oh, she wants to pull the weeds from his mind, to shoo away whatever pests are nibbling on his happiness. she's not convinced - that much is clear - but she lets the issue rest. sometimes, among friends, you need to know when to back off. 

"noooo," she exclaims, "i already feel like i don't see you enough!" truth be told, she got kind of used to having him around the house. even though he was hopped up on pain meds for most of it, it was nice living with him. easy and painless. 

even if roman was a little shit about it most of the time.

her brows furrow and she tilts her head. "huh? i mean, i know they don't get along well, but it can't be that bad."

ollie morales

☉

a generous, special business grant. an assuaging of her worries with the promise that she'll put bodyguards on the premises. willow's mouth falls to a flat line and she shifts from side to side. 

they could use the money. their margins are razor thin as it is and she doesn't have enough time in the day to manage the flowers, her grass-type patients, the bee hives, the livestock, and the shop. and ophelia's only eighteen, balancing her already overloaded schedule with schooling. 

if she could have afforded to hire someone else, she would have by now.

"okay," she says. "but i'll need some time to prepare some land." she looks at greyson. "i don't want all of our hives making it. we can have a dedicated space."

shrewd businesswoman she is, she says to dahlia, "if i provided the blueprints, could you have some of your folks make more boxes on the other side of the property?"

Greyson Connors dahlia goode

☉

she does not need to have the last word. she does not need to have the last word. and besides, roman already did a number on his psyche. and also most importantly, she should be leading by example...or something like that. 

but still her hands are balled into fists and she is staring daggers at his back as he tromps down the stairs and slams the door shut behind him, hopefully out of their lives forever. 

"the fuck? he's a dick and the mole on his face is ugly and hairy," he says and willow's anger evaporates, replaced with an abrupt snort of laughter. 

"language, ro. go feed the greenhouse pokemon please so i can start breakfast." he rolls his eyes but thankfully follows instruction, grabbing a coat on his way out. 

willow eyes bo in his too-small towel, cheeks tingeing pink, and then turns to grab some bowls and ingredients for pancakes. "i'm fine. are you okay? 

boruta maher

☉

anger comes in bursts. in waves. it did so with samuel too. the flowers helped, but there aren't any flowers here and every word that comes over lance's mouth makes her angrier and angrier. tears slip down her cheeks - hot and agitated. 

she almost slaps him. 

"you have no right to decide ANYTHING for my son or me."

she's about to answer, everything, but roman pokes his head out from the hallway with a shit-eating grin and a middle finger raised. 

"get fucked, moleface!"

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

indignation turns to frustration. her hands curl to fists and immediately her cheeks redden, eyes watering because she can't believe this. and it's all the more embarrassing because she cries when she's mad and she's really, really mad. 

"are you serious? you told the father of my son to stay away from him! from us! lance, you're lucky you got a text at all!"

LANCE VOLLANS boruta maher

☉

bo's footfalls are heavy on the stairs. she wants to call him back in because he can't just stand outside wrapped in a towel, but lance is in the way. 

she glares right back up at him, indignant at the accusation. "we haven't - i have not been sleeping with him." 

which feels wrong to say because last night she'd felt closer to bo than she ever had lance. and with the exception of her shirt rucked up in the morning, bo's hand stretching across her bare stomach, that's as exposed as they'd been. 

"why are you here, lance?"

boruta maher LANCE VOLLANS

☉

roman had absolutely run off to do shithead things. he's at least been better about letting po stretch his legs, though the trees probably don't agree, what with the bark being stripped off of them by the wolf's massive claws.

before bo can get away from her, she leaves another hasty kiss on his passing shoulder and watches him go. stares a moment longer until the shower water turns on. 

on her way to her mom's room, she picks up a few pieces of stray clothing. they're dumped in the laundry basket sitting in the hallway. laying coiled on eleanor's bed is gretchen. 

"you really shouldn't be climbing trees in your old age, gretch," she murmurs as she nears. the window is open. the old cat had most certainly clawed her way up and into the room. she purrs lovingly as willow nears and lifts her head to rub her cheek against curled fingers. 

eleanor sleeps on. normally she'd wake her - it's better, keeping her in the rhythm of things - but today she just kisses her cheek and settles for waking her up when breakfast is ready. 

so in the kitchen she goes, setting out flour and eggs and sugar and cream and some fresh blueberries (chocolate chips for roman though). she has a bit of flour on her cheek when the water in the shower stops.

her cheery humming continues when the door opens, as she assumes it's roman walking in behind her. but when she hears lance behind her, she whips around, mouth dry. her face flushes and she gapes like a cod down the hall as bo walks into the room with nothing but a towel wrapped around himself. 

"lance! this isn't - "

"maher."

LANCE VOLLANS boruta maher

☉

willow pours another glass of lemonade for herself and goes to plop down into a chair at the wooden kitchen table. there are coasters on the table, but she doesn't bother with one as she slides the lemonade over to ollie. she's given up on salvaging the table a long time ago. 

annoyance flickers and even more concern wells up, but she can't force him to talk. maybe a better friend would push, but after the day she's had, she just can't. 

"mkay, well, food's on the way. so what's this mean? i know bo was compensated a bit more when he became captain, but a hell of a lot of responsibility came with it too."

ollie morales

☉

her withering look says it all - i don't believe you - but he comes back down from wherever he went to tuck his shoes away. will goes back to dialing the pizza joint and climbs the stairs, knowing ollie will follow. 

eleanor is sitting on the cushioned reading nook that overlooks the front lawn, staring quietly out at the flowers. she does not turn when ollie walks in or when willow starts giving her order (after a few casual pleasantries and how do you do's, of course, because marcy's a sweetheart and will likes to know how she and her furfrou are doing). 

elisabet shifts in her pot, shaking off dirt so she can hop out and greet ollie with a wave of her leaven arms. 

"mhm, yep. a large meat lover's pizza and a small veggie delight. can you throw in a house salad as well please? extra croutons? thanks, marcy."

from the other room comes a shout: "DID YOU GET MOZZ STICKS?"

"crap, no. i forgot, ro. call marcy back and ask."

"you have the phone."

"and you have your own phone."

"i dunno the number."

"look it up."

silence. willow tilts her head. roman starts talking in a more normal tone in the other room and she grins, pleased.

"okay, mister head ranger. i'm gonna need you to tell me what's up," she says and moves to the fridge so she can pour him a glass of lemonade.  

ollie morales

☉

wait, she's here for me? willow looks up at greyson and then at the commissioner. a deal doesn't sound so bad, but they're already busy enough as it is. if it's anything too -

dahlia opens the box and willow flinches. the only exposure she's had with one of those things had not been kind. it had devastated grace's farm and hurt grace herself - not to mention the damage it had inflicted on a neighboring vespiquen population. 

"is it safe? i'm going to be honest with you, miss goode. we have our hands full here and if doing this can put my family in danger at all, i have to say no." she frowns at greyson. it's a sticky situation. they're a joint venture, yes, but it's her property. 

Greyson Connors dahlia goode

☉

she turns and actually makes it up a couple of the steps before she realizes ollie isn't following her. she pauses and turns, leaning against the railing. a slip of hair falls over her cheek. she gives him a once-over and notes the emotion on his face, but...

"ollie? what's wrong?" she leans forward and stretches out a hand for him, as though that can coax him inside.

at the top of the stairs is gretchen. the cat harumphs as she plops down the stairs one at a time, bones aching. she rubs her cheek along willow's leg as she goes down and then stops in front of ollie, meowing roughly. she rubs her cheek against his leg too, in an unusual display of affection, and then continues past him out the door.

ollie morales

☉

willow is juggling a few things right now. three croaking little bulbasaurs, all their buds a sickly brown and yellow. the damage is hard to look at and she's not in the best of moods by the time she's headed back upstairs to a wailing mother, calling for a husband long gone. 

she soothes her and tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear. roman is home and in the doorway, complaining that he's hungry and where's dinner, mom? he doesn't ask if he can help. 

the promise of pizza placates him. before she can call, though, there's a knock on the door. she looks frustrated, brows drawn, mouth a sour pucker, when she opens it. but that melts when she sees ollie. and then brightens when she reads the badge. 

"oh my gods?" she throws her arms around him and pulls him in for a hug. "this is good, right? of course it is! congratulations! come on in; i was just about to order pizza."

ollie morales

☉

"his therapist says it's better to let him come to me when he's ready to talk instead of pushing him," she says with a shrug. she looks after him though, arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe. po wags his tail as he plods behind him.

"he'll come around. and if he doesn't, we'll entice him with pancakes."

her phone buzzes in her hand. she checks it, expecting a response from lance, but the buzzing was actually it dying. that's what she gets for not charging it last night. but she doesn't care. there were more important things to be done.

she tucks her hair behind her ear and gives bo a, well, you coming? look as she steps outside.

"i'll start whipping up breakfast while you shower. need to check on mom too." she stretches out a kink in her neck as she walks over the weathered stepping stones past the tauros pen. buckwheat and cowslip flick their tails, snorting as the pair pass by.

"there should be a spare towel under the sink cabinet. if not, just check the laundry room."

boruta maher

☉