When the door opened she was hit with the calming, familiar scent of the flower shop. She inhaled deeply, turning her eyes up at him, “Hi Simone,” she greeted. There was a half-forced smile that tugged at her lips. Seeing him did make her happy. There was an understandably concerned look in his brilliant blue eyes, but Eva relished in their soft gaze.

Eva entered the flower shop and took a quick look around. Her eyes fell on Peony who she greeted with a small smile and nod of her head, “Looks nice in here,” she commented softly, an attempt to avoid a painful silence and keep herself distracted, “How has business been?” she asked casually, turning to look back over at Simone.

As hard as she tried, she wasn’t going to be able to mask the pain in her eyes. She knew why she was here. She knew what she wanted to, no, had to talk about but she wanted to delay it as long as she could. She didn’t know how Simone would take her news, “What, no hug hello?” she was half joking, evident by the small smirk on her lips. The other half of the tone was desperate for his warm embrace. Half the reason she came here was in a frantic search for comfort.

@simone

Business may have been slow, but the shop looked beautiful. Fresh flowers really did bring a sense of joy and beauty to life. Hell, it was even working a bit for Eva. She admired the blossoms around them with a soft smile before Simone chuckled and approach her with a bug.

Eva sank into his warm embrace, settling her head on his chest while wrapping her arms around his waist. She already felt a bit better with his arms wrapped around her. It was amazing what a little human contact could do.

Simone would feel a heavy sigh once he asked his question. That was a loaded question, there were a lot of things on her mind, “The world’s goin to shit, Simone,” she whispered to really sum it all up. Eva pulled back to look up at him, “Did you see the end of that press conference?” just thinking about the fallacies presented about Kanto by that smug Rocket character made her heart rate spike and anger creep back in.

@simone

Eva desperately wishes she had the will power and confidence to not be bother by it all. As an employee of The League she should have the utmost confidence in them. Unfortunately, past experiences with Rocket carved deep scars into her and they were hard to just push aside. Simone’s blind faith in The League was understandable, but Eva’s history had taught her otherwise.

But why wasn’t he upset. Hell, why wasn’t everyone upset? She felt like she was the only damn one in Hoenn that was having an appropriate reaction, “Yea, well, that wasn’t enough in Kanto,” she bitterly responded, pulling away from Simone and turning away with her arms crossed.

There was moment of silence while she collected herself, “There’s a war coming, Simone. Guarantee it.”

@simone

Eva was lost in her own world, eyes fixed on the floor below her feet. The doctor had no idea her words could be so triggering for the shop keeper. He had never shared his history, so there was no way of knowing. Ignorant to the fact that he had his own reasons for his hesitation, Eva still couldn’t help but feel the pinch of annoyance claw at her.

”Your faith is admirable . . . I wish I felt the same way,” the words proceeded a heavy sigh. Her shoulders sank, curling in on themselves while a hand raised to press against her forehead.

“Unfortunately, life experience tells me otherwise,” Eva finally sat down. She sank into the chair and leaned against the table with her chin in her palm, “Kanto severely underestimated them,” she admitted. That was probably the most frustrating part of her story. With more preparation, and proper insight, Kanto may still be the Kanto she remembered and loved. Instead, it was a hostile place under the oppressive rule of a dictatorship.

“I – I can’t loss Hoenn too,” there was a tremble in her voice, the threat of tears in her eyes when looked back up at Simone.

@simone

The way she looked up at @simone faded into a bit of surprise. A silence where she found herself at a loss of words. It wasn’t just the blind faith that surprised her. She was sitting here, on the verge of tears, and the best he could do was a firm pat?

She sharply exhaled in a way that hid a small grunt of frustration for this whole situation, “Well, I hope that’s the case,” the words ended in a sigh as she gathered the words she came her to tell him. Better to just rip off the bandage, right?

“I enlisted . . . again,” Simone knew enough about her history to know what that meant, “I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t,” she didn’t necessarily want to fight Rocket again . . . she needed to. She’d pour everything into the protection of Hoenn, “They made me a Captain,” she was surprised by the initially high rank, though not entirely considering her history.

@simone

Simone was right to think there was no talking her out of this. It’s where the belonged, what she was good at. It was disappointing to jump back into her previous lifestyle but at the same time, it felt right. There was something missing, a void she tried to fill with adrenaline. None of it was ever enough.

Eva scoffed lightly at the comment, a subtle shake of her head. Many described her as ‘brave’. But was it really bravery? Or was it actually stupidity? Sure, there may be a degree of bravery to it. When it was numbed by the constant search for a thrill, it didn’t quite feel like that anymore. It just felt normal. And that’s how she needed it to feel. There couldn’t be a second hesitation when faced with any degree of danger. Staying in small town Hoenn would steal that from her, give her the sweet taste of a humble, satisfying life.

“Soon . . . very soon, I’m moving to Ever Grande in the next few days,” They had grander plans for her that included a shiny new lab and fancy new title she was unaware of at the moment, “I’m sorry, Simone,” she whispered, her gaze focusing on her fidgeting fingers. Anyone with half a brain knew what this all implied. She wasn’t going to drag him into her unsustainable lifestyle.

@simone