to know more about her? didn’t he already know enough? he knew her name, for example. how many people knew that?

she wrinkled her nose at him.

”you want to see me eat?”

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]he wrinkles his nose in response, chuckling shortly after.

"you make it sound so strange, but sure."

[attr="class","noodles"]Lulu Flint

as she began to put strange things together in her head, the game was further and further from her attention. another poor move was made, leaving her vulnerable. it was unlike her.

she escaped in a sip of the whiskey momentarily, unsure of how to respond at first other than an, ”oh.”

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]ruthless, theo gives her little space, capitalizing on her poor move to only push her further into a corner.

it's then that he sips once again before lifting his gaze back onto her.

"is it strange?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Lulu Flint

it was very strange. 

did theo want to cook for her? what might’ve been casual was read into far too much. go figure. 

”yes.”

she looked down at the board, realizing she had little moves left. clearly, she was shocked—and also had not been paying enough attention.

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]his gaze lingers even after he's moved his piece. another advance draws them closer to an inevitability.

"why?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Lulu Flint

the impending loss, paired with the equally cornering conversation left her feeling as though she wanted to get up and leave the room, but she remained. another piece moved, dragging it out, as though she could not accept defeat even as it was reaching for her. denial.

she could think of lots of answers, but none of them left her mouth.

”i don’t know.”

in these moments, lulu was like a deer in headlights. kind of stupid looking.

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]"it's unlike you to not know."

where he accepted his defeat with grace, she fights on, denying what's to come in a few more moves.

he hums a thought only to exhale it out.

"i don't think it's strange."

[attr="class","noodles"]Lulu Flint

was it unlike her? she hadn't known what a chicken was, after all.

truth be told, lulu's genius and hyper-focus were sort of... tall, but narrow. some things were stacked high up like her papers, whereas other areas were left with fairly few resources.

even with all the answers, often times lulu was jarringly clueless.

"..."

this time, she didn't move. every second passed was a second his victory did not exist yet. 

"why not?"

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]the game comes to a sudden halt, at which, he exhales, leaning back in his seat.

"it just seems like the natural progression for our..."

what's the word?

"...dynamic."

[attr="class","noodles"]Lulu Flint

she stared some more as he leaned back. ash fell onto the floor, and onto djall, who sneezed and woke up with a startled grumble. only then remembering he was there, lulu cursed under her breath and bent below to wipe his nose.

taking the moment that her eyes left theo to answer, she echoed with an anxious weight in her shoulders, “our dynamic?”

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]"our dynamic."

he echoes as he watches her fumble with both her cigarette and her response, not particularly minding. if anything, it's always slightly amusing.

"or whatever you want to call this."

[attr="class","noodles"]Lulu Flint

were they friends? lulu wouldn’t have exactly called them that. did she have friends, other than @emi , and maybe @hades ? no… fi had friends. someone else, from the past, ever-dwindling in their lingering essence, especially since FERNANDO SILPH , and tapu fini’s gift of rebirth, and darkrai’s bestowal of a day and night never ending.

never asleep like others, lulu was quite literally cursed with loneliness. it empowered her in a way, though. she had settled into it.

now, lulu wasn’t sure what it was between them. a mutually aware tie to family, and the only one who had ever given her the time of day, really, without needing anything. on the other hand, there was the hatred from the pain of that connection. even recently, he’d hurt her brother. Cillian Quinn ’s engagement had fallen through in the wake of their relationship, and regardless of fault, of course she blamed theo.

still, over time, whatever point she’d initially had to prove to this person had softened into a strange feeling of safety.

but did that make them friends?

she sat back upright, still not looking up at him as she stamped the too-burned cigarette out.

”what?”

THEO BECKETT