancake mix, whisks and spoons. Everything seemed to be going at an ideal pace. Then, as Pan began to prepare the syrup...

“Hmm?" Jack perked up a little, “What's going on there?"

“It looks like he's... making something extra?" Emily couldn't just wander up and look—she'd never forgive herself if she somehow distracted Pan. “He's asking Udd something."

They couldn't quite hear, but when Udd gave a confirming nod, the oddness continued. Eventually the mystery became clear enough: Pan was making extra syrup and, if they were seeing correctly, butter.

“Well, that's amusing as much as impressive. I wonder how it'll work out." Jack sat up, paying more attention. “We'd have probably hired him just for being able to follow along with instructions, but if he's creative enough it might mean we can give him a better wage and more complicated recipes."

Emily frowned. “But what if what he's trying to make doesn't work?"

“That's up to Abbie, but he's still making what he was told in the first place, so I don't see that causing a fail. We'll just have to wait and see."

And so, they waited, with Emily on tether hooks trying to figure out what he was up to, until...

“And time!"

Pan stepped back as everyone else gathered around the plate. With some time to spare, Pan had already cut up the pancakes for everyone's convenience. One part held plain, simple, inviting points of steamy pancake goodness, each topped with a dollop of butter slowly melting into spongey oblivion. Another section showed cream layered between the pieces, topped with a bit of traditional syrup. But the final portion, bare pancake with nothing dressing it whatsoever, caught everyone's attention.

Rather, the two small bowls next to them caught everyone's attention. “This one is regular syrup, and that one is mixed with watmel berries. You can take a small piece with your fork and dip it into them. Preferably not the same piece, of course."

“Seriously?" Emily stared at him with disbelief. “You experimented with making watmel syrup in the middle of an interview just because the lopunny at the front desk asked for something with it?"

Jack let out a soft chuckle, but Abbie was the one that broke into laughter. “Is that what was going on? Hah! That's hilarious, but," the fork was already making its approach for one of the pieces with butter, “We'll save those for last. The other two are gonna melt if we take too long. Bon Appetit!"

Emily picked up her own fork and joined them in the taste testing. Each hot, fluffy piece made happiness dance on her tongue and down her throat, though the piece she felt most truly befitting a dessert ended up as the one with syrup and cream.

“Well he can definitely make pancakes," Jack said, looking satisfied. “So now I guess it's time to see if we have to yell at Cheryl."

“I don't think we have to go that far," Abbie already had some pancake dipped into the syrup in question, “Though I should probably point out that if you try this sort of improvisation in the middle of meal time, someone's probably gonna yell at you if they didn't ask you to do it first."

Pan gave an understanding nod. “Makes sense. I wouldn't have done it if it weren't for the fact I could try to infuse it into the syrup."

Everyone else took their turn now with the experimental piece. Thoughtful chewing, swallowing, silence...

It was... passable. Emily didn't dare be the first to say it. Maybe Abbie and the others would find it delicious, and it just wasn't a taste that made sense for a human palate? But as she looked at everyone's faces, it seemed clear they had similar thoughts, even Pan.

“Well, damn." Pan broke the ice. “I was afraid of that..."

“It was a good try," Abbie shrugged, reaching into their pocket to pull out a phone. “It didn't taste bad, which is the important part. If you'd had a bit more time and did a few other things to it, the flavor would actually be even better, but I'm not sure if it's something to put over regular pancakes."

Udd nodded thoughtfully. “There's already several pancake recipes that use fruit, but they're pretty simple. With the right contrast it could work."

“Oh, definitely," Abbie was typing something. “Can you go heat up some leftovers, Udd?"

Emily watched as Udd stepped away, curious, but turned her attention back to Abbie. “So, what does this mean for Pan?" Critiquing the syrup was fine and all, but they hadn't reached the actual verdict. “Did he pass?"

Abbie pushed one last button, then put the phone away, now smiling at her. “Oh, he passed just fine! Good form, quick to pick up technique. Good pancakes. I didn't ask for the cream but he did just fine with that. Plating wasn't horrible either considering we all shared a plate. I'm Happy, Udd seems happy, so as long as Jack's happy you got yourself a job."

“I'm definitely happy." Jack confirmed. Emily felt the tension in her shoulders slip away as he gave her a big smile. “Though who were you texting just now?"

Abbie just grinned, “You'll see in a minute. It only seemed polite to give her a chance to say thank you before you all ran off to fill out paperwork."

The ding of a microwave, along with a familiar smell of pancakes, turned Emily's attention back to Udd. A plate of familiar, steaming pancakes appeared before them, complete with new silverware. He then poured the watmel syrup over it, making sure to slather it generously.

Just in time for the door to the storage room to open. “Someone said you wanted me?" Cheryl peeked in with obvious curiosity. “Is there a... are those leftover pancakes!?"

Udd held up a fork in answer.

“Thank yooooooooooou!" Cheryl bounded over in a near literal single leap (technically two), but the moment she saw the unusual syrup on it she stopped. “Oh, this is new!"

“Pan tried making watmel syrup since you asked. It's not bad, but I figured since he made it, you should at least get a chance to try it." Abbie replied.

Cheryl's eyes widened at that. Emily could practically see the energy vibrate up her body as she took in a breath. “Ohmygoshdessertguy—ImeanPanmadethisjustformethat'ssosweetanditsmellsniceandthankyouIcouldjustinfactIwill!"

Emily hadn't expected Cheryl's movements to flow so smoothly that she barely registered her zip around the table and everyone else and stop in front of Pan. The next moment, she had Pan's cheeks in both her hands and a big, fat kiss on his lips, the lip smacking remarkably loud despite barely lasting a second.

Before anyone could even complete their reaction, she'd already returned to her pancakes, suddenly dainty and taking her time. Abbie's choice involved holding back laughter, while Jack could only give Pan and Emily an apologetic shrug.

“Mmm! Not bad! Oh, is that cream? Pass the cream, Udd! You guys get all the fun in here!"

As Cheryl ate, Jack started leading them back the way they'd originally came in, leaving Udd and Abbie to clean up. Pan still seemed to be recovering from the sudden kiss, but once they got out into the hall, he seemed to shake himself back into awareness. “Geez, that's a lot stronger than I expected..."

“What's stronger?" Emily asked. She'd been alarmed at how one kiss seemed to make him zone out so easily, but had put it aside as paranoia when he'd recovered from it quickly. Now, however...

“Ah..." Pan looked at her, and as though reading her mind, hesitated. “Well, you know how lopunny are kind of known as being sex-crazed, right?" At her nod, he continued, “It's not exactly that literal."

“Cute Charm." Jack spoke up, turning a bit as he guided them back down the hallway towards the main bar. “Some lopunny have an innate ability to cause attraction in others. Short of having almost no sex drive, physical contact is all you really need."

“Sounds problematic." Emily didn't bother to hide the irritation in her voice.

“It's temporary," Pan quickly added. “It basically makes any kind of touch extra... effective. I had a friend when I was younger with cute charm. Their fur just felt incredibly soft, even though they didn't do anything special with it. If you had a pillow lined with it, it's supposed to help you have good dreams and better rest."

“They say if you have a whole blanket you'll basically never be uncomfortable, even if you're sleeping on a pile of rocks," Abbie's voice spoke up behind them right as they got the main bar, making them all jump, “But that's a little bit of an exaggeration, and it wears off over time. Also, hi again!"

“Something you wanted to add before we went upstairs?" Jack asked with obvious curiosity. Emily also found herself curious to Abbie's sudden reappearance, sans ear coverings, especially now that it occurred to her that it was thanks of Abbie they'd ended up with the kissing incident!

Abbie nodded and focused on her. “I figured I'd apologize now before Pan got in too much hot water for my joke. I figured Cheryl would give him a bear hug or something, not actually kiss him." She gave them all a guilty grin and a shrug, “Soooo since you look pretty annoyed right now... hug my ear."

Abbie held out one large ear in Emily's direction. Emily, unsure how to respond to the request, stared uncertainly. “Uhh... I'm confused here. Isn't this going to do something really weird if I touch it?"

“Not unless you're secretly in love with Abbie." Jack said, smirking a bit. “It's fine. Trust me. Hug the ear and you'll understand a little better what happened earlier."

Emily looked back at the ear dubiously, then sighed and lifted the fluff a little higher; the fluffiest parts seemed to be closer to the bottom, so she might as well—

Just the touch on her fingers alone lightened her mood. She barely realized it until after she started hugging the whole thing and found herself nuzzling her cheek into it; sooooo soft! And warm! She could totally see why you'd want a pillow with this sort of fluff on it! Even her arms felt content to be wrapped around and just hold out as she...

“Oh." Emily opened her eyes and found Jack smiling at her. With a small blush, she reluctantly lowered the ear, reflexively trying to smooth it out for a moment before finally letting it go. “I guess I can see how that can be pretty distracting, especially if the kiss is worse."

“If you want to be doubly sure, I'm okay with giving you a peck to demonstrate." Abbie offered, surprisingly innocent in tone. “It wouldn't be as—"

“NO!"

Everyone turned to Pan this time. His outburst caused a short lull in conversation around the room, but slowly picked back up as nothing happened. Pan let out a small cough, ears flat in embarrassment. “I mean, I would prefer you not to kiss my girlfriend, please."

Abbie's smirk looked ready to split into a grin any moment. “Good point. My bad. I'll just go fetch your clothes and bring them to Coco's office for you. See you in a bit."

As Abbie turned and left, Emily found herself feeling... better! Having the tables turned a bit and seeing Pan being the one on the defensive stirred up some new affection for him, perhaps even some camaraderie. It did make her feel a bit guilty about her assumptions, though. Everyone else seemed familiar with this 'cute charm,' and she knew there would only be more strange rules.

Maybe making friends with Abbie would be a good way to help her get some more experience with pokemon, while also gaining another female friend? Suddenly thoughtful, she looked to Pan. “You know, most men I know would kill to see their girlfriends kissing another girl. I'm kind of impressed you responded so quickly to that."

Pan simply made a small groan as he facepalmed. Jack had himself yet another chuckle.

---

“Sweet Arceus, I'm so glad to be home." Pan practically face planted into the couch, the old, soft cushion with its familiar, musty scent welcoming him into its embrace. He still wore the chef's uniform from the cafe, minus the hat now sitting on the kitchen counter. “I don't know which part was the craziest in all this."

He heard the door shut, followed by the faint clunk of shoes. “I would say the surprise of taking off the blindfold," Emily offered, “but it was definitely an exciting day. You have a new job too."

He turned his face out from the cushion. “New job, new expectations, a bunch of coworkers... Actually, now that I think about it, nearly all of them are probably here at the apartments."

Emily leaned over the couch to look at him, seemingly happy and smiling. “That's a good point. You might actually get invited out for social events. They might even try to come over here."

Pan considered that with a frown. “We're not exactly equipped for entertaining others, space wise.

“Worse case, we buy a couple extra controllers and maybe some folding chairs? You can probably get away with saying you don't have the means to entertain them since you're new to the job and see what they do for company, then we can take notes."

“Yeah, that might work..."

As he thought it over, Emily came around with something in her arms: a blanket. As part of his apology, Abbie had brought it along with his clothes when they were filling out the last paperwork. Made from lopunny fur, it shared that incredibly comfy satisfaction of cute charm which had both aggravated and soothed his relationship with Emily. Even now, he could see how she enjoyed carrying it, and wasn't all surprised when she suddenly shook it out...

Though he didn't expect it to be shaken out over him, or to find her climbing on top of him to drape it over them both. Her arms wrapped around him as she nuzzled into his back. “Mmm, I'm sorry about getting mad at you about the Cheryl kiss thing."

He carefully turned himself around, now having her head pressed under his chin and able to slip his own arms about her in turn. Even with her between him and most of the blanket, just the feel of it brushing against his extremities seemed enough to invoke some of its soothing power. “I'm sorry for freaking out so much at the start."

“Don't be. I'd probably have freaked out the same way if I were in your place. I'm sorry I basically pimped you out to a brothel though."

Emily's arms squeezed, and in turn he squeezed back, taking the moment to brush through her hair gently. “Well, that may not be as bad as we thought, at least. Things seemed pretty... not-so-sex-crazy, despite the rumors. Even considering the wackiness with Cheryl."

“Make sure you warn her you're not available before she starts talking, or you might find your pants on the floor before she takes her next breath."

That got a snort out of him. “Don't worry. You're the only one I'll let take off my pants."

“Good." True to the joke, he felt her hands slide downward and underneath his apron, fingertips surprisingly tangible against the material pressed against his crotch. “...Is this thing as revealing as it feels?"

“I've never had silk boxer briefs before, but if they're anything like this, then I would say yes." Feeling the hands exploring further and making the sheath swell, he slid a hand under the back of her shirt and slowly eased it upward. “Not that doing it under this blanket wouldn't be amazing, but we'll probably burn up from overheating."

“I figured you were planning on a shower anyways, so a little sweat won't hurt either of us." The bottom buttons of his uniform were now loosened, apron askew and roaming fingers delving deeper. “Do you want me to stop?"

“Not even if Cheryl barged through the door with a watmel cake to congratulate us on the new job."

“ Also good."

And then he felt the fingers reaching up through his shirt piece of his uniform, an ominous feeling building up as—

“OW! OW! No twisting! No twisting!"

“Wuss."

“Sadist!"

It didn't deter either of them.

<end>