Participants:
Scene Title | Magnes, Defeated |
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Synopsis | Magnes needs a distraction from his falling out with Abby and his making a scene at Shibuya; Delilah is there to provide one. |
Date | May 22 2009 |
After briefly stopping by the storage place he's keeping his stuff, Magnes is in another set of clothes. He has no metal pipe or black strap anymore, he's just walking down a quiet street, looking exhausted and down. He's not even worrying about the night enough to stay on the rooftops the entire time, he just wants to be normal for a few minutes.
Looking down won't get you very far, if you happen to run into something. Such is the case here- up ahead on the sidewalk, Magnes will probably only notice a split second of color at first- but then of course, the click-click-click of a passerby getting closer, though it also happens to speed up.
"Magnes!" Forgive Delilah, there is no filter on her. "I saw you on the news!" The redhead appears in front of him, the skirt of her dress swishing around her knees and brown eyes focused almost too much on the young man. "What the hell, man?"
Magnes, frowning, looks up at her with a slight shrug, clearly not in the best of moods, despite her bright demeanor. "He kidnapped someone I knew, then he tried to kidnap me, so I fought him. I made sure no one got killed, I didn't know he was that powerful. He has a power like mine, but, it seemed different… I just couldn't let what happened to Abby, happen to her. God, I wish I could have at least said that part to Abby, but it's too late now, she's pissed, she's always gonna think I'm immature…" he explains, three totally different topics, his mind obviously all over the place. "I'm so exhausted, I just wanna stop feeling like crap."
Yeah, um. Delilah has no idea what Magnes is talking about. Well, she catches the part about Abby, but that is still quite out of context. Still, she is trying to interpret him, and it does not seem to be working that well. "Abby's pissed? Did you tape it?"
Magnes just shakes his head, moving to idly try and take Delilah's hand. "She's pissed because I fought and destroyed the crosswalk with that guy, she's pissed because I kept warning her about Adam, she's just, god, I don't know. She's just pissed at me, she thinks I'm immature, and nothing I do or try is ever gonna fix that." Then, if she doesn't pull her hand away, he suddenly jumps up with her, trying to land on to a nearby roof.
Despite her power, it has not put any sort of damper on Delilah's ability to turn down touch. She was raised that way; when he reaches out for her hand, the girl takes it in hers without a second thought. "Maybe you're just trying to har- AHH!"
Whoa, shit, up they go.
Even while they're still in the air, Dee lets out a startled yell and grabs onto Magnes- so they're probably going to land that way. Most people might expect a 'don't do that' once they touch down, but Delilah makes her point by lifting a fist and hitting Magnes in the arm. Hard.
Magnes winces and lets her go to rub his arm, looking her over. "Your—" He cuts himself off, obviously not having a good look at her before now, because his eyes are directly on her chest for about ten seconds before quickly averting them with red cheeks. "Sorry, I should have warned you.”
Just for that, she baps him again. "My what?" Dee is pretty much daring him to say it, but she cannot keep a smirk off her face. "Yes, you should have. Gosh, do you want to give me a coronary?"
"Your nothing, it's nothing…" Magnes swallows hard, clearing his throat, completely unable to even look in her direction now. An awkward situation, so at least he's forgotten his terrible mood. "I'm sorry, I'm just used to jumping without thinking about it. I forget other people aren't used to it."
Magnes is met with the tiniest of squints, and Lilah stays where she is, close to him, but turning just enough to make her even harder to miss. She knows all about that expression. Too well. "Of course other people aren't used to anti-gravity. Maybe if I were an astronaut." Scolding him, yes. But it is being forgiven. "Just lucky it's not a windy day, or I'd look like some kinda Mary Poppins."
"C-can I ask you a question?" Magnes is nervous, of course, but if he absolutely can't avoid looking at her, his eyes dart up to lock on her eyes, not even remotely looking anywhere else. His eyes are so locked and focused, it's obviously unnatural. "The fight, the one in Japan, do you think I was stupid for doing it? I only had a few seconds to decide, a friend may have been in danger, I may have been in danger. But I just don't know." he says, possibly trying to change the subject, and forget about… things.
Delilah listens closely, tilting her head just enough that it also moves some of the hair around her neck. After a moment of thought, she does reply, looking him dead in the face. "No. You did what you had to do. You coulda made it look less like a Michael Bay movie though." And that's what she thinks about that.
"I didn't know he had an ability, especially not one that could cancel out mine. The fight turned huge fast, I didn't know what he'd do to me, I was just trying to hit him harder than he was hitting me." Magnes stares into her eyes in the middle of an awkward pause, cheeks still flushed. "I didn't mean to look…"
"You boys. Always thinking a fight is all about who can hit the hardest, or strike the fastest." Delilah reprimands. "If you're not clever from the start, it ends up like the videos most of the world has seen by now." The redhead breathes in somewhat deeply, lifting her hand not to hit him in the arm again- but to smooth out a wrinkle on his shoulder that is actually not there to begin with. "Human beings grew bigger brains for a reason- otherwise we're just tall, hairless chimps."
Magnes watches her hand, his heart skipping a few dozen beats before he looks into her eyes again. "God, the whole world saw those videos. My life…" He shakes his head, mood souring again as he looks down at his feet. "It's all over."
"I dunno about that. But then again, I've never been on Youtube." Delilah admits, a sympathetic look on her face. "As long as you keep your head down, I don't think it's over. Maybe they'll blame something else. And if you're desperate, it's not like New York doesn't have anywhere someone can lay low for awhile, right? Some of'em might be a bit skeevy, but the point is to not be noticed."
"It wasn't even my fault. I mean, what if I do what Abby did and go on TV? I can say he was trying to kidnap me, I didn't know what else to do…" Magnes suddenly jumps, then crosses his legs, sitting on the air. He's not perfectly floating, he's very slowly falling, but not too quickly. "I don't wanna think about it right now, can you just, I don't know, just talk to me about stuff? Wanna sit like this?" he offers, holding his hand out. If she takes it, she'll notice her body's weight drastically lowering.
"Don't go on television. What she did was use her power in public- but to help someone. You and whatisface just busted up downtown. That's called property damage, and that's a crime." See? Time to keep your head down. "Just cool it and take a break, Magnes." She is a bit more hesitant to take the hand offered this time, obviously, but she does take it after a pause.
"I can talk. I was only going for a walk anyway. I wasn't going anywhere." Really! She doesn't say it sarcastically, so it must be about right.
Magnes gently pulls her up, nodding to her legs for her to cross them. "I-I won't, if you think it's not a good idea…" He stares at her hand in his, , confidence gone out the window completely. "I-I'm not, r-really used to holding a girl's hand. I mean, I trained with a woman in Japan, but I just got used to not really seeing her as a woman. But you're, um…" He pauses, takeing a very deep breath, boldy finishing, "A lot of woman." Especially without much gravity. "W-wait, I'm not calling you fat! Oh god, I screwed up!"
Oh man, look at that, she's floating. Delilah is almost too enthralled with the air below her as she sits down(air pillow!) and crosses her legs, that she very nearly misses the beginning of Magnes' tripping up. She looks up after hearing the first thing the young man says, raising an eyebrow in question as he continues his sudden verbal stumbling.
"Yeah, I know." She laughs a little. "I know what you meant." Orly?
"I don't know how I follow that up…" Magnes admits, having no idea why he's saying this stuff, though perhaps he simply doesn't think she'll completely shatter his world if he opens up a bit. "What do you say when you're floating next to an, um, a-attr-pretty girl?" He seems like he's almost dying with every word, completely averting his eyes from her again. "I don't know why I'm being brave now, I just, I don't know, I'm tired of being me for once. I wanna be able to call a girl attractive without feeling like my stomach is about to explode, which I think he's about to do…"
"Just don't have him explode on me, cause then we'll have a problem." The last thing that Delilah needs is to clean Magnes' butterflies off of her skirt and/or shoes. She regards him now with a knowing look, eyes shaded just enough to make her seem like she may be plotting against him- or at least in general. "I bet you say that to all the girls." Okay, maybe a little bit of teasing.
"If you don't like how you act naturally, then act like someone else. Maybe you'll adopt something new." Her lips pull back into a smiling chuckle.
"It'd be too embarrassing…" Magnes moves his free hand to touch her hand that he's already holding, swallowing again, then raising his head to her face. "I mean, it's not so bad with one person, but I couldn't just go around being open to everyone. I'm barely being open with you, it's hard…"
"Ffffbbt." That's what Lilah thinks. She leans closer, grinning, putting her hand on top of the palm-pile as if she might possess some kind of secret. "You try too hard to not embarrass yourself. It's going to happen, whether you want it to or not. It's easier to just go along with it than try and avoid it, like you're doing." It is guaranteed that if you hang around Delilah long enough, she rubs off on you.
"Or, I could drug you up."
"Drug me up?" Magnes tilts his head slightly, definitely a tad confused by that. His fingers are idly making caressing motions, possibly figuring this is the only time in his life he'll ever feel brave enough to do such a thing. "I-I don't know what you mean…"
"I would have thought you knew by now. Everyone seems to. I have a power too." Dee nods her head once, smiling rather freely. "You know those toads that started that whole 'toad-licking' business? It's like that." But obviously, there is nothing more than skin contact right now- she can't really command it to appear when she is calm and otherwise at peace. Yet.
"S-so, I have to um…" Magnes' expression looks as if his heart is about to melt directly through his skin, taking bold deep breaths and raising one of her hands. "I-I've never licked a girl before, so, I might be bad at it." Then, he does it, he leans down and licks the back of her hand.
Only after he's done it does Delilah finish, watching him with a raised eyebrow and a strained look that clearly means she is trying not to laugh. "I'm not doing it right now, you silly goose." She would not have been touching him! And then, really before he has a chance to do much of anything, she pulls his hand closer to lick it back. This is totally going to be the new dap.
"I, uh, um…" Magnes stares at her as she licks his hand, his body suddenly rising up higher with her's, before they stop about five feet higher into the air. "U-uh, sorry, that's totally not what you think…" It totally was. "Did we just, um, hand
Delilah blinks and peers off to the side, eyeballing the extra few feet. "Hm." She blinks back up at Magnes, trying to decide if she wants to laugh, or be kinda …creeped out. She goes for both, and it ends up brutally honest. "…I dunno. Did you just get a gravity-erection?"
"I, you see, it's like, and then…" Magnes' cheeks have likely never been redder, trying to keep shaky eye contact, though his eyes are a bit occupied with his wet hand. "I've never been licked by a girl before."
"Obviously." And for measure, Lilah glances back below her a second time. "I hope you've been kissed already though, or else someone's going into orbit when it happens."
"Me and Abby has each other's first kiss, on New Year's. We um, floated." Magnes admits, then swallows, staring at her lips. "Um, are you…" The words are stuck, then he roughly clears his throat and says in the most awkward voice-changing way, "About to kiss me?"
If Delilah is going to be honest, there's no stopping the winning streak now. "No, Magnes." But you probably wish the answer was yes, huh? The awkwardness that seems to be within his every fiber is cute, sure, but that doesn't mean he's earned a smooch.
"O-oh, well, that's good then!" Magnes exclaims in a not-so-convincing manner. "I mean, I like—wait, I don't like anyone right now, I forgot." he notes with a hint of disappointment. Who knows what's going on in his head again! "I think I ran out of things to be brave about. You got any ideas?"
Hoping that she doesn't fall those eight-ish feet to the rooftop, Delilah leans forward and puts the arm not holding hands up onto poor mister Varlane's shoulder, her elbow just past his ear and hand hovering in the air. She does not look bored so much as intently innocent. "How about you put us down first?"
"Oh, right, sorry." Magnes takes a deep breath, trying to control himself, then they very slowly float down to the ground as he plants his feet down and grabs her so she doesn't lose her balance when gravity returns. "I feel like I'm going through shock therapy, all this touching and saying things…"
The redhead makes sure to alight on the ground one foot at a time, looking the picture of a graceful landing. "Shock therapy, eh?" She peers at Magnes, with her elbow still sitting on his shoulder. "I've been called many things, but never implied as Shock Therapy." Delilah smiles.
"Spend some time with me, and we'll get you right out of that cocoon, love." Her hand pat-pats on his shoulder, just above his chest.
"I'm not really nervous around Abby either, but I still am with other girls. So, even if I get used to you, I don't really think it'll help with girls I don't know." Magnes moves a hand up toward her face, possibly asking the most awkward question he ever has. "C-can I um, touch your hair?"
"We'll see." Is the first answer, and she looks fine until he asks about the hair. Then it is mostly a 'say what?' look. "I …suppose so." Delilah has deceptively cuddly hair, actually. Not that it looks particularly otherwise- just that it is not so much that 'model hair'. She is very much normal.
Magnes' fingers run through her hair, and he curiously tilts his head at it. That's different. "Huh, I've touched Abby's hair before, but like, I never really touched it, it's hard to explain. I expected girl hair to be different." He pulls his hand back, curiousity satisfied, he decides to ask a possibly awkward question. "U-um, you're like, what, twenty something? You've had a boyfriend, right?"
"You might not want to do that hair thing too much. It's kind of creepy. I mean- I figure if Abby trusts you, you're not a stalker or anything…" Delilah sort-of leans into his fingers when they go over her signature locks. "A couple, but they never were very serious." Mm. "I'm seventeen." FOOLED YOU, DIDN'T I.
"W-wait, what?" Magnes suddenly pulls his hand back, taking a few uneasy steps away from her. "I-I can't be having these thoughts about a little girl. Oh god, I stared at your breasts, and—Oh god!" He repeats, starting to walk in circles. "I'm going to jail…"
Delilah sighs(very loudly, exasperated), and puts a few fingers to her head, watching Magnes begin to sink sloooowly away again. "I am not a little girl, Magnes Varlane." And the seriousness and commitment that she says it with says a few other things about her. She is Not A Little Girl, and that she has likely said that very line several thousand previous times.
"Please, stare at my breasts. That's what they're there for." She even puts her hands underneath to give herself some more cleavage at the neckline of her dress. "I am an adult, so I would appreciate being regarded as one."
Magnes can't help but stare, she just presented them. He's struck dumb for a moment, then rapidly shakes his head. "I, uh, I've never been in this situation before, like, none of it." he admits the obvious, just frozen there without a clue. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do right now at all."
"Forget you asked me how old I was. I don't usually tell people specifically unless they ask, because they do that. I even have a fake ID, so then I have an excuse to lie. 'Years on planet' does not denote maturity, as you've learned firsthand." As evident by a great many of the people both of them know. Delilah lifts her chin and smooths down her skirt a bit. "And after you've disregarded your question and my answer, you can come with me for dinner somewhere, because I am starving."
"Other than stuff I've gone through with Abby, I think this is the most intense experience I've ever had with a girl." Magnes holds his hand out to take her's, which might suggest he's going to jump, or do something. "I have to find a place to sleep tonight, my stuff is in storage since I can't afford to pay for my place alone anymore. So we should probably eat later."
So call me later." And ready for something this time, Delilah takes his hand again, with a bit more faith in his capability now that she's shaken him up. "If you don't mind the scummy neighbors, try the trailer park. I lived there for the longest time after Midtown. I only started living in Abby's building a few months ago, at most."
"I think I'm gonna sneak into a hotel or something. I need a break from all this stress, at least for a day, you know?" Magnes puts an arm around her waist, then leaps high above the street, going for a second building, this one with a functional fire escape. "Tomorrow or sunday, um, is there anywhere you've always wanted to go in the world? I don't think Abby will come with me, she's just so mad at me, I think I'm on eggshells with her now."
Delilah does not latch on this time, but she physically tenses when they go and defy the laws of physics(this is so badass). "Sunday is good. I'm find with staying here- you're Graviton Boy, not Montgomery Scott. I'll stay in one place." Not that she doesn't trust him- just that she doubts his ability to actually take her places. "Give her some space. Girls need space sometimes. Not just PMS space."
"I don't know, I just don't think she realizes just how deep it hurts when she just rips into me like that. I know she's mad, but…" Magnes just sighs and shakes his head, landing on another rooftop. "I was just, well, thinking I could maybe pursue some other interest…" He awkwardly coughs, then looks down at her, obviously trying to subtly hint. "Are you sure you don't wanna go to Brazil for a day or something? Or maybe some big grassy mountain field, I don't know."
Some other interest is fine. But Dee doesn't look back up to signal if she understood the hint or not. Probably on purpose. "I'm fine, Magnes. Really. That's another thing. When a girl makes up her mind, don't argue, you'll lose. Can you take me home, since we're close?" She smiles too sweetly now. Please?