TM 230: Black and white
OOC: Takes place after this.
Henry had been back in L.A. for only a couple hours when Kate Kildare came barging through the door and hit him in the face with the newspaper.
Knowing Kate like he did, Henry considered, it could have been much much worse.
Kate planted her feet, squared her shoulders in the fighting stance she must have learned scrapping with her nine brothers on the family farm, and brandished the black and white tabloid. "I want you to know, Henry Hellrung, that I am not doing this because you're my friend."
"Thank God." Henry rubbed his jaw. Even just with newsprint, she could pack a punch. "I'd hate to think my friendship was driving people to petty assault. Do you want to tell me --?" He walked to the kitchen, and started putting some coffee on. He was going to need it if he had to keep up with an angry Kate.
"I'm not pissed-off at you as your friend--" She followed close behind him, still shaking the headline in his general direction"-- who spent most of the weekend wondering if you were dead in a ditch, because you weren't answering your phone --"
"Wait, what?" Henry hadn't thought of it that way, of course. All he had thought was that for once in his adult life, he was going to try not to throw his problems at a friend who had already done too much for him already. That, and, the fear of making bad choices that would only complicate things --
He turned back to face Kate, and she put an arm on the counter, blocking him, leaning closer. "As your friend, I could understand you were going through a hard time, and you needed to do what was best for you. I'm also not angry as your teammate. Who had to lie about where you were to the others --" She held up her hand and started ticking off names on her fingers -- "to James and Milo and Veda and Becky - Fucking - Ryan -- who cried on my shoulder, so now I have a teenage nymphomaniac's mascara all over my Donna Karan blouse -- but that's okay, you know?"
"I'm gonna get us some coffee," Henry tried to maneuver past her.
Kate put her hand over his hand, pressing it to the counter. "That's okay," she repeated, "because if I'm going to step up and take Pepper's place on this team, I'll have to learn more -- responsibility, and -- people skills. We bonded; me and the Order bonded. They're all going to like me more now, all because you dropped off the face of the earth for a weekend."
"That's good?" he said, hesitantly, looking down at her hand.
She jerked back from him. "But what I cannot take -- as your publicist is learning about your canoodling --" She struck the paper against his arm with each word -- "from a - god - damn -- tabloid -- that uses -- the word -- canoodling."
"Kate!" Henry grabbed the paper from her hand -- he was pretty sure he was going to have a welt -- and tossed it to the floor. "Can you please calm down so we can talk about this like adults?" As the tabloid folded out, he caught a glimpse of its headline -- "Hero Actor Canoodles with Wayne's Ex" -- and the picture of him and Lorna in front of the Steel Pier Ferris Wheel, an 'Iron Man' billboard subtly framed in the background.
Kate kicked the paper, and grabbed Henry's elbow. He looked down to meet her -- narrow, angry -- eyes, and tried a conciliatory smile. "I thought you were in favor of 'canoodling'? Back when it was me and Sarah Jessica, you were proud you made 'canoodling' happen."
"That was over ten years ago," she spit out. "And it was irony."
Henry backed away, holding his hands up. "I'm sorry," he said. "I obviously wasn't thinking clearly." Kate rolled her eyes. He sighed, "Really and truly, Kate. You didn't really think I was getting in trouble somewhere, did you?"
"I --" She let out a heavy sigh, and slumped back against the counter. "Tony said you were okay. Or -- Tony sent Pepper to say you were okay. I don't know how they knew. It probably involves satellite footage of your date."
"That had occurred to me," Henry admitted. "But it's all right, isn't it? I got through the weekend fine. I didn't drink, I didn't do anything stupid -- well, anything remarkably stupid. The tabloid story isn't even a bad one. What will you even need to spin? Anthem spend a well-deserved leave with --"
" -- the daughter of a wanted terrorist?"
" -- a prominent researcher and respected member of the superhuman community." He shrugged. "It wasn't the best plan I've ever had but it will be okay. Right?"
Kate shook her head. "You really deserve a master's degree in missing the point." When she looked up at him, tears shimmered in her eyes. "I'm glad you're all right, Henry, I am. But I had a shitty week, too. I was part of everything that happened, too. And it kind of would have helped to my have my best friend around, and -- it's not like you -- not to think --"
Her voice broke -- Henry couldn't remember if he'd ever heard that happen before -- and he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Kate," he said, "I promise. I was thinking of you -- the whole time --"
She pulled back, put a hand on her hip. "The whole time you were canoodling?"
"I was thinking of you when I left. I wanted to handle this, for once, without dragging you into it. I'm sorry, I realize now -- but I was thinking, I was worried -- about what might happen --?"
"What might happen?" She let out a little laugh. "What could happen? All those times you've ended up at my door in the middle of the night, we've never even slept --" She stopped, turned from him, and covered her face. "Oh my God --"
"Yes. Right. You see . . .our friendship . . .it's more important to me. . ."
"Oh yes, I see, I see --" She looked up again, and now her jaw was clenched, her eyes angrier than ever. "In the wake of such a horrible tragedy, I just wouldn't have been able to resist you. So you had to run off and bang some Bruce Wayne castoff -- because you sleep with women, again, now, I'll have to make a note of that in your file. Any woman but me, of course, becaue that would just ruin our friendship. Which would be horrible, because -- because who would clean up after you and fix your life, once you didn't have me to string along anymore?"
"Yes!" he said. "I mean, no. No! Of course -- no!"
"You don't get it, do you? You really don't get it at all?"
"Yes, I do. Of course, I do. I understand now."
"Oh, yeah? You understand?"
"I do --! I know know that --" He breathed in.
"I should have called," Henry said, at exactly the same time Kate said, "I'm in love with you!"
Henry's coffeemaker gurgled in the sudden silence.
Kate touched her mouth, like she couldn't believe what she had said. "Good to know," she whispered. "And I guess you knew my part, too."
He looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, Kate."
"If you try to comfort me," she said, "I will punch you in the face."
"I figured as much," he mumbled.
Kate bent down to retrieve the paper. He resisted the urge to get it for her. She straightened, folded it under her arm, and said, "I'll see you at the office."
"Yeah. I guess you will."
She let herself out.
Henry thought, as the door closed behind her, it would be a good time to call Lorna.
OOC: for interest, my version of Kate/Henry is mostly based on this page from 'The Order.' Fraction & Kitson pack a lot of characterization into a little space, and I thank them for it. Also, "black and white" here = "newsprint." Which is maybe a little week, but I tried!
Henry had been back in L.A. for only a couple hours when Kate Kildare came barging through the door and hit him in the face with the newspaper.
Knowing Kate like he did, Henry considered, it could have been much much worse.
Kate planted her feet, squared her shoulders in the fighting stance she must have learned scrapping with her nine brothers on the family farm, and brandished the black and white tabloid. "I want you to know, Henry Hellrung, that I am not doing this because you're my friend."
"Thank God." Henry rubbed his jaw. Even just with newsprint, she could pack a punch. "I'd hate to think my friendship was driving people to petty assault. Do you want to tell me --?" He walked to the kitchen, and started putting some coffee on. He was going to need it if he had to keep up with an angry Kate.
"I'm not pissed-off at you as your friend--" She followed close behind him, still shaking the headline in his general direction"-- who spent most of the weekend wondering if you were dead in a ditch, because you weren't answering your phone --"
"Wait, what?" Henry hadn't thought of it that way, of course. All he had thought was that for once in his adult life, he was going to try not to throw his problems at a friend who had already done too much for him already. That, and, the fear of making bad choices that would only complicate things --
He turned back to face Kate, and she put an arm on the counter, blocking him, leaning closer. "As your friend, I could understand you were going through a hard time, and you needed to do what was best for you. I'm also not angry as your teammate. Who had to lie about where you were to the others --" She held up her hand and started ticking off names on her fingers -- "to James and Milo and Veda and Becky - Fucking - Ryan -- who cried on my shoulder, so now I have a teenage nymphomaniac's mascara all over my Donna Karan blouse -- but that's okay, you know?"
"I'm gonna get us some coffee," Henry tried to maneuver past her.
Kate put her hand over his hand, pressing it to the counter. "That's okay," she repeated, "because if I'm going to step up and take Pepper's place on this team, I'll have to learn more -- responsibility, and -- people skills. We bonded; me and the Order bonded. They're all going to like me more now, all because you dropped off the face of the earth for a weekend."
"That's good?" he said, hesitantly, looking down at her hand.
She jerked back from him. "But what I cannot take -- as your publicist is learning about your canoodling --" She struck the paper against his arm with each word -- "from a - god - damn -- tabloid -- that uses -- the word -- canoodling."
"Kate!" Henry grabbed the paper from her hand -- he was pretty sure he was going to have a welt -- and tossed it to the floor. "Can you please calm down so we can talk about this like adults?" As the tabloid folded out, he caught a glimpse of its headline -- "Hero Actor Canoodles with Wayne's Ex" -- and the picture of him and Lorna in front of the Steel Pier Ferris Wheel, an 'Iron Man' billboard subtly framed in the background.
Kate kicked the paper, and grabbed Henry's elbow. He looked down to meet her -- narrow, angry -- eyes, and tried a conciliatory smile. "I thought you were in favor of 'canoodling'? Back when it was me and Sarah Jessica, you were proud you made 'canoodling' happen."
"That was over ten years ago," she spit out. "And it was irony."
Henry backed away, holding his hands up. "I'm sorry," he said. "I obviously wasn't thinking clearly." Kate rolled her eyes. He sighed, "Really and truly, Kate. You didn't really think I was getting in trouble somewhere, did you?"
"I --" She let out a heavy sigh, and slumped back against the counter. "Tony said you were okay. Or -- Tony sent Pepper to say you were okay. I don't know how they knew. It probably involves satellite footage of your date."
"That had occurred to me," Henry admitted. "But it's all right, isn't it? I got through the weekend fine. I didn't drink, I didn't do anything stupid -- well, anything remarkably stupid. The tabloid story isn't even a bad one. What will you even need to spin? Anthem spend a well-deserved leave with --"
" -- the daughter of a wanted terrorist?"
" -- a prominent researcher and respected member of the superhuman community." He shrugged. "It wasn't the best plan I've ever had but it will be okay. Right?"
Kate shook her head. "You really deserve a master's degree in missing the point." When she looked up at him, tears shimmered in her eyes. "I'm glad you're all right, Henry, I am. But I had a shitty week, too. I was part of everything that happened, too. And it kind of would have helped to my have my best friend around, and -- it's not like you -- not to think --"
Her voice broke -- Henry couldn't remember if he'd ever heard that happen before -- and he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Kate," he said, "I promise. I was thinking of you -- the whole time --"
She pulled back, put a hand on her hip. "The whole time you were canoodling?"
"I was thinking of you when I left. I wanted to handle this, for once, without dragging you into it. I'm sorry, I realize now -- but I was thinking, I was worried -- about what might happen --?"
"What might happen?" She let out a little laugh. "What could happen? All those times you've ended up at my door in the middle of the night, we've never even slept --" She stopped, turned from him, and covered her face. "Oh my God --"
"Yes. Right. You see . . .our friendship . . .it's more important to me. . ."
"Oh yes, I see, I see --" She looked up again, and now her jaw was clenched, her eyes angrier than ever. "In the wake of such a horrible tragedy, I just wouldn't have been able to resist you. So you had to run off and bang some Bruce Wayne castoff -- because you sleep with women, again, now, I'll have to make a note of that in your file. Any woman but me, of course, becaue that would just ruin our friendship. Which would be horrible, because -- because who would clean up after you and fix your life, once you didn't have me to string along anymore?"
"Yes!" he said. "I mean, no. No! Of course -- no!"
"You don't get it, do you? You really don't get it at all?"
"Yes, I do. Of course, I do. I understand now."
"Oh, yeah? You understand?"
"I do --! I know know that --" He breathed in.
"I should have called," Henry said, at exactly the same time Kate said, "I'm in love with you!"
Henry's coffeemaker gurgled in the sudden silence.
Kate touched her mouth, like she couldn't believe what she had said. "Good to know," she whispered. "And I guess you knew my part, too."
He looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, Kate."
"If you try to comfort me," she said, "I will punch you in the face."
"I figured as much," he mumbled.
Kate bent down to retrieve the paper. He resisted the urge to get it for her. She straightened, folded it under her arm, and said, "I'll see you at the office."
"Yeah. I guess you will."
She let herself out.
Henry thought, as the door closed behind her, it would be a good time to call Lorna.
OOC: for interest, my version of Kate/Henry is mostly based on this page from 'The Order.' Fraction & Kitson pack a lot of characterization into a little space, and I thank them for it. Also, "black and white" here = "newsprint." Which is maybe a little week, but I tried!
