"Now! Burst out of the tornado together!"

Garchomp and Pidgeot roared as they followed Soledad's command, their charged Dragon Rush and Brave Bird, which covered them in the familiar outline of sparkling blue, helping them in breaking through the wall of high-velocity winds the blue tornado around them consisted of. As predicted, Pidgeot's spinning to keep the tornado running allowed it to follow her, concealing away her and Garchomp from beneath a blanket of blue flames, their locations within the intimidating squalls pinpointing themselves from how their silhouettes could be seen shivering in the middle of the attack.

Soledad hummed, seeing as how this attempt at the Brave Rush formation seemed to be working better than the previous tries that had occurred over the past hour. She and Harley had yet again gotten up early to train in the city's park, having spent a few days doing so, and now today was their last day – tomorrow being the start of the contest. The sun amongst the brightening sky cast its morning glow over the waking town, though the surrounding skyscrapers blocked it out and therefore the grounds around the park were shaded. Soledad didn't mind this since it meant that the air was cool, the scent of seawater still present in the atmosphere as the ocean's purring could be faintly heard over the roaring sounds of Slateport.

Of course, she didn't care for the background, or how a traffic jam was occurring on the intersection to the side of the park, the honks and curses of aggravated taxi drivers filling the hollow air because of it. Instead, the pink-red-haired woman sighed in suspense, keeping her face still with determination as Garchomp and Pidgeot continued with the final process of the Brave Rush formation – the part where they headed straight forward, hitting any imaginary targets in front of them as they focused on keeping the attack alive, which Soledad had found out was their weak point among performing the technique. They were doing good so far, the wave of blue flames that surrounded them roaring forward like a minimized hurricane, and a small inch of confidence filled Soledad's chest.

Maybe…just maybe…

She found herself smiling in anticipation as she watched the Brave Rush formation thrive in front of her. Sure Garchomp and Pidgeot had managed to successfully pull off the maneuver in past attempts, and they had even done so in their previous stab; but they had never done it correctly two tries in a row, which Soledad thought that if they were able to do such a thing, then maybe it meant that they were finally getting the hang of it. Before she could realize it, she was grinning like a giddy schoolgirl who had just been spoken to by the academy's Adonis.

That is, until Pidgeot faltered.

Just like their prior attempts that had ended up in failure, Pidgeot found herself unable to cope with the dizziness brought onto her by her constant spinning, causing her to flail downward, crash into Garchomp, and cut off the whole attack as they then both collided harshly with the grassy ground.

Immediately Soledad's face fell into one of misery, her enthusiasm disappearing as a deep sigh of discontent escaped her lips.

So much for two times in a row…

She mentally reminded herself that she probably should've been expecting such a thing, and not to get her hopes up when it was obvious that failure would be the dominate conclusion until the formation could be mastered. But, the problem was, she didn't know what to do to help perfect the technique – to help exorcise away the curse that seemed to possess it and always made it end in tears. She knew that the trouble kept on originating from Pidgeot's spinning; the poor bird, no matter how powerful she was, could only handle so much vertigo at once, though if she didn't spin, then the tornado of blue flames wouldn't follow her and add power to the formation. They needed that power; it was the key that guaranteed them both a vicious strike and a high rating from the contest judges at the same time.

"Another bad attempt, I see?"

Soledad blinked in surprise at the sound of the familiar voice and turned to face Harley as he approached. His expression was deadpanned like his tone, as if he had chosen to no longer show surprise towards the outcome of a Brave Rush formation, seeing as how seventy-five percent of the tries that day had ended in a negative manner. Soledad only brought her eyes away from his, glancing at Garchomp and Pidgeot as the two Pokemon got up from their fallen positions. Their distant snarls signified that they, too, were disappointed at the outcome.

The female coordinator returned her eyes to Harley, who was standing in front of her in the casual manner he was now known for. She noticed then that he was holding two cappuccinos, having just got back from the café down the street to obtain the said 'wake-up slaps'. He handed one to her, which she took it, sipping at it slowly, ignoring how the heat of it all stung her lips and warmed her throat. Meanwhile, Garchomp and Pidgeot approached, despondency now crossing their faces; it was obvious that they were taking the semblance of aggravation on Soledad's face to be anger towards their constant failure. Because of this, they mumbled out their names in an apologizing tone.

Soledad immediately caught this and turned to them, forcing her look of anger to dissipate into one of support. She wasn't mad at them; it wasn't their fault they couldn't handle a thing that most Pokemon probably couldn't either. She patted them both on the head, assuring them in the process, "It's alright. We just need some more practice, that's all…"

At the sight of their relieved faces, she turned back to Harley, allowing her look of disappointment to return. She was mad at herself, to tell the truth, and all because she seemed to lack the skills required to figure out how to fix this mess. Harley noticed this and frowned, sensing the mental bashing she was obviously giving to herself for the entire situation, which was why he muttered, "We'll solve this. Don't get mad."

Soledad turned her eyes to him, both of her verdigris irises drenched with frustration that only seemed to grow among hearing his words. "The contest is tomorrow, Harley," she replied, her firm and strict tone unintentional, though Harley showed no response to it since he understood why she was angry. "If we don't master the formation by the end of the day, it's going to be too late." She grunted, trying to suppress her frustration, despite that it wasn't working. "Who knows what May and Drew have in store for us? I mean, if they have already come up with another technique similar to the power of the Wall of Fire formation, we're the vulgar word for 'screwed'."

Harley chuckled slightly at her choice of words, and Soledad only hummed in aggravation, not finding anything humorous at the moment. Regardless of this, she couldn't help but admire him for how calm he was acting towards the situation, taking the flow of everything a lot better than she was. (Of course, none of this showed through her crossed arms and narrowed eyes.) She continued with an annoyed tone, somewhat sounding like a worry wart who was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown: "And what about the other competitors, huh? They probably have some nasty techniques as well-"

She was suddenly cut off when Harley placed his finger to her mouth, causing her face to redden. His skin was cool against her heated lips and for some reason she felt immobilized, her stress lost in the warm gaze his metallic blue-green eyes were softly giving her; comforting her; making her feel as if she didn't have a care in the world. Needless to say, she stayed silent as Harley chuckled again, removing his finger from her lips, obviously relieved that she had ceased her endless ranting. "Stop worrying," he then told her, his face now serious. "Have confidence in your Pokemon. I expected you of all people to know that."

A pang of foolishness struck Soledad's chest like a stray bullet as she remembered how she had went off. Her blush from before was still present, though now it was out of embarrassment rather than the wanting to feel Harley's soft touch against her skin again.

"Besides," he continued, earning the pink-red-haired woman's attention, "feeling frustrated is only going to make your Pokemon nervous. If you believe they can do it, then they'll do it." He smiled for a split second, though his frown then returned, his voice matching it. "I mean: 'Funny thing about anger – let it consume you, and soon enough, you lose sight of everything.'"

Soledad suddenly arched an eyebrow, the firmness of his recent words implying that his last sentence had been a quote from somewhere. Because of this, her look of anger died down into one of bewilderment and curiosity as she then asked, "Who said that?"

"…Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Squirtles."

Silence.

Then Soledad let out a laugh – the laugh she had needed to liberate in order to ease away her worry. Her facial expression gave into one of pure amusement that matched with her outburst of chuckles, and though Harley had blinked in surprise at her swift change of mood, he found himself succumbing to a hearty cachinnation as well. Garchomp and Pidgeot exchanged looks of confusion, wondering what was so funny that their trainers had magically thrown away their semblances of frustration as if they had never existed. (However, they soon allowed their own voices to come out as giggles when they finally comprehended it all.)

And, despite the recent series of unfortunate events - despite the stress and frustration - their laughing melted it all away into nothingness.


Harley and Soledad continued to practice the Brave Rush formation, and Soledad followed Harley's advice of showing confidence for her Pokemon rather than worrying for the outcome of every attempt towards the technique. To her surprise, doing such a thing had actually worked – Garchomp and Pidgeot had managed to perform the formation perfectly two times in a row, in which Pidgeot sustained her balance in the air despite the dizziness brought onto her from her spinning.

However, even then it wasn't ready for any competition yet; the formation still failed more times than it succeeded. Though it ended in their favor a lot better than it had been doing before, Soledad wanted to be able to be assured that the move would work for the start of the contest the next day. Because she was determined, Garchomp and Pidgeot were determined, practicing the technique all throughout the day – even rushing through lunch to squeeze a few more attempts into the schedule.

As the day passed, sunset soon befalling itself across the city of Slateport, both Soledad and Harley were relieved to see the improvement in the Brave Rush formation. Garchomp and Pidgeot were proud as well, though they only expressed their joy by performing more attempts, seeming more obsessed with perfecting it than their trainers were. The percentage of successful attempts continued to grow higher and higher into the scale, and regardless that Pidgeot's dizziness still ruined the chances a majority of the time, Soledad could feel that the bird was becoming more and more accustomed to handling the vertigo, forcing her body to push it aside in order to finish the formation without any trouble. The coordinator was proud, needless to say, as Harley was with his loyal Garchomp.

However, Soledad knew that the chance of faltering was still there. With Pidgeot having to spin in order for the formation to work, the dizziness was always an issue. The flying type had indeed proven that she had a firm grasp onto the rope behind the unsteadiness, but that didn't mean she could always keep it within reach. Regardless that she was now used to the side effects of the Brave Rush formation, it all still had a chance of straying the flying type from the momentum needed to pull it off perfectly.

"What do you think we should do?" Soledad asked, she and Harley sitting at one of the picnic tables that were spread out all over the park's grassy fields. The sky had metamorphosed into a dark blue, mixing with purple and pink as the sun sunk below the ocean-marked horizon, leaving the air of Slateport to grow chilly and somewhat quiet. The shadowed park grounds had also become isolated, the trainers that had been training there packing up for the day. It wasn't long before Harley and Soledad had most of the preserve to themselves. Harley scratched his chin, placing his elbow onto the stained surface of the wooden table so he could lean his cheek against his balled fist. It was obvious he was wondering where time had gone – how attempting to master a simple maneuver could snatch the day away from under one's eyes. Meanwhile, Soledad felt slightly nervous, knowing that with each passing second the contest grew closer, which meant that the time to see the Brave Rush formation live up to its hype was coming as well.

"I don't know," the amethyst-haired coordinator eventually muttered, a sigh escaping his lips. It was out of exhaustion, obviously, and not the matching sense of hopelessness Soledad was physically portraying. "Maybe we should just grit our teeth and give it hell. We can't do much more than that. Hope, I mean."

Soledad grunted, calming slightly at his words once she realized that he was right. She mentally scolded herself for being so nervous – she had never been this nervous for a contest before, despite how hard it looked. What was worse was that she had agreed before all of this that she would follow Harley's means of dealing with the matter and just go with the flow; but so far she had failed to lean with it, therefore contradicting herself.

A faint call from behind her tore her away from her thoughts, convincing her to shift around in her seat. Cacturne came into view, along with the rest of Harley's Pokemon, who had been released a little while ago when both the amethyst and pink-red-haired coordinators agreed that it would be nice for them if they all got some fresh air. In addition to this, her Pokemon had also been freed from their spherical containers, Pidgeot immediately joining Garchomp's side since they had formed a friendship during the practice of the Brave Rush formation. Meanwhile, Cacturne had been speaking with Lapras, Octillery soon joining in, and Banette and Butterfree were conversing with one another about their own cooperative formations. Wigglytuff was chatting in a calm, civilized manner to Ariados, both of them sharing the task of serving as backup for the participants of the competition. In the midst of all this, Slowbro was snoozing the dying day away a few feet from the 'socialization zone', laying on his back in an obvious attempt to soak up whatever leftover sun was seething through the front buildings that barricaded the view of the ocean.

Soledad hummed in bewilderment, failing in pinpointing the familiar call that had sounded like it had been directed towards gaining her attention. Slowly, she turned around to face Harley, though the call returned just then, causing her to snap around once again. Cacturne was now approaching, his face showing a look of curiosity as, when he was right in front of her, he pointed the end of his arm forward at the gatelike archway that served as the park's elegant entrance. Harley quirked his eyebrow from the side of Soledad, while she only fixed her gaze upon where, or whom, the grass and dark type was hinting at. She soon found herself blinking when two familiar forms came into view – one of a fifteen-year-old brunette, and the other of a sixteen-year-old chartreuse.

"May? Drew?" she called out. The two coordinators seemed to perk their heads up among hearing her voice, and then, noticing her presence, May emitted out a hearty hello while Drew stayed back, his infamous frown making itself known once he realized that Harley was in the area. Of course, he soon followed May in a reluctant manner, as if not wanting to even be in the same breathing space as the said amethyst-haired coordinator.

Harley and Soledad's Pokemon squealed their names in happiness upon seeing the two familiar faces. Despite that Drew obviously held suspicion towards Harley, the metallic blue-green-eyed man's Pokemon crowded around the chartreuse-haired teen with expressions of pure joy, refusing him access to continue unless he patted them on the head or uttered some sort of greeting. However, Garchomp kept back, eyes narrowed as if she was holding the same amount of suspiciousness towards Drew as he was with her trainer. It was obvious that she could sense his tension and therefore only snorted, keeping away, instantly feeling a sensation of disliking towards the sixteen-year-old, regardless that she had never met him before in person.

Meanwhile, as Drew continued onward in the act of following May to Soledad, his eyes widened in awe as he noticed Garchomp's presence, ignoring the fact that she was glaring at him, a growl rising from her throat. He had never seen such a powerful Pokemon, needless to say, his shock expressing itself through how his jaw dropped slightly. Then again, he pushed it all away when he reached Soledad, only mentally questioning on who the sharklike Pokemon belonged to.

"What are you guys doing here?" Soledad asked, oblivious to Drew's thoughts, which he had been freed from among the utterance of her words.

May, also unaware of her chartreuse-haired partner's vibes, smiled in a giddy manner, her voice matching her impression. "We were just walking around the town to help get rid of all this jumpiness for the contest tomorrow." She laughed, her sapphire eyes glinting in the dimming daylight. "It's not working, though. I'm just so excited!" To help prove this, she jumped up and down once, and Soledad chuckled in amusement.

Meanwhile, Drew's curiosity for who the owner of the Garchomp was wound up emitting from his mouth a few seconds later. "Who does that Garchomp belong to?" he questioned, pointing his finger to her, still oblivious to how she continued to glower at him with repugnance. It was evident that with the casual way he had spoken his words, he half-assumed that the land-shark Pokemon was Soledad's; because there was no way in Giratina's hellish domain that it belonged to Har-

"She's mine," answered the amethyst-haired coordinator who sat opposite from Soledad, his voice mellow.

Uh.

Drew's jaw dropped completely as he turned the amplified surprise of his eyes towards Harley, who simply yawned, as if automatically assuming that no one would find such news anything worth gasping over. May turned her eyes to the Pokemon, and though she displayed awe upon considering that Harley, of all people, had a Garchomp on his team, she soon grinned as if she couldn't handle her excitement any longer. "That is awesome!" the brunette then squealed, rushing forward and towards Garchomp, who switched her glare from Drew to her. However, the land-shark Pokemon, after spending a few seconds gazing at May and sensing the semblance of kindness that seemed to radiate from her, then slightly smiled, trusting her. Still awed, May reached forward and patted the Pokemon on her dorsal fin, then walking around her to admire her from every perspective. "She's beautiful!" the fifteen-year-old soon commented, earning a soft smile from Harley, as well as from Garchomp.

Meanwhile, Drew was still staring at Harley in shock, though he forced his expression to die down into one of seriousness when the amethyst-haired coordinator turned his head to meet his gaze. However, instead of asking where he had gained the ability to get his hands on such a powerful beast, the chartreuse-haired teen failed to make a single comment as he turned to Soledad, hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Soledad, can I talk to you…again?" His voice was coarse, as if he was trying not to explode into a fury of anger.

Soledad arched an eyebrow, though she then shrugged, got up, shot a physical message to Harley that she would be back, and followed Drew towards the trees that decked the outer rims of the park. The pink-red-haired woman couldn't help but roll her eyes as Drew took her away from the hearing range of the others, feeling déjà vu from the similar moment that they had shared at the beach. She was wondering if he was going to repeat what he had done the last time and interrogate her on what had happened recently during her stay with Harley, acting like an investigator who was too stubborn to drop a dead-end case.

"How do you think he got that Garchomp?" Drew whispered to her once they were standing under the trees. Soledad grunted, catching the suspicion in his voice, despite that she chose to answer truthfully rather than scold him for his clinginess to the situation:

"Hard work, constant training, dedication and interest – you know, the stuff trainers usually have when raising a Pokemon."

Drew snarled slightly at the sarcasm of her words, sensing that she was yet again refusing to take him seriously. "Soledad," he scolded, dragging her name out in the act of warning, "you sure he didn't steal it from someone – another person that he schemed out of their money, perhaps?"

Soledad rolled her eyes, now finding Drew's consistent suspiciousness amusing, though she didn't want to get him flabbergasted by teasing him on it. Because of this, she crossed her arms, giving away a semblance of seriousness that would prove she was no longer toying with the chartreuse-haired teen. "Drew," she began, her tone firm, "I'm sure Harley traded for a Gible fair and square, and then trained her into a Garchomp using the right way, as he has done with all of his other Pokemon." She frowned. "You're worrying too much."

Drew grunted in frustration, turning his narrowed eyes to the ground. "I just don't want him to hurt you," he murmured, compassion riding his voice that was abnormal for the arrogant teen to have. Soledad smiled, feeling flattered that Drew was being so caring towards her – even if for a purpose she didn't quite approve.

"I love you, Drew," she then cooed in a motherly manner, patting the boy on the head. "But, as I said before, don't worry about me. If he hurts me, I'll be sure to...well...do something."

Yet again saying such a thing pained her, as she didn't want to say it; but it was the only way to get Drew off of Harley's back.

And apparently, it had comforted Drew, as the young chartreuse-haired teen let out a sigh. However, his expression grew serious again when he returned his eyes to her, then inquiring, "So…you're not suspicious of him at all?"

Soledad shook her head. "Well, not entirely suspicious..."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Another thing that I have mentioned before: he's changed." She didn't want to admit that she had found something deeper in the amethyst-haired coordinator – who knew what Drew would do upon hearing such an announcement?

Drew frowned, as if disbelieving towards such a theory. It was obvious he was still considering Harley's new character to be a simple scheme in the works. Though maybe, he then thought, he could define this more from what Soledad told him, seeing as how she had been spending more time with him. "What makes you say that?" he asked.

"Well," Soledad began, placing her finger to her chin in a thoughtful manner, wondering how to begin. "He's mellow now, he's nice, he's supportive, he's funny, his battling skills have improved tremendously, and his apartment is everything but fashionable - though his fashion sense has changed." She turned her eyes to Harley, noticing that he was speaking to May, probably conversing with her about formation ideas. She stared at him, realizing that despite that there was quite a distance between them, she could still make out his facial features:

His metallic blue-green eyes that were slightly gothic, yet glowed deeply in the dying daylight; the light stubble across his jaw that made him look somewhat tough and masculine; the mature definition of his facial structure; his natural scent that Soledad had been longing to smell again…

"He's…uh…"

She attempted to add another factor of him to the list, but she only found herself stalling, her voice becoming more and more faint as she lost herself in the attributes of Harley Davidson.

His stall stature; the gentleness of his touch; the warmth of his skin; the silkiness of his hair; the comfort he brought her among every moment of palpation between them, or when his firm voice emitted from his lips…

"He's…uh…uh…"

Drew quirked his eyebrow, wondering why Soledad was faltering, and why she seemed to be stuck in a trance among staring at Harley. Of course, Soledad had forgotten about Drew's presence, instead continuing with gazing at her partner.

"He's…beautiful."

Immediately she snapped out of her state upon uttering those words – the two words she squeaked slightly at when she realized that she had said them out loud.

Oh. Crap.

"What'd you say?" Drew muttered in a hissing manner, his expression a mixture of both suspicion and blasphemy, needy for verification that Soledad had not just said what he thought she just said.

Soledad covered her mouth with her palms, blushing like crazy, also wondering for the reason behind her words. However, the worry for that was pushed away for later, as now she had to face Drew, who had just witnessed her comment Harley as if she was…

...in love with him.

Double. Crap.

Her gaze snapped around, looking for anything she could use to escape the predicament she was in – even for now, which would give her time to create a plausible excuse for when she was questioned about it later. She eventually brought her eyes to the sky, noticing that it was now on the verge of nighttime, and she breathed a quick sigh of relief, choosing to use one of the oldest tricks in the book (though she didn't care, for as long as it worked she was satisfied). "Oh, look at the time!" she mentioned, her swift tone jumbling her words to where Drew gazed at her in a dumbfounded manner. "It's best Harley and I be going. We all gotta get up early for the contest tomorrow!"

And, with that, she sped off as quickly as she could, leaving behind Drew, who was now showing amazement to how fast she could run. The pink-red-haired woman nearly crashed into the bench in which Harley and May had been sitting at, talking, and therefore the amethyst-haired coordinator turned his head to look at her with surprised eyes, noticing that her face was flushed; though he didn't have time to question why when she suddenly lunged forward, grabbed his arm, and pulled him up onto his feet before he could even blink.

"I think it's time we go," she told him, and without hearing his response, she whisked him away, calling out a faint good-bye to May and Drew in the midst of rushing out of the park. Their Pokemon squeaked, clueless to what was going on, despite that they didn't think anything of it as they struggled to catch up with their trainers, Garchomp lagging behind for a split second to shoot another deathly glare at Drew.

It was quiet after that, the air itself even seeming confused with silence as Drew walked up to May, both of them staring in bewildered shock at the imaginary dust cloud left in the wake of Harley and Soledad's sudden departure.

More silence. Then:

"…that was...weird..."

Drew turned to look at May, who had broken the awkward moment with her words. Following this, she met his gaze and they both stared into each other's eyes until May's giddy grin from before returned. "Maybe they're excited for the contest to come, too!" she squealed, jumping up and down.

The chartreuse-haired teen only allowed his look of bewilderment to shrink into one of annoyance. He then turned around, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm leaving," he muttered, heading towards the exit out of the park. May blinked a few times, though she then scurried off to catch up with him, oblivious to how his reptilian glare was fixated towards the ground – lost in thought.


"Soledad, what's the rush?" Harley finally asked as the said pink-red-haired coordinator pushed him through the door to his apartment, her breathing heavy from the running she had made them do. Their Pokemon had been returned to their Pokeballs sometime in the middle of the race back home – the race Harley was clueless on the reason behind, as Soledad had failed to explain why she had forced them to leave the park in a swift manner as if the world was going to end. Of course, her face was still flushed – both from embarrassment and overexertion, despite that she paid no heed to this as she then began to pace around in the dark apartment, turning on some of the lights in the midst of mumbling assurances to herself. Harley could only quirk his eyebrow in bewilderment, feeling no fatigue from the running since he had been mostly 'taxied' to his apartment.

Suddenly, a Pokeball on his belt burst open, materializing a confused Cacturne to the side of him. Pokemon had the ability to escape from their spherical containers at will during times when it was needed, and this moment was no exception, as shown in how Cacturne seemed worried for Soledad, wondering as well why she had rushed everyone out of the park and back to the cool sanctuary of his master's apartment. Harley only made eye contact with the grass and dark type, concern swirling around in his irises, despite that Soledad's pacing around the living room floor brought him to feel more curious than anxious.

"Sol?" he cooed, his tone soft with worry.

Soledad stopped dead in her tracks, then turned around to face him. Sol? she mentally repeated, blinking at the nickname he had apparently just given her. Immediately her thoughts from before – the thoughts of chagrin and disarray that had drove her to rush them all the way home – disappeared as her face reddened into a deeper hue. She sighed, realizing just then on how stupid she had probably looked in the act of escaping Drew before he could question her on her comments towards the amethyst-haired coordinator – the comments in which she wasn't even entirely sure why she had stated them.

"Sol…"

Soledad blinked once she realized that, this time, Harley's warm voice had sounded closer, and she looked up from the carpeted floor, squeaking slightly when she noticed that he was standing right in front of her, mere inches only separating their bodies from making contact. She could smell his intoxicating scent – the scent that drove her eyelids to become heavy as if she just wanted to let herself fall into it all; into his arms. His hot breath fanned across her face, his eyes like deep pools of concern that she couldn't escape from. She just wanted to sit there all night, staring into his eyes, and for a reason she couldn't decipher.

Suddenly she blinked, as if waking from her trance, and backed away from him, escaping the field of infatuation he didn't even know he had. He looked at her, his expression saddened with worry, and her breath became lodged in her throat, making her feel as if she was on the verge of choking from her own air. She took a second step back, a clacking sound from below signifying that she had just walked upon the tiled flooring of the kitchen. Harley kept his place like the well-mannered person he had become, which only made Soledad hyperventilate more. She was confused, lost on why she was thinking these things. She felt foolish at the idea of lacking enough intelligence to define her own feelings. When Harley took a cautious step forward, she took another step back, then swiftly stating, "I need to be alone for a while" before turning around and heading out the kitchen's sliding door that led to the outside balcony.

Harley watched where she had been prior of her departure, sighing afterwards, turning his gaze to Cacturne, who had been observing the whole scene with what looked like studying eyes. Of course, Harley paid no heed to this, as he was too busy wondering if Soledad's strange behavior had been his fault. "Did I do something?" he asked.

Cacturne met his eyes, but could only shrug.


Soledad sighed, rubbing her temples as she leaned onto the cement railing of the apartment's balcony. It was a small area since the flats were built on top of each other, though she had a nice overhead view of Slateport. The air outside was cool, brushing across her skin as she gazed at the visible ocean, which had been tainted black since nighttime had fallen over the city, driving the buildings to glow neon and the minimized streets below to appear gold from the cars' lights. Despite that honks, police sirens, and the purring of the sea could be heard, it was all faint to her, sounding distant as Slateport quieted down for the night.

However, even this didn't bring comfort to Soledad's conflicting thoughts. Regardless of the relaxing atmosphere, all she could do was sigh in frustration every time an attempt to sort out her thoughts failed. Because of this, she sat in the darkness that filled the boxlike balcony, somewhat afraid to head back inside, as that meant she would have to face Harley again – and Arceus knows what would happen if he questioned her on her faltering. First it was Drew with his lingering suspiciousness, who she was now probably going to have to answer to when they met in the contest tomorrow; then it was Harley, who didn't even know what the hell was going on, which made Soledad feel guilty. He of all people deserved to know what was wrong, but she couldn't tell him because she didn't know herself.

Questions.

Questions.

And more questions.

It seemed like she would never be freed from self-interrogation.

She snapped away from her thoughts when she heard the sliding door behind her open, though she was too scared to turn around and confirm who she thought had just walked out onto the balcony. Then again, when the figure placed himself beside her, also leaning on the cement railing, she gritted her teeth in anxiousness when the owner's identity was verified.

Harley.

She swallowed her gulp. She knew that appearing nervous would influence him to ask her about it, so she pushed it all away and gave into the façade of independence she had carried long before she was cursed with the fault of cracking under Harley's stare.

Harley, on the other hand, sighed, his depression liberating itself through his nostrils. It was obvious that he was still wondering if her abnormal behavior had been the cause of something he had done wrong, and the last thing he wanted was to be a problem to her. Due to this, he was needy to know what was exactly wrong, which was why he turned to her, eyebrow slightly arched as his eyes glowed in the balcony's darkness. "Sol?" he murmured, tone as soft as the faint scent of seawater that was hiding in the air. Soledad forced herself to meet his gaze, keeping on a poker face so he couldn't define the emotions she couldn't explain. "What's wrong?" he then asked once he caught her attention, and Soledad turned her head away, searching her mind for a plausible excuse that could cover her prior behavior.

"I'm just nervous…for the contest…"

Those words escaped her mouth with feigned susurration. It was the only answer she could think of, and though her countenance appeared calm, as if finally eased, her insides were raging like wildfire, drenched in more nervousness than she had ever felt before. It was as if he was a time bomb ticking his way to a deadly explosion, and she was the one with the pliers, clueless on what wire to cut that would prevent such a catastrophe.

Apparently, though, the excuse was good enough for him, as he hummed in agreement. However, he still shifted weight between his shoulders, emitting a short grunt that proved he could tell that being 'nervous for the contest' couldn't possibly be the whole reason behind her behavior. Like Cacturne, he was aware that dwelling into other peoples' business was rude, which was why he dropped the subject with a short "Oh…" and then turned his eyes to gaze at the visible moon above, which shined like a silver medallion amongst the sky's black-blue background. Soledad immediately felt comfort upon noticing this, mentally thanking Harley's personality of lacking worry that had just made her life a whole lot easier.

She was safe…for now.

"Well, what are you nervous about?" Harley asked, earning Soledad's relieved attention. She no longer felt jumpy and therefore didn't stutter when she met his metallic blue-green gaze.

"If the Brave Rush formation will work," she answered simply, resurrecting one of her old concerns to hide away the one she didn't want to admit. Harley hummed again in understanding, as he had been also wondering if the said technique would pull through on them during the competition. He had confidence in Pidgeot and Garchomp, though, which was why he wasn't as worried as Soledad apparently was.

The amethyst-haired coordinator soon chuckled when a thought came to mind, and Soledad turned to him, bewildered by his sudden outburst. "Just because the Brave Rush formation has a possibility of not happening," he then explained, "it doesn't mean that we shouldn't try it."

Soledad quirked her eyebrow. "You're sure as hell braver than I am right now."

Harley shook his head, his warm smile still present. He leaned forward onto the railing, his eyes growing deep with emotion as he fixated them towards the golden streets below. Soledad leaned forward as well so that she could catch sight of his dazed eyes – an obvious sign that he was reminiscing. "My mother used to always tell me to never give up when I was young," he stated, tone softer than before, as if memories of his mother were everything to him. Soledad could tell that she was a nice person just by the way he had referenced her. She remained silent, mentally urging him to continue. "You see," he began, as if reading her thoughts, his voice now somewhat stoic, "my dad was a big businessman. He was always out on important corporate meetings, conferences at conventions – all that jazz. And because of this he was never…home." He scratched his chin, and though his words had sounded sad, he had muttered them in an emotionless tone. He really is good at hiding his feelings, Soledad thought, and right before Harley continued: "When he met my mother, married her, and thought about children, he wanted a son – a person that would grow up to be a man and could take over his company when he was gone. When my mother became pregnant, my dad was thrilled to learn that he was indeed getting his son…

"When I was little, my dad had already begun to train me in the arts of business and negotiation. However, we never really spent a whole lot of time together, because when he wasn't tutoring me, expecting me to live up to his expectations, he was, as I said before, gone, away from home for days on end in the midst of traveling the world and promoting his company. Because of this, I found myself spending all of my free time with my mother, who was a stay-at-home person. We did everything together that was usually done by moms – knitting, cleaning, baking, taking me to that park where you and I had been training at, and coordinating, which, despite that she wasn't an official coordinator, my mom still liked to make beauteous combinations with her Pokemons' attacks. She was what inspired my career, believe it or not – she inspired a lot of things in me.

"Anyway, over time I found myself growing more interesting in these things and not the things my dad wanted me to follow. Needless to say, when I told him I wanted to be a coordinator and not a businessman, he was furious, calling me names, stating that coordinating was for girls – you know, all that usual stereotypical stuff. Due to this, I instantly moved out when I was old enough to take care of myself."

Soledad stared at Harley with compassion, amazed by his back-story. Was that why he had been previously…feminine? Because he spent so much time with his mother, doing things that were usually associated with females? And was that why he had changed his ways, perhaps in hopes of finally being able to be seen as a reliable son in his father's eyes?

"Arceus damn it," the amethyst-haired coordinator suddenly laughed, convincing Soledad to jump slightly as his emotionless expression contorted into one of amusement, "I'm sounding emo again."

Soledad couldn't help but chuckle slightly, though it was faint since she was lost in new thoughts. She felt bad for him, never knowing that he had gone through such a harsh childhood, despite that he had mentioned previously that his past wasn't as depressing as it seemed; however, the pink-red-haired coordinator felt that that was just his pride talking – the pride his father wanted him to have. She turned her gaze to Harley, who she noticed had returned to watching the streets below, eyes narrowed in contemplation. Curious to know, she asked, "Where are your parents now?"

Harley hummed, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "My mom lives in Verdanturf. I sometimes visit her during the summer."

"Your dad?"

Harley grunted, as if despising any mention of his father. "I don't know where he's at," he muttered. "When I left to live on my own and begin my coordinating journey, my parents later split up. Apparently I had been the only bond holding them together, so when I was gone, it was gone." He sighed. "I have no idea where my dad is now. I think he's running a business up-region, but I don't really know." And, as he turned his head away, Soledad could swear she heard him hiss under his breath: "Nor do I really care."

Soledad frowned, now feeling even more sympathy for him. Slowly she laid her head down onto her arms, which were crossed on top of the railing. Thoughts reran themselves through her mind, but regardless of this her headache had dissipated, leaving behind a need to know the truth. She sighed, hating the fact that she was so bewildered, though, for some reason, her eyelids suddenly gained heaviness. She realized then that it was a little late into the night and exhaustion from the constant training and thinking she had done that day was overtaking her. Before she realized it, her eyes had closed, her face giving into one of relaxation as her thoughts served as her lullaby.

Meanwhile, Harley, hearing a slight snore from the side of him, turned to look in Soledad's direction, chuckling softly when he noticed that she had dozed off. He couldn't blame her – it had been a fatiguing day; definitely with the whole fact that the contest was tomorrow. Being gentle, he slowly took her arm, placed it around his shoulders, wrapped his own arm around her waist, and led her to her bedroom. There, he placed her on the bed, where she immediately laid her head against the pillow, still asleep.

He turned to leave, though he stopped midway, shifting his head to look at her. A soft smile made its way onto his lips and he found himself walking back over, where he slowly brushed his fingertip down her cheek. "Thanks for listening, Sol," he cooed, his voice barely above a whisper - so he wouldn't wake her.

And then, blushing slightly himself, he turned off the lights and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.