it doesn't usually take him this soon for him to find himself comfortable with someone, although he does so for some reason. he immediately picks up on minuscule shifts on his speech pattern. kyle, however, isn't quite sure of the 'why' behind it.

"you sound disappointed," kyle tries to guess.

he rolls up his sleeve and flexes his bicep, mirroring noah's earlier action, huffing and then smiling at his direction. "i'm not as delicate as the other vip's you know." his muscles relax afterwards, kyle rolling the sleeves of his shirt back. "do you want me to hire you as a bodyguard as well?" he teases.

the talk is interrupted when they finally reach his home. his multiple arcanine and manectric stare at them intently as kyle leads them through the porch and to the house. as kyle takes a moment to take out his keys and find the right one, they start to hound the outsider.

the lycanroc were more curious, joining the houndours that already got themselves acquainted with noah on nearing and sniffing him directly, noses directly touching the skin.

he tenses when he feels the sudden weight on his arms. the signs noah gives off weren't unnoticed, but kyle gives him the benefit of the doubt for now. smiling at what seemed to be clumsiness, he gives a snort and goes back to unlocking the door.

"it's only nice until you want some alone time."

a sigh accompanies the turn of the knob. he lets noah in his household before barring the rest of his dogs outside, closing the door behind him before coming in as well. scratches and whines from the other side of the door could be heard, but they eventually disperse not too long afterwards.

kyle confronts him before they can go even further, leaving noah with his back against the door and kyle standing in between him and the rest of the living room. "a'ight. tell me. why me?" the words were strained, but his general tone remains unchanged from the lighter mood earlier.

out of the elite four, he finds himself to be the one with the least qualifications. curiosity gnaws him. he wants to know what people currently see in him that makes him special.

there was no reaction to noah's answer. kyle remains the same expression on his face, still not budging from his position. he continues to stare him down, raising a brow as he asks a follow up question.

"...and it's not about my skills, or my battle style, or anything like that?"

he supposed it surprised him that those weren't noah's criteria for finding someone to train him.

kyle was honestly just messing with noah. he was expecting a certain reaction - panic, embarrassment, or anything similar. noah gives him what he wants, kind of, to which he finally breaks out to a mischievous smile.

"i'm sorry. i should've stopped you before you got all serious about it. i was just kidding." he takes a break to let out a chuckle or two. "you should've seen your face. it was cute."

a perfect fit. the words bring a genuine smile to his expression. despite his claims, kyle would argue that noah definitely manages to say the words that kyle wants to hear.

he finally distances himself from him, snickering as he walks towards the kitchen. he motions for his guest to follow him. "do you want a drink?" he goes to the fridge, taking a moment to pick one out. instinctively, he picks out orange juice when he guesses what noah would like. kyle pours himself a glass, ready to give noah one should he say yes.

"let's get back to order of things though. house tour, meet-and-greet with the dogs, scheduling trainings, and then i can let you go home, i guess," a finger is stuck out of a fisted hand every time he added something to the list. "sounds good?

kyle turns to him, smirking. "let's be honest. if anyone's going to regret this arrangement, it's gonna be you. you bet i'm gonna take the chance before you change your mind."

free labor for training was a bargain. it's been getting difficult to find someone who's willing to walk all of his dogs too lately, and noah offering was just perfect for him.

besides, the feeling was nostalgic. basically being roped to a commitment that he wasn't ready for was reminiscent of his days at johto, more specifically, blackthorn. he smiles faintly at the thought, being on the opposite side of the deal this time.

"you're not backing away from this though, are you?"

kyle is afraid of the answer. before noah can even respond, he adds another line to his statement. he hopes it's enough to keep it from going out of his favor.

"alright, since i really need a dog walker slash house sitter, how about i give you a chance to ask me one request?"

food. kyle would've let out a chuckle or two if he didn't resonate with that answer so much.

"is that all you want? i mean, sure, i'll take it!"

kyle looks at him like how he'd look at his dog children. there was an uncanny semblance in his behavior that reminds kyle of bravo. innocent, earnest, and simple. doesn't help that bravo's role is basically to be a bodyguard and he fights in close quarters during battles. he supposed that's how he felt comfortable around him from the get-go.

subconsciously, he places his hand on top of his head and starts to pat it gently like what he'd do to mightyena!bravo.

"you want me to treat you to dinner?"

he thinks of opening his fridge to look for choices, but he remembers that there's nothing in it for a growing boy besides maybe milk and oj.

the suggestion comes in clutch. kyle brightens up when the idea was relayed. the petting immediately turns to a good hair ruffling, ecstatic about the thought of spaghetti of all things.

"ooh! there's a good pasta place that just opened in this town. i never found an excuse to try it until now. i think they even do delivery."

he takes off his hand from his head and takes his phone out, opening a food delivery app. the place he recalled earlier quickly shows up from a quick search. it takes him no time to place his order and then confirm their order.

"i guess this means you're not gonna be able to leave until later. where do you stay anyways?" he's gonna feel bad if he has to let bravo hike all the way to the next town or something late at night if he does stay outside of verdanturf.