Chapter 3: Late Night Company

(The music for this chapter begins with "Toys and Stars" and ends with "Der Regen hat aufgehört.")

When I woke up, Alfred was standing over me. "Dinner is ready, Miss Brielle."

"Thank you. I'll be right there."

He left.

I groggily got up and saw that the sun was low in the sky now. What a good… but kinda terrible… kinda weird day. I think "emotional" might be a better way to describe it, actually. Just emotions, in general.

As I passed by the wall mirror, I stopped and checked that white mark again. It didn't look like it had grown any larger since the fitting rooms, and it still wasn't doing anything besides existing, so… I just let it be for a little while longer.

Alfred had made some delicious scallops—and I thought I would hate scallops, but these were like the super fresh, melt in your mouth, buttery kind—Mm! So good! And we chatted a little more over the meal, but that was about it for the evening. He had some more chores to do. I offered to help with the cleanup, but he insisted that he had everything handled. That just left me to… wander around a bit.

I passed by all the places I'd seen before, taking the time to really appreciate some of the art pieces I'd only glanced at last night, and then eventually found my way into a living room with the biggest flat screen tv I have ever seen. At this point, why even bother being shocked, right?

The couch was comfy, and for a little bit I debated whether or not I wanted to watch something. It was just so quiet in here. All by myself.

"So…"

I made some sort of strangled, startled noise as I jumped off the couch and spun around. There was this kid dressed in red, green, and yellow—Robin I realised—standing there, scowling at me.

"You're Father's 'guest?'" He sounded so serious despite being so young. And so short, for that matter.

"Hello," I said, trying to be polite. "I'm Brielle." I held out my hand, but he didn't take it. "Oookay, handshake retracted."

"Allow me to be frank with you, guest. This manor belongs to me and my father, two of the most powerful people in Gotham. So I would keep my grubby little hands to myself if I were you, unless you want to lose them."

My eyes went wide. "Okay. Message received." He turned and started walking out of the room as if he had someplace better to be. "So that's it? You're just gonna threaten and run?" He was out the door now, and probably wouldn't be turning back. What a weird kid.

Well… I guess that meant I was going back up to my room where I couldn't touch anything. As I was walking through the halls, though, I noticed the path that led to the Batcave, and I hesitated. I was curious to see if maybe Dick was back from wherever he went, but… I had no business being down there uninvited. I'd probably just get in the way anyhow.

There were a handful of books in the guest room, and I tried my hand at reading some of them to pass the time, but they were pretty old things, like the abridged version of Treasure Island, Great Expectations, War and Peace, that sort of thing. Not exactly my personal favourite genre. I mean, Treasure Island was exciting enough, but it was difficult to get through the flowery language at times.

Before I knew it, it was ten o'clock and I had done a whole lot of nothing.

I changed into one of my new pyjamas (the white spot still hadn't budged), and got ready for bed, but after I turned out the light and laid there for a while, it was starting to become apparent what kind of a night I was in for.

I turned over. I still didn't feel any more comfortable.

I tossed on my side. I still didn't feel any more sleepy.

Even with all of these nice things—the pjs, the sheets, the pillows—none of it mattered while my mind was still mulling over everything that had happened, and my heart was still feeling like a pack of bricks had been dropped on top of it. And more than anything else… I just didn't want to be alone. I share… I used to share… a room with my sister, so having a room all to myself is… a little alien to me.

I probably dozed off once or twice, but around one in the morning, it was clear that I wasn't actually going to get any meaningful amount of sleep. And that's when I did what I always do when I can't sleep.

The hallways were dark now, but I could mostly remember my way around. It wasn't quite as creepy as I thought it might be. Actually, it was kind of cool. Especially when I got to this one room where a large fireplace had been lit. Now this absolutely felt like a scene straight out of Beauty and the Beast.

It might have been a foyer or a sitting room or something—it was big, that's the point—and I went over to the fireplace and sat down in front of it, just watching the flames dance about. I felt so small beside it, my dark shadow jumping out behind me. I could feel the heat a good yard and a half away. Especially around my toes as they poked out from underneath my navy silk pants.

I wondered if it were possible to nod off here, resting my head in my arms, listening to the steady sound of my breathing and the crackle of the logs in the fire.

Then, someone gently cleared their throat. I didn't jump this time as I turned around and saw Nightwing coming up behind me. "Hey," he said.

"Hey."

"Hope I didn't scare you this time."

I smiled and shook my head.

"Can't sleep?"

"I guess…" I was still hugging my knees when he took a few lazy steps over and sat down next to me, just a foot apart.

"I can't sleep sometimes, either."

"But don't you work at night?" I was sure that the vigilantes in Gotham were known for their nocturnal hours.

"Most of the time. It's not exactly a very rigid schedule."

We stared at the fire for a while.

"I remember my first night in the manor…" he said distantly. I tried to imagine it. Twelve-year-old Dick, sleeping in a room like mine, all alone. "I could hardly sleep. I wasn't used to things being so… quiet." I assumed he was referring to how crazy things must have been at the circus. All those people, coming and going, staying up late to tear down the big top before heading out to the next location on the map… I smiled. It sounded kinda familiar.

"Did you guys stay in a lot of hotels, or was it more of a trailer situation?" I asked, forgetting that the circus hadn't actually been brought up.

It took Dick a second to realise what I meant, but then he said, "We had trailers on location. Mom always tried to keep ours in quiet places so I could get to sleep on time… but it never really made a huge difference." He chuckled and his teeth showed for a moment.

"What?" I asked, wondering what it was he found so funny.

"Nothing, just… you reminded me of something I haven't thought of in ages." I waited patiently for him to go on, wondering what little anecdote about his unique life he had remembered. "There were times, when the noise from the rest of the camp was too loud and I would sneak out of bed… One time, I managed to get all the way to the big top—you know, the tent—and I stole some snacks from the concessions stand without anyone noticing."

"A nefarious streak, huh?" I jokingly prodded. "Wow, I guess vigilantes aren't all law-abiding after all."

That got him laughing. "What, you never did anything nefarious when you were a kid?"

I tried to think. It was taking longer than I thought it would to come up with something interesting.

"Wow, okay," he said, looking back at the fire.

"No, no," I smiled, "Just give me a second, I'm thinking."

"It takes you this long to think of one bad thing you did?"

I pursed my lips. "One time… when I was five—in kindergarten—I, uh…" I started laughing nervously and threw my head back a little.

"What?" He chuckled.

I sighed. "I may or may not have gotten on the bad side of my teachers because… I went around vehemently telling all the other five-year-olds that Santa Clause wasn't real. And I made a lot of them cry."

At least Dick thought it was funny. "At five?"

"I was a rebel," I nodded, inwardly cringing. "Real hard-boiled, you know?"

"Alright, remind me never to get on your bad side."

We both laughed this time, and my arms slipped down from the top of my knees to around my calves. "But yeah… I kinda wish I was a little easier to handle back then. For their sakes."

"Oh, I'm sure you weren't that bad."

I gave a short quack of a laugh. "Yeah, tell that to everyone who ever babysat me." I let my chin rest on my knees as I relived some rather uncomfortable memories. "I was also a really gullible kid. Er, okay, well, granted I'm still pretty slow, but back then especially. I remember this one night me and my sister had been dropped off at a friend's house while the rest of the fam went to some thing, I forget what, and the mom tried to get me to eat my carrots at dinner by convincing me that they would help with my eyesight, and that I might end up needing glasses if I didn't eat them."

"Hey, I mean, it clearly worked, right?"

"Tell that to my sister. She ate more than me and she's the one with glasses," I snickered.

"But the whole carrots thing, I think that one's been around for ages."

"Yeah, except I went on believing that until I was at least fifteen."

Dick suppressed a snort.

"I was just trusting that adults knew best!" I cried, the two of us busting up a bit. "They took advantage of my childlike innocence!"

"Well, hey, I believed that if you ate, like, watermelons seeds, they would start growing inside of you, for at least five straight years before anyone bothered to explain how seeds work to me."

Laughing felt good right now. It was nice having someone to talk to. And I was starting to really like talking with Dick specifically. When he laughed—even just when he smiled—I tell you what, I could look at that face for hours. I briefly wondered… if he might feel some type of similar way about me?

"Okay, but you seem to know a thing or two more about the circus than most other people I've met—have you been to one before?" He asked, leaning on one knee.

"Oh, no, I haven't. Always thought it would be cool, though. No, my family was a band."

"Really?" He asked, looking intrigued.

"Yep. We all played together and we toured some—only ever got as far as Tennessee—but we still ended up getting into the top ten percent of bands in America, so hey, it's nothing to sneeze at."

"That's awesome! What's your band's name?"

"NGN."

"And what instrument did you play?"

I sighed. "I never really got that far. It was mostly my older sibs who played, I only ever sang and messed around with some of the instruments here and there. But I do totally relate to being on the road all the time, staying up late tearing everything down, and for us specifically, going from hotel to hotel every night. You get to see a lot of interesting places that way. Like, did you ever go through Minneapolis?"

"Yeah."

"Mall of America?"

"I think we stopped at the food court and then that was it," he laughed.

"Okay, valid, but you have to admit, the place looks super cool."

"Definitely. Oh, or how about The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville?"

"Yup, been there. The Grand Canyon?"

"Of course. L.A?"

"Tried to avoid L.A. actually," I smiled. "You just, like, pass within the orbit of the L.A. area and you get stuck in traffic for days."

"Fair point. Oh! How about Shakespeare in the park?"

"Never got that far East," I reminded him. "But it would be cool to go someday. Actually, something I've always wanted to do is see a real ballet in New York City. That would be cool." I started staring off wistfully as I thought about it; a real ballet with all the professional costumes and the live orchestra… something about it just seemed lovely to me.

"Did you ever take ballet?" He asked curiously.

"Only one semester, but by then I was a Junior and, you know, they don't really offer people much in the way of beginner classes for teens and adults in my area, so it wasn't the greatest experience. It also doesn't help that I'm about as graceful as an ostrich on rollerblades."

"Come on, I'm sure you weren't that bad." He nudged me gently with his elbow and I suddenly remembered how close the two of us were sitting. "Can't be any worse than me, my first day up on the wire."

"Why? What happened?"

He made a sound caught between a sigh and a chuckle. "Okay, so the first thing they teach you in trapeze is to listen to your instructor, right? As long as you do what you're told when they tell you, you'll be fine. Timing is very important. I get up there, and I'm just—what, five? Six?—of course I didn't listen. I guess I just didn't want to or something because I refused to let go of the bar and ended up getting stuck hanging there over the net and they had to come and get me down."

"Hey, but at least you had good grip strength," I pointed out. "These chicken arms of mine could never even hold me up on the monkey bars. I'd hate to see how fast I'd just fall if I tried the trapeze."

"Do you want to sometime?"

I turned to him, excitement bubbling in my chest. "For real?"

"Sure."

"Um, yeah? That would be awesome! I mean, like I said, I don't know how great I'll be at it, but I've always wanted to try it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I saw it on tv one time when I was a kid—it looked super fun."

"Well, we've got a course I can set up in the Batcave some time."

"Absolutely! I'd love to! Thank you." I found myself just looking at him, smiling, for a little while.

"What?" He asked, looking slightly pinker all of a sudden.

"It's just… you and Batman have been so nice to me… I just really appreciate it. So, thank you."

"Hey, it's our pleasure. We both know how rough it can be, suddenly having the rug pulled out from under your feet."

"Did something happen to him too?" I asked, the tone of the conversation all of a sudden getting very quiet.

"Yeah…" was all Dick said. He was leaning back on his arms now, legs crossed at the ankles as he watched the fire. I decided to match his posture. It felt good to stretch a little after sitting in one position for so long.

"So is it just you, Batman, Alfred, and Robin here?" I asked after a while.

"Oh, you've met Robin?" His eyebrows had risen considerably high.

"Yeah… is he, uh…?"

"Angry? Yes."

We started laughing again.

"That's one word for it, I guess," I said, remembering our brief little chat.

"Don't let him intimidate you, and if he gives you trouble, you can come to me or Batman any time."

"Thanks."

One of the logs in the fireplace shifted, causing sparks to fly up into the flue.

"But it is just the four of you?" I continued, remembering my original question.

"Well, not quite. There're a couple other vigilantes that come through every now and then."

"How many is a couple?"

He squinted, thinking hard. "You know, just like… ten?"

"So a reasonably small number," I said jokingly. After we had finished laughing a bit more, I added, "Are you all close?"

"Well, Batman took most of us in. Over time it's turned into, like, a big family, you know? With some of us closer than others."

"I get that. I have a big family too. Not all of us are as close as we would like."

"How many siblings do you have?" He asked, now leaning back on his elbows and stifling a yawn.

"I have four big brothers, one older sister and one little sister."

"So a reasonably small number?" He joked, copying my comment from earlier.

"Hey, you laugh, but I think people with smaller families are missing out. I mean, yeah, there are cons, sure, but what family structure doesn't have drawbacks? In this case, however, I think having a big family just means there's more love to go around. More people to do things and go places with. Who needs to go to a party when you can just bring the party with you wherever you go?"

"I take it you're close with your family?" He asked, smiling at me, and by now it was getting hard to keep looking back at him (my neck gets sore easy) so I gave in to my tired muscles and laid down. He did the same, the both of us staring up at the ceiling.

"I'd say pretty close, yeah." I tried not to think about the events of the last two days, instead trying to remember all the good times we'd shared together. "Especially my little sis. We've basically been glued to the hip our entire lives—against her will, of course—but as much as she hates to admit it, she wouldn't know what to do without me. And… I wouldn't know what to do without her…" Like being able to sleep, for example.

I suddenly felt Dick take hold of my hand and we looked at each other.

"I know it's hard to hear," he whispered. "But everything is going to be okay."

I smiled weakly and squeezed his hand. I suddenly found myself wishing I could actually touch his skin instead of the stretchy fabric gloves he was wearing, but it was fine. This was close enough for now.

"Hey, Dick?" I asked, looking back up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, Pinky?"

"…You promise everything's gonna be okay?"

I knew what I was asking, but… I just needed to hear those words one last time.

"…I can't promise anything… but… I believe it will."

"…thanks for being with me…" I whispered, leaning my head against his arm.

"…I'm happy to… be here…"

The next second, my eyes were closing, putting an end to a lovely conversation that I would end up remembering for the rest of my life.

It had gotten cold in the night, yet for some reason, I felt warm. I thought that maybe I was back in bed, my arm slung over one of my pillows, but something about how the mattress felt an awful lot like the floor told me otherwise. Not that I was particularly interested in paying attention to that. I was just happy to have gotten to sleep. Now my mission was simply to never wake up.

My pillow started moving and I gripped it tighter, wanting to fall back into the dream I'd been having.

"…hey…" someone with a deep voice whispered. "…I've got to get up…"

"Don't go… please… stay…" I begged, not opening my eyes.

The pillow stopped moving and I was nearly back into deep sleep, breathing in scents I was both unfamiliar with and also falling in love with. How was it I was able to feel so much calmer, so much more at peace, when… when I was… sleeping next… to…

"Um… good morning?"

That had not been Dick.

Immediately I opened my eyes and when I saw the figure of a stranger standing over us, I jumped to my feet, fiddling madly with my pyjamas and looking from the stranger to Dick, who had also leapt to his feet, his face bright red, while he tried to grab the mask that had fallen from his eyes.

"Ja—Re—Red Hood!" He stammered, jamming the blue mask back into place, a little crooked. "What are you doing here?"

This guy—"Red Hood"— was wearing a thick, beige jacket, clunky boots, and dark grey spandex with a red bat symbol displayed on his chest. His hair, I noticed, had one section in the front that was stark white, almost like a dye job, and he was making a rather amused face at me and Dick.

"Ooh hoo hoo, I'm a little more interested in what you're doing here. Getting all cozy, I see," he teased, and I could only assume he was one of the other vigilantes/found family members Dick had mentioned last night. Kinda made me wish I wasn't wearing just my pyjamas right then, and that I hadn't been stupid enough to fall asleep on the floor next to Dick. "She your new girlfriend, Dickie?"

I could feel blood rushing to my face as he pointed at me, and then Dick said, "She—I—it's none of your business. Where's Batman?"

"In the cave, loverboy," he smirked. Then he turned to me and winked. "Hey. Name's Red Hood. Just say the word and I can show you what a real man looks like."

"Hood," Dick said, taking his shoulder rather firmly. "Leave her alone."

"Okay, okay, fine. Tou-chy."

"I should probably go," I said nervously, shuffling my feet. I needed to change into something a little less… like pyjamas.

"Okay," said Dick quickly. "I'm sorry if—"

"No no, you're fine. Just… yeah. Se—uh—see you later." And with that I rushed out of the room, tugging nervously on a lock of my long, brown hair. For a brief moment, I paused, listening while I was still in earshot.

"Dude!?" Dick was saying. "Do you mind?"

"Aw, did I interrupt your little make-out session on the floor?"

"We weren't making out, she was just…"

"Sleeping. Next to you. Like friends do."

"For your information, she…"

It sounded like the two of them were leaving now, their voices trailing away. I hid a tiny smile as I scurried the rest of the way back to my room where I quickly changed into something super cute. It was a sleeveless turtleneck with the white pants and a cropped white blazer to go over top. My hair I quickly pulled into a ponytail, letting some of my long bangs fall down the sides of my face. But was that too restricted? I let it down and tried seeing how it looked just brushed out with one side pinned up with a cute little clip. But then that looked too frilly. I thought maybe if I could do it half-up/half-down it might split the difference, but I was terrible with doing anything more complicated than a braid, so I decided to just leave it as it was. Hair down was fine.

Mmmmmmm but maybe the ponytail was a better idea.

Twenty minutes later, I was out of the bathroom, hair up in a loose ponytail with the bangs framing my face and just a touch of makeup on. If I bumped into Dick again, well… I hoped he would like what he saw.

I didn't know where else to go besides the dining room, but on the way, I once again found myself staring down the hall that led to the Batcave and I was very tempted to try and find Dick. One foot was already starting to move, but I resisted. He'd be with that Red Hood guy, and Batman might be there… No, going to breakfast was the sensible thing to do. And who knows? Maybe Dick would come and find me? I hoped so.

It only just dawned on me, though, right as I had my hand on the dining room door.

I just spent the night with Nightwing… with Dick…

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…