(no subject)

[twiceahero.livejournal.com]

Despite her loud and aggravated protests to Dinah and Zinda about 'wasting her time', with the exception of the first ten minutes in the club to get oriented, Babs has spent the entire time out on the dance floor. She's currently working on her fourth dance partner, the previous three all having been wimps taken a breather.

There are few things Barbara Gordon likes more than dancing, and even fewer things that she can still do in the chair. And her enjoyment is evident in the absurdly large grin on her face.

Comments

[greatestofease.livejournal.com]

"Wait till puberty hits," Dick suggests, smirking.

Even if he too seems quite content to sit on the sidelines with her.

[galwonder]

"That's what he said," Sparrow complains. "If it's going to make me act like a slutty moron, I'd rather not."

She can't help but look down at herself there. Her body is way ahead of her brain, there, and she doesn't like it.

"Seriously people," this directed at a couple a few yards away, taking advantage of one of the pillars surrouding the dance floor, though pitched so only people near her can hear, "do you have to make us watch it?

[greatestofease.livejournal.com]

"Well," Dick points out, totally not teasing at all, "there is an age limit, you know. For entry to these things."

[galwonder]

"And looked how that worked out," says the Claw-trained master sneaker and bluffer and getting-into-places-she-shouldn't-be-er.

She sips from her drink, unconsiously trying to make it look like it's a grown up drink for all her protestations.

[greatestofease.livejournal.com]

Dick nobly resists the temptation to ruffle her hair, instead leaning back on the bar and looking around the club.

And incidentally giving a man who's eyeing Sparrow the stink-eye something fierce.

But hoping she doesn't see.

[galwonder]

She doesn't, fortunately, and is soon back to swinging her legs restlessly.

"Music's not bad though," she admits. "Even if people seemta think getting it on coutns as dancing. That red-headed chick in the wheelchair's the best one there."

[twiceahero.livejournal.com]

That 'red-headed chick in the wheelchair' pauses out on the floor just long enough to catch the bartender's eye and lift a hand. He laughs and tosses a bottle of water across the room which she casually snatches out of the air, drains, and tosses back empty before laughing brightly and going back to what she was doing.

[greatestofease.livejournal.com]

"Takes skill to dance in a wheelchair," Dick informs Sparrow, still glaring at her would-be suitor. "I know some ... one ... who ..."

He trails off.

"...Babs?"

[twiceahero.livejournal.com]

It's a sign of how much fun she's having that Barbara is too distracted to notice him. Though the young man she's dancing with look like he could use a break.

[greatestofease.livejournal.com]

... yeah, he really does.

Sparrow might be talking again; Dick isn't listening, if she is, getting slowly to his feet to push his way through the crowds around Barbara and put a hand on the man's elbow.

"'scuse me," he says, "I'm cutting in."

[twiceahero.livejournal.com]

Barbara laughs, "You're welcome to if you think you can keep up..." Then she looks up at him.

And freezes.

[greatestofease.livejournal.com]

"Um," Dick says awkwardly, "hi."





He swallows.

[twiceahero.livejournal.com]

The only reason Barbara doesn't swallow herself is that Dick doing so reminded her not to. "Hi there, handsome." She smiles hesitantly, "Care to dance?"

[greatestofease.livejournal.com]

"That's ... why I came over, yeah," Dick manages, offering her his hands with a terribly awkward smile. "Listen ... I know we didn't part on great terms, I'm really sorry ..."

[twiceahero.livejournal.com]

Barbara opens her mouth to say something, then pauses, frowning. "Um... when are you from exactly?" That is to say: 'which time are you sorry for?'

[greatestofease.livejournal.com]

Dick blinks at her, frowning slightly himself.

"... if we're from different times and you don't remember, I don't want to remind you," he points out, with a faint smile. "You might get mad again."

[shatter-brought.livejournal.com]

A couple of young men at the bar (http://community.livejournal.com/shatterverse/148619.html?thread=10070923#t10070923) turn their attention towards her as Dick leaves, one short and pudgy and the other with a cruel sort of expression and oily hair.

[galwonder]

Sparrow objects to being left like this - at first. Then she catches another glance of the ginger babe and finally it clicks - Barbara Gordon, the Huntress.

In a wheelchair. Huh.

That doesn't stop her sulking, though. Sipping her juice and sulking.

[shatter-brought.livejournal.com]

There's a bloke on the other side of her who's had a little more to drink than might be wise. (He's not the only one, in the club. Of course. But he's the one next to her.)

One of the young men behind her stagger-stumbles his way past her, bumping her elbow and turning to apologise; when he does so, he walks right into the drunk man, knocking them both to the floor in a tangle of limbs and swearwords and beer.

(The object of all this is to attract her attention, of course, while the other one idly wanders past with something in his hand and an eye on her drink.)

[galwonder]

Sparrow is effectively distracted from the Dick-and-Barbara reunion (That slut. Isn't she supposed to be with Bruce Wayne?) by this transparent and blatent attempt at distracting her.

Out of curiosity more than anything else, she reacts to the rucus, by leaning back, scowling angrily at being jostled.

And out of the corner of her eye, easy behind the shades, she watches to see what she's being distracted from...

[shatter-brought.livejournal.com]

The tangle is small and quickly over, the bumper apologising and buying the bumpee a drink.

Meanwhile, without much subtlety -- but with enough to get the job done, were she anyone but who she is -- the chubbier boy leans across the bar, hand passing over Sparrow's drink, and a small white tablet drops from his palm and fizzes for a couple of seconds before dissolving.

[galwonder]

Sparrow is now completely grossed out. She's thirteen, for chrissakes. What kind of perverts are these people?

The plan forms quickly, and when she reaches back to get her drink, she drops in a pill of her own - something palmed from her utility belt that's designed to neutralise the effects of a range of poisons, including that one.

She hopes, because part two of the plan is to drink the juice much more quickly, to see what happens next.

[shatter-brought.livejournal.com]

The teenagers nudge each other, grinning, and the kid who dropped the pill casually comes over to stand beside her as soon as she's finished the glass.

"Hi," he offers sweetly. "You sure looked thirsty."

[galwonder]

I've been flying all day with that guy who's just ditched me for a cripple is ditched as a potential answer. Sparrow's more concerned with figuring out how people are supposed to act in these circumstances.

"I've been dancing a lot," she decides, grinning at him.

It's supposed to be a charming, teenage girl innocent smile, but as she dopes it by peeling her lips back over her teeth, it misses the aim.

[shatter-brought.livejournal.com]

"I wish I'd seen that," the boy says, grinning at her. "I'm Sam. Nice to meetcha." He offers a faintly sweaty hand.