13119/Hawk and Dove and Pigeons OH MY

Hawk and Dove and Pigeons OH MY
Date of Scene:	20 October 2022
Location:	Beach and Boardwalk - Coney Island
Synopsis:	Sometimes winning means accepting that you already have what you want.
Cast of Characters:	Hank Hall, Dawn Granger

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Hank Hall has posed:
It had been a fantastic week in the lives in Hank and Dawn since Dawn had made her return to the states. What started for both with the revelation that their cosmic powers needed them close to each other had evolved into the two of them realizing that they actually enjoyed being close to each other. Really close. And not just because of some cosmic interference. But that magical week had to come to an end - police offers do not get that much vacation time, and Hank was at the end of his. Tomorrow, he would go back to the beat. Not that he wouldn't race back to Titans Tower immediately after, but...it would not quite be the same. Racking his brain to come up with something special to do for their last evening of vacation, Hank was throwing out some ideas for places to take Dawn until he jokingly suggested just going for hot dogs. Which led to learning that she had never had a Nathan's hot dog. Which led to...

"You have never been to Coney Island?!?!" Hank was incredulous, and almost instantly he had leapt up and taken Dawn by the hand. "We must rectify this, NOW."

The rattle of the elevated car sounds behind them as Hank steps away from the station. He turns around and holds his arms out to either side, looking over at Dawn. "Huhhhhhh?" he says, nodding vigorously. "Is that not amazing, or what?" There may have been some views to the past incorporated into Hank's view, to be sure, but the boardwalk was still lively, if not packed as it had been in years past. The sun was just starting its descent, which meant that if they stuck it out they would be due for a sunset on the pier in not too long of a time. And maybe, just maybe, Dawn would have her first Nathan's famous. The night was rife with possibilities...

Dawn Granger has posed:
"You must have some fond memories," Dawn says, taking a moment to take in all the sights and sounds. "I'd just never had a really good reason to come here by myself, and no one invited me. Until now, of course." She's content to glance up and down the boardwalk for a moment before turning back to Hank. "Well, you're absolutely the expert on this place and I'm not, so you get to play tour guide and I'll follow along and snap pictures of everything. Maybe I'll pick up a tacky keychain."

She seems genuinely happy to be getting out somewhere. Somewhere Hank really seems happy to be at, too.

Hank Hall has posed:
"I mean, I'm not gonna tell you that I had _bad_ memories here," replies Hank, chuckling a bit. "And I probably shouldn't tell you about the good ones, ifyouknowwhatImean." He winks at her, reaching out with his hand to offer to take hers. "I find it surprising that no one ever invited you - was there just no one who appreciated how awesome this place is?" He settles into a casual stroll towards the boardwalk, plenty of sights to see and things to do ahead of them. "So, we've got a few things we have to do, and a few, well, up to you. There's the Cyclone, which is a must. The carousel is nice, Nathan's, as we talked about." He nods towards the midway. "We can try our luck and see if we can beat the rigged games." He turns to look over at her, and smiles. "Or we can do what the teenagers do, go into the fun house and find a quiet corner to make out in."

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn takes his hand with his laugh at mentions of past 'adventures' in the place. "I think I just hadn't had anyone who felt like that was the place to go. Which is actually funny because I like this place already. Seems like a good date spot." She squeezes his hand while listening to his list of attractions for the boardwalk. "Honestly, all of those sound like they'd be nice. Let's do all of them, the whole list, get the true Coney Island experience. Or at least, I assume so. I kind of like playing tourist. So what first?"

Hank Hall has posed:
There is a bit of a smug expression on Hank's face. "Sounds like you only knew boring people," he says, with a bit of a grin emerging. "No wonder you think I'm so cool." He gives her hand a squeeze, allowing the shared touch to sway absently as they walk. "It's a great spot because there is so much to do. Really, it can be like a dozen different dates in one." He laughs at Dawn's enthusiasm. "Can't say as I'm surprised - you definitely dive in all of the way." He nods towards the Cyclone. "We can build up to that. It should come _before_ the hot dogs, but we can make our way over there." He nudges her gently in the hip. "Ever try to get the brass ring?" He nods to the carousel. "Back in the day, if you managed to reach out and grab it when it popped out, you'd get a free ride."

Dawn Granger has posed:
"I think you're cool regardless of the status of how entertaining the people around me have been," Dawn teases, glancing over at the carousel. "I think I did one once when I was younger, but I never got the ring. Mostly couldn't figure out the exact timing. I could probably get it now, I've /sort of/ got some faster reflexes." She glances over at him. "What about you? You get competitive and try and beat people to get it? I absolutely feel like that's something you'd do. I also have a hunch you aggressively wanted to win at the rigged games." She nudges him back with her hip, smiling warmly.

Hank Hall has posed:
"Well, same here. We can just agree to that." Hank looks to the carousel, and then back to Dawn. "Oh, I think you could pull it off now. Probably without even saying the D word, is my guess." He starts to head over towards the carousel. "Of course, some of it is timing, and just luck. I mean, if the person in front of you grabs it, what are you gonna do about it?" He looks stinged by her words, gasping and placing his free hand across his chest. "Beat people to get the ring? I feel like you barely know me at all, Dawn." Then there is that grin, and the nudge. "Nah, the ring I got a few times, and it lost the excitement. But trying to actually beat the rigged games..." He shakes his head. "You nailed it. We'd come here again and again, and I'd get up there and throw down a dollar and give it a try, and I'd keep going out at it no many how hard Don tried to convince me that I couldn't..." He trails off for a moment, glancing towards the Midway games. And he sighs. "Eventually, you know, it wasn't about winning the games, it was about proving to him that I was right." His voice goes a bit hollow as he talks. "I wanted him to see that I couldn't be beaten, even by cheating."

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn's fingers lace with Hank's, squeezing gently as he talks about the games and the experience with Don. "We don't have to play any of the rigged games," she offers, her tone gentle. "Or, alternatively, we can play one and see if we can beat it together. Even if we don't, you'll still be able to hold my hand afterwards and I'm pretty sure that means we both win." She glances in the direction of the games again. "Pretty sure those stuffed animals there are collecting dust. They say sometimes the only way to win is to not play the game."

Hank Hall has posed:
Looking wistfully over at the games, Hank nods slowly, not quite responding to what Dawn is saying. Maybe her words are not reaching him, lost in his thoughts about his brother. His fingers tighten against hers, and he turns to look back at her on that last sentence. His eyes are glistening in the slowly setting sun as he looks into her eyes. "Don was never quite able to get me to accept that lesson," he says softly. "But you - you have managed to help me redefine what winning means." He offers her a smile, and another squeeze. "And it ain't a stuffed animal that costs barely more than the entry fee to the game."

Dawn Granger has posed:
The suggestion that she succeeded where Don didn't makes Dawn's throat a little tight. She returns the squeeze, trying not to look a little misty-eyed herself. "I think I like our version of winning better. Money's better spent on getting an ice cream we can split. Maybe we can even agree on a flavor... or the real game will be deciding on one. That'll be a challenge I'm sure." She studies him, keeping her eyes on his for the moment. She squeezes his fingers again. She's there.

Hank Hall has posed:
"See, and there you go. Splitting an ice cream, instead of trying to figure out who somehow got the bigger cone, even if they were both two scoops." Hank smiles warmly at Dawn as he listens, nodding. "Somehow, I have a feeling if we walked over there, we'd come up with the perfect combination, two different flavors, two scoops, and they would just intermingle in our mouths and it would be perfection." The words are pouring out, but there is an air of distraction to them. They are filling the noise of something far deeper behind them.

He feels her fingers. He knows. Games. Ice cream. Metaphors. Lessons. All of it. He stares at her, framed by the sunset against the Atlantic. And for a moment, perhaps, it seems like he is a million miles away.

But he's not. He's right there, too.

"I love you."

Dawn Granger has posed:
If Dawn's heart hadn't been beating fast before, it certainly is now. She's got a quick shift from concerned because they had been talking about Don to the words coming out of his mouth and sending her heart racing. Her fingers stay tightly laced with his, eyes locked on him as if somehow she could figure out his thoughts simply with a gaze.

"I love you," she echoes the words. "I'm pretty sure you already knew that, though."

The geographical distance had been there, but even when apart there was always the worry and care about Hank as a person. That was all not a cosmic force. Even when she'd left it felt strange just leaving him. If it weren't important, she almost wouldn't have left. They had just started figuring things out. Now that she'd come back, it clicked into place in a way she hadn't anticipated but she still knew.

Hank Hall has posed:
There is a slight nod from Hank. An acknowledgement. His heart is racing as well, even with that sense from her. He did not think a risk to express, but being the way he was, it was never something that came easily. Talking about feelings. Especially those feelings. But with Dawn...it was far too easy to say exactly what he meant. What he felt.

"Doesn't mean it's not great to hear you say it." He manages a smile, the seriousness of the moment nearly overwhelming as he stands before her. It had been a lot, all of this time, and he had some inkling, even if she had not yet, of how he would be if she were gone. But he had let her go anyway, because he was not about to hold her back. Now, though...he was not so sure he could let her go. So it made him feel a lot better to know that she would not want to.

He thinks about something witty to say. A way to crack a joke. Claim to have won something. But as Dawn said, sometimes winning wasn't it. Did he want to win? No. He wanted to kiss her.

And so that's what he does.

Dawn Granger has posed:
The slowly setting sun over the boardwalk paints a perfect picture of the moment. Dawn leans into the kiss, something soft and sweet to fit the romantic setting. It's a moment more before she faces him fully, leaning in against his larger chest as she kisses him. This felt /right/. It felt safe, and it felt things she couldn't even think of ways to describe or explain. Regardless of who might happen to look over and see the PDA, she doesn't care for the moment.

And she never, for one second, lets go of his hand.