⯇ · [ she seems him falter and immediately feels a surge of guilt. it's been a long time since she's been that kate that ached to please people (decades, even) but every now and then she'll feel an echo of it tug at the back of her mind like an old, annoying memory. her hesitance doesn't waver, but she does wish she could have been gentler with how she'd presented it, if only to make him look a little less unsure of himself.
it's a smile she offers him again, small but reassuring. the hand in his is still there, squeezing firmly to remind him that she hasn't yet pulled away. ]
It's a really generous offer. I'm touched you'd even make it, honest.
[ but... there's a "but" there that hangs unspoken between them as kate struggles to find the words to follow it. ]
It wasn't that long ago that I left my partner to strike out on my own. And while I can't say I've been doing stellar since then, it's been... I dunno. Enlightening? Like I'm finding myself again or — or something.
[ she laughs a little, mostly at herself. ]
That probably sounds really dumb to you. [ it sounds a little dumb to her, now that she's said it out loud. suddenly she isn't really sure what she wants. ]
Maybe we can give it a trial run? I know we were well together with the detective part but... You have a whole team here, don't you? I don't want to ruin that jive you've got with them, either.
[ Dick knows it's a big, life altering change, quite possibly. This step of creating a team, the Titans, it had been an easy decision for him to make. At the time, being with Bruce, with Batman, it hadn't really been enough. It was shaping him into something he didn't want to become, and the Titans had always helped keep him grounded.
He just wants that for Kate too, but... there's always a but. ]
It doesn't sound dumb. It sounds... familiar. I did the same thing, going out on my own, trying to find where I belonged. At that time I didn't have the Titans, but now I'm really glad I do. I guess I just wanted you to feel that too.
[ But he isn't going to push it. He wants her to be able to find her own way. Is he a little disappointed? Maybe just a little bit, but he also knows there's no reason for him to be. ]
We're all still figuring out what kinda jive we have too, but I'm sure they'd love to have you, even just for a trial run.
[ kate has been known to jump into her fair share of impulses. some turn out good, some even turn out great, but enough turn out bad that she knows she should be cautious for something big like this. ]
You're sweet. [ her hand finds the side of his face again, gently palming the curve of his jaw. ] And who knows, maybe this is where I belong, too. You kind of have this annoying habit of always being right.
[ after a second, she rocks up on her toes to press a light kiss to the corner of his mouth, equal parts reassuring and grateful. ]
[ She's probably right to feel cautious about it, and smart that she is. Dick should probably run it by the rest of his team as well. He's just so sure about this. He was. But it's alright.
He knows what it's like to want to find your footing, especially breaking away from a mentor who shaped so much of what they are. He's assuming it's like that for her too, and he gets it. ]
I'm not always right. It's good you're jumping at it just cause I asked. It's smarter this way. And you know, even if it's just a once in a while thing, that's alright too.
[ He smiles at her soft kiss, his thumb running across her hand. ]
[ she's glad he understands. relieved, even. but then again, since they'd met, it'd been so easy for them to just connect, to get where the other one was coming from. she's not all that surprised that he's taking her caution so well; the last thing she would have wanted was for him to think this was a rejection.
she turns her hand so she can take his again, dropping them down between them. ]
Show me around some more? Your training room must be amazing.
⯇ · [ it doesn't escape kate's notice that yet another one of her new acquaintances seems to have a knack for getting themselves into trouble. she's starting to wonder if it's her, if she's just a magnet for these kind of people — like attracts like, after all — but it's not like she has a particular problem with it so much as it's a... funny observation. of course, it'd probably be funnier if it didn't quite involve so much blood.
she's at least 98% sure that jason's fine. if he can make it to her apartment on a bike, he's probably not at a big risk of passing out due to lack of blood or some fatal stab to a vital organ or something like that. probably. okay maybe she's only 95% sure because, let's be real, she did only just meet him and also he seems like the kind of guy who'd brush off something more serious with way more bravado than he has any business having. (like really does attract like, huh...)
anyway, she's got her handy little med kit all set up (good to have such things close by for her own close calls) on the coffee table, so she spends the rest of her time glancing between her phone and out her window to look out for an incoming bike... hopefully not trailing blood behind it. ]
[ Jason would totally understand what that's all about. he has a knack for attracting that kinda person too. not surprising though, considering what he does and who he is, but it's happened long before that, too.
like hell, of all the people in the world, he attracted Batman... or Batman attracted him. either way, it could just be that this place is is full of people who get themselves in trouble.
Jason is... fine. he's mostly fine. as fine as he can be with his own makeshift bandage wrapped around him. he wasn't in costume tonight so he didn't have anything on him, but of course he had to get into shit tonight too, because that's what he does. it's a good thing he was where he was tonight, despite getting hurt, because better him than some unsuspecting woman, trying to deal with the douchebags of the world.
his bike isn't trailing blood as he parks, thank fuck, but by the time he gets off and heads to her building to ring the buzzer, his arm is a mixture of numbness and intense pain that he's trying to work through using all that extensive training he's had. doesn't keep him from cursing under his breath like a sailor, which isn't too different from usual, so apparently he's handling it all just fine. ]
[ after both new york and los angeles, kate had been pretty sure no other cities in the country would attract so much trouble but it turns out every place has got its fair share of shitty people. it's a pretty depressing thought, but kate tries to let it motivate her instead. after all, it's why she does what she does. why some nights she finds herself just as messed up as jason is right now, looking equal parts kicked puppy and disgruntled tomcat as he just barely bleeds out at her door. ]
You got this, huh?
[ don't worry, she'll save most of her chiding for when he's all patched up. for now she's stepping aside to let him walk into her apartment, a modest thing that still hasn't been fully furnished despite already living in this city for a little over a month now. ]
Sit, [ she says, directing him towards the couch that's most definitely going to get blood on it, but it was thrifted anyway so who cares. she'll take a spot right next to him, tentatively tugging on the makeshift bandage he'd wrapped his arm in. ]
[ the thing is, it's all a cakewalk compared to Gotham, as far as Jason's seen. that doesn't put him off from it though. not one bit. that's the only place he's ever really had, ever really felt like he belonged to, even with no home. San Fransisco's got a lot of crazies too, but there are few things that beat the Joker and Scarecrow.
he's not feeling very kicked puppy tonight, otherwise he'd be doing this all on his own. he's always a disgruntled tomcat though, so that'll be fun. but mostly he's just curious about Kate, and getting to know someone new. he's terrible at people, but sometimes he can be alright. ]
Yeah, I totally got this. Made good decisions by coming here and everything.
[ okay so now that he's not in the dark of night, he can see how actually haphazard this shit looks, and how bloody it's all gotten. might've been a deeper stab than he let on, but he's not feeling woozy. only a little wobbly as he goes to sit on the couch. ]
It's not, but I'd be fine either way. It's just a scratch.
[ the fact he can still keep up his banter is a good sign, though kate knows if the roles were reversed that particular brand of humor would probably be the last thing she gives up before losing full on consciousness so maybe that's not that great an indicator of his well-being here. still, she can tell he's nowhere near knocking on death's door that evening, so there's some comfort to take in that, even if looking more closely at his handywork makes her nose wrinkle in displeasure. ]
I don't often get to be called someone's good decision on a Friday night, so thanks for that. [ more often than not, she likes to joke around that she'd be the best worst decision anyone's ever made. but enough about her poor dating history.......
it's pretty fortunate that he's curious about kate, since she's generally an open book. right now, she's focused on sorting him out so she's not as chatty as she usually is, but if he were to glance around he'd be able to see...
not much, actually. that's more due to the fact she's still new in town, still settling in, with mismatched furniture and a sad lack of kitchenware. there's a small pile of clothes on an armchair that may or may not be clean and the bedroom door left ajar would show a mattress — sheets and all! — but no bedframe. everything looks rather old or second-hand, except for the recurve bow propped up beside the door, looking as out of place in the apartment as the quiver and bows laying innocently on the floor beside it. ]
Your "scratch" looks to be about six stitches' worth, at least.
[ she's managed to remove the makeshift bandage without much trouble and cast it aside. but with his shirt still on she can only guesstimate from the cut on the sleeve, so her next move is to tug on the hem of said shirt. ]
Can you take this off or are you going to have to sport some cut-offs tonight?
⯇ · [ the frown on her face only deepens at eunhyuk's enlightening sentiment and, for once, she finds herself as a loss for words. she supposes there's not really much one can say to that; it's as real as real can get, and somehow she can't say she's surprised some sicko out there is pervasive and insidious enough to try and manipulate someone while in the midst of gunning them down via spider-bot. from how well made the machine looks, she doesn't think it's too far a cry to think the creator would view these machines as their own children.
which frankly just makes her want to get the thing out of here even faster. ]
Strip them? Sell them for parts?
[ she watches eunhyuk's prodding produce no semblance of a reaction from the machine, allowing her to feel just a touch more relaxed. ]
It's fine. I know a guy who knows a guy who should be able to figure out where this thing came from.
[ but on to more important things—
she rounds on him fully, now that the threat has been taken care of. in her veins there still pumps some of that adrenaline and fear, clipping her tone. ]
I'm fine. Not dead, at least. My ass hurts, though.
[ did she say sell them for parts? ]
Can I take a look first? Take some of it out?
[ it looks like good steel, or a similar alloy, and given the incredible near-lack of latency, there's bound to be some gold in the conductors. he won't have the tools to extract it, and even then it wouldn't be worth more than a few dollars, but the components themselves will be worth a decent amount if he could get his hands on them.
he turns to kate, looks at her with some measure of please written in his eyes. ]
I know this should probably be a phone call, but I figured you're either out, or sleeping, and I really needed to tell you this right now. It can't wait.
I want to tell you that I'm sorry.
I feel like I've been a real asshole lately and I don't mean to be. I don't want things to be weird or tense between us, but I feel like that's how things have been going anyway. There are a lot of reasons and excuses I could give, but none of them excuse anything, I realize that.
It's not you, alright? I don't want you to think it is, and I really hope you don't. I'm gonna get my head out of my ass and be better, and I hope that you'll give me that chance.
Sorry, I know this is a weird and long text, but I hope you can forgive me for being such a dick.
[ 2am this day finds kate neither out nor sleeping, but rather fruitlessly trying to scrub out her latest attempt at cooking something in her oven. it's why she doesn't notice her phone vibrating with a message right away, not when she's busy blasting out an old playlist from high school she never quite moved on from, her head literally stuffed inside her oven and up to her elbows in some unfortunately potent baking soda and vinegar paste.
it's unfortunately an hour later until she sees the message. she reads it a total of four times, one for every beat her heart skipped when she opened the message to see the long wall of text that started off so ominously.
by the time she gets the energy to send something back, thirty minutes have passed and her entire apartment smells like vinegar. ]
[It's fine that it's almost four now. Dick couldn't really sleep after sending that message, checking his phone like an idiot every ten minutes even though he knows she likely won't answer right away. Maybe not till tomorrow, or even the day after if she's annoyed enough at him.
She wouldn't do that though. That's not how she is. He wonders if maybe he's blowing this all up in his head but even so, if it's something he's feeling he'd rather talk it out with her. He's had so many, many...many things end badly because he didn't talk it out. Because he couldn't find it in himself. But he's trying to be better now.
When his phone pings, he turns it over in his hand and texts back probably far too quickly.]
[ kate likes talking. maybe a little too much, to the point it could be a fault. but she's hung around clint long enough to know what it is she'd rather not do when it comes to handling your problems, and that's running away. she's never been one to back down from anything, no matter how uncomfortable it might be.
but these days, she's learning to be a little less heavyhanded. to handle delicate things with the care they need. ]
theres a park close to my apartment do you know it?
[attached is a picture of a certain archer's apartment, with seasonally appropriate green plant held from the ceiling by a certain wall-crawling hero person. said plant, along with he person holding it appear limp and sad.]
in retrospect, i probably should've realized you'd be pretty busy with your current caseload.
BABY omg are you still there shit give me like, fifteen ok more like twentyfive just finished wrapping one up and downtown is a mess also did you know mopeds dont have great wheels for icy roads? oppression tbh
but omg right what is it about the holidays that makes people go absolutely bonkers not that i can really complain, mama needs to fix her garbage disposal (protip: dont stuff your eggshells in there)
i gave up hanging from the ceiling, but yeah i'm still here don't rush on my account better you make it back in one piece but super late than in multiple pieces and super fast not that mopeds are fast hell, they're not even street legal
i'm just going to go out on a limb and say it's all wham's fault too many repeats of 'last christmas' make everyone go a little loopy
wait... is that why you're picking up all this work?
[plumbing isn't engineering, but mechanical aptitude should be universal. we hope.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
( alaazul )
it's a smile she offers him again, small but reassuring. the hand in his is still there, squeezing firmly to remind him that she hasn't yet pulled away. ]
It's a really generous offer. I'm touched you'd even make it, honest.
[ but... there's a "but" there that hangs unspoken between them as kate struggles to find the words to follow it. ]
It wasn't that long ago that I left my partner to strike out on my own. And while I can't say I've been doing stellar since then, it's been... I dunno. Enlightening? Like I'm finding myself again or — or something.
[ she laughs a little, mostly at herself. ]
That probably sounds really dumb to you. [ it sounds a little dumb to her, now that she's said it out loud. suddenly she isn't really sure what she wants. ]
Maybe we can give it a trial run? I know we were well together with the detective part but... You have a whole team here, don't you? I don't want to ruin that jive you've got with them, either.
sorry fo the delay! D:
He just wants that for Kate too, but... there's always a but. ]
It doesn't sound dumb. It sounds... familiar. I did the same thing, going out on my own, trying to find where I belonged. At that time I didn't have the Titans, but now I'm really glad I do. I guess I just wanted you to feel that too.
[ But he isn't going to push it. He wants her to be able to find her own way. Is he a little disappointed? Maybe just a little bit, but he also knows there's no reason for him to be. ]
We're all still figuring out what kinda jive we have too, but I'm sure they'd love to have you, even just for a trial run.
no worries at all!
You're sweet. [ her hand finds the side of his face again, gently palming the curve of his jaw. ] And who knows, maybe this is where I belong, too. You kind of have this annoying habit of always being right.
[ after a second, she rocks up on her toes to press a light kiss to the corner of his mouth, equal parts reassuring and grateful. ]
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He knows what it's like to want to find your footing, especially breaking away from a mentor who shaped so much of what they are. He's assuming it's like that for her too, and he gets it. ]
I'm not always right. It's good you're jumping at it just cause I asked. It's smarter this way. And you know, even if it's just a once in a while thing, that's alright too.
[ He smiles at her soft kiss, his thumb running across her hand. ]
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she turns her hand so she can take his again, dropping them down between them. ]
Show me around some more? Your training room must be amazing.
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( theotherobin )
she's at least 98% sure that jason's fine. if he can make it to her apartment on a bike, he's probably not at a big risk of passing out due to lack of blood or some fatal stab to a vital organ or something like that. probably. okay maybe she's only 95% sure because, let's be real, she did only just meet him and also he seems like the kind of guy who'd brush off something more serious with way more bravado than he has any business having. (like really does attract like, huh...)
anyway, she's got her handy little med kit all set up (good to have such things close by for her own close calls) on the coffee table, so she spends the rest of her time glancing between her phone and out her window to look out for an incoming bike... hopefully not trailing blood behind it. ]
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like hell, of all the people in the world, he attracted Batman... or Batman attracted him. either way, it could just be that this place is is full of people who get themselves in trouble.
Jason is... fine. he's mostly fine. as fine as he can be with his own makeshift bandage wrapped around him. he wasn't in costume tonight so he didn't have anything on him, but of course he had to get into shit tonight too, because that's what he does. it's a good thing he was where he was tonight, despite getting hurt, because better him than some unsuspecting woman, trying to deal with the douchebags of the world.
his bike isn't trailing blood as he parks, thank fuck, but by the time he gets off and heads to her building to ring the buzzer, his arm is a mixture of numbness and intense pain that he's trying to work through using all that extensive training he's had. doesn't keep him from cursing under his breath like a sailor, which isn't too different from usual, so apparently he's handling it all just fine. ]
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You got this, huh?
[ don't worry, she'll save most of her chiding for when he's all patched up. for now she's stepping aside to let him walk into her apartment, a modest thing that still hasn't been fully furnished despite already living in this city for a little over a month now. ]
Sit, [ she says, directing him towards the couch that's most definitely going to get blood on it, but it was thrifted anyway so who cares. she'll take a spot right next to him, tentatively tugging on the makeshift bandage he'd wrapped his arm in. ]
Geez... Hope this isn't your dominant arm.
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he's not feeling very kicked puppy tonight, otherwise he'd be doing this all on his own. he's always a disgruntled tomcat though, so that'll be fun. but mostly he's just curious about Kate, and getting to know someone new. he's terrible at people, but sometimes he can be alright. ]
Yeah, I totally got this. Made good decisions by coming here and everything.
[ okay so now that he's not in the dark of night, he can see how actually haphazard this shit looks, and how bloody it's all gotten. might've been a deeper stab than he let on, but he's not feeling woozy. only a little wobbly as he goes to sit on the couch. ]
It's not, but I'd be fine either way. It's just a scratch.
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I don't often get to be called someone's good decision on a Friday night, so thanks for that. [ more often than not, she likes to joke around that she'd be the best worst decision anyone's ever made. but enough about her poor dating history.......
it's pretty fortunate that he's curious about kate, since she's generally an open book. right now, she's focused on sorting him out so she's not as chatty as she usually is, but if he were to glance around he'd be able to see...
not much, actually. that's more due to the fact she's still new in town, still settling in, with mismatched furniture and a sad lack of kitchenware. there's a small pile of clothes on an armchair that may or may not be clean and the bedroom door left ajar would show a mattress — sheets and all! — but no bedframe. everything looks rather old or second-hand, except for the recurve bow propped up beside the door, looking as out of place in the apartment as the quiver and bows laying innocently on the floor beside it. ]
Your "scratch" looks to be about six stitches' worth, at least.
[ she's managed to remove the makeshift bandage without much trouble and cast it aside. but with his shirt still on she can only guesstimate from the cut on the sleeve, so her next move is to tug on the hem of said shirt. ]
Can you take this off or are you going to have to sport some cut-offs tonight?
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( figured )
which frankly just makes her want to get the thing out of here even faster. ]
Strip them? Sell them for parts?
[ she watches eunhyuk's prodding produce no semblance of a reaction from the machine, allowing her to feel just a touch more relaxed. ]
It's fine. I know a guy who knows a guy who should be able to figure out where this thing came from.
[ but on to more important things—
she rounds on him fully, now that the threat has been taken care of. in her veins there still pumps some of that adrenaline and fear, clipping her tone. ]
How are you? Are you okay?
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[ did she say sell them for parts? ]
Can I take a look first? Take some of it out?
[ it looks like good steel, or a similar alloy, and given the incredible near-lack of latency, there's bound to be some gold in the conductors. he won't have the tools to extract it, and even then it wouldn't be worth more than a few dollars, but the components themselves will be worth a decent amount if he could get his hands on them.
he turns to kate, looks at her with some measure of please written in his eyes. ]
Seems fair, since it was after me.
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I guess...
[ she decides, suddenly, that the combination of eunhyuk and puppy dog eyes is dangerous and should never again see the light of day. ]
Just don't take anything that looks too important.
[ she doesn't know a thing about any of this but she imagines things like that would help with identifying the sender? maybe?
she reaches into her quiver and pulls out her taser arrow (should've used it from the start, but hindsight is 20/20 etc) and holds it out to him. ]
If it starts up again just give it a stab with this. I'm going to do one last sweep. Is your bedroom unlocked?
[ she hopes so, otherwise she'll kick the door in. rip. ]
txt @ 2am
I know this should probably be a phone call, but I figured you're either out, or sleeping, and I really needed to tell you this right now. It can't wait.
I want to tell you that I'm sorry.
I feel like I've been a real asshole lately and I don't mean to be. I don't want things to be weird or tense between us, but I feel like that's how things have been going anyway. There are a lot of reasons and excuses I could give, but none of them excuse anything, I realize that.
It's not you, alright? I don't want you to think it is, and I really hope you don't. I'm gonna get my head out of my ass and be better, and I hope that you'll give me that chance.
Sorry, I know this is a weird and long text, but I hope you can forgive me for being such a dick.
I care about you a lot.
<3
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it's unfortunately an hour later until she sees the message. she reads it a total of four times, one for every beat her heart skipped when she opened the message to see the long wall of text that started off so ominously.
by the time she gets the energy to send something back, thirty minutes have passed
and her entire apartment smells like vinegar. ]
hey
wanna meet up?
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She wouldn't do that though. That's not how she is. He wonders if maybe he's blowing this all up in his head but even so, if it's something he's feeling he'd rather talk it out with her. He's had so many, many...many things end badly because he didn't talk it out. Because he couldn't find it in himself. But he's trying to be better now.
When his phone pings, he turns it over in his hand and texts back probably far too quickly.]
Sure. Where do you want to meet?
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but these days, she's learning to be a little less heavyhanded. to handle delicate things with the care they need. ]
theres a park close to my apartment
do you know it?
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cool never got this notif 😔 so sorry
it's all good! <3
idk where this is but def before the trip
it def just happens more frequently after tho
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that sweater could just happen to be very popular
in your size
[ smelling like him ]
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in retrospect, i probably should've realized you'd be pretty busy with your current caseload.
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omg are you still there
shit give me like, fifteen
ok more like twentyfive
just finished wrapping one up and downtown is a mess also did you know mopeds dont have great wheels for icy roads? oppression tbh
but omg right what is it about the holidays that makes people go absolutely bonkers
not that i can really complain, mama needs to fix her garbage disposal (protip: dont stuff your eggshells in there)
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don't rush on my account
better you make it back in one piece but super late than in multiple pieces and super fast
not that mopeds are fast
hell, they're not even street legal
i'm just going to go out on a limb and say it's all wham's fault
too many repeats of 'last christmas' make everyone go a little loopy
wait... is that why you're picking up all this work?
[plumbing isn't engineering, but mechanical aptitude should be universal. we hope.]
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and pls like id let downtown traffic and a moped be the end of me
im way too stubborn for that
solid theory tbh
ive heard it four times today and i do feel slightly murdery
but only slightly i promise
and yes? partly?
its also christmas and yes capitalism etc etc but its still nice to give people gifts
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