[Fic] Untangle
Title: Untangle
Fandom: Crossover: Marvel (X-Factor) and DC (ASBAR)
Characters: Layla Miller and Dick Grayson (Robin)
Word Count: 1169
Rating: PG
Summary: Layla and Dick go up to the rooftop, eat toast and philosophize.
AN: This was a gift-fic written for remielle in the capeandcowl August gift exchange. As such it takes place in the CnC universe... which really only matters in that it's the explanation for why Dick and Layla are all of a sudden in the same universe.
"What?"
Layla stood in front of him with her hands on her hips.
"I said come up to the roof with me."
Dick groaned and wondered if he could mentally root himself to the sofa if he wished hard enough.
"But it's cold and wet outside."
"Come with me anyway. There's something I want to show you."
He could be more stubborn about this... but since his wish for roots wasn't coming true, it'd be more troublesome to resist than it would be to get this over with. Plus, Layla usually had a reason for doing the things she did.
Dick sighed and slowly got to his feet.
"Okay. Just lemme get a blanket."
"No need."
Layla raised her arm so that Dick could see what she was carrying over the back of the sofa. It was a picnic basket.
"I already packed everything."
"Everything? That implies more than just a blanket."
"Well." Layla smiled that knowing smile of hers. "We're going to be up there for a while. We need provisions."
Dick raised an eyebrow, so she continued.
"If we don't go up now, the toast will get cold and mushy and that's no good at all."
Taking Layla's words as a goad to hurry up, Dick smiled wryly and started walking toward the stairs.
"I'm not even going to ask if you packed the strawberry jam."
"Of course not. You know I did."
==
Dick stared at the toast in his hands. On one hand, it had definitely been toasted. On the other it was way too toasted.
He held up the blackened bread.
"You're not a very good cook, are you?"
Layla looked up from the picnic basket and smiled.
"Oh, I'm a good cook. That one's mine."
She took his bread and handed him a different slice. It was a much more appetizing shade of golden brown.
"You have really weird food preferences, by the way."
Dick sputtered as he watched her slathering her piece of charcoal with ... was that relish?
"Me? But you're eating-" He waved wordlessly at her food. "That."
Dryly, Layla gestured at Dick's toast, which he'd drowned in jam and folded in half to keep from dripping on himself.
"And you're eating a jam taco."
"It's toast with jam! What's wrong with that? Everyone eats it!
Layla rolled her eyes.
"Just because the majority of the population does something doesn't mean it's not weird, Dick. Just look at the hula hoop phenomenon of the eighties."
Dick was without anything to say. Layla just nibbled delicately at her food and smiled. Finally, he harrumphed and hunched into a ball, defensively.
"Well I like it this way."
As if to underline his statement, he took a large, exuberant bite of his toast. He regretted it immediately after when jam squished out the sides and onto his hands.
"Goddamnit."
"Here."
By the time he looked up, Layla had pulled wet-wipes out of the basket.
"These'll work better than your shirt."
==
That's how the two of them ended up on the rooftop at midnight, munching on toast and getting crumbs all over themselves while they watched the fog curl below and the stars twinkle above.
Dick huddled under the blanket, knees pulled up to his chest, while, Layla sprawled out beside him on the ground. Apparently she was comfortable lying on nothing but hard concrete. It annoyed Dick a little because she might be fine, but he was wearing little more than his pyjamas and he'd started to get really chilly even with the blanket wrapped around himself.
"So can we go back in now?"
"But we haven't gotten to the best part yet!"
Layla spread her arms wide, gesturing upward.
"Just look at the stars. Or rather, look at the sky."
Dick blinked and looked up, really looked up, this time.
Something seemed to suck the air from his throat. Dick had never felt quite this small before, not even when faced with the towering vision of cape and cowl and menace that was Batman. Here on the rooftop, he was surrounded by the billowing black sky as far as the eye could see. For some reason, he felt like he was falling into the vast expanse of empty space.
Is this what forever feels like?
Dreamily, Layla continued talking.
"We all feel so big and important in our own spheres of existence, but really, we're only itty bitty pieces of the puzzle. The real picture's different. The real picture's huge."
Dick tore his eyes away from the heavens to look over at her.
"But you know what it looks like. The big picture?"
/You'll guide me, right?/ is the unspoken question.
"No... but I get little thumbnails of it mostly. The whole thing's too much for anyone to really get at one time, even me. I'm still human, after all."
Dick's face fell.
"Oh."
"But..."
Layla bit her lip and put a hand on Dick's shoulder.
"I'll... I'll do my best to keep an eye on the parts that are important."
/The ones that are important to you./
The conversation gave way to a comfortable silence as the two of them considered the stars and the sky and the future.
Out of the corner of his eye, Dick noticed Layla hugging her arms around herself and started to feel vaguely uncomfortable. When she started shivering, he groaned.
"Aw man, you're cold aren't you?"
"Cold is a relative state of being. In relation to the heart of an iceberg, I'm quite toasty."
Grumbling, Dick got to his feet and walked over, blanket draped over his shoulders like some kind of strange cowl.
"God, you're so dumb! You packed all that food, but didn't wear enough clothes to stay warm!"
Even as he complained, the boy flopped down beside Layla and tugged her up close so that he could pull the blanket around the both of them.
"Oh, I already knew you'd share. It's more efficient that way."
Dick stared blankly at her.
"Efficient?"
She huffed and folded her arms over her chest, snuggling deeper into the blanket. It was cozy, now that Dick had warmed it up.
"I'm a thirteen year old girl. There's only so much that I can physically carry, you know."
After a beat, she added, "Plus, you're a gentleman at heart."
Before Dick could come up with a proper response, Layla yawned and rested her head on his shoulder.
He froze. Contact was something that had been fleeting and rare even since he lost his parents and now that he'd been faced with it, Dick didn't know if he hated it or if he just hated himself for liking it so much.
"You're very warm, you know."
"U-uh. Sure."
In the end, he couldn't get up the nerve to push her away. There'd been no logical reason except for his nervous anxiety and he wouldn't, couldn't let himself be ruled by fear. Plus, it was a lot warmer when she was close to him than when she wasn't.
Over time, Layla's breathing slowed and steadied as she fell asleep. Dick startled when she started sliding off his shoulder.
Crap.
Against all reason, rather than letting her slide down, he reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, tucking her neatly up against his side to make sure that she wouldn't wake up.
==
The next morning, Tim finds them curled up in a tangle of blanket and limbs with crumbs through their hair and peace on their faces. He doesn't wake them.
Fandom: Crossover: Marvel (X-Factor) and DC (ASBAR)
Characters: Layla Miller and Dick Grayson (Robin)
Word Count: 1169
Rating: PG
Summary: Layla and Dick go up to the rooftop, eat toast and philosophize.
AN: This was a gift-fic written for remielle in the capeandcowl August gift exchange. As such it takes place in the CnC universe... which really only matters in that it's the explanation for why Dick and Layla are all of a sudden in the same universe.
"What?"
Layla stood in front of him with her hands on her hips.
"I said come up to the roof with me."
Dick groaned and wondered if he could mentally root himself to the sofa if he wished hard enough.
"But it's cold and wet outside."
"Come with me anyway. There's something I want to show you."
He could be more stubborn about this... but since his wish for roots wasn't coming true, it'd be more troublesome to resist than it would be to get this over with. Plus, Layla usually had a reason for doing the things she did.
Dick sighed and slowly got to his feet.
"Okay. Just lemme get a blanket."
"No need."
Layla raised her arm so that Dick could see what she was carrying over the back of the sofa. It was a picnic basket.
"I already packed everything."
"Everything? That implies more than just a blanket."
"Well." Layla smiled that knowing smile of hers. "We're going to be up there for a while. We need provisions."
Dick raised an eyebrow, so she continued.
"If we don't go up now, the toast will get cold and mushy and that's no good at all."
Taking Layla's words as a goad to hurry up, Dick smiled wryly and started walking toward the stairs.
"I'm not even going to ask if you packed the strawberry jam."
"Of course not. You know I did."
==
Dick stared at the toast in his hands. On one hand, it had definitely been toasted. On the other it was way too toasted.
He held up the blackened bread.
"You're not a very good cook, are you?"
Layla looked up from the picnic basket and smiled.
"Oh, I'm a good cook. That one's mine."
She took his bread and handed him a different slice. It was a much more appetizing shade of golden brown.
"You have really weird food preferences, by the way."
Dick sputtered as he watched her slathering her piece of charcoal with ... was that relish?
"Me? But you're eating-" He waved wordlessly at her food. "That."
Dryly, Layla gestured at Dick's toast, which he'd drowned in jam and folded in half to keep from dripping on himself.
"And you're eating a jam taco."
"It's toast with jam! What's wrong with that? Everyone eats it!
Layla rolled her eyes.
"Just because the majority of the population does something doesn't mean it's not weird, Dick. Just look at the hula hoop phenomenon of the eighties."
Dick was without anything to say. Layla just nibbled delicately at her food and smiled. Finally, he harrumphed and hunched into a ball, defensively.
"Well I like it this way."
As if to underline his statement, he took a large, exuberant bite of his toast. He regretted it immediately after when jam squished out the sides and onto his hands.
"Goddamnit."
"Here."
By the time he looked up, Layla had pulled wet-wipes out of the basket.
"These'll work better than your shirt."
==
That's how the two of them ended up on the rooftop at midnight, munching on toast and getting crumbs all over themselves while they watched the fog curl below and the stars twinkle above.
Dick huddled under the blanket, knees pulled up to his chest, while, Layla sprawled out beside him on the ground. Apparently she was comfortable lying on nothing but hard concrete. It annoyed Dick a little because she might be fine, but he was wearing little more than his pyjamas and he'd started to get really chilly even with the blanket wrapped around himself.
"So can we go back in now?"
"But we haven't gotten to the best part yet!"
Layla spread her arms wide, gesturing upward.
"Just look at the stars. Or rather, look at the sky."
Dick blinked and looked up, really looked up, this time.
Something seemed to suck the air from his throat. Dick had never felt quite this small before, not even when faced with the towering vision of cape and cowl and menace that was Batman. Here on the rooftop, he was surrounded by the billowing black sky as far as the eye could see. For some reason, he felt like he was falling into the vast expanse of empty space.
Is this what forever feels like?
Dreamily, Layla continued talking.
"We all feel so big and important in our own spheres of existence, but really, we're only itty bitty pieces of the puzzle. The real picture's different. The real picture's huge."
Dick tore his eyes away from the heavens to look over at her.
"But you know what it looks like. The big picture?"
/You'll guide me, right?/ is the unspoken question.
"No... but I get little thumbnails of it mostly. The whole thing's too much for anyone to really get at one time, even me. I'm still human, after all."
Dick's face fell.
"Oh."
"But..."
Layla bit her lip and put a hand on Dick's shoulder.
"I'll... I'll do my best to keep an eye on the parts that are important."
/The ones that are important to you./
The conversation gave way to a comfortable silence as the two of them considered the stars and the sky and the future.
Out of the corner of his eye, Dick noticed Layla hugging her arms around herself and started to feel vaguely uncomfortable. When she started shivering, he groaned.
"Aw man, you're cold aren't you?"
"Cold is a relative state of being. In relation to the heart of an iceberg, I'm quite toasty."
Grumbling, Dick got to his feet and walked over, blanket draped over his shoulders like some kind of strange cowl.
"God, you're so dumb! You packed all that food, but didn't wear enough clothes to stay warm!"
Even as he complained, the boy flopped down beside Layla and tugged her up close so that he could pull the blanket around the both of them.
"Oh, I already knew you'd share. It's more efficient that way."
Dick stared blankly at her.
"Efficient?"
She huffed and folded her arms over her chest, snuggling deeper into the blanket. It was cozy, now that Dick had warmed it up.
"I'm a thirteen year old girl. There's only so much that I can physically carry, you know."
After a beat, she added, "Plus, you're a gentleman at heart."
Before Dick could come up with a proper response, Layla yawned and rested her head on his shoulder.
He froze. Contact was something that had been fleeting and rare even since he lost his parents and now that he'd been faced with it, Dick didn't know if he hated it or if he just hated himself for liking it so much.
"You're very warm, you know."
"U-uh. Sure."
In the end, he couldn't get up the nerve to push her away. There'd been no logical reason except for his nervous anxiety and he wouldn't, couldn't let himself be ruled by fear. Plus, it was a lot warmer when she was close to him than when she wasn't.
Over time, Layla's breathing slowed and steadied as she fell asleep. Dick startled when she started sliding off his shoulder.
Crap.
Against all reason, rather than letting her slide down, he reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, tucking her neatly up against his side to make sure that she wouldn't wake up.
==
The next morning, Tim finds them curled up in a tangle of blanket and limbs with crumbs through their hair and peace on their faces. He doesn't wake them.