herding pokemon was a tough , tough job ! especially when wind and rain whipped around you like a , well . . . whip ! it had smacked his face and blown his hair in a multitude of different directions . after about twenty minutes of getting all the creatures where they belonged , he entered his house and let out a long , drawn out sigh , eyes closing as water dripped from his hair and clothes . shaking his head a little to get some of the liquid out , he rushed to the bathroom and removed his soaked clothes before drying off with a towel and slinking upstairs to get some warm , dry apparel .

when that was completed , he slipped the towel on his head , allowing it to wrap around that crown of blonde hair . after finally letting his heart calm down , he went back downstairs to fix some lunch - - might as well while there's a storm blowing about !

with time , the rains subsided - - it was growing darker outside , which meant night time would be right around the corner , so , it was fine for the pokemon to stay in their stalls . he hadn't taken the towel off , mostly because he'd forgotten - - the weight became familiar to him and , after his hair dried , he just forgot that piece of cloth was even up there .

so , when there was a knock at his door , he answered it , tank top hanging loosely off his shoulders and shorts riding up past his knees just a tad . . . oh , and the towel on his head , too . nice addition to the whole outfit . ' hey , there ! how may i help ya , darl - - ' his blue eyes flickered to the stranger's arm , noticing a bit of blood dripping onto his porch . ' o - oh , my ! uhm , yes , no - - ya ain't gotta say a word - - i'll be right back ! ' he went to close the door , taking a step back before realizing - - hey ! the towel would work just fine for now !

removing it from atop his head , he stepped out , barefooted , and took the much taller man by his wrist . he was so focused on fixing up the wound , he didn't even notice how wild his hair looked - - though , it was still extremely soft to the touch . . . but , enough about that ! bradley was now wrapping said towel around that large gash , pressing against it and tugging on the other gently . ' folla' me , alright ? ' and off he went , dragging the man along behind him .

when he got to the bathroom , he took out the first aid kit , his wet shirt , pants , and underwear still on the seat of the toilet . taking out some needle and thread , he took the towel away and ran cold water over it before drying it up with the same , now pink , cloth that had been on his head . ' ahhh , ah , ah . . . looks pretty deep , doll - - definitely gonna have ta stitch it up , alright ? ya ready ? ' as he asked this , he let go of the stranger , ran a hand through his own hair , and began to push thread through the eye of the needle , tying it up and glancing at his new companion .

(zeke rainey)

' n' my name's bradley . ' he grinned and winked at zeke , teeth remarkably straight . ' nice name ! welcome ta the holland farms where we apparently do medical work now . ' he hoped the joke would register as he wasn't used to being able to come up with them fast enough . that one certainly made him proud though as he chuckled a little at it .

turning his head back down to focus on his work , he quickly stitched up the wound . it only took about ten minutes , but the lines were perfect and almost professional looking . ' there we go . painless , yeah ? i've had ta do it many times in the past , so i've become almost an expert at it . ' he used the towel to wipe off the blood all over zeke's arm , making sure to get it a little wet first . and then he washed his own hands of blood , humming a small tune before ceasing and throwing the towel into his dirty clothes bin .

' alright - - let's get ya somethin' ta eat'r drink , m'kay ? ya look a lil' ragged , ya know ? ' but handsome ! ' i've got loads'a food in my fridge . got some fruit , too ! pecha berries , leppa berries , got some torchic eggs n' even some sweet tea , if ya like that ! i know i love it . . . oh , gosh , i really need a glass of it now , since i thought of it . ' and off he went into the fairly large kitchen .

bradley lived on a ranch , yes , but it was obvious his family was well off . the house itself was huge , and the kitchen seemed to be decked out with a lot of nice equipment . it wasn't like they showed off their wealth , but they did enjoy having the space to move around and such !

taking down two glasses , the breeder poured some sweet tea in one and hesitated over the other , throwing his eyes up at zeke . ' want some , darlin' ? ' he asked , ready to dump it in .

(zeke rainey )

a happy little flutter in his chest - - oof , what a weird feeling . . . but it made him extremely mirthful that zeke liked his handiwork ! a stranger had no reason to lie about something like that , after all . they could have said it was a poor job . it only solidified his shaky confidence , allowing him to beam with pure , youthful joy . ' thanks ! i'm glad ya like my stitchin' n' i'm glad ya like my home ! ' his voice was quite loud and it carried throughout his house . it'd have been hard NOT to hear him .

watching as zeke downed the glass like he was at a bar , bradley took the cup and filled it up once more before putting the pitcher away . he took a seat on one of the stools , twisting his hips from side to side as the round cushion followed his firmly planted rear . ' i love it ! got sweet tea runnin' in my veins . ' he took a sip of the golden brown drink , before nodding his head at zeke's question .

' yes , we're breeders . it's a pretty fun occupation , if ya ask me ! no college skills needed , either . jus' gotta tell a male from a female , put 'em tagether , n' if they're compatible , then , boom ! ya got yerself an egg . ' that smile was still on his face . ' i mean , it's a lil' more complicated than that sometimes , what with the registered pokemon n' their papers n' such , but it ain't too hard . '

' n' what about yerself ?

' yeah , it's still a job - - so , not everything is fun . i'd be lyin' if i said cleanin' out stalls fer my mudsdales n' rapidashes is fun . . . cause it ain't . ' another sip of his tea as he listened closely to what zeke had to say . a police officer ! what a cool job . . . it kinda made him feel warm inside - - a little safe , too . ' mmm . . . ' he hummed softly , a little thump in his chest . ' s'nice ta be in the presence'a someone so filled with justice . ' he was murmuring into his cup , smiling a little as his cheeks began to hurt .

yeah , he was right , lavaridge was much more different than mauville . a lot more peaceful .

with a pop of his pink lips , he set the glass down . ' a league assignment ? ' bradley questioned , a small sparkle twinkling in his eyes . he had always wanted to travel through hoenn on a mission or something like that - - but zeke didn't need to know that right off the bat . . .

' what . . . what're ya doin' on this assignment . . . ? i'd - - love ta know . ' his brows were raised , gaze staring deep into the other's eyes as he wiggled his rear to sit up a little more . he was like an excited lillipup . . . adorable .

that little comment caused him to snort into his sweet tea - - he wasn't used to vulgar language , though , so , it did come as a small shock to him . but it wasn't bad ! just a bit foreign . he had a pretty good mouth on him after all - - never so much as uttered a curse word .

' oh my - - yeah , i heard 'bout them pesky lil' invaders . they're eatin' all the corsola n' stuff ! ' he might not have been too experienced in seeing things outside of his town , but he did watch the news frequently . it allowed him to close his eyes and picture what it would be like to stand there and be in those regions . . . it gave him an escape . . . until the time came for him to do stuff , then he'd be knocked out of his little day dreams .

had he been . . . ? ' . . . no . i ain't never been - - in fact , i ain't never gone further than , like , mauville when we've needed supplies . other'n that . . . it's jus' been this town fer eighteen years . ' he nodded once and sighed just a tad . ' i'd love ta go one day - - in fact , i wanna go ta the beach . . . go swimmin' n' get tan by relaxin' instead'a workin' . it'd be nice . . . ' bradley's blue eyes slipped shut as he drifted off into another day dream , his body rocking from side to side .

after a few minutes of silent daydreaming , bradley opened his eyes back up and let them land on zeke , watching as he took a long , slow sip of his sweet tea . he looked like he had something to say . . . it was driving him mad !

and that's when the offer was extended to him . bradley froze , blinking a few times and just staring at the man like he was crazy - - but the tone in his voice and the way he stared back sunk in . . . he was serious about it . . . so serious , in fact , it almost made him agree right then and there !

but he held out , allowing zeke to explain more about it . the offer was extremely tempting . . . and he had to think for a few more minutes , glancing away while he did . he would be paid , get a small trip , and it would be a thank you present , basically . . . what more could he ask for ?

biting his bottom lip , the breeder glanced up and made eye contact with him once more . ' if ya're serious . . . n' ya ain't tuggin' my leg n' stuff . . . then , yes . yes ! i'll go with ya n' help fer sure ! ' towards the end of his sentence , he grew excited , face lighting up as he grinned from ear to ear in joy . ' it'll be a lotta fun , i'm sure of it ! '

as soon as he agreed to go with zeke , it was as if a switch had been turned on - - his mouth began moving a hundred miles an hour as he started to explain to bradley what was about to happen . like a kid in school who had no idea what was being taught , the breeder stared at his new friend with eyebrows raised in surprise .

' o - oh , no , no , ya're fine - - ya seem excited , i . . . i think . which is a good thing ! but , yes - - lemme pack a bag . do ya wanna stay the night here , or get down there n' stay somewhere ? i wouldn't mind stayin' down there tanight n' comin' back tamorr'a evenin' . we can eat some good food n' listen to the ocean ! it'll be nice - - a new experience ! ' he was growing more excited by the second . ' think of an answer while i pack ! be right back ! ' and off he went , scurrying up the stairs .

zeke didn't get to see it , but watching bradley pack was quite amusing - - he wasn't sure what to bring , so , he just guessed . . . he looked like such a lost little mareep , but eventually he got the hang of it !

after a few minutes , he bounded down the stairs before meeting back up with the man . ' alright , got everything packed ! didja think of what ya wanna do ? oh , n' before you can protest , i call the altaria ! ' he laughed joyously , plopping his bag on the floor .