538/Tea Party

Tea Party
Date of Scene:	15 March 2020
Location:	Terrt's Apartment
Synopsis:	When the Mad Hatter comes over for breakfast, don't expect things to go smoothly!
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, Harley Quinn, Gar Logan

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Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry to April's phone, text: <<Hey Ape. We should go out for breakfast sometime soon, talk and stuff. Think Harl would like to come? >>

Sunday mornings are hard for Terry. The weekday has its own structure, and the weekend has its lackadaisical ease... but Sunday is uncomfortable. It's the liminal day where you can't really cut loose because you've got work in the morning, but you also can't think of work without feeling guilty that you wasted a day off.

Terry usually resolves this by going out cycling in the morning. Queensland park has some good trails to bike in, and the cold March air in the morning helps bring a lot of things in focus.

Such as the fact that he's got a green guy sleeping on his couch. And the conversation he had with Lois, all thoughts rattling around in his skull as if it were a maraca.

After some vigorous biking, he comes back to the Carroll Arm apartments, locks his bike and goes up to the apartment. As he puts the key to the door he makes a mental checklist of things to do:

-Walk in quietly, just in case Gar is asleep (he probably is)
-Change out of cycling gear, take shower
-Profit?

He really didn't know what he was going to do for the rest of the day. And he didn't know exactly how to do what Lois suggested he should do.

What a mess.

He sighs and swings the door open.

"Gar, I'm home," he says quietly- so that if Gar is asleep, he won't wake, but if he's awake, he'll hear him.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Let's just say that April left her phone unattended and for whatever reason, Harley figured out her password. It's easier if you don't think about it too hard, except that while Harl may have gone legitimation, she's still a better criminal on her off day than most people are in their prime. Thumbing through all the photos, hoping for something dirty, she ultimately comes upon Terry's text to April, laying upside down off the back of her roomies couch, in her underwear, because that's how roomies do right? Watching Frozen II while swiping right on tinder cus Apes needs to get some.

Most helpful best friend ever.

Typy typy <<"I am reporter with a whore for a friend. Will do the dirty. HMU.">> "Winky emoji, winky emoji, eggplant, peach, spit.."

Text from Terry. <"Hey, I can meet you know, just send your address so I can put it in tom tom..."> Fingers crossed.

Harley rolls backwards off the couch and come sup easily, making her way into April's room to dig through the pile of clothes she hid under the bed incase the polices showed up. Sniffing a bra... sniffing the crotch of her booty shorts... "EH." She puts them on, grabs her OWN cellphone and leaves April's after waiting to see if Terry gives up his address.

While lacing up her boots and tying up her pigtails.

Gar Logan has posed:
In the time Terry was out biking, Gar did in fact wake up. He was feeling restless, stir-crazy, and while gaming was fun...sleeping, gaming, and occasional eating was getting boring. But, food was important. He tended to eat a lot of it.

So, it might be surprising that when Terry returns, the couch is empty. There are smells coming from the kitchen. Leftover pizza, bacon, something being cooked or reheated. And, Gar up on his feet.

When the door opens, the first thing Terry will see is an empty couch. The first thing he'll smell is the kitchen area in use. Then, he'll spot Gar on his own two feet, moving around the kitchen, if still a little gingerly. The limp is mostly gone.

As the door enters, he glances over a shoulder...and glances a second time. "Dude, nice shorts." He snickers, unable to help himself. "You look like you're ready to go fight crime." Eyes briefly dip lower, then quickly shift back up.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry blinks upon finding the couch empty. His phone buzzes and he sees the message from April.

<<Ok! I'm at 123 Carrington. The Carroll Arms Apartment. I'm at Apartment 2-D! Let me know when you gals wanna grab a bite>>

When he walks into the kitchen, where he finds Gar and raises his eyebrows.

Maybe Colette was right? "My eyes are up here, Logan," he jokes, but he walks into the kitchen, leaning on the counter. "So you're up and about- pain's manageable?" he says, crosses his arms and smiling.

Harley Quinn has posed:
A quick look up of the address on google, "Eh, that aint far..." Phone dropped into her back pocket, Harls stops at April's phone and swipes all avaliable matches to the right, "Yer welcome, yer welcome... Yer welcome... Yeeeer welcome. Yerwelcome, yerwelcome." Phone tossed down on the bed and she's off, grabbing her leather jacket on the way out. Bud and Lou bound over thinking they're going for walksies, but no, "Sorry babies, mommas gonna go have lunch like a normal person an' normal people don't have adorable human flesh eatin' hyenas, do dey? No dey dont... NO DEY DONT.." Puckery lips, kneeling infront of the slobbering yipping animals who nuzzle into her neck. They're left in the poop and pee filled corridor leading to the stairs and she's off!

She aint even wearin no gun!

"I'm off to see tha wizard... the wondahful wizah of fab." Skipping down the street after popping a stick of gum in her mouth, proving that even (dyed) blondes can walk and chew bubblegums at the same time.

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan has no idea what's going on with Terry and his phone. Probably bad things. Not as bad as April's, right now.

"Dunno what you're talking about," he quickly says when the eyes are mentioned. He's stuck in some of Terry's own clothes, too. Tank top, running shorts. Not the usual for him, under most circumstances, but the week or so he's been here, his supply of personal clothes has seriously suffered.

He flexes the leg, showing a few different positions as he glances down toward it. "I think the stitches should be able to come out any day now," he says. "And I'm more than ready to be done being a green lump that's good for nothing." His stomach rumbles, clear evidence it's feeding time. "So..what's up?" Inquisitive expression.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry smiles a little, "Not much up... but hey, the stitches coming out, that's good! So I guess that means you'll probably be fit to go back to the Tower soon..." he looks down at the leg to see the stitches, and then he fimds it so awkard that the running shorts show much leg, but that he's never really thought about it when he wore them before.

His eyes are up there, O'Neil.

Looking up, , and taking a quick breath, he says, "I'm gonna be frank, I'm gonna miss having you around..."

He lets that dangle there and see how Gar reacts to that admission.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Hello normal everyday people of New York." Harley sways her hips dramatically with each step, almost skipping, arms swaying behind her back. "It is a dreary an' rainy aftahnoon, but it couldnt be more bootiful... HELLO LITTLE GIRL." Kneeling down infront of an eight year old whose parents definitely are terrified even though Harley Quinn is totally legal now. "I think I got a lollipop somewheres aroun' here..." Patting her leather jacket, her skimpy shorts, her boots... "Maybe not though..." Glance up at parents, "They too young fer a switchblade? They are huh?" Sigh... shrug.. Harls stands and ruffles the kids head, then the parents.. both of them.

HALF A SECOND LATER

She's skipping right along like it never happened. Moving on fastforward a lil, cus how far away can Terry live? "Knock knock!" Rapping her knuckles against the door frame. Checking her-.. aw shit, she left April's phone. Ugh, "This bettah be the right apartment er Imma hurt somebody..." That saying is so much more terrifying coming from Harley Quinn.

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan turns over the bacon, currently sizzling and creating all the good smells right now. "Yeah, probably. There's not really much to go back to, though. Raven just sort of keeps haunting the place and nobody else has come back yet." Tower...maybe not the best topic to bring up just yet. Could it be a source of his...angst?

"Anyway, I guess that's probably what I'll do. I don't want to be a burden on you here." He says this while raising a brow at what was shared, leaning over to peer at the oven to check the progress of the pizza being warmed back up. "It's just sort of an empty place, still."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
5rThe tower isn't a good place for him, Terry thinks. It's full of bad memories and... Raven.

Terry doesn't know much about Raven, admittedly. Nobody really knows, even when she was a public part of the team. But she doesn't strike him as the best of company when with trauma.

SO what are you going to /do/, comes Lois' voice loud and clear in his mind.

He screws up his courage and lifts his eyes to look at him. "... or you could stay here with me?" he asks. "You wouldn't be a burden." His throat burns, as well as his cheeks, and his heart starts doing a little dance. Yes, this is momentum, this is buildup "I've had some time to think, you know, and..." yes! It's going to come out, it's just going to come out there and he's going to say it, and Gar is finally going to know, "What I want to tell you is that I really -"

KNOCK
--KNOCK

----KNOCK


He freezes, and just like that all of the energy that he had built up spittles, fizzles and falls. His courage? Spent and hiding behind the couch now.

"I'll get it!" he says, turning around and making a beeline for the door. He doesn't even check the fisheye, he's so flustered, which is why when he swings the door open and finds Harley in all of her technicolor glory, he looks genuinely surprised.

"Ha-Harley!"

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Hey Terry!" Harley bounces right into Terry's house without being invited and leans over to MWAH MWAH each side of his cheek, half walking around him and half shoving him out of her way. It's very gentle, very endearing, very led by the smell of warming pizza. "April has like twenty two hawt dates." Explaining her absence, skipping towards the kitchen with her pigtails bouncing.

It isn't until she makes it to the kitchen and sees Gar... Frozen there.. Staring...

Turning to look back out towards Terry's shorts, then back at Gar... "oooooooooooh... That makes soooo much more sense now... Yer fuckin'..." Motioning between them, head bobbing into a serious of approving, thumbs up included, nods. Overtly whispering to Terry, "He's cute, nice butt, good catch..." Pointing at the pizza, "That communal?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan pauses in the kitchen as Terry begins to try to go into a more serious talk about who is living where, who's welcome, safer, healthier environments for stressed superheroes, and he ends up rubbing the back of his neck slowly. "Here?" he asks, pointing at the floor as if to emphasize the question. "I mean, it's a nice place but sometimes I can spend a lot of time in the bathroom just making sure my hair looks right.

Terry's /seen/ his hair. If that's not just 'roll out of bed and go,' then something else is up with the style, because it /has/ no style.

Of course, the knocking interrupts whatever was about to be shared. "I didn't order any more pizza. I swear," he explains, holding both hands up before any accusations can be thrown around. Instead, the one on the opposite side of the door might just make things more...hectic.

"Oh, God.." he says under his breath as Terry identifies who it is and she comes in like she owns the place, giving Terry a sign of affection. "It's.." Gar starts, then stops. Now everyone's kind of just staring at each other in a long moment of silence, and she can see what they're both wearing.

If green can go pale, it does. "What?!" he blurts. "We're totally not f...doing that!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Have you ever seen a soul shrivel? Well, if you could see inside Terry's soul, that's exactly what it would look like. Gar's blurting of that answer so quickly, even if it was technically correct, still stings a bit because of what he feels is behind it.

"He does have a nice butt-" Terry says, clearly not in his full bearings. When his brain catches up with what his mouth just said, you might picture it as a desperate vaudevillian strutting onto the stage in an impromptu dance number to distract from the fact that his colleague has just faceplanted on the boards and is. not. moving.

"I mean- yes, go ahead, help yourself, food's a plenty, I mean!"

He looks at Gar for a moment with an expression that is hard to read, before looking at Harley. "Harl, Gar is straight, unfortunately he wouldn't be fancying /me/. Unfortunately for me, not for the girls." He starts getting busy with the dishes, to arrange a hasty breakfast.

There. He said it. Indirectly, but he said it. Maybe. He figured this was the point where Gar got the clue or walked out horrified. He didn't know which.

"You heard Ape's interviewing Lex Luthor on Monday, right, Harl?" he says, by means of making conversation.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley looks betwinx the pair as both offer their varied responses ther ernest observations of the obvious situation in this apartment right meow. One eye squints, nose wrinkling ever so slightly in a thoughtful sort of inspection of thy two pairings...

"Uhh... well that's too bad." She offers, snatching up a cold slice of leftover to munch as if she didn't just fart right in the middle of their day! "Ya 'suuuuuuuuuure' yer not ghey?" She asks Gar, standing super close to him, kind of checking him out. It's not done in an interested way, but an appraising way, like someone shopping for a new car and requesting to see under the hood before making their final decision.

She even sniffs at him.

"Well, Im a lil disappoint't, en gee el..." She even looks saddened by this revelation of straightness and not fuckin'ness. She eats her pizza, because she's not a heathen, but she does it very mopely. "Y'all could be the next it couple's all I'm sayin'... so, maybe Gar should test it out.. ya know, spend tha night.. see if he likes it before walkin' away? It worked fer Ray Stanz." That's a Ghostbuster reference guys.

"My momma always said ya shouldn't say ya aint interest't til ya try it an' wake up with sore thighs, ya know what I'm sayin'?" Scratching her jaw, "In fairness, she was talkin' bout gymnastics, tho."

Gar Logan has posed:
The looks Gar is giving both Terry and Harley right now. Mass confusion all around. Embarrassment. But, not exactly revulsion quite yet. Were it not for the stitches in the back of that one calf, he might have already turned into something tiny and hidden or just fled.

So, he freezes for a reason separate than what led to the injury and this whole situation. Some predators operate on movement. Stand completely still, and one might just survive.

Not so, where Harley Quinn is concerned. Before that, he catches the comment from Terry about /da butt/ and in an impulsive moment of his own, he brags, "It /does/ bring the boys and girls to the yard, and..um. Right." It's not like he hasn't posed for cameras before, showing off. Terry's probably seen a few.

However, while Harley is inspecting him in her own unique, special way, he inches back a step. "I never said that!" he tells her of the 'gay' question. "I just said he and I weren't, you know.." Fingers waggle as if to simulate something that isn't specific, but could be inferred.

"And how do you know that?" he asks Terry, blurting it out. "A lot of people go both ways now!" But does he? A stage-whisper to Harley follows, his eyes widening. "You are totally not helping right now!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Now it is time for Terry to freeze. Seen those pictures? Heck, there's quite a few of them in his computer. "Harley, I'm not an expensive sports car here, there's nothing to try out-" he pauses in the midst of pouring some orange juice for the apparent pizza breakfast, and stares at Garfield. Hard.

Then he stares at Harley. And he is clearly trying to put a fractured reality together because he blinks a couple of times, his brain rebooting and showing him a log of eveything that had just happened, and what had just been said.

Putting the orange juice down, he turns around in order to face Gar proper, and he says "A lot of people go both ways now." He chews this over in his mind.

He looks at Gar for a few seconds, his mind working on a fast reel.

He didn't deny it, but he also didn't confirm it. So, what does he do? He's not Harley. He isn't the kind that blurts things out there, just like that.

Although he secretly wishes he could be. It's one of the reasons that, despite the underlying horror that anticipates everything she does, he likes Harley.

He doesn't know what to do, and whatever courage he had to say things directly vanished when the door knocked. "I, er, I'll be right back. I need to change." Because he's still in his cycling gear, and still a little sweaty. Perfect excuse. Perfect excuse to run away for a moment from the harlequin of chaos and the boy with the green eyes that he can't seem to face right now. "I'll be right back don't eat all the pizza okay?" he says, and you could swear he has the Speed Force inside him because his cycling jersey describes a yellow-and-white blur as he zooms to his bedroom and closes the door.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"An' how old are ya, Gar?" Harley asks around another rubbery bite of cold pizza, chewing it while she considers him with her head tilting back and forth curiously, "So look't, there was a study done in the fifties, ya know back when it weren't okay to be anythin' other'n white an' straight an' male.. kinna like a few years ago cus because they wouldn't let tha' crazies in arkham vote to keep the creep orange weirdo from Home Alone 2 out of office... I mean /we're/ the crazy ones? Really?"

Train of thought.

"Anyhow, they took a test on a sample of male'n females to determine an average number rangin' from zero to six where where zero represent an exclusivity towards heterosexuality an' six was exclusively homosexual.. They had an outlier X where an' individual was havin' no sex at all, but this is the fifties an' them cats? They was fuckin'.. ya ever seen an Elvis movie?" She uses the crust of her pizza to poke it through the 'O' of her index finger and thumb. Pantomiming sexual stuff.

Given the nature of what she's talking about, she tightens the hole up. No need to get into what she's saing. You know or you don't know.

"Anyhow, from their sample of test there was an eleven percent of all males age twenty to thirty five said they was mutually homo an' heterosexual... but yer, not twenty are ya?" Shaking her head, "Nah, yer like ... eighteen, ninteen?" She nods, carnival games are her thing!

"ten percent of all males aged sixteen to fifty five said they were exclusively homosexual.. an' that was in ninteen forty eight.." She takes a bite out of her crust and watches Terry spearhead out with a tilt of her pigtailed head around the corner. Now she can speak conspiratorially with Gar, all by himself, with Harley Fucking Quinn.

"Admit it, ya think he's cute... an' he clearly thinks yer cute... so I ain't sayin' ya'll jus' start rubbin' against each other'er nothin', but.. I mean ask'em out! Or let'em down easy, if ya aint interested... cus that's okay too, consent is super important. BUT I actually /like/ him." Pointing to the other room, "So if you use the fact tha' he /likes/ you to take advantage of /him/, Imma get real fuckin' unfunny real fuckin' fast. Capiche?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Deer? Check, if not literally. Deer in headlights? Oh, hell yeah.

Gar is left standing there with a slice of pizza in hand, still looking between the two prior to Terry running off, and he just wets his lips briefly. Now he's all by himself with none other than Harley Quinn there and maybe she's going good but she's still who she is and she sounds like she's beginning to do the whole psychologist thing with him but it's in her own particular way that can't be that healthy for others.

"Uh, yeah. Eighteen," he murmurs, and that's all he has to say for this very moment.

Harley Quinn is talking to him about differences between being straight, gay, or swinging both ways. "Look, what people did then or now in their bedrooms, that's not really any of my business, you know? I..haven't even really thought about any of that. I've never had a real relationship with anybody."

If Terry knew that, what would it change? Anything?

He's left to rub the back of his neck. "Yeah, he's cute and kind of silly sometimes and I worry about him getting in over his head because I don't want the same stuff to happen to him that did to me, so I'm trying to keep him from doing stupid stuff that's gonna get him killed and..."

And the bacon is starting to smoke and burn.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry looks at himself in the mirror. Cycling clothes are discarded on the bed, but he hasn't taken a shower. Despite how flustered he is, he doesn't want to leave Gar alone with Harley for longer than he has to.

His heart is racing, and he's trying not to freak out over what was said. Geting dressed is a priority right now, yes.

He stands back, looking at himself in the mirror. White button-up short-sleeved shirt. Blue jeans. Hair hasitly combed.

He looks okay. It's not bad. He looks good, really, he even-

"I look like a Mormon missionary," he sighs and quickly begins to unbutton his shirt, reaching for something else in the closet. He has to hurry.

God knows what it is Harley is telling Gar.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley has her eyes fixed on Gar and despite the fact that she's still grinning in a friendly (yet very psychotic) way, her eyes are not friendly, they are just psychotic. Which isn't to say she's thinking dangerous things, mostly she's thinking... sloooow point over to the microwave, "Bacon's burning." That's the important take away.

Followed up by. "I aint real good at matters of the heart. My last boyfrien' was an unpleasant person an' my last sorta girlfrien' just went back to Arkham... so I aint gonna tell ya how or why or what yer doin' far as love goes, cus I don't deal in hyocriticalisms..."

She uses her pizza crust as a laser pointer though and angles it right at Gar, "But I do know this.. if ya like'em, ya owe it to both of ya to explore that... otherwise yer jus' livin' in regret of things may or may not ever happen. How's about the notion tha' we're the master of our own destinations, why don't ya let him take a front seat involvement in'es own, eh?"

She shrugs and hops her shapely booty right up on the counter, eh smelling booty shorts and all. "But tha's just my two cents. I'm from gotham, where ya can get turn't inta a super villain jus' from eaten' the stale candy bar on the dollar rack." Gnaw gnaw, "Grain of salt, grain. of. salt."

Harley Quinn has posed:
Stovetop, now Gar is a super villain in Gotham.

Gar Logan has posed:
The longer Terry is gone, the more chances Harley has to sink her hooks into Gar, twist him around to a life of crime or...offer him dating tips and relationship advice.

Which, when you look at it a certain way, well. Harley could provide lessons on just where relationships can end up when they're not healthy ones.

"Crap," he says, turning to quickly yank the pan off the stovetop and shut it off, waving a hand over it to disperse some smoke before it sets off the alarm. He never had any home economics classes, or much of any others for that matter given the way his upbringing went.

"There are..um, I mean. It's complicated. Reasons why I don't, uh, get too close to anyone," he says, tripping all over the words. With his back to her as he deals with the bacon, she can see a long line of stitches down one calf, the reason for him being laid up here in the first place. "I've never felt in control of anything in my life, and I'm kind of afraid," he admits, unable to look at her right now.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I'm not afraid!" Terry says to himself in the mirror. He is now wearing sweatpants and a black t-shirt with PAC-MAN, surrounded by his little cobalt-blue labyrinth in its eight-bit glory. Oh, who is he kidding? He is terrified. He could go out there and Gar could tell him to get lost to his face. It could go so horribly wrong.

And suddenly he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Green eyes. Green... yellow eyes. With slitted pupils.

His breath catches and he brings his hands to his face. "It's happening again..." he whispers. His eyes are now almond-shaped. Funny, he didn't feel any pain, even though his hand now looks deciedly more... feline. Fingers, but thicker, and with claws at the ends.

"Nononono..." he whispers, almost like a prayer. He turns away from the mirror and closes his eyes.

"Go away... go away... //go away!//" All of this is said sotto voce, to keep anyone from hearing him. When he turns around-

He's normal.

He examines himself here and there. No cat eyes. No claws. He turns around and looks over his shoulder.

Nope. No tail.

"..."

He starts undressing again, and hastily throwing on a pair of faded jeans and a simple white T-shirt.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Awwww..." Harley slides down off the counter, tossing the last bit of her crust at the sink without looking. Not the trashcan, the sink. I typed what I typed. She heads right over to Gar and lays her head on his shoulder, one hand on his right, the other on his left, head right beside the thumb of his right hand. Unless he pulls away. That would be understandable.

Her pigtail will be right in his face.

"Yer afraid? Cus ya don't feel in control? Which ya could over come... by takin' control of yer fear?" Her forehead wrinkles, big blue eyes turning upwards to gaze at Gar, working under the auspice that he did not pull away. If he did, she scratches her butt or something.

She turns some, chin sitting upon Gar's shoulders, hands remain in the same place. "Listen, I cain't make ya scared of askin' out the weirdo in the other room.. but I can tell ya this.. he aint in there takin' a dump.. if I had ta guess, he's all self conscious cus now he knows ya know he likes ya so he's endlessly changin' clothes tryin' to find somethin' flatterin' ta wear... Like an early 90s kids sitcom.. Saved by the Bell specifically is what I'm goin fer heah."

She pats Gar's shoulders, "Decision is yers, but.. one day, tha' guy? He's gonna find someone else.. an' so will you I'm sure...so... I mean.." She rubs her fingers on her own left ear, shrugging. "Decide if ya want it to be each other or someone who ya don't even freakin' know yet."

Gar Logan has posed:
There is fear. Uncertainty of the unknown. There are things that have gone on in Gar's short life that many people don't experience in twice the time, if not more, and it's left him second-guessing a lot of things.

Is this one of them? Does it have the potential to become one? Sure. Terry's already figured out where some of Gar's insecurities and fears lie, but the trick is how to get him to deal with them.

Should Gar and Harley see a cat-person come wandering back out into the room, what would that do? How much more would it make this situation abnormal? It seems they won't be having to deal with that, but Gar is faced with something else:

Harley Quinn getting within touching distance, and acting...caring? Maybe a little concerned? Supportive? At first, Gar instinctively starts to lean back, but he holds in place as her head finds his shoulder, hands at his sides. He freezes up, his head angling back a few inches, eyes wider, and he gently touches her sides in return as if not sure what to do.

"Yeah, I know. Like..I've seen the way he looks at me, and I know he was a fan, but I didn't know what to think of all of it yet." There's a lot for him to process here. Sometimes people have to act on something or risk it passing on by. Is it too soon?

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry passes by, on his way out of the bedroom. He's wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans. Neither are especially flattering or especially unflattering. He walks into the kitchen to find... Harl and Gar hugging?

He lets out a quiet breath, because of all the potential scenarios he thought up in his mind, this is one he hadn't thought of, and one that doesn't immediately spell disaster.

"I'm not sweaty and gross anymore," he announces. And then he internally kicks himself. Really, Terry? Say something. "Let's eat!"

Because that's a perfect segue.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley pats Gar's shoulder, lifting her chin from his shoulder when Terry enters mid... well it wasn't a hug okay. Harley doesn't hug, she struggle snuggles. There's a big difference. It was more of a cut glance with cheek to shoulder. Affectionate? Maybe a little, most people would probably call it creepy though.

Enter Terry.

Harl's hands remain on Gar's shoulders. "Only one way ta find out, kiddo." Gently, ever so gently, pushing with her hands upon Gar's shoulders towards Terry. "So, look't, Imma go vomit up this pizza a'fore I leave, but then Imma head back a'fore April gets there... I'm tryin' hook her up with a hunka hunka burnin' love.. an' not tha kind ya need shots for latah eithah!"

She grins between them, skipping even, pigtails bobbing as she scooooooots pat with her shoulders turned.

"Goooo toooo hiiiiim..." To Terry, head dips in Gar's direction, then she's headed for the door. "oooooooo..."

She thinks about it... giggles.. and sings, "Ooo I wish I wus an oscar myer wieeeener... tha' is what I reaaaally wannnNAAAaa be... cus if'n I wus an oscar myer wieeeeenahhhhhh! this scene would be more in league wit me."

Gar Logan has posed:
No, not much of a hug, but a step or two shy of Gar being a failing victim of Harley ignoring ideas about general social distancing beyond light contact. "Right, yeah," is the most she gets out of him as Terry reappears, his eyes darting away from her toward him as if looking for some kind of rescue. "That's good!" he confirms. Because trying to do anything remotely intimate while sweaty and gross kills the mood faster than Joker when he...nevermind.

The green teen's eyes go wider again when she reminds them of what she's done to poor April, and he tugs at the shoulder area of the tank top. "You, ah, be safe..Harley," he encourages lamely, that deer-in-headlights look still in place.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
So what is the state of the O'Neil household after Hurricane Harley? Hard to tell. There are two survivors, each one clearly trying to hold onto some semblance of reality. Terry tries to give Harl a hug as she scurries by, but she's fast. That one.

The redhead rubs the back of his neck and slowly walks into the kitchen in the same, awed demeanor that most archaeologists enter a perfectly preserved ruin found in the deepest jungle and utter, in mixed strains of awe and terror, 'What happened here?'

"She's... an experience, isn't she?"

He walks closer to Gar, leaning on the counter right next to him, looking at him over his shoulder. "So..."

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan's answer is just out of the blue, his stance unchanging from where he'd been standing after Harley flounced her way on out of here. Definitely the potential for natural disasters when she's around, or at the least, high levels of unpredictability.

"I didn't know you paid attention to my butt."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Oh my god."

Terry's hands go up, hiding his face from the massive embarrassment.

After some time, he lowers his hands to show a face that is as red as could be.

"... so what if I do?" he asks, looking at his socks. Huh, the left one is starting to become threadbare. Potential hole at the big toe. The things you notice when you're trying to not notice if he's noticing that you're noticing.

Gar Logan has posed:
"I guess this is where I say I like to make sure I give the people what they want," Gar answers, trying to sound normal and conversational and like all of that /didn't/ just happen in a matter of minutes. "But you look like you had a real fright. Did something happen when you were changing?" he wonders, that inquisitive expression starting to come back.

That's it, just don't think too much about the whole 'he likes you and you like him' part just yet. Don't force it. But what if, amazingly enough, Harley's right? What if the others Terry's been talking to are as well?

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"No," he lies through his teeth, "I just thought I'd come out here and that... you'd hate me." He tells the truth. He looks up at Gar, looking into his green eyes with his own, "You... don't hate me, do you?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Lies mixed with truth. Truth mixed with lies. Secrets, hidden. For whose safety and protection? Out of which kinds of fears? Gar squints at Terry, a look of doubt bubbling up to the surface, then he handwaves it. "Well, whatever it was, you look fine." He's testing that leg, seeing if he feels any obvious pain or discomfort. "I bet we could get these out in another day or two," he says of the stitches before stopping. "Why would I hate you?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Because..." Terry says quietly. He exhales a little, "Because I'm a guy. And I like you." He crosses his arms and looks down again. "If I've made you feel uncomfortable or anything... I'm so sorry. I really did bring you here because I didn't want you to be all alone while wounded, not for any other reason..." his voice drops, "But I'll understand if you'd prefer to go back to the tower."

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan's head tilts just so, indicative of someone still processing everything. "Yeah..that's kinda what she told me," he admits. The question is, had he figured it out before already? Some signs might have been there, some moments of awkwardness, but Gar's been so twisted around and out of sorts, and Terry's been chasing things there might not be good answers to, getting himself in danger...

"I sort of had an idea, but I was worried if I opened up too much to someone it'd just lead to more, you know, bad things later on and I'm not sure how much more of that I can deal with. Nobody's coming back to the Tower, Terry. Everyone else seems to have figured out the Titans are dead and accepted it besides me. I thought if I came back, everyone else would see that and think it was okay to start over," Gar explains, a few of those inner thoughts escaping as he admits what others may have already worked out.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Gar..." The redhead looks up, listening to the pained sound in Logan's voice, "The Titans aren't dead. The Titans are an idea and a reason for being. Just because some people move away, doesn't mean the idea does."

Try to get him to confess his feelings and you'll find Terry clinbing up a tree and hiding. Put someone in pain near him, though?

He doesn't really even think about it, he reaches over with his hand and takes Gar's. "It's not your fault, okay? None of it is your fault."

Gar Logan has posed:
"Well, I don't see that idea doing a whole lot right now," Gar answers, bristling defensively at the suggestion. "I think Raven would be happier if I didn't even show back up around there again. Maybe she was right that when things get bad, I just tuck my tail and run away." He didn't when he was standing there with Grayson, but some of those negative thoughts are coming back to be paid out with interest. The prospect of staying in the Tower is dwindling rapidly as far as good ideas are concerned.

But, the hand is claimed and his eyes slide down that way. "Does it really matter whose fault it is any more? Doomsday killed more than just Superman." The hand is trembling, not clearly unless Terry really looked, but he can definitely feel it. Trembling, and weak. "And it feels like you're the only one who really cares about me."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"You're not running now, are you?" Terry asks. He feels the trembling in his hand. "And you're not going to run, okay?"

He keeps his hand holding Gar's, and then says quietly, "Of course I care for you. Anyone who gets to know you would care for you. Gar Logan. Look..." he pauses, looking up, "Let's talk about this for lunch, okay? I need to go to the Planet and set up an interview, but..." he reaches over and grabs Gar's hand with his other hand, "When I come back, we're going to plan. If you accept staying here with me, you can stay in the second bedroom, I only use it as random office space." Which allows Gar to have any distance he might need. "An we'll work on this. We'll work on all of this. The titans. You..." he stops and says quietly, "... maybe us, if that's something you want. But I'm in your corner, Gar Logan."

Terry squeezes Gar's hands and says "Don't say anything, okay? I have to run or else this interview's not happening... but give me your answer when I come back, okay?"

He slips away quick, heading for the door to keep the blush down. He stops by the door and looks over his shoulder in Gar's direction. "You're not alone."

And then his eyes widen. "Oh shit... I better warn April about..." and he's out, reaching for his phone to call April and warn her about the 'twenty hot dates.'

Gar Logan has posed:
Maybe Gar hasn't run because he's not quite in a position to. Sneaky Terry. So very sneaky. Rather, it's a situation where the shifter found himself spiraling downward and much more of that could have made him a prime candidate for the next celebrity to check into the Betty Ford Clinic.

It might not be that dire, but Gar /has/ been adrift without an anchor. Terry's had friends and confidantes giving him advice, whether it was good or not. It gave Terry the chance to process what he knew, what he saw, and try to figure out where to go next.

Then Harley Quinn arrived and brought a few things about in a more unexpected way.

Now, they know they like each other, and there might be something to it that goes beyond just friends and dudes who hang out together as a few admissions have come out.

That trembling hand cycles through shaking a little further as Terry makes a few suggestions for what they can do, what they can discuss further, and by the time the squeeze is felt, he returns it as his steadies a bit. Though there's still the sense that he's fearing the unknown, he gives Terry a single nod.

For once, the talkative, silly one remains serious and follows what he's told. He stays quiet. He has to, because right now the thoughts aren't forming sharply enough for him to trust himself not to say something stupid.

Gar might be having thoughts of Terry in the biking shorts darting through his mind before he finds something to distract himself with.

But, he'll be there when Terry returns.