Chapter 50
"Arlia?"
Breccia stayed to herself once she and Morice made it back to Aurora.
Standing in the Lab, she heard the door creak open and saw Arlia as she poked her head in. Everyone seemed to be at a stand still right now. The police were trying to get a lead on who was in charge of this mess, the remaining Executives were still mourning the loss of one of their own and Riker was silent, refusing to answer texts or questions.
"Another injury?" She asked, expecting the usual when she saw the Blaziken come in.
Instead the Pokemon shook her head, a glimmer of disappointment in her eyes.
Breccia didn't need any other assurance. "Riker's still acting strange." She said this more as a statement instead of a question, despite receiving a nod as a rebuttal. "Well, when he's ready to talk, he will. Until then I guess we're both going to have to wait." She knew, despite her position in the lab, she wasn't that far up on the totem poll. What happened between the Executives stayed between them, even with her worry for Riker.
If he was determined to keep up the front that all was well, at least to his men, she'd stand by him.
"Have you been feeling well?" Breccia offered the Blaziken a cup of coffee. "I haven't had the chance to check up on you since the attack. With how hectic everything has been." There was another nod. "I just..." She sighed. "I keep thinking of how things could've gone better, but we did everything we could. All this shit with Dixon, then Stotler-" She took notice when Arlia's shoulders lowered, her face falling to far more solemn expression. "...I shouldn't bring him up, I don't want to risk taring at any fresh wounds."
Arlia didn't accept the statement however. Instead she sat her cup down, casing her face in her claws.
"I'm sorry." Breccia placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I know this is hard on all of us, but we'll get past it."
Trying to communicate as best she could, Arlia shook her head, pointing directly to herself . It didn't take Breccia long to put the pieces together.
"You're not-" She paused: "Blaming yourself are you?"
The Pokemon nodded.
"Did Riker say it was?" She was given a hard 'no'. "Good, because it's not. You had no control over what happened. None of us did. The only one who might have was Dixon and I'm sure he'll get what's coming to him."
They continued to visit for a few minutes longer, with Breccia's pep talk helping somewhat.
Maddie, Neil and Tess were called off, giving them a much needed day after the disaster at the Gala and the attack in Isador. Breccia was alone, and once Arlia left, she basked in the quiet while stewing over blueprints.
Fiddling with her Transceiver, she shook her head. It wasn't just Riker who was acting strange since they arrived. Morice was too.
Their conversation in the van, about professionalism, left her confused. It worried her that she had truly done something wrong.
But that kiss...
Biting down on her bottom lip, Breccia tried to ignore the shivers along her spine.
She sent him a couple texts, offering to go out and get a drink at the pub. They were ignored. The call she made to him was ignored as well.
He was clearly frustrated by all that had happened, much like Riker. He may just need some time to himself, to get his bearings.
Her best bet was to stick to her work, keep an ear out for any instructions from the higher up, and wait for the others to come around.
"Come in." Back turned to the door as she fiddled in a desk drawer, Breccia didn't notice when Morice entered, beating the snow off his boots. Holding a bottle in one hand, he waited until she faced him before walking over. "Oh." It was almost as if he could read her mind, with him turning up as she spent every waking moment worrying over him. "I was just wondering-" She caught herself. "H-how have you been?"
"Fine." Morice said, locking eyes with her for a second before breaking contact and glancing away. "I'm only on break, but I thought I'd swing by and give you this." His gift, a bottle of cheap wine, was placed on the table. "It's light, I know you can't handle much."
Breccia read the label. "Thank you...you didn't have to." She pondered, confused: "What for exactly?"
Morice sighed. "Don't tell me you forgot." When she sent him a befuddled look in return, he shook his head. "Your birthday, you dingbat."
"My what- oh, crap. I was so busy with the lab I completely forgot." Count on Morice to remember a "momentous" occasion. (Despite her only telling him about it once). "My head's been in the clouds as of late." Thinking this was Morice's way of signaling a want to talk once more, Breccia pounced on the opportunity." What are you doing after your shift? You could swing by my place, we'll share the bottle." She took notice that her friend refused to make eye contact, almost as if he were ashamed to look at her.
"I..." He paused, almost as if he were thinking of an excuse. "I have a morning shift tomorrow, I have to get to bed early tonight."
Breccia bit back her words, screaming them inside instead.
If you're too ashamed to look at me, why did you come here?
She immediately scolded herself for her selfishness.
What if there's a problem? You're going to demonize him for being upset?
"Is something wrong?" She asked, putting her feelings aside.
Morice shrugged. "Just tired. A lot has happened, I think I'm still coming down." He turned away from her then. "I better go, I'll see you later."
"I'll see y-" He was out the door before she could finish.
The shift ended soon enough. Granted, Morice hardly remembered any of it. He was still kicking himself for the show he put on earlier.
He knew better than to go to the lab. He knew it would just drudge up unwanted feelings but he also realized just how heartless he was, ignoring every one of Breccia's attempts. He got the texts and pretended not to notice. He couldn't bring himself to answer. Too much was going on inside his mind to really muster a response to her questions.
Still, he was an idiot, going over there under the guise of it being her birthday. He grabbed the first cheap bottle of wine he could find at the store, nothing special.
He figured, after ignoring her, just turning up would be suspicious. So, with the occasion, he saw it a chance to see her again. Then he got one good look at her and realized his mistake.
The concern in her eyes, when she asked if he was alright...his heart jumped into his throat.
This is idiocy.
Heading to his own apartment, he stopped in the ankle deep snow, messing with his coat buttons.
He'd already over stepped his boundaries back in Travessia. And besides, beautiful creatures like that don't fall for pieces of shit like him. Breccia was a jewel and his grubby hands belonged no where near her.
With night on the cusp, and the sky clinging to its last shred of daylight hues, Morice made it to his apartment building and was on his way up the stairs when his transceiver rung in his pocket.
"What now?" Thinking it was a call in, he took a look at the number, noticing Breccia's name instead.
What if something's wrong? You can't keep ignoring her.
"Yeah?" He was greeted by an incoherent smattering of words. Putting one finger in the unoccupied ear, he questioned: "What...Breccia is that you?"
"W-where are you?"
His pulse thickened. "Almost home, why, is something wrong?"
There was a giggle on the other end of the line. "No...I...just wan' to talk." She said something else that was, once again, incoherent.
Listening to the babble for a few seconds longer, Morice finally asked: "Breccia, are you drunk?"
There was a laugh, a cute chuckle that did little for Morice as it made his heart race further. "W-why you care? I have the right to unwind."
"Where are you at?" An all new terror took over when Morice realized, if Breccia was stumbling around outside, one of the lowlife grunts might mistake her for a good time.
"My place, where else?"
Morice breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Do me a favor, but Nibs on the phone." He turned and went back down the stairs, going straight to Breccia's apartment.
"Wha?"
"I said put Nibs on the line..." He waited, hearing Breccia mumble 'he wants to talk to you' before the transceiver shifted. "Hey, I'm heading over now. You and Koffing keep an eye on her, don't let her leave...also keep her out of the bathroom. With her luck, she'll fall in the toilet and drown."
Luckily for him, the door was unlocked. When he entered, Breccia was sitting, cross legged, in the kitchen, eating dry cereal from the box with Flora next to her. (The Sunkern appeared confused as to what was going on .)
"At least you're safe." Morice said, shutting and locking the latch behind him. Finding the empty wine bottle under the dining table, he read the label. "Three percent...seriously Breccia how did you manage?"
Attempting to stand, Breccia stumbled. Lucky for her, her friend caught her before she face planted on the tile. She giggled. "I knew you'd show up." Feigning trickery, she continued: "You fell right into my trap."
"Sure." Morice said, still struggling to hold her up. "You friggin lightweight. I didn't expect you to drink the whole bottle."
"I didn't." Breccia muttered. "Koffing had some too." She wrapped her arms around him, lacing her fingers behind his neck. "But now you can't run. I got you allll to myself."
"Should I be scared or flattered?" Trying to pry himself free, he found there was no use. "Dammit Brec, let go. Lemme get some water and food in you before you start yakking all over the place."
Breccia rolled her eyes. "You're such a jerk sometimes." She let him go but scurried away, mocking him. "I'm gonna ignore all your texts then show up acting all weird. Don't get drunk even though I gave you the booze. Why are you drunk, you're annoying."
"Okay, first of all, I don't sound like that. And secondly, you aren't annoying. I'm just worried."
Breccia used her fingers to create air quotes. "Worried." She giggled once more. "We both know why you're really here...you know the lady's drunk and you want a little action."
"What?! Are you high too?" Morice closed his eyes, taking a much needed breath. "I'm just here to watch your drunk ass until you sober up, now will you please sit down?"
"What are you gonna do, spank me?"
"Breccia I swear to all that is holy I will tie you to a chair."
"Even better."
Giving up, Morice was about to make due on his threat and reach for one of the dining chairs when Breccia pounced at him, snagging his shoulders and forcing his mouth to hers.
In spite of her drunkenness, this was Morice's biggest fear when seeing her. The passion in their first kiss crossed a threshold they couldn't retrace and he worried about overstepping his boundaries once more.
Pulling Breccia away, Morice held her out a decent length, trying to talk his heart rate down. All it took was tasting the liquor on her tongue to know he'd be in deep trouble if he let Breccia have her way.
"What?" Breccia asked drunkenly. "You still don't wanna be around me?"
"That's not it."
"Sure." Sniffling, Breccia's eyes began to water.
Convinced it was the alcohol, Morice still felt awful when he noticed the tears. "Shit... Please don't cry."
"Not like you care anyway."
"It's not that. I'm just more concerned with you right now. Let me get you a glass of water and we'll have a seat-" He was unable to finish his sentence before Breccia threw up all over the carpet at her feet. "Son of a-" When her legs buckled, he caught her, careful not to touch the vomit dripping down the front of her shirt. "Should've figured this would happen."
Pulling a dirty button down from the hallway floor, Morice guided her to the bathroom, handing her the change of clothes and turning his back so she could get dressed. "I only have myself to blame for all this...shouldn't have gotten you that booze."
Ten minutes and another bout of vomiting later, Morice managed to get Breccia from the bathroom to the living room with a cup of water in hand.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, throwing a pile of soiled rags in the sink after cleaning the puke off the floor.
"My head hurts." Breccia mumbled through tired eyes.
"You're probably going to hurt worse in the morning."
When the morning came, Breccia had little recollection of the night prior. Stumbling from the bathroom in a haze, her top priority was a cup of coffee.
"Morning princess." Morice was at the table, his own cup of coffee in hand. "It's almost noon."
Confused, Breccia had a hard time concentrating through her self- induced migraine. "What are you doing here?"
"You called me up last night, while in your stupor."
"Oh..."
"Yeah, you're an annoying drunk by the way. It was like taking care of a rampaging toddler."
Breccia rubbed her eyes, stumbling to the kitchen. "Sorry...I didn't think that wine would hit me so hard." All she wanted at the moment was a little dry toast, anything to stop the grumbling in her stomach.
"Well, it's my own fault. I knew what a lightweight you were when I bought it. I'll be sure to get you water next time." Yawning, Morice tried his best to wake up (considering he slept on the living room floor). "Try a bowl of cereal if you're looking for something to settle your stomach. I've had my fare share of hangovers." He added: "I already made a pot of coffee."
"Thanks." From then on, the two of them sat in silence. Breccia did as instructed and managed to wolf down a bowl of cereal while Morice leafed through the morning newspaper. After checking on her Pokemon, Breccia went back to her bedroom to get dressed for the day. Upon leaving and going out in the hall, she noticed her t shirt from the night before tossed precariously out into the hall.
"Um...Morice."
"Yeah?"
Picking the discarded garment up, Breccia realized that she was, in fact, wearing a different shirt. "We didn't...do anything last night did we?"
"No, we didn't." Morice put the newspaper down. "Not by your lack of trying though, I'll give you that. You yakked down the front of your shirt."
"Oh..." Breccia said this as if she had no reason to distrust her friend. Though, one thing he mentioned caught her attention. "My lack of trying...please tell me didn't throw myself at you."
"Uh...I could tell you that, but it'd be a lie."
Breccia framed her face with her hands. "Oh my Ar- I am so sorry."
"It's fine."
"No it's not. Drunk or not, I shouldn't have put you in that situation." She tossed the shirt aside. "I'm usually not like that."
"That's what alcohol does, lowers your inhibitions, makes you do things you usually wouldn't." He caught himself: "Not that I bought it for you for that purpose. I got the lightest shit I could find."
"Yeah, well, you can always count on me to manage somehow." Tidying up in the kitchen, Breccia tossed the old liquor bottle away before tending to the few dishes in the sink. Afterwards she picked up what was in the living room before checking in on Flora (who was asleep on her little pillow next to the t.v stand). "If you don't mind me asking:" She started. "What else did I do last night..."
Morice, who at this point was gathering his coat to leave, paused. "Well, aside from throw up on the carpet, not much."
His lie must not've been convincing because Breccia raised an eyebrow, putting her hands on her hips. "You sure about that?"
"For the most part."
"Morice-"
"Look it's nothing serious. You said some drunk shit and passed out."
"Like what? Maybe why you've been avoiding me?"
"I thought you didn't remember last night?" Morice caught himself. "It's nothing, okay? And I'm not avoiding anything. I've just been busy."
"Too busy to answer a text?"
"I-" Backed into a corner, he did what he did best and shirked towards the exit. "I have to go, I'll talk to you later."
"No." Breccia shut the door on him before he could leave. "You'll talk to me now. It's your day off anyway, so don't tell me you have something to do."
"Breccia please."
"Please what? How hard is it for you to talk to me?" She frowned. "We're supposed to support one one another. We're friends."
"We were." Morice said, followed by an elongated moment of quiet.
Taken back by the comment, Breccia stepped back to give him a little space. "Were?"
Tossing his coat at a nearby chair, and missing, Morice exhaled. "Yeah, were. Don't stand there and act like nothing happened... we can't carry on and pretend to be friends."
Breccia's brow furrowed; she didn't need an explanation. "So that's why you've been avoiding me?" She murmured: "Look, I didn't know what I was doing-"
"Will you stop acting like you did something wrong."
"That's how you're acting."
"No I'm not." Caving finally, Morice gave in. "I did something wrong, okay? I knew better, I went too far and I'm...I'm sorry."
Breccia looked at him with a combination of pity and sympathy. She put a caring hand on his shoulder. "You didn't do anything wrong. Neither of us did. It was just a 'heat of the moment' thing. We can move past it. We'll go back to the way things were."
Morice batted her hand away. "You know we can't...I can't. I won't be able to look at us the same."
Breccia nibbled the inside of her cheek. "What if I said I'm okay with more?"
"More?"
"Of us."
For a split second, Morice appeared to contemplate it, almost as if he were willing to agree. But, when Breccia reached for him, scraping her fingers along his wrist, he pulled back and put some distance between them. "This is ridiculous."
"How? You said we can't be the same."
"And you really think it would work? That we'd last?"
Breccia shook her head. "You're sending me mixed signals. What do you want?"
"I can't answer that."
Standing in the doorway that joined the dining room to the kitchen, Morice battled within himself before finally giving in. "Damn it... it's just, I'm nothing. I'm an errand boy. And you're-"
"No different."
"Beautiful..." He glanced away. "Your kind shouldn't bother... Some useless asshole like me doesn't deserve you."
Breccia frowned, contemplating the best way to answer. "Morice, I'm not that special."
"You are to me." He said. "Besides, with your position, I'm sure we'd get in trouble."
"No one has to know." Breccia answered back. "We're adults. If anyone finds out, that's what I'll tell them."
"If they threatened you with your job, all because of me, you'd be okay with that?"
Breccia shrugged. "Is it really a job worth having if I'm not allowed to be happy?" She walked up to him. "Now..." Grabbing him by the wrist and guiding his hands so they were holding her close, she added: "Lets stop making excuses." Much like the night before, she went in for the kiss, (this time with less alcohol involved). Still not the most experienced, she waited until her partner finally caved, pulling her in and taking the kiss deeper.
"So, tell me." Breccia started, pulling away. "All that time ago, up on the hill, why didn't you kiss me then?"
Morice shrugged. "Its just...you were compromised emotionally. I didn't want to take advantage of that."
Breccia gave a small smile. "Well, I'm not compromised now."
"No, but I am." He nibbled on the corner of her mouth. "You and your ulterior motives."
Breccia giggled. "You know me, always plotting." She laced her fingers with his. "Come on, lets go get a drink. Might as well enjoy the day off while we have it."