I'm in Blüdhaven, at my newest S.P.S.

Oh, right. I should prolly tell you what that stands for first. Safe Port Site.

Now, for where it is. If you guessed Dick's place, congratulations. You get a virtual cookie of your choice. If you made a wrong guess, it's no big deal. Trust me, because, remember, I'm pretty truthful.

Now then. Moving right along.

"I didn't think it was possible that a city could feel darker than Gotham." A grin slowly spreads across my face. "Though I guess the umlaut should have tipped me off."

I adopt a falsetto. "Oh, how cute! The u looks like a smiley! Gosh, this must be a sweet little city. And Blüdhaven be all "You really fucking shouldn't be fucking judging by that. It's a fucking umlaut, now fuck off you fucking fuck." I used a growly voice for Blüdhaven.

Dick laughs then takes on the falsetto. "Good gracious! Such language!"

He takes on the growly voice. "What's with the offense, lady? I started as a whaling town.* Only natural for me to "swear like a sailor", you get that? No? Too bad!"

I laugh then take on the growly voice again. "It's not my fucking problem, it's part of who I am. Not gonna fucking change that either."

Funny how that felt like something I could have told the Pierces. Well, kinda funny but I might be the only one who finds the humor.

Gingie clears her throat, causing me to look at her. "Firecracker, did the Pierces allow you to swear?"

My eyes darken. "No, they'd beat me for it." I clench and unclench my fists. "They'd swear while doing the beating. Fucking hypocrites! I hate remembering my time spent with them!" I narrow my eyes. "Hate. It."

"That only makes sense. That being said, the more evidence we have against them, the stronger the case we can make to keep them away from you. It's possible they could even be incarcerated, which would ensue they'd never hurt you or any other child."

Dick wrinkles his nose. "Eww. You're sounding like a lawyer.**"

Gingie gags.

I raise one eyebrow. "That's a bad thing?"

"Yes!"

Well, the fact that they're speaking in unison is convincing but not enough. "Now would one of you fucking please tell me why, exactly?"

Dick curses in a language I don't recognize while Gingie does the explaining of the cop-lawyer thing.

After she's finished, I raise one eyebrow. "Dude, what language was that? It did not sound familiar to me and, given where I come from, that's saying something."

He smiles. "Romani, phen. I'm half Romani and, in that language, phen means sister.***"

"So you're telling me you're like a cop of version of Stef Penney's Ray Lovell."

"Oh, right. The Invisible Ones. Tim suggested that. I guess that's something you could say, it just feels kind of weird being compared to a fictional character, even if he is Roma. Sure, he's an okay character and I liked the book well enough but I can't help but want the author to be Roma."

"Wanting representation is understandable. I mean, sure we have more diverse writers writing more diverse characters. That being said, is it really too much to ask that said character be on the front cover and visible? I mean, it's the 21st century, for fuck's sake."

"Exactly! Now, just curious here, what nationality are you?"

"All I know is I'm a mutt. Tried to do some digging but, with how common my last name is, I didn't have a whole lotta luck."

"Personally, I know Gordon's Scottish. Not that I'd want to see my Dad in a kilt or eat haggis but I did like Disney's Brave."

"Didn't see that one but it sounds cool."

"What's the last Disney movie you saw?"

"Toy Story 2, before I was placed with the Pierces. Sure, I liked the character Jessie but I got shit for crying at her backstory. The fact that my Mom's name was Emily, well, that just rubbed more salt in the wound."

Dick hugs me as my eyes start to tear up.

I like the way it feels so, instead of fighting it, I hug him back.

Warm. Safe. These are the feelings.

What, you expected just one feeling? You underestimate their value.

I don't usually sound this cheesy, but to me they're priceless and the fact that they're coming from family makes them even more so. You're just gonna have to deal with that.

After all, and you can take my word for it, there are worse things.
_

*This is canon.

**Cop-lawyer rivalry is very much a thing.

***Found a little Romani translator site.