9035/Of All the Gin Joints...

Of All the Gin Joints...
Date of Scene:	02 September 2019
Location:	Joe's Bar, Vancouver (TBD)
Synopsis:	Un unexpected meeting gives rise to a long overdue talk... and a surprising amount of honesty and listening.
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Bishop), Constantine

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Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate was enjoying Vancouver. She was staying at a nice hotel, spending her father's money, doing some shopping.. So far she hadn't tracked down Green Arrow, but that was just as well. She suspected he might not like what she had to say to him, especially as she was still considering takiung potshots at him to make up for that 'your archer' business he'd given Daredevil.

Something was missing, though. She wasn't sure what. Although it was the same something that had been missing back home so she supposed that was okay, or at least par for the course.

Tonight, after a whirlwind week of being her father's daughter, Kate was taking the evening off to just be Kate. Local bar. Pitcher of beer. Burger and fries.

She almost felt at home.

Constantine has posed:
John had it on good authority that Joe wasn't in tonight, which was good, because the man ran a decent sort of place and John didn't want to get run out of it. Long story, best not to ask the details. Needless to say John and Joe had crossed paths and it hadn't been a fun time for either of them.

Wandering in, John takes a glance around to make sure Joe's out then saunters up to the bar, "Hey luv, set me up with a whiskey wouldja?" he says. "Actually, leave me the bottle." He dropped some of that shiny plastic Canadian money on the bar.

He was here tracking the remaining artifacts with Willow and while leads were being run down he slipped off for a quiet drink and some time not to think about things.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate felt like a bad made for tv movie.

She'd just taken a bite of her burger when the door to the bar opened. No biggie. It was a bar, and people came and went routinely. In fact, she didn't really even notice who'd come in... until he ordered.

That voice. Kate would know it anywhere. That cigarette and whiskey soaked rasp of an English accent was one she'd know anywhere, even if it weren't ordering up a shot and demanding the bottle be left behind.

Her traitorous innards lurched with the most enjoyment they'd felt in a long time even as Kate cringed down in her seat hoping he wouldn't notice her.

Seriously, she'd flown an entire continent away from the man. How'd he find her?

Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, he walks into mine... she thought. All she needed was for tonight's band to waltz out on stage and lead off into a riff of As Time Goes By.

Constantine has posed:
John's first scan of the bar misses Kate and then once he's seated his attention is on the booze and the pretty woman behind the bar tonight serving it.

When his drink arrives, John takes a swallow and offers a smiled, "Thanks," jerking his head upwards at her his eyes flicking to the mirror behind the bar.

Wait was that...

His eyes fix on the reflection and the partially obscured face he thought he saw looking his way for a moment.

"No bloody way..." he muttered to himself. "How'd she find me 'ere?" he wonders keeping an eye on her in the mirror wondering if he should be looking for an exit or walking over and giving her a piece of his mind.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Oh god. The mirror.

There was only so much help that cringing down in your seat could do to make up for the fact that Kate was certain their eyes had met in that mirrored reflection. And even if he could read her mind, and the fact that she was hoping he wouldn't notice her, Kate was pretty sure John wasn't entirely the sort to let bygones by bygones or.. Or what?

Actually, not that she thought about it, she was angry with him. Just who did he think he was anyway? Always pushing her aside and treating her like she was not only dispensible, but an awkward child to boot. Wasn't that why she'd told him to go stuff his friendship and leave her alone?

Now that she's remembered she's angry at him, Kate refuses to scrunch down in her seat or make herself smaller. Screw him. She was here first. She had the burger and fries to prove it. She didn't know why he was here, or how he'd managed to find her, but she was going to be damned if she let him ruin her meal - the first comfortable thing she'd done since arriving in Vancouver.

To that end she sent him a haughty look via the mirror and deliberately6 lifted her glass of beer to her lips. She'd show him, that's what she'd do. Ha!

Constantine has posed:
That was bloody it! She tosses him out of her life, then stalks him to Vancouver and then raises a drink to him? What game was she playing at?

John was going to find out.

Getting up from the bar he brought his glass and the bottle with him as he headed to Kate's table, his eyes lighting on the burger and fries just as he arrived...

What that didn't make sense... but he was committed now, he had to say something: "Fancy meeting you here," he says by way of greeting.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
There's an entirely stubborn tilt to Kate's jawline as she waits until John speaks. She's watched him cross over to her, drinks in hand like he just fully expects she's going to invite him to sit down.. Just what sort of game was he playing at? He'd had opportunity to call her and make up, or try to mend fences - anything. Instead he'd followed her across the country - to another country even!

No, really. What sort of game was he playing? He was the one who didn't do relationships, right? Right?

Then again, he was an ass.

"If that's your way of asking if you can sit down and join me, I have to say it's not funny. If you wanted to talk to me, you could have done it back at home." She's intending on moving on to ignoring him now, only her mouth and brain had totally different ideas of what that looked like. "And another thing, if you think offering to share drinks with me makes it all better, I have to say that's a lousy apology."

That's when she notices he's still only got one glass. Only she's said it now. She's kind of committed. So, instead, she gives him her 'I said what I meant and meant what I said' look and waits for him to deal with things.

Constantine has posed:
"That's funny, because I was coming over to say the same bloody thing, that you had to be mad following me all the way here, but," John glances at the half-eaten food. "You got here before me." He lets that sink in before he takes a seat across from her and pours himself a shot.

"So, either staking out all those married folks made you a a super detective to give ol' Bats a run for his money, or fate's having a lark with us right now."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"Of course I got here before you," Kate mutters, gesturing at her plate before it occurs to her that he also likely means *here*. As in Vancouver here. Or, at the very least the two had come independantly and this was just another of those fickle jokes fate liked to play on her. And, it seemed, by his words, him.

"I didn't know you were here," she says finally, gesturing across the table from herself. "You may as well sit down now.." As he does just that before she can fully get the invitation out. "I wasn't stalking you, if that's what you're implying."

Kate really doesn't want to tell John much of anything. It's not like she owes him any explanations, is it? Only, deep down, she's a nice girl. And not only does she like John (even if she's angry with him), but she misses him. "I came out her to get away. I was thinking of maybe moving out here. I don't know. I've been seeing this guy and I think my father wants me to marry him. I was trying to decide."

Constantine has posed:
John flops into the faux leather of the booth nodding, "Thought you were stalking me, yeah, but that food convinced me otherwise, so back to fate having a lark then."

He shakes his head and pours himself another drink.

"Sounds like a lovely chap," John remarks of the guy Kate's father wanted her to marry. "Got to say, being rained on for most the year sounds like the better deal," he says of her option to move to Vancouver. "As for me, I'm here for work, tracking a few things that lead me and my apprentice here. Don't suppose you got the idea to come out here from someone else?" he asks, not putting it past the Priest to lure Kate out here as leverage.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
eKate actually laughs, shaking her head. "Lovely chap, huh? You don't even know anything about him. Go on, admit it. You're just being peevish." Even if she had to admit the 'lovely chap' in question was rather unremarkable in that he was a clone of every other country club, silver spoon heir that she'd grown up with, which is to say all rather boring, singularly focused on keeping up appearances, and not to her tastes at all.

Still, it would make her father happy, and what else was she doing anyway?

"It does rain alot out here, doesn't it?" It had, at least once a day since she'd arrived, even if the seasonal showers in summer were rather less pronounced than the dreary grey wet creature that was fall, winter, and spring rolled into one abymsally long season of lament.

"Huh? Someone else?" Kate starts guiltily. How did John know about /that/?

Constantine has posed:
John makes a face before chuckles. "Maybe a little," he says. "Still, speaks volumes it's him or moving to another country," he observes with a bit of a grin.

"Yeah, worse than bloody London," John says of the rain. "Better view though, and people are more talktative."

John forgets all about the city when Kate reacts to the question about someone else, "Yeah, someone suggest coming out here? A stranger maybe, or hell, a friend, sort of curious about the timing."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
So not what Kate expected of the question. "Nooo.." of course it's evident she's been caught out, so she admits, "I might have considered TPing a certain archer's house."

Throwing eggs at his house. Shooting him with some trick arrows. That sort of thing. But no strangers.

She takes a swig of beer, and pushes her plate to the middle of the table, "The fries are good. And he's not horrible. He's just.." Kate shrugs.

Constantine has posed:
John considers that answer, "Wait, you came out here to mess witth the Green Arrow?" he asks some of the tension fading from him. Indeed his eye sparkle with amusement at the idea. "What'd Greeny do to you?"

Sure John was part of the Justice League, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the misfortunes of his fellow members, they were grown ups, they could handle their own business.

"Human oatmeal?" John offers as a suggestion. "Y'know, edible but don't want to have it everyday for the rest of your life?"

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"What did he do?" Kate's indignation shines loud and clear in her voice as she relates what Green Arrow had done. "He referred to me in the third person and like I was Daredevil's property. 'Does your archer need help with her gear' - I'll show him who needs help with their gear. He didn't even acknowledge my presense. I bet I could outshoot him any day of the week. He'll be lucky if all I do is TP his house."

Mind you, she'd have to find him or his house first.

As for John's description of the Country Club set as oatmeal, it was uncannily accurate. "Thy're okay if that's what you want out of life. I don't know. It would make my father happy."

She shrugs and takes a long swallow of her beer.

Constantine has posed:
Oooh he touched a sore spot there, John though has to shake his head. "Real smooth on Greeny's part there," he remarks and he chuckles before a thought occurs: "Wait, do you know where he lives? An' if you want to go futher give me one of his hairs and I can work up something fun for the bloke as long as he never hears about it."

A terrifying illuison might fit the bill, or oh, wait, an illusion of TP all over his house that only he saw and never goes away...

He'd have to write that one down later.

"If we were put here on Earth to make our father's happy I would have died years ago and made the old bastard's wish come true," John says with a bitter tone of an old wound. "So I say fuck what your father wants and move out to rain land here if that's what turns your crank."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"Wow. Your father sounds like a real winner. Why's he hate you so much?" Not that it was really any of her business. "And no, I have no clue where he lives. It's not like there's some super secret phone directory for people's vigilante aliases."

Which was likely just as well, all things considered. But if she met the man again she was going to give him a piece of her mind.

"I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet, to be honest. If I move out here, my father might well and truly disown me." Unless, of course, she offered to take over one of the local offices.. That had promise. Please her father /and/ put near a contininent between them.

Constantine has posed:
John answers the question with a shrug. "Killed me mum," he says with a practiced facsimile of casual disregard.

"An' well, there sort of is, jus' I don't think my mates in the Justice League would like it if I started poking through therir files," he says, not that it would stop John, that sort of info was golden, if for nothing else, popping in on the supes when they least expected it, kept up his whole air of mystery.

Another one to write down.

"Well, disowned beats oatmeal if you ask me," John opines, "But then I am not exactly the sort of bloke to take advice from."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"Considering you treat people like tissues, no," Kate says with slightly more bitterness than she means. "Sorry. That just slipped out." She sighs, and grabs a fry. "The burgers are good. I can cut the remainder in half if you want to share."

"Wait, you and the Justice League? That sounds like a story." Because John truly did not seem the sort. Not only that they'd call upon, but the sort to actually be reputable enough to want to be with them. Then again, he might be using a very loose definition of 'mates'.

Now that he's brought it up, though, the notion of finding out where Green Arrow lives niggles and intrigues. "You couldn't really find out where he lives, could you?"

Constantine has posed:
"Nah that's fair," John says as he slams back another drink. "An' nah, you enjoy yours, whiskey's good enough for me right now."

He studies Kate for a moment, his mind working but before he puts words to his thoughts she brings up the Justice League and he's happy to grab tight to that conversational thread than unspool one of his own.

"I know 'em," John says. "Hell been up to their station a few times as well. If you're looking for a change, could always introduce you, seem as stiff as boards that lot, but who knows they might need someone better than greeny to round out their numbers."

As for finding Green Arrow's place he nods, "Yeah, probably can."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"I guess the next question is, am I the kind of person who uses my friends to illicitly gain someone else's address so that I can TP it." She nods to herself as she asks that nearly rhetorical question out loud. She's not entirely sure if she's that person, but she's fairly certain that she could be. It's not really that far off of private investigations once you took out the TP part, and he'd totally brought that one on himself by dissing her the way he had. And would it be her fault if a friend entirely of their own volition went and got her that information? Nope..

Then she remembers she's still angry at John and she's not really sure if he is a friend or not. She suspects not, and not just because she's angry at him, but by his very own definition of things.

Constantine has posed:
"Well, I know I bloody well am," John says about using his friends, which is probably why he doesn't have that many of them. "But if you don't want me to thumb through the Justice League rolodex, I can probably just call the bloke, set up a meet and you can tali him home, if you want to make it fair."

John's view was well... largely situational. Right now, having a gab in the bar, they were friends, the rest? Well he'd take it as it comes.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"I wouldn't say no," Kate admits. She wouldn't tell him to do it, but if he did it, she wasn't about to say no. She realized that was truly riding a fine line there on ethic, but it wasn't like she was going to rob the man, or out him to his neighbours.. just have friendly little talk about manners. Surely there wasn't anything wrong with that?

As for John.. "So, why'd you really come over here. To my table, I mean. Just to yell at me?" It didn't make a whole lot of sense. Not if he really wanted to cut ties with her. Not if he really meant what he'd said about relationships. That John would have lifted his glass right on back to her in that mirror and been right royally smug about the fact that he saw her and couldn't be bothered.

Of course she'd have been just as likely to go on over there and give him a piece of her mind as she'd have been to remain sitting here in some sort of cold war standoff. Given the way he drank, Kate was fairly certain her pitcher of beer might have given her a time advantage.

Constantine has posed:
John nods slowly and slides a napkin over to Kate. "Then let me know how to get in touch an' I'll see what I can find," John said with a nod.

As for Kate's question, "To tell you to stop following me, after that, basically for the company and to see if my opposition was playing games with me."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"Wait, to tell me to sto following you, and then to hang out? Isn't that kind of a contradiction in terms, John?" Kate wasn't sure what sort of mixed message he was trying to send he3r there, but she covers that up by scribbling her details on The napkin. He'll note it's a swanky hotel she's staying at, courtesy of daddy's money.

The napkin is shoved back at him.

"Opposition, huh? That bad?" Kate isn't sure if she believes him, after all, John isn't exactly the most trustworthy of sorts at the best of times. That, and, if it were so bad, would he really be leaving his apprentice alone to come have a drink? Actually, did he even have an apprentice?

Constantine has posed:
John frowns, "Well first it was to tell you to piss off, then when I saw you weren't here following me, then I sat down to talk, don't know what's wrong with that? Following me here would be creepy, luv, while being here by coincidence, well that's worth a gab about at least."

He shrugs and collects the napkin giving the details a look, "Nice digs," he remarks.

"Don't know 'em that well yet, so I can't rule anything out 'till I do, 'e's a fallen priest back from the dead, don't know how he's managed it, but he's out to do some mischief with some artifacts and me and my apprentice are out to stop him," he says as if all of that were completely normal.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"Sounds fun. And, okay, so you have an apprentice. You left whoever alone to come have a drink or three?" She nods at his bottle. "I'm guessing you must be staying nearby then, and no that's not a comeon. I didn't follow you here."

Not really necessary to point out again, but hey, if she were *really* clever, she might have followed him to Vancouver, and knowing his predilections fairly well, parked her butt at a likely bar near his local digs and waited. Odds were he'd show up sometime..

As for worth a gab about, Kate felt like they'd dropped into what other people would call small talk. Except where that was the weather, they were discussing whether or not the other had been tailing them. Past that it was all 'Yeah, the usual. Saving the world from bad guys'. Even if John's did sound a lot more exciting than her usual fare.

"Aren't priests usually exempt from that undead thing? I mean holy people and all that?" She'd not really paid all that much attention in Sunday school, but she was pretty sure she'd caught that much at least. She couldn't recall any stories of priests going that far off the beaten track. Adding, "And following people is kind of my job, John."

Constantine has posed:
"Reasonably close, and yeah I've got an apprentice, not worried about leaving her alone, she's got magic and a key to open a door from here to my place, if Father Zombie comes calling, I trust she'll manage."

"An' I believe you," he says about her not following him. She could have set herself up here to wait for him it's true, or she could have followed him than sat down at a table that hadn't been cleared yet to make it look like she'd been awhile, but that was a road that lead to paranoia, so he'd just trust her on that, 'sides, it felt right.

It was a bit of small talk, for sure, John not quite certain he wanted to broach deeper topics just now. As for the priest, "For the most part, but bloke strayed far off the reservation for this one, the guy upstairs' got to be pissed to let all this happen."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"If you believe in that sort of thing," Kate says with a shrug. She wasn't all that certain she believed in a higher power, or that it was all that conerned with how she led her life. John, she knew, did. Which left her in an odd sort of spot. Was God like magic? There if you believed in it or not, or?

She sits there for several awkward moments, considering what to do now. Before they'd have joked and had easy conversation. Heck, they might have gone back to her place, or his - though his had the complication of his apprentice. She forced herself not to think about the fact that he might be sleeping with her, too. Not that John owed her any explanations, and not that John was picky about gender, but he was someone who could be counted on to come on to anything that didn't run fast enough.

"I'm sorry about how things went with us last time," Kate says finally. Things had changed between them. She wasn't sure if it were irrevocable or not, and not that she was trying to worm her way back into his life, but the Katie within her felt she owed him that much apology - if not for him, then for herself. "I like you John, but it's really hard to be friends with someone who doesn't see you like an equal. It's, well, to use your oatmeal analogy, it was like being handed a box of granola. Only then there were all these strings. Only at that table. With this spoon. And you get to pour the milk and decide how much I got and when I was done eating. After awhile it wasn't as much fun as it seemed at first."

Kate wasn't sure if that really expressed it entirely, but he'd brought up oatmeal, and she'd not had a lot of time to think about a better response. Maybe he'd understand. Not that she thought it would change anything at this point.

Constantine has posed:
"Ain't nothing to believe in there, luv. God's real whether your believe in the bastard or not. Him and those down below make a real mess of things fighting their war," John says with a shake of his head. "Thankfully for mankind there's blokes like me, keepin' the balance."

John reaches for his lighter during that awkward silence and flicks it open and closed a couple of times to boot.

"Hmm, yeah me too," John says about the last time, though his brows raise curiously at tfhe suggestion he didn't think of her as an equal. "Wait, what's all that about?' he asks trying to follow the granola anology. "So, what this is about my whole I don't do friends bit? Or love? Wasn't trying to tell you what to do, just telling you what I was in for so there wasn't any surprises."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
For the moment, the bit about God above and Lucifer below is let slide. Kate wasn't sure it mattered much if *she* believed in it, if there were an undead priest running about it wasn't about to check if she were a card carrying member of the faith club before laying into her, so ultimately maybe John's point was true enough.

As for the other, however, "Except you did, John. I wasn't allowed to expect anything of you. Your idea of friends isn't.. It just isn't. You expect you can pack up and leave at any time you want. Like your feelings are the only ones that matter. You think your expectations and your boundaries are the only ones that are important. It's like arguing with a toddler, I can't win. It doesn't matter what I can do, or what I think, or what I want. You didn't stop once and ask me. And you treated me like I'm .. incapable of making decisions or taking care of myself, or even contributing to things because in your eyes the only experiences that matter are your own."

Kate shrugs.

"I didn't ask you to be exclusive. Or move in. Or heck, John, I didn't even ask you if you were sleeping with other people. And that wasn't enough. You wanted it all. You wanted to be able to dictate to me everything in how we could be friends, and be allowed to walk away at any point without looking back."

He's treated to a wry sort of smile. "You know what? That wasn't even the worst of it. I mean I didn't like that, but it wasn't as bad as you.. That Green Arrow guy? He was honest in what he thought of me and how he treated me. He didn't try to tell me that I was some talented archer, and then step in my way when things got nasty and tell me to leave it to the big boys. He flat out said he didn't think I had what it took. You?" Another of those shrugs. "Did you even mean it when you said we could be friends, but if you told me to run, to run and not look back? Because I keep thinking about that, and wondering. You said it, but you didn't treat any different than before. I was still pat on the head Katie. Don't expect any really depth, Katie. And you sure as shit can't deal with what I do, Katie, so take it from me, it's better this way, Katie."

Constantine has posed:
*clink-clink* *clink-clink* The lighter flips open and closed in John's hand.

"To me what you're sayin' sounds like I warned you of what I could do and what I couldn't do, and you weren't happy with that, instead of walking away, you stuck around expecting me to change. That option was never on the table and I said as much regularly," John says. "Does it make me a selfish asshole? Definitely, but I never said that I wasn't."

"As for leavin' it to the big boys, I only said that about things from my side of the street, 'cuz it takes magic to beat them, hell half the time it takes magic just to see them coming, so expecting you to have to face that would be like you expecting me not to break my bloody neck jumping around rooftops. You've got your training, I've got mine., simple as that. I respect that you know what you're doing in your world, and you need to trust I know what I'm talking about in mine."

"Anyhow, know that doesn't make me any less of an asshole, but for what it's worth I am sorry things went the way they did."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate smiles one of her brightest fundraising gala smiles, "If that's what gets you through the day, John. I'm done arguing with you. I didn't expect you to do anything but be an actual friend instead of the lie you were telling yourself. Seems to me, you wanted your cake and to eat it too. Be my friend, Katie. Care, Katie. Just don't expect the same in return Katie."

She finishes her glass of beer and contemplates the pitcher. "I was there, John. You forget that. I was there that night we did that thing. I know better. You can say all you want now, because it scared you how much you wanted to be vulnerable with someone, and how you let it happen that once."

"Anyway, it's been real nice and all, I just think I'm worth more than that."

The smile she gives him now is less plastic, but it's still a mask.

"No, I wouldn't expect you to jump from rooftop to rooftop. But I'd trust you to be there at the end of the merry chase I was leading them, ready to drop the trap we'd agreed to set on them. See, that's the difference between me and you. I'd actually think about what you can do and how it could help me. I would never think magic is useless against the kind of folks I fight. Just because I can't do it doesn't mean I don't understand how it might help me."

Constantine has posed:
John thumbs his lighter closed with a solid final clink. His expression is a mask of impassivity, but that he stopped figiting suggests something Kate said got through that armour of his.

She was right of course, he had wanted to be real and vulerable with someone and Katie had seemed safe, a good person who wouldn't turn that moment against him. She hadn't even now, but he hadn't considered the collateral damage he'd inflict on her. That was nothing new, but what was is that that fact stung...

He takes a drink to try and drown that thought, when he sets the glass down empty, he has to admit that last point was fair.

"You may have a point there," he admits like he was pulling one of his own teeth. "Jus' seen a lot of people get dead, so tellin' em to piss off is easier."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
She wasn't angry with him anymore. Truth be told, she hadn't been for some time. Well, a bit, but not like she had been at first. Seeing him here had surprised her and brought back a well of those feelings, but now that she'd said all that, and said it calmly, she realized it was true. What he had offered? She was worth more than that.

Matt would be proud of her. Fat lot of good it did her now.

"People die in my line of work all the time." Kate doesn't offer it as a throwaway, or with any blytheness meant to make it seem old hat. She'd just had a lot time to come to terms with this particular fact since she'd taken up her bow and arrow in the service of fighting crime. "None of us get a guarantee that we'll get to sleep in our own beds any night. Things happen. And, no, I'm not trying to make you think you should drag me along into your world. I just think that our worlds aren't as different as you think. People we love die. People we love get targetted because we love them and that's an easy way to hurt us."

"Ma--my friend.. the woman he's with, the one I was telling you about? It's a complicated story, but the people she was working forr hurt him and his friends to hurt her. Well, to keep her in line, but not sure it's all that different. She became this person so that she could protect him."

Not that it had worked entirely. Matt and the rest of the Defenders had been at risk the entire time. Worse, people like Karen and Claire had been targetted too, and they had even less means to protect themselves than the others did.

"I guess what I'm saying is that sometimes the person you are means people get hurt. But you don't get to decide if they care about you or not. You only get to decide for you. And pushing people away won't stop people from caring or getting hurt. Ask your apprentice. She'll tell you. Anyway, not really sure this makes any difference. And I appreciate you admitting I had a point."

Grinning.

"Even if it looked like it hurt." Kate just wasn't sure it changed anything at this point.

Constantine has posed:
John considers Kate's words, she did have a point, heroing wasn't much safer than what he did, especially when you didn;t have powers. Though images of Astra flood into his mind, the demon dragging the little girl to Hell, the guilt the rage...

He blinks and brings himself back to the moment.

He nods about the tail of her friend and the undead woman, the bind that it put them in and how it ended. More good points, and he drinks to keep the memories from flooding back.

"Just a little," he jokes with a thin smile of his own. "You did have some good points though... there's just... anyhow, you've given me things to think about."

He looks over to her, "Welcome to stay while I do, or, I can jus' give you a ring when I can provide that Green bastard."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate pours herself a half glass of beer, and drinks it thoughtfully while making up her mind. The thing was, she wasn't sure if it changed anything. Or if it could. She didn't really know much anymore other than she felt peaceful about the matter now. Sure, she liked him and all, cared about him even, she just needed things to be on more equal footing.

Maybe he'd been right too. Maybe she'd wanted something more. She wasn't sure to be honest. All Kate knew was what they had, before she'd ended it, had been unequal, and unfair to her. Maybe even to him if he were honest with himself. And maybe it was nothing more than John punishing himself in the only ways he knew, to dangle something he wanted at arm's length and set impossible boundaries about it, ensuring failure.

Kate wasn't exactly an expert on mature relationships; she was still struggling with this one herself. And being grownup was hurting more than a little bit.

"I think I should go. I'm not sure this is the kind of thing a pint of beer is long enough to make a difference over." She still had half a plate of food and half apitcher of beer, but Kate wasn't hungry or thirsty anymore. "It was really nice seeing you again, John. You take care of youself."

Inwardly hating herself just a little for being a grownup when she really wanted to just give in and.. and be unhappy, she reminded herself. Though she did have to laugh a tiny bit inwardly. Had John met her even half a year ago, he'd have been the one in danger. She was pretty sure the likes of John would serverely underestimate the forces that the Hand had been using to manipulate their leader into behaving. Kate wasn't Matt, but it wasn't like the Hand was making distinctions at the time.

Rising from her seat, she gives him a wan little smile. "Don't worry about the bill. Paid for. I'll add yours on my way out. I know I ate half, but the burger really is good. You should finish it."

Constantine has posed:
John was unsure why he did what he did, well, beyond the reasons he told himself anyhow, but punishing himself would be a very good guess, convincing himself that he could never have the things he wanted by getting in their way.

"Fair 'nuff," John says with a nod about the time it'd take to work things out. "Probably take a bloody big lot of beer," he admits.

When the burger is pointed out he slides it over in front of him before he looks up at Katie. "Nice seeing you too, luv. Take care, an' don't let the green bastard keep you down."

It felt flat and insufficient, so he added:"Anyhow, thank you, for all of it," he didn't mean the food. "Sorry it went the way that did."

He offers a wan tired smile of his own.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"It's okay," Kate says, allowing for the honesty of that. "I didn't help much either. I mean, I had a habit of falling for the wrong people. Maybe I was searching for more too. That whole night? I gotta admit, it felt good to.. to be real with someone and not be afraid for once. I guess I didn't think how it might have been for you."

"I'd probably have pushed me away too. Probably have run. I mean, I'm young and naive, and it's not like I didn't tell you about my track record. I'm sorry I wasn't what you were looking for either."

She sighs deeply and lets it go.

"I should thank-you though. You helped me make up my mind about something. Well, to be honest with myself about something." She grins wryly at him. "I'm going to return the ring when I get back home. Turns out oatmeal might be easier, but I deserve better than that, too. And hey, I'm young and good looking and a crack shot to boot. There has to be someone out there who'll appreciate that. Might still take up the local office, but not going to marry him."

Constantine has posed:
"Yeah, it did," John agrees of that first night, of having someone there to let his guard down with it didn't happen often in his life, or Kate.

As for not being what each other was looking for, he shrugs, "Happens luv, frequently to the both of us by the sound of it, so no harm no foul as far you and me go," it was offere off-hand and easy but there was sincerity in the look he gives her. Whoever the fault lies with, John wasn't holding any grudges.

"Yeah?" he asks curious about what she'd made her mind up about. Turned out it was both of the things he'd imagined in his head. He nods, "Easy is boring," he offers with a smile, "And you do deserve better, though, at least some Oatmeal with a bit of brown sugar in it," he says with a wink. "An' if you decide to give this town a proper archer that might just do for Greeny more than a whole truck of TP," he offers about Kate's possible moving plans. "But you'll figure out what's best for you."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"Oh, I'm not the one who needs oatmeal. But if you ever figure things out, you know how to find me."

And with that, Kate makes arrangements for John's bill to be paid, and to head out again. It might not be her home turf, but she was pretty sure that she could find some crime fighting to get into. Even better, there already was a resident archer in town, and while she might not want him taking credit for her work, it also wouldn't alert anyone to the fact that Hawkeye was out and about... unless they knew a thing or two about arrows and checked the fletching.

Constantine has posed:
"I do," John says with a nod. "An' well if you ever need a warlock, you know how to reach me too."

After she's gone John sighs and downs the last of his whiskey. "Good one Johnny-boy," he grumbles to himself before tucking into his burger and thinking over what all had been said.