Prompt Post - Part Ten
I am REALLY, REALLY SORRY about taking so long, guys, and about not being around much recently. I've been busier than I have in a while, and it just kept slipping my mind between uni applications and volunteering and all sorts- for some reason I thought we were much further off a new post.
If there is anything I haven't responded to, as of now, I'm ( Read more... )
“It’s not as bad as it could be,” she admitted, holding the thick red curtain aside, allowing Dick to enter the backstage wing, “It’s surprisingly comfortable throughout most of the year, there’s tons of space, and no one ever comes here. Well, except for you.” she added with a chuckle, and Dick gave her a small smile in return.
The two walked in a comfortable silence as Zatanna led him further backstage and down another short hallway before reaching an old dressing room that, judging by the row of small cots along one wall, served as the bedroom. There were a few large chests spread around the room, and a couple small tables with some old-fashioned lanterns on them, which lit up the small room quite nicely.
“Do you live here by yourself?” Dick asked when he noticed that two of the beds had small suitcases under them. Zatanna shook her head and glanced down at the cot closest to them, which had a thick green blanket draped over it.
“My friend Artemis lives here too,” Zatanna told him as she pulled a small cardboard box out from under her cot, “She’s probably out getting some more food right now…”
“Artemis?” Dick repeated with a skeptical frown, “Kind of an odd name…”
“Yeah, but don’t say that to her face,” Zatanna grinned as she sat up and tossed Dick a small bag of chips, “She hates her name almost as much as she hates people, which is really saying something. She actually had the chance to live with her dad, but she said she’d rather rot on the streets than stay with him.”
“Sounds like quite a social butterfly,” Dick chuckled as he sat on the green-sheeted cot, eagerly popping a couple of the chips into his mouth, “So why does she hate people so much?”
“Because they don’t respect personal space, for one!” a new voice behind him growled, and Dick yelped when the cot beneath him suddenly tilted upwards, rolling him ungracefully onto the floor. “Zee, who is this?”
“This is Dick Grayson,” Zatanna replied, smiling as she watched him pick his spilled chips and his dignity up off the floor, “And try to be nice - he’s in the same boat as us.”
“That’s doesn’t mean he has to be in the same bed,” Artemis mumbled as she smoothed down her rumpled blanket. Dick looked up at her with a frown, and his eyes flickered towards the thick mane of blonde hair she currently had tied back into a sloppy ponytail.
“Nice to meet you too,” he muttered as he got to his feet, sitting on the empty cot beside hers to finish his measly meal of chips. Artemis eyed him with suspicion but then shrugged lightly, setting two large grocery bags onto the floor between the cots.
“We’ve only got a couple dollars left,” Artemis said, her gray eyes turning towards Zatanna, “But we’ve at least got a few more days to eat.”
“You two sure are livin’ the high life,” Dick muttered, and Artemis glowered down at him again.
“If you don’t like it you can-! She started but Dick held his hands up again, looking genuinely surprised by her hostile tone.
“I was being serious,” he assured her, “You’re getting by a lot better than I ever did…I can’t remember the last time I was somewhere warm, with a decent bed to sleep on…” Artemis’ expression softened a bit, though her scowl didn’t disappear.
“Well, it’s not much, but you’re welcome to stay here Dick,” Zatanna smiled, and Dick felt another flash of relief when Artemis didn’t object, “Gotham is pretty cruel, so we’ve got to look out for each other.”
“Thanks,” Dick replied gratefully, “Glad to see not every Gothamite is a villain…”
“Good guys are few and far between,” Artemis spoke up as she pulled a black and red wool blanket from a wooden chest in the other corner, carrying it over to Dick along with a small pillow, “Around here you can’t trust anyone or anything.”
“Not even Zatanna?” Dick asked with a knowing smirk. Artemis rolled her eyes but threw Zatanna an affectionate glance as she dropped the wool blanket onto Dick’s lap.
“Zee’s different…She’s the only person that I can really rely on,” Artemis replied quietly. Zatanna, who was in the process of fixing her own bed, didn’t seem to hear the conversation at all.
Reply
“I’ll bet,” Dick sighed as he wrapped the blanket around himself, settling down into the cot with a content sigh, “I’ve no doubts that anyone else would’ve thrown me out the second I set foot in this place.”
“Just know that you’ve got to pull your weight, Dick,” Artemis informed him as she lay down, “I’ve got a few money-making methods, but they’re not really cutting it…”
“I’m sure I’ll think of something,” Dick yawned, his eyes sliding shut as Zatanna doused the lantern beside her bed. For the first time in years, Dick didn’t have nightmares about the night his parents died. Rather, his dreams were filled with you young women; one with blazing blue eyes and the other with a flowing braid of blonde hair.
*****
Hope this didn't suck...^^'
Reply
Reply
also this: “Fate’s just cruel like that” ... brilliant! wonderful start, can't wait for more.
Reply
Reply
Trigger warnings: Abuse and derogatory terms
~~~~~.~~~~~
Wally West stepped off of the bus with a weary yawn, adjusting the duffel bag on his shoulder as he looked around the rather run-down bus stop. Gotham City; Prestigious to some, a Hellhole to others - it all depended on what side of town you ended up on.
And Wally already knew he’d probably wind up on the crappy side.
He had nothing to his name but his duffel bag, which contained a small bag of clothes, a few snacks he swiped from the kitchen, a couple small souvenirs, and all the saving from his summer jobs, which unfortunately amounted to little over fifty dollars after spending most of it on a bus ticket to Gotham.
He was probably better off right now than most people in the world were, but he was still screwed. He was homeless, he was exhausted, and the pain of being disowned by his own parents still stung in his chest.
Revealing himself as bisexual was one of the hardest things Wally had ever done, but even he hadn’t expected his father to react so violently; he’d practically punched him off of his feet while calling him a “boy-loving queer”, though that was only half-accurate.
Yes, his father had always had a temper, and wasn’t exactly “supporter of the year”, but until then he’d always restrained himself from laying a hand on his son, so Wally could only watch with wide eyes as he father advanced towards him, fists clenched at his sides.
He’d expected his mother to defend him, or to at least step in a say something, but she just shook her head with a forlorn sigh, and the obvious disappointment in her eyes had hurt Wally more than his father’s fists had.
He could barely remember what his father was selling; he’d been yelling so loud that Wally was surprised none of the neighbors called the police. But he distinctly remembered his father spitting the words “faggot” and “disgusting” in his face, and winced as he recalled the second blow his father had dealt, against his shoulder this time.
After that, Wally ran. He ran from the house, ignoring his mother screeching at him to get back in the house, though it was drowned out by his father snarling that Wally had better not come back. Wally had run until he couldn’t take another step and collapsed somewhere downtown, lingering in a small diner until the clocks rang after midnight before returning home.
All the lights were off by the time he made it back to his house, and the door was locked. Big surprise. But his parents had at least failed to take the spare key out from under the door mat.
Twenty minutes later Wally was locking the front door behind him again with shaking hands, looking down with a deep frown at the duffel bag he’d packed with everything he could. It wasn’t much, and he probably should have grabbed more food, but the fear of his father waking up and finding him had sent him scrambling to pack as quickly and quietly as he could. The next thing he knew, he was buying a bus ticket and heading for the last city anyone would ever look for him.
‘Not that anyone is looking for me,’ Wally thought dryly, moving the duffel to the other shoulder when the strap slid down and brushed against the bruise on his arm, causing him to wince again.
He knew by now that the skin there had probably started to change from a dull purple to a splotchy yellow, and the bruise on his left cheek wasn’t likely to look any better, judging by the distracted glances people were sending his way.
The bus behind him suddenly hissed as the driver shut the door, blowing exhaust onto Wally as it pulled away with a new load of people. Well, there was no turning back now.
Pulling his dark red cap further down, Wally weaved his way into the crowds, keeping his shoulders hunched and his bag close to him.
Step 1. Get to Gotham in one piece - Complete.
Step 2. Find somewhere to stay without getting shot or mugged - In Progress.
~~.~~
Dick half-expected to wake up in some filthy alley, his body freezing as he came to the bitter realization that his whole meeting with Zatanna and Artemis was some sort of fever-induced illusion. When he instead found himself still wrapped up in a warm blanket, he almost let out a sharp laugh of relief.
Reply
Artemis’ cot was empty save for the blanket that had been sloppily thrown back into place, but Zatanna sat on her bed, chewing on her lower lip absent-mindedly with a Gotham newspaper spread out over her lap.
“Morning,” Dick called over to her, rubbing his eyes with another yawn. Zatanna looked up from her newspaper with a smile, though it didn’t quite reflect in her eyes.
“Good morning,” she replied, setting the newspaper aside, “Sleep well?”
“Better than I would have anywhere else, thanks to you,” Dick said with an earnest smile, leaning back against the cot as he stretched, “Where’d Artemis go?”
“She runs on errands most of the day, usually trying to scrape up some money or find more food,” Zatanna answered with a soft sigh, “But she left before I could tell her that we need to be searching for somewhere else to live…”
“Somewhere else?” Dick repeated, getting to his feet as Zatanna nodded, pulling the newspaper back into her lap and opening up to a middle page, and Dick felt a heavy weight growing in his stomach as he read the article; the whole block was soon going to be torn down to make way for a new Wayne Enterprises facility, including the abandoned theatre serving as the current home for the three of them. “Well this sucks…”
“I can’t believe they’re just going to tear this place down…” Zatanna sighed as Dick picked the newspaper up for a more thorough read, “This place was like a home to me for so long! I’ve lost track of how many shows my dad had here…”
“Demolition starts of the sixteenth of this month…” Dick read with a frown, “That barely gives us a week to find somewhere else.”
“They’re a few homeless shelters nearby,” Zatanna thought out loud, “But they’re overcrowded as it is, and they’d probably try to put us in some sort of foster care.”
“Not a road I’d particularly like to go down again.” Dick scowled as he balled the newspaper up, tossing it aside before sitting beside Zatanna on the cot, “But your right - if they spot us, we’re back in the system.”
“Artemis’ll know what to do,” Zatanna said, nodding affirmatively to herself, “She’s been out here longer than I have, so she’s got the street smarts we’ll need.”
“I hope you’re right, Zatanna…” Dick sighed, reaching over and gingerly setting a hand on top of hers, which were both folded in her lap. Zatanna met his actions with a smile, and Dick gave her hand a light squeeze, giving her the best reassuring smile he could muster, “Because if not, we’re really screwed.”
~~.~~
“God, would it kill them to sell maps at the bus stops?!” Wally muttered to himself when he found himself at yet another four-lane intersection. That had to have been what, the ninth one in the past hour?!
Wally was so lost…All the towering buildings around him were slowly blurring into one, and all of these people seemed to have a pre-memorized path, rather than any coherent understanding of the Gotham streets.
The fact that he had no pre-determined destination left him unable to ask anyone for directions, which was not helping his current predicament at all.
The low growling of his stomach reminded Wally that he had not eaten in some time, and after stepping into an alley to rummage his bag, he was uncomfortably aware of how little food he had actually grabbed.
Wally had a tendency to get hungry often (his mother had always blamed it on an unusually high metabolism), and his habit of frequently eating had turned against him this time; he’d already gone through over half of his food supply.
While yes, he did have a bit of money, Wally also knew nothing about the pricing of cheap motels here in Gotham, which made him understandably hesitant to actually spend any of his remaining savings.
Reply
Though so far Gotham wasn’t high on Wally’s list of favorite cities, he had to admit that there was an odd charm to it. It was dark, it was dirty, and it was dingy. But it had its own distinct feel to it, a mix of both hope and despair that Wally couldn’t quite figure out. It had plenty to offer, as long as you had the right connections, but plenty to take as well.
Given time, Wally thought he could really get used to this city. Not that he had much of a choice, seeing as-
“Oof!” Wally grunted as he suddenly collided with what felt like a large straw-colored wall of hair. He took a distracted step back and wound up tripping on his own foot, landing on his back with another grunt as his half-eaten granola bar flew from his hands.
The mass of blonde hair, as it turned out, was attached to a person. And judging by the scowl and glaring eyes of said person (a girl who looked about his age) wore when she looked back at him, he doubted he was going to be helped up.
“Watch where you’re going!” she snapped down at him, “What the hell’re you doing back here anyway?”
“It’s a new form of exercise called ‘walking’!” Wally snapped back as he pushed himself to his feet, meeting her glare with a less-hostile one of his own, “Not my fault you were standing in the middle of the alley!”
“Are you even paying attention?! This is a dead end!” the girl snapped back and sure enough, Wally found himself staring up at a large wall of half-rotten wooden boards behind her.
“Oh…” Wally muttered, feeling the tips of his ears turning red, “I guess I really wasn’t paying attention…”
“Obviously…” the girl growled, though the anger in her gray eyes seemed to fade a bit, “Now, let’s try this again; what are you doing back here?”
“This’ll make me sound like a smartass, but I really was just walking,” Wally said as his eyes drifted down towards his fallen food, though he took a hasty step away when he saw a disturbingly large roach crawling onto it, “I pretty much have no idea where the hell I am or where I’m even going…”
“Then why come to Gotham if you don’t know your way around?” the girl snorted, though she didn’t seem quite as hostile as before, “You might as well wear a shirt that says ‘Mug me, I’m new’.”
“Yeah,” Wally chuckled humorlessly, “But I’ve got nowhere else to go, since my parents apparently don’t want a ‘disgusting queer’ in their home anymore.”
“Trust me, I know the feeling.” the girl mumbled back, a new sympathy evident in her voice.
“You play for the other team too?” Wally asked with a small smile. The girl just shrugged lightly, though Wally was close enough to see her face flushing.
“Half the time,” she replied, “But it doesn’t really matter anyway. My parents sucked, my sister sucked, and in general, my life sucked, so I figured coming out of the closet could’ve have made anything worse.”
“But it did,” Wally huffed, rolling his shoulder as if feeling the fresh pain of the bruise, “One day you’re your part of the family, then your parents throw seventeen years of your life away because you like guys.”
“Or girls,” the girl muttered, “Didn’t really matter to dear old dad - nothing I chose would’ve been good enough for him anyway.”
“I know that feeling too,” Wally smiled empathetically, holding his hand out to the girl, “I’m Wally, by the way.” The girl looked down at his extended palm with a brief glare of suspicion, but seemed to consider him harmless enough and gripped his hand with a smile of her own.
“Artemis,” she replied, “Artemis Crock.”
“Artemis?” Wally repeated, cocking an eyebrow, “That’s an pretty unusual-”
“I know!”
~~~~~.~~~~~
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment