Summary:Roy's goes to find out why he's got Farsi running through his head. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
  |
It's normal to get used to something after a while. Like when you have dental work done and right after that new filling or crown is So Totally Obvious. But by the next day you kinda forget about it. Sure, if you poke around at it, you'll see that yep, it's there but if you don%<u2019>t go looking it just sort of blends into the background.
Kelly's presence in Roy's head has been like that after the first few days. Which is why it might have taken him a while to figure out that the thoughts buzzing around in the back of his head aren't actually his own. Which might be a relief, because it was tuned into a 'channel' he didn%<u2019>t understand and it *might* have gotten to the point of distraction.
The BCI specialist is in her lab. Over on one of the screens is an image of Roy's arm, the 3D model slowly rotating. Other screens stream with data. She%<u2019>s in her usual working attire, with her hair twisted up into a messy bun behind her.
"« As-salamo 'alaykom. Xoshal sodom az molaqate soma. »" As Roy gets closer, the buzzing in his head gets a bit clearer. Is that… Farsi?
Really, it's like when you went downstairs as a kid late at night and watched the scrambled porn channels, thinking you'll catch a /glimpse/ of a pixilated breast. People did that right? Just him? Probably just him. Roy's down in the motorpool, currently working on one of the SHIELD trucks. He's humming to himslef as he suddenly feels the increased boost in his head in the foreign language.
And it brings him to a halt. Setting aside the tools, he slides out from underneath the truck as he takes a rag to wipe off his hands. He almost reaches up to touch the small cuff on his ear, and decides against it.
Once he cleans up, he heads up to the labs where Kelly is currently sitting and leans against the doorframe, watching her as she works. And there's a smile that tugs at his features - but she may be able to feel that. It's hard for him to sneak up on her when she's a constant presence in the back of his head. "You know, you could at least provide subtitles."
Kelly Dehaven isn't really used to having anyone in a continuous link. Most people don't know she can do it and those who do… Well, most of them are SHIELD and having their roots in a spy organization they're deeply paranoid about someone being able to see behind the curtain. So while part of her knows that Roy's close, when he suddenly speaks she startles and a pen goes flying his way.
"Roy! You startled me." Once her physical attention is on him, he can feel more of her mental presence as well. The background chatter dies down as she blinks at him, smiling. "Subtitles? What?" Then her brow furrows and she twists about to look for the clock. "Is it time to go home already?" Not that 'quitting time' is usually a thing for her. But then she doesn't normally have anything to go home to, either.
That very robotic hand that Kelly was just studying on screen snaps up and catches the pen as it comes flying in his direction. Roy smirks. "It's only quitting time if you want it to be." he points out to her with a rolling shrug of his shoulders as he moves to set the pen back on the table. He's currently dressed down in a grey SHIELD t-shirt and black combat pants - but there's no hat, his red hair is on vivid display, as well as that small psi-steel cuff on his ear.
"You were thinking something. Didn't recognize the language. But it sounds like Arabic?" he asks her with a curious lift of his brow.
Kelly Dehaven's brow furrows and she walks over, her eyes crossing a bit as she focuses on his nose and wipes at the tip of it with her sleeve cuff. "You had… something… Oh! Right!" She turns, which is a bit of a whirl and moves over to one of the computers, turning up the volume and Roy hears with his ears what he's been hearing in his head for a while now. "You'd mentioned needing to go to Afghanistan and I don't know Farsi so I figured I should probably brush up…" Most people don't 'brush up' on a language they've never used before.
Somewhat belatedly she reaches down for his artificial arm and the pen there. "Was the reaction time on that OK? I probably should have measured your normal reaction time to make sure it's responding the same…" Aaaand this is why she never usually makes it out of her lab.
Going nearly cross-eyed when Kelly wipes his nose, Roy's eyes take a moment to refocus as he concentrates on the words coming from the speaker. And then his attention returns to Kelly in confusion. "Wait, are you like.. downloading a language?" he asks in some confusion as he turns his attention from the speaker to her again.
"And exactly who said you were going into a combat zone with me?" He doesn't exactly plan to take Kelly into the field. "But I guess if we take a prisoner, we could do that." he decides finally, trying to make sense of it all.
"Yes, the arm's fine." he says with a smirk. He reaches up to rub at a spot just above where the arm connects as he chuckles. "Weren't you just saying it was quitting time?"
"What, like Matrix? No. Nothing like that. It'll take me at least a month to be passable and another to be conversational." Kelly turns the speaker back down, since most people don't care to listen to language lessons unless they're y'know, trying to learn the language.
When Roy looks for clarification on her going in the field she gives an exhale of what seems like relief. "I don't have to go? It sounded like Jemma said I needed to go as part of your support team." So of course, she started to Plan. Part of that? Learn the local language. "And it would help a bit if you needed me to try to telepathically interrogate someone. Though I've uh, never done that before." She admits.
There's a small grimace as he reminds her. "Right. Right. Let me get my bag… What did you want to do for dinner?" Because Kelly eats take-out. All the time. Because she can't cook.
"Well, you're going, but if I have my way, you'll be at the nearest base, safe and snug as a bug in a rug while the rest of us handle the dirty work." Roy responds with a chuckle as he hears her obvious relief. "If you were to hear me using another language in our link, would you learn it?" he asks her curiously, now that the subject has been broached.
"As for food.. hmm." There's that shrug again. "I'm pretty easy. What're you in the mood for?" he asks as he approaches her, and presses a kiss to the side of her mouth as he realizes how dirty he must be, pausing before squeezing her. "I should probably clean up at the apartment first."
"We can always do takeout." Kelly assures him, and when he pulls back a bit when he realizes he's dirty she goes up on her toes so she can press another kiss to his cheek. Which promptly gets her nose all smudged.
"I was going to queue up Japanese." Kelly admits, since he'd spoken it the night they were attacked. "But then this came up so I figured I'd do that after. In theory I might be able to pull your memories on them and use *that* on repeat? But… I've never tried it." She admits.
"And I am perfectly OK with being safe in a base." Kelly assures him. "And then you won't be distracted by me getting myself in trouble. Preferably said base is within a few miles of you, otherwise I can't reach you through the link."
When she mentions learning Japanese through his memories, Roy's demeanor changes. It turns a little colder. Food is no longer an issue. "Don't." he says finally, simply. She'll feel those walls going up. It's something he's not proud of in all of that. He draws in his breath, taking a moment, because he knows this won't be an easy discussion to have.
He leans back against the desk - even the cute smudge on Kelly's nose isn't noted, as he draws in his breath to steady and gather his thoughts. "I learned Japanese from Lian's mother." he says quietly. "When we were together. And though we were on opposite sides of a mission.. she.." he glances down. "She decided to carry our child anyway. And then left her to me because she couldn't change who she was."
"But she had hoped that Lian would change me. And for a while.. she was right." Now she can start seeing more of the picture. He didn't abandon Lian to go out and get a score. He was out, trying to make the streets safe. He wanted to make things better for her. And he lost her. And the world fell apart.
While some of their initial meetings had Roy being a bit prickly, he's been incredibly warm and open since then. Kelly might have started to take it for granted that he might have walls, since he's made no real effort to put any between them.
Until now. He can't really close down the link between them. He doesn't know how. But she can feel the way he pulls back and she does as well, looking suddenly unsure. He can feel the brush of her thoughts against his and then an almost abrupt termination and while the link doesn't close, he feels her pull back as well. She folds her hands before her as he starts to talk and as he finishes she reaches out a hand slowly towards him, not quite touching him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up old memories." The apologetic words are soft, not wanting it to intrude on his pained remembrance.
It takes him several moments. It's not Kelly's fault. He knows that. Closing his eyes to settle himself, he slowly allows his mind to open back up - hopefully coaxing Kelly out of hiding.
His hand responds to hers, reaching up and his flesh presses gently to her psisteel. "It's not your fault. You didn't know. Like I said, I should probably put 'danger, minefield' in my head." he admits dryly.
He doesn't say anything else, holding her hand. He's not pulling further away - he's not running. But he's not sure what else he can do at the moment. Relationships are not his strong suit.
Kelly Dehaven normally doesn't take off her gloves until she gets home, but she pulls them off so she can link her fingers with Roy's when he accepts her reaching out. It doesn't give her any more insight to his head than the small piece of jewelry, but it lets her feel the warmth of his touch.
"It's OK. I touched a still-open wound. Without doing something crazy like mapping your brain to know where they are, I'm going to do that." Kelly squeezes his hands (well, hand) again. "But it's OK. You tell me 'not here' and I'll back off. I realize I'm taking way more advantage of you than most people get to."
As Roy's mind relaxes, Kelly lets her thoughts stretch out again, a brief sympathetic touch before she settles back. Within reach without invading his space. She bites her lip, to keep from saying anything. The kneejerk reaction is to offer sympathy and platitudes, and she doesn't think that's what he needs right now and so makes the effort to be quiet on that front.
When the gloves come off, Roy grins. "Will the rest come off when I get you home?" he asks her teasingly - and that's when she may realize it. The innuendo, the double entendre, the flirting, it's his defense mechanism. If he comes across as brash and blunt, people may leave him alone. Kelly's gotten past that layer of defense, and Roy just doesn't realize it yet.
"There's a lot of scars. And if I were to go into all of them, we'd be here all night and by morning, you may decide I'm not worth the issue." he points out as he laces his fingers into hers. "But I will try to be a little more careful when you hit a sore spot not to snap at you. You didn't deserve that."
Kelly Dehaven's head tilts forward a bit, and she leans in to look meet his eyes from inches away with her own. "I don't break that easily." She assures him. "It may sound kind of funny, given I'm in your head and all, but when, not *if*, but *when* you need some time and space, it's OK. And it's OK that it hurts, and if you need some time with that hurt. You didn't hurt me, you didn't hurt my feelings. I was just worried for you." Her assurances are soft, given they're so very close.
Her lips press together, trying not to smile and it sets her dimples off. "Maybe. Eventually. You'll have to convince me it's worth my while." She teases.
"Wow. I have to convince you? Well, good thing I have all night. Tomorrow. And the next day. And the day beyond that." Roy offers in response when he sees Kelly's dimples. He chuckles softly and moves to push himself up, though that puts him that much further into the other's personal space. Enough that the lavender and mint on his senses isn't just an echo of her in his mind.
"I'll do my best to left you know when I'm having those moments." Roy responds finally and smirks slightly. "Maybe I should start charging rent." he's clearly teasing her as he closes his eyes. "You're my first relationship since that one. Since Lian. So, if I come across as rusty.. well."
"Well, you're my first actual relationship period so…" Kelly lets that trail off. She'd probably be making a huge mess of this herself if she couldn't take some cues from what she picks up from his mind. Heck, wasn't she kind of doing exactly that before?
She doesn't back up as Roy stands, instead slipping her arms around him, dirt and grease and all. She does wrinkle her nose a bit and note: "You smell like an engine block." Tipping her head back so she can look up at him she sticks her tongue out at him. "Well I'm not charging *you* rent, so why don't we just call that one even?"
Kelly's gaze shifts off to the side, to the chrome-silver cuff snuged up on his ear. "And if you ever feel like you really need space…" It comes off. Easy peasy.
"Beautiful woman such as yourself?" Roy scoffs at Kelly as she tells him he's her first real relationship. "So.. this is the real deal, huh?" he realizes, as they both come to the same conclusion. Standing there as he considers her words, he smirks. "Well, I did say I needed to get a shower first. And that's what comes from working on engines all day, yes."
And then she's mentioning the cuff. His hand releases from hers and reaches up to it subconsciously. Then releases it - leaving it there. His response to her thoughts of him needing space are in him stepping into her, his arms around her as he presses his mouth to hers in a warm and deep kiss - that she doesn't need to read his mind to know the meaning behind.
One of Kelly's arms comes up and around Roy's shoulders and neck as he steps in to kiss her, the other curling around his waist to hold on as he bends her over backwards a bit with the kiss. She returns it fairly enthusiastically, at least until there's the sudden clearing of a throat. Maybe a second clearing of the throat. Kelly tears away from the kiss to blink owlishly at one of her coworkers for a moment and the ohs!
Cue the blushing and pushing Roy up straight, taking hold of his hand and then starting to head for the exit, dragging Roy if need be. "We were uh, we were just leaving."
The clearing of throats and Kelly pushing him up finally gets Roy to relent. "Uh. Sorry." he manages to offer to the co-worker that's probably giving him more looks for looking like he's totally going to ruin the sterile environment more than making out with his girlfriend.
When Kelly starts to drag him away, it only takes him a moment to start to follow after her, giving a wave to the poor co-worker. "Ta!"
Kelly Dehaven all but drags Roy out of the building. Like any good New Yorker, she doesn't own a car but her apartment isn't that far from where the ferry between the Triskelion and Brooklyn lands. Being June, the sun is still up and the streets have a fair bit of foot traffic around them.
As they walk the last bit of the way home, Kelly's arm twined around his and holding his hand, she looks up at him with serious eyes. "How long has it been?" The question is light, so he can brush it off if he doesn't want to dig into it.
Walking with Kelly, it would seem almost natural to him - the pair of redheads joined together at the hand as they walked. The exercise is good, the air is fresh, and the company is exceptional. And then she asks. And he considers.
"How long since my last relationship, or how long since…?" he asks in response, though he can guess she means 'Lian' in this case.
Kelly Dehaven glances up to him with a small, almost sad, smile. "Either. Or neither." Whichever he might be willing to talk about. Or none at all if it hurts too much. Her free hand comes across her body to rub up and down his arm.
"Falling into bed with you aside, I was telling the truth when I said I prefer to be friends with someone. I just… don't really have any friends." Kelly admits, feeling perhaps she should offer up something herself if she's going to ask Roy to start digging into his painful past. "So while I did go ahead and try the whole dating thing, nothing ever really came of it." They walk a bit more before she gives a small sigh and confesses, "I uh, might have 'helped' one of them decide to move on when he was being…" She purses her lips while she decides on phrasing. "Insistent."
"I would have been okay with being your friend, Kelly." Roy says suddenly, pausing in their walk. "I mean, what we have together, it's great and all. But I don't want you to feel rushed or forced." he turns his attention to her fully as his hand covers hers, listening to her story. "You told me that most of your peers were older. Can only imagine it was the same for your admirers as well."
"It's been over five years since the last time I had a date, Kelly." he finally relents, sharing that information with her quietly. "I needed to fix myself before I needed to you know, try to be a part of something else. It's been a little over seven months since Lian died." he finally adds. "So, the ground's shaky, the wounds are fresh.. but I want you in my life."
As Roy pulls them to a stop and they move out of the flow of (foot) traffic, Kelly's hands squeeze his. She leans in again, so her eyes meet his. "I'm not rushed. Or forced. And you are my friend. That's the most important part of all of this. I meant I didn't have other friends. You're kind of it." Her smile is soft and a little lop-sided.
As Roy muses about her admirers she wrinkles her nose a bit. "I never dated any of those that… ahem. Yes. Anyway." She shakes her head as he explains. "I'm glad you took the time. That's important." That Lian's death was only seven months ago… He can feel her own mix of sadness and outrage that she tries to keep pushed down. Her hands tighten almost painfully on his as she keeps herself from telling him she's so, so sorry, knowing that doesn't help anything. "Well, thank you." She looks up at him again from where her gaze had fallen to their hands. "For not running when *I* rushed you." She teases to re-emphasize that he hasn't been pressuring her.
Closing his eyes as he feels the wash over him, it does little to buffer his own guilt at it all. Roy draws out his breath and opens his eyes finally and he gives a nod. "We're dating. And friends. And lovers." he says finally as he feels the soft press of her to him as she tightens her grip on him.
His eyes search hers, and Roy finally swallows. "..well. Nothing's stopping us from rushing home. We can call a pizza." he points out to her. "Or chinese. Or whatever."
Kelly Dehaven pulls one hand free, reaching up to place her palm against his cheek and tilts her head forward to rest her forehead against his. "Yeah, let's get off the street. We can go home and hide under the blankets and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist for a bit."
As they start back towards her apartment, she points to her had with one hand. "Already ordering delivery." She says with a smirk. See? He's got an App for that.
"Through me or you?" Roy asks Kelly playfully as he leans into her touch and brushes his nose against hers. Then as they pull away to start on their walk again, he grins at her playfully. "Hiding is the last thing I plan to do to you under the covers, Kelly Dehaven."