[PRP] Rainy Day

[Tori Honoo]

"Oh..." She nodded, still messing with her salad, her expression pensive. "I'm sure you've had a lot else to keep you busy, so that--"

"Yo, Tori!"

Blinking, the woman turned to look over her shoulder, a small smile appearing on her face as one of the officers waved for her attention from across the commons room. It faded quickly, however, as she remembered something.

"Shoot... I was supposed to talk with him about with something..." Hesitantly, she looked down at the watch on her wrist, then back to the man again before finding Luke. They didn't have much break time left as it was, and the rain was still pouring.  

[Suudonym]

Come to think of it, weren't there swords lying around the house as well? He had thought them decorative or novelty items, but perhaps that wasn't the case after all - though it seemed strange to versed not only in firearms but archaic weaponry as well, especially as a trainer with a team of powerful pokemon at his command. Rather than simple preparedness, it seemed that he had lived expecting to fight. Perhaps that was what made him 'suitable' for Special Ops...

He blinked out of his thoughts at the brief exchange between his company and the other officer, and he tilted his head lightly in passive curiosity. "Sorry, was I holding you up?"  

[Tori Honoo]

A mild amount of alarm crossed her features, and she shook her head. "No, no! Not at all. I can talk with him later. It's nothing too important... He just wanted to meet Trill more properly," she explained, giggling softly as the Mew reappeared over her shoulder then swept down to the table to steal another berry from her salad.

Lovey pawed at her knee, and was thus offered another berry as well. When that didn't seem to appease her, the woman sighed and released another pokemon into the seat next to her, before clipping the ball back to her belt and watching as the berry was then offered to Diana.  

[Suudonym]

He tilted his head just slightly to a side at the reaction but didn't say anything about it. There were a lot of things about this woman that seemed kind of... strange. If he stretched the evidence he could almost conclude that she was afraid of him - it would be more accurate to say she seemed guarded, or perhaps simply uncomfortable. But why would she be talking to him if it made her uncomfortable? Why accept the battle and invite him to eat with her?

His attention naturally fell to the pokemon as another was released, though the new Eevee did little to undo the gradual crease in his brow. The blue one seemed somehow familiar, just slightly, but not in a way that felt particularly good. Maybe if its fur was lighter, or... No, he quickly concluded, lighter fur would not have been better. He shook his head and returned his gaze to his company, a look of faint confusion in his features.

"Sorry if this is kind of random," he said, "but just out of curiosity, how exactly would you, personally, describe our relationship?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Diana ate the berry her mother provided, then curled up with her against Dove's leg, both listening in on the conversation, though, really, only Lovey and Trill actually appeared to be interested.

Luke's question, however innocent it might have been, drew her defenses up all the more, and she visibly froze, before forcing herself to relax, though it became more of a deflation. "It's not too random, actually," she admitted, pushing her bangs back from her face. "I've... kind of been wondering why you've been talking to me this whole time, actually. Not that it's bad!" she reassured him, quickly. "This is great... I'm just...really, really surprised you're even speaking to me, to be honest, after...well." She hesitated, not wanting to bring it up. This would not be a repeat of her bringing up every bad memory they shared. That hadn't worked last time, not at all. He was, at least, in a better state of mind now...much better off than he had been at the time. Fear of making the same mistakes again, however, held her tongue in favor of letting him speak again, before she continued.  

[Suudonym]

His initial reaction was to wonder why, if it was so strange for him to talk to her, she had gone along with it so easily without ever mentioning anyway about said strangeness. Her explanation had trailed off into incompletion, and so he waited patiently for her to finish her thought.  

[Tori Honoo]

When he offered no response, her heart sunk even further. This was a test. It had to be. "I guess I was just hoping it was in our past and we could...start over, maybe? I mean, you haven't brought it up yet," she said honestly, taking a leap into vulnerability. "And you asked to battle, so I guess I just figured that might be what you wanted. I-I'm sorry if I'm wrong though."

She searched his face, wondering why on earth he hadn't changed expression yet. He didn't seem upset or angry, and he didn't seem to be holding back...  

[Suudonym]

Then, he gathered, she didn't know where they stood - and naturally, he couldn't know either. He was silent for a moment, his eyes lowered thoughtfully as he considered what he knew.

It was strange for him to speak to her. She was guarded and careful in her speech, and apparently there was something in their past. If she wasn't expecting an apology, did that mean she had slighted him and was just relieved that he wasn't holding it against her? He supposed that in that way, he could be taken advantage of even without the other party knowing about his affliction.

He was jumping to conclusions, though. It wasn't fair to act based on largely groundless assumptions.

When he raised his eyes, it was without the amicable smile he had grown accustomed to displaying by default; he didn't have the right to any personal feelings on the matter, so he didn't want to send any signals one way or the other. "I'm not in a position to put anything behind me," he finally said. "If it's awkward or uncomfortable to talk to me despite that, I can stop."  

[Tori Honoo]

His look and response did nothing to calm her anxiety, and as the words sunk in, the hope faded from her eyes.

"Then why did you talk to me? I-If you're not willing to put it behind us, then why would you..." She shook her head, ignoring Lovey's soft whine at her side. "You called me a selfish, manipulative....b***h," she lowered her voice at the word, then raised it to normal level, "and told me never to come near you two again. I don't understand half of what happened, but I do know the entire thing was handled poorly." She spoke slowly as she 'restated' the situation, allowing him the option to object to anything he saw fit to stop. "I just... I don't understand why you would initiate conversation or a battle or agree to lunch if you weren't willing to put it behind us." It was almost cruel to do that to someone-- to give them hope when there was little to be had.

She paused, took a deep breath, then looked him in the eye. "I know it probably means nothing at this point, but I am truly sorry. I'm sorry I ever gave Rosie any reason to feel the way she did, and I'm sorry I behaved the way I did the last time we talked." Her hand clenched painfully below the table as she steeled her emotions and smothered her pride. "I'm more than willing to start over with you--with both of you-- if you'll allow it. If not... I understand entirely, and I'll never give myself the chance to hurt you again."  

[Suudonym]

"Is that really something that should just be brushed aside like it didn't happen?" Luke replied, baffled by the events she described. From something like that, certainly an apology was owed on one side or the other - either him for using the harsh words out of line or her for acting in a way that warranted the response. Now that it finally surfaced, it seemed that she was willing to apologize, but how was he to answer? He didn't know what had precipitated the insults. He didn't know what offense, if any, had been done unto Rosie. He didn't know how he had been hurt. He didn't know what feelings had led to his words.

But he knew he didn't want to discount them.

"Regardless," he said, feeling a little heavier for the words that he offered in return, "I don't have the right to accept an apology, and I don't have the right to apologize. I'm not going to betray myself. So, knowing that, it's your choice: I can stop talking you and not approach you again, or we can continue like this until it comes that I'm ready to address it properly."  

[Tori Honoo]

"No," she answered a little to quickly, her voice sharper for just the moment. No, it shouldn't be.

Her eyes narrowed the slightest at herself bit in disbelief. She hadn't expected him to accept her apology--really, she doubted he ever would given how much hell they had been through together-- but something wasn't right.

She tipped her head a little, searching him. "...betraying yourself...?" she asked gently, switching gears for the time being, concerned now that, somehow, she had managed to worsen the situation by choosing to play along when he wasn't playing. Unless he was playing, in which case, he was just a jerk--but that didn't sound too accurate. There was no way he would be that malicious... Maybe it wasn't his place to accept her apology, he thought?

"Are you okay, Luke?" She stayed still, quiet. "Why did you ask me to battle if this is how it is...?" Her eyes fell to the eevee nudging her leg. A long moment of silence from her. "If you do decide not to talk to me again... please at least consider it whenever you are ready. I'll... probably still be around."  

[Suudonym]

He didn't miss the tone or lack of hesitation in her reply, and they brought a frown to his features that remained even as she continued. "I was fine," he said, "but now I'm just confused. 'No,' you said, so it's not something that should be brushed aside - but just a little while ago you said you hoped it was in the past and that we were just going to move on."

He shook his head lightly, "I asked you to battle because it seemed polite. That's all." And that really was all; she'd been standing by herself as everyone paired off for a match, and it had seemed the considerate thing to do to volunteer to pair up, seeing as he also hadn't had a battle partner.

"I didn't say I was going to decide one way or the other; I specifically said it's your choice, depending on what you're comfortable with," he repeated. "If you think it's rude or too awkward, I'll stop. If you don't mind leaving it alone for now, then I'll continue like normal."  

[Tori Honoo]

This was... far too confusing to take personally, and she shook her head. "I didn't think it would be, and it's not, I think, but... but you approached me," she explained, somewhat lamely, as she tried to make sense of it all. "So I just thought...I didn't think you'd do that again. Ever."

She nodded at his explanation, then pushed her hair from her face as she tried to choose a path to take. On the one hand, it was nice being able to talk with him again... at least they were on speaking terms--it seemed? Maybe? On the other hand, if he wasn't ready to decide, was she making it worse by talking with him? It kind of seemed that way too, but now he was giving her the choice....

"I...don't mind leaving it alone for now, if you don't," she finally answered, hoping deep in her heart that this wasn't another emotional death wish. "I just don't want to set it aside like nothing happened if that's not what you want." She wouldn't mind setting it aside for good, if he was willing, but she absolutely would not allow it to go overlooked on her part if he expected more of her. She had offered her apology, and for now, that was all she could do.

Something was still off, though.