Cissie talks with Roy
"So. Get all your college applications in?" Roy asked as he put the freshly rinsed dishes into the dishwasher.
Cissie nodded, passing him another plate. "Yeah. I'm all set to be going to Metropolis in the fall."
"That's good." Roy nodded, setting it in.
"Yeah." She passed him a glass and took a deep breath. She'd been putting off the conversation all night, and if she didn't just go ahead and have it with him, he would notice something was wrong. "There's something I kind of wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh?" Roy glanced up at her, "Yeah? What about, honey?"
Cissie turned around and leaned her back against the counter, chewing on her lip. "Um. Well, Tim and I were talking the other night, about college and the future and... We were thinking about maybe finding a place somewhere between our schools and--commuting."
"Gotham and Met U's, right?" Roy said.
"Well. I don't see why not. It's a big responsibility, but you're both mature, and you know if you need me you can call me, right?"
She looked at him, surprised. "...Really? Well, I mean--of course I know that. But--you'd be okay with it?"
"the commute's not too bad and you're both smart enough to not try it if it's snowing insanely." he nodded to himself, "Sounds great, sweetie."
She continued looking at him a little warily. She had expected it to be... a lot hard harder to convince him. "Um--I did mention we'd be living together, right?"
"Yeah..." Roy looked at her and chuckled, "Honey, I lived for sex, drugs,and rock and roll when I was your age. And being a hero. Thank God I survived. You're going to college and want an apartment with your boyfriend of what, a year and a half? And I know his family. And I know him. Frankly, I'm proud of you. You're a great girl and it's your choice. What were you expecting?" he tilted his head, "Bernard told you I'm an unreasonable puritanical prick?"
She laughed and shook her head, grinning. "No! And I didn't think that. I just..." She trailed off, trying to word her feelings. "I really wanted you to be okay with it, and I know we're really young and everyone's going to think we're crazy. I really didn't want you to think that, too."
"You're not crazy." Roy said, "You know what you want, and you're trying to get it. I think you two can pull it off. Dorms aren't all that safe. Frankly I was worried about you in a dorm. An apartment with Tim between Metropolis and Gotham, I'm not so worried now."
"You're not THAT young." he said, "I had Lian when I was a few years older. I was in rehab when I was your age, and in Checkmate when I was about nineteen."
"Yeah. And I'm sick of living in a dorm--I've already been doing it for almost four years. I was thinking about finding a place off-campus anyway, and this way--I get to be with Tim and he doesn't have to worry about sneaking in and out of a dorm. Or having a roommate that's too suspicious." Her face broke into a huge grin and she threw her arms around Roy in a tight hug. "Thank you, Roy. I thought you might try to talk us out of it."
Roy hugged her and kissed the top of her head, chuckling, "No. I think it's a good thing. And I trust you two. You more than him but hey, you're my sister." he smiled, "Just let me know if there's anything you need for it. And actually, especially for pantry, go to Alfred."
"And dorms... and barracks.... they're fun for weekends, I guess. But they mostly suck."
She laughed. "I will, promise. And yeah, they really do." She wrinkled her nose a little, remembering April Fools' Day and the pranks the other girls played. "I'm really looking forward to being done with that."
"I would be too." Roy agreed, "I liked my barracksmates okay, but really, sometimes? I wanted to rip their heads off and feed it to them. And let's not even GO there on living in Titans tower for... damn..." he rested his hip against the countertop, "Years. Don't remember how long. And moved from there to Outsiders, too."
She giggled and pushed herself up to sit on the counter next to him. "Yeah. You must have been thrilled when you got your own place."
"Oh, I was. Me and my baby girl." he smiled at the top of her head he could just see over the couch, "Of course,that was a really hard time. Ollie'd just died, and I wasn't working and I had her... she got hurt and I didn't have insurance." he sighed, then smiled again, "Well. Things are better now."
Cissie frowned a little, listening to him, and when he finished she gave him a smile in return. "I'm glad they're better. That sounds... really awful."
"It was." Roy said tightly, his eyes suddenly full of remembered hurt, "Dinah didn't have any insurance either and we got all the way to the ER... thankfully a doctor was human enough to seea little girl with a boo-boo. And then we got to kick Vandal Savage ass." he grinned.
Cissie glanced toward Lian, frowning at the idea of anyone hurting her. She looked back at Roy, laughing at the grin on his face. "That must have been very therapeutic."
"It was." Roy nodded, "Very. Lian broke his thumb." he chuckled.
She laughed, grinning. "Awesome. Go Lian!"
"Yep. That's my girl!"
She laughed, smiling at how proud and happy Roy looked. "She's the best. You're doing an awesome job with her, Roy."
"Thanks." he ruffled Cissie's hair, "Means a lot to me."
She made a face, but was grinning while she let him ruffle her hair. "It's true."
"Mmhmm." he said, smiling, "Oh. By the way... can you give me a list of people you want for a grad party?"
She looked at him in surprise, eyes wide. "Party?"
"Partay."
She laughed. "You don't have to do that, Roy."
"I was thinking pizza and wings. Or chili! oooh, chili... and I know I don't have to. I wanna!"
"List!" he snapped his fingers under her nose, grinning at her.
She giggled, leaning back away from his snapping. "If there's chili, can there be pizza too? For me," she said, winking. "And, um... You want a list right now?"
"Nope, but in the next few weeks'd be good." roy said, "And you can pick if you want a smallish or big huge Elias sized party." he smiled at her, "And I can do both I think."
She wrinkled her nose. "Smallish, definitely."
"Okay." Roy nodded, "and I was kidding on the pizza and chili- you pick food, too." he smiled.
"Pizza and chili sound good!"
"You sure?" Roy asked, "I'm good with soup and salad."
Cissie made a scoffing noise. "And pass up pizza? Yeah, right!"
"that'sa girl." Roy grinned.
She grinned back at him, kicking her feet absently. "You're really okay with Tim and me moving in together?"
"Uh-huh." he nodded, "I really am."
"Doesn't mean I won't be picky about the place, though." he warned.
"And I may stop by for surprise inspections." he teased."
She beamed at him and laughed. "I promise we'll run the options by you, and you'd better stop by! I'm pretty sure Tim will be kind of picky about the place too, though." She grinned. "He's about as overprotective as you."
"Good." Roy said, "Good."
She looked down at her lap and then said, "We wanted to talk to our families before we decided anything. But--we really want to do it. Tim talked to Dick yesterday--I wanted to talk to you in person." She smiled up at him. "It's easier when I can see your reactions."
Roy nodded, "Yeah, in persons' way better."
She nodded in agreement. "Yeah." She rubbed her neck thoughtfully. "Dick thinks we should wait a year."
"Why?" he asked curiously.
"Dick sure didn't."
"Then again, Dick lived on his own."
She gave a small laugh and shrugged, a little unhappily. "I think maybe that's part of it--that he wants us to have the whole college experience or something? He said that we'll be missing out on college life, and that college is hard enough without commuting. And that moving in is a big step, and two big steps at once might be tough. He suggested moving in together for the summer to see how it goes." She gave Roy a sheepish, sly smile. and admitted, "We were thinking maybe if we did that, we might just 'forget' to move out in the fall."
"Right." Roy said thoughtfully, "Well..." he pursed his lips, "He's right, two big steps can be hard. But they can be easier than getting used to one then the other."
"And moving in together over the summer may work out well. Give you time to get settled in."
"And get your commutes mapped. Frankly, I don't like the idea of you in a dorm. Yeah, yeah, I know I'll have pretty much no say, I'm not your dad, but as your big brother, I don't *like* it."
She nodded and then smiled at him. "You have a say, Roy. It matters to me what you think. But neither of really has any interest in dorm living anyway, so... If we do this, you don't have to worry about that. Mainly we're just--really, really sick of the long-distance thing," she admitting, frowning a little.
"I would be too." Roy said. "and thanks, hon. I think it's a good idea."
She smiled at him. "I'm really glad."
"I'm really proud of you." Roy said, smiling at her. "I'm glad to have gotten a chance to know you. And really glad you come over so much."
"And you and Tim are welcome any time for food or just to hang out where there's cable."
"Thanks, Roy. I'm really glad you're my brother," she told him, blushing a little. Then she laughed. "Oh, you might regret that offer," she teased.
"Nahh." Roy smirked, "I have a bedroom doorand it shuts." he teased right back.
"And what will you do when we eat all your food?"
"Replace it."
"same's I do now!"
She laughed. "I don't eat *that* much!"
"No, but Tim does if you don't watch him." Roy grinned, "He got that from Jason."
She giggled. "It's all that running around on rooftops," she said. "Burns a lot of calories."
"Sure does." Roy said, "How do you think I keep my svelt look?"
"I thought it was the chili."
"Well... not all of us have that go right through us." Roy stuck his tongue out at her.
She groaned, leaning her head back. "Low blow!"
"Yeah, and so's saying my chili's bad. Try Ollies. THEN whine to me if you can still talk!" he tweaked her nose.
She batted his hand away, making a face. "Hey, I value my digestive tract! I know better than to try Ollie's now!"
"Aww... spoilsport." Roy chuckled.
She grinned. "You just want to see me turn purple."
"Nahhh." Roy said, "You'd turn red."
"You want to see me breathe fire?"
"That'd be cool!"
"Not to my tastebuds!"
"True." oy agreed, still grinning.
She shook her head, laughing at him. "I think I'll stick with milder foods, thank you."
"Coward" he smiled.
She grinned. "Yes. I'll take the safe route, thank you."
Cissie nodded, passing him another plate. "Yeah. I'm all set to be going to Metropolis in the fall."
"That's good." Roy nodded, setting it in.
"Yeah." She passed him a glass and took a deep breath. She'd been putting off the conversation all night, and if she didn't just go ahead and have it with him, he would notice something was wrong. "There's something I kind of wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh?" Roy glanced up at her, "Yeah? What about, honey?"
Cissie turned around and leaned her back against the counter, chewing on her lip. "Um. Well, Tim and I were talking the other night, about college and the future and... We were thinking about maybe finding a place somewhere between our schools and--commuting."
"Gotham and Met U's, right?" Roy said.
"Well. I don't see why not. It's a big responsibility, but you're both mature, and you know if you need me you can call me, right?"
She looked at him, surprised. "...Really? Well, I mean--of course I know that. But--you'd be okay with it?"
"the commute's not too bad and you're both smart enough to not try it if it's snowing insanely." he nodded to himself, "Sounds great, sweetie."
She continued looking at him a little warily. She had expected it to be... a lot hard harder to convince him. "Um--I did mention we'd be living together, right?"
"Yeah..." Roy looked at her and chuckled, "Honey, I lived for sex, drugs,and rock and roll when I was your age. And being a hero. Thank God I survived. You're going to college and want an apartment with your boyfriend of what, a year and a half? And I know his family. And I know him. Frankly, I'm proud of you. You're a great girl and it's your choice. What were you expecting?" he tilted his head, "Bernard told you I'm an unreasonable puritanical prick?"
She laughed and shook her head, grinning. "No! And I didn't think that. I just..." She trailed off, trying to word her feelings. "I really wanted you to be okay with it, and I know we're really young and everyone's going to think we're crazy. I really didn't want you to think that, too."
"You're not crazy." Roy said, "You know what you want, and you're trying to get it. I think you two can pull it off. Dorms aren't all that safe. Frankly I was worried about you in a dorm. An apartment with Tim between Metropolis and Gotham, I'm not so worried now."
"You're not THAT young." he said, "I had Lian when I was a few years older. I was in rehab when I was your age, and in Checkmate when I was about nineteen."
"Yeah. And I'm sick of living in a dorm--I've already been doing it for almost four years. I was thinking about finding a place off-campus anyway, and this way--I get to be with Tim and he doesn't have to worry about sneaking in and out of a dorm. Or having a roommate that's too suspicious." Her face broke into a huge grin and she threw her arms around Roy in a tight hug. "Thank you, Roy. I thought you might try to talk us out of it."
Roy hugged her and kissed the top of her head, chuckling, "No. I think it's a good thing. And I trust you two. You more than him but hey, you're my sister." he smiled, "Just let me know if there's anything you need for it. And actually, especially for pantry, go to Alfred."
"And dorms... and barracks.... they're fun for weekends, I guess. But they mostly suck."
She laughed. "I will, promise. And yeah, they really do." She wrinkled her nose a little, remembering April Fools' Day and the pranks the other girls played. "I'm really looking forward to being done with that."
"I would be too." Roy agreed, "I liked my barracksmates okay, but really, sometimes? I wanted to rip their heads off and feed it to them. And let's not even GO there on living in Titans tower for... damn..." he rested his hip against the countertop, "Years. Don't remember how long. And moved from there to Outsiders, too."
She giggled and pushed herself up to sit on the counter next to him. "Yeah. You must have been thrilled when you got your own place."
"Oh, I was. Me and my baby girl." he smiled at the top of her head he could just see over the couch, "Of course,that was a really hard time. Ollie'd just died, and I wasn't working and I had her... she got hurt and I didn't have insurance." he sighed, then smiled again, "Well. Things are better now."
Cissie frowned a little, listening to him, and when he finished she gave him a smile in return. "I'm glad they're better. That sounds... really awful."
"It was." Roy said tightly, his eyes suddenly full of remembered hurt, "Dinah didn't have any insurance either and we got all the way to the ER... thankfully a doctor was human enough to seea little girl with a boo-boo. And then we got to kick Vandal Savage ass." he grinned.
Cissie glanced toward Lian, frowning at the idea of anyone hurting her. She looked back at Roy, laughing at the grin on his face. "That must have been very therapeutic."
"It was." Roy nodded, "Very. Lian broke his thumb." he chuckled.
She laughed, grinning. "Awesome. Go Lian!"
"Yep. That's my girl!"
She laughed, smiling at how proud and happy Roy looked. "She's the best. You're doing an awesome job with her, Roy."
"Thanks." he ruffled Cissie's hair, "Means a lot to me."
She made a face, but was grinning while she let him ruffle her hair. "It's true."
"Mmhmm." he said, smiling, "Oh. By the way... can you give me a list of people you want for a grad party?"
She looked at him in surprise, eyes wide. "Party?"
"Partay."
She laughed. "You don't have to do that, Roy."
"I was thinking pizza and wings. Or chili! oooh, chili... and I know I don't have to. I wanna!"
"List!" he snapped his fingers under her nose, grinning at her.
She giggled, leaning back away from his snapping. "If there's chili, can there be pizza too? For me," she said, winking. "And, um... You want a list right now?"
"Nope, but in the next few weeks'd be good." roy said, "And you can pick if you want a smallish or big huge Elias sized party." he smiled at her, "And I can do both I think."
She wrinkled her nose. "Smallish, definitely."
"Okay." Roy nodded, "and I was kidding on the pizza and chili- you pick food, too." he smiled.
"Pizza and chili sound good!"
"You sure?" Roy asked, "I'm good with soup and salad."
Cissie made a scoffing noise. "And pass up pizza? Yeah, right!"
"that'sa girl." Roy grinned.
She grinned back at him, kicking her feet absently. "You're really okay with Tim and me moving in together?"
"Uh-huh." he nodded, "I really am."
"Doesn't mean I won't be picky about the place, though." he warned.
"And I may stop by for surprise inspections." he teased."
She beamed at him and laughed. "I promise we'll run the options by you, and you'd better stop by! I'm pretty sure Tim will be kind of picky about the place too, though." She grinned. "He's about as overprotective as you."
"Good." Roy said, "Good."
She looked down at her lap and then said, "We wanted to talk to our families before we decided anything. But--we really want to do it. Tim talked to Dick yesterday--I wanted to talk to you in person." She smiled up at him. "It's easier when I can see your reactions."
Roy nodded, "Yeah, in persons' way better."
She nodded in agreement. "Yeah." She rubbed her neck thoughtfully. "Dick thinks we should wait a year."
"Why?" he asked curiously.
"Dick sure didn't."
"Then again, Dick lived on his own."
She gave a small laugh and shrugged, a little unhappily. "I think maybe that's part of it--that he wants us to have the whole college experience or something? He said that we'll be missing out on college life, and that college is hard enough without commuting. And that moving in is a big step, and two big steps at once might be tough. He suggested moving in together for the summer to see how it goes." She gave Roy a sheepish, sly smile. and admitted, "We were thinking maybe if we did that, we might just 'forget' to move out in the fall."
"Right." Roy said thoughtfully, "Well..." he pursed his lips, "He's right, two big steps can be hard. But they can be easier than getting used to one then the other."
"And moving in together over the summer may work out well. Give you time to get settled in."
"And get your commutes mapped. Frankly, I don't like the idea of you in a dorm. Yeah, yeah, I know I'll have pretty much no say, I'm not your dad, but as your big brother, I don't *like* it."
She nodded and then smiled at him. "You have a say, Roy. It matters to me what you think. But neither of really has any interest in dorm living anyway, so... If we do this, you don't have to worry about that. Mainly we're just--really, really sick of the long-distance thing," she admitting, frowning a little.
"I would be too." Roy said. "and thanks, hon. I think it's a good idea."
She smiled at him. "I'm really glad."
"I'm really proud of you." Roy said, smiling at her. "I'm glad to have gotten a chance to know you. And really glad you come over so much."
"And you and Tim are welcome any time for food or just to hang out where there's cable."
"Thanks, Roy. I'm really glad you're my brother," she told him, blushing a little. Then she laughed. "Oh, you might regret that offer," she teased.
"Nahh." Roy smirked, "I have a bedroom doorand it shuts." he teased right back.
"And what will you do when we eat all your food?"
"Replace it."
"same's I do now!"
She laughed. "I don't eat *that* much!"
"No, but Tim does if you don't watch him." Roy grinned, "He got that from Jason."
She giggled. "It's all that running around on rooftops," she said. "Burns a lot of calories."
"Sure does." Roy said, "How do you think I keep my svelt look?"
"I thought it was the chili."
"Well... not all of us have that go right through us." Roy stuck his tongue out at her.
She groaned, leaning her head back. "Low blow!"
"Yeah, and so's saying my chili's bad. Try Ollies. THEN whine to me if you can still talk!" he tweaked her nose.
She batted his hand away, making a face. "Hey, I value my digestive tract! I know better than to try Ollie's now!"
"Aww... spoilsport." Roy chuckled.
She grinned. "You just want to see me turn purple."
"Nahhh." Roy said, "You'd turn red."
"You want to see me breathe fire?"
"That'd be cool!"
"Not to my tastebuds!"
"True." oy agreed, still grinning.
She shook her head, laughing at him. "I think I'll stick with milder foods, thank you."
"Coward" he smiled.
She grinned. "Yes. I'll take the safe route, thank you."