his bruises are healing.

[break][break] still fresh, they bloom faintly beneath layers of make-up as he makes his way across the sub. holding a specimen box for the laboratory, he attempts to cut across the garden to save some time, when a sudden voice makes him pause.

[break][break] he blinks.

[break][break] "what the hell are you doing here?"

[break][break] giada morgan would notice that he looks different from the handsome stranger who's home she'd tried to break into. for one, there are bags hanging heavy beneath his eye, bruises still healing on his cheek, and tape wrapped around his fingers.

[break][break] and it wasn't because he played volleyball.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] giada morgan [break]



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

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]her head tilts as she drinks in differences. bruises, taped up fingers... the lack of sleep is the only thing that, perhaps, looks the same as when he handcuffed her to his bed.

"am i not supposed to be here?"

she steps closer without thinking much of it. and a hand raises, hovering close to his cheekbone.

"what, did you get into a fight or something?"

her nose scrunches up in scrutiny, as if smelling something vile despite the pretty aroma of flowers surrounding them.

"you look like hell."

caden maher
festive flirts.

he ignores her question, and instead, smacks her hand away.

[break][break] lightly.

[break][break] "thanks," he grumbles. "you look like shit too."

[break][break] though, it's said out of bitterness. he knows it's not remotely true. he looks like ass... and she looks like the flowers that are blooming around them. instead, he heaves the box higher as he continues his walk across the garden, forcing her to either follow or get left behind.

[break][break] "what, are you a rocket now? i guess it makes sense. given the fact that you tried to break in to my apartment."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] giada morgan [break]



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

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]a small smile twists itself onto her lips. her hand stings, lightly, and it retreats back to her side after being reprimanded.

and when he takes aim at her appearance, she grins.

”we both know i look better than you right now.”

if he didn’t look like he got trampled by a herd of copperjah, maybe he’d be prettier than her. for now, she wears the crown well, keeping it warm for him.

he begins moving and she follows quickly behind with a laugh.

”unfortunately, i’ve been in rocket practically my whole life.”

maybe she would’ve gotten out if she had left when Sénon Game did. instead, he abandoned her in the lion’s den and she had to fend for herself. she’s still bitter about it, sometimes, in the later hours of the night when sleep eludes her and she’s constantly alone.

”although… if i knew you were rocket then, i might not have broken in.”

it’s a lie. they both know she would have regardless.

caden maher
festive flirts.

that gets him. he pauses, angling his head towards her.

[break][break] "huh."

[break][break] whether it's surprise or judgement, caden regards her with a new pair of eyes. for some reason, he'd assumed she was a new recruit. otherwise — why hadn't they met before?

[break][break] "my last name's maher," he says instead. "you might have heard of my dad. or my brothers." while his first name is of no real importance in rocket, he knows his father to be a well-standing member of rocket for some time. his father's fist has surely scared a number of baby recruits from looking at them the wrong way more than once.

[break][break] "how'd you get into rocket then? they give you up as a baby?"

[break][break] his cut lips upturn into a smirk.

[attr="class","ooc"] giada morgan [break]


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

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]she hums, thoughtful for a moment.

”the name rings a bell.”

and unfortunately, begrudingly, she’s familiar with one of the brothers he speaks of. the twin, although the connection is lost on her here and now.

”i’m afraid i can’t put a face to the name, though. kanto was a shitshow.”

he pries, then, into the background of her existence and for a moment, she finds herself uncertain. the memories have long since become hazy, overwritten by drunken nights and an urge to force forgetting onto the brain.

”debt.”

it’s the easiest answer she can provide him.

”and… kinda, sorta, a boyfriend.”

caden maher
festive flirts.

kanto.

[break][break] "can't say, never been."

[break][break] even to this day, caden can't pinpoint exactly why their father dragged them into rocket. maybe it was because it was easier that way, maybe it was for the connections. but either way, caden was at least grateful that he'd never been in kanto.

[break][break] he remembered the cold, calculated look in THEO BECKETT eyes. the eyes of an animal.

[break][break] he snorts.

[break][break] "boyfriend, huh?" his lips curve into a mischievous grin then, a shadow of the old caden. "what'd mr. boyfriend think when i was between your legs that night?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] giada morgan [break]


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

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]"really?"

she shrugs the concept off her shoulders.

"not much to see, honestly. glad it's done."

and it's half a lie, perhaps. she hated the streets of celadon but perhaps the rest of kanto would have been pretty to see if she ever made her way out of the streets.

the question he asks, then, draws an amused laugh straight out of her body. it's exorcised, a low chiming sort of sound, and then it dies.

"don't know, don't care."

her smile widens in a display of teeth.

"he's been outta the picture for years but if you're curious, you can ask."

caden maher
festive flirts.

he chuckles and hikes the package further up, readjusting the weight on his knee, before continuing their walk.

[break][break] "i dunno. i'm not usually interested in talking to boyfriends."

[break][break] he licks his lips. the cold winter air blow against his cheek, even through the sub's interior.

[break][break] "what's the story there? you leave him? or he leave you?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] giada morgan [break]


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

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]she looks amused as he adjusts the package, eyes following the movement.

"not surprising."

then again...

"although, do they ever want to talk when they find out who their girlfriend's been doing?"

probably not. she imagines it's more flying fists than words.

she moves a little closer, then, to combat the cold. aren't you supposed to try huddling for warmth? is that a thing? regardless, she suspects it won't go very well.

"why?"

the question itself leaves her at a crossroads: does she lie or tell the truth? and regardless of what she says, it's not like he cares much anyway.

"he left."

rocket, her. good riddance is the bitter answer but it leaves behind a hollow sort of ache all the same.

caden maher
festive flirts.

there it is again, that smirk of his.

[break][break] "good point. usually they want to see what it's all about — what made their girlfriend scream."

[break][break] whether it's true or not, caden smiles as if it is.

[break][break] the conversation that comes after is far less interested, but better than nothing, as they walk through the rocket's sub.

[break][break] "why not?" he shrugs. it isn't like they have anything better to do. his eyes flicker towards her as she mentions that she was abandoned, and his heart inexplicably pitches with sympathy. he knows what that's like.

[break][break] "sounds like you're better for it."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] giada morgan [break]


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

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]a soft hum escapes.

"and do they find out?"

color her curious. true or not, it's an interesting take on the whole angry boyfriend thing. perhaps that's the way to go?

his eyes shift to her and hers retreat as quickly as his come. it's an uncomfortable topic for her, realistically. she'd prefer to avoid it if she could, continue to shove it under the rug until emotional object impermanence takes over and she forgets the sensation.

"not particularly but..."

she raises her chin a little higher as if to defy her fate.

"getting there, i guess."

a few feet away, hanging delicately above the exit, a little sprig of mistletoe waits for victims.

caden maher
festive flirts.

"wouldn't you like to know?"

[break][break] he smirks.

[break][break] "but yeah, some of them. some of them —" his eyes darken. "they teach me a thing or two."

[break][break] finally, they make it over to his destination — the intro to the lab. the air around the hallway is cold and steel, set in front of a pair of double doors. caden leans down, putting the box of supplies down, before standing up so that he can regard @gia properly.

[break][break] despite the bruises on his face, despite the fall of his character, the way that he looks at gia is the same as it was on that fateful night. his eyes swirl the color of obsidian and slate as he looks down at her, as she turns her face to him. the mistletoe hangs suggestively above them.

[break][break] "are you?"

[break][break] his voice is low and husky in the dark light.

[attr="class","ooc"] giada morgan [break]


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