Ch. 26
Looking at himself, Rorschach almost felt embarrassed. The costume fit awkwardly on him now -- at least, that's how it seemed to him. And that's what it was, wasn't it? A costume? He shook his head and hoped that he would feel more like himself when he was fighting with Nightshade again. Once she was in costume also, he would feel less compelled to engage himself in inappropriate public displays in the street like he had earlier.
Rorschach shook his head. Thinking about it afterwards, it astonished him to think he had done the things he did... In front of people, no less! He briefly wanted to turn to passersby and tell them that he had no ill intentions towards the girl -- he was serious and wasn't playing with her heart to break it. Then again, he also wanted to ask them why they cared now all of a sudden. People used to avoid looking at him, but he saw their eyes going towards him at times now. Not just when he was with Laurie, either. Suddenly, he was visible in the crowd, and he really didn't know how to explain it, let alone respond to it.
Rorschach brushed at his jacket sleeves, straightened his scarf, then made his way to Blake's residence. He knocked on the door, and Laurie answered.
"Oh, hi," she said, smiling at him as she stepped aside to let him in. "I didn't expect you so early. I was about to eat dinner, actually."
Rorschach shrugged at her and she motioned for him to follow her into the kitchen.
"Here, sit down," she told him. "Are you hungry? Why don't you join me?"
She was already setting a plate down for him before he had a chance to reply. She seemed to have made enough for him to eat too. If she wasn't expecting him, how did she manage to do that?
Laurie sat down with her own plate of food, and Rorschach lifted his mask slightly and left it as it was. Laurie set down her fork and gave him an exasperated look.
"Rorschach, seriously?" she asked him.
Rorschach looked behind him and then at her and shrugged.
"He's not here," she said, "I think he went to talk to Mom or something."
Rorschach pointed at the time then at the door.
"I don't think he's coming home anytime soon. And if he does -- you can put it back on. Come on, can you really see in that thing?"
Rorschach nodded, but he took off the mask.
"That's better," smiled Laurie. Then she leaned in closer. "Have you lost your tongue?"
"No," he said, a little sullen.
They started eating, silence between them. Afterwards, Laurie excused herself to change. Now that the house was pretty much empty, Rorschach had time to look around. He briefly gazed out the kitchen window into the backyard. He was a little surprised to find a garden there. He moved into the living room and studied the pictures on the mantelpiece. People that looked like possibly Blake's parents, a younger Blake, a picture of the Minutemen, and a picture of Sally Jupiter when she was younger. Rorschach recalled the picture Nite Owl II had taken of the Crimebusters and wondered what had happened to it.
Nightshade returned, and they went out without a word. Rorschach felt elated as they stepped out into the night. It was good to return to normal again. Well, as normal as they could possibly get, he supposed. He couldn't remember when Nightshade's costume looked so distracting. They ran their old routes to reacquaint themselves once more before making their way into shadier areas. Rorschach hadn't been keeping tabs on the Underboss, so they had to start with new material. One lead took them into an unfamiliar neighborhood. They were standing on the rooftop of a commercial building when they saw a familiar air ship approach them.
"Oh God, Dan," said Nightshade.
Rorschach said nothing. He just put his hands in his pockets as the ship hovered around them before the hatch on the underside opened and Nite Owl II jumped out.
"Wow guys," said Nite Owl II, "It's great to see you -- I hadn't seen you two in so long I thought you'd quit."
Rorschach almost told Nite Owl II that it was because they were avoiding him but he thought that was too cruel.
"Yeah, that's nice," said Nightshade. "I mean, no."
Nite Owl II gave Nightshade a flustered look and Nightshade herself looked confused.
"So," said Nite Owl II, as if nothing had happened, "What are you two working on tonight?"
"Underboss," said Nightshade. Then she flinched as she caught herself too late.
"Oh hey, me too!"
Nightshade turned and looked at Rorschach. He had to turn away so they wouldn't hear him laughing.
"Why don't we team up? We're looking for the same guy so we can compare notes and see what we've got." Nite Owl II was practically beaming at them.
"We don't have any notes, actually," Nightshade told him.
"That's all right. Come on -- why don't you guys come with me? I won't bite, haha."
Nite Owl II folded his arms and laughed awkwardly. So did Nightshade. Nite Owl II returned to his ship and landed it so they could board it. Rorschach looked inside, intrigued in spite of himself by the craftsmanship.
"Did you build this yourself?" he asked Nite Owl II.
"Yeah," said Nite Owl II. He began to explain to him the process of construction and mechanics of the ship.
"That's nice," said Rorschach, but he was certain that Nite Owl II hadn't heard him. It really was a nice ship, however. Ozymandias was right about Nite Owl II. He seemed to be an intelligent man, but he just had some problems with socialization, perhaps even his self-esteem. Rorschach snorted to himself. He wasn't in any position to judge, he supposed.
"I've been tracking the irregular shipments that have going in and out in these locations," said Nite Owl II, pulling up a mechanized bulletin.
"Wow," said Nightshade, who seemed impressed for once. She peered down at the flashing dots with interest.
"Of course, I haven't been able to figure out which ones are actually Underboss' and which ones are just your regular criminals."
"We probably need to get down there," said Nightshade. "I mean, that's what Rorschach and I usually do. You can't just find everything from up here."
"Great," said Nite Owl II. He was smiling and seemed to be oozing with optimism. "Tell us where we need to go and we can start tonight."
They spent the rest of the night doing hands-on work in the streets. They created a checklist based on what Nite Owl II had already gathered and used the trial and error method to narrow down half of their suspects.
"Well," said Nightshade, looking tired after hours of searching. "I think we should call it a night. We can work on the rest tomorrow."
"That sounds fine," said Nite Owl II. "Where do I meet you guys?"
Nightshade looked up at Rorschach. He shrugged at her and pointed at the ship. She nodded.
"How about the place where you found us?" she told him. "Just after sunset."
"Sounds great to me," Nite Owl II nodded. "Too bad Ozy can't join us -- I really had fun with you guys."
Nightshade smiled kindly at him. That irrational thread of jealousy tugged at Rorschach's sleeve, compelling him to punch Nite Owl II out. Rorschach ignored this feeling as much as he could, but he couldn't help but become sore in the process. Rorschach glared at Nite Owl II as he nodded and waved to them and finally let them be.
Rorschach and Nightshade stood where they were for a long moment before Nightshade finally stretched and looked at him.
"I really don't know what to think of that whole business with Dan," she laughed. "I mean, he can be a little annoying, but you can't help but like him because he's so enthusiastic and chipper about crime fighting."
"I suppose," grunted Rorschach.
"What's wrong? Don't you like Dan?"
"No."
"Oh." Nightshade frowned. "All right."
They walked to Blake's home together. Rorschach walked Nightshade up the front steps and started to leave when she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. Rorschach looked around for Blake, but he didn't seem to be there.
"Hmm," said Nightshade, frowning as she removed her mask. "Dad?"
No answer. She shrugged at him. Then she gave him a wicked smile. Rorschach backed away from her with his hands out. Laurie laughed.
"I'm not going to bite you silly," she told him.
"That's not what I'm afraid of," he told her quietly, but he wasn't sure if she heard him.
"Sit down," said Laurie, practically shoving him down on the couch. She sat down next to him and pulled off his mask as he looked at her, startled. She put her hands on his chest and started to kiss him. Walter couldn't think of anything else to do but respond in kind. They kissed until he couldn't breathe anymore and had to push her away from him.
Walter stared at Laurie in disbelief. He was shocked by her fervor, but couldn't help but share her excitement nonetheless. He let her lean in and kiss him again, and when she untied his scarf he didn't complain. She was kissing his throat now, and he enjoyed it, but he didn't like the way his heart was racing until his pulse seemed to spread down into his abdomen. Walter had to stop her.
"What's wrong?" she asked him. Her face was flushed and her eyes were bright. He wanted to kiss her again -- wanted her to kiss him again, but he resisted the urge.
"Your father is going to come in," he told her. The thought mortified him in such a way that it chilled his whole body and made him ironically feel a little better.
"No he isn't," she said, kissing him again. Her teeth grazed his lip and he shivered.
"He will, and the first thing he'll see when he comes in that door is us being indecent."
"We're just kissing," she told him. "It's nothing too bad, is it?"
No, he supposed not. He let her climb onto his lap and kiss him with her hands resting on the sides of his face, thumbs on his cheeks and fingers under his chin. Walter put his hands on her hips -- just in case he had to pull her off of him, of course. Laurie made an intriguing sound as he leaned into her, and he shifted on the couch to push her down onto it. On top now, Walter tried not to bear too much of his weight on her as he slowly kissed her. He enjoyed the soft feel of her lips against his, and the way their mouths melded into the other's. Her fingers were in his hair now, and he shivered for a moment before continuing on to her face, then to her neck. He felt her thighs pressing into his sides and he thought he was going to pass out.
There was a creak as the house settled, but Walter felt his heart leap to his throat and pulled back very quickly. Laurie stared at him from where she was lying on the couch, a blush across her cheeks and chest. Had he unbuttoned those buttons on her top? He didn't remember, and it shocked him to think that he had done that. Walter closed his eyes briefly, feeling a little ashamed of his behavior.
"Are you okay?" Laurie asked him, sitting up. He could hear her breathing heavily. He was appalled when he instinctively leaned in to kiss her again. No, he mustn't.
Walter shuddered for a moment as he stood up. Colors swam in front of his eyes for a few seconds. Then he stooped down to pick up his scarf. He paused to retie his jacket, which had come undone in the process.
"I should go," he told Laurie, who jumped to her feet and grabbed his hands.
"No, stay, please," she said, looking at him with wide eyes. Walter stared at her as if she had gone insane. Laurie shook her head. "No, not like that. I mean, you know -- just sleep. Please, Walter."
Walter hesitated. He suddenly wasn't very sure of how to handle himself, and even simply sleeping in her bed seemed like a bad idea. He almost said no, but then he remembered the night before and how cold his bed had been. It hadn't been so great the night before that either. Well, ever, really. He recalled wanting more than anything to climb into bed with her. Walter really didn't know how to respond at this rate. After a moment, he let Laurie take his hand and lead him into her room. If he didn't like what he saw or what she did, he could leave at any moment, couldn't he?
"Wait here," said Laurie, leaving and coming back a few minutes later dressed for sleep. Walter glanced at her for a moment. He looked down as he took off his jacket, then his gloves, then his suit jacket, tie, and... he couldn't bear to take off any more than that. He placed the scarf on top of everything else and placed his garments neatly on the back of her desk chair. He turned and stared at her, embarrassed. Laurie was already in her bed, and it was so small he wondered if it could fit the both of them in it. She pulled the covers back on the other side of her and patted the sheets in a gesture for him to climb in. He politely obeyed and settled in uncertainly.
Laurie smiled and turned off the light on the bedside table. The room was bathed in darkness, and for a few seconds while it took Walter's eyes to adjust, he was afraid that Laurie had tricked him and she was going to do something awful and he wouldn't stop her. He couldn't decide which idea was more horrible -- that she would do something like that, or that he would allow it -- and lay in nervous uncertainty for a few minutes.
The moonlight was coming in through Laurie's window. Walter could hear Laurie breathing next to him, and he felt a little more relaxed, even when she rolled towards him and put her hand on his chest.
"Good night," said Laurie.
Walter didn't reply. He stared up at the ceiling, wondering if this was really a good idea and whether or not he should get up and apologize and leave. The next thing he knew, he was on his side with his arm around Laurie, whose back was to him. Walter blinked in confusion for a moment. He looked around the room and the sunshine streaming in through the window, then at Laurie. She was breathing deeply next to him, still asleep. Walter lay back down and stayed as he was for a little while before he got up. He was fully dressed when Laurie woke.
"Oh," said Laurie, smiling as she rubbed her eyes. "Wow -- I thought you staying over was a dream."
Walter almost told her it had been. He still couldn't believe that he had fallen asleep so quickly and soundly. He felt his stomach lurch for a moment as he realized his mask and hat must still be in the living room. He practically ran out, looking in the hallways for Blake. The house was still. He made his way into the living room and found his mask on the arm of the couch. He picked it up.
"Don't look at me like that," he said to it, before putting it in his pocket. He found his hat and tucked it under his arm. He returned to Laurie's room and stood in the doorway as if he had never been in her room before this.
Laurie was sitting on the bed, and she smiled at him.
"Do you want breakfast?" she asked.
"No, I should go," he said, before he added, "Thank you."
"All right," said Laurie, nodding.
"Otherwise, I will be late for work," he explained.
Laurie smiled at him.
"All right," she said again, but she didn't seem as disappointed. "See you later?"
"Yes," nodded Walter. He stood awkwardly for a few seconds before going to the window. He realized Blake might be returning even at this very moment and he didn't want to run into him on his way out the door.
Walter climbed out the window and stood in the grass waving at Laurie. Then he thought better of it and came to the window again. Laurie walked to the window and leaned down to let him kiss her. Walter felt a little better. He gave Laurie a reassuring smile before he turned and walked through the backyard, hands in his pockets. He tried to stifle the skip in his step, but finally allowed it, this once.
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To be continued...