14767/Ready Player ---

Ready Player ---
Date of Scene:	25 April 2023
Location:	Giorgio's Pizzeria - St. Martin's Island
Synopsis:	Caitlin, Terry and Gar spend some downtime beating each other up and then having pizza. It makes sense in context, I swear!
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, Gar Logan, Caitlin Fairchild

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Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I'm am SURE you are cheating, Logan!"

Chun Li has survived a lot: M. Bison stopping by her village on a Tuesday, decades of jumping up and down that should have decimated her knees, and far too many juvenile players giggling during the Spinning Bird Kick animation cycle. But today, she didn't survive Gar Logan.

At least it's not a Tuesday. "I'm just gonna put the order in now!" Terry steps away from the arcade with an exasperated gesture and heads towards the counter, "Large one with everything, double stuffed crust, right Gar? Cait, what do you want?" he smirks, "If you slay The Beast," he gestures to Gar at the arcade cabinet, "Your pizza is on me as part of the spoils of victory!"

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan isn't a video game whiz for nothing. "You forget who you're talking to. I'm the master of all games before me!" he boasts, another winning animation sequence displayed on the screen as he makes a show of buffing his nails. Or claws. They're really just nails like this. Anyway, his wealth of experience and knowledge from competing with Vic is a thing.

Biting his tongue at the order Terry puts in, he says, "Yeah, that sounds good! And don't forget the garlic knots! And the cinnamon twists with the icing! And a big pitcher of cola! No pizza on you, though. It's too messy that way, and sometimes you're too furry."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Oh, quit being a baby," Caitlin tells Terry, and nudges him along with her fingertips to clear her spot out so she can step up to the controls. Caitlin drums her fingers along the action buttons and rolls the joystick on her palm, checking for movement and sticking points.

She selects 'Akuma' and once the START command is given, instantly goes on the offensive at Gar's Chun-Li. "That sounds good, Terry, I'll have two of those," she calls over her shoulder-- but doesn't break her focus from the screen. "Ooooh, Gar you picked a fight with the wrong warrior ogre," she assures the changeling. Honestly for Caitlin, the hardest part is just making sure she doesn't rip the controls off the arcade cabinet.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Yes, dear," Terry says in a perfect imitation of Darren Stevens. "You know, I had no idea how legendary your appetite was until you started living with me after that turtle made a calf sandwich out of you!" He leans at the corner and grins at the girl there. "Hey Josefina!"

The Titans are repeat customers here. They know almost every employee, and vice versa. There is some friendly chit-chat before the order is placed, and by the time that is done Caitlin and Gar are into the match.

"Akuma? Man, I could /never/ get a hold of him. I guess I'm just not good with big and bulky guys Garfield Logan don't you dare." It's all said as one sentence, anticipating Gar's reaction.

"Alright, Cait, you have GOT to defend my honor here. Avenge me, and you shall have untold riches of..." he glances over at the soda, "The elixir of Dark Waters." Coke. He means coke.

Gar Logan has posed:
"You should see him when he..you know what, nevermind. I'm not gonna finish that sentence," Gar says, shaking his head. He's good with Chun-Li. Cheap sometimes, too. Most characters can spam certain attacks that are difficult to impossible to stop if you get caught. "And was that supposed to worry me?" he taunts his new opponent before manipulating the joystick and buttons expertly.

He pffts. "Don't even need to say anything to that," he replies to Terry. "You're just trying to get Cait to blush. Low bar, there. Right?" He nudges at her with a hip.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin stands there like a statue, like she's part of the machine. Her eyes are focused on the game screen with a laser-lock intensity. "I am immune to your juvenile ways while I'm defeating you, Garfield Logan," she informs him with a stern tone. The redhead hipchecks him back-- a *little* harder than he hit her, though not enough to eject him from the arcade cabinet!

For a moment there it looks like Chun-Li is going to spam-attack Akuma into submission but Caitlin manages to pull off a reversal with lightning-fast timing and break up Gar's attack. She goes on a blistering offensive and Akuma sends Chun-Li flying in slow-mo defeat!

"Hah! Gotchu," she jeers at Gar, and lifts her hands overhead in triumph. She also smacks an overhead light, sending it clattering around on the power line; Caitlin squawks and stabilizes it with a sheepish expression.

"I think that's enough Street Fighter for me," she informs the boys. "Let's sit and wait for the pizza?" she suggests. The redhead is wearing surprisingly appropriate clothing; well-fitted jeans that are loose enough to be decent, and a yellow tee with a modest neckline and pillowing fabric at her hips. She's even brushed out her hair and it hangs mostly free, down to her shoulderblades. It's nice to catch her on a day where she's not running to the hospital or running back from school!

Gar Logan has posed:
"Jeez, woman! Watch it!" Gar blurts, not just from the hip-check back that sends him out of place by a couple inches, even if it's 'gentle' enough. There's a stare at the screen as it disrupts his groove - yeah, that's it - and she pulls off a counter to put him..rather her down. "Vic totally showed you that, didn't he?" he accuses. "I saw you practicing with him. Whate--dude!"

He's ducking away from the potential breaking glass, but it's saved before further damage is done. Shaking his head, he grumbles a little under his breath, "I was getting hung...rier anyway." Just casual stuff for him today, though he adds as an afterthought to Terry, "And I haven't forgot that you set that whole thing up at the beach."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I totally wore him out for you!" Terry says, choosing a table with high seats instead of a booth, and plops the soft drinks down. It's better to choose that table over a booth when Caitlin is along, to avoid making her self-conscious about her height. "You are very welcome. The reign of the Green Knight has passed!-"

He stares at Gar, "Oh don't you put that on me, Logan! I was trying to help you get back out into the public, a PSA about beach conservation was a good idea!" He plops down on a chair and starts sipping his soft drink. "... how was I supposed to know a monster turtle would come out of the water and attack you? But-" he holds up a finger "- you can't be too sore about that. If that hadn't happened... do you think we would have ended up together? Do we owe our upcoming wedding to a monstrous testudines?"

He glances at Caitlin, "And then you wouldn't be in my wedding party."

Which is something he hasn't mentioned. Until just now.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin smiles with tolerant affection for Gar and Terry as the two of them tease each other. The repartee has long since become a norm for them; indeed it's practically a tradition in the Tower to give fellow Titans a hard time now and then. Sometimes expressing a little frustration with teasing words heads off slow-boiling ire down the road.

Of course she's not entirely paying attention until Terry says something, and Caitlin has to spend a few moments wrenching her train of thought back around. "What-- huh? Me?" she balks a little and looks around. "You want me in the wedding party?" she echoes, and looks to Gar for confirmation that Terry's not funning her. "I've never been in a wedding party before. How does that-- I mean, what do you want me to do?" she inquires, curious.

Gar Logan has posed:
It's one of those things. Gar jokes with anyone who's receptive to it, and things are on a different, deeper level with Terry/Vorpal.

"You still took advantage of it, and then there was that talk with Harley." He shakes his head at the memory of it. "Yeah, she pretty much threatened me if I hurt him, or just used him for someone else."

Gar gathers around more closely after getting a cup for his own soda, nodding once to indicate what Terry says is legit. "I'm still figuring out who to invite. I don't have a lot of family after you guys. Rita wants to be there, but Steve...eh." He shrugs at this.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I would LOVE to meet Rita, Gar, you know I'm a huge fan!" He says, and takes a sip, his lips pursed as he says "She can come by herself." He glances at Gar, "She could give you away. We could plan it all out if she'd be willing to..."

He then smiles at Caitlin, "Oh, Cait, it's not that complicated- the people in the wedding party do things like plan events- like the Bachelor party. Harley's already doing that, so you'd just help us get ready before the ceremony... then be up there with us. And take photos, of course. That's important. You, Donna and Harley are in my party. And mom, of course."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin considers this information with a perky adjustment to her slumping posture, her hands loosely interlaced in her lap. "Well, I mean-- of course I'd love to be there," she promises Terry (and Gar, a beat later). "Er, in the party," she amends. "I'm afraid I won't be much good for the Bachelor party stuff, though," she warns Terry. "But I'll at least make sure you survive the night."

Caitlin switches her green-eyed gaze to Gar. Sensing his momentary sadness, she impulsively squeezes his fingers. "You know that the guest list for this is going to be some of the best people in the world, Gar," she reminds him. "The Titans will all be there, and I'm sure plenty of other friends in the community will be along. You're probably going to need a *really* big venue for the wedding," she says with a sparkling, reassuring smile. "With all the people who WILL be there-- we'll make sure you don't for a second feel like something's amiss."

Gar Logan has posed:
"You'd like her," Gar says to Terry, speaking of Rita Farr. "She's nice. She was always nice." Which says a little bit about the other half of that duo with Steve Dayton. He takes a seat and muses, "I don't know who to pick for my Best Man, Kian or Vic." Both fit for different reasons. "But..yeah, there's probably gonna be a lot of people. I hadn't even thought about that."

While the pizza's being worked on, he drums a few fingers against the tabletop. "I know, Cait, but you..I mean, I dunno," he gestures with a hand, gnawing at his bottom lip. "Would you adopt someone if you never really cared about that person? Or you never really show it? Sometimes I wonder."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry reaches over and gently runs his fingers through Gar's hair, and sighs softly. "I don't know, Gar..." he glances at Caitlin, seemingly at a loss for a moment, before glancing back at Gar. "I don't have the answer. But... I think that's a failure on /his/ part, Gar, not yours. You are loveable. A /lot/ of people love you. Don't you go thinking that this is about you..."

He frowns. "It isn't about you."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin stares moodily down at the table. The topic of adoption is not much easier for her than it is for Gar. Though at least between the choice of William Wintergreen or Slade Wilson, she'd been picked by the far more emotionally stable of the two men.

"Yeah, Gar, stop being a drama queen." It's said quietly, with Caitlin's uncertain sense of humor behind it. But she looks up through her hair all the same and ventures a compassionate little smile at Gar. She doesn't fully understand it either-- but all the same, Caitlin certainly gets how it's got Gar feeling.

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan's expression shifts at the hand in his hair, just a brief thing as he shrugs. "You're right. It's not worth it. I should be glad they adopted me at all." He tries to tuck that away, shut it off in a place he has to put the things he doesn't like to think about, the things that creep out in the quieter, darker moments.

Cait, she gets his tongue stuck out at her, then he jerks a thumb at Terry. "He knows how long it took me to even think about hearing the 'M' word. I figured I'd know when I was ready."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I'm a lucky guy. Two great guys want my hand. That's nothing to sneeze at." He slides his chair over so he can be close to Gar and put an arm around him. He knows very well where Gar is going to store that thought- it's the place they often talk around but seldom about. And in his heart of hearts, a moment of sheer rage flares up at Steve Dayton for doing this to Gar. "... it just occurred to me. Gar, we haven't told Caitlin about what the Akiar ceremony entails."

The fact that he trails off means that Gar is now tasked with delivering the knowledge to Caitlin. It's a convenient distraction, something to pull Gar away from thinking about the thorn.

It is precisely at that moment that Terry O'neil formulates a plan that may be among the most hare-brained schemes he has conceived to date, too.

Maybe it was time that Steve Dayton received a visit. And, if he was any judge of character, there was a certain Wayne who would probably never forgive him if he didn't include him in the plan.
5r

Gar Logan has posed:
For a spell, Gar doesn't pay too much attention to the rest. He can smell the pizzas being taken out of the oven, prepped to be brought out.

"Huh? Oh, right. Uh. You know it's kind of complicated. Me, Terry, and Kian. We were trying to figure out how we're gonna do this, and we also have to involve Kian's people. Did I say it's complicated? Anyway.."

He clears his throat and gives Caitlin a half-smile. "If you've ever spotted Kian and his morning rituals on the rooftop, then you probably already know. But they're not big on clothing most of the time, to put it one way."

He perks up. "And here comes the food!"