Good god, it's the changing of the seasons [Complete]
WHO: Dick "Batman" Grayson & Roy "actually, he's still Arsenal" Harper
WHAT: Not as many cowl jokes as we thought ):
WHERE: The not-so maiden voyage back to Rivelata
WHEN: NOW
Arsenal:: *Roy wakes up with a rising headache and a fading sense of satisfaction. When was the last time they'd been on a boat?*
Batman: *Dick's awake, and has been for the past few minutes. His caped back is to the boat, instead he faces the approaching island, the bay, a gauntleted hand rests on the wooden railing, his expression matches perfectly with the dull, grey overcast. The memory of his last promise made here plays through his mind. A promise to return... *
Arsenal:: *He's got one of those himself, a small face with dark eyes pushing its way through his consciousness. Which is more than enough to propel him on deck and facing an increasingly familiar silhouette. He barks with laughter, a healthy schadenfreude served alongside.* And here I was just thinking: at least I'd be rid of you for awhile. *It's not at all friendly. Batman. Just his rotten luck.*
Batman: *Ask yourself, Roy, would Batman have jumped like that? Or well, twitched, turned and be staring at you like this?* Ro- *Costumes, right.* Re- *Nope, guess again.* ... *okay, failing for words entirely now. Concedes defeat with a helpless look* ...Hey. *And I can't say Batman would smile quite as unsurely as this either...*
Arsenal:: *Now THAT just earns "Batman" a cockeyed look. The Caped Crusader, stuttering? And he knows that smile, he's missed that smile, barely seen it since..* Oh god. *And now the expression on his face is shifted to thinly-veiled disgust.* Are you fucking kidding me.
Batman: *He gives a pained sort-of smile. In front of Roy this is ... this WAS so much harder for him than it had been telling the others. Batman-light, Junior-Batman... all that talk about him never wanting to be Batman... And this time Roy didn't even know the circumstances. Although perhaps the absence of an enthusiastic rebuttal, or the admittance that this was just for a little while, or maybe the complete LACK of emotion, save the pinching on his brow might just tell Roy all he needs to know.* ...yeah.
Arsenal:: *It's the total lack of fight that takes it out of Roy. One gloved hand covers his eyes, wipes down his face.* You actually did it. *he mutters, accusatory and resentful and full of promise: they're not done with this. Louder, but still irritated* So I'm getting the ten-ton equivalent of deja vu, you on board with that? Not that I enjoyed getting shot so much I liked doing it twice. *It's grumpily offered, the admission of his place in space-time. He expects some reciprocation.*
Arsenal:: *Also, it's just damn easier to deal with Nightwing's voice, so he won't be looking up anytime soon. Dammit, what a mess.*
Batman: *He nods, silently, it's a moment before he realises Roy's not even looking at him, which... hurts. But he gets it. Garth... he lowers his eyes to the floor at the memory of their dead friend... Garth had found it easier to talk to him without the cowl, others still weren't used to it.* Yeah... *he looks back to the shoreline* Feels like a lifetime ago. *It really was, an entirely different lifetime. Things weren't perfect, but he'd been happy.* He looks back to Roy, his voice takes on less of a morose tone.* So, Outsiders, huh?
Arsenal:: *Roy snorts. For him it's the opposite, a life getting sharper and clearer with each push toward shore.* Now more than ever. Listen, Dick... *He comes up alongside the man in the cowl, sets his hands on the rail. There's a hundred things running through his mind, Ofelia and Selene and what Helena had said about Nightwing... and he grinds his teeth on the words, bites them off as they come out.* If I even asked you what the fuck, is there any chance you would make it worth my time.
Batman: *He doesn't look at the man when he comes alongside, he stares out into the shallowing waters. He knows why Roy's acting this way, it's not like he's forgotten how he'd behaved back then, so he doesn't blame Roy for it at all, but at the same time...the insensitivity, however unknowing, it stings a little. He's silent for a while, trying to find his voice amidst the wind and sound of the waves breaking against the boat, he's almost jealous of their purpose and definitive course.* He's gone, Roy. *His voice is soft, resigned. He wets salty lips.* He died.
Arsenal:: *The meaning of that doesn't even hit him for a good three seconds. It washes over like a breaking wave, the light shifted, the world changed. He takes a long breath, turns, and looks at Dick full-on.*
Batman: *He doesn't volunteer anymore information about it, just swallows and he can't-- can't look at Roy right now, but he forces himself to, along with a short, blink-and-you'll-miss-it half smile that was never really a smile at all.* So yeah, that's where I'm at.
WHAT: Not as many cowl jokes as we thought ):
WHERE: The not-so maiden voyage back to Rivelata
WHEN: NOW
Arsenal:: *Roy wakes up with a rising headache and a fading sense of satisfaction. When was the last time they'd been on a boat?*
Batman: *Dick's awake, and has been for the past few minutes. His caped back is to the boat, instead he faces the approaching island, the bay, a gauntleted hand rests on the wooden railing, his expression matches perfectly with the dull, grey overcast. The memory of his last promise made here plays through his mind. A promise to return... *
Arsenal:: *He's got one of those himself, a small face with dark eyes pushing its way through his consciousness. Which is more than enough to propel him on deck and facing an increasingly familiar silhouette. He barks with laughter, a healthy schadenfreude served alongside.* And here I was just thinking: at least I'd be rid of you for awhile. *It's not at all friendly. Batman. Just his rotten luck.*
Batman: *Ask yourself, Roy, would Batman have jumped like that? Or well, twitched, turned and be staring at you like this?* Ro- *Costumes, right.* Re- *Nope, guess again.* ... *okay, failing for words entirely now. Concedes defeat with a helpless look* ...Hey. *And I can't say Batman would smile quite as unsurely as this either...*
Arsenal:: *Now THAT just earns "Batman" a cockeyed look. The Caped Crusader, stuttering? And he knows that smile, he's missed that smile, barely seen it since..* Oh god. *And now the expression on his face is shifted to thinly-veiled disgust.* Are you fucking kidding me.
Batman: *He gives a pained sort-of smile. In front of Roy this is ... this WAS so much harder for him than it had been telling the others. Batman-light, Junior-Batman... all that talk about him never wanting to be Batman... And this time Roy didn't even know the circumstances. Although perhaps the absence of an enthusiastic rebuttal, or the admittance that this was just for a little while, or maybe the complete LACK of emotion, save the pinching on his brow might just tell Roy all he needs to know.* ...yeah.
Arsenal:: *It's the total lack of fight that takes it out of Roy. One gloved hand covers his eyes, wipes down his face.* You actually did it. *he mutters, accusatory and resentful and full of promise: they're not done with this. Louder, but still irritated* So I'm getting the ten-ton equivalent of deja vu, you on board with that? Not that I enjoyed getting shot so much I liked doing it twice. *It's grumpily offered, the admission of his place in space-time. He expects some reciprocation.*
Arsenal:: *Also, it's just damn easier to deal with Nightwing's voice, so he won't be looking up anytime soon. Dammit, what a mess.*
Batman: *He nods, silently, it's a moment before he realises Roy's not even looking at him, which... hurts. But he gets it. Garth... he lowers his eyes to the floor at the memory of their dead friend... Garth had found it easier to talk to him without the cowl, others still weren't used to it.* Yeah... *he looks back to the shoreline* Feels like a lifetime ago. *It really was, an entirely different lifetime. Things weren't perfect, but he'd been happy.* He looks back to Roy, his voice takes on less of a morose tone.* So, Outsiders, huh?
Arsenal:: *Roy snorts. For him it's the opposite, a life getting sharper and clearer with each push toward shore.* Now more than ever. Listen, Dick... *He comes up alongside the man in the cowl, sets his hands on the rail. There's a hundred things running through his mind, Ofelia and Selene and what Helena had said about Nightwing... and he grinds his teeth on the words, bites them off as they come out.* If I even asked you what the fuck, is there any chance you would make it worth my time.
Batman: *He doesn't look at the man when he comes alongside, he stares out into the shallowing waters. He knows why Roy's acting this way, it's not like he's forgotten how he'd behaved back then, so he doesn't blame Roy for it at all, but at the same time...the insensitivity, however unknowing, it stings a little. He's silent for a while, trying to find his voice amidst the wind and sound of the waves breaking against the boat, he's almost jealous of their purpose and definitive course.* He's gone, Roy. *His voice is soft, resigned. He wets salty lips.* He died.
Arsenal:: *The meaning of that doesn't even hit him for a good three seconds. It washes over like a breaking wave, the light shifted, the world changed. He takes a long breath, turns, and looks at Dick full-on.*
Batman: *He doesn't volunteer anymore information about it, just swallows and he can't-- can't look at Roy right now, but he forces himself to, along with a short, blink-and-you'll-miss-it half smile that was never really a smile at all.* So yeah, that's where I'm at.