(no subject)

[themightyoracle.livejournal.com]

 It feels like months since she first started trying to reach her father, but Babs knows it's only been hours.

Nevertheless, she's worried, because she knows her dad. She's been off-grid nearly five days now, and since she first moved in with him when she was thirteen, Barbara has never gone more than a night without speaking to him. 

Well - there was one glaring exception. 

Which only reinforced her sense that something wasn't right, but with all the recent chaos in Gotham, it was possible there was still some sort of reasonable explanation for why Commissioner Gordon wasn't answering his cell phone for his only daughter, nor returning the messages she'd left for him at work or home. 

Babs wanted to go to the station. It wasn't far. Neither was her father's house far removed from her Clock Tower. But there was still a lot of work to be done, and while her leg injury wasn't any further hinderance for her, and she could still get around by herself, Babs had a feeling that certain people might get snippy if she took off on her own again so soon.

There were one or two things she could try before venturing out into Gotham. Calling Dick's cell, she left a voicemail,

<i>"Hey, Dick. Not to be an alarmist, but I haven't been able to get ahold of my father and I was wondering if maybe you had an idea where he might be. Also, if you've got a job for me to help get things running more smoothly, I'm ready to go. Call me when you can."</i>

Comments

[themightyoracle.livejournal.com]

She leans her head against his shoulder, relaxing in the relatively rare pleasure of letting herself be looked after, instead of looking after them.

"He's good to us." Alfred is the more than a butler. To the younger of them, he's the grandfather they never had, and even that title is insufficient to convey the strength of the devotion he's shown them over the years, and what they feel for him in return.

"Thank you, Dick."

[aflyinggrayson.livejournal.com]

His brow raises. "For what? Letting Alfred give you the news I should have had the guts to give you myself? Not being here when you needed me, not being with your dad when he needed me? Or for generally being an absent, forgetful jerk like my...."

Dick smiles lopsidedly and says instead, "You're welcome."

[themightyoracle.livejournal.com]

She lifts her head, giving him a patiently amused smirk. "I'm a big girl. And my dad's a big boy. And as for you..."

Putting a hand to his cheek, she leaned in just a little so that they were eye to eye, and he could see clearly that she meant every word she said. "You're here now. And I knew that you would be, as soon as you were able to."

Nodding in acceptance of his 'you're welcome', Babs returned his smile and sat up in her chair, rolling her neck to stretch it as she glanced at her father again.

[aflyinggrayson.livejournal.com]

Dick follows her gaze toward the bed, watching the elder Gordon slumber (dreamlessly, with any luck) before watching Barbara watch her father. He thinks back on the anguish and frenzy of Darkseid's assault on Gotham, recalling how close he came to letting Barbara die in a car crash because he'd been too busy playing Batman to check up on her.

Grayson....you're an asshole, he thinks caustically.

A lot of other thoughts course through his mind until he turns away from the two Gordons and mumbles something about Alfred, standing to go.

[themightyoracle.livejournal.com]

She knows him well enough to guess what's going through his mind; to read it on his face as he tries to turn it away from her. Unlike Bruce, Dick had always worn his heart on his sleeve. He might have learned to hide it better as he got older from some, but she knew him too well to be fooled.

"Dick..." she realizes she isn't quite sure what to say.

"I'm very proud of you. I know... I know how hard this has been for you, but you've done something no one else could, and you've been amazing." She smiles faintly. "Everything's crazy right now, but it'll be okay. It has to be. Don't be so hard on yourself, that was his deal. You already impress me."

[aflyinggrayson.livejournal.com]

Honestly, no one knows him better than Barbara, and her words hit Dick right in the heart. He closes his eyes briefly before he can look at her again, before he can speak again. "I am so lucky to have you in my life. You're the most incredible person I have ever known."

Then he bends down to offer her a simple, soft, sincerely loving kiss.

[themightyoracle.livejournal.com]

Returning his kiss with no less affection or simplicity, she smiles.

Her voice is quiet. "You're an amazing man, and I don't know what I'd do without you. You're my hero, and it's not because of whatever suit you're wearing, it's because whenever I'm at my lowest, it's you who saves my spirit. And that's separate from what you do for everyone else."

Babs kisses him softly one more time, pressing her forehead to his. "So, I'll say it again: Thank you, Dick. Just having you here with me, even for a little while, remind me I'm not alone, or helpless, so that I can be strong for dad."

She doesn't say what's hanging in the air between them - again, toeing the line without quite crossing it - but it's certainly implied and she knows he's smart enough to know that, and doesn't hide it. That part doesn't scare her as much anymore, and if anyone needs to know that someone loves him, it's Dick.

But it's the truth - she is proud, and he does inspire strength in her. Always has. She has too few opportunities to say so, and in the stress of the last week - the last few months she figures he needs to hear it.

[aflyinggrayson.livejournal.com]

It's not that necking in a cardiac ICU ward is a great idea, but every now and again, a guy needs a good, long kiss. And physicality is so much easier a means to express what is hanging in the air than actually speaking.

He goes to a knee beside her chair to get on eye level, puts a hand to the back of her neck and reignites the kiss. Because the contact feels so right. She feels so right.

Kissing her is so much better than breaking down and crying like a little girl over what she said, anyways.

[themightyoracle.livejournal.com]

Parenthesizing his face between her hands, she leans into his kiss, then wraps her arms around him to bring him closer.

She has always been addicted to the sight, the scent, the feel of him, and recently it seems like she's starving for him in moments like this. Like they used to be an everyday occurrence, but now those roots are parched for lack of water, the flowers only blooming in his presence.

Babs can get stupidly poetic when it comes to Dick, but surrounded by the comfort of his taste, she could care less. There's something they're missing and she can almost see it. Just a little further.

[aflyinggrayson.livejournal.com]

All right, this might go from being comforting to being downright inappropriate, but he sure as hell isn't going to complain about the most beautiful redhead alive wanting to prolong the embrace.

Still, Dick doesn't want to be caught swapping spit with Barbara when their surrogate grandfather shows up - or at least he doesn't want to be caught like that by Alfred again - and reluctantly he withdraws, cupping her face in his hand.

His expression? Complete adoration...along with more than a little lust.

"Remind me to continue that when we're somewhere less public," he says with a quirked grin. "I'll go track down Alfred if you want to hang here."

[themightyoracle.livejournal.com]

Biting her lower lip, Babs laughs softly, her face pink with devotion, and a little from the gentle embarrassment of behaving like a teenager three feet from her sleeping father. The other reason is why she's also slightly out of breath when she nods, grins and says, "You can count on it."

Letting him go, she smiles at him again, this time in thanks as he offers to find Alfred. A little space is probably a good thing, not to mention knowing where the older gentleman is so that he doesn't surprise them. "Alright, thanks. I'll make sure the patient doesn't try to escape."