[attr="class","uriah"]"uhh..."

flipping over cushions on the couch to find nothing but dust and an empty bottle of water, he sighs, then looks over his shoulder at her.

"...if you don't mind."

he quickly swipes the bottle onto the carpet, then discreetly rolls it underneath the couch, out of sight.

luxray lingers by the kitchen, watching them with something akin to boredom. the yawn tells them as much.

smiling, uriah glances over at sol again; he catches himself looking over quite a lot, perhaps more often than he should.

"guess i owe you big time after this."

[attr="class","noodles"]@sol

[attr="class","uriah"]kachow ran away and made uriah chase after him...but this bit of information he'll keep to himself, at least for now; possibly forever.

"i didn't lose his pokeball, i simply misplaced it. it's here...somewhere."

likely buried under the mountain of laundry he's yet to do in his bedroom. for obvious reasons, he doesn't head straight for it. instead, he chooses the classier approach of starting the search in the living room, using the opportunity to tidy up a little at the same time.

"feel free to grab yourself a drink. fridge isn't as gross i promise."

still, luxray stays by her side.

[attr="class","noodles"]@sol

[attr="class","uriah"]"what do you mean? i already work extra hard, cap."

and with a parting smirk, he follows after her, exiting the oceanic museum that turned out not to be a huge waste of money. he actually had a very pleasant time inside, though it had nothing to do with the exhibits.

uriah leads the way, and after a comfortable thirty minute walk, they arrive at his apartment complex. the elevator takes them up, though not as high up as the penthouse. they can't all be pog bank ceos...

eventually, the door opens, revealing a mess of an apartment. there are no moving boxes anymore, thankfully, but there are still various junk scattered all over the place.

"don't judge. i didn't have time to clean."

he's had plenty of time.

[attr="class","noodles"]@sol

[attr="class","uriah"]kachow is very little, thank you very much, or at least he used to be when he was a shinx. but he's still a bit smaller than the usual luxray, if that means anything.

standing, uriah shrugs and turns away.

"let's see. kachow, come."

he takes a few steps away, and unsurprisingly, luxray remains seated next to sol. he sighs, shaking his head before gesturing over.

"well...at least it's not a long walk."

a good twenty minutes at the very least, but hey, at least it's not hot out today!

[attr="class","noodles"]@sol

[attr="class","uriah"]is he weird? maybe. he's never really given it much thought. but even if he is, he doesn't see it as a bad thing either. he simply chuckles at that, nodding in agreement.

"that's okay...as long as my little kachow's happy."

his voice trails into a playful tone near the end as he reaches down to scratch the back of luxray's ear, but really intending to wipe the grease off his fingers on his fur. hehe, sorry, kachow.

peering back up at her, he smiles, asking:

"you ready to get going?"

[attr="class","noodles"]@sol

[attr="class","uriah"]no.

too stunned to do anything, uriah simply blinks, then chuckles at the sight of her smirk. he returns one too as he reaches a finger up to wipe at the ketchup on his nose, bringing it to his mouth after.

"...huh. ketchup really does make everything better."

maybe someday he'll get through. until then, he reaches for the last of his fries, finishing them off with the help of luxray who still paws at his leg even after.

"i got nothing left, kachow."

[attr="class","noodles"]@sol

[attr="class","uriah"]"i don't believe that."

what he says that to exactly is up for sol to decide; he simply shrugs.

what a sad life it would be to simply live to work. he can think of a few people like that — most work for his dad — but maybe that's exactly the type of person one would need to be to succeed.

even so, he refuses to bend.

with his newfound confidence, he doesn't hesitate when he says:

"try me."

[attr="class","noodles"]@sol

[attr="class","uriah"]hmm.

"i dunno."

again, it's an honest answer, but it's also meant to buy him a little more time as he ponders over the question. he reaches for fries as well, dipping them in ketchup.

"more of who you are as a person, i guess."

absentmindedly, he extends a few fries down to luxray.

"like, being a captain is cool and all, but there's gotta be more outside of just work, you know?"

[attr="class","noodles"]@sol

[attr="class","uriah"]no, he doesn't know anything about her, at least nothing outside of what she presents when on duty, which is why he assumes the next answer to be obvious as well.

"to get to know you more."

still, his gaze holds.

[attr="class","noodles"]@sol

[attr="class","uriah"]it's stupid, sure, but it's straightforward and honest and...funny? he's not sure why she laughs but it sounds nice; he chuckles himself, holding his gaze no matter how much he wants to move it away.

despite her words, he still doesn't feel dissuaded nor embarrassed.

"why do you think so?"

[attr="class","noodles"]@sol

[attr="class","uriah"]after a pause, he suggests:

"listen to them, i guess? find out what they need and help them."

it seems simple enough that he assumes his dad already knows as much. maybe this is just another test.

[attr="class","noodles"]GABRIEL BLACK // [x]

[attr="class","uriah"]oh shit.

he clears his throat, quickly swallowing hotdog before reaching for the cup of soda. he sips, which only seems to burn his throat even more.

"...i wanted to ask you out."

which seems to be the obvious answer, so briefly, he wonders why she even made him say it.

clearing his throat once more, he finishes what's left of his hotdog; the ketchup comment lost under the heat he feels from her question.

[attr="class","noodles"]@sol

[attr="class","uriah"]"then prove it."

he begins closing up as well, clearing up what's left of the cookies. naturally, he keeps a few for himself.

"come watch this movie with me."

[attr="class","noodles"]Suzume Amemiya