tushanshu | 14. [Video]

[Hayley sounds impatient, bordering on frustration.]

Where are you?

[He knows that voice and he just smiles to himself and rolls his eyes.]

In my treehouse. WO-2A.

[She doesn't bother replying, expecting that the question will be a sufficient declaration of her intent. While not as fast as what seems to be everyone she knows, Hayley's determined and it doesn't take her too long to arrive at his suite. She's wearing her usual red jacket, but her messenger bag has been left behind.

Then she's knocking at his door, shifting impatiently while she waits for him to answer. Her mind telling her that this is a bad idea and she should bail only serves to fuel her impatience, rocking up onto the balls of her feet and down again.]

[Kon hadn't taken long to get up. He'd expected Hayley to be coming over after he gave her his suite number and got no response. Coffee was brewing on the stove when he heard the knock at the door.

Walking over to the door, he opened it with a smile.]

Hey there.

[Hayley's muscles tense and she hesitates for a split second before moving to close the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his chest in a tight hug. She knows that's what friends do, that it's a gesture of affection and trust and all those other things that she kind of feels but doesn't really want to admit to and doesn't know how to put into words.

This is the part where she should say something about how she missed him or how she's so glad he's back. Instead, she just tightens her grip on him, unconsciously using the physical as a metaphor for the emotional, and presses her face against his shoulder.]

[That had been the last thing he was expecting to happen when he opened the door to Hayley. There was no tension from him, no pulling away and asking what she was doing. Instead he just stood there, a little stunned, blinking once or twice before he put his own arms around her.

Hugging was always something he knew how to tailor around people. He knew that when it came to non-metas that could stand it, he couldn't hug as tight as he sometimes felt like going. But he does put in a squeeze and holds onto her with a smile.]

Sorry I sorta vanished.

You can't leave. [She mutters against his shirt.] I don't care of you can't control it.

[It's as close as she'll come to saying how much she missed him. He's the only one who seems to be okay with her the way she is since Bruce's departure and she's too selfish to ever want that to go away. That she also likes him as a friend makes it that much harder.

After another few seconds, Hayley finally withdraws, breaking the contact between them unless he has any reason to stop her. Then she opts for the quick change of topic.] I'm guessing Bart's already been here?

[He takes a deep breath and nods for her. He hadn't wanted to leave. This place had been his home for almost two years now, minus the few days he was gone. He'd gone through a lot, had a lot of relationships grow stronger and made new ones. He found out a lot about himself since he'd been here. Though coming back had been hard when he suddenly remembered what happens to him and who he becomes. That was a quick passing thought that would no doubt come back to him later where he could worry about it to himself.]

Promise.

[It wasn't one he could hold and Hayley would know that. But he would do his best to not vanish like that again. After Hayley pulled away, Kon let her, bringing his arms down to his sides. He pulls the door open even wider and steps back to let her in.]

Yeah. Soon as I posted this he spoke to me, came over. I got coffee on if you want some. Return the favour from before.

[She does know, that it's something he can't promise, yet she understands the sentiment for what it is and finds the hollow reassurance oddly comforting. Hayley gives him a brief smile when she steps back, then pauses as he opens the door wider for her. Her muscles tense again. Having expressed the sentiment she came to express, staying feels kind of like hanging out. While that's not foreign to her even here, the idea of hanging out with Kon is somewhat unsettling because he understands her so well.

After a second's hesitation, she steps inside, flashing him a forced smile on the way. The expression falls from her lips not a moment later when she pauses awkwardly a few feet into the suite.]

Uh, yeah. Coffee's great. [She confirms, trying to force the discomfort she feels away. Hayley's not one for anxiety more than necessary and so her mind sets about to compartmentalizing, trying to set herself more at ease.]

[There's no subtlety to her hesitation from her body language to the way she talks. He isn't offended that she feels on edge so he keeps the door open and steps closer to her.]

I'm not gonna make you stay y'know. If you'd rather go, I won't be offended. Promise I won't cry myself to sleep in my room.

[He didn't want her to feel like she had to stay. To have coffee and talk about anything. She was always welcome to leave whenever she wanted if she started to feel uncomfortable.]

[Hayley casts him a genuine smirk over her shoulder.] You couldn't make me stay if you tried.

[Of course he can, if he really tries, but it was a comment back to their last conversation, how she shouldn't let them decide what she wanted for her. In combination with his promise, she genuinely feels slightly better about being here, if still somewhat apprehensive.

Hayley steps closer to him, then moves around him to close and lock his front door. With a smile, she then moves deeper into his place and takes a seat on his couch. Now that he's offered her the out, she's more determined to stay, like any self-respecting petulant teenager would be.] Coffee?

Edited 2014-04-13 22:56 (UTC)

[That made him smile as he held up his hands for her. He watched her as she came close then closed the door and locked it. It made Kon feel happy that she felt like she could trust him enough to lock herself in with him. They'd progressed a lot in a short amount of time, because working on this for months was still a short time frame considering how far they'd come.

Kon walked in and rolled his eyes.]

Coming right up.

[He walked into the kitchen and got a few mugs filled with coffee before coming back in. He handed one to Hayley before he sat down himself.]

Know what's weird, I'm not even angry being back here.

[In truth, Hayley knew that there was little a lock would stop with the people she worked with these days. It wouldn't do anything to slow or stop Kon and, likewise, wouldn't slow or stop Bart either. But it was a gesture, one he seemed to appreciate for what it was, even as he rolled his eyes at her.

She accepted the coffee when he offered it, taking a small sip and then holding it in her hands. His words surprised her and it showed briefly on her face before she reclaimed her expression back to neutrality again. She had no idea how she would feel, but she was pretty damn sure she liked this place more than her home.]

Why? ['Why would you be?' 'Why aren't you?' She felt the single word covered the full range of options.]

[It was even the small things that could mean a lot.

Once she asked that, Kon took a moment as he sipped at his coffee and thought. He shrugged his shoulders as he remembered his conversation with Bart.]

Because I came back to this place, screw the reason we were brought here, that's stupid as hell. But...I was one of the firsts here, that's been a long time and I've done a lot in it. I've made friends, I've lost friends. I've gained family I never thought I'd have. Sure there's people I miss from back home but...I remember this place.

You didn't remember when you were gone? Or you mean you did remember and that's why it was worse?

[This was the first time she was talking to someone who had returned in any detail at all. She didn't know how it worked or what might happen, other than knowing that sometimes people returning forgot their time here before. At the thought, she frowned deeply, feeling almost sick at the thought of him not remembering and having to go through all of that again.]

I'm glad you remember now. [She added offhandedly, as an explanation of her sudden change in expression.]

I didn't remember when I was home. It's like hey say, things just carry on like nothing happened and you weren't gone for any time. I remember the events of being home fresher as well...the exact same place in time. Well, give or take a few hours I guess.

[He was glad he remembered as well. He didn't think things would work out if he came back the same way he was back home. He was far too arrogant and obnoxious and though initially when he woke up that was the attitude he gave, when things calmed down, he began to remember everything.]

Me too.

[She frowned at the thought, not knowing her own perspective.] If I told someone about anything that happened here when I went home? They'd call me crazy and lock me away. And not being able to tell anyone would kind of suck, so.. I don't know. I think I'd rather forget.

[It would be strange forgetting people like Bart, Kon, Bruce Banner, Jor-El, and others, but maybe it would just be like a vague and forgotten memory. Hayley doubted that any memory of it could be pleasant trapped in reality as she was back home.] But, I mean, in the meantime, I'd definitely rather be here than back home.

[A beat and her eyebrows furrowed.] How long have you been here anyway?

I'm pretty sure I'd get locked away as well, I mean even for my standards this place is still weird?

[Kon rubs at his arm and frowns. Bart had said how he'd rather forget as well. Part of him saw where they got the thought from but Kon was just unsure and didn't want to forget.]

Since we all started showing up. Guess it's been almost two years? Y'know if we don't count the little break.

[Hayley takes a long sip of her coffee as she considers his words, ignoring that the liquid is slightly too hot for drinking at length. Then she lowers her mug again. The idea that this place is even weird for Kon is almost unsettling, given who he is and where he comes from and everything. He should be used to this.]

That's.. a really long time. [She sounds equal parts surprised and concerned. After a beat, she decides to add her own admission, something she wasn't planning to talk about.] It'll be a year for me, in two days.

[A pause.]

Are you okay? [She asks suddenly, having noticed the way he rubs his arm as a reflection of her own nervous habits. He's harder to read than Bart. Maybe because he isn't saying aloud pretty much everything he's thinking.] You seem to be handling all of this really well.

[Parts of it were more than normal, it was the how he was brought here, the living that was made here, some of the things that had happened. He hadn't experienced seeing people from different worlds gathered like this in the one place. Thinking about it too much though sometimes gave him a headache.

All Kon does is nod as he thinks on how long it's been and then he looks at her.]

I dunno whether to say congrats or not. [He stops for a second or two and then there's a slight smile as he shrugs.]

I'm fine, I've got friends here so it's not as bad as it could be. I dunno what I'd be like if I didn't have you guys though.

[Hayley pointedly shrugs, an atypical gesture from the teen.] I don't know either. I like it here, but it's weird.

[To the latter, she raises her eyebrows with a smile and healthy dose of skepticism. She likes Kon including her in that, but it's still kind of weird.] Oh come on. It's not like we're best friends. I'm the murdered girl who attacked your original, remember?

[There's a slight pause and then her expression is serious.] Should I not call him that? Should it just be your cousin?

[Another pause, then she continues with a partial sigh.] We are friends, don't get me wrong. I'm just not used to my presence really making a difference to someone.

[Except for Donna, Jeff, Aaron, and those others who wouldn't live to recognize the difference she made. Obviously this isn't like that. Here, he's talking about being grateful that she's around.]

Maybe we should just keep it to having some cake then.

[It's not a term he's fond of being used. Whether it's true or not it's a word that kind of pulls and twists at his gut. But it doesn't show on his expression, if he did then that'd just let people know it gets to him, well the wrong kind of people anyway.]

Cousin works better. [Why wouldn't he include her in this? It was true and he felt like, even through the horrible things that had happened, they'd bonded? They'd found something that made them as people click and allow for them to talk. Talk and not argue.]

Don't have to be best friends either to make it matter. C'mon you gotta think more highly of yourself.

As if. [Cake to celebrate this place seems like too much.] When's your birthday? We can totally have cake then.

[She silently accepts the correction, knowing how upsetting the word might be to him. It's why she clarified in the first place, not wanting to upset him without meaning to. Rather than make a big deal out of it, she gives an apologetic smile.] Cousin it is.

[And then another smile, almost wicked in its own way.] Trust me? It has nothing to do with low self-esteem. I'm not used to having friends, and not because I was a loser or whatever. I'm.. pretty content to keep to myself most of the time, you know? You guys just make it really hard to talk and get along without having some kind of relationship, so the whole friend thing was kind of inevitable.

[And on that note.] By the way, did Bart tell you about.. uh.. the.. [She lifts one hand as if to make a gesture and then realizes there really isn't one.] ..you know, that whole thing where he kissed me and I pushed him away but then I kissed him because I didn't exactly mind, but it was really weird and now he's pretending it didn't happen and I might be kind of avoiding him a little?

Was a few months back so we should probably do it by yours instead.

[Kon appreciated it, the fact that there wasn't a big deal made out of the request and the fact that she had even bothered to ask if it was okay or if he'd prefer something else. It made him feel good about it and he nodded in thanks.

Okay, so usually he would have said how at times he guessed he understood the being okay by yourself thing. And that he believed what she said about it not being low self-esteem because she carried herself well and lots of people had nervous gestures. He would have said how he was glad that was the case, that the friends thing had to happen. Usually. Because what she began to say next distracted him. Actually no, it surprised him and it showed as he sat there almost dumbfounded. He hadn't expected that to be a thing that would have happened between them and his mind was scrambling to put it all together. To make sense of this ease concept but with these two people and...then he stops for a moment, lets his eyes go back to their normal size and picks up his jaw.]

Holy crap, really? So do you you like him? That why you're avoiding him? How did I not know? When did you kiss?

Next month. I don't really do parties or whatever, but we can do cake. [There's a very slight glare that accompanies the comment, a subtle threat that no really, just cake, or else.]

[She regrets telling him immediately, grimacing at his shock. When he begins on the questions, her replies come with a begrudging tone and she lifts a hand as much to idly scratch at her eyebrow as to subconsciously hide her face.]

Calm down, spaz. First of all? I think you're the only one who knows and I'd really like to keep it that way. Second, like I said, I've been avoiding him and he's pretending it never happened, so it's not like we're suddenly dating. And third? ...This is super awkward. Never tell him I told you. If he tells you? Pretend you don't know. Although at this point, I kind of doubt he will.

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