RP with Ben Hargreeves

[dawn_is_breaking]

Thankfully for Ben and Dawn when Sunday rolls around there are no emergencies or crimes that need to be dealt with, which means they are free to meet up for their planned date to the art gallery.

Dawn arrives at 2pm out near the front doors, wearing a pretty white summer dress, it's a far more casual and comfortable outfit than what she was wearing at the club and is more true to her real style. Dawn is always big on comfort, usually living in big knit sweaters and tights. But this is a date, so she dressed up a little bit and when she sees Ben she smiles and walks straight towards him.

"Hi."

Comments

[the_other_horror]

There were no crimes or emergencies, but he did have a moment there where he thought he was going to be late, due to 'business' in the house. He had been waffling between being at ease and excited for this date, which was strange, and then to angry and snippy, because of others. Christopher told the others he had been mooning over a pretty girl at the bar who totally was a badass, and of course everyone had to inquire what was going on. It put him in such a foul mood by morning workout. And when he was getting ready, Marcus cornered him.

In his annoyance to leave, instead of taking the car he had intended form the garage, he swiped Marcus' bike, because he did totally remember that bike comment, even if he's not admitting it to himself.

When he gets there and pulled the helmet off he moved to fix his hair in the glass of a car near by, growled at himself for caring. "Get ahold of yourself, Ben. It's just a date." Except in truth, he hadn't been on a proper date in over a decade. DATES were different after all.

But he headed towards the front, and saw her there in white and being fucking beautiful. Damn, so it wasn't just drunk brain who thought of her as stunning. Shit. He smiled though, coming closer. He has on a leather coat still, because of the ride, and a black Henley shirt over comfortable jeans. Not as fancy as her, but he had a comfortable style to him at least?

"Hi to you too. I'm almost surprised you came."

[dawn_is_breaking]

"You are?" She asks, tilting her head to one side and looking at him curiously. He looks good, very good actually and she notes the jacket with approval as she loves a man in a leather jacket.

"Did you really think I would stand you up?" She teases and motions for them to go into the gallery, glancing at him with a smile. "Honestly I thought you might stand me up, not a lot of men like to go on dates with women who start bar fights."

[the_other_horror]

He moves to fall into line with her, giving her a faint smile. "A bit." he said at first, a nd as he mentioned the bar fight, he chuckled, smiling a bit more.

"Was that starting a bar fight? Looked to me you were just finishing one up. That asshole started it." He said with a snort and coming up to the door he stepped forward to pull it open and held it for her. "Though, this might be presumptuous of me, but you know who I am, don't you?" He doesn't sound like he's saying it in a egotistical way, but more curious. He had though she didn't know, but after the bar fight, there is no way she couldn't know, right? And yet she's still here.

[dawn_is_breaking]

"I think to most of the people there it looked like I started it." She says with a little chuckle and gives him a nod of thanks when he gets the door. "But at least we both know the truth."

And speaking of truth, here he is, asking her outright if she knows who he is so she just nods. "I do, although I didn't know when we were first talking. I didn't realize who you were till you pointed out your brother, no offence to him but he's quite a bit more recognizable than the rest of you."

He is a floating cube after all....

[the_other_horror]

"Most people were drunk, stoned or tired from dancing and too into themselves to see the entire thing. Also dickhead had a mouth on him, so..." he shrugged, as if to say that should explain it to any of them.

he let the door go as they were inside and started to pull his wallet, so he could pay for passage to the gallery, because most museums worth their salt relied on that to keep a float. But as he did he chuckled, shaking his head. "Yes, well... even for those of us who grew up with him, we know he's not normal. No offence taken. Pretty sure he scores more love then almost all of us, excluding Marcus, just because he's different." The only offence head take would be bad mouthing 'the cube' and ignoring the fact that to Ben, that's just one of his siblings and he's a part of the team.

He'd pay for two tickets, then offer her one before tucking his own into his wallet. "I rather liked that you didn't seem to know who I was." He flat out states it, though it had been in his head a lot the other night.

[dawn_is_breaking]

"Which one is Marcus?" Dawn asks, trying to remember the bits and pieces she's seen of the Sparrows on the television which hasn't been that much.

She takes the ticket with a smile and then raises an eyebrow, "Why's that? Because we could have an actual conversation and not just a one sided interview or something?"

[the_other_horror]

His eyes rolled, not at her or the question, but it did that when he talked about Marcus. "Number one, the leader. That handsome mug right back... uh, there." He said, leaning out a bit and pointing out the tinted doors. Across the street was a Sparrow Academy advertisement poster, with Marcus and his perfect dark skin and perfect hair and smile standing proudly in the red uniform suit.

He glanced back to her, and raised a brow, but... open and honest said. "Yeah, pretty much. Exactly that. You were just talking to a stranger in a club who threw out a real dumb joke about sneaking up on you. Not 'Oh my God! You're Number two, Ooo~'" And yes, he said it in a mocking teenage girl tone while waving a hand beside his face as if in mock excitement, though he kept it between the two of them, voice low. "Do you know how often that happens? I mean the getting to talk to someone part. Like a human." He snorted, nodding to her to walk with him to the art gallery.

[dawn_is_breaking]

"Ah. I suppose he's handsome to some." She says, noticing the way that Ben rolls his eyes and his tone of voice when she asks about Marcus. It's obvious there's some sibling rivalry there.

"Probably not very often." She says, smiling at his fan girl impression. "But I'm sure it's not all bad having hundreds of eager women and men throwing themselves at you...."

[the_other_horror]

"To some." he repeats, but there is a small smile tugging at the corner of his lip. You are absolutely going to make him really like you huh?

But he did smile, a bit more warmly at the next comment, glancing over at her as if to study her a moment. That question is a trap, though she doesn't put off the feel of intending it as a trap. He chuckled though, hands splaying a bit as he shrugged. "It is what it is. I'd be a fool and a liar if I said I didn't like the attention, once in a while. But..." he shifted his hands to rest in his pockets, shrugging. "None of them seem as interesting as you and none have ever thought to ask me to an art gallery."

[dawn_is_breaking]

To some, but not to her. Sure she can see that Marcus is good looking but his eyes seem a bit too cold for her. She much prefers Ben's, there's a range of emotion and depth in his dark eyes that intrigues her.

"I appreciate your honesty." She says and gently loops her arm through his so he can lead her towards whichever area of the gallery he wants to go to first.

"There's nothing wrong with getting certain needs met, but I'd be lying if I told you that I wasn't secretly pleased that I'm the first woman to ask you out to look at art."

[the_other_horror]

Oh hon, don't look at any of HIS posters then. He's pretty sure he looks like the most cold and calculating one of the group. The... emotions are there, but they are generally hidden behind mockingly fake smiles or just an attempt to not look weak or easy to hurt.

But she looped her arm into his and he looked over at her, still a bit surprised but also pleased. His smiles right now weren't at all mocking or fake. He... actually liked talking to her. HE is pretty sure that isn't a good sign and this is going to back fire in his face really hard, but he also... doesn't care if it does right now. "I'm generally pretty honest. I've been told it's a dark fault, to a point."

He snugged her arm in his a bit, and pulled her to wander left through a large open hall of very large wall sized paintings. "Would it add to that pleasure to know, I uh... don't actually tell people draw? Or like art." he said and snorted softly, mumbling. "That's not even in the magazines and fan sites." Stupid.

[dawn_is_breaking]

"I'd rather get hurt by a little bit of honesty then have someone lie to me." She says, thinking about her ex boyfriend Dick and how badly he fucked things up by lying to her. By pulling away and becoming so cold and distant from the one person he was supposed to be able to talk to about everything.

The way he snugs her arm in closer brings her out of any kind of funk those memories might cause and she smiles at him, "It would and it does."

"But enough about fame and fortune, we came here to talk about art." She says as they walk near some of the huge wall sized paintings. "Do you have a favorite style?"

[the_other_horror]

He nods at this, frowning. He knows he can lie. He lies often enough IF he has to, but he tends to just be bluntly honest. He literally lies to himself on a daily. He doesn't need people. He doesn't need connections. He... does try to distance himself, not to spare others but to spare himself. But... he does try to be honest with others at least. "I'll do my best to be honest then, even if I'm an asshole about it." He said simply, but he gave a faint smile. He'll try not to be one?

He nods, glancing up at a large painting, very real looking. He hummed softly. "Impressionist, for the most part. Surrealism sometimes. Cubism or abstract can be... interesting, if you have the time to study it. But I lean to the Impressionists, I guess. While this is... pretty, I like simple strokes." See, look, he can talk about other things then siblings, fame and fortune. He peeked over at her. "Lemme guess, you like Pop Culture and Realism?" He teased, smirking.

[dawn_is_breaking]

"Thank you." She says and then listens as he explains which style of art he favors, clearly interested in what he has to say and she smiles when he guesses at her favorite type.

"I actually like all forms of art, which might sound like a cop out answer but it's true. I have a soft spot for photography though, especially if it's on actual film and not digital."

[the_other_horror]

"A bit of a cop out, but I'll give it to you. To be fair, I'm a bit of the same. But... photography huh." He smirked, mentally deciding where the next area they should go to for their wandering route.

"I used to try to take pictures of things. People, mostly. Always film, but I stopped when I was a teen. I was never that great at it." He said, smiling faintly as he wandered with her, pausing at this or that image. "So, do you do more then dance? Maybe dabble in photography too?"

[omfg... I thought i posted this days ago and only found it here waiting, unsent, as i came back to refresh to see if DW just messed up notifs ... sob, I'm so sorry ;-;]

[dawn_is_breaking]

"One of my exes is a professional photographer so we used to go on little photography dates, she would bring her big fancy camera and I'd have my little polaroid." She explains as they drift through the gallery, smiling a little to herself at the memory of her and Donna and all the pictures they took together.

"She taught me a lot but I was never able to get as good as her, I mostly like it as a way of keeping memories of people and things that are important to me."

[ooc: No worries :) I just kind of assumed you got busy with work and life stuff.]

[the_other_horror]

She huh? He takes the intel, but it doesn't really surprise him. She has that open energy to her at least. But he wanders a bit, eyeing the art about as much as he kept looking over at her to pay attention.

"Potoroids are fun, when you have people to take pictures of." One of his siblings used to snap pictures of them all the time, when they were much younger. Now? Not so much. Not ever, really. Most of their pictures now are publicity photos rather then family memories. "They hold up well in forgotten shoe boxes hidden under beds."

[Gosh, no, I'm just the idiot who wrote the post, wandered off, forgot to hit send, then sat here for days wondering if YOU were busy with life and work and stuff.]

[dawn_is_breaking]

She's glad he doesn't respond like most men do when she drops hints that she's been with women as well as men, a lot of guys call attention to it and immediately start asking her about details.

"Is that where you would keep them? In a shoe box?" She teases and then pulls him gently over to a painting so she can get a closer look at it.

"The colors on this one are lovely."

[ooc: Aw you're not an idiot :) I will mention that I'm going to be slow with tags starting this evening till Sunday morning though, it's my boyfriends birthday.]

[the_other_horror]

Why make a fuss? He's just interested in knowing more about her, which that there in itself is strange for him. But no, he's slept with both guys and gals, so, he can't really make comment. Early on, PR was a nightmare when someone thought they caught him with a guy, but since then it's not been a big deal. He wouldn't lie and say he didn't think it was hot to think of her with another? But he also thinks she would be hot tangled up with anyone? Preferably him... but oddly enough that thought has only been a passing one once in a while.

"Used to. Not under the bed though." And now he's not sure where that old box went, or if he had it anymore or not. Not at all remembering it got shoved into the bottom drawer of his dresser.

The painting though, he looked it over, eyeing it up and down. "It's kind of calming. It's really simple some how, but complex."

[ooc: Nice! And no worries. I'll tag into forever, and Birthdays are important. Have a blast!]

[dawn_is_breaking]

She nods and gently leans her head on his shoulder, she's a small woman, ballerina sized most would say, which means Ben is a couple of inches taller than her naturally.

"I love how they've done the lily pads, not so much with individual ones but long brush strokes that sort of suggest a group of them."

As they continue walking she glances at him, "So do you and your siblings all live in one house together?"

[ooc: Heh, I'm the same way :) And yeah, it should be fun. I need to pick up his fancy cake in about 3 hours.]

[the_other_horror]

"I wish I was good enough to do that." He mused more to himself, looking over the image, before moving on with her. At her question, he snorted, his lips curling in a small smile.

"You really are from out of town, huh?" It was not said in a bad way, just a bit amused is all. "We do. The Hargreeve's mansion, basically. More like Sparrow Headquarters. We each have a small room in the house." He frowned, looking at something else on another wall, darker looking. "I suppose it sounds a bit pathetic, to some, but it's a team thing now. We all stay because of work, really."

[ooc: damn man, cake sounds wonderful right now...]

[dawn_is_breaking]

It doesn't sound pathetic to her, it's almost the exact same situation she was in when she was with the Titans. Living in the Tower and each of them having their own rooms, sometimes it was annoying what with being in each other's space so often but other times it helped make them all feel like they were part of a family.

"It doesn't sound pathetic, it makes sense. You're a team and a family." She says, but then gives him a playful smile. "But what happens when one of you has company over? Are the walls thick or do you all hear it?"

[the_other_horror]

He mostly just ... has nothing else. He clings to this mostly for the fact it' all he has. They all annoy him, Marcus especially, but they are his team and family. He might be really bad at showing it, if he lost any of them, but he's, at this point, sure they wont lose anyone else. So it's fine. Just privacy would be nice once in a while.

"It makes being a team easier, I suppose." He agreed, then snorted. "Thin, of course. Well, not too thin, but if someone were loud enough or the bed springy enough, it'll be known. Not that that has stopped ... anyone." He snorts. "Not that it happens that often either." Truth is, they don't bring many people home, like at all, but once in a while someone would sneak someone in, and everyone would know and pretend not to. still, he chuckled. "Sometimes it's easier to just find a hotel."

[dawn_is_breaking]

Dawn chuckles with him and gives his arm a little squeeze, "Or hope that whoever you're with has their own place."

She pauses and then adds, "Which I do."

It's not an invitation nor is it a promise of anything to come but she likes Ben. He's got a dry sense of humor that reminds her of being back home, plus he's incredibly attractive so if this date goes well then who knows what could happen later. There's no harm in mentioning it and she's curious how he'll take it.

[the_other_horror]

That did make him smile, glancing over to her. She wont give him her number, but she teases things like that? Amusing.

"Yes, well, there is that. Perhaps someday I'll see it." He said easily, giving her a small smirk, then a tug towards another galley room. Last they were here there used to be photography in this side wing, so he's hopeful it's the same now.

"Perhaps I'll even manage to get your phone number, before the day is done." He teased instead. For some reason such a simple thing would make him happy. That was not at all normal for him and these kinds of things.

[dawn_is_breaking]

"Perhaps you will." She teases back and when he leads them into the side wing, which does indeed have a large photography installation, her eyes light up and she tugs on his arm for him to follow her over to a series of black and white photos.

"Ohhh look! They've got work by Howard Schatz!" She says and eagerly, "He uses a lot of dancers in his work and it's always so breathtaking to see how he captures their bodies."

[the_other_horror]

He just smiled a bit at the perhaps, and wasn't going to push it. For now, a date to watch art, and some convo oddly sat well with him. If this ended as badly as most, it would be well spent at least.

When she cooed over a name he didn't recognize, he took in the works before them, eyeing the feet carefully, wondering how one bent their toes like that. "That's one way to cross mediums. Dancers and photographs." He said, eyeing the last one there carefully as well. "Would you pose for something like this, if he asked?" Curiously. He smirked, head tilting. "I feel like you might have that kind of form that would photograph well." It's not like he's really checked her out too hard either, but she had been a dancer, and she put that guy on his ass the other night. He could see her being as nimble as some of these images.

[dawn_is_breaking]

She giggles and gives him a coy smile, "Are you implying that you've looked at my form, Ben?"

"Yes, I'd be happy to pose for someone's artwork like that. So long as they were actually in it for the art and not just the nudity. My photographer friend says that there are a lot of 'guys with cameras' out there who try and take advantage of models who are willing to pose nude." She explains and then wrinkles her nose, "Which is a shame because they ruin it for anyone who is interested in that style of photography."

[the_other_horror]

"Hey, I watched you flip a rich boy the other day, and that speaks volumes. I feel like I'm allowed to admire that in itself." He points out, smirking at her, but then glancing back to the photograph.

He hummed faintly, frowning a bit. He can see the appeal to working with nude models, of course, but it's assholes like that do indeed give it a bad name. "I've got a feeling, if anyone tried to take advantage of you like that, you'd break their arm first and make sure they'd never be able to snap a picture let along hold their dick." He glanced to her again, brow raised. "Thought I could be wrong."

[dawn_is_breaking]

Dawn tilts her head back and laughs, probably louder than she should in a gallery but luckily her and Ben are the only ones in this area at the moment.

"No, you're not wrong at all actually." She admits and starts to lead him over to another photography display. "But between that and your admiration of me flipping the rich kid, I take it you don't mind being with a strong woman?"

[the_other_horror]

Well, he got her to laugh, and that was nice. He glanced to her, smirking but raised brow.

"Ah, well... that's complicated, really. If we were in competition I'd hate it. But seeing as how I don't feel like I need to be better then you? Yeah, not a problem. A strong woman is, well... hot." He shrugged. He so had a issue with not being the best... with his siblings. He hated it any time one of them got the better of him some how. But that was different. So much different.

[dawn_is_breaking]

"Hrmmm. Interesting." She muses, "So what if we were to spar against one another? Would you get competitive or would you just get a boner and let me pin you down?"

[the_other_horror]

He raised a brow at that, then... smirked, leaning in a bit to stage whisper. "Who says I wouldn't get both?" He grinned, then drew back a bit to shrug. "If we're going to spar, I'm going to make you work to pin me, but if you manage it, I'm sure as hell not going to be upset about it." THAT would be fun. That was not trying to be number one of the team again. Completely different. Also, damn, that sounds like fun.

[dawn_is_breaking]

She giggles and gives his arm a squeeze, a little tingle going down her spine when he whispers in her ear like that.

"I like a man who isn't afraid to challenge me." She teases back, grinning at him because she's thinking the same thing he is. It sounds really fun trying to spar against one another.

"What types of fighting do you know?"