6684/Talking 'Bout The Past

Talking 'Bout The Past
Date of Scene:	27 February 2019
Location:	Bed and Breakfast, Westchester NY
Synopsis:	Justin Todd and Kitty Pryde each show some trust in revealing bits of their secret lives
Cast of Characters:	Shadowcat, Red Hood

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Shadowcat has posed:
The sounds of traffic passing by have grown more scarce the later it has gotten. Nothing to disturb the sound of the music that plays, drowning out any other noise in the house turned bed and breakfast. Earlier words sit in Kitty's mind until she ventures a question about them. "I still don't know a lot about you, you said?" Kitty asks quietly. "And, well, that's true. For both of us. I know you worry. I know there's something you worry about telling me."

She looks over to Jason Todd. "You can tell me. Remember you what you said? You weren't always...? Well, I'm with the man that you are now. And if something helped bring you to this point, where you were ready for me to meet you? I can accept it had a part in getting you here. Bruce doesn't love you any less does he? You think I'm not capable of that?" That was awfully close to expressing a certain emotion. Though she didn't quite say it.

Red Hood has posed:
As Kitty speaks, Jason is busy making sure that the room service is paid for. "I have two pizzas." he announces proudly. "Told them to make sure no pork products touched yours. Me? I'm all over the pepperoni. I'll brush my teeth before I kiss you." he winks.

Then she speaks, and there's a breath that Jason takes for a moment. "There's a lot we still need to learn about each other." he responds as he moves to take a seat, setting the pizzas on the table as he drops heavily into a chair.

Opening the box, he fishes out a slice of pepperoni and considers it. "Kitty. I care a lot for you. And I know what I would tell you might color the relationship. I just.. I want to make sure this is what we want before I take a step like that. Because.."

Because if you tell her the truth she's going to freak out. You were Robin. You were dead. You came back to life. You were trained by a secret assassin cult. Which one would it be on 'This is your life.'?

He takes a bite of his pizza and considers. Then something she says catches him, and blue eyes widen just a bit. "Kitty?" he asks, searching her eyes for clarification.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde gets up and pads across the room, feeling the berber carpet beneath her feet. It always makes her want to wiggle her toes on it for some reason. Kitty gets a slice of the plain cheese pizza. But with extra, extra sauce. She keeps the slice over a plate to make sure she doesn't drip.

"I know you lived on the street. I know it can be pretty bad there, Jason. And you were, what, 13 when you stole Bruce's hubcaps? I'll understand," she says. Kitty moves over and sits on the carpet beside his chair. Leaning back against his leg.

Kitty seems to hear the tone in his question. She looks up at him. Seeing that look Jason's blue eyes. The young woman's expression is one of consternation. What IS he getting on about? Kitty glances around, looking for something in the room that he's reacting to. Looking back to Jason. That look! She frowns and mentally replays her words to him.

"Oh," Kitty says quietly. She bites her lip and looks back up at Jason. Her eyes show a lot. Inadvertent words alluding to truth, even if she'd not meant to reveal that. Kitty's cheeks flush a bit and she looks down and clears her throat without saying anything. Finally she peeks back up at him, expression timid. Weighing his expression.

Red Hood has posed:
He sees that look on her face. That truth that hides in her eyes. For a moment, Jason crumbles. And he wants to tell her everything. But he can't. That worry flashes in his face - there one second - gone the next. And doubtful to return. Perhaps because he realizes how she feels. Or how he feels, but it's stowed away, shelved. Waited on, as if it doesn't have an expiration date. But does it?

"I did things after Bruce pulled me in. There's a reason I was in Russia, Kitty. It may seem better now, but for a while there, I wasn't exactly dad's favorite." As much as she may want him to talk, Jason's not going to yet. He's a willful young man sometimes, and it's showing at the moment as he draws in his breath.

"Speaking of, you made a good impression on him.." It's said in a way to give Kitty the out. There's nothing she has to say on the matter. The subject change is a slowball, one meant to let her easily knock it out of the park.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde's eyes stay lifted to Jason Todd as he speaks. At the end, she looks away, and then sets her plate of pizza to the side on the floor. Kitty turns and kneels up, hands going to the arms of Jason's chair to lift her higher. Until she can press a soft, grateful kiss to his lips.

It lingers for a few moments before she lets it break, and then settles back down onto the floor slowly. "I did?" she asks, resting her arms on top of his bent knees, and resting her chin on her arms. "I didn't exactly have much warning," she says, though without any heat. "I wasn't sure," she says, which sounds more a matter of worrying she hadn't, than of having a reason to think she hadn't. "What'd he say?" she asks as she peers up at him.

Red Hood has posed:
"I haven't talked to him since you met him. But he didn't receive any sudden calls. Didn't mention any sudden meetings. Didn't ask for his food to go. And stayed around after I had to leave. I'd take those as good signs." Jason says, reaching over to brushes his fingers into her hair and lets out a breath.

He closes his eyes for a moment, and considers. "I did something stupid once." he starts quietly. "I found out my birth mother was alive. And I went looking for her. Bruce knew she wasn't good for me. And he warned me not to go after her. But I ignored him. Because I was angry. And I wanted to prove him wrong. Well. I found her. And she acted like she was happy to see me."

Then he looks down at the pizza box and sets it to the side. "Then I found out she had sold me out to a very bad man. Because she wanted money. And she knew I was a Wayne. This man - he beat me relentlessly for hours on end. Time and time again." His hands grip the edges of the chair, tightening down. The anger in his voice becoming more clear. She wanted him to talk.

"..and then, when it became obvious that Bruce may not show up?" he closes his eyes, nails nearly ripping off in the wooden part of the chair - "He set off the explosives he had planted in the room. My mother? Her payment in all this? She was in the room with me. She didn't survive. I barely did. I was in a coma for months."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde moves her head into the touch of the fingers in her hair. Soft music is playing from the radio. There are still candles burning around the room. A romantic atmosphere to all appearances. But if there is bonding remaining to happen tonight, it will be of a different sort.

Kitty listens, sitting up a little straighter as Jason's hands move to the edges of the chair. The tension in him is palpable. Like a spring being compressed. Tighter, and tighter as he shares what happened.

Kitty reaches out to rest a hand atop Jason's on the chair, watching his nails near to bending, or tugging free. She hears the conclusion to the story and Kitty swallows and then rises gently from where she sits at his feet. She slips over into his lap if Jason allows her. Kitty's arms going around his shoulders. If allowed she'll draw Jason's head down down to her chest, arms shifting, both wrapping about his head and gently holding him there against her.

She doesn't try to say anything. Just holds him.

And the soft music keeps playing from the radio. The candles still burn around the room. And the feeling of a warm wet drop lands on his head, the tear falling from Kitty's cheek.

"I still love you."

Red Hood has posed:
Her admission that she loves him has taken Jason back for just a moment. Does she know how long he's longed to hear those words - from anyone? They strike wholly and deep to his heart, causing his head to dip for a moment in thought.

You need to tell her. Everything. If she finds out later...

"Kitty.. I.." his hands curl at his sides. Fear, worry, all of that wells within him. "I've never felt like this before." he admits finally. "Of course, I've never had a relationship like this before. But before you say that. Those words." he closes his eyes and then lifts his head to open them, his eyes studying hers. "Are you sure? I've been a pretty terrible person most of my life. If someone doesn't deserve redemption, it's me."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde's hands move to take Jason's if he allows it. Holding both of his hands. Bringing them to rest against the warmth and softness of her body. Pressing them to her like they are treasured to have in her hands. Because they are.

"I know how I feel about you," Kitty tells him as she gazes over into his intense, worried eyes. "I know you have things in your past. But if the person I've gotten to know is the real you? The person you are trying to be? I like that person so much. And if you have a past that makes it harder for you to be that person, I'll be there to help you as best I can," Kitty tells him quietly.

She brings one of his hands to her lips, kissing the backs of his fingers softly. "You can tell me," she tells Jason softly. "Trust me to know?"

Red Hood has posed:
His hands press against Kitty's sides. "I can't tell you yet. There's just.. it's a lot." Jason says as he looks up into Kitty's eyes. "You'll have to trust me, as you are asking me to trust you. And that's a lot of trust to ask for." he admits quietly.

His hands caress along her sides, afraid that any moment she is going to fade from his life. "I just.. I need a little more time. Please. Be patient with me? I've never had my heart feel like this before. And I know what I want with you. I want it all. I just.. I know I need to tell you some things, when I'm ready."

Shadowcat has posed:
The speakers set over on the table continue to play soft music. Notes from a piano. An old, slow song, about a holiday spent listening to opera along the shore. The music melting into the background as Kitty lets go of one of Jason's hands. She brings her finger to rest against her mouth as she looks down at what he's asking of her.

"I am asking you to trust me. And you deserve my trust as well," Kitty tells him without looking up.

She swallows down a small lump of emotion before looking back up and over to Jason. "I need to tell you things too," she tells Jason very quietly. "You've let me see your struggles with sharing parts of yourself. And me? I've kept mine hidden away inside."

Kitty draws a slow, deep breath as she takes Jason's hand tightly in both of hers. "I freaked out a little bit at what you said when you were meditating, because I thought you were talking about me. About what's inside of me. I've been through... a lot," Kitty says, her eyes looking up in an expression that suggests 'a lot' doesn't even scratch the surface.

Kitty's eyes look back down at him and her grip on his hand tightens just a bit more. As if she's afraid she's going to lose him. That grip a vain attempt to keep that from happening as she says, "I'm a mutant, you see. I'm the girl you've gotten to know. Everything you've gotten to know about me, that's who I am. But my mutation is who I am too. And I've kept that from you so far. But, I'm not going to any more."

Red Hood has posed:
When Kitty moves to settle in against him and studies his eyes, Jason pauses. This is where she leaves him. Right? No. Instead, she shares those details of her life that he didn't know anything about. "You could be purple with green polkadots and I'd still feel the same way I do, Kitty." he finally says, but it is that darkness he concentrates on.

He draws in a breath. "..you know. Gotham has it's fair share of nut jobs. More than it's fair share." he holds onto her, not letting her go. "You know how I told you about my past, and the explosion and the coma? That all sort of happened. But I went there, not as Jason Todd." he explains.

"Once upon a time, before that day? I was a Robin. Bruce doesn't know. I never told him." comes his quiet commentary. "I used to sneak out at night and patrol the streets of Gotham. Robins are a boy's game, though. And I paid the price for it - I tried to play it with the men. That explosion? The person that killed my mom?"

"He was the Joker."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty's initial fears are mollified a little at least. Though there's so much that she hasn't told him yet. They still lie inside, gripping her heart tightly as she thinks of everything he deserves to know, but doesn't.

She is focused on listening to Jason though. Her hands clutched to his, glad to feel him gripping her back just as tightly. The brunette gives a small nod at the mention of him having shared his past.

"Robin, like the Batman's ally?" Kitty asks him quietly. She shivers as he mentions the Joker. Even if her team has never come to blows with him, Kitty has read enough to know of that lunatic. "I'm so sorry, Jason," she tells him quietly. "But that isn't any reason I wouldn't love you," she tells him reassuringly. "I mean, you were trying to help people."

Red Hood has posed:
There's more. There's so much more. But he's not ready to share that part of him yet with her. He needs more time. He needs to find that balance. Between lover and confidant. It won't be any easy one, and it's going to take time. There's no words.

Instead he pulls her into an embrace and a kiss that convey the feelings of the words that he can't say yet. They will come perhaps in time.

But in his heart, actions speak louder than words.