maskormenacelogs | [CLOSED]

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[CLOSED]

WHO: Dick, Artemis, and Wally
WHERE: Downtown Heropa.
WHEN: 7/12, nighttime.
WHAT: Robin's emotional turmoil culiminates in the world's stupidest injury. Stupid teenage dramatics to follow.
WARNINGS: References to a broken bone? And probably yelling.

[ It's 10:20 PM, and it's finally stopped raining that particular variety of Florida rain that's not so much like a drizzle as like the sky's just up and poured a bucket of water on your head. It's wet and it's too warm and there's still lightning flashing off in the distance, and Robin's just made the stupidest mistake of his career.

Okay, so no one realistically-fake-died, and nothing exploded. Which is a plus, considering his track record. But breaking a leg in a fall from a third story roof has to be — without any hyperbole — the most embarrassing thing he's done in his entire life.

He could make a lot of excuses: he's not used to the weather, the railing was slick, he hadn't checked his equipment, the terrain's unfamiliar, he's distracted and emotionally compromised. He doesn't have his team. Every single one is terrible, even if they're all true.

For several excruciating minutes, while he waits for the painkillers to work their magic, Robin debates his options. An ambulance would attract attention. He's pretty sure he couldn't hobble all the way to the hospital like this, even if there was one within the city limits. Maybe the ground will swallow him up right along with his shame and he won't have to admit that any of this ever happened.

It doesn't.

Out of reasonable options, he sends off a text with his coordinates to Artemis, who, logically, is the person on their team most likely to know how to deal with injuries:
SOS.
Achey breaky leg.
Please don't ask.

And moments later, a text to Wally with the same coordinates:
Need a ride to the hospital.
If you're not married to SB's couch now.
Faster is better.

It takes a minute for him to realize the gravity of his possible mistake. If they find a way to fight over this, too... well, maybe yelling makes bones knit faster. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, I'm thinking about taking it up as a part time job.

[It's supposed to sound snarky, but it only comes out flat and lame. She can see where he's going with this and she's not interested. Kid Flash knowing Robin's secret ID just joined the ranks of topics that she does not want to talk about. Not right now, anyway. She's not even sure how she feels about it yet.]

Yeah well, you'd be good at it, what with that "I'm going to kick you down this flight of stairs" look you have going. [There we go, banter. That's safe. Wally's just going to check his compartments- oh good, he did refill. It's time for a couple granola bars.]

What are you talking about? I don't have a look.

[She says while giving him a taste of the "kick you down the stairs" look.

Artemis watches him unpack his cupboards and for once in the months that she's know Kid Flash they actually seem to have something in them. Color Artemis impressed.]

... There' s a vending machine too. It's just around the corner.

I don't have any cash on me. [So forget that route, just these two will have to do for now.

KF glances over in the direction of Robin's room, feeling his chest clench uncomfortably. He likes me.] Shouldn't they be done by now? No wonder they have a waiting list, it takes them forever just to look a guy over and put a cast on.

[That is something that has bothered Artemis since they got Robin's text, tickling in the back of her mind like a mosquito.]

Why were they checking him for a concussion in the first place? He has a broken leg.

I dunno.

...he's being kind of cagey about how it got broken. You don't think it's something we should know about, do you? [Wally doesn't even know what he's getting at here. Who would purposefully break Robin's leg? That is, is there anyone who could who Robin wouldn't immediately rat out?]

[Artemis has no idea what she's supposed to know or not know about anymore.]

I don't know... [Uncomfortably, she adds] I looked around the alley after you left. I didn't see anything.

[No shadowy figures, no threatening symbols... not even any signs of a fight.]

[ The click of crutches down the hall signals Robin's approach before he turns the corner. He looks uncomfortable, physically and emotionally, but not downright miserable like he did when they last left him.

They're still here. Despite everything, they're still here. Some of the tension drains from his shoulders, and he holds up his communicator, wiggling it in the air. ]

I called a cab. Shouldn't be long.

[ He looks at Wally for a moment, and Artemis for longer, an unspoken invitation hanging in the air, should either of them take it. ]

[The click of crutches cuts off that train of thought -"what the hell happened?"- and Robin rounds the corner. That annoying mantra starts up again, "he likes me, he likes me" but it's quiet and in the background of his mind as Wally watches Robin hobble down the hallway. Even on crutches and struggling to pull out his comm Robin is graceful, and Wally's reminded that the guy he was just fighting with was a world-renowned acrobat by the time he was like, seven.

Oh. He's talking.

It's still raining outside and there's only a couple things in this world less fun to run in than a downpour. And he might as well go back to his actual house anyway because SB wouldn't say it but Wally's pretty sure he's overstayed his welcome. By like five days. He might as well cram himself in the back of a cab with the rest of them.]

What about the bill? [Does the government pick it up since they're imPorts and/or minors?]

Forget it. If they send you a bill, just tell them you changed your address.

[Seems practical to Artemis. After all, what are they going to do? Break his kneecaps for refusing to pay?

Besides, what name would they put on the bill? "Robin, the Boy Wonder?"]

It's not like they know who you really are, anyway.

[That was kind of the whole point.]

[ It's not like they know who you really are, anyway. And there's that gnawing guilt in the pit of his stomach again. He'll have to talk to her about that. He owes her... something. Even if she understands, he owes her. ]

I'll work it out. I'm a pro at dodging things.

[ Normally Bruce would pay, if he even went to a real hospital, but— he pushes it out of his mind. ]

[KF, Artemis and Robin wait together for the cab to arrive. It's still hemorrhaging rain when it gets there, so KF snags one of the umbrellas from the stand by the door with the promise to bring it back. Robin gets situated in the back, and KF returns the umbrella before climbing in after Artemis.

The ride back to the residential area is pretty tense, but Kid Flash isn't about to do anything about it. The taxi is too slow but he's lost in thought anyway, staring out of the window at the rain streaking down the pane, watching the businesses fade to apartment buildings to houses.]

[Artemis, lost in her own thoughts, suddenly realizes she has no idea where they're even going. Before she can ask, however, they pull up in front of a bland, military house. In the rain and the dark it could be her own house, or Robin's. Hell, it could even be Kid Flash's for all she knows.

Hopefully, whoever's house it is, hers isn't too far away. It's still raining.]

... I guess we're here.

[ Robin, like a pro, gave the cab driver the wrong address. It's a lot closer to Artemis's than it is to his and Wally's, though, because she already took the bus and she shouldn't have to trudge in the rain any further than she has to.

He gets his money out, paying the driver and tipping him generously for not asking any questions. Once they're all out of the car and he's situated on his crutches again, he gestures down the road. It's the same direction to both their houses, at least. ]

You're just a few houses down.

[ He smiles like an apology. They'll get wet again. ]

Sorry. Can't be too careful.

[At least it's not raining as hard anymore. And at least their comms are waterproof, because KF just got done texting Zee and Conner. He climbs out of the taxi and frowns and the surrounding buildings before Robin gives them that look. Oh. Sure, hide their addresses from the taxi driver.

Bats.

He walks alongside Robin and checks his comm when it dings.] Rob, SB said to tell you, "I told you so." He said you'd get it.

[ And he groans, so obviously he does. ]

Tell him he was right and I hate it.

[Artemis isn't paying attention. She's gotten her bearings now and she is getting out of the rain.

She should probably invite them in too, even if at this point she's ready to just go home, take a shower, and get in bed.]

Can you guys talk about this later? Come on, my house is right there. I don't know about you, but I'd like to get dry sometime tonight.

[That's about when the sky above them rumbles threateningly, and suddenly the light drizzle becomes a torrential downpour again. Wally definitely does not shriek, but he does grab Robin up, crutches and all, as they pelt over toward Artemis's house and tuck beneath the front step awning while she fishes out her keys.]

I hate this state! [Wally howls, probably way too loud for how late it is, but he does. He hates it. He thought Kansas humidity and sudden storms were bad, and then he got here. Florida has the added benefit of smelling like a compost heap whenever it rains and spewing mosquitoes the day afterward, so maybe it's also that.]

[ He hates being carried around like some kind of purse dog and he hates this disgusting humid rain and he hates his crutches already. And beneath all of that, his stomach squirms. He'd told Wally everything. He knows. He knows. He knows. The thought's like a drumbeat keeping time behind his thoughts—

—and he accidentally whacks Artemis in the arm with his crutch as Wally hauls him under the awning. ]

Sorry! Sorry, it's hard to handle these in midair.

[Artemis has just gotten the door unlocked and when Robin whacks her she stumbles forward into the hall, accidentally banging the door open loudly.

Well, if any of her housemates slept through Wally's yelling, they're definitely awake now. Rubbing her arm ruefully, she stomps inside.]

Try not to break anything, okay? I'll get towels.

[ Robin mumbles another sheepish apology to Artemis before glaring up at Wally, squirming uncomfortably — doubly so because he's still hyper-aware of their conversation earlier. He'd be out of his arms already if not for the fact that the entryway is small, and he's trying not to knock anything else over while maneuvering the crutches. ]

Would you put me down? I broke a bone, I'm not dying.

-huh? Oh, [Wally starts and puts Dick down. He'd gotten distracted, again. He wraps his arms around himself; this is like the fourth time in less than two weeks that he's ended up in wet spandex and he is not happy about it.

he likes me, he likes me]

[Artemis comes back shortly with towels for all. She eyes them, dripping all over the front hall.]

How about we go to the kitchen?

[Yeah, nobody is dripping all over her room today, thanks. She goes into the kitchen and leans against the counter, trying to dry her hair for the second time tonight. Everyone is being silent and awkward and she's really hoping it stops raining soon so they can get out of her house and she can go take that shower she wants. It's been a long evening.]

... Well, I'm making tea.

I could go for some tea.

[ Robin follows her to the kitchen so he can at least drip on a tile floor, leaning back against a counter with the towel draped sort of uselessly over his head, because how's he gonna dry a cape, anyway? ]

... I bet your hair takes forever to dry.

[ That's not awkward, right? Oh god someone please change the subject. ]

[Wally scrubs his hair with the towel, runs it over himself and that's as good as he's going to get. He glances at Robin, looks away-

he likes me, he likes me

-and shifts on his feet.]

We should get going, [he blurts out, interrupting and not caring a lot of he did. He glances at Robin, again for too short a time and something enters the air between them that never has before. Not with Rob.]

...I can take you to your house. If you want. [KF never offers. He just...does.]

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