346/News at 11

News at 11
Date of Scene:	07 March 2020
Location:	Alexander's Scruffy Apartment.
Synopsis:	News is delivered.
Cast of Characters:	Alexander Aaron, Melissa Gold

---

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The evening is quiet for Alexander Aaron. Empire State University, just two blocks over, is empty for Spring Break. All of the students and much of the faculty having rushed off to celebrate and enjoy what sun and fun they can. And, to be fair, Alexander's scholastic obligations are discharged as well until the next week. But for now there's just quiet in that apartment building that is used primarily for student housing.
    Inside the apartment it's fairly dark, which might be why the young man turns on one of the lights on the end table as he strolls in, a book in his hand as he ponders it. The cover displaying the title, 'Guns, Germs, and Steel' as he gives it a read. Dressed in just sweat shorts and a black t-shirt that proclaims happily, 'TEAM BANZAI' along with a yellow BB on it, he just keeps reading as he strolls on over toward the inversion bar that hangs from one of the archways leading to the bedroom hall.
    One hand lifts as he hops up, snaring the bar as he catches it, then twists around smoothly to flip upside down, hooking his legs over the bar and locking his shins against the doorjam, he hangs there like a bat, still reading as his t-shirt fwumpfs down to hang over his arms and part of his head.
    He turns the page.

Melissa Gold has posed:
    The routine that's happened so many times before happens again. Sympathetic vibrations from the windows in sequence. Thudding footsteps down the stairs, though this time it's two at a time. Footsteps down the hall in double time instead of the typical casual walk. And the door? It's rattling hard in its frame as a fist knocks and knocks and knocks excitedly with perhaps a tad too much strength.
    "Alexander, open up!" Melissa's excited voice can be heard through the door.
    An unusual tone of voice. Happy. Overflowing, even.
    "I've got great news! C'mon, open up! I have pizza!"
    Oh, great. She's been going into pizza parlours in outfit again. How many cops showed up this time?

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Upside down with face flushed Alexander grins and calls out, "Door's open!" as he dangles for a bit, looking around to see the distance from here to the coffee table, then back. He scrunches one eye as he closes the book, placing the bookmark in place and then holding it with one hand. He sways back and forth twice, then casually /tosses/ the book across the way where it hits the coffee table precisely in the center, but then skiiiiids right off the side to fwumpf onto the ground.
    "Maaan." He grumbles as he locks a hand on the bar and then unhooks his legs, flipping around without dislocating his shoulder and then thumps bare feet onto the ground.
    "What's all the hub bub!" He calls and if she hasn't burst into the room by now then he'll be darned surprised.

Melissa Gold has posed:
    She had, in fact, burst into the room. Indeed the moment the word "open" began to echo off the far the door was already half-way open, and by the time it came back it had slammed into the wall next to it, emitting one Songbird in full regalia (with two extra large pizzas balanced on one hand) and a rapturous expression on her face. "I'm in!" she shouts, rushing to the dining table to drop off the pizzas.
    Then there's a dancing Songbird in the room. Doing a full-on Snoopy dance. "I didn't even have to fight anybody to prove myself!"
    She pauses. "Who thought chop socky flicks would be wrong?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Aww man, no fighting people, rip off." Alexander says as he strolls over and stands there while Songbird does the Snoopy Dance. He gets a crooked smile as he takes the pizzas from her, putting them on the kitchen pass through and then turning around to slip his arms around her waist, "Did you have to take any tests or anything? Solve a puzzle? Browbeat a criminal?" Considering what he's heard of Gotham, he always figured there'd be something like that there.
    There's a brief moment where he touches his lips to her cheek, then hers, sharing a kiss around that armored gear and suit, then leans back to meet her gaze. "Gimme all the details? Did they give you a hard time about past stuff?"
    Then his eyebrows raise, "Oh who did you talk to? That Zatanna gal?"

Melissa Gold has posed:
    "No, no fight, no puzzles, no interrogations. Just talking, and at the end, after they already gave me the secret decoder ring, so I was in, she asked me to demonstrate what I can do, so I did an assault on a pile of scrap concrete."
    Proud pause. Then a chagrined look.
    "Oh, sorry, forgot to tell you. It was some woman dressed like a that guy in Gotham. The bat guy. You'd like her. She has big...plans."
    A slight smirk across her face before she straightens her expression. "So pizza? Pepperoni for you. Anchovy for me." And yes, that fishy smell is already innundating the air around the pair. She seems to dig those salty bits of fish-flavoured grease.
    "So how was your day?" she asks as she opens her box and snags a slice, chewing on it as she waits for a reply. Vibrating slightly. Because she's trying to suppress a second Snoopy dance.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Leaning back as he slips away, fingertips drifting over her shoulder as if wanting to stay in contact for just a lil bit longer, then he wanders on over to the pizza. Sidelong over his shoulder he first asks, "Why do you think I'd like her?" A smirk and then he adds, "Besides the size of her /plans/." Since, to be fair, Alexander doesn't 'like' a lot of people. He endures, he tolerates, he gets along with. Like is another thing altogether. That said he trundles into the kitchen and pulls open one of the cabinets, grabbing a pair of plates down and some napkins off the roller with that faint tearing sound.
    Once he's back near the pizza boxes he'll start to plate up and offer her one with two slices of that anchovy grossness. "But hey I wanna hear more. Do they offer benefits, any expenses covered?" But then he seems to surrender as he moves on out into the living room, setting his plate and napkin down on the coffee table, then picks his book back up and sets it there as well.
    "Actually a bunch of stuff has gone down. There were cheerleading tryouts at the school. And I uhh," He grins and looks to the side, sheepish maybe as he takes a bite of the pizza. "Sorta got asked to be a cheerleader." He chews and chews and lets her react to that one first.

Melissa Gold has posed:
    "OK, we're through," Melissa decides, munching on her pizza casually as she announces this. "Sorry, I know it's all acceptable and modern, but I'm a traditional kind of girl and the only thing that I will allow in my bed is a man. You'll have to find a lesbian to take you in."
    She idly chews another slice of pizza.
    "That's what I'd be saying anyway, if I thought you were serious instead of just pulling my leg. I know you're joking because you'd look terrible in a mini-skirt."
    There's now a twinkle in her eyes, much as she's trying to control that face. It's leaking through.
    "So really, what happened?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Alexander laughs and shakes his head, still munching, chewing, chasing after a string of melted mozzarella cheese with his mouth and then nibbling before he leans to the side to look at her. "It was kinda crazy, but I'm sorta serious. I'm not gonna /do/ it, mind ya." He's still grinning as he gathers up some of the grease with his pizza crust and keeps on munching. "They were doing tryouts and I was just hanging out killing some time. The... what's the head cheerleader called? The Queen Cheerleader or whatever was asking people, they needed more and she pointed at some guy, and he ducked out and then she was pointing at me."
    He crinkles his nose, "And some of the people started making some growly sorta comments about the whole sexuality thing, making that kid Anthony all a lil upset since he was wanting to do the whole cheer thing."
    Alexander takes a breath, crinkling his nose as he looks sidelong. "And I was like, ok fuck it, fuck you people. So I went out and just did some acrobatic moves. And people were all, 'yay Alex,' so yeah. That was nice." He even makes a little voice affected as if cheering there at the 'yay Alex' part.
    "But anyways, told them I got other stuff to do... but thanks for the offer. Didn't tell 'em it's because you keep wanting me to put on a cape and run around like a goofball."

Melissa Gold has posed:
    "I don't know what you call them," Melissa says, through a mouth filled with cheese. "I never went to a high school." Something in her eyes is daring him to say something. It's pretty dark in there. The kind of Stygian depth that would remind one of the deepest part of a coal shaft. "I don't know most things about school 'cept that the kids suck and I was glad to get the fuck out."
    That stubborn look is becoming familiar. The pig-headed pride.
    "What I needed to learn I learned when I needed it. Didn't need to waste time sittin' in a classroom of little shitheads always talkin' smack."
    Her eyes shift resolutely to her pizza as she grabs another slice.
    "But I don't want you in a cape," she says after a little time, visibly trying to calm herself, and succeeding from the high of the job. "I told you: no capes."
    And it's sunshine and sparkles again.
    "And yeah, there's a stipend and expenses incurred while workin' for the team get covered, and stuff like that. It's a loose sort of on-call arrangement. Sounds like it'll be a gas. That bat chick has moves. I gotta be careful around her. She might show me up."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    For his part, Alexander just keeps on keeping on as he agrees, "Yeah it can be pretty terrible, they were being kinda cruel." No challenge, no worry, just steady progression as if him and Melissa are separated from all the craziness and it's just team Them vs. The World. He signifies this by leaning to the side and resting an arm on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze with a small smile. "So yeah, not gonna be a cheerleader anytime soon, but it was kinda fun."
    He takes a breath and nods as she mentions the stipend, "That's good news. And fine ok no capes." His lip twists a little, "Bah, if you had to fight a Bat person my money'd be on you." Since he knows how tough she can be after all.
    Then he looks upwards thoughtfully. "So then afterwards, with the whole tryout thing, I mighta overdid it. Since one of the gals from the school walked up and told me she was a mutant and was hoping I'd tell her I was one and we'd have a heart to heart and..."
    He stops and takes a deep breath, eyes distancing as he frowns. One hand lifts to rub at the back of his neck as he murmurs thoughtfully, "I promised my father I wouldn't reveal myself there. So I couldn't tell her what she wanted to hear. But I sorta told her how dangerous it is to go around telling people."
    For a time he chews and shakes his head, then adds quietly. "Worry bad stuff's gonna happen to some of these kids when they get out into the real world." Considering what happened to him, those feelings might seem warranted.

Melissa Gold has posed:
    "It will. It happens to every kid who goes out in the real world. Some worse than others, but everybody has it."
    This is matter-of-fact, not dark, not bright, just stated as a conversational fact. She picks out an anchovie and plays with the stringing cheese left behind clinging to it.
    "You can't stop bad stuff from happening to them. You can only give them the tools to fight it." There's that darkness. The darkness that sees the red door and wants to paint it black. "That's the job of parents. Of teachers. Of family, neighbours, friends. Only they suck at it, most do, so you get slapped hard by reality."
    The anchovie disappears into the blackness, sparking a moment of light as she savours its vile, salty fishiness.
    "That's where I come in now. And you. And the Birds of Prey--that's what we're called. The spandex crowd. We fix up things that the world fucked up. It's why I live in that shithole I live in and I'll stay there even when I start getting money. 'Cause that's a building filled with people the world fucked up on, and they deserve my help as much as some fuckin' banker in Wall Street. Maybe a lot more."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "You know, Mel." Alexander says as he sets his pizza down and leans back on the couch, pulling one leg up with his bare foot resting on the sofa cushion, knee under his chin. "You could always move in here, keep the other place as a place to crash if you need to operate in that area." He gives a small shrug, then crinkles his nose. "Just sayin'."
    But then, perhaps to push past that he also uncurls a hand, "Though I should also tell you, some stuff went down yesterday." He makes a face and looks away, then back. "I think my uncle Hades has been trying to get my attention. Sending things and all like you saw that one night in the alley? He sent another. I sorta took off to get away from it, lead it somewhere I could handle it. And in swooped these... Asgardian folks."
    The topic hasn't come up most likely, but Alex... never really cared for Asgardians, that much can be clear on his features. "All in all they seemed nice. We ended up having dinner at the BBQ place. They're both super old, tall, weirdly renfesty but also kinda fun. One of them was just freaking sunshine and daylight constantly. I think you might like her."

Melissa Gold has posed:
    That earns Alex a long stare. With an enigmatic expression. And it's unclear which part is generating the stare: moving in, or Asgardians. Mastication ceases. Eyes cross over Alex's face a dozen times as she thinks.
    "Too early," she finally decides. "To shack up I mean. The Asgardians seem nice. Sure, let's hook up with 'em somewhere. They like pizza?"
    Then she's chewing again, swallowing.
    "I'm not shuttin' the door, understand. Just ..." She makes a sour face. "I suck at words, so I'm probly gonna get you mad or something, but I don't want to. I just..." She shrugs helplessly. "So I'll just say what's on my mind and you can remember that I ..."
    Shit, that word's just not coming out, and the frustration on her face is a testament to how hard that bugs her.
    "Timing's all wrong," she then says. "You saw my place, suddenly you want me movin' in here. Smacks of pity and I won't have no truck with that. I got my pride and yeah, I know half the problems in my life are somethin' you can track to my pride, but..." She splays her hands with a wry face. "It's what I am. I don't mind comin' here all the time. I don't mind stayin' over days on end. But ... movin' in? It's too early and there's that stupid pride thing in the way."
    Now she tears her gaze away. "Sides, I'm kinda the building's angel now, after I put that guy's face into the wall so hard that it took the cops a few hours to figure out how to get him out of it to arrest him. Dude came into my place to rob it while I was tryin' to sleep and ... well ... nobody gonna fuck around in that building anymore."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Yer high," Alexander says in response to her objections, still leaning there and reacquiring his pizza by edging forward and grabbing the crust to gnaw on it as he does so. The Olympian youth grins a little as he looks at her sidelong, "And I'm not going to hassle you by knocking down your own objections. You know full well what's what and how you feel. You know you could still manage to protect people and incorporate that building in your patrol and all that. And any of the other stuff. If you're not ready, you're not ready."
    He gives a shrug and smiles, "Just saying it's there." He looks around and gestures to their surroundings, his rather Spartan home with barely anything that actually connects him to the place. No art on the walls, not mementos except perhaps the small shrine in his bedroom. But for the most part. Nothing.
    "I was just thinking when you're over this place feels more like a home. When you're not... it's just a place I sleep. Ok? Okay."
    That said he munches on the pizza bones and then adds, "But anyways. I think you'd get a kick out of the Asgardians. I bet Heidi could charm even you."

Melissa Gold has posed:
    The impact of 'feels more like a home' is visible, in how it very obviously reached something deep inside her. But she remains resolute in the face of that.
    "Yeah, maybe it's just I'm not ready too. Lotta complex shit going down in my life and this adds another one. I mean I'm holdin' down one casual, two part-time jobs, patrollin' regular, and now on toppa all of that is this Birds of Prey thing. Oh, and all mixed into that is me fallin' for some Greek kid that makes me tingle in all the right places just thinkin' bout him.
    She extends a finger and points it toward... her head.
    "The tingling's mainly in there, Alex. 'Cause you make me happy. Whether you're mining me, or we're just out in a park laughing over some hot dogs, I think of you and my head tingles."
    Her head shakes sideways with an amused expression. "I mean it's not only my head that tingles," she adds with a wicked grin, "but that's the important one. The one that says this may be the one that lasts."
    Her face now shows confusion as she rewinds the conversation to figure out what the original point was.
    "But all that bein' true, I think it's still too early. I'm not ready, maybe."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    A wry half-smile is there as Alexander sort of just listens to Melissa, taking a deep breath and sighing a little. "S'ok, Mel." He leans over and tilts her head with a fingertip, turning her so she can look at him, probably at some point right around when she's finishing the last of those words. "But thanks for thinking of me." With that said, however, he does lean in and despite the anchovy breath he'll steal a small kiss. Just a brief touch of lips to the corner of her mouth, a brush of fingertips through hair. Then he smiles a little as he eases back.
    "Down the line, when things settle down is fine. You got a lot of stuff going on."
    Then he turns away and grabs his second slice, "And, I mean, hey. I'm going to be up at the school all the time with Cheer Practice, gotta focus and learn all those new routines. So I probably won't even have any time for you." He nods once sagely, grinning crookedly as he hunches his shoulders, likely expecting an incoming pummeling.

Melissa Gold has posed:
    Incoming pizza slice. From HIS pizza.
    "You goof! C'mon, stop acting like a martyr! Who did I run to with the news to celebrate? Like there was only seven people on the list ahead of you! Obviously I value you!"
    Melissa sticks out her tongue.
    "You was the first," she said, apparently now cosplaying Captain Obvious. "An only. 'Cause I don't give a shit 'bout nobody else to share this with."
    Then, horror of horrors, she finger-flicks a piece of anchovy straight at Alex's mouth while he's distracted with the incoming slice tossed gently at him.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Laughing, Alexander suffers the pizza onslaught, trying to catch it in one hand only for it to sort of slough off a hunk of cheese before it smacks into his t-shirt leaving a big ole grease stain, "Aww man, I like this shirt." Alas he shall have to wash it. He does grin at her as he continues to pick pieces of cheese off himself while occasionally eating bits and pieces of it. And then she times it right to /splut/ an anchovy bit into his mouth which makes him go all squick-faced, "Eww... so damn salty. Ew!"
    Yet he keeps chewing and swallows after a bit, having salvaged that pizza slice he starts eating it the proper way. "But hey..." Alexander streeeetches out on the sofa, putting his feet up on her lap as he bites his pizza, then he tells her. "I'm glad you share things with me. It's important to me."
    He nods a little, and then rests a foot on her thigh and his eyes hood a little. He takes a deep breath and then decides with a low murmur. "Mmm."
    His toes dig in a little and then he says, "C'mon." That same way he did the first time they met, even as he pushes himself to his feet and tosses the pizza back in the box. He'll take her arm and then start to walk with her, holding hers in both hands behind his back as he moves towards the bedroom.

Melissa Gold has posed:
    "What? To the bedroom? With someone as greasy as you!?" Melissa turns up her nose. "No way. That's just disgusting."
    And that's when the handful of greasy, tomato-stained mozzarella smacks him in the face, paired with a girlish giggle from someone who KNOWS what this is going to cost her.
    "Nope, still not enough," she says, reaching for another handful ... slowly.