702/Who Wins

Who Wins
Date of Scene:	22 March 2020
Location:	Burnley - Bleake Island
Synopsis:	Rose wins. As usual.
Cast of Characters:	Rose Wilson, Conner Kent

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Rose Wilson has posed:
Night time in Gotham is darker, grimmer. Just altogether more NIGHT. It's like something magical in a way, and Rose hasn't bothered to do anything to spruce up the cheap walkup that she's got. The walls are dingy, the lights are old and slightly yellowed. It could be worse, there's nothing that stinks in the apartment, but it probably isn't worth the price she pays for it, either way.

The window to the apartment is open, and she's tucked on the window sill, smoking a cigarette while she watches those down on the street below.

Conner Kent has posed:
There might be something magical in Gotham, and not in a good way. For instance, Gotham is the only city in the world were Conner gets lost trying to navigate the streets. Also, the weather seems always worse than in New York and Metro. And the night is more night-y.

He finally manages to get there, if several minutes late. It took some convincing to get Rose's address, but he was persistent. Genuinely worried when she vanished from the old hideout. Even in truth Conner got a place in New York before she left.

"Hey, hello," he greets, peering upside-down at the open window. "So this is where you went? Not sure it is an improvement. You okay, Rosie?"

Rose Wilson has posed:
"Never better." Rose replies, her eyes lifting upwards so that she can peer right back at him, a curl of smoke rising upwards from her mouth. The cigarette then lifted so that she can take another drag from it before she shifts in the window, making enough room for him to come inside.

Unless he just really wants to hang around out there, upside down.

Conner Kent has posed:
Well, Gotham still looks crappy upside down, so no point.

He follows the white-haired girl inside. "Never better, uh? Really? You like to be alone and in this city?" He sighs. "Have you seen Rob at least?" Or is he the only one who cares about her? That would be depressing.

He peers around with some curiosity. Nothing personal in the place, he can see. It could well be a cheap motel room.

Rose Wilson has posed:
A cheap motel probably would be less depressing. Maybe.

"No." Rose replies with a shake of her head, starting to move towards the small little kitchenette. Once there she opens the fridge and grabs herself a coke from it before stepping back out into the main room, "I haven't seen anyone. Except you."

Conner Kent has posed:
That is depressing, more than the bleak apartment. "I don't think it is good for you to be alone," he points out. "You can be very fun when you want. But I have not seen your happy side since you got back."

Of course, he is also more serious than a couple years ago. But he had a bad year. "Why Gotham? New York is more interesting. And Metropolis is... I dunno, prettier. And not really more expensive."

Rose Wilson has posed:
Very depressing. But Rose doesn't seem like she's overly bothered by it, either. "You don't think it is good for me to be alone?"

Rose raises a brow just a fraction at him before she twists the cap off the bottle in her hand, "You're making a giant assumption that I'm alone, too."

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner nods. "Yeah. Not good for anyone but you even less," and she hints she is not alone. But that sounds a bit like one of her excuses to prove 'she is fine'. "Ah, it is good you are not alone. Would you like to introduce your friends to me?"

He smirks weakly, then goes to look for some soda in her fridge, since she 'forgot' to offer him one. "I saw Wonder Girl the other day," he mentions.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Did she forget? It's a good bet she might actually have forgotten that it is polite to offer, as much as it's possible that she did it on purpose. Who knows.

"Friend." Rose corrects as she moves towards the tragically second hand couch she's gotten for the apartment, dropping herself down onto the edge of it, her hands circling around the bottle. "And no. I'm not going to introduce you, because you'd make that face."

But then he mentions Wonder Girl and she smirks faintly, "And?"

Conner Kent has posed:
"And she was okay, more than okay," mentions Conner, finding a coke can. "She has been trying to reconnect with old friends since she spent six months or so in an island learning about being an Amazon. She had a good time, but she still missed close friends and family." He looks back at Rose. "What face? I don't make faces. I think it is pretty good if you have friends. Only slightly incredible. But there is hope."

Rose Wilson has posed:
"Your judgy face. Where you try to be polite, but you're judging the fact that the friend in question doesn't meet your standards." Rose takes a careful sip from her drink before she sets the bottle down on the floor.

"So, good that your friend is back. And doing good." Rose doesn't sound like she fully believes that.

Conner Kent has posed:
"I don't have high standards, Imp is one of my best friends," shoots back Conner, smirking again. "And look, I am here, still worried for you," still trying to reach her. He sighs again. "Sometimes it feels you don't care about anything. But if you didn't you wouldn't be so angry so often."

Rose Wilson has posed:
"Who said I'm angry?"

Everyone does Rose, everyone does.

But she doesn't seem to linger there for very long, instead she picks up the bottle again to pick at the lable on it, "Are you, though? You want something from me, same as everyone else does, Conner. You're no different."

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner blinks, drinks some coke and wonders if and what does he want from Rose. Blank. She lives in a dump and probably beats up people for pocket money. With a bit of luck they'd deserve it, but he is afraid she is not discriminating much.

"Yeah, I don't know." He leaves the coke on the counter and slides close to the one-eyed girl. "Okay, I'll bite. What do you think I want from you?"

Rose Wilson has posed:
When he slides closer she shifts, making sure that she's got him fully in her sights. Not because she feels that he's suddenly going to try and punch her or anything. That's not his style, after all.

Instead it's his face that she seems interested in, a smirk flicking across her face, "What do I think you want from me? You want to feel like the hero, Conner. You feel that by saving me from whatever dire circumstances you think I'm in that you're a hero. That you did //good//."

Conner Kent has posed:
"That is weird of you," comments Conner, shrugging. "Making as if people that help others actually make it for themselves, to feel better and somehow superior." And it is really worrying if she really thinks so.

"It is more like a duty. I feel bad when someone gets hurt. Doubly so if I could have done something," and that is often the case, since he can do so much. "I don't think I want anything from you Rosie. Not in the way you understand it."

Rose Wilson has posed:
"Duty?" Rose shakes her head at him, her expression flattening for a moment, "That's no different then what I said. You want to be a hero, and you feel duty bound to keep people safe? That is..."

She just shakes her head again, getting to her feet before she twists the cap back onto her bottle, "That's even shittier."

Conner Kent has posed:
"Uh, no," Conner shakes his head at her words. "It means I have a purpose and a goal in life. It comes with some perks, like knowing interesting people and making friends. It also has the drawback to having to face some powerful monsters. But hey, you risk your life for much less. On the other hand, I am awesome, and people knows it."

Rose Wilson has posed:
"No one wants to be your //duty//." Unless they are a certain personality type. But that is probably not something that Rose is, or ever would be.

"People want to matter not just because you feel a duty to be their big giant....Captain Save-A-Ho." She moves back towards the kitchen, putting her drink back into it before she comes back out. "I risk my life for a lot more."

Conner Kent has posed:
"No one wants to be my duty, no," admits Conner. "But when they need me, I try to be there. We can't get what we want, hmm?" He is pretty sure Rose hates to be 'saved'. At least on the physical sense of needing help to overcome an obstacle or danger.

That is fine, most people do. And contrarily to most people Rose can handle almost anything.

"You risk your life for a lot more? Really? What is this lot more?" He shoots back.

Rose Wilson has posed:
"I risk my life because I want to. Not because I feel any kind of responsibility, or duty." Which is probably not exactly the truth, considering her father and her upbringing. But denial is a very real thing, too.

"People can get what they want, Conner. You just have to take it." Rose lifts a hand up, snatching the air like she was grabbing something from it. "So yeah. I risk my life for a lot more."

Conner Kent has posed:
"I get what I want," notes Conner. "That has little to do with saving people or risking my life. Oh... except sometimes what I want is risky," he chuckles. "That is fine. Most things worthy of it require effort or risk."

He turns to her again, "as for you. You claim to want things, but look at this place. What have you managed to do so far? You are smart and you have powers. You could aim to be a SHIELD agent or join the army. What do you want? Money? Fights? Taking risks?"

Rose Wilson has posed:
The mention of her place causes her to look around, then she raises a brow at him, "My place is just a building. Four walls, a roof. I don't need something fancy for what I need in life." Which judging by the apartment there isn't anything in it. A couch, some cokes in the fridge. Not much else at all.

"I've managed to live my life, do what I want. I don't need some old jackass in SHIELD telling me what I can and can not do."

Conner Kent has posed:
"Eh, point," since Conner is also bad at following orders. Unless it is from someone he respects a lot. There are not many of those. "No taking orders from anyone, uh?"

Rose pretty much ignored all the rest of what he said. But that is typical. He knows she heard it. That is going to have to be enough.

"And now we are at what we want from life, instead of what we want from each other, I guess that is some progress." Or it is? "So, hey," he steps closer again. "Do you want anything from me?"

Rose Wilson has posed:
Probably a safe bet she heard. She does tend to just ignore things she doesn't want to answer. It's a well developed talent that she has, in fact. Very, very well developed.

When he moves closer to her again she glances down, noting how much closer he has gotten to her before she looks back up at his face. A flicker of amusement passes her face, "What do you want me to want from you?"

Conner Kent has posed:
"What kind of evasive question is that?" Conner pokes her under the ribs gently. "I want the truth and nothing else."

He could also answer his question, but... now, that is need some thinking due. Or maybe there is an obvious answer, but it is not a good answer and it would lead to a lot of trouble.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Rose Wilson reaches over to smack his hand when he starts to poke at her ribs, "No."

Is no an actual answer to the question? Not really. "I'm not answering any of you questions, you don't answer mine."

Conner Kent has posed:
"I did, then I have asked mine and you have answered with another question," Conner huffs, stepping back and folding his arms over his chest. "In fact, you have been avoiding the questions. So, I guess you really don't want me asking them. Well, you can go that way. But really... I am just trying to understand you. And trying to be a friend."

Rose Wilson has posed:
"Then why don't you answer this one?" Rose wonders, her head tilting to the side, arms crossing over her chest in response to his arms folding across his chest. Two of them can play at this game, it seems. "Are you afraid?"

Conner Kent has posed:
"Hell, no, are you?" Yeah, because two can play to the dare game. And Conner asked his question first. "I think you are afraid of asking yourself the questions I asked you, that is why you are coming back at me with evasive non-responses and counter-questions. You don't have answers and you don't want to know."

Rose Wilson has posed:
"I'm not afraid." Rose replies with a roll of her eye at him, then she uncrosses her arms, dropping her hands down next to her side. "Whatever, though. You checked on me, I'm alive and good. Hooray. You've done your good deed."

Conner Kent has posed:
"Yeah, right," Conner keeps his arms crossed a few more heartbeats. Then drops them too. Why did they end up arguing? Again. And it feels that again he didn't help much. "I am not an enemy. I am trying to be a friend," he insists.

But yes. His good deed. It felt like her telling him he should go, so he heads back to the window. "If you need anything, let me know. If you don't need anything, well, talk to me anyway. I will try to call once a week or so."

Rose Wilson has posed:
Isn't causing an argument how she ends all social interactions?

"Maybe I'll be here." Rose replies before she moves towards a table to grab her pack of cigarettes, tapping one out, "Don't tell the others where I am."

Not that they seem to care.