noticing snorunt's inevitable fall, his leg stilled, though at an odd time which left the ice-type in the air for a brief moment. it soon fell, smacking against his leg. would it manage to stay on?

"the malamar, for example, used to be a real slippery bitch. wouldn't listen to me and would always slither away before i could return it to its pokeball."

he looked at her, offering a thought.

"showing that i cared for it seemed to change its disposition towards me. i thought it'd be similar for alakazam."

Lulu Flint

☉

no, of course not. snorunt was klutzy as hell, and fell face first onto the floor.

lulu took a bite out of her burger, listening. all malamars are real slippery bitches, she thought as she chewed, swallowed.

“maybe.” her shoulders raised in a typical shrug. “baby steps i guess, like you said.”

THEO BECKETT

☉

theo didn't give much of a reaction to the falling snorunt, not even when it face-planted into the floor and made a weird ngyeh! sound. he simply raised his foot a little, allowing it to balance on him like it did the last time.

"baby steps."

with both hands now free, he reached for his burger and bit into it. after a few bites, he gestured over to her burger.

"thoughts?"

Lulu Flint

☉

the snorunt righted itself and balanced on his foot again, just like last time.

he echoed them both, and hopelessness resonated in it for her. she absorbed it with a sigh and another bite from her burger.

it was delicious.

she looked over at him, the corners of her lips turning up the slightest bit. “pretty good.” before her eyes dropped again, away.

“i haven’t had a good burger since i lived in motostoke.” how long had it been, now? three years, or something like that.

THEO BECKETT

☉

the small smile told him more than her words did. one mirrored on him, lingering even as he turned away to continue eating his burger. grease and sauce dripped onto the container.

"i imagine it'd be better at the restaurant."

playfully, he tilted his foot to the side.

"next time, perhaps."

Lulu Flint

☉

very slick.

it caught her off guard. she turned her gaze on him again, an ounce of boldness summoned from somewhere to ask, “like a date?”

snorunt tumbled off theo’s foot more dramatically than he’d actually caused, theatrical and giggling. a cubchoo who had been watching them the entire time finally decided to come out of its hiding place, glistening snot glob swaying as it crawled from the darkness.

THEO BECKETT

☉

he didn't notice the snorunt falling off his foot or the snotty cubchoo who emerged from the darkness. his words left him almost too casually, but at her question, he paused for a moment to finish chewing.

then, he turned, watching.

"yes."

Lulu Flint

☉

her gaze remained on his for a moment before a sobered blink and return to her food.

burgers reminded her of rinc—only he’d always gotten them fries instead of onion rings. just over a year dead, now… and to think she’d told the likes of fernando ‘i love you’. inwardly, she recoiled from connection.

“then no.”

another bite.

the cubchoo made its way over, plopping down near theo’s foot as well and looking up at him.

THEO BECKETT

☉

he kept his gaze on her for the moment, still not noticing the cubchoo.

it was a fair response, but...

"why?"

Lulu Flint

☉

she could feel his eyes, and it felt crushing. she thought back to the moment from the other day that her lips had nearly found his again, and the sharp feeling of panic it had sent through her.

“because.”

she didn’t have to give him a reason, she told herself.

“why are you pursuing me?”

THEO BECKETT

☉

his first instinct was to deflect, to avoid the question, and to feel nothing as he had been trained to do so. but he fought against it.

still, the only thing that left was:

"because."

his appetite, and he set what remained of the burger down, reaching for a tissue to wipe his hands.

he sighed.

"i don't feel a lot of things in general."

Lulu Flint

☉

he didn’t ’feel a lot of things’, which certainly seemed to imply that he felt some way about her, which was much worse than anything she could have imagined.

she set her burger down as well, mirroring him unintentionally, although she still didn’t meet his eyes.

there was only silence from her as she mulled over what she could say, ultimately coming up with nothing.

THEO BECKETT

☉

after a long period of silence, he shrugged, looking away to finally notice the cubchoo. he seemed to zone in on it, though didn't bother greeting it.

"the offer's there if you want it."

otherwise, he wasn't going to push again, at least not today.

Lulu Flint

☉