Chapter Forty Three – Dawn
Alexa awoke gently as the morning rays of sunshine felt warm on her face. However, as soon as she opened her eyes completely, she discovered she was almost nestled in Keith's bare chest as he lay sound asleep next to her. She shifted herself away from him in a mild panic as she realised that she, too, was bare-chested and pulled the bed covers over her chest as she sat up; she felt her emerald choker around her neck and discovered her grey crop top, neon green T-shirt, black knee-high boots and Keith's grey long-sleeved shirt, navy blue T-shirt and black trainers sprawled carelessly across the foot of the bed. She was about to virtually leap out of the bed when she suddenly looked at the snoozing Keith; seeing how peaceful he looked as he partly cuddled the pillow he was resting his head against made Alexa smile and relax. She began to gently stroke his smooth spiky crimson hair until he awoke with a brief moan; he looked up at her and smiled when he saw her smile.
"Hey..."
"Hey...I thought you'd bolt..." Both Keith and Alexa felt incredibly content, as their voices were soft and quiet.
"...almost did..." Alexa confessed. Keith lifted himself up a little, revealing the dog-tags that hung from his neck.
"...how are you feeling?" Alexa's smile waned.
"...a-a little conflicted about last night I'll admit, but..." Alexa suddenly fell backwards onto the bed, confusing and concerning Keith. "...I-I feel better about everything else..." Keith felt worried.
"You don't sound it..." Alexa looked up at him.
"No, really, I do... ...I-I know I need to talk to my family – my Dad especially – about yesterday and..." Alexa smiled as she looked up at the ivory white ceiling above her. "I feel like I can do it."
"Yeah?" Keith felt optimistic for her.
"Mm," Alexa nodded. She closed her eyes gently. "...thank you."
"Of course. I meant every word I said-"
"I can tell," Alexa said quickly, giving him a teasing smirk. Keith glanced away from her, looking slightly annoyed.
"You can tell, right...forgot about that..." Alexa sniggered to herself until Keith's concerned look returned. "I really don't want you to end up estranged from your family."
"Neither do I..." Keith waited patiently for any conclusion to what he presumed was an incomplete sentence, but became baffled when Alexa held a hand over her eyes...as she chuckled. "I bet Keenan's gonna freak out when he wakes up and realises I never went back to Castelite..." Keith merely stared at her in bafflement as Alexa leaned across the bed to drag her two tops over to her before sliding out of bed, covering her bare breasts with her clothes; her blue denim shorts and white knee high socks were the only articles of clothing left on her. "N-Not that my family doesn't trust me to know I can take care of myself," she continued as Keith climbed out of bed, revealing his grey jeans and black socks, and walked over to her as she collected her nude strapless bra from the bed post. "Not that I'd blame them if they don't trust me anymore after yesterday, but-" Suddenly, Keith wrapped one arm around Alexa's back and gently pressed the index and middle fingers of his other hand over her lips to abruptly and softly silence her.
"Deal with that as it comes," he advised in a gentle whisper. "In the meantime," he continued, wrapping his other arm around her back. "How about we get breakfast and I drop you off at Castelite?" Alexa was alarmed.
"Y-You really don't have to, I-I can always go to the Pokémon Centre and-" Suddenly, Alexa halted herself. She knew she could visit the Pokémon Centre and pick up any of her Flying type Pokémon to take her back to Castelite, but something compelled her to accept the favour Keith was offering to her in spite of her conflicting emotions regarding how she ended up under the bedclothes with him during the night. The more she thought about Keith's generous offer, the warmer and fuzzier she felt, which was reflected in how red her face gradually became. "...that-that sounds nice...thank you." Keith was initially surprised to hear Alexa accepting his offer without putting much of a resistance with her modesty, but he smiled happily upon hearing her acceptance.
"It's my pleasure, babe." Alexa felt even warmer and fuzzier.
"...w-where do you have breakfast anyway?" she asked, hoping to change the subject slightly.
"The café in the city's market," Keith explained as he released himself from her to collect his clothes. Alexa panicked when she almost dropped the clothes she held over her chest and almost squeezed them against her breasts. "You ever been there?"
"No," Alexa said simply as Keith pulled the grey shirt over his head.
"Then you, Kitten," he smirked as he pulled his navy T-shirt over his head and moved his dog-tags to the front of his clothes. "Are in for a treat!" Alexa smiled nervously as she felt her blushing intensifying again.
"I-I'll just, um..." Keith laughed.
"Change in the en suite if you really wanna," he offered, pointing to the room in question with his thumb. "Not that I care either way, I've already-"
"Yes, thank you, Keith!" Alexa said suddenly as she bolted into the en suite with her bundle of clothes. Keith refrained from bursting into laughter as he saw how fast she went into the room, but relaxed once she closed the door behind her. With Alexa out of sight, Keith looked over at the bedside table and approached it; being as quiet as possible, he picked up the gift box he received from the Driftveil Market and looked over at Alexa's discarded belt bag with a cunning grin – he had an idea.
Troy whistled a merry tune as he walked around his paddock with a basket full of mixed berries under his arm, handing a handful of them to each Daycare Pokémon he passed by; some immediately began to tuck in, while others sniffed the berries before they enjoyed their morsels. Brent walked alongside Troy as he helped distribute the berries. Mac walked alongside Lukie as he skipped around the Daycare with a smaller basket rocking around on top of his head as the Emboar handed the Pokémon they passed a Lava Cookie each. Lucy lay next to the pregnant Purugly to not only keep an eye on her condition while Troy was busy with tending to the Pokémon's appetites, but to keep her company. Nate nervously played with the younger Pokémon of the paddock and, eventually, helped them eat the Lava Cookies and berries Mac and Troy handed over to them. Zane roosted on the Daycare Centre's roof, keeping an eye on the paddock and everything in the surrounding area; the Archeops seemed to enjoy his sentry duties, as he wore a wide grin on his face. He spotted Hailey walking along the route towards Striaton City with Daphne, Peggy and the evolved form of Piper; he roared faintly to attract Troy's attention, pointing to the passing relatives when the breeder looked up at him. Having heard Zane's gleeful roar, Hailey, Daphne and Peggy approached the Daycare fence as Troy and Brent walked over to them.
"Morning, Aunt Hailey, girls!"
"Hi, Troy!" Peggy greeted politely.
"Hi!"
"How is everyone?" Hailey asked worriedly, noticing the plentiful bandages on the Pokémon.
"I'm a little concerned about Purugly, but everyone's on the mend, it seems; breakfast this morning is berries and Lava Cookies just in case, though," he winked.
"A-And Pikachu?" Peggy asked worriedly. Troy looked back at the paddock and searched the area for the electric rodent in question; the Mouse Pokémon was happily enjoying the Lava Cookie Mac gave to him with his Dedenne companion. Troy smiled as he saw the look of delight on their faces.
"Pikachu's just fine."
"Phew," Peggy sighed with relief.
"Ti-ruuuuh...!" Troy faced the equally relieved Altaria.
"And that's thanks to you, Piper!"
"T-Ti-ruuuuuh...!" Flattered, Piper hid her blushing face in her abundantly fluffy white wings. While Daphne and Peggy found Piper's mild embarrassment amusing, Hailey looked at her eldest nephew with a straight face, confusing him.
"I'm glad things have worked out for you; the girls, on the other hand, are about to find out if they'll even be going to school today."
"S-Sorry," Troy apologised.
"It's out own fault, Troy," Daphne said with indifference.
"W-We shouldn't have run off," Peggy added, somewhat shamefully. Troy soon gave her a gentle smile.
"Hey, as long as the lesson's learned, then that's all that matters." He suddenly looked frustrated. "Someone needs to tell Adelina that..."
"Let's not worry about her for now," Hailey said on a more upbeat note. "Hey, Troy?"
"Yep?"
"Would you mind looking after Piper for the day?" Hailey asked. "And maybe help her get used to her new strength? I-I know Annabelle should be the one to help her with it, but-"
"I can get the Voltorb rolling," Troy winked. "Though, with all due respect, it IS up to Peggy." He looked down at the little girl in question with a kind smile. "Your call, Pegs." Peggy and Piper looked at one another in confusion before Peggy looked up at Troy awkwardly, rubbing her arm with the other.
"Y-You wouldn't mind...?"
"Not at all!" Troy grinned. He looked up at the delighted Archeops and signalled him to fly down to him, which he complied all too eagerly. "Zane can help her out, too." Zane roared excitedly, much to Peggy and Piper's shared glee.
"Thank you, Troy!"
"Ti-ruuuuh!" Piper cooed merrily as she flew over the fence and settled next to Zane.
"You just wait, ladies; Piper's gonna be able to handle herself by day's end!"
Keenan awakened from his slumber with almost nothing but groggy moans as he sat up. Iara stretched and yawned at the foot of the bed as Keenan rubbed his eyes. When he glanced over at Alexa's bed, he suddenly found himself wide awake with terror; her bed had remained untouched from when she hastily packed a few of her supplies and stormed out of the hotel – Chutney and Purukin's Poké Balls were still at the foot of the bed! Panicking, Keenan bolted out of bed and ran out of the bedroom and into his parents'; Hayden and Lily were sound asleep, Hayden lying on his stomach. Keenan hurried over to Hayden's side of the double bed.
"Mum! Dad!" Keenan rested his palms on his Dad's shoulder as he tried to almost shake him awake; however, it was his hand accidentally slipping onto Hayden's back that caused him to wake up...sharply.
"D'aaagh!" Keenan quickly recoiled as Hayden's pain-filled yelp proved more than effective enough to awaken Lily from her slumber, almost as groggily as Keenan had.
"S-Sorry, Dad!" Hayden moaned as he sat up in bed, placing his hand on his dressed back. Lily sat up, revealing her white lace nightgown, and glanced over at the alarm clock next to her and was mildly surprised that it was later in the morning than she thought it was; the clock read 8:42.
"Ow...still tender, then..." Getting over the fact that she, Hayden and Keenan ended up sleeping in, Lily looked over at her panicking son.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" she asked quietly.
"A-Alex...she-she never came back last night!" he cried. The revelation almost horrified Hayden, but Lily simply raised an eyebrow.
"After what happened yesterday, were you honestly expecting her to?" she asked. Keenan withdrew slightly as he suddenly became nervous.
"...I-I was hoping she would," he admitted shyly. Hayden faced Lily in terror.
"Lily, she didn't leave with much of anything, did she?!" he asked hastily.
"No, but she-"
"So she didn't back any clothes?!" Keenan asked suddenly. The anxiety her husband and son were presenting started to bore Lily slightly.
"No-"
"And she's been gone all night?!" Hayden asked in horror.
"All right, both of you, calm down!" Lily said authoritatively. Hayden and Keenan looked at her quietly. "She can take care of herself; I told you this before dinner!" Hayden sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"You're right, you're right... I'm sorry..."
"I'm sorry, too, Mum..." Lily soon smiled kindly.
"You're sweet to worry about her, but...please, don't; let her come back to us in her own time. Otherwise, we'll only push her away even more than we already have." Now Keenan felt bad for selfishly wanting his sister to return so soon.
"...I'm sorry..."
"It's okay, sweetie," Lily smiled. "I know you're eager to see her, but you mustn't rush this, okay?" Keenan soon cheered up and nodded happily. Hayden, too, seemed to have cheered up and playfully ruffled his son's already messy hair.
"Attaboy!" Keenan laughed as he tidied his hair slightly once his father's hand was removed from his head.
The Driftveil Market was starting to become a very lively venue for the city's residents and tourists alike as Keith and Alexa sat at the café in the quietest part of the entire establishment. Robbie, Reese and Ava were happily sharing a Poffin platter while Keith and Alexa both enjoyed a creamy hot porridge for breakfast; Keith's had a swirl of golden syrup on top of his porridge, while Alexa had a fruity mixture of blueberries and raspberries on top of hers.
"So, what do you think?" Keith asked as Alexa swallowed another spoonful of her hot fruity porridge.
"I can see why you have breakfast here; this is great!"
"I chose to opt out of breakfast at the hotel, which...ended up being a bit of a mistake...but I found this place the morning after we arrived, so it's not that big a deal anymore," Keith said cheerfully as he enjoyed another spoonful of his syrupy breakfast.
"Uh, you DO realise you can book breakfast at the hotel whenever you want, right?" Alexa asked with a raised eyebrow. Keith stared at her with surprise with his spoon still in his mouth. He quickly swallowed as he took his spoon out of his mouth and glanced away from her with annoyance.
"...crap." Alexa sniggered, but Keith's glare softened to a look of near regret. "Listen..."
"Hm?"
"I...I want to apologise if what happened last night left you feeling awkward..." Alexa looked back at her belt bag.
"Good thing Ryder's still in his Poké Ball," she said quietly.
"What is it that's made you so conflicted anyway?" Keith asked curiously. Alexa faced him, looking nervous.
"...on the one hand, it...I dunno..." Alexa's struggle to respond to him worried Keith. "On one hand, it felt wrong in a way, since we...we didn't even talk about US before it happened... At the same time, though..." Alexa smiled bashfully as she took her glance away from Keith. "...I...enjoyed it... ...that's why I didn't bolt..."
"Alexa..." She looked over at him again and was puzzled and concerned to see him looking so sombre. "I do care about you-"
"I know..."
"I know you know... I-I care, I like and I love you; the last thing I want to do is to do anything you're not comfortable with..."
"I-I wasn't in any discomfort! I-I know I said it felt wrong on the one hand, but...honestly, I...I still enjoyed it regardless..." Now Keith felt awkward.
"...it-it's just...w-when you coddled me, it... ...y-you felt so warm..." Alexa blushed at his discreet compliment. "I-Is that how you feel when I do the same to you?"
"In truth? That's exactly how it felt yesterday...I..." Slightly anxious, Alexa slowly turned her porridge with her spoon, causing the remaining berries to mix with the milky hot oats. "I-I just felt really safe..." Also feeling uneasy, Keith mimicked her porridge turning gesture.
"...I did, too..." Alexa watched as her blueberries and raspberries mixed with one another as they blended into her breakfast; she took a spoonful of the fused meal and consumed it – the perfect mixture of the two berries somehow made her think more intricately about her relationship with Keith. After savouring and swallowing her spoonful, she looked over at Keith.
"Keith?" Keith looked over at her in response to her. "D-Do we even have anything to work out anymore?" Keith tilted his head in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Well...y-you've already apologised for what you said that night and...I've already apologised for not wanting to believe you..." Alexa somehow felt herself smiling. "...a-and spending time with you has been really great...e-even after Xavier's injury..." Her smile was short-lived as she looked over at Keith again; she looked distressed, but sounded more perplexed than anything else. "So, d-do you think it's safe for me to say that w-we're okay to go back to how we were?" Alexa's question attracted the attention of Keith's Pokémon as they finally chose to pay attention to the conversation.
"What do you think?" Keith asked casually.
"Huh?"
"Ask yourself that question," he replied as he took another spoonful of his syrupy breakfast. Alexa sat silently as she comprehended an answer to her own question; while it was true that she felt happy around Keith again, she somehow felt like something was stopping her from embracing this happiness. Trying to comprehend precisely what was stopping her from enjoying her quality time with her boyfriend to the fullest made her feel tense.
"...I-I'll have to get back to you on that..." Keith chuckled.
"It's fine; you have other things on your mind as well," he said understandingly.
"Sorry..." Keith smiled comfortingly as he placed a hand gently onto hers.
"Nah, don't worry about it; family's important." Alexa felt reassured as she felt Keith's thumb stroking the back of her hand.
"Yeah...it is. Thanks, Keith." Keith smiled happily at her, much to the delight of his Pokémon.
Troy, Lukie, Mac and Brent met near the centre of the paddock with empty baskets in hand. Troy accepted the basket from his goofy Watchog and placed it inside his larger basket. He was about to head indoors with both baskets when Brent suddenly patted Troy's shoulder; turning his attention to where his Simisage was looking, Troy soon realised that Harvey and Naomi, wearing a more casual white blouse with her black skirt and heeled shoes, approaching them. Troy grinned as he approached the fence with his Emboar and Watchog following.
"Hey, Mum, Dad! What's the occasion?"
"Since when did parents need a reason to see their offspring?" Harvey asked, feigning offence.
"I was talking about the two of you being hand in hand," Troy said cheekily. Naomi was perplexed.
"But we're not hand in hand..."
"You might as well be," Troy chuckled teasingly. Harvey laughed with half-hearted sarcasm.
"How are you feeling, honey?" Naomi asked.
"I slept like a Trevenant and feel as fresh as a Lilligant," Troy replied sunnily.
"That's great to hear, sport," Harvey said happily.
"So, what's up?"
"We thought we'd pay you a visit on our way to see your Aunt Hailey," Naomi explained with a gentle smile. "It's mostly just a social call." While he was happy to see and hear that his parents were still spending time together, his smile weakened significantly.
"Sounds good; she could really use it."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Harvey asked.
"She stopped by again on her way home from the Academy," Troy began as Zane and Piper flew down towards the paddock and soared into the sky again behind him. "The girls have after school detention for a week for skipping school."
"Oh, dear..."
"Was that because of Adelina?" Harvey guessed. Troy nodded.
"Oh, poor Hailey..." Harvey placed an arm around Naomi's shoulders.
"We'll cheer her up, don't you worry!" Harvey looked up and noticed Zane and Piper flying laps over the Daycare Centre. "I see Piper's doing a little training."
"Well, she's gotta learn to control her new power SOMEHOW," Troy said casually as he shrugged. However, as he shrugged, the baskets he was carrying fell out of his grip, alarming him as soon as he heard the thump. He quickly crouched and reclaimed his baskets. "Whoops..."
"Well, we'll leave you to it and we'll see you later, okay?" Harvey chuckled.
"Yeah, sounds great," Troy said sheepishly as he handed the two baskets to his Emboar.
"See you soon, love," Naomi waved as Harvey escorted her towards Nacrene City. Troy waved back, but smiled slyly as soon as his parents' backs were turned, having noticed how close Harvey and Naomi were to one another.
"Hey, Dad!" Troy called.
"Yo!"
"You and Mum are awfully chummy all of a sudden!" he yelled teasingly.
"You don't say?!" Harvey shouted playfully in response. Troy sniggered as he returned to his business in his paddock; he immediately walked over to the pregnant Purugly and his Zebstrika and began a conversation with the two girls.
Keith and Alexa eventually left the Driftveil Market with Robbie close behind them; Ava and Reese sat on either side of the Sawsbuck's flowery antlers, taking care not to crush any of them as they held on. Alexa looked up at Keith as they moved out of the way of anyone else wanting to enter the market building.
"Thanks for treating me to breakfast, Keith."
"It's all right," Keith said kindly. "You've been treating me to lunch since we've started hanging out, so it's my turn to treat you to a meal! Even if it IS the first one of the day..."
"I wasn't planning on spending the night here..."
"Clearly," Keith chuckled, looking at her belt bag; while it was a respectable size for a belt bag, there was no way that it could serve as an overnight bag of any calibre. Alexa couldn't help giggling at his response. "But thanks for staying anyway."
"You're welcome," Alexa said sweetly.
"Right!" Keith clapped, startling Alexa. "Time to get YOU back to where you belong, m'lady!" he said playfully as he nodded at Robbie. Robbie carefully nodded in response and bent down a little. Keith quickly swung himself onto Robbie's back and held his hand out to Alexa; she took hold of his hand and held on securely as she mounted onto Robbie's back just behind Keith. "Hang on; things might get a tad bumpy." Keith looked ahead of him, despite the back of Robbie's neck obstructing most of his view. "Let's go, Robbie; to Castelite!"
"Saws!" Robbie complied as he began to gallop out of the city. The sudden dash caught Alexa off guard and held onto Keith for security. However, she suddenly realised that her fingers were fairly high up on Keith's chest when she felt his dog-tags. Eventually, she smiled and rested her head on his back; Keith felt this and smiled himself.
To be continued...