004 ◉ audio; dated to the 14th

[imaginate]

[ The audio clicks on and there's a long pause. When Kyle speaks, his tone is calm, perfectly controlled. It's his Business Voice, blank save for the barest hint of anger. ]

This is Kyle Rayner of the Green Lantern Corps. I apologise for the inconvenience, but our clinic at EA-3B is currently undergoing repairs and won't be able to take more patients at this time. We'll be temporarily operating a backup at WA-1A. [ He attaches a map, showing where it is. ]

Any and all hands with medical experience or healing abilities are always welcome.

[ Another long pause. ]

And if someone could come collect Avatar Korra, that would be appreciated.

[ There is a brief pause, as though he's debating what more to say, before the audio clicks off. ]

Comments

[imaginate]

[Kyle orders quietly, politely, and directly. He doesn't waste time, he doesn't butter anything up, either. He hums quietly as he waits for the food.]

[jirk]

[Jim leans back in the booth and drapes his arm over the back.]

Nice place, huh?

[imaginate]

Really nice.

[He smiles up at it.]

Good colour scheme.

[jirk]

Man, you are such an artist.

[Jim just laughs, shakes his head.]

[imaginate]

[He shrugs.]

Hey, watch it now. I might repaint your house in a flight of fancy.

[jirk]

Is that a promise or a threat, Angel?

[He is totally okay with this.]

[imaginate]

Try a guarantee.

[He leans back, clearly relaxed.]

[jirk]

Just stay away from the chartreuse, huh?

[He fiddles a little with the fork on the table, turns it over and slides his hand back down.]

[imaginate]

Yellow goes with a few things.

[And it means something different to you.]

[jirk]

[Jim gives him a curious look, head canted slightly.]

Well, yeah. So does puce.

[imaginate]

It's a nice colour!

[jirk]

[ROLLING HIS EYES.]

What did I just say?

[imaginate]

[He falls quiet, and just nods as the food arrives. He says grace, as always, and then looks expectantly at Jim.]]

[jirk]

[... Oookay, so, cautiously,]

Amen.

[imaginate]

[A long pause.]

I'm not religious. Get called a god enough times and it leaves a bad taste. This is for my mother.

[jirk]

[That gets both eyebrows raised faintly.]

[imaginate]

[He stares, and then he just starts eating, quietly.]

[jirk]

[Jim shrugs, digs in. There's three pancakes heaped with a local strawberry-analogue and still no cream, but there's a few slices of something that looks like mango, too, and some sort of jam. He's used to the hustle and bustle of the mess, so the silence is a little... okay, unsettling, but he doesn't actually try to break it. Diplomacy. Someone else's language.

And then he's done and he pushes the plate away.]

[imaginate]

[He plays with his own food, eating very, very slowly.]

[jirk]

I feel like we're playing charades or something.

[It's an idle observation, as he plants both elbows on the table and gives Kyle a wry look.]

[imaginate]

[His expression is completely blank.]

I can't do this.

[Please understand I just want you to understand why can't you see what's right in front of you.]

[jirk]

[What the hell am I doing wrong? He's not used to this. He's not used to meeting people that constantly and consistently beat his self confidence down just by being someone he can't reach. He reaches everyone, it's what he does, it's in everything he does, he moves worlds and it bothers him so much that he can't-- change this, or fix it, or whatever the hell.

It's why he keeps trying, but it's also why he sometimes wants to walk away.

Jim wipes his mouth with a napkin, drops the napkin on his cleaned plate. There are so many things he wants to ask, he wants to go at this from all angles and work it until it's fixed, he's a problem solver at heart. I told you how I beat the Kobayashi-Maru, right?

But he doesn't. He just nods tiredly. Compromise.]

Sure. Let's get you back to your clinic.

[imaginate]

[That's it? he wants to ask, but they're both so tired. Even Kyle is, of his own mind, and of his own darkness. Of all people.. Damian understood it. Dick, and Jack were horrified by it, maybe even feared it. Spock had some inkling of its depth, Jim thought he saw it all. Rose-- Rose didn't even try. She just came and put light wherever she could, and it worked.]

[He gets up, and on impulse, squeezes Jim's hand, and kisses him on the side of the mouth. He doesn't care that this is completely public, outside the pool place was, too. It's not like it means anything other than thank you for being here, anyway.]

[jirk]

[That's new, and it makes him arch an eyebrow, but he doesn't comment on it. Instead, he just gives Kyle's hand a similar squeeze in return. Funny how the weird, random shows of intimacy bother him less after being tortured beside this guy. Kyle saw him bleeding and half delirious on top of everything else he already knows, it kinda breaks down a few barriers along the way.

So Jim drops the payment down on the table and gets up so he can gently bump Kyle's shoulder.]

Wild horses couldn't drag me away, Angel.

[After everything, he's still trying. But Kyle needs his space, and Jim... is learning. Even when it costs him.]

[imaginate]

Don't tempt me, Princess, I have constructs now.

[He's a little more at ease, but he is still quiet, thinking.]