capeandcowllogs | Take yourself out to the curb...

Take yourself out to the curb...

WHO: Raven

darkprophecies, Spider-Man (616)

bythreadalone
WHERE: A coffee house/bistro.
WHEN: An hour after their discussion via communicator.
WARNINGS: ~~The fangirls?~~ None.
SUMMARY: Raven takes Peter up on his offer of meeting him for coffee - many awkward feelings and discussions will most likely occur.
FORMAT: Quick para/Para

How was it that days that seemed so beautiful weather-wise ended up being so... shitty, for lack of a better term? There were no proper words to describe the chaos of the last week of Raven's life, and this only seemed to pile more atop of it. She wouldn't be one to complain about it, however. There were others with much worse weeks than an aching heart and confused emotions - she had to remember that.

She slowly stepped into the coffee shop, letting the aroma greet her before she glanced around. ... Mm, he wasn't here yet. That was a plus for her, as the butterflies in her stomach would have possibly urged her to teleport away and leave him sitting there, afraid to talk to him after the humiliation she was feeling. But he wanted to see her, for whatever reason.

Taking a table as far back as she could, she sat, and released a slow breath to ease her troubled mind. She had nothing to be nervous about, at least not this nervous. Despite it, the emotion was written all over her face as her eyes followed the few employees that strolled about.

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"There is nothing I can do." she sighed in frustration, slowly drawing her own hand back to her cup of coffee.

"He is not the same boy - he is... much younger." her face took on a different sort of emotion now, one that looked nearly hurt as the thought crossed her mind. "... he knows a different version of me, looks at me like I am a stranger."

He couldn't help the laugh that came out of him at her predicament. It wasn't long ago that he was dealing with the time paradox of his younger-self meeting his dimension's version of Mary Jane, after all.

Peter shook his head, still half-laughing at the entire situation. "If that's the case, then don't -- I think you shouldn't stress too much about it, really." he scratched the back of his neck, here. "At least one in every three people here meets someone they know from another time or world."

Her eyes lifted to him in a combination of surprise and insult at his laughter, however she spoke nothing of how she felt about it. It was soon soothed away anyway by just the sound of his laugh itself.

"I would not stress so much about it if he didn't seem so... keen on having conversations with me. It is... uncomfortable." she stared down at the coffee in front of her, furrowing her brow. "... I miss him, Peter. The one I left behind. I miss him so terribly..."

Ohgod. He couldn't deal with waterworks. Not today.

"Hey, now." he said, already reaching out to lay his hand atop of hers, the barest of touches. "There's no need for that, alright? He might be from a different time, or place, but there's no evidence that he's not the same person."

She released a soft sigh when he touched her hand - it helped, it really did.
"I apologize... I know I am far too emotional over this. It's just... for the longest time in my life I was unable to feel, unable to harness emotions properly. He came along and helped me to understand some of the more positive ones in my life."

She turned her hand to entwine their fingers briefly - a completely platonic motion at the time.
"I am fairly sure he is not the same - there are basic similarities here and there; his skin color, his powers, and some of his humor. But he acts completely different."

She gave pause again, looking down at their hands before glancing up with a gentle smile.
"... Thank you, Peter. Despite all of this going on between us, you're still willing to be supportive."

He shook his head, returning her smile. "You're welcome, Des. And I'm sure that just because he acts different doesn't mean that he's going to always be that way." Peter let go of her hand to gesture to himself, the look on his face purely sarcastic. "I mean, come on. I was a dork back in highschool, and look at me now!"

A pause. He'd wait for her to make a joke at that.

"George Clooney, I know." she laughed very softly.

However her laugh faded a bit as she propped her chin up into her hand. She felt much better about this entire situation. The feelings were still there - and they would most likely remain there for... a long time to come. But this... this she could make due with, and be happy.

"Do you... still hold faith that you will one day return home? I have heard rumors of those who are still here after a very long period of time."

"I was going to say: 'Superhero Extraordinair,' but that works too." he answered with a small laugh. "Though, you know, I don't have the hair to be Clooney yet. Maybe I need more stress in my life?"

A beat, and then. "Naaaaah."

Peter nodded in answer to her question. "It's a bit more complicated for some people than that, but, yeah. The trick of this place is that either we stay, or we go."

"You have a teenage daughter - it will come sooner than you think." she managed to laugh again before taking a long sip of her coffee, and nodding at his words.

"I see."
Setting the cup down she tucked some hair behind her ear before continuing herself, "I have already been asked by many if I would ever want to return. The truth is that I do not know for certain." she made a slight face, but more to herself than anyone else.
"I have begun to think that this is my second chance at life - the one I always desired to have in a way. I can make any impression that I desire here - I am not forced behind the terrible label that most put on me in my world."

Again, he nodded. "It's a common thought among a bunch of people here," he explained, reaching to his cup so that he could take another sip. "Once we get everything up and running again, though, I think it wouldn't be that bad of a place to stay, you know?"

"Sort of a home away from home."

"I've also met so many wonderful people here already." she paused a moment, smirking at him pointedly. She did not have to name names for him to get the idea. "Ones that I would have never met otherwise - ones that I would never want to forget or leave behind."

She stared out the window again at the people rushing around in their rush to return to their homes after a long day's work.
"I wish to have a normal life - I know that I would never be able to have that in my world. Cursed to be a hero forever. I wish to one day marry, raise a family... that may be possible here."

"Hey, just because you're a hero with a capital H doesn't mean you can't have a family, you know?"

Another fond smile.

"Things might get hectic, yeah, but trust me -- love always finds a way. It's got this annoying habit of sneaking up on you."

"I hope so. I tend to pick the... unavailable ones." she sighed gently - honestly not meaning to direct that at him, but it wasn't until she had already said it that she realized he may take it in such a regard. Her eyes lifted to him as she quickly corrected it, "I have a terrible track record with men being either emotionally unavailable, using me, or... with another woman already."
She lifted a hand to display two fingers.
"You would be the second in the 'with another woman' category. So do not feel too badly, you are in good company. The other happens to be a man I still hold in the highest regard and care for deeply."

Her eyes focused on the table momentarily, a strange look crossing her face, "I never did understand his love for her - but I cannot compare to a red-haired model I suppose."

He was going to give her the benefit of the doubt and not be offended by how she put herself down and made him feel even more self-conscious about marrying Mary Jane all in the same breath.

"Des..." he chided, rolling his eyes. "You are really going to end up believing these things if you keep saying them over and over again. Stop it."

"I have only ever admitted to that once." she glanced up, slightly offended. "That should not have offended you regardless, I was speaking about Kory. And that is the case with the man I last had this problem with - he seemed quite fascinated with her, and at times I wonder if it was not because of her looks that drove him to that."

She shrugged slightly before looking up at him, "You were kind enough to give me reasons why I would be worth having - he did not give me such a luxury - rather brushed me off as misunderstanding what true love really was."

He looked out the window, scratching the back of his neck again. "I never said that I was offended, just that I knew you enough to say that you actually saying that out loud means you've been thinking about it more times than you've admitted it."

He waited a beat. Hopefully, he hadn't put his foot in his mouth.

"I didn't meant to come off like I sounded."

"It was the emotions you were giving off..." she spoke gently, "However they may have been my own emotions, I am still not used to determining what are mine and what are those of others." she held an apologetic look in her eyes.

"It is hard not to think that way - the other girls of the team back in my world are extremely lovely to say the least. I seem to be the odd one out? It doesn't do well for one's self esteem one would imagine."

She quickly shook her head, snapping herself out of the thought. "My apologies, I am being ridiculous - I shouldn't be bothering you with these trivial thing."

"You're doing it again," he scolded, thumbing the side of the now cooling cup in his hands. Putting the thing aside, he leaned forward just enough to give her the impression that he was being serious.

"And by "doing it again," I mean that you're putting yourself down. Which is, I guess, your prerogative if you feel that way, yeah." he leaned back, and looked out the window, casting an arm over the back of the booth. "But, come on --" Even though treading dangerous waters was his specialty, he hoped he didn't sound too sincere about what he was going to say next. "--Do you think I honestly care if you look like a supermodel or not?"

A laugh. "_{I mean, you do, you know;} but I'm more into the part of your body you think with than anything else. Being pretty is just a bonus."

She had, for most of what he was saying, kept her eyes cast down on the table. Usually when she spoke badly about herself, others either agreed or ignored her - he was actually defending her in a way, like he cared. She felt oddly overwhelmed by that.

However it was at his quieter words that she perked slightly, her eyes lifting to his as she blushed.
" But no, I suppose I do not think that you care about that --- only that most men seem to prefer the body to the brains."

Peter shrugged. "Most men are pigs. Or aren't worth it."

He reached for her hand, his coffee not forgotten. "You're better off thinking positive, Raven. Life's way, way too short to have as many hang-ups as superheroes have."

Edited 2009-03-28 23:21 (UTC)

She managed a soft but lovely smile, squeezing his hand gently as she nodded at his words. "T-thank you. I know you are right, it can just be hard at times. If my new powers were strange enough, I have to deal with the hormones and emotions this body presents to me."

She watched him for a long moment, her mind obviously turning something over.
"... I think we'll be okay, Peter."

He couldn't help but smile. It was -- even hearing it aloud felt an electric thrill up his spine.

He'd hate to have to break her heart.

Another squeeze of her hand.

"I think so too, Des," and yet, he couldn't help slide in one last joke. "Unless you've got an evil step-sister plotting your downfall that I should know about," a beat, and then. "Or a crazy ex-boyfriend. Or father. Or family member. I've got really bad luck with all of those."

"Father." the word was spat out as if it was poison, and she made no effort to crack any emotion with it.

He paused, momentarily.

"Know that song and dance, too. Try not to worry so much."

"I do my best." sighing she looked down into her now empty coffee cup, drumming her fingers along the side of it slowly.

"We should do this more often, Peter - hanging out like this. I feel as if I can trust you, and confide in you without worrying about things. Like I can be myself..."

Take yourself out to the curb...

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