With his questions from the other day still buzzing in his mind, Dick brings Galatea breakfast again so he can have an excuse to chat with her. When he walks in he's surprised to find her seated upright in her bed with one of the books he left for her open in her lap. She hears him at the door and looks up from her book to greet him with a happy smile.
"Good Morning, Dick."
"Morning! I brought you breakfast; mind if I keep you company again today?"
"Your company is always welcome. Who could say no to breakfast, anyway?"
She pats the empty space next to her in the bed, invitingly. Taking her cue, Dick moves to her bedside and places the tray on her nightstand again. This time he brought her a spinach and feta omelet with a side of bacon.
"I'm curious, are you the one cooking these meals, or is Alfred?"
"Hm, how about you wager a guess? If you're right, you get to ask me a question but if you're wrong I get to ask you a question."
"I'm not sure how that's much of a wager. All we did the other day was answer each other's questions." She chuckles and then picks up the plate from the tray. "But, guessing is fun anyways, so I'll bite. If I had to venture a guess…"
She pops a bite of food in her mouth, mulling over her thoughts as she carefully chews it. Her action makes it seem as though she thinks she can glean an answer from the taste and texture of the food.
"I would guess you cooked both meals. Based on the evidence that they were both egg dishes, you carried them up yourself, and that you told me you like to cook, I think it's likely you made them both."
"Is that your final answer?"
She chuckles at his playful response.
"Yes, that is my final answer."
"Bingo! I thought it would be a little harder for you to guess. Am I that easy to read?"
"I'd like to think I'm just getting to understand you better. For some reason, it just seems like something you'd do. Though I must admit when you said you liked cooking, I wasn't sure what to expect of your actual skill. Both of the things you've cooked for me are really good!"
Dick's chest seems to puff out with a swell of pride at her words.
"Really? I'm just glad you like them!"
Galatea gives him a warm smile and an affirmative hum before taking another bite of food.
"So, since I won our bet, I'd like to ask something to satisfy my curiosity. Why did you go through the effort to cook me breakfast?"
"Damn, digging for a confession today huh? Alright then, I'll spill. For one, I actually really like cooking and I never get the chance to cook for anyone besides myself. It's more fun if someone else is enjoying it. Two, breakfast always makes me happy so it seemed maybe it would be the best way to get to know you. And three, well, Alfred has enough on his plate and I hate asking him for anything I can do myself."
Galatea stops eating her food to gaze at him in admiration.
"You have a kind heart, Dick, you know that?"
He looks back at her in surprise and then looks away shyly. With a light blush on his face he nervously scratches the back of his head.
"I guess so."
He quickly turns the spotlight back onto her, allowing him to recover from his embarrassment. Thinking back on his ponderings from the other night, he aims to satisfy his curiosity next.
"Alright, it's my turn for a personal question."
"But Dick, you lost the bet! Only the winner gets to ask a question."
Dick's face flashes a look of surprise, which crumples into a disappointed frown. She giggles after seeing his reaction to her momentary teasing.
"I'm just kidding! You can ask me whatever you like."
"Oh, so she can joke."
He pouts a little as he teases her back. She chuckles and then replies, despite her mouthful of food.
"When the mood strikes. Now are you going to ask your question or whittle away the day criticizing my sense of humor?"
"I don't know; that does sound awfully tempting. But, I think my curiosity gets the better of me this time. I've been wanting to ask: what's your home like?"
With a mouth still full of food she hums a little in confusion. She swallows her food and then replies inquisitively, clearly not expecting him to ask her that.
"My home?"
"Yeah, I mean you live on the moon, right? I imagine it's a very different place than here."
The question seemed to take her mind somewhere else. After he finishes his sentence, her hand slowly falls, resting the fork back down on her plate. She looks down at it and then off into the distance with a far-off look in her eyes.
"It is. It's not like here where there is a constant sense of change and movement. There, long stretches of time measure out life as it swings between periods of heated activity and quiet recovery. In the dark days of the month we meditate, study the stars, and tend to the gardens in the city. On the other hand, in periods of light we work hard on ourselves, improving our bodies and our minds.
Most of our people are warriors; they spend their time training throughout those periods of light. The clamoring of their weapons can be heard echoing out through the halls of a great temple that sits in the center of our city. Scholars can be found there too walking among the warriors, perusing the grand libraries, studying tomes and adding their own contribution to those great shelves. Those that are not scholars or warriors are artisans or farmers and can usually be found selling their goods at the market around the temple, when they aren't working on their fields or crafts of course.
All of the buildings are homogeneous, carved out of the same pure white stone that glows with the light of the sun. The only color dotting the city comes from the lush green vines of bioluminescent flowers lining the streets, that light the way in periods of darkness. Whether in times of light or dark the streets are always quiet, even when they are lined with people. Most find the quiet peaceful, but something about it is unsettling to me. Despite that, it is a beautiful place, when all is said and done."
Her mind settles back into the present moment. When she returns her gaze back to him she notices his brow seems to furrow with a hint of worry.
"It definitely sounds quite different from life here. But, why is it that you sound so sad when you talk about it?"
She looks back at him, a little surprised at his observation; she hadn't even recognized the sadness in her own voice. How could he recognize that so easily? Her eyes pull away from him for a moment, ashamed of her own vulnerability. May as well tell the truth; he'd probably know if I wasn't anyway.
"Well, I did run away for a reason. The sadness you hear is probably loneliness. At home I was an outlier, an oddity even; not quite an actual demigoddess but only a gifted mortal. When I think back on my life there, I honestly feel pretty removed from it. All I had was my training from morning to night. A life focused around training isn't uncommon, but I had to work longer and harder to prove I was worthy of Mother's gifts because I wasn't born to them. She expected a lot of me to become strong in body and mind; not just a warrior, but a scholar, a healer, and a huntress as well. Even though I knew she wanted to make me strong enough that no one could ever hurt me again, why she was so hard on me, I was still suffocating."
She pauses to look at him with a sad smile. When she mentions being hurt, Dick is reminded of what he and Bruce had read about her past. A quiet rage bubbles deep inside him at the thought of the kind of suffering she faced at the hands of her parents and the Sons of the Stag, knowing now how much she's suffered since. He works hard to contain his reaction under the surface, so as not to give away his knowledge of her past, but knowing how she's had to suffer loneliness after everything she'd already been through makes his chest ache. As he struggles to calm his heart, she speaks up again.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to unload all that on you. I probably shouldn't even be telling you all of this."
Galatea's words take him by surprise, pulling him out of his head and focusing on her. But, her words don't make any sense to him. Why was she apologizing to him? He looks at her with an almost offended confusion.
"Why do you say that?"
"The people of Earth aren't supposed to be aware we even exist. Our way of life is meant to be kept secret and here I am blabbing about it."
"Screw that; it's your life you should be allowed to talk about it. Listen, I'm glad you trust me enough to talk about it and if you want it can be our secret. No one has to know except me and you."
A quiet giggle escapes her lips at his silly, but earnest assurance.
"Thanks Dick. There's just something about you that makes me feel safe to share the truth. And honestly? I've lived enough of my life in solitude, it feels nice to have someone I trust enough to be honest with. I hope that's not too weird or presumptuous of me."
She blushes a little and her sad smile turns into a gentle, hopeful one as she looks back at him. He's blushing again too at the implication of her words.
"No, actually it makes me really happy. And for the record, you don't have to be alone anymore."
They share a quiet moment before she speaks up again.
"What made you want to know about my home, anyway?"
"Fireflies, funny enough. I saw some the other day and thought of you. Then I found myself wondering if you'd ever even seen them before. By any chance, are there fireflies on the moon?"
Galatea's head cocks to the side and her brow crumples in confusion.
"Fire…flies?" She asks him.
Dick can't help but chuckle at her puppy-like reaction to his question.
"I thought not. I'll have to show them to you sometime; I think you'd like them. You landed in our backyard at a good time. It just so happens they are something you can only see this time of year."
"They sound dangerous. I'm not sure I want to see them."
Dick laughs at her worried tone, amused at the thought of such an innocuous creature being considered dangerous.
"I guess their name is a little ominous. I promise they are entirely harmless. They are called that because they look like little glowing fires as they fly through the air."
"Ah, I actually think I've read about them before! Lampyridae, correct?"
"I'm not sure," he says laughing again, "we call them fireflies or lightning bugs."
"Wait a minute, let me get this straight: you saw a bunch of insects and thought of me? Do I look like a bug to you or something?"
At first, Dick thinks she's teasing him again but then he sees her face show genuine concern, as if there were something actually wrong with her. Dick awkwardly smiles in the wake of her reaction and then waves his hands in front of him to show his disagreement.
"Hey, no reason to bug out! It sounds really bad when you put it like that. From far away you can't even tell they're bugs; all you can see is the warm glow of their little lights. In fact, when there are a lot of them together they look like little stars in the night sky. That's why they reminded me of you."
The concern knitting in her brow smooths over into a happy smile with his explanation.
"Oh! That actually sounds beautiful," she says warmly, "So I remind you of the night sky then?"
In his haste to recover from his unintentional insult, he accidentally blurts out the embarrassing truth of his comparison. Realizing he's confessed that she reminds him of something so romantic makes him a little flustered. He manages to stammer out an awkward reply.
"Ah, well, kind of."
In response to his confession, a bright, beautiful smile spreads across her face, distracting Dick from his befuddled thoughts for a moment. His cheeks warm in the light of it.
"I'm flattered that you could compare me to the night sky. I think you are right; I would like to see them. I'd very much like to see them with you if that's okay."
Not yet fully recovered from her dazzling smile, her words hit him like a one-two punch. He finds himself at a loss for words of his own in the face of her request. Realizing he has to reply with something, he stammers out some kind of halfhearted agreement.
"Oh, um, sure."
The sound of Alfred's voice interrupts him, saving him from stumbling over his words any further.
"There you are Master Dick; I've been looking everywhere for you. Your language tutor is here for your lessons. She's waiting down in the library for you."
Happy for an excuse to escape the awkward situation he got himself in, he practically jumps out of his chair.
"I'll be right there! Excuse me, Gal."
"Of course," she says with a sad smile, "enjoy your lessons!"
Alfred watches the disappointment on her face grow as Dick leaves the room. Not only was her only companion now gone, but he seemed eager to leave. Unbeknownst to him, this kind of experience wasn't unique for Galatea; in fact most of her experiences with people went much the same. She looks down rather dejectedly at the empty plate in her lap and sighs, oblivious to Alfred's presence. Alfred moves to her side and reaches for the dirty dishes in front of her.
"Please allow me, Miss Galatea."
She looks up at him, a little surprised to see him there, and then gives him a smile while handing the dishes over to him.
"Thank you, I'd appreciate that."
"I see Master Dick cooked you breakfast again today."
"Is that unusual for him?"
"Not quite, but that would explain why my kitchen was such a mess this morning."
Galatea giggles at the thought of Dick eagerly cooking her breakfast, forgetting to clean up after himself as he rushed to bring it to her. Alfred smiles to himself, happy that his remark brought her some levity.
"Does that mean he learned to cook from you?"
"Master Dick is quite capable of learning anything he sets his mind to."
"Yes, I get that impression. So you're saying he taught himself, then? Just what kind of person is he, exactly?"
"Master Dick is exactly the kind of person he seems."
"Hm," she hums thoughtfully, "Is the kind of person who'd appreciate me returning the favor? I think I would like to cook him a meal sometime."
"Indeed. Perhaps when you are feeling better, I can help you prepare something."
She turns with a sudden start, surprised and eager all at once.
"Would that be okay? I wouldn't want to impose."
"Certainly, Miss Galatea, it would be my pleasure."
"Thank you Alfred; you're the best!"
Alfred excuses himself and takes his leave from her. With her good mood restored, she picks the book she was reading back up and continues where she left off.