nineteen years old, juggling an unbaked pie in one hand and a toddler in the other. she blows the hair from her face with a puff of her lips and manages to finagle the pie into the oven, all with roman squirming like a rambunctious puppy in her arm. when the oven door is safely closed, she puts him on the ground. her grumpy swadloon totters after him while roman squeals with delight. 

"sweetheart, i told you to wait two minutes and i'd help," her mother calls from downstairs. they leave the staircase open with a baby gate attached so willow can trounce down the stairs in a flurry if the flower shop gets to be a bit too crowded for her mother to handle it alone. 

her father's out back, pruning the garden more than likely. or in his workshop, forgetting that it's nigh the busiest part of the day. 

"come here, you," she threatens, shoulders hunching as she stomps over to a giggling roman.

"you got da cake, mommy?"

"mhm. it's cooking. gonna be real tasty when it comes out."

he yawns real wide. willow boops him on the nose, scoops him up to her hip, and after about twenty minutes of coaxing, manages to finally get him to curl up in his bed for an afternoon nap. 

free to her own devices, she takes the pie out, sets it to cool, and then takes the stairs down two at a time. a wide grin spreads over her face, timing perfect. 

she raises a hand in mock salute and then laughs. "c'mon, ollie. we gotta go restock some of these for mom." she kisses her mother on the cheek, ducks under the counter, and loops her arm around ollie's to drag him out back. 

ollie morales

☉

[attr="class","oliver2"]

oh man, it's willow.

[break][break] listen, ollie likes all of the atkins. he couldn't have asked for an easier assignment, as the family that owns the local flowership are some of the nicest people he's ever met. some days, it's enough to make him miss home — miss his own mother — a little more than usual. he likes all of them but of them all, willow was definitely the prettiest.

[break][break] he chuckles. "at your service, ma'am!"

[break][break] a little joke between the two of them that he calls her ma'am despite the fact that he's got a quite few years on her. but technically he's working. and his pa always taught him to be polite.

[break][break] "little tyke's not coming with us?" he says, waving back at mrs. atkins as they leave towards the garden before turning around to look at the young nineteen year-old.

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
berry patch kids
[break]

☉

she scrunches up her nose. it's a running joke between them, but that sure as heck doesn't make it fun to hear. she already feels a lot older than her peers courtesy of her little tyke that's crashed upstairs. she peers up at him. there's a gratefulness in her smile, the easy breezy kind, 'cause not once has ollie at all judged her for roman. and more than that, he's seen her as herself. as willow. not a nineteen year-old stuck with a three-year old mistake. 

(which he's not. he wasn't. that's just sometimes what they think. she can see it in their eyes.)

"nah. he had a busy day yesterday. took him berry picking. his hands are still stained blue. it's kinda cute."

her father is bent over a bed of flowers. willow untangles herself from ollie out of reflex, wanting to avoid his questioning gaze (not that anything's there, but he's been weird about guys coming around). 

"mom needs more carnations, dad. and miss komkowski's still waiting on her herb bundles."

ollie morales

☉

[attr="class","oliver2"]

he laughs. "oh man, i woulda loved to see that! when i was a kid, pa would let me pick the oran berries out back until my hands looked like a squirtle's too."

[break][break] he and Eva Morales would race, trying to see who could get the most berries before time was up. it was a fond memory.

[break][break] as they pass by, and willow seems to get self-conscious, ollie does literally the opposite. he makes a broad wave. "hey, mr. atkins! willow and i are here to help."

[break][break] sometimes ollie thinks that willow's dad gives him an extra stern look whenever he hangs out with willow. or maybe he's just imagining it. it's hard to tell!

[break][break] "not to worry though, sir. i'm really good at picking flowers and crops. i grew up on a farm, ya know."

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
berry patch kids
[break]

☉

samuel atkins is a hardened man. he never really fit the metropolitan lifestyle rustboro had to offer. no, he's much happier out here, with dirt under his nails and a tan on the back of his neck. he straightens when the pair approach, wiping some sweat with the back of his hand, and chuckles at ollie's enthusiasm. 

"how many times you gonna tell me that, son?" he shakes his head and gestures to the greenhouse.

"leila's been stingy about letting the herbs go. maybe you two could coax her." the torterra in question is a beast. she rests in a garden plot at the back end of the greenhouse. most of her days are spent here, as she's content to laze away most of her days with the sunlight on the herb garden cultivated on her back. 

that and she's samuel's pride and joy. part of the reason why her herbs are so delicious. 

"c'mon, ollie. grab some gloves. you know leila's sweet on you. i'll get the twine for the bundle," willow says sweetly.

ollie morales

☉

[attr="class","oliver2"]

"until you never forget it!" he grins.

[break][break] ollie knows that samuel likely never forgot — how could he, when the ranger brought it up every change he got. but he couldn't help it — it was in his morales blood!

[break][break] "sorry sir," he says with a chuckle, after a moment. "m'just proud of pa and our farm. maybe one day you can take a look."

[break][break] as leila is brought up, ollie's golden gaze shifts to look at the sight of the torterra in question. they're a little far from her, but due to her size, ollie can still a bit of the shadow that he believes is her.

[break][break] "you got it sir!" he raises his arm up in a salut before quickly grabbing willow's hand and dragging her towards the greenhouse, eager as ever.

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
berry patch kids
[break]

☉

ollie's too enthused by the task at hand to see the look on samuel's face, but willow doesn't miss it. there's a softness there, a crinkling around his eyes that give away the smile he's trying to hide. she puffs out her cheeks at him and gives him a look as ollie drags her inside. 

it is by no means the working menagerie of a fully-fledged business - no, that will come much later, by willow's own hands. right now, there's only leila and a few other flowering pokemon and plants. samuel takes in wounded grass-types from time to time, curing ailments for neighbors or friends, but he won't take so much as a nickel. 

he's got too much going on, what with raising a three-year old and managing a shop and a bit of a strenuous marriage. (they love each other, but it's work.) 

leila blinks one brown eye open. rocks crumble from her brow and there's a creaking sound as more dirt dislodges. 'terrrrr,' she hums. the greens on her back sway at her slight movements and willow rolls her eyes. 

"she's never as happy to see me," she complains. and willow's usually the one that waters and fertilizes her. 

she grabs some clippers from her dad's workbench and holds them out to ollie. 

ollie morales

☉

[attr="class","oliver2"]

he pushes his way into the greenhouse and lets go of her hand. the absence of warmth is felt; nearly enough to make him feel disappointed.

[break][break] he doesn't linger on the feeling for long.

[break][break] the ranger looks around with a wide-eyed gaze, head tilted skyward as he looks at all open space. it amazes him every time. even if it's not much, the grass-types and plants that fill the greenhouse are always a fine sight to see. it makes warmth bundle in his stomach.

[break][break] "leila!"

[break][break] ollie's grin is wide and friendly as he walks over to her in a few simple strides, as he reaches over to her head and gives a kiss on the forehead.

[break][break] "aw," he says. "don't say that wills. i'm sure she's plenty happy to see you."

[break][break] he grabs the clippers from her hand and sets to work, carefully snipping away the pieces around the torterra's brow and jaw first, making to trip away the edges so it won't get in the way of her meal later.

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
berry patch kids
[break]

☉

leila is practically putty in ollie's hands. willow steps back, arms crossed, watching him in that quiet, lazy way of hers. she slouches to the side and listens to the plant pokemon rustle, leila's happy grumbles, and the careful snipping of ollie using the clippers. 

and a small part of her is sad, for a moment, wishing she could share this with the person who's hurt her most in this world. 

she shakes her head and stops her staring to prep some of the fertilizer and a healthy bowl of nuts and berries for the old torterra to munch on. she also grabs a pack of teddy grahams from the cupboard (it's good to have snacks handy in easy to reach places if roman needs some distracting). 

she pops the bag and skips over to ollie. since his hands are full, she holds a couple out in pinched fingers in front of his lips. 

leila shuffles from side to side and grumbles like a crotchety old woman. "see! leila, you're too old to be a brat. stop being mean just because ollie's here." the torterra snuffs, blowing dirt, and gives her tremendous body a playful shake.

willow points up to the torterra's back. "i'll give you a little boost? miss komkowski asked for a bushel of white sage." apparently fairies were getting a little too comfortable around her property again - upturned flower pots, broken bird houses, and weeds sprouting through the cracks in her sidewalk. 

"and i think she wanted some sweet basil too." 

leila snorts again and stomps. willow sighs. 

ollie morales

☉

[attr="class","oliver2"]

the clippers snip easily around the additional leaves that are sticking off of the torterra's frame. it's a comfortable motion, made only easier by the fact that leila is such a darling to work with.

[break][break] it reminds him on the days at the farm, when he'd been woken up at the crack of dawn to do chores. while he may have complained first about being woken up so early, it had always been fun to hang out with the pokemon on the ranch and take care of them. neighbors had said that ollie had a way with pokemon and it was something that he took pride in, even back then as a spunky 13-year old carrying a pile of miltank poop to throw on a fertilizer pile nearby.

[break][break] moving away from her jaw, he continues down the rest of her body. he uses his fingers to pull away some dead branches or raze edges where moss has grown on the torterra's back. it's only when willow comes back around that he turns to her, blinking with surprise as she presses a berry against his mouth.

[break][break] his lips curve around the treat before he chews gratefully, tongue darting out to catch a bit of berry juice. "thanks, wills!" a laugh bubbles to his lips as leila grumbles, and he pats her on the side to calm her down. "aw, she's not a brat are you leila?" he cooes at the torterra, finishing up the rest of her trim.

[break][break] when he's done, he stands up, brushing some dirt off his knees. "oh, sure thing!" he walks over to her, standing right in front of her and blinking fondly down at her. "ready whenever you are."

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
berry patch kids
[break]

☉

not a brat? hah. leila chuffs in agreement to ollie nonetheless and willow rolls her eyes. she drops one knee to the ground and crouches there, fingers knitted together to give ollie the boost he needs. and when he nears, she stiffens her shoulders and grunts as she hoists him up. 

she doesn't really work on the farm a whole lot. her father does most of the heavy lifting when need be (though lately his back's been giving him some problems) and ollie's here when they need him to do just about everything else. but rather than complain, she furrows her brows and thinks through the burning in her shoulders. 

looks up at ollie instead and smiles. "oh, no, that's thai basil! get the one with the green stems instead, ollie." 

ollie morales

☉

[attr="class","oliver2"]

it's not the first time they've done this, so they've got a flow that makes it easy. still, he is always amazed at how much stronger willow is than she looks as she hoists him up onto leila's back. his fingers grip the moss on the side of her, using them as leverage to haul himself up. his arms bulge with the effort of the activity, but it's only a matter of moments before he's standing atop the magnificent beast.

[break][break] "what'd you say you need again? basil? sage?"

[break][break] the ecosystem atop leila's back is breathtaking as it ever is, but ollie does his best not to get lost in it. though he grew up on a farm, they never had a torterra quite like her. most of pa's farm was miltanks and ponyta.

[break][break] "oh — got it." heeding her words, he goes for the ones with the green steps and plucks them gently from their place until he has a whole bushel in his hands. he walks over to the edge of leila's shell, dropping to his knees and stretching out an arm to hand the bundle of herbs to willow.

[break][break] "anything else, boss?"

[break][break] in his emerald gaze, humor twinkles like starlight.

[attr="class","ooc"] willow atkins [break]
berry patch kids
[break]

☉

as soon as ollie's moving gingerly around her back, leila looks at willow out of the corner of her eye. and willow could swear she's smirking at her. but she just rolls her own eyes and keeps her hands out in case ollie slips. which he doesn't, of course. that's probably the real reason leila likes him so much. he's so careful, so gentle, even when standing on top of the giant pokemon's shell. 

"nope, that's perfect," she says and stands on her toes to grab the bundle. she crosses to her dad's workbench to set it down so she can hurry back to ollie and make sure he gets down alright. 

she holds her hands out for him. "c'mon. as tempting as it is, i don't think leila wants you to stay up there forever."

ollie morales

☉