The Third Option: Theme 84 - Estimate
Title: The Third Option
Universe: DCU, takes place right after “Half a life”
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: One-sided Harvey Dent/Renee Montoya
Word Count: 307
Warnings: none
Summary: Harvey thinks about things after he is taken back to Arkham.
Harvey was never one for a sure thing. He didn’t care much for hopeless causes either. The outcome needed to be in question; two possibilities, no more, no less, each equally likely.
He hadn’t been estimating the odds were 50-50, he had been sure.
Of course, she never cared about the odds. Oh no, certain defeat or certain victory, it didn’t matter to her; she didn’t give up and she didn’t give less than a hundred percent. He had learned that as they struggled over the gun. They had been perfectly matched, perfectly even, and yet the outcome hadn’t been 50-50. Neither able to win, neither able to loose, it had been a sure thing, a hopeless stalemate. And she hadn’t given a damn, as long as she went down swinging.
They had nearly died together; only the Bat’s usual, timely arrival had prevented it.
It wasn’t supposed to have been like that. Back in Arkham, Harvey found himself second guessing his usual, exact calculations. His coin lay flat in his palm. Scarred side. Smooth side. Scarred side. Smooth side. It was one, or it was the other. He was one, or he was the other. Either. Or. Never both, never balanced.
She was the coin on its edge. The unanswered question. The one thing he couldn’t prepare for.
Somehow, everything had gone wrong; because of her, he doubted himself.
Finally, Harvey was able to find some comfort as news filtered in, slowly, through overheard gossip one day and bribed informants the next (depending on which way the coin landed). Her family’s reaction. The steady slide into alcoholism. She had half-ruined his life, he had half-ruined hers.
He guessed this type of compromise was what a relationship was all about. And everyday he flipped for whether he loved or hated her for it.
But, really, he did both.
Universe: DCU, takes place right after “Half a life”
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: One-sided Harvey Dent/Renee Montoya
Word Count: 307
Warnings: none
Summary: Harvey thinks about things after he is taken back to Arkham.
Harvey was never one for a sure thing. He didn’t care much for hopeless causes either. The outcome needed to be in question; two possibilities, no more, no less, each equally likely.
He hadn’t been estimating the odds were 50-50, he had been sure.
Of course, she never cared about the odds. Oh no, certain defeat or certain victory, it didn’t matter to her; she didn’t give up and she didn’t give less than a hundred percent. He had learned that as they struggled over the gun. They had been perfectly matched, perfectly even, and yet the outcome hadn’t been 50-50. Neither able to win, neither able to loose, it had been a sure thing, a hopeless stalemate. And she hadn’t given a damn, as long as she went down swinging.
They had nearly died together; only the Bat’s usual, timely arrival had prevented it.
It wasn’t supposed to have been like that. Back in Arkham, Harvey found himself second guessing his usual, exact calculations. His coin lay flat in his palm. Scarred side. Smooth side. Scarred side. Smooth side. It was one, or it was the other. He was one, or he was the other. Either. Or. Never both, never balanced.
She was the coin on its edge. The unanswered question. The one thing he couldn’t prepare for.
Somehow, everything had gone wrong; because of her, he doubted himself.
Finally, Harvey was able to find some comfort as news filtered in, slowly, through overheard gossip one day and bribed informants the next (depending on which way the coin landed). Her family’s reaction. The steady slide into alcoholism. She had half-ruined his life, he had half-ruined hers.
He guessed this type of compromise was what a relationship was all about. And everyday he flipped for whether he loved or hated her for it.
But, really, he did both.