Set fire to the rain

"Girly?" Ruby echoed, a sigh following. He was more than used to comments similar in implication, so it didn’t bother him too badly, since that was the general idea on fashion shows and shows in the like. He simply shook his head, chucking a bit, "You are mistaken, friend!" Ruby announced, "It would only be girly if you walked onto stage in a dress, yea? And, either way, it’s a private showing." he nodded, as if to back up his statement. 

"It would be a fine experience, you’ve got the personality and looks for it, too." he continued, not realizing how awkwardly his final statement could be taken. "But, it was just a thought! I saw a flier for it at the PokeCenter, but I can’t be my own model." he explained with a light sight, shaking his head. Ruby returned his attention to the department store, a grin returning to his features.

Oh now Ruby was just buttering Gold up. A smile formed on his face when the other mentioned his personality and looks. Obviously he also had a good eye for talent too. "Weeeell if you put it that way, you'd find no other guy in Johto better for the job." A grin formed on his face as he gave the dex holder a proud look. "You'd have to teach me the ropes though. I think I can handle it." Well, he just agreed to it, weather he meant to or not.

His attention was drawn back to Gold upon his offer. That was a damn generous offer; it had caught Ruby off guard. He rubbed the back of his neck, pursing his lips into a line. He almost felt as if he would be a burden- but Gold wouldn’t have offered if he didn’t mind, right? As he was thinking, Gold mentioned his apartment not being all that high class, bringing an embarrassed blush to Ruby’s features. Sure, he adored fancy things, but not to a fault. Well, most of the time, anyway…

"N-no, I don’t mind!" Ruby nodded, "That’s very kind of you, I’d like that." he smiled lightly. Well, this wasn’t something he’d been planning on. But he didn’t mind, really. Getting to know this Gold character wouldn’t be a bad idea, really. 

They’d arrived at the mall sooner rather than later, to Ruby’s delight. His eyes shone, hands clasping together in glee. "Ah-wonderful!" he grinned, turning to Gold. Ruby was about to explain his intentions, when a thought struck him. If he was going to stay with Gold, they’d have quite a bit of time together, so…

He shut up rather quick as the other turned to him. The words hitting his ears made him thing. A fashion show? Being a model? "That sounds...kinda girly..." He was rather blunt, though the thought of getting some money out of it did help Ruby's case. He still needed to pay his rent and for the power [hopefully that wouldn't get turned off while Ruby was staying there]. Normally he wasn't a "well what's in it for me" kind of guy but for this. This was a little out of his comfort zone.

"I sure hope you wouldn’t," Ruby replied, "I am grateful for your help, though." he added, a bit softer. Indeed, if Ruby hadn’t run into Gold, he’d probably he wandering around in circles like a Poochyena chasing it’s tail. Maroon eyes followed Gold’s hands up to the radio tower. Gold was right, the thing has gotten bigger. Much bigger. Yea, that was a good land mark. 

Ruby stayed silent and listened intently as Gold spoke, making a mental list of everything the boy said. "Satellite, north, right." he echoed, nodding a bit. He was a bit startled when Gold pulled him up, his thought train derailing. However, the action wasn’t too different than what he dealt with around Sapphire. 

"You know...if you want you could always crash at my place." He shrugged. "The place ain't that messy and I have a pull out bed you can sleep on. I'd give you some time to adjust to the city and lest money out of your wallet." He shrugged, letting the question float around for a while as they made their way to the mall.

"...I mean, unless you like high class stuff, cause my apartment ain't high class. It's kinda on the lower end of the "fancy" spectrum." That was his own fault though. Considering Golds only form of stable income was playing pool, poker, and pokemon battles. "We could grab your stuff from your hotel tomorrow or something."

So, Gold lived in this city? Ruby was a bit impressed. He planned on living in the city at some point, but was still stuck at home with mom and dad when he wasn’t traveling. "I can tell," Ruby nodded, looking around the city, "This place looks nothing like what it used to when I last had a visit." he threw in, leaning back onto the bench. "It’s kind of annoying when everything keeps changing, though. It’s like one week the PokeCenter is in one place, and it’s somewhere else the next!" Ruby mused, rolling his eyes. 

The next bit was something Ruby could talk about.

"I was born here, actually!" he chirped, perking up a bit, "I’ve always loved this city. Sure, Hoenn’s got Lilycove, but it doesn’t compare to this." Ruby smiled, his eyes slowly grazing over the scenery before him. Upon the nudge on his arm and the reminder that he was indeed very lost, Ruby winced a bit.

"Ahh it's alright, I ain't gonna pick on you for getting lost." He teased a bit more before returning to a more serious tone, if serious was even a tone Gold could get. "Honestly if you can keep your eyes on radio tower you'll never get lost." He pointed up to the tall black building that loomed over the rest of the city like a titan. 

Ruby looked up, his eyebrows raised in surprised when he viewed the face of the male nearing: Gold. They had met briefly when all the Dex Holders had some together, but that was all Ruby knew of the boy. A bit rowdy, a total flirt, and a battler. Other than that, Ruby didn’t know too much about Gold. As the guy finally drew in and began speaking, Ruby leaned back a bit, grunting.

"I didn’t loose any bets- I don’t gamble." he said, as a matter of fact-ly. Ruby crossed his arms over his chest, looking up to the blue sky. "It’s nice to see you again too, Gold. Been a while, yea?" the coordinator huffed a bit, looking away from the sky and down at the boy’s skateboard. What a tedious task.

"I live a few blocks from here actually, lived here for...ohh..." he began counting on his fingers, "three years now." That sounded about right. "I guess you wouldn't know 'bout that but, now ya do." He trailed off for a moment. So Ruby'd been here before huh? "Yeah a lots changed 'round here. Especially within the past few years. There's been a ton of new construction, this place gets bigger every day." He nodded lightly. "All the better for me though, gives me more city to explore." Yeah, Gold was the definition of "city boy". 

A person can only spend so long in one region. After the events with the orbs went down and Ruby finished his goals in the Hoenn region, he’d decided to take a few steps back, and visit his birth region. The trip would be good for him. Ruby had been spending too much time on his contests that he’d forgotten to take a break. So, for the sake of himself and his Pokemon, he decided that a vacation in Johto would be nice. Especially for his Pokemon, who had all been doing a lot of hard work. 

That is, if he hadn’t gotten himself lost. Ruby stood by a fountain somewhere in the glorious Goldenrod City. Not only was the city his birthplace, but also a place Ruby simply adored. The lights, the stores, the shopping district… Everything about the place was amazing. If only he could actually navigate. Years had passed since Ruby had been to Goldenrod, and it showed. He’d been constantly taking wrong turns, ending up back where he started, and ending up in places he hadn’t even seen before. 

Luckily enough, Ruby was at least able to find the Pokemon Center. There he was able to find information about all the nice hotels, places to eat, and events. One event in particular caught his attention; it was an opportunity he could get behind: a fashion show. Well, less a show really, and more of a show-off in front of some judges. But, the winner got decent prize money, and would get their outfit featured in the magazine. Ruby was thrilled, until he discovered that he wouldn’t be able to model the clothes himself. If he was back in Hoenn, he could totally get Sapphire to model for him, but he wasn’t. 

After spending some time at the Pokemon center and feeling remorse over the fact that he probably wouldn’t get the chance to shine, Ruby once again set out to navigate the city. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going so well. The coordinator simply couldn’t manage to find his way around- this city was much different from the Lilycove City he was used to. Finally, Ruby found himself a nice bench near the center of the city, and sat down in defeat. 

The trainer has just got done playing a few rounds of trick pool at the casino, skateboarding along with a rather sizable amount of cash in his pocket that was more than likely going to go to everything but rent. His goggles were pulled over his eyes as he hopped up, grinding down a stair-rail towards the center of the city, his apartment not too far away. A sucker slowly melted in his mouth as he idly glanced around as he rolled down Goldenrod's brick sidewalks. 

Honestly he would have kept going had his eyes not taken notice of the rather indistinguishable white sock hat atop a familiar looking crop of black hair. Now this was an adventure for him, someone he knew that wasn't Silver or Crys was actually in Goldenrod for once! That's something the raven didn't see every day.

His board scraped along the sidewalk, coming to a stop in front of the coordinator, a grin rising on his face. Pleased to see his guess on the hats owner was correct. Upon further inspection the trainer gave off the distinct vibe of defeat. Was...he lost or something? Within moments Golds hands rose up to pull his goggles off his face, peering down at the other dex holder. "Out of all the people i'd expect to see looking lost in the middle of Goldenrod you'd be the last on my list." He chuckled and bent over, still half balanced on his skateboard.