tushanshu_logs | Coming clean about a few things

Entry tags:

Coming clean about a few things

Characters: Kon-El (

tactile_telekinesis) & Hayley Stark (

everylittlegirl)
Date: Backdates to 8th March
Location: Hayley’s suite
Situation: Kon wants to talk to Hayley and tell her more about him.
Warning: None?

Kon had noted down Hayley’s address after he spoke to her over the inboxes. He hadn’t really known her that long but they’d spoken often enough that he felt comfortable around her. Bart trusted her, Kal had trusted her and that was enough for him after a while. After things had calmed down enough. There had been things about Kon that he didn’t just tell people, things that hadn’t had a chance to be said, an opening. He knew that he really didn’t have to tell her everything, and he wasn’t going to, but he did feel like there were some things she should know.

So he left his own suite in the Wood sector and took off towards Metal. When he was meeting people, it never took that long to reach the overall area, which he always saw as a good thing for two reasons. One, the person wasn’t going to be waiting for a long time and two, he could get a longer sleep in in the mornings if it was pre-planned. It was around forty minutes when he finally reached Hayley’s suite and knocked on the door, waiting for her to answer.

"Yo, Hayley!"

Standing there though, was giving him time to rethink whether or not he was actually going to tell her everything despite knowing deep down he would. Damn, why was this making him so nervous? Or was this just him being unsure.

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Hayley knew that Kon didn't like her comments about Clark. She steered the subject away because she had no interest in alienating her friend, but it would be an exaggeration to say she cared much about offending him beyond the damage it would do to their relationship. It was selfish, in that way.

"Or- Or I could just not wear a costume at all." She flashed a hollow grin to accompany the words. "What were you saying before though? Something about it being physical?"

"Or you could have like a mask on and tights and like ninja stars or something. We'd need to find someone that could show you how to use them though. I'm thinking red with some other colours. And a symbol. You need a symbol."

Kon was returning with a smile, though there was more behind it than there had been before.

It took him a moment to remember what he'd been saying and what Hayley meant.

"Oh yeah, when I said there sometimes used to protect you, I mean from physical harm, not to hide who you are. Like the materials can be used to stop a gun shot or absorb energy, that kinda thing."

"No ninja stars," she retorted immediately, practically cutting off his words. "Guns will work just fine."

She glared with joking suspicion at his smile before it became catched, a smile spreading slowly onto her own lips. He was obnoxiously entertaining, much like Bart. Less likely to keep her interested, but more likely to speak her language.

"Maybe I could be talked into wearing a costume if it was bullet proof or something equally awesome, but I'm not wearing one just to look 'cool.'" She provided the accompanying air quotes. "And a symbol? Can you not drag me into all of your cliches? Like maybe no primary colors either?"

"Guns?" Kon wasn't sure about guns. Some were pretty cool that didn't really have the ability to kill, more like disable. But he had a feeling Hayley meant actual guns. But then they were just as dangerous as the stars and he didn't want to suddenly say what she could and couldn't have. "No killing with them though. Unless it that Mal-douche."

Kon looked offended at the primary colours as he looked as himself, primary colours galour.

"We can totally work on a bullet proof costume, gotta be breathable and flexible. Ouch! Cliche? You know what to say to hurt a guy, huh? Fine, no symbol. But at least one primary. Even if it's subtle."

"Well, I have this, uh.. plasma something? I forget what it's called." Hayley dropped her eyes, feeling suddenly like the gun was something she should maybe be more careful about. But Bart already knew and she wasn't ashamed of it, so Kon could deal. "It's supposed to be able to stop pretty much anyone, no matter how fast or strong they are."

She met his gaze again. "Tony gave it to me after the whole murder thing."

With the colors, she rolled her head into a light shrug. "Oh come on, you know it's true. Every hero's costume I've seen here is all primary colors with some black and white thrown in. Can't I just have something in plain black? It's not like I'm a superhero anyway. I could add a symbol with some red in it, if that would make you feel better."

Kon wanted to see what Hayley was talking about. Not to judge it or anything, it just sounded really interesting. Something that could stop anyone? When Hayley looked up Kon was smiling.

"You know, that sounds pretty sweet actually. Have you tried it out or anything?"

The circumstances that she got it under however, were not sweet and he was reminded even stronger of what had happened. That Hayley wasn't your typical teenager, that she'd had bad things happen to her. Here. But he was glad there were others looking out for her.

"No no, it's cool. You've already said black's the way to go. Don't mind me."

He was acting hurt over the colours still but only playing with her. He didn't mind, or care what her costume looked like, as long as it was cool afterwards.

Huh. That was certainly not the reaction she was expecting. Unless it was a trap, approaching her with camaraderie in the hopes of her admitting to another attack or the like. She kept her expression the same sort of smile, though the sincerity behind it faltered slightly.

"No. I mean, I carried it around after I attacked Superman, in case someone came after me, but it's not like I have anyone to try it on." A beat. "Unless you're volunteering? But I don't actually know if it's just supposed to hold them in place or if it's supposed to knock them out."

"And oh no. It's too late. Black with a red symbol it is. But whatever I design, you have to make happen." The sincerity returned to her smile. The idea of a costume was still weird, but she figured she could make do.

Kon's eyes widened and he threw his hands up in front of him shaking his head. Even if it sounded cool, they both didn't know how it worked exactly and he wasn't willing to throw himself at its mercy either.

"I'll take a pass on that if it's cool."

He grinned as she mentioned a symbol, because it was useless to act hurt when the idea was good. Not like he could stop the grin from breaking out any way.

"Cool and done."

Hayley's smile became more devious when he immediately rejected the idea of being a test subject. While she wasn't actually interested in hurting him, the idea of testing her weapon was extremely appealing.

"It's not like it's experimental. It uses energy instead of bullets and I can control the strength, so the weakest probably wouldn't even bother you. And how am I supposed to know what settings to put it at if no one helps me?"

To the latter, she simply smiled a little. Then she set her coffee aside. "Can I try your jacket?"

Well he took after Superman in that magic didn't agree with him and energy? Not exactly the best of friends. So it wasn't something he wanted to test out even if it sounded pretty cool.

"You'll probably find a test subject some time. Just y'know not me."

He cocks his head slightly at the question and then watches her suspiciously for a moment. The jacket? That was a big ask but he slowly began to take it off. Kon held onto it for a moment before he held it out for her to take.

"Be careful with my baby."

"And here I thought we were such good friends," she teased. In truth, Hayley didn't really blame him for not wanting to be a test subject. The recollection of their history, of her attacking Clark, didn't even enter her mind until after she'd already made the comment. Then she gave him a smile, to reaffirm that she didn't mind.

She was oblivious to the importance of the request until she saw the way he protected the item before gingerly offering it. It was like Bart's book or her.. well, she probably had something she cared about that much. Maybe her own jacket. That he seemed to care so much for it and yet still offered it was only mildly surprising now. She was beginning to expect the unexpected from him.

"Thanks," she replied sincerely before she reached out to accept the item. Carefully, without hesitation, she slipped it on. It was half-drowning her. Where it complemented Kon's muscles and overall size, on her stick figure, it was loose at best. Still, it was comfortable, more so because she knew it meant a lot to him. Hayley wrapped it tightly around herself, such that it overlapped, and then crossed her arms over her stomach to hold it there.

Teasing again, she finally said, "I think I'll keep this and use it for my own costume. You don't mind, right?"

The jacket looked good on her, that was something he couldn't deny. Even the way it seemed to just drown her. It was definitely something she could pull off, though maybe one a little smaller, unless she wanted to go for that sort of look. And maybe not with his jacket because even though he knew she was joking, there was a lurch in his stomach when she said about keeping it.

Kon reached up to place a hand on his chest and gasped.

"Ouch. Hayley you're seriously killin' me here."

"It's really comfortable."

Although sincere, it was said mainly as more jesting. There was a part of her that liked riling him, liked knowing that she could. Maybe it was a defense mechanism to know what buttons to push if they weren't on good terms. Maybe she just liked the idea that he cared about the things she said. Whatever the case, she reveled in it.

"If you didn't look so amazing in it, I'd probably have to keep it," she said, not wanting him to worry that she had any intention of actually stealing the item. Not with Superman's symbol on the back. Hayley slipped it off and offered it back to him, not giving a second thought to the compliment. "Maybe I can borrow it to wear around the house sometimes."

Edited (changed last line - timelines) 2014-05-12 21:34 (UTC)

There was a pout forming as he played up to it, even making his bottom lip wibble a little. Though it was something he was incredibly attached to but as Hayley spoke, Kon smiled and took it back. He slipped it on and rolled his shoulders so that it sat right. He didn't comment on the compliment because she probably had just said it like he would have said it.

But he hummed and tapped his lips.

"Yeah maybe. if it gets cold or something."

She rolled her eyes at his exaggerated pout, even as her smile remained. The way he had to shift to get it to sit just right was something she found oddly endearing. And that bothered her. Hayley was already way too close to Bart as of late. The last thing she needed was to have another BFF looking out for her even when she didn't want them to. Even if Kon wasn't as bad as Bart about trying to control her.

"Or if I'm bored," she tossed out to counter his idea. Teasing was always easier than facing real things.

That would be the one thing he wouldn't do. Even if part of him maybe thought about it, he wouldn't act on it and wouldn't keep the thought going for long. He'd probably no doubt get angry at himself if he ever thought along those lines.

"Oh, is that how it's gonna be, huh?"

Hayley feigned deep thought, eyebrows scrunching together as if plotting some very important alternative. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so. You can borrow my taser if you want. Or my laptop. My laptop's totally worth more than your jacket. That's a sign of trust, Kon."

Every word of it was said with a dry sarcasm meant to continue their banter. It wasn't really trust and Hayley wasn't even sure she would actually loan him her computer unless he had a damn good reason for needing it. But it sounded good. This was what friends did, right?

"I'm feelin' that trust. Your laptop, man that's...that'd be such an honour! I've been having Minesweeper withdrawl for so long! But I wouldn't say it's worth more. No way. This is genuine leather."

Computers were Tim's thing if he remembered anything. Gadgets and laptops, a Bats world, not a Supers. So the chances of him actually coming to ask to borrow her laptop were pretty thin. But he enjoyed going back and forth.

"Hey. Not all of us came with our own arsenals, okay?" It continued in the same jesting fashion. "Or, uh.. I have a safe house you could use. I think there's some armor in it. Oh! Or the plasma rifle? But only if you let me try it on you first."

She flashed him an innocent little smile, one dangerously sincere, giving him a small tilt of the head and everything. After a moment, just long enough to hopefully unnerve him a little, she added an abnormally friendly, "Would you like some more coffee, Kon?"

Hayley turned around to continue what she was doing before this whole distraction began: making more coffee. She dumped what little remained in her mug into the sink and then fetched a new mug for him, setting the pot to do its thing and make a coffee like substance.

Edited (timelines) 2014-05-16 02:32 (UTC)

Her plan to unnerve him was working because with her smiling and staring, Kon wasn't able to look away. Which obviously meant he was seeing her and he had no doubt that even if he wasn't seeing it, he'd be feeling it. Which would probably be just as bad, if not worse. He had to stop himself from shivering and instead cleared his throat. He nodded yes to more coffee but brought the attention back to an earlier point.

"Safe house? When'd you get a safe house?"

It was probably more like a 'who gave you it?' but that wasn't something he was going to ask right out. Besides, the fact she had one? That was more interesting to him. And admittedly, the fact that someone other than Tim had one that he knew? That was even better, along with the fact there was actually stuff in it.

"Cause you know, checking out and using a safe house? That's definitely worth the swap of borrowing my jacket."

Hayley dropped the act when he asked about the safe house. She wanted Kon to have a small inkling of what she could do, but not enough to let him figure out her limits. The best and most interesting people she had met were all mysteries at some level and she wanted to craft that image for herself as well. It was pretty easy, given how little she talked about herself. There was a difference, however, between the void she was and the enigma she wanted to be.

Her lower lip pulled back between her teeth in nervous thought before she turned around to face him again. Then she gave a small shrug. With Jason gone, there was no harm in telling Kon who had given it to her. But she felt protective of that friendship, the one she knew most wouldn't approve of, the one where her friend had told her she would grow up to be a killer.

"Jason gave it to me," she said finally. Hayley was almost the image of nonchalance, belied by some tentativeness curling the edges of her tone. "Well, like, a kedan delivered it for him.. after he disappeared."

Edited 2014-05-20 04:02 (UTC)

If Kon had ever been asked to say which two people he found surprisingly similar, it would have to be Hayley and Tim. Simply based on the fact that for both of them, he knew hardly anything. Their personality, little bits here and there, but not enough to say that he knew them. And oddly, despite this fact bugging him back home, here on the turtle, here with Hayley it didn't really bother him at all. Some people just had a lot they wanted to hide and they'd tell him when they were ready. Though he could sometimes feel impatient and as though he was a shining beacon, screaming out who he was and what he was like.

Jason, Jason...Jason Todd? He couldn't claim to know what Jason was like. He'd never spoken to the guy, well he had he just didn't know it was Todd. But he'd heard about Jason, knew of the guy and he wondered how Hayley got to talking to the guy. Enough that he'd leave her a safe house if he ever left.

So all Kon could really do was look interested about it, which he was.

"That's, not gonna lie but that's pretty cool."

Who it was from mattered. She could have said a number of other names and Kon would have just nodded, not thought much about it. But Jason, he knew enough to know that this was worth thinking more of.

"So what's it like?"

Hayley regarded him, not entirely sure if his interest was genuine or a potential trap. She knew Kon was friends with Tim at some level, based on Kon staying with Bart after Tim left. She also knew Jason was Tim's brother. What she didn't know was if Kon knew that the two were related or what kind of a person Jason was. Hayley hadn't even told Bart as much.

"It's like.. a house, that's safe because no one knows about it. Well, except you now. I figure it's kind of a fair trade for the whole C thing." His being a clone. She knew that wouldn't have been easy to give up and Hayley was trying to keep them on an even keel. In rare form, she was even doing it honestly, a stark reminder of how she was getting too close.

Kon almost felt like rolling his eyes. The concept of a safe house was something he understood, but he'd meant the inside, what was it like. Homely, dark and dank but he never said anything, just shook his head slightly and smiled. The fact she had told him about it at all meant a lot. Divulging that sort of information wasn't something you just spoke about and he was thankful about it.

His smile grew and he cleared his throat.

"Seems fair. You so gotta show me one day."

She knew what he meant. She was also aware that he probably knew as much and interpreted her reply for exactly what it was. Hayley wasn't ready to give up too much too quickly and she appreciated that Kon accepted that.

"Yeah, one day." She returned his smile, then turned to get their coffees. It was almost fun hanging out with Kon, comfortable in a way that she wasn't used to. He made it easy. Handing him his coffee, she nodded for them to move back to the living room where they could continue chatting and hanging out for as long as they wanted without worrying about things.

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Coming clean about a few things

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I'M SORRY I'M A SPAZ