Eva flinched, watching the soap smack against the wall behind her before Gwyar got a hold of it, “Nice catch,” she stuttered, admiring his quick reflexes. She turned back towards him with a frown when he teased her, “Very funny,” her eyes narrowed playfully before widening in a bit of surprise when she felt the soap press against her backside.

“I guess so,” she grinned, giving in to both his assistance and also letting him treat them to their picnic, “But hurry, we don’t wanna waste too much more water,” she smiled brightly, taking a small step towards him to bring them closer together. That’s where the doctor drew the line. Clean water was too precious a resource to waste on their little games. Plus, she was suddenly starving.

Gwyar Wledig

"Aw. Fiiine..." He uttered, even as he chuckled. He winked. "Let's draw up a bath instead, next time."

He tried to stay on task next. Results were... middling, but he was getting the job done at least.

As he dragged around the soap, he found himself agreeing with Eva in the back of his mind. Nice catch indeed.

His reflexes were on point, for once. Maybe he really had become 10 years younger...

(Far too) soon enough, the task was over, with Gwyar handing Eva the soap back, grasping the shower head to help rinse everything off her.

A thought suddenly came to him as he did, his eyes looking over the woman's beautiful smile. He wasn't sure why it came to him then, but he figured it was as good a time as any.

Certainly better than last night, anyway.

She would hear about it eventually either way; she was rather important within the league... and her most direct colleague would be present.

But...

Maybe it was best to leave it for later. During the picnic, maybe...? No, perhaps after.

"I think that's about it." He said with a smile as he finished rinsing, bringing his hand to brush some of her bangs behind her ear and grinning. "Shall we go get changed?"

---

TAG: Eva Morales

Eva stifled a laugh as he reluctantly complied with her wishes, “A bath sounds lovely,” she agreed, although they both might not fit into her tub. It was a good size for her but Gwyar was probably far too tall, they’d probably overflow the thing.

She closed her eyes, relishing the warmth of the water as it washed the soap off of her. She thought it was over far too soon as well but they couldn’t stay here forever, ”Yes, let’s,” she agreed. She reached a hand behind her to shut off the water off. It disappeared with a hiss. Goosebumps rose across her flesh from the chilled air when she slid the door open to grab her towel.

Oh, there was only one towel, “Errr gimme a second,” she stepped out, wrapped the towel around her and hurried back of into the bedroom. After rummaging through a box she returned with a clean bath towel, “I’m not use to . . . having company,” she admitted, although that was probably a good thing . . . right?

Eva walked back into the bedroom and towards the closet while more thoroughly drying herself off. She dressed rather quickly to beat the chill (and keep them from getting too distracted again). It was a rather simple outfit of small jean shorts, a white tank top, and green flannel that hung loosely over it all, “Hm, I definitely don’t have any clean clothes that would fit you,” she teased, turning back toward Gwyar as she ran the towel through her blonde hair.

Gwyar Wledig

"Maybe I can change that." Gwyar said with a smile as he grasped the towel, drying his hair while following after Eva.

He was much the same as her, down to the barely unpacked apartment. Given the chance and the right person, he would change that in an instant.

The right person was here; a chance was the only thing missing.

As they entered the bedroom, Gwyar busied himself with drying the rest of himself while Eva engaged hyper speed, getting into her clothes so fast the man almost protested.

"Come now, what's the rush-" Scratch that. He protested, period. Too late though; she was already in her jeans. And how nice she looked in those clothes...

His cheeks colored slightly, and a smile tugged back at his lips.

"Ah... Never mind me." He said with a chuckle, glancing over his clothes from last night, knowing they were not picnic-worthy.

All the fright from the racing had left his shirt covered in sweat; not terribly ideal for a date.

Luckily for them, a set of neatly folded fabrics had been left on the bed while they were in the bath. The man grinned.

"Thoughtful as always, Gawain." The man said, pleased, utterly unaware of the inner turmoil and pain his pokemon had gone through the night before.

He was comparatively slow, rather methodical in getting into his jeans and new shirt... Perhaps too much.

She definitely got enough time to gawk, almost as if he were giving her a demonstration on how to dress up properly.

Once his shoes were on, the man finished everything by putting on a clean jacket, grinning at her.

"Hope you enjoyed the lesson." He said simply, before walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her, fingers curling around the belt loops of her jeans. "Ready?"

---

TAG: Eva Morales

Eva laughed, throwing a smile over her shoulder as she glanced back at him while he protested. There was a reason she was being quick about it. If she’d had learned anything from their night (and morning) together it was how quickly they could each get distracted by the other. Best to limit the distraction – for now.

Just as Eva claimed to not have anything for him to wear, it seemed Gawain had solved that problem himself, “Oh, how nice of him,” she smiled, flipping her head over to scrunch to towel through it her hair.

It seemed Gwyar didn’t mind trying to be a distraction. Her lips pulled into devilish grin as she shamelessly watched him dress. Admittedly, she was sad to see him covered up, but they couldn’t walk around naked all day. He’d catch her grinning as he approached, “I sure did,” she confirmed with a nod, ready to undo all the work he just finished as he wrapped his arms around her, “Yes! Let’s go!” she quickly grabbed his hand to lead him out of the bedroom and away from temptation.

She whistled sharply as the made their way down the stairs. A Rotom Phone buzzed to life, dashing over to meet her as they approached the front door, “Show us the way to that deli everyone at HQ goes to,” the device beeped happily in recognition as she slipped on some shoes and grabbed her wallet.

The phone zipped out of the door in front of them when she opened it and stepped outside into the bright Ever Grande sun, “Wow, it’s actually a beautiful day for a picnic,” she mused as she followed the phone with Gwyar in tow towards the deli.

Gwyar Wledig

"Clever girl." He chuckled out as she slipped out of his embrace and grabbed his hand, leading him out of the house.

Gwyar would've been happy to turn all of the close calls into just 'calls', so to speak, but thankfully, one of them was being self-aware and keeping them on schedule.

He eyed their guide curiously, tilting his head. Rotom phones were a hot commodity few possessed; Rotoms were rare, after all, and the devices expensive.

Terribly convenient though, it seemed!

"My, it's like it's come right out of a movie!" He said with a laugh, peering over Eva's shoulder and waving at the sentient phone.

It looked like sci-fi prop to the man.

"Hello, Rotom! It's a pleasure to meet you!" He said to the it cheerily as Eva put on her shoes, following out after both and into the almost blinding lights of a beautiful Evergrande morning.

"Indeed! Our timing is impeccable." Gwyar said as he stretched his arms above his head and his spine curled, struck with the need to stretch his arms like a Litten.

As his arms came swinging down following that, one immediately sought out her own, fingers interlocking with hers as he smiled at her.

Her Rotom took them through the shortest route to their destination, avoiding all pedestrian traffic.

The trip there was interesting for Gwyar. As far as he could tell, everyone and their mom seemed to know who Eva was, what with all the gawking they got.

There was no small amount of warmth in Gwyar, walking hand in hand besides a woman as wonderful as Eva, but he couldn't help but feel the attention was unwanted.

As they came upon the deli, the attention wavered and eventually broke off, thankfully, leaving them in peace to choose their meals from the restaurant.

With a roofed terrace and an open air atmosphere, it brought memories to Gwyar of their last date, drawing a smile to his lips as he gently squeezed her hand.

"What are we craving, doctor?" He asked with a grin, glancing down at her as they walked into the place.

---

TAG: Eva Morales

The device beeped happily and waved one of its little appendages back at Gwyar in delight before continuing on with its duties.

A slight blush rose on Eva’s cheeks when she felt Gwyar’s fingers slip their way between hers. It’s not something she was used to, but she was happy to walk with his hand in hers. It felt surprisingly comforting and natural.

At this point, Eva had come to ignore any sort of ‘gawking’ she received in Ever Grande. The place was full of League officials and their families. Everyone knew everyone (to a point, tourists still flocked the city). The increased level of attention was no doubt due to the fact that she was holding the hand of a man which was something no one had seen her do in public. The certain pep in her step and permanent small smile probably didn’t help much either.

There would certainly be talk of this, but not for long. She wasn’t that important.

Regardless, she was happy to enter the deli mostly because she was starving. The gentle squeeze of her hand drew her eyes up to Gwyar’s, “Ooohhh I don’t know,” she hummed as she looked up towards the menu above the counter, “Ooo that sounds good,” she mused as her gaze fell on a hummus pita sandwich loaded with veggies and spicy peppers. She leaned towards Gwyar to point towards the description, “That one, the Veggie . . . Bulu,” she laughed at the name.

Gwyar Wledig

He laughed with her at the name, though he had little context for it.

"Something you know?" He asked her, a smile on his lips as he tilted his head. "... Maybe I should take some vegetarian cooking lessons."

With this meal and the one from their previous date... Well, he knew Eva wasn't a vegetarian per say, but she definitely seemed to have a preference for her greens.

A weakness in his cooking repertoire that needed to be fixed immediately, obviously.

"As for me..." He said, before simply pointing out at the terribly uninteresting- "Club Sandwich."

He was a man of many things. Adventurousness while hungry was not one of them. Give him his bloody sandwich.

Gwyar was a man of strict diet and exercise.

"... Make that two Club Sandwiches. And a Cola."

But not today.

His 2 bloody Sandwiches.

Once their meals had been secured and the man had paid (with substantial gloating and eyebrow waggling to boot), Gwyar's hand found its place together with Eva's while he carried all the meals together in a paperbag in the crook of his elbow.

"... We didn't bring a sheet, did we?" He said after a moment with a laugh. "The grass seems nice and healthy, though!"

No Durants in sight, which was nice.

---

TAG: Eva Morales

Eva laughed and thought for a moment, “Bulu, like, Tapu Bulu. The big guy that makes plants sprout out from the ground . . .” she let her words trail off while studying Gwyar to see if he kept up with the news considering Tapu Bulu made Zac Ramsay the newest public avatar.

“You don’t need to do that just for me,” another subtle blush accompanied her coy smile, impressed that Gwyar had taken note of her eating habits, “I just . . . really like my vegetables, I guess,”

After Gwyar made a show of paying for the meal, much to Eva’s discontent, they exited the deli to find a suitable place to picnic, “Are you sure you don’t need me to help carry anything?” she asked as his free hand slipped into hers once again, “Oh shoot,” she pouted with a sigh, “Yeah, I didn’t think about bringing a sheet. The grass works just fine for me though,” she smiled,

Eva took the lead and led Gwyar across the street to a park. There was a nice shaded spot beneath an old, tall tree beside a children’s playground, “I think this will do nicely, what do you think?” she asked before plopping down on the lush green grass.

Gwyar Wledig

Before their departure, she could probably see the gears grinding inside the blonde's head. Before he brought his fist atop his palm gently, his mouth taking on an '0' shape.

"The bull at the Spirit Festival!" He said, his memory finally jarred properly. He hadn't really seen Tapu Bulu properly during the stampede, though he had seen him on the news the day after. No, he had only seen the many Tauros stampeding, michiko maeda who had given him Raki for raising, and...

That particular character. (Lulu Flint)

But INTERPOL hadn't gotten back to him yet on that yet, so it wasn't his problem... for now.

He shook his head out of those thoughts, though it might have seemed as if he was shooting down her words.

"I want to, though." He said simply, flushing slightly at her smile. He tried to chuckle, grinning. "The fact that you like them so much is enough. Can't just hit you with the bangers and mash every day."

He could eat the same thing every day and not even blink; His father had been much the same, and his mother had never complained. His daughters however, had quickly changed that outlook as they grew up, forcing the man to learn more and more recipes until he had a veritable collection of Galarian meals committed to memory.

None of which really worried too much with Veggies, funnily enough.

"I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I made you carry this..." He said, before looking away holding it out to her, winking mischievously. "So let's just keep this to ourselves."

Neither of them had thought to bring a sheet for their picnic, ironically enough, but neither seemed to mind either, so it worked out. Nodding as she found a spot beneath a tall tree, the man smiled, his eyes moving to the children's playground nearby, something akin to nostalgia slipping over his expression before he unceremoniously dropped his bum onto the grass.

He had never been to a children's playground as a kid, but his children had. They were so cute and unrebellious back then...

"Yes. This is a wonderful place." He said with a smile, before patting the spot at his side.

As he waited for the meal to be drawn from the paperbags, his mind went back to cooking.

"Say, Eva... Do you know how to cook Vegetarian meals?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Some time you are willing and not busy... Maybe you can teach me?" He asked, smiling somewhat shyly. Taking from her free time wasn't in his to do list. He just would rather learn from her than in some class. "Any time is fine. As you know... I've got time plenty of free time."

He was on his sabbatical, after all.

The man's brain seemed to grind to a stop at that thought, face freezing in place.

'No, you are not.'

He was here on an official assignment. Wasn't he lying to Eva right now?

The man chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment, before realizing he had stopped talking without reason, glancing back at Eva.

"Ah, sorry... was suddenly struck with... something." He said; he didn't want to lie to her anymore than he had, but he wasn't allowed to say anything on the matter either.

Frustrating.

---

TAG: Eva Morales

Eva scooted over to sit close to Gwyar before she started unpacking the sandwiches from the bag. She glanced at him curiously while holding out one of the two club sandwiches for him to take, “Not really,” she admitted with a soft laugh, “I don’t really . . . cook,” she unwrapped her own sandwich, “I’ve just always been too busy to teach myself. It was never really a priority,” It’s not like she had anyone to cook for, it was always just herself, “Well, I can throw together a mean salad. I’m not totally helpless, but I probably wouldn’t be a good teacher,” Eva leaned forward to take a bite of her veggie packed sandwich while thinking for a moment, “Maybe we could learn together,” she smiled after swallowing her bite. She might actually enjoy cooking more if it was with someone rather than by herself. The issue still remained that, unlike Gwyar, she didn’t have a lot of free time.

Food was a wonderful distraction, especially when one was so hungry. Eva didn’t quite take notice of the silence that settled or Gwyar lost in thoughts. She was too busy picking a pepper hanging off her sandwich and popping it in her mouth. When he apologized, she glanced at him with mild concern, “Something on your mind?” she hoped the sandwich was ok. Or was it something she said?

Gwyar Wledig

"Yes." He admitted immediately, reaching over to drag his hand over his hair, sighing- before shaking his head like a dog and grinning. "But don't worry about it. I'll get to dealing with it eventually. For now..."

He placed his hand gently atop her own, before leaning over to nip a small remnant of a veggie from the corner of her mouth.

"I would rather focus on being with you."

He would have his chance to tell Eva eventually. He was gaining more and more work with the League; eventually, his true identity would become required- and he would be free from the burden.

He smiled at the thought.

For now-

"I would love to learn cooking together with you, actually." He said, grinning.

Even if she was too busy for lessons- well, as his eldest said... Poketube existed. They could manage.

---

TAG: Eva Morales

“Ok,” She smiled, simply shrugging it off and taking another bite. Eva wasn’t one to pry. If he wanted to tell her, she trusted he would tell her. Plus, he probably had a lot to think about with children halfway across the world.

Eva paused her chewing to look up at him when he placed a hand on hers. Her eyes widened when he leaned in. She though it was for a kiss but she had a mouth full of food. How as she supposed to pull that off? Subtle panic subsided when he nipped at a veggie, making her laugh harder than it probably should have.

She finished chewing and swallowed, “It’s a date then,” she winked, licking up a bit of hummus that wanted to drip out the side of her sandwich, “This hummus is really good,” she angled the sandwich towards Gwayr, “Want a bite?”

Gwyar Wledig