Who: Kate Freelander, Kate Kane What: Random Encounters When: Mid-July Where: In a bar. Rating/Warnings: Low. Status: Complete!
She’d said she needed to get out more. And she did. The movie with Hal had been nice; she’d never had a lot of time for that kind of thing in Chicago. But she should find something to do on her own too. It was dangerous learning to rely on someone else. She didn’t want to be one of those people.
Kate went home just long enough to check on Isa and take her for their evening walk. It was funny how easily she’d fallen into a routine. Then she was out the door, without any real idea where it was she wanted to go.
The bar looked inviting. Actually, it didn’t. But she’d been to worse, and drinking she could do whether she was alone or not.
Kate (Kane) had taken to staking out bars. She’d caught more than one attempt to drop a pill in a girl’s drink and had more than once broken a few noses. Her way of helping out as Kate Kane instead of as Batwoman. And she enjoyed it a little too much.
She had her eye on one man, while sipping at a beer and flirting with the blonde next to her, when a pretty woman walked in. Some days she missed being single.
Walking toward the bar, Kate found a seat, smiling at the redhead a little ways down while she waited for her drink, not thinking too much of it. She was trying to be friendly. She was under the impression that was something she needed to work on. But there was something about the other woman; she stood out in a crowd.
So maybe she was staring. She couldn’t help it if she was curious. Nothing rude about that. Nope.
The red head smirked, leaning back and crossing her legs as she did so. She bore her eyes into Kate’s, curious at the woman who’d decided to smile at her, so she smiled back with lips the color of danger.
Kate paused, trying to decide where she went from here. She was in a bar. She was drinking. But somehow, she was also having a staring contest with a stranger in a crowded room. Yeah... Friendly, she kinda sucked at. Bold? She could do bold. Usually. And this felt vaguely like a challenge.
Why the hell not?
She moved closer, attention barely shifting from the other woman, her only focus on getting from point a to point b. She might have started the whole staring thing, but she suddenly needed to see it through.
"You look way too comfortable here." It was a little like putting her own twist on the horrible, 'do you come here often,' but it was a start, and she could live with that.
“I’m comfortable most places,” the redhead stated. Even the way she smiled was like a challenge. She kept one eye on the man, and when she spotted him drop a pill into his date’s drink she grabbed his wrist and twisted. “Unless your date wants to press charges, you better leave before I break something.”
She tried not to seem impressed. But she was kind of impressed. She liked the redhead almost instantly. She had the feeling they might share a few personality traits.
Leaning against the bar, she gave a half smile, eyes betraying her amusement as she answered, “I can see that.” She nodded toward the man, who she assumed would be taking that advice, “You do that kind of thing a lot?”
“It’s the quickest way to make a difference and fewer bruises than the alternative.” What that alternative was, Kate didn’t say out loud, but she smirked like it was a lot of fun.
“Yeah, I’ll bet.” Kate wasn’t exactly the ‘hero’ type. And she definitely wouldn’t be caught hanging around a bar waiting for someone screw up, no matter how much people like this guy deserved whatever they got. Where she was from, you took care of your own shit. Everyone else took care of theirs. Unless they happened to be family, in which case, you got dragged in with them.
Still, she could appreciate someone who was doing the right thing. Maybe it was even a little noble. Though, judging by how much fun the other woman seemed to be having, it might be selfish as much as anything else.
After a semi-awkward second of debate, she stuck out her hand. “Kate. Freelander.”
“Kate. Kane.” She took the other woman’s hand and shook it. Her grip was firm and her hands were a little rough from exercise. She might look like a woman who enjoyed the easy life, but looks were deceiving. She could clearly handle her own.
Figures she’d find the only other Kate in the place. “I guess we have something in common.”
“We’re both hot?” Kate said, winking. “Or we’re both Kates, but most Kates I know are pretty hot.”
Kate shook her head with a light laugh. “You make it sound like we have a club.”
“We should. I know another Kate. Pryde. We could be a pride, like lions.”
After a brief pause, she nodded, "Not bad. Fierce. I could live with that."
“Fierce Kate Club. Mind if I buy you a drink?” She wasn’t so much trying to pick up Kate, as trying to get to know her.
Well, that was new, and she did seem hesitant at first. Then she shrugged. Why not? “Sure.” Who was she to turn down a free drink?
Nodding, Kate plopped down. “Two of whatever she was having before I got here.”
“So this club. We should have meetings. With beer. And pizza.” Kate didn’t have a lot of friends. She had a dog. And when she did have friends, they weren’t the kind of friends you wanted to hang out with on the weekends. It showed. She was terrible at this.
“Beer and pizza, and really cheesy movies.” The cheesy movies were very important.
“I’ll have to get your number. We should make plans.” And no, she wasn’t going to think about how that might sound. She was going to congratulate herself on making another friend. It made her feel like less of a hermit.
“Platonic plans,” Kate Kane joked. She liked to flirt but she didn’t want to give the entirely wrong impression. Elsa could literally freeze her blood. That wouldn’t be good.
She answered quickly, “Totally platonic,” again choosing not to think about how that sounded. It’s not that she doesn’t think you’re hot, Kate. It wasn’t even that she was afraid of the flirting. She just sort of…missed the reassuring mark.
“I should go. Let you get back to…” she gestured vaguely to indicate she wasn’t completely sure what to call whatever it was she’d been doing before she’d interrupted.
She’d nearly made her escape, when she turned back, “And thanks. For the drink.”