He was the last one to wake up. Riker never came back that night, so he was lucky enough to get couch space.
Breccia was on the phone, whispering in hushed tones. Despite said hushed tones however, they were enough to rouse him from sleep. On the coffee table before him sat a glass of orange juice and two slices of toast from the complimentary downstairs.
"Are you going to fly in..." She took notice of him when he sat up on the sofa. "How's Arlia..." It was obvious she was talking to Riker. "...we can drive, the grunts can take the other van...we'll meet you there..." There were other words exchanged before Breccia pressed a button on her Transceiver and canceled the call. "That was Riker." She spoke the obvious. "He's with the other Executives, says he'll fly in to Aurora after he makes a stop elsewhere. He wants us to drive the van back alone.
Alone.
Morice had half a piece of toast in his mouth and swallowed hard.
Alone with her?
After last night?
He was hoping he'd be hitching a ride with the other men instead of an awkward three hour drive with Breccia.
It would seem though that he wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable about the situation because neither of them talked as they gathered their things.
This didn't stop him from helping Breccia as she packed her clothes. She was stiff from her injuries and he wasn't going to leave her to suffer. He picked up her bags and carried them, walking with her down the three flights of stairs to the secretary desk where they checked out.
Letting their Pokemon out in the backseat of the van, the party set off for the mountains, silent save for Pecks and Nibs moving about.
Saying goodbye to the tropics, they were only on the road for about an hour before Morice had to turn on the heat. Breccia didn't speak to him once, taking turns dozing off in the passenger's seat and gazing out the window.
I wouldn't talk to me either.
Morice exhaled, hating himself.
I never even bothered asking.
No wonder she looked so terrified the night before. He just grabbed her and went for it, didn't ask, didn't make sure she was okay. Then he took one look in her eyes, saw the terror and hated himself.
Regardless of his fears, Morice tried to make some kind of small talk when they approached the first off ramp, turning into a small truck stop before reaching Naturra Mountains. "Do you need anything while we're here?"
Breccia answered with one word, whispered: "No."
Yep, she's pissed.
Getting out to stretch his legs, Morice took the moment to breath, well aware that they couldn't spend the rest of the trip like this. He had to speak to her. If anything, to apologize.
After walking around for a few minutes to work the feeling into his limbs, he sat back in the driver's seat, started the engine, then turned to Breccia with the intention of talking.
To his surprise, she spoke instead. "I'm sorry about last night."
"You're sorry?"
Lacing her fingers in her lap, Breccia sighed, as if her words were a burden off her chest. "I'm not experienced..." She swallowed. "Working with Dad all the time, I never had the time to experiment or anything. He was determined to keep me innocent. I haven't..."
She didn't have to complete the sentence for Morice to get what she was saying.
Just great.
He cursed himself.
Smooth move asshole.
"It isn't your fault, it has nothing to do with you." He finally said, pulling off the ramp and back on the road.
"I figured you were mad because I didn't know what I was doing."
"No, I'm mad at myself."
Breccia raised a brow before glancing to the back seat to check on Nibs. "What for exactly?"
"It was-" He knew what he wanted to say. It was wrong of him to just assume she wanted it, to snag her and pull her in without asking...but there was more to it than that. She was the head of the lab, someone with power. He was a pathetic grunt. The thought that they could have anything more than friendship was a pipe dream. "It was unprofessional."
"Unprofessional?"
"Look, I was just stressed out from last night and wasn't thinking straight. We both were." He added: "It isn't anything worth worrying about."
"Oh." He expected Breccia to say more, maybe argue, but instead she sat there, hands still in her lap. "I suppose you're right."
From there, the rest of the trip was silent.
Just as awkward as it started.