InsaneJournal

Did we just get trapped in an elevator?

[AUGUST 6]

Dick whistled to himself, earbuds in though one was actually disabled though by all appearances no one would have known. He had gone for a run already but realized he'd forgotten something in Jason's car from the day before. The back and forth (getting Jason's keys since he'd be annoyed if Dick just ‘broke in’ instead) was why he'd bothered with the elevator and he rocked back and forth, heels to the balls of his feet, while he waited for the thing to come down.

He felt, more than heard, the person approach but that was normal. That trained sort of sixth sense and Dick smoothly turned on his next rock so his glance was incredibly casual. Julio Richter. Dick flashed a grin. “Going up?” Which was a stupid question but there was zero shame in the man's eyes, only humor. If he could have made a worse joke, Dick would have.

"I am now," Ric joked. It was a bad joke, and a very dirty one, but hey. He took his opportunities where he saw them. He and Dick Grayson had never interacted face-to-face before, but the easy banter of the network was simpler to fall into than he thought it would be. It was nice, having one thing that was fitting comfortably that day. He'd been feeling weird since the storms had cleared just as suddenly as they'd rolled in.

His next attempt at a badly flirting was cut off by the elevator doors sliding open with a ding. Ric held up a finger to stop Dick in his tracks. "Age before beauty," he said, because the man had to be at least half a decade younger than he was. Right? Probably.

Either way, he took advantage and slipped onto the elevator first, settling by the buttons as Dick followed him on. "What floor?"

Dick snorted at the declaration even though he'd automatically stopped at the raised finger. He smirked as he slipped into the elevator with the dancer's (acrobat's?) grace that he didn't need to check himself on anymore. He leaned against the rear wall. “Second,” Dick said with a smile. “Didn't feel like sprinting up two flights of stairs again.” As though he needed to defend his decision.

"Third," Ric said, enough explanation on his part that Dick really didn't need to defend it. What were three flights for people with the kind of training they both had? Ric had seen that post, and he hadn't exactly been subtle about anything on the network himself. If he was smart enough to have put those pieces together, Dick definitely was. Those stairs were nothing to either of them and yet here they both were, on the same elevator.

He reached to push the button for the second floor, but as his finger came in contact with the metal of the elevator something slipped; the vibratory wave that left his hand made a sort of BOOMing sound as it hit the control panel.

The doors slid closed. Rictor dove for them but was a second too late to catch them before the gap was too small for a frantically waved arm to interrupt it. "Fuck."

There was the oddest feeling of of course that went through Dick which was the only reason why he hadn't done more than just twitch at the initial sound. He hadn't even pushed off his lean, hadn't even uncrossed his arms.

“Did we just get trapped in an elevator?” Dick asked slowly, his tone so bland he might as well have been asking about the weather. His head tipped to the side briefly in a sort of concession and his hands came up to create air quotes. “Trapped.” Because Dick followed that up with looking at the ceiling panels. The lights were there, sure, but more importantly was the maintenance hatch and a way out. “Buttons definitely aren't working?” he asked as he continued to eye the ceiling and mentally worked out how high the elevator shaft would go, what the speed would be for safety purposes (no express elevators here), and if he thought he'd be able to pry an outer door open without any tools at all. He didn't even have his phone on him at that point.

"Yeah, that's uh. That's my bad," Rictor said. He was cautious about it, but he jabbed the open door button, and then systematically hit the emergency buttons. "They are definitely not working. And I don't know how to hotwire one of these things even if we managed to pry the panel here off to get to the wires in the first place."

Apparently it had never occurred to Cable that his team might need to know how to hotwire an elevator one day. Thanks, great, big help there.

The snort that sounded from Dick was at least amused, rather than actively irritated at the other man. “Elevators aren't really meant to be hot wired in most cases. It's easier to get into the system from outside and control them that way,” he commented and then took a step to the side, eying the panels again. “On a scale of one to ten, how afraid of heights are you?” Because clearly he wasn't the type to sit around and be rescued. “If we go up, do you want to give me a boost and I can pull you up or would you rather go first?”

It probably said something for Rictor's history that he didn't even think twice about that. "One. But it probably makes more sense for me to give you a boost, I'm not exactly a climber. My feet are meant to stay on the ground, most of the time."

After all, that was where his powers came from.

"Hijacked a lot of elevators in your life?" he asked. It might have been a joke, and in fact it sounded a little like one, but the question was genuine.

His lips twitched at that. Dick could appreciate a ‘one’ on that particular scale. "I've had to get creative about entrance and exit points a few times in my life," he corrected and gave the man a cocky grin before gesturing for the boost. Dick didn't hesitate when it was offered, trusting that his companion knew his own strength. He also didn't hesitate to apply pressure in just the right spot as soon as he could reach and lifted the panel with one hand as his other grabbed the edge of the grid frame. Most of his weight was taken experimentally by the frame as he hauled himself halfway up like he did that sort of thing every other day.

"Okay," Dick finally said, pulling himself up the rest of the way. "It seems solid enough for two." He laid flat and reached through the hole as far as he could while his other hand braced against the frame. He'd need the leverage to get Rictor up. "Aim for my left--your right, when you are able to pull yourself up a bit." That angle was better for how Dick needed to move in the limited space.

Ric hesitated for a split second before his hand clasped Dick's firmly; he breathed a relieved sigh when he didn't manage to explode him like he obviously had one of the elevator's delicate electrical components. He braced a foot against the side of the elevator and pushed himself upward, pulling as Dick pulled him to try to maximize the momentum of that push. It took a little scrambling, and he almost mixed up his left and his right, but once he got his elbows hooked on the top of the elevator he was able to pull himself the rest of the way up.

"And that's my exercise for the day," he said. "Taking the elevator was supposed to let me be lazy, damn it."

It wasn't over either, though, because they still had to get out of the elevator shaft. He looked up toward the next set of doors and whistled, the sharp sound echoing in the enclosed space a little more than he'd meant for it to. "Okay, you're in charge here," he told Dick. "What's our next step on this one, monkey boy?"

Dick got to his feet and gave Ric a lazy smirk at the nickname. "If that was your exercise for the day, you're going to hate the next part. Did you ever get forced to do rope climbing in gym?"

His hand reached out to grip one of the cables with a small shrug. "The other option is that I lower you back down there and go for help. I know which option sounds more fun though." The grin he flashed was all challenge and mischief. "I'll go up first, though, and make sure I can even get the doors open. While I am confident, better to know up front." His free hand propped on his hip and he looked Ric over. "Up or down?"

Even if Ric had been tempted to let Dick go for help on his own, he couldn't very well ignore that kind of challenge, any more than he could resist that grin. He answered it with his own. "Up."

Shit, he'd always hated climbing ropes. He could do it, but he hated it. Too late now.

"After you," he added, gesturing to the cable that Dick was already holding. At least he was going to have a great vantage point to stare at Dick's ass. He hadn't gotten to check that out yet and Ric really needed to fill in that gap in his knowledge.

The thought never crossed his mind, ever, about what someone else might have been looking at as he took the lead. Dick just acted and he was often first on the scene -- or the second if Batman beat him to it but B tended to make an entrance regardless even if it wasn't meant to be showy.

Dick easily hoisted himself up. Unlike a rope challenge, he couldn't hook the cable around his foot enough to give himself just a little leverage so it was all upper body strength. And he was used to moving fast because a climb like this was life-or-death more often than not with the other times being a need for stealth, hold the or-death.

"If you start to slide, try and get your feet up around the cable to slow yourself down rather than your hands. The soles of your shoes can take the cable burn better than your palms can," Dick called down though it wasn't overly loud. The asshole didn't even sound out of breath as his voice echoed in the elevator shaft. And it was just a little too easy for him to stretch and get his toes onto the too-narrow ledge that held the building's doors to the shaft. There wasn't enough room to leave the cable entirely.

He grunted and realized that it would have been the smarter move to call Jason. "Okay. I might've gotten cocky," Dick admitted and eyed the door from what should have been a precarious position if he hadn't been so completely calm and confident in exactly where he was in the space.

"Stuck?" Ric leaned back to peer up, but didn't start climbing quite yet. Not until he was sure there was something to climb to, like Dick had suggested.

Yes, he'd watched Dick's ass as he'd climbed. And yes, he'd been very impressed.

"Wish we had something to pry it with," he said, sighing.

The noise Dick made was one that said he was offended. "I don't get stuck," he scoffed. "But I may have misjudged just how much I can do without any gear." Still, Dick Grayson didn't give up too easily. In the time it probably would have taken for help to arrive, had they just waited, Dick finally managed to get the doors pried open with some ingenuity and a healthy dose of stubbornness that seemed to be a necessary piece of anyone who'd ever worked alongside Batman.

"Ha!" Dick said as he swung himself through the door and then peered down at Ric with a wide grin. "Come on up. When you jump, I'll catch you."

"Show off," Ric said, but it was said with a grin. He started his way up the cable much less gracefully than Dick, but he managed to get the job done and get up to the next floor.

When he did, he eyed Dick to make sure... "Ready?"

He jumped.

Dick watched with a keen eye because he knew what it looked like when someone jumped wrong. He moved and grabbed at Ric, hauling him through the doors safely even as he landed on his ass and then let himself lay on the floor of the hallway. There was no danger. He could take a minute to be entertained.

And then he started laughing. "Well that was fun-" The laughter was cut short as he felt the floor rumble, blue eyes cutting toward the other man with a look of concern.

"Shit, shit, shitfuck!" Ric looked around frantically. "I need to, I've gotta--my feet can't touch the ground right now."

Not that they were touching the ground but he guessed for all intents and purposes the floor of the building was apparently close enough to count. He shifted his weight from foot to foot like that would somehow stop it from happening again.

It didn't.

Rictor looked back at the open doors of the elevator, seriously considering diving back into the shaft. At least there he wasn't at any risk of damaging the building.

"It's okay," Dick was quick to say. He was pushing to his feet as Ric verbalized what he'd already been thinking: get the man's feet off the ground. Without asking permission, he grabbed one of Ric's hands even as he twisted into place right up against the man's front. It could have been a practiced move to throw someone if he'd shifted his weight and tossed Ric over his shoulder and his hip but instead, Dick simply... pulled Ric forward while he crouched and got under him.

With a grin, he let both of his hands move to support the thighs that were now at his hips. "See? We've got this. I'm not being forced to play the world's weirdest game of The Floor of Lava so you can just use me here." Dick shifted the weight on his back just a little. "Mind if we drop by my place so I can grab a couple things? We can go back to yours and make sure you don't get stranded on an ottoman or something and need to use the bathroom something fierce."

Ric's thighs instinctively tightened Dick's hips, his arms draping loosely around the other man's neck. "I don't think I get to complain about where we go right now, you're the one running this show until I'm not risking structural damage to the building by just existing on the floor."

Like he'd complain about his new... friend? Yeah, they were friends now, because like hell did you escape an elevator with and then get a piggyback ride from someone without crossing that friends barrier pretty fast. Anyway, Ric wouldn't have complained about Dick needing to get something from his apartment even if he'd been able to move around on his own.

He wiggled a little until he found a more comfortable position, then nodded against the side of Dick's head. "Onward."

---

[SEPTEMBER 10]

Dick had fully admitted that he was very clearly not in second or even third-World’s Best Detective mode when Ric had clarified that he’d been inviting Dick over to share the huge spread of breakfast. Who could pass up traditional Mexican food? (Who could pass up free food, honestly?) But he hadn’t slept in too many hours, as per usual, and there wasn’t enough to keep his mind sharp. But he could eat, stuff himself silly, and crawl back to his apartment into bed. No big deal.

Except one moment he’d dropped down onto Ric’s couch because he’d been told to get out of the kitchen and the next moment he was sound asleep. While it was true that Dick could probably sleep anywhere, it went against all instinct to do so actually-anywhere.

It took a few more minutes for Ric to finish cleaning up; by the time he got back into the living room, Dick was out like a light.

Ric stopped and stared at him for a moment. Partly it was because Dick was nice to look at, and Rictor was a healthy gay man who enjoyed noticing that kind of thing. Most of it, though? Awe. Awe that Dick was somehow comfortable enough in his apartment to sleep without worrying that someone was going to attack him any second.

Or, he guessed, maybe it was that he figured that Ric could handle it if someone did? He wasn't wrong, but they hadn't even teamed up yet so there was no way for Dick to know that for sure.

Quietly, carefully, not wanting to wake Dick up if he could help it, Ric snagged the cheap throw he'd gotten his first week there for his own couch naps and draped it over the younger man. He should probably go about his business, but he didn't. Not quite yet. Not when he could watch the easy rise and fall of Dick's chest, see his face soften with sleep. Who knew if Ric would ever get the chance to witness that again?

The throw was just enough of a change that Dick's fingers twitched in his sleep and one foot shifted like the muscle memory was to move. The foot for movement, the hand for grabbing. But he resettled a moment later because clearly everything was fine.

Ric watched a moment longer, then shook his head. Dios, he was in trouble with this one.

When Dick did wake, it was with a sharp inhale through his nose and sitting upright before his brain had even caught up. He'd fallen asleep? That didn't make all the sense in the world but he supposed he had felt safe enough to let his guard down for just a little while. Fingers combed back through his hair as he shifted on the couch to figure out where he was--Ric's apartment. Check. There was a throw blanket over his lap and that got a stare of confusion. "Shit," Dick muttered. How long had he been out? Neither Jason nor Donna could hear about this. "Uh- Ric?" Dick called out when he didn't immediately see the other man. "Sorry. I didn't... mean to crash." God, he still felt tired so the nap couldn't have been terribly long. Enough for his brain to shut down and reboot but his body was protesting the too-soon awake state.

Ric had gone back to his room because the alternative was to sit there and stare at Dick while he slept which would have been extremely creepy. He'd been conscious, though, of the other person in his apartment. Of the fact that there was someone sleeping on his couch and he needed to be quiet and as still as possible.

He'd left his headphones slanted off one of his ears while he listened to a podcast; he paused it and pushed them down around his neck before rolling out of bed and sticking his head out the door of his room. "Hey, no problem. That much food can knock anyone out, right? All the carbs, I'm gonna have to work out extra this week."

And he was rambling, because Ric didn't know what to do with an attractive man sleep-mussed on his couch. Dick's hair was a disaster and Ric's lips twitched into a smile that he didn't bother to stifle. God, he was unfairly handsome, and the almost-sex-hair just made it worse.

"Good nap?" If Ric were smoother, he might have suggested that they move it to the bed now. He was not, however, that smooth, and any attempt to fake it would have been embarrassing.

Dick's grin was much more sheepish than anything else as he made eye contact with Ric. "Clearly I needed it," he said. "I told you. Toxic trait." His fingers curled into the blanket and Dick felt a rush of warmth at the small gesture and he didn't think it was from embarrassment.

He got to his feet and absently tugged his T-shirt back down from where it had accidentally gotten rucked up in his sleep. Grateful for something else to focus on, he folded the blanket carefully and settled it over the arm of the couch. "And for what it's worth, you don't need to work out extra," Dick said, without thinking, and peered down at himself. One socked foot moved to slide the leg of his jeans down just a little more but he was otherwise presentable, he thought, though he hadn't yet looked in a mirror. Dick approached the doorway of the bedroom but didn't actually want to encroach on someone's private space. It just felt like the less awkward option than talking across the admittedly-not-large apartment. "And I didn't mean to send you to your room. You could have just kicked me off the couch, you know."

Ric shrugged one shoulder. "Didn't want to wake you up. You did need it."

God, Dick was cute like this. Ric thought he could really get used to seeing him sleep rumpled, which was dangerous when he hadn't gotten any indication that Dick would be interested in something like that. Of course, he hadn't gotten any indication he wouldn't be, either...

He didn't need to work out extra? That was promising.

Ric stepped more fully into the doorway, not trying to block Dick's sight. There were maybe a few too many empty beer cans littering his bedside table, but otherwise it was pretty presentable. He just... it was awkward. Everything was sort of awkward right then.

The man might not have been trying to block Dick's sight but he got the hint anyway and stopped the forward motion. He didn't like awkward, not when it wasn't him doing something on purpose to get under someone's skin in the heat of whatever was going on.

"Yeah, I needed it," Dick said quietly, unwilling to cast about for something the duo could do. He'd already basically chased the guy out of his own living room for the sake of letting Dick sleep where he hadn't been invited to do so. "So... thanks for that."

Dick rocked back on his heels before letting himself step backward, thumbing over his shoulder. "I can head out. Unless you've got dishes that you ignored. I can do those. I'm not a total dick." There, that joke tended to land.

Ric snorted, the sound soft. "You can head out if you want to. If you need to. But you can hang around longer if you want to, too. Up to you. It's not like I'm doing anything today."

"You're not doing my dishes for me. I'd be a really shitty host if I asked you to." Ric was going to stand firm on that one. He needed to prove that he could at least master enough of this social interactions thing to be a decent host.

Dick watched Ric for another moment before his playful smirk turned more warm and he huffed out an amused noise. "I'll head out anyway. And I'll do the dishes next time, how about that? Regardless of hosting rules." It was a good middle ground, he thought, trying to cut off the awkwardness but not make it sound like either of them had done anything wrong.

Without thinking, Dick gave the man a wink and clicked his tongue to go along with the finger-gun he tossed. "I'll let myself out." With that, he turned on his heel and made his way to the entry door. "Thanks for breakfast! And the nap."

---

[SEPTEMBER 28]


Dick frowned at his phone, the Umbreon at his side pressing against his leg in an attempt to provide comfort. Something was happening back at the Station. It had started out with a semi-joking defense of Ric but then he had gotten Actually Worried. Jason seemed adamant that Dick not rush home and it felt weird. It felt... Dick took a moment to snap a goofy selfie and grinned to himself as his companion complained over the network but not in person from a mere foot or two away.

But then-

Dick's head snapped up and he looked at Ric, unable to keep the words from being blurted out. "Is this a date?"

Ric's heart jumped into his throat. Do you want this to be a date? he almost asked, but that was a little too... real. A little too serious. That wasn't Ric's style at all. Ric's style was a little more flippant. A little more... "I think I could do better if this was a date."

Probably not much. Ric didn't have a great track record, too caught up with Star and their complicated history. But Star wasn't even in this world, and they'd been broken up for... a while, this time. Maybe the last time he'd seen Star was going to be the last time.

Maybe it was okay to let go and move on. Finally.

His eyes narrowed at that response but more thoughtful than anything else. "Oh yeah?" Dick asked, his expression turning more toward the usual mix of cocky and cheerful. "Prove it."

It was hard to not issue the challenge because it just wasn't Dick's style. Not in this place where he was allowed to be relaxed and playful without worrying about some member of a rogue's gallery taking up all of his free time or some world-ending event just around the corner. His lips twitched as he fought the grin and held his hand out. "Pokemon hunting, a date, and definitely not worrying about what's going on back at The Station. What could go wrong?"

"Now that you've said that? I'm expecting the world to end any minute," Ric said with a shrug. Prove it, huh? Well, he'd set himself up for that one. Not that he wasn't thrilled that Dick wasn't opposed to the thought of a date with him.

The problem was that Ric hadn't bothered thinking about what he would do if he did take Dick on a real date. If he took anybody here on a real date. Most of his dates had ended with a team up to kick someone's ass and the ones that hadn't?

Yeah. He'd managed to ruin those himself.

"Do you like hot chocolate? There's a café on Nineteenth Street that does a great champurrado." It was a start, at least. A stall while Ric figured out a date worthy of the bar that he'd just set for himself.

"I have no idea what champurrado is," Dick said, though he didn't butcher the word as one might have expected. He spoke a lot of languages so the odds were in his favor most of the time.

He let his hand drop because it had mostly been a tease anyway. If Dick let himself think too hard about what they were now doing, he was going to overthink it. And overthinking it wasn't going to lead anywhere helpful, especially because it was only going to make him think of The Station and whatever was going on. Dick bit down on his lower lip as he let himself feel concern again and checked his phone before shaking his head and sliding it into his back pocket. "What do you think?" he asked the Umbreon at his side. "Up for a walk?" Of course the little dude was.

Jason or Donna would call him if they needed to race back across town. Dick hesitated and looked at Ric. "Are we walking or are we getting the bike?"

"As much as I love the bike..." And Ric did love it. He loved riding up close behind Dick, tucked against his body. Loved the warmth of him. Loved locking his arms around Dick's waist and holding on tightly.

Man, he regretted chickening out of grabbing Dick's hand right now.

"A walk sounds good. Let our buddies explore. What do you think, Cubone?" Of course Cubone was up for it, too. He didn't ever seem to get tired.

Ric was hit by a stroke of genius or something, some way to salvage the whole physical contact thing. He offered his arm like a fucking gentleman and grinned. "Do you want a spoiler or do you want to trust me that this drink is going to change your life?"

Dick loved that bike. It wasn't nearly as good as something he had back home because those had financial backing and literal geniuses to turn to for ideas but it was perfect for what he used it for in San Francisco.

There was that warm feeling again, watching Ric consult the Cubone at his side. He couldn't put a name to the emotion and Dick didn't really want to try just then. But he did bark out a laugh when Ric offered his arm. That was definitely new. "Oh, it's going to change my life?" Dick asked, sounding suitably impressed and dubious though he took the offered arm. It wasn't a natural position but he could see how it felt for a little while, whether the whole thing was a joke or not.

And if it felt too strange, there was always a more slick attempt at just grabbing Ric by the hand while they walked. Dick wanted the physical contact suddenly and was not about to let the idea go. "Is it your goal to find all the good Mexican places?" he asked, genuinely curious rather than commentary about Ric's heritage. The Umbreon fell into step as they set off.

Cubone followed along behind and Ric couldn't remember feeling this happy in a long time. He had a date with a very cute younger guy who he hadn't managed to ruin things with yet and he thought maybe... maybe he could manage to make this work. Maybe.

"Maybe not all of them," Ric said, "but enough of them that I have options, you know? I may be a little more Americanized now, but it's nice to get that taste of home once in a while."

Which Dick knew, considering the breakfast Ric had shared with him. Food from home would always be real food, even if he could down a burger just as fast as the next guy who should probably start worrying about cholesterol sometime soon (but wasn't going to).

He gave a nod; he understood. Dick made a thoughtful noise. "When I was younger, because we moved around all the time, I really got used to finding the different authentic cuisines. Once I ended up in one place, it was pretty easy to see how Americanized things were and it got a little harder to find the good mom-and-pop places. But part of that was also a lot of grabbing food on the run while we were out. Alfred was an amazing cook so when we were home it was great but he didn't do too many cultural things, if that makes sense," Dick said, realizing that he was probably talking too much but it was his default. And it probably would have been more awkward if he suddenly kept his mouth shut.

"It probably isn't too hard to drive South for a few days, you know. Cross the border, see if you can scratch the culinary itch," Dick suggested. His hand shifted on Ric's arm and there was the briefest hesitation before he slid his fingers along the man's palm and took his hand instead. That probably could have waited, honestly, but why wait?

This time, Ric didn't miss the opportunity; he laced his fingers with Dick's, giving the other man's hand a gentle squeeze. "It's not the first road trip back to Mexico I've taken, probably won't be the last either. Might be better with a little company, though."

With that he held his breath, hoping that the suggestion wasn't going a little too far. He knew that Dick had his nightly activities, and even though Ric was more of a when the opportunity strikes kind of hero he respected the patrols, the routine. If that was what worked for Dick, that was what worked for Dick. And anyway, even without the scheduling piece of it, inviting a guy to go to your home country with you on a first date was pretty ballsy.

Ric had always had more balls than common sense though, so what else was new?

He could be honest. The hand-hold felt a little weird once it had been properly initiated. But only because Dick so rarely got the opportunity to walk around as they were and the last time had probably been with Barbara. Wrong memory trail to jog down, Grayson.

"Gives me a chance to brush up on my Spanish," Dick replied easily. He didn't need to brush up on his Spanish but it was a reply that wouldn't get too much scrutiny and was neutral enough for himself to not overthink it. Because he was seriously trying to not overthink it. "Were you actually born in Mexico or was it more just your family?" he asked and his head tilted with genuine curiosity. He liked learning about people because they were often the most interesting puzzles.

"Born and raised for the first fourteen years of my life in Guadalajara, until my mutant abilities kicked in." And that, destroying three blocks and subsequently being captured by The Right, was not first date material. "Then I got recruited--" more like rescued "and ended up in America training to fight bad guys. What about you? Where were you born?"

Ric hadn't been on a date with anyone but Shatterstar in... since that disastrous attempt at one with Bobby, before he'd realized that he was still too hung up on Star to even try forming a connection with someone else. Still, he knew that the general where were you born, where did you grow up, that at least was appropriate first date talk, even if for the two of them it would probably lead to things that were... darker. Less friendly for a light conversation.

You got really good at dancing around those things though.

Dick actually made a face that was almost a wince and not because he was ashamed or embarrassed. "It's hard to explain the where so it is just way easier to say I was born with the circus." Not 'in' the circus. "Keystone City is what's on my birth certificate, though. So... Kansas." Definitely not what someone would have expected. "But I don't actually know how long my parents stayed there before either Haly's Circus moved on or they left to catch up in another city," Dick went on to explain. "Born and raised in Haly's until my parents died." Were killed. "Then I got taken in by a billionaire and was hyper-trained under him, became a sidekick to the man dressed as a giant bat, left the sidekick gig, and here we are."

He raised his head enough to grin at Ric. "Just your normal, boring story." And, sure, maybe talking about the death of the elder Graysons was too heavy for a first date but that event had shaped Dick Grayson and had changed the entire trajectory of his life.

"I can't believe I'm on a date with a circus boy," Ric laughed, squeezing Dick's hand a little in a way that hopefully made it clear he was just teasing. It honestly was kind of cool... "So, when kids get mad they threaten to run away with the circus, did you just threaten to stay behind instead when you were pissy?"

The rest of it... yeah, he wasn't surprised by the dead parents. People with normal home lives didn't become superheroes, usually, he'd found. Mutants more often than others, he guessed, because home life inevitably became weird when you ended up with mutant powers.

"I am sorry about your parents, though. And the formative years you spent with a man dressed as a bat because that's gotta do something to your psyche."

Dick's grin didn't diminish. He was great at lying and faking expressions but he didn't need to cover this one up with a false mask. He was well aware of how strange it was to have grown up in the circus and most people didn't understand it. Others immediately labeled him as a lowly carny, too stupid to keep up while also being too smart to not be looking to steal from them. At least under the Wayne name, he had a level of respect that was even begrudgingly given.

But that was back home.

"I snuck out but that was the extent of it, honestly. My parents and I didn't have too many blow-ups. I am going to assume that it was because of how we traveled and it wasn't like I went to public schools. Trying to skip class was nearly impossible when the class moves with you on the train," Dick chuckled. "Never quite hit that teenage rebellion stage. Bruce got that stage in spades."

His fingers tightened in Ric's grip though it was brief. He appreciated the sympathy and the humor. "What, you don't think I'm a fully adjusted and normal human adult?" Dick teased. "Don't all kids grow up with superheroes all around them? Larger than life but still let you into their little clubhouse?" He shifted his weight on the next step to playfully bump a little into Ric. "What was your training like?" Alright. Again, not great first-date material but clearly it was a shared aspect of their childhoods.

"It was... honestly, it varied. I started off with X-Factor, as a trainee, but then I got shuffled around a couple of different times before I ended up in X-Force. That one was tough. Cable didn't believe in taking it easy on us just because we were still kids. I got jacked working under him, it was insane." Rictor was still muscular, but... "I don't keep up with my training the same way anymore now, though."

Rictor had been through plenty of teams over the years, but X-Force... that was where he'd really found his feet. That was where he'd met Star.

"Okay, here's one for you, what's your weirdest team up been? We've all had them, don't lie to me, there's one that stands out as the more bizarre." Ric had plenty to choose from over the years, honestly, and as far as superheroing went? It was a pretty safe question.

Dick could believe the jacked comment. He was used to reading people and there was a strength to Julio Richter. "Oh, uh. Oof, I need to think about that one," Dick admitted. "I literally run with the big leagues but I don't think that's what you mean."

He was silent, which was a feat in and of itself as he thought. And then he nearly misstepped as he worked through a list of villains he'd teamed up with. Tarantula -- Catalina -- was not someone he wanted to talk about. "Can I go with 'pick an alien, any alien, and I've teamed up with them'?" he tried and then chuckled. "It could be argued that teaming up with a man dressed as a giant bat is the weirdest team-up. Batman. Oh! There we go. Man-bat. Doctor Langstrom is kind of hit and miss but he's literally a bat-human hybrid. How's that?"

"That is sufficiently weird," Ric acknowledged. "I mean, not really that weird for mutants, there's plenty of us with altered physical appearances, but for someone who isn't a mutant? Yes, bat-human hybrid is pretty high on the list of weird things."

This was... this was nice. This was right, the connection made easier by the shared weirdness that had been their lives.

"Did he call himself Man-bat or did someone pick that one out for him? Because I gotta say, it's pretty on the nose. Zero points for creativity." Said the seismic mutant who went by Rictor, he guessed.

Dick made a thoughtful noise. "I'm not actually sure but it's a safe bet that someone else picked it out for him. On those miss days, he's not exactly in his right mind. Good guy, honestly. He created the serum to help the deaf and blind communities but there's a feral side-effect to it," he admitted. "But there's a serious lack of creativity with villain names in Gotham. The Joker, as an example, is a sociopathic clown. Named himself. The Riddler who, as you can imagine, deals in riddles and puzzles. That one goes a step further because his name is Edward Nigma. E Nigma. The name came first. Also, there is an alarming number of psychopaths in Gotham who hold PhDs or other advanced degrees." There was the talkative Dick Grayson in his natural environment.

"I'm sorry, what? You're saying that education is the fastest path to evil there?" Ric arched his eyebrows, turning his head to stare at Dick as they walked. "That sounds like propaganda by a plutocracy to keep the population dumb or something."

What? Ric wasn't dumb. When you were always ready to riot, you needed to know what it was that you were rioting about, right?

His free hand flew up in a helpless gesture. "I know, right?" Dick asked, bewildered. "I never quite understood it. Pamela Isley, Poison Ivy, to keep the theme going, is all about saving the planet but she's an eco-terrorist. Harleen Quinzel is a little more understandable with how the Joker twisted her and now she's Harley Quinn. And shit has she been through a lot. She was a star psychiatrist with a specialization in psychoanalysis. Harley ended up here, actually, with some others who were making trouble. At least Deathstroke was short-lived for being here. That was going to get real dangerous real fast. For everyone else." He just kept talking though the last comment was muttered in a resigned tone.

Dick heaved a sigh. "Gotham might actually be the crime capital of America. I can't remember what the last numbers were when they were reported," he added quietly. "Bruce couldn't do it alone."

"And you all do it without powers?" Ric shook his head with a low whistle. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I can hold my own in a physical fight if I need to, but... I guess it's different when you're surrounded by other people like you all the time. You don't think of the people who don't have the... fuck, it's not an advantage, mutant hate crime is through the roof, but I guess when it comes to saving the world it can be."

Now it had gotten dark again. Definitely not first date territory, but... it was good to know. Good information about Dick, who was a friend first anyway so the rest didn't matter.

When he grimaced again, there was a twinge of guilt. "Batman doesn't want metas in his city. Mutants. He trusts The Flash just enough and it's not like he could catch the man without a full blown plan and traps in place if he wanted to evict any of the speedsters. So, yeah, we all do it without powers. Just a lot of training--a lot of training. And gadgets. Funded by a billionaire," Dick sighed. He knew how it sounded and there was no putting a polite spin on it: Ric wouldn't have been welcome in Gotham if his mutant status came out.

Dick's expression twisted and he looked at Ric. "Sorry. It's a whole problem with B and there's no getting around it. He's always right, of course, and can never be wrong," he went on and with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "It's a big part of why I left. Made my own way, left the Robin thing behind. Formed teams, evolved them, left them, did the solo act." Dick's grin made another appearance. "Honestly, I'm pretty sure I'm more popular than Batman in the hero community. It probably doesn't matter much since he's not out to make friends in the first place."

"I mean, you do seem like a pretty popular guy," Ric teased. "And really modest about it, too."

Still. It was pretty shitty, the whole no mutants thing. Ric really hoped that Dick's mentor never showed up here in this town, because Ric would have a few words for him already.

"I'm a B-lister, at best. Probably more like C," Ric admitted. "I've been sort of on the fringes of some bigger names, but I've never done a team up with, say, Wolverine. Everyone knows that guy, he'd have no idea who I was if he met me on the street."

"Please tell me someone named Wolverine is the short and bitey-scratchy type," Dick immediately replied. But he gave Ric's hand a small squeeze. "And, hey, being popular ain't all it's cracked up to be. We tend to die, nearly-die, and end up in way too many 'end of the world or universe or multiverse' situations. Zero out of ten, do not recommend."

"Actually, yeah, that's him exactly," Ric laughed.

Honestly, he didn't mind not being a big name as much. As far as things went, Rictor had always been a small fry and he sort of figured he always would be a small fry. He'd been a little busier lately than usual, sure, but... nah. He liked not being caught up in as much drama as the big names always had going on around them.

"Just wasn't sure if you were allowed to date across hero hierarchies," Rictor said, teasingly.

Dick smirked in return. "If I wasn't allowed, there isn't anyone here to hold me to it," he replied. "How far away is this place, anyway? You promised me champurrado."

"Just another couple of minutes," Ric promised. He considered pulling Dick aside for a kiss first, but then... nah. He'd wait. At least until he'd get the chance to taste chocolate on Dick's lips.

The smile he gave Dick was a little devilish, but he didn't share his thoughts with the class. He just picked up the pace.