can't we just go back? | pokémon

fifteen | live a little

before their scheduled trip to the museum where lenora would tour them around, winona made sure to check their routes and emergency routes just in case, landmarks, places they can go to, and maybe cafes or restaurants nearby to save them time from searching around. although their itinerary was already made for them, winona double checked it and asked drayden for a few minor tweaks to which the mayor obliged.

as winona was working on her laptop, she felt the sudden urge to go to the nearest pokemart to have something to eat. she told the girls she'll be out buying something from the mart and asked if they needed anything. all replied that they're fine so winona went out.

as she was walking, her senses are on alert, memorizing establishments, signboards, pedestrians, and all that as much as she can. the walking signal turned green and all the people started swiftly crossing the big city streets.

the smell of food and medicine inside the pokemart greeted winona as she walked around, looking for food that she might like. when she went at the back by the large fridges where the drinks are stored, she noticed a familiar face. a guy in his late teens, looking at the food in front of him, somewhat picking what he would get.
"faulkner?" she called out.

faulkner looked her way and was genuinely surprised to see her.
"winona? is that you?" winona happily walked towards the young guy who wore his casual clothes.

"i'm surprised to see you here! who are you with?" she asked, beaming.

"i'm with whitney and bugsy. they invited me to visit unova for a quick vacation," he answered shyly, scratching the back of his ear.

"you've grown so much since i last saw you. how're you doing?" winona asked, looking at faulkner from head to toe who got flustered.

"y-yeah. what about you? what brings you here?"

"oh, work. the hoenn leaders are here for a visit and work,"

faulkner understood that winona shouldn't be disturbed too much when she's working otherwise he'd face the wrath of a pretty woman who can potentially rip him apart should he dare disturb her.
"say faulkner," winona spoke as she grabbed a drink from the large fridge, "did you notice something here in unova? anything that seems suspicious to you?"

faulkner stopped to think for a moment, remembering what he saw that seems suspicious to him.
"i did notice a lot of people would gather by the desert resort every 5 pm. i don't know what's up with that but it's been happening consistently for the past week,"

winona hummed.
"what do the people look like? what are they wearing?"

"they all look like normal tourists to me. but so far, that's the most peculiar thing i've been seeing. they're always a group of ten people,"

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when winona went back to their hotel, she saw wallace staring at a marble statue of a woman wearing a goddess-like robe, head covered in a thin, almost wet-with-water sheet, holding a cursola in her arms.

for a moment, he looked ethereal, and only then did winona realized she wasn't looking at the statue at all.

wallace glanced back and saw her. he didn't smile. neither did winona.

"you don't have to always think about work all the time," he spoke, eyes looking directly at hers.

winona stood unfazed.
"we came here for work and nothing else, wallace, why would i not think about it all the time?"

he walked towards her. winona gritted her teeth.
"you forgot the part where you also have to live a little,"

winona internally scoffed before turning to face the other direction and walking away.

'how could a live a little when i already feel dead ever since our break-up?'

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a/n:

hi!! so sorry for not updating for a long ass time. i dont remember if i ever mentioned i recently graduated last june and started working just this august which is why i havent had the time to write anything because work is so stressful.

this story is also posted in ao3 (same title), however, i have to retrieve my acc because i forgot my password there lmao

anyway, just dropping by to say hello and give a quick update.

bye!