Chili party

[lanternslight]

Guy and Ollie have certainly thrown together quite the shindig here. Warrior's reopening, celebrating several people's return from the dead -- including myself -- and the defeat of Ra's al-Ghul's plague... this party somehow manages to meet all those needs. Major Disaster rubbing elbows with Jay Garrick... Superman singing Karaoke with Detective Chimp... it all reminds me how good it is to be alive.

But even more than that, the woman on my arm reminds me what's good about being alive.

My history with Arisia is... long. And complicated.

When I met her, she was a teenager with a crush. I rejected her... but then she altered herself. Made herself into my "perfect woman" through the ring. And, yes, her body certainly was... well, I've always had a weakness for busty blondes. But she was still that teenager with a crush inside.

But... she changed. And grew. And I changed. And somewhere in there, I ended up falling for her after all. I fell in love with her.

We lived together. Arisia and me, John and Katma. Two couples sharing an apartment.

Until things changed again. Katma died... Arisia and I... drifted apart. Parallax was in me by then. Some of what happened was probably him. Some of it probably wasn't. Hard to sever my motives and Parallax's.

But it doesn't matter anyway. I have a second chance at life. And, even better, I've been given a second chance with Arisia, too. Somehow, marvelously.

We've both been dancing. We've both been drinking a little.

She's a little tipsy. She's a little warm. So we step out for a bit of fresh air, just the two of us.

Comments

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia looks up at the sky. Because of all of the light pollution from the city around them she can't see the stars much at all but she doesn't really need to, she knows where they are.

For a few moments, it is almost like she's not even paying attention to Hal but that happens when she's tipsy. She focuses on one thing and just that one thing for lengthy periods of time with out really noticing that she's doing it.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"Looking for your home?" Hal asks.

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia smiles a bit and then points down, through the planet off to her left a bit, "I can't see it from here. Not that I've been home in... a ... long time." She misses her father.

"No. I'm just remembering."

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"Remebering what?" He rests his hand on the small of her back.

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"Oh... Lots of things." Arisia nibbles absently on her bottom lip as she thinks. "Times with different people, different things... That New Year's party in LA. That was a good night."

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

Hal laughs. "Ah, Guy. Yeah." He chuckles again. "That was... a very good night." He leans down to kiss Arisia's neck.

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia shivers and not for the first time wonders if her reactions to Hal were always so intense or they just seem that way now because it has been so long. She's always been intense about Hal...

Obviously.

"I totally can't decide what I want."

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

He stops, and he looks at her. "I'm sorry... am I... going too fast?"

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"No... Yes... I.." Arisia looks up at him, "I don't know. I just don't know how much I'm being swayed by the phsical side of things. I'm not a prude at all but I can't think around you..." She smiles up at him, "That's not entirely a bad thing."

A small pause, "I'm probably over thinking things anyway because I'm hesitant. Because we might have gone too fast last time... Because I don't want to ..." Ooooh. Not saying that.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"Don't want to what?" he asks her gently, brushing the side of her face with his hand.

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

She's too tipsy for this conversation, isn't she? Oh man. She started it and now... "Last time you offered me everything the way it was before and I had to say no because of how it was offered. And now here... here it is again."

"You are the greatest and worst things that have happened to me, Hal. I just don't know that if to get the highs, I have to get the lows too."

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

He nods. "It's... been on my mind, too, Ari. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned. Or even scared." He turns his gaze up to the sky. "You... are an amazing woman, Ari. Even when we first met, I thought you'd make an amazing woman someday. That you'd make someone very lucky. I never thought it would be me, at least not then."

"You deserve the very best, Arisia. The very best. Who I was before... well, I failed you. I don't know how much of what I did after we drifted apart was due to Parallax's influence, and how much was mine. It's impossible to tell. It's a game of what-if.

"And it's still what-if when I look into the future. What if I don't treat you the way you deserve to be treated? What if Parallax returns through one of us? What if you hurt me this time?" He shakes his head. "And there's doo damn much history to say that we can start from scratch. Because we can't."

Then he turns to look at her, and he holds her chin in her hand. "So there's fear there. But now I know how to handle fear. I look it in the eye... and I confront it."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia looks at him and smiles broadly.

"/That/ is a great line, Hal Jordan."

Still, she leans up and she kisses him deeply.

"You'll just have to deal with me as I deal with the uncertainty. Before there was no doubt in my mind. None. There were two things in my life that mattered - the Corps and you and I lost both. Now I have them back. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do, who I am."

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"I can live with that," he smiles. "In a lot of ways... you'll have to deal with the same from me."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"You're far too acomodating." Arisia smiles up at him and winks at him.

"I definately think I've been on Earth too long. All of your weird taboos are rubbing off on me."

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

He grins. "As long as you're willing to be accomodating to me," he smiles. "You've already got yourself a job. I'm still living off my savings, but that's running low..."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"I'm sitting here wondering what people will think of me if I just take you back and drag you into my room. Why am I wondering if they think I'm something or other? Really, really. Too much time on your planet, Hal. I, of course, blame you entirely." Arisia grins at him.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

Hal smiles. "So it's my fault that you're not dragging me back to your room?" He winks.

"Seriously, though, you care because they're your friends. What they think is important to you. And not just the Green Lanterns, either."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"It is. It is totally your fault." Arisia grins and chuckles a bit more and then nods. "Well. I know that they worry but..." She scuffs her feet a bit.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"...But...?"

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia pulls in a breath and then lets it out again.

"Look, I don't want to rush into things but I don't want to be afraid of them either. Just jumping into it because I might be afraid, seems like a really stupid. I'm going around in circles."

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"Don't jump into anything," he tells her. "When you're ready, I'll be here. Ari... our relationship has always been more than a physical one. And I never want you to feel pressured into anything."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia steps forward and leans against Hal, breathing in. "I missed you so much."

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

He holds her close. "And I missed you."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia makes a soft sound in the back of her throat and stays there with her for a few moments. She slides her hand into Hal's and tugs on him a bit. "I think... Well. Back to the party? For a bit at least?"

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"Sounds good to me." He starts to lead her back, then stops. "But I'm going to keep pursuing you. It's my turn this time," he offers with a grin.

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia looks at Hal at that comment and pauses for a few moments. "Well, you'll have to go away to top me aging myself." She winks at him, showing that she's just teasing.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"Nah," he replies. "I'm having too much fun to go away."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia laughs and shakes her head. Her English needs some work still. "A distance. A.... You'll have to do something really impressive." She squeezes his hand and starts to head back toward the door.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"Alright, then. I'll think of something."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"Of course you will." Arisia tugs on his hand, placing a kiss in his palm, before opening the door.