A Better Future [Harley]

Harley had been surprised but pleased when Ian invited him to the class reunion with him, he knew the man had turned down most of the invites for these things that had come through, it was refreshing to see him in the kind of mental space to be able to attend, and he was curious to see the kinds of people he went to school with.

Harley had waved Ian off when the man told him he wanted a smoke, content to stand on the sidelines and watch the faces of the people as they mingled and reconnected with old friends.

He'd been told very vague information on Amanda from Ian, but the topic didn't come up often, and Harley wasn't one to press those kinds of things fro Ian, he knew they were on good terms, that she was Solomon's mother, and that she was kind.

He glanced up at the woman who approached him, smiling brightly and eagerly reaching to shake her hand, "Amanda! It is a pleasure to meet you!" He smiled and gesture outside, "Ian has taken a moment, he will be back soon, ah but I am glad to finally put a face to the name!" He laughed, "It is quite a gathering here, yes? So many faces, I have never been to one of these..." She did seem kind, "what are you doing these days?" He smiled and tilted his head curiously, eager to learn what he could about her.

She nodded a little. "Smoke break?" She imagined he was feeling a little flustered with this many people around, he was good at putting on a bright and friendly face for groups, it's what he did for all the medical conferences he often went to, but they still left him a bit on edge and the smoking had always helped calm him.

"So if you're putting a face to a name, I'm going to guess you know who I am and don't have to make a bunch of awkward introductions." She laughed quietly to herself, smiling and taking a drink from the cup in one hand.

"You've never been to any of your class reunions? They really are kind of mixed-bag affairs to be honest, but there are still people I enjoy seeing again. And they're only every few years." She shrugged a little.

"Me? I'm semi-retired these days, do some volunteer and charity type work, you know, children and animals mostly. Get to travel a bit." She looked up at him curiously, also eager to find out as much about this man and him and Ian as she could. "I'm afraid I don't know as much about you...what is it you do?" She asked.

Harley nodded and chuckled, "oh yes, he did not say why but I could tell he was feeling a bit overwhelmed." He shrugged and smiled, "I imagine you know this, yes?" He laughed, it was strange speaking to Ian's ex knowing what he knew of Ian, but it was clear the care was still there, and it was much more refreshing than what he normally saw between exes.

He nodded at the question and ran a hand through his hair, "yes, at least a little, I know the basics, I am not one to press such topics, ah but I was aware you were on healthy terms, yes?" He smiled, "it is good to know, really." He glanced around them and nodded, "yes, I attended school back in my country, there are not as many faces I would remember, and the travel is a nightmare." He grinned, "so I am content coming with Ian."

His interest perked when she went on to answer his questions, looking pleased to hear what she had to say, "that is lovely, Amanda, you both enjoy helping others I see...How ironic..." He was about to continue to speak when she asked the question he was about to answer, "I am working as a psychologist, I see many patients, but I mostly work with veterans." He laughed and ran a hand over the back of his neck, "that is...How I met Ian actually...He was my patient..." He still got embarrassed admitting he fell for a patient, not that he regretted it, but the bashfulness was there.

She nodded. "We haven't spoken much in recent years, not since Solomon graduated high school." She admitted, almost a little sadly at the thought. "But even though we might have needed space for a while...we never hated each other or anything like that. I mean, we were the best of friends since we were seven." She looked maybe a little sheepish at it for a moment, how sentimental it must have sounded. They were best friends, they knew who they were and what they wanted out of life...and then things got complicated.

She tilted her head, looking up at him curiously, gaze intent on his face. "So...you and Ian? You're...?" She asked, gesturing a little between him and the doorway, one brow quirking up curiously, her meaning clear. At her core she was still a New Yorker, she couldn't help being blunt sometimes, no matter how nicely she asked.

Harley nodded and smiled, "I can assure you that I have spoken to him about many things, and he has never had anything but good to say of you." He could see why, even after all these years and all this time of not speaking, it was clear she still cared for a man who was her best friend, "Solomon is a bright boy, I can certainly see you both in him." He hadn't been given as much time yet to know Solomon, but they got along on an adult level, and he seemed glad that his father had someone, that was good enough for Harley.

He glanced up with a curious expression at her question, not catching on until he looked towards the door, "Oh!" His face softened and he smiled, nodding, "Hmm yes...We have been together for a few years now." He put a hand on his cheek and chuckled, "I moved from Spain to live with him...He is...A wonderful man..." He couldn't hide the tight emotion in his voice, he still got misty eyed when he thought about Ian, about being with Ian, it was such a sappy thing, "and what about you?" He turned to her, "did you find your mister right?" He gave a playful smile at that.

She beamed at the mentions of her son, her smile widening a little. "He's a wonderful young man. I'll be honest, a bit of a handful at times. But he's a good kid, crazy smart." She could have kept going on about him and his accomplishments, but that wasn't what this conversation was about.

Her expression softened a little, almost sadly, at the realization that she'd been so out of touch with him over the years that she hadn't realized this over the course of not the past months, but the past years. Sol had once mentioned Ian was seeing someone else, but hadn't gone into detail and she hadn't really asked. She made a promise to herself to stay in better touch going forward. At his question she nodded a little. "I've gotten remarried, yes. It's been...oh, wow...close to ten years now, I suppose now that I think about it." She looked around the room, indicating a clean cut man in an expensive suit having what looked like a friendly yet animated conversation with a few others around another table. Her smile turned fond as she watched him talk. "We have a lot of fun together...and he spoils me rather rotten." She laughed.

She let out a bit of a breath, glancing back the way Ian had gone, then up to Harley again. "You know..." She started after a moment. "Thinking back on things...a lot of things...I can't say I'm entirely surprised. Him, with you. It's funny how we don't always see things right in front of us, you need that bit of distance. But I saw the way he looked at you, it's what made me curious enough to come over." She admitted. "You make him happy. And he...he deserves that. He really does."

Harley craned to spot the man she was pointing out, grinning, "he seems like a lively fellow!" He glanced at her and the fond look on her face, his own becoming very warm, "I can tell he makes you happy, just by the look on your face..." He would have to remember to perhaps urge Ian to reach out more, he got the feeling she would enjoy that, and that he would as well, "being spoiled is nice as well, Ian likes to fuss over me, it is...It is nice...Knowing someone cares enough to do such things, right?" The amount of times Ian fussed at him to take care of himself, it was endearing.

Harley laughed and put a hand to his cheek, "it is funny how such things work out, no? To be honest...It was not so easy..." He frowned for a moment, "he is a man who has, for much of his life, pushed everything he is down to hide it." He ran a hand through his hair, "I have guided him through many dark days, but he has done the same for me...And..." He ran a hand over his eyes, "to see him smile, in such a genuine way...He does deserve it. He saved my life years before we even knew each other...I am glad I can give back to him." He laughed and cleared his throat, "but you did not come over here to listen to me be sappy...I am good at that..."

"He's telling one of his stories." She laughed. "He gets...involved." They were something she never tired of listening to though, all facial expressions and hand gestures and inflections, he had a flair for the dramatic.

"Ian does fuss." She agreed. "He always has. But it's sweet in it's own way, it's how he cares."

She frowned a little, with just a little bit of an eyeroll as he said Ian just sort of stuffed things down. "So you've met his family? If you have...all of that will make more sense. Defense mechanism more than anything else, I suppose."

Some time and space and distance, no longer being a young twenty-odd year old woman without a lot of grasp and experience of much of the world around her, it was more things she saw clearly now that she hadn't seen in their previous years together. Looking back, she realized so much more, and felt bad for not having been able to see things better, and offer better help and support. "It's alright, you're allowed to be as sentimental about it as you'd like to be, I'm not going to judge." She assured him. If anything, it was nice to see he had someone to care about him like that, it seemed to have done him good.

"he seems like a very good speaker, so much emotion even from a distance!" He would have to take a chance to meet the man in person someday, but for now he was incredibly interested in finding out all he could about Amanda.

At the mention of Ian's family, Harley frowned and allowed a dark expression to cross his face, "Hmm I have not. And for Ian's father's sake let us hope I never do." He sighed and relaxed, looking down, "I am aware though that many, many of the things that have haunted him stemmed from there." He could recall how vague and reluctant he'd always been to speak of them, but Ian had shared enough for Harley to know, "a very deeply seeded one, but he has become much more relaxed." He laughed, "he was so nervous of us at first, such a change, I can scarcely get him to stop holding my hand now." There was a fond tone that suggested he enjoyed this immensely.

He looked up at her, wiping at his eyes and laughing, "Ian would tell you that I do this a lot." He chuckled, "hmm but so does he. I suppose we grow emotional in our old age, don't we?"