( open ) but everything looks better when the sun goes down

[fingerstripes]

who: dick grayson + others
what: fireflies + may catchall
when: all of may!
where: all over
warnings: possible violence



Yellow

[ In Dick, fear blends and shifts, keeps him moving rather than freezing him up, looking a lot more like newly single-minded dedication than anything else. Fear turns him outward, draws him inexorably into the role of unasked-for shadow, and whether you're a friend or a stranger you're likely to find him there, sudden and unannounced, if you happen to step out late at night. If you're venturing out past the fence alone. ]

Hey. [ Look again and he's beside you, decked out in a mask (or a police uniform, take your pick). ] Not sure if you know the area, but it's not safe out here right now.


Red (anger)

[ On red Dick simmers. At the Police Station he's picking up extra shifts, passing the break room to down coffee after coffee in the rare moments that he's not out on patrol. With coworkers and friends he's snappish and short, burying himself for hours at a time in the archives with old case files. He's never at home.

As Nightwing he's somehow easier to find - or run across by chance - but if you happen to be looking the road there is paved with unsettled lowlives. No one is maimed or even seriously injured, but he's scared them, clearly with an intent running deeper than Nightwing's typically brisk, playful style of violence. Find him mid-battle just by the fence, taking on at least 12 too many vicious, snapping monsters. Find him mid-interrogation on the roof, holding someone against the drop-off more securely than the man in question likely perceives. ]


Blue

[ Or find him just after that.

Blue never lingers on Dick for long, but he's easy prey when his strength is limited, worn down by effort expended on walking himself down from anger and fear. He can't outpace the feeling when he's already steeped in shame. When a thousand what ifs crowd out everything else. Find him sagging in that dark alley, head in his hands; or huddled out by the fence, surrounded by wounded monsters. Give him a few minutes, he'll be alright. ]


[ ooc: pm or hit me up at with_pins if you'd like to play out a more specific scenario! I'd prefer to avoid lust prompts for Dick at this time, but Violet, Green, and Orange are all on the table with some discussion. ]

Comments

[fingerstripes]

...Actually yeah. I know there's a few kicking around now.

[ He's fond of Loki, and Captain America.

Whatever the context here though, he... kind of gets the significance of the admission. A piece of the world you're from is a piece of you, and everything he knows about this man has told him how fiercely he holds onto those pieces. He's afraid a glance sidewaws will ruin the effect, so he lifts the binocs instead, studying the foliage. ]

I got the sense that they get a lot of mileage, where they're from.

[advanced]

[So he doesn't know them from his own world, at least that's what he gathers from the way Dick phrases it. That actually makes him relax just a bit, it means he's not about to run into issues with someone knowing more about him and his past than they should.]

What do you know about them?

[Now it has the careful wariness of trying to gather information. Which Avengers does he know? What have they told him? What does he know about them?]

[fingerstripes]

[ Even without the shift in tone, the question itself gives him a sense of where this is probably going. In spite of everything he's a little disappointed. And embarrassed at himself for that disappointment.

On the other hand, he probably owes the guy a straight answer at this point. They haven't told him anything dangerous or incriminating. Nothing that isn't public knowledge, or easily searchable on the network. ]

Not much.

Cap's a good man. Loki is, uh- a friend of Dick Grayson's. [ He kind of realizes how stupid that sounds as soon before he's even finished saying the words. How absurd it is that out of all of all the friends he's made, out of everyone in this place that he's coming to care for, it's this guy who has the bird's eye view of the locked down segments of his life. The boxes he places people in. The box he can't let anyone into.

He looks away again, feeling exposed suddenly. ]

Nobody's mentioned you, if that's what you want to know.

[advanced]

[He's not at all embarrassed at being found out probing for information, it just impresses him that Dick is that perceptive and also apparently possesses enough integrity to answer honestly despite the obvious interrogation nature of the question. Not that it helps him much. Loki won't mention him, Loki doesn't know him, but Cap does. Both Caps.

Could be an issue.

Not that there's much to do about it. He just nods to Dick's blunt reassurance that he hasn't been mentioned, not bothering to deny that's what he wanted to know.]

They might.

[But he can't stop it.]

Do you know any of the other superheroes here? From where you're from?

[fingerstripes]

We playing twenty questions now?

[ Its a little harsh, and because he knows it isn't entirely deserved, he relents a moment later. ]

... I know Superman.

[ He chooses the words carefully. Superman is fine, as long as they're in costume mode. As long as he's careful how he frames that relationship. Clark he'll protect with his life, and it isn't on him that Dick screwed up here. Letting his own secret slip so easily. ]

[advanced]

[He doesn't back down even or look even slightly ashamed at being called out on his questioning, and it's worth it when the answer comes.

Good. He can ask Clark about Dick at some later point in time.]

I know him too.

[He'll give that small piece in return.]

[fingerstripes]

Yeah? [ Now that's interesting. Not that Clark can't handle himself better than anyone he knows, but this guy is an unknown factor with an unknown power set. Dick worries. ]

He's a friend of yours?

[advanced]

[There's a moment's hesitation, and Bucky even sounds slightly surprised at himself when he replies.]

Yeah, he is.

[Check him out, having a friend.]

[fingerstripes]

[ It's such a departure from everything he's come to expect that it's almost startling.

But then, maybe he's not giving Clark enough credit. Maybe he's not giving this guy enough credit. Slowly, he offers him a smile. ]

Then we definitely have something in common.

[advanced]

[He doesn't smile, but his expression does relax just a fraction.]

Don't punch him. It hurts.

[fingerstripes]

[ Oh, now this is amusing. ]

You figure that one out the hard way?

[advanced]

Yeah.

[He tugs up one trouser leg just a bit to reveal the remains of a splint, not that he's been limping at all even when running around.]

Broke it kicking him.

[fingerstripes]

[ Well now he's laughing. ]

It's not often that he has to hit back.

[advanced]

[At least that confirms that Dick knows his powers, or some of them, though Bucky had been relatively sure since the name he had given was 'Superman'.]

Yeah, I got that now.

[It's weird, but it feels kind of good to get Dick to laugh considering how the night started. It's proof he can still make a positive difference if he tries.]

You know him by any other name?

[fingerstripes]

[ He looks up at that, surprised. But... oddly the question doesn't raise his hackles this time.

Whatever he knows about Clark, he's guarding it. Just as he's guarded this secret, for better or worse. ]

...Actually yeah. I do.

[ Clark is a lot better at managing the double-life thing than Dick ever has been. It wouldn't have been a mistake with him, he's sure. It's a moment before he speaks again. ]

Takes a lot to win that much of his trust.

[advanced]

[He has been cautious about this because he promised Clark to keep his secrets, but Dick already knows and it seems to be helping both of them to talk about it.]

Which one?

[This way he tells Dick that he knows both other names, Clark and Kal-El, without revealing what the names are in case Dick doesn't know it.]

He trusts easy, he can be an idiot.

[Or just that he's an idiot for trusting Bucky.]

[fingerstripes]

No. He's really not. [ But there's a careful angle to this line of questioning that he recognizes, and seeing it in someone else warms his heart a little. The desire to protect Clark the man, rather than just the secret as an idea. Clark chose well. Dick fixes him with a solid gaze. ]

He's got a few to choose from, where I'm from.

[advanced]

He's not from where I'm from, but he's got a few here.

[His lips turn up, seems Dick has passed this challenge.]

And he really is. He's one of the biggest idiots I've ever met.

[It's not said rudely, it's actually very mildly affectionate.]

[fingerstripes]

Cause he thought you could handle a share of that weight?

[ There's no judgement there, just curiosity. ]

[advanced]

Because he trusts me.

[He shrugs, still looking mostly peaceful.]

[fingerstripes]

He's not the only one.

[ He hadn't made the choice, the way he had with Donna. Roy. Vic. Probably, it's not a choice he'd make now, if he had the chance to take it back.

But the secret's been safe, as long as he's known it. There's no part of Dick that really doubts that it will stay that way. ]

[advanced]

[His eyebrows lift, and after a moment he shakes his head slightly ruefully.]

You don't even know my real name.

[Idiots. So many idiots.]

[fingerstripes]

You'd be surprised how much of my social circle that applies to.

[ Or maybe he wouldn't. He's from the world The Avengers call home. ]

[advanced]

[He huffs a tiny sound of amusement.]

Then you're even more of an idiot, don't trust so easy, it'll get you killed one day.

[fingerstripes]

I've heard that one before.

[ But it's hard to articulate the reason, when so much of it is tied up in someone else. That he's seen that life, lived it for years alongside a man he still isn't sure would ever learn to let people in. That he knows enough to recognize that he can't live a life on those terms. ]

Sometimes the payoff is worth a little risk.