He clicked his tongue in faux distaste, a broader smile curling upon his lips in further betrayal of the seeming disapproval.[break][break]

”I still feel as though you’re spending too much time here, amore~...” he sighed within a manner of wistful sarcasm, shaking his head softly all the while. His gaze followed along with the hand she’d strayed from him for a while before settling upon her, herself, and then towards the bag she’d brought with her. ”And stealing the job of the food runners, nonetheless~?”[break][break]

He inhaled deeply, humming as the scent of the goods she’d so graciously ferried with her had properly begun to be of note.[break][break]

”...I agree with you, somewhat, but I can’t help but feel the nurses are close to reprimanding you if they caught you~...”

mielle [break]
n o t e s

☉

…So that was what she’d meant.[break][break]

Nevertheless, a steeled touch remained within his gaze as it loomed upon her. The words settled further within his mind as his eye drifted towards the varied keys strewn before them, and as if emphasizing the subtle sense of exasperation that so suddenly embedded itself within him, he breathed a soft sigh in thought.[break][break]

”...By no means have I experienced something like either side, but I’d imagine it’s difficult for both parties either way.” He hummed lowly. Pensively. With chest and shoulders lifting gradually once more amidst the breath that filled him, he crossed his arms within an absentminded manner as the words began to find themselves. ”It was hard for both of you, of course— and it’s…tragic.”[break][break]

Another hum.[break][break]

”Tragic that things worked out as they did.”[break][break]

Another bout of silence before he glanced towards her once more.[break][break]

”...Even if she chose the path she did, though,” he started once more before long, ”I’m sure that she’s proud of you for getting this far; for persevering even after all this time. …I know I am.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

Though calm and attentive to the words spoken to him, a hardened touch enveloped his gaze towards her later words. He narrowed his eye as a faint spark of cobalt lit aflame within it, instinctively beginning to turn further towards her as he remained seated upon the opposing side of the seat.[break][break]

”...If by ‘taking you with her,’ you mean leaving the household with you, then…yes. I do agree.” Although low and seemingly more calculated, they had been the words to leave his lips in immediate response, void of the common amusement and lightness that had so commonly accompanied his speech. ”You insist it was only she that was cheated, but I still stand by what I said. …The two of you were cheated in different ways.”[break][break]

He furrowed his brows in brief thought.[break][break]

”...It’s only natural to be wanting to stay with the person that actually wanted the best for all of you, anywho.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

Though he’d chosen not to voice as such, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity as the expression settled upon her face, however faint the realization had proven to be amidst her common demeanor. The furrow of his brows had been equally as vague as a singular hue of cobalt lingered upon her, only straying from her form in favor of absentmindedly eying the keys as her fingers began to move along them once more.[break][break]

For a small amount of time, he’d simply opted to listen to the thoughts that began to churn, and the thoughts that brought themselves into fruition. A couple of nods had somehow found their way from him alongside a couple of hums in agreement and acknowledgment, alike.[break][break]

After another bout of thought, he eyed the seat before taking the farther half of it. A distance had been maintained out of respect as he continued to watch her fingers dance upon the keys.[break][break]

”...And though I know you resent both of them, I do think that both you and your mother were cheated out of greater things because of it.” His eye narrowed softly as he eyed the bars of whites and blacks before them. ”All you ever wanted and desired had been…functionality. It wasn’t either of your faults that someone seemed to feign affections and prioritize their own goals over everything else.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

And looks would be an accurate telling for once.[break][break]

He hadn’t quite known how much time had passed since the incident at the tree; since he’d borne the features of the selfsame beasts he’d grown so fond of, only to lose them alongside the other perks of his own body that had been at his disposal long before. A month seemed more or less safe to say; perhaps a week or so more had been just as accurate.[break][break]

All things considered, the time spent and passed within the confines of the bed he’d called home for so long had been due to none other than the state of an eye.[break][break]

…Or the absence of it, rather. All things considered, recovery had been smooth between modern medicines and Pokemon treatments, alike, but he found his stay unfortunately extended a couple of times as certain matters arose. Chance infections. Talks amidst other staff in regards to his own treatment.[break][break]

In the end, they’d posed some options—some more experimental—and he’d simply chosen to take the simplest solution.[break][break]

And thus with some cleaning and treatment, he dwelled within his assigned room for little more than a few days longer— or so he had been told, at the very least. The check-ins had become routine, albeit short lived as time went on, and within the midst of the most recent one, he’d sought to find rest for some amount of time.[break][break]

As successful as it proved to be, he found it just as brief of a reprieve before long.[break][break]

The touch of another had been far from foreign to him, though as he laid upon the bed offered so graciously to him, he couldn’t help but give a soft hum as he roused softly. His brows furrowed softly from instinct (both confined and free), and soon after, a single hue of cobalt unveiled itself before finding its way towards the figure by him.[break][break]

He gave her a tired smile, a yawning sigh leaving his lungs as he properly realized who it was.[break][break]

”...Another visit, mmn?” he chuckled lowly, narrowing his eyes towards her in equal parts amusement and curiosity. ”How many times have you dropped by in the past week~?”

mielle[break]
n o t e s

☉

”...I’d argue especially if it’s about an old flame~.”[break][break]

A softer smile tugged upon his lips as the words left them, though not without a wistful touch in lieu of memories forgotten. His gaze remained upon her through her own bout of speech, as well as her gesture closer, and only strayed from her in favor of idly sparing a glimpse towards the oceans afar once more.[break][break]

The tug faltered faintly. Absentmindedly.[break][break]

”...It’s good to talk about all matters, after all.”[break][break]

Within the midst of his own hardships, he always found it better than stewing within his own negativity.[break][break]

”Doesn’t matter if the matter is good, or bad, or uncomfortable— and I’d even say all the better if it was uncomfortable~. ,,,It might just lift a weight you hadn’t known to be movable.”

mielle [break]
mission: vacation time

☉

He gave a pensive, skeptical hum at her suggestion, all his brows furrowed faintly and absentmindedly. There had absolutely been some truth in the suggestion she’d given, after all— but even then, he felt as though it was…different.[break][break]

There were common creaks in the night, after all, but he could’ve sworn that he’d heard something a bit…more.[break][break]

His gaze lingered upon the area he assumed the sound had resonated from as a result, though after finding it within himself to push the matter aside for the meantime, he simply turned his attention towards the woman by him once more. He nodded slightly, shrugging.[break][break]

”...Many a time, yes,” he hummed, tilting his head. ”I don’t frequent the base as much as others might, but I’m no stranger. …Why do you ask?”

mielle [break]
mission: ghost in the machine

☉

Ah, memories far from fond.[break]
He understood. …Even for a man with lapses in memory, he understood.[break][break]

And thus did he gaze upon her for a longer while within the wake of the words she’d spoken to him, humming softly all the while. Before long, a singular hue of azure drifted upon the image of her lip in not their common, idle admiration and appreciation from past occurrences (the magnetism had always been there, but within the conversation, even he knew that there was always a time and place), but rather a sense of observation.[break][break]

”...Would you like to talk about it?” came the words at long last, coupled by none other than a subtle look of concern and curiosity, alike.

mielle [break]
mission: vacation time

☉

She spoke truth, though as the words continued to leave her lips, he couldn’t help but glance towards her once more within a more subtle manner. Just as he’d done so often, a smile remained upon her lips as she spoke; a subtle detail that had still been all too contradicting to the shifts in tone and the like.[break][break]

For a man with little memory, it sparked a sense of familiarity within him.[break]
It was hard for it not to when he, himself, found himself beneath the same guise.[break][break]

”...As right as you are, amore, you seem a bit taken aback by your own words~...” he hummed softly, offering a similar sort of smile. ”Are you okay?”

mielle [break]
mission: vacation time

☉

He eyed her idly at first, noting the tone enveloping her words.[break]
A sigh eventually escaped his lips.[break][break]

”...Definitely one of the more common stereotypes, sadly, yes…” he mused with something akin to a wry smile, however faint it may have been by the given point in time. Hues of azure drifted listlessly towards the grand piano before him. ”...All the more reason I’d have to speak my thoughts, though, I’m afraid~,” he added soon after, pressing gently against a few of the keys closest to him.[break][break]

By no means had he been as musically inclined as his more youthful companion, but he played an idle tune to the best of his abilities, even if just for a few seconds.[break][break]

”...And that being said, I hope that you know there is neglect in obsession, piccola.” His gaze shifted towards her once more as his fingers continued gliding across the keys. ”Neglect is just…not caring. Not nurturing a bond as you should. …Obsession makes you blind, and by extension, more prone to neglecting someone else— regardless of if you’re aware of it, or intending to do it..”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

He chuckled, nodding in agreement.[break][break]

”Of course,” he mused, a softer smile tugging upon his lips all the while. ”Perfection is what everyone strives for, but flaws are what breathe life into everything, after all~...”[break][break]

Though recently returned, the smile upon his lips began to fade as a sense of thought took his mind. A hum trailed after his words.[break][break]

”...So long as there’s no regrets~...”

mielle [break]
mission: vacation time

☉

His brows furrowed as a smile of faux uncertainty tugged flatly upon his lips. A laugh escaped them as he shifted his gaze towards her once more.[break][break]

”...I’m glad you think of me so highly, amore~,” he cooed, running a thumb along her temple with an idle, absentminded touch. ”All things considered, I’m but a flawed man. That much is indisputable.[break][break]

He pulled his hand away, eying her for a smile while longer before leaning back with a sigh, a single hue of azure directing itself back towards the flame.[break][break]

”...What matters is that I’m doing the best with the cards I’ve been dealt, though, I suppose~...”

mielle [break]
mission: vacation time

☉