[picture: it's a little rushed and blurry, but kevin seems to have gotten a picture of ren and tatiana seeming to walk out to an alleyway]
SHIT. renny what the fuck, linux gets distracted for five seconds and you go following the psycho?! what the fuck is...
...
[there's a video below. would you care to watch?]
"--really bold for, like, actually following me? I could probably crush your sorry ass right now~"
Despite the weird venom dripping off of Tatiana's tone, Ren seems unperturbed--from what the camera can get, they smile at Tatiana a bit, softly.
"...But you won't. You're in enough hot water with La Primera, ain'tcha?"
Given the rather swift change of tune that Tatiana experiences and the glare she shoots their way, it seems they have a point. Though, to their credit, Ren rubs the back of their head. "Sorry. I don't like usin' that kinda stuff. Manipulation and shit ain't me. But...ya gotta use whatcha got. Ain't that what you always told me?"
"Wow. Surprised you cared enough to remember." Tatiana seems to walk, coming a little more into view as the camera shifts away--Ren can't be seen, but Tatiana leans against a wall, and one can see her outfit. A cute lesbian pride themed dress with some rather impressively long nails make her ensemble stand out in such a dark place. But despite the derisive tone, Tatiana gives Ren a bit of a blunt look and just. Stares blankly. "Alright, fucking out with it. You said you wanted to talk? So talk. I do still have a fucking job to do, you know."
One can hear Ren sigh slightly, but it seems the less overwhelming environment and Tatiana shutting up are doing them some wonders for their nerves. "...Tati. I'm so fuckin' sorry I left ya behind. I guess that's probably the best place to start."
"Whoop-de-shit, you're sorry--"
"Lemme finish." Ren's words are surprisingly firm, and Tatiana quiets shortly after. "I wasn't intentionally tryin' to like...leave ya behind, and if things hadn't gone the way they did, I would've wanted to at least let ya know. And I regret that I never got the chance to--I wouldn't have wanted to hurt ya that way, but I..."
Tatiana's stance seems to change a bit. One can catch the change in expression to. The resting bitch face seems to melt away, slowly, though a confused expression takes hold. Ease, but confusion. Frustration, but anxiety. It's...
"Do you even know how much you fucking hurt me, you asshole?"
Tatiana's words are sharp, though they seem to be...less than they could. Marked by something else in her tone that she's trying very hard to keep down--a light, breaking sound that goes a long way of showing how badly it hurt Tatiana.
"I--I fucking loved you. Yeah, yeah, we already had the talk a while back about you not reciprocating, but I...you really think that a fucking apology is enough for losing one of the only friends I fucking had?"
Her tone is pained. Deeply selfish, but there's a pain in Tatiana's tone that makes the tall, pink haired woman pause as she struggles to keep a grip on herself.
Ren speaks up, their tone a little shaky, but still determined. "It's not enough. It's...it's never going to be enough, I know. But an apology's not the only thing I wanna give."
And that. That gives Tatiana a pause, before she speaks up again. "...What the fuck is your angle? I don't get it. You've got me by the neck here essentially, I don't--"
"I want you to listen to me. Just once." Ren's words seem to shake a bit as they say it, determined but shaky. "...I want to explain everything I can to you. Even if we never become friends again, you deserve an explanation. Or at least as much of one as I can give. Can you let me try to speak to you and explain what happened?"
Tatiana doesn't know what do with that. She wants to walk away from the conversation entirely, just fuck off and never bother again, but... "...You're going to be annoying as fuck until I say yes, aren't you?"
"...No. If you want me to walk away right now, I will." Ren pauses a bit at that, their tone going sheepish. "L-Like I said, I...really do feel bad about strongarmin' ya a bit. But I at least...wanna set the record straight and give ya an actual apology. If not closure, if ya really don't want anythin' to do with this. But if ya want me to go, I will. Just say so, yeah?"
And that gets the biggest pause out of Tatiana--shaking, unsure of what to do with any of this, the fact that it feels so genuine yet so, so out of reach and scary and dishonest--
"...Don't." Tatiana's words come out shaky, at least somewhat. "...Fuck you for this, first off. But I...fuck. I don't even know why you fucking care about this so much, but...fuck it. I'll hear you out. What the fuck happened?"
For perhaps the first time in this entire conversation, Tatiana's voice seems tinged with some semblance of understanding--and concern, even.
Ren explains it dutifully--the confrontation with their teacher after getting Grusha's badge, and the absolute teardown that came after. Running away and back home, to parents who seemed more concerned about the waste of their money than their child's emotional suffering--before Ren's own mental break and their subsequent abandonment. Four years of shutting themself in and rejecting the world, attempting to forget everything to lessen the pain--an explanation that sees Tatiana's eyes widen, though she's already gone shaky with a familiar emotion. Anger. The ever guiding bastion. One she's directed mentally at Ren for so long, and one she still wants to direct at them because they literally forgot her, but...
"...That should cover everything. I don't know how much more I can offer but that, but..."
Tatiana doesn't speak for a while. One can hear Ren shuffling forward a bit, before Tatiana shoves them back, enough to get a noise out of them as they fall and the cameraman seems ready to intervene--
But Tatiana herself reaches a hand out and helps them up, and the look on her face is...uncertain.
"S-Sorry." Ren's voice shakily lets out, before Tatiana huffs.
"Why the fuck are you apologizing? I pushed you over. Dumbass." Despite the words, there's something almost...warm in Tatiana's tone. Faint, but it's there. "...Thanks. For...telling me all of that, I guess."
"Don't mention it. Like I said, it's not...a good explanation, and for what it's worth--I am sorry for it all." Ren comes back into focus as Tatiana helps clean them up a bit, getting the dirt off of their skirt. "...I should've told ya somethin', and it was real selfish of me not to, even with everythin' considered."
"...I'm not done being mad at you, you know."
"I wouldn't expect ya to. I didn't ask ya to give me yer time expectin' everythin' to be hunky-dory, ya know."
"Then...why bother? You've got nothing to gain from this, nothing, you--"
"I didn't need to gain anythin' from this at all." Ren's tone goes soft, and they're a little uncertain, but... "You at least deserved to know. That's all it really is."
There's a long pause as Tatiana considers that, her expression darkening briefly before she turns away, collecting herself before looking right at Ren.
"...You've got a lot of gall calling a Champion level trainer out just so you can try to explain shit." Tatiana seems to smirk a bit at that, though--not entirely displeased? "If you're not gaining anything from this, then I want to. You owe me a battle, you little shit."
Ren seems surprised, honestly--but if anything, their nerves seem to go away entirely at that. "Said like I'd pass up an opportunity to take you on? Tati, ya must be dreamin'. You're on."
That, if anything, gets Tatiana to laugh--lacking any sharpness or barbs, even. "Well, I can't, like, kick your ass right now? I do have to get back to making sure this goes off without a hitch, because Arceus knows Iono's probably doing something stupid for Tinkatok clout again..."
"Just seems to be a day endin' in y for her, eh?" Ren chuckles a bit at that, and it's strange just how...almost comfortable this seems. Despite Tatiana shuddering, she manages to laugh too.
"You like, don't know the fucking half of it. But yeah. Let's find some time in our busy schedules to schedule an asskicking. You better be there."
And despite the seeming threat, competitive as it is, Ren manages to smile.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Tati! I've always thought battlin' was the best way to get to know someone, heh--maybe we can work somethin' out together. Look forward to it!"
"Fuck--" Tatiana seems to laugh a bit, and she seems furious about it. "Don't act so fucking cocky--"
[the recording seems to end here.]
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