Angels with Newfound Hope

Act 2 Chapter 14: Respite

Alex's Apartment - Day 5, 5:15PM

Alex had just got done fixing up his shirt when his phone began buzzing like crazy. To his surprise, the caller ID showed Maverick's number instead. What could he want when Bryce was supposed to be on the line?

"What do you need, Maverick?" He greeted bluntly, throwing his shirt back on.

"Meet me at the park tomorrow at six. We need to talk." The dragon on the other end hung up before Alex could get so much as a word in. So much for asking him what. He was about to pocket the device when another caller came on: his dragon.

"Hello?" Anxiety barely shone through in his voice. Of course he wasn't ready for this. It just means he's one step closer to having to reveal the truth.

"Hey, it's Bryce. You feel like you can talk a bit tonight? I'm not busy." Bryce's heart-meltingly rich voice held a sullen tone that spoke of misfortune.

"I- Why not? Let's pick a spot right now so we know what we're doing." The brunette proposed softly. He could hear the phone being pulled away, and claws clicking away at the screen.

"Sounds good to me. I've decided on a simple walk at least, so how about we meet up at the boardwalk?" The chief agreed in the least. Now all that was left was to lock it in. Alex definitely had his fill of exercise, but considering he still had to hold up his end...

"Yeah. Just text me the address and I'll be there."

"Alright. See you soon." With that, the dragon hung up. The location popped up for a leisure spot on the shore.

'How romantic.' Alex thought as he got up to prepare. His shirt still needed to be patched, alongside a quick rinse. He did want to be presentable, after all...

Boardwalk - 6:58PM

Alex glanced around for any sight of Bryce. It may have been that he arrived first, and now was stuck waiting. He only noticed the reptile on a park bench after a few more moments of looking. At least he was greeted more warmly this time around.

"Hey. Come have a seat." Bryce joined to his right. "It's certainly not every day I come here, you know."

"So this is only reserved for people you like, huh?" The brunette pressed lightly. It certainly had this air of serenity to it.

"Not really. I used to swing by here before I started drinking. I'd decompress, enjoy a nice kebab from one of the stalls, and just enjoy the salt air." The chief mused to his pleasant memories.

"I wish I had something like that. Most everywhere in Onyx just hurts to be." Alex deflated, recalling everywhere he and Zoe went. He couldn't go too far in, though. There was still the story he had to make up.

"You and your person? Mind talking a bit about them right away?" A moderately less tense Bryce asked. His companion really didn't, but what other choice did he have. They were still bound by that damned bet.

"Not quite, but I still have my end." The brunette began, hair blowing gently in the breeze. "He was actually from the southern coast: an officer like yourself. We first met when I took a couple weeks' vacation." He stopped there to allow any questions to surface.

"So he was quite a ways away. How do you guys get from town to town anyway? Do you just take trains like we do?" The chief started in on Terra: a far better thing to talk about than himself to Alex.

"It's actually not that far off. About a days' walk through the mountains, but most everyone rides the metro instead." The human breathed a mental sigh of relief that his company's focus was elsewhere.

"Ah. I got it now. So what did he look like? Would you mind starting with that?" Bryce glanced toward his company, looking for any sort of shying away. When none was exhibited, he waited patiently.

"There... is no describing him. Not in a way that would do him justice. There was... is so much I love about him." Alex sighed deeply, looking deeply into his dragon's eyes. "Every time we were together, I would feel things I hadn't in so long. I'd have married him in a heartbeat if he were still here." Tears started to cloud his vision. "I just want him back..."

Bryce said nothing, placing a paw on the gambler's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. He responded only by gripping tightly. Only when he was sure the smaller male was okay did he start again.

"There's a lot of things we want in this world. I personally would like to see Maverick back to his old self again, but I know it'll never happen. So what we need to come to terms with is how we may never get some of those." His words rang clear in the human's head. The only problem was that they were ones he'd already heard. It didn't make them sting any less.

"If only that could actually happen. I know exactly how this turns out." Alex groused in defeat.

"Past experience?" Bryce started, earning himself a deflated look.

"Yeah." Alex refocused his eyes to the horizon. "Her name was Zoe. She went into active service a few years ago. That's where she died. I wasn't the same after that..."

"I guess, not until you met your guy?" The larger male let his company answer with body language. He'd thankfully put another piece in place. Although it wasn't much, he'd take it.

"I don't think I should continue. I don't want my first days to haunt me again." Alex set his cutoff point. This whole discussion reopened some wounds he thought long healed.

"Fair enough. How about we switch the topic?" The chief proposed. At the very least, the smaller male seemed fine with that.

"How about you, then? There's something I've been wanting to know. How'd you meet Maverick?" The ambassador fired off a round which caused his company to go silent at first. It certainly wasn't comfortable for a few moments.

"Ah... that. It's nothing special, really. We met on his first day as an officer. Those were simpler times back then." Bryce mused, his eyes twinkling with nostalgia.

"I wonder what he was like back then..." Alex trailed off. He'd thankfully get an answer very soon, if the look his dragon had was anything to go by.

"Hah... That boy was a little shy, and innocent. He only really hardened up after this big case we both closed." The officer went off, exposing a rather interesting bit of information. The human adjacent made a mental note to ask when he got a chance.

A long silence passed as the two stared deep into the darkening sea. Its inky waves lapped at the distant shoreline. A few children played in the water, one of which stood out as a mini Zhong. That was a thought interrupted by the ambassador's growling stomach.

"I guess a snack is in order, huh?" Bryce proposed with a following growl from his own empty belly.

"I hope you like grilled cheese. There isn't really much else." Only that and an ice cream stand stood across from them. One of the workers was even staring boredly until he made eye contact.

"It's alright. Go ahead and grab us some. I think I'll stick around here and try to keep the noise down." Bryce patted his belly for emphasis. From the sound each impact made, he seemed rather toned, even where it was hardest to be. Not even Alex could get rid of all his stomach fat with everything he did.

Speaking of him, he silently made his way over to the sandwich stand and placed an order for two. They were out in only a couple minutes with... little to make them look 'get in my mouth' amazing. In the very least, his dragon was glad to have something to fill his belly with. All that bacon on the sandwich made a beautiful crunch when they took their first bites.

"Oh man, that's good. This is the only way to have grilled cheese..." The chief mused. His satisfied chewing was nearly drowned out by the ocean below. In the silence of their small meals, they watched peoples' goings-on.

A few people fished in silence, some small children raced up the boardwalk with their families in tow, and one gray flier was making a scene at the ice cream booth over chocolate chips. It seemed only moderately chaotic until the crotchety female told the poor worker to 'go back to where he came from'. That was the only straw for Alex. He'd dealt with far too many racists and speciesists back home, and he wasn't about to let that slide here either. He set his empty wrapper down and stepped calmly over, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I will tell you this only once: do not discriminate against others. You have five seconds to leave before I make you. If you come back, or speak a word during the process, I will start spilling blood. Do you understand me?" The vigilante spoke just barely above his breath, and drew his knife for intimidation factor. She gulped with a fearful nod at the lightless weapon. Her compliance earned her an assisted walk toward the exit. Alex made sure she was far out of sight before turning back to apologize to that poor worker.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that. Are you alright?" He questioned to a shaky nod. "I hope so. Let me know if she comes back, since I'm right over there. I'll take care of her again." With that, he exited the conversation before the other had a chance to speak.

"What happened over there? You better not have done something stupid." Bryce began the moment his companion drew near again. He wasn't too happy with the surface layer of things. However, it would be the inevitable story that decides his full judgement this time.

"She was being racist to the poor guy. I just told her not to, and escorted her out." The smaller male countered simply, a spiteful blaze burning in those stormy orbs as he looked back at his dragon.

"Care to give the details?" Was all the dragon followed up with.

"She told that poor guy to go back where he came after causing a scene over ice cream toppings. I stepped over, pacified her, told her not to discriminate and to leave." Alex stated plainly, polishing off his food in one bite.

"Why do I get a bad feeling this will end up in a report tomorrow?" Bryce trailed off. His stressful gaze lowered to the water again in thought.

"False report with a side of 'he hit me', and then a bowl of crocodile tears for dessert." The brunette followed up. "Sounds like you're in for a real treat. How about we get a short walk in before the main course?" The man suggested, to a hesitant shrug. He noted the fact that his love wasn't so willing to engage anymore...

Alex softly hummed the tune he picked up from a busker they passed recently. It hadn't left his head in the minute or so he and his dragon spent trying to relax. The sound of his voice picked up in volume to the point where Bryce caught it. It was rather serene, despite what he was humming.

"I didn't know you could sing." The reptile observed, to which his company immediately stopped. The latter's face immediately tinged red from embarrassment.

"I... can't. That's just something I picked up. There was someone playing that about a minute ago." Alex explained himself as though he'd been caught stealing cookies from their jar.

"I bet Zhong could tell you the song. He's so into music, he's got this huge collection that's become a fixture at the bar." Bryce mused with a small smile.

"Remind me to go check that out later. I'm curious as to what your music is like compared to mine." The human noted dully. Checking his phone, he quickly tried to get out of the photo album. But it was for naught. His dragon already caught the picture of him sleeping.

"When did you take that? Was that after the thing?" The chief cocked a brow. He found the scene captured to be rather peaceful, if the person who took it may have done so for a wrong reason.

"I... don't know how that got on my phone. Maybe I was still drunk when I took it. Let me just-" Alex closed it out hastily, leaving a plain blue home screen half-filled with folders.

"I probably don't want to know anyway..." Bryce deadpanned. "So, getting back to a lighter topic, I just thought of something we could do."

"And that is?" The fair-skinned man looked on in curiosity. He'd be lying if he said he was confident in whatever idea this was.

"We could go swimming. The ocean is right there." Bryce tossed a thumb to his right. Inky water temptatingly lapped at the shore, inviting them for a dip.

"Uh... no thanks." Alex nervously responded.

"How come? Are you scared?" The dragon queried. If only he knew of what he did that one night...

"Past experience. Have you ever been attacked by a spider crab? The ambassador followed up with one of his own.

"I can't say I've even heard of those. Did that happen to you?" Bryce took a shot in the dark. One that hit its mark, if his companion's nodding says anything.

"Los Abedules, two years ago. My friend Chris and I were hanging out in the ocean late at night. He hits me with a huge wave and I fall under. I hit something that darts from under me. The next thing I know, these long, spindly claws are reaching for me. He yanked me away before it could really do anything. Needless to say, I'm not fucking going in the ocean again. You'll have to rip off my arm first." Alex's tone grew stricter the more he spoke. At least it served well to drive his point home.

"Duly noted. What about just sitting by it? Are you okay with that?" The chief lazily kicked up a tiny plume of sand with each step he took. Seeing its almost powdery quality made the smaller of them want to see just how true that was.

"I don't think I'd mind. We both seem like we could use something slow-paced." With that, the ambassador stepped on, noting how his boots sank in an inch. The sand nearly felt like snow under his feet. Both human and dragon parked themselves just at the incoming waves. Bryce let the water lap at his paws and stomach, whilst Alex slipped off his boots and shirt to cool off better.

The two stayed like that a good while. Neither wanted to break the newly formed comfortable silence between them. All that mattered was them and the ocean. That was, until a thought began chewing away at the larger male.

"Hey Alex. I've got a question for you." Bryce piped up from his new little divot. "Were there any good times you had with your person? That is, if you don't mind sharing a little more."

"Ah..." The brunette toyed with his hair for a moment, racking his brain. He certainly had plenty of happy memories with his dragon. It was just figuring out how to say everything that got him.

"There was our second date. He invited me to his house, where we spent the whole afternoon talking. We shared our hobbies, joked around, enjoyed some beers and just relaxed." Alex reminisced in little detail.

"That sounds like my kind of hangout. Just you and your company, shooting the shit with good drinks. Mind sharing one of those hobbies with me?" Bryce pressed casually. Little did he know of the storm he let seep out.

"He made models. Like little ships and such. I remember this one he showed me when I first visited. There were odd pieces sticking out, and globs of dried glue in various places. I still thought it was a nice build for the effort he put into it. Even ended up putting that into an argument when he tried to put himself down." The smaller male's stormy eyes shined wistfully as he brought back memories so dear to him.

But for Bryce, it was a whole other story. He began to question whether that was a coincidence or not. More questions sprang from the depths of his mind. Ones that would probably be left unanswered.

"Hey, what exactly was this guy like...?" The dragon pressed, a little scared of whatever answer he'd get.

"I... think it's best if you ask later." Alex mused. His very being grew more sorrowful as the memories flooded in. "There's only so long I can relive the past before I shut down again."

"Okay... Okay. How about this? I'm having a barbecue a couple days from now. Let's talk more then. It's getting dark." Bryce dug himself out of the sand, turning to leave before being stopped by a meek 'Wait'. Glancing back revealed his date: approaching, yet shrinking at the same time.

"Why don't we walk back together? We're going the same way anyway, right?" The ambassador suggested weakly. There wasn't a very high expectation of his invitation being accepted. But that just makes it a pleasant surprise if it happens in his mind.

"I might have to take a raincheck on that. There's stuff I need to do for work. In the meantime, maybe you could check out a clothing store or two. I'm sure there's something in this town that'd suit you." The larger male sadly shot it down with a counter proposal. Alex really wasn't in any mood for shopping until something popped into his head.

If he could find somewhere selling button-up shirts, he could disguise himself for his dirty work. After all, not even Viper was supposed to be in this world. But Reza...

"Alright, fine. Any places you know of?" He asked simply, to a disappointing head shake.

"I'm afraid that's a no as well. The only thing I really wear is my badge. You may have a better time with Naomi. Want me to give you her number?" Bryce declined once more in the same manner. This, in turn, soured his date's mood a little more.

"I... think I'll be alright. Thanks though." Alex just left him to his walk with that. No better a mood was he in than when the date began. And now, there was just the low probability of actually finding a clothes shop to try and look forward to...