Oh, jeez... That's horrible. [And it's said sincerely, if not with the same amount of shock it would've been several months ago.] Is she alright? I mean, I guess you can never really be okay with something like that, but still.
Still, it must be hard. I bet you'll see her when you go back, though!
Yeah, it's... complicated. There were other Kryptonians still around, but they sort of got into a war with Earth and things were pretty bad for a while there, but Kara's tough.
[She's been through a lot and she still tries to see the best in the world, which is a trait Steph admires.]
[There's more to it than that, but it's complicated and in the end, fear is what it boiled down to. Fear and xenophobia.]
Mmhm, that's what you do when someone's in hospital. [she holds up a hand to cut off the concern she knows is coming.] I was fine, I just needed a blood transfusion.
[She almost says that she hopes Steph gets to find out soon, but realizes she doesn't know as of this moment whether she really wants to go home, and so she lets it go.]
[There's a pause; she still feels weird saying this when so much is different now, but she doubts Steph will pick up on the significance of it. There's a small laugh.]
My father would've just about killed me if he found out I was doing something like that!
[And Steph, apparently, finds that so hilarious she can't talk, since she's too busy covering her mouth with a hand in the interest of not waking up the rest of the houeshold.
[Behind the concern that immediately comes, there's respect for how easily Steph can admit things like that. She knows if it were her, she'd be terrified to tell anybody something like that, even close friends.
Still, there's worry in her voice when she speaks.]
W-What happened? I mean, um, unless it's too personal, and then you can tell me, like, don't ask stuff like that!
[Oh, duckling. Steph didn't mean to make her worry, she does really think it's funny, just like her and Cass thought it was hilarious when they compared their dads.]
Hey.
[Steph catches Ahiru's hands in her own, giving them a light squeeze as she tries to catch her gaze and offer a reassuring smile.]
He's a loser who's in prison where he belongs, I'm fine. He wasn't a very good supervillain.
[She looks down, considering carefully before she speaks. When she does, it's as casual as she can make it; if humor is Steph's defense mechanism, hers is pretending things like this don't really bother her.]
Well, we met in the last world I was in, and we were both there for a long time, enough to get pretty close. Close enough for adoption and stuff. I'd never had a family before, so it was pretty nice.
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Still, it must be hard. I bet you'll see her when you go back, though!
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[She's been through a lot and she still tries to see the best in the world, which is a trait Steph admires.]
I better, she owes me flowers.
[makes sense]
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[She blinks.]
Er, flowers?
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[There's more to it than that, but it's complicated and in the end, fear is what it boiled down to. Fear and xenophobia.]
Mmhm, that's what you do when someone's in hospital. [she holds up a hand to cut off the concern she knows is coming.] I was fine, I just needed a blood transfusion.
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[And, predictably, a look of concern crosses her face, not fading completely even after Steph's amendment.]
You lost a lot of blood?
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[People suck.
But she shakes her head.]
Nah, I just inhaled something that could've been dangerous if it stayed in my system too long, so they flushed it out.
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[That supervillain being her dad, but she won't mention that.]
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[She almost says that she hopes Steph gets to find out soon, but realizes she doesn't know as of this moment whether she really wants to go home, and so she lets it go.]
And you were safe in the hospital and everything?
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[what a good mom]
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She worries, but she knows that it's what I need to be doing, and she trusts me to stay safe.
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My father would've just about killed me if he found out I was doing something like that!
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One moment, please.]
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Um, did I say something?
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[Okay she's good. Maybe.]
My dad's a supervillain, so. I can understand that.
[He nearly threw acid in her face.
Good times with the Brown family.]
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Still, there's worry in her voice when she speaks.]
W-What happened? I mean, um, unless it's too personal, and then you can tell me, like, don't ask stuff like that!
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Well he doesn't approve of my career choice, that's for sure.
[Maybe one day she'll stop using humour as a defense mechanism, but it's not happening any time soon.]
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T-That's not funny! Is he... I mean, did you, are you okay? I mean, did he ever hurt you? What did he do? What about your mother?
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Hey.
[Steph catches Ahiru's hands in her own, giving them a light squeeze as she tries to catch her gaze and offer a reassuring smile.]
He's a loser who's in prison where he belongs, I'm fine. He wasn't a very good supervillain.
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Okay. Still, I'm sorry you had a father like that. It doesn't sound easy.
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[Speaking of Cass..
But more importantly:]
Don't think I didn't miss you mentioning your father.
[And she has a feeling Ahiru didn't mean her duck dad.]
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[She looks down, considering carefully before she speaks. When she does, it's as casual as she can make it; if humor is Steph's defense mechanism, hers is pretending things like this don't really bother her.]
Well, we met in the last world I was in, and we were both there for a long time, enough to get pretty close. Close enough for adoption and stuff. I'd never had a family before, so it was pretty nice.
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