LOG: Tango Part 1

[regyttyger]

Dan
Dan even bought a rose. A rose corsage. White so that it would match her dress (because white goes with everything right?). He had gotten his dad to let him rent a tuxedo, nothing too fancy. When his mom asked to come along to do the shopping, he made her promise nothing too dorky either (though he kept the bow tie-- classy is classic, man). He polished his shoes, got his hair to cooperate, even suffered through putting in contact lenses just for tonight. He really likes Laurie.

He really liked Laurie. Who had dumped him. For prom. For Jon freaking Osterman. And Dan thought he was the one geek in the world who ever made it big. Big and lucky. But no. Jon. Freaking. Osterman.

Dan doesn't even bother going to the dance, just trudges home and flops down on his bed to wallow.

Rorschach
Dan hasn't been back in his room for ten minutes before Rorschach appears at his window, jimmying it open and letting himself in.

"Thought those stupid dances went longer than that."

Dan
Dan looks up from the bed and stares at his friend, shaking his head and quirking a brow. "What are you doing here? I mean, uhh, I was gonna be gone, man. Why did you come over?" Not avoiding the question in Walter's statement at all... Nope.

Rorschach
Rorschach pulls off his mask. He shouldn't really have been wearing for what he'd been doing that night anyway; it was hardly for the sake of justice that he had followed Dan to the Prom. His fists clench around his other face as he looks down at it; he had just known that whore was going to hurt is friend, and he wanted to be there for him when that happened.

"Saw you'd come home."

Dan
Of course, Dan had been none the wiser of his friend following him around. "Oh, well, uh... Y'know, I was thinking about what you said about prom being, erm... A stupid... pointless, aimlessly squandering and uhh... Well, y'know." Dan shrugs nonchalantly. "So I went and told L-Laurie to uh... Uhm..."

He drops his his head back down to the mattress and shrugs again, staring at the ceiling.

Walter
"Hurm..." Dan's never been a good liar, especially not to him. It's written all over the owlish boy's face. Even if he hadn't followed him there and seen it happen, Walter could tell just by looking at his friend that he had been dumped.

"Good. Wasn't worth your time." He slowly moves over to sit at the end of Dan's big bed and carefully folds up his mask and tucks it away into his pocket.

Dan
Dan blinks in surprise, eying at his friend. Walter actually bought that bullshit?

"Alright, fine," he grumbles, giving an exasperated sigh. Walter always drags the truth out of him, usually without even trying. Dan sits up and makes room for him on the bed, scooching over and leaning against the headboard. "I... I guess Jon Osterman kinda asked Laurie first. And though she really wanted to go with me, she's just too nice to stand Jon up, y'know?" A better lie. One he's getting used to telling to himself.

Walter
Walter nods moving up closer to Dan, "Osterman. Right."

Whore, he growls in his head,

"She should have told you. Made lot of effort." He flicks one of the petals of the small rose on Dan's tuxedo jacket. "Look very sharp. Her loss." He doesn't look his friend in the eyes, pink colouring his cheeks at his own words.

Dan
"Yeah, well, I guess she just didn't think of it," he says, his voice trailing off.

He looks over at Walter, surprised at the compliment. "Really? You think so?" he smiles wide and warm. "I thought it was a bit retro, y'know, with the shirt lapels and all." He tugs on the long lapels for emphasis. "But d'you really think it looks good?"

He hops up from the bed to show Walter how the suit looks on him in full. "I mean, I admit. I should have maybe gone to a tailor," he avoids Walter's eyes, making his words take on a different meaning entirely -- yeah, yeah, I should have asked you for help, "but I think it fits okay."

Walter
The ginger boy nods, looking his friend over; he really does look great.

"It's good. Even if trousers are a bit tight." He bites his lip, looking away from Dan before he catches him staring.

Dan
"Tight?" Dan looks down, takes an unconscious step around until he's turned back to face Walter. "Well, like I said, retro, right?"

He laughs softly, but then his smile quickly fades away. "God, Walt, I'm gonna die a virgin, I swear!" He groans and falls face first onto his mattress. His groans of agony are muffled, would have been louder if he had still been wearing his glasses. "I put in contact lenses and everything! I hate contact lenses!"

Walter
Walters blue eyes widen at Dan's comment on his own virginity. His face becoming more red.

"Se--" he has to clear his throat to get his words out, "Is that important to you? Put yourself in discomfort to get girl to..." No, he can't say it.

Dan
Oh, shit. Way to go, Dreiberg! Dan sits up suddenly, turning to his friend, his best buddy, who he just said exactly the wrong thing to. "N-No, man, I-I didn't mean it like that. I just... Uhm."

He struggles, stammering over whatever excuses he can come up with until he finally gives up. "I just don't wanna be alone forever," he admits lamely. "God. I just wanna feel like somebody gets me and likes me, y'know?" He runs a hand through his hair. "Jeez. Adrian Veidt had two dates and I can't even get somebody to like me!"

Walter
Walter is fiddling with his gloves, "People like you, Daniel."

Dan
"No, they don't. Not really, buddy. Why would anyone like the big dork with the glasses who plays DnD and likes..." He snorts, looking up at the ceiling again and flopping back (now that the crisis has apparently been averted), "likes freaking. Birds. I bet you can't name one person."

Walter
The smaller teen bites his lip again before replying quietly, "I like you."

Dan
Dan sighs and looks at his friend. "Yeah. I know, buddy." He rolls up onto one elbow to face Walter. "But that's not exactly what I meant. It's not the same."

Walter
'Stop being coward.' Walter scolds himself.

He looks up, finally meeting Dan's frameless eyes.

"It's not?"

Dan
"Well... No?" he says, suddenly confused. "I mean, I'm talking about... Y'know, when you really like someone. Really dig them and, y'know, it's-it's different." His heart pounds. "R-right?"

Walter
Walter bites his lip, a worried kind of frown shifting over his brow for a moment as he's unable to maintain eye contact.

"Hurr... Really like you." His face is now as red as his hair.

Dan
Dan stares up at him, his mouth open a little ways. He must be misunderstanding. "But. You. I'm-- You mean you like me like... How I like Laurie?"

Walter
He shrugs. "Don't know." Walt manages to look him in the eyes again, "How much do you like her?"

Dan
Dan gapes at him, having absolutely nothing to say to that. Or at least, nothing that crops immediately to mind except, 'Oh my god, I like you too,' but even that's too much.

Dan sits up slowly. "Uhm..."

Walter
The small redhead bites his lip again for the umpteenth time in the short amount of time he's been in Dan's room.

Hurr, said too much, he berates himself.

Dan
"D'you really mean that? I mean, uh... You're-You're not just saying that to make me feel better?" Dan tries cautiously. He's never known Walter to lie to him. Or at least not to do it well. He's just as bad at lying to Dan as Dan is to lying to Walter. "You really like me?" he asks, practically incredulous. "I thought, y'know with the," he gestures vaguely and reaches up to polish glasses that aren't there. "Er, with how you're always talking about how bad it is that Adrian's gay and everything?"

Walter
"Say it's bad that Adrian acts like such a whore..." He frowns, "being gay is incidental."

Dan
Dan rubs at the back of his neck. "Oh. I, uhm. How long have you liked me?"

Walter Walter's starting to feel agitated, like he's under scrutiny, "Does it really matter, Daniel?" he snaps, then softens with a sigh, "Like you."

Dan
Dan bites his lip as Walter snaps at him, recoiling a little. "I-I like you too," he whisper shyly, as if in apology. "That's why I wanna know."

Walter
Walter's gaze locks back onto Dan's at his confession. "Really?" his voice is strained.

Dan
Dan fingers the hem of the blanket on his bed, completely avoiding Walter's eyes. "Yeah. I guess I thought you'd hate me because of, uhh, what you say about Adrian.

"Maybe it'd be worse that I like girls too. I mean, I don't just like everybody but... Well, you know what I mean." He shrugs and smiles sheepishly, blushing a bit as he looks up meekly.

Walter
"Think...Think have liked you a while, but didn't... Didn't realize I liked you like... So much till recently." He looks away, but shuffles a little closer to Dan.

Dan
Dan's heart pounds harder as Walter moves closer to him, and he swallows so hard he can hear it. "Yeah," he says, feeling himself gravitate towards his friend a little bit, until Dan's shoulder is nudging Walter's. "I know what you mean.

"I think-- I dunno," he looks away and blushes more. "I've kind of always liked you a little bit. I never thought that you'd... I-I mean you're my best friend and all and... I figured... I dunno."

Walter
Walter's breath catches and his eyes fall closed as he feels Dan's warmth against his shoulder.

Dan
He can hardly believe this is happening. He must have fallen asleep the moment he plopped down in bed after walking home. He's gotta be dreaming. He refrains from the childish game of pinching himself to see if he's really awake, and instead he tries something a bit more daring. Something he could only do in dreams.

He leans in real quick to give Walter a kiss on the lips then pulls back, like he's a ten year old dared to kiss a girl he likes on the playground, not an eighteen-year-old boy sitting in his bedroom with his best friend. The only one daring him to do it is himself, and it's only a dream, right?

Walter
The ginger teen gasps at the sudden action and his hand goes to his mouth to find any tangible evidence that he had indeed just had his first kiss, his eyes back on his brunette friend. "Daniel," the word carries on his breath. He lowers his hand, resting it over Dan's.

Dan
Not a dream at all. Dan had felt it and tasted it and everything. He blinks at his friend, surprised as he can be that he's getting Walter's own shocked expression and not a fist to the nose or something equally violent and punitive.

He gasps and jumps when he feels Walter's hand on his own, looking down to see it and then back up at his ginger friend. "Can... Can I do that again?"

Walter
Walter licks his lips and gives a small nod.

Dan
Dan holds his breath as he slowly leans in again, his eyes on Walter's mouth, only closing as he hits his mark and their mouths brush.

He's only ever kissed one other person before: Leslie Chadwicke. But that's not really saying much. Pretty much everybody has. It had been all a grand tease, a scheme to keep him coming back for more like the game that Leslie played with all the boys at school. But that had made him feel greedy and sleazy. And this is nothing like that. Okay, so stop thinking about it, Dan, and kiss him already!

He presses forward and kisses Walter more fully, pulling back when their teeth clink together. "Sorry."

Walter
Walter is staring at Dan when he pulls back, his breath quick, "S'fine." He leans in closer to Dan, eagerly waiting for the next kiss to happen.

Dan
it's probably one of the only times Walter has told Dan that 'it's fine' and Dan has actually believed it, feeling much the same way. He leans forward again to kiss Walter, squeezing Walter's hand in his own.

Walter
Walter feels like he's starting to get the hang of this kissing thing. This time when Dan kisses him, he responds. He lifts his other hand and grips the front of Dan's jacket, deepening their kiss. Walter's head feels light.

Dan
Dan practically melts when Walter responds, still not quite believing it, even as Walter pulls him closer, taking charge.

How can this be? How could they be friends for so long, like each other this much, and never know?

He pulls away, but not too far, just so that he can see him, catch a breath. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Walter
When Dan pulls back, Walter can't seem to take his eyes of his lips.

He shrugs, "Didn't tell me either." He moves as close as he can get to Dan without sitting in his lap, his ankle crossed over Dan's. "Didn't think you'd like me back same way."

Dan
Dan feel a small, shy quirk form on his lips. "Would you have gone to prom with me if I'd asked you instead of Laurie?"

Walter
"No." Walter pulls a face, "Just 'cause I like you, doesn't make Prom any less horrible."

Dan
Dan laughs and nudges his friend roughly with his elbow.

Then in a surge, he practically tackles Walter back on the bed, kissing him once more as he remembers that he doesn't have to only nudge like he usually does when he would rather actually touch Walter.

"I've never liked Laurie as much as I like you."

Walter
Walter's face goes bright red again, "Hurm."

He'd accuse Dan of lying, but he knows he's not, so instead he just pulls him down for another kiss.

Dan
Dan makes a surprised sound as he's pulled back down. He purposefully leans over Walter and kisses him deeply, daring to try to draw Walter's lips further apart with a shy brush of his tongue.

Walter
"Mmmnnph!" Walter makes a surprised sound of his own when he feels the brush of Dan's warm wet tongue, his mouth opening more from his shock.

Dan
Dan pulls away a bit to look at him, to see if this is okay. He smiles goofily at his friend, "Uhm--"

There's a knock on the door and Dan nearly jumps out of his skin as his mother's voice sounds on the other side of the door. "Danny? Are you home?"

"Erm. Yeah, Ma, I am." He looks to Walter, his face ghost white, and he sits up, scooching to sit at the end of the bed, putting plenty of inconspicuous space between he and his friend.

"I thought you were going to the dance," she says as she opens the door. "Oh, hello, Walter." She smiles at him.

"Uhm... Well, er... Yeah, well, I came back to er..." He's even worse at lying to his mom. He looks around the room. "Tickets!" He jumps up and grabs the tickets that he had actually, legitimately forgotten from his desk. "I came back to get the tickets. Didn't you hear me come in?"

"No, I didn't, but that's all right. Are you going to the dance too, Walter?"

Walter
Walter throws Dan off him when he hears the owlish boy's mother at the door. He jumps from the bed and straightens his new costume. He had gotten it from Mr. Kovacs' for his birthday; a purple pinstripe suit with a black coat, much sharper than his old costume of purple or brown hoodie with whatever pants he happened to be wearing that day.

When Dan's mom asks him if he is going dance he almost laughs until he see his reflection in the mirror by the door. He does look good. "Hurm."

Dan
Mrs. Dreiberg is plenty used to Walter's non-words by now. "Well, you boys have fun. Stay out of trouble."

"Okay, Ma. Thanks." Dan scrunches his nose as his mom steps over to correct a curl of unruly hair and kisses his cheek.

As she leaves, Dan turns to Walter, his face still white as a sheet. "Goddamn, that was close.

"You do look kinda dressed up though," Dan says, laughing nervously.

Walter
Walter is red faced again before the door closes behind Mrs. Dreiberg. "Huuurrr..." he sighs, rubbing his brow with a gloved hand.

"New costume, Birthday." he growls in explanation, that should be enough info for Dan to figure it out.

"Should leave." He reaches into his pocket looking for his stronger face.

Dan
"I like it," Dan tells him with a weak smile, the words meagre though he does mean them.

Walter is about to bolt and he knows it, knows what his unpredictable friend predictably does when he's nervous about something. "Wait," he steps towards him, coming to a stop beside him. "Can I come with you? I-I mean, my folks are expecting me to leave anyway and..."

Walter
Walter lowers his hands from where he was just about to pull his mask down over his clipped red curls. He looks Dan in his spectacle free eyes.

"Shouldn't been seen out with," he lowers his voice, knowing Dan's parents are in the house, "Rorschach as you."

Dan
Dan rubs at the back of his neck. "Oh, uhm, okay." He takes a step back, looking a little deflated. He'll still have to leave even though he's not sure where he'll go. But he wont argue. "Be seeing you then," he says, looking to his friend and expecting him to leave...

But then... "Wait, you said I shouldn't be seen out with... With you as me... But what about as, y'know, Nite Owl?"

Walter
Walter raises a brow at this idea. "In your room?" he inquires about the whereabouts of Dan's costume.

Dan
Dan grins wide and warm. "Yeah. I've got it in my closet. It's not gonna match yours as much anymore but that's okay." He moves over to his closet and opens it up to peer inside.

Walter
Walter pulls open Dan's closet, feeling along the lip of the door. Dan can never help tinkering; if his costume is in his closet, then there must be some kind in mechanism stopping his mom from seeing it when she puts away Dan's clothes.

Dan
Dan grins as he watches his friend try and find the latch that opens to where he keeps all his secret, private things. "A little to the left," he hints.

Walter
Walter's glove slides over it, he smirks over at Dan. He's always liked the practicality of Dan's engineering. He flips the latch.

Dan
The clothes that are hanging in his closet all zip to the right, compressed against the wall by a mechanical lever, and a section of the wall lowers like a tray, revealing and holding whatever is inside. "It's amazing what you can do with an erector set," Dan comments as he reaches over Walter's shoulder to the suit.

"It should fit me a bit better now," Dan says a bit shyly. "I've still been working pretty hard. I, uh, lost a bit of weight. I just don't see you as often as I used to anymore, y'know?"

Walter
Walter turns towards Dan, the taller teen's arm reaching over him, pressed up against him. The smaller teen's mouth is just at the right level to kiss Dan's neck. "Haven't needed to stay here as much." His breath ghosts over Dan's skin.

Dan
Dan holds his breath as Walter turns toward him. "It's okay," he says, even though it isn't. He really misses his friend. "I understand. But..."

He swallows thickly, bringing his arm and a handful of costume against the smaller teen to pull him closer, almost as if to hug him. Dan lowers his head to set his forehead against Walter's. "Can I come with you? I wanna be with you... Out there."

Walter
Walter swallows. "Dose Mr. Kovacs think you're ready?" He doesn't pull away, his eyes falling shut as he breathes in the smell of Dan's clean skin.

Dan
"Probably not," Dan huffs a small laugh against Walter's mouth, wanting to kiss him again, but shying away with just an ounce too little of courage. "But have you met the guy? He's all sorts of impossible." He brushes his nose against his friend's. "He says I'm getting better though. That I'm getting faster and stronger." He stands up a little straighter to look at his friend and he grins. "I pinned him the other day! He was pissed!"

Walter
"Hurm." Walter can't help the smile that comes to his face. He puts his arm around Dan, holding him close, then takes a nip at his ear.

Dan
Dan gasps softly, pulling away a bit to look at Walter. And to think, a moment ago, he was just about to leave him there.

"I... My parents," he interjects. "My dad... He can't find out that we're... That I'm..." He blushes hotly, "And they're expecting me to leave again. Can we just... Can we go back to your place? And I can change into my uniform and stuff? Or somewhere else that's not here?"

Walter
Walter ducks out from where he was crowded between Dan and his closet, snatching the Nite Owl costume out of his hand. He heads straight for the window, putting on his mask one handed.

Dan
Dan swallows, not sure what to make of his friends actions, whether he's angry or just being proactive. "Meet you at the end of the street?" he asks as he steps towards the door.

Rorschach
"No." He tucks Dan's costume into his coat and zips it up. "Alley little way down from your house. Should be dark enough."

He slides open the window and pulls up his hood. "Will still match."

Then he is gone, the window left open behind him.

Dan
Dan smiles and watches him leave. He moves over and shuts the window, then he turns out the lights in his bedroom and goes downstairs.

He says goodbye to his parents for a second time. Says he doesn't know what time he'll be home. "Uh, maybe I'll spend the night at Walter's after the dance," he explains, leaving before they can ask anymore questions.

He steps out of the house and walks to the end of the drive, looking up and down the street. The nearest alleyway is the one that he makes his way towards.

He stops at the mouth of it and peers down into the shadows of it. "Wal-- Uh... Rorschach?" he whispers as he steps into the darkness.

Rorschach
A leather gloved hand closes over Dan's mouth, "Don't wake the homeless," is growled by his ear. "Hope goggles fix night blindness." The hand moves from his mouth then his goggles are wrapped over his eyes and clipped at the back.

Dan
"MMM!" Dan screeches, his voice muted under the hand, until he hears Rorschach's voice in his ear and he grows silent. He feels kind of proud. His stance had automatically widened, his arms gone up to grasp Rorschach's. He had been about to throw his friend over his shoulder and into the wall. Maybe I am ready this time, he thinks.

He stays still and lets Rorschach clip his goggles on. He blinks beneath them. "Hmmn. No, they don't help a whole lot. Maybe if I look into some night vision technology, infrared and all, I can integrate it into them a little bit. Shouldn't be too hard," he mumbles, as he tucks his hair behind his ears and under the strap of the goggles.

"Oh, hell, I still have contacts in. These goggles are prescription. Dammit." He pushes the goggles up onto his forehead and very, very carefully removes the contacts from his eyes. "Well, I guess these are a lost cause." He tosses them to the ground and puts his goggles back over his eyes, then look around for his friend, still hardly able to see him in the dark. "Uhm"

Rorschach
Rorschach, used to seeing the world by this light, catches his hand and presses his costume into it. "Here."

Dan
"Oh," Dan says, turning towards his friend's voice and blinking at him from beneath the goggles as the white of the mask slowly comes into view. "Thanks. Uhm. Just a sec."

He undoes his bow tie and unbuttons his tux coat, vest and the shirt underneath, then peels them all off together as if one layer. "Can you hold these for me? Dad paid for the tux. He'll kill me if I ruin it."

He hands the clothes over to Rorschach and then takes the shirt portion of the costume, then the hood and cape aspect, pulling it on with all grins and nervous energy. He's excited, he can't help it.

"I, uhm, told my parents I was probably gonna spend the night with you. Is that all right, buddy?"

Next, he toes out of his sneakers and shyly takes off his pants, trying his hardest to look dignified in the cool spring evening air, in his boxers, in an alleyway. He hands them over to his friend, his partner, and then pulls on the gray pants. Next comes his utility belt (with no actual utilities on it yet, first aid kit not withstanding) and he shoves his feet back into his sneakers.

"All right, I think we're all set."

Rorschach
Rorschach looks his new partner over. Dan was right, it does fit better now, fills out the shoulders more and the midsection less.

"Hurm." He clears his throat. The smaller vigilante holds out the tux he's been left holding.

Nite Owl
"Oh, right. Uhm..." He takes the tux back, folding it up in his arms. "Well, what do you usually do with your clothes when you go out? Or do you dress at home?"

Rorschach
"Hide them." He shrugs. "Boxes in dumpsters are good." He's looking about the ally for any clever hiding spots. "Fire escapes can be good too."

Nite Owl
"Uh, well let's go with the dumpster. A stained, slightly smelly suit is better than a suit that randomly disappeared." He grins, "Man, that would make my dad's head spin."

Once they get his clothes situated, Dan turns to his friend, dusting his own gloved hands off. "Alright. Ready?"

Rorschach
Rorschach nods. He runs at the boarded up window, jumping up, using it as a midstep up to the closest fire escape. "Coming?"

Nite Owl
Nite Owl (Oh my god, I'm Nite Owl now!) watches him go, shaking his head. "Show off," he calls. He mentally thanks Mr. K for the Parkour lessons the man had given him and he moves to do the same, struggling a little bit, but making it up to the fire escape just the same.

"Right, rule number one. Never ever use doors or stairs, especially if they're a convenience, right?" He nudges Rorschach playfully.

"So where are we heading, Partner?"

Rorschach
"This will do." They are standing on top of a building, the roof access door boarded up; it looks like someone was maybe living here once, but clearly no longer. It seemed like any other apartment block roof in the area.

Rorschach turns to face Nite Owl, he punches him in the gut. Hard.

Nite Owl
"What do you mean? This is--"

Nite Owl coughs as he's hit, the wind knocked out of him a bit. He doubles over like he might retch, but he's just trying to catch his breath.

"What the hell, man?!"

Rorschach
"Hurm!" Rorschach pulls Dan up straight. He locks eyes with Nite Owl, then throws another punch, this one aimed for his jaw.

Nite Owl
Nite Owl blocks it this time, knocks Rorschach's arm out of the way before he hits him, simultaneously gripping his arm and sweeping to kick his leg out to send him to the ground.

Rorschach
Rorschach jumps the sweeping kick, then takes control of the grapple and tosses Nite Owl closer to the center on the roof.

Nite Owl
He staggers a bit as he's shoved back, panting as he raises his fists defensively. This is a test. His heart is pounding with excitement and he grins wide as he waits for Rorschach to makes his next move.

Rorschach
The wait isn't long, Rorschach follows fast, throwing quick punches at him.

Nite Owl
And, perhaps to the surprise of them both, Nite Owl holds his own pretty well. He blocks as many as he can, takes what he can't fight off, and needs little to no recovery time. But with an attack like that's it's hard to engage, and he starts backing away.

He and Walter have wrestled around before just for fun, but this is different and intimidating. But I can't think like that if I'm gonna be out here. I gotta fight back, even if he is my best friend. I'm Nite Owl, goddamnit!

And with that and a snarl, he catches one of Rorschach's punches and throws him backwards off his balance, then quickly throws a punch of his own, then another and another.

Rorschach
That's it, go on the offensive, Nite Owl. Rorschach smirks under his inkblots. Blocking Nite Owl's attack, submitting more ground. Not useless... He makes a hard dodge of the owl's next strike, spinning around his partner, now facing his back, ...but how good? He kicks him in the back of the leg, then jumps on his back.

Nite Owl
Nite Owl grunts and falls forward onto his knee, then moves forward to push his falling momentum into a roll... But suddenly there's a Rorschach on his back.

His brain flounders for a moment and he's not sure what to do, but his hands reach up instinctively and instead of throwing his own weight forward through the fall, he grips Rorschach by the shoulders and throws him off of him, and down hard onto the rooftop.

And then Nite Owl is on him, pinning him down with his weight, his knees on Rorschach's elbows, and he raises his fist to throw a punch aimed for his jaw.

Rorschach
Nite Owl had been trained well, by someone almost his size and fighting style. But this is Rorschach, not Mr. Kovacs, or even Walter for that matter.

Nite Owl was so focused on pinning his arms that he wasn't ready for Rorschach's nice new black leather boot to the back of his head.

Nite Owl
"Ahh!" Nite Owl groans, reaching up to clutch the back of his head instead. He rolls away from Rorschach, putting distance between them as he staggers away for a moment.

"Fuck, man, that hurt!" he swears, dizzily sitting down before he stumbles right off of the roof. His vision spins a little bit. "If you had kicked me like an inch lower you could have severed my spinal cord. Are you trying to kill me?"

Rorschach
"Didn't though." Rorschach jumps up from the ground, he straitens his coat and looks over to Dan to see if he's ready to try to be Nite Owl again.

Nite Owl
Nite Owl stares at Rorschach, frowns gravely as he sees what he doesn't want to see in the black and white.

Yes, he's known Walter for years. Yes, they've had each other's backs through thick and thin. But what he thought he knew of Rorschach is apparently wrong and it makes his gut twist. This isn't Rorschach being his friend. Not Walter being there for Dan. He doesn't care that he's hurt Dan enough to bring angry tears to his eyes. He's Rorschach putting Nite Owl to the test, pushing the bounds and trying to break him. Not Walter. And not Dan. And he won't break me. He can't. I wont let him.

Nite Owl surges forward, barely on his feet before he's lunging at the other with a growl. He tackles him at the waist and he wastes no time, not even to push himself up to aim properly, before he wails his fists on the smaller vigilante, putting all his weight and frustration into his attack.

Rorschach
Rorschach can't suppress the grin under his face when Nite Owl makes the first move this time. He lets himself be slammed into the old maintenance shed on the roof, having to dodge much quicker in the close space between them, Nite Owl's fists connecting with the rusted wall behind him every time he misses.

Nite Owl
Nite Owl grows more and more angry when he can't seem to hit the other man, just a bit to slow even as he throws himself into it completely, Rorschach just a bit too fast.

When aiming for his face just isn't getting him anywhere, Nite Owl throws his fist out, both at once, but instead of hitting him, he grasps the vigilante's left shoulder and yanks him forward. In one swift, practiced move, he moves aside and pulls Rorschach forward as if to throw him away from the wall, but instead, he quickly brings his knee up, and throws him into it instead.

He's done this with Mr. Kovacs dozens of times, but the older man is taller than the young Rorschach, and though his knee is aimed for his stomach, it's brought to the other man's chest and sternum instead.

Rorschach
This seems familiar. He's had this move used on him before, effective against shorter opponents. Rorschach falls back against the ratty wall with a winded cough of his own.

He uses Nite Owl's stunned moment of being amazed he pulled off the move, followed quickly by his did-I-just-hurt-him face, to catch a few breaths.

Rorschach lunges back at Nite Owl, grabbing him by the hood and pulling it down over his eyes. He then delivers a hard left uppercut to Dan's already abused abdomen.

Nite Owl
Nite Owl stares, concerned for his friend, even takes a step forward, opening his mouth to ask him if he's all right, but then Rorschach is on him and he's taking a cheap shot.

Nite Owl falls to his knees and holds himself up with one arm as he coughs, nearly throwing up the coke and doritos he had had earlier. He stays down, not getting up, not looking at the other as he tosses his hood back and finally retches, spewing the contents of his stomach onto the rooftop. Right. Eating before prom? Okay. Before patrol? Not okay.

Rorschach
Rorschach walks around his fallen partner/opponent, watching to see if Dan will get back up, or will Nite Owl.

Dan
And in the end, it's Dan. He spits on the ground and pushes to his feet, still not facing the other. He's been beaten and he knows it, aching too much to want to continue now. Sparring is one thing. Beating the hell out of each other is another. And that's not why Dan wanted to come out with him. He wanted to fight along side him.

"You win," he says over his shoulder as he heads for the fire escape.

Rorschach
Rorschach's shoulders fall, Hurr, not ready yet.

He catches up to Dan and assists him down the old metal and ladders. "Hurm. Did well."

Dan
Dan jerks away from him, angry, not wanting assistance down the fire escape. "Yeah, whatever," he grumbles. "I guess I don't want to do this after all."

Once down in the alley, he finally turns to the other. "What was the point of that, man? I-I didn't wanna come out here to fight you. I wanted to fight with you."

Rorschach
"Want that too." He growls a little, looking Dan straight in the goggles, "Seem like you'll be ready soon. Just not tonight. Hurm."

He's somehow gotten into the owlish boy's personal space. "Come back to my place," he whispers into the taller teens ear.

Dan
Dan frowns gravely. "What? When's that? I'll be ready when you can't kick my ass? Is that it? That's fair. And I'm sure that'll be at the top of my list of things to do. Let Rorschach beat me up until he decides I'm ready."

He stares down at Rorschach as he grows closer to him, asks him to come home with him. Dan shakes his head and shoves him away from him. Hard. "No. I don't think so. That's now how this is gonna be. I'm not ready for this. Not tonight."

Rorschach
Rorschach just looks him up and down. "Need to patch up. Here or my place?" He steps towards him again reaching for the first aid kit he's sure was the first thing Dan put on his belt.

Dan
Dan sighs and looks around them. "Alright fine, we'll go to your place then," he grumbles. He trudges over to the dumpster to get his tux back out and he starts changing back into it again. "This doesn't mean I'm not mad though. I'm going home when we're finished."

Rorschach
"Hum," he agrees.

He doesn't watch Dan change. Instead he keeps a keen eye out from the shadows at the mouth of the ally. When he's confident no one is watching he flips down his hood and pulls off his mask, tucking it away in his pocket.

Dan
Dan doesn't talk to him as they begin to walk to Walter's apartment. And, of course, Walter doesn't talk to him, quiet little jerk that he is, so Dan only grows more and more frustrated as they continue.

Walter
It hadn't been noticeable in the gloom of the alley, but now they are walking along the street light lit roads, it's clear that Walter is carrying himself a little funny, his own arm wrapping around his ribs, his breathing a little heavier than usual.

Dan
Dan licks his lips, annoyed that it hurts to do so and that he can taste blood. His lip is split and bleeding, but hell, it's not his stupid nose which bleeds forever, so he's not complaining too much.

His goggles are tucked away in his pocket, so he can't see much now. Regardless, his friend's ailment seems to be tangible in the air and he turns to regard him for the first time in minutes, and for a few moments, Dan forgets to be mad at him.

He takes Walter's arm. "Hey, man, are you okay? Don't tell me you're fine, or I swear I'll punch you in the face."

Walter
"Ha," Walter lets out a huff of laughter, his smirk and wince at Dan's touch contorting his face. "Hurm." He sighs and just tells him the truth. "Think you re-broke my rib."

Dan
Dan's face blanches white and he suddenly feels really guilty. "Oh, jeez, man, I'm sorry. God, I didn't mean to. I mean, it's kind of your fault anyway. You started it, but--"

He frowns and bites his lip and then carefully slips his arm around Walter's back in some sort of attempt to help him. "We're almost there, right?"

Walter
The small teen shrugs off the assistance of his taller friend, "Happens." He unzips the top of his coat, pulls off a glove with his teeth and slips his hand into the layers of his suit, hoping he doesn't feel wetness.

Dan
Dan waits, watching and looking around on the street, checking to make sure everything is okay where they stand as Walter checks himself. Then he turns back to him and steps closer to him. "Well?"

Walter
Walter winces for a moment then pulls his hand back out, his fingers still as white and pink as usual. "Hmmn."

He sighs, "That ones our building." He nods towards home.

Dan
Dan watches as Walter inspects himself, feeling relieved when his hand comes up clean. Good. No blood.

"D'you think Mr. K will be home?" he asks as he leads his friend towards the indicated apartment building.

Walter
"Should still be out," He leads Dan straight up to his door, retrieving a key from his inner jacket pocket and letting them in.