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It would be about mid-afternoon in Harlem, and even at this hour the city was as alive as it would be at any other hour. People laughed, people talked, people shopped, and people ate. You had every kind of person here. The kind that looked like they were seconds from attempting to rob you, wealthy lookin' folk, and the average man and woman, just walking the street, having a nice time. This was the Harlem that Reyes enjoyed. No trouble to be seen that had been done, just enjoying the open road.
He arrived in his '63 dodge charger, clearly modded by the sound of the engine…and boy did it purr. New York City could have maybe heard that, but of course, exaggerations…but it makes sense! the car was a sleek black with a white stripe down the middle. Inside was Robbie Reyes, wearing his signature leather jacket with the upside down white U decal on the front, with black pants, combat boots, and white-trimmed black nike gloves. Underh is jacket he appears to wear a white hoodie.
Eventually, Reyes decided to pull over to one of the parking spots on the side of the road, getting out of his car and started to lean against it..as if just enjoying the sight of people living a normal life…a life he once lived, but lost. He takes a deep breath, clasping his hands in front of him.
Hope has been trying to work on a way to get back to her own time. And while Tony can help in some ways, there are also projects she works on with her own time. The trick with building things on her own, though, is that her resources are limited. So in search of a particular component, she called around town until she found a used appliance store that had what she was looking for…in Harlem. Walking isn't the worst thing in the world, though.
She's just coming out of the shop, brown paper bag under her arm, as Robby pulls up in his car. She pauses at the sound of the engine, steps slowing a little bit as she walks by to get a look.
Upon seeing Hope come out of the shop and coming closer to his car, Robbie would turn his head slowly to her and offers her a friendly smile and a tilt of his head. Seeing maybe a conversation was in route, Reyes leans off the car to stand up straight, putting his hands in his jacket pockets. "Hola." he says in the traditional Spanish greeting.
Though he does wonder what she has, he clearly has no interest in forcefully seeing what's inside.
"Hey," Hope greets with an upward tip of her chin, smile flickering. "Nice ride." She's got her hands in her pockets as well, keeping the bag tucked under her arm. Anyone trying to get at it is going to have a time of it, everything else aside. "Sounds like you've put some work into it."
Returning the upnod kindly, Reyes would walk over to her just to be polite and not distant, but he did stop a respectful distance so that it wouldn't seem like he was imposing or being a threat…like challenging. That may end badly for both of them. "Gracias. I did end up putting alot of work into it. One of my hobbies actually, fixing and improving cars and bikes and the like." he looks at her a moment, before outstretching his gloved hand. "My name's Robbie. Robbie Reyes." he introduces.
"Hope," the girl answers, reaching out to take the offered hand in a brief, firm grip, smile flickering. "Nice to meet you, Robbie. So are you a mechanic?" she asks, stepping a little closer to the car. She keeps her hands to herself, but she's definitely checking it out. And while cars specifically might not be her pet projects, she knows enough about how things work to get an idea of it. "Or is it just a hobby in your free time?"
"Hope." he echoes as if committing it to memory. "Nice to meet you Hope." he nods, returning the firm shake before letting her hand go to return to her person. When asked her question, Robbie would nod a little "Both actually. I work just over at that Triple A auto and body. and when I'm done, I just go home, work on the car, work on the bike..work on any orders someone has for me. I make customs too." he smiles warmly. "Just like anything that runs on an engine I guess." he chuckles to himself a bit. "I trust you're having a good day?" he asks curiously.
"Sure," Hope answers easily enough, walking around the car. "Got lucky, found a part I was looking for," she explains, lifting the bag in demonstration. "Not that I think it's going to make a huge difference, but…Well. Walking out here to get it was definitely more interesting than sitting around waiting for something to happen, you know?"
Robbie seemed to smile warmly to her when she says she's having a good day, though he becomes interested in what she has when she speaks of having found a part she needed. Perhaps a hopeful similarity. "Good to hear, senorita. and you're right…far better to just go and well, get it done than waiting to see what happens. Doesn't get anything done unless you go for it." he nods to her. "So car parts?" he asks curiously "or something else entirely." he smiles again.
"No, more of a, uh…gadget." Hope tucks the bag under her arm again as she comes back around the car to his side, smile slipping crooked. "I like to tinker with things. Build stuff. Machines. Tools. Nothing too big or too fancy, and usually not all that useful, but it keeps me occupied."
Robbie smiles a little, crossing his arms as he looks the young lady right in those eyes of hers. "a gadget huh? sounds interesting." he smiles, but he doesnt make any moves for that bag..nor does it look like he's going to. Nice guy. "That's a helpful skill..building stuff. and -everything- has a use, even if it's silly." he winks at her a little as he leans against his car again. "I'm curious to ask though what the gadget is intended for though." he smiles.
Hope quirks a brow at his response, that slight smile lingering. "You know, I think you're the first person who hasn't tried to convince me that there's no way a girl's doing anything mechanical," she says, amused. "But yeah. That's why my…dad taught me," she nods. "Sometimes you need something that isn't right there at hand, and better to be able to get it for yourself than to be stuck without it."
Robbie nods a few times "Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it right?" he smiles to her, and at her comment of him being one of the only ones who totally believed her when she said she was doing science, Reyes smiles warmly to her. "Well, to see the world as it is, everyone can do it. I'm not one of those types." which…sadly, was a good majority of today's world. "Happy to have been able to make a difference, right?" he smiles softly to her.
"Hey, always nice to see someone who knows what they're doing and isn't threatened by the idea that someone else might too," Hope chuckles, half-turning to look around the neighborhood. "Sometimes I think that's the root of most of society's problems. People see someone who can do something they can't, and instead of thinking wow, that's amazing, and thinking about all the good that could come of it, they're just mad that they can't do it, or afraid that someone might use what they can do against them, so they lash out first."
smiling to her warmly once more, Reyes would rub his hands together, eventually taking off his gloves, which were mainly for him to be able to drive comfortably with a solid grip, and tossing them back into his car after he opens the door, then closes it after. Turning his attention to the lady beside him. "Sadly..you're right. Feels like everyone's jealous of each other. There's no love, no support." he shrugs a little. Before possibly noticing she didn't drive there. "If you want, I can give you a ride home. Unless you're comfortable walking, which is completely fine." he shrugs, giving her an actually innocent offer, and she could probably see that he meant absolutely no ill intent, just being thoughtful. "It's never wrong to be different. I say, if you're different, and not causin' harm to someone else, go rock being different." he winks at her in a friendly manner.
"If more people thought that way, the world would be a better place," Hope smiles easily. At the offer of a ride, she gives the car another look, then back to Robbie. It's not exactly a short walk back to Avengers Mansion. A ride wouldn't be the worst thing ever. "Are you sure?" she asks. "I'm all the way back by Central Park. Might be a bit much with the traffic."
Robbie would smile to her "That's the hope." he nods a few times, and when she asks if he's certain, he walks on over to the passenger side (shotgun seat specifically) and opens the door for her. "If I wasn't sure, probably wouldn't have offered yeah?" he says jestfully, giving her a kind smile. "Traffic never bothered me none. I like to drive." he shrugs.
"Well, you know. Polite to warn you what you might be getting into," Hope smiles crookedly, sliding into the car only to lean over and get a look at the gauges. Might as well enjoy the ride, right?
She would notice that this car, just feeling about it…has been severely modded. Robbie would smile to her warmly "Fair enough." and he chuckles as he closes the door for her also like a gentleman, moving over to the drivers seat, opening the door and plopping right on in, putting in the key…and if she couldn't before Hope really feels that engine. Though Robbie pulls out the gate slowly "So, Central Park we go." and they're off to the races! Thankfully, traffic is actually nice on them, by New York's standards.
"You've put a lot into this car," Hope observes once the engine purrs to life, arching a brow over at him in the drivers seat. "You must take her outside the city to really let her loose. Street races?" she asks, getting a feel for the engine, watching him at the clutch.
Robbie drives like he's been at the wheel for 50+ years, but he clearly appears far younger than that. Maybe early-mid twenties, though still obeys street laws…for the most part. He doesnt seem to get caught for a single second. "I have. Probably too much time." he laughs a little. "As for racing, eh..sometimes? I enjoy earning a little cash on the side doing what I love ya know?" he shrugs a little. "Besides, I race circles around that lot anyway." he says with a jestful confidence.
"Just saying, lot of people and traffic in this city, on this island," Hope observes, rueful. "Seems like you wouldn't get much chance to really let 'er loose on the island. And with so much put into souping her up, it almost seems like a waste. Although I guess if you enjoy the work, then it's not a waste no matter what the end result it."
Robbie turns his head to Hope, giving her a big smile at her last sentence. "Exactly. Exactly." he nods a few times, looking her in the eyes a few moments. See? she gets it. Wow, she gets it. He turns his head away to watch the rode. "Yeah..I drive in my free time really. Relaxing." he doesnt dare mention his…other job as the Rider. "Though I do get enoug hchances. Just gotta know where the good spots are and where traffic is less troublesome." he shrugs. "But yeah. Love what I do. If you want, I can take you on a drive sometime, take you to the races maybe." he shrugs, another innocent offer..could be taken for asking out though, because Robbie's oblivious to hidden meanings.
"Maybe," Hope allows with a small smile, leaning back and holding her hand out the window, letting it coast over the passing air. "If you're ever headed out toward Westchester, I've got some friends out that way I like to visit every now and then. Unlike Manhattan, though, I can't exactly walk there, and the busses can take a long time to get there."
Robbie smiles warmly to Hope when she gives him a possibly. Better than nothing! "I rarely go out to Westchester, but I can see about heading out there to give you a ride if you need one." he smiles. Always so helpful. "The busses are a pain. Took a few when my bike got damaged a little. Nightmarish." he playfully rolls his eyes.
"No need to make a special trip," Hope shakes her head, looking over with an easy smile. "I'm not the sort of person who makes a lot of plans. I just kind of…Well, I guess you could say I'm killing time. Kind of stuck in between things right now, which leaves me at loose ends a lot."
Robbie would smile to her a little "Oh? May I ask what kind of things you're stuck between or is that private?" he asks, just making good talk. On the bright side, they are making great time to Central Park. only about two minutes out really.
Hope smiles faintly, lifting her hand to wiggle it from side to side. "Just life, really. I've got things I need to do, but there are reasons I can't do them right now. I can't go back, I can't go forward. All I can do is live this life right here and now, make the differences I can."
Robbie would nod a few times at the woman next to him. "That's fair." he gives her a warm smile. and soon enough, they arrive in central park. "Here we are. Central Park." he smiles to her, putting the charger in a…surprisingly good parking spot. "Alrighty, we're here." he smiles to her warmly.
"Thanks," Hope says as she jumps out of the car, her bag still under one arm. "Nice meeting you, Robbie Reyes," she winks, leaning in through the window. "And thanks for the ride. Maybe I'll catch you around some time."
Robbie smiles to her, almost blushing at a wink from a beautiful woman. He gives hope a small wave "Nice meeting you too Hope. and my genuine pleasure. If we meet again, I'd be happy." he gives her a little wink of his own and watches her leave a moment just to be sure she's safe from where he was.