596/All About the Birbs and the BBs.

All About the Birbs and the BBs.
Date of Scene:	18 March 2020
Location:	Terry O'Niel's apartment
Synopsis:	Colette calls on Terry and Gar. Terry's not there. Colette is an ass, but occasionally she has a point.
Cast of Characters:	Colette O'Connail, Gar Logan

---

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    There is Chinese food. There is also wine. It's something of a peace offering, though Terry has no damn right to be annoyed at Colette. It's not like he /actually/ got killed, and he did get the answers he was looking for, and a lot sooner than he'd have had any chance of getting them any other way.

    There is the *bzzzzt!* of Terry's door buzzer. There is, however, no Terry. Waiting at the door of his apartment, Colette is not aware of this yet. She's not to know he's working late again, no doubt catching up on tedious intern-style tasks he had been able to avoid up to now by being nearly permanently injured.

    There is a bit of curiosity. Colette has yet to see the inside of Terry's apartment. Oh she had insisted on seeing him to the door in case he had an adrenaline crash reaction half way there, but that's it. She imagines his place is probably full of books. And a mess. And probably a Garfield.

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan can smell the food before the doorbell even rings. It's a natural talent of his. Yes, he is indeed in the apartment, but still 'stuck' in some of Terry's clothes because they haven't had the chance to go over to the Tower and try to get anything of his. That means a tank top and the running shorts Terry seems to like looking at him in so much.

Right this moment, the television is on and set to one of the cartoon channels, watching some goofy show about a group of friends who get into trouble but always manage to save the day. "Meh," he says, turning to one of the nature channels instead. Even if it might not be entirely safe to shift yet, at least until the stitches have come out, he can do some studying. Fortunately, walking is no longer the pain it had been for most of the last week.

The buzzer interrupts him from a riveting show about sloths doing, well, nothing, a fine parallel to his past week or so, and he looks around. Hm. No Terry yet. Probably someone there for him. He kicks back on the couch. They can come by again later.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    *Bzzzzt!*

    *Bzzzzt!*

    *Bzzzzt!*

    To be fair, Colette leaves a decent time between each buzz. She's patient. She had a long time to learn patience.

    It occurs to Colette that they could be fucking. She suspects not though. I mean Terry comes across like it's going to take him WEEKS to get anywhere. But they could be.

    *Bzzzzt!*"It's Colette." Time to add voice to buzzer. "Are you guys actually out, or are you fucking? Either way I have wine and I have the best Chinese takeout in Metropolis and if this door doesn't open in the next thirty seconds, I'm gonna keep it all to myself."

Gar Logan has posed:
"*sigh* Stupid telemarketers," Gar gripes. Just go with it.

More buzzing leads to him getting up from the couch, and perhaps the only reason for heading to the door is because of the tasty food smells. The sound of a lock being unlatched is heard, and the door opens an inch or so to reveal part of Gar's face along with one eye staring out through the crack.

"As tempted as I am by the food, we. Are. Not. Doing. That." There is legitimate annoyance in his words, his expression. "And he's not here, and if that's all you're thinking we're doing here, I don't think I have anything else to say to you. Keep the food, because apparently all I'm interested in is sausage."

He begins to shut the door.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "Fine." There's no rancor in the voice, nor any attempt to stop the door closing. Colette turns and walks away before it's even finished shutting.

    About a minute later there's a soft knock on the door, and Colette's voice has returned. "Sorry, Garfield. That was pretty shitty of me. Insensitive. I do that sometimes. I'm kind of an ass. I know there's way more to you than that, and I'd hoped to talk to you about that 'cos there's someone I know who could really use your help, but I'll try again another time. Sorry."

    There is no further *Bzzzt*, just footsteps.

Gar Logan has posed:
What she doesn't see is Gar's back coming to rest against the door, a deep breath following as his eyes turn toward the ceiling, the underbite more evident as he chews at his bottom lip. Let her go! He doesn't want to talk to her anyway if that's all she's going to focus on!

Then, she's talking again. The knock is somewhat absorbed by the fact his body is still resting against the door. The exhale from the other side is audible enough that she can hear it. The silence otherwise rules, lasting for five, ten, fifteen seconds before the sound of the door opening again can be heard.

Though his eyes are watery, and he's wiping quickly at them, which she can see, his voice comes through quietly. "If someone needs my help...fine. Come in." He opens the door the rest of the way, but he avoids making eye contact with her.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette is just about still in earshot when the door opens again. She stops to listen, nods her head in silence and turns back to return to the door. She enters, trying not to make eyecontact either, and places two bags down on the nearest flat surface. One smells rather deliciously of Chinese food, the other clinks with sound of at least two bottles. "So I guess Terry's not home yet," Colette says flatly.

    There is a period of awkward silence. Colette looks around, considering options of seating, but for the moment elects to stand. "Garfield... I meant it. Sorry. I'm an ass. I just kind of... open my mouth sometimes. Without thinking. To make it worse, part of the reason I came was to apologize to you in the first place, for something else."

    "But yeah. There's someone who could really use your help. Actually more than one person, I'm kind of making a list. But one in particular that there's... honestly nobody else but you who can help."

Gar Logan has posed:
"He's working, or whatever," Gar handwaves. "You know, it takes a special kind of talent to have to say you're sorry for something before you've even had a chance to say you're sorry for something else from before," he flatly replies, arms wrapping around himself as he walks away from the counter Colette places the food and drink upon. If she's looking, there's still a long line of stitches down one calf, but he appears to be walking without discomfort again.

Yeah, he's still feeling the hurt. The more emotional kind.

But, he admits, "Sometimes I say stuff without thinking first, too. Actually, I probably do that way more than I realize. But I'd really, /really/ appreciate it if you just let us figure stuff out on our own. You've been talking to him, Harley Freaking Quinn was here and asking the same kinds of stuff before she actually said something that made a little sense, but I haven't done relationships before and neither has he, and this is all new for both of us and we're still figuring things out and what to do next and..."

Huff. Deep breath. Glance over the shoulder, a brow lifting upward.

"What do you mean?"

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "I..." Colette stops herself before going any further and raises her hands in a conciliatory gesture. "Message received and understood, Garfield. I guess I'm just kinda rooting for you guys, but... message received and understood. I will keep my big mouth shut on such matters in future. "

    Colette finally takes a seat, but sits on the arm of a chair rather than the seat. It's kind of a compromise move, as if to say she's not making herself comfortable here.

    "It's the alien I met," Colette says. "Kian. That's his name. I've stayed in contact with him. He... um. He has wings. It's kind of his thing. SHIELD kind of doesn't want him drawing attention to himself. But he stares out the window at the sky, and... it's kinda heartbreaking, Garfield. I can't... there's nothing I can do to help him, but YOU could. I mean... you can fly. Turn into a bird or whatever, and you could take him flying. Make sure he doesn't get into trouble, and just... well. I'm sure flying is a lot of fun. And here's the thing. Captain Marvel. She'd /trust/ you, Garfield. She would know he was in good hands. And... I think you guys would get on."

Gar Logan has posed:
"Rooting for us?" Gar repeats, as clear and obvious a question stemming from confusion as can be. She might not even be the only one, surprisingly enough. Whatever she has to say to that, she'll at least have someone willing to hear her out a bit further.

He too takes up a spot on the couch, but to perch instead. One at one end, one at the other. "Oh. I..kind of hadn't heard much about that for a while. Nothing from Captain Marvel, either. So that's his name?" He turns enough to glance over a shoulder toward her, maintaining his balance. "Sure, flying is cool. But how am I supposed to go see him and fly?"

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "He's not a prisoner," Colette says. "Just... they are strongly encouraging him to keep his head down. I could take you to see him." She tilts her head to the side. "Or... if you prefer, I could ask Captain Marvel for permission. I mean... "

    Finally Colette seems able to look at Gar rather than the floor. "I know she'd give it. If it's you. Me? I'm nobody. She doesn't trust me. You're Garfield Fucking Logan. If I could tell her that I've met you and that you're willing to look out for Kian and take him flying.... She kind of cares about the silly alien Bird guy too. I could tell. There /is/ no better answer. She'd be over the moon if you said yes."

    Colette smiles slightly and looks away again, hiding her expression. "As for Kian... well. I mentioned I knew someone who... a human who can fly. With wings. Wings is really important to him. I swear the guy almost exploded with happiness. I mean... think about it, Garfield. The guy is so lost. So lonely. No friends, no family. No hope of ever going home. He... he's trying, but everything is so... hard, so frustrating for him. I saw him yesterday. He... he cried on my shoulder, Garfield. An alien, crying." When she turns back, she's no longer smiling. "I can't do anything for him, Garfield. You can. Please say yes."

Gar Logan has posed:
The TV show with the sloths is still on, but the volume is low enough that it's practically muted. "Could we maybe not with the whole..you know," he asks after she compares herself to him, making him out to be the special one. "I'm just me. I try to do the best I can and sometimes it's enough." Sometimes..it's not.

He rubs at the back of his neck after sliding off the edge of the couch to stand back up, looking through one of the windows with a distant expression. "It sounds like he's got it rough." Just the mention of the bird alien crying threatens Gar's waterworks too, and he wipes at the corner of an eye. "I can't say no to someone who needs help. Maybe you should try to get Captain Marvel to talk to me, though."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "Doesn't matter who you are, there's nobody in the world who can't say 'I'm just me'," Colette points out. "It's not possible to be anyone else. I'm just me, and you're just you, and all either of us can do is trying to do the best we can and hope it's enough. In my case, mostly that seems to be... being willing to apologize for being a crappy failure of a human being. In your case... well, whatever you may think of yourself, it means Captain Marvel will trust you. So..."

    Colette gets to her feet too, perhaps feeling awkward to remain sitting when Gar isn't, and goes to the counter to remove a bottle from one of the bags and put it in the fridge. "So thanks. I'll ask her to contact you." She sorts through the bag of food with all the conviction of pure displacement activity. "Thanks. Um. It's getting cold. The food. If you want any, help yourself."

    Colette returns to her perch on the far arm of the couch. "So. Ready for apology number two?"

Gar Logan has posed:
"Yeah, but.." Gar starts out with, only to stall out at that point. "I just meant, you know, ah..look. I just hope I can help the way you think I can." Self-esteem: fluctuating.

He shuffles over toward the kitchen area, where smells of fresh Chinese food reach him again. The wine, he doesn't appear interested in. Not old enough, anyway! "So I'll hear you out with the second apology, but bringing this over goes a little way toward making up for being a crappy failure of a human being or whatever." With that, he dumps the contents of a couple containers onto a plate and promptly buries his face into it, feasting as if he hasn't eaten all day.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "I know you can help. Better than you do, apparently. " Colette hops to her feet and fishes around in the bag of bottles. She pulls out a coke, and puts it on the table by Gar. Apparently the concept of non-drinkers had occurred to her. The way he eats - she should probably have brought a bucket, but she doesn't think of everything. Also in the non-drinkers frame of mind, she'd brought a corkscrew which she uses to open one of the wine bottles and pour herself some. Technically she's not old quite enough either, but that's not something she cares about.

    Colette resumes her perch, plastic glass of wine in one hand. "And on that topic... realizing you're probably not exactly eager to here advice from me... look Garfield, I don't know what demons you are fighting. It's none of my business, I know. But the whole self-deprecation sh... stuff. You've done things very few people have. Saved a lot of lives. And I'm not saying that to try to massage your ego, I'm saying that to warn you that it can be fucking /intimidating/ meeting someone like that. No criticism here, no judgement. Just keep in mind that there might be people close to you, people who you care about, who feel they don't exactly... measure up. Maybe not, but maybe. And hearing you talk like that could make them feel..." she stops herself with a sigh. "Which is not to say you should hide it. How you feel. You need to talk about it with someone you can trust, but... just try to keep that in mind."

    "As for the second apology." Colette takes a deep breath, and then a deep swig of wine. Plastic cup wine, yum. "Um. Kind of tricky given what I promised earlier. But. I kind of got Terry into a potentially dangerous situation. It wasn't... a problem. But I failed to consider your feelings, doing that when you couldn't be there to help. I realize that now. I'm sorry.

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan comes up for air long enough to say, "Thif if goof stuff!" before diving back in for more. The ears still work, and while much of his face is now a mixture of green and tasty Chinese food, he can see her well enough. After a swallow, he guzzles the cola and wipes the back of his mouth with a hand, then considers it a moment and licks it clean..or cleaner.

"I'm just gonna come out and say it. I don't do real good at being alone without others to do stuff with. Doomsday broke us bad, and things haven't been the same since. I came back because I thought maybe we could all start over again, but I guess it doesn't always work that way and I don't really know what to do now." Finally, some of it comes out. "I'm not looking for anyone's sympathy. I wanted to be a Titan. I knew something like this could happen, but I wasn't ready for it. I'm just trying to, you know, get through this and be stronger."

Throughout all of this, a noodle has been stuck to the tip of his nose, wiggling with each word.

"So I'll try to help Kian the bird," he reconfirms, looking down after feeling the noodle fall. That brings the other apology, the one about Terry and danger. Wiping his face off with a towel, he looks back over toward her. "I knew he was trying to find out something really personal, but he's just a normal dude who's sort of looked up to me, and I didn't want him to get in over his head without someone to keep an eye on him just in case. I worry that something will happen and I won't be able to stop him from getting hurt."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette doesn't laugh at the noodle. It takes significant effort, but somehow she manages it. The eventual noodle-drop comes as a significant relief. She gives Gar a slow nod of the head, chewing her lip in thought. "You were young," she says finally. "I... I understand. I wish there was something I could say to help, but... well, I feel kinda like shutting up is the best thing I can do to help people, sometimes. " She lowers her head, staring into her glass.

    "You won't always be there," she says to her wine. "He seems to have a knack for finding trouble, you may have your work cut out for you. But you can't babysit him. Can't always be there. Hard as that is..." She looks up again. "So I'm sorry there was a time when you couldn't be there and it was my fault it happened when you couldn't be there. There shouldn't have been any danger. It was... it was one of those situations where nothing /should/ go wrong, but there's always the /could/. I took precautions in case something did. It's just... it could have waited a week, then the precaution could have been you."

    Colette takes another drink, emptying her glass. She gets herself a refill, and takes another gulp. She may be drinking a little too fast. "You're not the only one, you know. I mean... wanting to be a Titan. There are people... people the age you were, when you joined the Titans. Who want to do what you did. I... I kind of... know some of them. It's going to happen again. With or without you. With or without the Titans. I just hope... you know. You guys can help them."

Gar Logan has posed:
"Yeah, sometimes I get the feeling I should say less, too," Gar confesses. At least the noodle's gone. There's only so long serious talk can last when something that silly is going on. More soda, savored.

Now he actually thinks long and hard about what she's saying about not always being able to look out for someone, whether it's Terry or, really, anyone else. Five seconds later, he says, "I guess you have a point. I just know he sort of, you know, had this fanboy thing going on, and I already like anyone who likes me enough to be a fan. Plus, he's kind of a dork and he really seems to like short shorts," He glances down at the running shorts he's borrowing, "but he's also nice and fun to be around."

He sobers up, something Colette will be in need of doing if she keeps drinking like that. "I think you should slow your roll with that stuff," he says, indicating the wine. "But what's this about others out there wanting to be Titans?"

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette looks down at her wine, then back up to Gar. With a thoughtful nod she places it down carefully and gets up to rummage in the food bag. "He is," she agrees. "A dork." She finds an egg roll, and treasure in hand, returns to her seat.

    "And... yeah. You know. Nice. And fun to be around." There's a slight grin. "The short shorts thing... ah I'll leave that in your court. I... I like him. For some reason. And uh. You're kinda not bad too. I uh... wasn't going to let him get hurt." Egg roll chomp.

    Colette chews and contemplates the egg roll. It's a good egg roll, though it would have been better half an hour earlier. When she's finished chewing, she speaks up. "It's kinda complicated. Explaining. Especially as I made a promise to someone I intend to keep which... Well. There's a place I know where there are a number of kids with... unusual talents. Some of those kids want to put those talents to use, helping people without those talents. The place they are... well it kind of doesn't encourage that. But you know how it is. They're going to do it anyway. And why shouldn't they?" Pause for more egg roll chomping.

     "Some of them are going to get hurt. Maybe not live to be as old as you or me. That's sad, but also that's also reality. Thing is, I want them to have... to have every /chance/, Garfield. To help other, sure. But to help themselves, too. To grow up. To not have to go through what /you/ went through."

    Colette looks up from egg roll, straight at Gar. "I told you. It's going to happen again. With or without you, it's inevitable. It's going to happen again. But it doesn't have to happen the same /way/, Garfield. I am... I was kind of hoping that you guys who went through it before... could help avoid that."

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan watches the egg roll escaping, only to end with being munched on by Colette. A fate it was bound for, one mouth or another.

"Yeah, see. I learned the hard way that just because you think you're going to keep your friends or anyone else safe, that doesn't mean you can keep bad things from happening." He rinses off his face, quickly, toweling off as he lets the thoughts roll out as they come. "I guess that's left me second-guessing myself on a lot of stuff, because it seems every time something's happened since I got back here, I've been too slow to react. Except..when Terry was about to get beaten up by a couple gang members. He still got shot, but I got on them as fast as I could."

He rests his hands against the countertop, listening. A whole new group of kids who want to go be heroes? Who want to save the world? "What are you suggesting?"

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    The egg roll's days - indeed seconds - are numbered. Colette finishes it off without mercy, and leans back. "I'm not... not really /suggesting/ anything, Garfield. Just laying out what I know. I know there are these kids. I know what they want to do. I know... I know that looking at the big picture, it's a good idea. The smaller picture... the kids themselves, that's harder. "

    Colette threads a loop of the drawstring of her hoodie around a finger, playing with it idly. "There's... two possible futures, Garfield. One in which these kids go it alone, and try to repeat what you guys did. What the Titans did. And one where you guys /help/ them. I don't know what that... how exactly that works out. Not necessarily like mentors. I mean I get the impression that was kind of why the Titans started out in the first place, to get away from mentors. Maybe it's just about like... a support structure. So they're not alone. So they can benefit from the experience you guys went through. Otherwise..." she shakes her head. "It'll happen again. And again. And again. Forever. New generations. More kids, putting themselves in danger. I just... want them to have the best possible chance. All of them."

    The loop of string seems to have an almost hypnotic attraction to Colette. She looks down, watching it as she winds it in and around, looping, making half-knots, unlooping. "Maybe you're not... in a place where you are able to do that. It would be understandable." She takes a deep, slow breath. It's not a sigh, but it's in the neigborhood. "I just hope we have the second future. That's all."

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan does not seem to have any grand ideas here, anything witty or insightful to say. What ends up as his response is just sort of..there. "I hope when that happens, there's someone ready to try to help. Maybe it'll be some of us. Maybe it won't. All I know is I'm the guy who makes people laugh and turns into whatever I can think of at the time. I'm not a leader, Colette. It's gonna take more than just me or a few other people to make the Titans happen again, but I'll be there if it does."

It's the least he could do.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette stares down at the knot she's making in her drawstring. "Garfield, I..." she glances at her glass. "Another time." The knot is untangled, and she stands, and takes a few steps over to Gar.

    "I don't know much about being a leader either. But I do know that sometimes laughter can be more important. There's leadership... command, strategy, tactics, all that kind of stuff. There's also... glue. Social glue. Laughter is the best social glue. I know fuck all about the old Titans, Garfield. But I know that being the guy who can make people laugh is..." she smiles wryly, and gives a shake of her head. "Underestimated. Don't try being anyone you aren't. Garfield Logan is enough."

    "Listen. It's getting..." Colette gestures towards the door with a nod of her head. "I guess Terry is stuck at work. There's plenty more Chinese, he can reheat some when he gets back. I should get going. Let him know I said hi, okay?" She raises her hand. She might have been planning to place it on his arm for a moment, but if so she deflects the gesture and brushes her fingers through her hair. "I should get going," she says, stepping towards the door. "It'll come back, Garfield. The... hesitation. In time, you'll... it'll come back. Seeya Garfield."