their travel plans are set, then. time off from work would do both of them some good.[break][break]

"busy. far more than lilycove or even slateport."[break][break]

he wonders if he ever told her about the time he left team rocket. he must've.[break][break]

"you know, i traveled often during the two years i was away from rocket. visited regions and cities i never thought i would have before. mostly for business, but still."

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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

”it looks busy, in pictures.”

the next part was news. lulu didn’t often think about him ever having been anything else than what he was now. she had liked him how he was, how she interpreted him. cold and cutthroat.[break][break]

there was surprise in her gaze. a little confusion, but it was free of judgment—at least for now. she was simply curious.[break][break]

”you left?”

[attr="class","ooc"]THEO BECKETT [break]

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

he nods.[break][break]

"i did. it was after silas was killed. i remember there was a shift in power then. even those in kanto felt it. it was what allowed us to leave."[break][break]

he hadn't been the only one who had left. even those deep in kanto's regime saw the opportunity and took it. he was no different. in fact, he'd profited while most disappeared to live simpler lives.[break][break]

"spent two years trading. smuggling. set up my network across regions."[break][break]

it was how he had come to know GABRIEL BLACK even before setting foot in hoenn.

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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

trading and smuggling. not too unlike what she’d been doing in kanto in those days, though she still wasn’t sure if he’d ever found out about that part.[break][break]

the next question lingered on her tongue, but it was a tricky one, because she didn’t want to imply that it had been a bad idea. of course it hadn’t been.[break][break]

”but you came back.” not to anywhere in particular, but, ”to rocket.” why?[break][break]

her chin settled in her hand and she gazed at him curiously. ”because of walsh?”

[attr="class","ooc"]THEO BECKETT [break]

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

"partially."[break][break]

he replies, not much of an admission as it is an affirmation.[break][break]

"it was mainly because i lacked purpose, at least none on the same level as what i felt with rocket."[break][break]

his gaze levels with hers.[break][break]

"as what i still feel now."

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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

theo was loyal to walsh. perhaps it would always be that way. she didn’t dare tell him her suspicions or worries. to theo, she figured she had to look as loyal as he did.[break][break]

but she had to wonder, if it came down to it, could he ever choose her? instead of asking, she decided in that moment to assume that he might, by some chance. a sip of tequila helped wash away the thought.[break][break]

”what about it fuels that sense of purpose for you?” a taste for power? a political agenda? they’d never really talked about it. the most she’d ever known was what he’d told her on their first night together. he was here to take hoenn the way they'd taken kanto.

[attr="class","ooc"]THEO BECKETT [break]

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

"part of it is because i've been conditioned to believe in the rocket agenda, and to a certain extent, i do, but only if there is peace at the end of it all."[break][break]

to conquer and rule so they can make the world a better place. a more peaceful place, one without bloodshed and violence. the propaganda they often spread is believed on some level because he can imagine a world like that.[break][break]

in some ways, kanto is proof of that.[break][break]

"the other part is familiarity, i suppose. this is all i've ever done and all i've ever known, so to do anything else feels odd. wrong, almost."[break][break]

he continues.[break][break]

"i felt lost during those two years."

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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

peace. it had not been the answer she was expecting. she’d seen theo how she’d wanted to, after all.[break][break]
”it’s difficult to imagine you lost.” what might theo be like without his sense of purpose? although, it did seem like he was missing something else. a part of him perhaps long left behind, that maybe she would never get to know, no matter how much time she spent with him. she had a missing part like that too.[break][break]
”ever since we met, you’ve had this air of being unstoppable.” and it had brought about a crush she’d loathed herself for. one she’d refused to even admit as she began acting on it. ”it was part of what drew me to you.”

[attr="class","ooc"]THEO BECKETT [break]

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

call it the kanto effect.[break][break]

"i'm not unstoppable, no. i bruise, bleed, and hurt just like everyone else."[break][break]

his failed ambush on Katherine Fairburne reaffirms that much.[break][break]

"but i do try to stay a step ahead."[break][break]

experience, wisdom, and insight aid in his efforts. to be one step ahead means to have the upper hand, allowing him to plan accordingly.[break][break]

"have things changed for you, then? since coming to terms with my mortality."

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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

she knew that, deep down. she just chose not to see it. to see him in the aftermath of that ambush and hear him admit failure had stung and sickened her—but there had been a clash of emotions too, all overpowered by her anger. protectiveness over him.[break][break]
his question caught her off guard, tinting her cheeks pink. his mortality? it implied she thought he was inhuman. once, at least, it had been embarrassingly close to the truth.[break][break]
”changed?” a moment of thought took space before she answered, ”i love you for other reasons now. so, yes.”

[attr="class","ooc"]THEO BECKETT [break]

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

a smile forms at her words, the "good," lingering at the tip of his tongue but never quite leaving.[break][break]

instead, he nods, then takes another sip of his tequila that has now reached dwindling low levels. he reaches for the bottle, pouring himself (and her, should she need one) a refill.[break][break]

"while we're on the topic of my past."[break][break]

the bottle is placed back down once more.[break][break]

"is there anything else you'd like to know?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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

she had seen enough of kanto to know that his past there was likely filled with more bloodshed. she remembered talking briefly about his family, and then never going near the topic again. she assumed he would not want to talk about it, and she wouldn’t bring it up over three glasses of tequila.[break][break]
curiosity was still there.[break][break]
“of course. i mean, i know i’ve never asked many questions.” many might find it odd, given a look into their relationship; but, they were not ordinary people. there was a certain necessary detachment to them.[break][break]
”i guess for a while, i didn’t want to know much.” a pause, and her gaze lowered briefly. ”you must think i just don’t care.” and she hadn’t, for a long time.[break][break]
but she cared now. she’d said enough a moment prior to make that clear, she assumed. her eyes found him again, the next question coming only after a moment of hesitation.[break][break]
”when you were a kid, did you have a dream? like, a vision of what you wanted your life to be?” before rocket, and before the family he’d made for himself before them, even. before the world had done what it does to all people, when the greatest force had been his own imagination. a silly question, maybe. blame it on the tequila.

[attr="class","ooc"]THEO BECKETT [break]

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

"i don't think that. i know you care."[break][break]

even without what she had said a moment prior, he knows. she wouldn't have been here otherwise, living in the same house they bought together.[break][break]

"i think i did."[break][break]

he pauses for a moment to remember, to piece together scattered memories.[break][break]

"i think i wanted to live by the ocean and to be doing something i enjoy. something calming like fishing, but not fishing. i imagine it would not be much of a hobby otherwise."[break][break]

a sip of his tequila later, and he adds.[break][break]

"so i'd say i'm living my dream now."

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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