batmanschmatman | 010 [video]

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010 [video]

[Dick still looks, as Costigan so eloquently put it, pretty beat to shit. Also, angry. Quite angry.]

Nice to know the track record of one horrible thing happening after another followed me here too.

[Private to Tim]

You saw.

[Private to Steph]

~~You okay?~~

Where are you?

[Private to Costigan]

~~... NEVERMIND~~

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[Dick's just going to sit there quietly for a minute, trying to figure out what to say.]

... Did anyone ever tell you about when I almost got killed by Two Face?

[ She peeks one eye at him and shakes her head. ]

[He smiles slightly before starting to explain, looking away from her. His voice is kind of flat, clearly a defense to distance himself from the less then pleasant memories.] My first year as Robin, Two Face kidnapped a judge. Bruce benched me, but of course I didn't listen to him, and we both ended up getting kidnapped. Two Face tried to get me to choose between the judge's life and Batman's, but I thought I could trick him into sparing both of them.

[He stops for a moment before continuing, still staring off at a tree in front of them.] The judge died, and Harvey tried to beat me to death with a baseball bat. Bruce got me out of there, but I was pretty messed up. He fired me as soon as I woke up, and after I healed up enough, I ran away. Ended up falling in with a group of kid assassins in training and almost preformed a hit on Two Face. I knew I was in over my head, but I didn't want to go back to the Manor because I felt guilty for leaving in the first place.

... Obviously everything worked out, but. I've been there, wanting to run away from everything. More then once, honestly. But I've always come back. And you have too. You're Batgirl.

[ She sniffles rather pathetically, just as touched by the story itself as by the effort he was putting in to making her feel better. After a minute she scoots over enough to hesitantly rest her head on his shoulder. ]

Yeah, I am.

[He smiles slightly again and puts an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a one armed hug.]

You'll be okay. It might not seem like it now, but you will be.

[ She leans into him more since this has the distinctive feeling of not being weird. ]

I hate walking through the halls, knowing he could be around the corner. I don't... I don't know how I can do this.

[He definitely doesn't mind. Somewhat unshockingly, he sees a lot of himself in Steph, and he'll be happy to sit here with her as long as she needs it.]

Take it slow. You know. Baby steps. No one expects you to just suck it up and deal a couple hours after finding out about it.

[ Might be a while :| ]

Of course. It's only been two years. [ This sad attempt at a joke falls so flat it's almost funny. ]

[Resident older sibling of the Batfamily is prepared to take that risk. 8| ]

Please, you think I wasn't crapping my pants every time Dent broke out of Arkham after it happened? I still have nightmares. [Really, it would probably make more sense to talk about everything that happened with Blockbuster, but... he's not ready to talk about that yet. See Steph, it takes time.]

Maybe he'll vanish like some of the other people did.

He has to. There's no way he can redeem himself.

No, there isn't. [He means it too. He really doesn't know why he's here.]

The Admiral's an ass. [ And she definitely means that. ]

[He chuckles despite the gravity of the situation.] Yeah, I don't think anyone's going to argue with you there.

[ There's another long moment of silence. ]

My knuckles are starting to sting.

You want to head back in and get those looked at? Maybe you, me and Tim should start a 'we wrecked up our hands' club.

They just need a few band-aids, I can fix it in my room. But we're taking the elevator this time. I think my legs gave up on me.

Sounds good to me. Want a hand up?

You mind?

Of course not.

[He pushes himself up, obviously still a little stiff and maybe dizzy from his previous misadventures, and offers a hand to her.] C'mon. I think I've had enough sitting in the rain for one day.

I could go for a few more hours if I didn't think it might actually kill me. I have such a good track record.

[ She takes a hold of the hand and pulls herself up, stumbling a lot and not letting go until her vision clears completely. ]

I am seriously covered in mud.

[And he's keeping an eye on that stumbling to make sure you're not actually going to fall over.]

Okay, we need some bandaids, probably a fire hose to get rid of the mud... got anything else you need?

[ She manages to steady herself, and once her vision comes back she figures she's safe. ]

Mashed potatoes. I demand a feast of mashed potatoes. [ She's only half joking 8| ]

Okay, how's this: I'll walk you back, and while you get yourself cleaned up, I'll see if the dining hall's got any mashed potatoes for you. Sound good?

You sure you won't marry me?

[He chuckles.] Steph, you're like the kid sister I never had. Besides, I thought we said that'd be too soap opera, even for us.

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