#archerapollo

[lacedinshadow]

It's Just Business [Backstory] || Karen & Archer

Karen applied her lipstick, smoothing the dark red over her mouth in that familiar circular motion, then gently pressing her lips together to even out the color, and reapplying where necessary, wiping off excess with her fingertips.

She slowly put the tube down by the sink, briefly clenching her jaw and flaring her nostrils as she let out a slow breath caused by her nerves. When she was nervous, she did everything slowly, she made sure every action had a purpose. She glanced at the door behind her, unsure if she should leave the bathroom, and risk catching her partner in a state of undress.

But men didn't usually take that long to dress, right? And certainly someone as austere as he would take even less...

She chided herself for her nerves, telling herself that he was just a man like any other; even though he was her superior, he still had weaknesses. But at the back of her mind, she wasn't so sure. There was that look in his eye--or, rather, the lack thereof. It just put her off. 

She inspected her lipstick once more, wiping off excess just to go through the motions, then checked her manicure--rich, dark brown--to ensure there were no chips and was thankful to find none. 

She glanced at the door again, moving to bite her lip but stopping herself before she got lipstick on her teeth. 

Would she be able to hear fabric moving from through the door? He could be sitting on the bed, anyway. She sighed, pressing fingertips to her temples. Was she getting seasick? She hadn't been on a boat in a long time, and she'd never been on one this large before.

She checked her gown, a dress made entirely of lace, such that people would constantly stare at her to see if they could, ahem, sneak a peek at anything, and she ensured that the applied tape would keep it from slipping. Being a Rocket had its perks sometimes, and free gowns and luxury cruise tickets were part of them. All she had to do was act as arm candy and attend some dinners and presentations and the rest of the time she could enjoy herself.

If her partner was the type to let her go off on her own, anyway.

The thing she didn't like about Archer was that she just couldn't figure him out. There was nothing to grab onto, nothing to unravel. There was nothing but his desire to serve out Giovanni's orders to his best ability, but even that didn't serve as a foothold. There was nothing but cold duty with this one, and she couldn't stand it.

She looked in the mirror again, began smoothing down her blow-dried hair but froze and brought her hand down. She couldn't put this off anymore, she would get through this venture capital cruise and by Arceus, she would enjoy it.

She inhaled sharply and let out the breath, hesitated when she reached for the doorknob, then opened the door to the bedroom and stepped out.

"You ready to go?"

[d-esper-ado]

Cruel Intentions || Will & Archer

"In a dark time, the eye begins to see,

I meet my shadow in the deepening shade;

I hear my echo in the echoing wood—

A lord of nature weeping to a tree,

I live between the heron and the wren,

Beasts of the hill and serpents of the den."

- “In a Dark Time" - Theodore Roethke

♦♦♦

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The clock seemed to be mocking his impatience and anxiety with every small movement of the second hand. Will’s eyes were glued to it, hypnotized by the way each hand moved, sometimes reaching a a hitch and pausing momentarily before continuing. He’d reached a near trance-like state when a sudden cough was heard behind him, causing him to snap back to reality. They really need a new clock, he thought to himself.

He turned in his seat and glared at the source of the cough - a relatively young woman with long, silvery hair. She glared back, eventually causing Will to back down from their abrupt staring competition. Something about her - something about being alone in this room with her was making him incredibly uncomfortable. It could have simply been the room itself - the two were seated in an old warehouse, a few small offices situated on one side. Everything within the place was desolate and depressing - certainly not conducive to any sort of joking or happiness.

The whole of the environment brought up a big question: Why was he here?

No longer mesmerized by the mechanical time-keeper before him, the psychic allowed his mind to wander backwards. How had he gotten here?

Perhaps it’d begun the moment he’d run away from the orphanage after completely obliterating the old building’s dining room. To say that the event had been a mere tantrum was a bit of an understatement - it was more than that. He had been angry. Absolutely fed up with his life back at that place and sick of the way he’d been constantly treated – like a freak. It wasn’t his fault he was like this…why couldn’t anyone just accept that? Accept him?

After the whole ordeal back at the Goldenrod Home for Boys, the violette had begun working as a street magician, which he discovered paid little to nothing. His life began to revolve around stealing food from people, running from the people you’d stolen food from, and sleeping high upon a fire escape where he couldn’t be found. It wasn’t a good life by any means, but…it was a life at the very least. And things got a little better eventually. He’d taken a risk one dark, stormy night, and had happened upon Kris. Of course, she was gone now….he’d ruined that relationship with two single words: Team Rocket.

To be honest, Will didn’t regret his words.

“They’re recruiting new members, Kris! We won’t have to sleep on that old, disgusting mattress anymore! We’ll have food – meals – breakfast, lunch, and dinner! C’mon, we have to! I’m tired of living this way…I want more. Don’t you want more, too?”

The girl had not wanted more. Not if "more" was code for joining Team Rocket. In the blink of a masked eye, the two friends had gone from inseparable comrades to mortal enemies, and it was far too late to change any of that at this point. She was long gone, and wanted nothing more to do with the psychic. Though Will considered begging and pleading to have his friend back, he felt that he should stick with his decision – he was doing this for him. For once in his life, he was going to be selfish and take the rapidash by the reigns, even if it meant working with what was once known as the most nefarious group of people the regions of Kanto and Johto had ever known.

He wasn’t an idiot. He knew what Team Rocket had done in the past. The thing was, he didn’t care. After spending months on the streets, stealing and lying and cheating, he could walk the walk and talk the talk. Hell, based on his actions during that period of time, one would think he’d been born for something like Team Rocket. And now….now….he was going to join them.

The fantasies ended abruptly when a calm voice called out his name from one of the offices. Will stood up with all the integrity he could muster – an ironic way of acting for someone interested in joining a criminal organization. He looked back at the silver-haired woman, gritting his teeth at her sly grin, and then moved his eyes up towards the clock. It gave one last movement of the second hand and ceased all progression. The boy gulped.

Once inside the office, Will scanned the room curiously, noting its bland interior – a simple metal desk, uncomfortable chairs, a plant growing near the wall. This obviously wasn’t the true office of a Team Rocket executive – it was a makeshift hideaway and a prime location for any furtive communication to take place. Like all other potential members of the group, Will had been called upon for some reason unknown to him at this point. Maybe it was to prove he could do this. Maybe the organization liked knowing its members personally. Maybe they already knew something about him. Whatever the case, the psychic now sat opposite a man with striking blue eyes which seemed to be staring right into his very soul. He felt a chill go down his spine.

[thekristalstar]

❄ When Hell Froze Over [AU]

The cold was all that Kris knew nowadays.

Even the sleeping bags and the fire wasn't enough to make her warm. The sun had been blocked out by a thick fog since the day before the attack: whether it had been specifically created as a cover for the enemy, or because of something else, had never been concluded. All that the rebels knew for sure was that the sky was gray and the ground was ice.

With a plaintive whimper-- the only show of displeasure that she could muster lately-- she hoisted her knapsack onto her back and tried to ignore the breath that was visible in the frigid air. In the earlier days she had been much more vocal about her displeasure-- she hated the cold, why couldn't it be warm, why did he get a warmer coat, and so on and so forth-- but the complaining died down by the time they had reached the sixth week of solid ice.

Now it was week fourteen.

Stepping from the minimal comfort of her shelter into the no-comfort of the outside world, Kris caught sight of movement in the icy dystopia. She recognized him as a member of the gendarmerie. Shuffling her short legs as quickly as she could, she approached him. "Where can I find 'da mornin' patrol," Kris asked in such a no-nonsense tone that it hardly even sounded like a question. She shoved her gloved hands into her pockets, trying to regain the feeling in her fingers.

The supervisor looked down at her and tugged the scarf from over his mouth so he could properly speak. "The patrol is supposed to meet at o-six hundred hours at the eastmost bunker," he informed, stifling a yawn. "Roughly, that way." And with a jerk of his thumb, he continued on with his business.

With a snort-- the visible breath dissipating a moment after it formed-- the girl started out towards the meeting spot.

✖✖✖

She gave herself too much time and she arrived well before o-six hundred hours.

With nothing worth standing for, the girl dropped to the ground and leaned her head against the wall of the bunker. It had once been the Burned Tower, before the beast had struck-- now it was no longer a tower, but a single room that was mostly protected from the elements.

It was still dark. Not that there was ever any light, rather... there was dark, and then there was darker. And this time of day definitely fell into the darker category.

What she would give for a lick of sunlight on her face. Her freckles had mostly faded, her skin growing paler in the tundra. She glanced to the left, then to the right, and then-- finally deciding that no one was within earshot-- she let out a pitiful, heartbroken groan. Never before had she felt so... so powerless in a situation. She hated the cold. She hated Team Plasma. She hated morning patrol at o-six hundred hours.

And she hated not being able to do anything about it.

The girl's butt slipped out from beneath her and made Kris fall further, sprawling out on the ground. She stared at the murky, bleary sky, and couldn't even bring herself to get back up. The miserable girl wallowed in her own misery, so much so that she didn't even notice as a second individual approached.

[rockets-queen-blog]

Dare: I dare you to kiss anyone from Johto, anywhere you want~

"The classic "dare to kiss someone." It just wouldn't be Truth or Dare without one, would it?" Ariana chuckled.

"Someone from Johto?" It didn't take long for that someone to come to mind. A smile crossed her face. "Ah, I know just who~"

---

It didn't take long for Ariana to find her target. Ever since their reunion they stayed in contact with each other. It was nice to have a familiar face to rely on while in a foreign land. 

"Archer," said Ariana once she located the quiet man, "good to see you, as always~" She drew close to him, and felt quite giddy in that moment, which caused her cheeks to blush. Really, it was like she was a young girl again with this Truth or Dare game. She wasn't going to back down at the last moment though. Nor did she give Archer the chance to step back. She didn't want to scare the man away with what she was about to do next, and chose her actions carefully.

Ariana had to stand up on her tip-toes to reach him, and her hands rested against his chest as she leaned in. She decided to kiss him on his left cheek, but it was tantalizingly close to his lips and lingered for a half-second longer than one would expect for a kiss for a little game. It was a kiss that was both innocent and not, retrained but leaving an invitation that it could be taken further if wished. A light mark from her red lipstick was left behind on his skin as she slipped away from his face. 

"I hope you do not mind." She breathed out in a whisper, the scent of her breath held the lingering scent of warm spices from chai tea.  "I was presented with a dare to kiss someone from Johto. I could think of no one else but you. You may think it foolish to play such a child's game, but I could not resist."