willow laughs a little bit and some of that awkward tension leaves her. she shakes her head. "no, i have pokemon that water and tend to the flowers, but there are plenty of other things that need done. it won't be easy work, but i'll be grateful for just a few hours every week."

her smile softens. "so not technically free? but yes. and yes, tools and strings and stuff too. arceus knows i have enough hand-me-downs from my dad. it'd make him happy to know they're being used."

she pulls out her phone and hands it to roxie so the girl can put her contact info in. "heck, if you're not busy the rest of the day, you can swing by with me and check it out. no pressure, if ya still want to think on it."

@roxie

☉

his approval makes her chuckle nervously. she opts to look anywhere but at him because his being here is making her feel jittery. the combee don't seem to mind willow's entrance into the hives, but when lance steps closer, some of the drones drift closer with a wary curiosity. 

"we do," she says as she steps back down and closes the hive again, if only to put the combee a little more at ease. with time, they'll grow comfortable with lance's presence. "we met doing some community clean-up and got to talking. and after a few days of construction and a couple weeks getting them situated to the hives...well, we couldn't be prouder."

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

even willow finds herself forgetting that elisa doesn't turn her nose up at hard work and grit. so the playful reminder makes her feel a bit sheepish, covered only by the enthusiastic glimmer in her eyes as elisa dips a pinkie in. there's enough warmth there to make willow positively radiate with pride. 

"three?" she says with a laugh. willow's greenhouse and fields are already bustling with pokemon; she can't imagine what she would do with three clamperls. and as far as she can remember about elisa's property, housing them alongside her other pokemon might be a squeeze too. 

"they fetch a decent price, right?" she doesn't know.

she tucks her stubborn lock of hair behind her ear again (and it falls back against her cheek immediately). and she mmms as she thinks. 

"honestly i haven't even seen much of hoenn, nevermind another region. but now that roman's getting older, trips like that are - or, well, were - seeming more possible." she sighs. "really, i just need to hire some full-time staff so i can do these things."

willow atkins

☉

or not. she hesitates, though only for a moment, before squeezing his hand in hers and walking around the front door. from inside, ophelia waves at her and she does so back. no doubt the girl's just finishing up now and is about to head out. willow usually sees her off, but it's not an everyday occurrence. 

so she's glad to bring lance around back. the tauros lift their heads at their approach, snorting and kicking at the dirt. her gardens have flourished this year, despite the oppressive heat, and much of it is due in part to the combee. 

the bees flit lazily about, trailing pollen wherever they go; willow's free-roaming grass-types scuttle around the flowers and soak up the late afternoon sun. 

the boxes themselves are a sight; the vespiquen and combee wasted no time in layering their own combs over the wooden structures. she approaches one of them and pulls down the ramp - slowly, so as not to startle anyone inside. 

"it's incredible watching them fit in through these slats here. you wouldn't think the vespiquen can do it. we were a little worried at first, but i trusted my dad's schematics and, well, 'course he was right." she steps up the ramp and then toes the wooden flooring.

"i wasn't expecting them to produce as much comb either. we have a surplus of everything. i'm still trying to figure out if i should start selling off the wax."

and then she stops, looking sheepish.

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

"next friday it is," she says as his fingers wrap around hers. it's a loose handhold, still a little awkward. the gaps in their 'whatever they had,' as willow so eloquently put it, still lingers between them. but still, this small act of intimacy makes her smile with anticipation. 

"i appreciate that. oh! you'll have to see what Greyson Connors and i have been working on. the bee boxes are incredible. and the honey's sweet as can be." she cuts herself off before running her mouth the rest of the night. 

no need to rush this. and besides, she needs to take some time to think. 

"anyway, friday sounds good."

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

"mom always said i was too tough for a girl," she says, but the weak attempt at humor doesn't really amount to much. with her phone on her chest, she picks up her arms and presses her palms against her eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks, fingertips digging into her hairline. her chest is tight and she's convinced the only thing stopping her from losing it right now is ollie. 

"i don't feel strong right now. i feel so, so...lonely."

she wishes he were here. sitting, even laying, beside her. holding her. and she feels lonely for that too, because she'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about it before. but he's with penny and her life is always so out of whack, she can't keep up. 

"it's just so much right now. mom hasn't been well since dad passed and it's so hard to wake up some days, ollie. to get out of bed." nevermind tend the gardens and her son and her plants and her shop. 

her face scrunches. "ugh, i'm covered in snot right now."

ollie morales

☉

they do, she agrees. which is why she feels better about the decision she made. the decision she's going to make, over and over again. give him a chance. let him have his actions. because the step he'd taken was already huge, something she'd written off for years. 

but why now? because he came into some money? that can't be it. it can't be the whole truth. 

"you don't think highly enough," she sighs, annoyed, and rolls onto her back. the phone slips from her grasp and she flounders with it, then taps it back on and sets it to speakerphone. that way she can just lay it on her chest and stare up at the beams above her. 

"he's not ready. but he's so angry, ollie. it was okay when he was younger. not okay, but it was easier. i never lied to him. i told him things were hard, that people can make difficult decisions sometimes, decisions that hurt people, even if they don't mean for them to. i never wanted ro to hate him, but i think he's spent so long holding out for hope that..." she cuts off again as that lump nestles back in her throat. 

she cries now, audibly. "what if i let him in and he leaves again, ollie?"

boruta maher

☉

"yes, strategy," she repeats with a playful huff. it's a real thing! and clearly it worked! willow can't claim she's able to beat bo when it comes to literally anything else - he can at least give her this. and he does, in a way, with his grins and his chuckles and his casual conversation about their son. 

it leaves her feeling warm. when he moves to go join roman, she hangs back, though only for a moment. only long enough to see whatever roman's saying without actually hearing it, only long enough to see bo's reaction. like she's looking in on this snapshot that will forever be suspended in her memory. an instant stretched out across a lifetime. 

"you're not ready," he crows back and dramatically throws one of the darts. it doesn't even sink into the cork, nevermind a balloon. just bounces harmlessly onto the ground. willow chuckles and he shoots her a glare, but his smile stretches into a devilish grin when he spies willow waiting until just the right time to tap bo's throwing arm. 

willow atkins

☉

she mulls over his words, looking down at the box in her hands. the lid's still off of it and the salvia glints beautifully in the mid-afternoon light. she doesn't have any reason not to trust him, but she's not sure she's ready to get set up for disappointment. 

maybe she's not ready for this. hell, maybe she's just not cut out to be someone's girlfriend. her shoulders sag a little, lips tilting down. and then back up, almost stubbornly. 

"your reasons are your own, lance. i trust you when you say it wasn't about me." she looks up then and, boldly, reaches to touch his wrist, curve her fingers around the palm of his hand. an invitation. 

"and i'll even let you take me out. you know, to make up for it," she says with a smile. 

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

she could stand not talking about it. she could stand to talk about anything else. all she needs is someone on the other end of the line, someone saying exactly what ollie's saying - that he's here. that any time she needs him, he's here. and the gravity of it makes her flush. 

she drops down onto her day bed, the very same one she'd lugged bo onto not five hours before. knees tucked, she curls up against a swanna down pillow and holds the phone tightly to her ear, cheeks pinching. 

"no," she says through a sniffle. "my gloom knocked him out actually." a smile breaks over her face, despite it all. her fluttering heart starts to slow. 

"he apologized. for everything. and i just - i played it over in my head so many times, you know? but i never thought it'd happen. and then it did. and now it almost doesn't feel real. 

"i don't know how to tell roman. i...told him - bo - he had to wait."

she idly tugs one of the feathers out of the cloth and bites her lip. "i wish you were here. none of it makes sense, olls, and i don't know what to do."

ollie morales

☉

he disappears behind it and she's left in darkness, only the silhouette of greyson on the other side lighting her way. so she follows, helping elisabet through after. and when they are inside, the smell hits her full force. it's sickly sweet; the combs in the interior are golden, oozing honey onto the ground. and because at least this makes sense, she feels a bit of relief. 

not much, but still. 

her voice is a muted whisper as she nears greyson. "the outer combs are going to be where they store honey. then pollen. then larvae. and then..." the queen. 

elisabet rattles and points to their left. 

Greyson Connors

☉

thank the universe he answers. and it doesn't take him very long at all either. she grips the phone tighter, smile breaking out over her face, and for some reason that does it. she's always been good at hiding her crying, at being as quiet as possible, and this too she holds in, letting only the tears slip rapidly down her cheeks. 

she wants to ask him about the turtwigs, ask him about his day, ask him about how he's been. ignore everything else for the moment, but one unstifled sniffle gives her away.

"bo came back today. just...just walked right on the farm and - " she sniffles again, swallows. "am i - is this a good time?"

ollie morales

☉

he understands. they never talked about it - about his daughter. it's part of the reason why she thinks he left when he did. that maybe it was too much. questions she hasn't been able to ask, hasn't thought she could ask, because when people walk out of her life now, she expects it with a sort of finality. 

so she's wary, still a little guarded, as he raises the box between them. there is hesitation in the way she picks up her hand, but even that gets shrugged aside. curiosity gets the better of her and boy, is it worth it. 

her eyes light up at the gift and she gasps. salvias like these are only native to sinnoh. but of course he knows that, just as he knows the meaning behind its bell-shaped leaves. it's preserved, as well it should be, but she wishes she could smell it.

"i've been thinking of you too," she says shyly as she tucks the gift back into its box. 

"i know that i wasn't the best at communicating. you know how terrible i am with my phone. and my life is crazy right now. and we never really talked about what it was." she pauses. "but, lance, you just left."

LANCE VOLLANS

☉