The Rooftops of Fandom, Thursday Night

[batwaffles.livejournal.com]

It wasn't even about protecting the place any more; it hadn't been for a long time, really. Fandom was lucky that way, and had a lot of people to look out for it, so these patrols had become an exercise in keeping her skills sharp more than anything else. It was good practice, but it was getting really, really close to time to take that practice, and go home, and put it to use in a place that did need people to look out for it.

Because that was the thing -- no matter how bad it was, Gotham was home, and where Robin belonged.

But for a couple more nights, at least, there was a bright flash of color darting from rooftop to rooftop above Fandom. Who said goodbyes always had to be a downer, anyway?

[OOC: Had to post one more rooftop thing. Open if you want, though fair warning, I'm kind of a zombie from the heat.]

Comments

[amthenight.livejournal.com]

Guess who happened to be on one of those rooftops. Go on. Guess!

He wasn't watching Robin. There wasn't even any indication that he was paying attention to anything but whatever he was looking at off in the distance. Well, no indication other than the fact that he was Batman, and of course he was paying attention.

And letting his cape billow out in the breeze like a badass.

[batwaffles.livejournal.com]

Fine, make her cape-billowing look less impressive then, sure.

It definitely got her attention, though, so shortly after she noticed him Robin landed on that particular rooftop, and couldn't help being a little bit proud of herself for being much -- okay, 'more graceful' was overly generous, but she could say 'not disastrous' in comparison to when she'd first started doing this stuff.

"Nice night for a good moderate-altitude brood, hmm?" she asked, not quite as breezy as she tried to sound. Granted, she always felt like she was being graded (and not on a curve) by him, but with the timing and all the feeling was a little more intense, so . . . nerves.

[amthenight.livejournal.com]

"Hmm," Batman grunted. And then he didn't say anything for a few more seconds, as if he was just stretching the tension out for poor Robin. "Moderate? You've been away from tall buildings too long."

[batwaffles.livejournal.com]

"It's okay. I'm already warming up to avoid getting neck cramps from looking waaaaaaaaaay up," Robin said. After several seconds of internal-monologue keysmash, because that was mean, Batman. Somewhat expected, though. "And reminding myself that it'll be a much longer fall is extra incentive not to do that."

[amthenight.livejournal.com]

He wouldn't have said it if it weren't true! ... Okay, he would have, because he was a great liar, but still.

"You'll get used to it again quickly," Batman said. "After you've had enough practice, all of it comes back, no matter how long you've been away from it."

[batwaffles.livejournal.com]

Oh, hey, that was oddly reassuring. "Like riding one of those really tall old-fashioned bicycles." Robin snapped her fingers. "Anyway, I'll just have to adjust really quick on the fly. Part of the job, right?"

'On the fly,' Steph? Points for accidental joking.

[amthenight.livejournal.com]

The pun got a small glare. "And you're ready to go back to the other part of the job?"

[batwaffles.livejournal.com]

And the glare got a mildly apologetic shrug, but also a quick grin.

As for the question?

"I've been away from it way too long." She tilted her chin up to look at him. "Yeah, you bet I'm ready. I've been waiting for this, even."

[amthenight.livejournal.com]

"Hopefully not just waiting," Batman said. If you knew where to look for it, you might even hear a tiny bit of concern in that comment. After all, she just admitted she'd been away too long.

[batwaffles.livejournal.com]

Wait, was that --?

"Not just waiting," Robin confirmed after a quick double-take at the apparent concern. "I was here to get better at the job. And to prove I can follow orders."

She paused, considering whether to qualify that statement, then decided 'what the hell,' because she wasn't a dumb henchman, either. "Reasonable ones. So I did. I've been keeping in practice."

She gestured out toward the school, but couldn't help turning the motion into a little fingertip-wave. "In just a couple more days, there'll be a fresh crop of newbies showing up. And maybe some of 'em will be coming from places like Gotham, and just like me this place'll be the nicest they've ever been. And that's just -- that's a shame. I can't help them all. It probably isn't my place to. But I can do something about home, and I'm going to."

[amthenight.livejournal.com]

Batman pulled his grapple out from his belt and aimed it at a building across the street. "I'll take care of them. You..." He absolutely timed the firing of his grapple for emphasis. There was no denying it. "... take care of Gotham."

He stepped off the roof and swung away.

No goodbyes. No good luck. You say you're ready for it? Then do the job.

[batwaffles.livejournal.com]

"There he swoops off again. He always does that," Robin told the air, or possibly any eavesdropping squirrels, shaking her head.

Still. That felt bizarrely like a vote of confidence. Maybe a tiny one, but she saluted in the direction he'd swung off to anyway. "You got it, boss."