AN
Thanks everybody that let me know about Vigilante's song and movie career out of costume. I appreciate the help.
And now the story:
(Near the end of the JLU episode Divided We Stand)
Vixen's first stop after she made it back to the Watchtower was to check at the infirmary. Her eyes skipped over the rows and she was relieved not to see a green costume or a white cowboy. She waved off any help for herself and went in search of John or Vigilante or information on what was going on. Whatever came first.
She ran into Vigilante first, leaning back against the wall next to her quarters, a leather pack at his feet. He gave her a tired smile of welcome when he saw her. "Ya look worn out, darlin'? But 'least I don't see any bandages."
She returned his smile. "Same to you, cowboy hat. What are you doing here instead of resting?"
He reached down to pick up the pack at his feet and handed it to her. "Well, seems I promised this pretty lady that I'd have some chocolate, kleenex and coffee ready for her when she got back 'nd no little brawl with some mindless zombie varmints is gonna make me break a promise."
Vixen looked up and down the hall littered with debris. There were even some gaping holes in a few of the quarters. "A brawl? I'd hate to see what you might call a battle." She took the pack from him and opened it up. True to his word, there was a box of kleenex, some Hershey bars and a thermos she assumed held coffee. She raised her eyebrow. "And here I though you were gonna make it fresh for me."
He shrugged. "Well, I will if you want me to but I didn't for two reasons."
She punched the combination to open her door and stepped inside, motioning him to follow her in invitation. "Are you willing to share those reasons or do I have to win them from you in poker?"
"Well," He drawled as he made his way over to the small kitchenette. "Reason one would be I didn't want to keep you from rest or impose. Reason two," He stared at her espresso machine, "I figured you probably had one of these fancy coffee machines that no self respecting cowboy could ever admit to knowin' how to work."
She smiled in amusement taking note that he hadn't said he didn't know how to work one just that he wouldn't admit to it. "Well, go ahead and take a seat. I'll share the coffee with you but I'm not sharing the chocolates." They shared a soft laugh but it died as she the events of the previous hours came back to her. "Do...do they know how John...the founders are doing?" It hurt her pride to have to ask someone else about how her own boyfriend was doing but she trusted Vigilante not to make any comment about it.
"Yeah. They're all ok. They got back awhile ago 'nd have stated that they need to talk about some things. They're all locked away in their big meeting room. Only thing they said was that they trusted the people already taking care of things to continue the good work." His voice was soft and his tone was unreadable.
"Oh." She sat down across for him at a small dining table she had positioned near the window to take advantage of the beautiful view of the stars. "At least they're alright. How about up here? Anybody hurt real bad?"
He shook his head as he cupped the cup of still hot coffee. "Most jus' got banged up some and got some burns but that clone of Supergirl, Galatea or whatever, she got ahold of Steel and Atom 'nd did a number on them. They'll live and, far as word goes, they'll recover but they're in intensive care for awhile. How about on the ground?"
"Could have been a lot worse but it's bad enough. We might not have lost anyone but they did down there." She gripped her cup and stared into the dark brown liquid. "A lot of them are worse off than they have to be. When it got around where the blast came from...a lot of them refused our help. They didn't trust us and, stupid as it may seem, that hurt."
Vigilante had pulled down his mask to drink his coffee and his handsome face showed his concern. "It ain't stupid to be hurt by that."
Her eyes narrowed. "Yes, it is. They lost their homes, their jobs...some of them have lost limbs and even family members and here I am. Whining 'cause my pride is a little hurt." She hadn't meant to break down. She was a strong woman but right now, she'd just been through too much. All she wanted to do was curl up in a bed surrounded by some strong arms and not move for the foreseeable future. Wasn't going to happen anytime soon though, not with John locked up discussing...whatever it was they were discussing. Her small resentment at that made her even angrier with herself. Since when had she become so petty?
Two strong hands took hers, holding them comfortingly. "Vixen, it ain't wrong for you to feel hurt when the people yo're helpin' aren't exactly grateful. How you feel is how you feel. You cain't control that. It's how you respond to those emotions that make 'em good or bad. If you let that hurt over the distrust make you stop helpin' them...that would be wrong and hurtful. But you didn' do that. You kept on workin' and doin' what's right. That's what's important." He softly squeezed her hands.
She didn't raise her head immediately. Instead, she took a few minutes to absorb the strength she felt in the hands holding hers. Eventually, she raised her gaze to his. "Thanks, cowboy."
"Anytime, darlin'?" His hands slowly released her and he took a long sip of his cooling coffee.
She smiled at him. "You know, you're a good man and a good friend, Vig."
He looked back at her with an odd but unreadable expression. "'Nd you're a dang fine woman and hero, Vixen, 'nd don' let no one tell ya different." He took another long drink and his lips turned up into a smirk as he continued, "Not even yo'rself."
