2930/Having some Pho

Having some Pho
Date of Scene:	15 August 2020
Location:	Pho Gedda Bout It
Synopsis:	Good phood and discussion of joining the Outsiders.
Cast of Characters:	Tim Drake, Carrie Kelley

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Tim Drake has posed:
Tim's had a lot on his mind lately, and, as usual, juggling a LOT of different problems and projects. He's one of the most compulsive multitaskers in the Bat fam, but even with his usally skill at doing so without much falling through the cracks...

Yeah, some falls through the cracks.

He hasn't really been as "around" lately for his family-- to tell the truth, he almost forgot Damian's birthday and Damian's birthday (and a reminder in his phone) is all that reminded him about Jay's tomorrow. So after a brief run out to Bristol to drop a present on Jay's bed, Tim had sent Carrie a text inviting her out to grab some pho.

Then he heads out towards one of the newer places that have popped up in Gotham since Lincoln March had become mayor. He gets there first, and snags one of the black-lacquered two-tops over to the side of the small pho place, already skimming the menu by the time Carrie gets there. Also, he's hungry. He's a nineteen year old boy who spends a lot of time training and working out, so of COURSE he is.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
It wasn't the usual hang out, but a change of pace was always good. Food was always good. Carrie had about the same metabolism as the boys due to her own stringent training schedule. Not that she'd really been involved in a lot of the more serious stuff lately--She'd been taking patrols of course but had been suitably distrcted to not get drawn as much into the investigative side of things. There was a lot on her mind.

Striding into the restaurant it's easy enough to spot Tim so she heads over to tug out the seat opposite him. "Hey, what's up?" She asks casually as she slides into the seat. Her attire was rather relaxed and casual today. A pair of comfy shorts, sneakers, a button up blouse and the pashmina she'd worn to Damian's birthday draped around her shoulders comfortably.

Plucking up a menu she drops her eyes to skim over it even though she already had an idea what she might want to order. "Smells good in here. I was half afraid by the name it'd be some kind of wiseguys gone Asian attempt at fusion food."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim grins at Carrie as she joins him, then his eyes flick back to the menu. "My Thai is awful," he notes cheerfully, though the menu (which is aimed of course at non-Thai speakers) has English translations for everything on it. "But I'm just letting you know, if you want sweet and sour wontons, you'll need to get your own because I'm gonna kill a whole order myself." He makes a comtemplative noise as he eyes the menu... so many options and the only thing he's absolutely decided on is that he's getting a large bowl of whatever he's getting. Oh, and Thai iced tea, though he's not sure on whether with or without boba.

Mm. Maybe //two// orders of sweet and sour wontons. There's only four in each, after all. "Nah. Authentic, thankfully... fusion is usually a nightmare. The name is hilarious though."

"How's it been? I know I haven't really been paying much attention to family stuff, but there's a lot going on." His eyes flick up over the menu at his red-headed adoptive sister. "And I know I asked you to help with that drug business the other night, but..." he waggles a hand lightly, "I... mmm." He gives a forced, self-concious grin. "I've been kind of wrapped up with Rose probably a bit too much lately. I'm trying to find the balance between being a decent boyfriend and not neglecting family." Or the Job, but that goes without saying for either him or Carrie.

He glances at the pashmina, recognizing it. "That's nice, you wore it to D's party, yeah? Where'd you get it?" it's half just making conversation and half actually serious. Tim generally doesn't ask stuff unless he's at least somewhat interested in the answer for it. "Gift from Henry?" A logical conclusion, really.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley idly runs her fingers over the fabric of the pashmina while she peruses the menu and listens to Tim. A wry grin is given at his mention of the language. "I always thought pho was Vietnamese. Although I guess there's a lot of crossover in similar things once it catches on elsewhere, too," she reasons with a small shrug. Another comes moments after when he apologizes about being distracted.

"You're always kind of distracted, but I appreciate the attempt. I've just been thinking about the past a lot lately. Future, too. Trying to figure out where I stand with the family and where I want to be... That sort of thing. And I'm at least grabbing one of those wontons." Or she could get her own order, too. She could easily polish them off if they were any good.

The compliment and question of the pashmina has her eyes drop down to her hand which was still toying with a bit of the fringe. "Oh, this? Nah. I actually got it while I was picking out a gift for him. He likes it on me though," she admits. "Plus it's super soft and comfy."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim blinks. "Oh. Yeah." He scrubs his face. "See? Brain melted." Two orders, yes. He lifts a brow. "I mean... what do you mean 'where you stand with the family'?" He asks. "I mean... we're family." That should be all there is to it, after all. "I know 'dad' can be distant, but..." he shrugs. "Admittedly, we're not exactly a normal family." Because normal families don't spend evenings in masks and capes patrolling rooftops and clobbering an ever-increasing gallery of rogues. "But I think that your place is whatever you want it to be, really."

Of course, that's about when the waitress comes over to take their orders. Tim places his (which does include two orders of the won tons, the tea, and large bowl of pho, the specifics of which he just decides on the fly, and he adds a Vietnamese coffee with sweetened condensed milk AND some three-flavor pudding too) and waits for Carrie to place hers and the waitress to slip off to put it in before continuing. "It's been a weird year. D showing up, and Jay coming back from the dead. And now all this weird business with zombie owl ninjas and Gotham fairytales." He scowls.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley smirks wryly in response. Thankfully she has a moment to gather her thoughts when the waitress comes, as well as a chance to place her own order. Likewise she places an order for the wontons now that he'd gotten her thinking about them, but also some traditional beef pho with extra hot pepper oil on the side. A Thai iced tea, and a glass of water for between those too-hot slurps of pho.

"I meant work-wise," comes her explanation to the question after. "I told Henry of my origins. My real ones, though I kept the family out of it of course. Got me thinking about the old Boss." Here she smiles fondly at the recollection. "Knew what I was doing back then. Had it pretty planned out. No question bout it." It's odd how she slips back into that strange accent of hers from the Gotham of elsewhere though she'd long ago learned to cut out the slang as it had no meaning here. It's shaken off with a small jerk of her head as she refocuses and picks up her more 'formal' accent she'd learned to not seem like some oddball street kid.

"I'm still working that out here. I'm not an apprentice anymore. And, yeah, things are really getting complicated around here with everything. We'll manage though. Always do. Seems like we're getting more help around here these days as well which is nice."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim didn't know her Bruce, though over the years she had shared bits and snippets enough that he was pretty sure he was happier with the one they had. He nods though, to the latter bit. "Yeah. It certainly has made patrolling a lot easier to manage. We can take sections now, and occasionally nights off." He grins, but then gives her a serious look. "How did Henry take it? I mean... it's a lot to take in." He's never really treated her any differently because of her origins, really. She was another of his adopted siblings, whether she started out in this universe or not.

He tilts his head. "The Birds not keeping you busy enough? Or giving you purpose?" It's not really accusatory, but genuinely questioning.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
It's impossible not to do even though she tries not to... Her eyes instantly roll at mention of the Birds. They close immediately after with a light clearing of her throat. "It's complicated." Was it? Was it really? The question causes her to frown... So she gives a shake of her head.

"Henry was fine with it. He's never pried into my past, and knows I have some secrets I need to keep. Though he did suggest a check-up for physiological differences," she adds with a slightly raucious grin.

It fades a bit more at the Birds only to shake her head. "They're a good group, just more about information sharing than teamwork. I don't get out of Gotham much so I don't have much to share that isn't already known."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim makes a face. "Huh. I figured they were keeping you busy." He shrugs. "Finally finished that whole 'team' I'd been talking with Conner about for awhile. Didn't think to ask you because I figured you had your own shit." He pauses. "Also because Conner will probably try and get in your pants, and that's just really not something I want to have to deal with. He's pretty much incorrigible about that sort of thing." Tim rolls his eyes. "But if you need something else to do... a lot of our work is taking us beyond Gotham." He mutters under his breath, "I mean, let's be real, 'dad' kind of insists on it." What with the number of superhumans on the team and the general Bat policy of leaving Gotham to the Bats.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley just gives Tim an odd look at that though she allows herself a small nod. "Mm. And here I thought I wasn't asked because you were taking after Dick in that aspect. He never asked me about his group either. Either time. Or Damian, either, for that case," she points out with a faint shrug as she reaches for her glass of water to take a sip. Maybe therew as just a LITTLE bit of hurt there though she was trying to hide it.

Finally she blurts out, "I am insanely bored and haven't felt any sense of purpose for such a long time I was beginning to wonder if I ought to retire."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim gives her a mildly 'seriously?' look. "Retire? We're like, not even old enough to legally drink. If you're bored, believe me, that can change really quickly." He is interrupted as their food arrives. He eyes the wontons like a starving man, and then quickly snags one and downs half of it in one bite. "There's a lot to be worried about right now, family business as well as others. You want stuff to do? I mean... if you're willing to deal with Conner and Bart, I won't mind having you around. And there's the whole Court of Owls stuff going on too... and if it has 'dad' worried you know it's going to be an issue." He pauses long enough to wolf down the other half of the wonton. "And he's //worried//."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"Yes. Seriously," Carrie bites back with a hint of bitterness to her tone as she frowns in frustration. So much for sharing feelings. "Maybe bored isn't the right term. I know there's things going on." The Owls thing was a bit concerning to say the least. The food arrives and she jabs her chopsticks into the pho a bit harshly to stir it up so all the flavors mix. One, two, three stirs as she stares into the contents of the bowl thinking. Thinking hard.

"I want to be a part of a team. I... don't know if you've noticed, but I don't have a lot of friends outside of the family. I'm tired of being alone."

"Much as I respected the old Boss, I don't want to become how he ended up. I'd like to join you guys if you'll have me."

Tim Drake has posed:
"Your funeral," Tim jokes. And it //is// joking. "I'll bring you over to the back side of the theater after lunch if you want." And then he's wolfing down his pho, probably just fast enough he barely tastes it. Definitely hungry. ...in fairness though, he shouldn't even be walking right now. It wasn't but just a week ago he was in medical at the Batcave bleeding out from a couple of deep wounds, burning through every pint of blood they had on hand for him.

But hey, the Outsiders have a superpowered healer.

He doesn't really talk again until about half his bowl is empty. "It's a weird group though, just as a warning."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley smiles softly at that with a singular nod of agreement. "Thanks. I'd like that." Maybe she had been doing too much thinking lately. Overthinking could be just as bad as not thinking at all sometimes. As he tucks into his pho so does she, pausing only to take a few slurps of water or tea depending on her mood. It was easy to wolf down though.

An eyebrow rises at that with a broader, more sincere grin. "Weird? Have you seen who I'm dating?" She jokes with a chuckle knowing that Henry himself would likely point out the same. "It'll be nice to meet everyone."