Footsie
"Harley," Solidad begins in a calm tone, but such gentleness itself is punctuated by soft scolding pauses, "I understand you do these things... with the nicest and best intentions. But. This is not the time neither the place for this."
Harley opens his mouth to protest and defend himself from that subtle attack. He would love some extra help, but the two teenagers sitting next to him are apparently too busy to care. Drew and May are fairly concentrated on a vicious eye contact game, leaving them completely oblivious to their surroundings.
Tonight's date is an intimate post-contest dinner to celebrate May's fifth ribbon. They reserved seats in a local and tiny romantic restaurant, where people share a small table illuminated by candlelights and Chinchou by the riverbank. Guests leave their shoes at the entrance hall and cross a gorgeous garden before reaching their seats. The open-space landscape is based on a modern-style interpretation of Johto's traditional arts and crafts, featuring delicate painted paper walls of legendary pokemon.
That is definitely the kind of place that everybody in the quartet appreciates - great visuals, efficient service and creative menu options - although... perhaps not really the ideal choice as a group of four, all together at the same time...
"But!..."
"Harley..."
The four coordinators are a bit tired - the ribbon qualification season is almost over and the Grand Festival is starting within a month. Still, gatherings like that are too precious to be simply skipped or dismissed. They are young, yet already famous and chasing for higher competitive ranks in the Coordinating scene. Such excuse for dinner time together is a chance to loose the pressure of professional life and cherish the little things of private life.
"But… Sol, hun, this is only a rustic wooden table with candles and lanterns in the middle of nowhere! Don't you need something more exciting?"
"Hm? I though you liked Johto's aesthetics and aromatic candles—"
"—I do, but, well. I'm bored."
(A reminder that cherishing private life also includes the golden chance of complaining about anything. Always.)
Solidad sighes - she knows Harley is feeling a bit agitated and censoring him only makes his finger tapping more constant and impatient. The uninvited foot rubs on her feet one more time, stopping in a lasting and slow motion... Feeling the texture of the smooth wool sock against her black fleece sock, she takes it as a confrontational statement.
"Don't."
Before start ranting for real, the spooky coordinator puffs his cheeks then gives his best friend a long frustrated groan, deflating his spooky Wigglytuff impression.
"It's not like I'm spoiling a suuuupeer special thing between these two stupid lovebirds… You're being unfair, I'm not being horrible today! It's just my regular dash of evilness, geez."
Solidad listens to Harley's reasoning (?) with patience, without showing a single trace of disdain on her face.
Indeed, Harley is not exactly intentionally bothering the two raging-hormones rivals. Also, giving him the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he's not doing that foot thing with the awareness it triggers some discomfort from her side.
That doesn't mean Solidad will stop her inquiry there - she wants to solve the issue while no one else seems to be paying attention to their discussion. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, this is just the same dose of evilness, dear."
However, an unexpected whiny third voice decides to join their convo.
"…Hmpf, so you are admitting you were being at least a bit evil to me today."
Judging by the reddened blush and embarrassment on May's face, the words just slippered out her mouth without much self-control. Blame the empty stomach. Perhaps it would be better to not say anything at all, but it's too late... "I-I mean... nevermind!"
Oh, May was paying attention to the talk. Well, that shouldn't be a problem, she probably won't get the context unlike—
"Hmm?"
The fourth voice manifests itself.
Drew suddenly looks a bit more serious than before, eyes full of wonder back to alert mode. Being mellow in front of his veteran partners can be an unforgiving slip - no way, one cannot just hand them such strong weapon for free. He coughs and unconsciously speaks with a tone lower than usual, "May, is everything alright?"
"Yeah... Ah, don't worry, it was just a stupid comment... Uh, thanks for asking."
Solidad smiles, not focusing her glare at anything in particular. Harley repeats May's 'thanks for asking' with a squeaky mocking voice. Drew frowns, clearly more annoyed with the knowing grin than the silly provocation.
May feels her body sinking under the table, regretting her incompetence at not speaking when she is supposed to shut her mouth up. That only adds to the embarrassment of Harley's teasing words from earlier on that day, right before meeting and gathering everyone to the restaurant.
"So... if you're telling me I was horrible, which I'm clearly not, them tell me now... what was the exact horrible thing that I did to you today?"
May cannot easily forget how he suggested that Drew was really looking forward inviting her to do something else after that group date. She has no reason to feel so bothered about these vague words - but Harley's playful tone is always so malicious that it's really challenging to not imagine stupid things.
'Something else' imagination starts replaying on her mind, which only makes it more exhausting to formulate a decent answer.
"You kept talking to me... Ugh!... Nothing, forget it..."
Of course Harley knows what May is talking about. But better play the pretty little angel in front of grasshead and fairplay Solidad.
"Pardon? Miss Tent, honey, I know you love my attention. Everybody wants some Harley!... But tonight we're not here to acknowledge your existence."
Drew smirks. "I thought we were all sitting here tonight to celebrate May's victory."
"She might get cold feet before a performance..." Solidad is very careful with the words she uses. "But May is a great coordinator, she always overcomes her fears."
"Awww, thanks Solidad... You're too nice, I don't deserve that, hehehe."
The uninvited physical contact returns at a different spot, now massaging the side of Solidad's foot. Meanwhile, Harley dramatically dismisses his rivals with hands full of contempt. "Shhhh, just pay attention to each other, this is between the two adults here. Shooo, shoo..."
Drew raises his brows at May, who glares back with a meek but still friendly pout. She seems a bit conflicted about the situation, but then shrugs her shoulders lightly and flashes a tiny sweet smile. The sarcasm wall melts a little - it's impossible to resist to that face. He offers her back a warm grin, which makes her want to explode.
The adult coordinators pretend they are completely oblivious to the scene, until the flirting rivals giggle and somehow suddenly become quiet and timid again. Their courting game is intense, yet still extremely clumsy. Such cute exchange itself is way too much for Harley. He pretends to be nauseated then vomits abundant saccharine rainbows of disgust.
"Harley, keep your feet..."
"Bleeeeurgh... do we really need to watch this?"
Solidad tries to not roll her eyes out, sighing with a patient smile plastered on her face. She gets how impatient her old buddy is regarding the situation between the other two, but discounting the whole shipping stress on her leg is not going to help. It feels slightly weirder now, once the gentle stroke slowly becomes a... sensual one.
"Harley…" Trying to sound as delicate as possible, the Kanto Top Coordinator tries to rephrase her request in a different way. "Yes, I was talking about us, not them. It's not a big deal, but please stop it."
"...Oh. And I thought you were the sole logical soul sitting with us today." Harley is feeling so unfairly blocked that an unusual single mutter is his only answer this time. He crosses his arms in a dramatic way, yet still under the flashy drama Solidad can see a pinch of real disappointment. Harley is hurt.
Looking away for a moment, the Kanto Top Coordinator touches her index finger under her chin, as if she is thinking now how this is a quite… odd situation. There must be something really wrong in all of this.
Harley is Solidad's best friend - he usually picks up her mood very easily, meaning that he's probably doing things on purpose to annoy her and have some fun out of the awkward situation. But he's not the type that would offend her on purpose, making the whole situation really weird and nonsensical.
They could easily talk about the issue later but seeing the Cacturne Man hurt is the reason why she decides to clear up things as quickly as possible.
"You see, I'm not much into physical contact..."
No answer.
Is Harley okay?...
Perhaps being too subtle is not enough. Harley needs reassurance. Solidad takes the chance that May and Drew are distracted again to continue her explanation.
"I'm not saying you are not welcome, it's just that some intimate things like f—"
"—Hun, I know!" In a mix of frustration and confusion, Harley raises his hands up into the air. "What is it today that you're talking to me like that?! Is it the National Coming Out day or something like that? Hey, do you guys know if we have a Coming Out day in Johto?!"
The restaurant stops. Guests and staff are immediately dragged by the intense magnetic pull generated by that loud cry, all attention funneled into the Coordinator squad table. Harley stands up with his defiant hands resting on his hips, making sure to twist his body in the most attention-dragging angle as possible.
Nobody in the place says a word. Even the serene Chinchou flashes their lights in surprise.
May is surprised and you can easily tell that by her shocked face. Drew is also surprised, but rather pretend to be dead by burying his soulless face in his hands.
"Oopsie. I guess that's a no. No Coming Out day for Johto folks."
Solidad... is not exactly surprised. She just takes a sip from her drink and watches the spectacular performance in silence.
"They should, anyway. Sol, we can start a new trend in these traditional lands, what do you think?"
Yeah, Harley is completely fine. He's okay.
"Uh..." May knows it can be a tricky topic but she can't stop herself from making the question. "...Who's coming out today?"
Drew stares at Solidad.
Solidad stares at Harley.
Harley wants to roll his eyes out but decides to stare at Drew with a welcoming smile on purpose. That unexpected shift makes Solidad turn her head in confusion to Drew, who definitely doesn't appreciate the sudden focused attention.
"...Why are you all looking at me." Supposedly a question, but Drew emphasizes the tone in a way that sounds like a threat.
May is completely lost at the strange discussion going on their table. She is not a good diplomat but attempts easing the mood nevertheless.
"Oh. I guess it's okay if it's coming out day but the person doesn't feel like coming out or something... No need to any coming out, right?"
Drew knows it's impolite and possessive to do so, but oh how he wants badly to simply murder his rivals and run away with May to another place. Next time she wins, he'll certainly suggest going to an isolated place that only accepts a single pair of guests... "Yes. By the way, you're all hungry, right? Shall we order some food now?"
"Hmm, that's a good idea." Solidad's answer is a big helping hand for the teen from LaRousse City. "I bet you want to see the menu too, right May?"
Big confused blue eyes immediately become bright and excited. May remembers how hungry she is. It's easy to bribe for attention when someone's stomach speaks louder than common sense... "I'd love to! Hmmmm, food—"
"—Nope, wait a minute! You made a good question and I know the answer for that!"
Harley is feeling didactic now. And exponentially proud and powerful. He sits down again and raise an index finger up in the air. "May, dear, you will learn something important from Master Harley before going all Snorlax tonight."
Drew crosses his arms in an uneasy way. "She can hear your lecturing later..."
"Grasshead, I'm offering my words to May, not you."
May just wants everybody to get along and order food. Weren't they supposed to have a relaxing and fun night?... "Let him talk, it's okay."
"I... I don't think we want to listen to Harley right now." Drew insists, feeling his restless foot getting really strained now. "You can ask him later about his personal life and preferences, can't you?"
"I don't know, if Harley and Solidad feel better saying they are close friends but not a couple, let them," May speaks in a very uncertain tone, staring at the empty appetizer baskets with sorrow, "I mean... Or the opposite, I actually don't know and it's not my issue, right."
Now it's Solidad's turn to raise her eyebrows in surprise. Something even weirder grabs her attention from the unwanted footsie. "...Huh?"
Harley looks like he has just won the Grand Festival Cup but has to restrain himself to look uninterested. Drew is in a similar situation as Harley's, but he reacts with a sarcastic smirk instead of going nuts.
Firstly, the annoying innuendo. Then, the intense teasing without resolution. Adding to the frustration, an empty stomach. And lots of stupid words leaking from her mouth. May doesn't want to screw up things deeper, but a non-collaborative Drew - how does he dare to not touch her after all that incessant flirting - is all she needs to sink lower.
"Can't you feel some empathy, Drew? We always complain about the rumors about us."
"...Huh." Hearing the 'us' in that sentence is an unexpected thing. "What about us?"
"Yeah, it's complicated." May frowns. It's the kind of topic that she would not touch in a dinner party with her friends, but her growling stomach is unforgiving with her logical side. "But think about it, they probably hear the same thing as we do, all the time, from everybody..."
Harley just bursts into a scandalous laughing fit.
"You're really comparing Harley and Solidad..." Drew is already shocked but he can't help but keep making it even harder for himself. "...To us?"
"...Could be." Looking away in embarrassment, May's grip on the menu instantly become much stronger than before. "Well, I don't know, what are they... What are we?"
Solidad freezes. The uninvited foot is touching her leg without a sock now. She can feel the soft and warm skin touching hers - and that's her limit. "That's enough—"
"—Fine," Drew concedes in a sarcastic way, "as long as I'm Solidad in that silly comparison, because you're definitely the Harley of our argument here."
May angrily raises from the table, determined to call the staff and order some dishes. She's done with being ridiculous - her body demands food, immediately.
"Excuse me! I'd like to order the spicy hot pot with noodles!"
"Oh... Oh. No way."
Drew suddenly raises his hand to his mouth, making Solidad notice that being ignored like that was not a good thing for the young coordinator.
Harley just cannot control himself. "Hahahaha, oh my! Sol, did you hear that? Please, tell me I'm not dreaming, hahaha!"
Solidad sighs, relieved that at least two of her friends are back to normal. Still, something off about Drew's expression makes her wonder if rejection was really the cause for such strong reaction... "Is everything alright?..."
"...I'm sorry, Solidad."
The foot is coincidentally gone from her leg too.
Oh, now Drew is horribly quiet and refuses to make eye contact.
Oh.
Oh.
Solidad doesn't need to lift up the table cloth anymore.
"Ah, how could I forget... Harley, loafer socks. It all makes sense."
That's all she says.
A/N: I will update the other pending stories soon, hopefully.
This one is just something that happened during a sleepless 12-hour flight, so... like [63] and [Hangover], it's one of those stories that I plan something cute but it ends up being just plain weird lol. I hope you enjoyed it!
Yeah, there's a little extra below this A/N. Have fun!
(Epilogue)
"I was wrong today. You know, I judged Harley really badly..."
The Coordinator quartet walks back to the Pokemon Center in an apparently peaceful and silent mood. That was a incredibly wild night for a planned relaxing dinner.
May is mildly distressed, but at least happy for the great meal and blessed by being completely oblivious to the foot incident.
Harley is also satisfied and has no clue what's the deal with all the sock talk... Still, he can easily tell that something happened since Solidad and Drew are walking in a slower pace and chatting secretively.
"...Goodnight, Solidad." Drew knows how she is going to end her story. He definitely doesn't want to hear that part.
"Mistakes happen..."
Being painfully calm and motherly on duty, the Kanto Top Coordinator keeps torturing the almost soulless teen by her side. "I didn't want to find out details, but I'm kind of amused that you're acting more boldly and..."
"I've said I'm really, really sorry. Goodnight, Solidad."
Drew wants to kill himself. Caressing Solidad's feet by mistake was defnitely the worst mistake in his life, ever.
"May is waiting. You know that, don't you? Next time, just try your thing when you two are, you know, alone. By the way..."
"Goodnight, Solidad."
"...okay, goodnight and be safe if you're doing something else tonight."
Solidad watches her young rival disappearing from her mid-sentence. Trying to offer some compassion and a helping hand, she stops by a vending machine near the Pokemon Center's entrance. "Harley, would you like some lemonade before hitting the bed?"
"Ohh, does it mean I was a good boy today?" The Cacturne Man spins the heels of his shoes, walking back to Solidad. "If you buy the drink I get the booze to mix, how does that sound for you?"
"I'll think about it." The Kanto Top Coordinator smiles, opening her coin case while observing the other two entering the Pokemon Center. "I gotta talk to you anyway, so please stay. Goodnight, May! Goodnight, Drew."
"Bye, Solidad, bye, Harley! Thanks for the dinner!"
Drew doesn't answer. May is about to ask him why but is interrupted by an offering hand.
"...Would you like something to drink, too? Just the two of us."
She's so excited that leaves the entrance door open. They are holding hands and anyone can see how Drew is nervous... Not that he cares anymore - nothing can be more compromising than a wrong footsie anyway.
Once again the two spectators watch the young awkward romance advancing in uncoordinated steps.
However, this time someone doesn't feel that complaining about it is necessary at all.
"So, what did you tell the brat?"
Harley doesn't hide his interests and hops around his best friend with glee and curiosity. "Details, details. Tell me everything!"
Solidad refuses to answer that but the glow in her veiled smile is enough to make him do a victory samba.
"Oh my Deerling, boy got caught by the police! You taught him a good lesson, didn't you?"
"Of course. They are young and enjoying their love in a safe way is important."
"You're the family's big mom." The spooky coordinator puts his hands on his hips, jiggling in a spirited way. "You make me so proud..."
"I'm sorry about today," speaking in a frank tone, Solidad offers a conciliatory drink. "I made a horrible judgement and I might have hurt you because of that."
Harley accepts the small gesture gracefully. Holding the canned drink with care, he giggles in satisfaction.
"Hehe, no worries. It was already priceless to hear May unintentionally denying her torrent affair with grasshead... or either stating yeah, perhaps Harley and Solidad are totally screwing each other."
"Two gems in a single shot, huh?" She's glad that so much could be solved without much drama or trouble. Seeing her rivals happy and going to sleep with a positive attitude at the end of the day is always difficult, yet very rewarding. "Bit tiring but fun day, right."
"Yeah... Tiring, but no need to worry, I gotchu. You really deservea good foot rub!"
"...Wait, what?"
"C'mon, I know you've been thinking about it the whole dinner! You don't need to ask, Harley will be your special foot massager tonight!"
"Wait—"
(...)