No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t fill the void dug deep into her chest. She tried solitude, she tried adrenaline, she tried work, she tried violence, she tried space, and time didn’t seem to be working. She desperately tried to fill it with something, anything, but it kept eating away at her. One thing space and time and Kanto did do was numb the pain. It was still there, but she had gotten used to it. It had become a part of her, who she was now.

The same question gnawed at her and one day she feared it would eat her away entirely: would she ever be whole again with MATIAS SILPH?

Something she hadn’t considered trying to fill that void with was friendship. illeana reyes’s invitation couldn’t have some at a better time. Eva chose to abandon loneliness for the night in favor of a ‘girl’s night’, a concept she wasn’t entirely familiar with in practice. In fact, she doesn’t think she’s ever had a true girl’s night.

Eva struggles with the few free fingers of her hand to open the door. She balances a plate of brownies and a pint of ice cream in her arms, “Thanks!” she calls out as she shimmies through the door. She uses a foot to close it behind her. She appraises the home for a moment before kicking off her shoes.

The sporadic sounds of Illie working diligently in the kitchen leads her through the hallway straight back, “I brought something sweet,” she smiles, gently pushing the plate of brownies and ice cream onto the counter.

---

illeana reyes

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]footsteps sound throughout the house, echoed only by the front door closing, and illeana turns at noise. her smile is already wide, warm, and affectionate.

"oh, perfect!"

the sweets will pair well with the alcohol, she decides with a quick sweeping glance over the brownies and ice cream.

and after a moment, she takes a few steps forward to gently pull eva into a hug.

"god, i missed you! how was kanto? you weren't in too much danger, right?"

wait, she's getting ahead of herself...

she gives eva one last squeeze before releasing her and trotting back over to the counter, hands already reaching to pull open cabinets and tug out some glasses.

"is whiskey okay? i grabbed a bottle of your favorite, but i also have wine and some rum lying around here somewhere..."

Eva Morales

A light laugh escapes when Illeana pulls her into a hug. It’s returned with equal delight, a sharp twist side to side to emphasize her affection, “I missed you too,” the laugh trails off with her voice when Illie pulls away.

“I wasn’t gone that long,” her voice holds a bit of a tease but her mention of danger reminds her that it could have been surprising to hear where she was flying out to, “It was . . . interesting,” she doesn’t really know what else to say about it. Kanto was a lot of things: exciting, terrifying, heart breaking, inspiring all at the same time. There was still a lot to unpack from that trip that was buried beneath the emotional storm.

A quick flash of a smile creases her lips, “Whiskey is perfect,” as always. Eva leans against the counter as she waits for her pour, “Did I miss anything exciting while I was gone?”

---

illeana reyes

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she, realistically, was not gone that long but it has felt like forever since she's been in the head professor's sunshine. she craves it the way lizards need warmth: constantly.

"interesting? i saw the publications... was there more to it than you wrote?"

wait, whiskey first before they get into the gist of it all.

she shifts to grab the bottle after confirmation slips from eva's lips. a glass settles in front of eva first, whiskey pouring into it a moment later. once eva's glass is poured, she places another glass down and pours hers as well.

"um, nothing too exciting that i know about!"

the biggest sources of excitement have all seemed to, well, revolve around the woman before her. she doesn't exactly know how to approach it, either...

"what's been happening for you, though? i feel like we haven't properly caught up in a little while."

Eva Morales

Perhaps interesting wasn’t the right word. Enlightening? No. Inspiring? No.

Her trip was a lot of things, but she had failed to even put it into words herself.

“Well, yes, there was a lot,” she admits to Illeana, “A lot beyond the report. That was merely a professional publication,” there were more personal aspects to her visit, and even interactions with Rocket not noted within said publication.

Eva raises the glass to cheers Illeana, “Thanks!” she sips the smokey whiskey and a sense of relief washes over her, tension melting from her shoulders until Illeana asks about her and what’s been going on in her life. Little does she know Illeana is more up to date than she assumes.

Eva ponders how much she wants unwrap tonight. Of anyone in Hoenn, Illeana is one she trusts the most. A part of her wants to talk about it. The only ones she’s come clean to has been her father and @olie. They weren’t really the ‘bestie’ type you needed in an emotional mess like this, “Well, um, a lot, I guess,” she taps a finger against the glass to expend some anxious energy, “But, nothing important,” she waves it off, ultimately deciding it’s best kept buried for now. She felt guilty unloading it all on an unsuspecting friend.

---

illeana reyes

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]their glasses clink together in a soft cheers.

and as eva talks, illeana takes her first sip of the night. it burns a little more than usual.

"anything you think might make its way to hoenn?"

they're already in a state of high alert between hoenn's branch of the syndicate as well as the growing population of megalopolans and the looming presence of sea hoenn or rogue legendaries but... it wouldn't be out of the question to believe something else would rise to join the cluster of threats against them.

where eva doesn't want to divulge too much, illeana sinks her teeth in. she is soft, subtle in her tactics.

it begins to a raised eyebrow and a look of concern passing over her features quickly. the resulting question is gentle despite prying.

"do you want to talk about it?"

Eva Morales

At the first question Eva sighs, shrugging her shoulders with uncertain honesty, “I don’t think they liked my report. But hopefully it will focus their attention on Kanto for the time being rather than Hoenn’s Rocket and limits the support they can get from the other branches of the organization,” the unrest in the region was partially her doing. She wasn’t necessarily proud of that, but it seemed like a necessary evil at the time. She prayed it would pay off

The second question has her gaze locked on the amber liquid swirling around in her glass. Illeana’s question mirrors her own to herself. She remains silent for a moment, a tension growing in her shoulders that sinks into a deep discomfort.

She’s tried everything else and it hasn’t worked. Maybe she needed to talk about it. Truly talk about it to someone other than her own consciousness.

With a quick motions she brings the glass to her lips, throwing back the rest of the whiskey with a cool determination, “It’s pretty heavy. You sure you wanna hear about it?” she pushes the glass forward for a refill, a pleading for liquid courage to smother the discomfort and open her soul.

---

illeana reyes

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

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

"if it works as a distraction, that should be enough."

unfortunately, though, it means the people of kanto will need to survive tyranny a bit longer. she wonders if they'll get out soon. if they'll take back their region, their home...

eva's glass slides forward and illeana wastes no time in shifting to uncap the whiskey and pour more liquid courage into her glass.

"yes, i'm sure."

she tops off her own glass before capping the whiskey and putting it to the side. a small, supportive smile rises as she slides eva's glass back over.

"besides, as long as it helps you to talk through it, that's all i care about."

Eva Morales

Illeana’s supportive smile does warms her, but not as much as the whiskey the burned in her stomach. It fueled grief, anger, uncertainty; stoking an already lit fire.

There’s a prolonged silence while she takes another long sip, keeping her gaze down to avoid Illeana’s. There’s an agitation she fights off in the way the tilts back and forth on her heels, “Um,” a pit grows in her stomach as her mind formulates the words. She hasn’t really said it out loud and she has to push past the lump in her throat to say it, “MATIAS SILPH called off the wedding . . . he left me.”

---

illeana reyes

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]what eva says next does not come as a full surprise.

MATIAS SILPH had told her prior, really, but only after lying about it first.

her mind churns through possible reasons, possible concepts... but nothing quite fits.

and thoughts supply a single fact that differs: each one blames the other.

hm.

"did he give you a reason..?"

her expression is empathetic, the sensations and feelings in eva's chest familiar to the head scientist.

Eva Morales

Eva waited. She waited and waited as the seconds ticked by. It was supposed to feel better to say it out loud. Where was it? Where was the relief promised to her?

It didn’t come. The knot in her throat only tightened around her windpipe. It was slowly becoming harder to breath.

She takes another shaky sip from her glass, a tearful gaze off somewhere in the distance, “There’s uh-“ her voice breaks, she swallows, “There’s someone else,” someone better, someone worth throwing years of love away for, someone that is enough and perfect in all the ways she’s not.

---

illeana reyes

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]what eva says next comes as she's taking a sip of her whiskey...

it startles her, eyes flying wide open. and she chokes on the whiskey, on the way it really burns as it almost goes down the wrong pipe.

a cough follows and she has to lower the glass to keep herself from spilling.

"wait, seriously?"

another cough vibrates through her chest before she reigns her reaction in, guilt rising quickly.

"i'm so sorry."

and really, she is. the prospect of another woman and subsequently losing the love of your life to her is a horrid feeling. she would not wish it upon anyone, especially not her beautiful and loving colleague.

her eyes soften and she's quick to reach a hand across the table, seeking eva's hand to hold it within her own.

"what happened? did he...?"

Eva Morales

No relief came, only more grief. Saying it out loud only made it more real. She was back in Hoenn now, and she’d have to face the scrutiny of her peers, the questions to why the wedding the canceled, the media’s speculations, the whispers, the pitiful looks, and polite inquires as to if she’s doing “ok”.

Well, she’s not. She’s not fucking ok.

Illeana’s surprised reaction goes unnoticed, only because she’s already occupied crying. She tries her best to stifle the tears but the more she fights it, the more the pressure in her throat grows until she finally gasps for air. The only response Illeana gets is a choked sob followed by a pained nod to her question. He acted on his feelings. Only afterwards, once riddled with guilt, did he decide to free himself of the shackles of their relationship to pursue other desires. Eva accepts Illeana’s hand, squeezing it gently for comfort while she used the sleeve of her other to wipe away some of the tears, “S-sorry, I-“ she sniffs back another sob, finding some semblance of control, “I thought saying it out loud would help but . . . it only makes it more real.”

---

illeana reyes