bo isn't saying or doing anything either and something about that makes willow start to laugh. unfortunately, that laugh is cut short when she realizes bo being distracted is a lot more detrimental to her side of the field. emboldened and frustrated, the thwackey lashes out with full force and poor lus gets knocked several feet back before slamming painfully into the ground. 

"lus!" willow abandons her spot and rushes to the fallen heracross. he blinks up at her and makes some angry chittering noises as he hauls himself up into a sitting position. willow pats his folded wings and draws him back into his ball, whispering promises of rest and extra treats tonight when they get home. 

the rest of her pokemon, having watched from the sidelines, eye the thwackey nervously. 

"bo, i think maybe we...ease into it." she pats down her shorts, getting some of the clamminess off of her hands (she was nervous, okay?) and looks sheepishly at him. 

"i didn't realize just how tired i'd feel? is that weird?"

boruta maher

☉

he winced, a hand going up to his head as the heracross was struck down violently.

”shit. is he okay?” no, probably not, but willow was entirely equipped to heal him when they got home. this was necessary training. hopefully, thwackey hadn’t scared them off from it.

bo’s stare at his mischievous monkey was not the happiest. it wasn’t so much a glare as an absence of the smile he’d previously had since he’d walked up and seen her. in a rare moment, he reached for thwackey’s pokéball from his pocket and held it out to return his usual companion, who shrieked in surprise.

”yeah, of course. we won’t start with battles next time. and uh,” he pocketed the pokéball, ”i won’t bring thwackey.”

with a sigh, he made his way back over.

”nah, that’s not weird. battling gets your adrenaline going.” he smiled, finally, again. ”you looked like you were gettin’ into it.” she’d looked pissed, actually, but that was one way to settle into a fight.

”sorry about lus.”

he almost admitted that he hadn't been paying attention.

willow atkins

☉

with the patience of a saint and enough knowledge of grass-types, willow isn't ruffled in the slightest by thwackey's actions. it had been in the heat of battle and bo had spent most of it holding the creature back. but that's the thing about them. they thrive off momentum and as soon as willow and bo had lost their focus, well...bottom line is she blames the two of them more than the impish pokemon itself. 

and she shows as much with a shake of her head. "please, he'll be fine. i think his pride was wounded more than anything."

but she shifts, looking up sheepishly at bo. "it's...different. i can't say i like it myself - not yet anyway. but we'll get there."

you could come around more often. she thinks it but she doesn't say it. instead, she sticks two fingers in her mouth and whistles. the rest of her pokemon collect themselves and join their side, more at ease now that thwackey is in its ball. 

"i know we're close, but care to walk us home?" she asks. it's a start. 

boruta maher

☉

it was a relief to hear that it was no biggie. of course, lus would be fine. he’d known that. but willow? lus was her companion, not a punching bag.

”ah, he’ll just want it more next time, then.”

what bo definitely didn’t expect was for willow to ever actually enjoy battling. they both knew this wasn’t about fun, though, unfortunately.

”you’ll get better.” not you’ll like it. but maybe she would eventually. maybe, one day, she’d be kicking his ass.

… nah.

at her request, he smiled.

”of course.”

willow atkins

☉

"with a teacher like you," she says appreciatively, green eyes teasing as she butts the side of his arm with her shoulder. get a grip, will, she thinks as she puts a bit more space between the two of them. she has to take two strides for each one of his, but they fall into step together easily.

taillow twitter in the undergrowth; overheard, the shrill cry of skarmory can be heard every so often. there's no ashfall today, but there are enough clouds to will away the most of the oppressive summer heat. in short, it's a lovely walk, and she finds herself almost wishing she didn't live so close.

"tulip's doing well," she says. "her horns are coming in. i'm, uh, sure she'd love to see you. if you wanted." she looks up, smiling. 

and then when she's working up the courage to ask bo if he'd like to do just that, someone standing outside the flower shop distracts her. her brows furrow with confusion and a nervous flush colors her cheeks.

"lance? what are you doing here? i thought you were in sinnoh?" her tone says, you gave me the impression i'd never see you again.

boruta maher LANCE VOLLANS

☉

willow atkins he expected to see. she's who he's here for, after all. boruta maher? not so much.[break][break]

"hey. willow." he smiles at her, not looking at his fellow ranger captain just yet. "i was but things wrapped up quicker than i expected. plus, i was rushing to get back."[break][break]

good timing, too, with the barrier about to be enacted a few weeks from now. but of course, none of them are privy to that.[break][break]

finally, he looks at bo, offering him a courteous smile. it's one any other ranger would' receive; polite and professional with just enough charm and confidence that it avoids being smug. in his hands is a wrapped box.[break][break]

"maher—or should i call you boruta? bo?"

[attr="class","ooc"]willow atkins boruta maher[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-shedinja"]

”teacher like me, huh?”

he smiled down at pretty green eyes, pride welling in him at her compliment. he didn’t kick himself for getting lost in it, anymore, finally resigned to the fact that he was helpless in this sort of hold she had over him.

the mention of tulip took him back to a night he hated to think about, but it was good to hear that she was in better health.

”of course i’d want to.” he paused. ”thanks for taking care of her. and sorry again i just showed up like that, y’know—“

he stopped when she did, looking up at a face which was also very familiar to him.

”vollans?” the name came out of his mouth at the same time as 'lance' left willow's. he looked over, immediately noticing the blush on her face. thinking back to the ranger's holiday meal, it was easy enough to put the pieces together. finally.

it wasn’t Greyson Connors after all. this was so much worse.

he'd told his little brother he wasn't going to be toxic.

”bo’s good, yeah. how’s it goin’ man?”

willow atkins LANCE VOLLANS

☉

he's as pleasant as ever, smiling at her like he hadn't abruptly ended things and disappeared with little reason to another region. not that they'd been together long enough - or at all? - to warrant such an explanation, but that doesn't mean it still didn't hurt. and it's only made more complicated by the butterfree in her stomach when she spies the neatly wrapped package in his hands. 

she can feel bo looking at her and that only makes her blush deepen. she runs a hand through her hair, throwing that curtain between the two of them while the two men exchange awkward pleasantries. 

LANCE VOLLANS boruta maher

☉

it's awkward, to say the least, but where some may feel the air suffocating, lance finds that he doesn't mind it all too much, perhaps drawn to the tension and choosing to focus on that instead.[break][break]

in some ways, the situation is a little amusing.[break][break]

"it's, uh, goin' good." he finds himself mirroring bo's inflections. "still dealing with a bit of jet lag but, all in all, can't complain."[break][break]

turning back to willow, lance raises the wrapped box in a gesture before lowering it.[break][break]

"i got you something. but it can wait, i think. i didn't mean to interrupt your..."[break][break]

date?

[attr="class","ooc"]willow atkins boruta maher[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-shedinja"]

not a date, unfortunately—not that this hadn’t been very important. more than willow had been made away of.

and now that he had walked her back, maybe it was time for him to leave.

his eyes also dropped to the box in lance’s hand, briefly, and then back up.

”we were just doing a little battle training—but we’re done now.”

it was weird to realize that roman hadn’t met lance as a friend or customer at the atkins’ shop, but rather as the guy willow was interested in. dating, even? had they broken up? he’d just left?

”i'll uh... get out of here and let you guys catch up.”

willow atkins LANCE VOLLANS

☉

"oh, you're not interr - " she starts at the same time bo answers lance. she shuts up to let him finish and shifts to the side, wishing she could dart between the two of them and into her greenhouse. among her plants, where things make sense and men aren't stupid. 

"oh, uh, okay," she says, habit having her tuck that lock of hair back behind her ear. she looks up at bo and says, "sorry," but then thinks wait, why? and hastily adds, "i mean, well, i'm glad you found time. i'll talk to you this weekend? when i drop ro off?"

boruta maher LANCE VOLLANS

☉

he should’ve just let her answer him, maybe. it had come out anyways in a surge he hadn’t expected. the strong desire to leave and not become the third wheel. to assure them that he had no intention of staying, and to avoid any moment of awkwardness he didn’t want to experience.

and at her apology, he shook his head, trying to assure it was unnecessary. it occurred to him suddenly he’d been rude, but for some reason, it felt like too weird a moment to apologize for it. 

”no worries, will. sounds good. i’ll talk to you then.”

he gave willow a parting smile, and nodded in lance’s direction on his way to leave. ”see ya later, vollans.” it just felt like the natural name to use after three years. he didn't move to correct himself.

with a final, casual wave, he headed off in the other direction.

willow atkins LANCE VOLLANS

☉

so, not a date. the brief relief he feels quickly fades as he nods at boruta's departure.[break][break]

"bo."[break][break]

not maher. he's not here for work, after all.[break][break]

as boruta maher's form reduced in the distance, lance turns back to willow with a smile as though nothing had changed between them.[break][break]

"battle training? i didn't think you were interested."

[attr="class","ooc"]willow atkins boruta maher[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-shedinja"]