Cloudless Night in Neon WInter

"Someone's a slow poke." Cole heard Alyx's voice, and quickly checked the time. It was 7:03 pm, he was not late. All thoughts of protest quickly left Cole's mind as he looked towards Alyx. When he had first seen Alyx out at night, she had still been wearing her uniform, but that was not the case anymore.

She was wearing a white sundress that had thin straps tied into bows on her shoulders. She also wore a deep brown shawl, hanging down her arms in such a manner as to allow a clear view of her shoulders. Her outfit was completed by a pair of thick black boots that covered her ankles, and complemented her white knee socks. The most surprising part was that Alyx had a hint of makeup on her face. Nothing in her outfit was as flashy or seductive as Mirai's look, but the shock came from the stark difference from her work appearance. 

Cole had pictured her as someone who did not care about their looks. A practical worker who tried to expend as little energy as possible. Even after just a few seconds, he could tell he was wrong.

"Ugh. I am sorry. I didn't think you would get stun locked by being called slow." Cole realized another difference as Alyx spoke. Her voice was bathed in a teasing liveliness. There had been hints that Alyx's voice was not always as dull and uninterested as he was used to, but feeling the full force of Alyx's shift was disorienting.

Seeing that Cole still did not respond, Alyx grabbed his wrist and pulled him after her as she sped away. It was a half jog, and as her hair trailed behind her, not in its comically small ponytail, Cole caught a glimmer of a faint aroma. It was a clear animated scent of water dripping from roses, interwoven with inklings of citrus.

As they rushed through the busy streets, Cole felt like the lights were brighter that evening. Cutting through the twilight sky, the sharp edges of neon luminance made Cole feel at peace, even as he dodged to the side to avoid a large sweating man, who had just appeared out of an alley.

"Finally you are paying attention again." Alyx shook her head as she looked back at Cole, her face cast in an electric blue light from a nearby sign. "We are almost there." She let go of Cole's wrist, and slowed their pace to a comfortable walking speed. Cole felt a cold spot where her fingers had been, despite the warm temperature of the evening.

Cole looked around, he was in an unfamiliar part of the city. Tall buildings screamed towards the cloudless sky, wrapped in vestiges of brilliant light. Yet even with their enormous size, they could not dwarf their smaller neighbors, whose electric signs stubbornly competed with their towering counterparts.

The streets were filled with all sorts of vendors, who set up their wares in whatever hint of space they could find. Vehicles sped by on the roads, and above their heads, but no paid the soft whine of their engines any mind. Some vendors even let their wares leak onto the road, placing their trust in the vehicles' automatic crash prevention systems.

Most of the taller buildings were not open, only contributing to the atmosphere with their bright lights shouting advertisements, but the smaller buildings were a collection of shops, bars, and various other entertainment establishments.

Alyx laughed as a group of drunk workers rushed past them. It was barely an hour past the end of the workday and they were already plastered. Cole shook his head, making sure not to step on a rug that displayed a bunch of polished metal figurines, as he dodged the drunkards.

The sidewalks that looked so wide during the day, felt thin and cramped with all the different wares and people, but it felt like Alyx was thriving in the slightly uncomfortable atmosphere.

Cole grunted, someone had bumped into him as they hurried past. He turned his head to see a string of young trainees rushing along. He smiled softly, remembering his excitement when he had first arrived in the city as a trainee. His home city was nowhere near as lively, with a strict curfew, and boring uniform buildings that looked as if they were made out of sand. In his early years as a trainee, Cole had explored his new colorful home with zealous enthusiasm.

Following behind Alyx as she smiled and pointed out things that caught her interest, reminded Cole what he had been missing. During his later years in training, he had gone out less and less, and once he joined the company, he barely ever explored the city. 

"Here we are." Said Alyx, turning away from a merchant selling colorful bracelets that seemed alive as light rushed around their bands. Cole looked towards where Alyx was heading, seeing a small worn down building, tucked between two mega structures.

He had not noticed the building before because it faded out of the scene. It had no bright lights, or loud noises, only a broken sign painted with peeling red letters. 

Cole did not recognize the letters, but even as he manually turned on his translator, the name stubbornly resisted. It was simply too dilapidated for the translator to find a pattern.

"It's called Red Melon." Alyx smiled at Cole's stumped expression. "But don't expect to eat any fruit here." Alyx's gray eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Why would melon be in the name if they don't serve any?" Alyx laughed at Cole's question before trying to change her voice to be mysterious. "Who knows."

Cole grinned at the childish attempt, and picked up the pace. He wanted to know what Alyx considered better than Midnight Bowl. The door to the store was so stuck that Cole thought they were closed. Alyx swiftly brushed him out of the way and forced the door open, exclaiming: "Ahh, I am so strong."

Cole rolled his eyes, before looking around the small restaurant. It was a dingy place, soaked in antiquity. There were no screens, and exposed yellow bulbs lit the room, casting low light on a few old tables pushed into the middle of the room. There were a few booths on the left side of the room, but they had various junk piled on them. A dirty cloth had been lazily pulled over the booths, but it did a horrible job covering the debris. At the front of the building there was a counter with a large crack in it. Above the counter a large menu was taped to a sign protruding from the ceiling. 

"Let me order for you. I know what's good." Alyx didn't let Cole look at the menu for very long as she pushed him towards the counter. A young looking boy greeted the pair tiredly.

"Can we get two ones, a seven, two fourteens, and an eight… also a twenty." Alyx spoke in some sort of code that the tired boy seemed to completely understand. Cole gathered that the numbers represented menu items, but it was still impressive that Alyx rattled out the order so quickly.

"Dad, Alyx is here and she ordered a shitload." The boy turned and shouted into a hallway that Cole assumed led to a kitchen. Alyx smirked and led Cole to a table next to the window of the store. Cole had not noticed the table earlier, and it seemed to be in a tad better state than its compatriots, which looked unstable and on the verge of collapse.

Before Cole could ask Alyx how often she frequented the restaurant, a large man hurried out of the hallway and walked over to their table. 

"Now I see why you ordered so much, this one definitely needs some more fat on his bones." The man spoke as observed Cole, but his palpable enthusiasm made it impossible for Cole to be upset. Alyx just laughed, and the large man quickly joined her, his guffaw so loud, Cole worried the window might shatter.

"Its good to see you again Lee. This is Cole from my work." Lee held out a hand, and Cole shook it, glad that he worked with Mel, because the man's grip was just as crushing.

"You haven't had real food until you try Lee's famous chicken." Cole wondered why Lee spoke in third person, but hoped that the quirk was the sign of a good cook. "I am looking forward to it, Alyx said it's the best."

Lee beamed at Cole's words, before quickly turning his head towards the hallway. "I should get back to cooking, don't want the wife to get mad at me." Cole and Alyx both waved as Lee waddled off, freezing as a shoe flew out of the doorway, smacking Lee in the face. "I am coming, my dear." Lee's large stature suddenly seemed small as he hurried into the kitchen.

Alyx and Cole chatted casually as they waited for the food. It was nice to talk about things that were not that serious, after focusing on the investigation for the past few days. While learning that Alyx liked to fall asleep listening to heavy metal, the food arrived.

The first dish was some sort of meat soaked in a bright red sauce. As soon as Cole took a bite, he knew Alyx was right, this was the best food he had ever had. Alyx saw Cole's expression and smiled triumphantly. However, there was no time to gloat, as the pair ripped through the meal with animalistic frenzy. Once they finished eating, Alyx quickly got up and paid for the meal, not giving Cole the chance to refuse.

A few moments later the pair staggered out of the restaurant, stomachs gorged on delicious food. It had started to rain, and unprepared vendors were scurrying around to collect their goods. Others simply activated their rain shields, causing clear canopies to spring up around them. The lights of the city reflected on the rain shields, giving them an ethereal rainbow look. 

Rain was just common enough not to be uncommon, but Cole had not expected it that night, it had been so hot that morning. However, as he got soaked, Cole just smiled, rain had a way of energizing him. Looking to his side, he saw a similar grin stretched across Alyx's face as she spread out her arms, basking in the downpour of water.

It was an image that quickly burned itself into Cole's mind. Light refracted through the rain drops, painting Alyx in a wash of colors that was drawn together by her heartfelt smile.