14278/Movie Night at Titans Tower

Movie Night at Titans Tower
Date of Scene:	06 April 2022
Location:	Living Quarters, Titans Tower
Synopsis:	Conner and Rachel watch their movie. They decide to get to know each other a little bit better.
Cast of Characters:	Raven, Superboy

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Raven has posed:
After a rather enlighting conversation at a poker game the previous night, Rachel had been doing some thinking, some meditating, soul searching even. Eventually she had settled on the conclusion that it couldn't harm anything to actually follow through with a movie night. She had sent out a message to the teams communication devices that she would be watching a movie in the main room if anyone wanted to join her. An open invitation at least felt safer than inviting people individually. Well. One person specifically. The person who initiated the idea of watching a movie some time.

Rachel had claimed a seat on one of the couches, curled up under a blanket. A few bowls of popcorn were set out and some cans of soda. The large bay window area was set to opaque for the movie screening, but it didn't appear a movie had been picked out yet. Instead, it was set to the select screen with a few titles showing, likely ones that Raven thought might be of interest.

Superboy has posed:
Conner was in his room at the Tower. A rubix cube found itself in his hand, his fingers deftly working to solve the frustrating toy. Each confounding turn spawns hundreds more and Conner notices a vital compartment : The Damn thing looks the same! Conner looks about to throw this thing to the moon when Rachel's call comes in.

Movie night.

Conner smiles a little bit, slightest upward incline of the corners of his mouth. Open invitation. Conner put on some relaxed clothing and entered the living quarter area. He wore shorts and a t-shirt primarily. His hair was messy, but not in a bed head kind of way. The snacks and the movie pile were noted, but Conner's attention fell on Raven. Those eyes stay there just a moment before he speaks.

"Hey."

He looks at the movies and opts to sit down on the couch next to Raven so long as she has no objections.

Raven has posed:
Raven looked up as Conner entered, watching him get closer. A beat after his greeting she provides a "Hey." in response. She doesn't object to him sitting next to her, though she may sink just a little further under her claimed covers, eyes shifting back to the television. "The comedy movie is standing out to me the most." The listing on the screen moves until she has selected the one she's talking about. "What do you think?" She takes a moment to tune in to Conner's current emotional state, just trying to get a bead on his mood before she would figuratively plug the emotional wall back up.

Superboy has posed:
Conner seemed a mixture of emotions. Despite a steeled exterior, internally he was nervous. Why? She might believe he has not much to be nervous of. He seems...happy. Content might be a better word, but he's clearly pleased to be in her company. minor frustrations exist from the rubix cube, but it's noticeably going down the longer he's next to her.

"Comedy sounds fun. I hear laughter is good for the soul." Do clones have souls? Though he didn't expect Raven to choose a comedy, he's happy with her decision. He doesn't push boundaries in personal space. "I think it's a great idea." He, all in all, is in a good mood. All while Rachel is trying to get a read on him, he's listening to her heartbeat. The speed of it often defines emotions such as fear or excitement. Is she nervous too?

Raven has posed:
Rachel's head tilts to look at Conner before he even starts speaking, but then quickly looks back to the screen. He was nervous. Maybe he was scared of her...yet there wasn't any fear mixed with the nerves. He is enjoying being near her, but why? Her own heartbeat has ticked up slightly at this knowledge. Maybe nervous, maybe uncertain. Her expression manages to remain neutral.

"People also say that laughter is the best medicine, but it has never cured a cold or anything for me." Not that Rachel gets sick very often. Maybe more exotic is the idea of Rachel laughing at all. Conner likely wouldn't be able to recall a time since he'd been part of the team that she had laughed. "We will watch it then." She clicks on the movie to start it and then her hand peeks out from under the blanket to telekinetically bring a bowl of popcorn over to place between them so they could share it.

Superboy has posed:
"I think the medical applications are more emotional or spiritual instead of physical." Conner lifts his shoulders in a shrug. "But I'm not a doctor... so I guess I and say much about it."

Her ticker was ticking slightly faster than normal. She wasn't scared. Nervous maybe? Neutral expression, even micro expressions. She had never once laughed. Maybe slightly smiled, but happy might not be a word Rachel is familiar with for herself.

Maybe Conner may assist that?

"Let's do it." He states with a smile as he leans against the couch and gets comfortable. Popcorn between them, Conner says a single word. "Thanks." He reaches for sons popcorn. Then a second. Then a third. "You make good popcorn."

Raven has posed:
"That...makes sense." Raven admitted after a moment of thought. She looks towards the popcorn as he comments on it and takes some for herself. "Thank you. The popcorn button, but stop it with 30 seconds left." She explains her secret to ideal popping with their microwave. She eats a couple pieces from her handful, glancing to him and then back up to the movie as it begins. There's silence for several moments before she says, "Thank you for coming." Did others show up too? Maybe, but since the invitation, ultimately, was meant for him, she was glad he showed up.

Superboy has posed:
"I try my best to make sense. I don't make sense often. I think that's why I was able to be friends with Beast Boy." Conner tries to make a joke. It probably wasn't much of a good one. Damn CADMUS - and by extent, Lex Luthor - for creating him without social charm in mind. Yet he turns to look at her with a bit of a smile. "Good secret ingredient. I wouldn't have thought of it."

She thanks him for being there and his face noticeably seems to soften. "Thank you for inviting me." Conner was no Robin or Cyborg, but he was decently smart. Mostly smart in the observational sense than the 'book-smart' sense.

Others would consider them awkward. But for them, maybe this was just right.

"I'm glad you invited me. I wanted the chance to learn more about you, if you wanted."

Raven has posed:
"Beast Boy doesn't often make sense...so likely." He can almost picture Rachel smiling, even though she isn't. Maybe something about the slight inflection of her tone being different from the norm. She eats another handful of popcorn, but there's a noticable pause in her chewing when he said he wants to learn more about her.

The chewing resumes and then she swallows. Her head tilts to look at him again, studying him with that passive expression. "You do?" She ponders on that, looking back towards the movie. "I suppose it is important to know ones teammates better." Because surely he couldn't want to know her better for any other reason.

Superboy has posed:
"Not as a teammate."

Conner sharply looks back towards the movie. He messed up so bad just then, didn't he? She mentioned knowing each other as teammates, but Conner wants something...more. More personal. Not just 'coworkers', but something deeper than that. Is that too strange? Is it weird? If Raven was still reading his emotions, she can feel his nervousness spike. Not in hostility, more potential embarassment and bracing for a negative response.

He takes another handful of popcorn. He might brush Raven's hand if they happen to go in at the same time, if she permits the contact. "I want to know you." Conner states a bit quiter. "I'd like to. The real you. Not just codenames."

Raven has posed:
Silence from the girl with the demonic heritage. It's a deafening silence as she tries to process what he just said and how it makes her feel. Her heart is pounding, he can hear it clearly just like she can feel her nervousness - which may be contributing to her own nervousness. He wasn't joking. He was being honest. That much she can grasp but she doesn't understand it.

There's a barely perceptible swallow as Rachel sits up a little more in her spot. The silence finally breaks. "Why?" She can't fathom it.

It's not like she's never had a crush on someone or never opened up to anyone at all. She's rarely ever acted on those feelings though or let others act on them towards her. It's a whole new ballpark that still feels like foreign territory. It's risky on multiple levels. Her hands have disappeared under the blanket again for now and her eyes are fully facing front on the movie, though she isn't really watching it.

Superboy has posed:
Maybe he didn't mess up.

Maybe she feels the same way that his heart is starting to feel. His emotions may carry him right now, it may be true, but the heart is genuine. Deceitful at times, but genuine. Honesty was a strength of Conner. He had no reason t lie to her. Further, he wasn't good at lying. Ask anybody, he's more likely to bluntly tell the truth 99% of the time than offer a meaningless lie.

This was no lie.

She asks a simple question: 'Why'. Conner turns his attention from the movie to look at her. He looks at her like she was a statue crafted from some ancient artisan of such renown that there is no one else quite like her. He looks at her like she's unique. She is.

"Alphabetically or chronologically?" Conner asks somequat trivially, though his slight smirk implies humor. "Because." He states far more seriously, his thin-lined classic frown returning to his face. "You said hello to me. You could've walked away from me or treated me strangely, yet you didn't. You are beautiful. You are intelligent, much smarter than me. You like books. You prefer to be by yourself sometimes out of fear that you might lose control...a fear I share, most days."

He doesn't show it, but rage-monster Conner is a factor of his personality that he is largely ashamed of and hopes Raven never sees him lose his cool. "We have things in common. And...more than that. You were nice to me. You asked me about my future. No one really does that."

Raven has posed:
Rachel can feel his eyes on her and it is taking every ounce of control she has to maintain her calm and composure. There's a lot of mixed things happening below the neutral exterior. She listens to his reasoning behind wanting to know her and by the time he's finished, she has turned to look at him again. She is formulating her response. "You may not like what you learn." She says finally, peering at him. "And if you are going to be asking probing questions...if I answer them, I expect you to answer my own questions in kind."

If she thinks about it like a psychological experiment right now, it's a little easier to process. He can hear her heartrate slowly starting to calm. "I also do not promise...anything. I need to put everyone's safety first. I think you can understand that." She looks away from him then, back towards the screen as she starts to reach for the popcorn once more. "But we will get to know one another better." At least she isn't fleeing right?

Superboy has posed:
Conner hadn't taken his eyes off of her even once.

"Neither might you about me. But none of us are perfect." Conner nods only once. "I will answer any question you ask me honestly. I'm a bad liar." Conner tells her as she peers at him, he locks eyes with her. Though her heartrate starts to calm, Conner's emotions start to calm as well, though he is still a little bit nervous.

He looks back to the screen and he seems to smile softly. "I wouldn't want you make promises. A want is enough." Conner suggests to her. "Sounds like a good time to me." knowing one another, at least. "I wonder what my first question should be."