who the hell is even betraying who any more

[snapandscoot]

Who: Emmy Altava (snapandscoot), Lightning Farron (soggypastry) and Solf. J. Kimblee (explosivecombat)
Where: Olivine City
When: Back before the Spring Cleaning plot! Ideally, right after this.
Summary: Emmy convinces Lightning to meet with a certain Rocket member.
Rating: PG at most, I'd say.
Log:


Sighing, Emmy made her way into the little cafe that was serving as her rendezvous with Lightning. As much as the ride on Kimblee's Steelix had thrilled her, she'd come crashing back to earth very quickly once they actually made it to Olivine.

They had decided that she would enter alone first, in order for Lightning to brief her, and her to return the favour. So, after requesting that Kimblee wait for her signal to come in, she pushed open the door and scanned the tables, searching for the enigmatic leader of the PGC.

With any luck, things would go well. Oh, how she hoped they would go well!

Emmy spotted her quickly; it was rather hard to miss that pink hair, after all. Briefly, she wondered if it was natural. But that wasn't what she should be concerned with, right now! Honestly, this entire affair was doing her head in.

Making her way over to the table, Emmy stood in front of it rather than seating herself, greeting Lightning with a small smile.

"Thank you for agreeing to this."

Comments

[snapandscoot]

As soon as he turns her around her hands are up, covering her face, covering her shame, so it comes as a bit of a surprise when she finds herself pressed against his body in what is unmistakably a hug. Oh. Well. This is.....rather nice.

"W-wait..."

She leans slightly away from him, then, madly scrubbing at her face.

"I-I'll stain y-your clothes if we hug while I'm like this, give me a minute..."

Satisfied that her face is clean, Emmy then proceeds to bury it against Kimblee's chest, her hands gripping the material of his coat as she wraps her arms around his waist.

Emmy has an issue with strength, an issue with appearing competent...how is she supposed to be a good assistant to the professor if she falls into despair so easily? If she just breaks down and sobs whenever things get hard? It's too much. She's filled with shame.

She continues to embrace him as he continues to speak, but when he gets to the part about his worry over using her as the go-between, that's when the anger comes back, and she pushes away.

"N-No! Don't you dare take me off this mission, Kimblee, or I'll...!!"

Apart from her outburst earlier, this is the first time she's been seriously angry at him. But the anger isn't directed at him, is it? No, it's directed at herself. How pathetic.

"I am more than capable! I can do it, you've just....you've just..."

Control, Emmy, control...!!

"You've got to give me a second chance!"

[explosivecombat]

And for a moment, Kimblee just kind of stares. Okay, someone...is not communicating here. Probably him. Either way, there is no communication happening and dear god why is she so mad -

"I wouldn't dream of it, Miss Altava, and I'm not doubting your capabilities at all. What I meant was that if something major happens, like a sudden attack from Team Rocket about to happen within the next fifteen minutes or something, it would be far safer to contact the rest of this...PGC thing directly, as opposed to running the information through you.

Is that a bit more clear, or...?"

[snapandscoot]

...and then Emmy's hands bunch into trembling fists at her sides, and she stamps her foot, bottom lip trembling.

".......well why didn't you just say that?"

And it's then that she proceeds to latch right back onto him, taking the earlier hug as an open invitation. It's been a little while since she's really hugged anybody, so...this is nice. He's nice to hug.

"...this trip has been such a nightmare."

[explosivecombat]

...oh. Well, he wasn't exactly expecting that and it's fairly obvious in the way his hands just sort of...hover for a moment there, but he settles quickly, pulling her close with one hand and going back to playing with her hair with the other.

"I'll have to take you somewhere more pleasant next time. Just you and I for a few days, without having to worry about any of this. Anywhere you like; I'll cover everything."

[snapandscoot]

She laughs, then, the sound muffled, and she turns her head so that she can talk, her cheek resting against his chest.

"Are you sure, Mr Kimblee? You're a taken man now, wouldn't that be a little scandalous~?"

[explosivecombat]

That seems to amuse him; he laughs a bit at that, softly, the usual lightness coming back to his voice.

"Somehow I think Isaac will understand."

[snapandscoot]

Emmy smiles, gently releasing her grip, her eyes bright with happiness, rather than tears.

"I'd really like that, Mr Kimblee."

...suddenly, she blinks, her mouth opening slightly.

"Oh my goodness, you've got to be off, I've keep you for too long with my silliness, I'm so sorry..."

[explosivecombat]

While Kimblee does release her easily when she pulls away, stepping back before releasing Taylor from her ball at his side, he doesn't seem bothered at all by her words.

"Don't worry about it, Miss Altava. I believe it to have been worth it.

You're very important to me, after all."

[snapandscoot]

"Ah....."

Oh dammit, he's done it again. Better cough awkwardly so she can hide that blush. Definitely.

...it works, alright.

"I feel the same, you know!!"

But she soon relaxes, continuing to smile. A calm has washed over here, and it's like she's forgotten all the miserable things that have happened on this trip. When he says those sorts of lovely things, it...really makes her feel good.

"...I'm so glad we're not fighting, Mr Kimblee. It would...really hurt if we had to cut ties. So please be safe. You're one of my dearest friends."

[explosivecombat]

...all right, that's amused him again, but he'll spare her dignity by not laughing. Of course, he looks sorely tempted to. But he refrains!

He settles quickly enough, however.

"As always, you're far too good to me; consider the sentiment returned, and take care. And do think of a destination for next time, all right?"

Taylor, thankfully, doesn't seem too inclined to pitch him to the ground this time before takeoff; it's kind of a rare occasion when she doesn't, but at least she seems to understand that they really need to get back to the damn base.

He's willing to let most of the argument go; while he still isn't sure what he thinks of Lightning Farron, he does understand her tactics, as infuriating as they are. He'll see what can be done, then, in terms of gaining her trust. He'll let Miss Altava's part in this slide entirely for now - it's clear that she had no idea what she was doing, and if he is going through with this, he'll need her as a contact.

She had been right about one thing she'd said during that fight, however.

He's sure Archer will be damn pleased with the intel.