Cheap, filling, and tasty; was it any surprise that Makoto, being one to religiously save their money, was a regular? The place even let them sometimes bring a few of their pokemon in to have a meal as well, which made it a great way to treat, say, Kama.

But as they came in this night, it became clear that something was amiss. They were used to the diner bustling at this time, but... It was eerily quiet, eerily empty. And the reason for this became quickly apparent, as they spotted Tempest in the corner.

Makoto glances back to the couple, and would try to offer them a reassuring glance of their own. "I'll - I'll handle this. The usual Crunchfest, please?" They'd speak - before moving for the corner booth. Though they knew Tempest could be dangerous, they at least believed that he wouldn't hurt them...

(... Or at least, they hoped as much.)

As they got closer, it became more apparent that he wasn't in his usual positive mood - spying the tear stains - and they'd go to one of the seats at the opposite side of the table. But rather than sit down immediately, they'd glance to him, asking "Would you... Like some company?"

With Temp's confirmation, Makoto would sit down across from him - willing to simply provide some peaceful comfort. Partly because they weren't immediately sure about how to broach the topic of whatever had made him so upset - and partly because they themself felt like it'd be something they'd want from a friend, when they were upset.

But as he finally spoke, Makoto gently shook their head. "It's okay," they responded after a moment to register. "It's, uhm... It's not like we're sunshine and rainbows 24-7." Noone was. Even if they felt awkward as far as how to comfort Temp went, they didn't fault him for it.

As the food arrived, Makoto took the time to have a bite of their own. Though, with the two of them now speaking... They'd soon swallow it down, to broach the topic and ask "Did something happen?" It must have been big, to have the normally oh-so-sunny Tempest upset like this.

Ah... Yeah, that sounded like something that'd put a damper on even the usually sunny Tempest's mood - even if Makoto themself didn't have much of a perspective on married relationships. All the same, their expression was sympathetic, as they listened to him speak.

The way he puts it - that they were just talking at first - made it sound like it came out of nowhere to Makoto. That things had started pretty innocently. Reaching out to carefully nudge the bowl of soup, so that Tempest could properly lean on the table without knocking into it, they'd think for a second...

... Before asking "What were you, uhm, talking about?" Maybe this would be a safe place to start, in figuring things out..?

Stuff happening with one's veins certainly sounded concerning! Especially when it felt as though Tempest was being deliberately vague about it... And that he'd been experimenting with himself certainly didn't help, either. Were the two points connected at all...?

Makoto blinked at the answers given - almost having been expecting a more mundane sounding beef, given that the two were a married couple. Such as a disagreement over house renovations, or something. Surely, even if the two were very openly Rocket, they had a life beyond their affiliations, right...?

In any case though, Makoto would think for a second. "It... At least from that, it sounds as though if the two of you have some time to calm down, that it'll be okay..." At least, that's what they thought, given the mention of heightened emotions at the time. "... Were his veins that way cause of... That experimenting? And what had him upset, about going to a doctor?"

Safe to say, they were unaware of Cillian's medical aversions - but even if they were, that'd only raise further questions.

Ah... Being afraid of doctors, it was a quality that one would not think of the Underboss. One would expect that the highest heads of Rocket would be fearless, really... But, it does remind them that even Cillian Quinn was once a grunt. That there was a human in there, underneath the cold exterior of the Harbinger.

The mention of cancer and Infinity Energy being connected was... A bit of a concerning one, though. One that has their expression flickering a little. "Does that... Affect pokemon the same way?" They asked - thinking to Tsukiko. Illumina pokemon had more Infinity Energy flowing through them, right..? Could it have an effect on their Ninetales' longevity?

Nonetheless, it seemed as though despite Cillian's aversion to doctors, that he'd been up to something that... He really should have doctors on site for. They weren't sure if building immunity to poison was a thing - it wasn't like it was a virus that one's immune system could learn to fight back against...

But at the very least, as they gulped down another bite of their food... "... I... I think it makes sense that you got upset." They spoke, thoughtful. "The person you love's... He's basically hurting himself, even if it's so that he hurts less later..." After a moment of consideration though, they'd add "At least it, uhm, sounds like he's not doing this on his own..."

They had no frame of reference to say whether or not THEO BECKETT was trustworthy, but if Cillian did, then that probably meant for something, right?

Either way, Makoto's thoughts on the matter would be that "I... I think when you're... When you've both calmed down, that you should tell him that you worry about him. Not because he's not strong, but, uhm... Cause you love him. And because anything can happen, in Hoenn." For all they knew, a second meteor could come hurtling to the region out of nowhere - or some long-forgotten volcano right under their feet would erupt on the spot - or yet another bunch of completely unrelated aliens could invade.

Nothing was off the table, really - and in the end, it could very well not matter how strong he was, if things fell into place in the worst of ways.