[FIN] The Nature Of This Life

[Gwennythe]

Soon, Tambrey realised, soon she'd be able to check out of the infirmary and go back to her room.
It had been a rather tedious couple of days, hours of boredom- left to her own mind- broken by a visit or two or someone passing by to converse with.
She was looking forward to getting out of here and to the... well 'peace' wasn't exactly the right word with Star about, perhaps, but still she was looking forward to getting out of the infirmary.

The infirmary had, in leaving her with those tedious times with her mind alone, allowed her to think and recall the various events and missions she'd been sent on, ordered to attend, things she'd been ordered to do.
One theme mixed with a myriad of emotions and shifting opinions throughout her memory and she'd realised that there was a certain someone that she needed to have a certain talk with; a talk that would cover so many things, so many feelings and yet had arisen from just the one theme, constantly in her mind.

Tambrey was sitting up, Treestar still out of his ball, though seeming less mopey than he had been, across her lap.
A matter of hours now, really, but check out time wasn't exactly what she considered herself to be counting down to.  

[LexThetaSigma]

With the success of the mission and the medical leave that was now required of one of their fellow grunts, Rory had been put back on active duty down in the lab. Nothing strenuous, just the same old washing and cleaning and gathering he had been doing before. However, being back to work had kept him from spending as much time as he wanted down in the infirmary.

Not that it was a bad thing. After all, she needed to heal and he needed to pick up the slack. Just as she had done for him. Besides, he had thought the time away would do him good. Get her off of his mind. But it didn't work; if anything, she was there more now than she had been before that raid.

After his shift in the lab, he didn't waste in time in going up to change before heading down to the infirmary. As he was walking, Jace managed to escape from his pokeball and walk beside him. It was strange to see him standing taller now; he had been a Charmander for so long.

He shook his head as they got close to the room before tapping lightly on the door post.

"Hey."  

[Gwennythe]

Sitting back, Tambrey blinked as she heard his voice.
She hadn't been asleep, of course, but she felt the same kind of strange 'awakening' feeling as she sat up.

"Hey!" She smiled as she turned her head to see him there, pulling herself to sit up a little better. Her leg remained stuck, in the cast, elevated slightly, and she winced as her back and torso complained a little, but she'd felt far worse there after missions before.
"Come sit down. How're you?" She pointed over at a chair left nearby, immediately launching into the usual question people asked each other as she realised, with a little jolt of nerves, that it was time to talk about something she'd been thinking about a lot. She needed that extra few moments, the minutes taken up by pleasantries, to gather her thoughts in proper order.

Treestar perked up as Rory and Jace appeared, his leaf flicking back and forth. He 'chee'd quietly in greeting, happy to see them, it seemed, but a tiny bit anxious now that Jace was so different, and given the situation that had led to the evolution.  

[LexThetaSigma]

For a brief moment, Rory wished he had brought flowers with him. Though her wince had given him the smallest urge to find the nurse and leave her to sleep, he gave a small shake of his head and stepped fully into the room, walking over and taking a seat in the chair Tambrey motioned towards.

"I think I should be asking you that question," he commented as he pulled the chair closer. "You look a lot better then the last time I was down here." He nodded towards the cast. "How's the leg?"

Jace followed Rory in and stood by his side while looking at the small Chikorita he had fought beside in the cave. He returned the 'chee' greeting with a 'char' of his own, his voice rougher now from the evolution.  

[Gwennythe]

She grinned.
"Maybe, but 's fine; I've stuck here for a couple of days, waiting for crutches so I've not a chance to re-injure myself, unlike a certain someone with a certain shoulder." Tambrey replied, amicably but pointedly, her eyes lingering toward the shoulder in question. "My leg, though, hrm; it's going to take a couple of months to heal. I heard the words '12 weeks' a couple of times, but I think that's like a predicted safe average or something..." She grumbled a little, then brightened up again slightly "They told me I'd be using the crutches, which I get tomorrow, for less than that, so that's good. I do feel better and," She gestured to a little unit next to the bed where 4 books were piled "Inigo brought books yesterday, so that's stopped the boredom whenever I was awake enough for it." In truth, she hadn't gotten to read as much as she might have thought was usual, two of the books remained completely unopened during their time here, but it had been nice to have them available too anyway.

Treestar blinked at the change of Jace's voice and then traced a little claw in the bed sheets before getting up and trundling to the edge of the bed to, perhaps, get a better look at the Charmeleon.
It also seemed a little like he wasn't entirely sure what to say for a moment.  

[LexThetaSigma]

Rory rolled his eyes when he caught her pointed look she had sent his way. "Hey," he protested, "it was worth re-injuring it, okay." Granted, they could have gotten Tambrey out of the cave without him having to carry her but he hadn't been thinking properly at the time.

He winced as she explained what the staff had told her about her leg. "At least you don't have to stay down here the entire time," he offered, "You can move around, even if you will have to take it easy." When she mentioned the other Rocket and the books, Rory looked over to where they were stacked. "That's good. There's only so much bugging the staff you can do out of boredom before they jack you up on the happy drugs," he said with a grin.

Jace watched the small pokemon claw lightly at the bed sheets before coming closer to the edge. He stepped closer, just in case Treestar stepped too close to the edge and held out his own claw as if to offer a fist bump.  

[Gwennythe]

"Still grateful, just concerned." Tambrey offered in reply, then adding before she could decide to stop herself. "Romantic, even." It was out now, the awkwardness was there but perhaps it would make the rest of things easier.
She'd nodded but had little more comment on the subject of the books for now, smiling tiredly and thoughtfully in return to his grin.
"Well... The drugs and such. Segueing awkwardly from that topic, let's say... I wanted to wait until now, with a slightly clearer head, to talk." She started to explain. Her eyes wanted to drift off and stare at the wall or the bedclothes but she forced them not to despite the anxiety creeping up inside.

The offer of the claw brought out a smile, at least, from the little grass type, and he matched the gesture, raising his tiny claw to meet that of the fire type's.
<> The Chikorita tried, the words not exactly what he wanted to say, to ask, but, he supposed, a good start.  

[LexThetaSigma]

Tambrey's reply brought a smile to his face until she mentioned the word 'romantic'. At that word a blush began to form across Rory's cheeks as he brought a hand up to scratch the back of his neck.

However the vague embarrassment he felt was nothing compared to the tingling sense of panic that came when she mentioned that she was to talk. He gave a small cough to clear his throat, now nervous for a whole other reason. "Alright."

The sight of his new, little comrade's claw meeting his cause Jace to grin, showing a bit more fang than he had when he was a Charmander. <> It was definitely different; he wasn't able to get into the same places he used to and the voice was definitely a switch. <>  

[Gwennythe]

His blush made her smile and she forced her anxiety down, and tried to fight the urge to match the blush as she had before.
She knew her words now were important to get out and, she was reasonably sure, that now was the right time for them, so the feelings that wanted them kept down had to be fought back.

"Um. Things... things have been really," she sighed- the words weren't sticking together as easily as they seemed to in her head. "dangerous, lately. I mean, things have happened and we've both," Her eyes moved to the bed sheets, as she gripped the fabric between her hands, then moved to linger on his shoulder once more "suffered out of it. Both been wounded, and that's... That forced something that I've known for a long time to the front of my thoughts." She wondered if she was explaining things correctly. "Um, one day, one of us will, and I think it," she sighed "probably is a case of 'when' rather than 'if', end up not..." She sighed and shook her head. "Well, I think you know what I mean."
The girl smiled tiredly again.
"I do have a point to this," she promised, anxiously "I... have come to realise, Rory, that, uh, with what we do, our future isn't a certain thing except in one respect and that's how it ends here. We're Rockets; it's a death sentence," She looked down again, sighing heavily, looking for fortification to finish her thoughts "but it just varies in how long before that sentence is carried out. So. We have less time than, um, normal lives." Tambrey looked back up at him, suddenly smiling again, if tiredly and even more anxiously.
"So, I guess, I need to tell you that I, quite honestly, have fallen in love with you, Rory and I need to know how you feel."
Words she'd been hiding for what felt like an age were finally out and she felt no less anxious- in fact it was worse, because now, for moments or however long (it would feel an age, whatever the time) she'd have to wait, hold her breath, to find out how he would respond.

Treestar, oblivious, for the moment, to the heavy nature of the human conversation shook his head.
<> The Chikorita paused and then went on- it felt good to get it out and talk to Jace, nearly as good as the comfort from Leilani had been. <> The little grass type smiled happily- it /did/ feel good now. <>  

[LexThetaSigma]

As Tambrey began to say wherever it was she wanted to talk to him about, Rory sat nervously in his chair as he watched her. As her gaze went from the bedsheets to his shoulder again, his heart started to clench in his chest. Wanting to say something but not wanting to interrupt her, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

The mention of how dangerous their jobs were reminded him of just what they had both signed on for when they had agreed to their contracts. For him, it hadn't been much of a choice; for him it had been die on the street after one of his accusers beat him in an alley or to work for the people that had fixed him up the best that they could and offered him refuge. She was right, they were living on borrowed time.

Expecting the worst, the words that had left her lips left him stunned. She was in love...with him. His best friend, his partner in the labs, the person he felt the closest to on base....loved him...and was waiting for him to respond.

Still stunned, Rory reached over and took her hand in his as he ran his thumb over her knuckles. He remembered when they had first met and the meeting that had followed after he had been released from the infirm. He remembered the excitement when she had asked him to work with her and the joy when they would meet and talk about how the beginning stages were coming along before they finally began. He remembered free time being replaced with work time, locked away in a supply closet as they worked to bring her idea to life. He remembered seeing her blush and the fluttering in his stomach that began to grow the longer they were around each other. He remembered the accidental hug when their first attempt failed and the unexpected hug when they succeeded. He remembered her smile as they watched their creation finally come out of her incubator and the pride he felt watching them. He remembered the fear the night the Rotoms and the Mewtwo raided the base and the amazement when Tambrey stood up to take one of the electric ghosts on herself. He remembered the sheer terror from only a few days before as he looked down at her battered and broken body as the worst possible thoughts raced through his mind.

He wrapped his fingers around hers and brought his other hand up to clasp them together as he mentally shook the memories back to their place. He took a breath and forced the lump in his throat to go away as his eyes met hers. "T-that," Rory cleared his throat, "is good. Because I love you, too."

Jace was picking up words here and there from the humans' conversation and decided to keep to talking to his little friend. He put one claw on the tiny Chikorita's head, being careful to keep the sharp points away from him. <> Jace grinned when he saw Treestar's smile. <> The larger lizard's chest puffed out slightly <>  

[Gwennythe]

Well then. The waiting, however short, certainly was, she supposed, the worst thing about dropping such a statement.
The few seconds between statement and answering statement were capable, apparently, of stretching themselves beyond normal time... and yet, contracted to have been no time at all as soon as she had her answer.

Had it been better to keep such a thing to herself? Would that have been more fair? Safer? The doubts crowded into the stretched seconds, inflating them like balloons, right until, as they clasped hands, Rory answered.

There was very noticeable change in her expression, a relieved clarity pooling into her eyes, as the doubt-balloons burst, at least for now.
He had matched her statement with what she'd been hoping and now she knew that her feelings weren't from her alone; she loved him and he loved her- they loved each other then.
Apparently, she hadn't really thought about such words from here; to cry, perhaps, would be expected? Or some lofty romantic music should be playing as they embraced and kissed?
Well, the latter action, a kiss, at least, sounded welcome as much as appropriate. Words, though, should have to come first, apparently and though they weren't quite the clichéd passion of romantic stories, looking back on them, she'd realise, in time, that she'd likely have chosen no others.
"I am... glad, so glad, to hear you say that," She smiled, a mixture of happy emotions that seemed to have no boundaries with eachother "and, um... I think this would be, usually, where we kiss?"

The Chikorita hadn't known, entirely, just how much he'd wanted to hear those words from Jace, too. Leilani had helped him to feel so much better, and now Jace was telling things and giving him more confidence. From the unhappy, dispirited little Chikorita that had come back from the mission, had, over two days, grown past Treestar's usually jollity and now his happiness was clearer and more potent, if 'calmer' than it had been before; he felt like he understood himself so much better.
The grass type stood with pride as Jace spoke to him, and smiled happily when he was thanked.
<> His leaf twitched, as he felt something 'break', some 'tension' shatter, in the room, turning to look around at the humans.
Well, this was an odd feeling...  

[LexThetaSigma]

He could almost feel it; the change in the air. He figured he should have expected it; it felt like they had been headed this way for a while. Not from the beginning, but the longer they were around each other, the more time they spent together, he had felt it, he just couldn't find it in him to say what it was.

Rory ran his thumb over her knuckles again before locking his fingers with hers. The look on her face made his smile widen though her next question caused another lump to form in his throat. Not that he didn't want to but......He wasn't entirely sure what was stopping him. "I...I think you're right."

He kept her hand locked in his as he stood up from the chair and moved to sit beside her on the bed. He brought his free hand up to brush a stray lock of hair out of her eyes before cupping her cheek. He swallowed the lump as he leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers before brushing his lips against hers.

Jace watched as the small grass type's demeanor slowly changed from the sad little guy he had been to the proud, smiling little guy he was looking at now. At Treestar's question, he looked over at the two Rockets in time to see them kiss. <>  

[Gwennythe]

His agreement were the happiest words she could imagine hearing, and though she'd imagined how this would go... half a million times, it felt, this one, living it, felt as though it was the only way it could have gone after all.

Relief, happiness, the accumulated experiences since they'd met seemed to be welling up, threatening to leak from her eyes unless there was somewhere for the energy from it to go.
Her lips tingled as Rory sat, leaning in and resting his forehead against hers before their lips finally met.
It felt like seconds were, again, stretching themselves between every action until their lips met.
The gentle movement of that stray hair, every action that brought him closer.
Everything seemed to be a part of one moment and part of too many long moments right up until the touching of their lips brought everything together, and she forgot herself beyond that second.

Tambrey hadn't entirely believed in the idea of 'fireworks' happening at romantic moments, though she'd often enjoyed such ideas...
However, as every thought and doubt was flickering out and changing into a strange, fearful hope, within her head, not far away, where the two pokémon watched, the imagery was about to become somewhat literal.

<> The happy little Chikorita declared, feeling his heart leap with happiness at an action he only half understood. Something beyond the action was very clear, however; the humans, himself... the room... Everything felt so happy. A glow burst from the grass-type's leaf and rapidly enveloped Treestar; his eyes widened, then whited out with the glow too, as he realised what was happening.
He had the sense to hop from the bed.
While Rory and Tambrey kissed, Treestar's body changed; as he shone with the energy of evolution, his neck grew longer, his leaf bigger. Soon, beside Jace, stood a Bayleef.  

[LexThetaSigma]

(I'm sorry it took me forever heart )

He had caught the hint of tears in her eyes as her expression changed before their lips met and then the world fell from around them. Time seemed to stop and all that there seemed to be was him and her and teh softness of her lips against his.

Not once had he ever thought that a simple kiss could feel like that; that it could feel that intense yet right at the same time.

If Jace had eyebrows they would have shot up as he watched the two trainers before he was distracted away from the humans by the small Chikorita. The glow that he had been engulfed in as he had watched everyone around him be put in danger, as his anger soared, engulfed the small grass type. Jace closed his eyes against the brightness and when he opened them, there beside him was no longer the small Chikorita he had tried to protect but a tall Bayleaf. Jace patted his friend's head. <>  

[Gwennythe]

Treestar was completely and utterly stunned as he found himself looking at his fire type friend from a rather taller viewpoint than he was used to. He blinked once as Jace reached out and patted him on the head, then twitched his leaf in shocked excitement.
<> The voice was different, yet still unmistakably his; the same wonder and excitement about things was very clearly there.

Tambrey, of course, was a little bit distracted from the scene; even when she realised, though, she wasn't ready to break out of where they were, or break the moment by speaking for a good few moments.