[attr="class","danny"]"you're bad for me?"

he repeats it as if it'd help him make sense of things. it doesn't, not by a long shot.

"you're not a terrible influence. why would you ever think that? you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

shaking his head, he finally turns to look at her, though he remains frozen.

"i love you, serena."

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]for whatever reason, danny doesn't just start talking about his day like he would've usually done. he cracks open the beer, raises it to his lips, and takes a moment to simply sip and enjoy both the cold drink and the view in front of him.

fuck, he loves living here.

loves living with her.

he only turns when she gets up from her seat. but nothing could have prepared him for what she says next.

"sorry for what, love?"

for all of it, he's speechless. silent. what could he possibly say?

we need to break up.

he hasn't even made it to a third of his drink.

for a while, all he can do is simply stand there with his gaze lost on the usually beautiful view of mauville. tonight, it's nothing but a nuisance.

"you're still not being honest with me."

he sighs, then drinks.

"why do we need to break up?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]after a short trip down to slateport, danny arrives back at mauville hills tired from spending the day out in the sun. the tournament was fun to watch, and though he didn't compete, it inspired him enough to perhaps try to next year.

who knows? maybe he'll stand opposite Greyson Connors on a battlefield someday.

for now, he traverses the steps up to the rooftop terrace, excited to relax and spend some time with his favorite person in the world.

with two bottles of beer in his hand, he approaches serena, flashing the same warm smile he always has for her.

"aw, you got started without me."

he notices the few empty bottles but chuckles anyways, not really minding.

"have another with me?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]"wait."

danny almost does a double take. he tilts his head, looking at her with a look of confusion.

"mine as in...mine? like i own it?"

judging by her expression, it must really be his.

"holy shit."

he breaks into a laugh, disbelieved as he quickly circles around the car to throw his arms around her in a big hug.

"i love it, sera — i love you. thank you so much."

exhaling, he soon pulls away, lingering close.

"you really didn't have to...you've done so much for me already."

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]"i think i'm all good here."

almost on cue, his stomach growls, though not loud enough for her to hear, thankfully. he chuckles, raising a hand to place over his tummy.

"dinner please."

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]chloe leaves danny to his death, basically.

could greyson save him?

please?

[attr="class","noodles"]@chloe + Greyson Connors

[attr="class","danny"]don't give up on him.

it's all the reassurance danny needs. he smiles, shifting close to give her a quick kiss. an exhale escapes him when he pulls away.

"i've got you, too."

they have each other.

whatever concerns he has about his brother fades into the back of his mind for now. his expression brightens again as he looks around.

"so, what's next on the agenda?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]serena could always see through him. she knows him best, after all.

"i haven't...spoken to him for a while now. he's not responding to me or my parents and i'm not sure why."

"he stopped talking to us after this battle. at first i thought...maybe alexander might've asked him to handle something, or maybe he's off doing something important. now, i'm not too sure."

but from the looks of the battle, from how heated both his brother and alexamder seemed to be, his theories sound less likely.

with a shrug, danny sighs.

"i dunno. he'll call eventually, i guess."

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]danny remains oblivious through all of it. his sense of awareness in general is garbage; it's pretty much non-existent underwater.

gliding over to one of the logs, he watches cash cash get to work.

good luck, chloe.

[attr="class","noodles"]@chloe + Greyson Connors

[attr="class","danny"]eventually, the smoke clears around grimmsnarl, revealing it curled up on the ground like a baby, clearly unconscious.

"damn...that was a close one."

tching, danny approaches it, then bends down to a knee to recall it back into its pokeball.

"you did good, buddy."

[attr="class","noodles"]Greyson Connors

[attr="class","danny"]the battle starts off slow as both sides set up their defenses. and then it quickly escalates.

fire versus water — a battle that should've been one-sided is more close than danny expects. he watches on in awe and wonder as his brother's arcanine goes on the offense, circling around the battlefield to battle alexander's water-duo with such ease, supported only by ninetales in the back.

each attack is resisted. each attack is returned. and by the end, it comes down to arcanine and tentacruel, both equally as exhausted as the other.

after a brief exchange of words, the arcanine is recalled, and by the battle is over.

"he...conceded?"

the recording ends.

"that's strange. i wonder why...

anyways, uh, thanks for watching it with me. it was a great battle."

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm

[attr="class","danny"]"man i don't have a shiny to share."

he'll have to catch one eventually; can't fall behind these two, no sir.

understanding the furrow of greyson's brow, danny clears his throat, awkward, then looks to leo with a beaming smile.

"and yeah! come on over whenever. maybe even this evening? could fire up the old playstation so i can kick both your asses again. just like old times."

[attr="class","noodles"]Greyson Connors + leo del río

[attr="class","danny"]danny taps on ALEXANDER STONE's profile, then quickly scrolls through a long list of recordings before stopping on one. after another tap, a video flickers, buffering for moments before playing.

on one end of the water-themed battlefield is ALEXANDER STONE, poised and ready. his tentacruel bobs in the water accompanied by a pyukumuku that rests atop its head. some words are exchanged, signaling the start of the battle.

and on the other end is someone that looks...similar to danny. an arcanine and a ninetales stand in front of him, preparing to counter.

"that's my brother. he never told me how this battle went so i thought we could watch it together."

[attr="class","noodles"]Serena Malcolm