week 7; saturday ( stephanie )

[axilium]

[belph is a bit difficult to find, tonight—namely because he's in the last place steph might think to look for him.

...

which is to say that he stands in the observatory, watching the constellations play out. it might be a lie to call him peaceful, but if nothing else, he looks contemplative.]

Comments

[vigilantics]

Shhhhh. Don't ruin the moment.

[ she says that, as if it also doesn't ruin the moment. ]

[axilium]

Me not talking is the only way to keep the moment, huh?

[vigilantics]

Pretty much.

[ she'll step away, although she's still pretty close; steph mostly just wants to look at him properly. ]

Thank you.

[axilium]

... What are you thanking me for?

[vigilantics]

For... everything. You humored me a lot the last two months, you know. And you did and a lot of things for me that I know you didn't want to. I think that might make me a bad friend? It kind of feels like I kept taking advantage of you to get you to tell me stuff...

[ she trails off, not entirely sure where she's even going with this. her gaze fall down towards her feet. ]

But you're still here right now with me. So. Thanks.

[axilium]

[he pauses for a moment, as if trying to understand what she's saying.]

... Are you kidding me, Steph? You—you have no idea how much you've done for me, do you?

[vigilantics]

[ the confused expression on her face answers that no

she has no idea. ]

[axilium]

... You told me once before that you wanted to give people hope. That even when things seem grim, and impossible, there's a chance that it'll change. That there's still something to make you smile even when things are suffocating.

You wanted to spread that feeling to others. For you, that was what being a hero meant.

[...]

You were my hope. From then, and up to now.

[she kept him going.]

[vigilantics]

[ it's a good thing that the observatory is so dark because her face immediately flushes red at his words.

steph, as a hero, has floundered a lot through the years. she has made mistakes, had bad motivations, and caused practically all of the other vigilantes in gotham to put her on a metaphorical blacklist. she's been trying, little by little, to fix her past errors in order to build something new, not just for herself, but for the rest of her city and everyone in it.

the people here have been so kind to her. even with her injuries, people still called her capable and strong, and every time it bewildered her that even when she failed here and gave everyone reasons to doubt her ability to do anything useful, they still backed her. it's what she wanted.

she has to take a deep breath. ]

I think you made that sound a lot better than when I said it.

[axilium]

... I don't know about that. A lot of it was your exact words, actually.

[vigilantics]

Well! That's embarrassing.

[ let her die. ]

[axilium]

Embarrassing? They're your words!

[vigilantics]

I don't... actually expect people to listen to what comes out of my mouth...

[ this is probably the closest to shy she has ever sounded, and ever will. ]

I'm happy.

[axilium]

... They meant a lot to me. To be honest... if you weren't my partner, I don't think I would've bothered to do much as a Vizier.

[there would've been no point in fighting.]

[vigilantics]

No one else would be as aggravating as me, probably.

[ it's said quietly. ]

... I think that we're going to have a very bright future together, Belph. Even if it's scary to think about.

[axilium]

[...]

What's your home like? ... Though I can guess, given the need for vigilantes, apparently.

[vigilantics]

Gotham has its charm. I promise you won't have to start running around rooftops and fighting evil clowns though.

[ ha ha. he has no idea. ]

[axilium]

... Is that something you normally do?

[vigilantics]

It's, like, a normal Tuesday?

[ ... ]

And every other day that ends with Y?

[axilium]

... You really do lead an interesting life.

[vigilantics]

And it'll be your interesting life. I mean, probably minus all the potentially deadly bits? Although just crossing the street can be a harrowing experience during rush hour.

[ she's kind of rambling now. ]

[axilium]

Rush hour...? Ah, right, that's—when traffic is bad, or something?

[going off what he remembers from his data, anyway.]

[vigilantics]

Everyone is either going to or leaving work, so traffic gets super congested.

[ this is the most chipper she has ever sounded while talking about traffic. ]

It's so annoying! I can't wait to show you it.

[axilium]

Something to look forward to, then.

[can't believe he's going back in time a thousand years just to see rush hour.]

[vigilantics]

Yeah.

[ ... ]

Hey. Belph.