Batgirl (Barbara Gordon - DCAU) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
batgirl_babs) wrote2020-08-14 10:14 am
batgirl_babs) wrote2020-08-14 10:14 am
Roomies [Open to mayday_parker]
Life moved fast, she reflected. A few weeks ago, there hadn't been a portal connecting one version of New York to another version of Gotham. And yet, there it was, quite literally joining bridges. Nobody was entirely sure yet who had caused it or perhaps what - and a weird sort of pride had sprung up around trying to claim a weird yet undeniable achievement as either part of New York or Gotham. But there were also practical considerations, and she honestly loved seeing that side of Gotham coming out.
The logic was simple: there was a vast city just sitting there, eager for novelty and a whole Gotham to provide it. It was an opportunity. And so the tourism had started flowing. Then a couple clever entrepreneurs had realized that Gotham's housing prices were slightly lower than New York's, and now people were moving in. It was the spirit of both cities at their best. Weird portal joining bridges from two different realities? Sure, yeah, but apartments were cheaper, so.
So it was full of strangeness and incongruities, but here she was getting a roommate out of it. One who knew who she actually was, which made it even stranger but...better. By far. May was a genuinely fun person to be around, she found, and it made such a change for her. She was, by far, the most light-hearted of the Gotham crime fighting set. And while she loved her surrogate family deeply, difference was nice.
When it had become apparent that May was struggling to afford a place on her own, an offer had made perfect sense. It was a two-bedroom, after all. It was impulsive, sure, but there was no way she could be worse than the last roommmate, and it meant helping her friend. Which is how she came to be carrying the last of May's boxes, plonking it down on the floor and brushing off her hands, a bit theatrically.
"Ta-da, all done."
The logic was simple: there was a vast city just sitting there, eager for novelty and a whole Gotham to provide it. It was an opportunity. And so the tourism had started flowing. Then a couple clever entrepreneurs had realized that Gotham's housing prices were slightly lower than New York's, and now people were moving in. It was the spirit of both cities at their best. Weird portal joining bridges from two different realities? Sure, yeah, but apartments were cheaper, so.
So it was full of strangeness and incongruities, but here she was getting a roommate out of it. One who knew who she actually was, which made it even stranger but...better. By far. May was a genuinely fun person to be around, she found, and it made such a change for her. She was, by far, the most light-hearted of the Gotham crime fighting set. And while she loved her surrogate family deeply, difference was nice.
When it had become apparent that May was struggling to afford a place on her own, an offer had made perfect sense. It was a two-bedroom, after all. It was impulsive, sure, but there was no way she could be worse than the last roommmate, and it meant helping her friend. Which is how she came to be carrying the last of May's boxes, plonking it down on the floor and brushing off her hands, a bit theatrically.
"Ta-da, all done."
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"Sorry but I will always be a Queens girl through and through," May said. Not that there was anything wrong with Gotham. Well, okay, there was actually A LOT wrong with Gotham but that wasn't why she'd always claim Queens. That was just part of who she was.
"But I'll take an honorary residency for sure. Just so long as I don't have to put pointy ears on my mask."
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"Pfft, Batspider Girl would be too weird. Or Spiderbat. Whatever. Besides, you don't mess with a classic number."
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"Maybe this can be apartment Spider-Bat? Secretly."
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She dashed into her bedroom and came back holding her utility belt, fishing about in a small compartment. She pulled out a small writing stylus, then an equally small, rectangular light.
"Black light marker, we use 'em to leave messages and such. Can only be viewed with the light. So let's mark this place up as Apartment Spider-Bat, all secret-like. People get to name houses, after all, like, 'The Havens' or something..."
She offered May the marker.
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"Hmmmm," May said, scrunching up her face as she considered what it was she wanted to do with the marker. She had a few ideas but the first one that sprang to mind was one that she couldn't resist. "Got it!"
Biting off the cap of the marker she mumbled "Don't move" around the plastic in her mouth as she dropped to her knees. Pulling up the hem of Babs' shirt she drew a little spider on the other girl's stomach as best she could. Once she was done she stood up, grinning and obviously proud of herself. "There. Now you're mine."
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"Are you kidding me? I meant name and claim the apartment. My cooking isn't that good, after all..."
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"Too late, you're my Babs now," she said. There was a sort of warmth that flooded through her at those words and she blushed as well, ducking her head a bit sheepishly. "My Babs" sounded really nice to her.
"But okay, okay," she said. Turning to the wall she placed one foot on it and then the other, walking up the wall and then onto the ceiling before drawing a spider symbol near one of the corners and then jumping down. "Better?"
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That it was a form of attraction wasn't terribly surprising. Ok, yes, girls were new - but maybe it was just one specific one. She realized that her list of features in a romantic interest were...adjusted from normal life. Trustworthy? Check. Secretive in a good way? Check. Loyal? Check. Dedicated to justice? Double check. Barbara Gordon had a type.
Not that she intended to act on anything. She suddenly was coming to understand all of Bruce's exhortations that it was too dangerous. Not that she found them all that satisfying.
"Not yet," she replied, thickly, after taking a moment to enjoy the spider under the blacklight. She snatched the marker and closed on May, standing on tip-toes and pulling just slightly at the edge of her shirt. Humming a tune to herself, she sketched out a little bat just under her collarbone, adding a smiley face and fangs.
"There. Now we're even."
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May tilted her head to the side to make it easier for Babs to draw her little bat symbol. It was very easy to imagine that her friend was preparing to do something else and it made May wonder if it had just been too long since someone had kissed and nibbled on her neck or if she wanted Babs to do that? Could be both. Probably both.
She let out last huff of breath once the other girl was done before taking the black light and shining it where Babs had drawn. She smiled at the cute little bat.
“I love it and am going to make you redraw it when it starts to fade.”
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She waited a second to let the grin show.
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"Oh, so I'm permanently yours, huh?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. There was a certain sense of... warmth that came with that. Yes it was the butterflies in the stomach feeling but also just a comfy feeling as well. Lifelong friends with Babs? Yeah, yeah she could be okay with that.
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"Geez, it's gonna be hard being the funny one if you keep leaning into the joke like that," she replied. But that response also...oof. Well. Figuring out some new stuff tonight, it seemed. Sure explained some things from that night in the Batmobile, that was for sure.
Not that she minded, really - but right after May moved in? Brain, bad time to figure out you're into girls. Or, at least, one specific one.
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“Don’t worry, you’re absolutely hilarious,” May said. She wasn’t going to go so far as to say that Babs was funnier than her because the Spider-Fam had a reputation to uphold as wise-crackers.
“We are funnier together. I like having someone to riff off of. It makes everything more fun.”
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She gestured at the food with pointy fingers.
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“Yes, food it is!” she said, plopping back down on the ground and picking her food back up and shoveling some of it into her mouth.
“You ever think about how nice it would be to have a huge place where you could have like... a headquarters or something I. The same place?”
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"Oh, I don't have to think about it. I see it every time I'm in the Batcave. Holy schlamoly, it has every single toy. They you take the elevator aaand comfort."
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"I am trying to be happy for them that they have that and not jealous but I'm a little jealous," she admitted. Still, simple pleasure in life like food with your bestie were the important things in life, right?
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"But yeah, this is better. I wouldn't know what to do with that much space, were it mine."
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"Are you sure that doesnt come with strings? I feel like that comes with strings," she said, trying to look as thoughtful about it all as possible. Batman WAS super generous but May was a little hesitant to rely on people outside the Spider-Fam. Maybe she should branch out a bit though?
"Sorry, just... that is so out of my wheelhouse it doesn't compute."
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"You'd be using it to help the vulnerable and the innocent, which is all he does. I know he's got a...reputation. But...yeah. He'd see you were trying to help in a second. And then you'd be one of us. I think he'd be grateful to know there was someone else out there he could rely on."
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"Okay, I'll think about it. I'm just not used to having those sorts of resources," she admitted. Sure there was fancy technology and things like that some of the Spiders had but it wasn't like they used funds to buy stuff to help with the street level hero-ing.
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"I know. But we have to have them - some of us can't walk up a wall like it's a cartoon and look good doing it."
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“Nope, some of us look good no matter what you’re doing,” she said, sticking a tongue out at Babs. She did like the compliment though, liked it a lot, and was going to file it away in her brain to replay over and over.
“What’s your favorite gadget that you carry on your person?”
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She sighed, stretching out like a cat.
"Hands down, the grapple gun. Bet you'll say much the same but - jumping out into space like that, swinging from building to building...that's just the freest I've ever felt. Graceful."