Asking permission to leave? Did she really change that quickly? The submission makes her sick, leaving a bitter taste on her tongue to mingle with the iron when the words finish dripping out. There’s a natural defiance in her to not fall in line but Cillian Quinn has proved his point. He is stronger. For now.

Lex acknowledges the order with a nod before slipping past Gavin and out the door.

Fuck this.

Cillian Quinn

Purchasing: 1x TM/TR to teach PURRLOIN the move SHADOW CLAW

-60pd

“Hmph,” she stifled a laugh at the grim humor. He has a point. That would be Killian Decker’s first reaction. They were both dangerously protective of the other, “Well, we’ll see then I guess,” she’d . . . figure it out.

A part of her expects him to want to start sooner rather than later. ‘Fight through the pain’ and all that. She’s relieved to hear him say otherwise, “Alright, I’ll call you then.”

Her eyes flash to the door but she doesn’t move to leave until she asks, “Can I go?”

Cillian Quinn

“Beckett” the voice is sharp, shot like an arrow at the man she summoned when he enters the bar.

Lex chose a table in one of the darker corners on purpose, further away from prying ears of the grunts that scattered themselves around. She already has a glass of whiskey, neat, although she hasn’t started to sip it yet. She gives him time to get something if he chooses to before motioning towards the seat across from her.

“Sit.”

THEO BECKETT

His. That’s all she wants to be. But it seems Rocket is also trying to lay claim on her, taking a dominant role she reserved for only one man. There will no doubt be a time where they asked her to choose, or him to choose, between them and Rocket. Lex knows her answer, it’s the easiest one she’ll ever make. Now she just needs to be prepared and strong enough to defend herself when she makes it.

Always. Just the way he says it makes her shudder. She immediately regrets ever doubting it. Still, it’s what she needed to hear after . . . everything. There’s renewed sense of hope that swells in her chest. He is still fighting for her and she is still fighting for him. Perhaps it’s time they fought together rather than separately.

She steps out of the fallen garments, kicking them towards the wall. Her hands follow his to her thighs. They rest gently on top of his, not meant to disrupt his indulgence. The secret comes as his lips brush against her ear and his hot breath trails down her neck. Goosebumps rise again across her shoulders. It’s electrifying. The familiar words fill whatever voids had been beaten into her with of his love.

Lex turns to look into his eyes, the arms that slip underneath his and across his back pull her tightly against him, “And you are my king,” she lets her lips brush against his collarbone as she speaks, leaving a trail of kisses in their wake as she moves them towards the nape of his neck, “I’ll love you forever, and another after that.”

Killian Decker

Another layer removed brings them closer together. It’s a level of intimacy they had denied themselves of for too long. She is happy to let it proceed slowly, savoring each touch as if it is all a dream and she could wake up at any moment.

His fingertips explore her, searching for the sharp edges of a broken woman. All they would find is soft skin with intermittent, sensitive swellings. It isn’t on the outside she’s broken. His tenderness is welcome, but in such stark contrast to their new normal that it doesn’t seem real. Is this real?

Killian’s question requires thought, but that’s not where her mind wants to wander. Right now, it’s consumed in the present along with a growing desire for more of him that supersedes anything else. So, she doesn’t answer him and accepts his assessment of her, for now.

If he accepts her as she is then that is good enough for her. But does he? He’s grown distant and disconnected.

A question that has plagued her slips out, “Do you still love me, Killian?” Is it all worth it? His pain? His torturous nightmares? The dark path he has found himself on, trapped in an organization that threatened them both?

Killian Decker

Despite the steamy, warm air, his lips against her neck elicit a similar reaction as goosebumps rise across her flesh. Her eyes close to relish in the lingering kiss.

She is malleable to his touch, moving however is needed to accomplish his goals. His hands slowly discard her jacket which falls heavily to the floor. His touch and actions have completely consumed her attention leaving her too distracted to think, but she already knows the answer to his question so she responds, “Yes,” when she opens her eyes the mirror is covered in steam and she’s thankful for it. She lifts her arms to let him remove her shirt.

Killian Decker

Lex was hesitant to return, expecting their effort to find the Spectrier to be fruitless. After searching Mt. Pyre, she thought her suspicions would be confirmed. Instead, the equine found them, much to her surprise.

Killian Decker thought it would be a good idea to bring along another treat. He was right, like always. After some coaxing the Spectrier took the Grepa Berries from their hands before promptly disappearing again, “Yeah, no kidding,” she frowned, searching the mist again for their shadows to no avail.

“Try again tomorrow night?” she grinned, glancing at Killian.

Notes: Killian Decker

She’s surprised when he enters the bathroom, she thought she lost him at the door to their bedroom. Even more surprising is that he has already discarded his clothes.

Killian’s appearance in the mirror behind her breaks the concentration on her own reflection in favor for his. She watches and feel his arms embrace her. This doesn’t feel cold and distant. As she sinks into it, she’s instead wrapped in a familiar love. Another pleasant surprise. You can see it in the way she almost lets herself smile.

Lex’s chest rises and falls slowly in a heavy sigh, “I’m not sure,” she whispers, letting her hands gently graze over his arms, “Something broken,” is she referring to herself? Killian? Their relationship? Perhaps all of the above.

Killian Decker

“Please,” she whispers, a desperate attempt to calm a raging storm that threatened to release a beast buried not too deep inside him. She could feel him trembling, holding back the urge to strike out against their oppressors. Revenge is something they both crave but lashing out now would only mean their own demise.

Eventually, the storm subsides, and Lex lets herself sigh in relief although she knows it isn’t over. It’s all far from over.

She shivers as his finger gently brush against her skin. Lex takes his words as a promise she expects him to live up to. Her head moves subtly in a nod of recognition as his hand slips away from hers. There’s a feeling of emptiness where he used to be. Unfortunately, it’s a familiar feeling as of late: An empty home, an empty bed, an empty kiss when she could coax one out of him.

“Right,” A shower sounds nice. She stands and begins to move towards the stairs when she steals a glance back at the Gardevoir that had been patiently waiting for orders. Lex gives in to her vulnerability, “Guard,” she doesn’t feel safe anymore, not even here at home. Gardevoir obeys, melting into a shadow to remain invisible but ever vigilant.

Lex doesn’t expect Killian to join her as she crosses their bedroom and enters the bathroom. She immediately turns on the hot water and steam begins to fill the chilled air. Out of her periphery she catches a glimpse of herself in their mirror for the first time. Her hair is wild, face bruised and swollen. She doesn’t recognize the stranger staring back at her.

Killian Decker

A quick strike, a warning. Having recently been on the receiving end of brutality for disobedience, Lex took no joy in lashing out with violence. Apparently, that’s all Rocket seemed to understand. There might not have been joy, but there was satisfaction in asserting dominance which was surprising for her. Part of her expected Rowan Wrynn to lash out, retaliate against her, Lex was good at reading people, Killian Decker taught her that. When his eyes snapped towards the pen on the desk she tensed, I fucking dare you, is what her fiery glare would read should Rowan meet it again.

Instead, he submitted. The satisfaction of it was exhilarating, “Good,” she hissed before taking a step back and turning on her heels to assume her position beside @aoi.

Still high off the feeling of authority, she found herself more than happy to build on that high with their traitor. Should the invitation still be open after her distraction, that is, “May I?” she asked calmly, motioning towards @aoi.

@consequences

Lex gave Suzume Amemiya a nod when she confirmed her pokemon could cover them before pressing on with Nova.

It wasn’t too long before she spotted a strange purple pokemon that intrigued the League. As curious as Lex was, she knew what her objective was but the pokemon was a welcome distraction. That was, until an AURORA BEAM exploded in front of @chloe and her companions. Killian’s voice cut through the cave, not through her mind, which stopped her in her tracks. The thief’s eyes widened as he openly engaged several League operatives. Stupid. Fucking stupid. “Killian,” she hissed to herself as he brows pinched in worry. She didn’t know how far behind Suzume Amemiya and ryuuzaki amemiya were since they were now hidden in their own illusion.

Still, this was a welcome distraction. It literally hurt her to tear herself away from Killian and use this to her advantage, but that’s what he would want her to do. Lex proceeded further into the cave, past the League trainer and through a narrow passage.

Amber eyes widen and her jaw dropped when she stepped into a large, open cavern. Natural light streamed down from an opening far above. A strange powerful energy seemed to pulse from the shrine. For a moment, Lex was dumbfounded, frozen in awe. The Happiny in her backpack stirred, peeking over her shoulder to get a glimpse for herself. The pokemon cooed in curiosity, “Yea, I don’t know, Baby,” she murmured, stepping forward.

Like a Dustox drawn to a flame, the thief was drawn to the shimmering crystal that sparkled in the light that penetrated from above. Her lips curled into a greedy smile and the duo moved towards the alter, still shrouded in the Illusion of the Zororak.

All Rocket Allies have -25% Damage (Baby’s Friend Guard Ability)

tl;dr: Lex, again, worries about Killian Decker but proceeds deeper into the cave to find a big open cavern with a shrine-type alter in the center and a sparkling fragment.

Well, at least he’s honest. He won’t look at her but Lex frowns, shifting her position on the couch to face him while he takes her other hand into his. Lex waits a moment, absorbing the renewed sensation on her second hand. It’s hard to ignore the intimacy of his touch that she has been starved of recently. She doesn’t want it to stop, but she knows eventually it will and things will fade back to their new normal: A distant, angry Killian and a desperate, bitter Lex.

“I’m serious Killian, you’ll get us both killed,” she warns as she looks back up at him.

Regardless, she tells him. No secrets, no lies.

“Gavin called me to the sub,” she begins, clearing an itch in her throat, “He thought I was the traitor from the Cave of Origin mission. Knocked me out, tied me up with a Shadow Hold, interrogated me,” she sighs, reliving the haunting grip the Shadow Hold left, “Eventually he believed me after he threatened your life and my story still didn’t change,” she pauses before continuing, a tremble returns to her hands, her voice breaks, “Then he uh, threw someone in there with me. Some guy. Told us to show no mercy, fight to the death,” she swallows, her free hand subconsciously moves to touch her neck, “I didn’t want to fight, I tried to get out,” she shakes her head, as tears pinch out of the corner of her eyes, “I thought I was going to fucking die,” she inhales sharply to stifle a sob, “Gavin said if I show any disobedience it would be you they come after,” she is sure it works both ways. After her encounter with Darkrai and Gavin’s ruthlessness, she has no doubt it is well within their power to go through with the threat.

“Killian,” she pleads, scooting closer to press her forehead against his, “Please, I can’t lose you, I’m sorry,” she shakes her head as a few more tears fall, “I- I- didn’t know this is what it was going to be like,” she pleads for forgiveness that at this point she knows she doesn’t deserve.

Killian Decker