(Upload) Destiny
Well, here's the first of my two pieces for merfilly Fic-a-thon Challenge. I wanted this to go somewhere more R rated at least, but of course they refused. Way to go, Bruce. I suppose I shouldn't have picked the only pairing I see with a sibiling relationship, of course I couldn't write them having sex.
My Bruce isn't very good with words, but he's good in many other areas. He shows he cares in weird ways. Ah, well. If my entry doesn't make sense, I blame my brothers. They kept interrupting me...
Also, I have no idea of what the oysters Shayera liked are called. It sounds like Qazan, which is a tartar word for boiled. So I just went with that. Humor me or help me!
Fandom: DCAU
Pairing: Batman/Hawkgirl
Rating: PG
Summary: Batman is a problem solver, and Shayera has one.
Notes: Beta by tmelange, who pulled a really fast one on these stories! /hugs T :3 I should probably add that this takes place right after 'Shadow of the Hawk' later that day.
Word count: 1593
Started on July 8th 2006 at 5:30 pm
Finished on July 8th 2006 at 8:50 pm
Destiny
Shayera walked into the commissary, the events of the day still too present in her mind. She wasn’t sure of what to make of the whole ‘Destiny’ thing with Carter. She had been thinking about it nonstop, trying to find in herself the certainty that either Carter was deluding himself or that Carter was somehow right. Certainty, though, was eluding her, and her mind was too tangled to consider the whole incident objectively.
Like her life wasn’t a mess before.
She filled her tray with some of the less green looking options on the buffet, and absently eyed the tables, hoping to find an empty one where she could mull over her thoughts some more. The commissary wasn’t even half full, but her gaze lingered on the dark clad figure hunching over a table, deep in thought.
“Hey B,” she said, standing in front of him. “I should have guessed you would like the Princess’s grass.”
Batman stared at her, an eyebrow slowly rising in confusion. Shayera noticed her choice of words, and smiled, pointing to the half eaten salad next to the papers he was working on. “I mean the food.”
Batman nodded once and motioned her to take a seat. “Diana’s choices are fine. At least they’re edible,” he added, picking up the fork and motioning it in an accusing way. “Unlike some of the things I’ve seen here.”
“Are you criticizing my menu?” She asked, amused.
“I’m just surprised Qazan oysters only give you heartburn.” Batman’s voice was casual, but his look was unwavering. He was bringing up, as subtly as he could, her last conversation with Carter. She had known him for long enough to know this was as far as he was going to go to prompt her to talk about personal matters.
She lowered her gaze, unsure of what to say. She had nothing to tell him, he already knew the whole story and she had yet to decide how she felt about it.
She shook her head, looking up to meet Batman’s eyes, but he was staring down at the papers in front of him, looking uncomfortable. Was he trying to give her space? That was a first.
“So, I just noticed,” she said with an easy voice, letting him know she was okay. “You said it was Carter that you didn’t trust. So that means you trust me. Again.”
He froze, his body tight with tension. Shayera smiled to herself, deciding she was going to make him have this conversation with her.
“Even after the invasion, you seem to trust me. And people say you don’t trust anyone,” she prodded further. Her ordeal with the League was something she was still working out with all of them. Batman’s quiet nature and the fact that he actually acted professionally instead of throwing tantrums like other members of the team had made her postpone this conversation for far longer than she should have.
Batman shifted, and the tension sipped away as he looked at her with a wry smile. “People shouldn’t have strong opinions about things they don’t understand.”
“And you are one of those things,” she wondered.
“Me. You. This life. The risks we take, the things we turn our backs on,” he looked away, fiddling with the fork.
“Our choices,” she echoed. She never thought any of them could fully understand her dilemma, why had she betrayed them or gone back to them.
He nodded. “I know you’ll try to do the right thing. Whatever it takes.”
She smiled, feeling lighter; a weight she hadn’t noticed was over her suddenly lifting. “They call you ruthless for that.”
He rolled his eyes; despite the cowl, the gesture was still visible. “Ruthless. Huh. Playing hero when it’s about saving kittens in tall trees or catching falling planes is not hard,” he gestured with his hands, illustrating his point with a little frustration. “When the job gets tricky, there’s no time for hesitation. You have to make a choice and make things happen. I’ve been called worse because of that. And so have you.”
She took a sip of her drink, reveling in the friendly silence that followed. After a while, she asked him again. “So?”
“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”
“Think of it as payback for planting the bug.”
He growled, shifting under her gaze. “Yes, I trust you.”
She reached for his right hand and held it between her own. “Thank you. It wasn’t that hard, was it?”
“Like passing a kidney stone,” he joked. “You… are you…”
“Okay?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve been better,” she admitted. “He…” she sighed. “Carter knew a lot about me. Things he couldn’t have learned by stalking me. It’s… confusing.”
Batman smiled, shifting his hand so he was holding one of hers. “If all it takes to convince you of a fated romance is the knowledge of your favorite color, your favorite food and your determination to help, then I should probably not tell you the things I know about you.”
She laughed. “Yeah, but you’re a freak.”
“You’re defending your stalker by calling me a freak?”
She only laughed harder. Of course Batman knew. Batman’s job was to know everything. “Do you really think he was talking nonsense?” She asked, once her laughter had died down.
“As I said, people shouldn’t have strong opinions about things they don’t understand.”
“Like Destiny.”
“You said so yourself: the Absorbacron was not designed to interface with human minds. I’m not saying Destiny doesn’t exist-”
“But it’s more probable that his brain just made up the story to deal with the information, I know.” She idly doodled nothings on his glove with her fingers. “You don’t believe in Destiny,” she stated more than asked.
“I don’t.”
Her eyes, and her voice, were full of sadness as she asked. “Why not?”
“I think we make our own futures, based on our present actions. If I was fated to be here, if everything that has happened up to this point happened because it had to for Destiny to be fulfilled… No. I couldn’t do what I do, knowing there are no choices,” he said, his voice low.
“Nothing is easy with you, is it?”
“Maybe I make the wrong choices, but I rather make them myself.” He pulled her hand a little, making her look up at him. “Don’t be sad.”
She tried to smile, half failing, but he smiled back at her. The commissary doors opened and John, of all people, came in with Vixen by his side. Shayera’s shoulders slumped.
Batman followed her eyes and saw his teammates walk by. John did a short wave towards them, and then frowned at their holding hands. Shayera saw Batman scowl, and lowered her eyes to look at her untouched dinner like it was the most interesting thing on the planet. Batman reached out with his free hand, taking her hands in his own in a possessive gesture. “Don’t be sad,” he half pleaded, half ordered with a low growl.
“I’m having a bad day of sorts,” she answered with an angry whisper.
“That’s why you. Shouldn’t. Be. Sad.”
Their gazes met and a charged silence fell between them. She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not sure I know what’s going on here.”
He loosened his grip on her, and sighed. “I hate seeing you sad. There’s a reason I work alone. I don’t know how to help people,” he answered, his voice full of frustration.
She smiled tenderly. “This is a problem you can’t solve. It’s for me and John to work out, if we ever do.”
He snorted, a rueful smile on his lips. “I’m a problem solver. If you present me with one, I can’t just cross my arms and do nothing.”
That piece of information clicked with everything Shayera knew of the man. If he didn’t get involved with people, then he didn’t have to deal with things like personal problems that he couldn’t solve. But now he was involved, and he couldn’t step back.
“What do you think you can do for me?” She whispered.
He didn’t say anything, just shrugged. Shayera could clearly read his answer: Whatever she wanted him to do, he was offering himself. It was up to her.
She swallowed hard. She had jumped the Carter Hall ship almost without hesitation, out of need, out of revenge, out of desire. But what Batman was offering wasn’t a one night stand, or a happily ever after, or Destiny. It was up to her to decide if she wanted to find out what it was.
“I… maybe I don’t want to believe in Destiny either,” she said, tentatively.
“Good,” he said, retrieving his hands, picking up his fork again and looking down at his papers.
She looked at him, confused for a second, thinking maybe he had misunderstood her. When she noticed the small smug smile, she laughed a little, and picked up her own cutlery, digging into her dinner.
The man was a freak. It was going to be quite a ride.
My Bruce isn't very good with words, but he's good in many other areas. He shows he cares in weird ways. Ah, well. If my entry doesn't make sense, I blame my brothers. They kept interrupting me...
Also, I have no idea of what the oysters Shayera liked are called. It sounds like Qazan, which is a tartar word for boiled. So I just went with that. Humor me or help me!
Fandom: DCAU
Pairing: Batman/Hawkgirl
Rating: PG
Summary: Batman is a problem solver, and Shayera has one.
Notes: Beta by tmelange, who pulled a really fast one on these stories! /hugs T :3 I should probably add that this takes place right after 'Shadow of the Hawk' later that day.
Word count: 1593
Started on July 8th 2006 at 5:30 pm
Finished on July 8th 2006 at 8:50 pm
Destiny
Shayera walked into the commissary, the events of the day still too present in her mind. She wasn’t sure of what to make of the whole ‘Destiny’ thing with Carter. She had been thinking about it nonstop, trying to find in herself the certainty that either Carter was deluding himself or that Carter was somehow right. Certainty, though, was eluding her, and her mind was too tangled to consider the whole incident objectively.
Like her life wasn’t a mess before.
She filled her tray with some of the less green looking options on the buffet, and absently eyed the tables, hoping to find an empty one where she could mull over her thoughts some more. The commissary wasn’t even half full, but her gaze lingered on the dark clad figure hunching over a table, deep in thought.
“Hey B,” she said, standing in front of him. “I should have guessed you would like the Princess’s grass.”
Batman stared at her, an eyebrow slowly rising in confusion. Shayera noticed her choice of words, and smiled, pointing to the half eaten salad next to the papers he was working on. “I mean the food.”
Batman nodded once and motioned her to take a seat. “Diana’s choices are fine. At least they’re edible,” he added, picking up the fork and motioning it in an accusing way. “Unlike some of the things I’ve seen here.”
“Are you criticizing my menu?” She asked, amused.
“I’m just surprised Qazan oysters only give you heartburn.” Batman’s voice was casual, but his look was unwavering. He was bringing up, as subtly as he could, her last conversation with Carter. She had known him for long enough to know this was as far as he was going to go to prompt her to talk about personal matters.
She lowered her gaze, unsure of what to say. She had nothing to tell him, he already knew the whole story and she had yet to decide how she felt about it.
She shook her head, looking up to meet Batman’s eyes, but he was staring down at the papers in front of him, looking uncomfortable. Was he trying to give her space? That was a first.
“So, I just noticed,” she said with an easy voice, letting him know she was okay. “You said it was Carter that you didn’t trust. So that means you trust me. Again.”
He froze, his body tight with tension. Shayera smiled to herself, deciding she was going to make him have this conversation with her.
“Even after the invasion, you seem to trust me. And people say you don’t trust anyone,” she prodded further. Her ordeal with the League was something she was still working out with all of them. Batman’s quiet nature and the fact that he actually acted professionally instead of throwing tantrums like other members of the team had made her postpone this conversation for far longer than she should have.
Batman shifted, and the tension sipped away as he looked at her with a wry smile. “People shouldn’t have strong opinions about things they don’t understand.”
“And you are one of those things,” she wondered.
“Me. You. This life. The risks we take, the things we turn our backs on,” he looked away, fiddling with the fork.
“Our choices,” she echoed. She never thought any of them could fully understand her dilemma, why had she betrayed them or gone back to them.
He nodded. “I know you’ll try to do the right thing. Whatever it takes.”
She smiled, feeling lighter; a weight she hadn’t noticed was over her suddenly lifting. “They call you ruthless for that.”
He rolled his eyes; despite the cowl, the gesture was still visible. “Ruthless. Huh. Playing hero when it’s about saving kittens in tall trees or catching falling planes is not hard,” he gestured with his hands, illustrating his point with a little frustration. “When the job gets tricky, there’s no time for hesitation. You have to make a choice and make things happen. I’ve been called worse because of that. And so have you.”
She took a sip of her drink, reveling in the friendly silence that followed. After a while, she asked him again. “So?”
“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”
“Think of it as payback for planting the bug.”
He growled, shifting under her gaze. “Yes, I trust you.”
She reached for his right hand and held it between her own. “Thank you. It wasn’t that hard, was it?”
“Like passing a kidney stone,” he joked. “You… are you…”
“Okay?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve been better,” she admitted. “He…” she sighed. “Carter knew a lot about me. Things he couldn’t have learned by stalking me. It’s… confusing.”
Batman smiled, shifting his hand so he was holding one of hers. “If all it takes to convince you of a fated romance is the knowledge of your favorite color, your favorite food and your determination to help, then I should probably not tell you the things I know about you.”
She laughed. “Yeah, but you’re a freak.”
“You’re defending your stalker by calling me a freak?”
She only laughed harder. Of course Batman knew. Batman’s job was to know everything. “Do you really think he was talking nonsense?” She asked, once her laughter had died down.
“As I said, people shouldn’t have strong opinions about things they don’t understand.”
“Like Destiny.”
“You said so yourself: the Absorbacron was not designed to interface with human minds. I’m not saying Destiny doesn’t exist-”
“But it’s more probable that his brain just made up the story to deal with the information, I know.” She idly doodled nothings on his glove with her fingers. “You don’t believe in Destiny,” she stated more than asked.
“I don’t.”
Her eyes, and her voice, were full of sadness as she asked. “Why not?”
“I think we make our own futures, based on our present actions. If I was fated to be here, if everything that has happened up to this point happened because it had to for Destiny to be fulfilled… No. I couldn’t do what I do, knowing there are no choices,” he said, his voice low.
“Nothing is easy with you, is it?”
“Maybe I make the wrong choices, but I rather make them myself.” He pulled her hand a little, making her look up at him. “Don’t be sad.”
She tried to smile, half failing, but he smiled back at her. The commissary doors opened and John, of all people, came in with Vixen by his side. Shayera’s shoulders slumped.
Batman followed her eyes and saw his teammates walk by. John did a short wave towards them, and then frowned at their holding hands. Shayera saw Batman scowl, and lowered her eyes to look at her untouched dinner like it was the most interesting thing on the planet. Batman reached out with his free hand, taking her hands in his own in a possessive gesture. “Don’t be sad,” he half pleaded, half ordered with a low growl.
“I’m having a bad day of sorts,” she answered with an angry whisper.
“That’s why you. Shouldn’t. Be. Sad.”
Their gazes met and a charged silence fell between them. She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not sure I know what’s going on here.”
He loosened his grip on her, and sighed. “I hate seeing you sad. There’s a reason I work alone. I don’t know how to help people,” he answered, his voice full of frustration.
She smiled tenderly. “This is a problem you can’t solve. It’s for me and John to work out, if we ever do.”
He snorted, a rueful smile on his lips. “I’m a problem solver. If you present me with one, I can’t just cross my arms and do nothing.”
That piece of information clicked with everything Shayera knew of the man. If he didn’t get involved with people, then he didn’t have to deal with things like personal problems that he couldn’t solve. But now he was involved, and he couldn’t step back.
“What do you think you can do for me?” She whispered.
He didn’t say anything, just shrugged. Shayera could clearly read his answer: Whatever she wanted him to do, he was offering himself. It was up to her.
She swallowed hard. She had jumped the Carter Hall ship almost without hesitation, out of need, out of revenge, out of desire. But what Batman was offering wasn’t a one night stand, or a happily ever after, or Destiny. It was up to her to decide if she wanted to find out what it was.
“I… maybe I don’t want to believe in Destiny either,” she said, tentatively.
“Good,” he said, retrieving his hands, picking up his fork again and looking down at his papers.
She looked at him, confused for a second, thinking maybe he had misunderstood her. When she noticed the small smug smile, she laughed a little, and picked up her own cutlery, digging into her dinner.
The man was a freak. It was going to be quite a ride.