batmanschmatman | 010 [video]

[After making sure Tim wasn't about to commit murder, checking to see that Steph wasn't totally caught in a downward spiral, and wondering why exactly this kind of thing seemed to happen all the time, Dick had sort of been at the end of his rope and sort of just wanted to curl up in a ball and forget about everything for a little while. Fortunately, the nap helped, and so by the time he drags himself to the door, he's feeling a lot less like crap. He'd changed out of his wet clothes after finding Steph in CES, and while he's still pretty obviously not feeling 100%, at least he's mobile.

He pulled the door open and immediately stepped aside so Hayley could enter.] Hi.

[Hayley's excited smile immediately altered into a concerned frown when she saw him. The inmate offered greetings as she moved inside, anxious to be out of the hallways; after the Aztec rampage, she preferred to avoid them.]

"Hey, are you okay? You don't look so good." [Dick looked sick, he looked tired, and if he felt half as worn down as he appeared, then the girl was half-inclined to insist on spending a night or two to keep any visitors away until he recovered.]

[He managed a grim smile, rubbing a hand over his eyes, wincing as he aggravated some of the bruises left over from the Aztec's weapon.] I'm a lot better then most the rest of the people on board.

[Still, he did kind of feel a little miserable, so instead of lingering in the door way he walked back over to sit down on his bed, back against the wall. The room was kind of a mess, but the small couch across from the bed was pretty void of his stuff, as was the coffee table. He'd been trying to make an effort to keep things a little cleaner since his misadventure with the misplaced shuriken.]

[Hayley waited to move beyond the entrance until Dick had closed the door. Or, rather, that was her intention. When he moved to his bed without touching the door, she walked over and closed and locked it herself. It was a sort of compulsion she had developed on the Barge, never having experienced anything horrifying locked inside a room, but always out and about. She offered Dick a weak smile as she moved over to the couch, trying to explain in as few words as possible.] "I trust you more than I trust them."

[The inmate took a seat on the bit of his couch that wasn't covered, though she couldn't help but start to rummage through the heaps of clothes and gear, curious what she might find.] "You should lay down, unless that's more comfortable. Whenever you want to start talking, I'll just be listening."

[That got another grin out of the vigilante. Even if it wasn't really a compliment - because seriously them could be anyone, including apparently psycho Aztecs who wanted to rip your hearts out - he still totally understood the compulsion.] After what just happened? I don't blame you.

[He shrugged, looking down hesitantly at the bed. He was pretty sure if he actually got comfortable he'd fall asleep, and lying down and talking about his problems kind of made this feel like therapy. And Dick wasn't really into that.] I'm okay. What did you want to talk about?

[Hayley shrugged, finally straightening and sitting still for the moment to look over at him. It seemed obvious, but if he wanted an outline, she was happy to provide him with one.] "What happened after I bandaged you up, how you got the rest of the cuts, what happened to your friends, how you're recovering, why you hate Roman so much, maybe some of the history there.. or, you know, why I caught a glimpse of you wearing fingerless gloves and looking like a rebel without a cause with a bunch of mafiosos when I flicked through that Black Mask comic. Whatever you want."

[She flashed him an exaggerated smile, a mixture between sarcasm and lighthearted teasing.]

[Dick blinked, processing all of that. He'd been sort of worried that the comic book she'd already mentioned was going to include that. It was really creepy knowing that just anyone could show up and tell him about all that, about Bludhaven -

So not going there right now. He'd had enough trauma for one day. He ran a hand through his hair, grimacing slightly.] It's kind of a long story. [Meaning the comic book thing. Might as well start with the worst part, right?]

[Hayley shrugged, expecting that was code for him not wanting to talk. She stood and began riffling through his things under the guise of tidying up a bit, tossing his clothes in one corner after check the pockets and stacking his books and papers on the table. When she found a batarang under a food wrapper of some kind, she gave him a pointed look, then his shuriken wound, then went back to cleaning. Hayley set the batarang on the table in its own spot, wanting to ask him about it later.]

[Dick smiled sheepishly at the look. He really should probably try to keep his space cleaner, but... he'd always been messy. Still, it was nice of her to try straightening up after him, and as weird as it was, she was kind of reminding him of Alfred with the cleaning and that look, so after a moment of trying to figure out how to explain it, he started talking. He'd already told Costigan about part of it, but he'd never really talked to anyone about this part before. He wasn't even sure if Tim knew about it, which was probably something they'd have to talk about now that Mask was around.]

I sort of... went through a self destructive period for a while a year or so ago. That was sort of part of it.

"I'm listening." [She replied in a neutral sort of tone as she continued cleaning, rather liking the distraction for her hands and her mind. Just sitting there waiting for someone to talk was awkward and it put my pressure on them. At least this way, he could talk as much or as little as he wanted while she just continued doing what she was doing. Besides, Hayley didn't mind cleaning when she was in the right mood and getting to go through pretty much everything Dick owned was a wicked enough perk to be in the right mood.]

[Dick was quiet for a while, trying to figure out how to explain it without spilling too much. He didn't want to talk about Blockbuster or Tarantula, or the gang war that Steph had started or basically trying to throw his life away at any opportunity. It was not exactly his finest moment.]

I made a lot of mistakes. A lot of mistakes. And I couldn't deal with it for a while, so I just... left. I kind of lost sight of what was important, I guess.

[He's quiet again before adding, in a sort of amused tone,] I got snapped out of it eventually, obviously, but it was kind of just one horrible thing happening after another for a while, and I didn't really know how to cope.

[She listened with a sort of impatience on her expression, though she wasn't certain whether he could see it or not. It felt like the sort of thing someone said to get you off their back without actually telling you anything. The inmate didn't appreciate that, but she knew she had to cut him some slack' the night was just beginning, after all. His last words made her freeze, however, halfway to picking up another shirt. She slowly straightened as she turned to stare at him, both hands grasping the piece of clothing.]

"Did you learn how to cope?" [Because if not, then Dick would sure as hell snap at some point on the Barge.]

[He stared at her a little defensively for a moment.] I know how to cope with a lot of stuff. This was different.

[And he's quiet again, almost long enough that it seemed like he wouldn't elaborate further, but now he'd told Bruce and he'd told Costigan, so it was... maybe getting easier to talk about. Or maybe he was just tired and needed to ramble a little.]

... There was this mob boss, in Bludhaven. He found out who I was, and started trying to rip my life apart. Everything I'd built there, he started destroying, and I was there when he died. I could have stopped her from killing him, but I didn't. We're not supposed to kill people. [And he stops again.]

[Hayley stood there, still paused, not minding his look. It was a valid question in her mind. She opened her mouth to reply, but then thought better of it and started tidying again. Another smoke bomb, a book, clothes, more cloths. When he started talking again, she slowed to show that she was paying attention, glancing over to him every now and then. In this situation, she wasn't sure whether it was better to watch him or to continue looking away more than not; she wasn't sure whether to ask questions or not; she wasn't sure whether to comment or simply listen. In the end, she realized she had to choose something.] "Who was it?"

Roland Desmond. Blockbuster.

[He shifted so he was once again sort of lying down, but propped up high enough on pillows that he was sort of sitting up too. He looked over at the girl curiously for a moment.] Can I ask you something?

[Huh. Not recognizing the name, the girl took note of it for later. At his question, Hayley froze again. After a beat, though, she continued tidying without looking at him. She didn't like where this was going. At least Dick seemed slightly more comfortable.] "Sure, but I'm not obligated to answer."

Fair enough. [He paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to say it. Straightforward finally seemed like the best option.]

How come you're an inmate? I mean, you seem pretty okay, especially compared to most of the people here.

... I'm not going to judge you or anything, just curious.

[Hayley's efforts slowed and then stopped completely. After a long pause of staring at the hat in her hands, she turned to face him. She wasn't sure she trusted him that much yet, but Hayley also had an insatiable curiosity when she felt like she was missing something about someone. There was something about Dick that wasn't clicking.]

"I'll trade you. One question for one question. You either answer honestly or you refuse to answer, in which case, new question."

[That seemed fair enough, and he'd done this enough times with other people to know the dangers and benefits of exchanging information this way, so he nodded after only a couple seconds of hesitation.] Okay. So, that's my question. Or, do you want to ask me a question before you answer that one?

Edited 2011-01-11 06:59 (UTC)

"Because the Admiral doesn't like the way I tried to help people." [It was honest, if a bit vague. But he had as many questions as he was willing to share answers, so she was hoping it would be enough to start him on a long path.] "You said you let 'her' kill him. Who's her?"

[The inmate set the hat on his dresser and then maneuvered her way back around to the couch to take a seat. Now this was interesting.]

[That got a sort of cautiously amused smile, because seriously, should he be concerned that she'd taken an interest in him? But it fell at her question.]

Tarantula. She was... [How did he even begin to explain that fiasco? He caught himself before he elaborated further, mostly because he really didn't need to spiral. He was already trying to push away the memories of the gunshot that had haunted him for weeks afterwards.] What do you mean, tried to help people?

[...Tarantula? Seriously? Hayley tried to ignore the ridiculous name in favor of focusing on her next question. It clearly was not something he was happy about, but that made her all the more curious. After all, no one was proud of their dark secrets, of the things they tried to hide from everyone about who they really were. Even Hayley, if she was honest with herself.]

"I mean.. tried to help people. I tried to stop people from getting raped, abused, and murdered." [She said it as nonchalantly as possible, even though she still wasn't sure whether or not to tell him the truth. If she could reach his secret before he could reach one of hers, then maybe she wouldn't have to reveal it.] "Why did you let her kill him?"

[Well, that was curious. After all, Dick tried to stop people from getting raped, abused, and murdered too, but he wasn't an inmate, which probably meant Hayley used lethal force or something. And while Dick himself was against killing? He had friends with slightly looser moral codes, so that wasn't really all that shocking.]

Because I didn't want to save him. [It was the same answer he'd given Bruce and Costigan too, and if he kept it vague and led her away from asking about Tarantula, that was fine by him.] So, you're a vigilante. Do you have like, a codename?

[He was leading her down a path the same as she was leading him, even if he didn't realize it. She smiled slightly at the idea, tilting her head in an innocent fashion. Sometimes, the inmate couldn't help but feign naivety.]

"I wasn't a vigilante. It had nothing to do with law. So, no, I didn't use a codename. I didn't even lie about my name most of the time." [She gave a mischievous little smile then, enjoying this way too much.] "Why didn't you want to save him?"

Because in that moment, he was everything that was wrong with the world. So I just walked away. [And she'd shot him, and he'd had an emotional breakdown in the rain on the roof of the building and Tarantula had come out and - ]

So, why'd you do it, if it didn't have to do with the law? [He had a feeling this would be a 'pass' question, but it never hurt to ask.]

Spam! - (I don't get to use it as much as I'd like. c:)

Spam! - You can use it with Hayley. All the time. I'll start interpreting moods. >:]

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -

Spam! -