I roll into bed. It's never felt so inviting. Then again, your bed is
always softer after you've spent the night fighting for your life and the
life of everyone around you.
"Terry?" Lyd murmurs, rolling around suddenly. Funny. I thought she slept like a rock.
"Hmm?" I mutter into the pillow.
"It's 3 am."
"Your point?" Lydia sighs. Funny. She never cared what time I came home before.
"Where's Ben?"
"In bed. He barely made it there. Almost passed out in the hallway, he was that tired." I roll over to face her. Her face contorts in an effort not to wince at the sight of my black eye.
"You should have seen him Lyd. He was great. He remembered everything."
"Is he all right?" She asks softly.
"He's great. God, Lyd, he was amazing. You could tell that he listened to everything I taught him. He beat the hell out of all of them. He could probably give Batman a run for his money. It was so great to see him using all the skills that-"
"Terry!" Lydia says loudly, interrupting me.
"What?"
"Stop." Stop? I'm incredibly, insanely proud of my son. We've just had the best experience of our lives together, doing what we both love, and Lydia refuses to listen to me?
"I thought you'd want to know that he knows what he's doing. That he's not in any danger." Lydia rolls back over.
"Just go to sleep Terry." She whispers.
***************************************************************
"We're home!" Ben and I yell into the cavernous main hall of Wayne Manor. It's a ritual we've had for a while. When he was a kid we used to compete over who had the louder voice.
Now we're equal.
We walk into the dining room. Lydia sits at the dinner table, waiting for us.
"Do we have time to eat, Dad?" Ben asks, eyes already eager for tonight. I feel Lydia's eyes staring at me, neither angry nor happy, and I seat myself at the table.
"We have plenty of time to eat." Lydia says nothing. I put up with the void of silence for a moment, and then I have to fill it.
"How was school?" It's the parent-y thing to ask.
"All right, I guess." Ben says, shrugging his shoulders. Nothing seems as interesting as it used to when you've been flying over the city of Gotham, getting pounded and pounding back until the late hours of the night.
"Your teacher said you fell asleep in class." Lydia murmurs from the end of the table, the first thing she's said all evening.
"Mom, I didn't get to sleep last night till 3 am. Cut me some slack!" Ben says, giving her his usual don't-be-mad-at-me grin.
"Ben, that's not something to be proud of." Lydia says in a low voice.
"You need to pay more attention." I say it like I'm a reprimanding teacher, but Ben sees me smiling and knows I'm completely joking.
"You're just mad because I had to save your butt last night." Ben says, making like he's going to flick his spaghetti at me.
"First of all, Batman doesn't need anyone to save his butt. Second of all, you're the one that forgot to open up your wings when we were supposed to be flying." Lydia coughs loudly from the other end of the table.
"I was a little concerned with the fact that the guy was shooting a gun at me!" Ben says, laughing.
"I'd like not to have to yell 'Robin, open your arms' again." We both feel the glee that comes from doing something together and having the best time of your life while doing it.
"Maybe tonight we'll get to dodge some more bullets." Ben adds, shoving the forkful of food into his mouth.
Lydia drops her utensils on her plate loudly. We both look up.
"You two can run around all night long together and spend every minute you're home in the cave, but at the dinner table, we do not discuss it." There's an anger in her eyes that you rarely see in the calm, impenetrable fortress that she is. Ben and I glance at each other.
Lyd was the one who said yes to Ben doing this. She was there through every step of Ben's training. She watched him learn and she watches us leave every night.
But now it seems like she wants to forget Batman- and Robin- exist.
We're silent for the rest of dinner.
"Terry?" Lyd murmurs, rolling around suddenly. Funny. I thought she slept like a rock.
"Hmm?" I mutter into the pillow.
"It's 3 am."
"Your point?" Lydia sighs. Funny. She never cared what time I came home before.
"Where's Ben?"
"In bed. He barely made it there. Almost passed out in the hallway, he was that tired." I roll over to face her. Her face contorts in an effort not to wince at the sight of my black eye.
"You should have seen him Lyd. He was great. He remembered everything."
"Is he all right?" She asks softly.
"He's great. God, Lyd, he was amazing. You could tell that he listened to everything I taught him. He beat the hell out of all of them. He could probably give Batman a run for his money. It was so great to see him using all the skills that-"
"Terry!" Lydia says loudly, interrupting me.
"What?"
"Stop." Stop? I'm incredibly, insanely proud of my son. We've just had the best experience of our lives together, doing what we both love, and Lydia refuses to listen to me?
"I thought you'd want to know that he knows what he's doing. That he's not in any danger." Lydia rolls back over.
"Just go to sleep Terry." She whispers.
***************************************************************
"We're home!" Ben and I yell into the cavernous main hall of Wayne Manor. It's a ritual we've had for a while. When he was a kid we used to compete over who had the louder voice.
Now we're equal.
We walk into the dining room. Lydia sits at the dinner table, waiting for us.
"Do we have time to eat, Dad?" Ben asks, eyes already eager for tonight. I feel Lydia's eyes staring at me, neither angry nor happy, and I seat myself at the table.
"We have plenty of time to eat." Lydia says nothing. I put up with the void of silence for a moment, and then I have to fill it.
"How was school?" It's the parent-y thing to ask.
"All right, I guess." Ben says, shrugging his shoulders. Nothing seems as interesting as it used to when you've been flying over the city of Gotham, getting pounded and pounding back until the late hours of the night.
"Your teacher said you fell asleep in class." Lydia murmurs from the end of the table, the first thing she's said all evening.
"Mom, I didn't get to sleep last night till 3 am. Cut me some slack!" Ben says, giving her his usual don't-be-mad-at-me grin.
"Ben, that's not something to be proud of." Lydia says in a low voice.
"You need to pay more attention." I say it like I'm a reprimanding teacher, but Ben sees me smiling and knows I'm completely joking.
"You're just mad because I had to save your butt last night." Ben says, making like he's going to flick his spaghetti at me.
"First of all, Batman doesn't need anyone to save his butt. Second of all, you're the one that forgot to open up your wings when we were supposed to be flying." Lydia coughs loudly from the other end of the table.
"I was a little concerned with the fact that the guy was shooting a gun at me!" Ben says, laughing.
"I'd like not to have to yell 'Robin, open your arms' again." We both feel the glee that comes from doing something together and having the best time of your life while doing it.
"Maybe tonight we'll get to dodge some more bullets." Ben adds, shoving the forkful of food into his mouth.
Lydia drops her utensils on her plate loudly. We both look up.
"You two can run around all night long together and spend every minute you're home in the cave, but at the dinner table, we do not discuss it." There's an anger in her eyes that you rarely see in the calm, impenetrable fortress that she is. Ben and I glance at each other.
Lyd was the one who said yes to Ben doing this. She was there through every step of Ben's training. She watched him learn and she watches us leave every night.
But now it seems like she wants to forget Batman- and Robin- exist.
We're silent for the rest of dinner.