( in the night ) ic inbox

[uplifters]

@ kent landmark, rm. 404 "Hi! This is Clark Kent. Unfortunately, I'm not here right now, so please leave a message at the tone and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks for calling!" text | voice | action | etc.

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valentines (kal)

[punctually]

[ is it inherently gay to give a mixtape...

because that's what peter leaves him: one of his cassette tapes and his walk man with greatest hits from the 80s like this, this, this, and this.

attached is a note:

Kal,

You're the inspiration.

— Peter ]

[uplifters]

[ Kal doesn't expect anything back, of course. He goes to do his rounds as always, listening to the forest spirits and where they most chitter, making sure that there's no-one in any immediate danger, and after a short conversation with Soldat (who's still scared of him, god forbid) about cupcakes, he thinks that's about all the action he'll get for the day.

Then he sees the tape, the Walkman, and the note.

By the time he gets to You're the Inspiration-- the very literal message Peter wrote with him-- he's laughing with a very pure, very real joy, sat at the table by the kitchen area with a fist to his mouth and the headset on his ears. ]

Oh, Peter... [ Guy's just full of surprises, isn't he? ]

[punctually]

[ it's like he'd been waiting for kal to say his name, which, he wasn't, but he's there all the same, a slight breeze heralding his arrival. he pulls his goggles up and once he notices kal at the table with his headphones on, there's a small part of him that almost wants to turn around and go back outside, like he stumbled on something private. and maybe he did, in a way — peter's not subtle and he knew what he was doing when he left that mixtape, he just covers it up with his tendency to never take things seriously. except he can't really use that anymore, can he? ]

That's usually what people say when they're judging my taste in music.

[uplifters]

On the contrary, [ Kal says this without removing the headphones, looking for all the world like he's still focused on the music save for the way his gaze flicks up to take Peter in instead ] I think your taste's real swell.

[ He grins, ducking his head back down as his thumb brushes over the player. ] I've never had someone make me one of these before.

[punctually]

That's a first. [ he almost ducks his head a little, because sometimes kal's honesty is just a bit too much. ] If I didn't know better, I'd say you're just being nice.

[ which, wouldn't be that far of a reach because it's kal. but it's also because it's kal that peter knows he's being honest. he doesn't need to have charles' ability to know that, at least. ]

I've never give anyone a mixtape before either, so... [ he laughs, something short and just shy of embarrassed. ] First times all around, I guess.

[uplifters]

Really? [ His thumb presses into the pause button, and Kal doesn't necessarily need to do it-- he can put the headphones down, music still playing, and hear it all in perfect detail-- but it isn't need that matters so much as it is sentiment.

And the one Peter is trying to convey makes him feel a kind of lightness he hasn't experienced in a long, long time. ]

Well, then. I'm honoured you chose me to give it to.

Which song's your favourite on this list?

[punctually]

The Guns N' Roses one, probably.

[ he doesn't really have a favorite, just ones he tends to cycle through on repeat when he's running. the love songs are there just for shits and giggles until they aren't, at this moment, when he doesn't have anything much here to give. he's gotten more sentimental with the years, and he thinks kal can pick up on that, with the way he pauses the music to look at him instead.

there's a moment where he hesitates, as if trying to make a decision on whether or not he wants to join kal at the table. and eventually, he decides to just go for it, grabbing a soda from the fridge along the way before taking a seat across from him. ]

And you made me those muffins, you know. They're a tough act to follow.

[uplifters]

Are they? [ It's funny, sitting here in the tights and the cape and doing something so normal, but Kal relishes it. Things are difficult all the time; it's nice to have something easy, for once. Nice to have someone to talk to about things that aren't dire.

Music and muffins-- it's the best topic Kal's had to think about since coming here. ]

Gosh, I hope that means you liked them.

[punctually]

I mean, I did eat half of them already, so... [ his laugh is short and just shy of sheepish, busying himself with cracking open the can. ] Take that as you will.

[ which means, yes, he did like them. he liked them a lot. nothing beats homemade cooking, he didn't realize how much living in the mansion spoiled him. ]

I'm not much of a baker, or I'd make you some too.

[uplifters]

[ Kal will take this very much in the direction that Peter liked his baking quite a bit. It'll make him grin, even if Peter is apparently incapable of meeting his gaze.

Elbow on the table, Kal's chin lands in his palm. He lets out a humming sound. ] Do you want to learn how to bake?