after hearing penelope's drunken accusations and losing ollie among the throes of other drunks, willow was starting to feel a little annoyed. granted, she couldn't fault her new best friend for taking shots at her; she'd invited her to. it was genuine curiosity (at least that's what she tells herself) but now she's in a mood she doesn't like being in and she's uncomfortable. 

she had promptly abandoned the drink penelope bought for her at being half full. something about the conversation, the angry slurring, had willow thinking twice about tonight. that and ollie's drunken texts to her only reinforced the idea that she had to stay sharp for the two of them. 

they're nearing the end of the night, of which has technically become morning. the bar crawlers are rowdier than ever and the liquor is still flowing. she tries calling ollie a couple of times, but eventually gives up. 

he's here. he'll find her. and she'll take him back to his hotel and be done with this night. 

she feels a little self-righteous when she orders a ginger ale from the bar and the bartender almost looks relieved after getting through a round of some complicated looking martinis. he passes it over to her, waves off her bills, and turns to the next customer. 

still, she follows penelope's frustrated instructions and opts not to take up more space at the bar. it's crowded anyway. but as she's squeezing through people (which is hard, given her size, and she's not wearing any heel), her gaze lifts to a tall, broad-shouldered bo a few armlengths away. 

they lock eyes and she frowns and he turns away from her and she thinks, oh, hell no, and pushes her way through the crowd, more assertive this time around. 

and then when she catches his wrist and her brain catches up to her, she realizes she has no idea what she wants to say. 

"were you running away from me?" she says, and then louder because it's so noisy inside. 

boruta maher ollie morales

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[attr="class","icon"]

shit.[break][break]
shit shit shit. he could feel her parting the crowd like a tiny sharpedo behind him.[break][break]
”oh!” he turned when she grabbed his wrist, feigning surprise. ”hey hey wills, you’re here. uh, nah, i’m just walkin’ this way.”[break][break]
unsure what else to do, he smiled, trying to seem merry as he raised his sazerac, clinking the glass against her ginger ale. ”salud.”[break][break]
it came to his lips, bloodshot gold eyes peering down at her with strained hope from over the rim.

bo's a piss-poor liar on the best of days (except he can keep one hell of a secret apparently), but this is something else. frustration bubbles because the cause is immediate when he looks down at her with bloodshot eyes, his lips fumbling over the edges of words as he messily clinks his glass against hers. 

"walking this way to...the women's bathroom," she says and peers around him where a decent line of women wait with drawn faces and crossed ankles.

"last i knew, you don't really do this," she says and waves her arms around. tone it back, will. she pinches her brow, summons whatever ounce of patience she has left, and peers up at him. 

"are you here on an assignment? like ollie?" say yes. say yes so i don't have to wonder how you're getting home.

boruta maher

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[attr="class","icon"]

she was right. he didn’t normally do this. it was for the best.[break][break]
”i’m switchin’ it up,” he explained confidently, taking another heavy sip before he was forced to lower his glass by patrons squeezing past.[break][break]
when further questioned, he answered, ”no, not me, i’m just—wait, ollie’s here? i didn’t see him.” his head craned, looking for the other captain with interest.[break][break]
“what’s his assignment?”

this is round two for 'i should probably tell them to stop drinking but i'm not going to' for willow tonight. she just watches silently, keeping as much of the judgment off her face as she can as he raises whatever he's drinking to his lips. it's definitely not apple juice, that's for sure. 

"he's supposed to be here. i told him to come here." gods, she should have turned location tracking on or something for him. what if he's back at euphoria with penny?

no, she'll save worst case scenarios for later. 

"i don't know. i'm just driving him home. i mean, not home. to his hotel room. bo, how are you getting home?"

boruta maher ollie morales

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[attr="class","icon"]

”oh.” but that didn't really answer his question. what was ollie's assignment? was it league-related? confusion brought his attention back to her again.[break][break]
how was he getting home? he hadn’t thought about it until that moment, but he didn’t hesitate with an answer. same way he’d gotten there, of course.[break][break]
”i’m gonna fly.” a moment, and he then felt compelled to add, ”on my aerodactyl, i mean.”[break][break]
he had kept so much from her, he wanted to make sure she didn’t think he was keeping any more secrets. he was no avatar, and he could not actually fly. he was just boruta maher, trying his best on his two feet.

willow thinks her answer was sufficient, so she doesn't really understand the slow confusion on bo's face. again, she looks down at the drink in his hands. he can't really be that sloshed, can he? a big man like bo? it should take a lot for him to get drunk. 

his answer makes her frown. "from slateport. in the freezing cold. after bar-hopping." she sighs and someone roughly shoves past her. she stumbles up against bo, nearly spilling his drink all over herself. hands out on his chest to steady herself, cheeks hot, her brows furrow. 

being in a drunken crowd when sober is not fun - it only took her twenty-seven years to experience it and about ten minutes to decide she hates it. 

"come on. it's crowded here," she says and does a bit of a turn before another very real possibility dawns on her. maybe he wasn't trying to go back home tonight. another of penny's snarks snaps at the next few selfish thoughts and she huffs out a breath. 

"unless you're here with someone. sorry, i just saw you and didn't even consider...should i go? do you want me to leave you alone?"

boruta maher ollie morales

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[attr="class","icon"]

her reasoning didn’t register, and he was effectively distracted by the shoving. when willow was knocked into him, his hand instinctively went out around her, eyes snapping up in the culprit’s direction, but unsure who it had been once their back was turned.[break][break]
“real nice, asshole!” he called anyways, steadying them both and muttering a half-hearted, ”you okay?” but it was mostly lost to the busy chatter, and the sharpness faded almost immediately from his glazed eyes. [break][break]
when she began to go the other way, his hand fell easily, and he was stepping after her without protest until she turned back.[break][break]
”leave me alone? what? no. why? i’m here with everyone, including you.” he was an open book. “but i did meet this girl, uh. cathy. no, wait. callie. she’s here somewhere, but i dunno where she went.”[break][break]
he began to bring his drink up to his lips again, and then, as though catching himself, decided to clarify, “she’s just a friend… fyi.” sip.

she does a bit of a stutter-stop, not having realized just how close he was following her. the crowd is thinner here and she can here him a bit more easily, but the relief there is short-lived. 

when you are suddenly aware of the expression you want to make and all you can think is don't make that face. why am i making that face? what's wrong with me? 

yeah, willow feels that right now and her nose scrunches. cathy. callie. or it could be caitlyn or cassie or anyone. it doesn't matter because at some point down the road, this was going to happen. she's thought about it, in the abstract sense. played scenarios in her mind. 

but it's been years and he hasn't had a whiff of anything serious. she always thought maybe...

"okay," she says. "good. i mean, it's fine. if that's what's happening." the look on her face doesn't quite match the sentiment. she finds them a spot by some windows and settles into a plush seat at a cocktail table.

"and i asked why because i'm pretty sure i watched you see me and then immediately turn around." it's hard to see his scuffed cheek in the light, courtesy of her boyfriend. "and i don't want to ruin your night out." a half-hearted laugh. 

like i did your last one. 

boruta maher ollie morales

☉

[attr="class","ollieollie"] as ranger captain, ollie had a lot of different skills. he was friendly, easygoing and could make the best out of a bad situation. he was pretty good with pokemon and calming down civilians, and maybe he wasn't the smartest lightbulb in the room, he always had enough heart to make up for any bad situation.

[break][break] most of all, he had a skill for showing up at the wrong place at the wrong time.

[break][break] it was really impressive.

[break][break] "oh hey! wil — "

[break][break] ollie spots the familiar flash of blond hair from a miles away, but his words falter upon seeing that equally familiar brooding glare of none-other-than boruta maher. he's glaring at someone that isn't him, but it doesn't stop the way that ollie pauses at the sight of it. the feeling of burdock root in his throat rises, and he swallows it, forcing his way to the crowd with a wide smile.

[break][break] in his hand are two sazeracs — howling's special.

[break][break] "i got us drinks, wils! oh hey, bo! when you'd get here?" he asks, head tilted in a smile. if anyone didn't know him, they wouldn't expect anything amiss — wouldn't realize the smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

[attr="class","ooc"] howling at the moon (bar crawl) [break]
boruta maher willow atkins

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[attr="class","icon"]

"yeah. i think you'd like her."[break][break]
bo didn’t notice anything amiss about the look on her face, blissfully reduced to much simpler observations at this point.[break][break]
”i was looking at somebody else. i didn’t see you. i’m sorry.” a blatant and obvious lie, but he owned it with confidence. ”besides, you couldn’t ruin my night if you tried, will. i like being around you. i just figured you don’t like being around me.”[break][break]
at the sight of ollie carrying drinks, bo called, ”ollie! what's up, man?”[break][break]
when asked about when he'd gotten there, he struggled, ”uh, like—“ reached in his pocket to check his phone, only to find that it was, in fact, late o’ clock. ”five hours ago.”[break][break]
his eyes then passed between the two of them, considering, before asking, ”am i interrupting something?”

willow very much doubts she would like her, but she doesn't say that. mostly because there's no reason for her not to like her.

her eyes narrow at him as every tell in his drunken body goes off and she snorts, ready to argue for the sake of arguing at this point (because her frustration has gotten the best of her now). i just figured you don't like being around me. the words die in the back of her throat.

five hours?

this is when her mind is made up. she doesn't tell him yet - that she's taking him home. taking the both of them home, because ollie's gone enough that he's forgotten she's not here to drink. 

"what? no, of course not," willow says, leaping to the defensive when bo looks between the two of them. 

"i told you. i'm driving him back tonight, which...ollie, i'm driving you back tonight. i'm not drinking, remember?" she takes the sazerac and looks down at it, gives it an experimental sniff and then holds it out to bo. 

"sorry i lost you at the other bar, ols. glad to see you made it here in one piece though." she bumps his side playfully and sighs, hoping to ease the tension. the liquor really isn't helping either of them lie. granted, maybe she's the only one who notices.

guess she'll find out if they start exchanging blows. 

"bo was asking what assignment you were doing in town," she says, by painful way of conversation. 

boruta maher ollie morales

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[attr="class","ollieollie"] "what? no, of course not."

[break][break] there is something all too fast about the way that willow answers that cuts through eyes of emerald-green, chipping away at something that he won't name. his smile doesn't drop though, perfect as it ever is.

[break][break] "oh yeah," he says. "oops."

[break][break] he sticks a tongue out at her for extra measure.

[break][break] to bo, he brightens and holds up his drink for the two to clink their glasses together. "well — more for us to share. happy new years, dude! any resolutions?"

[break][break] ollie is distracted — maybe he's a little too drunk — at the sound of music pealing out from the soundbox, so much so that he jostles forward a little bit, accidentally bumping into willow. a hand catches her shoulder and then he looks at bo.

[break][break] "oh yeah — i was visiting one of the slateport rangers. Kieran Roth , you heard of 'em? he's friends with one of ours, and i met him on paxton concordas 's expedition."

[break][break] "i've been trying to meet up with all the rangers i know to check up on them. ever since pyre and littleroot, you know?"

[attr="class","ooc"] howling at the moon (bar crawl) [break]
boruta maher willow atkins

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