FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The following work day was Brooke’s brightest so far. She was as bubbly as always but felt twice as content now that she was going to be practicing her passion outside of her job.

She neared the end of her shift and was waiting on her last two tables.

She paced out of the kitchen and across the floor with two margaritas and an appetizer, which were horsea dumplings. The table she approached were two middle-aged Accordian men in business-casual suits. “Here you go,” Brooke said while setting the tray on the table.

“Thank you, miss,” the one with brown hair said with a grin while eyeing her face, drawing briefly down her frame. “Out of curiosity, could I ask your name?”

She slid the drinks to both guests and placed the appetizer in the center. “Welcome, and it’s Brooke.”

He nodded with a growing grin. “Pretty.”

She broke a slight smile with a friendly head tilt upon standing. “Thank you. Did you two need anything else?”

The other man raised a hand. “That’ll be all for now.”

With a nod, she turned and took the tray with her, passing by a black and red-haired Malia on the way who held a full tray. She shot Brooke a mini smirk.

Tay had gone to the restroom, and the gothitelle was unnecessarily levitating things for happy customers as usual.

“She has to get insane tips from that,” Brooke mumbled, watching her turn a glass of water upside down while keeping the water inside, which the kid at the table giggled at.

Brooke continued but slowed her walk, double-glancing at the door after catching a gardevoir wearing a hat and a smeargle in a jacket enter and approach the host. “Hm.” Not the rarest occurrence, but she’d rarely seen it. “Would be so cute to wait on them.”

She returned the tray to the kitchen, then went back to the floor to check on her other table, which was a young man and a kecleon from the Accord in the middle of their meal. “Are we all good here?” she asked upon approaching, slightly leaning over and grinning at the kecleon, who stared at her with its beady eyes.

“Yeah, we’re about done. He takes his time chewing,” the guy said and nodded at his pokémon. “I’ll have the check, please.”

“Preferable to rushing. Take all of the time. I’ll be back to grab the check.” Brooke turned again, this time heading to the front counter, where the cashier was.

“Babe!”

Brooke flinched and felt a pair of hands grip the backs of her shoulders—then squeeze them. “Ee!” she squealed and tensed them, then wriggled away and glowered back at Malia. She then glanced around furtively to check if any eyes were on them while resuming her walk. “Malia!”

“Oops.” Malia snickered and followed her to the counter. “You’ve got a crush out there, by the way.”

Brooke stopped in her tracks and faced Malia. “Huh, who?”

“Your age gap table. Not sure how you didn’t notice.”

“Oh, him. He just asked my name, but how do you know?”

“I saw how he looked at you. Made it stupid obvious when you were walking away.” Malia nudged. “You into older dudes and potentially wrecking homes?”

“Ew.” Brooke kept walking. “I have a boyfriend.”

“Not a no.”

“It means I’m taken. Moving on, why’d you dye your hair?” Brooke asked as she reached the counter.

“It’s better than the blonde ends when I’m out at night, and I’m out at night a lot. Why don’t you dye yours or do your nails for once?”

“I’m cool with my natural look.”

“Crazy way of saying you need a makeover.”

Brooke rolled her eyes. “I need to prep a check. Go wait your tables.”

After arriving at the counter and printing the check, Brooke slipped it in a bill folder and returned it to her table. The kecleon had finished eating. “Awe, pau?”

“Sorry?” the guy asked while looking up at her, pulling cash from his pocket.

“Oh, it basically means finished. Sorry, habit.” Brooke swished her hand.

“I’ll remember that.” He glanced at the folder in her hand. “We’re pau.”

“Sorry.” She handed him the folder. “I hope you two enjoyed lunch.”

“Mhm, thanks.”

“Of course. I’ll be back again,” Brooke said before turning around. “One more table.” She approached the two men, who had finished their drinks and most of their appetizer. One of them was on a call while turned away from the noise in the restaurant.

The brown-haired one sighed. “I apologize, but we’ll be leaving early. We’ve had something come up. May we have the check?”

Brooke nodded. “Right away. I’ll be back.” She turned again and paced back to the front counter, this time catching sight of Tay at the kiosk beside the cashier.

After preparing her last check for the day, she was back at the table a couple of minutes later. “Here you go.” She spoke softly since the other guy was still on the phone and handed it to him.

He nodded and handed her cash. “It’s fine. You can take it.”

She did, again back and forth to process the payment. She’d also stopped to grab her other table’s check and got both paid for, taking the deepest breath after she was done.

“Whew.” Brooke stuffed a 1,600 pokédollar tip in her pocket from the kecleon table and started toward the kiosk, dragging her feet.

“Excuse me.”

She turned and saw the same brown-haired man.

“I forgot something,” he said while pulling out his wallet.

She shook her head and pushed her palm out. “Ayh, I barely did anything. Don’t worry about it.”

He took out a fold of pink dollars and held it to her palm, which she slightly curled her fingers against.

Brooke squinted down, then up at him with a softened expression, and back at the bills.

He brushed it against her hand.

When she turned her hand to take it, he took her hand, which made her breaths catch in her throat. Witnessing his hand up close let her see a ring on his finger.

“Good day, Brooke.” He brushed the top of her hand with his thumb before releasing it and leaving the restaurant.

“The fuck?” She shook her head in utter confusion, then looked down and counted what she held. She widened her eyes. “The fuck?”

“Swearing to yourself?”

Brooke turned her head with a grimace until her eyes landed on— “Oh, Tay…”

“Everything alright?”

“I just– he touched me, then I got a huge tip–”

“What, touched you? Who?” He narrowed his brows and looked past her at the door, which opened as the next shift started coming in.

“No, not– not like that. I mean, it was weird, but…” She glanced back at the bills she held.

“Where’d he touch you?”

Brooke looked up at him with a slight grin. “Tay, it wasn’t that bad. He must’ve thought I was cute.”

“Hm.” He crossed his arms. “How much?”

“Thirty-two thousand.” She looked down again.

Tay tilted back. “Damn, really?”

“I know, like what do I even do with this?”

“Blow it at our amazing arcade?”

“Maybe I’d actually win something out of the claw machine.” Brooke looked over at the arcade room, which only a couple of people occupied, then back at the front door as more workers entered. “Let me go clock out.”

---

Back home, Brooke was sitting crisscrossed in bed with Luma in her lap while running a pin brush down her coat, leaving streaks in her fur.

Pyro was on his tummy before Luma, conversing with her, and Parker was lying on the other side of the bed while using his phone, a general silence among everyone’s company other than the pokémon chatting.

Brooke’s mind shot around. Her eyes were on Luma’s back, and her hand continued moving the brush, but her thoughts were on her recent shift and the upcoming Saturday.

For one, thirty-two thousand pokédollars was the biggest tip she’d ever gotten.

Two—Tay being seemingly protective of her was making her want to grin, which she kept inside in case Parker caught it and asked why she was grinning. Regardless, it was odd for her to overthink that situation. Tay was just a good guy. He’d have done the same for Malia or any other employee.

And returning to that tip, Brooke turned and stopped brushing Luma. “Babe, guess what I got today?”

“Hm?” He sat up a little and leaned on his forearm, looking up from his phone.

“Thirty-two thousand dollar tip.”

He sat up more. “No way? How?”

“Long story short, this older married guy I was waiting on thought I was cute.”

“A bit too cute, apparently. Just don’t leave me for him.”

Brooke sucked her teeth. “Yeah, yeah, buttt now that we have it, wanna run with me to the mall?”

Parker shrugged. “Sure. What for?”

She tossed Luma’s brush aside. “It’s time to buy a new grooming kit. My vulpix deserves a premium one.”

Luma shifted to look up at her with a grin. “Vul.”

“You wanna come too, Lulu?” Brooke asked. “You can pick one out.”

Luma nodded and went on to sit up, pushing her paws against Brooke’s thighs to do so.

Brooke set her aside and slid off of the bed. “I’ll get dressed.”

Within the next fifteen minutes, the party was outside; they had taken the car since the mall was located east after the strip and had its own massive lot, meaning parking existed.

They approached the mall in the next twenty.

This mall, a tall and wide building with glossy windows sitting at three stories and extending for several miles, was the biggest in Alola.

“We haven’t been here in yearss,” Brooke said with a grin as the trio walked through the lot. Cars mozied through while watching for pedestrians, and said pedestrians slipped between parked vehicles and strolled the open lot to and from the mall.

“Pixx!” Luma added with a matching grin, shifting in Brooke’s hold and speed-wiggling her tails against her arm.

Parker eyed their mutual giddiness and chuckled, fixating on Luma. “Luma, you haven’t even been to Hau’oli.”

“Shut upp. We’re excited,” Brooke said in the same tone.

“Pixxx!” Luma added again.

Upon reaching the mall and entering one of its many doors, their eyes were met by an ever-expanding interior. Various restaurants were tucked away by the entrance, which spread out into an open mall lined with more restaurants and stores as far as the eye could see.

Of course, the floors treaded with locals, tourists, and pokémon galore, filling the atmosphere with a constant exuberant buzz.

“Isn’t it amazing, Lulu?” Brooke watched Luma’s head turn and her eyes shoot everywhere as they took a left and ventured into the mall.

“Vl…” Luma murmured with full orbs, peeking into every store to catch glimpses of activity while passing them. She spotted everything from packed tech shops to toy, clothes, candy shops, and more.

Along the center of the stretch of walkway were electronic, accessory, and food stands.

Luma looked up at a sliver of the mall’s present high ceiling between the underside of the second-floor walkways, which she followed down the stretch of walkway to sets of escalators meeting them.

“I’m assuming we’re going to Pokare?” Parker asked.

“Mhm, they have the best kits.” Brooke spotted it ahead at the end of the walkway that split in two directions: a set of double doors with ‘Pokare’ spelled above in white and red lettering, which people with bags and very cute pokémon entered and exited from.

Upon entering, Luma fixated instantly on pokémon almost everywhere she looked. She spotted everything from eeveelutions and boltund walking beside their owners or sitting in carts to trumbeak perched on people’s shoulders.

“I think they’re over here.” Brooke passed aisle after aisle, peeking down each one and reading the labeled signs hanging from the ceilings. They carried pokéfoods in bags both processed and organic, accessories, brushes and toys, soaps, and more.

She caught glimpses of shoppers in almost all of them, such as individuals or families grabbing items from shelves, others letting their companions choose soap scents, and a young woman testing accessories on an obviously disgruntled sylveon.

Brooke stopped abruptly after spotting a sign stating ‘Grooming supplies’. She turned down the aisle and sped up, pacing down it while scanning the boxes of organized brushes, combs, and creams. “Where are the expensive ones?”

Luma glanced over several sets while passing them.

“Here.” Brooke stopped before a few shelves with pricey tags underneath and slightly held Luma out.

Parker folded his arms. “Gotta choose the most efficient one, Luma.”

Luma glanced up at him before setting her eyes on the kits, scanning chrome brushes, fancy soaps, and popular name brands.

"I'll get closer." Brooke took a step toward the shelf.

Luma half-nosed at a few options, though the chrome one seemed to catch her eye several times, which she leaned in to nose at fully.

"Literally the most expensive choice." Parker chuckled. "A vulpix of status."

Brooke giggled. "Lulu knows what she wants."

---

After around half an hour, they were out of the mall with a fancy grooming kit that Parker held—Brooke also wore a Silph digital wristwatch that had caught her eye at a Silph store, which used the rest of today’s tip and some of Parker’s money.

“Today was so perfect,” Brooke said as they strolled through the lot. She had Luma tucked under her arm while supporting her underside with her forearm. Brooke was using her hand to configure her watch.

“Both girls spoiled.” He chuckled.

She sucked her teeth and shot him a glare. “I’d punch you if my hands weren’t full.”

“But it looks cute on you… Also, don’t you have the sitter thing tomorrow?”

Brooke nodded. “I’m gonna come back home with lution all over me.” She shook Luma a little. “So don’t be alarmed.”

“I’m betting you’ll be twice as exhausted than after a Blaster’s shift,” Parker said.

“Maybe, but I’d rather be tired doing that. I love waiting, but I love pokémon more.”

“That’s passion for you.” He sighed. “Keep at it then. You can leave the tables behind one day.”

Brooke walked closer and leaned on him as they approached the car less than a mile ahead. “So supportive. What would I do without you?”

He bit his lip. “Uh, just fine?”

“Safe answer.” She grinned. “But you’re why everything’s how it is for us.”

“Well, I could say the same.”

She faded her grin a little. “You mean how I basically dragged you down to Hau’oli?”

“We did that together, babe. I’m just as content here with you. Don’t worry.”

“Alright…” Brooke hugged his waist with her arm.

"So, anywhere after this?" Parker pulled the car's key fob and pressed to unlock it as they approached. He went to the back door and set the grooming kit inside.

Brooke opened the passenger door and sat inside with Luma, bringing her wrist up and tapping her watch's screen to wake it up. She glanced aside as Parker opened the door and slumped into the seat. "Nah, I don't want us to spend everything we have. Today was enough. We should honestly be saving more."

"Alright, back home it is."

Luma pawed at Brooke's lap before sitting and curling up, resting her cheek against her owner's stomach.

Brooke looked down at her and grazed her tails with her fingers. "Ready to be pampered when we get back?"

"Pxx!"