Shit, he wasn't expecting guests. The blonde scrambled to his feet and nearly sent his laptop flying in the process. While he managed to catch it, it didn't save the way he stumbled over some of the various wires and clutter that came with his approach to music. Some wires came undone as he stumbled, something he'd fix later. As not to worry the person on the other side of the door, Sven finally called out to the presence on the other side.

"Yeah, I'm here! I'll be there in a moment!"

Despite how flustered he was given the entanglement and nearly tripping over his work, his tone remained as pleasant as ever. While he scrambled to throw away some of the empty chip bags he had lying around from the night before, he also searched through his pile of clothes for something that smelled at least semi-decent. He pulled out a white long-sleeved shirt and threw it on haphazardly, unaware he had it turned inside out at the moment. But he couldn't worry about that now. He didn't want to keep his guest waiting. At least his apartment looked semi-decent now. With that much in mind, he approached the door and opened it.

At the sight of the brunette before him, the half-drank energy drink he had in his hand fell on the linoleum and he felt himself lurch forward.

Arms tangled themselves around surprisingly broad shoulders as his own shook. How long had it been since he'd seen a familiar face? More importantly, how long had it been since he had any normal human interaction? Words couldn't find their way out as he struggled to even breathe. How hard had isolation affected him? Sure, Saskia wasn't his family, but she was still a friend. A friend he hadn't realized just how much he missed. Slender fingers dug into her back as his arms tightened, fearful that this was all just a dream. If the brunette paid any mind to him past the warm hug, there was no doubt she'd be able to feel the tears that had begun to drip on her shoulder as he sniffled and his body continued to shake.

What a relief.

"You're here. You're really here."

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

saskia volosenkova

It took a moment for the blonde to register just exactly what she had said, but the moment he was able to process the flood of information, he pulled back and rubbed at his eyes. While it certainly didn't help the puffiness go down any, at least he was able to rid himself of the tears. After a few sniffles, Sven glanced down at the ground and saw his spilled drink and groaned aloud to himself. For now, he had more pressing matters to take care of as he motioned for Saskia to come in. In the meantime, Sven bolted for the kitchen to get some paper towels, some of which he ran under water from the sink so he could clean it up to the point the floor wouldn't be sticky. Thankfully it was a quick cleanup so he could soon turn back to his guest.

"Sorry, I was just...," he fumbled for the right words. "It's been so long since I've seen a familiar face. It's just been me here, I lost contact with everyone. But I don't wanna make this all about me, what of you? When did you get back?"

At the very least, he could help his guest by grabbing the plate of kartoshka she had so neatly wrapped. Sven placed it on the table and then attempted to clear off a space on the couch. Various vinyls and cords had made their home on the hardly used couch, as he didn't often get many visitors and dedicated himself to playing around with music -- it had become a comfort while he'd been sort of stuck in Hoenn. At least temporary gigs helped him keep himself afloat.

"By all means, make yourself at home! Like the Paldeans say, mi casa es su casa, bro."

His offer was cut off my the sound of his stomach. How long had he gone without eating? It was hard to say, as Sven didn't often keep track of things he thought to be trivial like that. Maybe it was a good thing that Saskia had shown up when she did.

"Well I guess we don't have to worry about putting the bagel bagels in the freezer. Let's make 'em and you can tell me how your venture on the outside was."

Anything to change how redundant the daily life of Hoenn had been inside the bubble.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

saskia volosenkova

Her slight sarcasm caused him to bark out a laugh. Of course he always forgot to eat and then regretted it later. In all fairness, he did eat, it was simply just the night prior when he did so. Sven couldn't help but give her a firm pat on the back as he made his way into the kitchen to grab them both a proper drink. Water seemed suitable, right? The blonde pulled out two bottles of water and tossed one to Saskia.

"Hate to break it to ya, but it really wasn't that exciting. I guess I kinda took to music in the time I was stuck in here. I can't really weigh out good versus bad, I was just using them for samples really."

Though the topic of her parents caught him by surprise. Had they been here this whole time?

"But your 'rents, how've they been? Had I known they were here, I would've made a visit to keep 'em company," he admitted with a sheepish smile.

A shame, but he figured they would've been in Sinnoh with Saskia. To outside folks, they both came off as rather intimidating, but maybe Sven just lacked the common sense to find any reason to be afraid of them. As he made his way back into the living room, he was happy to grab the plate of kartoshka that his guest had made and soon plopped himself on the floor near Saskia as he carefully pulled back the plastic wrap and took one.

As he took a bite, tears pricked at the corner of his eyes in appreciation at the potato treat. Cookie crumble poured into the palm of his hand he held beneath the treat so it wouldn't get everywhere and to the young man who hadn't eaten anything in well over twelve hours, it tasted like heaven.

"Sashky, thish ish shoooo good," he offered in appreciation despite his full mouth.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

saskia volosenkova

Tera Crystal? Sven took a moment to stop from his indulging in the sweets Saskia had provided and tilted his head up at her. Was she serious? He'd heard whispers of them but never got a chance to see one up close. Maybe it'd be a good idea to keep a search for tera crystals on the backburner of his mind. But for now, Sven lounged back to prop himself against the couch and tossed the rest of his piece of kartoshka into his mouth and washed it down with his drink.

"Oh for real? I guess that calls for a sleepover!" Sven beamed with as he held up his thumb and pinky and shaked it in a shaka sign, a habit he picked up in Alola. "But anytime that Oldale gets too quiet, I guess you know where to find me. Anyone else worming their way out of the woodwork that you can go find too?"

Surely Saskia had other people she could get in touch with. After all, she was a pretty sociable person. It was a trait the both of them shared which made them hit it off right away. And with the reunion, it's almost as if all the years hadn't gone by. Sven couldn't help but stare at the brunette for a moment -- she'd changed so much in appearance, but still seemed like the same Saskia to him. Perhaps some things never changed, and there was some reassurance in that fact alone.

Once the timer went off, Sven shot up from his seat on the floor and approached the oven. The bagel bites looked nice and crisp. After he washed his hands, he grabbed an oven mitt and pulled the tray out, then carefully placed the bagels on a plate. As he returned once more, Sven placed the plate he had on the table in front of them and decided to offer his laptop to Saskia.

"If you want, we can just chill and watch something together," he suggested. Before he could make the next offer, his expression grew smug. "Or I could kick your ass in Mario Kart for old time's sake."

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

saskia volosenkova

At her words about Greyson Connors, Sven seemed a little surprised. How long had it been since they'd seen one another? He'd heard about the man becoming a gym leader, but hadn't had the opportunity to get out and catch up. Surely he had plenty of obligations, but maybe one day they could get together and catch up. After all, it hadn't been long since he'd submitted an application to work under Eva Morales. With working with a head league scientist, he'd likely be able to get more in touch with some of the friends he'd lost along the way. He couldn't help but beam excitedly.

"You've been busy then! But I can't believe Grey's looming around here. I take it he's doing well? I should really go catch up with him, huh."

His thoughts trailed off the moment that she promised to kick his ass in Mario Kart and he immediately went into challenge mode. Sven popped a bagel bite into his mouth and then wandered his way over to his tv where he began to hook up things and then tossed a controller Saskia's way and then joined her on the couch. In the character selection screen, the blonde immediately went for Bowser. He didn't know what the appeal was in his own case, but he liked the character.

"Pick your poison and let's get this going -- Rainbow Road, no mercy."

The way he grinned seemed almost dangerous. Sometimes he got a little too competitive with games.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

saskia volosenkova

He'd been coasting along just fine in the game, more than pleased to be at least ahead of Saskia. Though the moment that she went and slapped the remote from his hand, it all went white. Sven didn't even know what was going on. In fact, for a solid moment there, it seemed he was trying to play the game without the remote, as if the phantom feeling of the remote still in his hand kept him mashing imaginary buttons. Though the moment he looked down and saw that indeed he was remoteless, he scrambled quick to the ground and grabbed the remote to try and gain at least some comeback.

Though comeback wasn't exactly what one could call it.

The screen flashed that he came in last place and his mouth dropped. He turned from the screen, to Saskia, back to the screen, and then back to Saskia once again. A look of offense was painted completely on his face as he shouted at the brunette in a manner that was admittedly unbecoming of such a relaxed young man. If it weren't for the fact she'd knocked his remote out of his hand, he could be called a sore loser from the way he reacted.

"Hey, rematch, you damned cheater!"

Once he chose to start up the game, it was his turn to try and play dirty. As he took the turns, Sven obnoxiously leaned over and bumped his shoulder against his ranger companion and attempted to throw off her groove of the game. This meant shoving his shoulder into her arm, at times he'd move his entire torso in an attempt to block her vision of the screen, all the while attempting to keep his own remote out of reach.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

saskia volosenkova

He was on the last lap and it was finally time to make his dear friend say her prayers to whatever deity dared to listen. The tip of his tongue peeked just beyond the corner of his lips as he practically hyperfocused on the screen. Victory was so close! Third place, then second, first was just one turn away -- !

Then he felt the tingling sensation as slender fingers dug into his side and squirmed their way around.

Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes as he let out a loud, cacophonus laugh and tried to squirm away from Saskia's reach. The controller slipped from his hands as he pressed himself into the corner of his couch and tried to push the ranger away with his foot. It wasn't quite a kicking motion but the kneejerk reaction of being tickled forced his foot a bit too forward in an aim towards her midsection.

"SASKI--HAHAHAH, STOOOOOP," he plead between his fit of laughter and snorts.

Then he heard the game announce a winner and once he was able to see through his tears, he saw that his position in first place had been usurped by the ranger. He gasped in between an attempt to catch his breath and offered Saskia a look of utter betrayal

"Oh, you Judas," he feigned offense. But it didn't take long until he broke out into a wide grin. "That was a dirty trick, seems you improved since the last time we played."

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

saskia volosenkova