Years ago…

Lee winced and grunted in frustration. He swore that he had measured correctly, but every time he went to connect the panels together, they always ended up off by a bit. Too much overhang here, too little there, and the damned saw would catch towards the end of the cut as the wood sagged and pinched the blade. Sceptile had tried assisting with Leaf Blade, but even his perfect cuts had resulted in pieces that didn’t want to line up. Lee thought he had made some headway once and cobbled together what looked like a decent frame, but the second that he tried screwing in the shelves…they had splintered, and the entire thing collapsed.

How hard is it to build a stupid bookcase, anyway? I’ve been at it all day and haven’t made any progress at all. Lee sighed and stood, stretching out his back and feeling it pop satisfyingly. Maybe Nigel knows a decent carpenter…I’ll swing by the lab after I grab lunch.

Lee kicked aside some of the loose scrap as he made his way towards the living room. Before entering, he brushed off his pants and a veritable cloud of sawdust settled on the floor. Probably should vacuum. Nine would not be happy to see me tracking stuff through her carpet. The carpet in question was a complex affair with boxy patterns of red, white, and black shapes. It had been a gift from one of her many fans and supposedly had been imported from a far-off region called Orre. Wonder what she’ll bring home this time. Ninetales was currently off on a book-signing tour in Kanto. Her latest novel: “The Houndoom and the Pidove” was a best-seller in the region.

Lee couldn’t help but chuckle. Of all the genres…she had to go with that.

It had started off innocuously enough. Ninetales had started to branch out from the dry, historical accounts and legends and had started to read some historical fiction. Lee enjoyed peeking in Ninetales’ subconscious as she read while the scenes within played out in almost movie-like fashion. A swashbuckling Buizel danced across the prow here, a Samurott and his six companions defending a small town there. It had come quite a shock when one of Lee’s forays had revealed quite the scene…

Her hands left his neck and her arms pulled in between his arms. Her hands found his top shirt button. Never taking her enraptured eyes off of his eyes, she leisurely worked her way down the row. Throwing caution to the wind, he firmly grasped the beautiful woman before him and pulled her close, his fingers caressing the small of her back as they began to wander s—

“LEE! I-well, I can explain!”

“Oh? Do tell, beloved. Tell me how enraptured you are.”

Embarrassment was the primary emotion that sailed through their connection as Ninetales’ light golden face turned bronze. Her flushed cheeks and downcast gaze were like a teenager who had gotten caught in front of the family computer with a bottle of lotion.

“I’m teasing you.” Lee said in a smile, “But really, Nine, bodice-rippers?”

“It…it was on clearance, and I got curious.”

“That right? Find any…inspiration?” Lee waggled his eyebrows and winked at his poor vulpine partner.

“…maybe.”

The two ended up sharing a good laugh and read through the rest of the chapter together, picking apart the poorly contrived writing and bemoaning its lack of realism. Lee supposed that was probably when it clicked for Ninetales. If there were no good romance novels available, then she would just write her own. Now she had a full anthology published and was an inter-region bestseller. Lee couldn’t help but shake his head. Between the two of them, they now made a considerable amount of money, and by this point? Ninetales likely made far more than Lee did.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Closing the refrigerator door, Lee opened a cabinet, hoping to find something that he could just microwave real quick. No such luck. All that was left was some Pecha preserves that had been marked as Corviknight’s in a messy scrawl. Guess I’ll swing by the diner on the way to the lab then.

“Hey, Sceptile! Want anything from Jamie’s?” Lee hollered up the stairs.

“Tile!” came the negative response.

“Alright! I’ll be at the lab if anything comes up!”

Lee shouldered his coat from the rack by the front door, then headed out, stepping on the new paving stones that he had installed last week.

Ħ

“Ah, see here’s your problem, son. Your markin’ line is waaaaaay too thick and you alternated cuttin’ on both the inside and the outside of the line. You gotta be consistent, and accurate down to the sixteenth of an inch if you want a good end product.”

Buck Grayson was the carpenter that Professor Birch had recommended, and Lee could already see that the man knew his stuff.

“Also, you’d be much better off if you didn’t use pine for a project like this. Too prone to saggin’, and it don’t offer long-term rigidity.” Buck was now musing over the blank wall in the room that would become Ninetales’ office. “How many books you thinkin’ to fit here?”

“Eh, well, we’ve got enough to fill one or two cases for now, but I’m pretty sure we’ll end up with a lot more eventually.”

“That right? What’d you and your wife do again?”

“I work at Professor Birch’s lab, and she’s an author.”

“Well smack a Goldeen and call it a dragon, son. That’s gonna be a lot of books and lookin’ at your drawin’s here…this ain’t a job for an amateur.”

“I’ve come to realize that.”

“Tell you what. Looks like you were thinkin’ to make a couple of bookshelves and put ‘em in side-by-side, but I’m thinkin’ that it’d look much better if we just did up the entire wall.”

“Er…maybe?”

Buck’s fist slapped heavily into the palm of his other hand. “Nah, I take that back. What do you think of doin’ up ALL the back walls? You said this was a surprise for your wife, right? Go all out!”

Lee stared and pondered over the space. Huh. It would look like a proper library then, wouldn’t it? I did kind of promise Nine that’d I’d build her one eventually…well, I’m sure it would count even if I’m not the one actually doing the building…

“You know what, Buck? I like how you think.”

“Hey, now there’s the ticket, son!”

“When can you get started?”

“I’ll hafta do some measurin’ and do you up a quote, but a project like this?” A gleam had come into the carpenter’s eyes. “I can start tomorrow.”

Ħ

Lee couldn’t have been more pleased with how quickly Buck’s team had taken his amateur attempts and made it something considerably more special. Three walls were now lined with floor-to-ceiling shelving. Some alcoves were larger than others to accommodate the various awards that Ninetales’ had been given, and an electrician had run some dimmable lighting to the areas as well. The window overlooking the backyard had been embellished as well, new custom trim adorned its sides with scrollwork and vines. The entire room now smelled of mahogany and once fully treated, its rich reddish color would complement the lighter-colored wood flooring.

A sharp “Tim!” came from behind Lee, and he quickly moved out of the way as two Timburr came in bearing several more decorated mahogany planks.

“Sorry about that. I’ll get out of your way, guys.”

“Burr bu-tim!” their dismissal was obvious.

Lee made his way outside and was met with a cacophony of sound. Several artisans were hard at work putting the final touches on the decorative sconces that would be put up at intervals around the room. Buck spotted Lee from the side and came walking over.

“So. Whaddaya think, Lee?”

“It’s perfect, Buck. I just can’t believe it’ll all be done before Nine gets home!”

“HAH! It’s been too long since we’ve had a real challenge! Sure, we get commissioned to do up some simple cabinets now and again, but things have been slow. Your idea here pulled me out of my funk and riled up my spirit like a Machoke in a ring!”

Lee grinned. Boy, Buck sure has a lot of colorful sayings.

“We’ll have the finishin’ touches put in tonight, then we’ll do the fill and seal tomorrow. May want to clear out the house while we work…stuff’s strong and prolly give ya a headache.”

“Sounds good Buck. Thanks for all of your hard work.”

“No problem, son! Like I told ya, this is a pleasure to work on.”

Ħ

“Alright, beloved. No peeking through my eyes now.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Ninetales’ was practically vibrating in excitement. She knew that her husband had done something to the house while she was away, but he had kept it hidden under many, many layers in his mind. Her tails twitched and swayed as they moved through the home and Ninetales could smell a distinct undertone of wood coming from behind the door.

“Ah-uh! None of that! Your senses are far too honed. Just let me surprise you!”

Ninetales huffed as she forced herself to tune out the aroma and allowed herself to be led into the room.

“Okay, beloved. You can look.”

Deep reddish-brown shelves lined the walls with artful pillars and sconces carved to look like sleeping Vulpixes and Ninetales came into view. A similarly colored desk was in front of the window, its size and height had been shrunk to be more comfortable to a smaller form. Plush leather seats circled a coffee table. The table’s glass etched with vines, feathers, fire, and water.

Unbidden, tears came to Ninetales’ eyes as she surveyed what her beloved had made for her. Pride, gratitude, and love wove themselves around Lee’s side of their mental connection. Padding up to the desk, Ninetales looked out upon the beginnings of a garden. Matt frolicked with Corviknight as they dashed around the Pecha tree.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you, Lee.”