[attr="class","jayden"] he swallows.

[break][break] who broke your heart?

[break][break] cian is close. maybe too close for comfort —

[break][break] maybe just enough.

[break][break] "he didn't — i didn't know."

[break][break] his gaze swivels to cian, pleading. desperate.

[break][break]

[attr="class","noodles"]CIAN MAHER

[attr="class","pkmns"]

[attr="class","cian"]he finds jayden's gaze, meeting it as a gentle hand reaches out.

"didn't know what?"

[attr="class","noodles"]jayden cross

[attr="class","jayden"] cian looks at him —

[break][break] it's gentle, the same way that chu-e used to look at him —

[break][break] and he unravels.

[break][break] "that i loved him," he croaks.

[break][break] it's a plea.

[break][break] help me.

[attr="class","noodles"]CIAN MAHER

[attr="class","pkmns"]

[attr="class","cian"]their fingers intertwine.

"..."

the smile he offers is void of charm. it's sympathetic.

"i'm sorry."

tugging, cian pulls jayden into an embrace.

[attr="class","noodles"]jayden cross

[attr="class","jayden"] he stumbles.

[break][break] around him, the pokemon's attacks are skyward. the vaporeon and swamperts attacks crash into each other —

[break][break] and jayden crashes into cian —

[break][break] falls.

[break][break] he stumbles into his embrace, one hand clutching at his shirt and the other hand squeezing his fingers. his face presses against the crook of the other's shoulder, a choked sob. "i didn't know."

[break][break]

[attr="class","noodles"]CIAN MAHER

[attr="class","pkmns"]

[attr="class","cian"]i didn't know.

cian usually has an abundance of words in his arsenal, ready to fire off at any given moment. but for something like this? for something so raw? so hurtful?

he settles on two.

"it's okay."

his free hand reaches up to the back of jayden's head.

"you didn't know."

[attr="class","noodles"]jayden cross

[attr="class","jayden"] the touch is gentle.

[break][break] but jayden is touch-starved.

[break][break] it's like it's the first time someone had touched him - touched him ever since the incident. its warm and gentle and comforting, and jayden can't help but clutch against cian's chest. his fingers crumple against the fabric, pulling only slightly.

[break][break] "cian — "

[break][break] a hand pressed against the juncture of his neck and shoulder.

[break][break] he leans.

[break][break] but before anything can happen, a MUDDY WATER cascades through the seafloor and between them, causing the two to crash into the aquarium's glass wall.

[break][break]

[attr="class","noodles"]CIAN MAHER

[attr="class","pkmns"]

[attr="class","cian"]cian leans into the touch, craving more. but a MUDDY WATER separates them.

his fingers slip free as he's forced away by the rushing water. he instinctively gasps, tensing as he comes crashing into the side of the aquarium.

when the water settles, he looks up for jayden cross.

but the battle's over.

and with it, their interaction.

spitting water, he mutters to himself:

"fuck, man."

[attr="class","noodles"]jayden cross