16345/Bridging the Gap

Bridging the Gap
Date of Scene:	15 November 2023
Location:	Brooklyn
Synopsis:	Prisma and Invincible (both of the Young Avengers) take a break from night patrol to discuss their relationship and the admission Sunny made.
Cast of Characters:	Bunny Macleod, Mark Grayson

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Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Later in the night after Mark had returned to the burrow, the two heroes were sitting atop one of the Brooklyn Bridge towers overlooking the city, laid out with the occasional blinking lights of holiday decor before them. Bunny's goggles were pushed up over her head, her helmet hanging off her back as she held a cup of hot cocoa in her hands, nursing it gently as she leaned against the blue-and-yellow clad form of Mark's super-self. She was wearing a blanket around her shoulders (and it slightly rolled up under her rear end to help insulate her from the cold of the bridge's concrete), blue eyes looking out over the city and the water.

    She glances over, lips pursed as she looked to Mark's cup of cocoa -- she knew it was hot enough to burn her mouth, but Mark? He's pretty much...

Mark Grayson has posed:
INVINCIBLE

Mark sips easily from his hot cocoa, though as soon as it passes his lips, he oofs. "Hawt, hawt!" he blows into his mouth to try to cool it off, a clear sign that only the outside of him is invulnerable and is still squishy on the inside. There's no need to share the blanket, but they are using each other for back support as he watches the traffic pass by below.

His mask and goggles are off as he settles his free hand over hers, lacing their fingers together. "I needed that." he mentions. Besides reuniting, the patrol had helped. He was more sure of himself than when he first got home and was concerned about his father driving a wedge between them.

He blows across the tension of his mug to take a sip of the cocoa. "So there's something else I need to bring up." he comments. "You remember what Sunny said in the heat of all that?" he asks her. "I ran into her in Hawai'i. She was working the same cruise ship fire I was, but she got there in plenty of time, I was late."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny tries not to laugh as poor Mark burns his mouth.

    And she laces her fingers with him as she leans her head against his shoulder. And she gives a small, sidelong smile. "I think we both did. Gotta break up the tension, you know?" she ventures as she breathes out, and she purses her lips.

    "Yeah?" she questions thoughtfully, turning and looking to Mark as she raises her eyebrows.

    "I mean, you had a lot on your mind. And probably tons of people showed up to help that time." she recounts quietly, curling her fingers around her cup.

    "How'd she handle everything? Looked like she kinda blank-screened on the whole encounter."

Mark Grayson has posed:
"I was ignoring Cecil." Mark taps his ear. No earbud. It's gone. "I know he's dad'd friend, and I know he may try to stay neutral, I just needed time to think. You were the only person I had any communication with besides mom. And telling dad that if he's going to make me choose between you and him, you win, hands down." he admits as Mark takes another drink from his cocoa, before setting down his mug.

He turns, moving so that the two of them can sit side-by-side and she can lean on him in support. "So yeah, it was handled by the time I was there. She wanted to talk." He squeezes her hand, and considers. "She said she meant what she said down there. That she has feelings for both of us. I don't think she means like you seperate or me seperate. But as... us." he comments, trying to find a way to translate it.

"I want to know how you feel about it, Bun. You've had that type of relationship, you know the ins and outs." he shakes his head. "Me, I still think you're out of my league." A wink at her.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "I'm... honestly still not sure who Cecil is, but it sounds like he's one of the directors that the Avengers sometimes has to deal with?" she asks, hesitantly. "Who probably knows all about me, my family, and has the estimations over which of my little siblings is probably going to end up being a mutant too." she mutters, ad she feels the squeeze at her hand... and then she purses her lips.

    "I mean, my relationship wtih Gabby and Tommy was more of me feeling like a fifth wheel, because Tommy didn't want to do the hero thing, and Gabby had never done anything but." Phoebe explains, and she shakes her head "I wouldn't call it 'knowing the ins and outs', because we've probably had more ins and outs than I did." she murmurs, and she rubs the back of her head, her cheeks turning red.

    "... but... uh... you... you kinda requested monogomy. You wanted to make sure that we were strong. Is... that still something you're interested in? Or did you want to open the relationship?"

Mark Grayson has posed:
"He's a handler. He handled Omni-Man, he's trying to do the same with me. It was nice when I was a teen, but I think I'm ready to branch out on my own." Mark admits quitely as he shakes his head. "I probably should have told you more about him when we became serious." There's a tinge of regret as he realizes that yeah, he probably does have all that information. And more.

But he listens to what she's saying on her prior relationship, and then when she blushes, he realizes what she means and his own cheeks are turning red. "So you, as a heroine, were like the bridge between the two?" he asks her curiously.

But then, it turns into the issue at hand. "I did." he admits to it. "We are strong. I don't doubt that. Except when my dad's a jerk. And I'm getting better." His hand squeezes hers again. "Can I ask you a question before I answer yours?" he asks. "...are you attracted to her? And if you are, do you think a relationship between the three of us would be better than your prior one?"

He looks thoughtful for a moment. "You said something last night that stuck." his grey eyes lift to meet her blues. "I did get the best girl." he whispers to her. "And I want you to be happy."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny's shoulders rise up. And she holds her hands.

    "... Mark, my relationship with Gabby and Tommy? It was... it was convenient. I lived in Tommy's apartment. I had Gabby's backup if I needed it. I wasn't part of a group, I wasn't established as a hero. I didn't have what I have now... and didn't feel the same way. I love Gabby and Tommy, and I always will -- but it's not the same feeling I have for you." she explains, and she takes a deep breath, and rubs the back of her neck.

    "And I really can't blame your dad for preferring Sunny to me. I mean, I'm... I'm not a Viltrumite. And I'll never have that kindo f power." she explains. "I'll never be able to lift a tank and beat someone with it, or do the things you and Sunny can. And I'm sure you dad wants what he thinks is best for you." she gives a wan smile. "Which is why if your mom asks, I'm still willing to come for Thanksgiving and be pleasant."

Mark Grayson has posed:
His hand releases hers. Why? Because Mark pulls her into an embrace. Holding Bunny close to him, he closes his eyes and rests his forehead against hers. "Do you remember when we first met?" he asks, his eyes searching hers. "You saved me from my own inattentiveness and we talked about fairy floss versus cotton candy? I felt an instant spark. Even when you said you were in a relationship, I wanted to know more about you. I wanted to be your friend, at least. It's what led me to joining you for hot dogs. And then asking you out. And kissing you. And making love to you. I wanted to do all those things with you, Bunny Marie."

His grip softens a little. "I'm not going to make you come to my parents' place for Thanksgiving. Mom's already said she'd bring Thanksgiving to us after I get things settled in our new place." They had been apartment hunting after all, apparently he found something.

He returns back to the subject at hand. "Yes, Sunny is another Viltrumite. And I have that kinship with her. But that's it. I don't care that she's a model, or a cheerleader, or any of that. I'm not attracted to her as I am to you." He sighs. "I was considering the idea because I saw the way you two reacted to each other when you first met and I had thought that..." he glances down. "I thought you felt the same spark for her as you did for me."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny gives a squeak as she's pulled into Mark's embrace, her arms giving a little flail and almost dropping her cocoa to the traffic below -- she manages to set it on the tower, and she holds against MArk. She has a soft expression, and she leans her head against Mark's chest.

    "Oh man. If you told you mom about it, I'm pretty sure she might have ripped your dad a new one. Only thing Omni-Man fears -- his wife!" she whispers, musing about that quietly, and she breathes out.

    "Well, yeah. Sunny is *beautiful*. And talented, and strong. She's confident, but I'm allowed to like her as a friend, and not as a potential date!" she squeaks out. "I don't feel that same spark. It's... it's different. And not bad different -- just different. I can't see folding laundry with her and talking about if we're filing taxes jointly or separated."

Mark Grayson has posed:
He'll learn not to be so sudden with Bunny, but there are just times Mark can resist himself. "I don't even know if he fears her. Even without his powers, he still can be just so... imposing." There's a sigh and he kisses the top of Bunny's head affectionately.

"I think you only get me to help so you can see my reaction when I come across your underwear." Amusement colors his voice as much as the blood rushes to his cheeks at the thought. Even after the last three months together.

"I didn't say you couldn't be her friend. I would /never/ deny you a friend you wanted - unless it's like Braniac, then I might have to say something." He releases her to turn his attention back to the cocoa sharing.

"Then, I think we're in agreement." he asks Bunny. "Sunny can be our friend, but that's where it begins and ends. And I don't think we need to worry about joint taxes for another couple of years?" His smile turns playful as he lifts his mug for a sip after refilling it.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny is okay with sudden. She just makes adorable noises when taken by surprise.

    "... yeah your dad is imposing, but your mom? She's *scary*." Bunny whispers into Mark's chest.

    And she gives a small laugh. "And yeah, I'm not saying she can't be my friend either, I'm saying I like her -- as a friend." Bunny gives a small grin, "Maybe in a year or two if she still feels the same wecan revisit it, but no rush?" she offers, and she pauses.

    And then her cheeks color as she mumbles "Yeah, filing jointly in a couple years. Like ten. Maybe." she mumbles, her shoulders rising up.

Mark Grayson has posed:
"No rush." Mark agrees with her as he draws in a breath. "Thank you for talking this out with me, Bun. I'm not ready for that type of arrangement. I like how it is, with you and I." And just the two of them.

"I'll send her a text to invite her out to eat with us and we can talk to her about it?" he suggests and then he lifts a brow at her 'ten years' comment, but he doesn't say anything on it.

His attention turns back to the skyline. "Let me know when you're ready to go." he offers to her.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny leans into Mark's arm.

    "Or y'know. A year or two. I'm in no rush, an' there's no time table." Bunny states, and she sips her now cool cocoa.

    "Beeper's gotta be the ring bearer though. That's not negotiable."