It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Confrontation [locked to seemoreofhive]

[markovincognita]

Terra never really knew what other stores went through in their Christmas rushes, but at least at Cheshire Lane, it could get pretty crazy. This was one of the slower days, but it was enough to keep her busy. She probably wouldn't even notice if someone she knew showed up, and even then probably wouldn't have time to talk to them

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[seemoreofhive]

As Terra was leaving the store, See-More was walking up to it, or near its area. He was wearing a thicker hoodie, probably a size too big, and both hands in his jean pockets. He took a nervous glance around, and walked in.

He shouldn't even be considering doing this. He left the HIVE Five to become a better person.

But he was cheated out of his hours at his new job. There were better, faster employees. He was probably getting cheated on hours before they actually handed him a pink slip. How would our establishment look when we have an employee with a record?He wasn't staying at neither Jinx's place nor at the apartment Ghost offered. Jinx was a good friend, but he didn't want to burden her. Ghost was a friend, but also his ex-teammate and that was too awkward. He was struggling to keep a place of his own -- he refused to go home

[markovincognita]

Terra's ears perked up when she heard some sort of commotion coming from inside. "What the hell, did Emma announce a new sale just to be a bitch?" she muttered, slowly pushing herself up and walking to the storefront. No sooner had she opened the door to walk inside than she gasped.

"See-More, what the hell are you doing?" she yelled at him. Given the froofy clothes she had to wear as her uniform, she was not looking forward to any kind of fighting.

[seemoreofhive]

... oh shi. He should have checked his sources before just walking into this store. Then again, he wasn't feeling ecstatic about running into Terra. Their last moment together was...interesting.

See-More turned to face her. In case Terra couldn't tell, he was not looking happy behind that helmet. "What's it look like? I have a bag, and there's a register full of money. I'm putting it to good use," he answered simply, bitterly.

[markovincognita]

She really should have seen that one coming. And yes, their last moment together was interesting, but maybe she was ready to talk. It scared her a little, and it was harder than just beating the snot out of him, but if she used her powers here then she'd probably be out of a job.

"I'm getting off work in a few hours," she said firmly. "You're going to put the bag down and get the hell out of my store, and we're going to go somewhere and talk when I'm done here. Or," and despite her fancy-yet-gaudy clothes, she cracked her knuckles in what she though was a threatening gesture, "I'm going to kick your ass and you're going to spend a long time in jail for losing me my job and terrorizing all these Christmas shoppers."

[seemoreofhive]

Okay, See-More could either listen to the lady with the rocks or challenge the lady with the rocks. He went over the pros and cons in his head.

Pros: he was a trained HIVE Academy student, and he could handle a few rocks. He was practically getting prepared for this moment for years, before Terra even knew what being a Titan was like.
Cons: she's a trained Titan, she looked plenty pissed off, and those rocks hurt if they hit you right. Here was some more cons: she could put his ass in jail. The only pro in that is the free meals, if you can accept being somebody else's bitch.

It wasn't so much that Terra looked threatening. It was the fact that See-More wasn't fit for jail, and Terra looked ready to drag his ass there So, he looked at the bag, and back at the cash register. B-But the money... He huffed, almost like a little kid being told to go sit in a corner, and gave the bag to a scared looking fourteen year old girl on the floor. "Where at?" he asked, trying to sound apathetic. It wasn't working.

[markovincognita]

See-More made the right choice. Terra took a few steps closer to him, keeping her hand out so the girl could hand her the bag. Once she safely had it, she looked right at See-More. "Outside the Tower. I'll explain when you get there." With a very serious look on her face, she added, "Four o'clock. Be there." She jerked her head towards the door.

At this rate, he wouldn't need prison to be someone's bitch.

[seemoreofhive]

He was tempted to ask, "As long as you don't kick me out again," but that didn't sound like the best idea. She was offering a get-out-of-jail free card while he was making a huge mistake. He might as well take it.

"I'll be there," and went to leave the store -- not without an old lady start beating him with her purse, her very HEAVY purse, as he was walking out the door. "Ow!"

[markovincognita]

She smirked at that, even though she probably shouldn't have. But hey, she just stopped a robbery! Maybe that would mean a Christmas bonus or something. "Crisis averted, people," she said into the intercom at the nearest checkout counter. "We here at Cheshire Lane realize you have a choice in clothing stores in Jump City, and we're glad you picked the one that has a Teen Titan on the staff."

A few hours later, she'd been run practically ragged, but it was worth it. She hadn't heard from Mr. Richards, but the situation had been caught on camera, so it would only be a matter of time. She'd actually gotten off a little earlier than four, which gave her time to take the aerial route to the Tower and get out of her work clothes in favor of her sky blue hoodie and jeans.

She stepped out the front door of the Tower at 4PM on the dot, only hoping a little that See-More had chickened out. She didn't look very ready to talk.

[seemoreofhive]

See-More was going to chicken out, but he had nothing else to do, nothing else to turn to. And Terra did freak him out a little. So, she shouldn't be surprised to see him waiting. He totally didn't look like he wanted to be there. Seriously!

[markovincognita]

At least she was still able to intimidate him into submission. "You... showed up." She didn't sound very surprised. "...I should probably say that if you want, you can stay here again. Beast Boy left. He left a couple days after... well, I mean, we broke up after everything happened in my room, and then he just left the Tower, and I would have told you sooner, but I didn't know how to get in touch."

Okay, that intimidation thing probably didn't stand too much anymore. She'd gone from serious Terra to falling all over her own words in ten seconds flat. A new record.

[seemoreofhive]

She may have been able to intimidate him into showing up, as asked, but she was going to try a little harder than that to convince him that staying here would be different than the last time. So, yes, it was a new record.

A little flatly, he said, "So, after blurting out the truth like that in front of your boyfriend, and then after telling me I wasn't welcomed here, I'm being invited back." The tone of his voice is actually saying, when you squint reaaaaaaally hard: "Are you KIDDING me? Do you realize what you're saying?"

Arg. Women. Welcome to the story of See-More's love life; it's right across the hall from See-More's Road to Success. Have a seat in the middle of Pathetic and Loser. You may or may not be seeing them often.

[markovincognita]

She's gotten quite accustomed to that tone of voice, actually. She could imagine it was the same tone that Jinx would have used if their argument had taken place in real life.

"First off, I said you should go because I didn't want Beast Boy to tear you to shreds." Well, that's honesty. That's a start. "Now he's gone and there's no risk of that and... I don't even know. I've been a whole mess of emotions lately and I don't know if I'm inviting you back because I'm just worried about you or if I'm hoping for something more, and I don't even know if you'll stay here after what I said, and..." She trailed off, then seemed to realize what she'd just said and sighed. "If you can still stand to be in the same room as me, you can stay here again. It's different now."

[seemoreofhive]

"Different." That word didn't fit right with him - at least, not in this situation. He sighed, and said, "Look, I don't belong anywhere near here. I tried doing the right thing. I quit my team, I got a job, and I haven't done any crime in a long time. But now, I don't have a team, I'm probably going to get fired, and--"

Oops. He was ranting. He caught himself, said "sorry," and was quiet. Then, See-More said, "I could've taken him, y'know." Okay. He knows he wouldn't have been able to. He has to save some of his pride, though! (And maybe it was an attempt to lighten himself up. Maybe.)

[markovincognita]

Even if he hadn't been trying to guilt trip her, she still felt pretty bad when he finished his rant. "If you've been doing the right thing for so long, then maybe it's my fault that you started committing crimes again. Maybe if you'd been staying here and you were happy and I wasn't a jerk, you could be a real hero."

She looks down, unsure. "It's mostly only me and Starfire here. And we haven't had any major problems, but with me working more lately, we're kind of short staffed. We could use another team member."

[seemoreofhive]

"I'm not saying it's any of your fault. It's just... this crap's hard, y'know? I thought if I helped an old lady across the street enough times, I'd be fine, but they keep beating me with their purses

[markovincognita]

The circumstances really were weird. And maybe she was just being indecisive or... whatever. Maybe she wasn't thinking too straight. But she'd be lying to herself if she said she was expecting See-More to accept the offer right off the bat.

"Then... then at least stay with us. So you have a place to be." So things can stop being lonely around the Tower. So she can make sure he's safe. "So you don't have to be on the street or steal money for food or something. I mean, only if you want to. That offer still stands. And it always will."