"So…how have you been doing?"
Soledad tore her eyes away from the steaming cup of coffee that rested in her hands, which were placed on her lap, therefore making the warmth that radiated from the polystyrene container leave a hot spot on her legs. Her fingers were wrapped tightly around the protective cardboard cover, although the heat from it still made them sting slightly despite. This was the reason why she had not taken a sip already – not wanting her lips to make contact with the volcanic fluid until it at least cooled down a bit.
Of course, the one who had asked the question from earlier with a tone fit for a person trying to stall someone, or simply clueless as to what to say towards one the speaker was slightly embarrassed to be around, had already gulped down half of his own cup, treating the extensive amount of heat as nothing but a simple lingering prick amongst his tongue. Apparently he didn't mind how the hot water splashed down his throat like a tumbling waterfall – a more soupy, brown, and better-tasting version of lava. In fact, after taking a majority of sips from the small hole upon the container's lid, Harley placed it on the circular table in front of him, leaning back in his chair afterwards and bringing one leg up to fold it over the other like some sort of serious businessman would.
He didn't seem to care that she was lacking a response – that she was instead staring at the cup of coffee in her hands as if multitasking with talking to him and having a serious mental debate. He didn't want to push private matters out of her, though, or otherwise ask her if she was fine, despite that her softened eyes were strangely glued to the hot beverage in her hands. Regardless of her obvious thirstiness she hadn't taken a swig from it, but had actually eventually placed it on the same table that sat between their wooden chairs and separated them from being too close – the same table he had placed his on, steam still rising from the holes on the lid that were made for such a purpose.
Harley was indeed right – Soledad was having a mental debate with herself. She had wondered why the semblance around the amethyst-haired man seemed so different than from what had been portrayed during the Johto journeys, as well as before that. Even if it didn't seem sensible for her to be making it the big deal that she was, she couldn't help but find it suspicious nonetheless. People didn't change so much in only a matter of months, she knew, and in the process act like they had always been the person they had metamorphosed into.
When she turned her verdigris eyes to meet Harley's, she was tempted to gape her mouth slightly at how…normal…his metallic blue-green orbs appeared. He was directly across the table from her, his leg folded over the other, arms resting on the rests of his chair, and his eyebrow slightly quirked, which was possibly serving as a physical implication that he was waiting patiently for her answer to his earlier question. In the midst of being lost within her thoughts she hadn't even noticed that he had spoken, not recognizing his renowned girly tone, which seemed to be no longer present and was now only a fading ghost among his new strong voice.
Was how he used to act really nonexistent? Did he actually change into a whole new person over the course of only a few months? Was the personality he had during the Johto travels and before all a façade he had put on for unknown reasons?
She shook the endless questions away from her head. She didn't want to blurt them out accidentally, or even signal that she was wondering about his new character, as she figured that if she did ask about it then he would become offended. Who wouldn't be if their personality was questioned?
Instead, she remained silent, allowing her eyes to examine more of his features that she didn't even think would serve right to be part of him. This included how lean his structure looked. He appeared casual and laid-back, his clothes matching the same impression, and even with the fact that he didn't seem muscular, but yet held enough weight to avoid being considered scrawny, it only added to how 'usual' his visage seemed to be – like an everyday person one would see walking down the street, but yet give no thought about later because he or she didn't stand out among the other hordes of pedestrians spotted on a daily basis.
This was, of course, oxymoronic for him, as in the earlier days he wore a suit fit for a person obsessed with Cacturnes, which would have definitely made him 'colorful' in a room filled with plain people.
She turned her eyes to his jaw line, noticing the small field of gray upon it that was only noticeable when she squinted. It was morning stubble, it seemed – perhaps he had shaved not too long ago and the hair was only beginning to grow back. She admired how mature his other features looked, though, such as the nearly-hidden lines of age around his eyes, which his metallic blue-green irises that were like deep pools seemed to glow despite the majority of lights that lit up the quiet café. His face had a built tone to it, no longer appearing circular like a spunky child, but instead straight like a responsible man, even seeming to match with the lean structure of his tall body.
He looked so different, and now that she thought about it, he looked…
…attractive.
She blushed at that last thought.
His amethyst-colored hair enshrouded his ears, falling to his mid-back, and in the front reaching down to his exposed collarbone. It seemed to shine slightly, despite that anyone who bothered to put effort into their own hair could easily outmatch it. Of course, this didn't take away from the fact that it added to his matured countenance, which it had failed to do during the Johto travels since a certain triangular Cacturne-themed hat always covered it. Her attention was swiped away from it when his finger came up to brush a stray bang from his eyesight.
He didn't seem to notice that she was examining his features, or even the unexplained blush that had covered her face a few seconds ago. In fact, he was completely oblivious to it all seeing as how his own mind had drifted off to recent things, such as why Soledad had randomly appeared in Slateport City for no apparent reason (despite that he wasn't bothered by her presence, but instead somewhat happy to see a friend once again after they had been apart for quite some time).
Soledad noticed his lips, which were rich in color, but yet not bright enough to stand out among his somewhat-tanned skin tone, twitch upward into a soft smile. She figured he was mentally laughing at something, although before she could ponder on what, she remembered his earlier question - as well as finally realized that they both had been sitting in awkward silence for the past few minutes with only the murmurs of the conversing people around them to fill the air with noise. She was somewhat grateful that he wasn't questioning her for being non-responsive, and instead to avoid convincing him to ask about it again, she mumbled her reply. "Uh…I'm good…how about you?"
Harley blinked himself, caught off-guard by the sudden answer. He kept a poker face, though, and shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Eh, so-so," he then simply muttered, his voice casual, apparently not minding the fact that Soledad's answer had come late. He eventually turned his eyes to her again, watching her take a sip of her coffee after checking if it had cooled down, which was when he asked, "What are you doing here in Slateport City anyway?"
She placed her cup back on the table. "Vacation."
"Vacation?"
"Vacation."
"Oh…" Harley mumbled. Soledad's firm, yet friendly tone seemed to go against the bewildered emotion she was feeling at the moment, but she kept it up to avoid disturbing the amethyst-haired man across the table from her. He turned his eyes downward, focusing their now somewhat-dimmed hue on his own cup of coffee, which was still letting out puffs of steam on the table. Despite this, he contained no interest towards the beverage, and instead was only using it as a tool to rest his eyes upon so he could clear his thoughts.
Soledad scratched her chin, nervous of the silence that had yet again overtaken them. For the sake of it she found herself asking, "So…what are you doing here?"
The amethyst-haired man brushed another bang from his face. His expression was monotonic, his voice carrying the same tone. "I was born and raised here, so when we all split up I came back for relaxation."
Soledad nearly choked on her coffee as his answer emitted alongside her sip. She wasn't startled from his response because she was unaware that Slateport City was his hometown, but at the fact that she hadn't remembered such a detail at all, therefore never thinking about it even when she decided to go there for a vacation. Of course, with even more thoughts on Harley, which included how abnormally mellow he was acting, it wasn't long before the subject was forgotten about.
"You know," he suddenly began with a calm voice, reaching forward to grab his coffee from the table, "ever since I was little I always knew all the good places around town. Maybe in a few days I can show some of them to you, including the buyer's market and the finest restaurants that overlook the beach."
Soledad blinked, and despite her recent thoughts, she couldn't help but grab the opportunity to poke fun at the male coordinator when it was in reach. "Why, Harley," she then chuckled, smirking slightly, a devious look gracing her eyes, "are you asking me out…on a date?"
Harley's eyes seemed to widen, and he, too, nearly choked on his coffee. He obviously hadn't noticed that his offer to show her around town like any friend would could easily be misinterpreted as a request to take her out, and Soledad couldn't help but smile, aware that his very intention wasn't this, but yet finding it humorous anyway. For some reason seeing Harley stutter over his words was almost as amusing as humiliating Drew in front of his many fans.
Nonetheless, Soledad swore she could see the amethyst-haired man's cheeks gain a red hue, but decided to wave it off as a simple reflex of embarrassment.
Harley quickly recovered from his stumble as he then replied, "N-no, I w-was just t-thinking-"
"Don't worry about it," Soledad then chuckled again, deciding to save the poor adult from the agony of having to explain it all in detail. "I know what you meant, Harley, and I gladly accept your offer."
She had always been the nice one of the group. How oxymoronic would it be if she declined his generous offer, seeing as how she was slightly convinced that he wasn't pulling off anything? His new personality, she had noticed, looked pretty permanent, although she was still curious for the answer behind the sudden change of heart.
Besides, spending time with him would not only help her learn more about him and possibly start a friendship deeper than the one they already shared, but would also assist in finding the answers she was looking for.
Harley seemed to sigh in relief, although the lingering effects of embarrassment still rested upon his features. Soledad wondered why a simple joke was playing such a big part on him...
"Do you have a place to stay at yet?"
Yet again, Harley's question had come unexpectedly, therefore leaving Soledad with a bewildered look on her face. She had noticed that, as Harley took another sip from his coffee, his tone was back to being mellow and somewhat emotionless. His face was still slightly flushed, but even then the impression of patience that glistened among his quiet metallic blue-green eyes no longer matched it, and instead he leaned back in his chair in a casual manner, arching his eyebrow again to signify his wait for a response.
Soledad, choosing to ignore how amazingly fast Harley recovered from the incident, shook her head slowly, stating then that she had yet to get a hotel room. Harley pushed back even more, making the chair's wooden joints squeak slightly because of it, and a dazed semblance covered his mouth and eyes. His arms had come up to help cushion his head against the seat's back, and it seemed he was debating on something within his mind, his gaze focused on the ceiling above in the repeated motion of clearing his thoughts.
"Well," he then began, voice quiet, eyes remaining on the swirling fans above, "the hotel rooms here can be pricey, even if you stay at a motel on the outskirts of town. I'm not implying anything by this, nor do you have to accept it, but if you want to stay someplace for free where it would be easy to keep in contact with me so I can show you around, then would you like to bunk in the guest room of my apartment?"
For the next few seconds Soledad remained silent, amazed by his generosity that the Harley she thought she knew never showed, as well as the offer itself.
Stay…with Harley?
As with her reasons of accepting his offer to show her around, Soledad knew that such a thing would benefit her urge to learn more about his mysterious person. And, of course, there was the obvious thing that it would also help her with her vacation, saving her from having to pay for an expensive room when just the long taxi drive to the city itself had taken nearly half of her cash. She knew that he wouldn't care if she declined, as he was just offering because he had the capability to put a temporary roof over her head, which was what friends did for each other.
Soledad could suddenly feel herself smile.
She turned her eyes to him, nodding. Harley, despite that it was obvious he wanted to smile, kept his expression mellow and instead got up, brought his cup of coffee to his lips to take down the last few gulps that were left, and threw the empty canister into a nearby trashcan. Soledad did the same, not asking any questions as she grabbed her suitcase from under the table, following the male coordinator towards the door, where he would then lead her through the crowded city streets to his apartment among the jungle of manmade structures.
It was ironic how Soledad had accepted an offer from a person who everyone would've declined for in mere seconds, but even then whenever she questioned her choice, the thoughts of how different he was – the new side to him that she had only just seen – came back to mind.
He was nice.
He was mature.
He was normal.
He was…handsome.
Yet again she found herself blushing at that last thought.
