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speaking of him
i'll get back to you in a few hours

( 'even if i was making a shit decision i wouldn't spend more time with you', he says, but also. sometimes he wants to start shit with someone and kyle just has the perfect punchable face. )

😪

( several hours later, as promised: )

should i come find you or do you want to pick a place to meet up at?
catch up and all

There's a coffee shop at Central. I'll text you the details and will see you there.

[ which he does promptly. ]

( it was rayner's pick, but he was still hoping for somewhere a little nondescript. a dark alley. a rooftop. an abandoned old warehouse. the classics. but he did tell rayner to pick, so he's not going to bitch.

instead, he shows up at the coffee shop five minutes late in the usual dark tank, brown leather jacket, all visible toys left elsewhere in favor of being a little more discreet.

and goes to the counter to get himself some coffee, with his nice city-given credit card. he's fairly certain they're tracking purchases, even more sure that it's not a courtesy and more a trap, but who gives a shit if they follow him here. he hasn't carried any of their shit anywhere aside from places he doesn't mind being followed to. )

[ kyle's never been one for alleys and rooftops and he gets why the batpeople are more comfortable with those, but if it came down to him, he's always going to pick a place with coffee. no place will ever be radu's but he owes too much to the coffeeshops of the world to give them up entirely.

he shows up in a brown leather jacket, white shirt and slacks. he raises a hand to jason before coming over. ]

I was almost expecting you in full getup.

( kyle gets his own little wave in response, before jason's grabbing his coffee off the counter when the barista calls out for john. )

I would've, but I've heard I've got a bad rep and a worse attitude. Wouldn't want to scare anyone off, that'd just be rude.

Because you've never been rude.

[ he puts in an order for an expresso before sliding onto his seat, opposite of jason. ]

( gross, are they gonna sit here like they're just pals going out for a nice warm caffeinated beverage? is this what kyle's devious plan is?

but he does slide into his own seat, too. angles himself so he's got his back to the wall. )

I never said I was any better.

No, you only think it.

[ he takes a sip of his expresso. thank god for coffee. ]

So? What do you need catching up on?

Last place I was, coffee beans were close to extinct. If you wanted to drink it, you had to pay enough to cover rent for a good-sized apartment for a cup.

( with a smarmy little grin, before he's taking a sip of his own coffee. black, because he's not desperate enough for espresso yet. jason presses an elbow against the table, holds his coffee up in that hand. )

You. I wanna know what you've been up to. How long you've been here. What bullshit you've seen go on.

[ kyle blinks. where even is that? an elseworld? ]

Not long. A few months, at most. Bruce was here briefly, but I didn't get the chance to catch up with him. And from the looks of things, the others seem to be marching to the beat of their own drum and I've left them to it.

[ until they're stupid about it. ]

Are you saying I've been here a year and haven't tried overtaking the criminal underground yet? Or are you saying you figured that battle wasn't worth it?

( an important distinction to make here. )

J2 has been giving it the old college try, with his bar and everything but . . . [ kyle trails off for a moment. he had laid it into jason before, with how reckless he was behaving. the erratic mood swings, lashing out in anger. like a child. and kyle gets it, of course. it's the Trauma. kyle has enough of it to know.

but that doesn't make it acceptable. ]

. . . I don't think he'll get very far.

I've never been more disappointed in myself. ( deadpan; he doesn't really give a shit either way. either jason does or doesn't, and this jason isn't going to be doing jack shit. not for a while. he's got other shit to do first. )

He's calmer than I'd figure him for. Only pretend shot at me, didn't even reach for a knife. Gives him points over the other two.

( the angry robin and the angrier, sadder, super fucked over jason. and look: he came out of it with no black eyes, no bruises, and no blood. )

Could'a just been because Timber was lurking around in the shadows though.

Maybe. Like I said, I leave them to it.

[ not really his jurisdiction and kyle's never been that kind of person, to constantly mind and meddle in other people's business. he'll draw a line if necessary, but not before that. ]

'cause I'm your favorite( pain in the ass ), right?

( snickering, before he's taking his elbow off the table for another good drink of coffee. )

Getting bored? Doesn't look like much of your crew is around.

[ kyle rolls his eyes. ]

Guess I'm more used to galactic pain in the asses than normal pain in the asses. Feels like bullying to take them on.

( they've been at the same table for more than four seconds and haven't tried to kill each other, so jason's pretty sure this is going well. ish.

because he wanted rayner to piss him off to justify starting a fight, everything sucks and he hates this. )

Bet I could make it more fun for you.

[ he narrows his eyes briefly. kyle can practically see the wheels turning. ]

I dunno, you're kind of in the low end.

I've got time and a city full of carnage. Maybe not as good as Gotham, but I could manage to pull together a good enough team. Hand out the right toys, hit the right spot.

( it'd be stepping on the red hood's toes but why not start a fight with himself? )

[ he sighs. maybe it was worth seeing jason get punched. that never gets old. ]

That desperate for a fight, huh? What feeling are you trying to expunge?

( this is why he hates kyle, isn't it. he should have remembered that it was because they're both, occasionally, the same kind of asshole. coffee down on the table, and he's pinching his nose between his thumb and index finger. takes a breath and on the exhale, loses the smarmy grin. )

'm so tired, of all of this. I find something, somewhere, finally settle into it and everything goes to shit. I liked where I was and chances of me getting back are null. There's a dumber, younger me going 'round here doing stupid shit and I could go an' try to kick him down but he's already fucked over my ability to use my own face an' now I get why J was such an asshat about everything.

[ there is a flicker of sympathy because kyle has always held onto a bleeding heart, even when it burns him on the inside. he may not grasp the situation, but laid out like that, he can see why it's a frustrating one. ]

So you can't rebrand and you can't start over, so you want to start a fight? Fine. But you know the odds.

I didn't say I can't. I said I don't want to.

( how many times has he started fights he knew he'd lose because he just wanted the fight itself? more times than he can count. )

You're such an ass.

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