batmanschmatman | 015 [audio]

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015 [audio]

[Filtered away from Roman, but otherwise Public.]

Okay, so, a flood turned hostile takeover attempt, another sinister plot, a port... now do you think we'll get a little bit of downtime?

I know people had their issues with port, but seriously, at least for the most part, barring a misadventure here or there, most of us got out pretty unscathed. That's got to be worth something on the scale of boring to traumatic.

... And it was kind of fun, being a cop again. Even if there wasn't exactly much chasing down bad guys involved.

I mean, not that I'm saying "sign me up for a universe transfer", but I guess all I'm trying to say is I'll take what I can get.

[Private to Port Family: Olivia, Wally, Seven, Tim, Shego, Isaac]

Seriously, as far as fake families went, you guys were pretty cool.

[Private to Tim]

Were you ever going to get around to telling me my best friend survived the Crisis?

[Private to Ariadne]

Did you and Jensen get to say your tearful good byes, or are you now parted from your one true love forever?

And hey, I think this port's the first time we've ever gotten to hang out that hasn't been interrupted by the Barge trying to collapse around us or something. Clearly a celebration is in order.

[Private to Bourne]

So... How's your shoulder?

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[The architect tilted her head to the side a little before carefully scooting forward toward the center of the cave, trying to feel out the terrain she couldn't see. Her hand, though, met empty air and she let out a cry before, oh, wait, no there it is. Solid rock again. Just a little hole.]

Sorry.

[But now that her adrenaline was pumping through her, she thought she could almost see Dick.]

[Dick had been miliseconds away from reaching out to grab her to make sure he wasn't about to go toppling over the edge of a cliff before she confirmed she wasn't about to do just that. Still, it had been enough to get his own adrenaline pumping, and he reached out to grab her wrist to make sure she was fine.]

You okay?

[Ariadne took a couple moments to breathe, taking a definite comfort in Dick's hand around her wrist. She followed his arm back toward him like an overboard sailor would a line back to his ship and she sat beside him again. Okay, she'd gotten her fill of exploring for the day.]

Just a dip in the floor. I wasn't expecting it. Sorry.

[But there could very well be a giant whole and she simply couldn't see.]

[He didn't move, hand still around her wrist until she was safely back next to him. That could very easily have ended very badly, and he was all kinds of relieved that it hadn't.] It's okay.

[He sat there quietly for a few moments before gesturing back towards the entrance.] You want to head back out? Next time, we'll bring flashlights or something.

Yeah, yeah that'd be a good idea. Light would be good.

[She still kept a grip on his arm, delicate fingers clenching his forearm tightly.]

We should head back.

Sure. C'mon.

[And he slowly started making his way out of the cave, initially careful to move so that if she wanted to keep hanging on, she could. He didn't mind being someone's anchor, and honestly? Her hand had felt kinda right there.]

[Ariadne indeed kept a firm hold on his arm, just in case. She was still a little too overwhelmed by the adrenaline to take the moment to admire his ahem build.]

We should still be close to the tunnel, right?

[And past that, sunlight again.]

Yeah, don't worry, it's not far.

[And sure enough, pretty soon they were back at the beginning of the small tunnel, and Dick carefully climbed back out onto the ledge, looking back quickly to grin at her again. He was, once again, sort of oblivious to the fact that he was now shirtless, in broad daylight with someone who didn't know really all that much about who he was or what he did with himself, which probably should have felt like more of an issue to the vigilante, but it... sort of didn't, had he really been thinking about it.]

See? Piece of cake.

[When they were back in the light, Ariadne blinked a few times, beaming over at him in sheer relief. Nothing like a little excitement to spice up the day. Her smile only lasted a few moments though, as she took in his scarred torso. Before she could stop herself she reached out and ran her thumb over the scar nearest to where she'd been gripping his arm.]

What happened?

Huh? Oh. [He looked down at where she'd brushed her thumb and shrugged.] That's from the Aztec invasion thing. No big deal.

[He was, for the moment, ignoring the rest of the scars, which varied in size, shape and color, some faded and some clearly more recent. The two most noticeable or potentially concerning were the largeish mark on his chest from the antimatter ray that had almost killed him the year before and the through and through bullet wound to the shoulder that had ended his career as Robin, but pretty much most of his exposed flesh had some kind of mark on it.]

You want to head down?

[She didn't answer his question, instead taking in those two incredibly noticeable scars. Her mouth fell agape as she resisted touching them. They looked painful, incredibly so. In fact, she'd never seen such marks on a person's body before and honestly hadn't expected them on Dick.]

Oh my God.

[Oh. Whoops. Dick immediately felt kind of awkward, and didn't really know what to say. It had been easier when Hayley had seen the scars since she knew about the comics, and no one else on the Barge but the obvious exception of Tim had seen them before.

Still, he managed a hopefully reassuring smile. The injuries were long healed, he'd survived, and he was okay. It's not like they still hurt or anything.]

Hey, it's okay. I'm fine.

[Ariadne swallowed and finally took her gaze to his face, less than reassured by his smile. These were more than a little overwhelming to see. How did sons of CEO's get these kind of injuries in the first place.]

How did this...?

[And she thought she was reckless.]

[Dick shrugged.] No one ever said being a cop in Bludhaven's an easy job.

[Which... didn't actually really explain most of the injuries, but it was close enough to the truth that it would hopefully hold water. Most people weren't up enough on their knowledge of how injuries healed to be able to approximate the exact age of the scar, so he wasn't worried about her asking why the bullet wound to the shoulder looked much older then some of the others. He definitely wasn't telling her it had happened when he was seventeen.]

[Ariadne pulled her hands back slowly before blurting out,] Are you dead?

[She'd heard about such a phenomenon within her first week or so being on the Barge. The inmates had all died in real life, but there were a few wardens as well who were dead back home. Her heart dropped into her stomach at the thought of him being dead.]

No. Not for lack of trying. [It was an inappropriate joke for the conversation, yes, but... very, very Dick. But as he elaborated, he let the humor fall out of his voice to be replaced with sincerity.]

I'm fine. Seriously. I'm here because I want to be, not because I don't have another choice. [This was the first time in a long time someone had reacted this badly to seeing any of the evidence of the injuries he'd sustained over the years, and he was sort of, in a weird way, kind of touched, even if the concern was totally unnecessary.] It's okay, Ariadne. I promise I'm fine.

Edited 2011-01-28 07:00 (UTC)

[Ariadne swallowed again, tucking her hair behind her ears. The sheer amount of scar tissue that covered his torso frightened her. She placed a hand back on his arm, as if that would somehow reassure her that he was indeed alive, despite the complete lack of logic it held. If he were truly dead back in the real world, there would be no way for her to find out, really.]

You pr-promise?

[He gently removed her hand from his arm, instead holding it in one of his heavily callused ones and squeezing reassuringly.] I promise.

[And, after a moment, trying to break up the mood because seriously, he didn't want her to be upset since he was - last time he checked - very much alive, he gave her a small smirk and added,] You're cute when you worry. [He was mostly just teasing her, trying to prove that everything was fine and the marks were nothing to worry about.]

[At his smirking comment, Ariadne finally pulled her gaze away from Dick's scars, a slight smile rising around her lips. Now that was something a little more familiar, that teasing. She looked back up and, in some small form of 'revenge,' if that even, pulled his arm, undoing his balance and toppling him into the water. Ha! Take that, Dick!]

[Dick rolled with the throw, still hitting the water pretty spectacularly, but keeping it a safe landing even as he submerged. He popped back up a moment later, laughing, swiping his dark hair out of his eyes before calling up to her.]

You are evil, you know that?

[She was about to protest about how he'd just called her cute a moment ago, but Ariadne couldn't quite work the words out of her mouth. Instead she simply grinned at him from her safe spot on the ledge for a couple moments. Then, finally, her voice came to her.]

I can't believe I got the drop on a former cop.

[It wasn't meant to be snarky, but rather some honest surprise. Still, it was fun to say aloud.]

[Dick smirked.] Please, I let you throw me in.

[It was pretty true, plus he'd be lying if he said the drop hadn't been kind of fun. If he wasn't going to be able to throw himself off buildings or out of airplanes or whatever, he might as well make do with what he had instead.

He treaded water for a few moments before looking back up at her, still grinning.] You coming in or what?

[Ariadne openly laughed, a rare sound, as she generally thought that her laugh was a little obnoxious sounding. Smiles usually conveyed what she meant pretty easily, but laughing was something completely different.]

You let me throw you in.

[She shook her head at that but still slid into the water, much more cleanly than the Boy Wonder. Man Wonder. Boy-Man Wonder. WHATEVER.]

I let you throw me in. [His grin widened with the repeated phrase and the sound of her laughter, feeling suddenly sort of guilty that he couldn't - or wouldn't or shouldn't, he wasn't really sure at this point - tell her the truth about everything.

He watched her jump in and as soon as she'd resurfaced, after waiting a beat or two, just enjoying the water, he looked over at her curiously.] So, what do we do now, Ariadne the architect?

[Ariadne gave a quiet shrug, which was mostly hidden by the water. Part of her knew that Dick likely had other things to do than hang out with her all day, but another wanted to just stay like this and enjoy his company in such a beautiful place as South Africa. She felt natural around him, comfortable, and familiar. Still, her more rational side got the best of her this time.]

We should probably head back to the rest of the Barge, Dick the extreme sports enthusiast.

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