2014.07.24 - Beer

In retrospect, Keith has never come in through the front door. It has always been the window-- because, if you're going to make an entrance, you might as well make a spectacular one. But this time the cheshire cat decided to make it a special day by using the door.
A knock, and he stands back. In the spirit of the summer, he's not in uniform but in a black tank top and shorts, black sneakers and nothing else, and he is cradling a case of beer under one arm.
Jimmy Olsen is fresh out of the shower from a run earlier, so he's in casual shorts and an 'S'-Shield T-shirt; he flashes a smile as he opens the door and waves the young man in. "Keith; looks like your day off," he says as he shuts the door and offers to take the beer. 
Handing over the beer, the cat grins "Nah, I just got off my patrol. But it's been too long since I've seen my favorite ginger, so I changed and came over. How have things been with you?" He moves in for a hug. "I also totally destroyed a shuttle that belongs to the league two days ago."
Jimmy Olsen hahs as he pats Keith on the back, handling the case with the other arm. He moves to store it in the fridge, and comes out with two cold bottles. "Oh, really? I hope that doesn't come out of your check or something," he grins as he hands over the beer. "Not so much; I just got back in town from a week in France, chasing down a few leads for Clark and some pictures as well."
"Clark?" Keith asks, tilting his head a little and takes the beer. "How was France? I've never been there. As for the shuttle... I don't know yet. I haven't told them. I probably will after I have a few beers to get my courage up."
"Co-worker of mine," the youth says as he leans on the kitchen bar. "Hell of a nice guy. I was over there to get pictures for part of the World Cup aftermath stories, and Clark wanted me to look into some leads for a story he's working on. So I did." He shakes his head in sympathy. "Man, I would be paying for that for the rest of my ... wait, dude, you have to tell them.. how do they not already know?"
"... well, I haven't given my full report yet. The Human Torch attacked it while possessed. I used it to distract him so he wouldn't blow up that dam in china and... well, things have been a little hectic." Keith rubs the back of his neck. "... to be honest, I'm a little scared. Batman's going to turn me into stone."
Jimmy Olsen snorts. "I can't blame you. Feels like he's walking on my grave everytime I see him," the redhead says. And, like you do, casually just checks behind him to make sure that Batman is not, like, right behind him as he says this. Satisfied, he looks back to Keith. "Well, that sounds like a perfectly reasonable reason to blow the thing up, you know?" he says. That he lives in such a world where such a statement makes sense is... comforting, in a way. "I'm sure all you need to do is explain. Or, I'm sure it's all on the black box, anyway."
"... black box.... Oh god, I knew I forgot something!" Keith says, smacking himself in the forehead. "Smooth move, O'Neil. Now I need to get back to China, as soon as possible."
Jimmy Olsen chuckles. "You mean it's still in the wreckage? Wow. Um.. well, I don't have tickets to China on me..." he says.
Keith sighs and sits down, forehead in his hands with a weak chuckle "It has definitely not been my week!"
Jimmy Olsen reaches to ruffle purple hair. "Well, doesn't the League have teleporters? Maybe just zap over there and rummage around?" he says, as he walks around the bar and pulls up a chair beside Keith. "You could do it and .. well, I guess they log that sort of thing, but maybe nobody looks at that sort of thing. Except Batman. I'm sure he already knows."
"Oh god, Batman." The cat chuckles and shakes his head. "Jimmy, if you only knew. If you only knew. I've got secrets weighting down on me." He sighs and leans into the ruffle, eyes closed a little. "And the bugger knew exactly what he was doing, too. It's like a leash, you know?"
"If you want to share, just ask. If you can; I wouldn't ask you to break a confidence. Not that I think you would, either," Jimmy says as he drinks a bit more and puts down the bottle.
Keith sips his beer and exhales a little. "Just... knowing someone's secret is a terrible burden to bear, Jimmy." He reaches out and ruffles Jimmy's hair. "I've got no issue with my own secrets, but keeping someone else's is like being entrusted with a million dollars in jewelry and then having nothing to put them in but a piggy bank in a country of hammer-wielders." He chuckles a little.
Jimmy Olsen nods at this, smiling at the head ruffle. "It's not easy, no. It's never easy, but I'm sure they trusted you for a good reason with something terribly important to them, and they knew you would not betray them. That's something to think about, when the weight gets heavy. They trusted you."
"No pressure!" Keith chuckles. "You know, you're the only one I can talk to about these things. I'd trust you with my secret identity. If I had one." He says, drinking his beer.
"Well, thank you," Jimmy says sincerely. "Same here," he says, wiggling his fingers Elastic-Lad style. "If I had one, either. And no, no pressure. Just think of it as a gift."
"You're a sweet guy, Jimmy." Keith pauses for a few seconds. "...hey, tell me about France! What is it like to be there?" He leans forward, elbows on knees and chin on hands.
Jimmy Olsen sits back. "Crowded in Paris, but really nice elsewhere. I had to track down some things in a couple of smaller cities, and they were a lot nicer in most ways. The food, as you might imagine, is amazing. I stopped in small places, ate at a few people's homes... it was always wonderful."
"Darn... I wish I could be a journalist!... I mean, I'm accustomed to running into danger." Keith says dreamily, "But I don't get to see a lot of exotic locales."
"You were just in China!" Jimmy says. "OK, or maybe technically you were crashing a ship in China and didn't really have a chance to look at cool stuff on the way down."
"It wasn't Hong Kong, Johnny... there wasn't much to see, and when I was on foot I had The Guard eying me as if I belonged in a museum, you know." Keith chuckles, and puts down the empty beer. "... you know, it was rather inconsiderate of me to drop by without calling first. Were you going to do something?"
Jimmy Olsen shakes his head. "No, and even if I had, my buddy needed me, so.. here I am," he says, as he finishes his own beer about the same time. "I DO have a new Playtendo game set up on the machine, if you're into that kind of thing." 
"That sounds like a great way to let off some steam." Keith grins and goes over to the couch. "Are you sure there's nothing you need to get off your chest? Anything I could help you with?"
Jimmy Olsen tosses both bottles into the glass-recycling bin and goes to join Keith on the couch. "Only that I am going to die so horribly over and over in this, because it's one of those where you have to aim, and I suck at that," he says lightly. "So relax, and mash some buttons, dude."
Category:Log