Why did he allow himself to get roped into this?

Okay, maybe it was because he was set up once more by his work associates—but who was he to argue? The younger Rangers had been getting on his case about him not taking time off to just unwind and sit back—wait, didn’t he already do that with that pretty woman from before?

But then he remembered that she was a Stone, and there were connotations tied to that surname. Whatever, those were long-gone now.

However, she hadn’t called him back, so…

Well, it really, truly sucked. He let it stew for the better part of a day, before finally agreeing to the blind date. There was just one tiny little caveat though: he had to go with his hair down.

This, of course, was met with protest from Lars’s side. However, he was overruled by the majority and finally conceded. And then there was the matter of the suit. Of course he had a nice, fancy-ass suit. So that was easy enough to cover.

Once he’d been given the directions and just told to ‘look nice, don’t smoke before you go, and have a good time’ he sighed and got on the motorbike, gunning it to life and heading toward Slateport. Upon arriving at the port city, he left the vehicle at a public parking lot and went to the park.

…what was up with the weather, anyway? Why the hell was it snowing?!

Crap, I forgot my scarf. Ugh. What a time to be alive, he thought sarcastically as he walked into the park, looking around for the occupied bench.

Of course, he was in for a double whammy as he got closer—but he had no way of realizing this just yet.

[attr="class","evantalk"]

Evan came early, because he had little else to do and perhaps that's why it's so easy for him to end up sitting there swinging his feet a little, skimming the snow that has built up beneath the bench. He's not cold, the coffee hasn't even gotten cold, it's more that he's just too on edge about this whole situation. He's never even really had a close friend before. technically. Because technically evan's never actually hung out with someone before. Not really. Look he's a drifter and just kind of ends up talking to people too long this is never planned.

He's beginning to decide planning things makes him anxious and being anxious makes him nauseous and he hates that. He's looking down, burying his chin into his scarf and pulling a small vial out of his pocket. The roller ball makes it look almost like a perfume when really its an oil derived from his own lilligant's aromatherapy, mixed with other such herbal medicines to aid with anxiety. The actions of rolling it onto his wrists is fast and well practiced. Most won't even realize what he's doing before it ends up back in his pants pockets. Nice pants even, because colder weather means he has to put actual effort into his attire. It's a rarity actually, even though its nothing more than nice black slacks (for business meetings, normally), a nice fitted sweater with a very nice looking blazer over top and his scarf the rest of Evan's demeanor makes him seem more dressed up than he is. It's really all in the name of being warm though. While many of his facial piercings are easily swapped out for non-metal materials some of the others can't be.

When he looks back up he almost doesn't recognize the person approaching the bench. There's something familiar in the figure though and he tilts his head ever so slightly to the side as they get closer, his hair falling to the cut side in slow motion as it settles from the moment. He hadn't even realized how much his face was scrunched up from the feelings in his gut until his expression almost seems to brighten.

"Lars?" his eyebrows shift up on his face. he's not entirely sure though, but it's the only name that his tongue can find which means he's either a dumbass or he's matching the face to the right now by some kind of a miracle. His memory has never been his friend.

Laurence Anderson

He had the sense to at least bring a jacket with him.

Although he had a feeling he was overdressed for a park? The last time he was able to get away with the dress code since he ended up at a fancy restaurant, but now…

Now he felt really out of place with all the nature around him, dressed up for a fancy night out at some posh restaurant and who knows if it’s all expenses paid or whatever.

Not until he hears a very familiar bartender’s voice does he realize… oh, Arceus.

He had forgotten to fix his hair.

Was he really in that much of a hurry because he was excited? At least tonight wasn’t going to be a bust. He hoped as much, yes.

Oh Arceus, at least this isn’t going to be stupid awkward, he thought with the barest hint of a smile crossing his face as he recovered his functioning brain cells and managed to not look like a complete idiot.

“This is a surprise,” he began—and he meant it.

“Yeah, it’s me, Evan—let me guess, you haven’t seen me with my hair down yet, have you?” he continued as he sat down beside the other, respectable space between themselves since the other had bought coffee to share amid the cold, nippy weather.

[attr="class","evantalk"]

Evan knows the feeling of excitement bubbling up in his throat but he doesn't feel it often in response to people. Not like this and it catches him by surprise. A part of him has wanted to speak with Lars outside of the Stray for awhile now but it's easier said than done when you strictly refuse to swap contacts while on the clock and you're almost always on the clock. It's not because he doesn't want to make friends per say but because he wants to avoid people trying to make more moves on the bartender than they already do.

Even as he hands the man the second coffee -something caramel because he assumes most people like caramel- it doesn't don on him that he might not have been meant to meet a stranger at all. This might have been the plan from the start but he's too caught up on the idea of getting to talk with the man outside of their usual constraints. (Not that they likely seem like constraints to the other, mostly for Evan who still has to have an image of being the owner) Not to mention dodging the usual off put reactions to his image- even if the purple material that's replaced the usual metal for the duration of the cold weather doesn't make him look as harsh he's still not exactly typical.

Extra not typical with the blind date context. Which had perplexed him to begin with.

"No you normally come in after work, love." the pet name is natural, but love is always saved for those he's most fond of. Not that most of them realize it. He won't really give lars the chance to think it over before he reaches out to play with his bangs. It's an innocent gesture, curiosity and his own shameless behavior making it easy to reach out without feeling bad about it. He forgets that the recent application of his anxiety oil likely makes him smell a bit sweeter than normal (it always smells sweet on him). "You wear it well though, you should leave it down more often. I think it suites your face better."

Evan's smile when he retracts his hand is a little bit brighter than usual, after all he's not forced to wear one by their surroundings.

Laurence Anderson

Seeing the cup handed to him, he accepts it gratefully. His fingers wrap around the warmth of the cup, the heat bringing some blood circulating back to his hands—he hadn’t noticed that they had gone numb because of the nippy air. Whoops.

Gee, looks like someone was more than a little forgetful today!

The scent of something familiar tickles his nose, and then he realizes what it is—it’s caramel. Normally he prefers his coffee straight-up black like a darkest pits of the underworld, but he won’t deny a sweet treat here or there every once in a while. He takes a look at the brand and chuckles—it’s from the same coffee shop where he orders his coffee black!

“I like caramel, however a word of advice—I also like my coffee pure black. No creamer, no sugar, just plain pitch black. I know it may sound strange to you, but I guzzled pure coffee like a fiend back then,” he said with a grin on this face. “Nevertheless, thank you for the caramel blend,” he adds before taking a sip of the warm drink.

At the mention of his hair down, he chuckled. “I normally have it up, but I decided—why not have it down? I ran out of hair gel, if that amuses you,” he continued as he took a few more sips of the warm drink before cradling it in his hands.

[attr="class","evantalk"]

Evan crosses his feet together under the bench, something to keep him from fidgeting or otherwise trying to curl up on it despite the chill. He can't help himself, the setting changes how he feels drastically, seeing a face he's familiar with makes him more so. Normally the man is as poise and stoic as can be but the moment he feels like he can relax he has to resist the urge to curls his knees into his chest. The coffee on his lap helps so he leaves it there.

"Shot in the dark, I figured most people like caramel." it's a popular choice after all. He thinks lars is trying a little too hard to explain his preference though and it makes him chuckle into his scarf. He sort of forgets to mention he was expecting to give it to a face he didn't know too, because at this point he'd rather just act like he was meeting Lars the whole time. "I prefer mine black too- if I'm going to drink it. Not really used to having a lot of sugar." which usually comes as a surprise to people, he's used to a very straightforward life style and diet and his body has never been used to such things.

"Though maybe you should run out of gel more often." his smile says that yes, it did indeed amuse him.

Not wanting their conversation to stagnate, Evan brings the coffee he had gotten for himself to his lips, (realizing that since it was black, maybe he should at least share it with lars a little bit. later. He wouldn't drink the whole thing anyway.) speaking over the rim of the cup "What are you doing out this way anyway? Especially all dressed up." he looked like he was headed somewhere far more formal than a walk in the park. Unlike Evan, who had just tried to look nice and stay warm. Because he still hasn't made the connection yet.

Laurence Anderson

He lets the liquid settle inside him, warming him up—because holy hellballs who knew that there was going to be a winter storm that would blow through this region? Snow? In Hoenn?

What the hell was up with that?!

At the mention of coffee being black, Lars tilts his head slightly in Evan’s direction. “I didn’t know you liked your coffee black, too. Well, mostly because when we meet it’s evening,” he continued with a chuckle as he busied himself with the cup in his hands. Now that it was slightly cooler, he took another long sip, before curling his fingers around the bottom part of the paper cup.

“I forgot to buy. I was in a hurry when I picked up my groceries the last time. Honestly, I had no idea I was out of hair gel until I saw the literally empty bottle. I tried scraping it out, but well, the bottle was being stupid,” he added with a shrug. “So there you have it, hair down, a rare sighting if you ask me.”

When the question about his attire was posed, he balked for a few seconds. Oh, shit.

For some reason though, he couldn’t bring himself to lie, so instead he shrugs his shoulders and took another sip of the warm caramel-flavored coffee.

“…I got set up by my workmates,” he began once Evan was done talking. “Apparently, the last time they did this it… didn’t go down too well, so they tried again. How was I to know they were going to set me up with you, I have no idea,” he added a few moments later.

Of course, this doesn’t explain the fact that his ears are burning like hell under the scarf he has on.

Well, well.

[attr="class","evantalk"]

"Mm, I don't drink it much either." Evan muses, he's not wrong. He and lars' have only ever really talked at the Stray, most of their conversations predetermined by how lar's day goes and what he comes in salty about. He does find it amusing though and Evan enjoys listening to him regardless.

Evan finds himself looking up at the clouds while Lar's talks, a slow and gentle grin taking over while he listens to him. He can just imagine Lars trying to scrap out enough gel to make his usual hair do work for the day and finding it falling short. The image makes him chuckle because he knows how expressive Lars can be and he imagines there was some choice wording thrown around over it.

At first Lars seems a little off put by his question, Evan tries to bury himself in his coffee thinking he may have ask the wrong thing, the drink just about to hit his lips when Lars answers, and it sinks in.

This was the intention from the get go, to get him and Lars together outside of the Stray for once.

There's a flash of fire in his chest and his cheeks turn pink in the same second, the kind you see on tulips in gardens and his eyes go wide for a moment. In a sudden and unusual expression of emotion Evan uncrosses his ankles and stomps his feet into the snow below the bench. "That little shit!" Evan straightens with a jolt. The action is enough to slosh the coffee around in the confines of the cup until the spill over, dripping down his hand and onto the snow beneath his feet.

"Shit shit shit." he grimaces at the realization he's gotten himself in a tizzy and suddenly he's leaning even further forward and righting the cup as fast as he can to keep it from spilling onto his shoes or worse- his pants. It's too cold for that. Lucky him it lands most in the snow, staining it the obvious color of plan black coffee.

Evan holds the coffee in one hand, shaking drops off the other away from Lars with a sigh. "Damnit." he should have known better than to let himself do that, but the realization that this wasn't just a date but a blind date that certain little weaviles in his bar had set him up on paired with how relaxed he felt around Lars made it too easy to do something stupid.

"Fuck, sorry I didn't get any one you did I?" he looks over at lars' feet just to be sure, worried he might have just made a mess of this by being caught completely off guard by the situation. "I just- I didn't- I mean-"

He shakes his one hand again because he can feel the heat in his cheeks getting worse the more he decides he's about to say the wrong thing. "I got told this was a date with a regular's granddaughter. I-" he takes a deep breath and holds it for a moment because he doesn't want this to sound wrong. "I wasn't expecting this- ah, you"

His eyes stay focused on Lar's feet and the coffee colored snow, his mind desperately tries to deny the fact that he may very well be blushing.

Laurence Anderson
>>you'l have to excuse him :'D

Lars was not expecting Evan to go off the rails like how he did just now.

Wait, had he said something wrong?! What was causing the other to become all uppity and agitated? Had he crossed some kind of line?!

It was best to back away, with how dramatically sloshy the coffee was getting and so Lars did just that, backing a few steps away and keeping his gaze on Evan’s little temper tantrum. In the back of his head, though, he was just as flustered as the other—who could blame him?

Rather, who could blame them for being set up into this, anyway? They both walked into it not knowing what to expect!

Unlike the other, who had pretty much tossed his coffee around, Lars’s grip on his own cup was steady. In the almost awkward silence that came after Evan’s simple little question about any coffee getting splattered on him, he took another sip before looking up—and trying to catch Evan’s eye.

Great, why was he not looking at him? What was the matter?!

“N—no, you’re fine, no coffee on me, I just—“ he began to awkwardly stammer, before realizing what Evan had said a few moments ago. His dumb brain finally got working, and even then his own face lit up with the most potent of blush.

“So we were both set up,” he quietly ventured once he was certain the other had calmed down. He couldn’t help but wonder, though—why was Evan refusing to even as much as look at him?

Had he done something wrong? Lars racked his brains, trying to look for the answer, if there was one.

If the answer was there then he was definitely missing it, or it had flown over his head and he had yet to realize that it had already bit him in the face.

[attr="class","evantalk"]

"Yes. It looks like we were"

There's a daringly uncomfortable weight in the air and Evan hates it. It's not something he feels often and to feel it now seems like a shame.

"We should go for a walk." Evan states rather definitively, eyes trailing past his coffee cup and trough the snow covered park. The paths were still covered in the fluffy white specs that scatted across the ground earlier in the day.

Evan stands with a surprisingly fluid movement, keeping the coffee cup level enough to keep it from spilling again. When he turns to the other man sitting with him it's with a smile on his lips and barely there rose on his cheeks. It calms a little, enough to almost seem like it could be from the cold rather than their conversation.

"C'mon let's go." he reaches for his hand to pull him up from the bench and pull him along out onto the path. If they're going to be stuck out here with each other they might as well enjoy it a little bit, no?

Laurence Anderson

The blush burning on his ears is unbelievable.

It felt like his ears were going to drop off his head if they continued to burn even more from the excessive heat that was rushing to them should this keep going! Chuckling softly, he takes Evan’s hand and allows himself to be pulled up so they can walk through the snowy park.

“Look—I had no idea I—well, we in this case—were being played. By everyone at the bar, no less!” he exclaimed, letting out a sigh as he walked alongside the other man.

“How—how could have we been so blind as not to see that coming a mile away,” he added a few moments later, laughing at the thought and mention of all the other regulars at the Stray getting them set up for this, this date that they were completely misled on.

They’d been done in good.

When was the last time he had encountered snow in Hoenn—asides from what strange condition plagued the Shoal Cave’s lower levels?

Never, is the answer to that.

“Look, I’ll be completely honest with you,” he began after a brief moment of silence as he watched the snow falling in front of them, adding to the layers that had already been left there after a previous day’s worth of snowfall. “It hasn’t… snowed in Hoenn since like… forever. At least to my living knowledge it hasn’t. Shoal Cave only gets this strange phenomena down in the lower levels, and that’s only when the place is low tide.”

Which is why the panic among the general population of those native to this region had collectively flipped their shit out because of the strangeness of this entire thing sweeping through the place.

“How—how about you? Do… do you like the cold? The snow?”

Smooth move there, Lars. Really smooth, talking about the weather…