All day, Rook tapped through the news channels with addictive and unsettling speed. Anything that did not cover the attack was skipped. His eyes roved across the pixelated screen, scanning for slips and signs of green or a wayward and familiar bird pokemon. Rosie was nestled into his lap, aggressively squeeze between his arms as he murmured to himself.

"Oh... was that him...?"

Unfortunately, there was no one else there to answer his anxious questions. There was news about the flooding, which he could only assume was deeply impacting the gym. He had even adorned his water-resistant boots and splashed his way out to the gym to check it out. Low and behold, the water had already begun to damage the flooring. It would likely only continue to rise. He even stopped to help a few shops along the beach to vacate. It made him feel useful. It was better than sitting around, waiting to spy a glimpse of green and knowing he couldn't do anything about it.

Maybe he'd grown used to this. Maybe he would grow numb to the panic and eventually complacent. He wasn't sure he liked that, but at least he wasn't dooming Lam to his bad juju energy.

With very little else he could do, and covered in a nice slurry of salty water, he retreated back to the house and returned to the television in the bedroom. It was late, by the time he started to worry considerably more. He had taken to comfort baking, even if he was still working on the art (as shown by a tray of burnt psyduck cookies).


Any moment now...

He told himself several times before the sound of Lam's voice filled the house. Rosie toppled from the bed, rolling dramatically before slipping through the bedroom door. He hastily followed.

His heart skipped a beat at the sight of Lam. Even if he thought he'd grown somewhat more accustomed to the risk. He propelled into a hug, careless to the sweaty and dirt, having only just showered. "Are you okay?" The more caretaker part of him kicked into gear, looking him over. "Sit down, I'll get you some water. Are you hungry? Does anything hurt?"

"Oh uhh... the gym is a little...wet, by the way."

lam logan

Rosie had certainly warmed up to his partner, far more than Rook anticipated. She was a very careful, cautious pokemon. With her history of abuse and neglect, he couldn't exactly blame her. Were he any other person, he might have been just as shut down as she was, but it helped having someone like Lam in his life. Lam made it impossible to want to build a wall and not invite him inside like a sleepover that only the two of them were invited to.

"Good." He sighed, expecting the relief though he had eased through this process somewhat. There was nothing he could or would say to keep Lam from going out there and fighting, but it still proved painful. After seeing what Rocket was capable of, he wasn't always sure. He remembered how caught off guard he'd been, the first time Lam was hurt or broken inside. He had never expected that, as a gym leader, Lam would do anything more than maintain his gym.

But this was part of the job... apparently.

There were growing pains, but he was adapting.

"Are they okay? The person you took to the hospital?" He asked as he grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with ice and water. The urging made him settle, breathing slower as hand clasped him. "Okay okay, I'm slow. I'm king of slow. Some might even say a slowking."

Rook pressed a kiss back, exhaling against this simple comfort. Everything was okay. They were fine. "No one said a second shower could hurt, right?" He smiled, patting his side. "Yes, please. That'd make me feel better. Shirt off." Immediately bossy.

"I might have gone to check it out... It was fine, I mean I was... it... ehhhh. pretty wet. There's gonna be some damage for sure." Rook scoffed, "Well I wouldn't, I would stay here until you came back. Little bit of water."

lam logan

Rook couldn't imagine anyone quite matching the brat energy of Lam's younger brother, but he was curious even then. "She sounds sweet, I'll have to meet her one of these days."

"Well you better buy it, mister." Rook scoffed, but it was attached to a playful smile. This was a somewhat more rare occasion, but there had been so many times in the past that Lam returned worse for wear. At no point did he think he'd be prepared to accept it, but it had actually grown easier. At least, maybe that was to do with the fact that Lam took it easier.

As much as he loved Lam for being the valiant hero that he was, sometimes he couldn't help but think of the Lam that he'd met in the beginning. The starving artist. Then, there had been no danger besides Rook being a menace. Then again, this version of Lam seemed so much more... complete. He had figured his life out and it was working for him. Rook never wanted to take that away from him, no matter his concern.

Rook followed him into the bed room and then to the bathroom. Lam plopped up onto the sink and he took a place between his knees. One hand tipped his head to the side to examine a little cut next to his brow. His eyes tracked down to ugly bruises across his ribs. He took up some antiseptics from the cabinet and put it on the cut, cleaning it out before his shower.

"Yes, I did. Can't sit around doing nothing while the world continues to spin out of control, can I?" Not completely, at least. He wasn't a fighter, that was for damn sure. It was probably pathetic, how he flip-flopped between interests and hobbies without certainty. In a way, he envied Lam's passion and integrity. He always did the right thing.

"We'll find out when we check it out... tomorrow." He added, making certain that Lam didn't get any ideas. The gym would still be there... hopefully.

"Not as daring as you."

"Do you deserve the hell?" He chuckled at that, imagining a nineteen year old mouthing off to Lam. Rook's eyes lit up at the mention of ghosts. "Oh, it sounds like she has amazing tastes then." There was a slight bias there, of course, as most people might not have agreed with his general love for the ghosts, ghouls, toxic types.

Rook tried his best to be as careful as he could, the little hiss didn't delight him in the least. It wouldn't have made any difference to wish that Lam was more careful, after all these things happened regardless. He didn't like how little control he had in this situation, but that was the point. In the end, he needed to trust Lam and he did... mostly.

It did occur to him that out there was a nineteen-year old with more bravery than him. That didn't quite sit so well with him. What difference did he make from the others that stuck their heads in the sand? If Lam wasn't there to remind him of the dangers, he'd be the exact same. Maybe worse. Hell, he'd probably be busy trying to profit off it with some new scheme.

"Yeah, I think it'll be fine." He smiled, running his hand through Lam's hair. Rook rolled his eyes at Lam's insistent that he needed or even deserved to be complimented. "Okay fine."

Steam coated the mirror, blurring out their reflections. He paused to observe the mark. "It may, we'll put some antibacterial on it and a good bandage and go by tomorrow. For now, let's get you cleaned up." At the same time, he removed his shirt with a sly smile, having changed his mind. A second shower wouldn't hurt.

Being that he wasn't an actual medical professional, he'd leave the diagnosis to actual doctors. "Hopefully they won't have to." The least he could do right then was make sure it was properly cleaned and bandaged, but first Lam was in desperate need of shower. Something he didn't need to tell Lam because it should have been pretty obvious.

He plucked his shirt off, setting it onto the counter rather than fling it aside as it was actually clean (for the most part, considering Lam was laying all over him). Did he need another shower? Not at all. Did he want one? If Lam was taking said shower, most certainly.

"Make sure it's not too hot." Lam and his idea of a comfortable temperature were quite different. Slipping in behind him, he lathered his hand with shampoo. "Did everything go okay though?"

“I had to retreat at first.”

Rook frowned at that, "Were you in danger?" To him, there was nothing wrong with retreating under dangerous threat. Then again, he was far less noble than Lam. Although he didn't rob galleries or con anyone out of their hard-earned cash anymore, he still had that nature. At his base, he was still selfish. It was more within his own interest that Lam knew when to retreat. Though it was clear in Lam's tone that it wasn't a shared sentiment.

With a sigh, he tried not to give Lam a disapproving look. "It's not cowardly, Lam. It's good to listen to your fear. It's the compass that keeps you safe. It may not feel good listening to it at first, but you can be thankful for it after the fact. Being stubborn and noble can sometimes hurt things more than save them." Rook paused at that, blinking. "Virizion? You saw Virizion?"

Lam had a habit of saying things as if they were perfectly normal every day things. It was baffling sometimes.

Other guy? He nearly asked before shaking his head. It was more the same, he figured he'd find out in some time.

He lathered his hands, brushing them through Lam's hair. "I don't get what's the point in all of that... targeting innocent places." Sootopolis had its.... problems but didn't necessarily deserve to be turned into a warzone because two groups couldn't get along. Granted, he had dabbled in Rocket enough to know it wasn't that simple, but it was still frustrating.

"Then I'm glad you left."

There was a selfish part of him that didn't care what the League wanted. No matter how noble its intent, he would never allow it to take Lam from him. Even if Lam hated him for it. But, even then, he stepped back and let Lam go to war. That's what this was, right? War. It had never felt like that. It felt deceptive, like he'd been lied to, but he was too much in love with Lam's heroism to tell him no. It would deny him who he was, but he would always encourage him to take a step back when things got dicey.

"I appreciate that, really. I don't want you to change who you are or put others at risk, but just... look after yourself too. The league will always be around. It's in their interest to make it hard for you to turn away, okay?" He could see the writing on the wall and didn't like it. Even if he appreciated aspects of the league. They protected people and pokemon, which was more than anyone else would have done.

Rook blinked, a little confused. It didn't make much sense so he wasn't sure why he even asked. It felt like an inside joke that he wasn't there to witness, but at least Lam was trying to explain the punchline rather than leave him in the dark with a "you had to be there".

"Of course it did. You're a cozy little safe place." He smiled, thumb sliding across his forehead to cut the path from a wayward soap sud. "Pokemon get good vibes from you, for obvious reasons."

"I'm not going to pretend like I understand anything going on, but I'm here to support you anyway I can, okay?"