Chapter 39

The next day dawned hot, so much so that Breccia almost complained. Upon waking, she went on the balcony, careful not to rouse the others. Riker went out with the other Executives the night prior, so when the morning came around: she was sleeping on the bed, Morice the couch and Riker on the floor next to the coffee table. Nibs hadn't moved from his little spot on the TV and Breccia let Flora sleep on the pillow next to her.

By ten, all three were awake and Riker, unsurprisingly, didn't stay in for very long. "I'll call you when I'm ready. Try and blend in with the crowd." His next sentence was a lethal warning. "Stay out of trouble."

A part of Breccia wanted to take the day to actually relax, push all her worries off and give her brain a little break.

This would prove to be harder than expected, as Morice was cranky for most of the morning. He was still complaining when they made their way out of the hotel.

"Just as a heads up." He said, waiting until she came out of a coffee shop a few blocks from where they started. "I hate people and my back hurts. Don't expect me to be nice." His determination to stay bitter wilted rather quickly when Breccia handed her coffee to him.

"Here I went, trying to perk you up and you're gonna be mean."

Morice sighed, his disposition melting. "You didn't have to do that."

Breccia pulled out her pocket book, unzipping and counting the coins inside. "That was my last dollar, so enjoy it." She added. "Also, we're supposed to be normal, so look happy."

"No promises."

"And don't steal anything."

"It's one or the other princess, you aren't getting both."

Travessia stemmed off into several streets, but the main attraction was a mile long boardwalk that traveled through the center of the city. There was an abundance of shops on either side with stalls and canopies set up on the cross walks.

"Now I have a headache." Morice complained, leaving a small shop with Breccia on his tail. "Tell me again why we went in there?"

Breccia moved aside to let another tourist pass. "Because I like candles. And it smells nice."

"It was a friggin hippy shop." Upon noticing other people walking around with their Pokemon, Morice let Pecks out to stretch her wings. "What was the point of going in there if we didn't get anything?"

"It's called window shopping." Breccia stroked the top of Peck's head when the Fearow nudged her. "Mom and I use to do that all the time. We'd go to the mall in Saffron, share a coffee and window shop for hours." Breccia only had few decent memories of her mother, being that her mom wasn't in her life for very long. However, she cherished the ones she had. "You're also supposed to enjoy your company and have pleasant conversations. You know, socialize."

Morice finished off the coffee and chucked it into a nearby trash can. "Alright, fine. I'll 'socialize'." Breccia was trying hard to find some enjoyment and it'd be dickish of him to weigh down said enjoyment with his constant complaints. "C'mon, I'll pick the next place."

They went in and out of several shops for an hour or so, from pottery barns to clothing stores. Pecks would occasionally follow them, but took advantage of her freedom by flying around in the skies above.

Feeling her gut grumble, Breccia was waiting out front of a stall, having been separated from Morice due to a large influx of people. She'd check her Transceiver on occasion, receiving the same message of 'no missed calls' before putting it back into her pocket. She thought of letting Nibs out of his ball, however he wasn't the warmest towards people and she didn't want him biting random strangers. "Where'd Morice get off to?" She asked when Pecks fluttered down next to her. "He better not be getting into something, Riker's gonna kick our asses if we cause any problems."

Granted, the last time they were out together, trouble found them...

Breccia couldn't help but wonder if those same people, the ones who attacked them all those months ago, were walking around the boardwalk. If Riker suspected they'd show at the Gala, they were bound to have their own men scoping about. On top of that, that one man, the one in the baseball cap, said they had a group in Travessia...perhaps she should've brought Koffing along as extra protection.

"Where were you?" Breccia scolded, spotting Morice out of the crowd as he hurried to catch up. "I was worried someone carried you off." She noticed her friend chomping on an apple. "Where'd you get that?"

Morice shrugged. "Found it." When she glared at him, he continued. "There's a stall a few feet back. Don't worry, I paid for it." He tossed her an apple as well and waited until she took a bite. "I took a dollar from her tip jar when she wasn't looking."

Breccia thought of chiding him, but a combination of her growling stomach and her friend's shit eating grin prevented her from doing so. Finishing her snack, she was just about to chuck it when a person from the crowd brushed up against her. She gave off an involuntary shriek, jumping like someone stepped on her foot.

"Hey buddy." Morice called to the guy who accidentally scraped into her. "Watch where you're going." He glanced to Breccia. "You alright?"

"Yeah...sorry." Breathing in, she sighed. "I got myself all worked up for nothing, I thought it was one of those creeps."

They continued to stroll along, choosing a side street instead of the main road. "I'm glad I wasn't the only one, I thought I was worried for nothing." Morice pursed his lips. "I don't like all this crap with Dixon, but if I can get a hold of those assholes who hurt Tess, I'll deal with it."

Breccia reached over, taking him by the hand as they walked. "You're a sweatheart." She said, feeling weak in the knees when he tightened his grip.

"Have you heard from Riker?" They'd went through a few more shops on the backstreets, many of them deserted. After, they stopped shy of a beach looking out over the ocean. Instead of venturing deeper, they stayed on the paved sidewalk, leaning against the rail separating the grass from the sands. The sun was bobbing on the horizon, reflecting orange and pink hues across the waters. The clouds above were glowing and the once humid temperature were simmering down.

"Not yet." Breccia pulled the ponytail holder from her hair, shaking her head and letting her brown locks fly. "I wonder what they're up to, the Executives."

"I try not to think about it." Morice said, watching a group of teenagers run about and make noise on the beach. "I'm surprised I was even involved in all this. I'm not worth much of anything, I just stand around and look angry." He heard Breccia sigh. "What?"

Breccia commented, scooting closer so that their shoulders were nearly touching. "I wish you weren't so hard on yourself." She added: "If I said the same things about me, you wouldn't like it."

"Well..." Her friend knew there was no fighting her. "You're actually smart. All I have to look forward to is getting drunk." He felt Breccia lean into him. "I brought it on myself. Nothing good ever happens when the police get involved in things."

"I'm sure everyone feels that way." Breccia said.

Morice shrugged, answering her with a silence. After a couple minutes of watching Windguls pick at the garbage from the nearby overflowing trashcans, he scraped a hand through his hair. "It's just, this shit with Dixon..." There was a tense air about him, as if he was talking in spite of his discomfort. "I got into some trouble when I was a kid and he testified against me. I ended up in a gang and we did some stupid crap, I turned on my buddies to save my ass and Dixon made it sound like he was gonna support me. Instead he screwed me over and I went away longer than a should've." He crossed his arms. " We work with some sick bastards, but many of us just made bad decisions. Dixon doesn't see it that way. There's no second chances with him."

Breccia put her hand over his as it held the rail. When Morice attempted to pull away, she increased her grip. "This might sound corny but...there's a lot more to you than you give yourself credit for." Maybe it was hypocritical to say, as she thought very little of herself, but she didn't like the idea of Morice being glum.

Hearing this, Morice appeared to be contemplate it. "You're right...that is corny."

Breccia groaned. "I swear, I could punch you." She shoved his shoulder when he turned to her. "There, that's your punishment for being a smart ass."

"Oh no, please stop." Morice said, deadpan. "You've broken my heart."

Breccia, once again, checked her Transceiver. It'd been hours. At this point, she was wondering if Riker would ever call. "I'd say you can punch me back, but I bruise easy."

"I wouldn't forgive myself if I did." Morice said. "Unlike some, I'm nice to the people I care about."

"You care about little ol' me?" Breccia's sarcasm wasn't lost on him. "You're going to make me blush." True to her word, A trail of gooseflesh broke out across her back when Morice reached up, tucking a strand of her sandpaper hair behind her ear. Though the breeze was warm, she found herself shaking.

It didn't help that the next words Morice used had a hint of danger that caused her heart to race. "You know better."

Despite her nerves, Breccia felt her lips curve up into a taunting smile. "Show me."

Perhaps it was the quaking in her stomach, but Breccia had her fingers clenched into Morice's shoulders. She was tugging lightly on his shirt as he leaned in, hoping for better success than their first attempt in Aurora.

Eyes closed, she was waiting when she heard a loud pop.

One of the teenagers on the beach tossed an empty can, bouncing it off the rail and startling her.

"Get a room!" His buddies must've thought him to be a genius because they laughed.

(Though, once Morice made it obvious he was coming over the rail, they freaked out and ran like the children they were).

"Damn brats." He snapped. "I'd be angrier if I wasn't the same way at their age."

"Hello?" Breccia, all the while, felt her pocket vibrate and retrieved her Transceiver. "Yeah...okay...give us an hour, we're past the boardwalk.." Riker's tone was terse, it would seem being around the other Executives made him cross. "He sounds pissed, we better get back." Still weak in the knees and flustered, she swallowed, trying to steady her breath. "We shouldn't keep him waiting."

Putting Pecks back in her ball when she flew back down beside him, Morice exhaled, straightening the fabric out on his shirt from where Breccia dug in. "Yeah."