13037/So, you're old, right

So, you're old, right
Date of Scene:	15 April 2021
Location:	Themysciran Arts Center, East Side
Synopsis:	Alex and Diana have a talk about girl cooties.
Cast of Characters:	Wonder Woman, Phobos

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Wonder Woman has posed:
The shadows are stretching long as the daylight fades into dusk. The sun is sinking in the western sky, and the colours of the sunset bleed up to spill across the clouds. The clouds are grey and heavy, hanging low and promising rain for overnight. There's a certain heaviness within the air that echoes that promise, along with a bit of a chill to tease across any bare flesh that happens to be exposed to it.

As it would happen, Diana is on the rooftop of the building. It may not be her forte, but she has been working with a couple of her Amazonian sisters on the garden there. The work has ended for the day, and she's just finished washing up her hands from it, reaching for a towel in order to dry them. She's wearing a pair of blue jeans, and a medium blue t-shirt that's got a faded image of a white galloping horse on the back of it. She moves to stand near to the edge of the roof, admiring the sunset of another dying day.

Phobos has posed:
    There had been time on hand for once. A lack of obligation stretched for the next day and some and left Alexander with freedom that normally was not his own. The first day had been spent at the safehouse he currently used as a domicile. It took some doing but he weeded the back yard after two decades and then did what he could to straighten up the front.
    But that left this day clear while he was off duty from SHIELD. Left to his own devices and with his thoughts turned inward for a time. Some aspects of the world had reared their head and forced confrontation, which had him casting his thoughts off toward other people who might have experienced something similar... however unlikely.
    Which, eventually, led him here at the end of the day. To the Arts Center, and the reception area. A few words given and shared back and forth led to him being given access to the elevator, and then the stairs to the rooftop. Which eventually had him emerging there some distance behind the Princess.
    Hands in his pockets, he walked forth, not trying to hide his presence though his footsteps didn't make too much sound. His voice, however, did lift once he drew close enough. "Evening, Ms. Prince."
    Alexander, the voice she likely recognized. And should she turn to consider him she'd see him much as she may have remembered him. Blue jeans, white sneakers, a black t-shirt though without design upon it. He had grey jacket that hung open and on his head were a pair of sunglasses and a black SWAT style baseball cap.
    "Terribly busy?"

Wonder Woman has posed:
There always seems to be things that need to be done in the springtime. But then, there are a number of things that Diana has herself involved in which sometimes end up keeping her busy. The rooftop garden looks better now than it had before the work had been done, the weeds all pulled and the beds topped up with soil and organic matter for the growing season to come. Lifting her right hand, Diana brings her fingers to the elastic holding her hair in a ponytail in order to pull it free and let it loose.

The elastic was easily let to slip around her wrist, and then she pulled her fingers through her hair, tussling it a bit. She's heard him arrive, not only to the building but to the rooftop as well, and a smile touches at the corners of her lips as she turns to look to him. "Good evening, Alexander," she greets him in a warm tone of voice, her gaze flitting lightly over him.

The question he asks is considered, and then she lifts a hand to gesture slightly towards the gardens. "The day's work is done, and evening is here. So it would seem no, not terribly busy at all, now. Would you like to sit with me for a while up here or would you prefer inside?" she asks, curious. She's not bothered by the temperature, and so she's willing to leave the choice up to him.

Phobos has posed:
    Those pale hazel eyes, hidden behind the sunglasses, slip from her to the beyond, considering the sunset. His lip curls up a little as he tilts his head a touch to the right and then says, "Up here is fine, m'sure there is some symbolism to be reflected on depending on which way our mood falls."
    Which might be a curious thing to say, though he does take those glasses off, the hat stays on. It does reveal a hint of an angry bruise near his right temple, but otherwise he seems fine and at his ease.
    "So hi," He says with a slight upturn of his lips as he walks over and smiles, though does not presume to any physicality of a greeting. He just turns his hips and takes a seat upon the small wall that separates the roof from the abyss and settles down there.
    "I had a thought. Which led to a reflection. Which turned to a contemplation. Which brought me to you."

Wonder Woman has posed:
"Symbolism can be found in a great many things, Alex," Diana says softly, a smile turning at the corners of her lips. She tilts her head slightly to one side, studying him as she leans back against the railing around the rooftop. The towel that she'd use to dry her hands gets tucked into one of the back pockets of her jeans.

The bruise that's revealed earns a long look, a furrow of her brow, but she doesn't ask after it in these moments. Yet her gaze flicks back to his face, and she watches him approach. "Hi yourself," she comments, quirking a smile and leaning towards him to slightly nudge her shoulder against his own.

The trail of steps that had led him to her is a curious one. Diana raises an eyebrow slightly and studies him for a long moment. "A thought, a reflection, and a contemplation? It took these things to combine together to bring you here, hmm?" she asks, a flicker of amusement touching her voice. She chuckles softly, then lifts a hand to lightly pull her fingers through her hair. "Dare I ask after the specifics, then, what it is that has brought you to me? I mind not your company, and enjoy it, and it pleases me that you have come, but I will admit to being curious," Diana says, giving a small nod to him.

Phobos has posed:
    "Ah, curiousity, and admitting to such. A dangerous weakness in our family after all." Though when she nudges his shoulder he nudges back. Hands still in his pockets he turns on one hip to more directly face her, but also to look at the sunset's oranges and pinks as it dips down behind those clouds. A deep breath is taken.
    "You've lived a fair amount of time." A polite way of saying it. "And I've found my thoughts turning to the future, and the like. I would like to ask of you some things that might not conjure peaceful thoughts. But I think you may have insight."
    A deep breath is taken as he considers the sunset, and then her, then the sunset once again. "I'd hear your thoughts about relationships. Love. With one long-lived the other not. The destiny of that."
    He seems to look thoughtful, then his eyebrows offer a small shrug that doesn't reach his shoulders as he looks back. "Whatever you'd wish to share. If anything."

Wonder Woman has posed:
"Without curiosity, what would we learn, hmm?" Diana suggests, one of her eyebrows quirking up a little bit. "To some, a weakness. To others, a strength. It depends the path the curiosity leads one down," she adds, giving a soft chuckle. Shifting her weight, she turns to rest her hip against the wall as well, to face him, to be able to watch him a touch more closely.

'A fair amount of time', he says. Over nine centuries could be considered that, that's true. "Mmm, I suppose I should thank you for finding a polite way of saying that I am old," Diana comments, a hint of amusement to the words to let him know that she's not offended by the words. She turns her head, looking towards the sunset and taking in his words. Weighing them, considering them, and her brow furrows a little bit. "The future is not so different from today. The things around you change, but... you remain the same. Day or night, night or day. Adapting to fit with what things become," Diana says softly, a thoughtful note to her voice.

Diana pauses there, drawing in a deep breath before slowing letting it out, looking up to the colourful clouds that drift across the sky. "I do not know what insight I might offer, Alex," she says softly, still looking to the sky above, her brow furrowing a bit and a slightly distant look coming to her blue eyes. She remembers too well. "Relationships and love. They can give such happiness, such joy... such sweet memories. And sometimes, they can cause pain, and bring sorrow. Without the one, how do we come to appreciate the other?" she suggests, bringing her gaze only then to him once more. She's been in love and she's lost her heart in the process.

"I have no regrets for having loved. It can be bittersweet and it can be beautiful. The sad truth, the harsh reality is that they will die, long before you do, and you will have to find a way and a reason to pick yourself up and take yourself to the next day. And the one beyond that," she says softly, giving a small nod. And she pauses there for a moment, watching him and studying him for what seems a long moment "If it helps...? If you let yourself love, as I did... I will be there for you. And I will help you up if you have need of it. I promise it," Diana adds, lifting a hand to lightly brush a bit of hair back from her face.

Phobos has posed:
    Those hazel eyes with the otherworldly irises remain cast to the distance, his expression calm and thoughtful. Though a mischievous smile slips into place as she chides him for being so terribly polite about her age. Yet he doesn't bite, instead looks back with slightly raised eyebrows feigning such innocence.
    Though he does listen and as she speaks, offering up her own insight, his features soften a little. There's no judgment in the gaze, no wariness. Only acceptance of her insight. He smiles a little near the end, his gaze easing almost affectionate at her offer of support should such a time come to pass. And for him it brings no words further from him.
    Instead his shoulder lightly touches hers, just gently.
    A few moments pass as the shadows grow longer, the sun dares to dip lower. He looks away, eye scrunching up as if trying to see something far off or imagine such. "I am in a curious place. The object of my affection, she is older than myself by a good margin. Since I have not lived out my first lifetime. She's lived out her own and another perhaps. We'll not know if time preys upon her until many years pass most likely. So I am..."
    He mirrors her motion of before, pushing a hand through his golden locks, "In a curious position. Being both junior, yet eventually perhaps senior. What was it like for you to be involved with someone who...didn't and would likely never have as much life experience as yourself?"
    He looks to her, "Did that matter?"

Wonder Woman has posed:
"You know well how old I am, or at least how old I likely am," Diana comments, quirking a smile and looking to him. She lifts a hand, lightly pulling her fingers through her hair and tussling it a bit. She doesn't seem to mind, though. She doesn't look her age at all.

Softly, Diana nudges his shoulder in turn, leaning a little against him and looking to him. She shifts her weight slightly, drawing in a deep breath of the cool twilight air before she lets it out slowly. She watches the sun dip further, but then her attention shifts to him, watching him.

"That is a curious thing. Does she return your affections? Does she like you in turn?" she asks, a gentle note to her voice. She hopes, for his sake, that the object of his affection does like him back. "Only time will tell if it will prey upon her or not. Until you or she know for sure... well, it is hard to say what the case might be, hmm? She might watch you die, you might watch her die... but you will always have the time that you spent together. And that is something that no force can take away," Diana says softly, giving a small nod to him.

She considers his latest question, and seems to give it a fair amount of thought before she offers up an answer. "His experiences were different than my own. He had some experiences that I did not. I had ones that he did not. There were times when it felt as though it mattered or it might have mattered. But in truth? It did not matter. I loved him, and he loved me. That had nothing to do with what was in my past, or with what was in his. We made each other better," Diana says softly, her tone thoughtful. She gives a small nod, then looks back to the setting sun.

Phobos has posed:
    The young Olympian watches her as she travels through those past memories, tinged with the warmth of the emotions joined to them. He had been smiling, but as she speaks it causes that turn of his lips to curve a little more as his own gaze distances. Perhaps her words bring forth a few paths for his imagination to wander down, only for him to shake his head slightly.
    "So long as we're both whole people, have our own experiences, our own... lives perhaps?" Which has him looking down at his shoes thoughtfully for a time, but then he smiles a little and casually nudges her shoe with the toe of his own before he takes a deep breath.
    But then he looks amused as she had asked him about her, and himself, and whether she cared for him. "She does," Care for him. Then his eyebrows lift as his smile shifts crooked but whatever spawns that thought and change... he leaves unvoiced. "I thought she didn't. And I was trying to be professional. I felt she was sort of... beyond me in a way. Which, bah, how could that be? Right?" He affects a hint of a domineering tone that might remind her of his father.
    "For I am Alexander, Son of War, God of Fear. All shall know me and despair. Etcetera." But then he looks away half-grinning, not serious of course, but shaking his head. "I at first thought there was a thing. But then she pointed out there wasn't. And then..."
    His eyebrows lift as he looks to that sunset, "And then she burglarized my apartment." His lip twists crookedly.

Wonder Woman has posed:
"There are a lot of paths that we could choose to follow. Perhaps fate or destiny has a hand in the ones that we choose, perhaps not. You will have your experiences, and she will have hers. And then there will be experiences that you will share together. The little things that you do together," Diana says, a smile touching at the corners of her lips. She nudges her shoulder lightly against his, her smile lingering. Relationships can be a challenging sort of thing to talk about.

Lightly, she nudges his foot back, and then she gives a soft chuckle. "It seems you have a place to start, then. She cares for you, and that is a step in the right direction if you hope for it to be more," she comments, giving a small nod to him. She raises an eyebrow slightly at his words, then tilts her head a touch to one side. "Sometimes that happens, I think. Though why you would think that anyone is beyond you, is beyond me," she comments, a lighter tone to her words. "Do not let it go to your head or I might have to swat you for your own betterment," she adds, a hint of teasing to her voice. He does sound like his father, and it's better when he doesn't.

One of her eyebrows arches, and then she gives a light laugh before giving him a slight nudge. "You are being full of yourself tonight. And denial is a thing, you know. They say it is a sign of a great many things, you know," she comments, sounding a trifle amused. She lifts a hand, lightly pulling her fingers through her hair. "Did she take anything or leave anything behind or was it just to prove that she could and that she knew where you lived?"

Phobos has posed:
    The youth is warm, and his expression vibrant as he sits there and ponders the sun slowly slipping behind the clouds, and now it's surrendered most of the skyline to the night. The opposite horizon has stars now, though subdued with the ambient light of the city enough to mute them. This time he remains leaning against her, seeming to settle into the moment as his thoughts wander.
    "Am I ever not full of myself?" He asks with a wry tone, but she likely knows him well enough by now to read him so easily.
    Yet he twists his features up a little and looks aside, thoughtful as to exactly what he should say. Or perhaps how he should phrase it. He uncurls a hand and says quietly, "There was a time. When I was in training for SHIELD."
    Alex remains leaning against her, and he is rather warm, but that is e'er like the Olympians, whatever mystic furnace that drives them tends to run a few degrees warmer than mortal man. "And there was an emergency exercise, they ran a scenario without warning, a squad of terrorists busted into the facility and tried to wrangle up the cadets. I... didn't know it was play-acting, so I sort of fought some of them off, and took one of their's hostage."
    He tilts his head to the side, "So. They were freaking out, I was trying to, you know... handle the situation. When out of nowhere she attacked, and it was..."
    Alexander shakes his head, "A blur, she's very good, and she was able to take me down with one exchange." Which has him defending his ego as he points to her, "Which, to be fair, it was pitch black and she had night vision goggles on. So yeah."
    He spreads his hands, "But what I'm getting to with that, is that I was kind of... growly about it. I went home and I was training, over and over, all of these counter moves for that technique she used. And little did I know... she was there."

Wonder Woman has posed:
"Probably not. You are your father's son, after all," Diana comments, a thread of amusement to the words. And she nudges his shoulder with her own, as though to reinforce the teasing of her words. She takes a moment to look over the dying beauty of the sunset, and then her attention returns to him.

Her gaze falls to his hand, uncurled, and she tilts her head slightly to one side before lifting her gaze back to him. She tilts her head a touch to one side, listening to the story that he tells to her, and one of her eyebrows quirks up. Much like him, she's also warm, the chill of the night having little effect on her. "That sounds like a rather useful sort of exercise to run. A drill, of sorts," she says softly. "And without warning seems to be how many places do it," she adds, giving a small nod. The corners of her lips twitch a bit, and there's a flicker of a sparkle to show in her blue eyes. "Are you saying that you let a girl beat you, Alexander?" she asks, the words laced with amusement. "Again?" After all, she beat him in a stick sword fighting match, some years ago.

And then Diana can't help it. She does giggle at him. At his words, specifically, and the situation. "Of course you would be growly about it. No one likes to be taken down with one move. It is great to do to someone but not so great to have it done to you in turn. It amuses me more than it should to envision you training and training to counter the move she used and her there all the while to watch you at it. Did she come out and admit that she was there or did you find her at it?" Diana asks, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Phobos has posed:
    A snort is given at her first round of chiding, but then when she teases him about getting beaten /again/, well she'll hear just such exhaustion and patience given to her in the sound of one just long drawn out sigh. Just a two second long, 'Haaaa.' As if barely tolerating her, it's even there in the stink eye he gives her side long.
    But he smirks.
    "Well /anyways/," He says as if he were so put upon to be continuing the story. "I mean, this was a few months later, right. Training was done, I had run a few missions, things had been going well. But that still stuck in my craw. So she at some point snuck in, and saw as I was training against that technique. You know, just in case..."
    His lip twists. His words pause. Those pale eyes distance as he murmurs and he says, "Well she dropped from the shadows. And she attacked. In silence. Using that technique, only I was ready. And then..."
    He lifts his hands slightly, "We kissed. And since then..." He shakes his head, "So yeah."

Wonder Woman has posed:
The Amazonian princess arches an eyebrow as she looks to him, and she gives a soft chuckle at his response to her teasing. Then she winks at him. "I know, I am such a trial to you," she says, lightly nudging his shoulder. "Perhaps you let her win because you like her," she comments, her tone holding a touch of amusement, a smile teasing at the corners of her lips.

"Such a challenging aunt, I am," she comments, quirking a bit of a grin. She likely can be, sometimes. "I can see how that would stick for you. A sore point, so to speak. A thing that you wanted to prove that you were better than," she adds, tilting her head a little to one side as she watches him.

One of her eyebrows quirks up as he explains further as to what had happened, and there's a smile that comes to her features. "Did she kiss you or did you kiss her? You know that there is a difference, yes?" she asks, softly nudging him with her shoulder. "And things have been well since then, between you and she? There have been more kisses, have there?" she asks. "You should take her out, if so, you know."

Phobos has posed:
    "So challenging," He agrees, nodding with such solemnity one might imagine he is truly set upon by the most horrible aunty possible. But his smirk is still there, hovering at the corner of his mouth, stealing into its place perhaps unbidden.
    Then she asks as to who kissed whom first and his eyebrows lift, his head turning away as he tries to remember. One eyebrow lifts as he seems to go over it in his mind and his features soften for a moment at the memory. He looks back to her and says, "I leaned in, I wanted to. But I paused since..."
    He tilts his head to the side, "Well, because it felt right, but also because it felt... presumptuous. Because I was thinking it could perhaps affect her career, or perhaps I was imagining things, or... you know. Misgivings."
    Then he uncurls a hand and murmurs, "But then she closed the last of the distance and... yeah."
    A moment passes then he addresses her last words by saying, "We spend a lot of time together, and we've gone out a bit. But... we do try to keep a low profile."

Wonder Woman has posed:
"One day, you and I, we will cross sticks again," Diana comments, winking at him. It's not the first time that such a thing has been promised, either in mock or in seriousness. He'd been young when they'd crossed sticks to start with, and she's curious to have it happen again and see who might be the victor. Or if, perhaps, it might end up a draw.

Diana tilts her head a touch to one side as he gives details about the kiss that he'd shared with the one who has his affections, and she gives a small nod. "It is a presumptuous sort of thing. You never know what the other person will do. Even if you know their heart, you cannot predict their actions. It is... a vulnerability, of sorts, perhaps. You wondered what might happen, maybe. For such a simple action, sometimes it seems as thoughthere is so very much thought that comes in the moment of it," Diana says, a smile touching at the corners of her lips. Kisses can be more complicated than what they seem. "You gave her the option... to take it or to leave it," she adds, giving a small nod.

"And she chose. She kissed you," Diana says, a warm smile coming to her features. She lifts her left hand and brings it to his back, to lightly rub the space between his shoulderblades, if he lets her. "A low profile is not a bad thing to have. Though sometimes, you do still need to take the time to live. To have those moments with her. Even something as simple as a picnic in a park will be an experience that you would both remember. Little things that you would both enjoy," she comments, watching him.

Phobos has posed:
    "You are," Alexander says as he draws a leg up across his knee, settling at ease beside her. "The second person to suggest a picnic today." Which has him half-smiling and shaking his head. "Maybe after some things settle down, maybe we can do more normallish things. Right now might not be the best of times."
    As he says that he looks back toward the horizon, "Ok, I've rambled enough about all of that. But that was... what I wanted to talk about." She can feel him as he takes a deep breath, his shoulder and side shifting a little as helooks away, his own hand lifting to push through his hair, but then fingers curl as he rests his hand at the back of his neck.
    "I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to say, 'Oh no, no way, never do anything like that, it's madness!' or something equivalent."

Wonder Woman has posed:
"Well, perhaps there is something to the idea, then," Diana says, a smile quirking at the corners of her lips. Lightly, she gives him a pat on the back, and then lowers her hand back to her side. "It can be a very peaceful and a very relaxing sort of affair. A blanket on the ground, a combination of yours and her favourite dishes to eat, a bottle of wine, perhaps," she offers, giving a soft chuckle.

"Are things chaotic, right now? If there is the time for it... take the time for it, Alexander. Make the time for it. You never know when something might happen," she says in a softer tone, a flicker of old sorrow rising into the last words.

She chuckles softly, and then she lifts a hand to pull her fingers through her hair. "It is madness, after a fashion. To love someone is to be vulnerable. To let yourself be vulnerable with them. But it is something that is absolutely and entirely worth it," Diana says, giving a small nod.

Phobos has posed:
    "Alright," Alexander says after a bit, taking a deep breath and crinkling his nose slightly. Yet he gives a nod as he looks to the now empty horizon and chews on the inside of his cheek for a time. "You've been helpful, Diana."
    He says that and for a time he lets those words just hang there, then as if remembering himself he quickly adds, "I mean, you know, not a /lot/ but some." His smile turns wry and then he pushes himself up from the small railing along the edge of the rooftop. "C'mon, you may have the privilege of walking me out."
    And with that the young Olympian turns and starts to that stairwell, strolling along like he owns the place. The jerk.