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thejusticelounge2013-07-04 09:19 am
bossymarmalade) wrote in thejusticelounge2013-07-04 09:19 am
Entry tags:
cafe la
Steph fidgeted, hiding a bashful smile as she tucked some hair behind her ear. And just like that, Kyle Rayner had disarmed her drama bomb with nothing but a smile and some sweets.
“I”m that obvious, huh?” she laughed, cheeks feeling warm as she looked back up across from him.
“I kissed Bai,” she said, unembarrassed, mostly giddy. “We were hanging out in this playground by my place and she brought ice cream and we were talking and then we were in the grass and I just-” She grinned, taking a sip from her cup.
“I don’t know what we’re doing honestly, but I really like her.”
"You? And Bai? Bai Allen? That annoying little…" Kyle watched as Steph’s large blue eyes got even larger. "…cute, gender-spectrumed time traveler Bai Allen? That one?"
Kyle was able to see things a bit more clearly as the waitperson came with his coffee, and asking about their order. As Kyle distractedly ordered his spinach, egg and emmenthal crepe, he got some time to think about what Steph was saying. The sun glinted off the metal band around his finger, and he saw clearly indeed.
He was being a big-time ginormous stupid-head hypocrite.
By the time the waitperson buttled off, he was grinning at her, and genuinely so. He reached over and lightly pinched the skin of her wrist, in a teasing, affectionate way. "Steph you little scamp. Is there anyone on this earth that you can’t charm?"
There was a mild rush of dread and panic at Kyle’s initial reaction, and Steph’s stomach sank to her toes. Was dating Bai a bad idea? Was telling Kyle a bad idea? Was Steph screwing things up again? Kyle probably had no idea just how much she had come to respect and trust him, and just how much weight his opinion carried with her. He was arguably her best friend, so if he didn’t like who she dated …
But the waitperson came by and took their orders (Steph got a chocolate-banana crepe with a side of peach yogurt) and Kyle’s whole demeanor shifted. He had the kind of creases in his brow that meant he was mulling something over very seriously, his mouth pouting slightly, a far off look in his eyes. But he meat her gaze with what seemed a genuine smile and she mirrored it, relief settling in and the momentary existential crises abated.
“Shut up, jerk,” she laughed, batting his hand away playfully, though she ended up lacing her fingers with his atop the table, absently tracing barely there freckles and callouses along that warm hand. “I didn’t plan on kissing her, and I’m not gay, but I’m not bi either, but it happened and I like her and I want to see where it goes and I’d really like your support,” she rambled in one breath.
Her returning touch was soothing; not in the way Kate could calm him but more in a mutual sort of understanding between them. After taking a long couple of gulps of the hot coffee, he tugged off his sunglasses. He wanted to see her and make sure she saw him back.
Steph’s fingers and nonsense patterns were soothing, but her words were like an epiphany. Kyle wanted to immediately shout, “I FEEL THAT WAY TOO," despite being a freaking year into a relationship with a dude and with the ring and everything they’d been through - but this wasn’t about him. Still, to know Steph was having these thoughts he’d been rolling over in his mind for a year now (and maybe hadn’t even realized? or perhaps just ignored) was a little bit of a revelation. It was easy to just accept stuff in others, but when it came to yourself…
"You’ll have my unconditional support and…not just support but also you know. If you wanna talk about stuff, or sorting your feelings out, I mean. I get that it can be really…new. But exciting! But new. And exciting! Right?"
As painfully cliche as Steph fully recognized that it was, when she saw Kyle’s hazel eyes, she knew he was sincere when he said he’d be supportive. She was fresh out of a rough break up and still a little emotionally raw from the lack of closure she’d had. She’d been more vulnerable lately than she would ever admit for various reasons, but mostly because the sting of Jason’s rejection had hit her so hard. Steph had truly believed he’d loved her back, and she had opened up to him 100%. So maybe she was rushing back into a relationship, but it was only because it felt right and she hadn’t seen a point in moping any longer.
“Yeah, yeah,” she agreed, nodding eagerly. She was glad beyond articulation that Kyle understood on some level. “And you know I’ll always return the favor.” Something clicked with her after kissing Bai, and she hadn’t said it out loud since she’d felt it, but Steph needed to bounce the idea off of someone, and she trusted Kyle not to judge her for it. “I know how this sounds, but I think one of the reasons I want to try this with Bai is because guys keep letting me down,” she said in a softer voice.
“I mean, they say when something goes wrong, you have to change something to fix it, and I think maybe this is me trying to fix my craptastic love life? Don’t get me wrong, I really really do like her, but I think a part of me is also in this because I don’t think I can handle being let down by another man in my life right now, you know?” She shot Kyle a wry smile, rolling her eyes at herself. “Geez, I’m melodramatic today. Mi scuze. Tell me about what’s new with you. How’s the weather in Kyle Land?”
Kyle nodded. “I understand, and it doesn’t sound bad at all." He paused for a beat, gathering his thoughts for his clarification. “Not that my previous girlfriends let me down, just the opposite…" He smiled a bit, a tinge of regret. “But I know first-hand how much dudes can be a major let-down; god knows I was to my girlfriends, and…" Jesus, it sounded so stupid, saying this. So utterly wrong and over-simplified, when really this whole double-your-chances relationship tactic was layered beyond even his own comprehension. No one explained it to him other than to assure him everything was fine and normal; but was wasn’t completely fine, not to him. Not until he’d understood everything about why. He had to figure it out for himself. He had to make it work. Make something work.
So Kyle could get what Steph was trying to say. For Steph, this was just one part of an entire, greater reasons and thoughts behind the decision to try things out with Bai.
"It doesn’t sound bad because you’re right - it is all new and your reasons make sense, hermanita. You’ve always been so…self-aware, haha. It took me a while to figure that out myself, but you’re already going into your thing with Bai, eyes wide open."
He wiggled her arms, separating only when their crepes arrived, both accompanied by a veritable mountain of fruit. "Bats are all about the melodrama - and on you it looks good," he joked, grabbing his utensils and digging in. “Kyle Land is clement and mild, with sunny periods and morning fog. Oh! I have a job interview later today. In San Francisco. You’re now my official pre-interview pep talker."
“You sure you don’t want to be a guidance counselor, hermano? I’m starting to feel pretty well adjusted now, not going to lie,” she joked, wrinkling her nose. She felt a little bad inadvertently bringing up Kyle’s past guilt, but she was mostly glad that at least he got what she was scrambling to put into coherent words. At least Kyle got why she had been so off lately, and could empathize, even a little. Steph thanked the waitperson and dug into her crepes.
Food was a language that spoke volumes to her; She’d always been an emotional eater, so sharing a victory fruit salad with Kyle seemed pretty darn great then and there. She quirked a brow curiously and paused between two big bites of chocolately-crepey-heavenly-angel-choir-goodness. “You’ve got another job interview?” she parroted back, and a bright smile sprang up from her. “That’s great! Who’s the job with? Is this one really special or something?” She gave him a cheesy thumbs up for emphasis. “You’ve totally got this. No way they can resist your baby face, hon.”
"Oh shut up, you’re just really good to me, that’s all." Kyle batted at her hand with a piece of cantaloupe, as she mock-yowled in protest, sounding just like one of her cats. He did mean it though, he loved that him and Steph were friends, and growing closer all the time.
He took a small plate that was sitting at the side of their table and forked over a taste of his crepe, happy when she followed suit. She always made the best ‘food orgasm’ faces whenever they went out to eat; one day he’d make sure to tell her, just to see her get all defiantly red-faced embarrassed. He really did think that this was what having a little sister would be about - endless teasing her, and vice versa.
He told her about the fashion design company in San Francisco, shaking his head in response to her question. “Nothing special for anyone, they were just hiring, looking for a sketch artist and so I figured why not. San Fran is cool and I’m happy to stay on the West Coast - no offense, Gothamite." he chuckled, finsihing up his crepe quickly. He was more hungry than he thought. “It’s gonna be great, gracias, chiquita. And what about you? School over this semester? I know you were totally on a stress-train over exams and stuff. You should take it easy, you know. Work a bit, but not too much. Enjoy some summer and all that."
Steph made a face at Kyle, sticking her tongue out at him childishly and snagging a piece of fruit from his plate for good measure (never mind that there was a whole bowl of it between them). It was just their constant push and pull of playfulness. It was a comforting constant to have, she mused, finishing her crepe quickly.
Listing to Kyle talk about the job offer in San Francisco, she couldn’t help but feel a little proud of him. It’s not like Kyle wanted to be a fashion designer, but his work had really picked up in the past year. It was dizzying to think that it had already been a year, watching him grow up like this (despite being younger than him). “That’s awesome, hermano! Look at you achieving your dreams! Think you’ll take Milan and Paris by storm with your Lantern inspired gowns?” she joked, winking.
“Yeah! School is out and my grades come out in another week or two. Finals weren’t so bad, but Chemistry is iffy,” she admitted, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “I plan on taking a week off work and focusing on patrol and hanging out with people come June, actually. Think Bai and I could swing by your swanky love shack, beach snob?” she said, ribbing him.
Kyle choked on his coffee, laughing. “As if I could design anything to do with fashion. Have you seen my clothes?" Kyle motioned to his ratty t-shirt and paint-stained jeans. “No, I get to do the polished up sketches that the designers come up with, ummm…I guess it’s kind of like technical drawing." Kyle saw the polite but slightly blank look on Steph’s face and he tried to quickly elaborate.
"You know how in your biology books there’s those cool illustrations depicting, like, hearts and brains and organs and stuff? Or like the how-to drawings in DIY stuff? Technical drawings, like that. But for…I dunno, whatever women wear. Dresses…" He looked at her again and added hastily. “And pants! And shirts. It’s not rocket science, but it’ll pay the bills and I get to draw. I’m happy."
He finished up, paying the bill before she got a chance. She was tricksy like that, and Kyle was now making a game to see who could pay the fastest. With her, it was fun. "All you have to do is convince yourself that you got a ‘D’ in chem. Then whatever grade you get back’ll be a pleasant surprise! And I think it’d be great if you and Bai could visit Coast City, yeah! You ever hitched a ride with a speedster? It’s…it’ll take your breath away…" Kyle elbowed her, teasingly, putting a cheeky spin on it. “Aw yeah Steph and Bai."
“I”m that obvious, huh?” she laughed, cheeks feeling warm as she looked back up across from him.
“I kissed Bai,” she said, unembarrassed, mostly giddy. “We were hanging out in this playground by my place and she brought ice cream and we were talking and then we were in the grass and I just-” She grinned, taking a sip from her cup.
“I don’t know what we’re doing honestly, but I really like her.”
"You? And Bai? Bai Allen? That annoying little…" Kyle watched as Steph’s large blue eyes got even larger. "…cute, gender-spectrumed time traveler Bai Allen? That one?"
Kyle was able to see things a bit more clearly as the waitperson came with his coffee, and asking about their order. As Kyle distractedly ordered his spinach, egg and emmenthal crepe, he got some time to think about what Steph was saying. The sun glinted off the metal band around his finger, and he saw clearly indeed.
He was being a big-time ginormous stupid-head hypocrite.
By the time the waitperson buttled off, he was grinning at her, and genuinely so. He reached over and lightly pinched the skin of her wrist, in a teasing, affectionate way. "Steph you little scamp. Is there anyone on this earth that you can’t charm?"
There was a mild rush of dread and panic at Kyle’s initial reaction, and Steph’s stomach sank to her toes. Was dating Bai a bad idea? Was telling Kyle a bad idea? Was Steph screwing things up again? Kyle probably had no idea just how much she had come to respect and trust him, and just how much weight his opinion carried with her. He was arguably her best friend, so if he didn’t like who she dated …
But the waitperson came by and took their orders (Steph got a chocolate-banana crepe with a side of peach yogurt) and Kyle’s whole demeanor shifted. He had the kind of creases in his brow that meant he was mulling something over very seriously, his mouth pouting slightly, a far off look in his eyes. But he meat her gaze with what seemed a genuine smile and she mirrored it, relief settling in and the momentary existential crises abated.
“Shut up, jerk,” she laughed, batting his hand away playfully, though she ended up lacing her fingers with his atop the table, absently tracing barely there freckles and callouses along that warm hand. “I didn’t plan on kissing her, and I’m not gay, but I’m not bi either, but it happened and I like her and I want to see where it goes and I’d really like your support,” she rambled in one breath.
Her returning touch was soothing; not in the way Kate could calm him but more in a mutual sort of understanding between them. After taking a long couple of gulps of the hot coffee, he tugged off his sunglasses. He wanted to see her and make sure she saw him back.
Steph’s fingers and nonsense patterns were soothing, but her words were like an epiphany. Kyle wanted to immediately shout, “I FEEL THAT WAY TOO," despite being a freaking year into a relationship with a dude and with the ring and everything they’d been through - but this wasn’t about him. Still, to know Steph was having these thoughts he’d been rolling over in his mind for a year now (and maybe hadn’t even realized? or perhaps just ignored) was a little bit of a revelation. It was easy to just accept stuff in others, but when it came to yourself…
"You’ll have my unconditional support and…not just support but also you know. If you wanna talk about stuff, or sorting your feelings out, I mean. I get that it can be really…new. But exciting! But new. And exciting! Right?"
As painfully cliche as Steph fully recognized that it was, when she saw Kyle’s hazel eyes, she knew he was sincere when he said he’d be supportive. She was fresh out of a rough break up and still a little emotionally raw from the lack of closure she’d had. She’d been more vulnerable lately than she would ever admit for various reasons, but mostly because the sting of Jason’s rejection had hit her so hard. Steph had truly believed he’d loved her back, and she had opened up to him 100%. So maybe she was rushing back into a relationship, but it was only because it felt right and she hadn’t seen a point in moping any longer.
“Yeah, yeah,” she agreed, nodding eagerly. She was glad beyond articulation that Kyle understood on some level. “And you know I’ll always return the favor.” Something clicked with her after kissing Bai, and she hadn’t said it out loud since she’d felt it, but Steph needed to bounce the idea off of someone, and she trusted Kyle not to judge her for it. “I know how this sounds, but I think one of the reasons I want to try this with Bai is because guys keep letting me down,” she said in a softer voice.
“I mean, they say when something goes wrong, you have to change something to fix it, and I think maybe this is me trying to fix my craptastic love life? Don’t get me wrong, I really really do like her, but I think a part of me is also in this because I don’t think I can handle being let down by another man in my life right now, you know?” She shot Kyle a wry smile, rolling her eyes at herself. “Geez, I’m melodramatic today. Mi scuze. Tell me about what’s new with you. How’s the weather in Kyle Land?”
Kyle nodded. “I understand, and it doesn’t sound bad at all." He paused for a beat, gathering his thoughts for his clarification. “Not that my previous girlfriends let me down, just the opposite…" He smiled a bit, a tinge of regret. “But I know first-hand how much dudes can be a major let-down; god knows I was to my girlfriends, and…" Jesus, it sounded so stupid, saying this. So utterly wrong and over-simplified, when really this whole double-your-chances relationship tactic was layered beyond even his own comprehension. No one explained it to him other than to assure him everything was fine and normal; but was wasn’t completely fine, not to him. Not until he’d understood everything about why. He had to figure it out for himself. He had to make it work. Make something work.
So Kyle could get what Steph was trying to say. For Steph, this was just one part of an entire, greater reasons and thoughts behind the decision to try things out with Bai.
"It doesn’t sound bad because you’re right - it is all new and your reasons make sense, hermanita. You’ve always been so…self-aware, haha. It took me a while to figure that out myself, but you’re already going into your thing with Bai, eyes wide open."
He wiggled her arms, separating only when their crepes arrived, both accompanied by a veritable mountain of fruit. "Bats are all about the melodrama - and on you it looks good," he joked, grabbing his utensils and digging in. “Kyle Land is clement and mild, with sunny periods and morning fog. Oh! I have a job interview later today. In San Francisco. You’re now my official pre-interview pep talker."
“You sure you don’t want to be a guidance counselor, hermano? I’m starting to feel pretty well adjusted now, not going to lie,” she joked, wrinkling her nose. She felt a little bad inadvertently bringing up Kyle’s past guilt, but she was mostly glad that at least he got what she was scrambling to put into coherent words. At least Kyle got why she had been so off lately, and could empathize, even a little. Steph thanked the waitperson and dug into her crepes.
Food was a language that spoke volumes to her; She’d always been an emotional eater, so sharing a victory fruit salad with Kyle seemed pretty darn great then and there. She quirked a brow curiously and paused between two big bites of chocolately-crepey-heavenly-angel-choir-goodness. “You’ve got another job interview?” she parroted back, and a bright smile sprang up from her. “That’s great! Who’s the job with? Is this one really special or something?” She gave him a cheesy thumbs up for emphasis. “You’ve totally got this. No way they can resist your baby face, hon.”
"Oh shut up, you’re just really good to me, that’s all." Kyle batted at her hand with a piece of cantaloupe, as she mock-yowled in protest, sounding just like one of her cats. He did mean it though, he loved that him and Steph were friends, and growing closer all the time.
He took a small plate that was sitting at the side of their table and forked over a taste of his crepe, happy when she followed suit. She always made the best ‘food orgasm’ faces whenever they went out to eat; one day he’d make sure to tell her, just to see her get all defiantly red-faced embarrassed. He really did think that this was what having a little sister would be about - endless teasing her, and vice versa.
He told her about the fashion design company in San Francisco, shaking his head in response to her question. “Nothing special for anyone, they were just hiring, looking for a sketch artist and so I figured why not. San Fran is cool and I’m happy to stay on the West Coast - no offense, Gothamite." he chuckled, finsihing up his crepe quickly. He was more hungry than he thought. “It’s gonna be great, gracias, chiquita. And what about you? School over this semester? I know you were totally on a stress-train over exams and stuff. You should take it easy, you know. Work a bit, but not too much. Enjoy some summer and all that."
Steph made a face at Kyle, sticking her tongue out at him childishly and snagging a piece of fruit from his plate for good measure (never mind that there was a whole bowl of it between them). It was just their constant push and pull of playfulness. It was a comforting constant to have, she mused, finishing her crepe quickly.
Listing to Kyle talk about the job offer in San Francisco, she couldn’t help but feel a little proud of him. It’s not like Kyle wanted to be a fashion designer, but his work had really picked up in the past year. It was dizzying to think that it had already been a year, watching him grow up like this (despite being younger than him). “That’s awesome, hermano! Look at you achieving your dreams! Think you’ll take Milan and Paris by storm with your Lantern inspired gowns?” she joked, winking.
“Yeah! School is out and my grades come out in another week or two. Finals weren’t so bad, but Chemistry is iffy,” she admitted, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “I plan on taking a week off work and focusing on patrol and hanging out with people come June, actually. Think Bai and I could swing by your swanky love shack, beach snob?” she said, ribbing him.
Kyle choked on his coffee, laughing. “As if I could design anything to do with fashion. Have you seen my clothes?" Kyle motioned to his ratty t-shirt and paint-stained jeans. “No, I get to do the polished up sketches that the designers come up with, ummm…I guess it’s kind of like technical drawing." Kyle saw the polite but slightly blank look on Steph’s face and he tried to quickly elaborate.
"You know how in your biology books there’s those cool illustrations depicting, like, hearts and brains and organs and stuff? Or like the how-to drawings in DIY stuff? Technical drawings, like that. But for…I dunno, whatever women wear. Dresses…" He looked at her again and added hastily. “And pants! And shirts. It’s not rocket science, but it’ll pay the bills and I get to draw. I’m happy."
He finished up, paying the bill before she got a chance. She was tricksy like that, and Kyle was now making a game to see who could pay the fastest. With her, it was fun. "All you have to do is convince yourself that you got a ‘D’ in chem. Then whatever grade you get back’ll be a pleasant surprise! And I think it’d be great if you and Bai could visit Coast City, yeah! You ever hitched a ride with a speedster? It’s…it’ll take your breath away…" Kyle elbowed her, teasingly, putting a cheeky spin on it. “Aw yeah Steph and Bai."