Comments | after_impact: The Masochism Tango

magnetlips in after_impact

The Masochism Tango

May 26, 2011 23:44

It had been several days since Cassie ran away. She had left a message on Teddy's phone telling him that she was all right and not to worry about her or look for her. Of course, she knew he would anyway, but she had to tell him something ( Read more... )

songbird, hollow, stature, nate richards

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pre_kang May 27 2011, 07:59:43 UTC

"Hey," was the greeting from the boy who was now casually walking along beside her. "Finally decided to come out of hiding?" Which was probably ironic considering who just said that to her.

Nate had been... keeping his distance for some time, though still kept a loose track of Cassie's movements. He had been busy, so he couldn't keep as close an eye on her as he wanted, but he had noticed that over the past few days she hadn't been staying at her home or the Baxter Building.

It worried him enough that he decided to talk to her face to face.

magnetlips May 27 2011, 08:13:03 UTC

Cassie nearly tripped over her own feet. "N-Nate?" She reflexively brushed her hair back over the left side of her face- even though she didn't need to. She tried not to look straight at him, better to keep her face at an angle so he couldn't see how bruised she was.

"What are you doing here?" Of all the times to track her down and talk to her he chose now? Where was he before? Where was he when she needed him?

pre_kang May 27 2011, 08:22:46 UTC

He's been busy. Avenging a planet with as many problems as this one didn't leave a lot of free time.

"I could ask you the same thing." He wasn't looking at her, mostly because he didn't trust himself to not do something stupid like break down and beg her forgiveness. "You've been hiding from your family. And your teammates."

magnetlips May 27 2011, 08:33:28 UTC

If he wasn't going to look at her then she wasn't going to look at him. Mostly.

Kinda.

O.K., she kept looking over at him.

"And how do you know that?" Her tone was sharper than she meant it but he'd caught her by surprise. And she was all ready on the defensive in this conversation.

soulintheshell May 27 2011, 08:44:25 UTC

"Because I called your home, you weren't there. I called the Baxter Building, you weren't there either. No one had seen you for days." Well, it wasn't entirely a lie. He did look up her phone usage every now and then. It was the simplest way to keep track of her.

"...I got worried," he admitted, hesitantly.

magnetlips May 27 2011, 08:52:07 UTC

Cassie blinked. "You called me?" He actually cared? "I..." She looked away.

She didn't want to lie. Not anymore and certainly not to him, despite everything that had happened.

"I quit the team." There was half of the answer.

pre_kang May 27 2011, 08:56:21 UTC

And he looked over at her.

"Why?"

magnetlips May 27 2011, 09:01:15 UTC

Cassie quickly turned so only her good side was facing him, even if it meant looking away from him completely.

"I just... I couldn't work with them. Not under Taskmaster and not after what Tom- what was said."

pre_kang May 27 2011, 09:09:49 UTC

He let out a breath through his nose when she looked away from him. She was probably still pissed at him. Not that he could entirely blame her.

"Okay..." That leaves at least one question answered. "But that doesn't explain why you're not at home."

magnetlips May 27 2011, 09:18:29 UTC

She thought about lying. It wasn't that hard. Just something that had enough of the truth to sound right. But Nate wasn't stupid. Sooner or later he was going to get a good look at her and Cassie doubted he'd buy the old super villain excuse. Not after avoiding her family. And even if he did, the truth would come out sooner or later.

Cassie stared straight ahead for several long moments before brushing her hair back out of her face and turning to face Nate.

The swollen, purple bruise across the left side of her head should speak for itself.

soulintheshell May 27 2011, 09:25:02 UTC

He glanced over at her at first, but stopped and turned to face her fully when he saw that bruise. His mouth hung slightly open, his expression going from surprise to confusion to the sad realization of what happened to sorrow that Cassie got hurt...

He just stood, facing her for the moment, trying to think of something to say, but his brain failing him right now.

magnetlips May 27 2011, 09:30:29 UTC

Cassie moved her bangs back over her face, which was now red with shame.

"I've had a change in address." She tried to sound light.

soulintheshell May 27 2011, 09:34:10 UTC

A little hesitantly, he placed his hands on her shoulders, and pulled her into a small hug.

"Now you're gonna have another one. You're staying with me." That wasn't a request, either.

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magnetlips May 27 2011, 09:43:51 UTC

Cassie put her arms around Nate in what was definitely not a small hug. She had no idea how to answer him. She wanted to say "yes." She wanted to so badly. But she knew that where he lived- it would be even worse than the Defenders and Young Allies.

Then she heard Danny and pulled away oh so reluctantly- though she kept one arm around Nate.

"A friend."

soulintheshell May 27 2011, 09:54:00 UTC

Danny got a somewhat scrutinizing look back, a muted version of and who the fuck are you? Not that he couldn't find out easily enough, as he had his armor start running facial recognition against all public databases.

Still, Cassie seemed to know this guy, so he didn't immediately opt for aggressive action. He stood firm on his previous point, though, and calmly stated, "She's coming to stay with me for a while."

He knew she probably hated him, and likely didn't want to set foot into Avengers Tower as long as Osborn ran the place, but this was not up for discussion.

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