"... yeah."

[break][break] normally caden would have hated it. any action that made him seem weak, he would have vehemently argued against. but he wasn't exactly in the state to argue, and at the very least, he knew that @symon wouldn't snap his spine.

[break][break] his face presses against his roommate's chest, fingers gripping his bicep.

[break][break] he groans.

[break][break] "yeah. hurry up, fuck. whatever. god."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] @symon [break]
nurse joy [break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-hypno"]

bar crawls are not typically his thing, but with everything that has gone on in the past year, these events are the few things that he can look forward to.

[break][break] caden stays at the edge of the bar, sipping on a negroni, when someone tall, handsome and ginger walks up to him.

[break][break] a familiar face.

[break][break] his face lights up in a smile, rare for him these days, as he regards his roommate.

[break][break] "thanks to you," he says. "so, what are you doing here?" arching a brow. "i don't really see you out."

[break][break] at least, not on the stage.

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] @symon [break]
the nimbus [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-munna"]

caden likes hanging out at the ritual. it's classy, easy to get to, and from his college days, a short walk from his apartment. tonight, however, the public space is full.

[break][break] luckily, caden manages to secure a spot in it's speakeasy. he nurses an old fashioned, spinning the glass slowly in his hand as ice clubs clink against the cup's edge. while he's never had much of a problem being in other's company, he's glad to have found a table alone — that is, until the waitress comes up to him, some guy tagging along behind her.

[break][break] the waitress makes up some bullshit about how there's no room upstairs so they have to share tables. a flash of irritation crosses caden's face for a moment, before it smoothes out once the other person makes their appearance, the face lit by the low light of the speakeasy.

[break][break] "hey. name's caden. what's yours?"

[break][break] poor emerson whitlock . he doesn't even remember him.

[attr="class","ooc"] emerson whitlock [break]
the ritual [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-munna"]

there it is again, that smirk of his.

[break][break] "good point. usually they want to see what it's all about — what made their girlfriend scream."

[break][break] whether it's true or not, caden smiles as if it is.

[break][break] the conversation that comes after is far less interested, but better than nothing, as they walk through the rocket's sub.

[break][break] "why not?" he shrugs. it isn't like they have anything better to do. his eyes flicker towards her as she mentions that she was abandoned, and his heart inexplicably pitches with sympathy. he knows what that's like.

[break][break] "sounds like you're better for it."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] giada morgan [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-munna"]

he chuckles and hikes the package further up, readjusting the weight on his knee, before continuing their walk.

[break][break] "i dunno. i'm not usually interested in talking to boyfriends."

[break][break] he licks his lips. the cold winter air blow against his cheek, even through the sub's interior.

[break][break] "what's the story there? you leave him? or he leave you?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] giada morgan [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-munna"]

kanto.

[break][break] "can't say, never been."

[break][break] even to this day, caden can't pinpoint exactly why their father dragged them into rocket. maybe it was because it was easier that way, maybe it was for the connections. but either way, caden was at least grateful that he'd never been in kanto.

[break][break] he remembered the cold, calculated look in THEO BECKETT eyes. the eyes of an animal.

[break][break] he snorts.

[break][break] "boyfriend, huh?" his lips curve into a mischievous grin then, a shadow of the old caden. "what'd mr. boyfriend think when i was between your legs that night?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] giada morgan [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-munna"]

that gets him. he pauses, angling his head towards her.

[break][break] "huh."

[break][break] whether it's surprise or judgement, caden regards her with a new pair of eyes. for some reason, he'd assumed she was a new recruit. otherwise — why hadn't they met before?

[break][break] "my last name's maher," he says instead. "you might have heard of my dad. or my brothers." while his first name is of no real importance in rocket, he knows his father to be a well-standing member of rocket for some time. his father's fist has surely scared a number of baby recruits from looking at them the wrong way more than once.

[break][break] "how'd you get into rocket then? they give you up as a baby?"

[break][break] his cut lips upturn into a smirk.

[attr="class","ooc"] giada morgan [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-munna"]

his head jerks, startled at the mention.

[break][break] as grateful as he was to Lulu Flint for sparing his life, he was reminded of the fact of who she was. a rocket. not just any rocket either.

[break][break] "my father," he says instead, as the snowflakes rain down from the sky. "he raised us here."

[break][break] caden wondered how much lulu interacted with their father, or how much she'd known bo before he left. or cian. most of his interactions with her had been under the ruse of the work - work that he respected her for - but it occurred to him that he didn't know much about her. or her feelings.

[break][break] did she hate him too? she couldn't have distrusted him entirely — or she would've had him chained up somewhere.

[break][break] "thank you," he says after a moment, pushing his hands into his pockets. "can't say i'm busy much these days, though. since i lost my job."

[break][break] pause.

[break][break] "do you like the snow, dr. flint?"

[attr="class","ooc"] Lulu Flint [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-hypno"]

they've had this conversation so many times. on the beach, at dinners, in their father's house. each time, caden had always somehow managed to evade the topic, make a joke out of it.

[break][break] or someone would interrupt them, a phone call, a text message, their father walking into the room.

[break][break] but no one was here now.

[break][break] "that's fucking naive, and you know it, cian." no brother. no affectionate nickname. this was real bullshit. "i'd like to be on the good side too, but you know it's not an option."

[break][break] 'they're not bo.'

[break][break] they're not lucky.

[break][break] "what makes you think they would take us in?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] CIAN MAHER [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-hypno"]

as THEO BECKETT hovers over him, he almost expects a third hit.

[break][break] it doesn't come.

[break][break] caden's face twists as he considers the question. the real answer is that he doesn't know. he has no fucking idea. he never thought his brother - his twin - would betray him, let alone come up with another reason for a back-up plan.

[break][break] a lie is on the tip of his tongue, a clever quip, but it's swallowed in the dark of the room and the pain blooming behind his eyes.

[break][break] "i don't know," he says finally, spitting blood onto the concrete tile. "are you going to tell me?"

[attr="class","ooc"] THEO BECKETT [break]



[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-munna"]

he ignores her question, and instead, smacks her hand away.

[break][break] lightly.

[break][break] "thanks," he grumbles. "you look like shit too."

[break][break] though, it's said out of bitterness. he knows it's not remotely true. he looks like ass... and she looks like the flowers that are blooming around them. instead, he heaves the box higher as he continues his walk across the garden, forcing her to either follow or get left behind.

[break][break] "what, are you a rocket now? i guess it makes sense. given the fact that you tried to break in to my apartment."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] giada morgan [break]



[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-munna"]

he falls.

[break][break] but instead of falling face-first into carpet, he falls face-first into... his roommate's rock-hard abs.

[break][break] caden grunts, as he's flipped over. his head is still foggy, his thoughts dazed. but not in the post-coital bliss that he's used to enjoying, or the smug, post-surgery high that he's always craved. it's only after there is a painful shriek from that awful vivillion that he winces, flinching at the sound, grunting as he's brought back to the mortal coil.

[break][break] "i'm... alive," he mutters with a groan. "barely."

[break][break] it's fucking lucky that his roommate is an emergency trainer slash lifeguard slash incredibly hot and useful person. he would prefer not be dead on the spot.

[break][break] in his roommate's arms, caden is the opposite of everything he's ever been around him. normally, he's poised and confident, dressed to the nines in gorgeous silk or branded shirts. even his white coat for work is polished to perfection. but here, tonight, his face is beaten raw and bruises bloom on his gaunt cheekbones, his skin paler and sicker than it ever should be.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] @symon [break]
nurse joy [break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-hypno"]

he speaks, but not even he expects her to respond.

[break][break] caden is not a man who gets nervous easily, but the idea of breaking apart something that he'd been working on for decades is terrifying to him. so he compensates in the only way he knows how — procrastinating the inevitable, attempting to create more time until he knows the answer that he so desperately seeks.

[break][break] but while they enjoy their games, Antoinette Spina has never been a person that just lets him lie.

[break][break] she's tiger, taking what's hers.

[break][break] lips claims his and he can't help but surge up against her, groaning as her fingers tangle in his hair. it's intoxicating in the only way that it can be. years and years of build-up culminating in this single moment. in the water, his fingers slide from her hips and up her back as he seeks to deepen the kiss, passion and desperation driving him deeper.

[break][break] good decisions be damned. this felt good.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Antoinette Spina [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-munna"]