driftfleet | may mingle (blameless!)

[ oh my freaking god, hank. here she was, prepping this awesome speech about how worried kate was about pissing kara off 'cause kara's got lots of friends who'd certainly go to great lengths for her -- y'know, to really rub threat-salt in the fault-wound. but then he goes and just 'fesses up like some kind of decent human being.

she could vomit, really. ]

You talked. [ kate exhales. ] Just...talked?

[ ok, new plan. ]

Talked. [he confirms, nodding. He even winces a little before he continues, because - Kate's a friend, but she was Kara's friend first and he gets that she's mad on Kara's behalf. So he'll be . . . more forthcoming. A little more, anyway]

About - ah, I guess you could . . . call her my ex-girlfriend. But she - isn't really an ex. And - she's here now.

An ex who isn't really an ex. [ nah, this ain't flying. ] I get that she's here. No one's gonna blame you for that -- but the nomenclature is getting pretty futzing confusing. Is she an ex or is she not?

[you want him to put his relationship in real words? Oh god Kate this is worst than death]

It's complicated? [he winces and puts up both his hands defensively] Look - whatever she is, I still - have feelings for her, and it wouldn't have been fair to Kara. So I talked to her, and said I wanted to just - be friends. I didn't want to hurt her, even though I - think I probably did regardless.

[ the blade doesn't stop dancing. ]

Great. Sure. But the million dollar question is...if it was gonna be so unfair to Kara, why didn't you speak up sooner? You realize how it looks, right? Piping up only once the not-ex arrives.

I was going to. [he looks a little confused] It's - that is tied in with everything that we've dealt with back home. I was going to tell Kara about all of it, eventually.

It - isn't exactly easy talking about any of that in general, though, let alone . . . relationships you don't know how to describe.

Oh, I know it's not easy. [ kate lifts her chin. ] Doesn't make it a good excuse. If you had someone you were still hung up on, Hank, you should have made that clear earlier. You do realize she'd been flirting with you, right?

That's why that conversation even happened. I'm not - the best at this, but I'm not completely oblivious. It wasn't as though I wasn't - trying to flirt back, either.

[he lifts a hand to rub at his face] I should have told her sooner, though, you're right. I don't usually - [and he gestures with the same hand] - date, period. Or - let things go in that direction.

You figure out how you're gonna apologize yet?

Give her time and then get that ice cream I promised her done?

Can I offer some advice? Save the ice cream for the post-reconciliation. There's nothing more disingenuous than an apology that comes with perks. [ slowly, she unfolds her legs. kate hops down from the counter. ] Give her time, sure, but...then just say you're sorry.

Don't make the mistake of trying to sweeten the deal. Literally.

[bless you Kate and your good advice]

Right. Yeah, I'll - do that. [a pause, because - he really is taking this seriously] Should I . . . apologize in person or - over the devices?

That's a little murkier. Myself? I wouldn't turn my nose up at a text. But Kara? [ kate shrugs. ]

Be bold, Hank. Call her up and say you want to apologize -- and ask her if she wants to meet up, or if she'd rather keep some distance. Let her choose. Just...not yet.

[ not yet for sure. ]

[he lets out a sigh. Is he even capable of being bold? He has no idea]

Mm, I'll give her more time first. And then I'll - . . . call her. She deserves more than just a text.

And make your peace with the fact that you might not get to be as good of friends as you were before. [ kate crosses her arms, knife still dangling from her fingers. ] Kara's a great person. She's gonna try to make it work. But sometimes it just...doesn't work the way it used to.

That much I know. I don't expect her to try, and if she does - then it's more than I deserve.

[ a stiff nod, then: ]

This not-ex of yours must be really something.

She's . . . yeah. She's something.

[what an understatement]

I hope she's worth it. [ kate doesn't talk gently -- but she doesn't speak with a cruel edge, either. she's merely honest. ] I've been in Kara's shoes before. Kinda. Only the you to my me ended up regretting his choice, I think.

[ but that's because noh-varr chose, mid-battle, to dump kate for his own ex-girlfriend who turned out to be little more than a mirage. a vision. ]

[he appreciates her honesty; not a lot of people will tell him things straight] I hope he did. I'm sorry - someone put you through that.

I keep saying it's complicated and - that's a cop out answer, I know, but - if she wasn't worth it we wouldn't be having this conversation.

...Tell me about her?

[ he's free to refuse. but maybe if he can begin to try and explain it to her, he can graduate to explaining it to kara. ]

Er.

[he probably should. He wants to]

We - uh, met when I was still with the CIA, eleven or so years ago? She's - Charles' adopted sister. After we met we sort of - bonded over wanting to be normal. [he rubs the back of his neck] And . . . then we had a relationship. She's, uh - she's the reason I'm blue. [he makes a gesture and lets his hand drop]

Describing what she's like is hard, since . . . she's changed a lot, but - once you get past what she's become, she's - one of the kindest people I know. But she's also very proud in what she is - she does things for mutants that Charles and I can't.

Her name is Raven. [he doesn't know if Kate is familiar with who that is, so -] You - might know her as Mystique.

[ y'know, she swallows all of this very well -- following each new sentence with a good temperament and lots of patience. right up until he says the name. not raven, but... ]

Mystique? [ oh, crap. all of kate's nonchalant tough'n'threatening act sorta...melts away. because mystique is someone she's never met (she doesn't think; but how could she know for certain?) but someone whose reputation is not unknown to her. she bets clint's gone toe-to-toe with her on more than one occasion, maybe. ]

Huh. I, uh, wouldn't have thought she was your type. Necessarily.

[ hank why can't you just settle on a nice non-villainous girl ok. ]

[she's not a villain in his world she's a hero!!

But he figured Kate knew her, or knew of her, considering everything they've talked about. His expression turns sheepish for a moment]

She's the reason I even have a type. [he didn't exactly grow up with crushes on girls or anything - all the girls were much older than him.

Then again - Raven is at least ten years older, too. Maybe he does have a type] You can say it - out of my league, etc, etc. [he desperately wants to lighten the conversation a little]

Really not what I'm taking about, Hank. [ her cheeks puff. kate even goes far enough as to set aside her theatinin' knife and instead perch her loosely formed fists on her hips. ] Where I come from, Mystique's...bad news. Usually.

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