family.[break][break]

oh, they'd been so close once upon a time. how she imagined they'd all walk their own paths but still stay connected to each other. they did the former but fell short on the latter.[break][break]

it's unlike stones to fail but in this instance, they all did.[break][break]

"brother."[break][break]

her gaze flicks up and down as she feigns indifference. after a moment, she reaches a hand up to hold his face, fingers brushing against the lines of the scar across his cheek and nose.[break][break]

"what happened here?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Leonidas Stone[break]

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

The nerves continued to eat at him for a time, only to be replaced by a sense of confusion as he watched her hand approach.[break][break]

Blinking, he stared at her with a look of processing before shifting hues of hazel to peer towards her arm, outstretched, and then towards her again. A soft chuckle left his lips as a more natural, uninhibited smile swiftly replaced the prior one of unease that preceded it.[break][break]

”Ahhh, that. Just a small little scuffle, really— don’t mind it~.” Not quite a lie, yet not the whole truth, at the same time. He hadn’t really the mind to linger upon it, and thus gave her hand a pat before gently attempting to wave it away, lifting the other as it clasped around a bottle, all the while. ”That aside, I hope you don’t mind the sudden visit! Just…wanted to drop by."[break][break]

Saying it’d been a while would’ve been an understatement, after all.[break][break]

He brought the bottle—champagne—between both of his hands, eying it with a softer smile before glancing towards her once more, holding it out.[break][break]

”...Wasn’t sure what you would’ve liked, but I figured it’d be good to bring some sort of gift, anyways~.”

ANA STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

a small little scuffle? ana doesn't quite believe that but she presses no further, letting her hand fall back to her side.[break][break]

"i don't mind at all. it's good to see you again after all these years."[break][break]

years, said so casually that it's a wonder if ana truly minds all that time apart.[break][break]

she leans on the door frame, not moving to let him in just yet.[break][break]

"champagne is good. but for the future, i prefer wine."[break][break]

a smile creeps as she finally takes a step back, allowing him into the safety of her home.[break][break]

"i'll get us some glasses to celebrate."

[attr="class","ooc"]Leonidas Stone[break]

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

He hadn’t realized he’d been holding such a heavy breath until it finally escaped him.[break][break]

Nerves. Nerves, nerves, nerves— it was a common, ongoing theme and occurrence in relation to the way he’d felt, but as the visual of her lips curling into that smile of equal parts blessing and cursing, a breath lifted his chest just as heavily as the prior had escaped it. With a weight lifted from his shoulders, he closed his eyes for a moment and gave a chuckle, smiling wider in defeat, himself.[break][break]

”Right. Duly, duly noted for future reference, Sister.” His nose scrunched lightly in a final bout of emphasis before he opened his eyes once more, casting hues of hazel towards her as he lowered the bottle and began to walk in.[break][break]

He nudged her softly in passing, quirking his lip in a faint, faux, smirking pout for a moment.[break][break]

”Glad to see the looks can still kill, though,” he sighed, clicking his tongue. ”I absolutely thought I’d somehow done something wrong— was seconds away from losing my shit on the inside, honestly~.”

ANA STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

"i know it can."[break][break]

after the soft nudge, she turns and returns one right back as she makes her way over to the kitchen of her penthouse apartment. she could've stayed at the estate, of course, but every now and then she prefers her own space.[break][break]

"good. serves you right for not calling all these years."[break][break]

she soon returns with two glasses fit for champagne.[break][break]

"i hear you've been busy with eventide."

[attr="class","ooc"]Leonidas Stone[break]

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

He stared after her as she walked off, a soft chuckle of a scoff escaping a faintly agape mouth.[break][break]

”Oh, come, now…! I didn’t frequently call, but at least I visited whenever I could…!” he called out, laughing. Humming to himself, he pursed his lips in thought before clicking his tongue a second time, beginning to fiddle with the cork of the bottle carefully. ”And at least I’m here now, right~? That’s gotta count for something, right…!”[break][break]

His eyes met hers as she returned— just in time for a light pop to sound before he pulled the cork loose. He took a couple of paces to branch the distance, holding a hand out to take and hold the closest glass towards him and beginning to pour.[break][break]

”Yeees— but just ‘busy’ is a very large understatement, though~...” he mused, another chuckling escaping his lips as he offered the full glass to her. ”Something, something, ‘a lot for a kid to handle.’ I heard that sort of thing a lot, but somehow, I thankfully made it work...”[break][break]

Another laugh.[break][break]

”...Not that I’ve been the only busy one. Two companies on your plate, though? Two?”

ANA STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

it does count for something. his efforts had been more than anything she'd ever done, so it's unfair for her to hold them against him when she herself had done fuck all. it's why she lets the topic pass with a small breath of a chuckle.[break][break]

"that's right! two. you're falling behind, leo. stop slacking."[break][break]

champagne pours into glasses.[break][break]

"believe it or not, i never wanted to run devon."[break][break]

mulling it over for a moment, she shrugs.[break][break]

"but it needed to be saved."

[attr="class","ooc"]Leonidas Stone[break]

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

Though the smile lingered upon his lips, there had been a subtle, idling calmness that prompted it to falter slightly. Jokes were always the farthest from lost upon him, and with the weight lifted from his shoulders within the midst of their conversation, he felt rather well about himself.[break][break]

…And yet, there was nothing but truth in what she said.[break]
He knew there was.[break][break]

”Mmn. That’s reasonable, considering it never was supposed to be yours to run~...”[break][break]

His eyes narrowed softly as he eyed the remaining glass with the same, idle expression prior to filling it and taking it for himself. While gentle and altogether indistinct, he tapped the tip of a finger against the slender, sheen reflections of his drink in thought.[break][break]

Whether it be for courage or for pleasure, he took a small sip, humming.[break][break]

”Somewhat on that note, actually, I’ve…been wondering.” By no means had they been as prominent and provoked as earlier, but the nerves returned within the back of his mind, nagging. ”Was there a reason you weren’t there for…”[break][break]

He trailed off, unsure.[break]
He steeled himself with another sip.[break][break]

”...Y’know. That.”

ANA STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉

the small roll of her eyes is meant in jest but leo is right: devon was never hers to run. it's a fact that still stings to this day even if she pretends it doesn't.[break][break]

speaking of things that sting...[break][break]

the funeral.[break][break]

her sip is cut short as she ponders over it in an attempt to find the right words to say to him. but what could she say besides the truth?[break][break]

"i didn't want to be there."[break][break]

she shrugs, oddly cold in her response.[break][break]

"i paid my respects after."[break][break]

only recently. years after.

[attr="class","ooc"]Leonidas Stone[break]

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

And just like that, the nerves returned to him.[break]
…Or maybe nerves hadn’t quite been the right word.[break][break]

Awkwardness, maybe. He had been more than aware that it was a topic that was…heavy, to say the least. Just like with others, thinking about the sort of possibilities regarding responses made him a little bit tense, so truthfully speaking, there was a sense of relief that came with such an honest answer.[break][break]

Relief that had only been balanced by the tone of her voice.[break][break]

”...Right…” he hummed softly at first.[break][break]

He swirled his glass gently with a pensive eye.[break]
His turn to gather the right words.[break][break]

”Was there a…reason why...?” he went on, only vaguely uncertain as the words left his lips. ”I always assumed it was from…discomfort? Grief? How it would’ve made being there unbearable?”[break][break]

After all, he had no way of knowing the happenings of people he hadn’t been in contact with.[break][break]

”...'Cause if I gotta be honest, I’ve…always wondered if something happened between you two,” the younger Stone continued. Quieter. Unsure. ”Obviously, I would’ve rather not considered it to begin with, but…”[break][break]

…It was just something he couldn’t help but think of when even family had chosen to be absent.

ANA STONE [break]
n o t e s

☉