Marna's - Evening - Crisp
Eryk Nero
Eryk knocked back the drink rather harshly, some of it spilling down the side of his lips as he wiped it away with his hand. He hadn't meant to do that, but for the last couple of days, he hadn't been able to do much of anything. He'd been thinking too much about that near kiss with Ana and for some reason, couldn't think of anything else. He'd been a fucking idiot for trying to do that to her. They might have been... dating? He didn't fucking know. He didn't know anything and that was confusing the shit out of him.
He was supposed to be doing a mission for the boss. He was supposed to be finding out information about her, and here he was dating her because he wanted to. He wanted to do it, and not because someone had told him he needed to. Eryk Nero wasn't the kind of man who wanted anything, especially with how his family was. With how his mother was. What would she say if she found out about it? What would she do? Eryk threw back another drink of his vodka, before setting his cup back down.
“So, how was everyone's day?" Drake drawled somewhat. Eryk blinked, momentarily forgetting that he was at Marna's with the other guys. It seemed to him that he wasn't the only one with things on his mind, but their reasons were and could be different. He wasn't going to presume anything, however; judging by the idiotic smile on Drake's face, and the fact that he'd returned with Mel a day ago, things might have been going well for him.
"Which day are you really asking about?" Aidan replied. He looked and was acting pretty much the same as he always did, a calm center in what otherwise seemed to be a rather strange set of circumstances. He took one of Eryk's largely-uneaten plate of nachos, braking off a string of cheese with a deft gesture and eating the whole thing.
Kas, on the other hand, had been unusually quiet, or at least he'd ceded most of the floor for talking to Drake, who apparently was rather happy. He was drinking about as fast as Ryk, though, which might have been more of a clue than just talking a little less.
“Rude," Drake began, pursing his lips in Aidan's direction. “You shouldn't answer a question with another question, you know," he continued, shaking his head a bit, before grinning largely. “You know damn well which day I'm asking about. Do I have to spell it out?"
“If you want to be able to keep talking much longer, I'd suggest you don't," Ryk grumbled before taking another shot. He should probably stop doing that so fast, otherwise he was going to wake up with a nasty hangover. Not that he wouldn't be able to deal with it, but he wasn't entirely sure if he did. Drake snorted softly as Ryk rolled his eyes. How did someone like Drake get drunk so fast? He couldn't understand it, however; he supposed Drake was just a natural lightweight who couldn't really hold his alchohol despite all his bravado at being able to do so.
“I wanna know how everyone's V-day went! I can't be the only one who had a good time, right?" Drake nearly whined. Eryk was half tempted to just pinch a nerve on his shoulder and make him pass out for the rest of the night, however; Marna might not appreciate having a drunk Drake on her floor.
Kas made a vague sound, pouring himself another drink and then one for Eryk, too, pushing it towards him with a nod. "Mine was just a tax for helping Cy with her plans to get certain other people to spend time together. Not much to say. We went to the backisland for a while and drank." He shrugged, taking a slightly more measured sip of his drink.
Aidan regarded him for a moment, head tilted, then seemed to give it up, shrugging a bit. "I took Doc to the little probattling museum on the historical side of the island. Then we had a battle and some dinner. It was nice."
“So... you went on a date with Nev? That's what it sounds like," Drake stated, arching a brow in Aidan's direction. He didn't seem to push it, though, and turned his attention on Ryk. “What about you, what did you do, Ryk?" he asked, causing Ryk to sigh and down his drink. Fuck it. Might as well.
“None of your business," Eryk simply replied, earning a slight pout from Drake.
“Come on, Ryk. Kas and Aidan both said what they did. What did you do that you're so embarrassed about?" Drake continued, and Ryk arched a brow in his direction.
“Who says I'm embarrassed about it?"
“You're getting defensive. Clearly that's a sign of embarrassment."
"He's not going to quit pestering you," Aidan observed.
Kas snorted softly. "They were on the backisland, too," he supplied, though not as smugly as Eryk thought he might have on a different day. "Different part. Cy wanted to snoop, initially, but that was nixed because private property and all that."
“Not like that would have stopped her," Eryk grumbled into his cup before downing it again. Drake, however, seemed more amused than anything, and leaned so that his jaw was resting on his hand in a smug manner.
“Fine," he conceded. “Ana and I had a picnic on the part of the backisland she owns. Is that sufficient for you?" he asked, arching a challenging brow in Drake's direction. It didn't seem to bother him, though, and Drake just smiled. Eryk could feel a headache coming on just from that smile alone.
“Well it seems to me that everyone had a mostly good day," Drake stated, taking a drink from his beer bottle.
It was almost impossible to detect, but Kas actually seemed to wince at that, just a little. "For... some value of the word, sure."
Aidan sighed, leveling his gaze at both Eryk and Kas. "So then why are you two drinking like you're at a frat rager?"
Eryk pursed his lips together. How was he supposed to answer a question like that when he didn't even know the answer to it? Drinking like he was seemed to be the only logical explanation to whatever it was he was dealing with. That just didn't seem to be enough, though. Why? Why wasn't it enough? Why couldn't he just say that he was drinking because he was feeling things he shouldn't be. Things he had no right to, least of all for someone like Ana. It wasn't that Ana wasn't lovely. She was, down to the shade of her pale pink hair that always seemed to shimmer just faintly when they were outside in the sun.
The way her eyes shined when she was happy about something they were doing, or just simply taking care of the pokemon. There was something faintly innocent about her, and he... well, he'd simply ruin it. Of that he was certain. He wasn't even entirely sure if he was doing this more for the mission's sake, or for his. Even as drunk as he was, now, Ryk knew he couldn't say that out loud. Drake wasn't a member of NTR, and Ryk had to be careful of what he said. How he said it.
“It's complicated," he finally answered, downing another shot.
"What he said," Kas added. "Also, Ryk, I would like to add that your family sucks. And I hate them. Which is unusual because I don't really hate people, normally."
Aidan seemed inclined not to push them further than that, only nodding and lifting his glass a bit. "Hear, hear."
Eryk snorted softly into his cup at Kas's statement, but lifted his glass towards Aidan's. “You've only heard about them, and you hate them," Ryk started, shaking his head a bit. “Wait until you actually meet them," though in all honesty, Ryk hoped they wouldn't have to. Katia was a special case. He didn't count Katia.
“I think we need another round of nachos," Drake stated, standing from his spot before nearly falling over. “I'm good! I'm good," he continued before making his way to, presumably, order more nachos.
“My family isn't the only one," Ryk stated, blinking slightly when he realized he slurred the word. “The Joys who run the center, here, also... how did you put it?" he paused to glance in Kas's direction. “Suck."
Kas lifted a hand and gave Eryk's shoulder an only slightly clumsy pat. "Yeah I met a couple of them once. Lydia and Brenda or something? The daughter seemed like... well kind of a bitch to be honest. She was pretty blatantly rude to Ana about this cacnea..."
Eryk nodded his head. “She came by the shelter a few days ago and told Ana that if she didn't start acting right, they were going to cut off her scholarship. Something about it being indecent living with me," he stated, feeling his lips tug downward. Was he pouting? He couldn't fucking tell. He could understand, though, if the main branch of her family operated anything like his. It wasn't exactly a good thing if an unmarried woman lived with an unmarried man, but... technically he wasn't unmarried. Engaged, perhaps, but that didn't make it any better.
It only made it worse, now that he thought about it.
Running a hand down his face, he furrowed his brows at his cup. “Not that I'd let that happen, but still," he murmured more to himself.
Aidan nodded sympathetically, but then there was a sudden bang from Kas, who'd struck the table with the flat of his palm. Just hard enough to rattle the dinnerware, not enough to actually damage anything. "But why the Hell not, Ryk?" he asked, boring into his eyes with rather intent golden ones of his own. His seemed a little out of focus, pupils blown probably because of how much he'd had to drink.
"She—Ana fucking loves you, man. You're just gonna pass on something like that?"
Eryk could count on one hand how many times he'd been startled in his life, and still have room to keep counting. Kas, however, managed to startle Eryk a bit, that he nearly spilled his shot, and furrowed his brows. What he'd meant by that was simply that he wasn't going to let them take her scholarship away. What did Ana loving... Ryk blinked confusedly at Kas.
“And she shouldn't," the words were out faster than he could realize he was saying them. “She shouldn't love me at all for all the shit that's going on," he continued, gesturing to the three of them. “Do you honestly think she'd still feel the same if I told her that all of this had, intially, been a ruse. So that we could get close to her to find out whether or not she was some psychic for Gregorovich?" Eryk was careful to keep his voice low so that only the three of them could hear.
“And do you honestly think it matters? You've seen our file, Kas. You know Cy and I are engaged, and that even if we were to get it anulled, bringing Ana into my family in any shape or form is more dangerous for her than... whatever it is we're doing." He took a deep breath and shook his head.
“Whether or not I'm just gonna pass on something like that, isn't my call to make." He'd given up the right to make those kinds of choices when he decided his engagement to Cy would be the last good deed he could do. Anything now would be what the Koga wanted from him, or what NTR wanted for him. It was the only way...
Kas looked like he was opening his mouth to argue, faced flushed even under his dark complexion, when the sound of a lighter flicking somehow cut through the moment of silence.
"He's right, Rheinallt," Aidan said, holding the resultant flame to the end of the cigarette between his lips. It caught, and he flicked the lighter closed. "It's not his call. Of course, he's also wrong." He inhaled slowly, then expelled a cloud of smoke off to the side.
"Because all of that? That's Ana's call. And in deciding beforehand that it's not gonna work, you're making it for her, Nero." He shook his head. "You'll never know what she'd make of any of this without telling her, would you?"
Kas looked confused. "Are you suggesting that he tell her about the mission?"
Aidan shrugged. "I'm not suggesting anything. Whatever's between them is their business. I'm just asking questions and making observations."
Eryk ran a hand down his face, trying to calm himself. He couldn't just tell Ana about the mission, but there was one thing he could tell her. He could tell her the situation between him and Cyrilla, but anything else wasn't up for discussion. Whether or not he was making the decision for Ana, it seemed like the only logical one. Because it wouldn't matter, if in the end, their mission was discovered. She would look at him like everyone else did. With shame and disgust and repulsion.
He didn't want that from her.
He didn't want her to look at him like that, to see who he really was and just be... he sighed.
“I can tell her some things, but I can't tell her everything is basically what you're saying," he directed at Aidan. “Questions and observations aside, we both know I couldn't jeopardize the mission that way, but... you're also right. I cannot make that decision for her. I will not be that person to her."
He just didn't know where to start? How could he go about telling her about his family, about his engagement? Those were things no one knew of him, except for Cy. She'd been there to witness most of the things his family was capable of. How could he expect to tell Ana any of that, and not help but feel a sense of dread? He sighed, perhaps a bit too harshly, and knocked back another shot.
"Well it might be easier if you're a little drunk first, but... I think those things can come up pretty naturally in conversation. Even the sober kind." Aidan took another drag, then sipped from his glass of whiskey.
Kas, apparently calmed a little, nodded slightly, shooting Eryk an apologetic look. "You guys talk about stuff—I know you do. It's not casual over-work conversation, but evening sometime? I dunno, man, just some time when it's you and her and no distractions. Ask her about her life. She'll respond in kind—she's not self-centered enough not to."
Eryk felt his lip twitch upward a bit. “Sure," he replied. He knew Ana wasn't like that, but he also felt that she didn't quite like talking about her family in the same way he didn't. Perhaps... they were the same in that.
“We talk about stuff, just the same as you and the others talk about stuff," he stated, feeling the corners of his lips pull upward. Was he smiling? Arceus he was drunk, wasn't he?
Kas rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion. "Oh for—I meant important stuff, you idiot," he grumbled, shaking his head. There was a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth, though, and Aidan chuckled outright.
"Seriously though," Kas continued. "If anyone comes up with any good revenge schemes for use on either family, I am so in. I can crack their shit. Or whatever else." He nodded as if this was quite profound, and took another drink.
“I'm going to hold you to that," Eryk stated a little more seriously than he intended to. “Because... it might just be that I have to call in that favor and say you're my finacé, instead."
"I promise to make it convincing," Kas replied, clinking his glass with Eryk's.
He was supposed to be doing a mission for the boss. He was supposed to be finding out information about her, and here he was dating her because he wanted to. He wanted to do it, and not because someone had told him he needed to. Eryk Nero wasn't the kind of man who wanted anything, especially with how his family was. With how his mother was. What would she say if she found out about it? What would she do? Eryk threw back another drink of his vodka, before setting his cup back down.
“So, how was everyone's day?" Drake drawled somewhat. Eryk blinked, momentarily forgetting that he was at Marna's with the other guys. It seemed to him that he wasn't the only one with things on his mind, but their reasons were and could be different. He wasn't going to presume anything, however; judging by the idiotic smile on Drake's face, and the fact that he'd returned with Mel a day ago, things might have been going well for him.
"Which day are you really asking about?" Aidan replied. He looked and was acting pretty much the same as he always did, a calm center in what otherwise seemed to be a rather strange set of circumstances. He took one of Eryk's largely-uneaten plate of nachos, braking off a string of cheese with a deft gesture and eating the whole thing.
Kas, on the other hand, had been unusually quiet, or at least he'd ceded most of the floor for talking to Drake, who apparently was rather happy. He was drinking about as fast as Ryk, though, which might have been more of a clue than just talking a little less.
“Rude," Drake began, pursing his lips in Aidan's direction. “You shouldn't answer a question with another question, you know," he continued, shaking his head a bit, before grinning largely. “You know damn well which day I'm asking about. Do I have to spell it out?"
“If you want to be able to keep talking much longer, I'd suggest you don't," Ryk grumbled before taking another shot. He should probably stop doing that so fast, otherwise he was going to wake up with a nasty hangover. Not that he wouldn't be able to deal with it, but he wasn't entirely sure if he did. Drake snorted softly as Ryk rolled his eyes. How did someone like Drake get drunk so fast? He couldn't understand it, however; he supposed Drake was just a natural lightweight who couldn't really hold his alchohol despite all his bravado at being able to do so.
“I wanna know how everyone's V-day went! I can't be the only one who had a good time, right?" Drake nearly whined. Eryk was half tempted to just pinch a nerve on his shoulder and make him pass out for the rest of the night, however; Marna might not appreciate having a drunk Drake on her floor.
Kas made a vague sound, pouring himself another drink and then one for Eryk, too, pushing it towards him with a nod. "Mine was just a tax for helping Cy with her plans to get certain other people to spend time together. Not much to say. We went to the backisland for a while and drank." He shrugged, taking a slightly more measured sip of his drink.
Aidan regarded him for a moment, head tilted, then seemed to give it up, shrugging a bit. "I took Doc to the little probattling museum on the historical side of the island. Then we had a battle and some dinner. It was nice."
“So... you went on a date with Nev? That's what it sounds like," Drake stated, arching a brow in Aidan's direction. He didn't seem to push it, though, and turned his attention on Ryk. “What about you, what did you do, Ryk?" he asked, causing Ryk to sigh and down his drink. Fuck it. Might as well.
“None of your business," Eryk simply replied, earning a slight pout from Drake.
“Come on, Ryk. Kas and Aidan both said what they did. What did you do that you're so embarrassed about?" Drake continued, and Ryk arched a brow in his direction.
“Who says I'm embarrassed about it?"
“You're getting defensive. Clearly that's a sign of embarrassment."
"He's not going to quit pestering you," Aidan observed.
Kas snorted softly. "They were on the backisland, too," he supplied, though not as smugly as Eryk thought he might have on a different day. "Different part. Cy wanted to snoop, initially, but that was nixed because private property and all that."
“Not like that would have stopped her," Eryk grumbled into his cup before downing it again. Drake, however, seemed more amused than anything, and leaned so that his jaw was resting on his hand in a smug manner.
“Fine," he conceded. “Ana and I had a picnic on the part of the backisland she owns. Is that sufficient for you?" he asked, arching a challenging brow in Drake's direction. It didn't seem to bother him, though, and Drake just smiled. Eryk could feel a headache coming on just from that smile alone.
“Well it seems to me that everyone had a mostly good day," Drake stated, taking a drink from his beer bottle.
It was almost impossible to detect, but Kas actually seemed to wince at that, just a little. "For... some value of the word, sure."
Aidan sighed, leveling his gaze at both Eryk and Kas. "So then why are you two drinking like you're at a frat rager?"
Eryk pursed his lips together. How was he supposed to answer a question like that when he didn't even know the answer to it? Drinking like he was seemed to be the only logical explanation to whatever it was he was dealing with. That just didn't seem to be enough, though. Why? Why wasn't it enough? Why couldn't he just say that he was drinking because he was feeling things he shouldn't be. Things he had no right to, least of all for someone like Ana. It wasn't that Ana wasn't lovely. She was, down to the shade of her pale pink hair that always seemed to shimmer just faintly when they were outside in the sun.
The way her eyes shined when she was happy about something they were doing, or just simply taking care of the pokemon. There was something faintly innocent about her, and he... well, he'd simply ruin it. Of that he was certain. He wasn't even entirely sure if he was doing this more for the mission's sake, or for his. Even as drunk as he was, now, Ryk knew he couldn't say that out loud. Drake wasn't a member of NTR, and Ryk had to be careful of what he said. How he said it.
“It's complicated," he finally answered, downing another shot.
"What he said," Kas added. "Also, Ryk, I would like to add that your family sucks. And I hate them. Which is unusual because I don't really hate people, normally."
Aidan seemed inclined not to push them further than that, only nodding and lifting his glass a bit. "Hear, hear."
Eryk snorted softly into his cup at Kas's statement, but lifted his glass towards Aidan's. “You've only heard about them, and you hate them," Ryk started, shaking his head a bit. “Wait until you actually meet them," though in all honesty, Ryk hoped they wouldn't have to. Katia was a special case. He didn't count Katia.
“I think we need another round of nachos," Drake stated, standing from his spot before nearly falling over. “I'm good! I'm good," he continued before making his way to, presumably, order more nachos.
“My family isn't the only one," Ryk stated, blinking slightly when he realized he slurred the word. “The Joys who run the center, here, also... how did you put it?" he paused to glance in Kas's direction. “Suck."
Kas lifted a hand and gave Eryk's shoulder an only slightly clumsy pat. "Yeah I met a couple of them once. Lydia and Brenda or something? The daughter seemed like... well kind of a bitch to be honest. She was pretty blatantly rude to Ana about this cacnea..."
Eryk nodded his head. “She came by the shelter a few days ago and told Ana that if she didn't start acting right, they were going to cut off her scholarship. Something about it being indecent living with me," he stated, feeling his lips tug downward. Was he pouting? He couldn't fucking tell. He could understand, though, if the main branch of her family operated anything like his. It wasn't exactly a good thing if an unmarried woman lived with an unmarried man, but... technically he wasn't unmarried. Engaged, perhaps, but that didn't make it any better.
It only made it worse, now that he thought about it.
Running a hand down his face, he furrowed his brows at his cup. “Not that I'd let that happen, but still," he murmured more to himself.
Aidan nodded sympathetically, but then there was a sudden bang from Kas, who'd struck the table with the flat of his palm. Just hard enough to rattle the dinnerware, not enough to actually damage anything. "But why the Hell not, Ryk?" he asked, boring into his eyes with rather intent golden ones of his own. His seemed a little out of focus, pupils blown probably because of how much he'd had to drink.
"She—Ana fucking loves you, man. You're just gonna pass on something like that?"
Eryk could count on one hand how many times he'd been startled in his life, and still have room to keep counting. Kas, however, managed to startle Eryk a bit, that he nearly spilled his shot, and furrowed his brows. What he'd meant by that was simply that he wasn't going to let them take her scholarship away. What did Ana loving... Ryk blinked confusedly at Kas.
“And she shouldn't," the words were out faster than he could realize he was saying them. “She shouldn't love me at all for all the shit that's going on," he continued, gesturing to the three of them. “Do you honestly think she'd still feel the same if I told her that all of this had, intially, been a ruse. So that we could get close to her to find out whether or not she was some psychic for Gregorovich?" Eryk was careful to keep his voice low so that only the three of them could hear.
“And do you honestly think it matters? You've seen our file, Kas. You know Cy and I are engaged, and that even if we were to get it anulled, bringing Ana into my family in any shape or form is more dangerous for her than... whatever it is we're doing." He took a deep breath and shook his head.
“Whether or not I'm just gonna pass on something like that, isn't my call to make." He'd given up the right to make those kinds of choices when he decided his engagement to Cy would be the last good deed he could do. Anything now would be what the Koga wanted from him, or what NTR wanted for him. It was the only way...
Kas looked like he was opening his mouth to argue, faced flushed even under his dark complexion, when the sound of a lighter flicking somehow cut through the moment of silence.
"He's right, Rheinallt," Aidan said, holding the resultant flame to the end of the cigarette between his lips. It caught, and he flicked the lighter closed. "It's not his call. Of course, he's also wrong." He inhaled slowly, then expelled a cloud of smoke off to the side.
"Because all of that? That's Ana's call. And in deciding beforehand that it's not gonna work, you're making it for her, Nero." He shook his head. "You'll never know what she'd make of any of this without telling her, would you?"
Kas looked confused. "Are you suggesting that he tell her about the mission?"
Aidan shrugged. "I'm not suggesting anything. Whatever's between them is their business. I'm just asking questions and making observations."
Eryk ran a hand down his face, trying to calm himself. He couldn't just tell Ana about the mission, but there was one thing he could tell her. He could tell her the situation between him and Cyrilla, but anything else wasn't up for discussion. Whether or not he was making the decision for Ana, it seemed like the only logical one. Because it wouldn't matter, if in the end, their mission was discovered. She would look at him like everyone else did. With shame and disgust and repulsion.
He didn't want that from her.
He didn't want her to look at him like that, to see who he really was and just be... he sighed.
“I can tell her some things, but I can't tell her everything is basically what you're saying," he directed at Aidan. “Questions and observations aside, we both know I couldn't jeopardize the mission that way, but... you're also right. I cannot make that decision for her. I will not be that person to her."
He just didn't know where to start? How could he go about telling her about his family, about his engagement? Those were things no one knew of him, except for Cy. She'd been there to witness most of the things his family was capable of. How could he expect to tell Ana any of that, and not help but feel a sense of dread? He sighed, perhaps a bit too harshly, and knocked back another shot.
"Well it might be easier if you're a little drunk first, but... I think those things can come up pretty naturally in conversation. Even the sober kind." Aidan took another drag, then sipped from his glass of whiskey.
Kas, apparently calmed a little, nodded slightly, shooting Eryk an apologetic look. "You guys talk about stuff—I know you do. It's not casual over-work conversation, but evening sometime? I dunno, man, just some time when it's you and her and no distractions. Ask her about her life. She'll respond in kind—she's not self-centered enough not to."
Eryk felt his lip twitch upward a bit. “Sure," he replied. He knew Ana wasn't like that, but he also felt that she didn't quite like talking about her family in the same way he didn't. Perhaps... they were the same in that.
“We talk about stuff, just the same as you and the others talk about stuff," he stated, feeling the corners of his lips pull upward. Was he smiling? Arceus he was drunk, wasn't he?
Kas rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion. "Oh for—I meant important stuff, you idiot," he grumbled, shaking his head. There was a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth, though, and Aidan chuckled outright.
"Seriously though," Kas continued. "If anyone comes up with any good revenge schemes for use on either family, I am so in. I can crack their shit. Or whatever else." He nodded as if this was quite profound, and took another drink.
“I'm going to hold you to that," Eryk stated a little more seriously than he intended to. “Because... it might just be that I have to call in that favor and say you're my finacé, instead."
"I promise to make it convincing," Kas replied, clinking his glass with Eryk's.