miss maggie (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bossymarmalade) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thejusticelounge2013-06-28 12:08 pm
bossymarmalade) wrote in thejusticelounge2013-06-28 12:08 pm
Entry tags:
dr. who's coming to dinner
Guy stepped off the zeta pad with a steaming hot pepperoni, mushroom, capicola and extra cheese pizza, and a cheeseburger pizza with hamburger, cheddar, and onions. He wrapped it up in a construct pizza insulation bag, and atop it sat two six-packs of beer. He doubted they’d get through any of it, but it was better safe than sorry. Guy saw Kate coming from the other direction towards his quarters, and beamed a grin at her. “Right on time!"
Kate brushed her hair back with her fingertips over her shoulders and shifted the box with the clean glasses further under her arm. “Hey, if it’s a live broadcast, I am sure as hell not gonna be late, Gardner," she drawled, boots leaving just a faint resonance against the deck plating, before she reached his door and leaned against the wall. “Damn, that smells fantastic."
"Emilio’s - best pizza joint in Baltimore!" He opened his door and waved her in. The outer room was set up as a living area, with a Watchtower-standard loveseat and a very-much borrowed large TV installed on the wall above his desk. I snuck a few plates an’ napkins from the cafeteria…" he said, setting the pizza and beer down and turning on the TV.
Kate set the box (unfortunately not blue) down on the side table. “I brought you a present," she said, and gestured a little back towards them. “And hell, can’t blame you for appropriating cafeteria goods. They totally assume people will do it, you know." She flopped down on the sofa, kicking her feet out to cross at the ankles.
Guy grinned wide. “These’re for me? Aw, Kate!" He pulled one out of the box, turning it over in his hands. “I love ‘em. Thanks, Sweetheart." He bent down and kissed her cheek as she sat on the couch, then unpacked the other and gave them a good wipe inside and out with a napkin. "Think I got just enough time to fill these up before the show starts…"
"I’m really glad you appreciate them," Kate said, quirking him a cheeky half-smile as he kissed her cheek. “Though yeah, it wasn’t entirely selfless, I did want to see how the hell they worked. Just don’t put them in the dishwasher and you’ll be good to go."
"Good thing I don’t have a dishwasher," he winked, handing her her beer, with a bright blue TARDIS still materializing on the side of it. "Oh, hey, it’s starting…" he sat next to her and ringed over the pizza boxes as the show started.
Kate laughed, looking at the glass and tracing the TARDIS with a fingertip in the condensation. “Right, cooler than I thought. Also cheesier." She leaned back into the sofa, watching until the cold open was done and the credits were running before shifting forward to get a slice of the capicola pizza. Her oxford shirt gaped just a little at her collar, down to a hint of black satin underneath, before she settled back in.
He couldn’t help notice it. He couldn’t help but smile. But it had been two personality changes, one wedding, and one major falling out ago. "Okay, I gotta ask…what do ya think of the new companion?" It was easier than blindly finding his way with her, he thought; they needed to just reconnect first.
"Clara? She’s not bad in and of herself, though I can’t pin down how the Doctor feels about her. On one side it’s daughtery, another stalker-level behavior. I think…" Kate ate a few bites and watched a particularly suspenseful few seconds in silence before the scene shifted and she continued. “I think Moffat needs to not try so damn hard to make a mytharc. Just let things flow, let Clara be nifty in and of herself."
"Ahh, Moffat can’t resist a good mindfuck. Look at River: her parentage her killin’ him. I dunno what’s up with Clara’s livin’ three lives though. I wanna see what happens with that, but I kinda like the latest Clara."
"Oh god, don’t remind me. I’m not all into the River Song thing, she was cool at first but then they just had to turn it into melodrama," Kate moaned, sipping her beer as she finished the first slice. “Which is a shame, I liked Alex Kingston on ER."
"She showed up on that new show about Ollie, ya know. Arrow?"
"That show," Kate groaned and shook her head. “It’s almost creepy. Mia thinks it’s funny. And true, I wouldn’t kick that actor out of bed. Or Alex Kingston."
"Right? An’ it’s good to see John Barrowman in somethin’ as a bad guy." He got an amused smile on his face, “Okay, I gotta know…how’s Ollie takin’ that show?"
"Better than I do," Kate admitted. “Though not as well as Mia. I think he mostly likes to ignore that it exists until he’s trying to convince everyone that he was a super hot stud when he was younger."
She paused, then noted, “I really don’t know what’s up with the shit-ton of scars. Hell, Ollie at nearly forty doesn’t even look like that…wait, you already know."
Guy turned a little red, “Heh…yeah, I know." He glances back at the TV and shakes his head to clear it, looking at his glass. “Good beer…so maybe they figure chicks dig scars? Or it was just to add to his mystery, like bein’ on an island for five years wasn’t enough."
Kate noticed the flush and the head shake, and lifted an eyebrow just momentarily before taking the information away for her own use. “It’s great beer," she agreed, and then rested the cool glass against her forehead as the Doctor made a self-righteous speech. “And it’s probably a little of both, in not-Ollie. Personally, scars are fine, but eventually they lose meaning if there are too many randomass ones like on that show…"
She clarified, after a moment, “I mean that…they need to have stories, scars, or emotional resonance, or something. The show…means they have such little context." Besides, Kate had always been into emotional scars more anyway. Perhaps a personal failing.
"Yeah can’t argue with that. Dick has a lot of scars…but they tell a story. He’s beautiful for what he’s survived; they speak to his resilience. I used to trace them with my fingers, and…" He broke off, and gave her an awkward look. "Sorry. That was a little outta the blue, wasn’t it?"
Kate lifted an eyebrow a little at him, flushing just faintly. “A little. But Guy, if it’s something you need to talk about, you should. For fuck’s sake, don’t keep it bottled up because of me."
He gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks. Not really somethin’ I’m bottlin’ up…it kinda feels good to talk about him, an’ how he made me feel. I miss him, sure, but…I think this is the first time I could smile while rememberin’ it. What I had, as opposed to what I lost." He leaned back on the couch a little, stretching his arm behind her, but not to be sneaky doing it. He was glad she was there for companionship. "So much has changed since I got my memory back…I feel different even think a little different."
"You do eventually get to that point," Kate said, leaning back and resting the back of her head against his forearm a little, as she tried to parse out what she wanted to say. “Where the good parts are bittersweet instead of just hurting like hell. It took me…a while, with Peter. Him moving forward probably helped, actually…"
She smiled wryly, then continued, cocking her head and turning to appraise him. “Think different and feel different how, Guy?"
He narrowed his eyes in thought, trying to figure out how to articulate it. “Well…you know I was sufferin’ depression last year? Maybe ya don’t. Anyway, losin’ my memory for three months, it helped me lose a lot of baggage, too. Y’know, I actually came out to Godfrey when everythin’ was exposed? An’ I didn’t feel an ounce of shame. Nothin’. I’m…okay with who I am. I’m even writin’ again."
"You didn’t tell me specifically, but it wasn’t hard to tell," Kate said softly. She reached for the remote and paused the television—they could pick it up later outside broadcast, the machine would still record. “And that’s really great, Guy. I saw the ring footage, but…I’m really glad you’re okay with it. Okay with being that person."
"So am I. I feel free, at the risk of soundin’ all hippie-dippy about it. I feel…good, that Godfrey shit notwithstandin’. I think when Ion replaced my memories, it…fixed a lot of other stuff, too. I kinda regret I didn’t get the chance to show Ollie the new, improved me…" He smiles at her, “But hey, I get to show you, an’ Kyle, an’ all the other people who matter to me."
"You never know. You might get the chance with Ollie," Kate said, smiling a little tightly because she honestly didn’t know. She just hoped it would get resolved. And hoped the slight flare of pleasure at being someone who mattered would ebb fairly quickly before she blushed. Fortunately, it did, and she leaned in again (and there went her shirt) to playfully poke at his chest. “So what have you been writing? Come on, inquiring minds want to know."
He blushed a little, only in part to her gaping shirt. "Well…poetry, if ya must know. Little things to get me warmed up again. Haiku, quatrains, a little freestyle. Nothin’ I feel is ready for a beat poetry night or nothin’, it’s still way too literal…but I can show ya, if ya want?"
Kate straightened up, pulling her hair back a little and nodding firmly. “Sure, if you’re up for it, I’d be happy to read, caro. Promise not to be too judgy even."
"Ah, you can be judgy. I know it ain’t my best. Think of it like Kyle’s roughest sketches compared to his finished work…" He got up and opened a drawer in the desk, retrieving a hardcover journal-style notebook with lined paper, and handed it to her.
"Even sketches are better than what I can do." Kate took the notebook and slowly flicked through it, scanning lines and processing them. After a few minutes, she said, “You know, Guy, this isn’t half bad. You need to keep doing it, you’ll get even better. If that’s what you want to do, publicly, I mean."
"Well, I dunno about publicly…but I like doin’ it for me. I enjoy it. An’ I do want to get better." He was smiling softly. "Thanks, Kate. I like sharin’ this with you. Kyle’s awesome, but his overenthusiasm can be a little hard to take for somethin’ like this."
"I could do the whole constructive criticism thing if you wanted, but at a quick read? In brief, I like them." Kate had spotted one with her name, true, and she didn’t know what to think about it, didn’t know if she could stand to break it down right now without doing something stupid. “Yeah, I hear you about Kyle, He’s such a sweetheart…but maybe too damn nice about stuff."
"Well…too nice, sometimes yeah. He means well. The best, even. Y’know how you can always tell when he’s self-censoring? He does that thing where his mouth opens just a little and his eyes flick back and forth a bit? THAT. Or he just gets way more excited about something than I feel, an’ I don’t know what to do, then," he laughed, enjoying being able to talk about their mutual friend, and not unkindly.
"Here…can I show you one of my favourites?" He flipped to near the start of the book, to a freestyle about Kyle, and how he kept him grounded, and was such a generous friend.
Kate nodded, settling back into the sofa cushions and taking the book back so she could read more closely. Eventually, she smiled brightly, could feel Guy’s eyes on her as she read. “Oh yeah," she said, as she finished, “That’s pretty much Kyle, I’ll totally get behind that. The chico gives almost too much, tries almost too damn hard to make people happy…"
Guy was indeed watching her, but he only registered half of what she said. It wasn’t until she had stopped speaking and was staring back at him that he realized he /was/ staring. "Oh, ah…sorry. I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to stare…" He rubbed the back of his neck, “There was somethin’ I wanted to tell you. I think…I’m gettin’ over that fallin’ out between me an’ Ollie. I’ve started just acceptin’ it, an’ his decision that him an’ me are done as friends. So…that said, I’d like it if we could go ahead with the new bar, you an’ me, an’ be partners." He smiled, “You were right. Ollie doesn’t own you. An’ he doesn’t own me, either."
Kate lifted one eyebrow a little at him, and maybe that was a smile playing across her lips. “Good," she said, and the expression did turn to a smile. “And yeah, that’d be great, I’d like that too, seeing as you’re interested. I think we can do a damn good job, Guy, between you and me."
"I think so too, Sweetheart. Maybe…we can rebuild other things too, given a little time an’ interest…"
The smile on Kate’s face was just a little coy. “Maybe we can, depending on circumstances, yeah." She saluted him with her pint glass and took a sip of the remaining (though now rapidly warming) beer.
"More pizza?" he asked, helping himself to more capicola and mushroom.
"Please," Kate said, snapping out of it, past it, and moving over to grab a slice of the burger pizza. “Did you want me to hit play again?"
"Sure, Sweetheart," he nodded, refilling her beer for her. As he finished with food and drink handling, he settled back on the couch with her, arm behind her, feeling very at ease and comfortable, like he would with Kyle or Stephanie. “Y’know…this is nice. I’m glad we did this Kate."
"Likewise," Kate agreed, shifting a little and finally settling into a comfortable position with her head against his wrist, legs kicked out and crossed at the ankle as she pressed play once more. “Entirely, Guy."
His fingers curled up, their tips playing with her hair a little, as they watched The Doctor save the universe once again.
Kate brushed her hair back with her fingertips over her shoulders and shifted the box with the clean glasses further under her arm. “Hey, if it’s a live broadcast, I am sure as hell not gonna be late, Gardner," she drawled, boots leaving just a faint resonance against the deck plating, before she reached his door and leaned against the wall. “Damn, that smells fantastic."
"Emilio’s - best pizza joint in Baltimore!" He opened his door and waved her in. The outer room was set up as a living area, with a Watchtower-standard loveseat and a very-much borrowed large TV installed on the wall above his desk. I snuck a few plates an’ napkins from the cafeteria…" he said, setting the pizza and beer down and turning on the TV.
Kate set the box (unfortunately not blue) down on the side table. “I brought you a present," she said, and gestured a little back towards them. “And hell, can’t blame you for appropriating cafeteria goods. They totally assume people will do it, you know." She flopped down on the sofa, kicking her feet out to cross at the ankles.
Guy grinned wide. “These’re for me? Aw, Kate!" He pulled one out of the box, turning it over in his hands. “I love ‘em. Thanks, Sweetheart." He bent down and kissed her cheek as she sat on the couch, then unpacked the other and gave them a good wipe inside and out with a napkin. "Think I got just enough time to fill these up before the show starts…"
"I’m really glad you appreciate them," Kate said, quirking him a cheeky half-smile as he kissed her cheek. “Though yeah, it wasn’t entirely selfless, I did want to see how the hell they worked. Just don’t put them in the dishwasher and you’ll be good to go."
"Good thing I don’t have a dishwasher," he winked, handing her her beer, with a bright blue TARDIS still materializing on the side of it. "Oh, hey, it’s starting…" he sat next to her and ringed over the pizza boxes as the show started.
Kate laughed, looking at the glass and tracing the TARDIS with a fingertip in the condensation. “Right, cooler than I thought. Also cheesier." She leaned back into the sofa, watching until the cold open was done and the credits were running before shifting forward to get a slice of the capicola pizza. Her oxford shirt gaped just a little at her collar, down to a hint of black satin underneath, before she settled back in.
He couldn’t help notice it. He couldn’t help but smile. But it had been two personality changes, one wedding, and one major falling out ago. "Okay, I gotta ask…what do ya think of the new companion?" It was easier than blindly finding his way with her, he thought; they needed to just reconnect first.
"Clara? She’s not bad in and of herself, though I can’t pin down how the Doctor feels about her. On one side it’s daughtery, another stalker-level behavior. I think…" Kate ate a few bites and watched a particularly suspenseful few seconds in silence before the scene shifted and she continued. “I think Moffat needs to not try so damn hard to make a mytharc. Just let things flow, let Clara be nifty in and of herself."
"Ahh, Moffat can’t resist a good mindfuck. Look at River: her parentage her killin’ him. I dunno what’s up with Clara’s livin’ three lives though. I wanna see what happens with that, but I kinda like the latest Clara."
"Oh god, don’t remind me. I’m not all into the River Song thing, she was cool at first but then they just had to turn it into melodrama," Kate moaned, sipping her beer as she finished the first slice. “Which is a shame, I liked Alex Kingston on ER."
"She showed up on that new show about Ollie, ya know. Arrow?"
"That show," Kate groaned and shook her head. “It’s almost creepy. Mia thinks it’s funny. And true, I wouldn’t kick that actor out of bed. Or Alex Kingston."
"Right? An’ it’s good to see John Barrowman in somethin’ as a bad guy." He got an amused smile on his face, “Okay, I gotta know…how’s Ollie takin’ that show?"
"Better than I do," Kate admitted. “Though not as well as Mia. I think he mostly likes to ignore that it exists until he’s trying to convince everyone that he was a super hot stud when he was younger."
She paused, then noted, “I really don’t know what’s up with the shit-ton of scars. Hell, Ollie at nearly forty doesn’t even look like that…wait, you already know."
Guy turned a little red, “Heh…yeah, I know." He glances back at the TV and shakes his head to clear it, looking at his glass. “Good beer…so maybe they figure chicks dig scars? Or it was just to add to his mystery, like bein’ on an island for five years wasn’t enough."
Kate noticed the flush and the head shake, and lifted an eyebrow just momentarily before taking the information away for her own use. “It’s great beer," she agreed, and then rested the cool glass against her forehead as the Doctor made a self-righteous speech. “And it’s probably a little of both, in not-Ollie. Personally, scars are fine, but eventually they lose meaning if there are too many randomass ones like on that show…"
She clarified, after a moment, “I mean that…they need to have stories, scars, or emotional resonance, or something. The show…means they have such little context." Besides, Kate had always been into emotional scars more anyway. Perhaps a personal failing.
"Yeah can’t argue with that. Dick has a lot of scars…but they tell a story. He’s beautiful for what he’s survived; they speak to his resilience. I used to trace them with my fingers, and…" He broke off, and gave her an awkward look. "Sorry. That was a little outta the blue, wasn’t it?"
Kate lifted an eyebrow a little at him, flushing just faintly. “A little. But Guy, if it’s something you need to talk about, you should. For fuck’s sake, don’t keep it bottled up because of me."
He gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks. Not really somethin’ I’m bottlin’ up…it kinda feels good to talk about him, an’ how he made me feel. I miss him, sure, but…I think this is the first time I could smile while rememberin’ it. What I had, as opposed to what I lost." He leaned back on the couch a little, stretching his arm behind her, but not to be sneaky doing it. He was glad she was there for companionship. "So much has changed since I got my memory back…I feel different even think a little different."
"You do eventually get to that point," Kate said, leaning back and resting the back of her head against his forearm a little, as she tried to parse out what she wanted to say. “Where the good parts are bittersweet instead of just hurting like hell. It took me…a while, with Peter. Him moving forward probably helped, actually…"
She smiled wryly, then continued, cocking her head and turning to appraise him. “Think different and feel different how, Guy?"
He narrowed his eyes in thought, trying to figure out how to articulate it. “Well…you know I was sufferin’ depression last year? Maybe ya don’t. Anyway, losin’ my memory for three months, it helped me lose a lot of baggage, too. Y’know, I actually came out to Godfrey when everythin’ was exposed? An’ I didn’t feel an ounce of shame. Nothin’. I’m…okay with who I am. I’m even writin’ again."
"You didn’t tell me specifically, but it wasn’t hard to tell," Kate said softly. She reached for the remote and paused the television—they could pick it up later outside broadcast, the machine would still record. “And that’s really great, Guy. I saw the ring footage, but…I’m really glad you’re okay with it. Okay with being that person."
"So am I. I feel free, at the risk of soundin’ all hippie-dippy about it. I feel…good, that Godfrey shit notwithstandin’. I think when Ion replaced my memories, it…fixed a lot of other stuff, too. I kinda regret I didn’t get the chance to show Ollie the new, improved me…" He smiles at her, “But hey, I get to show you, an’ Kyle, an’ all the other people who matter to me."
"You never know. You might get the chance with Ollie," Kate said, smiling a little tightly because she honestly didn’t know. She just hoped it would get resolved. And hoped the slight flare of pleasure at being someone who mattered would ebb fairly quickly before she blushed. Fortunately, it did, and she leaned in again (and there went her shirt) to playfully poke at his chest. “So what have you been writing? Come on, inquiring minds want to know."
He blushed a little, only in part to her gaping shirt. "Well…poetry, if ya must know. Little things to get me warmed up again. Haiku, quatrains, a little freestyle. Nothin’ I feel is ready for a beat poetry night or nothin’, it’s still way too literal…but I can show ya, if ya want?"
Kate straightened up, pulling her hair back a little and nodding firmly. “Sure, if you’re up for it, I’d be happy to read, caro. Promise not to be too judgy even."
"Ah, you can be judgy. I know it ain’t my best. Think of it like Kyle’s roughest sketches compared to his finished work…" He got up and opened a drawer in the desk, retrieving a hardcover journal-style notebook with lined paper, and handed it to her.
"Even sketches are better than what I can do." Kate took the notebook and slowly flicked through it, scanning lines and processing them. After a few minutes, she said, “You know, Guy, this isn’t half bad. You need to keep doing it, you’ll get even better. If that’s what you want to do, publicly, I mean."
"Well, I dunno about publicly…but I like doin’ it for me. I enjoy it. An’ I do want to get better." He was smiling softly. "Thanks, Kate. I like sharin’ this with you. Kyle’s awesome, but his overenthusiasm can be a little hard to take for somethin’ like this."
"I could do the whole constructive criticism thing if you wanted, but at a quick read? In brief, I like them." Kate had spotted one with her name, true, and she didn’t know what to think about it, didn’t know if she could stand to break it down right now without doing something stupid. “Yeah, I hear you about Kyle, He’s such a sweetheart…but maybe too damn nice about stuff."
"Well…too nice, sometimes yeah. He means well. The best, even. Y’know how you can always tell when he’s self-censoring? He does that thing where his mouth opens just a little and his eyes flick back and forth a bit? THAT. Or he just gets way more excited about something than I feel, an’ I don’t know what to do, then," he laughed, enjoying being able to talk about their mutual friend, and not unkindly.
"Here…can I show you one of my favourites?" He flipped to near the start of the book, to a freestyle about Kyle, and how he kept him grounded, and was such a generous friend.
Kate nodded, settling back into the sofa cushions and taking the book back so she could read more closely. Eventually, she smiled brightly, could feel Guy’s eyes on her as she read. “Oh yeah," she said, as she finished, “That’s pretty much Kyle, I’ll totally get behind that. The chico gives almost too much, tries almost too damn hard to make people happy…"
Guy was indeed watching her, but he only registered half of what she said. It wasn’t until she had stopped speaking and was staring back at him that he realized he /was/ staring. "Oh, ah…sorry. I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to stare…" He rubbed the back of his neck, “There was somethin’ I wanted to tell you. I think…I’m gettin’ over that fallin’ out between me an’ Ollie. I’ve started just acceptin’ it, an’ his decision that him an’ me are done as friends. So…that said, I’d like it if we could go ahead with the new bar, you an’ me, an’ be partners." He smiled, “You were right. Ollie doesn’t own you. An’ he doesn’t own me, either."
Kate lifted one eyebrow a little at him, and maybe that was a smile playing across her lips. “Good," she said, and the expression did turn to a smile. “And yeah, that’d be great, I’d like that too, seeing as you’re interested. I think we can do a damn good job, Guy, between you and me."
"I think so too, Sweetheart. Maybe…we can rebuild other things too, given a little time an’ interest…"
The smile on Kate’s face was just a little coy. “Maybe we can, depending on circumstances, yeah." She saluted him with her pint glass and took a sip of the remaining (though now rapidly warming) beer.
"More pizza?" he asked, helping himself to more capicola and mushroom.
"Please," Kate said, snapping out of it, past it, and moving over to grab a slice of the burger pizza. “Did you want me to hit play again?"
"Sure, Sweetheart," he nodded, refilling her beer for her. As he finished with food and drink handling, he settled back on the couch with her, arm behind her, feeling very at ease and comfortable, like he would with Kyle or Stephanie. “Y’know…this is nice. I’m glad we did this Kate."
"Likewise," Kate agreed, shifting a little and finally settling into a comfortable position with her head against his wrist, legs kicked out and crossed at the ankle as she pressed play once more. “Entirely, Guy."
His fingers curled up, their tips playing with her hair a little, as they watched The Doctor save the universe once again.