Lessons Hard Learned, DCU (Barbara Gordon, Wendy Harris, R)
Title: Lessons Hard Learned
Author: modestroad
Claim: Barbara Gordon
Characters/Pairing: Barbara Gordon, Wendy Harris
Rating: R (Mature content)
Word Count: 1421
Prompt: 30. a job for...
Summary: Sometimes the things that hurt you in the past can help you heal the future.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but I'm saving for Christmas!
Author's Notes/Warnings: A big thank you to the wonderful reginalibintia for her beta work!
“Do you play basketball?”
It was a simple question, but Barbara could see the meaning behind it. Asking Barbara about her hobbies was Wendy’s way of finding out if Babs could beat her at her own game. She had seen the girl playing and Barbara couldn’t deny that she was good; maybe even better than Babs, but her balance was still off.
Wendy was still scared of the chair.
Barbara remembered all too well her first days in the wheelchair. Wendy was playing it tough, like she could stand up and walk out if she really tried. Barbara hadn’t tried at all. She had lain down and accepted her fate without much thought. What was there to think about anyway? From what everyone said, she was going to be in a chair for the rest of her life.
“I guess I play,” Barbara said from the middle of the court.
The girl seemed to like the place. If she wasn’t inside trying to walk, she was outside trying to shoot a three pointer. Both women seemed so different, but at the core they were the same. The one was angry at the world while the other had almost all but given up, but both were accepting that sometimes she would get the shortest stick in the bunch.
“You either play or you don’t play,” Wendy threw the ball to her and Barbara caught it easily. She played with the ball a little. Nothing fancy, just kid play. She wasn’t very good at basketball despite her father’s attempts to convince her otherwise. Running was more her thing and if she wanted to face it, she wasn’t a team player back then.
Depending who you were asking some would still claim that Babs wasn’t a team player. Oracle was sending her friends and family out to get hurt while she was comfortable at home barking orders through the communication link. Truth was she was more of a team player now that she didn’t have a team than before.
With the ball still in her lap she looked at the young woman and said, “I play.”
“You don’t look like the type,” Wendy said and asked for the ball with a gesture.
Barbara debated between giving the ball to the girl and having a shot. She was at a good angle, a little shy after the 22 ft 2, but she had the wind behind her and no one was looking. She made the shot and watched as the ball hit the backboard first, the hoop second and then the floor. Wendy laughed and went to get the ball.
“You have a good arm, but you haven’t been in a court for quite sometime now.”
“I’m more of a couch potato,” she said and tried not to smile.
Wendy looked at her funny. Yeah, Barbara knew that look too well. It was still too early to make jokes. Barbara wasn’t Miss Sunshine either, but she learned to let some things roll off her back. Problem was, even for the woman who had accepted her fate, it had taken a while to succeed in that process. Of course, from time to time, Barbara found herself as angry as the first day after the shooting, but she had worked too hard to fall into that grief again. That grief could not run her life.
She looked at Wendy. She didn’t care if it was a cliché or not, but in Wendy she saw herself. All the potential, all the dreams about a life that was never meant to be theirs in the first place. Did they really think that they could touch the sun without getting burnt in the process?
“Don’t be like me.”
The words were out before Barbara could control herself. At the same time it felt good to admit that she have been wrong all this time. She was using the chair the same way Bruce used his parent’s death; as a natural border between her and the people she loved.
Sensing that Wendy was ready to protest Barbara raised a hand and stopped her. “I use the chair to push people away. And you know what? Everything is in my head. My family, my friends love me for who I am, not for my ability to walk.”
“I don’t have a family anymore!” the younger girl yelled.
She probably should feel ashamed or at least feel sorry for the situation, but she couldn’t. The Calculator got what he deserved and nothing less. His actions had caused a great deal of pain, a pain his daughter now had to carry with her everyday. Babs refused to feel sorry for Wendy because, frankly, the girl didn’t need that right now.
“Let’s play ball, okay?”
The message was loud and clear; let’s change conversation. With a nod Barbara rolled herself in front of Wendy. Maybe her shooting wasn’t her best feature, but she knew a thing or two about defense. Wendy couldn’t win if she couldn’t score and Barbara would make sure that Wendy wouldn’t be getting past her.
For a while all they could hear was the sound of the tires spinning in the court and their breath. Barbara had been right; Wendy was fast, but her balance was off making it easy for Babs to block her. Sweat was running down both of their foreheads when suddenly, it started to rain. The game was over, a draw caused by the weather; another battle the women were not meant to fight.
“Can I ask you something?” Wendy said between sips of water. They had found cover shortly after the rain started to fell heavy on their bodies and now they were sharing a chocolate bar and a towel.
“Will it hurt my feelings?”
“Um…probably. No. I don’t know. It’s about…you know, that!”
Barbara was ready to ask what ‘that’ meant when she saw that Wendy had turned a deep shade of red. Oh! That that! She could answer a few questions, but she wasn’t so sure if she could help the girl. Her sex life wasn’t much of a sex life to tell the truth. The last time she has sex she was still engage to Dick and Bruce was still alive!
She took a sip from water. “What do you want to know?”
“Do you…you know…do you?”
“I guess you’re asking me if I can have sex.” Barbara raised an eyebrow and when Wendy gave her a shy smile, she continued. “Yes, we can have sex. Yes, I can have an orgasm although it takes me a while and it’s not as strong as it used to be.”
She gave the girl a few minutes to deal with the information. “Every person responds with a different way. I respond better when the person enters me from behind-“
“From the…?” Wendy let out a gasp and Barbara rolled her eyes. She had set herself up with that one so she didn’t blame the girl at all.
“As I was saying, I respond better when the person enters me from behind and I can’t see my legs.” She didn’t have to explain it more since Wendy was nodding with understanding. The sight of her limp parts was enough to ruin her mood.
Dick had looked funny at her when she asked him to change position. She couldn’t watch his hands holding her legs anymore. When she turned to her belly Dick was so surprised he almost lost his erection. Only when she convinced him that this was what she wanted he continued. When she didn’t have to worry about her legs she could let herself enjoy it. The fact that Dick didn’t have to worry about holding extra weight and drove inside her with more force only added to the pleasure. That had been a good night.
“Learn what works for you. I can tell you what works for me, but you’re a completely different person. You have different likes and dislikes. You have different feelings.”
Wendy didn’t speak and Barbara followed her example. It was too much information for one day and the girl looked beat. They watched the rain for a few more minutes before heading inside. The sun was slowly disappearing from the horizon and a cold wind started to blow.
They were half inside when Barbara remembered that they hadn’t finished their game.
Maybe tomorrow they would be able to carry that out. It was tomorrow, after all, that taught a lesson, and it was tomorrow that would bring more hope.
Author: modestroad
Claim: Barbara Gordon
Characters/Pairing: Barbara Gordon, Wendy Harris
Rating: R (Mature content)
Word Count: 1421
Prompt: 30. a job for...
Summary: Sometimes the things that hurt you in the past can help you heal the future.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but I'm saving for Christmas!
Author's Notes/Warnings: A big thank you to the wonderful reginalibintia for her beta work!
“Do you play basketball?”
It was a simple question, but Barbara could see the meaning behind it. Asking Barbara about her hobbies was Wendy’s way of finding out if Babs could beat her at her own game. She had seen the girl playing and Barbara couldn’t deny that she was good; maybe even better than Babs, but her balance was still off.
Wendy was still scared of the chair.
Barbara remembered all too well her first days in the wheelchair. Wendy was playing it tough, like she could stand up and walk out if she really tried. Barbara hadn’t tried at all. She had lain down and accepted her fate without much thought. What was there to think about anyway? From what everyone said, she was going to be in a chair for the rest of her life.
“I guess I play,” Barbara said from the middle of the court.
The girl seemed to like the place. If she wasn’t inside trying to walk, she was outside trying to shoot a three pointer. Both women seemed so different, but at the core they were the same. The one was angry at the world while the other had almost all but given up, but both were accepting that sometimes she would get the shortest stick in the bunch.
“You either play or you don’t play,” Wendy threw the ball to her and Barbara caught it easily. She played with the ball a little. Nothing fancy, just kid play. She wasn’t very good at basketball despite her father’s attempts to convince her otherwise. Running was more her thing and if she wanted to face it, she wasn’t a team player back then.
Depending who you were asking some would still claim that Babs wasn’t a team player. Oracle was sending her friends and family out to get hurt while she was comfortable at home barking orders through the communication link. Truth was she was more of a team player now that she didn’t have a team than before.
With the ball still in her lap she looked at the young woman and said, “I play.”
“You don’t look like the type,” Wendy said and asked for the ball with a gesture.
Barbara debated between giving the ball to the girl and having a shot. She was at a good angle, a little shy after the 22 ft 2, but she had the wind behind her and no one was looking. She made the shot and watched as the ball hit the backboard first, the hoop second and then the floor. Wendy laughed and went to get the ball.
“You have a good arm, but you haven’t been in a court for quite sometime now.”
“I’m more of a couch potato,” she said and tried not to smile.
Wendy looked at her funny. Yeah, Barbara knew that look too well. It was still too early to make jokes. Barbara wasn’t Miss Sunshine either, but she learned to let some things roll off her back. Problem was, even for the woman who had accepted her fate, it had taken a while to succeed in that process. Of course, from time to time, Barbara found herself as angry as the first day after the shooting, but she had worked too hard to fall into that grief again. That grief could not run her life.
She looked at Wendy. She didn’t care if it was a cliché or not, but in Wendy she saw herself. All the potential, all the dreams about a life that was never meant to be theirs in the first place. Did they really think that they could touch the sun without getting burnt in the process?
“Don’t be like me.”
The words were out before Barbara could control herself. At the same time it felt good to admit that she have been wrong all this time. She was using the chair the same way Bruce used his parent’s death; as a natural border between her and the people she loved.
Sensing that Wendy was ready to protest Barbara raised a hand and stopped her. “I use the chair to push people away. And you know what? Everything is in my head. My family, my friends love me for who I am, not for my ability to walk.”
“I don’t have a family anymore!” the younger girl yelled.
She probably should feel ashamed or at least feel sorry for the situation, but she couldn’t. The Calculator got what he deserved and nothing less. His actions had caused a great deal of pain, a pain his daughter now had to carry with her everyday. Babs refused to feel sorry for Wendy because, frankly, the girl didn’t need that right now.
“Let’s play ball, okay?”
The message was loud and clear; let’s change conversation. With a nod Barbara rolled herself in front of Wendy. Maybe her shooting wasn’t her best feature, but she knew a thing or two about defense. Wendy couldn’t win if she couldn’t score and Barbara would make sure that Wendy wouldn’t be getting past her.
For a while all they could hear was the sound of the tires spinning in the court and their breath. Barbara had been right; Wendy was fast, but her balance was off making it easy for Babs to block her. Sweat was running down both of their foreheads when suddenly, it started to rain. The game was over, a draw caused by the weather; another battle the women were not meant to fight.
“Can I ask you something?” Wendy said between sips of water. They had found cover shortly after the rain started to fell heavy on their bodies and now they were sharing a chocolate bar and a towel.
“Will it hurt my feelings?”
“Um…probably. No. I don’t know. It’s about…you know, that!”
Barbara was ready to ask what ‘that’ meant when she saw that Wendy had turned a deep shade of red. Oh! That that! She could answer a few questions, but she wasn’t so sure if she could help the girl. Her sex life wasn’t much of a sex life to tell the truth. The last time she has sex she was still engage to Dick and Bruce was still alive!
She took a sip from water. “What do you want to know?”
“Do you…you know…do you?”
“I guess you’re asking me if I can have sex.” Barbara raised an eyebrow and when Wendy gave her a shy smile, she continued. “Yes, we can have sex. Yes, I can have an orgasm although it takes me a while and it’s not as strong as it used to be.”
She gave the girl a few minutes to deal with the information. “Every person responds with a different way. I respond better when the person enters me from behind-“
“From the…?” Wendy let out a gasp and Barbara rolled her eyes. She had set herself up with that one so she didn’t blame the girl at all.
“As I was saying, I respond better when the person enters me from behind and I can’t see my legs.” She didn’t have to explain it more since Wendy was nodding with understanding. The sight of her limp parts was enough to ruin her mood.
Dick had looked funny at her when she asked him to change position. She couldn’t watch his hands holding her legs anymore. When she turned to her belly Dick was so surprised he almost lost his erection. Only when she convinced him that this was what she wanted he continued. When she didn’t have to worry about her legs she could let herself enjoy it. The fact that Dick didn’t have to worry about holding extra weight and drove inside her with more force only added to the pleasure. That had been a good night.
“Learn what works for you. I can tell you what works for me, but you’re a completely different person. You have different likes and dislikes. You have different feelings.”
Wendy didn’t speak and Barbara followed her example. It was too much information for one day and the girl looked beat. They watched the rain for a few more minutes before heading inside. The sun was slowly disappearing from the horizon and a cold wind started to blow.
They were half inside when Barbara remembered that they hadn’t finished their game.
Maybe tomorrow they would be able to carry that out. It was tomorrow, after all, that taught a lesson, and it was tomorrow that would bring more hope.