Quote Originally Posted by InTheMachine View Post
November 1st
Keith
Drake looks away, glaring at the street as they walk toward a nearby bus stop. He lets out a deep breath as he recalls the incident and stays silent for several minutes.

Eventually, he looks back over at Keith. “I had a little argument with Sophia. She was hitting on Yuki, so I let her know that we were dating and asked her to stop, and she seemed to take that personally. She said a bunch of **** to me, like that I wasn’t paying attention to Yuki’s feelings and that maybe she’s not actually interested in my company. It… really messed with me.”

“I was having trouble with my powers, so I skipped class and Yuki came and found me,” Drake continues as they come up to the bench on the sidewalk. He sits, and the thin metal groans slightly in protest. “She was so concerned, but I couldn’t talk to her. I’m the one with experience, I’m supposed to be sure about it, you know? But now… I’m not. So I went out on patrol to clear my head.”

He winces slightly as he braces his elbows on his knees. “What if I made a mistake? What if should have kept my feelings to myself? Stayed just as a Team Lead and not as anything more to her.”

Drake runs a hand through his hair with a self-deprecating sigh. “****. Don’t repeat this, okay? I don’t need to be hearin’ about it from Ryker… or Harbinger.”
Keith glances at Drake as they walk, the glare had a bit more force than gravity. He shrunk away a bit at the silence as the pair continue walking. When Drake finally looks back at Keith, he braces for the barrage of 'None of your **** business.' Instead, he's caught off guard by the story.

"Oh ****, that's...... well ****." He says not thinking. It reminded him of how the argument with Calvin went on his first day. At this point, Keith was really starting to hate Mondays. Keith shakes his head. "Ok that's reasonable enough. Askin' someone to not hit on your girlfriend or flirt with them. Though her takin' it personally after legit meetin' Yuki twelve hours ago?" Keith looks at his watch. "Ok little over half a day? I mean, I'd be upset if someone asked me that with Maeve but....." Keith shrugs. "Pretty sure that she would have told me if there was someone else." He grimaces thinking about how he about botched their first date.

First date..... That has to be a good sign yeah? He thought for a second. As Drake continues to explain, Keith nods but decides to keep standing. He shook his head a moment thinking about how easy it used to be for him to lose control.

"I get that man, and if your powers are under strain you gotta take care of your head first. Especially in a school setting where anything can go crazy. Granted a teacher may have been happy phones got messed up for a bit." He forced a smile and then looked serious again hearing how Drake was so unsure.

"Drake, Yuki was concerned because she does care for you. Dude, I could tell she cared for you the first day I got here. She told me some of it but, I know that she's happy with you." Keith goes to sit next to his friend.

"I don't have a ton of experience with this, but she loves your company and the times I've hung out with her you're what she wants to talk about. When we went to the Ashford's the other day lookin' for Sidney, she was so worried that her going in would throw away your secret identity." Keith offers a comforting smile again. "Scott's a good guy and wouldn't say anythin' though. Really good with a bat too."

"Personally, I don't think you've made a mistake at all. You've gone above and beyond to make sure Yuki has been safe in every situation. In the Trove, she was the first thing on your mind after the gator attack. Trust me. Plus," Keith added with a grin. "It's not like you decided to punch above your belt level and get knocked out during the first date." He grimaced a bit again. "Hope she's good with a second date....." Keith mutters.

As Drake asks him not to say anything to anyone, Keith raises an eyebrow. "Wouldn't dream of it. Ryker is gonna be puttin' me through the paces as is, and Harbinger kinda scares me." He lets out a nervous chuckle. "Jokes aside, Sophia needs to chill. A few comments last night that she made told me a bit more than needed but, she's got a ways to go reading people. Kinda nice John told us her powers without meanin' to though."

Keith looks at his friend and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Back to main point though, you did good tellin' Yuki your feelin's and settin' that boundary for Sophia. I got the short version, but it all sounds reasonable on your end. Take it from a..... well let's call it what it was, former child soldier. Let it be known how you feel because we don't get many second chances. It's gonna be rough but I'ma give you the same advice Yuki got when she asked me what to do when I first got to West Side: Tell her." He grins. "She'll appreciate it and while it won't stop her from worryin', she will know that you weren't just shut off. And if ya want, I'll see if Mimi has a record of the full convo and see if she'll let me listen. No idea if she records outside of the base too."

Keith shrugs. "Not that it would change what I'd have to say anyway. I know you don't get rattled that easily, even just knowin' ya for a couple weeks now. Whatever she said, she doesn't know you, or Yuki like you two know each other."

"Which brings me to the next thing," Keith said a bit sheepishly. "Because I have to ask the more experienced guy somethin' too. It's probably a good sign she said interesting first date and to text her later, yeah?"