10146/A Housewarming Get-Together, Party of Two

A Housewarming Get-Together, Party of Two
Date of Scene:	16 February 2022
Location:	Greenwich St Loft Penthouse
Synopsis:	A housewarming get-together turns into a deepest, darkest secrets shocker, a solemn oath to keep secrets, and burgeoning romance.
Cast of Characters:	Hella Rokkurdisardottir, Booster Gold

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Hella Rokkurdisardottir has posed:
Setting: Hella's loft penthouse apartment in TriBeCa, a nice, trendy neighborhood in Manhattan.
Time: Afternoon on a cold winter day
Opening situation: Hella and Booster leave the Kord penthouse, make a stop off to get some lunch and doggy snacks, and take it all back to her brand-newly furnished loft penthouse.

    Hella, despite being the muscle of the couple, gives all of the gathered supplies over to Booster to hold while she unlocks the door to her building. She makes sure to stack everything carefully, grinning at Booster's expression as his arms fill up in quicktime. "Is only for moment," she says in a tone that teases him for overreacting. Then, she's unlocked the door and is holding it open for him to walk inside. From there, she opens the freight elevator for the both of them, making sure he doesn't drop anything important (such as Brimstone's bribery snacks). When they're both inside, she slides the inner grate closed, puts her key in the lock on the panel next to the P button, for the penthouse floor. She gives it a push after unlocking access to it, and it lights up. The elevator begins to move, juttering only slightly every now and again on its way up.

    Hella grins as the elevator comes to a stop, sliding open the grate as the outer doors open on their own. The foyer that opens up outside of the elevator is very small, but enough to hold about six or seven people if they're all cramped in together. She doesn't hesitate, since Booster is so kindly holding everything, and she says something in a language that's unfamiliar to Booster -- it doesn't even sound like Russian, though it does sound as though it's Slavic or Scandinavian!

    At the voice command, the door unlocks and swings open, which allows Hella to turn to Booster and accept at least half of his load, so he can walk through easily into her totally dope new apartment! "Take your time," she says with a bright grin. "I am very proud of apartment. Worked hard to make it feel like me," she says, taking the food and snacks and things over to the kitchen island where she begins putting things in their appropriate places to cut down on clutter. Some of the things she leaves out are the ton of Beggin Strips, the case of 9-volt batteries, and bags upon bags of Snausages in various flavors. Also, the four boxes of large pizzas!

    Briefly, Hella lifts her voice, "Hey, Siri, play popular music through house, conversation level," she instructs her sound system. Dutifully, Siri replies, "Okay. Playing popular music, conversation level," and the music filters in quietly. Enough to hear the music, but more in the background. The current song playing is The Weeknd and Ariana Grande singing 'Save Your Tears (For Another Day.'

    Once she's got things kinda squared away neatly, she moves over to a space by the door where she has her shoes arranged on a little shoe rack. She slips off her baby pink sneaks and puts them on the rack. Then, she jogs back over to Booster to observe his reaction to her home! "You don't have to take off shoes," she says graciously, despite her pretty white and pink rug in the living room space. "So...where do you want to go, next? I have gym, guest bedrooms, master bedroom -- off of which is terrace you have seen, master bathroom..." she smiles, her dimples endearingly cute.

Booster Gold has posed:
    Booster has been very willing to shoulder the load, and in fact, has done a pretty admirable job with it. Of course, he's a super hero, so even Hella's large list of supplies is not really a challenge. He just amped up his powersuit a little bit. The normally chatty Golden Gadfly was a little more quiet and reserved after leaving Ted's place, allowing Hella to talk. And listening. Really listening to her. More of a ... person, than a cartoon character.
    Upon arrival at the loft, he takes a long look around, nodding in appreciation. "Nice place. Very...you." He grins, clearly indicating that's a good thing. He casts his gaze around, as if wondering where Brimstone is. "Uh, wherever, is fine." He glances down as she mentions the shoes. "Ok, I'm sorry, I would but..." He raises up his leg. "Everything is attached. Can't take it off." He shrugs. "Future technology, really solid, not so flexible."
    He walks further into the place and looks around, as if trying to get a better sense of who Hella is from the way she has her abode.

Hella Rokkurdisardottir has posed:
    Hella smiles at the compliment. She was hoping to make her living space feel like her, surrounding herself in things that make her happy and feel at ease. "Is good to know my mission is accomplished," she replies with a cheerful voice. "Since you know about my struggles, I tried to make sure everything I could get fireproof or at least resistant or retardant. But, is only so much can be done in some cases, when it comes to comfort," she murmurs, smacking a pillow on the couch gently, as if to fluff it and indicate it as a flammable culprit at the same time.

    "No worries about shoes," she shakes her head. "Is why I told you not to be concerned. I just tend not to wear shoes at home, personally. Didn't want to make you feel awkward about it," she over-explains. She hushes up, then, though, her normal bright and bouncy disposition a little subdued in response to Booster's more sober mood. "Ah...well, gym, then?" she motions toward the privacy-filmed sliding glass doors toward the back of the living room. The doors' privacy film is some sort of frosty white and iridescent speckled pattern that allows for light to come through but allows anyone working out to not feel /watched/. She slides the door open and motions for Booster to walk inside to see for himself.

Booster Gold has posed:
    It is not so much that Booster is sober, as much as he is not turned up to 11 as he usually is. More about at an 8 - which is probably still enough to be grating to most people. Luckily for him, Hella was /not/ most people.
    "Sure, I'd love to watch you work out," he says, his tone upbeat. A grin on his face. "I can't wait to see what kind of equipment you've got...hard to push your limits?" He heads along towards the indicated gym. "I mean, you know, I've got a pretty rigorous routine...I can bench press, oh, 300 or so?" He flexes his muscles as he goes. "So, like, what, a tenth of a percent?"
    It is clear from his attitude that rather than feel threatened by Hella's incredible strength, he has vastly amused by the discrepancy in their power level. He walks into the gym and looks around for a moment, his eyes taking in the equipment. "If you don't mind my asking, what is it that you do? I feel like every super I know is either rich beyond imagination or dirt poor."

Hella Rokkurdisardottir has posed:
    Hella smiles and shakes her head, "Not really, to be honest. The real workouts I got to build my physique came from sparring with my family members, back home. There isn't a lot of home gym equipment that weighs as much as I need to make it an actual challenge." She smiles again, this time a little wistfully, "Now I understand why I was kept at home as long as I was. It makes much more sense now." She pauses briefly to say, "Not that I was miserable there. I have a very wonderful home-life and family. I just...wanted to do more, see more, experience more," she smiles and lifts her shoulders lightly.

    The gym is decked out, of course. She has at least one of every kind of equipment and multiple of others, such as ellipticals, tread mills, and so on. "I keep doing it, though, trying to make sure I keep up what I've managed to build up," she says, walking over to pick up something off of the floor and drop it in a little hamper that's nearby.

    She beckons Booster to follow along behind her as she heads back into the living room and directs him to the door to the hallway as she replies to his question. "This apartment? Disgustingly expensive. New York prices are robbery. But, my family has amassed wealth over the centuries. Anyone in family that makes lots of money donates big portion to family fund, because we are all so close and support one another. I could not have paid for this beautiful place on my income. But, I wouldn't have another job. I am very proud to be firefighter," she says, finally getting to the answer to Booster's question.

    She skips past a pair of double-doors on the right of the hallway and leads him to a pair of doors parallel to each other at the end of the hall. "These are guest bedrooms," she mentions briefly, opening each of the doors and letting him peek inside. The design in these rooms is more subdued than the soft, girly feel of the rest of her apartment's color palette. It seems that, in choosing a mint and cream scheme for one bedroom and a slate and blue theme for the other, she is attempting to accommodate for people whose tastes might not align with hers. Inoffensive, but also welcoming and stylish enough, in their decor and furnishings. They're on the smallish size, but each one has access to, at least, a bathroom of their own with a toilet.

    Then, Hella's voice is filtering back in as she resumes talking about her job. "I love being firefighter. I have unfair advantage for saving lives in all kinds of situations. I want to do good with my life, with my abilities and skills, every second of every day. Firefighting is safe for me. I can save my guys if they get in trouble. I can reduce or entirely remove fire. I can protect everyone and it makes me feel good. My life is worthwhile," she smiles, moving toward the double-doors, this time. "Also, I take some university classes. I want to be able to help animals, too," she says, her ponytail swishing with her movements.

Booster Gold has posed:
    Booster follows along with the tour, his gaze slipping over every piece of equipment in the gym. Although his gaze does linger on his host more frequently than the equipment itself. He focuses on the story of her family. "I can see that. Family is an important thing, and they usually want what is best for you. But eventually, yeah, you have to get out and see things for yourself." He smiles over at Hella. "I'm glad to hear that you had a good relationship with them - do you still see them often?"
    Following along into the hallway, Booster laughs as she talks about the cost. "Yeah, this is not a cheap place to live at all. I'm lucky that I can mooch off of Ted. Until my app works out, I think I am pretty much 'depending on the kindness of strangers'", he says, affecting a southern accent. He pauses. "I have a feeling I'm not going to be yelling Stella that much anymore, as I think about it. But oh well." He looks down the hallway, and tilts his head. "Centuries? What does your family do that lets them ..." He considers for a moment, looking her over. "You're not, like, one of those Daughters of that Demon guy who runs the worldwide corp of assassins, right?"
    Booster peers into the guest rooms. "These look great!" He flashes a grin at her. "Not the kind of color scheme I would have picked, but for guests you are better off keeping things nice and neutral. Great choice." He listens as she speaks of the glories of firefighting. "I think it's amazing that you do that - running around with 'mere mortals', helping them out, making sure that the heroes that don't have any powers are protected." He sighs happily to himself. "You are a pretty amazing person, Hella." As she talks about University, he just smiles more broadly. "And busy, too!"

Hella Rokkurdisardottir has posed:
    To the question regarding seeing her family, Hella shakes her head and looks a bit sad about it, too. "I grew up in very, very rural part of northern Russia, in wilderness. Only my family and nature all around for many miles. Is safer that way, for us, for people who don't understand what we are... Just better to be hidden. But, means is hard to get back home very often. One of my brothers has found a way to create electricity and internet, for necessary purposes. But, family is much more 'unplugged' than average family," she explains, laying out a kind of picture for Booster to imagine what her life has been like.

    "Am lucky if I can get someone on phone for conversation. Mama will talk with me for a while, but my brothers and cousins and all, they end up getting into brawl with each other over some reason or another," she grins lopsidedly. "They forget about phone -- especially as soon as they know I'm doing okay and not calling with problem. They just leave phone on table or drop on floor and I hear them getting into spar," she laughs, remembering how many times a /day/ she would beef with one or more of her family members. Except for Mama. Never with Mama.

    Hella looks a little confused at some of the jargon Booster uses, looking at him curiously as she opens the double-doors to her bedroom and waves him inside. "App? What this means?" she asks for clarification. At the mention of Stella, Hella's temp phone chirps softly from somewhere around her thigh-area, one of her white cargo pants' pockets. She holds up a finger. "Could be emergency," she says to explain why she's being rude enough to check while spending time with him. "Oh," she says with a slightly bleak look on her face as she hears the voicemail. "It seems...you are more right than you know," she says, biting her lower lip.

    As she steps deeper into her room, she clarifies while you look around the area. Upon stepping inside the room, the white carpet in this room is plush and inviting, even to Booster's booted feet. The walls are a mixture of pristine white and a couple of soft pink accent walls with understated geometric silver patterns. The large windows in her room are all covered by white-on-white embroidered total black-out curtains and, as she steps in to open them up to let daylight in, the room becomes much more visible.

    There is art on the walls, along with decorative hangings, flower petal-like sculptures mounted on the wall to create interesting focal points for wandering eyes. Her bed is /massive/ and is fairly elegantly decorated with its soft grey and pink bedding, the white and grey pillows arranged nicely. She has a lot of space in this room, though it's in sort of an L-shape. There's a vanity with a bench against the wall to the right, for her to do her skincare routine and put on make up, should she wish to. Just past it is a pale wooded door that leads to the bathroom. She has, further into the room, a sitting area with bookshelves lining the corner, cozy seating, a desk with a laptop and some cute figures -- mostly clouds with cute faces on them. Seems to be something she likes and collects. All her favorite colors, after all. White, pink, and grey.

    Hella bites on her lower lip as she explains what she meant, earlier. "Stella is coming to stay with me, in one of my guest rooms. She had talk with Ted and she was crying," she says it all in a rush, looking guilty. Why does she feel guilty? She's not sure. But, she looks abashed, as though she expects Booster to scold her.

Booster Gold has posed:
    Booster follows her along, listening in intently as she describes her extended family. There is a flicker of something across his face - sadness, perhaps. It seems to come and go as she describes more siblings, extended family. It seems almost like a regret, or a yearning. But then he forces it away, and the Booster smile comes back. "Your whole family has powers?" he asks, catching onto to a comment about what they were. His gaze moves over her again - which it has tended to do. It's abundantly clear that he enjoys looking at her - he steals looks at her from time to time, when he thinks she isn't looking.
    He steps into the bedroom as instructed, and takes a long look around. He seems to hold off initially on looking at the bed - his cheeks flush ever so slightly, so maybe that is intentional. "Yeah, I am working on a thing for the phone, that lets people hire superheroes. I'll tell you about it a bit later, maybe after the tour, if you want to know about it." He seems about ready to say something else when the phone chirps, and his eyes are drawn to the phone. It lingers on her thigh, though, once the phone leaves. Those powerful thighs... "More right about what?" Booster asks, looking up, and frowning as he sees Hella's reaction. "I'm never right about anything."
    He reaches out to run his fingers along the curtains, feeling the touch of the fabric. "These are lovely..." He takes a step back as she opens them. "I like how you are really dedicated to the color theme. If I ever had my own room, I'd probably make it all Gold." He chuckles. "Or maybe something a bit less gawdy."
    He focuses on the wall art - his eyes trace the outlines of the sculptures, and he reaches out to touch one before stopping himself, realizing that art is for looking, not for touching. As he sees the figures of clouds, there is a flicker in his eyes. That is definitely being recorded for future gift purchasing inspiration.
    He didn't have to wait long to hear what he was right about. His nods slowly, absorbing it. "I think it's for the best. She, uh..." He sighs. "I've seen it before, Hella. I know the signs. She has a problem, and that problem is not being able to deal with her other problems. And she uses booze to get away from it. It's...destructive." He looks at her, admiration in his eyes. "You are doing a great thing. I mean, really truly. She needs someone she can lean on, and you are an amazing, nurturing person." He closes his eyes. "I love Ted, but Ted is also damaged. The two of them...they would just be destructive. She wouldn't get any better - he would enable her, and make it worse, and he would be miserable." He opens his eyes to look at her again. "I hate meddling to the extent that I did. I like Stella, and I really hope she gets better. And maybe someday those two...but not now." He pauses, as a realization hits. "I hope it won't be awkward for you, or for her, if I am..." He stops. "Not to presume, but...I was hoping that I'd find myself over here. A bit." He looks almost - hopeful?

Hella Rokkurdisardottir has posed:
    Hella may not be a brainiac, but she has other talents. One of those is that she's more perceptive than people tend to think she is, based on how she behaves. She notes these looks of sadness on Booster's face, and the decisive shift from feeling-things to paparazzi-smile. She doesn't comment on it, though. It's not about calling him out for using his security blanket. Everyone has something they use to cope and she gets that. She has no intention of yanking it away.

    She smiles at the question about her powered-family. "Is the bloodline. We all share one, or similar, anyway. Powers come from bloodline," and here, Hella takes on a hard to ignore expression of discomfort. "You know how, earlier, you asked me about my family and how you made that joke about being a 'daughter of a demon' thing? Well...is /kinda/ close, but not exactly. No criminal syndicate or anything like that, and not technically a demon, but.. Well, my powers come from my father, so. They follow similar theme," she tries to tell the truth without coming right out and saying all the gory details.

    She takes a breath and waves her hands, "Anyway, my family are all powered, except for Mama. My brothers and cousins and all, we are from same bloodline, but we have different talents. Some abilities are just basic, which allows us to spar together and train one another. But, other skills are down to personality, and some of my family become doctors, lawyers, inventors, and so on. They all help family with whatever we need. Is very efficient," she smiles and continues, letting Booster wander about her room as he will.

    "About being firefighter, yes. I believe is my responsibility to take care of any who cannot take care of themselves, even if they are strong in other ways -- everyone needs help some of time. If I have ability to help, I should, so I will. That is no great feat, but simply way all should live. In my opinion, anyway," she smiles and lifts her shoulders to soften the seriousness of her topic.

    Instead of replying right away, Hella looks at Booster for a long moment, her expression soft, her eyes searching his in the soft light of the afternoon filtering in through her many bedroom windows. Without saying a word, she closes the gap between Booster and herself, lightly sliding her arms through his, encircling his chest and resting the flats of her palms on his back. She hugs him in a lingering sort of way, pressing her cheek to his shoulder, tucking her chin in slightly so she can nestle beneath his chin. "I want you to be here," she murmurs.

    Being against him, her bodyheat is palpably noticeable as she presses her well-muscled body close to him, Booster can smell the faint whiff of chlorine in her white-blonde, tightly braided hair (which somehow didn't suffer too much from her pool dunking!). Beneath that, however, are the scents of hers that are growing more and more familiar -- coconuts, mild and semi-sweet...vanilla, warm and inviting, also faintly reminiscent of freshly-baked cookies, maybe. "I like you," she admits, her head still pressed to his chest. "Please, tell me /honestly/ you don't have significant other," she says quietly, still holding on, unable to face his expression if the answer is the one she dreads.

Booster Gold has posed:
    Booster's eyebrows raise as Hella talks about her family. "Wait, that was a joke..." He looks at her. "Who is your father? I don't know of any Rokkurdisar that comes to mind..." He actually pronounced that piece correctly. Like he was practicing. Which of course he was, for most of last night. When he wasn't writing it and drawing little hearts around it. "Please tell me that your father isn't like, some volcano, or ... " He narrows his eyes. "Are you a fire giant?" There is a hint of - maybe even excitement at that question.
    He listens as she details her family tree, and their professions. Somehow his idea drifts back to... "Oh my god, who would argue with a fire giant lawyer?" He puts his arms out to either side, as if trying to puff himself up larger. His voice goes deep. "OBJECTION - SUSTAIN OR I BURN YOU ALL!!!!"
    His mind keeps turning over the ideas - fire giant grocer: "PAPER OR PLASTIC OR FIRE" - fire giant car salesman: "BUY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY OR I MELT YOUR PUNY TIRES" - fire giant barber "SSSSHHHHHHHHH" *breathes fire*
    It isn't until she grabs him that he stops the nonsense. He feels the heat, recognizing that it is a sign of...well, a sign of something. It seems to mean a lot of things. One more mystery to unravel. He wraps his arms around her and holds her, allowing the warmth to radiate through his body. When the question comes, Booster rolls his eyes. "We're not gay!" he says, rolling off his tongue as rote. How many times has he or Ted said that. Then he pauses, and realizing from the way Hella shifts that this is not a joke to her, he answers seriously. "Unless you count Skeets, no."

Hella Rokkurdisardottir has posed:
    Hella visibly winces when Booster hits the nail on the head, asking if she's a fire giant. She purses her lips and nods. She looks almost...ashamed? The thing about fire giants is they have a bad rap because of, well, all the evil things they've done in the past. But, a lot of that is just gossip that spun out of control. However, Hella can't deny the fact that her father has done some...awful things. So, yeah, if people know the details of her species or whatever it's called, they'll have very definite assumptions about the kind of person she is. But, Hella's family, though they worship her father and his relatives, is different. Many of them choose to do good with their gifts, as Hella has chosen to do. None of the family judges them for whatever choice is made, but... People will invariably do that for them.

    She does tense and begin to step away as Booster jokes about his answer, giving his indignant, patented response. "I never thought you were, but I would never assume to know, either, before asking," she replies, stepping back a little. She keeps her eyes low as she continues to withdraw from him, crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive posture. "Skeets is wonderful. I understand why you have such close relationship with him. Like my Brimstone. He is out prowling. I can't keep him cooped up for too long or he gets restless. He goes out on best behavior and comes back when he's ready," she says, explaining the absence of the Muspelhund.

    She heads toward the open double-doors and steps back into the hallway, heading for the living room. She doesn't wait to see if Booster will follow. Either he does or he doesn't. She doesn't feel threatened by his presence in her home, clearly.

Booster Gold has posed:
    Booster has a reputation for being dense. It is well earned. But this time, he immediately realizes he has stepped in it. He can feel the chill enter the air, and not just the absence of Hella's warmth. He knows it is coming before she steps back. As she turns to go, he murmurs to himself. "Oh my god. She's a fire giant." He turns and runs after her. "Waitwaitwaitwaitwait," he says, skidding across the ground to shoot past her, nearly falling over with the effort. He puts up a hand, as it forestall her progress. "It never occurred to me..." He looks at her, and his eyes are almost pleading. Maybe they are. "I swear, I didn't mean to upset or offend you. I mean, what were the odds that I was right about anything, let alone that!"
    Booster sighs. "Please...don't hold my idiocy against me." He pauses. "OK, maybe that's not the right way to say it, but..." He closes his eyes. Focuses his thoughts. Thinks. "I was insensitive. I should have..." He pauses. Then goes forward. "I should have been more careful when..." He sighs again. "I think being a fire giant is the coolest damn thing I have ever heard of."

Hella Rokkurdisardottir has posed:
    Hella pulls up short so Booster won't collide with her and take a hard tumble to the ground when her body doesn't give from the impact. She steps backwards and continues hugging herself, her expression neutral-to-displeased. She lifts a shoulder when he apologizes. "Is not an insult to be a fire giant. I cannot be offended by being what I am," she says quietly, none of her characteristic buoyancy present. Her lips closed, her jaw skews to one side as she looks anywhere but at Booster as he continues to apologize. Maybe she chews on the inside of her lower lip, too. Her eyes are a little pink around the edges, too. Is she... Could she be trying not to cry? Why..?

    She swallows thickly and shakes her head at Booster's last sentence, stepping around him and moving into the main living space of the loft. She heads to the kitchen counter and grabs a box of pizza...a little too hard. The corner she grabs crumples in her hand more easily than a tissue, but she doesn't even seem to care. She slaps it down on the countertop and flips it open as she cocks a hip, leans forward, and plants her palms on the surface in front of her, her well-toned shoulders rising up toward her ears.

    "Is hard to be fire giant. Is not cool. Just is. People hate fire giants. We are evil. We kill and destroy. We cannot be trusted. Asgardians," she flicks an angry, vague gesture of exasperation. "They are the worst about hating fire giants. Our people war quite often. Of course, they will hate me, too. They hate my family. One of most famous heroes in the world is Asgardian. You think...is cool? To be hated by Thor?" she asks, finally looking at Booster for the first time in what seems like ages.

    She sniffles and crinkles her mouth to one side, shaking her head silently. "Why boys never take me seriously? Am I toy?" she grumbles, more to herself than Booster. She picks up a quarter of a pizza and folds it into an easy-to-hold shape, biting off the tip of it viciously, her attention off of Booster, once more.

Booster Gold has posed:
    Booster trots after Hella. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way, either." He does, in fact, try to stop her from walking past him, at least a little bit. But he gives away as she continues moving, not wanting to /actually/ impose on her physically. "And seriously, I think it's cool! I'm telling you, I am friends with all kinds of beings, of powers great and small, but none of them can do what you do."
    He follows her along to the kitchen, trailing like a puppy. He may as well be one, now, begging at her. "I understand it's hard, but think about it - people look at fire giants that way because they are JEALOUS. I mean, who wouldn't be?" He waves a hand at her. "You are gorgeous and sexy and strong and yet sweet and kind and sensitive and frankly you are the most amazing woman I have ever met." He pauses as she shakes about all the people who hate fire giants, and he shakes his head. "It's because they don't understand - and people fear what they don't understand."
    Suddenly, it comes to him. "I have an idea!" A Booster Gold idea. Like many Booster Gold ideas, it sounds bad almost as soon as it comes out - but it's an effort. "I'm going to talk to Thor. I'm going to get him to apologize. To explain that fire giants are amazing people, and they just have a bad reputation." He looks at her when she looks back at him, and he seems utterly confident that what he is saying is going to fix everything. "I will force Thor to do it, and we will make people understand. Just how special you are."
    As she consumes the pizza, Booster sighs. "I take you seriously, Hella. I do. I mean...look, I don't take /anything/ seriously, at all, but you're different. You mean something to me." He walks over and puts his hand on her shoulder, if she allows him to, and gives her a squeeze. "I didn't realize what this meant to you. And I'm sorry for making it hurt worse. But I will make it up to you - and more. If you'll let me." He leans over, hanging to the side, placing his face in front of her. "Pllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeease?" he asks, rolling the L almost like an R, Roger Rabbit style. Then he gives her The Booster Gold Smile *sparkle* edition.

Hella Rokkurdisardottir has posed:
    Hella munches on her pizza angrily as she listens to Booster offer up arguments to combat her words, all positive, all...incredibly naive. She is quiet, letting him talk, watching him with those icy blue eyes of hers. It feels good to hear Booster say all these lovely things. The compliments he gives her are especially...surprising to hear come out of someone's mouth, while looking her in the face. She's never had someone be so openly, vocally attracted to her.

    It makes her flush a bit and look away in shyness.

    However, when Booster says he's going to talk to Thor, Hella almost chokes on her pizza. She drops the half-eaten baton of pizza she'd been wielding and shakes her head vigorously, power-walking around the kitchen island to get to Booster. She grabs his arms and, crouching slightly, she pins his eyes with her own, "No. No, no, no, no. You cannot do this. You must not do it. Please, you cannot tell anyone what you know about me." She's the one pleading, now. The tears in her eyes are a reality, Booster can see, now. She looks as though she's going to begin full-on crying as her voice shakes with emotion, struggling to get the words out. "If people know, I will be branded," she takes in a shaking breath, shuddering at the thought.

    She straightens a little, trying to calm down. She swallows and brushes away the tears with the heel of her palm. "I appreciate your offer. I am surprised that you would want to take on such a task, but it would be so much better if you just...forgot about me being a fire giant. I'm still young. I'm still developing my powers, and learning how to control them. I don't want to add to my stresses by thinking that you might go to Thor and try to force him to say that fire giants are just misunderstood," she says, putting her hands on Booster's chest, resting there, trying to calm him from this insanity.

    "Truth is, some fire giants in the past /have/ done horrible things, my father included. But, that doesn't mean /I/ will be like that. Is why I want to prove myself, without anyone knowing truth about my heritage," Hella says, looking up into Booster's eyes. "Please, for me. You said you care about me. Show me. Don't tell anyone this fact about me. Will you swear to me?" she asks, her lashes glistening with the tears she tried to clear away. Her nose is a little pink, too, from the crying.

Booster Gold has posed:
    The momentary triumph on Booster's face as he clearly seems to have won her over comes crestfallen as she breaks down when he mentions Thor. He nods quickly as she starts to plead, and just keeps nodding and nodding and nodding as soon as he realizes the implications she is making. He tries to reach up to hold her and tell her that he gets it, but she is stronger than him, of course, and he is not about to try to out strong her on this one. So he waits until she comes down, trying to make soothing noises until she does. "Of course, of course..." He reaches down to lift her chin up as he looks at her.
    "It didn't occur to me that it was a secret. I swear." He pauses, and adds, "I swear that I will tell no one. Not even Ted." He looks over at Skeets, who is floating down by the counter. He clenches his jaw. "Skeets, override BG06, omega omega psi - delete all records, past 15 minutes."
    Skeets begins to bop to try to protest, and then the little robot drops down with a thud to the ground. Inanimate.
    Booster looks deeply at her. "No one will ever learn this from me. I swear." Then he leans forward and places his lips against hers.

Hella Rokkurdisardottir has posed:
    Hella is visibly relieved as Booster nods. The more he nods, the better she feels. He's understanding what she's saying. He won't jeopardize her chance to be taken for who she is, not /what/ she is. She laughs shakily, her smile almost more heartbreaking than her teary eyes. She listens as Booster orders Skeets to erase the damning evidence from his records, and her heart feels a little less tight.

    She looks up into his eyes as he lifts her chin, swearing to her as she pleaded for him to do. Her heartrate is calming down, but also remaining a little elevated from the sheer adrenaline of the whole thing. First, Booster just completely blunders into the truth and Hella swore to herself that she would always be truthful if someone asked her a direct question. She would not volunteer information that might endanger her image, her well-being... But, she wouldn't lie if someone posed the perfect question. And, that's exactly what Booster managed to do. Eke out the biggest secret she has. Well, technically, he still doesn't know her father's name. That's still left to mystery for him, for now. But, still. He knows so much more than anyone else in America or anywhere else, except for her family, about her. It's potentially dangerous information, in the wrong hands.

    She's only just calming down from the immediate panic that seized her...and, then, Booster is looking deeply into her eyes, speaking such solemn words to bring her comfort and peace, and...now, his lips are on hers.

    Her second kiss. The first had been impulsive and mania-driven. She'd been so pumped up, so high on power, and the way it felt when he punched her in the mouth... She hadn't been able to stop herself. But, this time... This time, it's Booster's choice. And, she is wholly accepting of his decision. Her arms slide around his neck, a soft exhale through her nose as she leans into the kiss with her soft lips. Oh, if only she hadn't stress-eaten a huge hunk of pizza only moments ago! She tastes of pepperoni, marinara... But, she tries not to let that thought ruin the moment.

    Her body presses closer, seeking a more complete nearness with him, her hot fingers sliding up the back of his cowled head. They seek their way up until she can feel his hair, some of the product now rinsed out by pool water. "Boostie," she breathes, sounding vulnerable, a little seductive. It could be taken as a request for more kissing, if a man was so inclined to hear it between the lines.

Booster Gold has posed:
    The amount of tension that washes out of Booster upon hearing her call him that is palpable. His pulse was racing and his chest was tight as she was fleeing from him mere moments ago. He cursed himself, forever being the slowest member of the Justice League to ever reach a conclusion, and somehow he had stumbled stupidly into a massive one. He had tried being frantic, he had tried being bold, but in the end, all he had to be was himself.
    He takes a deep sight of relief as he watches Hella relax herself, as she accepts his oath. As she believes in him. And he nods slowly. "Yes, Hells Bells?" He tries out a nickname. He'll see how it works - one of the many great things about Hella, she wears her heart on her sleeve.
    He looks at her for a long moment. He is, after all, legendarily obtuse. "Oh", he says finally, as he realizes the answer to his question. And so in short order, Hella is the recipient of her third kiss. A far longer lasting one than the second...