Disclaimer: Okay, as I have stated before, I own nothing of Marvel… and nothing of D.C. Still, love the characters. Hope you guys love the fic. If you do, please read and review. If there are any flames, let them be constructive! :)
She picked up a handful of dirt, well, not really dirt, but some of the cheap roofing materials that knockoff construction companies used on this side of Gotham.
Picked it up, and let it fall. Through her fingers and into the wind.
It was a light wind. Mild temperature of about 67 degrees fahrenheit. Sadly, there was little to no criminal activity.
So, I was bored. I glanced up at my dusty companion crusader. She sighed long and hard. Probably bored too.
I picked myself up and started pacing along the edge of the roof. The ledge cracked and thinned in some places. But, foot places were instinctual. I could've been walking around my own room half-asleep. Avoid the crack on the left, wide step of the right.
I checked in on my partner.
Still sifting dirt. No. Wait, it was asphalt.
I turned to look at her, watching and gauging her reaction as I swayed back and forth over the ledge. "Penguin must be back in his little igloo feeding all the fishes… maybe feeding off of them?" I looked down into her eyes. Still far away gazing into the distance.
My left eyebrow twitched. Minutely.
"What about Harvey Dent? Ever think that ol' Two-face will decide to go after Bats again and give him a little makeover?" That got a little chuckle out of her. Well, it was more like cadence, the way she laughed. It rolled and bounced from deep in her stomach, over the tongue and out, free, into the world. She didn't care who heard her, or what they thought of her laugh. She just did it, whenever she felt like it.
I smiled more at that. Dimples, growing deeper in my cheeks. Eyes crinkling behind my mask, though I was sure, she couldn't see that.
"Better watch yourself, Pixie Boots." she mentioned under her breath. "Dent, may choose that your face would make a much better canvas than The Bat's would." She started to stand up, shaking off the asphalt and soot off of her body suit and cape.
There was a three foot section of the ledge near me. On the left. Child's play, really.
I did a backflip over it, using the caved in section of gravel and brick to bounce off of, placing my landing within a few inches of my parole partner.
"So," I said, white teeth shining, "You'll miss this face. That is if Dent gets his grimy pair of hands all over it?" I leaned into her, but she didn't back off. Nothing frightened Barbara.
My hands on her hips, leaning forward, she put her elbows on my shoulders, and peered into my eyes.
"I think you need a bigger mask, Dick" she stated slipping away. She left me in a daze (maybe a bit of confusion) I stumbled a little as I lost my stable hold on her. "Maybe, try a cowl. That would be the smart thing to do. Your eyes are crinkling too much. Shows you're cocky. Bit of a weakness, don't you think?" She went back to another section of the ledge, where I had previously, and very impressively, backflipped off of.
I sauntered over to her. Still determined.
"This coming from a certain overly cocky woman who takes very few precautions around Detective Gordon?" I crossed my arms. Sure, I had to admit that my eyes were crinkling, but it wasn't a weakness. That's where Babs was wrong. Dent, Penguin, Ivy, Dr. Freeze. Even Joker, they couldn't see that crease in the corner of my eyes.
Only Babs could see that. She had to know that, unless she didn't want to. Maybe, she refused to believe that she was the only one observant enough to notice that it wasn't there unless she was somewhere close.
She turned around, cape flicking me in the knees. "There's a difference between being cocky and being confident. I am the later. Detective Gordon won't find out. You of all people should know that."
And I did, Babs was not cocky in any sense. She worked hard and devoted herself to getting better in fighting against injustice and hiding all the evidence or possible clues that would alert some kind of problem (like having a chief detective as a father, who happened to already be obsessed with bat themed vigilantes, find out that your daughter is also chasing villains around in tights with a bat-emblem and a cowl).
My personal opinion? She worked too hard. One of these days work was going to put her in the ground, but it wouldn't require a freeze laser or one of Harley's hammers to do it. She was going to do it all by herself, really working herself to death. Well, unless I had anything to do with it.
"Nah," I said looking her straight into the eyes. "I don't need one. I couldn't bear to cover up even more of my dashing physique." I nudged her in the shoulder, and walked the other way.
Five seconds down my walk, I called out "See, you can't help yourself now." I turned around to stare Bats in the face again.
Her arms were crossed, and a smirk was irrevocably carved into her face. I knew she was watching.
"See? It would just cause you too much pain, if I covered up this dashing face with a bat cowl." She jumped off of the ledge and side-swiped her leg into the asphalt, causing a spray of minute, black asphalt to be spread in my direction.
"There," she joked, laughing at my soot-covered face"That's about as good of a bat cowl that you can manage. And, it just covers up this atrocious eye-sore that's been bugging me!"
I removed my gloves and blinked twice wiping some of the soot and asphalt away from my eyes and face. My hands were rough and gritty with the stuff when I got the best kind of bad idea.
I grabbed two handfuls of gritty, dark ash, soot and asphalt all mixed into one kind of dirt. Bab's face fell; a small giggle escaping as she realized my little idea.
"Dick?" She started to back away a few steps as I approached. "Whatever you're gonna do it's a-" I went for the throw jumping up to get into close contact with bab's. Her face was bare too; the cowl didn't cover everything.
Bab blocked my right throw with her legs, and ducked as I tried again to get some dirt on her face with my left.
"Boxing? Really? I didn't think that we were gonna get any combat practice in tonight!" I laughed out to her.
"Well," she smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulders, "I just did my makeup."
"You're wearing a mask-no a COWL!" She could be so difficult sometimes.
"And, that's the way it's gonna stay, Blue Blunder!"
A right jab, left hook, we exchanged punches back and foth. Where acrobatics were my specialty, Babs had been profficient enough in hand-to-hand combat, especially with all the pent up anger that I could see so many times just building behind her emerald eyes. Building until it all burst. Well, a little venting never hurt anyone. She landed a lucky shot in my right eye.
I take back the bit on hurting anyone.
"Hey," I turned, nurturing my now-bruised eye. "I thought you liked this face?"
I ducked as she went for a perfect roundhouse. "I never said that."
Getting on my feet, Babs went for another roundhouse, other side. I side stepped the kick and flipped to to my right meeting her on her returning kick. Blocking straight punches, she nearly got me on a wide right hook. Taking my chance, I blew all the ash and soot and dirt straight into her face, sending her coughing and blackened back,
"Victory!" I yelled out, raising my hands up over my head in triumph. "Should've watched your right side, Batgirl."
A couple more coughs, she was just catching her breath, as I plopped down next to her sitting on that sooty rooftop again. Hands and faces smudged, we matched the building. I reclined, hands folded under my head, lying on the back of the rooftop, as Babs swatted me on the back of the head.
"You're such a kid!" She pouted.
"Always." I acknowledged.
She sighed leaning over, resting her elbows and head on her knees. "I still get the satisfaction of seeing that black eye tomorrow though, that's something." She smiled at that contentedly. I rolled my eyes.
"Makeup." I mentioned. Raising a finger to make a point. She scoffed. "Speaking of makeup, why are you wearing it? Cowl doesn't serve it's point?" I rolled up onto my heels peering into her face, or really her eyes. Yes, I admit I was staring into her eyes, but very rarely did I have the opportunity to do it fully without seeming like some creep.
"Stupid question. I always wear it. Not like I had a hot date or anything like that. And, the cowl is a wonderful mask anyways. Hides more of the face so that attackers can't identify you as well."
"Well," I mentioned reaching out with one blackened hand, "I think you look fine this way." I wiped my hand across her mouth, effectively smearing more ash and soot on her face… and then I regretted it. She punched me in the nose, blood streaming down and mixing with the asphalt and dirt on my face.
"Thanks for that" I garbled, holding my nose in my hands and trying not to cry out in pain. Bats would never forget this. Alfred would scrapbook it.
"You deserved it creep!" She glared at me, anger mingled with something else in her eyes.
"I really did mean it though, Babs," I mentioned "Look at all the ash and soot around us. Look at us, and then look up at the night and at the stars. Basic chemistry. Carbon is in everything. It's in the stars and the asphalt and us. You wear the cowl, and see asphalt on my face. I look at you and see stardust." We stared at each other for a couple of seconds. Her eyes boring into mine. We didn't speak, for a little while.
"Sappy," she mentioned letting her head sink into her knees. I thought her face was just a little pink. She buried it a bit deeper. "How do you get girls anyway with all that trash?"
"My charming good looks" I replied, smiling broadly at her to show off my white teeth against the dark ash and night sky.
She peeked up at me from her arms and knees.
"Just like a cheshire cat." She scooted a little bit closer and rest her head on my shoulder. "You still need a lot of work in your pickup skills." I put my arm around her and drew her close to me.
Resting my head on top of hers (avoiding the bat ears) I breathed and let my heartbeat settle a little. "Will do, Sergeant, will do." I whispered. Glancing up at the stars, I knew I was right about what I said no matter how sappy Babs thought it was or wasn't. Those exploding balls of dust and light didn't hold a candle to her.