14439/Bad Nights and Good Mornings

Bad Nights and Good Mornings
Date of Scene:	13 June 2022
Location:	Melville, Haven
Synopsis:	Dick has to cancel on movie night with Margot. Again. He shows up the next morning to try and make up for it.
Cast of Characters:	Nightwing, Double Dare

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Nightwing has posed:
"Hey, it's me."

"Good to hear from you too." Dick Grayson's smile could be heard over the phone.

"Yah I'm looking forward to it."

"Well... here's the thing."

    It had been a little over a week and some since Dick Grayson had been able to keep his social obligations. That's the thing when one has... an active night life as well as trying to keep down a steady shift with the Bludhaven Police Department. Which likely might be the reason there was a hint of concern in his voice. Because Margot was not as... moved to strong emotions as her sister. But she had her own volatile streak.

"So, right now things are pretty tight. We've had a lot of call outs, and I'm needed out there. It might be a few days until we can catch that flick."

    As if expecting a torrent of abuse he pulled back a little from the phone. Though really it was more an instinctive reaction as well... Dick Grayson didn't like lying. Even when it's for a good cause. And he wasn't really... lying, per se. He just wasn't telling the whole truth.

Double Dare has posed:
"'allo, officahr," was the response when he identified himself on the phone, a hint of a purr in her tone. Margot was in her apartment, laid back on the couch in a comfortable position. She was dressed in her bathrobe and had a towel turban currently gracing her head, which she had to shift off her ear to allow for hearing the cellphone she was holding there. Her hair would dry naturally before he was due to arrive so she'd just have to worry about getting dressed closer to time.

But the conversation quickly went downhill. He could /hear/ when her smile disappeared from her face by her tone of voice. "Again? You had to cancel last week as well. Zhis is becoming a habit." There was a little sniff that sounded like annoyance more than sadness. "But if you must work, you must work. I understand."

She didn't sound like she understood. At all.

Nightwing has posed:
    As for Dick she could hear he was out on the streets. There was the distant sound of cars, traffic, but it was far off. Maybe the clang of a buoy though no hint of the river. But she would hear him shift the phone to the other ear as he adjusted his perch...
    For it was more Nightwing talking on the phone at the moment than, kneeling on the side of a rooftop and trying to explain himself to the fiery French woman. "I know, I know. And I regret it, but I'll make it up to you. We'll go somewhere nice where you can wear one of those dresses you like." Since she is no stranger to fashion.
    "If I don't do this tonight, though. People might be stretched thin and I'd..." Dick takes a deep breath, then adds, "Well if something happened to someone I'd feel horrible about it and never live it down."

Double Dare has posed:
"You cannot carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, Richard," Margot said in a less miffed tone. "You have to sleep. Have a life. What is the quote? A life half lived? Something about that." She waved a hand in the air not that he could see it.

He'd hear her shift, moving the phone from one hand to the other. "I am going to ask and answer honestly. Do you want to stop seeing me? I do understand. If I am not your type, you are free to move on if you want." She'd be disappointed but she wasn't going to try to hold onto him if he wasn't happy.

"And if you aren't comfortable saying so, just ...ghost? Zhat is the term they use, oui? I would prefer being ghosted to being lied to so you don't have to make excuses."

Nightwing has posed:
    A soft exhalation of breath is heard, then she'll hear Dick's voice a little softer. "Margot, I enjoy being with you. I do not want to stop seeing you." She can hear a hint of a smile return to his words, "You are amazing and wild, and beautiful, and if I wanted to stop seeing you I would tell you. I don't play games."
    Then he tries to gently shift the mood as he mentions, "And I would never ghost you since Aliki would hunt me down and kill me." Which is perhaps an overexaggeration, but not /too/ much of a one.
    "I really do love spending time with you. I wish I had more hours in the day."

Double Dare has posed:
Margot weighed that. For a moment. She did giggle softly at mention of Aliki hunting him down because that sort of thing wasn't beyond her little sister. Unless Margot kept her from doing so, which she would. "She'd just hurt you. A lot. She likes you too much to kill you."

And with that, she had opted to believe him. "It is alright," she told him as she looked up at the ceiling, wondering what she was going to do with her night now. "I am glad you enjoy our time. I do as well so hoped it would continue. We will do what we can, when we can. How long before you must go to work? You could stop by and I will make coffee?"

Nightwing has posed:
    "I'm technically working right now. But I'll let you know." He smiles a little and says, "I don't want to be all, 'see you soon' and then have to bail again. Okay?"
    And as he says that he takes a deep breath even as far below the lights of the SUV he had been tailing come on. He looks down, the eyelets of his domino mask narrowing slightly as the electronics engage. Then he says, "I gotta go. Take care, Margot. Miss you."
    And as quick as that the phone disconnects early enough not to be able to catch the sound of the grapple line firing.

Double Dare has posed:
The next morning, Margot came down the stairs from her apartment into the gym. A flick and all the lights came on all the various apparatus. She taught gymnastics so there was everything from balance beams to parallel bars and a large floor area. She'd did her usual check of all the equipment. Evenings were for cleaning it. Mornings were for inspecting. When she was fresher and more awake than after a long day of teaching.

Once that was complete, she went into the office area. Put on a cup of coffee there. A quick look over the appointment book since her office help wouldn't be in today.

Finally, she opened up the front door. Unlocking it, turning the sign to the Open side. Then back toward the locked door that led out onto the floor. The office area had glass windows that allowed people to watch if they wished while waiting for classes or appointments.

Nightwing has posed:
    When she opened up he front door she saw what was clearly... a tired looking Officer Grayson who was standing beside a squad car that must've rolled up while she was getting everything in order. He has his cap in his hands and is smiling a little crookedly, "Hey, ma'am. I'm responding to a domestic dispute call? Something about a big heel standing up his gal?"
    The words are playful, gentle. But the way his shoulders hunch a little and his eyelids are a little droopy. It's clear the young man has seen better days.
    But that doesn't stop him from stepping over to touch a kiss to her brow in greeting at first, perhaps waiting on giving a better lovelier kiss should he see what kind of reception he gets.

Double Dare has posed:
She was not expecting there to be someone outside when she flipped that Open sign. But she did open the door fully and gave him a small smile. He did look nice in his uniform. And she wasn't someone who generally found a police uniform attractive due to her history with them. Thus, it was him. Not the uniform. "Oui, he seems to believe he should save zee world instead of going to a frivolous movie with me where we can eat popcorn and hold hands like teenagers." Which kind of put things in perspective and showed she realized she was being silly in some ways being upset with him. He was saving lives after all.

She let the door swing closed then stood on tiptoe to claim a better kiss. It wasn't an extended thing. Just a gentle meeting of the lips and then she waved him to follow her. "Please. Come inside. I made coffee if you would like that cup?" she offered. She put her key, a real one, into the lock to open the door from waiting room to gym floor. An immediate turn to the left to step into the office where the coffee pot was setup.

Nightwing has posed:
    "Sure, what's one more?" Dick says as he slips his hat under his arm and walks in. That brief more friendly greeting is a gentle thing, and he seems to enjoy just holding her for a time before he squeezes her hand then slips further inside to take a deep breath and look the place over.
    "To be fair, I should've gone to the movie. Tonight... a whole lot of nothing happened. Spent the entire time looking up license plate numbers." Which, to be fair, was needed. Just not exactly swinging from rooftops.
    He turns and then follows along after her as she walks, "How was your night?"

Double Dare has posed:
"Magnifique. I went out dancing and brought home three lovahrs."

She had poured him a cup of coffee and passed it over. Adding cream and sugar if he liked those but otherwise leaving it black. But he could see Margot's amusement as she said those words, letting him know nothing of the sort had happened.

"Truthfully, I had a bowl of ice cream and watched Netflix. An old movie about the circus from 1952. It is one I love, though so sad. I can only watch it rarely. I prefer the musical one from 2017. It is all merde. But it is fun to watch and sing along with."

Nightwing has posed:
    "Oh only three? You must have been missing me terribly."
    Yet his smile is wry and crooked as he walks with her and then leans against the wall near the coffee maker. He sets his cap down on a nearby end table and then meets her gaze as she tells him about the truthful aspects of her evening. "What flavor ice cream?"
    Because that sort of thing is important.
    "Aww, that's nice that you got to do that though, I wish I was there." He takes a moment when she's waiting on the coffee to touch her hand and give a gentle squeeze. "I know it's not a night on the town, but if you're alright I was thinking I could crash here and then when I wake up we can share a meal before I have to head out. It's... not much, but at least we'll be near each other most of the day?"

Double Dare has posed:
"Pistachio pistachio." Because Margot was not the typical woman. She had to be a little outside the usual box. She sat on the edge of the main desk the receptionist usually worked at. "I have an appointment in about 30 minutes. Private lesson. But you are more than welcome to sleep, if the noise will not bother you?" Since her apartment was built in the upstairs area that used to be offices in the large former warehouse, it wasn't exactly soundproofed against the noise of the gym itself. Which could get pretty bad.

She picked up the appointment book. "Last class ends at six so that should give time for dinner? We can order something in so neither of us must cook."

Nightwing has posed:
    "That, would be lovely." Dick says as he slips an arm around her and gives her a gentle kiss to the cheek before his eyes hood and he leans a little closer. "Thank you, Margot."
    And as he says that the next kiss is a little more lovely, a little more emotional, tinged with a passion that while weary is there all the same. It's only when it drifts further, when he draws back, that he murmurs, "I should also take a shower."
    Since it had been a long long shift.

Double Dare has posed:
"You should. Come." Margot pushed off from the desk and walked toward the stairs leading up to her apartment. There, she pulled out a key to unlock the door.

Why did she lock her apartment when she was at work? Because she was sometimes busy and it wasn't like someone in the gym couldn't go up the staircase. Additionally, she was a former thief. She knew that locked doors, while they might only slow a criminal down, were better than not locked.

"Make yourself at home. But stay out of my unmentionables!" she added with a smirk. "I would offer to join you but I fear we would lose track of time."

A quick stand on her tiptoes so she could give him another kiss. Then she pulled back, keeping the keys to let herself in later that evening if he didn't wake up and come down before that point.

Then she had to turn and face her day.