[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]he finds her as she's pouring over notes, head slightly bent and neck developing a small kink between the muscles. her head lacks a crown here, but the slightly distant cosmic look in her eyes remains the same for two decades lost have not changed the alchemist enough to keep her head out of the stars.

and while her nose might be a little scrunched in focus, it seems easily broken.

the dart of yellow clamoring into the vacancy next to her draws her eyes and red darts to follow, finding a round pikachu settling in for the study session. it's familiar, painfully so if the ache in her chest is anything to go off of... but why?

following line of sight confirms the answer a moment later and despite herself, she feels light heat flood into her cheeks.

"oh, it's you."

that familiar yet half a stranger of a man from the vital city tournament and before that, the streets of lilycove. faintly, she's aware that she's tracing his facial features, his shoulders, and down before drawing back up to refocus. beyond the words lifted from worn pages in her hands, nestled in the memory like an undisturbed little bubble, she could see flashes of something candlelit and carnal. it deepens the color of her cheeks.

"aaron, right?"

her smile is girlish, almost shy - a different look for the newly divine.

"would you like to join me?"

his pikachu already has, but she asks anyway.

aaPWvQhI
aaron faust
gc excursion: research station.

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]her smile widens as he accepts, as he crosses the room toward her. something about the concept of him coming around feels warm and cozy, quite like collapsing into the comfort of your plush bed after a long day. does he feel that sense of warmth in his body around her too?

or is it nothing more than a figment of her imagination - a girlish daydream conjured up on small, idle interactions and delusional thinking?

she can't tell, but the longer he lingers above her, the more heat rises through her body.

"would you like to sit?"

a quick glance is stolen toward his pikachu before she reconsiders. would it be rude to pluck his pikachu up without asking and place the electric rat in her lap? perhaps... maybe she should give him her seat instead?

his question distracts her well enough, though she lingers a little too long on his face when her eyes flitter up to meet his. she's acutely aware of the proximity, the angling of his body toward hers, the faint tension from a memory still existing in spaces between.

"oh, um, they're research notes. someone left them behind here."

her cheeks flush a shade deeper, more pink than before.

"i'm not sure if they're important yet, but so far they're an interesting read about what the author had found in area zero."

oqsGBFlP
aaron faust
gc excursion: research station.

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she accepts his decision with a small nod of her head. his pikachu stays settled in the seat beside her, though her hand does drift slightly to gently scratch under the electric rat's chin before returning to rest near aaron's on the table.

and while she doesn't remember instances in the way he does, there's brief flashes of familiarity that keep her tethered to him. she leans a little closer as if drawn, tugged forward by some invisible string. the closer she gets, the more her memory unblurs. she could see more, feel more, than just little snippets of their time together if she only...

"anything cool?"

she clears her throat slightly, though her eyes betray her by drifting to his lips and back.

"mostly paradox pokemon, the tera crystals, and these odd beasts."

nothing entirely out of the ordinary that she can tell, at least. after a moment, the notes settle into her lap with a slight rustling sound and she gives aaron her full attention.

"have you been to area zero yet?"

i|KZOWVN
aaron faust
gc excursion: research station.

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]not yet... he's idling by spending time with her here and now, waiting on Greyson Connors and occupying a vacancy in this research station.

"oh, you're waiting on greyson?"

the notes are still clasped lightly between her fingers. their worn edges crinkle slightly and she leans a little further to place them on the table next to his arm. in the process, her hand brushes lightly against his skin and she feels a slight spark. another flash of memory follows and her body burns hotter.

how much time could they have?

"are you meeting him soon?"

two decades hadn't been enough to stick to the memory, but perhaps an hour or two could...

kjBbRu8m
aaron faust
gc excursion: research station.

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]in the end, whether it's fate or merely circumstance pushing them back together outside of that distant memory, she feels something snap back into place the moment his hand reaches for hers.

"good," comes tumbling out as distance dwindles between them and any other words are effectively silenced by their lips pressing together.

and in the mind's eye, flashes become further solidified in memory and it's no longer a faint, lingering sensation of familiarity - it's knowing, it's experiencing, it's crashing back into each other as if twenty years can easily be replicated now.

she pulls him closer, balling the fabric of his shirt into her small fists, and she can't find it in herself to separate, to move from the chair while she tries to tug at clothes...

but the door is still unlocked and outside, the faint howling of paradox pokemon can be heard echoing around the research station. she peels her lips away from his for a moment, resting her cheek against his to whisper a soft "get the door," into his ear before pressing a string of butterfly kisses to his jawline and finally releasing her hold on him.

J1n2sn75
aaron faust
gc excursion: research station.

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]he leaves for the door and despite herself, the rush of warmth fading into cold is startling. she has the memories now - flashes, clear and pristine clips in candlelight and tense air - but they only bring about a primal yearning locked away behind twenty years.

her head turns as if to call for him, to say nevermind just leave it unlocked, but he's already crossing back toward her. the chair his pikachu is in rolls away in the process...

and he's sweeping her up onto the table without a second thought. warmth floods back in, and she feels whole again somehow. it'll break once he's gone, once this is over and the history between them catches up, but right now they're relearning each other's bodies and she swears it could be enough for her.

he leans over her, a leg between hers, and she tugs firmly at his shirt as if demanding space needs to dwindle until there's nothing left.

"yes."

her lips ghost over his ear. his breath against her neck brings goosebumps coming into newfound life across her skin. she is quick to trap him here, raising her legs to hook them around his waist. her hands continue to try pulling at his shirt, a minute away from ripping it to shreds if it doesn't leave his body.

"i - aaron, please."

please still love me, she wants to beg. please mend the fissures of my mind, she wants to plead. she remembers how good he was to her, to their children... how loved and whole she felt. did he feel the same? does he still?

TZxkpId0
aaron faust
gc excursion: research station.