Author's Note: Omg, I'm alive. I am so, so sorry for the million year delay. I've found myself in the weird yet semi-fortunate position of having two jobs. And summer school. XP Anyways, so this chapter's really different because it focuses on Laurie. :O And really, this chapter should be titled "LOL, Sepulchre has a secret fiction crush on Dan." Because (1) I do, and (2) so does Laurie. XD Man, I remember a time when I didn't like Laurie. Now, she's a helluva lot of fun to write. Haha. So anyways, enjoy.
41. Big Damn Button
Laurie had to smile when she found the door to Dan's old Owl Room. Or whatever it was he called it. It wasn't as though she'd never been down there before, it'd just been… god, it'd been a while. Everything was under tarp and coated with a thick layer of dust. The few times she'd been down there, before, she remembered feeling like she was in an alchemist's lab or something equally stupid and childish. Laurie let her eyes sweep over the dusty surfaces, over the gleaming costumes that always hung on just the right side of ridiculous. She grinned at it, thumbing over the dusty goggles affectionately. She remembered the first time she saw him in that costume. She thought she remembered laughing, partially impressed and mostly amused, wondering how the hell he'd managed to get ahold of a costume like that. She grinned wider at the memory, how she wasn't quite sure if it was dorky or sexy or both. Looking back, she decided it was probably a little bit of both.
She turned around and looked back over the basement. There was a lot of history here—personal, private history that meant a lot to Dan, she knew. A large, dark lump of tarp caught her eye, casting shadows with its bulk. Laurie stepped carefully over the half-finished blueprints and dusty relics. There you are. Laurie smiled and ran a hand over the dusty eye of the Owlship. She pulled the tarp off with a flourish, baring it to the light. Ohh yeah. This was what she remembered from the Old Days. That big damn ship. Not even Ozy had had a ship like Dan's. The goddamn Nite Owl with his goddamn ship. She grinned harder, remembering how proud Dan was of the damn thing. And how he'd always offer to give her a ride on the rare nights she patrolled on her own. But she could only remember accepting once, and she couldn't remember why she turned him down those other times. The Owlship was a pretty sweet ride, back in the day.
She climbed into the ship, inhaling the dust and the ghost scents of sweat and coffee and adrenaline. She stood up and stared around the ship, dark and sleepy, allowing the memories to flood back. Now she remembered why she never took up his offer again. As she stared at the empty seats, phantom images floated behind her eyes: Dan's smile behind that ludicrous cowl, trying to split his attention and affection between herself and
Oh yeah. That was why.
Still stinging with residual irritation and hurt that always surged forward when she thought of Rorschach (that asshole), she strode across the cockpit to stand right behind the driver's seat and put her hands on the headrest. She entertained herself for a moment by pretending that it was Dan's shoulders she was resting her hands on and that Rorschach was sitting in the seat next to him, glaring and possessive and insinuating a thousand irritating things with only a word and a gesture, making her feel like she was just some stupid kid and just who the hell did he think he was anyways, talking to her like that and he better watch it before she punched him right in the
Well then. Laurie blinked and pulled her hands back from the seat. No wonder Dan rarely came down here. Here, memories were far too loud and never stayed where they belong.
Setting her jaw stubbornly (and really, this was kind of ridiculous, Rorschach wasn't even here), she walked over and plopped herself into the driver's seat with a rebellious sort of nonchalance. She sat very still for a moment, like she was a kid again, doing something she shouldn't be. But when nothing jumped out at her, and no alarms went off, Laurie smiled, leaning back in the seat. Then, with a little flourish and not a whole lot of thought, she pressed down a button on the console. With a quiet whrrr, the Owlship turned off. Whoa shit. Laurie's eyes widened as she started a little in surprise. Fumbling a little, she pressed the same button again, praying that she didn't just break Dan's Owlship. To her immense relief, the Owlship powered up again, humming quietly. Once she was sure the ship wasn't going to blow up or something, she grinned again, staring down at the glittering console. Wow. This is really fucking fighter pilot here, Dan, she thought affectionately, running a hand gently over the buttons. Finally, her eyes fell on the one button in the center of the console.
With a picture of fire on it.
Her fingers itched. She fingered her pipe, putting it to her mouth, nervously. "Okaaay…" She mumbled, "Now where's the dash lighter?" (and, wow, she must be really fucking stupid today because she knew that wasn't the dash lighter. In fact, she can't remember ever seeing Dan smoke). Her grin probably looked a little manic as she reached for the button. "Ahh."
FOOSH!
Of course shit would catch on fire. Secretly, she hadn't honestly expected anything else.
She shrieked in surprise, swore, and clambered out of the ship to try to put it out. Oh shit, she was such an asshole. She set Dan's basement on fire, probably fucked up his ship, might have damaged all his old crimefighting stuff and what was she thinking, she could bet Rorschach never pulled a stunt like this; asshat though he was, he probably never ruined Dan's stuff—
"Laurie?" Dan's voice, loud and tinged with panic, echoed over the flames.
"Fire extinguishers! Where the hell are the fire extinguishers?" And oh god, she was so embarrassed, she was snapping at Dan. As if this was his fault.
Thankfully, he didn't notice, or didn't care, because he just ran to the wall and grabbed one. "Over here. Laurie, what happened? I thought…"
And the concern in his voice was really too freaking much to take. Laurie interrupted him, "Look, I'm really sorry. I was just snooping around down here. I saw the lights on in the ship. See," and the lie was already riding on her tongue. Because how could she explain that a small, treacherous (and admittedly bitchy) part of her wanted to set the place on fire, just a little bit. Just so she could clear away all the dust and nostalgia and shapes in the shadows that didn't seem to want her there. How could she explain to this sweet, kind of ridiculous man that she was pretty sure his past was trying to consume them both. "I was looking for the dash lighter."
Dan didn't call her out on it. "I don't smoke. That was the flame thrower."
Well, no shit. She resisted the urge to snap, to get defensive. Because it wasn't Dan's fault Laurie was an idiot sometimes. "Yeah, well, I know that now." She tried for humor, but it didn't feel right to her. She sighed, "Look, Dan. I'm really sorry."
"Hey, it's okay. My fault, I was down here checking out the systems earlier. I left everything on when I went out to the store." Dan looked her over, eyes intense and worried beneath those dumb (adorable) glasses. "You're not hurt?"
And suddenly, Laurie could see why Rorschach liked Dan so much. Even now, she was pretty sure Dan was the only person Rorschach would do anything for. She was beginning to understand the feeling.
She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
A/N: So yeah. Laurie. She was really fun to write, mostly because she agrees with me that Dan is ridiculous, yet adorable (mostly because I say so. Lol). Also, I really wanted to explore how she and Rorschach feel about each other. Because, I love Rorschach. I really do. I think he's a damaged, compelling character who is intriguingly tragic and interesting. But I think in real life, I would want to punch him in the face. All the time. Because I think he would make you feel like an idiot and incompetent. All the time. So I think that's why Laurie's extra bitchy to him. Because a strong woman like that, she wouldn't want to feel like that. Buut, I didn't have enough time to explore that. Maybe next time! Haha.