11846/A family gathering.

A family gathering.
Date of Scene:	27 July 2020
Location:	Orchestra, Monarch Theatre
Synopsis:	And Beacon starts too become part of the Family.
Cast of Characters:	Red Robin, Oracle, Nightwing, Sparrowhawk

---

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake has invited Dick and Barbra over to the house. He has not got to see them in a while, and it would be nice to see them. There is also the fact he can introduce them to Phoebe. So Tim has actually gotten snacks and drinks ready for when people get here. Tim tries to make Alfred proud with his prep.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara has heard about Phoebe, but this is the first time Tim's made a point to actually introduce everyone. "Are you going to embarass him to death or play the nice big brother?" she asks Dick with a grin in his direction. "I mean... part of me thinks we should begin as we mean to go on."

Oracle has posed:
And she is knocking on the door even as she asks.

Nightwing has posed:
    "Tim has enough problems with people sometimes. He's a brilliant mind in a world full of idiots. He has also never said anything mean or disparaging about you and me." Dick is still a little snappish. "Honestly? I plan on giving her the biggest hug in the world. This is an opportunity to be the people we say we want to be."

    Dick pauses. "You should be a little mean though. If you aren't, he won't know what to do." Dick grimaces and leans over. It is a gentle gesture that he makes to attempt to remove a stray hair from Barbara's cheek and away from the make-up hiding her bruised face. "Thank you for coming with me."

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake will come opening the door after the normal security checks. Tim has a nice set up for the security here. He smiles when he sees who it is "Barbra, Dick come on in." He steps to the side to let them in. "Glad you guys could make it. Hope the trip over was not to bad. Getting the neighborhood looking better, but there are still some pockets that try to be a pain." Once inside he will lead them to the living area "Want something to eat or drink?"

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    Coming around the side of the building, Phoebe Beacon was making her way. Her hair was in a wrap today, her earbuds in but not playing anything as she walks around a bit, making sure she was losing any tail as she stops and primps in a store window for a moment, giving a soft 'hmm' as she checks herself over, and then gives a grin. She's coming directly from the University, and she's got a tote bag full of books at her side -- along with a happy looking potted plant. She's still a couple of minutes from the theater yet, but she has her keys -- with her entry fob -- cheerily swinging from her hips.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara's smile is a little bit uncertain, though she tips her face into the light touch that pushes her hair out of her face. Tim's seen them this way for weeks -- a little awkward, like things are just weird since the last time Dick took the Bat cowl. When he opens the door, the redhead turns her smile on the 'little brother' of the group. "Hey, kiddo. Water'd be great -- I'm glad you invited us. I'm dying to meet your friend."

She moves into Tim's place, familiar with the layout though they don't visit *here* very often. "Did you raid the kitchen at the manor or are you cooking this evening?"

Nightwing has posed:
    "Water would be great for me, please, Tim?" Dick asks, offering a warm handshake and a quick manly hug to the other Wayne heir with a warm and very genuine smile. He looks a little rougher than usual. A little hobbled, as if he's in a bit of pain. He gently moves to let Barbara in and past him. "Need any help, Tim?" As he asks though, Dick has a gentle hand on Barbara's elbow. Nothing controlling, it is actually steadying. Apparently, they bit off a little more than they could chew.

    "Thank you for inviting us." The smile on his face is not a polite one worn to cover displeasure. It is a warm and genuine smile. He's just happy. "Is she here?" He asks, looking about. "Not that I don't want to see you?"

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake will hug Dick back, and looks at the two of them, "Sit down get off your feet." He will tell the two, motioning towards the couch "I got Alfred's spaghetti recipe, I thought about trying Green Arrow's Chili but was not sure if you were in the mood for lava tonight." He jokes a bit. He will get them both a nice cold water bringing it to them. "She had class today, should be back soon, told her I had a surprise but had not told her what yet.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    That's when the front door opens and closes, and a cheery voice lilts back.

    "Hey Tim! You in?" before the sound of someone setting bags down comes from the entrance, and she continues talking "Professor Amallo asked me to bring one of your papers back since you weren't going to be in class, and I grabbed the homework and corrected marks from Japanese -- yours is perfect, of course, nerd." she calls out, and comes up.

    She's wearing jeans and a Gotham University T-shirt, and dark blue hair-wrap. Her eyes are dark, full of mischeif, and she has a gentleness about her cheeks as she rounds the corner. "And I know we're supposed to head out on the late patrol tonight, but I was wondering if maybe we could get a spar--" she pauses, seeing Tim -- with two strangers, and her lips curl, slightly, brows rising up "klers and maybe do photo ops?" she finishes, looking very, very surprised that there was anyone here.

    And she gives an embarrassed smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't know he had company!"

Oracle has posed:
A single brow shoots upward on Barbara's face, and by the time the younger woman comes around the corner, she's already blurted way too much. She has a *key* to Tim's place, she's talking about patrols, and trying to play it off with sparklers. "Riiiiight.... because Tim's great with fireworks. I'd love to see those sparklers, Tim," she taunts lightly even as she casts her green eyes at him. For all that her tone is light, her gaze on him is a more serious WETF is going on?? *Patrol*?

The redhead lifts her hand, her wrist splinted lightly, and waggles her fingers in greeting. "Hi, I'm Barbara. This is Dick, Tim's brother. It's so nice to finally meet you in person. Tim's been keeping you a little bit of a secret."

Nightwing has posed:
@emit
    "Sparklers?" Dick asks brightly. "I love sparklers. They sparkle." Dick offers. He regards the young lady with a critical eye, but his lips start to twist into a warm smile, even if it looks like he is fighting it. It is a losing battle though. "I'm Tim's older brother. Dick. The redhead next to me is Barbara. We're Tim's family and I have wanted to meet you since I caught Tim after Cherries Jubilee."

    Dick rises to his full height and offers a handshake that will turn into a welcoming hug. "I am so very happy to meet you."
    Part of it is that it is tactical to be nice. A larger part of it is genuine happiness for Tim.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake looks over to Phoebe, and smiles at first, and then at her slip, and trying to cover it, he will grin a bit more. He does consider letting it go on more to try to use it as a teachable moment, but that is more a Bruce thing than a Tim thing. He will be the first to hug Phoebe, and says "Barbra is family as well, like my first sister." He tells her, and then looks over to Babs, "I was wrong by the way, Phoebe is in the family business as well, and doing pretty good at it.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    Phoebe was trying to figure out how to salvage the situation, a wince on her face before Barbara introduces the two, and she presses her lips together a moment, listening to the introductions.

    And as Dick gets close to her, he may even feel even happier, because Phoebe's got this feeling about her, a warm feeling, like the smell of baking bread or being wrapped in a warm blanket-warm-a-feeling as he enters her aura, and she gives a squeak as she's reaching for a handshake, and then gets hugged!

    She gives a soft sound of surprise, and she seems to blush, cheeks darkening as she rubs the back of her neck.

    "YEah, well, I'm not quite at your caliber yet but, couple of years, maybe." she stammers a moment, looking at the two of the newcomers.

    "So... ah, Hi! I'm Phoebe Beacon, pleasure's mine, Barbara, Dick!"

Oracle has posed:
The family business. Though she's been happy for Tim to have found a girlfriend and she's suspected that the rumors of a companion on the rooftops is true, Barbara wasn't quite as prepared for it to just be laid out there like that. Though her smile is absolutely the real deal, she seems a little... maybe unnerved? Because it's pretty clear she knows who they are. But she shoves any misgivings aside for right now and offers, "It can take a little while to hit your stride. But you have a good teacher."

Moving a little stiffly herself, Barbara goes over to lower herself to the couch so she can maybe relax just a little. Based on the wrist and the concealer that is expertly applied to hide any bruising, it's clear she and Dick are both moving a little slow tonight. "You're taking Japanese with the King of Nerds? That's bold."

Nightwing has posed:
    "Just be careful." Dick says. "Mind your training. Keep out of the Batman's way, and stay away from the police. Listen to Timothy. E knows what he is doing and he is very accomplished." Dick is trying to be positive and encouraging at once. As he eases back down he reaches over for a glass of water and passes it over to Barbara. "Don't be afraid to ask others for help, and seek out a female to train with you. You can be better at some things due to body mechanics and physics. In other things, you are at a disadvantage. Learn to play to your strengths, and always, always, always remember the first rule. You go home at the end. The second rule is no killing."

    It is a distillation. Still, Dick's words are gentle and warm yet certain. He is confident of everything he has said.

    he adds, with a soft snort. "But always remember that someone else taught Tim what to do as well. Seek those people out as they might have some insights or embarrassing stories." He lifts his brows and gestures wit his left hand at both himself and Barbara.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake looks to the two and says "You just remember I know stories of you two as well." He says, and smiles. He does look over to Phoebe "Do not go seeking Lady Shiva to teach you at least not yet, she is a hard one to deal with on many many levels. She is the one who taught me the staff. He looks to the two of them, and says "I am the only one of the family who I have told her who is." He will get Phoebe a drink bringing it over to her. "And your doing well, you came into this with a decent amount of training in martial arts hon."

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    "That's a little bit how we got to know one another. He was taking it as a filler class and I speak it in the studio that I learn Aikido at." Phoebe replies, and gives a soft 'eeeh' sound, and as the two older heroes share their information -- and Tim lets on that these two are 'in the know', Phoebe sort of sits a little apart from them, her eyes wide as she brings her shoulders up, looking between Dick and Barbara, and she breathes out in a huff, nodding her head. "All right, so you guys are 'family' family then? That's cool, I didn't just out my boyfriend to people who didn't know. That's... a surprising relief." she gives a crooked little smile.

    "Oh... I don't... I don't think I can kill." she states quietly, then looks to Tim.

    "... you didn't tell them, did you?" she questions softly, slipping out of her shoes and drawing one leg up.

Oracle has posed:
"For the love of God," Barbara says as she takes the water Dick offers, "do *not* go looking for Shiva. If you give me a few days, I can certainly help you some." She assesses Phoebe's form. "I'm taller than you, but the center of gravity for us is different, so the jumps have to be angled slightly differently when you take to the lines. Martial arts will give you most of it, the rest is honestly just practice. And not pulling your arms out of the sockets." She rolls her eyes and smirks at Dick. "He's the only reason I didn't do *that* my first time."

The redhead clears her throat a little and murmurs, "Yeah... definitely family of the pointy-eared variety. But you should be really careful about that outing your boyfriend thing. It's... dangerous." And Barbara is nothing if not protective of her guys. All of them. "It makes me happy as hell to have another person on the rooftops who doesn't want to." Glancing between the guys, she admits, "I ran into a young woman calling herself Hawkeye not long ago."

Nightwing has posed:
    "For the love of all that is holy do not go seeking out that woman. She is a murderer and she has tried to kill me." Dick says with genuine concern. "Yes. Train with Barbara. You are far more slender and delicately built, but I am sure she is the best possible person to teach you anything that you might need to know."

    It dawns on him what he said about more slender. "You know what I meant, Barbara." he actually closes his eyes inwardly wincing at that one.

    The gesture he makes to Barbara is, again, a genuine one, but it is different. He reaches over to lace a hand on her knee, for just a moment. "I could not let you fall." His left eye almost twitches once. "It's not as hard as we like to pretend, no."

    he leans back. "Hawkeye, huh?"

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake smirks a bit when Dick realizes he is eating shoe leather. He will move to sit down beside Phoebe "I made dinner tonight, and figured, get a chance for you to get to know both of them. Barbra is also one of the smarter people you will find, she calls me king of the Nerds, she is just upset, that I have a bit more nerd cred than here, and it is just a bit." He teases back. "And Dick here is the sorta why I got into things in the first place."

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    "Noted. Not going to seek out Shiva." Phoebe concurs, and she gives a wry smile. "I carry my strength well, buuuut before we had a first date, I did throw Tim onto his butt." she offers as a small joke, and she breathes out.

    She rubs the back of her head. "NO, no, I get it. When you don't have superpowers and there's a lot of normal people you work with, it's a pretty tedious balancing act. It took forever for me to trust Tim with my stuff, even after he met my mom -- *especially* after he met my mom. And it took me spilling beans for him to do it. That was... a rough night. A really rough night... I tried to protect him from a mugger. Didn't think a guy who I could throw on his ass could defend himself in a knife fight." she breathes out, reaching and holding Tim's hand a little bit, then looking to both Dick and Barbara. She gives a slight smile.

    "I wouldn't violate his trust. Or yours." she states, giving a nod of her head.

Oracle has posed:
"Pfffffft," Barbara dismisses Tim's nerd credit with a wave of her splinted hand. But she offers Dick a smile when he says that. "I'm six feet tall and *not* slender." It's not like she doesn't already know that -- they have to adjust if he's throwing her from a line because she's not a lightweight. And then the redhead barks out a laugh. "You put Tim on his butt? Really?? Oh girrrrrrl, I'm gonna like you." She grins at Phoebe.

There's flicker in her green eyes at the mention of trust, even as she twines her fingers carefully into Dick's. They don't have much choice except to take her at her word, but Tim has to know that she's going to be doing a deep dive on the young woman's information practically as soon as they leave. She wouldn't be doing her job if she didn't. "It sounds to me like you two have a pretty interesting story." She glances at Dick with a smile and admits, "I'm not sure ours is quite so interesting -- I stopped a mugger and *made* the pointy-eared bossman take me seriously. But it was the Boy Wonder who made sure I didn't get myself killed before I could actually do that." She shrugs. "Batman finally gave up and sent me to a trainer. Not sure if Dragon is still taking students, but he'd be a good place."

Nightwing has posed:
    "She's being too kind." That hand tentatively gos back to pat a knee. "You said Tim didn't tell you who I was. I was the first Robin." His smile is gentle. "But I am fairly certain that you had that figured out." He slants her a look. "You don't strike me as a fool, so?" His shoulder shrug is eloquent. "She had a lot to learn, but she had potential. I initially started teaching her because I was angry. I felt like my place in the world was being usurped. I felt like she was stealing my place and that I wasn't going to be the Batman's project anymore. It was a lot for me at the time. I thought if I showed her how awful she was at it, she would quit and go away and let me have my little world."

    His left hand smooths out his hair. "There is a lesson in there about tenacity and another one about character. I'm blathering though. I'm just happy to meet you."

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake looks over and says "Something we have learned over the years, the Robin position is a bit of a fluid one. Dick did well showing us a path we can work on after it to find our new direction. " He smiles and says "And Phoebe makes some of the best cookies as well, I have left some at the cave, but Alfred seemed to like them, so not sure how long they lasted.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    "No such thing as too kind." Phoebe states, holding her head up a bit, and she purses her lips "You can ask for orange cream cookies any time you want, Tim, I /practically/ live here." she comments dryly, but she takes a deep breath, leaning her head back and purses her lips again, looking to the two as she leans forward, giving a slight nod, her dark eyes settling over Tim, then Dick and Barbara.

    "So... did you two want help with the bruises?" she offers a moment, just assuming that she was entirely old news.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara is surprised that Dick would offer so much of his inner thoughts on all of that from so long ago, and she looks at him with a wistful expression. "I never wanted your place in that world. Just my own," she murmurs softly. And despite the vaguely awkward body language between the two of them, she leans just slightly into Dick's side, gentle in her movements, her hand resting on top of his where it sits on her knee.

Clearing her throat, she looks at Tim and Phoebe. "And interestingly enough, I'm ... well, I've got a plan to retire. Maybe 6 months. I'll still do training and keep up workouts, but... now that I have the aerie set up, I'm going to tie up some loose ends. There are getting to be too many of us on the street and not enough centralized intelligence."

Wait.... what? Barbara looks confused about 'help with the bruises.'

Red Robin has posed:
=========================<* Dick Grayson has posed *>==========================

     Dick slides an arm very tentatively around Barbara. It was something that just a few months ago was automatic. Now, it is tentative. "Yeah. Well, I was a little boy, and Batman was my world. I was an orphaned kid and you were there and suddenly I had competition for attention. I had never had that before." Dick admits it with a slight shrug.

     "And I think I am upset, Phoebe. I thought I did a very good job with the makeup covering up where Barbara got her face smacked by about 300 pounds of very angry man." Dick's tone is not teasing. "I think she snapped his wrist. Maybe he'll learn to behave." Dick regards Phoebe with a tilted chin and a raised brow. "You can do better?" A question, not a challenge.
------------------------< End of Dick Grayson's pose >-------------------------
===========================<* Tim Drake has posed *>===========================
Tim Drake nods his head a bit and says "Yea, she has a few tricks." He will say of Phoebe. He looks over to her and is pretty sure what is going to happen next but he lets this be her show.
--------------------------< End of Tim Drake's pose >--------------------------
=========================<* Phoebe Beacon has posed *>=========================

     Phoebe looks a little alarmed that she had outed herself. She turns to Tim, and whispers "... you didn't tell them?" in a quiet voice, before she rubs the back of her neck, and purses her lips. "Well... yeah. I can. And you did a fine job... but I'm used to looking for bruises on dark skin where it doesn't show as easily." she states, holding up her arm to demonstrate her own darker skin. She stands up, and comes over to Barbara first, and she offers out her hands, palms up.

     "If I can hold your hands, for a moment?" she questions, giving a gentle smile. "It may feel a little strange at first."
------------------------< End of Phoebe Beacon's pose >------------------------
========================<* Barbara Gordon has posed *>=========================
Observant green eyes flit from Tim to Phoebe, narrowing just slightly. Because she *knows* Dick did a fantastic job on the bruises. They're too practiced at disguise not to be good at it. So whatever Phoebe is up to ought to be interesting, and she's not worried -- Tim wouldn't have brought the girl into this if he worried. She does glance at Dick, though, automatically seeking the comfort of eye contact with him, before putting her hands into Phoebe's.
-----------------------< End of Barbara Gordon's pose >------------------------
=========================<* Dick Grayson has posed *>==========================
Dick's chin dips once. It is a small gesture. He says, softly. "We trust Tim, and he trusts her. What is the worst thing that happens?" He gives a little shrug. "At least it isn't Starfire learning a language by sticking a tongue down your throat."
------------------------< End of Dick Grayson's pose >-------------------------
=========================<* Phoebe Beacon has posed *>=========================

     Phoebe gives a soft smile again, and then closes her eyes. The comforting aura that surrounds her begins to focus, and as Phobe concentrates, between Barbara's and her hands ther ebegins a little glow, tracing lines from Phoebe's veins and up Barbara's.

     Babs may feel warmth, like a blanket fresh from the dryer, wrapped around her body. The warmth travels through from her palms, and a needles-and-pins tingling may be felt along the injuries of her body as Phoebe's light is drawn through, healing the wounds and bruises. It's refreshing, invigorating and warm.
------------------------< End of Phoebe Beacon's pose >------------------------

Red Robin has posed:
===========================<* Tim Drake has posed *>===========================
Tim Drake nods a bit and says "I wrote up a thing on Beacon, but not on you specifically hon. "I gave Alfred, and Dr Thompkins the emergency number to contact you, but they do not know it was you, well Alfred probably does, I wager he knows more than any of the rest of us."
-------------------------< End of Tim Drake's pose >--------------------------
========================<* Barbara Gordon has posed *>=========================
Oh eew! He *had* to mention that. Barbara wrinkles her nose and starts laughing. She settles her hands into Phoebe's and jumps just a little at the warmth and tingles. But it feels good! And she murmurs absently, "Alfred knows everything. I'm pretty sure Alfred is God." Then she grins a bit at both Tim and Dick. "Seriously. You guys think the Bat knows everything? I'm telling you ... when *I* can't find something, I go ask Alfred." And that's saying something!
-----------------------< End of Barbara Gordon's pose >------------------------
=========================<* Dick Grayson has posed *>==========================

     "Alfred does know everything. He knows when you do not eat. He knows when you are not sleeping. He knows when your refrigerator is empty and when you are running low on reloads. Alfred knows you as if you were his own grandson." Dick says it very quietly. HIs voice is gentle, but the tone is full of respect and love. "I think in his heart, we are his grandkids." Dick nods at Tim, unspoken the the sentiment that they should respect him. Tim does not need to be lectured on that, his behavior is beyond reproach there.

     His blue eyes regarding Barbara and Phoebe, Dick quietly says, "Yup. Still looks better than a tongue down the throat."
------------------------< End of Dick Grayson's pose >-------------------------
=========================<* Phoebe Beacon has posed *>=========================

     ?Phoebe's nose wrinkles at the idea of anyone sticking their tongue down her -- "... Wow. Ah. That is certainly a thing, isn't it Dick? At least is this Starfire attractive?" she stammers a moment. The tingles continue, spreading through Barbara's body, pooling where injuries are located until they go right down to her toes, then travel upwards again. After a moment, Phoebe withdraws her hands, shaking them out a bit.

     ?"You're gonna feel tingly and warm for a little while while it finishes..." she trails off, her nose wrinkling. "That feels so weird to say out loud."
------------------------< End of Phoebe Beacon's pose >------------------------
===========================<* Tim Drake has posed *>===========================
Tim Drake grins a bit and says "Phoebe can heal, herself and others. It could come in very handy, but it is best if only friendlies know about it if at all possible." He admits. He grins over to Dick. "Your making Alfred sound like Santa Clause. I did make sure I put a room here for him if he needed it ever.
--------------------------< End of Tim Drake's pose >--------------------------
========================<* Barbara Gordon has posed *>=========================
Barbara shakes her head. "She's frigging gorgeous," the redhead acknowledges to Phoebe somewhat grudgingly. She simply dislikes the other woman. Her look at Dick, though, holds rueful amusement. She doesn't hold Kory against him so much anymore -- after all, she's dated a few stinkers in her time too.

When Phoebe steps back, Barbara pulls in a slow breath and then looks up in surprise. "That's... a pretty handy tool in the toolbox there, lady." It even took care of the slight crack in her radius that she thought was a sprain. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."
-----------------------< End of Barbara Gordon's pose >------------------------

Nightwing has posed:
    "Starfire is an alien space princess. She has a certain charm." Dick says very carefully. He wants to pick things back up with Barbara. Calling Starfire lovely would be a bad thing. He might have been born at night, but not last night. "She is a nice person with abilities that separate her. She is still a Titan. I am surprised that Tim has not introduced you yet."
    Sorry Tim, but Dick's throwing you under the bus. "Why haven't you introduced your charming girlfriend to Starfire yet? " It is said too casually as if to lead Phoebe to jump to her own conclusions. Dick smiles at his younger brother, but it doesn't reach his eyes. His eyes show some regret for saying that, but it's every man for himself on that question.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    "I wanted to kind of take things slow." Phoebe answers for Tim as she shakes out her hands a bit more, and looks back to Dick, giving a slight grin. "Tim got to meet my mom pretty straight off the bat, and she's *enthusiastic*. But trying to keep up with a secret life is hard work when you've still got to make grades and pay for college classes." she admits, "... so I also pull shifts at a coffee place to buy books."

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake nods, and says "Yea with Batman busy I have been keeping around here mostly, have not done much with the Titans recently." He admits "And she won't let me help, still trying to talk her into taking a job with Wayne Tech." He does grin "Her mom does like me at least. She was ok if I took her off to Japan on one of my business meetings."

Oracle has posed:
A brow rises and Barbara pulls in a long breath. "It sounds like you've figured out the toughest parts," she tells them. Leaning back, she leans slightly into Dick's side again. "And while I applaud you not letting him help because you're doing okay on your own, don't hesitate to ask if things get really tight," she recommends to Phoebe. "Not wanting to use him for his money is a different thing than allowing a friend to help you." She glances up and grins slightly. "Took me a while to figure that out." She was kind of stubborn in the same ways when she did college.

Nightwing has posed:
    Dick rolls his eyes. "Yeah. Someone had to learn that lesson." His chuckle is quiet. He does check on Tim, eyes lingering on him for a moment as folks talk about parents. Some wounds never fully heal and some scars never fade.

    "Jim doesn't like me." He says softly. "Not a whit. It can make things difficult. Sometimes the lies we tell so we can do what we must interfere with what we want. This is a hard life. We look out for each other, but making this choice and sticking to it? They are personal things."

    Rubbing at his jaw with one hand, Dick quietly says, "And your books are covered. You want to work? That's okay, but you no longer have to. And before you get insistent? If you are watching his backside? My little bother? You do that on a full night's worth of sleep and without money matters n your mind. I'm pretty cool, but when it comes to his life? I'm not cool." Barbara leaning in against him seems to make Dick pull her in a little closer. It isn't until he has done so that it registers on his face that he did.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    "I'm already there on two scholarships from the Gotham Fire Department and a meritorious scholarship from school. Just... books are pricy. And that's why I live at home." she shrugs her shoulders, and then the three of them dogpile, and she bows her head a little bit.

    "I... appreciate the concern, I really do but... I don't know about all that. I can watch Tim's backside just fine with what I've got going on. Although he's upgraded my gear, I can't argue with help with that. A dollar store domino just wasn't going to cut it to keep up with him." she motions back to Tim, and then purses her lips.

    "So... what would happen if I were to take some sorta position over at Wayne Tech?" she inquires, and then satisfied that she's all right, she does hold her hands out, palm-up, to Dick as well.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake looks over, and says "Well, would find one that you were actually doing something but you would be getting paid at the top end for that job. I mean off the top of my heard, you could do fact checking or translating work for us. I would say you could be my assistant, and keep me in line, but that might be a bit of a distracting job for both of us."

Oracle has posed:
"He doesn't dislike you," Barbara objects quietly. "It's that he knows I'm lying to him. That *we* are lying to him. Frankly... " She sighs heavily. At some point, she's going to have to come clean. Not that she's not pretty damn sure her father already KNOWS what she'd tell him, but still. Not right now. Right now, she's a little busy backing up Dick. "What would happen is that you'd be put in a job that has to do somehow with your major so that you get internship experience for your resume while you're working there, and you'd get flexible as crazy hours because you're just an intern," she retorts immediately. "And not as Tim's assistant because he'd be too busy watching your butt to get anything done."

Nightwing has posed:
    "I'm good. I took the cut, I will take the stitch." Dick says to Phoebe, patting her hands but not placing his hands in her own. "Each injury is a lesson. I made a miscalculation. I should have been quicker, and I should have waited more. I'll be a little slow for a couple of days, but each step is a reminder. Something could have happened to Barbara worse than it did." Dick's smile is sad, but present.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    "I wish I could refute the statement on Tim's behalf, but I can't." Phoebe states dryly to Barbara, "I could flip him any time he doesn't get enough done though... pretty sure I could handle that in heels." she gives a little grin, eyeballing tim -- but as Dick declines, Phoebe gives a nod and drops her hands, and then turning, flops to the far end of the couch. The warm aura isn't quite back yet, but she relaxes, closing her eyes and centering herself.

    "... I respect that. Might not agree with you, though." she states gently to Dick, and looks around at the trio. All those scars on Tim. No doubt echoed on Dick and Babs's bodies, and she closes her eyes for a moment.

    "And hate to break it to you, but your hug didn't help the cause. I can't turn it off, but I can open the gate all the way. You do give pretty awesome hugs."

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake puts his arm around Phoebe's shoulders, and says "Not gonna live that down am I?" He will lean over and kisses her cheek, and then stands heading to the kitchen and comes back with some of Phoebe's cookies "I made sure to keep a few from the batch the other day." He will have some with each of their symbols on them. And there is a new couple cookies shaped like a beacon. "Had Alfred make me a few to add to the pile."

Oracle has posed:
"Hey," Barbara retorts, turning more fully to look at him. "I was following the same lead and should have checked more closely too. Don't take that mess all on yourself. We both blew it and we both took some damage from it. And since we *do* both know better, it just won't happen again, that's all." She's a staunch believer in sharing both blame and recognition when it's appropriate. "It's not the first shellacking we've gotten. And you really do give the best hugs... especially when you wanna share a jumpline," she tells Dick without looking at him. She hesitates for a moment, as if there are more words she wants to say but perhaps decides now is not the best time. "He really is not going to live that one down," she deflects the conversation back to the two younger heroes with a smile.

Nightwing has posed:
    "You are Robin. You are not going to settle for any common girl." Dick says. "You think Barbara never just threw me around? Especially when she was taller than me when we were much younger?" The other stuff he doesn't touch on. He isn't trying to get away from Barbara either though. "It's part of the identity. You would never settle for less than the best."

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    "Never gonna live that one down as long as I'm alive, Timmy." Phoebe replies with a smile, her cheeks darkening slightly.

    "Oh hey, the Robin cookies -- yeah, orange cream cookies with some sugar icing -- ... is that a spotlight?" she inquires, looking over the different shape in the cookie pile.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake smiles and brings one of them over to Phoebe, and says "Yup, gotham hero cookies. " He looks tot he group and says "We can save them for after dinner if you guys want I was just starting to get hungry." He admits and looks over to Dick, and says "I did find the best thats for sure."

Red Robin has posed:
And the group have dinner and spend the evening getting to know one another better.