cait alfric certainly was good at hitting nails she didn't know she was aiming for.

Once upon a time, two men had loved each other. They were in a dangerous organization but had been willing, at the time, to throw that away so they could lead normal lives. A home was bought, large to fill the empty rooms with pattering feet. Large in space for swing sets and outdoor adventures. It was going to be a sweet life, where they could turn all that had hurt them in the past around, all the pain, and pour it into young minds in the form of adoration and love.

In the fairy tale, they would have lived happily ever after. Instead Chu-e had gotten captured and vanished for two years. When he came back, the home was still there but his husband gone. Make no mistake, Chu-e loved his home, cherished it even, but it still held the promise of a broken dream inside of it. If things had gone as planned, Chu-e would have lived up to her house-husband fantasies from when he had visited her last.

The pokemon around the place were curious. A few of the big cats weren't shy to approach, sniffing in her direction curiously. On the front porch was a houndour and rockruff curled up on a giant pillow, neither of which seemed to be very good guard dogs since they kept snoozing.

"Coming!" Was called from the door at her knock, followed a few moments later by Chu-e himself. He grinned at the other, pleased to see her; while he still didn't look fantastic, he looked leagues better then when she had last seen him. A little sun and better eating had done him wonders. Make no mistake that he was still too skinny and sickly but it was a vast improvement. "Cait! Glad you could make it!" He ushered her into his home.

The living room was nice if a little bland; it looked like it had once been 'minimalist' but Chu-e had decorated it as he pleased. There were a lot of shelves against the back wall, stacked high with books and a few trinkets; most of the books seemed to be about fairy tales and legends. The couch looked large and plush, a softened leather, where six pokemon were curled up on a blanket and sleeping- two Skitty, a Meowth, Purrloin, Shinx, and the Sylveon that Cait had gifted him. From the pile of pokemon toys stacked up in one of the corners, it was clear they were very spoiled.

The place smelled like spices and seafood, the sharpness of chili promising whatever Chu-e had cooked would be spicy. His kitchen could be seen from the living room; it was a little dated in whites and yellows but clean and inviting. "The food is almost done. Do you know how to use chopsticks?"

"Oh, he's done more than settle in. He's already trying to get himself a girlfriend." He rolled his eyes a bit, heading for the kitchen. "You can sit there or in here!" He called back to her. It was easy to see him messing with the food from the living room and they could still chat. Pair of wooden chopsticks in hand, he looked like he was flipping something out of a pan before cutting it with a pizza cutter. Whatever it was was so crisp it could be heard from where Cait was at.

"I did! It was kind of awkward but I liked him. He's real observant. I'm at least 90% convinced he thought I was just a weird stalker at first, though." Not that Chu-e could blame him for thinking that. He had known a lot about cait alfric, or at least enough to have him coming off as just a stalker. It was crazy to think she was, like, famous in her own way.

That was probably not what warranted him that look, though. At that, he just grinned into the pot he was checking on.

cait alfric had no sooner sat down when the pile of fluff on the couch shifted. A Skitty emerged, having the same type of mischievous aura as Chu-e did. Sprinkles made her way to the new human, giving her a a good sniff before starting to purr and trying to force her head against Cait's hands for pets.

"Sprinkles, be good!" Chu-e called out at his cat, which was promptly ignored, because cats just did not listen.

It took a moment before Chu-e answered the woman proper, moving things to the table and getting the plates down. "Well," He finally said, pouring a thick, pale orange drink into two large glasses. Straws were added before he placed them to the side. "I had a date the other day." Which, maybe the chance meeting with jayden cross was less than a date, since Chu-e was pretty sure the guy was only tolerating him. That didn't mean he couldn't brag a little bit. Jayden was cute. "And he has this sweet little girl Umbreon. Ribbons is practically already in love."

There was a bit of clicking and shifting in the kitchen, pots and plates being moved around.

"All done! Hope you don't mind eating in the breakfast nook instead of the actual dining room."

The breakfast nook was in the kitchen, in a small space to itself. The table was large enough for maybe four people to eat at, two chairs on the long side and one at each end. The free side was pressed against a large window, which overlooked the rolling hills of the small piece of Mossadeep Chu-e had mostly all to himself. In the distance, a small shrine could be seen on top one of the hills, a winding dirt path leading up to it. It was quaint and humble even from the distance; the shrine to Celebi that his neighbor, Miss Canta, kept up.

On the table was their plates, all sat up, with a bowl for each of them as well. Chu-e had the orange drink sat up, too, along with a glass of iced water. The main dish was a some type of pork in a spicy red broth, bones still in the meat. One of the sides looked to be a kimchi stew with bits of tofu and some green veggies tossed in. There was a heap of rice, of course, with gim sitting delicately on plate next to it. Finally was some thin, white noodles with bean sprouts, still steamy, sitting next to a crispy looking pancake shaped food that was dotted with veggies and seafood.

Of all things, what looked to be a pecan pie sat on the counter next to the stove, still cooling.

"The lassi isn't really traditional but it'll cut the heat. It's mango flavored." Sitting down at his seat, Chu-e motioned to his own weird orange drink. He would allow Cait to get first picks before digging in.

After cait alfric picked what she wanted, Chu-e dug in as well.

"Maybe just one litter? Or two? They're so cute." He was sure that he could find good homes for them if needed, everyone seemed to want an Eevee. But, he wasn't sure the Umbreon had even enjoyed Ribbons' attention. If it was solely relying on the fairy type's charm, well... he might be waiting for a long time. Shame, really.

He waved off the thanks, a bit flustered, but did move on to the next topic of conversation.

"Taller than me. Short, dark hair. His eyes, Flames, they're so pretty, like almost purple. Real quiet. That kind of... reserved, probably damaged type." He sighed, shaking his head as he chastised himself. "My dumb ass always did like projects...."

Which really more of an insult to himself than it was Jayden.

"He's only gotten a kiss on the cheek. I don't want to break him in too fast. Gotta make sure he can handle what I have to offer." There was a little grin and wink at that, his own eyebrow wiggle at the other. "Normally I like them a liiiiittle beefier but we've got a few common interests."

Humming, Chu-e nodded at Cait. "How's life on your end?"

"Hmm... well...." That was a pretty serious question to ask him. For a serious situation! Chu-e was a lot of things. Not to many people knew this about him, but one of those things was 'sap'. Who didn't like a good romance story? Hell, just seeing two people make it work? He loved that kind of shit. Hidden in his room was a collection of Corset Buster romance novels just for when he needed to sink his teeth into something too sweet and bad for him.

But, there was a lot that could go wrong. How much did he know about Sénon Game from just the Rustoboro meeting and then the guy flying him back to Mossadeep?

"My honest opinion of him... is he's nice. He's charming. I think he would make a good partner." For the moment, Chu-e placed his chopsticks down on his napkin, really wanting to chew on this thought instead of the meal. "But, the real question isn't if he can make you happy now, it's if you think he can make you happy in the future.... hmm...."

"I guess, does it just feel right? Think of all the little annoying habit he has... his stank breath in the morning... do you think you can handle all that for the rest of your life?" Chu-e looks serious now, and he points at the other with an excited vigor. "If you can answer 'yes' to those, then go for it! I loved Arthur with all my heart, and our romance was quick. Married too fast, too soon, pissed off his family... but it felt right, so it was right."

"And if he feels the same way about you as you do him? Well, he might even beat you to it, cait alfric."

The questions brought a smile to Chu-e face but- it was in that serene, sad sort of way. The kind of look from someone who was dying and knew it, or had accepted a loss that had torn their heart in two. It was an invasive line of questioning. It did hurt to talk about. Yet, with cait alfric he felt like, on some level, for some reason, she wouldn't look at him with the kind of sharp pity most people did. It made him... okay with opening up that box in his chest, letting a few of the buried feelings out in the air and poking that bruise.

"We were going to adopt before I... 'died'." He pokes at his food, glancing down at the rice and soup still left in his bowls. "We... had the room all set up. Had the paperwork ready, just needed to drop it off and start the process. But... I don't think I can do that on my own, anymore."

It was a sharp turn in conversation. A sad one, but one Chu-e had long accepted.

"I'd like to find someone to care about me again, don't get me wrong but... Cait, whatever those people in that lab did to me. It poisoned me. It rotted my insides. The doctors don't know how I'm still alive. And they don't think I have that long left."

He motioned around him self, to his home, vaguely.

"That's why I wanted to come back. To live here, even if it's... big and empty and full of sad memories. Hoenn was the first place I was happy in years. I want to spend what time I have left in the last place I was happy. Maybe make some other people happy, too." He laughed softly, glancing back up with another weak smile. "Maybe see you in a pretty white dress, if that's how you celebrate."

"I want to live, while I can, to make myself happy, ya know? I would love a child but... I ain't going to orphan no kid, Cait." He grinned again. "Which means," He stood up suddenly, went to grab the mostly cooled pie and place on the table between them. "that you need to get to cranking them out so I can spoil them senseless. So wrangle that man of yours! Be Mrs. Cait Game! Or... Mr. Senon Alfric?"