14890/The Best Meatball Sub in Gotham

The Best Meatball Sub in Gotham
Date of Scene:	10 May 2023
Location:	Kingston - Miagani Island
Synopsis:	Jason and Phoebe have a brief conversation about Bat Life, being in the Family, and expectations of siblings.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Jason Todd

---

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Gotham definitely had a distinct smell and feeling that went with it. The grime of blood and sweat and tears that built up the city in the 1700's. The ache of the stone and the weeping of timber. Bad breath and body odor and those awful things that keep people up too late at night next to a stiffling open window, hoping it doesn't lead to a break-in.

    And sometimes, if you're on the beat and you're lucky, you catch the smell of roses and black pepper, of citrus and lavender, and then it's gone, because Phoebe Beacon, now baring the name Oriole for her work in Gotham, had passed right above you to make sure everything was all right.

    And that's where Phoebe is tonight. She's not ordinarily patrolling on Tuesday nights, but she'd switched out for something on Sunday that demanded her attention, and she takes pause for a station break, hopping on top of one of the air-exhausts of a building to hold her head over the fan, letting it blow back her hood and exposing the nylon skullcap she was wearing instead of showing her hair.

    It, of course, promised to rain at some point in the evening, so the air was thick and uncomfortable to begin with.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd doesn't have entirely regular Business Hours. Red Hood is out when Red Hood is out. He goes after those he chooses to go after. If it's Monday morning at 8AM, then it is. No. That's entirely a joke. There is no way Jason is going to be out on a Monday morning. Like ever.

But Tuesday night? That can work.

Even when it does, a man's got to eat.

Parked on the street outside of a small Italian bistro that has seen far better times is a certain bespoke matte black '69 Mustang Mach 1 with crimson chromed rims.

Not long after Oriole pauses for a break, the form of Red Hood can be seen emerging from the bistro. He carries what appears to be a large Italian sandwich cradled protectively in the crook of his right arm as he moves around to the drivers side. Two bottles of soda are held by the caps between the knuckles of his left hand.

As the door is opened and he drops into the seat he speaks quietly over comms.

<<If I didn't know better a person might accuse you of keeping tabs on me. I've never had my own personal stalker before.>>

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <<You still don't!>> comes the lilt of Phoebe's voice over the comms as she gives a sound of amusement, tilting her head back before she jumps a few times on the rooftop, coming over to the edge and leaning over, peering at that matte black Mach 1, and she gives another small laugh. <<Though I s'pose there's worse people I could stalk. Like Orphan.>> Pause, and then with a driness to her voice that would make a desert jealous: <<No joke, she is *hard* to follow even if I cheat. What'dja get? Anything good?>> she questions, pulling her water bottle form her back and going to sit on the side of the building, her legs dangling off, holding a conversation from five stories or so up.

Jason Todd has posed:
<<No. No. Of course not.>>

The car starts up with a rumble that echoes between the buildings.

<<She's like a ghost, yeah.>>

<<Got an authentic Mama Cipretti's Meatball Special and a couple sodas. Hungry? I don't really need a whole one of these or two bottles of soda. I was going to find a nice dark alley to park in and stuff my face while watching out for some of Don Mario's new little minions scurrying back from their drug deals but there are better places for better company.>>

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <<I'll pass on the meatballs, but I will definitely take you up on the soda and a dark alley.>> Phoebe gives a grin, hopping up to her feet and capping her water bottle she turns to walk along the edge of the building.

    <<Meet you at the corner so I can jump in? Oooh can I slide across the hood of the car all cool?>>

    Pause.

    <<Mmmnnno that's probably a bad idea on my part, I'll just get in and sit like a normal person.>> she grins, hopping off the building and letting the cape flutter behind her.

Jason Todd has posed:
<<Your loss. Best on the whole East Coast.>>

<<Works for me.>> The car starts in motion and rumbles down the street and turns the corner before stopping again.

<<I mean, if you can pull it off, you get Infinite Cool Points. But if not? Well. Just remember The Car sees everything. I can't be held responsible for leaked footage at the Family Christmas party or April Fools...>>

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <<I'm on the wrong side of the car anyway to get to the passenger side, and you *don't* want me driving yours.>> Oriole warns.

    ... then there's radio silence. THe pop of a grapple gun. And then, from the other side of the street her face pops out, hooded, blue optics glowing dimly as she looks both ways and then -goes for it-.

    She runs, she jumps, she sli--hits the air intake, goes splayed out and top-over-teakettle, rolls off the other side of the Mach 1's hood, and tumbles, upside-down, against a mailbox.

    "I calculated my chances, but man, am I bad at math." she states as she extracts herself from her mail entanglement, and goes to open the door to the car like she was going to do like a normal perosn.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd waits and watches. He didn't think she'd go that far up on the hood. There's room to sliiiide across in front of the air scoop. But. Sigh.

"Sure you're okay after all that?" He asks from behind his mask. Waiting for an affirmation before putting the car into motion again, he offers over one of the bottles of soda. "It's still cold. Not the best icepack but better than nothing."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Just my pride in about ten minutes, and at the next 'Family' gathering." Phoebe confirms as she takes off her own domino, wincing a bit as her skin processes the bruising. But she does accept the soda and holds it against her cheek.

    "Best part of being the magic cheater on the team is... y'know. Cheating on the healing." she states, tilting her head back a little as she breathes out and gives a breath out.

    "I will say the sub smells good. Admittedly." she murmurs. "So how's *your* night going?" she jokes. Since she obviously just wiped out attempting for cool points.

Jason Todd has posed:
The Car has blacked out windows though from the inside, even at night it is somehow easy to see the outside world. No wearing sunglasses at night. But it makes removing one's disguise safe. Which was part of the point. The other parts were the Cool Factor. And the Intimidation Factor. Probably in that exact order.

"Everyone cheats somehow. Use what you've got" he states. As always.

"Your pride will recover. And the video will never see light of day. Probably. Maybe black of night.. Magic 8-Ball says it's too soon to tell."

"Told you. Best meatball sandwich on the coast." Pulling into an alley several twisting and turning blocks away. Parking, he lets the engine idle though turns off all exterior lights, letting the car almost disappear into the shadows.

"Well so far the night has been fine. I've got food and I'm not eating alone for once."

Pulling out the sandwich, it was cut in half after being wrapped. He offers over one wrapped half. "Sure?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'm sure, Jason. I'm.. ah. I'm a vegetarian. Have been since I was ten." Phoebe admits, leaning back and she hoists the soda in a salute to Jason.

    "No light of day, nor black of night, shall hide that video forever from sight. But you show it to anyone outside the family and it'll be doom for you, sir." Phoebe gives a slight smile, and she reaches into her side pack and takes out a carefully wrapped falafel Bat Burger.

    "'Sides, I came prepared." she jokes, "... and it is nice to eat with someone on the night shift."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd looks dumb. "Uh. Yeah. I know that." If anyone looks stupid right now it's him. "Sorry for waving it around in your face." He looks as if he may pack the whole thing back up and put it back in the bag. when he sees she has something to eat and nods. Half of it is kept out, the other half is bagged and set in the back seat. The beauty of meatball subs is that they reheat just as well later. And if he forgets it, he has a Universal Roomba of Food back at the garage that will not look away from a few day old meatball sub.

He opens his soda to talk a drink if only to give himself something to do that doesn't involve talking for a few seconds.

"You're not the boss of me" he finally notes regarding the threat of doom. There may be an uptick of a smile at the corner of his mouth as he says it.

"So who are you out here hunting for tonight?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I know, you were only testing my willpower by waving a stick of meat in front of me." Phoebe breezily comments, but she gives a bright smile back over to Jason as he spares the couple of seconds to drink the soda pop, and Phoebe breaks the falafel burger in half, careful of any crumbs.

    "Mostly just patrolling, keeping busy. Doing a sweep to see if I can't pick up with Orphan went to. Kinda lied when I said that not much was going on but... y'know. Most of it's not Bat business." She wrinkles her nose a moment, then takes a swig of her soda.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd doesn't seem worried about crumbs as a few get away from him. "No. I was being an idiot who didn't think first before trying to be nice in a dumbass way."

It's the truth as elloquently put as ever.

"What's going on with her anyway? She's got her own thing going on as always but last night at the Cave was a new level of lost inside her own head it seemed like."

Taking a bite of his sandwich, he listens to the rest.

"Most of what we do isn't Bat business. Almost starting to think He isn't even going out anymore. Not like the past anyway."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Hey, I'm not mad. You were gonna share your dinner with me. More than some people've ever done." Phoebe replies, waving her falafel waffle ... err... patty at Jason. "I try not to make a big deal outta it. Even Alfred made me a roast beef sandwich once and realized at the last minute that it was a roast beef sandwich." Phoebe offers, raising her eyebrows. "It's why I pack my own lunch for school and everything." she jokes.

    And she leans back.

    "I don't know. Cass and I were close but she never was real talkative with me. I don't know if she ever fully forgave me for leaving after my throat got cut yo, y'know? She always seemed a bit distant after that." she replies, and she draws one leg up a little bit.

    "I don't know." she admits. "I don't track his movements. At least I don't think he's worried about my mental state anymore?"

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd shrugs. "I still know better."

He listens as Phoebe talks about things he isn't all that familiar with and just nods. "Things happen in this family. Choosing not to forgive whatever happens is just going to end up making us isolated and alone." Which may not be far from the truth, not that he knows.

"There was a time I attempted to. But that was a long time ago. Water under the bridge." Before he actually reached a point of being Mostly Better.

"No idea what he thinks. From what I've seen there isn't a reason he should be." But who knows the Mind of Batman.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I dunno. Self-mutilation in the name of stoping teenage girls from losing their dads right after I lost the one I thought loved me. Attempting to usurp power from places. Messing around with Demons. Vegetarianism." Phoebe looks out over the street.

    "You know the only reason I agreed to the adoption was so that when I didn't come back from something, there was someone to call. I try to do good by everyone. Doesn't always work. But, y'know. Can't please everyone all the time."

    She looks over to Jason again, and then cracks a little smile.

    "Thanks for the book, by the way. You jerk. Giving me a book I can't even touch 'cause it's so expensive." she jokes. "I admittedly forget that you're a pretty avid reader."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd listens. "Kids in Gotham have fucked up lives. If anyone knows that it's you and me."

"You had reasons for agreeing to it. It's not for anyone else to judge right or wrong but you and Bruce." While Jason might have opinions what difference to they make in the big picture. His opinion and five bucks will just barely by a cup of designer coffee.

He nods and smiles back. "You're welcome. You read them any time you want. They're yours. I picked them because I thought you'd appreciate the provenance."

He falls quiet a momeht. "Sorry I didn't stick around at your party. Seemed better to get out before I did something that ruined the night for you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "It's all right. The thing about parties with a bunch of superheroes who don't know one another is that they tend to wind down very quickly once the food's gone." Phoebe replies with a small shrug, and she taps her knee pads quietly.

    "And some folks didn't like being around so many people. I got stressed out and Tim found me imitating a smoke stack on the roof."

    She frowns.

    "... trying to quit." She's quiet for another minute. "I don't think I'll have another party for twenty. Seems like bad stuff always happens afterwards."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd shakes his head, "Wasn't that." But he doesn't seem to want to discuss it further than not wanting to have ruined her party.

He looks over at her and then snorts. "The idea that you actually need to quit is somehow amusing to me considering your healing factor."

"It's human nature to find connection inside of coincidence. Having a party is not going to trigger bad things any more than leaving the house and walking down the street is going to assure a person of being mugged."

He shrugs. "If you want a party have one. We'll all show up to celebrate with you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Combination oral fixation -- don't laugh -- and the idea that the smell is comforting. Y'know. 'Cause." she's quiet a moment, giving a small smile. "You know, when I smoke, it turns blue? Like... bright, peacock blue. With pink swirls. It is Super Obvious when I'm doing it. But I mean, I can get addicted to stuff. It's just not the normal stuff. Nicotine and caffeine don't do much for me after a minute, but smells connected to memories? Especially the ones where I was happy and felt safe? I don't get to feel that too often anymore. And I dunno if it's because of all the stupid things we go through as a family, or that I get so afraid that someday it's just going to go to shit again." she explains.

    And she goes quiet.

    "... nah." she states with a shrug. "Twenty's not important anyway, and twenty-one's kinda a loss when you can just portal over to another continent to drink alcohol. Not that it affects me much. But next February if you're not doing anything, group patrols through the night. And *maybe* a cake afterwards." she cracks a bright smile.

    And then she pokes at Jason's shoulder.

    "So what was it then?"

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd says, "This is me not laughing." Smirking a lot, yes. But not laughing.

"You can't go through life afraid to let yourself feel safe or happy because of a chance things might go to shit. Look around, Phoeb. This city just keeps going to shit. But we fight against that. Because we know the city has good in it. And the citizens deserve the right to find and enjoy it. That stands for each of us too."

Wadding up the wrapper from the sub, it's tossed into the back seat absently for later. "Look at Dick and Steph. They're not blind to the shit in this city. But they've found a way to be happy through it. In spite of it." Look at him. Using Dick as an example of a role model.

"Twenty One is a milestone regardless of drinking laws here. Society considers it the arrival into adulthood. Not that most of us weren't adults by 15 with what we do."

He falls silent as she pokes his shoulder.

Staring out the window, he buys himself a moment with another drink from his bottle of soda. But that finishes it off. No more chances to delay it.

Quietly he comments, "I left because I didn't feel like being the same sort of brother Tim and Dick were going over to play while meeting your boyfriend."

His jaw works as he stares in silence waiting for yelling or laughter.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... I honestly don't think Dick realizes I have a boyfriend. Less cares, really." Planning to kill someone's teammate kinda does that to folks. That's the story that made sense to Phoeb anyway. She's quiet a minute, and then she looks down to her knees, and brushes some imaginary dust off her left one.

    "I don't need you to be Dick, and you're not gonna be Tim. Or Austin. Definitely you're not going to be Steph, you're not blonde." she offers for a joke as she looks over to Jason with a small smile, and she reaches up to put her hand on Jason's shoulder -- if he lets her.

    "I /need you to be Jason/, and that means sometimes you say the things that are on everyone's minds because you don't sugarcoat things. Or you have a different viewpoint that maybe someone didn't think of." Phoebe replies. She then taps her knees again, beating out a little rhythm before she adds:

    "He's a mechanic and drives an old muscle car. I was kinda hoping you guys would connect on the car things. Like, I know Tim," she waves a hand in the air "would ask him a million questions and come up with a personality lay-out and then probably have a probability chart of some kind and a spreadsheet of pros, cons, and a list of possible places to go. You and Austin were on hand when I had to break Bruce's rule about no magic to stop him from beating a guy into a bloody smear on the pavement." she taps her hands against her knees again. "He doesn't know who anyone is, either. Except me."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd snorts. "I'm a dick. Just not a boy scout." Zing.

"I am being me. I'm just a Kinder Gentler Me. The one that doesn't make a scene in public because of things that bother me. The one that knows what you've been through who never stopped talking to you because of mistakes you made like a self-righteous little prick. The one who has only ever told you you deserve to be happy and who wants you to be happy. Even if it means --" The expression on his face shows he was building up a proverbial head of steam and put the brakes on just in time.

Aggitatedly, he rubs his face and turns to stare out the driver's window sullenly.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe is not the strongest detective on the team when it comes to the normal things. Figuring out magical, occult, the awful outer things, the late nights and early mornings... but she saw the meaning there.

    The missing words, or jumping to what they could have been.

    She lowers her gaze, and then looks out the passenger-side window as she curls her hands at her knees.

    She's quiet for a good half minute, listening to her heart beat.

    "You have been all of that and more." she replies in a soft voice, and then she turns her dark eyes up to Jason, looking at his reflection in the mirror, opening her mouth to say something -- anything -- trying to search for the words to comfort... but her gaze drops down. She works her hands a moment, uselessly, and then reaches for her domino again to disappear behind it.

    "... thanks, Jay --" she pauses, searching again "... for the soda, and half-sandwich offer." she states softly, reaching for the door handle.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd doens't look back toward her as she talks. There are things he could say. Many things. Most of them he wants verbalize like a rapidfire cannon but he has enough presence of mind to just keep it in his head. Probably for the first time ever.

He can hear as she gathers her things, to hide behind her mask. As she reaches for the door, he makes himself look back. "Sure." It's a succinct acknowledgement, not one from spitefulness. "Any time."

Reaching to put Red Hood's mask back on he comments. "Patrol safely. Get home in one piece. Or else."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Oriole gives a smile, the dip in her domino like a beak over her nose, her cheeks dimpling slightly as she gives Red Hood a full, real smile.

    "I'm tempted to ask what the 'Or Else' is, but I feel like it would be 'wide broadcast of my wipeout'" she smiles, and reaches out to press her fingertips against Jason's shoulder.

    "Don't make me stalk you to make sure you get home either, 'Kay?" she states, and then opens the door, back-rolls out and directly into the wall with the crunch of armor grinding against brick.

    "I'm Okay."

    Followed by the sound of her grapple going off, and a flash of gray and orange disappearing towards the sky as she closes the door.