maskormenacelogs | i grew up with a lot of dreams

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i grew up with a lot of dreams

WHO: DICK and SASHA
WHERE: Heropa
WHEN: Night of 11/9.
WHAT: Rooftop dates.
WARNINGS: None, probably. Will edit if necessary.

[ Sasha's waiting at the base of the building she's sent Dick the address of, craning her neck to calculate the height of it. It's not a tall building compared to skyscrapers in New York or even the high-rise buildings in Nonah, Maurtia Falls or De Chima, but it'll have to do. She didn't feel like venturing far tonight, especially when she can see the stars better in Heropa than she can in the other cities.

She would have come in uniform to show off a little, but she's found the uniform doesn't fit quite the same it did a year ago, so she's in a hoodie and jeans, her 3DMG strapped to her hips, ready to launch her grappling hooks whenever Dick arrives. She's grown fond of her new friend/casual date buddy rather quickly, so she doesn't mind having to wait, especially as a picnic basket was promised. He sort of reminds her of Connie... a smarter Connie, not that her friend wasn't clever in his own right.

And while she's waiting, she'll get a head start on eating, having brought beef jerky to munch on. ]

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[ Because Dick is A) an honorable man of his word and B) a tremendous dork, he shows up with an old-fashioned looking picnic basket carried under one arm. Can he scale a building with this? Only time will tell! He's more excited to see Sasha at work — he knows just enough about her world that he's interested to see what she looks like when she's in her element.

He strolls up cheerfully, in a blue button-down shirt and jeans, the kind of outfit one wears if he isn't sure whether it's a date or not. There's plausible deniability, just in case.

He grins as he gets close, shooting her a little wave and breaking out into a jog until he reaches her side. ]

Sasha! I hope I'm not late. I got all caught up in picking out snacks.

Ooooh, you brought it! What did you bring? No wait, surprise me!

[ Secretly, she hopes he gives away what goodies he's brought. She marvels at the picnic basket as if it's a rare treasure that's now fallen into her possession. Sasha even bounces on her heels for a minute, clapping her hands together excitedly.

After a moment, though she hasn't entirely calmed down, she steps towards the building and launches both her grappling hooks upwards to pull herself into the air. She laughs, waving back at Dick as she gets a head start. ]

Last one there is a rotten bread!

[ He laughs, bright and clear, as he watches her go, just taking a minute to marvel. It's impressive! And she's graceful! She really didn't seem the type, on their first meeting, but maybe that's part of what makes her so cool. ]

I'll give you a teaser: there's cinnamon rolls! [ he calls up after her, fishing his own grappling hook out (a civilian version, not a Robin version, not that he'd expect her to know the difference) and heading up. He's quick, but not too quick, cautious of looking just good enough to be a kid raised on the trapeze, but not enough to be identified as anything... well, super.

... but hey, he's still competitive, and she's good enough to be a real challenge! Which is rare enough for him to find. So he's all fired up as he scales the building, trying to catch up, and maybe, just a little, to impress her. ]

C-Cinnamon rolls? Do they have that white frosting on top, too?

[ She's momentarily distracted by the thought of delicious baked goods, but as Dick gets closer she manages to snap out of it and focus on scaling up faster with her gear. She could teleport, but Dick hasn't gotten ahead of her just yet so she doesn't need to pull that trick just yet.

And Sasha is genuinely impressed by how precise and graceful Dick's own movements are. She didn't take him for someone who could pull this off without difficulty, so she really has to hand it to him. It also doesn't occur to her civilians shouldn't know anything about wall scaling without the proper equipment or safety gear. Hey, as far as she knows in Dick's world tons of civilians scale walls on a daily basis. ]

You're pretty good!

[ Just keep thinking that, Sasha. Everyone back in Gotham can scale walls while carrying a picnic basket on one arm. It's all in a day's work for orphaned wards of handsome billionaire playboys. ]

You're pretty pretty and pretty good!

[ He dodges around a window with a flourish, grinning over at her as he catches up. It's a good thing he sprung for the latching basket, or half their dinner would be spilling out onto the street below them by now. ]

[ Sasha is quick and light on her feet, but it looks like Dick's about to out-climb her any second and she can't pick up the pace any faster than she's going now. She swings toward Dick without warning, almost as if she's purposely aiming to crash into him, but there's a large and devious grin stretching across her face.

And then she's gone in the blink of an eye. Not a trace of her or her gear.

From several meters above Dick, he'll catch Sasha leaning over the edge with that big, toothy grin of hers before she sticks out her tongue. ]

Yahoooo! I win!

[ Sneaky. ]

[ He's all prepared to dodge the impact, his heart racing with something other than just adrenaline, when she disappears. He lets out a noise that's something like an embarrassing little squawk of surprise, his eyes following the line of where her gear had been. It's only seconds before she appears above him and solves the mystery for him.

Teleporting. How did he forget she could teleport? ]

That's so cheating!

[ But he laughs with relief as he swings up over the side to join her, flushed and grinning. ]

So cheating, but so cool. I totally forgot you could do that! You almost gave me a heart attack.

Who said it's cheating, huh? You gotta use whatever you can to win!

[ However, Sasha is grateful Dick isn't making a big fuss out of it like some friends from home would have done had it been them. Another cheeky grin and she goes about unstrapping the gear from her hips so she began setting up where they'll be sitting. ]

Don't worry, I know how to control it a lot better than when I first got it.

Worried? Hey, who's worried?

[ Says the kid who squawked like a startled baby eagle. He winds up the cord of his grappling hook, swinging his backpack off one shoulder to tuck it inside. ]

Can you do it with two people, or just you?

I haven't tried it with anyone in a while, but I can.

[ It's just those first few times were mostly accidents. During the hotel incident she was able to control where she was going when she was teleporting with someone else, though. ]

Do you want to try it?

Of course I want to try it!

[ There's teleporting with the Porter, or back home, the zeta beams... and then there's teleporting with a person, and the second is a brand new thing. ]

But I have one reeeally important question: before dinner, or after? [ He waggles the picnic basket. How's teleporting on a full stomach, Sasha? ]

[ She's gotten accustomed to it so she no longer feels the urge to vomit anywhere, but if it's Dick's first time she's leaning towards the former.

Sasha holds out her hand. ]

Let's do before. It'll be quick, I promise.

[ Of course, she eyes the picnic basket closely. Don't tease her with food, Dick! ]

[ He's pretty sure he has a strong stomach, but he's also pretty sure the human body wasn't built for that kind of rapid-fire displacement. Well, he's willing to chance it. ]

Okay! Before it is. Wait for us, dinner!

[ And with that, he sets the basket down and takes her hand. ]

It'll be a few seconds!

[ She eyes the basket once again, slightly reluctant to leave it alone despite the fact there's no way anyone is going to know there's a basket full of food up here. Not unless some random birds out at this time catch sight of it.

After a moment, Sasha beams and their surroundings seem to blacken completely. Dick will feel his body tug in various directions, perhaps uncomfortable for his first time, but it's not as awful as one would expect. Another second later and their environment comes into focus again, revealing they're inside an empty apartment floor. ]

Tada!

[ If Dick looks out the window, he'll see they're nowhere near where they were before. ]

[ It's disorienting, like opening his eyes for the first time after being blindfolded. The room comes into focus slowly, and then all at once... and then he breaks out into a grin. ]

That was so cool! How far did you take us? You didn't even have to see where you were going!

We're near the opposite end of the city!

[ Her chest sticks out a little as she continues to boast. ]

I've actually been to this place, but I can go to places I've never seen before -- or I've done it accidentally. I haven't tried in a long time without knowing where exactly I'm going.

[ For fear of getting stuck somewhere mostly. ]

That's so amazing! I bet you could practice it — maybe places you've seen in pictures, or on a map, even if you haven't been there?

[ He pivots on one foot, letting go of Sasha's hand to rest it on her upper arm. All his adrenaline and enthusiasm has him beaming. ]

Plus, you could help a lot of people with a power like that.

[ Help, huh?

More than anything (well, asides from trying out all the food in this world and surviving) Sasha wants that. She might have sworn an oath to humanity back home, but what's the difference between humanity there and here? There's all the same, really. They're still people who need protection and assistance. ]

I did what I could during that hotel situation. I can't teleport too many people, but we were able to get people out safely.

[ He hadn't heard. Or, rather, he remembers reading about what happened, but he hadn't paid enough attention to who was involved, in the end— he'd had enough to deal with that month. Now he wishes he'd taken note. ]

I didn't know I was on a date with a bonafide hero.

[ The irony's palpable, but hey. ]

Hero? You think so?

[ She still struggles with these kinds of labels and praises ever since her return in the summer. Heroes don't kill people, she reminds herself. ]

[ If he knew that, maybe he'd reconsider. Then again, maybe not. He knows his personal philosophy, but he isn't so arrogant as to think that everyone has the means or the training to live by it when they're under fire. ]

I think so. I mean, I know people like to bat around a bunch of different definitions for it, but as far as I'm concerned? That qualifies.

[ Hearing it from someone is still touching and Sasha can't help a grateful smile. She leans forward (and having to bend a little due to the height difference) and pecks Dick on the lips quickly. ]

You're a very kind person, Dick. Thank you.

Let's go back now.

I'm only telling the truth.

[ But he flushes pink across the bridge of his nose, rocking up onto his tiptoes before reaching out to take her hand again. ]

Right! We've got dinner waiting!

[ They're back in the open, up on the rooftop, almost instantaneously. Sasha goes straight for the basket to see what other goodies Dick has brought, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. ]

What did you bring? Any meat?

Uh... do sandwiches count if they have meat?

[ There's two sandwiches that he clearly ordered from a deli (with everything on them), as well as a whole bunch of snacks. Chips, cookies, teddy grahams and a can of marshmallow fluff... he's used to feeding a speedster, okay? ]

I didn't know what you liked best, so I just kind of bought some of everything.

[ Food is food is food. Sasha isn't exactly a picky eater, so upon hearing it's some kind of sandwich she nearly rips open the basket and digs around for it. ]

Is it turkey? Ham? Both?! [ She doesn't wait for an answer, ripping the plastic off and taking a large bite out of it. ] Mmmmmmf, so good!

[ Dick just laughs, flopping himself down onto the picnic blanket and unwrapping his own. No judgement here, he's weirdly fond of watching people enthusiastically stuff their faces by now. ]

It is both! Good eye, glad you approve. [ Chomp. ] I know how to treat a girl right.

Where did you get it?

[ It doesn't occur to her this is very clearly a deli sandwich, but it wouldn't matter either; it's appetizing and delicious and if she can get the name of the place he got it from, they'll have a brand new regular thanks to him. ]

The meat is so tender. Just perfectly so!

[ It almost makes Dick feel guilty for not going all-out with it, if she's this into a simple deli sandwich. He could've done better! ]

Really? It's a place called Hayden's. Just a few blocks away— it's not far! I didn't know what your favorites were, and I didn't want to be too adventurous after that talk we had about blue cheese... but I'm really glad you like it!

[ Don't ramble, Dick... ]

[ She continues talking, mouth full of food and all: ]

Hrm? Oh... das 'cause daby... [ And then she swallows. So elegant. ] That's because I'm not accustomed to a lot of the dairy foods. Cheese is delicious, but the richer ones make me feel sick.

Oh... because they don't have it where you're from?

Not all the variations this world has. I think it's something the people in the inner walls get to eat more.

[ He nods, understanding the basics of it, at least. ]

Levi told me about that, a long time ago. So you're from further out, then?

[ She takes another large bite of her sandwich before glancing back at Dick in surprise. ]

You knew the Captain?

[ After wiping her mouth: ]

Mm, I'm from a small village.

Mm! He was my housemate when I first got here. He was, um... a character.

[ A polite way of putting it. Maybe someone who didn't live with Batman might have found him more unbearably intense. Dick managed. ]

What's it like?

The Captain can be kind of scary, haha.

[ And plain awful sometimes, but after having to get her own hands dirty, she can sort of understand why. ]

My home village? It's kind of different now, but when I was growing up it was very quiet. We kept to ourselves and hunted for our food.

So this must be really different for you!

It's very different...

[ She reaches for something to drink now, staring off into the sky for a moment. ]

... but it's not a bad kind of different. My friends may not remember this world right now, but we've dreamed of seeing the world beyond the walls.

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i grew up with a lot of dreams

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