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[ She stops to send exactly one message to the man she left sleeping, with a kiss in his hair,
before stepping out for her morning run a good while ago in the pre-dawn dark. When it arrives, it's short and sweet. ]
There's a new city out there to the South East. With high rises.
Come find me, Boy Wonder. If you still can.
before stepping out for her morning run a good while ago in the pre-dawn dark. When it arrives, it's short and sweet. ]
There's a new city out there to the South East. With high rises.
Come find me, Boy Wonder. If you still can.
I took Bruce to the Clocktower.
His answer is still no.
His answer is still no.
Also, the Clock Tower is here. And fully kitted out.
Southernmost-middle island.
[ But she has priorities, okay, and one of them is child!Bruce complaining to Damian about everyone avoiding him
and then turning down anyone who shows up choosing him, or Batman, first and foremost, too.
In every universe, Bruce's dramatics are exhausting.
(Yes. Of course. She's taking it personally.) ]
Southernmost-middle island.
[ But she has priorities, okay, and one of them is child!Bruce complaining to Damian about everyone avoiding him
and then turning down anyone who shows up choosing him, or Batman, first and foremost, too.
In every universe, Bruce's dramatics are exhausting.
(Yes. Of course. She's taking it personally.) ]
Then we'll do it without him.
[ They can't make him want to be a part of any of this; not just their family, but their work. Whether he understands it or not — he doesn't — it doesn't change the facts of what they're working with.
But her second message makes him smile, even through his misgivings about the first. ]
That an invitation?
[ They can't make him want to be a part of any of this; not just their family, but their work. Whether he understands it or not — he doesn't — it doesn't change the facts of what they're working with.
But her second message makes him smile, even through his misgivings about the first. ]
That an invitation?
[ Unless you're turning me down, too is the flippant responses in the back her mind, but it never meets the back of her throat or her lips. Because. She'll never have to question his answer to that same question, and he'll never evade answering it like a sullen teenager. (There's only one reason to evade the answer. To never be out there, in all black, helping or even just avenging those doing the hurting.) Dick Grayson will always choose to save the people around him, no matter where he is. That's who he is—and not singularly universal since his other version was out there with them destroying dolls and fighting off snakes, too.
(Same with the other Clark. And the other Barry. And...)
Barbara lets her head rest back on the chair, and unlike anyone else so far,
she leaves the channel open instead of flipping it to mute between her responses. ]
As though I could keep you out of here for long.
Nothing much is set up or even cleaned up,
except for the computers.
(Same with the other Clark. And the other Barry. And...)
Barbara lets her head rest back on the chair, and unlike anyone else so far,
she leaves the channel open instead of flipping it to mute between her responses. ]
As though I could keep you out of here for long.
Nothing much is set up or even cleaned up,
except for the computers.
Edited 2024-07-06 15:12 (UTC)
[ There's a long silence on the other end of the line that isn't complete silence — it never is, not with them. The times they've shut each other out completely are not only too painful to repeat, but too stupid an idea in their current situation. Nothing gets solved by shutting themselves away, by refusing to speak or listen.
So he listens as she breathes, as she thinks on the other end of the line, and waits to hear which topic she'll pick back up again. Both of them important to their life and work here, but only one where they get to choose how to move forward. Where she does. The Clocktower is her nest, after all, hers and the Birds.
There's some slight relief at the direction she chooses, when she does; a lessening of tension, a lightening of the Bruce-shaped shadow that lurks there in the back of his head. ]
Well, my going rate for moving services is still pizza and beer. I'm a believer in the classics.
So he listens as she breathes, as she thinks on the other end of the line, and waits to hear which topic she'll pick back up again. Both of them important to their life and work here, but only one where they get to choose how to move forward. Where she does. The Clocktower is her nest, after all, hers and the Birds.
There's some slight relief at the direction she chooses, when she does; a lessening of tension, a lightening of the Bruce-shaped shadow that lurks there in the back of his head. ]
Well, my going rate for moving services is still pizza and beer. I'm a believer in the classics.
[ There's a small huff.
She doesn't even try to cover it.
How is it he can always make her smile?
Against it being the last thing she'd consider.
Something else ineffibly Dick Grayson. ]
You really are such a cheap date.
[ Barely a beat. Then. ]
Should we?
Move.
[ She looks at the ceiling.
She can't deny the want.
Even under all the dust.
Even if it shouldn't be here.
But. ]
It's further from the tower.
[ And even if they are doing this without Batman,
that's where Damian is.
Not all that far,
one island at most,
but still further away. ]
She doesn't even try to cover it.
How is it he can always make her smile?
Against it being the last thing she'd consider.
Something else ineffibly Dick Grayson. ]
You really are such a cheap date.
[ Barely a beat. Then. ]
Should we?
Move.
[ She looks at the ceiling.
She can't deny the want.
Even under all the dust.
Even if it shouldn't be here.
But. ]
It's further from the tower.
[ And even if they are doing this without Batman,
that's where Damian is.
Not all that far,
one island at most,
but still further away. ]
[ And there's the complication, right on schedule. Damian doesn't have the Teen Titans here to work with, even if he's starting to cooperate with some of the other younger inhabitants here. His focus is on Bruce, on helping him and keeping an eye on him, as if he's the parent and Bruce is the child.
But he won't move away, and even if he did, he doesn't want to live with Dick and Barbara.
Every day, Dick wonders if he's doing the right thing by leaving Damian with Bruce, instead of trying to get him to come stay with him, with them. Maybe he's just making his same mistakes all over again. ]
You know I'll go where you go. Doesn't mean we can't keep the other apartment. And the Clock Tower has more space than the apartment does... he might be more willing to stay there, sometimes.
But he won't move away, and even if he did, he doesn't want to live with Dick and Barbara.
Every day, Dick wonders if he's doing the right thing by leaving Damian with Bruce, instead of trying to get him to come stay with him, with them. Maybe he's just making his same mistakes all over again. ]
You know I'll go where you go. Doesn't mean we can't keep the other apartment. And the Clock Tower has more space than the apartment does... he might be more willing to stay there, sometimes.
I thought the second place would be the manor.
[ For Damian. And, after everything that happened earlier. It's weird that the manor is only Tim in the boat house and Damian's pets. Something about the manor sitting there all but empty, and definitely without an adult attached to it, feels wrong, too; Tim and Damian alone out there. The Tower hasn't ever been an option. Return overtures are not on the table. Haven't been for months now. ]
Room for him. For the girls?
For Dinah?
[ Her tone isn't serious yet. It's speculative. Working the edges of a problem like it's a chessboard to be studied before a piece moved, more than a fact she's at the heart of already. She's staring up at the ceiling, not staring at it at all, thinking through the people here. Thinking of who their closest people are. Thinking of the Birds, the Kids. (That it's a lot more people underfoot. Even if there are several floors to this place, and she'd never turn her back or close a door on any of them.)
Do they ask Tim at this point, too?
Bring him in from the cold of an empty mausoleum?
She didn't ask for this. But it doesn't mean she won't step up. ]
[ For Damian. And, after everything that happened earlier. It's weird that the manor is only Tim in the boat house and Damian's pets. Something about the manor sitting there all but empty, and definitely without an adult attached to it, feels wrong, too; Tim and Damian alone out there. The Tower hasn't ever been an option. Return overtures are not on the table. Haven't been for months now. ]
Room for him. For the girls?
For Dinah?
[ Her tone isn't serious yet. It's speculative. Working the edges of a problem like it's a chessboard to be studied before a piece moved, more than a fact she's at the heart of already. She's staring up at the ceiling, not staring at it at all, thinking through the people here. Thinking of who their closest people are. Thinking of the Birds, the Kids. (That it's a lot more people underfoot. Even if there are several floors to this place, and she'd never turn her back or close a door on any of them.)
Do they ask Tim at this point, too?
Bring him in from the cold of an empty mausoleum?
She didn't ask for this. But it doesn't mean she won't step up. ]
[ that's concerning. ]
you're not breaking into my apartment again, are you?
you're not breaking into my apartment again, are you?
Because you like annoying me more than you dislike being predictable?
[ Which is also... predictable.
Dick, on his way to the diner, resists the urge to look over his shoulder. If Damian were there, he'd know by now. ]
[ Which is also... predictable.
Dick, on his way to the diner, resists the urge to look over his shoulder. If Damian were there, he'd know by now. ]
( would he. would he really.
especially given damian's settled on the rooftop of the cafe, hidden out of sight behind a banner as dick walks passed. or was hidden behind one, because the moment he sees dick's back, he's taking a few silent steps out onto the awning, balanced precariously on something that definitely wouldn't have been able to support the weight of anyone bigger than him.
he's not in uniform, there's no gear on him, so when he drops down off the awning and straight onto dick's shoulders - at least he doesn't have the thicker, more durable cloak to wrap around dick's face and blind him. instead, it's just the thinner outer shirt damian had been wearing before he'd opted to use it for chaos purposes. )
En garde, Grayson.
especially given damian's settled on the rooftop of the cafe, hidden out of sight behind a banner as dick walks passed. or was hidden behind one, because the moment he sees dick's back, he's taking a few silent steps out onto the awning, balanced precariously on something that definitely wouldn't have been able to support the weight of anyone bigger than him.
he's not in uniform, there's no gear on him, so when he drops down off the awning and straight onto dick's shoulders - at least he doesn't have the thicker, more durable cloak to wrap around dick's face and blind him. instead, it's just the thinner outer shirt damian had been wearing before he'd opted to use it for chaos purposes. )
En garde, Grayson.
[ This time, when Damian drops from above, Dick doesn't simply crumple beneath him. He does fall forward, but it's into a controlled roll as he shoves his phone in his pocket with one hand and reaches to grab at Damian's back and whatever loose fabric he might find there with the other. He doesn't have much hope of the roll dislodging the brother he's now wearing like a yoke, but it might give him enough of a grip to pry Damian off. ]
Can't you just say hello?
Can't you just say hello?
( dick falls forward, and damian cackles. he could free dick, but what fun would that be? instead, he utilizes every moment dick fails to remove him to wrap around him even tighter: a leg around his midsection, his arm dropping down onto dick's shoulder while still gripping onto the outer shirt, the heel of his sneaker against dick's hip, gripping on tighter while dick continues to yank at his tank. )
I could, yes. ( doesn't mean he will. )
I could, yes. ( doesn't mean he will. )
[ Not a yoke, a backpack. But that means as Dick rolls forward, Damian will be the one hitting the ground on his back, with all of Dick's weight on him.
He could corkscrew at the last second to keep from landing on his baby brother. Doesn't mean he will. ]
Taking a break from following Bruce around to follow me around?
[ He wraps his fingers around Damian's calf and pushes an elbow back toward Damian's gut. Not hard enough tohurt. They're just playing. ]
He could corkscrew at the last second to keep from landing on his baby brother. Doesn't mean he will. ]
Taking a break from following Bruce around to follow me around?
[ He wraps his fingers around Damian's calf and pushes an elbow back toward Damian's gut. Not hard enough tohurt. They're just playing. ]
( they are just playing, which is why damian doesn't twist to get off of dick when he realizes what he's going for, but lets it happens. gives an oof as dick's weight settles onto him and presses his heel against dick's waist to try and push himself over onto a hip instead of being stuck flat on the ground. )
I don't just follow Father. I have other ( friends. ) obligations to attend to. Including you. You're getting rusty.
I don't just follow Father. I have other ( friends. ) obligations to attend to. Including you. You're getting rusty.
Set him up on a playdate, huh?
[ Damian wriggles and tries to press his heel into Dick's waist, but Dick's already moving, the hand on Damian's calf grabbing his ankle and sliding Damian's foot against Dick's shirt to keep it from getting purchase, and now Dick does corkscrew, using his greater weight and leverage in an attempt to break Damian's hold as he puts his arms back and pushes his legs up with a hup, into a twisting handstand. If Damian's still holding onto his shirt, fine: he can let it slide right off as he pushes back into a hand spring. ]
Just because I'm not sparring with you every day doesn't mean I'm getting rusty.
[ Damian wriggles and tries to press his heel into Dick's waist, but Dick's already moving, the hand on Damian's calf grabbing his ankle and sliding Damian's foot against Dick's shirt to keep it from getting purchase, and now Dick does corkscrew, using his greater weight and leverage in an attempt to break Damian's hold as he puts his arms back and pushes his legs up with a hup, into a twisting handstand. If Damian's still holding onto his shirt, fine: he can let it slide right off as he pushes back into a hand spring. ]
Just because I'm not sparring with you every day doesn't mean I'm getting rusty.
( dick can get himself back up, this time. he twists, and damian lets go. waits until he's twisted far enough away damian can bend his arms place his palms down against the ground beside his head and swing his legs over his head - a backward somersault, to get himself back up to his feet. )
He's a grown man, he can figure things out for himself. ( even if damian had just called bruce a child when talking about him to barbara. ) And given his dislike of sparring with me, he's going to need to find someone to manage his physical upkeep.
( which also brings damian to - )
Jon isn't here. Drake and I are... quarreling. Others around my size are untrained, leaving them with a vast disadvantage. That leaves you for potential sparring partners for myself, and I am getting bored.
He's a grown man, he can figure things out for himself. ( even if damian had just called bruce a child when talking about him to barbara. ) And given his dislike of sparring with me, he's going to need to find someone to manage his physical upkeep.
( which also brings damian to - )
Jon isn't here. Drake and I are... quarreling. Others around my size are untrained, leaving them with a vast disadvantage. That leaves you for potential sparring partners for myself, and I am getting bored.
You could just say you miss me.
[ Again: could, probably won't. But it's not like Dick feels great about how this has all shaken out, exactly. He's given Bruce space and he hasn't interfered with Damian's attempts at dragging Bruce into a family he had no idea existed. But the truth is, Damian needs him around more than his baby brother is willing to admit. And if the way he can ask for it is by prodding Dick into a sparring match, so be it. ]
You know I'll spar with you anytime. But we can hang out without it needing to include training, too, you know.
[ Again: could, probably won't. But it's not like Dick feels great about how this has all shaken out, exactly. He's given Bruce space and he hasn't interfered with Damian's attempts at dragging Bruce into a family he had no idea existed. But the truth is, Damian needs him around more than his baby brother is willing to admit. And if the way he can ask for it is by prodding Dick into a sparring match, so be it. ]
You know I'll spar with you anytime. But we can hang out without it needing to include training, too, you know.
You're closer here than you had been back home. It's not as if I can't find you whenever I please.
( could admit to missing dick, but he's not going to. especially when he is so close; damian could find him whenever he pleases. he just - often chooses not to, given he knows grayson is spending time with gordon, or... whoever else. he's sociable, gets along with most, whereas damian would generally prefer to not socialize with others. )
I. . . have been meaning to ask for Cheese Viking.
( if dick doesn't want to only get together for sparring, they can get together for gaming purposes. )
( could admit to missing dick, but he's not going to. especially when he is so close; damian could find him whenever he pleases. he just - often chooses not to, given he knows grayson is spending time with gordon, or... whoever else. he's sociable, gets along with most, whereas damian would generally prefer to not socialize with others. )
I. . . have been meaning to ask for Cheese Viking.
( if dick doesn't want to only get together for sparring, they can get together for gaming purposes. )
[ His grin is quick and bright as he tugs his rucked-up shirt back into semi-order. ]
Cheese Viking sounds great. Hey, maybe one day we'll get an arcade here and I can destroy you at air hockey.
[ Speaking of new facilities that have popped up, though: ]
And there's that baseball field. We should check it out.
Cheese Viking sounds great. Hey, maybe one day we'll get an arcade here and I can destroy you at air hockey.
[ Speaking of new facilities that have popped up, though: ]
And there's that baseball field. We should check it out.
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