"heh, barking," he scoffs, lips curving upwards on the smile for a smirk to be accompanied with a raise of a brow. "is that a dog pun? i hate you if it is."

kyle blinks at his inquiry. it's a question he was always ready to answer, if only because it's one that he has asked himself multiple times. he has conflicting opinions on the matter, though he has learned to simply live with it instead of worrying about it.

"i'm not really fond of the attention, but i mean, someone has to be there."

the gatekeeper for the champion seat. sometimes, he wonders if he should have held down on the feats he has earned so as to not get the attention to be scouted for the position. it gave him opportunities he wouldn't have otherwise exploited, however, so he's thankful for that.

"it's easier than being a gym leader at least. i can always use the excuse of challengers needing badges to deny challenges."

he squints at him, ignoring his riolu for a moment. "have you earned any of the badges yet?"

"l-l-like you and me?"

he repeats the words, perhaps to subtly suggest clarification, stammering as he does. the way he worded his statement gets him awkward and suddenly conscious, freezing on his spot and uncertain how to handle it.

thankfully, he follows it up with another statement that pivots to another topic.

he scratches his chin at the aftermath, and then starts to muse for a response. "i understand for the other three," he nods sagely in agreement. both amavi and mateo had achieved great things despite their youth and bailey was just... she intimidates him too sometimes.

standing up from his crouched position, he folds his arms as he thinks. "i don't think i'm intimidating though." he compares himself with the other three on his head, trying to find anything about his personality that takes other aback and then fails. he rests his hands on his waist as he finishes.

"heh, i'm not scary at all." a satisfied smile comes to his expression. "am i intimidating too?"

the way he words his admiration towards him makes kyle sweat as well. he tenses under pressure, unsure whether to meet his well-meaning praises by downplaying his abilities or not, and barely mutters the words he defaults into when he gets uneasy with the attention.

"y-you're not just patronizing me, right?"

he grows hot with anxiety, cheeks flushing as he hears himself being held at high regard. he often dismisses these kinds of things as being patronizing, though he is inclined to believe that noah was just being blunt as he was during their previous conversation.

a hand goes to the other's shoulder, with the other one clasped and covering his mouth. he turns his head to the side and collects his thoughts, hoping that the gesture gets noah to pause and let kyle recover from the sudden flow of events for a moment.

part of him is reluctant to accept since he doesn't want any more responsibilities. nevertheless, he seemed too genuine, the kind of person that makes investing into them worth the effort. it was a quality of a person that attracts kyle, mostly because it reminds him of his dogs.

he does, however, manage to get kyle to change his mind at the end of his statement. his voice softens, relief evident by the tone he takes, when the deal breaker is laid on the table.

"wait, you'd really do that? i'll gladly try if you would."

he has attempted training @bryony for battles before, though he wasn't sure if it helped in the end. this wouldn't be the first time he'd be doing this, although he hopes he'd get better at it this time around.

his question sparks another idea into kyle's head. he did not think much about it, but he blurts the idea out to noah nonetheless, index fingers excitedly pointing towards him.

"you can stay at my house instead if you want."

the lopez house wasn't anything fancy, but it's a good suburban home, perhaps even too big for a family with just a single child. destroyed during the invasion, kyle has poured resources into repairing it. he barely sleeps in the place though, so he sometimes think of it has recently become a glorified dog house.

he had only wanted to put it in good use and only when he repeated his proposition in his head did he recognize where he did wrong. "wait, that sounded creepy." he pauses as he tries to reword it in a way that it isn't, but gives up, scratching his head. "well, the offer's still open."

kyle wonders if he should've prefaced it better. he tries, but forgets about the fact that he tends ramble when he talks about his dogs.

"i usually stay at slateport in case you don't want this option. the dogs live here though, besides the six i bring for that day. they like the yard and the open space, and they like having a territory they can claim as their own and be overprotective to. i visit everyday since the current house sitter's starting to get spooked by them..." he trails off before adding, "you'll love them!"

he flinches towards his action, honestly not anticipating it. physical contact he does not initiate gets him nervous, leaving him unable to say anything until he is let go of.

"i-i'll give you a dog house if you really don't want to stay in a normal room," he responds in jest. he blurts most of the words out though, still recovering from the hug. "house sitting works."

seeing this much enthusiasm from him makes kyle warm within. his lips crack to a smile, unsure to handle noah in this situation. does he leave him be or get himself involved and risk being seen as too nosy? one way or another, however, kyle still manages to get nosy as he pries onto noah's life with a question.

"a bodyguard? why'd you have that job?"

it was a strange choice for an occupation, especially for someone who seemed younger than him. kyle can't even see himself be one even if he was much older than he currently is.

he left it to noah to imagine what kind of doghouse he has. he doesn't really have any as the lopez residence is mostly a glorified doghouse by now, especially with him staying at slateport and leaving his dogs to roam free.

his lips gave way to a smirk. while he doesn't like the idea of taking hits to the face for another person, he might have to reconsider his opinion of the said person was him. he doesn't pursue more questioning the bodyguard thing any further.

"alright. no need to keep flattering me," he doesn't know what to do with his hands. he folds them instead so he can ignore them for a while. "you already won over me anyways."

a whistle is taken out from under his shirt, hanging from a cord around his neck. kyle blows on it as he starts walking away from his spot. his riolu follows right after his trainer, along with other houndours that come out from multiple spots from the park.

kyle turns around, stopping before motioning for noah to follow. "you can pack later. how about i show you to my house for now?" this was exciting for him, kind of like inviting a friend over as a kid, except this friend is someone he just met. he starts to wonder if he should make more friends.