route_1065 | I can feel/That it's time for me to face it/Can I take it?

Entry tags:

louise hardwich | absolute obedience

I can feel/That it's time for me to face it/Can I take it?

Who: Kia and Louise
Where: Goldenrod, wherever the hell they're staying
When: December 2
Summary: After learning what another member of Team Rocket is interested in, they have a choice to make
Rating: We'll try to keep it PG-13, but R at the worst. Language, sexual remarks, and talk of Nazis
Note: Characters disapproving of the actions being taken ICly is not intended to be a reflection of players' thoughts at all.
Log:
Despite the warnings other people in Johto gave them about Team Rocket, neither of them had seen any reason to leave the group. They were used to doing things that weren't approved of, after all, and being part of a group gave benefits that being on their own wouldn't quite cover.

Even helping with things on the Magnet Train didn't bother them. Nobody'd died and they both got to do things they enjoyed, so why would they leave after something like that? Kia was rash enough to not care about showing his uniform off afterwards both because he wasn't afraid of jail and because he was used to home, where Louise had enough authority to take care of any trouble that might come up.

This message, though, from someone Kia'd spoken to the other day, rubbed him in all the wrong ways. Given the things their world had learned in their early years and was still learning about the last war, trying to get the best genetic material possible felt wrong in a way different from the lines he felt comfortable crossing.

But Kia wouldn't make any decision on what to do without talking to Louise. They were partners no matter what they did or where they were.

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Team Rocket had been such a good opportunity for them. It provided easy money with minimal work. Juggling the new rules and keeping his alliance hidden hadn't been difficult either. If there was one thing Louise knew well, it was playing the system, using it to his advantage. So, of course, he'd made sure to see to it that he was part of this movement.

However, this message hit far too close to home. He remembered growing up in an environment like this. Where if you had money then you were accused of all kinds of things. Of being part of the party that had been run by someone who let power go to his head.

Sitting by the window, he looked out at the people as he pondered where they would go from here. He just couldn't tolerate this. It felt wrong in every possible way.

Hearing footsteps, he looked over at Kia when he approached. There was no smile on his face, no teasing or mocking in his gaze. He was not pleased and not about to hide it. "I feel that it's safe to assume you got the message."

Kia still didn't know for sure how many people in Johto were from their world in the future and how many were from completely different worlds where something that terrible was fortunate enough to have never happened. If other Rockets were from different places, he couldn't be too mad at them for coming up with or going along with this proposal. Others who knew and decided not to care, though, weren't people he could care about or even be attracted to.

They might have different goals, but the tone and interest felt too similar for him to enjoy even if there wasn't any talk about trying to do more than improve. As he'd heard from people who cared about religion, the road to Hell was paved with good intentions. Even he and Louise intended well but hurt people along the way. Just not in a way that could, and had in their world, been used to justify mass murder.

The benefits of being part of Team Rocket didn't seem as worthwhile anymore.

Once he noticed Louise being serious, he had part of his answer already. Louise had to have seen the message too. "Yeah, I did. I was seeing if you had, actually." Kia stepped in closer to him and reached out to rest one hand on Louise's arm, just for familiarity and warmth.

"I have been considering our options." There was no positive when it came to leaving Team Rocket though. No matter what they would have to spend a small amount of time in prison. As unpleasant as that sounded, he was sure that they could handle that. Louise's main concern was funding. They would need money in this place, something he was very well aware of.

Sighing, he set his cup down and sat back in his chair so he could level his gaze on Kia. Just the look on his partner's face told him everything. They were on the same page about this. With their history, they couldn't handle being a part of anything that might remind them of that time.

"Leaving will mean a brief stay in prison. I know that is for certain. However, I do not feel as if I can support a movement such as this. Nor remain allies with someone wishing to head such a project."

He'd been doing the same. None of them were exactly pleasant, but they were better than staying here and ending up involved in something too horrible for even their morals. Assuming they left, there had to be things they could do for money. Those things just might involve Louise working to help out.

Kia didn't mess with Louise's tea or try to bother him at all...for once. That alone showed how serious he took this. He pushed a stray bit of hair out of his face and let his partner look at him. Rather than make any remark about being too good not to look at, he stayed quiet and relaxed marginally. The mutual seriousness meant they agreed without having to discuss it at all. Good.

"I can't stay either. I don't know what that guy's planning to do with our blood, but I'm not gonna be part of it or any group that thinks it's okay. Compared to home, the prisons here will probably be comfortable." Thinking about prison made Kia frown for a moment. He'd admitted to this guy that he was arrested for theft as a kid, but there'd been more times locked up than that incident. Kia couldn't remember if he'd talked about them to Louise before or not.

They were in agreement without really having to go into detail. That left them time to just consider a way to deal with the aftermath. Good. He could work with that.

"It won't be long. Yet, it would leave us at a disadvantage financially." Louise was not pleased with the idea of having to work. Surely there was some kind of a job that would mean he could be provided with decent money while doing a minimal amount of actual labor. Yet, even having to work for money felt more comfortable than remaining a part of this.

Louise brought a hand up to his chin, thinking for a moment before speaking again. "If we delay this until the tenth, I can make sure we have money when we are out of prison." The races would be good for that. All he had to do was make sure that he stored the money in a safe place until a time when they could collect it. Of course, then there was the matter of figuring out where they would hide themselves until the races happened.

The only truly good part about being stuck in Johto was that he had Louise here with him. If they agreed on something and worked together towards the same end, Kia didn't doubt that it would be able to happen. They'd been partners through enough that he trusted Louise's plans nearly completely.

Not trusting him when violence was involved was simply because Louise hadn't dealt with as much of it as Kia had.

"Your team's getting strong enough that you can probably start fighting the locals and the gyms. There's money in that if you can't see yourself working like me." Goldenrod was a large enough city that Kia felt sure he'd be able to find work of some sort and if not here, than they just had to take the train to find even more places with the chance of employment.

He listened to the plan and nodded once he realized the reason for that date. A decent number of people were interested in racing and as much as that meant losing their bet, it also meant money from entry fees. "And we can try trusting the people who told us to leave in the first place if we need a place to store things once we go to the police. They were right about this being a bad idea." Strangers weren't the best people to trust; what other choice did they have right now? All they had to do was make it a week without attracting attention. They could do that, right?

Kia's hand slid up into Louise's hair and he massaged his scalp lightly.

Fighting the locals and the gyms. There was so much potential in that. Not only would his pair get stronger but he could fund them. Plus the work would be minimal on his part. Louise was rather liking the sound of it. And if they had the money from the races on top of it, that would be even more beneficial.

That was when those fingers moved up into his scalp, massaging it. Closing his eyes, he leaned into the touch some. It was relaxing and it helped to soothe the tension. Kia was one of the few people that he could relax around like this. Even before they'd become partners in every way possible he'd been able to trust Kia and allow himself to really just be himself. Let the wall down for a time.

"Someone here would be willing to hide the money. I'm considering someone like Mamoru. Possibly Merlin. However, there is also the possibility that I could hide the money somewhere at the Breeding Centre." He'd been making sure to think through that possibility thoroughly. These options were on the positive side at the very least. And if there was one thing that Louis was good at it was thinking through the various angles.

"You know, if we relocate to where I intend to hold the race, we can avoid having to help with this little project."

It would be a lot of travel, but not a lot of work from Louise other than figuring out strategies and the best sort of team to use overall. Kia knew that different Pokémon were good against some types and not so good against others. He'd help Louise keep track of that and work out what they needed to as they went, if that ended up being the best option for the two of them.

Relaxing didn't seem like an easy option until they left safely, but a little moment of it here and there would make the tension easier than staying completely uptight and paranoid the entire time. They didn't trust anyone else more than they trusted each other; nobody else got these little moments of care.

"Mamoru seems like the type to be pissed about being lied to," he pointed out. "At least Merlin doesn't come across as nearly that uptight and in need of a good fuck." Hiding money at the Breeding Centre would only work if the animals or other employees didn't get into it somehow. "Maybe the guys in charge at the Centre would be willing to play bank for a few weeks. But where are you going to have the race?"

If they didn't think of everything, something would go wrong.

Louise couldn't help chuckling at Kia's observation about Mamoru and Merlin. It was an accurate one even if was phrased in such a manner. And a good reprieve from the serious moment before they continued on to figuring out the plan. Only Kia could pull off something like that. He was very pleased with it.

"I can come up with a place to store our money while we're away. It shouldn't be too difficult to hide it or convince someone to keep an eye on it. Even if a little lie is in order to ensure that we have someone there to watch our funds." Opening his eyes, he looked over at his partner again. He was focused and confident in their decision, something that showed in his eyes and in the little smile he now wore. A good sign.

"The races will be held at the National Park." Which would mean camping but he would prefer that to anything involving this project that was happening with Team Rocket.

If Louise could chuckle, then he'd lightened the mood a little and Louise wasn't quite as worried now as he'd been when they started talking. That made Kia smile in relief for a moment.

"Lying's nowhere as bad as trying to steal Pokemon or blow up a train. The people we know'd have to be crazy not to help us leave this mess." Well, the ones who weren't also Team Rocket anyway. Seeing Louise more confident about this gave Kia even more reassurance that they could get out of here with nothing worse than the impending lockup.

Hearing where the races would be made Kia's eyes widen. Louise was willing to camp. For a week. In chilly, possibly damp weather. That said more about his determination to leave than anything else. "That's not going to be comfortable, but it could be worse." They could be alone. Or broke. Or without fire themed animals who'd love to keep them warm.

"I certainly am not above a few clever lies here and there. Bending the truth a bit to benefit us." They could really manage to go far if he twisted things just right. Already he was formulating a way to spin facts in his favor. Well, their favor. Louise rather liked where he could have this go.

Then he had to shake his head a little. Yes, the conditions would be quite miserable. They would be in terrible weather but he preferred that over anything else. At least they would have warm bodies there. It wouldn't be difficult to gather enough food for the time at the park.

"I suppose that someone with your skills had better make sure we have all we need to be as comfortable as possible then." A vote of confidence and making sure that he put Kia to work.

"You can handle the talking and I'll do the harder work." Handling things that way played to what they were both good at and it wouldn't take as long compared to one of them doing it all. They made a good team and Kia knew it.

His puppies were warm and less of a hassle than Skarmory was. Keeping them out and about for warmth and company wouldn't bother them at all. They'd actually love the attention.

"I can get us enough supplies to handle the weather. Better now than when that blizzard first hit, right?"

"Of course. It's a system that suits us well." Reaching up, Louise touched Kia's face lightly. For a change, he wasn't wearing gloves so the touch allowed skin contact right away.

They were really doing this. Escaping from what could be a poor situation together. Then again, he doubted that he would be willing to do this with anyone else. Kia was someone that he trusted with his life and he'd made sure to take care of him. They took care of each other.

"This is much better." He paused a moment and the smile faded a little. "I think that we'll do well here once we're free."

Louise not wearing gloves was nice and strange all at once. Kia leaned into it and let his eyes fall half-shut for a moment. He wouldn't rather have anyone else with him for this clusterfuck. Nobody else could work with him as well. Quite frankly, he enjoyed it that way.

They'd both saved each other from different things at home. This was continuing that no matter where or when they ended up.

"Me too. A guy I talked to a few days ago said it's not hard to be comfortable here. Now I believe him."

Comfortable in a place that could be so troublesome. Who would have ever imagined something like that? Certainly not Louise who was so used to having everything handed to him on a silver platter. Working was troublesome at best. Mainly because he wasn't used to having to work to get the things he wanted. They were always just handed to him.

He really needed to find a way to make sure he had enough money to always have what he wanted here. It really would help in case Kia got into trouble as well.

"Just someone you talked to?" That was a way of finding out if he needed to be jealous or not.

"Something about being able to fight the people on the roads more than once and get money from them over and over again," he continued so Louise would know exactly what to do for maximum profit and minimum effort.

Once he made sense of that, they could do well money-wise.

Louise's question got him to frown again, but for a completely different reason than before. "Cute, but taken and pretty stubborn about that part." Being jealous would probably happen anyway, but Kia didn't think he'd have luck with Ken.

Fight people more than once to get money. Well that was something he liked. They could really benefit from that. Of course it would mean gather some more Pokemon since he really only had two Fire Types but that wouldn't be difficult.

For now, he was more interested in learning about Mister Cute but Stubborn and Taken. "I wasn't aware that little details like that would derail you so easily. Did he shoot you down properly?"

Gathering some of the Grass types wouldn't be hard with his Fire animals in tow. Kia might try to get more too, since his were similar as well.

"This isn't home. If I push someone too hard, they can tell everyone on the Gear and neither of us will be able to have much fun again."

He would have to find out which ones were pretty enough for his standards. Though he wanted them to be strong, Louise refused to settle for anything that wasn't appealing in a visual manner as well.

"It's good to hear that you're being careful." Since Kia could be one of the least cautious people around, that was always comforting. Especially since it meant that this person wasn't a threat.

Kia would try to find pretty ones, but sometimes the most useful things weren't the most attractive. It would be interesting to see what each of them ended up with.

"I can be once in a while." There'd be another time to be reckless. Ruining a possible friendship with another soccer fan wasn't worth it. "I'll go see what I can get for camping and talk to you later."

On that note, he leaned over to give Louise a short kiss.

"We can set out tomorrow or the next day. That will ensure we are far enough away to avoid this."

Leaning towards the kiss, he met Kia halfway to return the gesture before taking up his cup of tea again. He had his own preparations to make but those wouldn't be difficult to manage. He could take care of them rather quickly.

"We can eat when you get back."

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I can feel/That it's time for me to face it/Can I take it?

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