ArchivedLogs:A Bargain

A Bargain
Dramatis Personae Kai, Peter
In Absentia	2013-06-04 '
Location <XS> Gardens
From indoor gardens to outdoor, though without the protective greenhouse glass the back gardens do not last all year round. Still, the gardens out here are well-tended and well-worth spending time in, as well. The paths wending through the beds of flowers and herbs and vegetables spread out through the school's back grounds, tended by students as a credit class. Benches offer seating and a small pond is home to koi and turtles, as well as a few frogs. At the far back edges of the garden, a droning buzzing marks a few stacked white boxes as beehives. The last week of class means that many of the teachers have finished their courses for the term and with finals mostly finished, many are turning a blind eye to those students getting a jump on the summer. The weirdly Spring-like weather is lending itself to this number growing as the week marches on. Bright and sunny, with just the barest of cool in the breeze, it's exactly the sort of day you /want/ to jump-start a summer break. All over the campus, there are pockets of students idling away the afternoon. Here at the far end of the gardens, where Ivan's beehives sit in buzzy starkness, their industry a sharp counterpoint to the lackidesic humans nearby. But. There is also a Kai among those hives, dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans, with gloves and a beekeeper's hat. He moves slowly among the boxes, a spray bottle of sugar-water in his hand that he's using to gently mist the bees that rest on the flat tops and around the entrances. Occasionally, he mists those in the air, watching them carefully to make sure he's not offering too much for their tiny, fuzzy bodies. Peter's arrival is sudden, quick, quiet -- there is a faint, distant THWP, the sound of a webline firing something akin to a sharp release of pressure, like a silenced bullet -- and then he is zipping along, swinging down from a roof top and... two-toed socks are lighting on soil, catching and slowing his velocity until he's going along at a steady trot. The line is released; the cord lazily sways back in the breeze, becoming nothing more than a dangling piece of glittering silver string that hangs from Xavier's. Peter's clad in his soft blue shirt, collared -- untucked, buttoned up -- with dark gray dress slacks beneath that. He's got on his fancy little wrist-watches, sleek plastic and easily hidden under his sleeves when he wants (right now, they're out). One hand is in his pocket; the boy's face is wrinkled with a bit of a frown, eyebrows crumpled, as he approaches the bee-hives. "Kai?" he asks, tentatively, before he gets too close -- eyeing the bees with a /little/ wariness. No Ivan around to make sure they behave. Still! He's not feeling that particular tingle that hints at DANGER. The arrival of Peter alarms those bees not yet misted, and there's a small swell of buzzing as the hives adjust. It's enough to bring Kai's attention even before Peter speaks, and he's turning even as the other boy speaks. There's a small wavering in his stance as he regards Peter, his expression obscured by the heavy veil on the hat. It looks fairly neutral, though. "Peter." It's an acknowledgment that lacks some of it's previous warmth, but isn't as cold as it the older boy might be expecting. "You should be careful," he says after a moment, continuing to mist occasionally. "Or does your new skin protect you from bee stings?" "I dunno," Peter says, continuing to watch the bees -- /warily/. "But, I kinda can, um. If they're about to sting, I'd know. Before it happens." Not that this knowledge is really going to help Peter if the bees decide to /swarm/. "Um. Are you -- I mean," Peter begins, his hand instinctively wanting to move to RUB HIS SHIN as if in memory -- but! He resists the urge. "Are you okay? Ivan's been missing for a few days -- Jackson -- he's out looking for him. He'll find him, I know. Dude's badass. Found me. Us." "They get louder before they sting," Kai says. "But I have given them sugar water, like Ivan does. It makes them peaceful, if you do not touch the hives." He lowers the sprayer, then, and begins to move in Peter's direction slowly. "I am worried about Ivan," he admits, answering the question. "And I hope that he is okay, and will be returned safely. If there is anyone who can do this, it is Mister Jackson. He saved --" he breaks off, FROWNING as he reaches up to pull off the beekeeper's hat from his head. "He rescued many of us." With the veil removed, Kai's expression isn't as neutral as it might have seemed. He definitely looks troubled, with a deep furrow in his brow. He chews his lip as he stares at the older boy, his eyes flickering just once as he scans the rumpled clothing and the webshooters. "I am sorry for the way I behaved at the dance," he says finally, his voice suddenly low and hesitant. Like he was speaking to Peter for the first time ever. "I hope I did not hurt your leg too much." "Naw, s'okay," Peter says, reaching back to scratch his head with one hand, producing -- a sheepish grin for Kai. Visibly relieved when he apologizes; the tenseness that was maybe not /quite/ so apparent in his jaw immediately evaporates. "I mean, it hurt a little then, but -- you didn't kick it really hard. Um. But yeah, Jackson'll get Ivan back. I know he will. Uh, /anyway/, about..." A wash of violet threatens to spill across Peter's face, risking a swarm that will reach down his throat and torso. "--/that/. I just wanted to make sure, uh. Everything is -- uh, cool? I guess. Is... everything cool? Cool, uh, means okay," he adds, JUST IN CASE. Kai hasn't picked up that bit of slang yet. "I am glad," Kai says, hooking the sprayer bottle in his pocket so he can grip the beekeeper's hat tightly. He might even be tugging at it a bit. "I do not wish to hurt you. You are my..." his brow furrows further, and his mouth presses into a tight line. "You are Peter," he amends, looking up at the older boy with a touch of sadness around his eyes. Sadness that doesn't quite cover the slightly amused roll of his eyes at the explanation of 'cool'. "Yes, I know what 'cool' means," he says with a nod. "It is used on television quite often." He inhales slowly, and tilts his head at Peter inquisitively. "I do not know if 'okay' is a good word to describe things. I am less angry than I was, and I understand myself a bit better, but I am still confused about a thing or two." "Oh. TV. Right. You," Peter says, continuing to /SCRATCH/ at the back of his head -- like he's got ticks or something, "watch TV. Right. Um, you're confused? Okay. What are you -- okay, first I should tell you I'm /also/ really confused, 'cuz. Uh, okay, maybe we should -- what are you confused about?" he finally just, straight-out asks. "Is it -- I know, Shane and you..." Peter's face shifts to violet again. "...Shane's trying. Just, it's probably going to take time. I know -- /he/ knows --" His eyes drift down toward Kai's feet. The hand behind his head drops, limply, to his side. "--just, it's hard for him. But he's trying." Kai takes a deep breath, and motions towards the edge of the apiary; out of the path of working bees. "It is not Shane," he assures Peter, with a small shake of his head. There might even be the beginnings of a small smile. Then he pauses, furrowing his brow. "Well, it is not /all/ Shane," he corrects himself. "I am unsure how to speak of what it is, with you. So I will apologize first if I am being rude." He inhales and exhales slowly, dropping his hat in the grass so he can fold his arms behind his back. "But I would like to ask you a thing first, if I may." Peter quirks his head, following Kai's path as he moves away from the apiary -- taking a few steps back himself. Because, /bees/. "...okay," he says. "Um. Sure? Ask away." Kai considers his question, watching Peter's face carefully before he inhales through his nose. Visibly steeling himself for the asking of it, clearly, since it comes out in a bit of a rush. "Why do you like to kiss and hold hands with Shane, when he has tried to eat you?" /This/ manages to make Peter turn a dark violet, bordering on indigo. Up that hand goes again, scratching at the back of his head; Peter's eyes widen, and he takes a delicate step back -- as if Kai just unfurled a MASSIVE SWARM OF BEES emerging from his mouth. "...uh, oh. /Oh/," he says, eyes sweeping this way and that, as if looking for the answer somewhere here in the garden. Regrettably, the flowers present do not offer Peter any immediate responses. "Um. That's, uh. It's -- complicated? It's complicated," Peter decides, before adding -- much more softly: "He saved my life, Kai. But -- that isn't, why, I -- I mean. Even if he hadn't, I'd... still." "But why?" Kai's eyebrows slide up, and yellow flickers around the edges of his eyes as he watches the swirl of color through the chitin with the smallest of twitches. "Why do you like to do it?" He's not letting this go, and his chin lowers almost sagely. "Is it because you get a fluttery feeling in your stomach when you look at him, and you are happy when he is around?" He lifts a hand, and frowns thoughtfully. "This is what Kris and Sophie told me is the reason people want to act this way." Peter /blanches/ at Kai. "...dude, are you asking -- oh, man," Peter responds, and now he is /deep/ into indigo country, the hand at the back of his head moving around to mop mop mop at his face. "...I am totally /not/ equipped to handle a birds-and-the-bees talk, Kai. I mean /holycrap/ I nearly gnawed my own arm off when my Uncle Ben tried to sit me down for this. Uh. You should -- I mean, if you're seriously -- if you don't know about," Peter /flails/ at Kai, "kissy stuff, you should. Ask Jackson. Or, um. Do /not/ ask Shelby," Peter quickly adds. "Under any circumstances." "I am asking /you/ because it is /important/," Kai says, waving a hand at Peter's blanching. "I am going to take the class, if they offer it in the summer. And it is too late for not asking Shelby." He shakes his head, frowning. "She told Ivan and me very bad things that were not true and made us uncomfortable. We do not talk about it." This is offered distractedly, as if Peter's sidestepping is beginning to take them off track. He FURROWS his brow, then, and lowers his chin as he concentrates on the next words. Which are slow, and /barely/ audible. "I just would like to know if what you feel for Shane is like what I feel when I look at you." Now /he's/ blushing, and his frame goes rigid, as if his flight reflex is about to kick in. That last statement prompts Peter to /jump/. Like he's avoiding a sudden attack. Just, FWOOP! THWUMP. Up he goes, landing on a neighborly nearby tree branch, crouched, eyes wide, /deep/ violet. Hands clinging to the branch underfoot; his two-toed socks curled around it. "Holy /CRAP/ are you -- oh, jeez. Oh, /jeez/. Okay," Peter says, and now he's calming down, just a /bit/; his hand descends to squeeeeeze at the bridge of his nose. "Okay, I think I -- okay. /Okay/. Uh. Sorry. Sorry. Kind of, freaked me out, I mean," he waves down at Kai with the hand that /isn't/ rubbing at his nose-bridge, "I'm not good with this kind of stuff. /Okay/. You have a -- crush, or whatever. On me. Alright. OKAY." BREATHE, PETER. "I, I mean, I don't know. How you feel about me, exactly. I just. Um. I guess. I feel about Shane, like, something like that, yeah. He's --" Peter's eyes flick back down to the grass. Very sloooowly beginning to crawl his way down from that branch. Step, step, step. "-- I mean, I'm not -- he kind of -- I'm not even really, like, /into/..." As he blunders into this portion of the conversation, Peter's body tenses up, like he's thinking about FLYING BACK UP INTO THE TREE. Kai jumps back himself when Peter goes straight up, and his face is nearly brick-red with embarrassment -- or maybe it's shame, spurred by the unexpected reaction. He looks like crying might even be an option at this point. "Yes," he says in a small voice that remains even as he begins to prattle, suddenly, unable to meet Peter's eyes. "That is what Kris called it: a crush. All I know is that I was very glad when you were brought home alive, and I was glad when you said you were going to be here for the summer because it meant that I would be able to spend time with you." He sighs, and just SITS, suddenly. As if confession has robbed his legs of bones. "And you are very handsome, especially with your new color...." Thin knees are pulled up so that he can fold his arms across his knee caps and bury his face. "It is very confusing," he says to his knees. "I am probably doing it wrong." "Nnnrgh. Okay," Peter says, and now he's back on the ground, just -- both hands, rubbing, at his face. Rub rub rub. Like he's trying to rub his face /off/. "Okay, uh. I'm not. Look dude you are basically talking to a complete, uh, crush /novice/ here, okay? I don't -- even know what the deal is with me and Shane. Like, I'm --" His face, which had previously shown signs of going back to violet, now dives right deep into indigo. "--not really, uh. Into, like... /guys/. But, uh. Apparently I'm okay with... I mean. I don't know. I--" Peter sighs, and begins walking toward Kai, intent on plopping down beside him. And, if Kai does not resist, drop a hand down on his shoulder. "...look, I mean. It's -- kind of flattering, I just... it'd be like dating /Ivan/." Peter stiffens, suddenly, before adding: "I would never date Ivan. Uh. Just so you know. Just -- you're cool, and all, and I like you as a friend, and oh my /God/ am I giving you a 'Let's Be Friends' speech?" Peter suddenly asks, as if horrified at this realization. "Is that -- a thing I am actually doing? What. What is going /on/ in my life. /How/." Kai doesn't move as Peter speaks -- maybe he's too MORTIFIED to lift his head and see where the other boy is. Until he denies knowledge of what his exact relationship is with Shane. Then there's a slow, SUPER-confused look that's revealed in the slow lift of his head. "You are not making sense," he says. "You said you have a crush on Shane, and he is a boy. He likes you back. I do not know how that is unclear. It seems very clear to /me/." He doesn't sound /happy/ about it, but there's no heat in the question. "And I am largely ignorant on such matters." The hand on his shoulder will meet still-corded muscle along Kai's slender frame. But it also sends Kai's face back into hiding. "I do not know what that means," he says honestly. "I am already your friend. I would not stop being that just because of..." he rubs his face against his arms. "...this." "...yeah, I guess. I should just relax about it. Just, I dunno," Peter says, "I mean, I don't understand /why/ I feel this way about Shane, y'know? I think it's just -- he's -- it's like my signals get crossed around him," Peter says, and what began as an attempt to soothe Kai now sounds more like a wistful confession on Peter's part. He's still got a hand on Kai's shoulder, though his grip is -- very light. Ready to dart away at the slightest show of discomfort! "...when we were there, he just -- when things are, not -- terrible. He's a jerk. /Such/ a jerk. But, when things are bad, when you /need/ him to be strong, he's..." "...m'sorry," Peter mumbles, apparently at both getting /distracted/ and also at the mention of Kai still willing to be his friend. "Okay. I mean. I want you to be a friend. I'm just not -- I mean," and again, violet swirls into indigo, "not like /that/, kind of stuff. But, you're still an awesome friend, to me. Just, more like Ivan, less like. Shane." Kai is very quiet through Peter's rambling explanation, and he remains very still under Peter's hand, although the muscles in his shoulder relax a bit. When the older boy finishes speaking, he turns his head to the side to regard him thoughtfully. "And this strength that he shows you...it is enough that you can look past the knowledge that he and his brother tried to eat you?" He sounds genuinely curious. "Because no one forgets what I did, and it does not differ all that much." His mouth presses tight. "But I am happy to be your friend, if that is all you want," he says, glossing past the question and pushing ahead. "I would ask a thing from you, though. As my friend." "Shane bit open Sebastian's throat to stop him from eating me," Peter says. Tone quiet, tense. Not looking at Kai when he states this. The grip on Kai's shoulder tightens when he does, though not painfully. "...but even if he hadn't -- done that. He... yeah. It's enough." A slight smile as he glances back to Kai. "I haven't /forgotten/ what they did. I just... it doesn't make me afraid of them. Because I know them. I trust them. I haven't forgotten what you did, either, but I'm not frightened by you. Because I trust you." Peter pauses, then, eyebrows crumpling together. "...huh? Oh. Sure. What do you want?" "Oh." It's a very small sound from the back of Kai's throat, and it carries a sudden understanding that erases the sadness from his expression. It's literally like a light goes back on, and he's /back/ and up to speed. "I did not know that." He sits thoughtfully, for a moment, watching Peter's face carefully. "I hope that others will see me as you do, one day," he says with a small smile. "It is a hard thing to be blamed for a thing that you were made to do by others." He rests his chin on his arms, and stares out at the apiary, tracking the few bees that drift close to where the boys are sitting. When Peter agrees to the favor, Kai presses his lips together lightly for a moment. "It is a selfish thing, but...would you mind /not/ kissing and holding hands when I am around?" He scrunches his nose, blushing at his own audacity. "Just for a while. Until Shane and I are comfortable with each other." He blushes deeper. "I am sorry if that is a big thing to ask." "Just -- it's easy for me, Kai. To see you that way. I don't mean to -- I don't want to upset you or anything. But," Peter adds, turning to look at Kai, now -- frowning, worrying at his bottom lip. "It's easy for me because -- I didn't /lose/ anybody. Shane did. He looks at you, and -- it's probably really hard for him not to see somebody he loved, now dead. But, I don't think he --" Peter draws in a breath. Looks away. "I'm sure he knows that if you could have stopped it, you would have. But it's easy to know things. Harder to /feel/ things. But I know he's... trying. It's just, slow." At the mention of not hand-holding and kissing, Peter turns bright violet /again/. "...oh, uh. S-sure. I mean, that -- at the dance, it was. I kind of, um." Scratch-scratch at the back of his head. Sheepish smile. "...he's, uh. Kind of -- touchy, sometimes. But I can -- I mean, I'm sure we can. Do that. Er, uh. Not do that. Around you." The patient sigh that Kai offers at Peter's explanation speaks volumes to how often he's heard or thought these exact words, and a watery, grim little smile plays across his lips. "Yes. I know. I did bad things to his friends and Mister Jackson. I know it will take time. I just..." he furrows his brow, and shakes his head. "It will take time," he echoes, but there's something fearful in the way he says it. When Peter agrees to the favor once heard, he frowns a bit. "Thank you." seems to be the right thing to say in response, and he uncurls a bit, pushing his feet out in front of him. "You are a very good friend, Peter. I am sorry that I kicked you." "You already said you're sorry." /This/ doesn't sound like an accusation; it sounds more like a tease. Peter's smiling, small -- but present! -- when he mentions it. "S'okay. Um. You didn't kick too hard, I don't think. Or maybe the chitin helps," Peter adds, reaching down to -- gently tap tap at his own leg. As if testing it! "But, anyway. Okay. So, just to make sure. I won't, uh. Do, /stuff/ in front of you around Shane," Peter says, turning violet at the mention of 'stuff'. "And you won't kick me in the shins. Izzat a deal?" Kai looks down at the tapped leg, and tilts his head studiously. "I am not very strong," he admits. "Maybe it was both things. My lack of strength and your new skin." He smiles, then, and nods. "Yes. I will not kick, and you will not /kiss/." Is that a tease back? There's definite crinkling around the corners of his eyes. "That is a bargain."