'just coworkers, huh?'

[break][break] yet, despite that, he sees the way that she turns and more importantly the direction she turns to.

[break][break] it might be nothing. it might be something.

[break][break] his heart churns, regardless. worse than when he saw willow atkins and boruta maher in that bar.

[break][break] "well," he says. "i would just be careful."

[break][break] maybe it's crossing a line.

[break][break] "i don't think matias likes him."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] PENELOPE LIVY [break]

"Huh?"
[break][break]

Her head almost immediately whipped back to him, interest sprouting once more. She took a step closer, enclosing their conversation in the dwindling space between them.
[break][break]

"What do you mean by that?"
[break][break]

What could have given Oliie, of all people, that idea?

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales[break]


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

this is the most interested PENELOPE LIVY has been in him since they've reconnected in hoenn.

[break][break] he chalks it up to the fact that he knows she cares about her work. a lot.

[break][break] even if the definition of what that work was had changed since he'd first known her, the definition of who she was hadn't.

[break][break] still. it was curious.

[break][break] "he said so."

[break][break] and it hurt to think that despite all of his attempts at trying to pull her in, it was MATIAS SILPH that had done the trick.

[attr="class","ooc"] PENELOPE LIVY [break]

MATIAS SILPH said he didn't like Cian?
[break][break]

It was at that moment flashes of their conversation along THE BORDER came piling into her mind. Back then, while waiting for the bridge to take shape, he'd also shared some ill opinions of the gym leader. Most of which stemmed from the idea that he wasn't 'good enough' for her.
[break][break]

But Penelope thought those feelings mainly came from the secretive forces of the realm's existence. It was why he said all that other shit that came flooding out, especially at the inn.
[break][break]

"When was this again?"
[break][break]

Was it before their expedition or after? She couldn't remember what Ollie had said.
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales[break]


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

"a little while ago."

[break][break] he watches her for a moment, and he can practically see the cogs turning in her brain. ollie doesn't quite understand why; there must have been a handful of instances when matias said he didn't like people.

[break][break] in fact, part of him was pretty sure that matias didn't like him.

[break][break] "you okay there, pen? want me to beat him up?" he joked.

[break][break] not like he would stand very well against groudon's avatar, but he could die trying.

[break][break] "not sure if it matters, but i like cian. he seems like a stand-up guy."

[attr="class","ooc"] PENELOPE LIVY [break]

It didn't matter. Quite honestly, Penelope gave the smallest shits what her ex-boyfriend thought of Cian. She, however, quite cared about what her coworker thought of him and when said thoughts came to be.
[break][break]

"A little while ago," she mumbled to herself, the cogs of her brain turning with each additional piece granted. That meant he was talking about her prior to their solo expedition. Looking into her private life just enough to shit talk CIAN MAHER to ollie morales . Part of that frustrated her - she was still protective of CIAN MAHER to an extent. Those types of feelings don't just change overnight.
[break][break]

But the frustration that came did little to work against the overwhelming sense of something else entirely.
[break][break]

How long had she been on his mind? And does that mean that those feelings he shared were real?
[break][break]

"no, i don't want to lose you. us. this."
[break][break]

Without realizing it, her mouth drew dry and her breathing hitched.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales [break]


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

she didn't even stir at the mention of her nickname. he'd said it in-part, knowing that it would get a rise out of her. something, anything to stir her from this fugue state that she was apparently in.

[break][break] "penny?"

[break][break] even so, she didn't shake. the line was still moving, too.

[break][break] it made something awful, terrible churn in his gut. vines lashing around his heart, squeezing tight.

[break][break] "penelope."

[break][break] one hand reaches out, grasping her shoulder lightly.

[break][break] "councilwoman livy!"

[break][break] this time - not his voice - but the voice of another. the clerk who was collecting all their documents, slightly annoyed, that the line had grown to a standstill.

[attr="class","ooc"] PENELOPE LIVY [break]

"huh?"
[break][break]

It's with the clerk's terse call did Penelope finally awaken from her daze. Blinking, she straightened out her back, coughing as she stepped into the next available place in line.
[break][break]

"Sorry, sorry."
[break][break]

She waved an apology, promptly forgetting ollie morales and leaving him in the dust. Their conversation was officially over. She had gotten what she needed.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales[break]


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

finally.

[break][break] however, when she wakes up from whatever trance she's in, it isn't because of him or any words he says. he watches the way her face shifts from a cloud of annoyance (whenever she looks at him) to polite friendliness when she apologizes to the rest of the line.

[break][break] his heart twists.

[break][break] but then they call for him, and his own face blossoms into good-natured fun while he chats with the clerk.

[break][break] "ollie morales? yup! that's me! oh, delilah, how're your kids doing?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] PENELOPE LIVY [break]