Author's Notes: HI. Back again with a chapter that took FOREVER to get out because all Dan and Rorschach seemed to want to do is be angsty. Which does not work for me yet. Have to stick with the plan, boys! The angst will be along soon enough. Haha. Anyways, this was a lot of fun to write because everyone gets to be so obnoxious. Hope you enjoy it!

Warnings: Rorschach being offensive. Nothing new.

13. Interaction

Rorschach was never one for socializing. Really, the man didn't interact well (or at all) with anyone but Daniel. And even then, that only worked because Dan had the thick skin and patient sensibilities that complimented Rorschach's slightly abusive "conversation" and was just passive enough to ignore most of Rorschach's offensive-bordering-on-inappropriate "observations" while still being assertive enough that Rorschach would never get too offensive regarding Daniel's own viewpoints. Not all the time, at any rate. In fact, though Rorschach never really knew why he bothered, he at least made the effort to be more considerate to Daniel's feelings. More so than he had ever done to anyone else.

One night, Dan saw firsthand how good he had it.

They were having a good night. It was late spring and the nights were shorter and warmer, still lacking the balmy feel of summer or the chilling bite of winter. They had stopped a robbery and attempted rape already and both were in good spirits. It was one of those nights that even Rorschach indulged in some of the friendly banter Daniel always insisted on initiating, even at the expense of his own dignity. Rorschach always had a biting wit.

It was this mood of general peace coupled with the fierce satisfaction of beating the crap out of people who deserved it that led to Dan dashing up a fire escape with a childish "catch me if you can" grin on his face. He wasn't sure what he expected Rorschach to do, probably either ignore him or launch into what Dan liked to call his "serious business" lecture, reminding Dan how they had no time for screwing around. Only in more Rorschach terms, usually coupled with some obscure (and sometimes morbid) metaphor that Dan never even tried to understand. What he did not expect was for Rorschach to huff through his mask what sounded like (but couldn't be) a laugh and propel himself up to the roof with the grapple gun Dan had made for him after he'd nearly killed himself a few weeks ago. When Dan made it up to where his partner stood, panting slightly, and the slightly smug way Rorschach turned to look at Dan did not escape him.

He let out a loud shout of laughter, "No fair. You can't use technology in a race."

Rorschach scoffed quietly, "You're one to talk. He who has unhealthy obsession with birds and technology. Besides," he added with an almost teasing nonchalance, "Would've beaten you regardless. I'm faster than you."

Dan laughed again, not sure where this was coming from, and quite keen to go along with it, "Ah, but I have longer legs."

Dan could feel the glare through the mask and he suddenly wondered if he had gone too far. He'd learned the hard way that his little partner was very touchy about his height. He suspected the man wore lifts but damn if Rorschach was ever going to admit to that. Instead of growling out a sharp retort and slipping away, the ink on his mask formed what Daniel could swear was a superior look, "True. But I'm lighter. Don't have so much to haul up stairs."

Daniel's laughter echoed through the rooftop and into the night sky. "R-Rorschach," he gasped out finally, shaking his head, "You're such a jerk."

Rorschach looked as though he was going to reply in kind, but instead jerked his head to the side and went very still. A second later, Dan heard the screams. All humor gone, he and Rorschach jerked into action. The sounds were coming from about two or three buildings over. Nite Owl glanced at Rorschach, a grim smile twisting his face, "You up for some rooftop jumping tonight, partner?"

Rorschach growled, "Always."

Really, it was just lucky that the spaces between the buildings were close enough to jump over if you got a running start. If this weren't so, Rorschach had the gun and it would be Nite Owl who would have to play catch-up. Maybe he should invest in a glider cape, he hated playing catch-up. As it was, Nite Owl's long legs were proving to be to an advantage and he found himself overtaking Rorschach (mostly because at some points Rorschach couldn't physically jump over the gap and had to pull out the gun. It was obviously pissing him off and Nite Owl made a note to tease him about it later).

The sight that met Dan's eyes made him stop dead in his tracks. This sudden stop made Rorschach crash into him. Daniel barely noticed.

"Dan-Nite Owl." Rorschach growled, surprise and irritation causing him to fumble for the appropriate name, "What--? Ennk." If Daniel had been paying attention, the utter eye-rolling exasperation present in that one non-word would have made him chuckle.

As it was, Daniel was definitely not paying attention to his partner.

Instead, his eyes were fixed on the scene below, where a fellow costumed hero was breaking up an attempted mugging of a middle-aged man. Only, this wasn't just any costumed hero.

The yellow costume was what gave her away first.

She was beautiful, in a wild sort of way. Her costume hugged every curve of her body, shifting with her skin as muscles clenched and tightened, the sheer yellow material slipping through the night air, as incorporeal and otherworldly as her name would suggest. Her face was screwed up in a feral grin that made him shiver and her brown eyes gleamed with excitement and adrenaline as she engaged with the gang, who looked several hundred times more filthy and incompetent in her company.

He might've watched her fight all day and would've been quite content if a sharp elbow to the ribs interrupted him. He blinked in surprise as he stared down at Rorschach, who was looking incredibly exasperated. Daniel blushed deeply as he realized how he must have looked; she was how old? Fifteen? And he was…what? Twenty-something? He really needed to get a hold of himself. He opened his mouth to try to salvage the situation, but Rorschach saved him the trouble.

"Was saying, Daniel," he grated out as though he was speaking to a really dense kid, "We should probably assist. There are about 8 of them, and she looks too young to handle it herself." He sounded strangely reluctant, as if he would be equally happy just to walk on by if that didn't contradict his very being.

"Really?" Dan glanced back over to the fray, where the second Silk Spectre had just incapacitated another man, "She looks like she's doing pretty well for herself."

Rorschach pinched the bridge of his nose through his mask before looking back up at him, blots converging into what was certainly a glare, "Don't worry Daniel, won't spoil the view."

Dan frowned, "Hey, now, I didn't mean--" But Rorschach was already gone, off the roof and into the thick of things, as usual. Sensitive jerk.

Now, Dan was going to go down and help. Really, he was. But watching the two of them, they didn't look like they really needed it. Silk Spectre (Laurie, he remembered her name was) only glanced up in momentary surprise when Rorschach seemingly leapt out of the sky to take out an opponent to the left of her. Then, she promptly decided to ignore him and continue doing what she was doing. Watching the both of them battle it out was hypnotizing. Rorschach and she had very little in common fighting-wise aside from a certain inherent grace Dan had never quite achieved. Silk Spectre, on one hand, moved with a delicate ferocity, keeping her enemies at an arms length before lashing out with a well placed kick here, a swift jab there. There was a definite ballet to her steps and lightness to her swift steps. Rorschach, however, was full of brutal intensity and almost frantic energy. He fought as if every fight was personal (and maybe, to him, it was) and preferred that he be surrounded by adversaries, more comfortable being close to violence and harm than in contact with a friendly hand, or a supporting arm, something that always made Daniel a little sad. Rorschach tore into his foes, as opposed to merely incapacitating them and sometimes, secretly, Dan wished he had that same ferocity.

Dan hadn't intended on stepping in at that point until one thug, whom both fighters had thought was down for the count, staggered up behind Rorschach with a crowbar in hand. Dan leapt off the fire escape then and crashed down onto his partner's would-be attacker. The fight was pretty much over then, and all three vigilantes looked at each other, not particularly sure what to do next.

Rorschach spoke up first, "Nice of you to join in, Nite Owl." He commented dryly.

Dan flushed, but before he could say anything to justify himself, the Silk Spectre—Laurie, stepped forward, brown eyes flashing angrily, "Hey," her voice was young and angry, rough through panted breaths, "Not that I don't appreciate your guys' help" which she really didn't, judging by her tone, "but I really didn't need it. I was getting along fine without you guys, really. Just because I'm a little young, and a girl--"

"Age aside," Rorschach cut in, with a tone that made Dan wince and stifle a groan, "You telegraph your hits, every one. Make it incredibly obvious where you are aiming and how fast you plan to strike. Your feints were pitiful also. Were the criminals not possible distracted by the merits of your costume you would have almost certainly--"

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" She interrupted, her voice shrill with shock and anger. A blush crept up her face and Dan felt really bad for her.

"Put it bluntly, the goal of your attire is obvious. To distract men with revealing costume, put their focus away from the battle and onto their other, base desires. An obvious alternative, considering actual fighting skills are lacking." Rorschach almost shrugged, the air of condescending hopelessness coming off him in waves.

Really, Dan expected Laurie to burst into tears at this point. Instead, her scowl deepened and she clenched her fists, "Oh really? Well, I'll have you know, big man," Dan winced, Rorschach growled, "that I didn't choose this costume and my fighting skills are just fine. Thanks for your concern." The amount of sarcasm that dripped from her last words was admirable, and Daniel was certainly impressed. Looks like she didn't back down from a fight either.

"Concern has nothing to do with it," Dan was beginning to wonder if he should step in, but it was like watching a car crash, you couldn't help but watch, "And who chose costume is equally irrelevant. If you don't have the moral fortitude to change from a whore's costume--" He was interrupted by an enraged yell and a little black-covered fist speeding to his head.

Secretly, Dan wished she'd gotten a hit in.

Instead, Rorschach caught the fist easily and held it there, a few inches from his nose. "See? Telegraph your hits. Also, temper tantrum is unnecessary, was merely pointing out that--"

Dan had heard that before. With Rorschach, the words 'was merely pointing out' usually followed something more offensive than the original argument. He decided now was as good as ever to cut in, "Hey, Rorschach," He tugged at the man's wrist and he dropped her hand, "knock it off. It's none of your business what she wears and I thought she was doing fine. We're not all perfect anyways."

"Yeah," Laurie piped up, unwilling to let Rorschach get in the last word, "Didn't he have to jump down from wherever to save your ass in that fight back there? Sure as hell wasn't mine." Crap. Daniel winced, she had a point but he hadn't stepped in to play Gang Up on Rorschach. That did not sound like a very smart thing to play at any rate and it would be Dan who would have to suffer for it.

"W-well," Dan stammered, backtracking, "It's not as though Rorschach doesn't save my ass on a regular basis. I mean—that wasn't the… what I meant to say was--"

"Save it, Nite Owl." Rorschach cut through Daniel's awful attempt at smoothing things over, "Going now. Have better things to do with my time." He pushed his hands in his pockets and turned on his heel. And really, that should have been the end of it. But, as it turns out, some people can be just as graceless winners as Rorschach himself.

"Looks like somebody got their feelings hurt," Laurie called out at him, embarrassment and anger still reddening her cheeks, "He's a sensitive little guy isn't he?"

Dan wasn't really sure how he'd managed to move that fast, but somehow he found himself with an armful of angry Rorschach growling those little non-words that all screamed 'I've had it'. Laurie had stepped back, surprise and a little bit of alarm flashing across her face.

"All right, the both of you need to knock it off!" Dan snapped using his best I'm-in-charge voice, "You," he jerked Rorschach back so hard the shorter man rocked back on his heels to keep his balance, "don't pretend like you didn't deserve that. And you," he looked sternly at Laurie, "need to get a thicker skin if you wanna keep it up here. I know it may sound crazy, but there are ruder people than Rorschach in this world and you're gonna run into a lot of them. So calm down a little bit." He sighed, knowing Rorschach was already gone, "Look," He said to Laurie, "I'm sorry he was a jerk. It's how he is, you just got to get used to it. He shouldn't have said what he did and you're a fine fighter. I'll see you around, okay?"

She nodded, "Thanks for sticking up for me." She smiled at him then, a thin, but sincere quirk of the lips

Dan blushed, "It's nothing. Just… you might need to get better at taking criticism. You do telegraph your shots a little."

She grinned wryly, "Sure. Thanks Nite Owl."

"Oh, it's Dan," He offered, surprising himself, "I figure, everyone knows your name, it's only fair you should know someone else's."

Her smile widened, turning genuine and warm, "Thanks Dan. I hope I didn't get you into too much trouble with your friend."

Dan laughed, "Oh, you did. But it's okay. He was acting way too good tempered for it to last." That was supposed to sound teasing but came out wry instead, "Don't worry about it. I'll see you around."

She nodded, "See ya."

And as Daniel predicted, Rorschach didn't speak to him for the rest of the night.

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Author's notes: Hooray for jerk!Rorschach and for Laurie ruining everything!! Haha. Hope you enjoyed this one, I had fun writing it. Mostly because I get to verbally abuse Laurie via Rorschach. Which is always fun. Next chapter, we get to meet MORE CHARACTERS and more of Rorschach being about 3 seconds away from murdering Dan. As usual. :)