I finished this and then my computer glitched and I lost half of it so I didn't want to look at it but now im back hahaha.
I do not own Batman!
Nascent
Chapter Twenty Four:
Bound 2
"I-I-I-I'm fallin' in love,
I'm, fallin' in love,
I-I-I-I-I'm fallin' in love,
Uh huh, honey."
"Son of a bitch."
Pandora stared.
Roy Harper instantly slapped his hand over his mouth.
"Sorry," he said. "Was that inappropriate or some shit?"
Pandora touched her fingers to her mouth for a moment. She considered a mess of answers to respond before deciding on the one that should fit the most considering that the man standing before her was Jason Todd's infamous partner in crime—in activities she could only imagine and more.
"I'm not ten," Pandora said. "You can say bitch and my ears won't bleed."
Roy made a face.
Pandora mentally apologized to her mama.
Currently, the two had finally met under a series of arrangements outside either of their control.
With recent events considered, Jason had roughly taken some liberties for her well-being— "Sweetheart, if that bitch is back in town, I'm going to be the first one to blow her pretty demonic head off." Pandora's knowledge of what happened after that was uncertain, since Jason wasn't one to share and she was left picking up pieces and crumbs to decide how to move with the recent new encounter in her arsenal. Damian had everything scheduled for her arrival in Star City. Everything, of course, but transportation because Pandora demanded that she could take a train on her own – "Dam, I am not in kindergarten, I know how public transit works." – "Pandora, I merely—" – "I don't want to hear this from the guy who always has a driver on speed dial."
Damian mostly drove on his own now, legal or not. But she had some pride as a commoner, she was going wear it with a flourish.
But even that had been deprived of her. Jason had shown up at her door, at the break of dawn, hair still a little damp and clinging to the sides of his temple from the shower he must've just taken and that did funny things to her heart, with the simple declaration of "Get on. My friend's giving you a ride. It's his town."
Knowing she wouldn't know the next time she'd be seeing him, Pandora had slipped on his motorcycle behind him without another word and clung onto the worn leather of that jacket she was constantly seeking out in crowds.
"Baby bats can handle things however the hell he wants," Jason had drawled. "But while you're on my turf, I can at least get you an express delivery."
He hadn't asked about coming with him to wherever he had offered to take her a second time.
Pandora wondered about the relief she'd felt at that, knowing her answer still would've been the same with Damian's lingering scent clinging to the hoodie she'd stolen from him and now currently wore.
Miss you, buddy.
Jason's definition of express delivery had been an impromptu meeting with the infamous Roy Harper himself, usually known to Pandora as "Bitchass" or "Bastard" or "Mother—" on the other side of Jason's phone. He'd deposited her on the doorsteps to a slightly beaten apartment, holding strong together at the edges—not unlike Jason's own—and gave one single dial to one single number, waiting till they picked up and then promptly hanging up when they did and taking off down the street in a cloud of hazy smoke and cold morning sunlight.
Pandora had watched him until she couldn't see a single speck of him left.
And then the door to the apartment building had opened and out came tumbling Roy Harper, sweat pants and all and a close shave and ready to beat the crap out of his partner.
Pandora adjusted the strap of her duffle bag. A bright, neon green thing with dinosaur print she bought in middle school and still used even though one strap was wearing down. Her backpack hung over her shoulders behind her, a plastic bag filled with snacks for the short trip from her mother.
And then there they stood.
"I'm Roy," he said finally, jutting out a calloused, large hand. "Harper. Roy Harper. I dunno what that dick has said but—"
"The usual," Pandora shook his hand, dwarfed entirely by his own. "Pandora—"
"I know."
"...oh."
They dropped both their hands to their sides and stared at each other in awkward silence for all but two minutes.
"Jason, um," Pandora rubbed her foot against her opposite ankle and straightened. "Talks about me?"
Roy pursed his lips. His brows scrunched up into something funny, working at his jaw as he seemed to go through a series of possible answers. None of this did anything to Pandora's sudden birth of anxiety in her gut and the growing need to awkwardly leave and take the bus like she'd planned so she wouldn't be late or Damian would have a cow and do something embarrassing again like tracking her location through a satellite—
"A bit," Roy said, almost carefully. "Just asked once who's been fattening his ass and he mentioned you."
Pandora's shoulders slumped with a relief she wasn't entirely sure of. Roy looked as though he'd dodged some sort of bullet. He rubbed his jaw and then jerked a thumb toward the apartment building. "Want to, uh, come inside? I just need five minutes and I'll get you there in a sec."
"Yes," Pandora said politely. "Um, thanks... Roy."
"You're welcome," he said. "Pandora."
They stared at each other for a minute longer.
Roy quickly walked back into the building, holding the door open for Pandora and she scurried in, head bowed and trying to hide the furious blush on her face that came about when awkward met awkward and there was no other escape.
"Are you sure you have everything for the weekend?"
Pandora nodded, zipping up her slightly full duffel. Most of the space taken up had been snacks and treats she wanted to bring to Damian, even though Gotham and Star City weren't entirely different and it wasn't as though he were in another country, she didn't know what was available to him and had only been a few times so he could appreciate a pastry or two, right? Coffee beans from the place he liked a few blocks from the museum and...
He can have all of this shipped to him you dummy. Pandora puffed her cheeks full of air and stamped the idea down. Rolling in money or not, saving her friend a few bucks was something every good friend should do—
"Hey, Dam, I know it's been awhile and I miss you a lot! I've got some stuff to tell you. Uh, you might want something to go down with it—"
Lucy wrung her hands once. Flour still clung to the sleeves of her shirt, despite the fact that she'd rolled it up while prepping for the morning rush. The two of them stood in the living room of the small bakery apartment flat, Pandora's things all packed up and a freshly baked bag of snacks and pastries on the table beside them. Pandora was bringing a box along of their best cakes to share with Damian's... housemates.
"I'll text you when I leave and when I arrive," Pandora promised, using the familiar to distract herself from the unfamiliar she knew was coming. "It's only a weekend... so I'll be back before you know it and I'll send pictures of yummy places."
"That Chinese restaurant by the harbor makes a good seafood chow mein," her mother added. "I think he might like it, if he could handle the place you took him too before. Hopefully not too easy on his taste buds."
"Dam just likes good food," Pandora said with a rush of fondness. "Price doesn't matter."
"Hey, Dam, it's been some time, huh? So, catch me up on everything! You go first and then I'll go and—"
"Have you considered telling him?" Mary's voice rung through her head, patient but clear, needing to be heard. Telling Pandora it needed to be heard. "They're like... related or something, right?"
"Sorta." Pandora had rushed out awkwardly. "Estranged? Not blood related but um... his family situation gets complicated sometimes—"
"What if you want to marry him?"
Pandora had spit out the milkshake she'd been drinking all over the table. Mary had looked as though she'd expected such a reaction.
"M-Marriage?"
"Yeah. You like him, right? A lot. To me, at least, it looks like that. Wouldn't that be what comes next if you figuratively got together?"
"It's not like—"
"Wouldn't you want that?"
Lucy hummed, pleased with her answer. Pandora stared at her mother's left hand for a brief second, zeroing in on a single finger without a single ring. Her eyes instantly strayed to the wall where she knew with all familiarity the piano would be through the dry wall and plaster and—
"You always seemed the type to me to love stuff like that. Weddings. The whole nine yards."
"I'm... I'm actually—"
"Are you sure you'll be fine without me?" Pandora couldn't help but ask, looking at her mother—the woman she loved so, so much and could never thank a thousand times over and should do everything and more for because this woman had given her so, so, so much. "I know you were thinking of hiring that part timer—"
"I should be just fine for a weekend," Lucy laughed. "I handled this place all on my own long enough before I had your little hands to help. I'll be just alright."
A warm, gentle silence fell between the two of them.
"I'm not really a fan of marriage... and stuff."
Pandora had always appreciated her mother. No. That wasn't right. Pandora appreciated her mother, but she hadn't always shown it. Young, stupid Pandora had been an idiot and caused her more grief than she ever deserved. Never deserved. Only the best. Lucy Jayes was a woman born of the earth and strong and vibrant and steady, always, always so steady. Life hacked at her roots, ripped off her branches and shook her free of any flowers and here she still remained—
Growing. Always growing.
Recent events only made that all the more clear, Pandora realized absently, how lucky she was to have a mother like her.
"That's not all he has, my dear."
Pandora felt the chill of ghostly fingers against her temple and down her neck.
"I love you," Pandora said, arms already wrapping tight around her mother before the words had finished spilling from her lips. "Gonna miss you."
"It's only a few days," Lucy laughed, hugging her daughter just as tight as the two of them swayed a bit with the motion, burying their faces deep into their matching hair and their scent of bakery and flour and vanilla. "Just like those school trips. What am I going to do when you go off to college?"
"I'll just stay local," Pandora said. "I'll live in your basement."
"We don't have a basement."
"I'll live in the bakery and make a living playing the piano for you."
Lucy laughed. She rubbed her cheek against her daughter's head and inhaled her smell and rubbed her back. Pandora felt everything she could ever worry about wash away with every stroke.
If only it could stay like that forever, though.
"Hey, Dam. By the way! You won't believe who I ran into the other day—"
"What are your plans for the weekend?" Pandora pressed, hugging her mother tighter. "Are you gonna do anything fun, mama?"
Lucy's fingers twitched. Pandora stopped. The two of them stood there for a moment, warm silence wrapping tightly around them as they waited between each other. Pandora's fingers rubbed against her mother's back in patient comfort, waiting for whatever it was her mother must've been hesitating to say.
"I..." Lucy started and stopped. Her mother pressed the side of her head against her own. Pandora waited, staring over her shoulder at the other end of the living room. A series of photos of the two of them were hung up all around the house.
It'd always been that, after all. Two. Once three, briefly three, wistfully three, but always, never undoubting, never changing—two. Two, Pandora had realized, she could always count on.
That was all that mattered at the end.
The scalding memory of hot liquid washed over her. A hard chip in her shoulder. Screaming and crying and a bowed head from someone she'd only ever wanted to see with it raised so high.
"You know, Pan, I think lately, you've been—"
She hadn't been to that neighborhood for a while now, hadn't she?
When did you stop going?
An unopened message with a long, thorough apology. A whole box of issues Pandora pulled out sometimes like an old box of memories hiding under her bed to look at and take a peek, but not quite ready to open in entirety just yet.
"I was thinking," Lucy said finally, strength returning to her voice. "...Hal... Hal called again the other day. We were talking for a bit and he offered to catch up over some coffee and pancakes."
"He's back in town?" Pandora said in surprise, holding her mother tighter.
"Yes! I was surprised too. I don't know for how long and all. I might... I might not be able to since I still have to go with opening hours and I might be busy prepping the shop for the next day and I'm sure there's plenty of people he must want to see—"
Pandora hugged her mother.
Lucy stood there for a moment, letting her daughter hold her. The two of them stood in silence, wrapped in warmth and light and their home. Safe here. Always, safe.
Two would never change.
They could always both count on that.
Pandora pressed her hands as tightly as she could into her mother's back. She buried her face into the crook of her warm neck. She shut her eyes tight, to everything else. To the world. To all of it.
An entire conversation went unsaid. Never needed to be said. Moments of understanding and passing a thousand words flying through and never touching lips and tongue. A simple assurance of pressed hands. Of uncertain hugs, of okays that never really needed to be given but just needed to be heard because with two, with two, always with two, these needed to be conveyed because—
Two meant the most.
Two, only had one and one.
They both turned their heads to the wall. A piano sat on the other side of it.
"I think that's a great idea," Pandora whispered thickly.
"He was awful persistent," Lucy whispered. "It's just coffee... I... I can handle coffee."
"And pancakes," Pandora said.
Lucy laughed, a warm, gentle sound. Pandora loved her mother's laugh. She wanted a laugh like that.
I want other people to hear this laugh—
"Just pancakes and coffee," Lucy said to herself. "Pancakes and coffee... there, that's not so bad when you think about it, is it?"
"He might offer to give you a ride in his plane again," Pandora reminded.
Lucy made a face, "He wouldn't. I've always hated heights... no, no, just pancakes and coffee. Should I bring that one tart he likes?"
"Yeah, that'd probably be nice."
"I don't even know if I can make it—"
"If you already promised, you gotta go," Pandora pushed herself back from her mother, their arms wrapped loosely around each other as Lucy stared off into a corner of the room and Pandora reminded herself just how beautiful the woman standing here before her was.
I want other people to see that—
"I always told you that, didn't I?" Lucy said to herself.
Mother and daughter stared at each other.
"Okay," Lucy said, so soft.
Pandora smiled, hard enough that her cheeks hurt.
"Okay."
Lucy Jayes was always growing.
Whether it was to music or to the sky, Pandora never wanted that to change. It disgusted her that not too long ago, just maybe a Christmas or two before or something even sooner, Pandora might've offered the softest alternative but now, now—
She thought about Damian. About the people growing all around her.
Pandora wanted to grow too.
Two would always be okay.
But you're allowed to be two with someone else.
"Marriage is all whatever anyone wants it to be," Pandora said, looking at Mary. "I think it's plenty beautiful and it's awful nice. But I dunno... You don't need papers and a ring to love someone, right?"
Mary laughed. The kind of laugh that told Pandora she agreed one hundred percent and loved her maybe a bit more for it.
"You sure you just don't have commitment issues?"
"... I might have that too."
Mary nearly keeled over, knocking her knees into the table with a fit of laughter.
"Nice bike."
Roy's chest puffed out with pride.
Pandora stood off to the side of the parking space, arms full with her things while Roy ran a few hands through his short, bright ginger hair and paced around his bike, adjusting things here and there and checking a few other things for reasons Pandora had absolutely no idea about—but it looks like the stuff Damian has the one in the cave made out of too. Is everyone worried about getting shot out here?
Pandora reminded herself where she lived and resolved solemnly that perhaps that might just be it.
"Thanks, helped build it myself," Roy slid his key into the ignition and turned over to her. "Short ride. I know all the quick streets. I was actually headed back to Star City myself, so I can give you a ride back since you're leaving, what, Sunday?"
Pandora nodded.
"Yeah, I can do that," Roy rubbed at his jaw. "Well, dickhead didn't ask me to do that. I guess it's implied. Dumbass owes me."
"Sorry," Pandora offered.
Roy flapped a careless hand at her, "Nothing to do with you."
Roy slid onto the bike. He reached onto the shelf by the parking space for the apartment complex and handed her a helmet several sizes too big for her head. Pandora took it wordlessly and slid behind him, adjusting her bags behind her and securing the lunch bag to a strap on the back. Roy shifted in his seat, kicking the motorcycle into ignition and pulling out of the spot with a rumble of a loud engine.
Wind instantly picked up around them. Cool, not warm yet with the early morning. They'd be in Star City by the beginning of noon.
The entire street blurred out around them. A few cars rolled by, weaving in between empty lanes where early morning traffic still had yet to pile in.
"How do you two know each other?" Pandora shouted over the roar of the engine and wind.
Roy's shoulders shifted. She wondered if she should've kept quiet, but Roy didn't peg her as someone antisocial... maybe a little rough around the edges, but he seemed to be chattier than Jason should be—
"Work," Roy said loudly to be heard. Pandora tightened her arms automatically around him as the motorcycle revved to life. "How about you two?"
"Mutual acquaintance?"
"Yeah?"
A bout of silence passed between them.
"That pie you gave me was good. Where's it from?"
"My bakery!"
Another minute.
"What do you do for a living?"
"I'm still a student, so school, I guess!"
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense."
The wind laughed in their ears.
"Did you know one time he got so wasted he threw up in my car?"
Pandora snorted. She could feel Roy grinning in front of her, shaking his head with a bob of his helmet. "Fucking disgusting, he owed me so much shit after that stunt."
"He doesn't seem like the type to want to let people see him get drunk."
"Depends on how many fucks he gives!"
Pandora laughed. Roy chuckled. Both the sounds were lost to the rumble of the engine beneath them and the wind whipping through their clothes as they streaked down the bridge stretching out across the bay.
"He sounds like he always has fun with you," Pandora said into his back. "You've always seemed like a pretty cool guy, if you could stick around and have fun with him."
"Yeah, well," Roy said. "You must have something wrong with you too if you can stand five minutes with that guy."
A tension wore down. A silent door was sheepishly and awkwardly offered open. Perhaps temporary, not entirely permanent. Tentative and thoughtful, catching on hinges and uncertain. People didn't always get along swimmingly off the first time and people were as humans were and humans tended toward being awkward more often than not.
Pandora always worked well in twos. The ride there should go by just fine.
Roy Harper had been expecting a number of different favors when Jason had said without warning or any other context that he needed him to pull his fucking weight for a few days.
New mission? Stakeout? Some weird shit Jason couldn't handle on his own or just didn't have the patience for? Bar hopping? Mad bachelor party for no reason but to get shit faced and have some fun—
A teenage girl who looked like she could still be selling girl scout cookies if she wanted and a message to get her where she needed to be safe and sound—yeah, he could roll with that too. Of course. Easy.
Jay, what the fuck?
Roy could deal with women. Usually. More often than not. He was a pretty slick guy, after all. Had a good body. Good face. Great personality. Amiably chatting up a woman who could get along with a deranged, reanimated corpse he called a friend? Should be one hell of a great time.
Because the thing was—Roy knew when certain things were going on in Jason's whacked up, crazy head. When he looked hard enough, as a hero and crime fighter, you needed to be able to read people and read signs. Jason was on the harder list of those things to figure out, but he'd been around the asshole enough to figure some stuff out.
There'd been someone in his life recently.
Roy didn't know what her position was. What she looked like. What she did—all he'd gauged was that she could've been an old granny Jason decided he liked who owned a bakery or something and was making his ass fatter and harder to help on missions when he slipped up.
Only recently, had he figured out it probably wasn't a granny.
And for all Roy knew, she was doing enough to make his deranged, reanimated corpse of a friend with a give-a-fuck-to-nothing attitude toward the world and anything else, thoughts.
When someone like Jason Todd called to ask to water a plant in his house Roy hadn't even known existed, there was something.
Roy Harper was not expecting a teenager girl, who, with a second glance up and down, arguably looked a little more sturdier than he'd given her credit for, but could have easily been just another face passing through the crowd, boarding another bus, handing another handful of change and receipt to.
Normal.
Maybe that's just fucking it. Roy realized. Holy shit. Jay, what the actual fuck—
Roy wondered if this was some kind of family favor he was pulling for Dick. Maybe this wasn't who he thought it was—
Jason had dropped her off. Roy's eyes zeroed in on the dinosaur print of her duffel bag—that's kinda cute, I guess—and recalled the same sticker being on a pot of a special plant in his deranged friend's apartment.
Roy put two and two together and decided, once more, Jay, what the fuck?
The archer did some quick math in his head.
Roy rubbed at his jaw. Rubbed the back of his neck. Stared hard at the floor and then thought, a little dumbly.
Jay, what the fuck?
And then she'd opened her mouth.
And then Roy had let her into one of his many apartments scattered throughout the city. And then Roy had let her feed him the pie she had in her bag that was arguably pretty fucking delicious. He might come by sometime for another. Hungry and drunk. And then they'd barely talked and he'd brushed his teeth as fast as he could and shoved clothes on and then they'd gotten on his bike—
And then she talked.
And then he'd talked too.
And then, and then when the only reason the two of them were together for this brief moment in time in the first place came up, and she talked about him and he weaseled out what he could from her without her knowing it while talking about him as well, did something frightening and understanding seem to dawn on Roy.
All Jason had texted him was an address and to text him back when he'd dropped off the delivery.
And then Roy had recognized exactly where he was taking her. Roy contemplated the meaning of this said address, what that meant considering Jason and his somewhat estranged family relationships, Roy's own occupation and history with said address and who he was fairly certain was resident there at the time—
Roy put a few more cents together because he was Roy damn Harper and he wasn't a hero for nothing.
They arrived at the destination, safe and sound. He went through the usual security, stuff that might've flown completely over her head unless you knew what to look for when approaching the tower. Her head had tipped back in disbelief at the sheer size, mumbling and saying things he could barely catch over the roar of the wind whipping around them. Roy sloshed through the various thoughts assaulting his still tired as hell brain because hey, he pulled a late shift, alright?
He went through the motions, imagining it all like little film reels as he pulled up to a stop. She said this was supposed to be good enough and her friend would be meeting her at the front door. Roy didn't have the heart to tell her that there were cameras watching them right this very moment and her friend should know exactly who brought her here, would know exactly who brought her here, and if Roy was right on the money as he usually tended to be, it was on purpose.
Jay knew what he was doing.
They exchanged some pleasantries. Pandora got off his bike, gathering up all her stuff. He offered to help her carry it in, but she said she never packed more than she could carry on her own back. He found that a bit respectable. They stood there, in another bout of weirdly awkward silence because there seemed to be something she knew but couldn't say and something he knew but couldn't say, and the two were mutually at a strange standstill not unlike happening to run into the best friend of the person you—
"Thanks for the ride," Pandora said. She had an earnest way of speaking and looking. All open. Easy to read. "I really appreciate it."
"Just doing a favor," he said. He offered her a half grin and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe catch you around, yeah?"
Pandora nodded. A small smile.
Roy took one good look at her.
Something rested on the tip of his tongue.
"Stay safe," he said instead. "I'll be back Sunday."
"I might just take the bus back," she offered quickly, waving her hands. "Thank you again—really. If you ever swing by my family's bakery, it's on the house!"
He could always go for free food.
"Thanks."
Pandora bobbed her head in rapid nods.
Roy decided now was the time to take his leave before he said something he shouldn't.
"See you around," Roy offered, saluting her with two fingers and then kicking his motorcycle back into gear. Pandora stepped away and he flashed her a faint grin. Their time had been short but amiable and perfectly pleasant. Nothing wrong at all.
She was a good person.
Roy took off with only a single glance back, watching her small frame disappear in the side mirror of his motorcycle before he swung his head forward.
He tapped onto the side panel of his bike, a hologram instantly opening up. His fingers tapped at a preset message and he hit send, revving his engine as he sped through the familiar streets to his own hide out where he could get some work done and god, why couldn't he help but wonder—
Jay, you piece of shit, are you sure you're going to be alright?
Arguably one of the strangest experiences of her life, but Pandora had definitely had stranger, so she could deal with this.
A bit of dust rolled past her feet.
She'd wanted to make a good impression on him.
Pandora pulled the collar of the sweater hoodie she was wearing up over the lower half of her face. She bit at her bottom lip, bag sitting at her feet and her duffel pressed snug against her lower back as she stared hard at her feet and tried to will the burning sensation in her ears down.
Okay, Pan, time to switch gears. Pandora hefted her bag one more time for reassurance. The sleek, tiled and concrete path was the only way leading up to the massive building. The entire city crafted itself across a glistening bay, the single tower at its center. Gotta get yourself ready. How should you greet them? Politely. As always. Take things slow, try to go with the flow and the pace of how it all just happens. Natural. Natural! Let it all go naturally—
The tower was tall.
Pandora gaped at the shadow it casted over herself and everything around it. Shiny, tinted windows all arranged in effective, mysterious panels. Sleek. Powerful. Definitely a different type of vibe and feeling than the Bat Cave, but effective at reminding everyone that this was where heroes lived and this was where heroes worked.
I won't be laser beamed at the door, right? Given its massive might, the tower itself still had a simple, two fronted entrance with panels for voice intercoms. I guess even heroes still need pizza deliveries.
Pandora made a mental note to ask them about how that worked with a place like this.
Should I just ring the bell? Pandora checked the time on her phone. She was technically two minutes early. Knowing Damian, things should've been prepared so nothing bad would happen upon her arrival. She was supposed to come here first and then she was pretty sure there was a hotel nearby she'd mentioned booking but he said he'd take care of the accommodations...
Pandora made a face, tipping her head to the side as she raised a hand to ring what looked to be one of the most elaborate door bells she'd ever seen. Maybe I should just call first and let him know I made it—
The two double entry doorways slid open.
Pandora froze, hand hovering midair.
Several things all happened at once.
Something green and large and fast zipped through the doorway, nearly slamming into her face before she heard a startled screech and felt feathers and smelled—pizza? A blurred form shot out from the gaping opening. Wind whipped her ponytail back roughly and nearly slapped it into her cheek. A slightly hunched figure glancing around and another, taller, beautiful woman quickly floating through the doorway with a brilliant smile on her face—
"Greetings!" hands clasped her own and Pandora jolted. Handshakes weren't her usual go-to for greetings. Luminescent irises glittered brightly, warmly tan skin, fire red hair cascading like a lush waterfall past shoulders and – wow, she's one of the prettiest ladies I have ever seen. "Pandora, yes? It is such a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. Dick told me much about you and we have been expecting your arrival! I trust the journey was well and without any ill issues—"
The den mother. Pandora quickly realized. Damian had sent brief case files over to her of his group, simply and quickly claiming she need only understand the bare bones about his...team. Pandora had tried to protest he ought to say it with more certainty, but he'd merely continued with swift indifference that he only wanted her to see these so as not to feel overwhelmed or excluded. Starfire! That was her codename though, what's her name? Holy cow, she's so pretty—
"You are missing several inches," she said suddenly, looking surprised. Pandora wasn't sure whether or not to point out her heels or her floating figure or that fact that she was technically some kind of alien space goddess hero.
"So small," she said with a bright smile. "It is very unintimidating."
"Cute, Kori, you gotta say cute!" another voice quickly butt in. A hand was thrusted proudly into Pandora's face and she staggered back a surprised step, another hand quickly steadying her elbow and then back in her face before she could even blink. His eyes a pretty shade of mossy green—but Dam's are like emeralds— and a familiar face—"Remember me?"
"Bart!" Pandora's mouth quickly supplied. "You're from Dam's video chat—oh! It's nice to meet you guys. I'm Pandora, but I think it looks like you all... know that?"
"She remembers!" Bart cheered, clasping her hand and shooting her an award winning smile. "Three cheers for the girl. Say, how old are you—"
"Too old for you," a hand shoved Bart's head away. Pandora blinked at the slightly familiar face from the blurred edges of Damian's laptop. "Sorry. I'm sure this is all a bit overwhelming. They all ran down here when they saw you pull up and tried to beat him from—"
"Jaime," Pandora said. "...right? Sorry, I didn't see much of you from that chat—"
His tan cheeks flushed a little. Jaime's hand awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and he fiddled with the strings of his hooded jacket. "Y-Yeah. You got it."
Pandora's head cocked to the side, face suddenly a bit more interested at the little hint of an accent. "Are you—"
"Come on! Stop hogging all the spotlight!" another familiar voice protested. Pandora took a quick step back when the green pigeon that had appeared at her feet—oh, hello there—quickly began to shift in shape and size and suddenly the green skinned teen from before was standing in front of her—wow. Okay. Okay. "You remember me too, right? I made the best impression on you and I've been the one keeping your best buddy from getting too lonely here—"
Pandora's head actually spun.
"Yes," Pandora said dumbly. Her brain resorted to hazy memories of case files Damian flapped around through a screen at her. "Garfield Logan, blood type—"
"Heck yeah it is—wait, what?"
Meeting a large group of semi-new people was one thing. Those instances were always different and new and rapid and, well, overwhelming. Meeting a decently large group of super powered heroic teens who fought off bad guys for a living was another. But if you all like pizza and things, you can't be that crazily different. Pandora often came off as bubbly and social—she usually liked to think she could be pretty social. But the poor reality was that you got more and more awkward as you got older. There's only four people right now, you dummy, you can handle this much at least like the first day of school—
Pandora's head spun around a few more loops.
But there was one person missing from the gathered group her attention had focused on the most.
"I'm sorry, I'm such a spaz," Pandora said, almost numbly as her eyes darted from each of them and back to the door and scanning the entire entryway. "I'm always like this sometimes. It's really nice to meet you all! Thank you for having me over and I'm sorry if this comes off as insanely rude, but where's—"
"Raven's inside!" Bart offered. "Probably waiting for it all to die down first before she says hello. Likes it that way."
"Oh! Awesome! And what about—"
"We have another great guy, Cyborg!" Gar added. "He's with another team of ours right now so he couldn't be here, but he sends his best wishes."
"And—"
"They know what you're really looking for," Jaime said. Pandora's head instantly snapped over to him and Bart let out a little noise of interest, Gar's lips turning into a pout. "They just playin'. He's not the type to come running so we beat him here."
"I figured," Pandora laughed. "The only one he ever runs to is his dog and—"
"Pandora."
She'd almost forgotten how much she loved hearing her name like that.
A little chill ran down the back of her neck. Her heart did a little whoop whoop, everything standing to attention and a thousand other thoughts fading to the background. Pandora's head swung around to the single utterance of her name and the gathered group around her stared, Jaime tugging Bart out of the way as Kori watched curiously.
He stood only a few feet away from the gathered group, steps as silent as air.
For a second, it almost felt as though nothing had ever really changed.
And so much all at once, huh.
He might've grown an inch. It couldn't be that huge of a difference from only so many weeks, right? Come on, you're probably just exaggerating. But something to his visage seemed a little leaner, a little harder. He must've been training a lot here. Are you holing up and working out instead of making friends? His hair looked freshly cut against the sides, pushed back over his head and slicked over. That dark leather jacket with the orange strip on the side. Does that cologne fit you more now too?
Pandora dropped all her bags to the floor. Jaime jumped in surprise beside her.
It really wasn't that long. A few weeks. That's longer than we've ever been apart though. A lot had happened in the in-betweens and outs. I want to know so much about how you've been. Screen to screen, an illusionary bout of magic that'd given him to her for a night—
Glittering emerald eyes. The faint upturn of the corners of his lips as the only signal to start.
Pandora took off running.
Her arms whipped up and down at her sides. Her sprint was fast enough to make their gym teacher think twice about yelling at her for lagging around the corner like she always did or tripping over the hurdles with the jump she just did, feet pushing off the concrete and launching herself into the air.
His arms came up with perfect ease.
Pandora wondered for a split second if she ever could've seen a smile like that on his face the first time they met in that little ballroom beside that unused piano.
"Dam!" Pandora cheered, pure elation taking hold of every note in her voice.
Pandora's legs clamped down around his middle. Damian's arm came quick around her to steady, taking one single step back to adjust to her weight and impact. Pandora's hands were already at his face, combing through his hair, pulling and patting at his cheeks and—
Pandora started to laugh.
"If you've got that much lunge in you, we should make use of it during a workout."
"Ohmygodohmygod—you're finally here! I'm finally here! Why does it feel like it's been forever—Dam!" Pandora rattled his head this way and that. Damian shut his eyes for a moment, lips twitching upwards as he reveled in the sensation of her hands all about him, pressing and checking and feeling and Pandora continued to laugh. "Ah! I can't believe it! This feels awesome—how have you been? What have you been up to? What have you been eating—"
"Pandora."
"Dam!" Pandora said elatedly. "I missed you."
Damian supported her weight with the ease of one arm. His other hand came round, guiding strands of hair out of her face and cupping her cheek, tipping her face down to look over him. Fingers brushed past the corner of her eye, curved around her face and then his fingers slid to the back of her head, reaching up as he stared back at her.
"I as well."
Pandora could melt from the happiness seeping through her bones.
"Oh my god."
Pandora's head jerked around. Damian's face instantly settled into a neutral glower, eyes turning slowly to the side where he granted the gathered group a look of thinly veiled disdain.
Jaime had his hood tugged over his head, glancing to the side as he scuffed his foot along the pavement. Kori looked thoroughly satisfied, hands clasped in front of her with a warm smile on her face. Bart and Gar had hands clasped over their mouths where one of them had been the one to speak, cheeks turning red from the force of trying to hold back—
Laughter split the air.
"H-H-He—" Bart wheezed.
"So different!" Gar crowed, head knocking backwards as he fell onto his back, limbs flailing. "I-I-I can't! Is this really happening? Is that really our dark prince—"
"It's like I'm watching a beautiful rom-com!" Bart slapped Jaime's knee. "We're the com. Come on, Dam, you've been holding out on us—"
Damian regarded the lot with the same look he'd grant a roach.
Pandora's head whipped from the laughing fools to her friend. She grabbed at his cheeks, smashing them together and turning his face back to her. Damian's eyes narrowed, hand gripping her back tighter and Pandora raised a brow while Bart and Gar burst into high pitched shrieks of laughter on the floor.
"What kinda guy have you been making yourself out to be out here?" Pandora questioned curiously.
Damian reached up, freeing her hands from his face and lowering them instead. He peered at her over their gathered hands and Pandora let out a curious little hum. Dark lashed curved over those sharp emeralds and she caught the glint of his teeth behind the low smile he cast her.
"The kind of man heartless enough to strike fear into these fools."
Pandora sighed a little, looking amused. Damian's half lidded gaze traveled sideways and Bart and Gar stopped, the latter turning into a small mouse on instinct.
"You must be tired!" Kori clapped her hands together, delighted. "How about we show you to your room and you can rest a bit before we head out to eat?"
"That sounds like a fantastic idea!" Pandora said, turning quickly to her. Damian scowled. "Dam, you said something about having a whole itinerary, right?"
"Correct," Damian said flatly. "Lunch was included. Though on different standards."
Pandora blinked. Bart suddenly zipped past, skidding to a halt beside them. "Oh, come on! Who needs a stupid itinerary—we know all the best spots around town."
"I already procured reservations for—"
"You're a mom and pop kinda girl, right?" Bart continued.
Damian's eyes looked ready to kill around Pandora's side.
Pandora made a curious noise, looking at Bart with newfound admiration. "Yeah, you got that fast. How could you tell?"
Bart ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it back with a wide grin. "Instinct."
Pandora jumped. Soft fur pressed against her skin and she quickly turned. Damian clicked his tongue and a green furred squirrel now sat on her shoulder, running paws over its puffed out chest several times. "You gotta trust us, Pan—can I call you that?"
"Of course!"
"You can call me Gar, Garfield, Lo, Beast Boy, dearest—whatever your heart desires. I think we're gonna get along just fine this weekend and you know, we'd love to hear about Dam from back home and how he is—"
"They just think he won't do anything because she's here, don't they?" Jaime said aloud, a little pale as he watched Damian observe the two with perfect, frightening calm. Pandora chatted back amiably, struggling to keep up with the rapid speed of conversation. "They know she's leaving in a few days, right? He so isn't going to let them live this down."
"It all seems very fun and lively to me," Kori said, delighted. "I think this weekend will be a nice break from everything, won't it?"
Jaime stared at the leader before pulling the strings of his hood tighter. "I think Raven's got the right idea."
"You should have fun with it while you can," Kori threw him a wink. "You might just get away with more than you thought you could. Especially considering it's Dam, right?"
Pandora patted the side of Dam's face. He slowly lowered her back to her feet, watching her face from the corner of his eye as his hand slowly left her waist. Pandora grinned up at him, feeling lighter than air for the first time in a long while as she quickly jogged back to her fallen items. Damian was quick at her heels. "I'm perfectly down for anything you guys have planned! I don't want to be a bother, so whatever is the easiest or works the best for everyone is the best way to go. I can also—"
Damian lifted her bag with perfect ease, needing hardly nothing but his pinky to do it.
Pandora tried not to look jealous and think about the recent hours she'd dedicated to working out and heaving sacks of flour in the bakery.
"We'll take you to all the best spots!" Bart offered energetically. "There's so much to see and you've got so little time here! We've got to make the most of it, yeah? I can get us to where we need to go real quick and—"
"You probably want to get settled first," Kori said warmly. "Robin had lodgings picked out for you, but we all thought you'd rather be staying here at the tower—"
"The room is still booked," Damian cut in.
"Here would be awesome," Pandora breathed. She pressed a hand to her mouth. "I mean, if it's alright with all of you."
She turned quickly to Damian and added with narrowed eyes, "You did book that hotel, didn't you?"
Damian fixed her with an equal look, head tipped slightly and face perfectly at ease. "And?"
Pandora feigned punching his side. Damian merely slung her bag over his shoulder, grabbing her hand regardless and smoothing his fingers over her knuckles.
"I think I've been on to some musical genius while you were gone," Pandora added with a mischievous grin. "It'll knock your socks off."
Damian looked faintly bemused. "You may just find that I have procured the necessary means to your passion as well."
Pandora blinked, curious.
"We've already got a room ready!" Bart said. "I can show ya, real quick—"
"He can do a lot of stuff, real quick," Jaime said. "Don't worry about it. Robin over here likes his personal space, so he technically has a whole floor to himself. Your room's the floor right above it—"
"She can stay in the empty room beside mine—"
"Cause we figured you might want some peace and quiet!" Gar added. "It sucks having to wake up to that broody face every morning, right?"
Pandora gaped, looking at Damian in disbelief.
"You lied," Pandora whispered none too quietly. "You guys do get along, don't you? Otherwise they wouldn't be alive and talking to you like that without a beating. You don't even let Drake get away with—"
"Cease such musings," Damian began to herd Pandora forward, shooting seething, sharp glares at the fools before the entryway while Kori merely looked amused. "I will show you to your room. We need no other assistance. Your gathered presence has been... delightful. Pandora and I will take things from here—"
"Come on, don't be such a killjoy," Bart flapped his hand carelessly at Damian. Pandora seemed to be drinking in the plethora of interactions occurring before her in rapid succession. "Pan-Pan, we can show you where it's at."
Damian allowed Bart one long, withering look.
"That's a new one," Pandora mused. "You guys sure are something else. Come on, Dam. I said whatever's the easiest for everyone."
"It is far more agreeable if we have this done ourselves—"
"Three cheers for Pan-Pan!"
"But if I could get a few minutes with Dam," Pandora added, offering them all a hopeful little smile. "That'd be pretty cool too. After we get settled and stuff of course!"
"Oh, certainly!" Kori quickly burst in. Her slender arms wrapped around Gar and Bart's shoulders, tucking them into her side and they both let out indignant squawks. "Come now, we've been a bit insensitive. You two take all the time you need to get reacquainted."
"She's awesome," Pandora whispered.
Damian looked vaguely amused.
"Okay, mom," Gar groaned.
Pandora flinched.
Damian's eyes swung to her.
Larger fingers suddenly touched the back of her wrist. Pandora went carefully still before reaching back and giving them a quick squeeze, reassuring. They followed after her retreat regardless, curving around her hands and holding loosely but firmly.
"This has been one chaotic mess," Jaime spoke up suddenly and Pandora glanced to him. He offered her a sheepish smile, shoulders shrugging. "But welcome to the Tower, yeah? It's nice to meet you. Hope this weekend can be real nice."
Pandora's swelling heart deflated. The pressing, blazing memory of news and a hefty decision of what needed to be said pushing the elation that had made her feel as though she could fly down.
Shiny heels. Luscious hair. And those eyes—
Pandora swallowed.
Damian watched the bob of her throat.
"Me too."
Pandora liked to imagine that the choices presented before her were like the kind you'd see on a game.
Each decision would have its own designated route. A series of consequences and resulting events that all happened based on how she decided to proceed through this quest.
It was a chaotic, fearsome, monstrous quest.
But it had to be done.
Lying isn't an option. Keeping her mouth shut was just as bad. The difference was how long she kept her mouth shut. Their friendship was the kind of thing that had been built carefully over years of trust and communication. Communication. Communication. It was vital to everything. Relationships, family, friendships—and the resulting precious thing she had with Damian. If they couldn't be honest with each other, say what they thought and felt, worked their way through these issues—it all would've gone to shit by now.
We made it this far because we made it work.
"How much did you really have to do?"
Pandora tried not to flinch, staring at the screen with the joystick in hand.
"How many times have you had to make a decision? Don't you just wait until he knows and work it all out from there with his help—"
Pandora gripped the joystick in her hand, staring at the metaphorical screen before her.
She was the one who had to work her way through it this time.
She couldn't, didn't, want Damian to have to worry about anything.
The presented options flickered to life.
One – Pandora could keep her mouth shut. For now. She could tell Damian later. The news might ruin his mood completely or just change everything. What if he had to go back home? Was it wrong of her to not want him to go home? To see his time here through and return, free of anything else to open arms, ice cream, and hopefully the hours of time she'd want to spend with him once he was back? Pandora could wait till the end of this weekend and deliver the news.
The pros with this were a weekend unbogged by any malicious thoughts or heavy decisions. There shouldn't have to be! This was meant to be a fun, easy going reunion where she could just enjoy spending time with her best friend, her other half, who she missed, a lot. The cons were Damian's rejection of her next-to-closest thing to hiding it from him and what that would mean and how he would take it.
But Dam was understanding. He'd get where she was coming from.
But this is his—
Two – Pandora could tell him. Now. Lay it out and get it over with before doing anything else. The cons were that it might ruin and leave something awful to this visitation. But that was only on the chance that it ended up blowing up and being far worse than Pandora could have ever imagined. The pros, though, however, were that they could work through it and figure things out and be done with it, washing their hands of it all and never thinking of it again.
Could you really never think of her again for as long as he's in your life?
Pandora stared at the faint, flickering options below the two.
You could never tell him.
That wasn't an option. It may have occurred to her. It may have been her problem, no matter what, but it was his blood. She wouldn't want him to keep anything he thought might shield her in regards to her own family. He wouldn't want the same.
You could tell him half the truth.
The thought was traitorously tempting.
But it meant lying.
Pandora wouldn't lie to him.
Ever.
Can you really keep a promise like that?
"Something is on your mind."
Pandora tried to pretend that almost ripping the zipper off her bag was intentionally with the spasm of a jerk her arm did.
Damian watched her, eyes sharpening. His entire visage became more alert, turning toward her as though he could somehow read what was on her mind—
"Just a lot to catch you up on," Pandora said.
Their brief time apart had given her some time to play a little carefully on how well her best friend knew her.
Damian's gaze burned for a second, as though he'd seemed to realize just that as well.
"Plenty that can be told," Pandora added with a sheepish grin. "After lunch, right?"
"Pandora."
Her eyes hesitated for a moment before flickering upwards.
Damian's face was the picture of openness. Quiet. You just keep getting handsomer and handsomer, don't you?
It promised her nothing but unconventional understanding and patience.
The two of them were currently located in Damian's room. She'd dropped off her duffel in her own room, and while part of her dearly wished to take a huge exploration of the fabulous looking thing, she'd asked Damian if they could head to his room so she could give him some things first.
She did allow her heavy heart a chance to check his room out. He'd styled it not too differently from his own back home, keeping the same tastes and fashion with furniture, but he seemed to be exploring with new equipment. Items she wondered if were from missions he'd undergone with this team lining a shelf. Various bits and pieces of the memories he created here.
Your own little life away from home. Pandora had swallowed it all with greedy eyes, running her hands over silky bedsheets and staring for a particularly long time at strips of paper from articles pressed into the wall about the Titans.
Damian was doing just fine.
Can you say the same for yourself?
Pandora swallowed.
I'm going to sure as hell try.
"I brought all the stuff you like from the bakery!" Pandora blurted. She held up several paper bags, eyes shining. "I brought some sweets for them too. And cake! Ah, I should put this in your fridge—where's your kitchen? I'm not sure what they'd like, so I went with a fruit tart because those are usually always a safe bet and we have varieties just in case—"
"Pandora," there was a bit of a smile to his voice this time. Pandora looked up in surprise and found that small, faint little smile on Damian's face as he watched her from across the room.
Pandora's shoulders slumped. Her lip quivered and then she was running across the room, launching herself at him.
Damian's arms were already around her before she even realized it. Pandora pressed her face flat into his chest, grabbing at him and patting the sides of his face repeatedly. "I missed you so much."
"Perhaps I should venture out more often," Damian mused above her. His voice sounded absolutely pleased with himself. Pandora pinched his cheek and new it must've been longer than she expected if he was putting up with that. "You've become multitudes more affectionate than before."
"I've always been good to you!" Pandora protested, muffled by his clothes and grabbing onto the familiar feel of his jacket. "I never deprive you of a good hug."
She felt Damian's chin come to rest on the crown of her head. "It has been quite some time."
"There was that cool magic your friend helped us with," Pandora reminded.
Damian's fingers felt along the side of her face. Pandora almost sneezed, held back by the scent of cologne that fit him more and more by the day. They ghosted along her cheek and felt tenderly along the side of her neck.
"Does it still hurt?"
"It's been awhile," Pandora said, with a bit of a smile. "I don't even feel it."
His fingers lingered on her temple. "And in here?"
Pandora shut her eyes. "I've been doing a lot self-reflection, actually. I think my brain's gotten bigger."
"Is that so?"
Pandora wondered if she could absorb the amount of days he'd spent here just by standing there in his arms. Wondered if she could hear it and feel it all, everything he'd been going through or thinking or experiencing all in that moment. Wondered if she could do that and hear him tell it all to her over and over again because he was Damian Wayne, her best friend and that person she'd always want to know about over and over—
"You always think about what he's doing, right?"
Pandora's brows furrowed.
"If you've been thinking so much," Damian said softly above her. "I'll gladly catch you up on whatever it is you'd like to hear."
Pandora's head shot up, looking at him with bright eyes.
Emerald swallowed her whole.
"Speak your mind, Pandora," Damian said, voice crystal clear. "What is bothering you?"
Another pair of eyes, just as sharp, settled over his own.
Pandora swallowed.
You gotta go with it, girl.
"I think you should sit down for this."
Damian's mind, a perfectly crafted chessboard constantly rearranging and adjusting itself as he played an invisible hand against life, tilted slightly.
He leaned one hand back onto the sleek wooden desk behind him, currently housing his laptop and various other items used during his stay. A little touches from home were arranged impeccably at the top, a letter from Alfred, a picture of Titus along with a framed photo of Pandora and himself.
Pandora's face was careful. To his distaste and pride, she was getting better at masking certain emotions. But the tell tale signs were all there of something she feared would upset him with the next words uttered.
Part of him wanted to remain aloof, provide her with calm and cool utterances to show that she could hardly do much to phase him. He was far more focused on that fact that he finally had her here, right in front of him where he could touch her after so long and not through some mystical link. Her distress seemed worryingly clear, since she'd waited till now to tell him instead of telling him on first glance–which implied the news she was about to deliver was fearful enough for her to sour his mood the entire day. But serious enough that she can't keep to herself any longer.
Alarming, though interesting.
Pandora fiddled with her fingers out of nervous habit.
The other half of Damian, the one that was constantly on edge, prowling, shifting, adapting, because as familiar and whole as Pandora was in his life, she was also the sole source of a vast majority of his unease. Pandora threw him for loops when he least expected it, crafted bridges and hurdles he found himself debating to cross or hack to bits. Pandora was never a certainty. He'd come to swallow that, no matter how bitterly.
His fingers drummed once against the desk, an even staccato.
"You imply," Damian said slowly, "that the news you are about to deliver with astound me in some sense."
Truth be told, there had been a few things Damian had wanted to ask her himself. He'd almost applauded her for making the decision to come to his room. For several reasons. Allowing them a moment of reprise before he had to forcefully share her with the other inhabitants of this tower was one.
Giving him a chance to ask her about why a particular red headed male had been her mode of transport was a pressing other.
Pandora fiddled with her fingers again, smoothing them over themselves. "I just…"
"Pandora," Damian said, albeit coaxing, but his nerves were beginning to fry. He didn't like not knowing when it came to her. Never did. Never would. Excitement and surprises could all die slow and painful deaths in relationships. He liked knowing with Pandora, there was nothing mundane about it. "We would never have made it this far if we couldn't announce what came to the forefront of our minds."
Pandora's lips twisted into a grimace. "You were pretty sneaky about some of it though."
He could attest to that. "Just tell me. Whatever you have to say," Damian gestured to her and then to himself, "won't change how I feel having you here."
Pandora's expression turned a bit funny at his words. A little thoughtful. Good. He almost praised. Think on that and what it means.
Her lips were tempted to curl into a smile but her news seemed to eat away at her elation. Who am I up against? Such comments always elicited happiness from her and he wasn't quite settled with something else pulling from the weight of his words.
"I need you to promise me some things first."
Damian exhaled through his nose. "Pandora, I assure you–"
"It'll just make me feel better," Pandora blurted. "Please, Dam?"
Damian considered turning down her offer and coaxing—bullying—news out of her himself because now it was really starting to itch at his fingers.
Pandora grabbed his hand in both of hers. Damian felt the familiar flood of warmth from his fingertips and through his veins. Raw vanilla and something stronger like softener. Damian let his hand sit between hers, absently tracing patterns along her palm.
"Please?" Pandora pleaded.
Damian rolled his eyes. "Very well."
Pandora's face flooded with relief and she glanced over her shoulder. "Does that door lock?"
Damian's mind calculated several choice options that went along with the subtle implications of those words. His fingers along the desk found the small button he had to lock the door should he hear the others running to bother him. Pandora's eyes caught sight of the small little device and she snagged it from limp fingers, tucking it into her pocket and nearly shoving Damian's hip into the desk with the action. His now freed hand steadied her hip, growing increasingly comfortable and Damian raised a fine brow.
"Just in case," Pandora said cryptically. Her eyes darted nervously around the room. "Where's your katana?"
Damian narrowed his eyes, fingers tightening on her hip when Pandora made move to go find it herself. "Why?"
Oscar asked me out and I said yes, you won't kill him, right?
Damian stopped. His mind instantly raced back to the scans of Pandora's vitals–he hadn't seen a spike in her heart rate, right? No, of course not. There couldn't be any chance of such an event occurring without Pandora's vitals tipping him off–
His eyes landed on the blank screen.
He hadn't checked yesterday's reports.
Damian felt a foreign, abrasive feeling settle hard into his stomach.
"C'mon," Pandora patted his cheeks, drawing his attention back to her. "Just humor me, Dam, please? Sooner you do this, sooner I'll spill–"
"You realize," Damian tightened his grip on her hip for emphasis. "That could be easily changed–"
Half distracted by his own traitorous thoughts, Pandora seemed to have acted on her own Damian Wayne trained instinct. She pulled from his grip, quickly feeling along his bed and snatching the familiar blade by his headboard. Pandora gripped it in her hands, testing the semi-familiar weight of sleek, truly finely crafted metal and then she carefully made the choice of holding it behind her back.
Damian's skin called for the press of her body closer to his. He withheld and settled one hand on the corner of the desk. He quieted all traitorous thoughts, calmed all whimsical…worries and settled that nothing would be solved until Pandora spoke herself.
She could just be exaggerating. Damian reasoned. I will prove her otherwise with how calmly we can settle whatever matter this is.
"Pandora," Damian said calmly, "what is it?" Just tell me.
I think I might be in love with Mary–
Over my cold, dead body.
Something Damian prided himself on rarely ever seeing on Pandora's face flashed, brief, raw, clear. The same look he'd seen once, in that alley so many years ago, that night with blood spilling between his fingertips and Pandora's hands on his face, his everywhere and his father–
Damian went carefully still.
Pandora's lip parted. She closed them, bit her lip, squeezed his katana as though for strength and then–
"I met Talia," she whispered, so soft, so quiet, as though the very utterance would be heard by the world.
Damian's fingers snapped off the edge of the desk with a shattering, thunderous split of thick wood and metal.
Pandora gaped in disbelief at the show of raw strength, gripping his katana in a tightened grip and staring at him with a slack jaw and round eyes.
"...what?" Damian said softly.
"Dam, you just broke part of your desk—"
"Pandora."
Pandora was the one to sink back down into the corner of his mattress. She gripped his katana tightly in her hands, staring miserably at the floor for a moment longer. Damian suddenly felt as though he would go insane before she spoke up again, a little softer, a little more sheepish. But it was there. Still there. That little twinge of fear in the back of her voice.
"I met Talia," Pandora repeated, cementing the words in stone.
The world quieted. Damian heard a thousand things all at once. Memories. Blurred. Clear as day. Voices. Different utterances. Pasts. Memories flashing bright and blaring behind his eyes and an entire storm of emotions rising up to the single name that he had almost perhaps, in some other time, never imagined leaving Pandora's lips. Her name leaving her lips and—
Talia.
Mother.
To the anon on tumblr who asked if I wouldn't leave this scene off on a cliffhanger and I responded saying I wouldn't because that would be too cruel.
I'm very sorry. I'm a dirty liar. I had planned to keep going with this but then I decided to change some things for the next chapter and the pace flows a lot better to me leaving off here and going forward the next one.
This chapter was both really fun to write and also ridiculously hard this time around. I'm really glad to bring roy in, even if just for a bit, hahaha. I like him a lot in all his different adaptations and even tho I love him in YJ, Red Hood and the Outlaws is like the best coping mechanism for me for Jason to have a sturdy line of people he can spend time with aside from his estrangement with his fam.
Losing the data usually doesn't knock me off too bad—I've had it happened before and I either just roll with it and keep going or I get rawr and then I need to step away from it for awhile and then I can get back in the flow. Parts of this chapter just weren't working for me tho and it feels choppy in places it shouldn't, so if it comes across that way, I'm ridiculously sorry and I'll come back and smoothen things out if it feels like it to me.
Raven is missing from this equation and Raven will be very good for this story. ;) she's coming back next chapter dw.
Thank you all so much for the support. The love. The continuous love. Patience. Just literally everything. We have some great fanart of Pandora on my tumblr from some amazing people, so head over to alkhale on tumblr and if it's the pic with Hinata from Haikyuu eating, you're in the right place, hahaha. Thank you all so much for taking the time out to do them!
There's also little blurbs and excerpts and headcanons of things from different asks, take a scroll under the nascent tag if u feel like it, love you all so, so much.
THANK YOU ALL FOR READING. I WOULDN'T BE ANYWHERE WITHOUT YOU GUYS.
Marshmellow-
-OUT!