[PRP] Letting Go

[Tori Honoo]

After a hasty goodbye to Henrietta and Flynn, and a quick text to Ray to thank her for her help, Dove all but dashed out the door, Lovey following quickly at her heels.

Within no time at all, the woman found herself outside of the familiar apartment complex, her heart beating fast and her mind blurred as she made her way inside, pausing at the door, frozen. What would she say? What would he say? He had missed so much, and his disappearance still baffled her, among other things. Her shoulders curled in a little as she stood there, her eyes closed as she composed herself. She wasn't sure how much time they would have to talk alone-- Flynn and Henrietta had been able to hear them as well, and she wasn't entirely sure Hen's threat to chastise him had been too much of a joke.

With a soft knock, she waited at the door. "Yuri...?"  

[BlackPidgeot]

"It's open," Yuri called from the other side.

Once the door was opened she would find the small apartment looking more bare than usual.

Upon the bed was also a beat up suitcase where he seemed to be packing his few belongings.

The man looked up from his task briefly to greet her. "Hey."  

[Tori Honoo]

The welcoming voice wasn't quite as welcoming as she had been dreaming it would be. However, she pushed the door open slowly anyway, lifting her eyes to him at his greeting. "Hey..."

For a minute, she just stared, looking him over quickly as if to check for any sort of injury or neglect, to make sure he was whole. When he seemed to be in one solid piece, she glanced around the tiny apartment, hesitating in the doorway for a few more seconds before stepping in and quietly shutting the door. When she noticed the suitcase, her mouth gaped a little, a silent shock and fear clear in her eyes.

Silence permeated the room and she swallowed hard, lowering her eyes as she fought to go back to being at least a little numb. She couldn't imagine this was going to go as she had hoped.

"Did you...have a good trip...?"

Lovey stepped around her trainer, tense and much more anxious than how her girl was performing as she, too, looked around.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Here we go... Trying to avoid the obvious again. He knew she noticed, he could tell by look on her face. Yet she was stepping around it for some reason.

"Look we need to talk," Yuri said as he put something in his suitcase then turned to her.

"I'm moving back to Grande Ile."  

[Tori Honoo]

At his words, everything within her went cold, effectively destroying her fight against her emotions and the struggle to go numb. The cold then plummeted, evaporating as fast as it had come, a heat exploding through her from her chest as she stepped toward him, rounded her fist, and punched at him as hard as she possibly could.

"Damn right, we need to talk!" she bit, her eyes now on fire.  

[BlackPidgeot]

While it was a bit surprising, he saw it coming. Her fist connected with his jaw and snapped his head to the side. It hurt, and he knew he deserved it, but he'd been hit harder before.

After a moment he looked back at Dove with a neutral expression. A red mark forming on his face, he put his hand on it.

He merely waited to see if that was all.  

[Tori Honoo]

For a few moments, she stood silently, her own jaw tight, her hand tingling in pain-- she certainly wasn't used to punching people, and the inexperience hurt.

She closed her eyes and shook her head just the slightest bit before stepping around him toward his kitchenette, moving slowly, but with purpose. A few seconds later and she would return to Yuri, shoving a small kitchen towel full of ice into his hand, before seating herself at the edge of his bed and looking up at him quietly, her cheeks flushed with anger and the beginnings of tears collecting along her lashes.

Furious, scared, and hurt, she waited for an explanation.  

[BlackPidgeot]

He watched her, taking the ice and putting it on his face when he handed to her. Repede, who was napping on his dog bed hadn't flinched. The he peeked his eye open when Yuri looked at him.

Seeing the look on Doves face, he breathed a sigh. Dammit this was harder than he thought it would be.

Thus he moves over to sit next to her.

"I wasn't trying to hurt you," he said.

"But this is the kind of thing I do. I don't know what you think we are, but I can't be it. I'm not good for you."  

[Tori Honoo]

When he moved to sit next to her, she lowered her head, her eyes on the floor. Lovey, torn between moving toward Repede and staying close to comfort her girl, took a seat nearby, her ears drooping as the scene unfolded before her.

Dove's eyes widened when he spoke. "That's why you left...?" she breathed, revelation making her head spin. So this was her fault. "I thought we were friends at the very least..."  

[BlackPidgeot]

"It's not the only reason," he assured her.

"And we are friends, but I've had the feeling you want something more. Something I can't provide."  

[Tori Honoo]

"It's still a reason," she murmured, rising to her feet.

She shook her head again, then pushed her hair back from her face, her back to him. "You know, it would have been a lot easier for you to just say, 'hey, Tori, lets not do this anymore. I'm not interested in you at all,' you know?" She closed her eyes as her voice cracked toward her suggestion's end. Her nails bit into her palms as she stood her ground. "I would have stopped. It...Yes, it would have hurt, but it would have been so much easier than this!"

She pulled a deep breath, forgoing the mask entirely. "I just wanted a friend, Yuri...and you're the only person I've ever met that's strong enough to be that. You weren't afraid to hurt me when I needed to be straightened out, and until you left..." A pause, her shoulders curling in as she wrapped her arms over her chest. "...you had my back."  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri sighed and rubbed the back of head with his free hand.

"It's not that I'm not interested in you. You don't just want a friend Tori. If you did you wouldn't be taking this so personally. You want someone to make you happy, for life. I can't do that."  

[Tori Honoo]

She turned to look at him, shaking her head. "I won't lie to you; I did. I still do have feelings for you. Strong feelings." She averted her eyes, tightening her hold on herself. "If that's not what you want, then... I'll get over it. I mean," she rolled her eyes, a weak laugh escaping her. "It would have been nice to know a few months ago, before we...." A vague flip of her hand before she messed with her hair again.

Tears fell, and she shook her head again, brushing them away with her fingertips. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have expected anything like that from you. I do want that..." A quick nod. "I do, but... if it's not you, then... it's okay..." Another laugh, paired with a shaky, teary sigh. "It sucks, because you're a really great man, but I'd rather give up that hope than lose a real friend. I'm not foolish enough to rely on fairytales anymore...I've had my share." She shifted a little, uncomfortable with her own words.  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Yeah... I know. I'm sorry. I've never seen it as a big deal and it took me too long to realize that it was for you."

But well ... What's done is done.

"I'm just not ready for that kind of thing. Maybe someday... Maybe. But not now. Besides, even if I was, I'm not the type that could keep you happy. And you deserve better than that."  

[Tori Honoo]

His words struck in a way she was sure he didn't intend, yet the knowledge did little to stifle the blow. It hadn't meant anything to him... She should have known...

She looked at him then, her expression drained. This was a mess, and she had little strength to fix it. "I'm not what you need." He had made her happy... He had opened her eyes in so many different ways. She turned her head away, then slowly took her seat next to him again. "Is that why you left without saying anything...?" A grimace, as she leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. "You picked a great time to run off, you know."

Abandoned. That's all she had felt.