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In another life, he could have been an actor.[break][break]
Gavin wears his disguises like a second skin. The changes to his appearance are minimal, simple — ditched glasses, contacts, dyed hair. A disguise was as much about the attitude as the look, and he'd come prepared.[break][break]

The smile he offers his 'wife' is bright and warm, in sharp contrast to the cold and distance exterior he normally wore. At the mention of a plan, his expression tightens. Brows drawn, teeth worrying at his lip.[break][break]

It's a good thing he's well-practiced at holding back laughter.[break][break]

Dropping the guise in favour of a serious response, he fixes his hair using the dark screen of his phone — or, rather, un-fixes it. He needs to look disheveled, distraught, not like the clean-cut professional he prided himself to be. Red eyes blink back him.[break][break]

"We ought to stage a lover's quarrel," he decides as he secures Pokeballs to his waist. "That's what couples do when they're in duress, I've observed — they fight, rather than comfort each other. Ridiculous."[break][break]

He shakes his head, disdainful. The motion further displaces strands of his hair. Good.[break][break]

"You care about the Pokemon more than I do. It's a stereotype, we'll play on that. I was supposed to take care of them, for once, but I didn't pay attention." He nods to himself about something, securing Greninja's ball. It was a good stealth operative. Much as he likes to rely upon his glittering favourites in Steelix and Corviknight, he leaves them behind. Their unique appearances would compromise his alias if they were caught, and Gavin plans for all outcomes. "Sound good?"[break][break]

He tilts his head, genuine in his desire for input.

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The two are undeniable unidentifiable. They look the part of honeymoon sweethearts on tour. Hoenn was definitely not the ideal honeymoon spot - but let bygones be bygones. It had probably been Gavin's decision in another life, and they'd almost certainly argued about it.[break][break]

Emma catches herself off guard with how her thoughts drift. It's Gavin's response and his pinched face as if he's trying not to laugh that brings her back. In an instant, the cheery, youthful exterior of a woman in love and in awe melts and is replaced with the sour and flat expression of Emma Wolfe.[break][break]

She watches as he tilts his head down to stare at himself in the reflection of his phone, fixing and unfixing his hair so that it sat around messy and unkept. Emma herself looked quite put together aside from windswept and exasperated. She had done the job of looking like she'd run her feet off, barely kept her too-big sun hat on, and was about to break down in tears.[break][break]

Perhaps she could have been an actor in another life, too.[break][break]

"Oh, is that what they do? You actually have experience? That's a surprise."[break][break]

Regardless of her snark, Emma is more than willing to go along with his plan because it's genius. She acts as the distraction while he follows the Pokemon inside. The only issue was.. what Pokemon of hers would blend in? [break][break]

It does amuse her, however, that she has to play the part of caring for her Pokemon. [break][break]

"Your Alcremie will do well. Zoroark will mimic her appearance. You imported these eagerly sought after Pokemon for me because I begged you, threatened to leave if you didn't. They are my babies and I've always put them before you."[break][break]

Emma readjusts her hat before reaching for her Zoroark's pokeball. As soon as Gavin releases Alcremie, she subtly orders the dark-type to illusion itself into the form of a second Alcremie. She picks up Gavin's, knowing full well she might like her better, and gives her husband the illusioned Zoroark.[break][break]

"Ready when you are."

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Gavin's laughter at her snark is genuine, rough-edged from a smoke-scarred throat. "You flatter me with the assumption. I just pay attention."[break][break]

Creepy, Circe had called it, but people-watching allowed Gavin to mimic the behavior of others to the benefit of his many disguises. He had never experienced the so-called butterflies in his stomach, the giddy elation in the presence of another — but he'd seen it in others, flushed cheeks and nervous laughter, self-conscious tics and posturing.[break][break]

He also wasn't one for bickering, preferring to resolve issues with blunt conversation, but he knew how to pretend.[break][break]

Alcremie's ball is already at his waist, and he taps it with a nod when Emma mentions her. She's an excellent Pokemon for an undercover Rocket agent; her adorable appearance and sweet nature lending well to an allure of innocence. The Zoroark is convincing in its appearance, but Gavin's trained eye can spot the differences in their mannerisms. There's something cold about this one where his own Alcremie was warm, a distance that could not be closed within the span of minutes, hours.[break][break]

It's not something most would think to look for, and they'll make do.[break][break]

He smirks at Emma in one last genuine gesture, then allows his own illusion to consume him completely.[break][break]

"Why is it always my fault?" His words are a stage-whisper, the words of a man attempting to keep private matters under wraps and failing miserably. Gavin's shoulder clips the automatic door of the Pokemon Centre as he rolls in like a stormcloud, intense in his fury. A Kalosian curse further compliments the accent he's adopted for the sake of their cover. He'd practiced on and off at home, no doubt to Emma's amusement as he attempted to perfect the subtle details. He rubs at his shoulder, scowling, purposely holding the not-Alcremie in an improper position. "I left them alone for two seconds!"

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"Have you tried sipping anything with honey?"[break][break]

Her tone is laced with venom but she's surprised at where her comment even came from. His rough laugh seemed to, on occasion, concern her. Perhaps because he's so loud, so obvious to pick out. [break][break]

Emma licks her lips as she looks away from him, blinking away the strange emergence of thought. The discussion of their undercover marriage was strange, to say the least. Stranger still because this circumstance brought with it buried emotions she hadn't been prepared to uncover. It felt like routine despite the vast difference between the one they were portraying and the one she had lived.[break][break]

Freya had been a whirlwind of emotion, of love, of highs and lows. [break][break]

The woman blinks away the thought as Gavin releases his Alcremie. The Pokemon greets both of them with her usual chipper attitude and it almost, almost sparks a genuine smile from her lips. The subtle twitch is soon flattened as she fights to maintain the indifference she had mastered. [break][break]

But something told her she wouldn't really be acting, she wouldn't need to put on a show quite so forcefully.[break][break]

And then the pair of them and their Alcremie fall into step and breathe life into this dance of lies they had set out ahead of them. Gavin's exasperated tone lends way to people to glance in their direction. It was human nature, after all, to eavesdrop, especially when you could hear a disagreement about to occur.[break][break]

Emma scoffs, her voice rising from her usual broody tone to almost singsong and bright - but tinged with annoyance and manifested anger.[break][break]

"Because you're a fool and you never learn! You promise me, time and time again, that you'll change, that you'll take care of my sweet babies. But you don't, you always slack off, or forget!"[break][break]

The mention of 'babies' brings a gasp from a mother nearby, but she quickly asserts herself because she realises that Emma isn't talking about actual children. [break][break]

Emma bursts through the door of the Pokemon centre not long after he does. As he scowls, she raises her voice to near hysteria.[break][break]

"All it takes is two seconds, Charles! You left them alone and someone tried to eat them! Look at them, they're distraught!"

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Emma's comment catches him off guard, draws him out of the sardonic back-and-forth banter. Though the idea is not new to him, the show of concern is unexpected. When was the last time anyone cared?[break][break]

He recovers quickly from the surprise, expression barely shifting, but Emma's perceptive. He's sure she'll notice.[break][break]

He shrugs. "It can help on a bad day, but what I really need is to kick the habit."[break][break]

As a man obsessed with self-control and with few vices, his reliance upon nicotine was a stain upon his attempt at perfection. It had felt necessary, once, to soothe his stress, but now... it was merely a lingering habit he'd yet to break. He's pushed it off time and time again, always justifying it somehow: he'll quit after the experiments on his Sandslash conclude, or when he feels secure within Rocket, or when they've got their new base up-and-running...[break][break]

He's suddenly self-conscious in his introspection, but Emma seems to struggle with demons of her own.[break][break][break]


It's easier, being Charles.[break][break]

With no true romantic experience under his belt, he relies entirely upon method acting. As patrons of the Pokemon Center ogle the bickering couple, he puffs up and blusters at his wife.[break][break]

"Your sweet babies — you said it yourself, Anna! You promised me that things would get better if I bought them for you, but no, nothing makes you happy!"[break][break]

The tension between them crackles like electricity, and — just as they'd hoped — their spat draws the attention of even the nursing staff. One of them attempts to reach for the not-Alcremie in Gavin's arms, and he jerks back with a scowl. They couldn't have anyone figuring out that this one was an illusion, after all, so he quickly weaves this into his plans.[break][break]

"Do you know how much money this Pokemon cost me? I'll bring it in myself, thank you." When the nurse attempts to speak — whether to placate or scold Charles, Gavin doesn't wait to find out — he cuts her off. "I know it's not against policy, and I insist."

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Emma catches on immediately to the lapse in conversation, the extended silence that lingers after she says what she says. Normally, in different conversation, that silence wouldn't have felt so strange. The faintest hint of colour fills her cheeks before she forces it away, feigns indifference.[break][break]

He comes up with a flippant excuse, an empty, fleeting thought. She nearly frowns.[break][break]

"Then do it. It will kill you one day."[break][break]

Silence spreads between them before the inevitable begin their charade, their immaculate story-telling. She let's it settle that way because she's uncomfortable with continuing their strange conversation and with enduring their awkward silence.[break][break]

Their acting fills the void just fine.[break][break]

A nurse approaches them and attempts to comfort her. She feels a hand on her shoulder and she fights the urge to flinch away, to prevent herself from pulling out of character. She exhales with vigor as Charles continues to berate her.[break][break]

"That's because you don't try hard enough! You try to woo me with gifts when all I want is your attention."[break][break]

Anna's face grows hot as she fumes. Charles pulls away from the nurse that tries to pull her Zoroark from his arms and she silently breathes a sigh of relief when they allow him to follow their way in. Emma holds onto Gavin's Alcremie.[break][break]

And then, before they might all follow him inside, she pulls the few nurses from the front of the building to her attention with her plight.[break][break]

"He's just so... so... do dense, sometimes, y'know? This was supposed to be our honeymoon, a chance to spend time together and enjoy it. But he's just so arrogant and distracted and he just doesn't seem to care about me at all!"[break][break]

She takes a breath before continuing her tirade.[break][break]

"I asked him to watch my darling Alcremie while I stopped to window-shop. I'm allowed to do that, you know! Of all the things, I should be allowed to window shop. I didn't even want to come to Hoenn! I wanted to visit the Galar region, or Alola for some nice beach and sun."[break][break]

Hopefully, while she continues to complain and capture the attention of the nurses, Gavin was working his charms in the back.

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"That's nonsense and you know it!" He raises his voice with the inflection, and the motherly woman from before sucks in a breath, glaring at him. He ignores her. "My attention. You threatened to leave me if I did not get them for you!"[break][break]

He's having way too much fun with this.[break][break]

They're separated as Gavin is ushered into one of the examination rooms with the Zoroark still held awkwardly in his arms. Knowing he'll be expected to place it on the table and let the doctor get to work, he instead decides to vent to these strangers about the troubles of his imaginary relationship. He needs to buy time.[break][break]

"My attention," he echoes again, shaking his head. "You know she never pays me any attention? It's always about her precious darlings — I'm lucky if she gives me the time of day!"[break][break]

There's a sudden shriek from another room, and then the air is filled with cloying black smoke.[break][break]

"Ah — what the hell is this?" He coughs, for once grateful for his smoker's lung as it ramps up the severity of the sound. "What's going on?"[break][break]

Though Charles appears to panic, Gavin knows exactly what has happened. The SMOKESCREEN spreads throughout the center and obscures light, vision, causes chaos. Greninja SNEAKS THROUGH SHADOW and thieves pokeballs from the belts of unsuspecting nurses. Its suctioned fingers allow it to crawl up walls and along the ceiling, slipping out before anyone has noticed its there. Charles continues to cough and sputter, leaning against the examination table for support he doesn't need.[break][break]

When the smoke clears, the panicked staff would usher everyone into the lobby.[break][break]

"Darling, what's happened?" Charles finds his way to Anna in the crowd, confused and seemingly willing to forget their spat in favour of seeking comfort. "There was so much smoke — was there a fire?"

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Emma is in the middle of her stream of complaints, coming up with new and exaggerated ways to simultaneously make herself and her husband look like a couple of selfish idiots when the back room and window looking in fills with black smoke.[break][break]

"Charles? Charles, hunny! Oh my God, what's happening back there? Is my Alcremie alright?"[break][break]

She had immediately switched from showing off her sparkly engagement ring that Charles had so perfectly matched with the wedding band - another symbol of his devotion to her, obviously, to convincing panic regarding her spouse.[break][break]

Anna is pushed off to the side to avoid her inhaling any of the smoke while Charles is almost certainly rushed out of the examination room. They reunite and he voices his concerns and she puts on a convincing sob, throwing her arms around him dramatically.[break][break]

The wet of her tears stains his shirt as she loudly voices her apparent fear.[break][break]

"Oh Charles, I was so scared. I never want to argue with you again. Imagine if that had been the last things we'd said to each other?"[break][break]

Another forced sob as she strokes his cheek with her thumb. The Alcremie seem to have miraculously bounced back - probably because there had been no harm done to begin with, they had only had an attempt on them being eaten. And it was staged.[break][break]

The pair of them along with their Pokemon are escorted out of the building, as they were chocking the situation up to a small and contained fire - though they hadn't found the source. It appeared that they were none the wiser for the present moment that they had been robbed.[break][break]

Emma laces her fingers between Gavin's as they leave the building. Ashy tears dampen her cheek and she coughs - and it's not entirely staged. However, watching eyes continue to linger on them and, as much as they aren't really a threat, Emma isn't entirely convinced.[break][break]

Under her breath, and followed by a sharp squeeze to his hand, Emma whispers:[break][break]

"We have to steal the spotlight again, so your little thief can escape."[break][break]

Her sharp eyes, now turned a soft green that portrays none of her usual severity, stare up at and study Charles' face.

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If he hadn't known it was all an act, Gavin might have believed the tears and the panic. Emma was good at this; it made putting on a show for their unassuming crowd all the more enjoyable.[break][break]

The intimacy of such closeness as she throws her arms around him in dramatic fashion is not lost on him. It's closer than he's been to anyone in years, but that neither bothers nor excites the apathetic scientist. Charles brings his hands up to grip his wife's shoulders as if ensuring she were real, solid, then caresses her cheek in a quiet display of affection.[break][break]

"Oh, Anna, I know, I'm so sorry! This is supposed to be our honeymoon; we shouldn't spoil it by arguing!"[break][break]

They're shooed outside along with the other patrons of the Centre, and Gavin returns pressure on her hand in acknowledgement of her statement. His Greninja had no doubt escaped the building, but they needed the eyes of the crowd on them so that it could get clear of the area without being caught in a perceptive gaze.[break][break]

His thumb brushes away her ashen tears, a note of humour in the deep red of his eyes.[break][break]

It's not the first time he's kissed someone.

His lips meet hers with passion, not the fumbling awkwardness of an inexperienced youth. He threads his fingers through soft blonde locks — a wig, but he can discern by the texture that the hair is real — and pulls her close. Such violations of personal space had not been discussed, but they were a married couple on their honeymoon and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to sell their story. He kisses deep and hard with shallow breath and fingers digging into the small of her back, cheeks flushed from the thrill of a successful heist but lending well to the image of young, blind, stupid love.[break][break]

Greninja scuttles to the rooftops and away from the scene, unnoticed.

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His closeness was, in some ways, intimidating. The feel of his hands on her shoulders, the loving squeeze, the gentle caress of her cheek. Had this not been an act, a forced display of affection, she might not have known the difference. His gaze settles on her face with such passion that she's nearly mesmerized by it. [break][break]

As they escape the Pokecentre and join hands, there's a thrum in their energy that flows from their fingertips: trust. He squeezes her hand and it seems to ground her because they're almost out. They've almost done it.[break][break]

Her own perceptive eyes have detected the Greninja as he plans his escape. The Pokemon lies low, waiting for the opportunity to flee the scene. But all eyes are soon drawn to the young married couple and their plight as Charles wipes away Anna's tears. The act is so forgiving, so adoring, that Emma is genuinely shocked by the gesture.[break][break]

Not as shocked as she is when his lips meld to hers and shes pulled in close for a passionate kiss. Her cheeks fill with heat at the drive behind it, at the soft panting breaths that join them together. Her arms find a place around his shoulders, allowing her slight frame to be pressed against his. He's warm, and a surprisingly good kisser.[break][break]

The crowd is captivated, in awe of such young love despite the calamity of this troubling situation. It allows the Greninja to flee and the Alcremie to stand awkwardly by their trainers - clearly just as surprised to see them locked in such an embrace.[break][break]

When the pair do inevitably break apart, Emma breathes heavily, but a smile - a genuine one - has inched its way across her face. She chuckles as the crowd departs and the two of them blend in with them, disappearing down a side street and detaching themselves from the situation.[break][break]

"I'm impressed - that almost felt real, Charles."[break][break]

Her voice is kept low on the off chance someone might overhear them, however unlikely it would be.

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Gavin's heart thrums under the adrenaline and shortness of breath; he can feel the flutter of his pulse, and he's light-headed from the effort. It's worth it — by the time they've separated, his elusive Pokemon is no longer in sight.[break][break]

He grins, wide and bright and quite unlike him — but not entirely part of his act. He's high on their success, fingers lacing with Emma's as they make their way out of the public eye and down a quiet side street. As they put more distance between themselves and the scene of the crime, distant sirens herald the inevitable presence of the police. They'll arrive too late, and should they finally narrow down their list of suspects to the distraught couple with their Alcremie, there would be no trace of Charles and Anna to find.[break][break]

"Why, thank you, Anna, you're not so bad yourself."[break][break]

Having surreptitiously scanned the area as they walked, Gavin is satisfied that they have not been followed by anyone from the Pokemon Center. He lets go of her hand at last, blinks red eyes at her green.[break][break]

"We're alone, I think, but I trust your judgement. Is it safe?"[break][break]

It's rare that he trusts anyone's instinct above his own, but Emma is well-trained and intelligent. It was refreshing, in fact, to know that working as a team could allow them to shore up potential shortcomings.

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Emma's heart pounds as well, but she isn't entirely sure of the cause. She was good at what she did - heists and operations and covert affairs were her thing. She did them regularly, and she did them well. It had been a long, long time since she'd felt this sort of rush, this sense of pride or companionship.[break][break]

And so, despite the strange feeling she feels in her chest at the closeness, the bond she continued to share with Gavin, it comes as a relief to her when his hand pulls out of hers. They once again become two separate people and it gives her no end of comfort. The woman retracts her hand to her chest, absently massaging the knuckles while her gaze drifts. [break][break]

She's ensuring that no one followed them, making sure that no ears or eyes were beset upon them.[break][break]

In the distance, Emma hears the telling wails of the police sirens. It brought a small smile to her face to know that they'd never find who did it.[break][break]

Gavin's voice breaks the silence and she glances at him, unsure how to respond. Her usual quippy attitude had been locked away behind her own personal battle of uncertainty. This bizarre unsettling feeling only grows when he voices his apparent 'trust' in her. The woman, previously warm and inviting, has quickly reverted back to cold and aloof.[break][break]

"It's safe. We should split up and disappear. Ditch the disguise but don't leave it behind. Somehow, someway, they'd figure out a way to trace it."[break][break]

With a subtle dip of her head, Emma abandons Gavin in the quiet side street, melting into a new crowd and reappearing on the other side without her disguise. She had managed to somehow tuck it away before disappearing altogether.

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Emma confirms his analysis — they're alone.[break][break]

All psychological traces of Charles vanish, leaving behind the aloof Rocket scientist masked only with dark hair and deep red eyes.[break][break]

He returns the nod, having had no intention of leaving evidence. He's planned for that. No further words are spoken, for none are needed. She's disappeared within moments, and Gavin knows he couldn't follow her if he tried.[break][break]

He doesn't, of course.[break][break]

He slips away into the chaos of a busy city until he finds himself completely and utterly alone. His disguise is dropped, his glasses returned, and Patrick Cavalli takes to the skies atop his glittering silver Corviknight. Later, he will burn all elements of his disguise, for they could not hope to find what no longer existed.[break][break]

A trio of Chansey await delivery to the Floating Garden — the prize from a successful heist.

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