trans_9 | Whatta Man [Closed]

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Whatta Man [Closed]

Cale had made the mistake of not visiting Leela once when she was in trouble and had nearly gotten his head caved in for the lack of effort, especially since he was the reason she was in trouble to begin with. Granted, these were completely different circumstances. For one, she wasn't in life-threatening danger, merely locked up. And, it wasn't Cale's fault. Leela had managed this all on her own. Hell, Cale hadn't had the slightest clue what she had been up to until he'd heard about the fight down in the city and that Leela had been part of it.

Regardless of his lack of culpability and the danger of her dying, Cale showed up at the precinct anyway if only to avoid the beating he was bound to receive once she got out if he didn't. Although, the kissing that had followed he could definitely take again. Willingly.

"Wow," he said as he stepped up to the bars of Leela's cell. "And here I thought it would be you visiting me in here first."

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"Haa haaa," she fake laughs, but as soon as she hears his voice, she gets up and sits on the edge of her bed to face him.

"And here's where I'm regretting like crazy they don't allow conjugal visits."

(http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd304/mysterio2000/cale/?action=view&current=titanae35.png)

"Oh yeah?" Cale replied with a playful grin. He edged closer to the bars and grabbed a hold of one with his left hand which, oddly, had a strange yellow glow about it that i hadn't had before.

"Well, who said we have to ask them?" he added, making a point to look over the detention cells, analyzing them.

Here she laughs again.

"Ain't no way you're getting in here. I think it took Batman like, more than five minutes. That's some crazy high security."

She waggles her eyebrows.

"Sentiment's definitely appreciated, though."

"What? You don't think I could do it?" he replied with a hint of offense in his tone. "Didn't I tell you about that time I escaped from a Drej prison? Using just my fingers?"

"Yeah. Sort of made me wonder what else you could do with just your fingers."

"I do great shadow puppets."

That smile just widens more, and she looks up at him and says. "Thank you. For coming to visit."

A pause.

"You know, unlike last time, when I was in the MedBay, and I wanted to kick your ass for not showing up."

(http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd304/mysterio2000/cale/?action=view&current=TitanAE1.jpg)

"Yeah, well, you know me. I like my butt without bruises on it," Cale answered, his grip on the bar, which seemed to stifle the yellow glow. He paused a moment and lowered his gaze to the floor.

"But, I actually came down here for a reason...other than your propensity for violent self-expression."

"Oh boy, now you're gonna get all serious on me now, aren't you," she says, leaning her head on her hand.

He nodded, slowly. His expression was plain and blank, revealing little other than he was being serious. "I just want to know why you didn't tell me."

"That would've made you part of the conspiracy. Means even if you didn't wanna take part, just knowing what was going down would've made you complicit. You'd be in a cell right now, too, even if you didn't want any part of it."

It's funny, but she's not actually considering that he's an opportunist that might've ratted her out.

"Oh, so you were protecting me?" he replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "From a jail cell that I could probably break out of anyway...."

"And where exactly would you go after that?" she asks him, arching an eyebrow. "With only two places on the ship that provide food?"

"I don't know. I hadn't thought that far ahead yet," Cale answered, scratching the back of his head as he pondered her point.

"We never expected to break out. We surrendered--that was always the plan. So no, I wasn't going to tell you, make you complicit, and pretty much doom you to getting your ass stuck in here with the rest of us."

She snorts. "And I knew it wasn't like you'd get out of it by ratting me out, so it would've screwed you over."

She says that with such surety in her voice, that he wouldn't have ratted her out. Which is odd, because she's not the most trusting person--she's both a hopeful and cynical about people in equal measures.

How many other people than Tek have spoken to you that way, Cale?

Not many.

However, what Leela has forgotten is that there is a certain blond-haired, nineteen year-old boy without a planet or parents that has serious abandonment issues. He's been lied to. He's been lied to by someone who said he was protecting Cale.

"Ok, so, basically, you're saying you don't think I could handle being locked up. Is that it?" he countered.

"No. You'd probably be fine. You've got that whole lone wolf thing going so strong, I think you could probably handle anything," she says, shaking her head, unphased by this fresh new wave of defensiveness. "I just wanted you to be free to do what you want. If you wanna be in prison with the rest of us, go commit a crime or something, but I wasn't going to drag you into this and make that choice for you."

Brown eyes look up at him, as sincere as they ever get.

"You've had a crap-ass life so far, and I like you. Why in the hell, if I liked you, would I want to put you in a bad spot like that?"

"I don't need pity. All right?" he retorted. He hated when people treated him differently, whether it be treating him like scum or giving him preferential treatment. He'd gotten it his whole life--always in the kind of the former--and all just because he was a human and humans were going extinct.

"You should have told me. Maybe I would've helped. Maybe I would've said it's not my problem. But, for someone who's all hung up on getting me to open up and trust people, you're sure as heck not doing a whole hell of a lot of it."

"It's not pity. I did the same for you I did for Allen. When you care about people, that's what you do. Try not to make trouble for them, try to make it so they're okay."

She frowns at him.

"You wanna know something about me I don't just broadcast, fine: I don't share my problems. I make my choices my own, and make sure I don't drag anybody else down with me. Because I make some crazy choices sometimes. Ones that cause stuff like this, ones that could get me killed. That's how I am."

"You call that something you don't broadcast?!" Cale snapped back at her. "That's funny, 'cause that's the only message I'm getting loud and clear from you. 'Tell Leela every secret you got 'cause she wants to know what makes you tick. But don't expect the same from her 'cause she just don't roll that way.'"

He scowled at her, pissed off that she'd kept a secret from him after insisting he share with her, pissed off that she'd kept him out, but also completely ignoring the one secret he hadn't shared with her that was now staring her in the face...or, rather, glowing.

"You got any other top secret plans that I'm not supposed to know about?"

"Oh, like I can't keep secrets, but your hand is glowing and you don't even think maybe I want to know about that? Shit."

She crosses her arms.

"I never said it had to be a one-way street, you moron. You just never asked any damn questions like I asked you. You don't even care, because God forbid you act like you care about anyone."

"What do you mean I act like I don't care? I care! I'm here aren't I?" he pointed out. Glancing at his glowing hand, Cale pondered--just for a moment--not telling her but instead settled on pulling his hand away from the bar and holding it for her to get a good look.

"Is this what you wanted to see? Here! Fine! Get a good look!"

She looks at his hand.

"I have no idea what this is."

A pause.

"...Did you just admit you care about me?"

"It's a map," he answered. He's avoiding the second question for a reason.

"Supposedly it's going to lead us to a ship that'll save humanity and keep us from going extinct. Our 'last hope' or something like that."

"We can talk about your magical hand map later. We're going back to the part where you just admitted you care about me. Which, you just did."

"Uh...I did not."

"You're still a bad liar."

He sighed. He wasn't going to win. He never did. Not with her. Losing (arguments) and Cale had become quite close in the days and weeks since he'd met the stubborn Leela Bricker.

"Ok, fine. So what if I did?"

With other people, with other guys in the past, she would've just been avoidant, like he was, but you have to give and take a little, and it wasn't quite in her nature to be open, but it was in her nature to give.

It was also in her nature to be honest.

"I care about you, too, you know." A pause. "Please don't be hurt by what I did, about not telling you. I know you expect there always to be some reason, some dick reason someone does something, because that's always what you get, but the caring thing is why I didn't tell you. That's the only reason. That's it, simple as that. I protect who I care about, even if maybe they don't need it."

(http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd304/mysterio2000/cale/?action=view&current=titanae66.png)

He's quiet for a few moments as he looks down at her, pondering her words and the feelings behind them. This was all new to Cale. Meeting a human girl that was his age--or any age, really--and having to work out the dynamics of teenage ~~relationships~~ interaction after spending almost his entire life among aliens was difficult. As much he loathed to admit it.

"Ok," he finally relented. "Just don't do it again, all right?"

"I won't, but you bet your ass that means I'm gonna get you into trouble, fair warning," she says.

Then she points to his hand.

"Now tell me about this magical hand map again?"

(http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd304/mysterio2000/cale/?action=view&current=titanae61.png)

"Later," he said with a smile.

He paused and began to take a closer look at the detention hall, looking over Leela's cell and how it worked with as much detail as he could. He surveyed the doors, the lock, everything, before looking back to the girl on the other side.

"So, how much trouble you think I'd get in for breaking in to a cell?" he asked.

She laughs again. "There's only one way to find out..."

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Whatta Man [Closed]

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