look out babe, you've got your blinders on

[waiting]

WHO: Rick Bradbury & Lil Crawley
WHERE: A gym in Heropa!
WHEN: Sometime this week?
WHAT: Catching up.
WARNINGS: The usual pottymouthed shenanigans.

[ They've been at this for about an hour already, and Bradbury's body is reminding him -- in no ungentle terms -- why this was a bad idea. Superhuman reflexes are well and good, but when they only kick in when you're in life-threatening danger, they don't tend to be too useful any other time.

His ribs feel like they've been bruised all to hell, and before they can start on the next round of sparring, Bradbury holds up a hand, panting hard. ]

All right, shit, I think I'm done. [ He straightens with a wince, grimacing down at his shirt that's soaked through with perspiration, and heads to one corner of the wrestling ring they've been throwing down in to pick up his towel and wipe his face off. The only thing he's held back on the whole time is actually shutting Lil's powers down -- something he doubts will go over well -- but he's used his power now and then to temporarily paralyze a limb or two, making up for the advantage Lil's powers give him over him. It's helped even out things a bit, but not by much. ]

I could have sworn I remembered being better at this.

Comments

[glassbox]

[ Her exhale is almost a laugh, just slightly too breathless but amused nonetheless. She lets him call it quits, backing off when he puts his hand out in surrender. To be fair with the man, she is invulnerable, and he did go an hour with her, taking her punishment -- even though technically, with his own powers, he didn't have to.

All things considered, she'd call it a good match. Even worked up a bit of a sweat. ]

You're gettin' old, that's what. [ She teases mildly, reaching for her water bottle. ] An' I bet all that sittin' around watchin' Mitch do paperwork's got y'soft.

[waiting]

[ Bradbury shoots Lil an amused look over the towel he's wiping over the bottom half of his face, but having just enough tact to avoid pointing out that Lil's older than he is, and fitter besides. Instead, he shrugs, draping the towel across his shoulder while he rolls his neck and listens to the cartilage pop. ]

Haven't exactly been doing a lot of that lately. [ He points out, huffing, then frowns before admitting: ] I think I actually got a lot more action when he was still the Mayor of the City.

[ It doesn't occur to him how that sounds until it comes out of his mouth and he coughs, clarifying hastily: ] I mean, guarding a bank isn't exactly something that gets your blood pumping.

[glassbox]

[ She pauses to absently sweep slightly matted bangs back from her face before taking a generous drink from her water bottle. It isn't something she'd admit out loud, but she does feel herself getting older -- especially now, sparring with someone else instead of her usual solo routine at the gym. She isn't out of shape exactly, but she isn't the way she was as a twenty-something superhero either. ]

I'm tryin' not t'get involved in any big messes. I got enough personal messes t'deal with. [ She shrugs, eying Bradbury a moment before she goes on: ] How come y'don't jus' quit an' do somethin' else? Maybe y'can get a job with Mitch again. Been a while since I caught up with him, but he didn't exactly say no t'the idea of holdin' office again.

[waiting]

[ It's a good question, but not something Bradbury allows himself to actively think about. Now, all he can do is give an uncomfortable shrug in an echo of her own, unable to give a satisfactory answer. ]

I don't really know what else I'd do. Maybe figure out how to help keep imPort events from getting crashed all the time ... but that's not really a job. [ He exhales, uncomfortable with the focus on himself, and strives to change the subject by latching onto something else she said earlier instead. ]

What'd you mean, personal messes?

[glassbox]

Y'know. Personal messes.

[ She waves her hand vaguely in a dismissive gesture, like it isn't important -- like the fact that she's in another relationship already and they're fighting already shouldn't be important. But she pauses then, looking at him for a moment. This is Rick Bradbury. One of her best friends. One of her only friends, and a man she's lucky enough to have a relatively uncomplicated friendship with.

Finally: ]

I'm seein' another imPort. It ain't perfect, y'know? We jus'... It's these vigilante types I keep fallin' for.

agh, sorry this took forever and a day

[waiting]

[ Bradbury isn't in the loop on Lil's love life, and in a way, he suspects that's all really for the best -- there are only so many things a man's meant to know, and Lil at full blast might just be a little too much for him to handle.

All that said, he knows Lil better than to take her apparent indifference at face value. Sure enough, it doesn't take long for the rest of the story to come spilling out, and he's lucky his mouth is occupied with his water bottle when she speaks, so it's easier to hide the look of surprise on his face.

He takes the time to swallow his mouthful of water before he responds, wiping his mouth off on the back of his hand. ]

Maybe you just have a type. Nothing wrong with that. [ He keeps his tone gentle, not really intending to rib her for it, because it sounds like... something's weighing on her mind. ] What's wrong? He sneaking around busting up crime rings and not telling you about it, or...?

[glassbox]

[ It probably is for the best, though some burden has to fall on Bradbury -- because really, he's probably the closest friend she has left. They've been through all the terrible, awkward, heart-warming things good friends should go through together (including that time she was compelled to knee him in the balls), so it's only appropriate that he be the one she vents with now. Whether he likes it or not.

It's sweet that Bradbury asks what's wrong, knowing that with Lil, that's as good as opening the floodgates. ]

I guess... [ This is hard to admit. ] It ain't all his fault. I mean, I knew about it, but I didn't wanna talk about it. I thought maybe I'd jus'... Pretend it wasn't gonna be a problem like it was with the last guy, an' the guy before that.

[ Her shoulders heave with an emphatic exhale. ]

So, when he came home late kinda beat up, I might've snapped a little.

LMFAO GODDAMIT LOGGED IN WITH THE WRONG ACCOUNT FFS

[waiting]

[ Bradbury has to squint at Lil at that, a little askance. He doesn't think Lil would have actually tried to beat the guy up -- she just doesn't seem the type, though she might have the capacity -- but she also doesn't strike him as the type who'd only snap at someone for a perceived slight. She also probably wouldn't seem so troubled or upset over a few words spoken in the heat of the moment, so there's probably more to it than that.

He idly wonders how much collateral damage there was, then almost immediately feels guilty and disloyal for thinking like that. He should hardly assume the worst when he hasn't heard the rest of the story yet. ]

I'm guessing he didn't take it well. [ It has less the sound of a question and more an expectant conclusion, and Bradbury's sigh is a dimished echo of Lil's. ]

So you got into a fight?

[glassbox]

[ It's the usual complicated situation that happens any time Lil Crawley gets invested in anyone -- too deep, too fast, and half the time she's out of control. Whether she's happy or angry, both things are reckless. It doesn't matter if it's only been a few months since she met Matt Murdock. Her emotions have escalated. She's serious.

That's stupid, in a place like this, but nobody's ever accused Lil of being too smart either. ]

Yeah. We got into a fight. [ She exhales, shoulders sagging a little. She said some mean things. Cruel things that she didn't mean, out of pettiness. ] Haven't fought that bad since Matt found out about Frank. I'm makin' 'im sleep on the couch 'cause I'm still mad about it.

[waiting]

[ If nothing else, Bradbury has to say he can empathize. Maybe not with the romance bit of it -- that's not something he's going to touch for a long, long time -- but when he gives his loyalty to someone, he gives it, with reckless disregard for himself. Maybe that's one thing that makes Lil different from him: at least she fights to hold on to what she has.

He winces, shaking his head and exhaling softly. He hasn't connected the dots yet, hasn't realized he might actually know the Matt she's talking about, or knew a version of. In the end, maybe that's for the the best. ]

If he's sleeping there 'cause you told him to, that's a good sign, right? [ He's not sure if that's meant to be more or less reassuring, but either way, he clears his throat. ] I mean, he could've just left. Figures he's sticking around because he thinks there's something worth sticking around for, yeah?

[glassbox]

[ She won't get into the details of their fight -- if only because it still hurts her pride a little, and she's still sore about how, for once, a man doesn't just yield to being intimidated by her temper. Matt isn't afraid of her like Madison was, and he isn't passive towards her like Frank was either. He gives as good as he gets. Her making him sleep on the couch is half out of pettiness. ]

Or 'cause he's stubborn, like me.

[ But Rick's probably right. Matt's a good man, and Matt cares about her. She isn't sure if she should resent or appreciate being reminded of that. She's still clinging to being upset, even though her reasons have started to fade into the back of her mind. ]

He ain't gonna give up the stupid vigilante thing. Sometimes I think he'd choose that over me, if I tried t'make 'im choose.

[waiting]

[ Bradbury doesn't even really know the guy, but it's obvious enough Lil cares about him. She wouldn't be so goddamn angry if she didn't -- and he's not the right person to ask about relationships, given the state of his own, but he thinks, from the sound of him, that this guy might be good for Lil. She's always kind of been her own self-contained hurricane that sweeps everyone else along, Bradbury included, but it sounds like she's coming up against someone willing to push back.

Not that Bradbury would ever want to be caught between them, but it's probably healthy for her. Somehow. He thinks about teasing Lil about getting a taste of her own medicine, before he decides to opt for being serious, instead. ]

Nobody likes being told what to do, Lil. [ And this time he does smirk, just a little. ] Besides, what'd you do if he did choose you?

[ The idea of Lil with a white picket fence and making breakfast in a kitchen just doesn't add up. ]

[glassbox]

[ And if Lil had any sense of what's good for her, she'd probably realize that it's good that she's finally seeing a man who a) has a spine and b) has absolutely no issue with admitting that he cares about her existence. But in the moment, petulant as she is, she'd rather just win. She probably needs at least another week of being petty and mad.

Rick's question does make her pause though, pursing her lips like the question is making her think too much and she doesn't like it. ]

I dunno. [ Finally, she admits that, throwing her hands up a bit. ] Guess it doesn't even really matter, with the stupid Porter an' all.