A constellation of tears on your lashes

[shotup]

WHO: Roy Harper & Laura Kinney
WHERE: Dallas BBQ Restaurant
WHEN: Friday night
WARNINGS: Discussion of non-con/abuse.
SUMMARY: Roy takes Laura on an ill-planned date and talking happens.
FORMAT: Tagger's choice.

Their brief encounter at the auction left Roy with more questions than answers about Laura, though one thing seemed certain: she didn't at all strike him as the roller rink type. It took a little thought, but he'd come up with the barbecue place as an alternative, figuring that there would be good food and tasty frozen drinks, and if they decided to go elsewhere after dinner, it would be a fine preamble.

He'd arranged to pick her up at 8pm and had arrived casually dressed in jeans and a plain red teeshirt. He seemed laid back, much like the establishment. It was busy, but not overwhelming, with the smokey scent of babyback ribs wafting through the air and the laughter of college kids tipsy off daiquiris filling the room. It was fun, and Roy sincerely hoped it would translate to his evening with Laura.

"You gotta try this one drink they've got," he said, pointing to the list of frozen options on the menu.  "It's called Miami Vice.  It tastes like how being on a vacation feels."

Comments

[girlverine]

She had expected him to push, everyone was always curious, so when he didn't she was relieved...if a tad puzzled. But she could work with that, and she took another moment to sip her drink before she answered.

"Mostly reality television. Or dramas. Whatever Jessica wishes to watch," Laura didn't care. Unless she missed an episode. Which no one would ever know. "Jessica is my roommate, and Jason is her boyfriend. Although he is in prison at the moment, so she has mostly been at home." Or moping.

[shotup]

"Is your roommate dating Jason Todd?" Roy finally blurted out, a look somewhere between baffled and horrified on his face. He wasn't judging. Well, he wasn't judging Laura at least. Though it did sort of raise questions about who she surrounded herself with.

"I don't watch a lot of TV," he added quickly a moment later. "Just, you know, regular stuff. Sports, most often. I like to have it on in the background when I'm working."

[girlverine]

Laura would have laughed if she...ever did that. Instead she just nodded and sighed slightly. "Yes." Despite her better attempts at making it not happen. "For a while now."

"I prefer to watch the news, if I have the television on at all," which she didn't, really, unless Jessica was home or she was in one of those occasional funks she got where she would lay around doing nothing.

[shotup]

"Eh, it's background noise," he nodded in agreement, still trying to think through how Jason managed to find himself a girl crazy enough to date him. "But you mentioned you like books, too."

[girlverine]

She just nodded. "Yes. They're...relaxing," she wasn't entirely picky about what she'd read. She'd even been forced to read a terrible vampire book by Jessica. "Mostly fiction," she added after a moment's thought. "Or history books."

Or war books, but she wasn't going to bring that up.

"What do you do?" And now to get the topic off herself. Somehow.

[shotup]

"Me?" Roy smiled, happy to have her attention on him. "I work on cars and computers, and lucky for me, I get paid to do it here. And I play music, but that's just for fun."

Of course, that was leaving out the most important hobbies of his life, shooting arrows and shooting guns. But truthfully he hadn't been doing much of that lately, in favor of playing the part of Kato to Tony Stark's Britt Reid. Roy missed shooting though. It was a part of himself, as natural to him as walking was to other people, and he longed to get back into the habit.

[girlverine]

"I've never tried to do any of those things," though she could use a computer, she had basic hacking skills from the Facility.

"Do you fight?" It was bound to come up eventually, right?

[shotup]

A sly smirk tugged at his lips and he inflated a bit. "Hell yeah, I do. I've been working the hero beat since I was thirteen years old."

When he spoke, there was a distinct sense of pride in his voice, and while Roy could certainly brag about his achievements, he didn't quite stray into that territory. After all, Laura owned a dojo and apparently enjoyed kicking people's asses on the regular. He wanted to impress her, not goad her into a demonstration that would result with him having his ass handed to him.

[girlverine]

"Hmm. I did not do so until I was fourteen," was her answer, although her heroing in new york had mostly been protecting other prostitutes. Which was one thing she preferred people not know, she wasn't even certain she had ever told Jessica.

"I would like to see you fight sometime," she added. There weren't many people who started that young, Laura wanted to see how it effected someone.

[shotup]

"Yeah?" He raised an eyebrow, smirk twisting just a little. "Anytime you want, Laura. I'd never turn down a chance to show off."

And he wouldn't go easy on her, either. If she was a clone of a man who would withstand a nuke, she could probably handle a fight against an average baseline human.

"But if you use your claws, it's only fair that I can bring my bow."

[girlverine]

"You may use whatever weapons you wish," she said, and she meant it. Laura was nothing if not confident, and it wasn't even overconfidence, not when you had her background and her training and her abilities.

"If you like, I will not use my claws regardless. I would not wish to permanently injure you."

[shotup]

"I'm not too worried about that," he said cooly, taking a chunk of the cornbread the waitress had brought to their table. "I got a little something like what you got."

[girlverine]

"Hmm," a thoughtful pause as she considered him, her head tilted slightly to the side, her green eyes narrowed.

"We shall just have to see how it goes, then." Assuming the date went well enough that either of them wished to speak to the other afterwards.

[shotup]

Roy decided he liked the sound of this, almost as much as he liked the idea of testing himself against Laura. He liked sparring almost as much as he liked being the best at everything, and he didn't mind her for company, even though she was a lot less talkative than he was.

"So, where are you from, originally? Me, I'm from out west. I grew up in Arizona, on the Navajo reservation, actually." He shook his head, wondering if that land is much different here than back home. "But I bounce around a lot. Star City, Metropolis, New York, I get around."

[girlverine]

Another question about herself. She supposed it was inevitable, but it still left her without much in the way of an out. "I was raised in a laboratory," she finally answered. "My mother helped me escape when I was fourteen. I lived in New York and California after that, until I was brought here. That was almost two years ago."

[shotup]

"Yikes." He felt like an ass for even asking. Really, he ought to have gotten the hint that maybe it was a sore subject, the way she'd been quiet before. Maybe though, the present would be a better topic than the past. "Sounds rough. But you've been here a long time. How's the City treated you?"

[girlverine]

Laura was quiet at that question, not upset, just...thinking about it.

"I like it here," she finally said, smiling faintly into her drink. "This was a second chance, I believe I have..." She wasn't quite certain what she had managed, but it did not feel like failure.

"I would not wish to return to my old world, if the option arose."

[shotup]

He looked a little surprised by that. Sure, the City wasn't the worst place imaginable, but in spite of all the distractions, all Roy ever dreamt about was going home and holding Lian again.

"But what about your friends and family? Your mom? I bet she misses you. Or would, whatever. However time works."

[girlverine]

She just shrugged. "My mother is dead. I don't have any family," except, maybe, wolverine and daken but that was such a mess. "Some of my friends are here, and I have made others."

And she wasn't really certain how many of the X-men back home were even her friends, at this point. Man her life was crummy.

[shotup]

"Oh," Roy coughed out, a little sheepish. Man, he was just striking out with every conversational angle here. As someone who has never had a problem striking up friendly conversations with anyone (especially women) he was starting to now feel like his silver tongue had left him completely.

"I'd go back," he finally said, lamely. "I have a daughter. It sucks being without her."

[girlverine]

Well in Roy's defense, Laura's life was basically awful.

"I believe most people would return, if given the choice," she agreed with a faint nod of her head. "I am just not one of them."

[shotup]

"That second chance must mean a lot to you."

He could get behind that idea, even if his love for Lian superseded that entirely. He'd had his own second chance, he knew the importance of that feeling.

"Let's get out of here." He said, pushing the cornbread aside. "Do you dance, Laura? I want to take you dancing."

[girlverine]

Laura was honestly a bit startled at that sudden change, but after a moment of thinking it over she nodded, setting her half finished drink down as she stood as well. She smoothed her skirt as a way to buy a moment, considering what he had asked and trying to decide what to say.

"I know how," she finally said, looking up at him. "Jessica goes sometimes." She hesitated. "I would not mind going dancing." It was as close to a yes as he'd get, probably.

[shotup]

Roy smiled, pulling out enough cash from his wallet to cover their bill and tip the waitress nicely, then leading the way toward the door, holding it for Laura. The air outside seemed refreshing and cool, a nice breeze coming in from the east.

"I'm gonna warn you, I'm actually a terrible dancer." That was a bit of a lie, he was actually very well coordinated, but he figured it might help put her at ease. "So if I step on your feet or something, I apologize in advance."

[girlverine]

Laura tugged her jacket off the back of her chair as he paid, and pulled the leather garment over her arms as she stepped outside of the restaurant, drawing in a breath of the cool air. "Thank you," she said when he held the door.

"I was professionally trained to dance," sort of. It wasn't really the same kind of dancing, but what she had been taught by the Facility was certainly still applicable. "But I will overlook your mistakes."