With a long exhale, Stormy sinks deeper into the water. It burns, lapping at every inch of exposed skin, seeping through the towel she wraps herself in. Steam rises from the surface of the water, water bubbles, noises blur. She tilts her head back until the baby hairs at the back of her neck take on water, and only then does she open her eyes.

Though not inebriated, the warm water and her chosen company leaves her lightheaded.

Something bumps gently against her hand and she shifts, glancing down to find the cup of sake. With a brief glance between it and the man, she gently lifts it up and to her lips. She emits a contented hum at the familiar taste.

Kanto sake.

There is a muffled noise as she sets the cup back down.

KVsQ2SzE

heat points: 986

FERNANDO SILPH

MARINATE

A BOND KINDLED LEFT OUT TO COOK

A TICKLE PRICKS HIM WHEN HIS EYES GRAZE HER BACKSIDE. It aches with a pain that coerces him to release. It comes from his arm, bandaged in a transparent sealant still under Silph Co.’s testing phases and otherwise invisible.

In her company, he trusts. Which is why he allows her to spend a good deal of his vacation together. Should things go amiss, there is little need to explain. Fabrications can be woven from existing yarns.

So he breaks the bestill water.

“Bronwen. What will you do now?”

A question he’s asked her many times before.

V3C_jf9X

HEAT POINTS: 945
Stormy Silph

Stormy lifts her gaze at the sound of her name. Somewhere along the line, the use of Bronwen had become a comfort when it was he who spoke it.

The heat of the water leaves her flushed, and she is fortunate for it.

"My.. best?"

What was he asking? What was he ever asking? The need to answer the question right, to impress him, always lingered at the back of her mind with deadly anxiety. She answers immediately so as to not overthink.

"What will you do?"

eIrZh354

heat points: 957

FERNANDO SILPH

MARINATE

A BOND KINDLED LEFT OUT TO COOK

HER ANSWER IS SURPRISING. Far from what he expected. And his expression sours into a deadpan neutral. Not disapproval nor amusement. Just a straight line unsure of how to process.

“…”

A moment passes before he laughs, mockingly.

“My best.”

VZOkYhML

HEAT POINTS: 926
Stormy Silph

Naturally, he laughs at her.

It is a sound she's become familiar with and uncomfortably fond of. But it is a sign of his comfort, it is a side of him that she does not often see - it is a side of him he keeps behind closed doors.

Maybe she is selfish, or stupid, to think that it means something more than what it is.

"A difficult standard, indeed."

And then she takes another sip of her sake, this time using two hands. She watches him from the lip of her cup, her expression faraway and thoughtful.

ID9xqFo7

heat points: 884

FERNANDO SILPH

MARINATE

A BOND KINDLED LEFT OUT TO COOK

“DIFFICULTY MAKES IT WORTHWHILE.”

Eyes close as he sinks into the waters. The water’s surface climbs until it reach right under his nose. That’s where he sits as the heat bakes him well past neutral.

When he rises, he look to her.

“It is what makes us better.”

B9p1dZGp

HEAT POINTS: 911
Stormy Silph

"You're right."

She sighs, setting the cup down so that she could lower herself into the water. It laps at reddening skin, soothing as it brushes against her lips, at the nape of her neck, soaks into her hair.

Meeting his gaze elicits a twist of her stomach, a feeling of breathlessness that she forces herself away from.

"Thank you for inviting me."

oYp4gs5O

heat points: 824

FERNANDO SILPH

MARINATE

A BOND KINDLED LEFT OUT TO COOK

SILENCE SETTLES. Awkwardness ensues. Fernando says nothing before reclining against the wall. He finds a seat in the sudden hush.

His eyes narrow but his lips never part. Some things are better left unsaid. A lack of acknowledgement is acknowledgement in itself.

pgWKeRP|

HEAT POINTS: 816
Stormy Silph

She isn't looking for an answer.

But she is.

She doesn't expect anything from him.

But she does.

His silence is deafening but she exists within it if only to not make the conversation sour. Another sip of her drink leads to her closing her eyes. The alcohol burns a path through her body, leaving her warm both inside and out. It sits heavily, making her tingly, warm, numb, indistinct.

It is, for now, the warm embrace she seeks.

sN|cDBTM

heat points: 762

FERNANDO SILPH

MARINATE

A BOND KINDLED LEFT OUT TO COOK

AS WITH ALL THINGS, the silence expires. The quiet murmurs of shifting water and objects touching give way to the sound of his voice. It’s low and sits right above the water’s surface.

“It’s been more than half a year.”

He pauses.

“How is Moltres? Able to keep warm?”

jDPjSgk5

HEAT POINTS: 810
Stormy Silph

She idly chews her bottom lip, sucking it over her teeth. The sensation is soothing, a gentle pressure that she can focus on outside of the swell of feelings in her breast.

Fernando speaks up, breaking her out of her trance.

"Better, I think. It--we're stronger."

Ever since that night on the balcony, she had found her confidence and her strength again. It was why she stayed in his orbit, misinterpreting his company and her feelings for him as the reason for her confidence. He made her better, but she had been the one to put her pieces back together.

jB50naNk

heat points: 679

FERNANDO SILPH

MARINATE

A BOND KINDLED LEFT OUT TO COOK

“GOOD.”

His congratulations is as short lived as his approval. There’s no need to string her further along for something that’s expected from her. Self value comes from within—an enlightenment that he hopes to impart onto her as the reigning banner of which he heralds.



A second serving of sake graces his lips. It’s no longer hot but keeps the warmth of the bath. It gleans past wet lips and Fernando stomachs it with a pleased inhale.

“I told you, you would be fine.”

zUUNV2MU

HEAT POINTS: 805
Stormy Silph

'Good,' he says, as if that is all that needs to be said.

Maybe it is, but she always wants more.

"I know."

She smiles slightly, her attention lingers and her thoughts wander. In those thoughts, she draws closer to him.

ZXeFnH6I

heat points: 617

FERNANDO SILPH