(FIC) Tumble Down, Part Two
Title: Tumble Down, Part Two
Rating: NC-17 overall, this part R
Pairing: Nite Owl/Rorschach (main), Twilight Lady/Rorschach (Pt. 1)
Warnings: Non-con of the female aggressor variety (Pt. 1)
Summary: Being captured by the enemy exposes what Rorschach would have preferred to remain buried.
Part Two
Daniel sat at the kitchen table in the early evening nursing a cup of coffee, the steam fogging up his glasses as he raised it to his lips. It had been nineteen days and several hours since he'd seen Rorschach, nineteen days since he'd stood and watched the man's defeated and retreating form flee from him and what had occurred in that abandoned building. The snacks that Rorschach usually took from Daniel's cupboards lay on their shelves undisturbed. He had missed the past two meetings and Daniel hadn't caught sight of him on the last patrols he'd been on.
Rorschach was clearly avoiding him, which Dan thought was understandable given the circumstances. He probably wanted to put what had happened and the implications of what he had said out of his mind. But Daniel couldn't forget. He couldn't put the anger at what Twilight Lady had done, or the shame of his arousal at witnessing it, out of his mind. Far too often in the past few days, he'd had dreams about it, but with the circumstances changed. Instead of Twilight Lady, it was Nite Owl that Rorschach hung before in chains, twisting noisily as hands moved over his flesh. It was Daniel's gloved fingers that the redhead suckled into his mouth, moaning around them, before Daniel returned them to comb through the curls at the base of his cock. Siting in the chair, Daniel blushed at the remembered visions that swam in his head. He found himself strangely intrigued by his partner's red hair. For some reason, he'd imagined that Rorschach would be a brunette. Instead he'd gotten a glimpse that night of pale freckled skin as the man twisted before their common foe and the dusting of hair that led to the thicker curls between his legs that surrounded his swollen flesh.
Shaking his head as if to clear it, Daniel rubbed his free hand down his face before resting his cheek against it. Thinking like this wasn't helping matters. What he needed was Rorschach - to talk to Rorschach. Daniel sighed. If he was honest with himself, which he wasn't even sure he wanted to be, he'd have to admit that he'd had more than a passing interest in his friend before due to all they'd been through fighting crime. He'd have to admit to his eyes often being drawn to the sight of Rorschach plucking his fingers free of his violet gloves or the occasional glimpse of skin when the man shifted his scarf. It was obvious that at least some form of this was returned judging from recent events. Daniel frowned. Even so, it was clear that Rorschach found this distressing, but maybe it was from the embarrassment of the situation and not what Daniel feared it to be. In any case, he couldn't sort any of this out without finding Rorschach first, which despite his misgivings he vowed to do his next night on patrol.
**************************************
It took several hours of wandering the seedier parts of the city before Nite Owl managed to find his wayward partner skulking down a dimly lit street, hands in his pockets and shoulders hunched. Daniel followed at a distance, a strange feeling in his gut akin to apprehension laced with an odd excitement. For some reason, it was taking him an inordinate amount of time to work up the nerve to reveal himself to his friend. The pair continued like this for a while before Rorschach whirled to face him, his posture of a man on edge.
“Following me, Nite Owl,” Rorschach grumbled in an accusing tone.
“You've been avoiding me, so I had to,” Daniel countered. “You haven't been to a meeting in weeks.”
“Have kept up with patrols,” Rorschach explained. “Still vigilant, just different circumstances.”
“Look, I know it probably makes you a little uncomfortable, but shouldn't we at least talk about... about what happened the other day?” Daniel had the urge to move forward, to raise a hand to place on his partner's shoulder but stifled it, fearing that Rorschach would bolt or shove him away if he did.
“Talking not necessary. Best to forget. Forget and move on.”
“But, Rorschach-”
“Probably better to find new partner as well.”
Nite Owl's eyes widened behind his goggles, a sinking feeling in his gut. “Find a new partner! But why? We work well together, Rorschach. We're a team.”
“Not anymore,” he answered before turning to face the street ahead of him. “For the best. Can find someone more appropriate, not... distracted. Not tainted.”
At seeing the man shrink in on himself, Nite Owl did approach, albeit with caution. “You're not tainted. Rorschach. It's not so strange that this happened. I mean, we've been partners for a while, saved each other more times than I can count. That kind of thing creates a bond between people.”
“But took it too far. Inappropriate thoughts, feelings. Need to bury them.” Even through the monotone, Nite Owl could hear Rorschach's distress.
Daniel was only inches away now, but the distance between them suddenly seemed to stretch for miles. “No, Rorschach. Look I'm not angry about it. I told you, it's... it's fine.” Daniel raised his hands to slowly place them on the other man's shoulders. Rorschach stiffened but didn't immediately pull away. “It's fine.”
He heard Rorschach sigh as he bowed his head, with distress or longing, Daniel couldn't guess, and then the man was pulling away from him to head down the alleyway. “Will come to meetings, but will partner with someone else. You too.” And that seemed to be the final word on the subject as Rorschach walked briskly away, disappearing around a corner. Nite Owl was left to stare after him, cursing himself for allowing the remains of their friendship to slip through his grasp.
**************************************
The next patrol found Rorschach headed downtown with The Comedian, his cigar wafting smoke into the night air. Distantly, he heard the unmistakable sound of the owlship soaring through the dark sky, Captain Metropolis in his place. Rorschach frowned under his second skin, already missing the thrum of the ship under his feet and the easy smiles Daniel would cast in his direction as he sat in the pilot seat. Rorschach told himself that this was the best option, that perhaps a little distance would cool whatever perversion had arisen in him and protect his partner from exposure to it as well.
After a long moment of silence, The Comedian broke it. “Quiet night, huh? There's not much action to be found out here. And I was in the mood for a little excitement, too.”
Rorschach made a noncommittal sound, and now it was Blake's turn to sigh. “You have been in a mood all night,” he observed, gazing over at the swirl of black on white illuminated by the street lights. “You act like your girlfriend just left you or something. I suppose 'she' did.”
Rorschach looked at the other man sharply, eyes narrowing behind his second skin. The Comedian wore his typical smirk. “Hey, no need to look at me like that,” he said as though he could see Rorschach's expression under his mask. “You're the one who wanted to change up. Trouble in paradise, I suppose,” he said before chuckling.
At the angry sound Rorschach made under his breath, Blake's grin widened. “Oh come on, I'm just playing with you. Didn't mean any harm. I know you're not like that. You don't seem the type. Nelly on the other hand...”
Rorschach frowned, halting in his tracks. “What do you mean?”
The Comedian stopped as well, turning toward the other man. “You didn't know? It's not like it's any secret by now, even though Nelson thinks it is.” Imagining that the current shape the inkblot mask took was a perplexed expression as Rorschach continued to stare at him in silence, Blake took a long drag from his cigar, expelling the smoke through pursed lips. “Captain Metropolis is gay.”
Rorschach made a choked sound. “What?”
“Gay, as in prefers the company of men. Him and Hooded Justice had a thing back when we were Minutemen. Thought they had everyone fooled, but I'm a man that notices things.”
“But... he and first Silk Spectre-”
Blake laughed heartily. “That guy wouldn't know what to do with a woman if he was floating in a sea of them.” He moved to throw a friendly arm over Rorschach's shoulder. “Haven't you heard of a thing called a 'beard,' Rory?”
“Beard?” he echoed.
“Yeah. A gal who a man gets to be his woman so no one suspects said man of being a homo. HJ was too busy with Nelly in the back room half the time to pay poor Sally any attention. Nelson's probably been lonely since the big guy disappeared, but he seems to be getting back in the spirit of things.” Blake's smile widened into a toothy grin. “He was pretty chatty with Nite Owl back at headquarters. They must be getting along pretty well by now. All alone in that cozy little ship.”
Rorschach made an odd gurgling sound as The Comedian continued in a thoughtful voice. “I didn't think Nite Owl was his type. Old Nelly seemed more for the rough sort of guy, but maybe he's mellowing in his old age.”
“He... Nite Owl is not a homosexual,” Rorschach insisted angrily. “Wouldn't engage in perversion.”
“Hey, I didn't say he was,” Blake answered, pulling back a little with an apologetic look on his face. “I'm just saying, Nelson looked pretty happy to have him as his new partner, that's all.”
His mood even darker than before, Rorschach made a concerned sound. He had separated from Nite Owl in part to protect the other man from the darkness that had arisen in him only to throw him in harm's way with a man who embraced such perversion. The vision of Captain Metropolis placing what was supposedly a friendly hand on Nite Owl's shoulder back in the meeting room that lingered too long for Rorschach's tastes even then arose in his mind.
“Hey, you know what you need?” Blake interrupted the train of dark thoughts in Rorschach's head to tell him. “You need some cheering up, and I've got just the place.” He began to steer the smaller man in the opposite direction.
“But... must finish patrol,” Rorschach insisted.
“And we will. We're just taking a much deserved break,” The Comedian countered, dragging a reluctant Rorschach in the direction of the nearest bar. He hated drinking alone, and while Blake thought the distraction might do the other man some good, Blake was more concerned with having his own sort of fun than Rorschach's state of mind.
Part Three
Rating: NC-17 overall, this part R
Pairing: Nite Owl/Rorschach (main), Twilight Lady/Rorschach (Pt. 1)
Warnings: Non-con of the female aggressor variety (Pt. 1)
Summary: Being captured by the enemy exposes what Rorschach would have preferred to remain buried.
Part Two
Daniel sat at the kitchen table in the early evening nursing a cup of coffee, the steam fogging up his glasses as he raised it to his lips. It had been nineteen days and several hours since he'd seen Rorschach, nineteen days since he'd stood and watched the man's defeated and retreating form flee from him and what had occurred in that abandoned building. The snacks that Rorschach usually took from Daniel's cupboards lay on their shelves undisturbed. He had missed the past two meetings and Daniel hadn't caught sight of him on the last patrols he'd been on.
Rorschach was clearly avoiding him, which Dan thought was understandable given the circumstances. He probably wanted to put what had happened and the implications of what he had said out of his mind. But Daniel couldn't forget. He couldn't put the anger at what Twilight Lady had done, or the shame of his arousal at witnessing it, out of his mind. Far too often in the past few days, he'd had dreams about it, but with the circumstances changed. Instead of Twilight Lady, it was Nite Owl that Rorschach hung before in chains, twisting noisily as hands moved over his flesh. It was Daniel's gloved fingers that the redhead suckled into his mouth, moaning around them, before Daniel returned them to comb through the curls at the base of his cock. Siting in the chair, Daniel blushed at the remembered visions that swam in his head. He found himself strangely intrigued by his partner's red hair. For some reason, he'd imagined that Rorschach would be a brunette. Instead he'd gotten a glimpse that night of pale freckled skin as the man twisted before their common foe and the dusting of hair that led to the thicker curls between his legs that surrounded his swollen flesh.
Shaking his head as if to clear it, Daniel rubbed his free hand down his face before resting his cheek against it. Thinking like this wasn't helping matters. What he needed was Rorschach - to talk to Rorschach. Daniel sighed. If he was honest with himself, which he wasn't even sure he wanted to be, he'd have to admit that he'd had more than a passing interest in his friend before due to all they'd been through fighting crime. He'd have to admit to his eyes often being drawn to the sight of Rorschach plucking his fingers free of his violet gloves or the occasional glimpse of skin when the man shifted his scarf. It was obvious that at least some form of this was returned judging from recent events. Daniel frowned. Even so, it was clear that Rorschach found this distressing, but maybe it was from the embarrassment of the situation and not what Daniel feared it to be. In any case, he couldn't sort any of this out without finding Rorschach first, which despite his misgivings he vowed to do his next night on patrol.
**************************************
It took several hours of wandering the seedier parts of the city before Nite Owl managed to find his wayward partner skulking down a dimly lit street, hands in his pockets and shoulders hunched. Daniel followed at a distance, a strange feeling in his gut akin to apprehension laced with an odd excitement. For some reason, it was taking him an inordinate amount of time to work up the nerve to reveal himself to his friend. The pair continued like this for a while before Rorschach whirled to face him, his posture of a man on edge.
“Following me, Nite Owl,” Rorschach grumbled in an accusing tone.
“You've been avoiding me, so I had to,” Daniel countered. “You haven't been to a meeting in weeks.”
“Have kept up with patrols,” Rorschach explained. “Still vigilant, just different circumstances.”
“Look, I know it probably makes you a little uncomfortable, but shouldn't we at least talk about... about what happened the other day?” Daniel had the urge to move forward, to raise a hand to place on his partner's shoulder but stifled it, fearing that Rorschach would bolt or shove him away if he did.
“Talking not necessary. Best to forget. Forget and move on.”
“But, Rorschach-”
“Probably better to find new partner as well.”
Nite Owl's eyes widened behind his goggles, a sinking feeling in his gut. “Find a new partner! But why? We work well together, Rorschach. We're a team.”
“Not anymore,” he answered before turning to face the street ahead of him. “For the best. Can find someone more appropriate, not... distracted. Not tainted.”
At seeing the man shrink in on himself, Nite Owl did approach, albeit with caution. “You're not tainted. Rorschach. It's not so strange that this happened. I mean, we've been partners for a while, saved each other more times than I can count. That kind of thing creates a bond between people.”
“But took it too far. Inappropriate thoughts, feelings. Need to bury them.” Even through the monotone, Nite Owl could hear Rorschach's distress.
Daniel was only inches away now, but the distance between them suddenly seemed to stretch for miles. “No, Rorschach. Look I'm not angry about it. I told you, it's... it's fine.” Daniel raised his hands to slowly place them on the other man's shoulders. Rorschach stiffened but didn't immediately pull away. “It's fine.”
He heard Rorschach sigh as he bowed his head, with distress or longing, Daniel couldn't guess, and then the man was pulling away from him to head down the alleyway. “Will come to meetings, but will partner with someone else. You too.” And that seemed to be the final word on the subject as Rorschach walked briskly away, disappearing around a corner. Nite Owl was left to stare after him, cursing himself for allowing the remains of their friendship to slip through his grasp.
**************************************
The next patrol found Rorschach headed downtown with The Comedian, his cigar wafting smoke into the night air. Distantly, he heard the unmistakable sound of the owlship soaring through the dark sky, Captain Metropolis in his place. Rorschach frowned under his second skin, already missing the thrum of the ship under his feet and the easy smiles Daniel would cast in his direction as he sat in the pilot seat. Rorschach told himself that this was the best option, that perhaps a little distance would cool whatever perversion had arisen in him and protect his partner from exposure to it as well.
After a long moment of silence, The Comedian broke it. “Quiet night, huh? There's not much action to be found out here. And I was in the mood for a little excitement, too.”
Rorschach made a noncommittal sound, and now it was Blake's turn to sigh. “You have been in a mood all night,” he observed, gazing over at the swirl of black on white illuminated by the street lights. “You act like your girlfriend just left you or something. I suppose 'she' did.”
Rorschach looked at the other man sharply, eyes narrowing behind his second skin. The Comedian wore his typical smirk. “Hey, no need to look at me like that,” he said as though he could see Rorschach's expression under his mask. “You're the one who wanted to change up. Trouble in paradise, I suppose,” he said before chuckling.
At the angry sound Rorschach made under his breath, Blake's grin widened. “Oh come on, I'm just playing with you. Didn't mean any harm. I know you're not like that. You don't seem the type. Nelly on the other hand...”
Rorschach frowned, halting in his tracks. “What do you mean?”
The Comedian stopped as well, turning toward the other man. “You didn't know? It's not like it's any secret by now, even though Nelson thinks it is.” Imagining that the current shape the inkblot mask took was a perplexed expression as Rorschach continued to stare at him in silence, Blake took a long drag from his cigar, expelling the smoke through pursed lips. “Captain Metropolis is gay.”
Rorschach made a choked sound. “What?”
“Gay, as in prefers the company of men. Him and Hooded Justice had a thing back when we were Minutemen. Thought they had everyone fooled, but I'm a man that notices things.”
“But... he and first Silk Spectre-”
Blake laughed heartily. “That guy wouldn't know what to do with a woman if he was floating in a sea of them.” He moved to throw a friendly arm over Rorschach's shoulder. “Haven't you heard of a thing called a 'beard,' Rory?”
“Beard?” he echoed.
“Yeah. A gal who a man gets to be his woman so no one suspects said man of being a homo. HJ was too busy with Nelly in the back room half the time to pay poor Sally any attention. Nelson's probably been lonely since the big guy disappeared, but he seems to be getting back in the spirit of things.” Blake's smile widened into a toothy grin. “He was pretty chatty with Nite Owl back at headquarters. They must be getting along pretty well by now. All alone in that cozy little ship.”
Rorschach made an odd gurgling sound as The Comedian continued in a thoughtful voice. “I didn't think Nite Owl was his type. Old Nelly seemed more for the rough sort of guy, but maybe he's mellowing in his old age.”
“He... Nite Owl is not a homosexual,” Rorschach insisted angrily. “Wouldn't engage in perversion.”
“Hey, I didn't say he was,” Blake answered, pulling back a little with an apologetic look on his face. “I'm just saying, Nelson looked pretty happy to have him as his new partner, that's all.”
His mood even darker than before, Rorschach made a concerned sound. He had separated from Nite Owl in part to protect the other man from the darkness that had arisen in him only to throw him in harm's way with a man who embraced such perversion. The vision of Captain Metropolis placing what was supposedly a friendly hand on Nite Owl's shoulder back in the meeting room that lingered too long for Rorschach's tastes even then arose in his mind.
“Hey, you know what you need?” Blake interrupted the train of dark thoughts in Rorschach's head to tell him. “You need some cheering up, and I've got just the place.” He began to steer the smaller man in the opposite direction.
“But... must finish patrol,” Rorschach insisted.
“And we will. We're just taking a much deserved break,” The Comedian countered, dragging a reluctant Rorschach in the direction of the nearest bar. He hated drinking alone, and while Blake thought the distraction might do the other man some good, Blake was more concerned with having his own sort of fun than Rorschach's state of mind.
Part Three