The portal could have just deposited them all right in the sun, a cruel twist of fate by the true evil mastermind behind all the assaults on Hoenn’s integrity all along. The thought was not exactly alien to Violet, but she mostly ignored it as she’d stepped through. At a certain point, between just immediately popping dead and spending another minute in that craft, she easily chose the former if need be. Hence, there was little hesitation. Mostly, she’d just wanted to go to a place that was ‘not the ship’, at least consciously. But subconsciously, well, she wanted to return to safety. And her own place did not exactly feel all that safe after being abducted from there.
[break][break]
Not that she knew any of that, of course. But her appearing there, despite all the other problems that caused, was at least consistent with her own logic for the moment. [break][break]
Yet, just because she felt safe there, she still found herself hesitating, remaining completely still as she realized two things. One, Elaine was there and acted like she knew the place, meaning it was probably her home of sorts. And second: the redhead had not noticed her.
[break][break]
It was something that Violet would usually relish in. And part of her did feel a bit elated, though she was mostly just relieved in general. Vio sighed quietly to herself, but found herself not capitalizing on all this. In a way, she just felt….kind of awkward? Pulling some kind of prank would just have been cruel, especially after what they’d just been through. So, she definitely would not do that. Yet, just standing there was also very much a problem, especially when Elaine started to take off clothes.
Vi really was uncertain whether or not she should speak up in that moment. But, fortunately, Ela did turn around and react before she could resolve that internal struggle anyway.
[break][break]
Instead, all she would muster was a weary, tired and awkward smile. “Ah…yes. That is me. I kind of just ended up here too?” Honestly, she was not sure how that worked. Given that the redhead did not find herself facing the whole of assembled league and rocket right then probably meant this wasn’t where everyone would be deposited.[break][break]
No, this was just kind of its own thing, really. Vio tilted her head to the side, slightly. “Since this isn’t my place, it probably is yours. Quite a ways off…” she was briefly considering just running off to end this awkwardness. But at the same time, she really did not want to.
[break][break]
Vio was way too tired for that. But not enough to not notice the other’s injuries. “But…since I am here, I would help get you patched up if you don’t mind?” They both had taken some abuse, though Vio had gotten off a bit lighter. Still, neither of them was in great shape. And that kind of felt like the right thing to do, given that she was imposing on the other there.
[break][break]

+ Elaine Highland

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Ah, her office. That did make a lot of sense. Then it had to be close to the park from their little midnight soiree. She did remember Elaine describing that as being near said office, so all of that made a lot of sense. Violet was a bit confused as to why Elaine would undress here, but she figured that the other also would not feel quite comfortable in her home right then. Maybe that was why they were here?
Honestly, she did not know. And she did not care too much. Some secrets did not need to be unraveled for no reason. She had to focus on what was in front of her.
[break][break]
Which was a profoundly vulnerable look at Elaine, who did not seem to mind too much. Sure, she had almost squealed at first, but once it was clear that Violet was here, well, it very much seemed like Ela was okay with this. The communal showers probably helped, but she figured that was just to an extent. They hadn’t exactly had a choice there.[break][break]
Here, seeing this was…different. But not by much, since the wounds came into focus, which just reminded her of her own laceration and bruises. Come to think of it, she found herself chuckling. “Seems like we got very similar injuries from all this. That’ll make things easier, I guess. It is always easier to tend someone else than your own.” Especially those on the back.
[break][break]
Honestly, Vio was starting to see only upsides here, really. “But okay, I will not mind or worry,” she added, still wanting to communicate clearly. Then, she described the briefest of curtseys. “I thank you for your hospitality nonetheless. Though I probably should get out of this.” Briefly, she tugged on the collar of her prison overalls. She had not bothered to change out of those earlier, mostly to not have to run around in her pajamas during the fighting. “And besides I – “ Vio stopped herself mid-sentence when she noticed the sudden shift, when the other lurched forward.[break][break]
Despite her weariness, she had not fully given into a sense of safety yet and was quite alert. Enough to surge forward and seek to catch Elaine before the other could truly fall. “Now, now, easy. You must be just as battered as I am, after all. Take it easy, you are safe now, with me.”
[break][break]

+ Elaine Highland

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Not at all. We are both tired, after all.” She was just doing marginally better, probably because she had not been fighting up close, unlike Elaine. But that was about it. That and, well, her apparent need to appear stronger to those she cared about. But that was another matter entirely, as far as she was concerned.
[break][break]
For now, she just held the other until Elaine was able to get back onto her feet, helping her to the seating to make sure no other episodes would happen. “I see. It probably makes sense. If I had an office, I would want it to have all the amenities I might need too,” she replied, briefly thinking about the offices that the admins had at base. They probably did not come with all that equipped if the one she’d broken into was any indication.
[break][break]
But that was fully besides the point, really. Seeing the first aid box the other had pointed out, Vio made for that, first. “I might change later,” she noted as she picked it up and returned. “But I fear if I get anywhere near a comfortable enough bed I might succumb to temptation. And we need to get both you and I cleaned and bandaged up first.” As if realizing something, she briefly blinked, then chuckled to herself. “And we are both too serious and pragmatic not to do that, aren’t we?”[break][break]
They seemingly had that much in common. Violet was a lot more playful – at least it seemed that way so far – but only to an extent. They were both serious people at their core, at least after what had transpired on the bottom of the sea and later with those relics. Hence, she was putting down the box and started to sort the supplies she would need. “And before you offer to take the couch, I don’t sharing the bed with you. It’s probably why I ended up here. I don’t really want to be alone tonight after…that.”
[break][break]

+ Elaine Highland

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Now, now, don’t overdo it. You probably got something internal there, too.” It probably warranted the attention of an actual doctor. But given that things had worked out to an extent so far, it probably wasn’t something hospital worthy. At least she hoped so, for her own sake as well.
[break][break]
But still, she could not help but worry a bit as she watched the other wince there, giving Elaine room to recuperate on her own terms for now while she prepared the first aid. While Vio was no expert, basic first aid had been one of the things she actually had learned from her parents, so she quickly set up what she needed to clean some wounds, then bandage them. They both knew the first part was both necessary but also painful. Vi did not say anything about that, though, instead choosing to focus on their other topic as a distraction as she went to work.[break][break]
Hence, she was quite surprised when she suddenly felt something completely unexpected. No one had done this to her…potentially ever? Maybe her father had once, but ever since he’d decided that she was to basically succeed his son, he had treated her very differently. It would have to have happened even before, when she was really little.
[break][break]
And what did it matter, anyway? This was happening, now. Not a condescending headpat that a superior might give, not the kind of attention a parent gave to their child. This was…different. Unusual. She did not mind. In fact, she had to keep her head down a little since she found some tears without magical properties where they did not belong.
“I…. just, thank you, Elaine. That means a lot to me. I mean it.”
[break][break]

+ Elaine Highland

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

And take her time she did. Not a whole lot, admittedly, but that was just because she did not need quite that long. Just enough of it to sort out her feelings a little and to appreciate what was happening. To some extent, she could all but feel that this wasn’t quite what Elaine wanted to do. They usually hugged in these kinds of situations, but that was a no-go here for obvious reasons. The detective had settled for this and it was fairly nice. Violet enjoyed it for a bit longer, but eventually the same mental wanderlust that plagued them both saw her take a deep breath, harrumph slightly and regain some composure.
[break][break]
With a nod, then, she started to patch up some smaller wounds, her hands feeling surprisingly dexterous considering the kind of abuse they had gone through these past few days. Then again, she never was as delicate as she otherwise might have looked in that sense. Elaine had likely figured that much out long just from looking at said hands, even before Vio had alluded to having changed herself.
[break][break]
But it felt good doing, well, good. It might have hurt her friend a little, but they both knew it was ultimately a positive and necessary thing. Despite the earlier tears, she just found herself smiling, working happily until eventually, she found herself both a bit closer to the other and mostly finished with the initial steps of triage. Looking up, she simply tried to meet Elaine’s eyes without bothering to properly disengage. “And I will be there for you, as long as you need me. Or just want me to.”
[break][break]

+ Elaine Highland

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Well, I always start saying those things when I get interested. But even when that changed a bit, I still kept that last bit of distance. Last time I went too fast and boldly I got burned for it. So I –“ Violet stopped herself. She’d gotten caught up in the moment, just enjoying being so close, those more affectionate touches, that she had simply started to talk, her brain only processing what was said as she replied it, in a way.[break][break]

Hence, those last five words just kind of snuck up on her. Some kind of spy she was. And they immediately threw her for a loop, causing different impressions to rush into her mind. It was not the first time she had heard those words, after all. But so far, she had only heard them from marks, usually from people to whom that came easy and who she wanted to say them in order to scam them for money. It wasn’t necessarily a part of her past that she was proud of these days, but she had heard the words, regardless. [break]
Just never from someone she truly wanted to hear them from. Those other people cheapened them. When she had said them to someone and meant it, she had suffered rejection.
[break][break]
And now they were here. Suddenly. Causing cheeks to flush in a way she did not even notice. Though she did not recoil, fidget or frighten. There was a deepening to the light smile she wore, though she briefly found herself breaking eye-contact, looking down. “I…said this to someone once and got burnt by it. They did not feel the same way about me as I did about them. Even now there is that pesky sliver of doubt in my head, trying to tell me that you probably just mean a different kind of love as I do,” she ultimately remarked, eyes still cast downwards.[break]
But they would not remain so. She looked up and she lit up a little more as she tried to find Elaine again. This time though, her own hand was similarly in action, only she did not just caress the other’s cheek but sought to lift her chin, almost transfix it with a gentle touch. She wanted to make her intent clear, but would not simply go in for a kiss yet. Both just in case but also out of respect. “I have come to love you.” At least she thought so. But she did not want to say that because it would just diminish what she sought to convey.
[break][break]

+ Elaine Highland

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

It was odd, given how much experience she had pretending to love that she was kind of clueless as to what the real thing truly was. Or maybe it was just natural. She had lived lies for so long that the truth sometimes became a difficult thing to parse, to understand, to believe. Love, most of all. Years ago, she had chosen to become someone else. She hadn’t quite chosen to become someone that conned people by faking affection. That had just naturally come to be, in part due to happening upon a tutor, in part due to talent.
[break][break]
Violet was a natural born liar. It came to her so easily, she had to make conscious efforts not to lie, sometimes. And it wasn’t like she was always truthful with Elaine, either. While she had not exactly said a lot of things that were not true in that week of torment, she still had lied by pretending that she was stronger than she actually had been. But that time had worn her down because of that. Even if lying came easy to her, keeping it up for so long was quite the strain.
[break][break]
It amplified her doubts even more – and in turn made the exhilaration upon having them dispelled even more potent. She’d made herself quite vulnerable, putting all the power to decide this in the hands of the other. But she was not punished for it. Vio heard those words and already understood. Hence, she only uttered a single word in reply: “Yes.”
[break][break]
And then, of course, she readily accepted the kiss. They were both still in terrible states, dry lips, injured bodies, all factors that should diminish things. But Vi did not care. Because those were Elaine’s lips meeting hers, easily parting as they parted their opposites. She leaned a bit into the kiss, her free hand simply seeking the other’s arm as if just wanting to add a little more of this connection.[break][break]
Her doubts certainly were wiped, for she would grow emboldened by this development, seeking to deepen the kiss right away, tongue seeking the other’s. There was a hunger within that had been kept carefully subdued for long, but it was now shining through.
[break][break]

+ Elaine Highland

[attr="class","pokeclass"]