[ The thing about taking a leap of faith is that, sometimes, there's no safety net and you go crashing to the sawdust floor of the Big Top, breaking on impact and leaving your small child alone in the world.
Just as an example.
He's never really been afraid, though. When he was younger, he had Bruce there to catch him. Now, he catches himself. And he's fallen often and completely, head over heels, giving himself up willingly to the crash just for the joy and vitality of the fall itself. His friends, his exes, they'd all say he falls too easily. But he always does it with his eyes open. He doesn't pretend gravity doesn't exist. He's never wanted to be surprised when it reasserts himself.
Which is the problem with her question, but not the only problem. The problem is: she's seventeen.
Maybe it doesn't matter how he knows she'd have absolutely flattened him if they'd met during his Teen Titan days. And he's not that much older, but those few years suddenly feel like an impassable gulf, when before they were just a detail, one he didn't think about too much.
He's thinking about it now. ]
We always have to look down, Gwen. That's who we are.
[ She reaches to smooth his shirt, and he lifts his own hand to cover the back of hers, even though he just thought –
Sure, maybe he'd enjoyed knowing she harbors a little crush on him. He'd never meant to do anything about it, to lead her on, to make it real – but the thing is, Gwen is great. The last thing he'd expected was to develop a little crush right back.
And he shouldn't, but he keeps his hand over hers, pressing both lightly to his chest. ]
[ All things considered it's very likely that Dick knows her well enough to be aware that Gwen would practically spontaneously teleport herself across fifteen dimensions at the faintest hint of rejection after so much as dipping a toe over the line, like any reasonable person would, but... but. While he's got a look in his eyes that makes her think he's holding something back that he doesn't want to say he's also not pulling away from her. He could, very easily, and Gwen would totally make her best attempt at not hastily pushing the kitten into his hands before making some half-assed excuse and yeeting herself off of the building.
Which is a move that's much less dramatic with people like them than with the average normal human, but still.
His hand is warm against hers, holding her there, and it's effectively an anchor that's keeping her steady, even if it feels like she's getting conflicting signals and she's not sure what's going through his head. It feels... precarious. Like balancing in the middle of a tightrope, poised and not sure which direction she should be moving toward.
It would be hard to argue that she hasn't been kidding herself here. ]
So what happens when we do?
[ Is that what this is? Looking down? Falling? Maybe it's a rhetorical question. So far she's been trying not to shy away from his eyes but she can't help it now, though all that does is mean that she's almost burrowing her face into his shoulder instead, not quite hiding, exactly, just... staying close, breathing in the scent of him, her hand still on his chest. ]
[ He's never been one for thinking ahead. Babs used to tease him about it, but he thinks she appreciated that he lives in the moment. They have to, what other option is there when Darkseid could show up or someone could get stepped on by Giganta or teleported through time?
And right now, he's focused on this moment, on how warm she is in the curve of his arm, as she curls against him. He can feel her breath puffing against his collar and a little against his throat as she turns her face into his shoulder. There's no ignoring the way that feels. He's as susceptible to warm breath on the thin, sensitive skin of his neck as anyone. ]
I don't know.
[ He does try to be honest. He'd hated lying to his friends, his family, when he'd gone undercover in Spyral. Gwen doesn't know that about him, not yet. And isn't that answer enough? This friendship is intense, but it hasn't been long, not yet. There's still a lot to learn about each other.
Or maybe he's just being an idiot. ]
What I do know is that I like hanging out with you. I wouldn't want to screw that up.
[ Yeah, it would be nice if Dick somehow had all the answers, things would be a lot simpler if they just knew, but Gwen doesn't blame him at all for not, and weirdly enough there's something reassuring in that he's fumbling just like she is. It's a world of difference between 'I don't know' and 'I know exactly what this is and it's not that,' so... so at least she's not being laughably naive to even think that there could be a spark of something more than friendship here.
Whether or not they do anything with that is a whole other question, one that's tied up in a lot of complications on both sides, she's just glad that she's not the only one who feels something.
A more something that she realized until just now, as she's leaning in so close and only wanting to get closer. It wouldn't be fair to push it though, even if she's willing to throw all caution to the wind and go with her gut, despite having plenty of reasons not to do that, it would put him on the spot and then he would have to be the reasonable one to say they should quit while they're ahead. ]
You won't lose that, no matter what happens. Not as long as I have a say in it. [ She smiles against his shoulder, shaking her head a little again as she tips her head back up, and this time she presses a soft, brief kiss to his cheek. It just... seems like the thing to do. ] It's getting late, I should probably go.
[ Does she actually want to? Obviously not, but she should. ]
[ Her lips are soft against his cheek, and he wants to close his eyes, lean into the brief touch.
He doesn't let himself. If he did, he's not sure he'd be able to keep from – well. Doing anything that will push them over the edge. Good as they both are at falling, at catching themselves, at getting back up again, he knows a dangerous direction when he sees it.
Just like he knows an out when he sees one. And the very fact that he doesn't want her to go probably means he should let her go. So. ]
Sure.
[ And because it's getting late means something different to people like them, he adds: ] Patrols to go on, bad guys to punch, crime to fight.
[ He curls his fingers under the hand that's resting on his shirt, then pushes lightly up to his feet, reaching for the kitten with his free hand so he can help her up. Like the gentleman he is.
And like the gentleman he is, he lifts her hand and presses a kiss to her knuckles. ] Go get 'em, Spider-Woman. The night is young, you've still got so many socks to knock off.
[ It'll be easier later, when she's not right here cuddling up to him and feeling all warm and fuzzy about things, right? Right. With distances comes perspective, and she'll be able to shake it off before she starts pining over something that won't happen. She's spent a lot of nights out there just looking for an outlet, venting her frustrations in ways that were at least constructive, but right now she's just anticipating zoning out for a while, swinging around the skyscrapers and trying not to think about... this.
She's not sure if she feels disappointed or relieved that he agrees with her. Maybe both? It can be both. ]
You know how it goes, if I don't show my face around town often enough they start getting all uppity and it just turns into a huge mess.
[ She passes over the sleepy, lazily flopping kitten, while also accepting his help up even if she doesn't need it, totally not just an excuse to hang onto his hand a little longer. Then he has to go and kiss it, it is very gentlemanly, which she has no reasonable response for other than to blush and make a face at him to try to hide it.
It's almost like he's trying to make this harder?? ]
I bet you do too, Nightwing. You've already got mine. [ She does, finally, let go, smiling now as she steps back. Portals need a bit of space anyway. ] I'll text you later, okay?
Uppity bad guys are the worst. Go show 'em who's boss.
[ He lets her go without argument, tucking the kitten to his chest with his other hand. It stretches and yawns and curls its little paws over its face, and it's pretty cute; he'll probably hang out here for a while pampering it some more.
That blush is pretty cute, too. He makes a mental note of it as he steps back, giving her plenty of room to portal on out of here. As far as exits go, it might be an even better method than just leaping off a building. ]
Whenever you want. You know I keep weird hours.
[ He lifts the kitten's paw and makes it wave at her. ]
Now get out of here so this guy and I can have a boys night.
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no subject
Just as an example.
He's never really been afraid, though. When he was younger, he had Bruce there to catch him. Now, he catches himself. And he's fallen often and completely, head over heels, giving himself up willingly to the crash just for the joy and vitality of the fall itself. His friends, his exes, they'd all say he falls too easily. But he always does it with his eyes open. He doesn't pretend gravity doesn't exist. He's never wanted to be surprised when it reasserts himself.
Which is the problem with her question, but not the only problem. The problem is: she's seventeen.
Maybe it doesn't matter how he knows she'd have absolutely flattened him if they'd met during his Teen Titan days. And he's not that much older, but those few years suddenly feel like an impassable gulf, when before they were just a detail, one he didn't think about too much.
He's thinking about it now. ]
We always have to look down, Gwen. That's who we are.
[ She reaches to smooth his shirt, and he lifts his own hand to cover the back of hers, even though he just thought –
Sure, maybe he'd enjoyed knowing she harbors a little crush on him. He'd never meant to do anything about it, to lead her on, to make it real – but the thing is, Gwen is great. The last thing he'd expected was to develop a little crush right back.
And he shouldn't, but he keeps his hand over hers, pressing both lightly to his chest. ]
Anything else is just kidding ourselves.
no subject
Which is a move that's much less dramatic with people like them than with the average normal human, but still.
His hand is warm against hers, holding her there, and it's effectively an anchor that's keeping her steady, even if it feels like she's getting conflicting signals and she's not sure what's going through his head. It feels... precarious. Like balancing in the middle of a tightrope, poised and not sure which direction she should be moving toward.
It would be hard to argue that she hasn't been kidding herself here. ]
So what happens when we do?
[ Is that what this is? Looking down? Falling? Maybe it's a rhetorical question. So far she's been trying not to shy away from his eyes but she can't help it now, though all that does is mean that she's almost burrowing her face into his shoulder instead, not quite hiding, exactly, just... staying close, breathing in the scent of him, her hand still on his chest. ]
no subject
And right now, he's focused on this moment, on how warm she is in the curve of his arm, as she curls against him. He can feel her breath puffing against his collar and a little against his throat as she turns her face into his shoulder. There's no ignoring the way that feels. He's as susceptible to warm breath on the thin, sensitive skin of his neck as anyone. ]
I don't know.
[ He does try to be honest. He'd hated lying to his friends, his family, when he'd gone undercover in Spyral. Gwen doesn't know that about him, not yet. And isn't that answer enough? This friendship is intense, but it hasn't been long, not yet. There's still a lot to learn about each other.
Or maybe he's just being an idiot. ]
What I do know is that I like hanging out with you. I wouldn't want to screw that up.
no subject
Whether or not they do anything with that is a whole other question, one that's tied up in a lot of complications on both sides, she's just glad that she's not the only one who feels something.
A more something that she realized until just now, as she's leaning in so close and only wanting to get closer. It wouldn't be fair to push it though, even if she's willing to throw all caution to the wind and go with her gut, despite having plenty of reasons not to do that, it would put him on the spot and then he would have to be the reasonable one to say they should quit while they're ahead. ]
You won't lose that, no matter what happens. Not as long as I have a say in it. [ She smiles against his shoulder, shaking her head a little again as she tips her head back up, and this time she presses a soft, brief kiss to his cheek. It just... seems like the thing to do. ] It's getting late, I should probably go.
[ Does she actually want to? Obviously not, but she should. ]
no subject
He doesn't let himself. If he did, he's not sure he'd be able to keep from – well. Doing anything that will push them over the edge. Good as they both are at falling, at catching themselves, at getting back up again, he knows a dangerous direction when he sees it.
Just like he knows an out when he sees one. And the very fact that he doesn't want her to go probably means he should let her go. So. ]
Sure.
[ And because it's getting late means something different to people like them, he adds: ] Patrols to go on, bad guys to punch, crime to fight.
[ He curls his fingers under the hand that's resting on his shirt, then pushes lightly up to his feet, reaching for the kitten with his free hand so he can help her up. Like the gentleman he is.
And like the gentleman he is, he lifts her hand and presses a kiss to her knuckles. ] Go get 'em, Spider-Woman. The night is young, you've still got so many socks to knock off.
no subject
She's not sure if she feels disappointed or relieved that he agrees with her. Maybe both? It can be both. ]
You know how it goes, if I don't show my face around town often enough they start getting all uppity and it just turns into a huge mess.
[ She passes over the sleepy, lazily flopping kitten, while also accepting his help up even if she doesn't need it, totally not just an excuse to hang onto his hand a little longer. Then he has to go and kiss it, it is very gentlemanly, which she has no reasonable response for other than to blush and make a face at him to try to hide it.
It's almost like he's trying to make this harder?? ]
I bet you do too, Nightwing. You've already got mine. [ She does, finally, let go, smiling now as she steps back. Portals need a bit of space anyway. ] I'll text you later, okay?
no subject
[ He lets her go without argument, tucking the kitten to his chest with his other hand. It stretches and yawns and curls its little paws over its face, and it's pretty cute; he'll probably hang out here for a while pampering it some more.
That blush is pretty cute, too. He makes a mental note of it as he steps back, giving her plenty of room to portal on out of here. As far as exits go, it might be an even better method than just leaping off a building. ]
Whenever you want. You know I keep weird hours.
[ He lifts the kitten's paw and makes it wave at her. ]
Now get out of here so this guy and I can have a boys night.