gunslingerpose | Baltimore, Late Monday Night

So it was the ass end of a long weekend, which Nikolai figured was going to be as good a time as any to hit up Baltimore to do his part to keep whatever peace there was to keep. And he'd done pretty well along his usual beat as Gorgon, catching a couple of break-and-enters. Hell, apparently he was starting to get a bit of a rep around the areas he frequented most, because one dumbass purse-snatcher outside of a bar actually pulled up short, gasped as he realized who had just stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of him, and then babbled an apology before shoving the purse at Nick and running off in the other direction.

Yeah, he was feeling pretty damn okay near the end of his beat, up a few tiers and burning off some excess energy by doing crazy parkour across the rooftops while he kept an eye on what was going on in alleyways below. He was no Banzai, no, at least not riding tier three the way he was, but what he lacked in crazy gymnastics, he made up for in strength and speed and, apparently, the ability to clear an entire rooftop in a single leap.

Sometimes he hated his powers, having to hide his eyes all the time, not being able to look at people without worrying about hurting them with his uncontrollable energy-vampire bullshit. And some days, like today, he wouldn't trade being Gorgon for anything.

[OOC: Open to anyone out in Baltimore that late at night!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

spin_kick_snap

Kathy thought about that for a good long time. On the one hand, cherished sounded great. Isn't that what every woman wanted? There was a Madonna song about it, even!

But at the same time...

"I'm not saying I'd turn it down or anything like that, but...I guess I feel like there needs to be more to it? Being cherished always sounds like there's a pedestal involved, or kid gloves. I don't want that. I'm finally in the thick of things and I love it. I don't want a prince to come and whisk me away. I want someone who is willing to fight with me, by my side, you know?" She snuck a glance at him while she said that. For, y'know. Reasons. "Someone who trusts me to handle myself. Maybe to even sit back and watch me kick a little butt."

She looked away, up towards the rooftops which had become her own private playground over these past few months. "I still want to be a princess, but I want to be seen as fierce, not fragile."

And then she realized just how stupid she probably sounded right now. "I--sorry. I didn't mean to talk your ear off about stupid kid stuff."

From:

gunslingerpose

Stupid kid stuff? Really, Kathy?

Nick was looking at her a little sideways, shrugging his shoulders. He clearly didn't mind. He hadn't chased her off the fucking couch or anything, after all.

"Standard presumption about princesses is that they are delicate, baby. Sleeping Beauty was taken out by a spindle. Snow White choked on a freaking apple. You want to be regal without becoming a damsel, you aim to be a queen. Going by the ass you've been kicking lately, I think you could handle 'queen.'"

From:

spin_kick_snap

Look, she'd talked. At length. Clearly she needed to apologize for that.

"Maybe I'll do that then," she said, straightening up a bit as his praise warmed her. She smiled without even realizing it. "I just don't want someone who's gonna treat me like spun glass. I mean, I'm out here, getting down and dirty, chasing down and tackling bad guys. I don't wanna go home to a guy who expects me to cry out when I see a spider or something."

From:

gunslingerpose

Somehow, Nikolai really couldn't picture her doing that. Not after seeing some of the shit she handled for fun in Baltimore.

"If anything with most guys your age, I'd say you're outta their league, baby," he mused. "But then, if Barry's good enough for a princess, maybe there is some guy out there who can hold a match to you. Pick up another hero or something. It's not like there's a shortage of those."

From:

spin_kick_snap

Oh, believe her, Nick. She'd loooove to pick up another hero. There was even one she currently had her eye on.

Who'd just called her baby. Eeeeeee.

But, you know. She had to play it cool. Play it casual. "Maybe," she said with a shrug. "I dunno. I'll probably give most guys my age a pass."

From:

gunslingerpose

"Not a fan of high school boys?" Not that, you know, Nick was interested or anything, really. Though he had to ask, "That date not go well?"

You know, with Matchstick back there?

From:

spin_kick_snap

Kathy shrugged again, thinking briefly about Anders and deliberately deciding not to bring him up.

"Oh, the date with Johnny went fine. Like, as my first official date ever, it gets an A and everything. We had dinner and then came out to Baltimore and he was really fun. Johnny's just..." She trailed off, trying to figure out how to word this. "...Not for me, I guess. He's too...facile, maybe?"

From:

gunslingerpose

That was a more charitable word than Nikolai would have used, but he didn't bother sharing that one.

"He's proud and he's looking for a good time, and you were cute and looked good on his arm?"

Never mind that Nikolai often picked possible dates for much the same reason.

From:

spin_kick_snap

"Pretty much," Kathy affirmed. "Which is pretty flattering. I've never been arm candy before. It was nice to be seen that way. I mean, he flirted with me pretty much all night." Which was also a first, but she wasn't going to admit that, too. No reason for Nikolai to know just how inexperienced she really was.

...Not that there was any reason he'd care one way or another, either. Really.

"And the way he flirted, it was sincere, too. He wasn't just feeding me lines or anything. But while I think he's great and I'm pretty sure he likes me, too, it's not the kind of liking that'll lead to more dates, I don't think."

From:

gunslingerpose

"Fun, but empty." Nikolai nodded. He knew the type. He kind of was the type, after all. "Probably better for a casual friendship than any sort of serious thing. Yeah, I can see that."

Not that he really knew the guy, outside of that one run-in on his birthday, granted. But the Human Torch really didn't strike Nikolai as a kid seeking out commitment.

"Teenagers." He shrugged, and then added, "Guys in general."

From:

spin_kick_snap

"Yeah." Kathy gave him a rueful half-smile. "Maybe I should embrace my inner lesbian and run off with Barry's princess. Clear the way for you and your deathless romance."

From:

gunslingerpose

"Oh, for fucksakes," Nick laughed, throwing a piece of popcorn at her for that. "You know, tragic as that might be, I'm probably not Barry's type, anyway."

From:

spin_kick_snap

"That's probably true," Kathy said, catching the popcorn in her mouth. "You don't shimmy well enough for him to be interested."

From:

gunslingerpose

Oh, and now Nikolai had to take a moment to look properly (if jokingly) offended.

"I'll have you know, I am a master of the shimmy."

He had an awesome ass, Kathy. You just didn't know yet because it was usually hidden behind a duster or facing the other way.

From:

spin_kick_snap

Oh, don't you worry on that score, Nikolai. Kathy had spent a fair bit of time unobtrusively ogling your rear end, even with the duster.

And before she could talk herself out of it, she blurted out, "Oh yeah? Money where your mouth is, Gorgon."

From:

gunslingerpose

Oh, Nikolai would happily take that bet.

"Oh, you doubt me? Okay, then." He tilted his head to the side, smirked, and spread his hands. Bring it. "Everything I pulled from the last wallet I liberated if my shimmy doesn't reach at least 'pretty excellent shimmy' standards."

From:

spin_kick_snap

"You're on."

The world could be ending down the street and there was no way she'd budge from this seat.

From:

gunslingerpose

Nick smirked as he started to pull off his duster, and then stopped, turning a glance toward her in question. Hey, he was pretty damn sure he had this covered, which meant he wasn't the only one who should be putting something into the pot, here.

"And if it does? What do I get for the show?"

From:

spin_kick_snap

If Kathy were just a little more confident, the answer would be something along the lines of 'my panties thrown at your feet'. It would be an honest answer, if nothing else.

Sadly, Kathy was not that brave. Instead, she replied, "I--I'm not sure. I don't empty wallets. What do you want?"

You could maybe feel free to answer that however you wanted, Nick.

From:

gunslingerpose

Nikolai... maybe hadn't thought that question through so well.

"Coffee sometime. Your treat."

Yeah... that was... totally comparable to the contents of that last drug dealer's wallet, sure. Even Nick made a face like he knew he could do better than that.

From:

spin_kick_snap

And that totally wasn't disappointment in her eyes or anything! Really! Or a slump to her shoulders!

"Yeah, sure. Coffee. I can do that."

Well, actually...he'd just said coffee sometime. Not that she bring him some. Maybe she could finagle a trip to the Perk or whatever?

"You're still on."

From:

gunslingerpose

Oh, he could do better than that. Nikolai held up a finger and smirked at her.

"I'm not done yet. Coffee. Your treat. Delivered to my room. Where we sit on a much better couch and marathon westerns until one of us is begging for mercy."

If she looked disappointed now, then he could be reasonably certain she either hated westerns, or this thing going on here was very literally a pity party.

From:

spin_kick_snap

Wow. Either Nick had a way with words or Kathy's imagination was in overdrive and stuck in the gutter. Whichever it was, she ended up accidentally biting her tongue so hard it hurt.

...Which was probably for the best, because she really might have ended up saying, 'Yes please' or something equally embarrassing.

"Ow! I mean, yes! I mean, ha! That had better be some shimmy for all that!" She tilted her chin up. "It'll take more than a couple of Westerns to make me beg for mercy."

From:

gunslingerpose

"Could be watching westerns a while. I damn near breathe those things." Nick smirked as he shrugged off his duster, holding it out to Kathy once he was on his feet. "Hold this."

Of course, underneath that duster was the body of a man who clearly spent plenty of time working out, wearing some impressively tight black pants, body armor just serving to highlight the contours of his torso.

Have fun with that, Kathy.

From:

spin_kick_snap

"Kay," Kathy said, more than a little breathless. "I mean, yeah, sure."

She took his duster, carefully folding it on her lap and trying not to be obvious about licking her suddenly dry lips. His back...It was weird to find someone's back sexy, right? But...wow. Just...yeah. Also? Ooooh. DAT ASS. She finally really got that Tumblr shorthand. Because there was no other way to describe it. "All right Gorgon." She had to clear her throat. "Let's see you work it."