17209/The Calm Before

The Calm Before
Date of Scene:	17 February 2024
Location:	Apartment 3A (Phoebe's Apartment)
Synopsis:	Robbie responds to a text from Phoebe
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Robbie Reyes

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Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    It had begun with a text message.

    There had been radio silence from Phoebe, who usually sent dumb jokes and memes (ESPECIALLY puns) during the day while she was in class at Gotham U, or would ask for a pickup, or ask Robbie if he wanted to grab lunch, or if he wanted her to grab something and drop it off at Canelo's. She had a thing for him in his over-alls, truth be told.

    There may have been times since his return that she'd gone quiet, but always she would apologize and say 'bat business'. Or 'Weird Stuff'.

    This time, sometime during the early afternoon hours when a snowstorm had been brewing in Gotham City, Robbie had gotten a text from Phoebe with:

    >I need you. 3A.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
    The snow was no match for the Hellcharger. Or its fired up driver.

    Blasting through snow as if it were possessed by a demon (which, really, it sort of us), the valiant steed of Robbie Reyes delivers himl to Phoebe's apartment within minutes of the text landing. Was he just nearby in case, or did he manage to get there THAT FAST?

    Either way, he came knocking on the door, feet tracking snow inside.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    He's that fast. She was in need. That's not a text she just sends with no context.

    Up the three flights of stairs to the apartment, where he knocks, and Phoebe answers the door, opening it up slowly. Her eyes are red and puffy. She lacks makeup, her hair isn't done. She's wearing one of his sweatshirts and her Yoga Baphommet pajama pants, with no slippers on showing the splotches of pale skin on her feet.

    She smells like burnt blood and singed flesh and exhaustion.

    And she doesn't even wear that thick bit of ribbon she usually does to hide the three scars across her throat.

    She doesn't say anything, just takes a breath like she's about to start crying again, and opening the door fully, not caring about the pooling, melting snow off his shoes or the dusting on his shoulders, she throws her arms around him and pushes her face against his chest.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
    Not used to this from Phoebe, Robbie steps inside, sliding his arms around her to lift her up abit, and using his foot to close the door behind him.

    "Hey, hey, what's going on?" He reaches up to brush his hands along the back of her head, trying to soothe her, calm her, as he guides, or carries if needed, her over towards the couch.

    "Talk to me. What happened?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    He would have to pick her up. She's stiff, like she hadn't slept well. She keeps her arms around him, her voice muffled and hoarse as she whispers "I don't know. I don't know anymore." against his jacket, and she sinks down with him to the overstuffed couch.

    "I've been having nightmares again. Being back in the Silo, in Montana. All those people hurting me again. Stuck in the dark. I'd wake up and be sick. Dreams of Eclipso --" the 'spirit of vengeance' that was more 'corrupted wrath of God'. "Facing his temptation again. Sandalphon and failing... I just -- the mission last night I got so /angry/. I keep failing. I keep chosing *wrong* -- I cut off someone's *arm* last night. I could have killed him. Oh God, what if he died after he escaped?" Phoebe whispers quietly into Robbie's chest. Her hands weren't clean -- he knew that. She didn't talk about why they weren't clean.

    "I can FEEL it in the air Robbie, I feel it pulling at me. I feel it all the time now. I'm *scared*."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
    What is there to do other than hold her? Robbie cannot speak about these forces, he barely understands his own pulls sometimes. So he does just that. Wrap his arm around her shoulders and holds her tightly to him.

    "If you did that, I am sure there was a reason for it. And if someone made bad choices, well, you are just aevidence of the result of bad choices." He gives her another squeeze, and lets her lean against him.

    "What do you think is pulling out?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I don't know. I don't know." Phoebe whispers quietly, held tight against Robbie as her eyes squeeze shut. "I don't know anymore. It's like pressure building all around me. Like everything is sinking onto my chest and wants me to stop breathing." she adds, and then she releases her death grip on his jacket, and she takes a deep breath. "I don't like this feeling."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
    With Phoebe releasing her grip a bit, Robbie uses that as an opportunity to shrug the jacket off, tossing it over to the side. "I can't imagine that you do."

    He sighs, and reaches around to give her a hug again. "I'd like you keep breathing, so please don't stop." He sighs. "Does anything you do increase it, decrease it?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... I felt pretty good for about three seconds after I cut Abra Kadabra's arm off so that he dropped a box full of stolen nuclear power and sent it to Batgirl to work with?" Phoebe offered with wan humor, and instead just leans her head against Robbie.

    "And I feel okay. Not... so much better as okay. Now that you're here." she admits quietly.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
    "See, that sounds like a guy whose arm was worth cutting off," Robbie says, reaching up with his fingers to brush against Phoebe's temple. "How else could you recover that stuff?"

    Turning to brush his lips against Phoebe's other temple, he gives her a squeeze. "I'm glad. Do you need me to..." He thinks for a moment. "I can stay here. Not leave. Just...if I help ward off the bad, I can be here by your side until you don't need me anymore."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah, luckily I was in Balm Mode and not Oriole. Ugh. That would be the end of me being in the Bats." Phoebe whispers, calming down. Her heartbeat stabilizes. her arms still losely around Robbie.

    "Would... would you mind staying here tonight? Or I could go to your place. I just... I don't want to be alone tonight." she whispers. "And you make everything okay. Like hte most dangerous thing in the room is you, and you'd never hurt me." she leans her head on his shoulder.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
    Robbie offers no comment about her remaining within the Bats. While he enjoys her family, and knows that she loves them, part of him wonders if it might not be too psychologically damaging being a part of that group.

    "I'll stay. I told you, I'd stay as long as I had to." He gives her another squeeze. "There isn't anything more important to me than the people that I love, and there are only two people that I love right now." He once again gently pats the side of he rhead, encouraging her to lean against him. "I would never hurt you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    She more bodily leans against Robbie, into his warmth and his embrace. She reaches up and slowly runs her fingers over his hair, and to the back of his head, and then just loops an arm over his shoulders as she calms down.

    "You're always so warm." she murmurs quietly. "I always feel safe with you. Nothing would hurt me 's long as you're here." she breathes out. Her muscles relax.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
    Allowing a long sigh to slip out, Robbie nods, as if sensing the change coming over Phoebe from his mere presence. "Damn straight, nothing is going to touch you if I am around." He turns his head to brush his lips against her. "So the key is to make sure you keep me around you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Ugh. That's too much. You'd have to quit your job. Move in. Come to work with me at WayneTech and hang out in my office and glower at everyone who comes in." she states quietly, with a small smile as she opens her eyes and looks up to Robbie's face.

T"And all the meetings. And to school with me and have to deal with my philosophy professor." she murmurs.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
    "I'd almost consider that, for you." RObbie laughs. "Although I cannot imagine that I would be welcome in most, if not all of those places."

    He laughs again, and nudges her in the side. "But if you want me to find a way to doit, I'll do it. I could always enroll in school and join your classes."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "You'll have to finish highschool 'fore you get into college." Phoebe points out gently. "Is... that something you'd be interested in doing? Going to college? I can help. I can *pay* for it if you want me to." PHoebe replies, curling her fingers a little against Robbie. "But... no. I want you to do things you want to do. It's not my life. It's yours. And I know you have more than one person already you have to make decisions for."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
    Robbie scoffs at that. "I could get my GCD," he says, rolling his eyes. "And I don't need you to pay for me to go to college." He shrugs. "But yeah, if it would be somethign we could do together, I'd consider it." He looks at her. "If we're going to have a life together, a long life, then I need to find a way to do something a bit more productive with mine, right?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    That causes Phoebe to sit up, her lips pursing in thought.

    "Robbie, you already lead a heck of a life. You're a mechanic, Avenger, and Ghost Rider. Like, I know /Ketch/ is busy all the time. And on top of that you're Gabe's primary caregiver and take him to appointments and help him out. And then you have this pain in the ass girlfriend who is all 'wah I don't wanna walk in the snow come pick me up from class'." Phoebe raises her eyebrows. "Sometimes I feel like the only time you *sleep* is when you're here."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
    Robbie raises an eyebrow right back at her. "I don't get much /sleep/ when I 'sleep' here, either," he replies, giving her a nudge with his elbow. "And I don't mind coming here to carry you through the snow. I'm telling you, other than Gabe, there is nothing anything as important to me as you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I let you sleep at *least* six hours. And obviously I'm completely innocent and pure and have no idea to what you are referring with that elbow, *sir*." Phoebe states looking properly scandalized, and she gives a grin up at Robbie, and then her hand comes down and laces with his.

    "I know Robbie. I love you too." she gives a bright grin, and drawing up she kisses the tip of Robbie's nose.

    And then pulls a blanket off the back of the couch and lays down, her head in RObbie's lap, looking up at him.