Hey peoples!

Oh wow, look at me. I'm starting a HarleyxSoledad fic despite that I never even bothered informing anybody that I was actually working on one. HAH! I'm a schemer like that.

I learn from the best, anyways. -hugs Harley-

Anywho, but no, seriously, the HarleyxSoledad pairing needs more love, so I thought it would be cool if I attempt a chaptered fic. It will definitely be an interesting challenge...

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or the song, "I Woke Up in a Car", which belongs to Something Corporate.

-ooo-

“Eh…miss?”

Soledad Sierra shook herself awake, her eyelids blinking invariably, clearing away the blurriness that smothered her cerulean eyesight. Instantly the smell of clean, leather exterior reached her nose, bringing her to sniff slightly as she remembered that she was riding in the backseat of a car – a taxi to be more exact. Weakness ran through her muscles, although it didn’t seem to affect her arms since she rose a hand up to brush a bang of pinkish-red from her face, yawning slightly in the process while her sylphlike fingers readjusted the seatbelt strap that ran across her thin torso.

After closing her eyes to regain her thoughts, she slowly allowed them to adjust to the light of the setting sun that could be seen from the window, its heat traveling through the warm glass and reaching her skin. She couldn’t help but eye the mesh of purple hues that combined with the blueness of the sky, although she soon brought her attention to the driver of the taxi – a thirty-year-old man whose small eyes was staring at her through the overheard mirror. He wasn’t ‘checking her out,’ examining her curves that came with the fact that she was only twenty-one, but rather seeing if she was awake or not, and when her aware countenance was verified he returned his eyes to the road, his gloved hands glued to the steering wheel.

Soledad, still drowsy with lingering tiredness, kept her eyes on the surroundings that whizzed by the car at a steady pace, appearing as blurs in which she couldn’t stare at for long before suffering from slight motion sickness. The ebony road below moved like a running stream, making the car feel like a boat sailing down a calm river instead of asphalt, which also made her dizzy when she eyed it.

She turned her eyes towards the driver, which the back of his cap-covered head could only be seen, a pine-scented air-freshener dangling from the overhead mirror. Apart from the soft purring of the car’s engine, or the cough that escaped the driver’s throat every now and then, it was quiet in the vehicle.

“How long have I been out?”

The driver blinked, turning his eyes back to the overhead mirror so he could gaze at Soledad again. He returned his eyes to the road for a quick second as he maneuvered around a slow car, answering in the process, “Erm…well, we left the airport at about one PM – you feel asleep shortly after – and it’s about six now…so…”

That would explain the sunset…

Soledad grunted in approval of the response, awake enough to configure the rest of the answer on her own. She had flown from her hometown of Pewter, Kanto to Littleroot, Hoenn, arriving at one in the afternoon, and then from there had taken a taxi to reach her final destination. Since she had gotten up early for the flight, it didn’t take much before the long drive brought her into sleep. In fact, she was quite happy that she had slept through it all, not having to endure the five-hour road trip, despite that the muscles in her back were screaming for liberation from the sitting position she had been stuck in the whole time.

“Are we there yet?” she asked, eyebrow slightly quirked, although her eyes had returned to gazing through the window she sat by. Outside a manmade metallic railing ran on like a trailing Ekans - in front of it being a long line of sand, serving as the borderline to the calm ocean that could be observed from beyond it. The sun was setting right on the horizon, painting the waves gold and the sky purple and red, the smeared clouds that dominated some parts of the atmosphere practically drenched in hot pink. Trees passed by every now and then, some normal ones that you would see in a forested area, while others were tall palm trees that fit the beach background.

The driver shifted weight between his shoulders, still keeping his hands on the steering wheel, turning it at a slow pace when he was required to. “Yup, Slateport City is just over this hill.”

Soledad could feel herself sigh in relief as she rested her head back against the seat, closing her eyes for the sake of it. She wanted nothing but to fall into an actual bed with comforters and pillows you sank into, and eat something that would replenish the groaning feeling that filled her stomach, as well as satisfy her muscles and therefore make the weakness that deluged them fade away. She opened her eyes into narrowed slits just to avoid succumbing to sleep once more – she would rather wait until she was in her hotel room.

Slateport City…one of the biggest manmade locations in the region of Hoenn. It was the city that rested upon cobblestone ground – the gateway to a relaxing beach; the home of fine cuisine since it held famous restaurants within its concrete bowels; and the sanctuary to all shops that sold stunning jewels, souvenirs, and Poke’goods from around the world. The city was practically a trader’s market, despite that tourism was also present for the cool sights, and it was also a nice stop for Pokemon trainers during their travels.

Of course, she had taken a break from her coordinating career and escaped her hometown of Pewter City in the Kanto region for a reason that seemed obvious for one to go to Slateport City:

Vacation.

She was here on vacation, desperate to escape the hectic life that came with being a famous master in the arts of transforming a Pokemon’s harsh attacks into elegant displays of beauty. She had been traveling through the Johto region with her coordinating comrades – Drew Trandafir and May Maple, but after a while into it they all decided to split up for a while and take a break from the work life.

Drew returned to his hometown of La’Rousse for a long relaxation, and May did the same with her hometown of Petalburg. Soledad had returned to Pewter City, but strangely thought that simply making her way back home wouldn’t entirely pay off the severe exhaustion that came with her coordinating career, and therefore decided to take it a step further than just relaxing in the comfort of her own house.

A vacation in Slateport City.

Besides, she didn’t know much about Slateport City, as the last time she was there she was only present for the contest, which took away her time to enjoy the city itself. Now that she was back, though, and there were no contests or other daily duties to ruin her free time, she could take the long vacation she had been envying for a while.

“Er, miss? We’re here.”

Soledad blinked as the driver’s words echoed throughout her mind, and she immediately turned to the window to gaze upon the stunning city with brightened eyes. Since nighttime was close, the lights upon the skyscrapers’ windows had been turned on, appearing as columns of light reaching towards the imaginary heavens upon the obsidian backdrop that was now the sky. Lights of neon flashed, some the entrance signs to large casinos and hotels, while the buyer’s market that ran through the central part of the town was lit up by hundreds of lanterns hanging from ropes that ran above the stalls like tangled Spinarak webs. She couldn’t help but slightly gape at the sight – it all looked so amazing!

The driver slightly smiled, finding it humorous that the pink-red-haired adult was acting like a child in a candy shop, gazing through the window at the assortment of sweets, although in this case it was a city that seemed to be made of gold like the fabled El Dorado. “You got a specific hotel you were going to stay in, miss?” he then asked, slowly bringing his car into the traffic that decked the busy streets of the city. Soledad turned her eyes up as high as she could from her short view through the car’s window, trying to spot the tops of the skyscrapers that made her feel like she was being watched by towering behemoths made of steel and concrete.

She finally snapped away from this when she noticed he asked a question, and answered somewhat bashfully, “Uh, I didn’t really assign myself to one before I took the trip.”

The driver stared at her, as if unimpressed, although he soon shrugged it off. “That’s all right. I’ll just drop you off by the bus stop and you can go on from there.” He brought his eyes to gaze at the elegant architecture of a fancy hotel as it passed by, its lights reflecting a ghostly image of the building upon the vehicle's windows. “As you can see, there are quite a lot of places to choose from…”

All Soledad did was nod, her eyes once again transfixed to the thriving city right outside her window.

-ooo-

After paying the driver, Soledad grabbed her small suitcase from the trunk and began to make her way down the crowded sidewalks, feeling somewhat deafened from the loud sounds of car honks and various other noises that tore through the humid air. She could see the glow of the buyer’s market illuminate the air a few blocks down, and she smiled to herself, envious to see what was down there now, despite that she held her urges in since she knew finding a place to stay was top priority at the moment.

She nearly fell over, however, when her stomach jolted from a sudden gastric cramp. She knew that she had to eat something, otherwise the weakness that overtook her muscles would soon dominate her conscious, and therefore she quickly made her way into a small café that appealed to her.

Immediately warm air met Soledad’s skin as she entered the café, escaping the coldness and lingering scent of seawater that drenched the world outside. Swirling fans seemed to cover the oak wood ceiling, and pedestrians were sitting at tables - some typing on laptops, sipping their freshly-brewed mochas, while others sat on the couches, eyes scanning newspapers determinedly. It was then when Soledad took in the scent of coffee beans, soon craving the said beverage as both an energy boost and as a cure for the roughness that was dousing her throat. It wasn’t long before she made her way to the counter, where a server dressed in a tan apron requested her order.

After ordering a muffin and small coffee that would tie her over until she reached a hotel room, she gave the clerk her money, ignoring the fact that a tall man of twenty-one had come up to the side of her, giving the clerk of the opposite cashier his order. She only shot a quick glance towards him, considering that he was a normal citizen of Slateport, and she eyed his clothes that seemed to be made for a casual walk on a cold day. She didn’t bother to eye his face, though, despite that, out of mere manners, she mumbled a short, yet friendly, “Hi.”

She could hear him shift weight between his shoulders, his own mellow response coming out shortly after. “Hey.”

She froze instantly, eyes slightly widening as his words slurred from his lips. She had only paid attention to his voice now, and since she did, she noticed that a feminine tone occupied his voice…

…and a familiar one at that.

She slowly turned her eyes back to him; however, this time she rose them to his face, which she noticed was somewhat-built, yet smooth, skin slightly pale, the collars of his jacket hiding his features up to the bridge of his nose. His metallic-green eyes were narrowed, turned downward to his wallet as he tried to fish out the money the clerk had asked for his order, and his long amethyst-colored hair reached to his mid-back, enshrouding his ears and hiding them behind a veil of silky purple.

She squeaked slightly, turning her eyes away. He seemed oblivious to her presence since his eyes were transfixed to his wallet, and she heard a short grunt of annoyance escape from his closed lips since the amount he was looking for had yet to come out.

But it couldn’t be him anyway…

…right?

She hadn’t seen him since her travels with May and Drew in Johto, and after the group split up to take a break from coordinating, he had disappeared. They all assumed it was because no one seemed to like it when he was around, and all because he appeared to be a jerk to all of them half the time, mostly known for his past deviousness when it came to their previous travels in Hoenn and Kanto.

Even during the Johto travels she didn’t really know much about him. His intentions were always left unexplained, and a mysterious semblance seemed to radiate off of his slim figure. The way he acted why he did, how he thought about things…he never bothered to talk to anybody about it, and despite how much Soledad always did wonder about him, she never tried to learn about him through the sheer fact that he seemed more like a mortal enemy than an ally.

But now, however, she had run into him again after so long...

In Slateport City...

In a café...

Ordering coffees and muffins...

Standing side-by-side to the extent where a simple nudge to the left would bring her shoulder to collide with his...

…aw crap.

“Finally,” she suddenly heard him mutter, and she turned her eyes to him as he handed the clerk the long-awaited money, slowly sliding the wallet into his back jean pocket afterwards. She couldn’t help but quirk her eyebrow at how seriousness graced his voice, which the girly tone he always had during the Johto travels was barely hearable through the mere power that his tone now held. His metallic-green eyes seemed darker – more mature – and they were narrowed, seeming to be focused on the thin air in front of him, still making him completely oblivious to Soledad’s presence beside him.

He seemed…so different. It was almost as if his ‘gay’ appearance was nothing but a façade he had put on around others, or that he had simply dropped his childish antics almost instantly in the few months since the Johto travels. Needless to say Soledad felt slightly awed, although she knew that the amethyst-haired adult couldn’t have changed that much, unless the personality he carried during his coordinating days was all a setup –

“…Soledad?”

Soledad cringed, instantly recognizing the owner of the slightly-girlish tone that had mumbled her name in the form of a bewildered realization. She slowly turned her eyes to the amethyst-haired coordinator beside her, who was now leaning on the counter, facing her, his puzzled, yet somewhat surprised expression remaining strong as his metallic-green eyes focused themselves onto her cerulean ones. She noticed that his jacket was slightly open, revealing a black undershirt that was tucked into the belt which held his jeans to his waist, while the collars of his coat were still raised against his face like leather walls.

He blinked.

She blinked.

The clerks blinked as, not wanting to disturb whatever moment seemed to be happening between the two customers, slid their orders onto the counter beside them and then sneaked off unnoticed.

“Hey…Harley,” Soledad replied, trying to keep any leftover shock away from her tone. The said amethyst-haired man’s own surprise died down slightly and his lips seemed to twitch downward into an emotionless frown fit for a mellow person.

“Fancy seeing you here,” he then muttered, eyebrow slightly quirked, his voice low and sounding more unlike his girlish one among every word he spoke. Soledad blinked again since she had been expecting him to become hyper like he usually would have back during their Johto travels, playing the trickster in the midst of it all and only earning the trust of others so he could beat it down later. Because of this she felt slightly scared, although with the fact that she didn’t know him as much as May or Drew, she couldn’t feel anger towards it like they always had.

She swallowed her nervousness, mentally scowling herself for letting Harley, of all people, actually affect her. “Likewise,” she mumbled, forcing herself to have a monotonic tone than the one of bewilderment she wanted to display. He didn’t seem to mind it, however.

Instead he turned and grabbed his coffee from the counter, stuffing the wrapped muffin in his jacket pocket before turning to her. He then outstretched his free hand towards an empty table that sat in the corner of the room, facial expression still emotionless, yet appearing somewhat interested towards something. “You wanna talk for a bit?”

Soledad bounced her eyes from him to the table, contemplating on his offer. Like May and Drew, she did find Harley to be mysterious, and therefore somewhat creepy, although she couldn’t help but feel like this was the perfect time to learn more about him and possibly get the answers to the questions she had always been asking about his character. Besides, the day was still young; the hotels would remain open for a while, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt to chat with a fellow coordinator...

Remaining silent, she grabbed her things from the counter, nodding while doing so. Harley smiled slightly, but it died down before she could notice it, and she soon began to follow him towards the table. She kept her suspicions up, though, which showed through her narrowed eyes, not trusting him even when they weren’t in a contest hall stadium.

But then again, this was Harley she was talking about.

Or…at least she thought it was…

-ooo-

So...what do you think?

Next chappie coming soon - not quite sure when, though.