13013/About the other night..

About the other night..
Date of Scene:	09 October 2022
Location:	Phoebe's Apartment
Synopsis:	Robbie arrives angry, but has plum forgotten what he was mad about, by the time he leaves Phoebe's place.
Cast of Characters:	Robbie Reyes, Phoebe Beacon

---

Robbie Reyes has posed:
The cops apparently cleaned up and took out the trash, after Phoebe and company's rather.. messy little extraction operation. More than a few arrests were made -- mostly small potatoes crooks, none of the actual ringleaders involved -- and there's a good bet this location's not going to see any illegal fighting for a good while.

Reyes, fortunately, managed to beat feet before New York's finest caught wind of the elusive Avenger involved in criminal activity. Which is probably a good thing, as even Janet's extensive PR machine isn't likely to have gotten him out of that kind of hot water.

Two days later, there's a sharp knock on Phoebe's apartment door. And a familiar voice, threaded with an equally familiar irritation, "Open up!"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Out of all the places Phoebe was likely to be in, 3A was definitely one of them, hthough it's entirely possible she just m onitored the door.

    There were footsteps rattling, and then the chains being undone on the other side, and the door opening slightly.

    Phoebe appears to have been undoing her braids, and she's about halfway done, half her head standing up au natural. There's also a canine whine behind her.

    "Robbie --" she greets him, and relaxes a smidge. "How are you feeling?"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
On the bright side, it *is* Robbie who greets her on the other side of the door, rather than Eli. He's opted for a black hoodie today; hood over his head, sleeves pushed up to his elbows and revealing a portion of the ink down his right arm, and his usual skinny black jeans and combat boots. Though 'greets' might be a strong word for what he's doing: staring at her, deadpan, jaw locked hard enough that he might well be grinding diamonds to dust between his teeth.

On the.. less bright side, he looks pissed. The sight of her hair, unbraided, is a brief but unwelcome distraction, and he tugs his eyes away before asking tautly, "Can I come in?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah, c'mon in." Phoebe states, opening the door. She's dressed down, wearing carebears pajama pants and a pullover hoodie with Grumpy Bear on it, and she continues to carefully unbraid her hair as she walks back to the livingroom area to sit on the couch. She's bare foot, and her feet have smaller pale spots on them as she moves past the circle burned into the floor, current covered with a circular rug.

    "You're mad about the other night?"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
The carebears outfit gets some sideeye, once Phoebe's turned away; and then his gaze gravitates back to her hair as he shoulders his way inside. The door's shut with a *click* behind him; and he doesn't bother trying to 'make himself comfortable'. Not that she offered.

"You and your.. friends put a serious damper on my night. What the fuck was that about? You think you could've fuckin' warned me before goin' in there and nearly killing me?" He opens his mouth to say more, then looks away and takes a steadying breath before turning back to watch her.

"I had to talk Eli down from comin' right over here and trying to burn everything to the ground, you know? Like seriously, what the fuck, Phoebe?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Take a seat, Robbie." Phoebe offers as she works at her braids, and she weighs her words carefully.

    "You know, I work in Gotham. I'm part of the outfit there that oversees vigilante work. There are rules that we have to follow so that we can continue to work the beat and train under the guy who oversees it." Phoebe begins.

    "I kept myself lit up against the rules so that if Eli had a bone to pick, it was with someone who could take a blow or two. I thought... you were going to kill the guy that we were supposed to bring in. I didn't want to deal with the Batman if things went too much further south."

5TPhoebe leans her head on her fist, her eyes settling on Robbie.

    "It wasn't supposed to go down that way, Robbie. I had to make sure Nixon - the guy whose head you were slamming into the concrete - was going to survive the encounter."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
He does not, in fact, take a seat. Not right away, anyway. There's that subtle bristling again, as if she's touched some sort of nerve. As if every interaction is some sort of power struggle, with Eli planting all the seeds of doubt and suspicion in order to foment his anger.

"You could've warned me," he growls, a little softer. And then he does sink down at the other end of the couch, still with that annoyed look on his face.

He confesses after a brief pause, "I was." A quick, sidelong glance to Phoebe. "Gonna kill him, I mean. The fuck do you want with him, anyway?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Accessory to a bank robbery and information to the gang called The Blackgaters, recruiting in the local state prison." Phoebe replies in honesty. She keeps her cool. She watches Robbie quietly, and as he sinks down, she lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

    "Even if I gave you a warning -- what could have happened?" she asks, and she moves on to the next braid, pulling the hair loose carefully.

    "I'm glad pulling you and eli down with the light worked. I didn't want to have to fight him. You, I can reason with. Him? I doubt it."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
"Blackgaters?" He makes a thoughtful little moue with his mouth. "Yeah, I've heard of them. Why do you care? Ain't so bad as some of the lowlifes operating around here. You could go for bigger fish." Even seated and relatively relaxed, there's an undeniable kinetic energy to him; a strange frisson where he and the demon inhabit the same space.

"If you'd warned me, maybe I could've thrown the fight. Maybe the place wouldn't have been raided." Because he, unfortunately, has no vested interest in criminals being brought to justice.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe just sort of looks at Robbie, and she takes a deep breath. She leans forward.

    "Batman asked that I stop leading the Justice League Dark and work with him in Gotham. So that's what I do. I work for the Batman. And if Batman figures you and Eli are in his city killing lowlifes like Cobie -- who do you think he's going to task with that Bigger Fish?" she questions.

    "I'm /trying/ to look out for you, because you're a friend. I might not have the same set of problems you do, but at least we can relate to weird-ass powers."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie doesn't flinch as she leans in to make her point. Though he continues to look vaguely unhappy about the whole conversation. Unhappy, but not imminently explosive, at least.

There's a long pause after she's finished speaking, and then he shifts his gaze away and rakes inked fingers through his hair. "Fine," he murmurs, low-voiced. "I got it. I'll stay off your turf, then." Another pause, and then he starts pushing to his feet. "Bike's ready, by the way. You want me to drop it off somewhere for you, or?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe opens her mouth, and then closes it. She opens it again, and then closes it.

    She then puts her head in her hands, knuckles to her forehead.

    "I don't want it to be that way Robbie. There's no one in Gotham I really relate to. I'm pretty much the only one with weird powers on the team, and when I'm working with Batman, I'm not supposed to use them, you know? Even portaling about. That's not what I want. And I didn't want to hurt you. I don't even want to hurt Eli. I just --" she scowls a moment, and then puts her three-quarters-natural-haired head down.

    "I'll come grab it in a day or two from the shop. How much is the bill? Are there storage fees?"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Robbie jams his hands into the pockets of his too-tight jeans, which forces his shoulders to hike up awkwardly. Like maybe if he bristles enough, nothing will dare to try biting him.

"What?" he wants to know, pausing in his egress as she does that guppy thing with her mouth. He looks torn; stay and ask what's wrong? Or beat it before things can get more complicated?

But she starts talking again, and he doesn't seem to know what to make of it. There's another long pause, and then the feeling of the couch shifting under softly crackling springs as he settles back down. Closer, this time. "Hey, I--" His hand comes out to almost touch her, then doesn't.

"No bill." He huffs in wry amusement. "Told you, you owe me a beer for it."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'm eighteen. Only way I'm buying you a beer is if we go to the UK. Or a place that doesn't check ID's."

    Phoebe's lips purse a moment, and she gives a snort. "Incidentally, I know a lot of bars here in Gotham that don't." she pauses a moment, and looks over to Robbie.

    "You know, while I was away, I developed an interest in tattoos. I liked the Quetzacoatl on your back. Is that... like, a heritage thing?" she questions, trying to segue into an easier conversation.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
"You're--" Oh. He looks confused, and then briefly dubious. "Seriously?" But allows a small smile to curve one corner of his mouth before vanishing again. "You, uh, look." He gestures vaguely. "Older."

The comment about Gotham bars handwaving underage drinking makes him chuckle. "Would've thought the Batman would crack down on that shit, too."

His mismatched eyes dart back to her face when she mentions his tattoo. He seems to be trying to decide how to respond for a few seconds.. and settles on a nod, and "Yeah. Kinda. I mean.. gotta remember your roots, you know?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Bigger fish." Phoebe replies about the bars, and she leans back.

    "In the last year and a half, I've gone through a lot of stress. Not a whole lot of time to be a teenager..." Phoebe trails off, and she rubs the back of her neck. "And let me tell you, taking on super hero stuff from the time you're fifteen *really* puts a damper on the 'fun' stuff. I think the last time I actually felt my age was when I went to Quito -- but then I also punched a conquistador ghost in the face." she leans her head back.

    "I got an education on my roots. Found out I'm Egyptian."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Another huff of amusement at 'bigger fish', but he doesn't comment.

Instead, "Fifteen? Maldita, chica." And then the dimples vanish, and he makes a mock serious face as he points to himself. "Sixteen. Shot nine times and left to burn to death, before Eli found me. Guess we're kindred spirits, a little, huh?"

Leaning forward, he rests his elbows on his spread knees, and digs at some engine grease under a fingernail. "I remember you tellin' me that. About bein' Egyptian."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a soft smile, and she draws her knees up a bit.

    "Little bit. My dad -- Chuck Beacon, not... not the other ones -- he was killed in a fire. He was a fireman, in Gotham, so it was always a possibility, you know? But a couple months after that, my healing powers kicked on. I mostly... went out and solved minor wounds and basic infections for the homeless, because I was a good Catholic girl and that's what I thought I was meant to do." she gives a soft snort. "Then I got in the middle of a gang fight..." Phoebe trails off a moment, and points at her stomach "I took three slugs to the stomach. Red Robin pulled me out of it and went to apply first aid, but I was already pushing the bullets out." she explains, and she gives a crooked smile.

    "So Eli found you, and... what, struck a partnership?" she inquires, and she shrugs.

    "Yeah, but my village was pretty much wiped off the map.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
"Lo siento," he confides quietly, at mention of her father dying to a fire. More parallels between them; but he doesn't interrupt to bring up the means of his own parents' death. He does, however, smirk slightly at 'good Catholic girl', because that is so not what he'd pegged her as.

As to Eli, he shrugs a broad shoulder and keeps fidgeting as he speaks. "I was dead. He brought me back. Offered me a chance at vengeance, if I helped him out. What the hell else could I do? Gabe needs me."

He watches the girl beside him a moment, then glances at the door before making to stand again. "Anyway, I should, uh. Get out of your hair. Come by whenever you want for the bike, yeah?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Thanks." Phoeb replies, undoing the last couple of braids and she runs her fingers through her hair. It is very poofy. Phoebe catches that smirk.

    "Yeah, not exactly a good Catholic girl anymore. Consorting with demons, denying the Apocalypse, running amok with ghosts all the time... and you're fine, it's kinda nice to actually have someone to talk to about the weird stuff, but I get it. Siblings." she gives a slight grin, and takes a breath, and lets it out.

    "Hey, if you ever want to spar some time, I'm a bit out of practice. Maybe we could hit the gym or something?" she asks, and rubs the back of her neck. "Since I ruined your fight club outing?"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
It *is* very poofy, and Robbie looks fascinated with it. He's got a much wavier curl going on, which really only becomes evident once he grows his hair out to the slightly shaggy length he's got it at right now. But it's nothing like her gorgeous head of tightly coiled ringlets.

Blushing slightly at something or other, he jams his hands back into his jeans pockets, and back up toward the door. "Yeah, uh. Maybe? Lemme think about it." Awkward pause time. "Seeya." Then he heads out.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    So very poofy.

    Phoebe gets up to see Robbie out and lock the door behind him.

    "Goodnight, Robbie. Drive safe, okay?" she asks him, leaning on the door to watch him go.

    And she takes a deep breath, and lets it out as her gaze goes about a thousand miles away, and she murmurs 'okay yeah he's kinda cute I geddit'.