route_1065 | Lover to Lover

Who: Mom Lalonde, Valeria, Bro Strider
Where: Cerulean City (I believe)
When: April 11th or whatever
Summary: Mom's pretty concerned about these two, so she's doing the comfort rounds.
Rating: idk, G? PG? M for Strider?
Log:

Bro

[Mom's suspicions that something's wrong in paradise started when Val texted her while drunk. After that, she's been keeping an eye on Val, and only grows more worried. And there's definitely something wrong. She's constantly inebriated, yes, but that makes her neither blind nor stupid.

She's patient, though. As patient as she is with a skittish kitten. If there's one thing she's learned, it's that people tend to talk only when they're ready to face it themselves.

However, after a while, she sees that it mostly has to do with a certain Strider. Curiouser and curiouser. Mom keeps something of an eye on Bro, too, to be cautious. She loves her friends dearly and she wants to help them put things right. The snag is that she has no idea what's even going on with those two, and as such she can't help them.

Mom sighs, a little frustrated. The knowledge of her death and Val's ignorance of it is also weighing heavily in her mind, but it's as if the Pokemon version of Fate keeps preventing her from actually sitting down to talk to the woman about it! There's no way she can bring it up now, not with this emotional tension.

Still. There's one person she can go to for advice on the subject, and she's going to find him right now, two bottles of good beer in hand.]

Valeria

[After her conversation with Bro, Mom is out on the hunt for Val. She'll find her no matter how long it takes.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Mom takes a couple of sips before replying.]

No, but I think they'll speak up when they're ready to talk about it. They don't seem to want to rock the boat, and I can't say that I blame them.

[She sighs.]

I suppose I'm just miffed that I didn't go down fighting. Instead, I got taken by complete surprise and couldn't put up any sort of resistance.

[He can understand that. Both of those things. If he had gone down by surprise, he wouldn't be happy either. Hell, he'd be pretty fucking pissed. So at least he can say he died fighting. But still... He doesn't really think she should worry too much about it.]

You're here now. Alive. That's all that matters. You shouldn't let it bother you too much, honestly.

[Another swig. He's forgotten his sandwich, appetite thoroughly lost.]

I'm not sure how you're supposed to tell Val. I'm not sure how I'm going to tell her either.

I know that in my head, but I think my heart's going to need some convincing.

[And now she's going to lie down on the bed because she can.]

Still. It feels like every time I pluck up the courage to tell her, it's either the wrong time to do so or it'd just make things worse for her emotional state. I'm starting to think that perhaps I should just keep it to myself.

[Even if it makes her feel guilty and makes her conscience writhe in unpleasant ways.]

[Bro's quiet for a long moment after Roxanne speaks. He... isn't sure how much he should tell her about what happened. Hell, the thought of telling her anything about he and Val sleeping together is just kind of terrifying. He doesn't want her to get the wrong idea- if there's even a right idea to get from that. There really... isn't, admittedly, but goddamn he just doesn't know how to even begin to tell her.

Trying to choose his words carefully, he finally speaks.]

Now... might now be the best, if you're keeping her emotional state in consideration.

That much I can tell.

[She sighs a little.]

You're not in a good place, either, Bro. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but...I'm concerned about the both of you.

[He tenses up a little. How the fuck- He thought he was doing well enough keeping the fact he's not doing so good a secret. Or maybe she's just too fucking perceptive for her own good.]

What makes you think I'm in a bad place?

[Mom's pretty good at being more perceptive than she should be. Rose isn't the only one who picked up a bit of psychology.]

Your habits lately have been avoidant, more so when Val's in close proximity. So is she near you, frankly, and this has been going on for a while. You both have good poker faces, but your body language and habits are what really give you away.

[Welp.

There's really no way he can lie or brush it off when she puts it like that, is there? She's not stupid. Denying it would just be insulting her intelligence, and if there's one thing he isn't going to do, it's insult her intelligence. Drunk or not, the woman is a fucking genius. An amazing, wonderful genius and he can't lie to her, in the end. Even if he's afraid of how she might react.]

I... guess things kind of got complicated between us.

[She's really grateful that Bro respects her that much, honestly. Mom very much likes that about him, how he doesn't brush her off.]

It certainly sounds like it. [Mom pauses for a moment.] I won't force you to tell me what happened between you two. However, I'm here for you both, if you let me in.

[Bro lets out a sigh when she speaks, and just reaches up to run a hand through his hair, knocking his hat off in the process. He doesn't know how to even begin to explain things to her, but he knows he needs to at this point. But how do you even do that?]

We...

[He swallows, heart beating a little harder. After a moment, he just forces himself to finally get it out.]

We slept together. And now it's gotten complicated.

[At first, she literally has no idea what to say to that. Why shouldn't they sleep together? But then he says "complicated."]

Complicated. How so, if you don't mind my asking?

[He... doesn't even know how to answer that without making it sound like more than it is. Bro doesn't want to imply that there's more between them than there actually is, but at the same time, there... Almost is? He doesn't fucking know, which is exactly why it IS complicated. So after a few moments of deliberating, he finally speaks.]

Turns out there's more to it than just sex, I guess... [He doesn't want to say 'on her part' because that would be somewhat of a lie and he doesn't want to be dishonest, he just doesn't know to what extent any of it goes.] She likes me. [And he doesn't know how he feels about her.]

[She nods, not exactly surprised by that. Mom's not blind, and she's had her suspicions for a while by now.]

And how do you feel about her?

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