[attr="class","littleollie"] she was avoiding him.

[break][break] but ollie was an expert in it. both when it was PENELOPE LIVY doing it to him, and when he was doing it to her. they'd spent years cultivating the art - dancing around each other.

[break][break] "in a way, yeah," he said, flashing a smile at her. "kanto's not home anymore."

[break][break] he looks over at the endless sea.

[break][break] "did you get the cupcakes?" he asks, breaching the silence with an awkward laugh. "i gave them out to the rangers too - i heard they were good."

[break][break] he and francie myrtle had worked hard on them, and in the end, ollie had decided on the shape of little mareep. the same mareep that they had picked out together, all those years ago.

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] + PENELOPE LIVY [break]
CARGO [2/2]

☉

"Cupcakes?"
[break][break]

The mention had caught her by surprise. Was she supposed to know anything about some cupcakes?
[break][break]

"No, I wasn't given one," she shook her head, disappointment apparent in her frown. Despite all the reasons reminding her to remain stoic, solemn, and readied to protect, around ollie morales, it was hard not to lose one's sense of composure. "What flavor were they?"

[break][break]

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


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

[attr="class","littleollie"] oh.

[break][break] annalise henderson had said he was silly for just putting it out onto the doorstep, but he'd said it was fine.

[break][break] he frowns, lips twisting into a pout. "did someone steal them?" he huffs. "i'm going to file a complaint." but to who? the commissioner of their apartment complex?

[break][break] "here - " he reaches into his pocket and clicks open his gallery, scrolling up a bit, to show her a picture. in the photo is a tier of cupcakes, all in different colors and shades. in the back, francie myrtle poses with her arms outstretched.

[break][break] he points to the mareep-themed ones in the background.

[break][break] "those - " he points. "are yours."

[attr="class","ooc"] + PENELOPE LIVY [break]
CARGO [2/2]

☉

"It's okay, Ollie, really."
[break][break]

She shook her head, eyes adamant on retaining their distance from his. For all the hurt his return to Kanto had plagued her with, there was little to defend against the blatant omission of the truth that sat behind her lips.
[break][break]

He deserved to know. More than anyone else, he should've been the person to tell. The person to explain to before bitterness corrupted their repaired friendship.[break][break]


Her thought flicked back to Eva Morales.
[break][break]

Maybe even that was doomed from the start.
[break][break]

Before doubt could continue to make its way into her mind, a phone came into view, and with it, the sight of brightly decorated cupcakes.
[break][break]

"Oh, cute! What flavor were they? Wait, don't tell me..."

A pause.
[break][break]

"Red velvet?"
[break][break]

His favorite.
[break][break]

Her favorite.
[break][break]

Their favorite.
[break][break]

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


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

[attr="class","littleollie"] "yeah!"

[break][break] his smile is blissful. innocent. ignorant.

[break][break] blinding as all morales smiles are.

[break][break] "how'd you know?" his eyes softened a bit, seaglass green in the pink-fused light. "i remembered it was your favorite."

[break][break] as they push the CARGO along, ollie eventually pockets his phone and then blusters out a sigh.

[break][break] "they were going to be real tasty, and you were going to forgive me, and we were going to be friends again."

[break][break] he tilts his head back and looks at her, flashing a smile.

[break][break] "guess i'll have to make you another batch."

[attr="class","ooc"] + PENELOPE LIVY [break]
CARGO [2/2]

☉

"How could I forget?"
[break][break]

It was only his favorite flavor. The same flavor she would always spend another extra 30 minutes trekking down the street to the bakery the city over. It was always a bitch to find, but of course, she would do it for him.
[break][break]

She would do almost anything for him.
[break][break]

Her gaze settled onto the cargo, never searching to find his.
[break][break]

"We are already friends again, aren't we? We don't need some cupcake for that."



[break][break]

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


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

[attr="class","littleollie"] "i-"

[break][break] something about the way she says it - so simply - tugs at his heartstrings. it softens him, his expression nostalgic as he looks at her.

[break][break] "i guess you're right. i couldn't forget either."

[break][break] how happy he'd been when she'd brought him a red velvet cake for his birthday, how he'd cut it for them both and the jokingly smeared it on her nose just to make her laugh.

[break][break] friends? were they?

[break][break] "you weren't avoiding me?"

[break][break] maybe it'd all been in his head.

[break][break] "well that's a relief," he says with a laugh. "i guess i really didn't have anything to worry about then."

[attr="class","ooc"] + PENELOPE LIVY [break]
CARGO [2/2]

☉

"Of course not," she feigned a smile, lightly pumping her shoulder into his.
[break][break]
Even if guilt ate her from the inside out, falling into the ease of their friendship felt easier done than thought about. It was no different than breathing.
[break][break]
"Ollie," her voice softened as her eyes sought out comfort from the dim ULTRA DEEP SEA skies. "Can I tell you something?"
[break][break]

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


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

[attr="class","littleollie"] she bumps her shoulder with his, and relief immediately fills him. it's painfully easy to fall into even-step with her, for the puzzle pieces of their relationship to slide back into the ease that it once was.

[break][break] had he really been worried for nothing?

[break][break] he blinks.

[break][break] "sure," he says, his response immediate. he smiles warmly. "of course, pen. you can tell me anything."

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] + PENELOPE LIVY [break]
CARGO [2/2]

☉

"Im terrified right now."
[break][break]

The admission is said with a soft smile. The longer he would look, the more her natural signs would reveal themselves: the twirl of her hair, the bite of her bottom lip, furling of her fists.
[break][break]

It all painted the perfect picture of the girl still too innocent for the power she wielded.

[break][break]

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


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

[attr="class","littleollie"] the moment she says it, his hand envelops hers. warm and reassuring.

[break][break] "i know."

[break][break] it was easy to see the signs of it, once he pushed away his own anxieties. thud. thud. thud. the heartbeat permeated through the realm, and echoed against his own.

[break][break] "me too."

[break][break] there was just something about the ultra deep sea that terrified him. he didn't know what it was exactly, or if it was even just the deep sea itself — it could've very easily been any of the worlds that had been opened up after the meteor.

[break][break] a sheepish laugh escapes him, only slightly self-deprecating in nature.

[break][break] "did you know? first time i came here, i threw up on councilman black's shoes."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] + PENELOPE LIVY [break]
CARGO [2/2]

☉

Laughter followed out from her lips, dry in nature, but more than the frown that came before it.
[break][break]
GABRIEL BLACK? Good - fuck that guy.
[break][break]
"Really?!"
[break][break]
The warmth of his hand was just enough to anchor herself back to reality. Back to ollie morales.
[break][break]
"Man, if that were me, I would've killed you."
[break][break]
A pause broke her words. Just enough time to add weight to what came next.
[break][break]
"I threw up the moment I got here. This place - for some reason, it reminds me of The Borders."
[break][break]

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


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

[attr="class","littleollie"] wheels roll against the empty air as they push the cargo through the ultra deep sea. it was still crazy to think about how things moved like this - how they could just float.

[break][break] it was almost how he felt whenever he was in PENELOPE LIVY's presence.

[break][break] her laughter soothes him, pushing back the paranoia that he feels merely from being in this place.

[break][break] "the borders?" he echoes. "oh - is that where you went with kyle lopez and MATIAS SILPH?" he remembered the way that he had caught her in the council building, when they'd submitted paperwork for their expeditions together.

[break][break] "what's it like?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] + PENELOPE LIVY [break]
CARGO [2/2]

☉