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[You found a couple of kids finger painting some bread and cured beef with what looks to be tomato sauce, Steph. And they both look up in surprise at the sound of your voice. Stanley a bit sheepishly, being a 16 year old with tomato sauce all over his face and fingers.]

What? Why? ...Uh. I mean, thanks.

[That's cute.]

It's for Peace, mostly, I thought she might like some toys to play with. [Since there isn't exactly a day care on the moon. A little more hesitantly, she adds:] There's some stuff for you, I guess it's kind of an apology.

["Kind of". She rubs at the back of her neck with her free hand.]

Want me to grab you some napkins so you can get cleaned up before opening it?

An apology?

[That would sure be something. But he's not ready to hold his breath that she's serious about it just yet. If she can't even say it...whatever. It's not like he didn't get over it a long time ago anyway.]

Nah, she likes messes. Give it to the munchkin.

[She nods, and takes a seat beside Peace, telling her that the present is for her and setting it between them, so she can reach it more easily.

She'll help her open it, but since she can multi-task, she looks back at Stanley to finish answering that question.]

Yeah, for-- [man up, Brown.] For how I treated you when we first met. I was scared and angry, but that doesn't make what I did right. It was shitty of me, and it wasn't fair to you, so I'm sorry.

Yeah, it was shitty.

[It's not biting or sarcastic or even bitter, it's just stated as a fact. He wanders over to the sink and starts washing his hands, while Peace pokes at the paper curiously. She's never seen a wrapped gift before, and she doesn't really understand what to do with it.]

But thanks for the baby stuff. I don't think I'm as good as Joe and Blue, ya know?

[She nods again, because it was, but she's explained why, and she isn't going to try to justify her actions beyond that, so what more can she say?

Instead, she starts helping Peace with the present, carefully pulling off the tape to reveal the box inside, and then opening that so Peace can see the toys. They should be age appropriate; Duplo, toy cars, a doll, a teddy bear, a box of markers and some puzzles. They're unwrapped, since it took up less space to do it that way.

Steph will keep the doll and bear in the box for now, giving Peace the toys that are easier to clean.

She looks back over at Stan with a small smile.]

Real people are better than TV, trust me. But I do have a laptop and an embarrassing amount of Disney movies, if you ever wanna borrow them.

[He's not gonna push it, either. There's no point. Nobody gains anything. Besides, she's hardly the first person to treat him like crap. At least she had a reason if not a justification. He shrugs, but at the second part his eyebrows go up in surprise.]

Wait, seriously? You watch Disney?

[The toys are similarly confusing to Peace. She tilts her head a bit and studies them, puzzled.]

Edited (damn it autocorrect ) 2013-10-22 09:20 (UTC)

I love Disney movies.

[Unashamedly, despite the comment about having an embarrassing amount.

Steph fishes the bags of candy out of the box and slides them over to the table to Stan, since they're his, and then she's going to clear a space so she can start showing Peace how to use some of the toys. She's not too surprised the girl isn't familiar with them, considering she hadn't seen too much in the way of toys back in Exsilium; it's why she got fairly generic things instead of getting fancy.]

[Stan gives the candy a look that's almost as baffled as the look Peace gives the toys, but he's not going to argue with it. He opens the bag and peeks inside. Sugar is basically gold around here.

Peace watches Stephanie playing with the toys, but she doesn't try to join in just yet.]

That...should be cool. I think she'll like it.

Do you want a turn, sweetheart?

[She holds out one of the toy cars to Peace; she isn't expecting the girl to have seen many of them, considering there were only ever a few around Exsilium, but she's hoping that pushing things on wheels around on a flat surface is fun for little kids regardless of whether they know context.]

Yeah, maybe I can set up the VR room to work like a projector, so she can watch things on a bigger screen. I think I still have Land Before Time, too.

[She misses Ellie.]

Huh?

[Peace takes the car, not sure what it is yet, but understanding she's supposed to hold it for some reason. She watches to see what Stephanie does.]

Never seen it?

[Land Before Time is the best movie.

Luckily there are two cars, so Steph is pushing one around the table, using the Duplo and Peace's plate of food as obstructions to "drive" around, just to make things a little more interesting.]

Guess not.

[Peace watches a little longer, then, tentatively gives her car a push too. The wheels are facing the wrong way, but it's a start, right?]

Hey, there you go.

[Facing the wrong way is more than acceptable; Steph's totally going to make some car noises to go along with this little game, before looking back at Stan.]

It's about dinosaurs, it's cute.

[Guess who identified way too hard with Cera.]

Ellie managed to track it down a few months ago, so I've still got the file.

[Why is Batgirl making car noises at a little kid and talking about dinosaur movies and giving Stan candy? This. This is so not the same lady he's met every time before this. Is he hallucinating or something? He didn't take anything weird or fun today...]

Wait, what's in this?

[In retrospect, just eating candy from someone who usually hates you with blind trust is probably not that great of an idea.]

Edited 2013-10-22 19:07 (UTC)

[She looks up at that, and the only way to describe her expression is hurt. Logically, she knows it might be justified paranoia, considering the way their first meeting went, but she's at least been polite in most of their other interactions.]

I wouldn't hurt you, Stanley. Or Peace. [Her gaze drops, and she reaches out to brush her fingers against Peace's arm, smiling at her when she looks up.] You don't have to forgive me for what I did, but I hope you can believe that.

[For a guy who couldn't be fucked to bring any of his own stuff, but tenderly scooped up a toddler and ran with her, Stanley appears, at least outwardly, completely unaffected by witnessing this moment of vulnerability from Stephanie. Instead, he cants his head to the side slightly, pops another bit of licorice into his mouth, and considers her for a long moment.]

Yeah, you would. I don't think you will. Not over nothing. And that's kinda all I ever do, so I guess we'll be fine. But if you needed to, you would. Right?

[It's in that same eerily casual tone that he usually uses, even when discussing violent and horrible things. Some sort of emotional wall, slapped up every time things seem like they might become dicey. An analytical approach, sharp and aware in ways that he generally isn't, as a rule. Problem solving mode. Remove yourself from the situation, examine, and move forward, whatever that takes. Almost like a separate facet of his personality, something most likely developed as a defense mechanism.

Peace pushes her car up his arm, making the fine blond hairs there stand on end, but provoking no reaction more than a curious glance and an absent head pat from him. He's still focused on Stephanie.]

But I don't believe in vampires, or werewolves, or aliens, or any of this shit, anyway. Shows what I know.

[It's a smart answer, more observant than she'd given him credit for, and it reminds her of the promise Jesse got from her, that she'd stop him if he ever hurt anyone.

And she would. She'd hate herself for it, but she would.]

No, you're right. [She sounds tired; violence is too easy for her.] But I know I won't need to.

[It isn't a threat, just another observation in turn for his own. She can't picture Stanley doing anything that would require her to step in, unlike Jesse.]

You don't think you will.

[The markers come out now, and a faint frown forms on his face, all the way from the jawbone to the eyes. He's tired. Exhausted. Used up and abused even before the war, with none of the steel it takes to handle violence on this scale. Still too soft in the middle. But the set in his jaw is hard. It's a clench. His teeth are probably suffering from the grinding they've been getting lately. What's left of his teeth, anyway. He glares at the table for a moment, and pulls out the markers, even though they're for Peace.

The butcher paper becomes a sketching sheet, and a little animal takes shape. A squirrel, with empty eyes and full body armor. Some zombie knight, anthropomorphic style. Beside him, a beautiful girl starts to take shape. An angel, wielding a knife, smoking something out of an apple. He sighs.]

At least you can, if you need to. It sucks, but...but somebody should. Sucks to be you.

Better me than anyone else.

[She's already going to hell, right? That's what Saul said. She might as well take on whatever this role is, as well, to save getting blood on anyone else's hands.]

Do you think I'd ever need to?

[With him, she means.]

I'm cleaning crew.

[Just this once, he meets her eyes. It's probably the first time ever. He'd certainly never seen how bright they were until just now. She has such pretty eyes, for a moment he's confused. He gets lost in them. Sinks in deep, and loses his train of thought.

He has to shake it off physically, like a dog after a bath. This time, he makes sure not to look at her again.]

I mean, no. I don't think...it's not me. That you'd have to....I didn't even get a power. You know? I'm nothing.

...Like that. I'm nothing like that.

[That throws her off for a moment, unsure about what just happened there, but she recovers quicker than he does, focusing on what he said.

She wonders about the correction; if he really means it, or if he just doesn't want her to worry.]

People don't need a power to be a threat. [Not that she thinks he is, but still.] But I hope you're right, Stanley. Don't let this place turn you into something you're not.

[Like it has to her.

Or maybe she always had this inside her, and she just needed something to bring it out.]

I'm stupid, too.

[Conversationally, he says this. Casually. She's supposed to laugh. He can't laugh right now. His hands are still shaking. There are still dead things and broken angels floating around in his head. But it's supposed to lighten this awful shadow they've been cast in, breathless and miserable. He's breathless and miserable, anyway. Isn't she?]

I just want things to be okay. You know? So if I ever say anything else, it's not me. You can do what you have to,

[It's an ugly thing to say. A dead bird, laid at her feet like a morbid gift. But someone has to know. Because he's already seen way too much shit here, and he can't even pretend to believe that it will ever be alright. Someone has to fix it if it isn't. He might not trust Stephanie completely yet, but he trusts her with that. If someone has to rip out his throat someday, let it be her.]

[She doesn't laugh.

It's not funny, and it only makes her feel guilty for thinking it, how implying it in how she's treated him almost every time they've talked. But she doesn't know what to say, if he'd want an apology for that, or if she could even manage one.

She's never been very good at apologies.]

I know. [It's all she wants, too. At first she just wanted it for herself, for her mother, but now she wants to make sure no one has to fight any wars, that no children grow up like she did.] But I will.

[She wonders if this is what Bruce felt like, when Superman gave him kryptonite.

Except Clark is a grown man, and Stanley is still a kid.]

[He tries to take a breath, but he can't. It goes in thin and rushes out loudly, like a leaky tire. It's painful. Everything is painful these days, even something as simple as breathing. He glances up at her again, lost, but fighting. Fighting with all he's worth, pathetic as it may be. Useless as he knows he is.]

I'll try.

[He'll give it everything he has and more, in fact. He's no match for her, not even close. But it's important, And if she ever needs him, even for that...then all he can do is his best. That's what he has to give. It's all he has to give. But he will. His dull blue eyes, exhausted and empty, broke no argument. He'll try, Steph. With everything that's left in him, he'll try.]

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