When Galatea wakes again her room is filled with the warm red of the afternoon sun. She hadn't even realized she had fallen back asleep and feels a little disoriented at the passing of time. As she sits up in bed she realizes she had dropped the book she was reading into her lap, A merchant of Venice. She picks it up, marks the page she remembers reading last, and puts it on the nightstand. Feeling restless, she gets out of bed and is pleasantly surprised by the lack of vertigo from her movement.
Without the constant throbbing in her skull she is able to think more clearly, causing her to realize she can't remember the last time she bathed. Warily curious, she leans her face down into her armpit and gives it a good sniff. Unsurprisingly, she smells less than pleasant. Still, somehow there is a pleasant floral aroma intermingling with the slightly foul one; which she can only assume is some kind of perfume one of them sprayed her with. She looks around and sees a set of clothes Alfred laid out for her. Huh, I guess the clothes picked out for me already got here. She picks up the dress and holds it out to take a look at it before heading towards the bathroom, determined to take that much needed shower. The sound of the water from the shower in the guest bathroom echoes in the quiet mansion, taking the rest of the household by surprise. Though they are all in separate parts of the house, Bruce is in his study, Alfred in the kitchen, and Dick in the library, they are unified in their curiosity when the sound of it reaches them.
Once she finishes her shower, Galatea dons the loose-fitting dress and heads back out of the bathroom. The inviting smell of cooking food greets her, wafting from down below. She follows it down the stairs and to the kitchen, looking in awe and the lavishly decorated rooms around her. Alfred turns in surprise when she makes it to the doorway of the kitchen.
"Miss Galatea. I must say, I am surprised to see you up and about. Will you be joining us for dinner?"
"Ah, well, not if it's too much trouble. It smells delicious."
Dick appears behind her, having hurried over once he heard her descending the stairs.
"Gal! Look at you moving around on your own!"
"Dick!" She spins around on her heels to face him, greeting him with a happy smile. "Yes, I was feeling restless and then I smelled food so…I hope it's okay that I came down here. "
"Of course it's okay. I'm glad to see you feeling better. How's your head?"
"Better. It seems the constant pain is gone, but I am still getting occasional bouts of-"
Before she can finish her sentence, her head is spinning. All at once, she loses her sense of balance, her legs buckle and she falls forward. Alfred and Dick call out to her simultaneously when they see her wobble.
"Gal!"
"Miss Galatea!"
She becomes disoriented as the world spins around her, until a warm set of hands on her arms steadies her. Once she comes to, she's surprised she isn't face-first with the ground beneath her. She looks up and finds Dick's face in front of her instead, raising a suggestive eyebrow.
"Vertigo?"
He asks kind of smugly, presumably finishing her sentence before her fall. She chuckles weakly.
"Yes, and thank you."
"No problem, are you okay to stand again?"
"I think so; sorry for the trouble."
"It's fine, don't worry about it. You should probably sit down though. Here,"
He leads her over to one of the dining chairs and commands her to sit, like one would a wayward puppy.
"Sit. You are staying for dinner, aren't you?"
She stares back at him wide-eyed, but complies with his command obediently. She is helpless in the wake of such an earnest request and can't find reason to argue against it. Even if she could think of a good reason to say no, the grumbling of her stomach answers yes before she can say anything at all. Dick smirks knowingly at the sound of it.
"Thought so. Alfred we're going to need another place setting."
"Right away Master Dick."
Dick moves across the table from her and takes a seat so they can continue talking. Alfred brings in a plate, napkin, and utensils and sets them down in front of Galatea. Her brow wrinkles as she examines the large number of utensils in front of her.
"Actually, I'm glad that you're here," Dick starts, "There's something I was hoping to show you once you were on your feet again. Do you think you'd be up for a walk after dinner?"
"Oh!" Galatea looks up at him and smiles warmly. "I'd love that."
Bruce meanders into the room and raises a questioning eyebrow at the sight of Galatea at the table. Silently, he glides over to his seat at the table.
"It's good to see you are feeling well, Galatea."
"Thank you very much . I am hoping to recover soon so that I will not have to burden you for much longer."
"Just Bruce is fine. If you don't mind my asking, what is your plan once you recover?"
"Ah, I've been thinking about that, actually."
Alfred arrives with a roast bird and some vegetables Galatea does not recognize. He carefully places them on the table and then serves each of them a proper portion of food. After receiving her food, Galatea continues.
"Thank you Alfred. My first order of business will be to secure a job and then a proper living situation. I was hoping to work in a place where I can easily learn about Earth and its history and customs, like a library or a museum."
"I see. And do you plan on staying in Gotham?"
"Yes, I think so. I understand that this is a city that needs a lot of help. I'd like to do what I can while I am here."
"And do you have any plans for how you intend on doing that?"
Dick casts a sideways glare his way, while shoving his fork full of food into his mouth grumpily.
"Not until I am better settled in. I can't worry about others until I have some stability myself, afterall. I am a very capable person, Bruce, so you don't have to worry about me. I appreciate your concern, though."
Bruce gives a gentle smile.
"I suppose you caught me. I could see about any open positions at my company, if you are in need of work."
"You have done so much for me already, I couldn't possibly ask that of you. I promise you I can handle myself."
"That much I'm sure of," he says with a chuckle. "Gotham is a difficult city though, even for the most well adjusted of individuals."
"And I'm not exactly 'well-adjusted', is that what you're getting at? Well, you're not wrong but I'm incredibly adaptable. I'm not terribly worried about my ability to survive here."
"I just want to make sure you have a plan before we put you out."
"I appreciate that. If I want to stay, I have to earn my keep while I'm here anyway. Mother, rather Artemis, is a renowned guardian of women, youths, and wild animals. If I can protect those in her charge, it's less likely she'll ask me to come home. I don't want to step on Batman's toes or anything, but that's the only option I see before me."
"Gotham already has a hero. Why not choose another city that needs help?"
"Honestly? I've always admired Batman; I'd love the chance to help him protect his city. It was always going to be Gotham."
Dick drops his fork on his plate. Both he and Bruce look back at her in surprise.
"You…admire Batman?"
"Oh, that probably sounds very strange, doesn't it? Selene is rather fond of him; she sees his nighttime battles against injustice like a romantic serenade. She's definitely a fan and her affection is rather infectious."
"Are you saying the goddess of the moon…has a crush on Batman?"
"That…would be an accurate assessment." A sudden realization strikes her and she nervously continues. "To be clear, I don't- I mean-I'm not," she slaps her palm to her forehead. "I don't have a crush on Batman. If anything Robin is more-" she stops herself again.
Her eyes dart over to Dick, subconsciously looking for his reaction. His eyes are wide with surprise. He covers his mouth with his hand, trying to hide the smirk that followed his surprise.
"I'm just going to stop talking now," she finishes.
"That seems prudent,"
Bruce agrees with a faint blush on his face.
"Well, seems as good a time as any to make our escape, don't you think Gal?"
Dick moves from his place at the time over to her and grabs a hold of her hand. Wide-eyed, she looks up at him as he pulls her along with him outside. He seems to be a little grumpy, which makes Galatea chuckle a little to herself.
"So, did you really want to show me something, or were you just helping me get away from Bruce's questions?"
Dick turns around, surprised, and then laughs a little himself.
"Nah, I really do have something to show you, remember? He was being a bit of a blowhard, though."
It's just about dusk when they make it outside, the sky still a little gray with sunlight. He lets go of Galatea's hand once they leave the manor, leaving her feeling a little disappointed by its absence. The warmth of a hand on hers was such a rare sensation to her that she finds herself missing it the moment she loses it. She does her best to hide her feelings about it and follows Dick's lead into the gardens of the estate. The humidity had broken as the sun set, so the air is fairly comfortable for a walk. The sweet bouquet of floral scents wafts over to Galatea's nose as they wander, filling her with delight. They move through a delicately manicured rose garden first. The rich colors of them are still visible in the dull gray light of dusk.
"Wow, these are so beautiful!"
She strays from their path and crouches beside one of the bushes to get a closer look at their vibrant petals.
"Gal, be careful, those flowers-"
"Ow!"
One of the thorns from the roses pricks her finger when she tries to touch to get a closer look.
"-have thorns."
Dick finishes his warning with a sigh. Galatea lets out a laugh and then pulls her injured finger up to her lips.
"Should have waited for you to finish," she says through her laughter.
He smiles when he sees how unbothered she is by it, feeling relieved she's able to laugh at herself.
"Guess you don't really beat around the bush, do you?"
Galatea snorts at his joke and then chuckles a little.
"I suppose not! I'm guessing from the thorns on these, they must be roses. Is that right?"
"Don't tell me you've never seen roses before."
"Only in books. A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. They do have a lovely scent to them. Is this what you wanted to show me?"
"They are roses, but they aren't what I wanted to show you. Though, I feel a little guilty now that I know you'd never seen roses before."
Galatea rises from her place next to the rosebush and moves back to his side.
"Something better than roses?"
She asks with excitement. Dick looks curiously at her; he finds the enthusiasm with which she seems to view everything oddly charming. Things he thought were ordinary or commonplace were wonders to her, making him look at them in a new light. He can't help but smile in the face of her innocent joy.
"I guess we'll have to find out! Come on."
He waves her on and continues on the garden path ahead of them, leading them to the water garden. Sprawled out before them is a dimly lit garden teeming with plants. In the center of the garden is a large half circle of water, the surface of which is dotted with lily pads. Surrounding the water are decorative stone arches with vines of a flowering plant growing on them. The rhythmic sound of the fountain in the center of the pool invites them into the garden. The smell of jasmine and evening primrose is carried to them with the evening breeze.
Galatea pauses at the entrance to the garden and breathes in deeply. She lets out a satisfied exhale and takes in the sights before her. As she gazes on out at the beautiful scene she notices a small yellow light that seems to flicker. For a moment she doubts she'd seen it at all and then she spots another one, and another one. Like the crescendo of an orchestra the lights seem to swell and expand, soft little flickers among the plants growing in number. She stares in wonder at them. Dick steals a glance over at her face, curious to her reaction. What he sees brings a smile to his face; her eyes are wide and transfixed on the light of the fireflies. Those eyes fervently scan the area around her, searching out more of those little lights. Her body is rigid, like she's too scared to frighten them away.
"What…is this place?" She asks him.
"These are the fireflies I promised to show you. They're drawn to wet areas, so you can usually find a lot of them here."
Galatea looks over at him with watery eyes, strangely touched by the gesture.
"Thank you for showing me"
"Are you...crying?"
He asks, rather dumbfounded at the surge of emotions she is displaying at the sight of a few bugs. It is the same with them as it was with the roses: that sense of wonder and admiration for the mundane changes his perspective. Fireflies were always a pretty sight in the summer evenings, but the way she looks at them makes him appreciate them all the more. She quitely giggles at his question.
"I guess I am. They really are beautiful. It's like looking out at a sea of stars that changes shape with every passing moment. It feels…warm."
"Yeah," he quietly responds.
She looks back out at them with a warm and content smile on her face. To Dick she looks like a work of art in that moment. The soft, affectionate gaze she held, the gentle smile on her face, and the way she held so perfectly still reminded him of a scene from a painting. He finds himself caught in that picturesque moment, like a painter admiring the subject of his art as he watches her.
"Dick, is this feeling, this warmth what you meant when you said you were reminded of me? It feels nice."
The evening breeze flutters through her silver hair pulling with it small orbs of light. Their warm glow illuminates her features, revealing another beautiful sight: a bashful red painting her cheeks. Her gaze remains forward, away from Dick, but his is entirely focused on her. Once the breeze settles down, he watches one lone light blink closely to her face, drifting towards her until it lands on her nose. The moment it lands, her body stiffens up and her eyes go wide, lightening the mood instantly.
"Dick, what do I do?" She whispers.
"Just glow with the flow. You don't want to scare it do you?"
Galatea tries to stifle a laugh at his goofy pun, worried about frightening her little companion.
"I'm afraid that was my only bright idea," he continues.
A quiet snicker escapes her before she bursts out into laughter, scaring the little bug away. Dick smiles triumphantly, feeling proud his puns landed well with her.
"Is my sense of humor glowing on you? My puns seem to be delighting you."
"Are you always this funny? I feel like this is the first I'm hearing of your jokes."
"Only to some; most of them land with diminishing returns."
She chortles.
"Okay, okay. I get it! You're making me scare all the fireflies away."
He joins her in a laugh, the fireflies scurrying away at their eruption of sound.