Lost and Found (Rose)

Participants: Red Devil, Rose Wilson
Open/Closed: Closed
Location(s): A quiet side street off of a busy section of San Francisco
Time of Day: Late afternoon
Weather: Foggy, but nice nonetheless 
Summary: Two old time friends randomly bump into one another by happenstance

~~~

Eddie Bloomberg, known to many others simply as Red, or Kid, Devil, didn't have much in terms of a home. The young man routinely hopped from city to city, crashing at homes of those willing to take him in for the brief time he was around, before moving on. Thanks to his teleportation powers, it wasn't hard to get around, but it was hard to rely on others for a place to stay. Luckily for Eddie, his once dead friend Jason Todd (who turned out not to be dead), had been kind enough to offer him his couch whenever he needed. Truth be told though, while the couch was appreciated and needed, what Eddie really needed was a steady income so he didn't have to rely on others.

The thought had lingered on Eddie's mind a lot lately. It was why he had been hopping from city to city so frequently lately. He wasn't sure what he could do for a job, especially given his appearance. It didn't help that being a hero wasn't really a paying job, unless you were Booster Gold. But, really, who would want to be Booster Gold? Eddie doubted even Booster Gold didn't want to be Booster Gold.

The benefits of city hopping had at least helped Eddie clear his head a bit. His anxiety and stress was alleviated slightly by the constant change of scenery. It was really nice to see what all the cities had to offer, even if Eddie didn't stay for too long. His jumping, however, did bring him back to something close to what he could consider a home. San Francisco, where the Teen Titans were located. Eddie had a very tenuous relationship with the team. While he had made some good friends there, such as Jaime Reyes and Virgil Hawkins, Eddie had a very strained relationship with others such as Tim Drake. While he was sure there was no ill will or bad blood between the two, Eddie's rash and poorly chosen actions lead to many scoldings from Tim. But the Teen Titans weren't why Eddie was in the city. Much like with the other cities he had visited, Eddie was seeing what may be available for him, along with just enjoying what the city had to offer.

As the day had continued on, Eddie had found a nice little cafe on a random side street of the city. While not a lot of people were out given the heavy fog that had rolled in over the city, Eddie sat outside of the coffeeshop and just took in the surroundings. While he didn't have a lot of his own money, he did have Daniel's credit card. Blue Devil and himself hadn't talked much over what seemed like years to Eddie, but the fact that he hadn't called and yelled at Eddie for using his credit card meant he either didn't care, didn't notice, or felt like Eddie needed it. Eddie had actually hoped that Daniel would have noticed to charges onto his card and called him, but it never came. Sure he could reach out himself, but he had tried that before and it had went nowhere.

With the thought of Daniel in his mind, Eddie let out a heavy sigh as he stared blankly at his coffee that sat on the small table in front of him.

"What am I even doing anymore?"

Despite the ever-present crowds that filled San Francisco’s main streets, weather fair or otherwise, Rose Wilson meandered through the bustling metropolis without anyone stepping within three feet of her. She put it down to her charm and openness – in that she lacked either. Her face, sullen and unimpressed with the world about her, told of a mood dark enough to blot out the West Coast’s sun. Her attire – tattered jeans, heavy boots and a ‘Slaughter is the Best Medicine’ t-shirt, topped off with a leather jacket – suggested an inherent edginess at odds with the laid back and friendly nature of many of the state’s teenagers. Then there was the aura she projected: a menacing, bullish confidence and thinly-veiled aggression.

She did, after all, desperately need a coffee.

Rose had learned the art of looking unapproachable from her father. It had been beaten into her from a young age, the knowledge that how one moved and acted were as much a part of a combatant’s craft as skill with a blade. Appearances could be deceiving, and how a fighter carried themselves could end conflict before it had even begun. Slade was to blame for his daughters resting bi&$h face – one of his greatest successes. In keeping her expressions ones of anger or disinterest, he had found a way to mask many of the emotions Rose felt, disguising her humanity in the hopes she would mirror his lack of it.

That, however, turned out to be one of Deathstroke’s greatest failures.

No matter what he’d done, and no matter Rose’s limited lexicon of expression, she still felt an entire spectrum of emotions, and she retained her morality in a way that had disappointed and infuriated her father.

San Francisco didn’t need to know that, though, not when she craved caffeine.

Turning off the main street she’d troubled, casting one last glare at the packed crowds for good measure, she headed down a much quieter side alley, beating a path toward one of the best coffee shops in town – at least, as far as she was concerned. They served their coffee exactly how she liked it: a thick, tar-like sludge that wiped any other taste from your mouth for hours. And it was cheap too. Apparently people didn’t pay to drink what was, in consistency, similar to oil.

As she approached, the slightest flicker of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips – the scent of burnt coffee bean thick on the air. Look up from the paving stones, her eyes found the door, and she made a beeline for the entrance, totally missing the familiar face that sat a few tables away from her destination.

Eddie Bloomberg

Eddie was never really up on the latest trends or fashions. Nothing about what he wore ever looked truly flashy or overly thought out. For the most part, it was always just shorts and a tank top. While it didn't make him look the most presentable, it did at least help regulate a bit of his body temperature. The young hero could breathe fire after all, and as such he was routinely warm and so wearing less or lighter clothing. Today was no different as he was wearing just a pair of plain black shorts with a plain grey tank top. He already had a hard enough time blending in with people normally, what with looking like an actual devil, so he never really tried to wear things to hide who he was.

It wasn't the fanciest of coffeeshops that Eddie had found, and honestly, the sip he had taken hadn't left a good taste in his mouth. Sure, a lot of Eddie's food and drinks had a slight burnt taste to them because he was essentially fire in a human shell, but even he could tell when the beans of his coffee were burnt. It honestly wasn't even that big of a deal, but it just felt like another bit of proof to Eddie on how crummy his life was; how nothing would go his way.

As Eddie sat outside of the small shop at one of their few outdoor tables, he heard some footsteps approaching. While most steps sounded similar, there was something about the people you knew that usually made their footsteps more recognizable. The footsteps approaching, before Eddie even had to look up to verify, belonged to Rose Wilson. Rose was...different, to say the least. She was a friend, but a very distant one. She was pretty much a lone wolf, and her gruff side usually rubbed people the wrong way. But, like her, Eddie was a bit of an outsider. It was why the two actually got along for the most part.

Eddie went to wave to Rose, a hand raising up in her direction, but the white haired girl didn't even seem to notice him and just walked straight into the shop. The devilish teenager paused and slumped into his chair, hands circling around his coffee. Well that was a bit of a bummer. His eyes glanced through the window, scanning for Rose and spotting her in the line. He paused briefly again and weighed his options before he vanished in a puff of smoke. Mere seconds later, he reappeared beside Rose, a small puff of smoke marking his arrival. His positioning landed him beside her, with an arm resting onto her shoulder. "Listen, I know you've only got one good eye, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I'm gonna assume you just didn't see me and that you aren't just boldly ignoring me, old pal, old friend, old buddy of mine" If Eddie was lucky, his sudden appearance and hanging off of Rose's shoulder wouldn't result in her twisting and potentially snapping his arm behind his own back. If he was not as lucky, then he'd probably have his arm in a sling for the foreseeable future. It was though, all a risk he was willing to take just in the hopes of catching Rose off guard.

As Rose entered the small café, the smell of coffee got only stronger, the odour burning itself into her nostrils. She inhaled deeply, breathing the singed smell of caffeine into her lungs with a relish that bordered on desperation. Slade had ensured that his daughter had an addictive personality, for, in his twisted though process, it made her all the easier to control. She’d cycled through a range of additives in her relatively short life – from unhealthy relationships to power enhancing narcotics. That her only vices remained cigarettes and coffee said a lot about how far she’d come.

The door closed behind her, a bell above jingling to announce her entrance, and she joined the meandering queue toward the barista at the counter, avoiding eye contact with everything and everyone around her. Instead, she affixed her gaze on the thick, tar like substance that swirled around percolators dotted about the café. Rose began chewing at her lower lip, something of a tick when insurmountable cravings surfaced.

She almost bit it when a sudden and unexpected plume of black smoke darkened the area at her side and an arm was pressed against her shoulder. Almost instinctively, she loosened up and slackened her posture – doing the opposite of what most startled individuals might. Tensing only served to alert others to intrinsic discomfort, a body preparing to fight or flee. It also lessened fluidity of movement significantly, limiting all manner of motions and manoeuvres. Neither were things of which Deathstroke approved.

Reaching the arm closest to her assailant out, she snared it around their furthest shoulder, as if attempting to hold them in a side-long embrace. It would allow her to direct their body in the attempt of a scuffle, pulling them off balance and giving her the upper hand in whatever grapple may ensue. Then, finally, she turned to look at the person foolish enough to attack the Ravager in broad daylight, while she was queueing for a much needed shot of caffeine no less.

That Eddie Bloomberg was the moron leaning his red, devilishly handsome face close to hers caused her a moment’s pause. If anyone knew not to take Rose Wilson by surprise, it was the former Kid Devil.

Rose hadn’t seen the Red Devil in what seemed like an eternity, even after learning of his recent resurrection. His death had hurt her– more than the death of anyone she’d ever known, for a multitude of reasons she’d never wanted to dwell upon. Not that she intended to tell him that, and nor did she wish to seek him out to dredge up those painful memories. She’d never dealt with emotions well, and when there was so much she wanted to say to one individual, it was simply easier for her to say nothing at all.

"Listen, I know you've only got one good eye, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I'm gonna assume you just didn't see me and that you aren't just boldly ignoring me, old pal, old friend, old buddy of mine"

Rose’s good eye narrowed, her expression most easily described as a scowl.
“Yeah, my peripheral vision sucks. Guess I just didn’t see you.”
Then, lashing out with the leg closest to the Devil, she swept both his feet from under him, pulling him backward with the arm laced about his shoulders, offering no support in the slightest. Once he was sprawled out on the floor at her side, she glanced down at his prone form. “Now I’m boldly ignoring you,” she stated clearly, looking back to the coffee and rolling her shoulders.

Eddie Bloomberg

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Armarmarm! Sonova! Ah! Ow!" He knew it was coming, the sudden grab and twist of his arm. Eddie might not have been the smartest person alive, but he did know his bold entrance was going to get himself into some pain. Some had been the thought though. In reality, it had been a lot. Even if Rose wasn't trying to, Eddie's initial reaction to jerk as his arm was shunted behind him caused more pain. He squirmed and wiggled, just grunting out some painful ows. His eyes looked around the cafe, where the patrons had initially reacted, but seemingly gave up and went back to their daily grinds as Rose had the scenario under control.

His quip seemed to resonate with her, causing him to briefly ignore the pain and causing a big smile to spread across his face. But the smile was short lived, as Rose swept his legs out from under him and with a loud THUD, Eddie crashed onto the ground. He wheezed as the air left his lungs, his eyes staring up at the ceiling, before looking to the woman who had floored him. "God you're hot" A small groan of pain laced itself over his words as Eddie laid on the ground.

Eddie slowly rolled to his side and got back to his feet before, once again, hanging off of Rose's shoulder, this time the opposite as he had originally. "You can't ignore me. I'm too charming. And persistent. Mostly persistent. Some would say annoyingly so" With a smirk laying across his face, Eddie couldn't help but give Rose a little wink as he waited in line with her. "So back in town to work with your favourite teens again? Here for a hit? Running from yourself? What's up, what's good?"

Eddie hit the floor like a sack of bricks, and made a wheezing, gasping sound that suggested he’d been winded by the suddenness of his fall. Rose, whose scowl remained to darken her features, moved forward in the line, one of the customers who’d purchased their drink stepping over the devil to make his exit. She made no effort to help her former team-mate up – and if she did it would have been to trip him again.
‘God you’re hot.’
Though she did her utmost not to show it, that one, dopey comment caused the anger that clouded her face to clear – her furrowed brows relaxed a little, and the slightest smirk tugged at the corner of her pursed lips, cheeks twitching. However, she held her composure. Rose Wilson could stay angry at anyone, and held a grudge almost as well as her father. That was, of course, unless that anger was directed at Eddie Bloomberg – she just couldn’t be mad at him, no matter how much she might have wanted to be.

It took a good few moments for the Red Devil to rise, rolling around on the ground until he found enough purchase and physical strength to push himself to his feet. She paid him no heed, continuing to ignore him – as she had stated – even when he laced himself about her shoulders again, face close to hers once again. Looking forward, she refused flatly to acknowledge him.
‘You can't ignore me. I'm too charming. And persistent. Mostly persistent. Some would say annoyingly so.’

By way of response, Rose just shook her head. It was going to take more than his annoying, charming, stupid, handsome face spouting pointless prattle to break the Ravager down. Instead, she made a point of looking at the menu ahead of her- though she knew exactly what she wanted to order, and had before she’d set foot in the cafe. When she finally reached the front of the queue, Bloomberg still pestering her, she ordered the largest, blackest coffee available, and then moved to wait for service.

"Are you finished?" she said finally, after another spurt of rapid fire questions and comments. Rose adjusted her gaze to look at him, the brow over her eyepatch raised challengingly. Most people were likely to read it as a warning - 'quit while you're ahead.' Eddie was more likely to take it as an invitation to carry on talking.

Eddie Bloomberg

This little coffeeshop must have seen a lot of things in its days. Ever since Eddie first started frequenting it, no one batted an eye at him. Not the safe, not the customers, not even the delivery people. No one seemed to notice or even care that an actual devil was walking amongst them. Even more so, none of them even flinched as Rose absolutely heaved his ass over her shoulder and laid him out on the ground. It really was just another day for these people.

Eddie had sadly taken too much time to get up and hadn't been greeted by the ever so slight crack in Rose's exterior stoic armour. His dopey little God you're hot comment had struck a good nerve, and Eddie didn't even get a chance to capitalize on it. Even if Eddie didn't know it, he was seemingly one of the few people that could get Rose to crack. Eddie wasn't dumb by any means, but that didn't mean the boy wasn't dense at times. Mostly that dense mind came with social queues and reading people. That was probably in thanks to having grown up on the road, following a film crew wherever they went and not having kids his age to really grow up with.

When he was finally able to regain his composure and prattle off his list of questions, Rose was able to order her drink. Still ignoring him, she eventually just looked over to him. His her gaze met his, Eddie instinctively took himself off of being slung over her shoulder. But instead of finding himself flipped once more, Rose just spoke simply to him and kept her focus on him. "Has anyone ever told you you have really nice eyes...Eye?" Eddie paused for a bit after he spoke. His eyes rolled up and shifted, clearly deep in thought. How would that saying go for someone with only one eye? He quickly shook his head and looked back to her. "Nah, not finished. Coffee with your best friend Cassie? Some MMA tournament you're joining and going to win? Starting a 9-5 office job? Hot date?" Eddie lifted a finger as he went on and on as they waited for her coffee. At the last comment, Eddie paused for a second before laughing a little under his breathe.

"Hot date?" He asked once more, this time, and ever so small amount of fire escaped his lips as he gave the white haired teammate a wink.