6057/Midnight Coffee

Midnight Coffee
Date of Scene:	28 December 2018
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Batwoman, Oracle

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Batwoman has posed:
    There are some habits that the Bat family needs to kick. There are some habits that even those in Bruce's close-to-inner circle find bothersome, annoying, or frustrating. This is one of those habits. When Barbara arrives at her clocktower 'penthouse' of sorts, Kate has been in the living room for a good five minutes.

    Did she trip the alarm systems? Of course she didn't. Did she trip the secondary alarm systems? Why on earth would she be so gracious? It's the kind of thing only the upper echelons of Bats would do- the kind of happening that you never really get -used- to but always seem to expect when you know the Bat himself... Though Batwoman breaking in without a trace is a slightly more frustrating happening, despite that it's more of a friendly, perhaps even competitive gesture. She's having fun and testing Barbara as much as herself. At least she didn't throw a potted plant through a window.

    The lights flip on and there stands the imposing figure of the Batwoman, the red and black nigh invisible in the darkness, and still somewhat intimidatingly looming in a darker corner than the rest. The cowl's still on. Is this a business call? Is she here to be angry about something? Is she on a case- or, rather, on a case that requires Barbara's attention?

    Is she staying silent and broody just to make Barbara sweat for a moment because something serious could have happened? That's something you never have to worry about with the others, but Kate is -just- playful enough that... Yeah, it's that.

Oracle has posed:
    The younger redhead returns to her apartment with a bag of groceries cradled in one arm, the other hand still holding her key card as she flips on the light. Spotting the dark figure looming in the corner, Barbara's reaction is instinctive.

The key card flutters to the floor, catching the light with every turn. It's a distraction, of course, and only a Bat-professional would notice Babs slipping out a Batarang from somewhere on her person. As she comfortably fingers the missile weapon Barbara registers who the dark visitor really is.

"You know, SOME people wait for me to get home before breaking into my place instead of lurking in the dark to scare the crap out of me." Barbara steps towards the kitchen, setting down the bag. "Is everything alright, Kate?"

Batwoman has posed:
    Kate stands in the dark for a few moments longer, in that same stoic silence. She's reading Barbara as best she can, though there are some difficulties as Barbara is no slouch in the poker-face department. The casual nature of the situation helps somewhat- that Barbara probably doesn't feel like she needs to hide anything from Kate. After a few moments, when the Oh No response starts to work its way in, Kate takes a more casual posture.

    Stepping foward, and pulling off the wig-helmet combo, Kate almost seems to be smiling- that imperious, confident sort of smile when one is, for example, amused by their own joke. Her tone is soft and friendly, even though for a moment she was as grim and dark as she could be, "Yeah, I'm sure some people do. But some people never get to see that look on your face."

    The helmet goes under her arm. "I was in the area and finishing up the first half of the night. I have a few hours left, but it's been a little quiet." Apparently, a little quiet is at least two small-caliber rounds, lodged in the impressive fibers of her batsuit.

Oracle has posed:
    Barbara smirks when Kate finally speaks, casually tucking the Batarang back into the back waist of her jeans under the light jacket. "You're teaching me bad habits, of course. By all rights I should automatically throw something at tall, creepy, shadowy types who I find waiting in my place. Except when you run down the list of possibles who even KNOW about this place, much less who can break in without tripping my alarms, that cuts things down to pretty much 'family'."

    Giving the costumed woman a sweeping once-over as the -real- Kate is revealed, Barbara starts putting away groceries. "Bad guys still carry .38's these days?" she asks almost casually.

    And for all that, Barbara does relax noticeably in Kate's company all the same.

Batwoman has posed:
    "I would have caught it." she states, with no small amount of confidence in herself. There's a pause for a moment at Barbara's statement, and Kate reaches up to one of the rounds stuck to her suit, plucking it free with a pair of thickly gloved fingers. "Well," she begins, "The trick is to sell it. If they think the bullets hurt, then they still use the lower calibers." She leaves the bullet on one of Barbara's countertops for the moment, and sets the helmet down beside it.

    Taking a lean, then, she looks Barbara right in the eyes. "If I'm the one teaching you bad habits, I have to wonder what's become of your night life." There's a small laugh, there. "I figured you could use a little bit of company anyway. Nobody needs to be worked to the bone during the holiday season. Coffee?" she asks, playing a chipper role in comparison to Barbara, for the moment.

Oracle has posed:
    Barbara chuckles at that, barely restraining a snort as she turns to give Kate a -look- over her shoulder. And if she had glasses she'd be peering over them as well. "Yeah, I know the whole 'street presence' routine." she replies, opening the fridge to put a few things inside.

    "My night life? I still put on the costume, if that's what you mean. But we've got quite a few little birds who are still testing their wings, so I do more training than real action these days." Nudging the fridge closed with a bump of her hip, she draws a deep breath and exhales slowly. "Coffee would be great, thanks. Would you mind? You know where everything is. These flats are part off the 'quiet librarian' look, but not nearly as comfortable as my boots."

Batwoman has posed:
    "It's certainly not the kind of faking it that I thought I'd have to figure out, and learning to roll with a bullet is a little rougher than learning to roll with a punch, but that's all part of the act. Pretending you're getting more than bruised." She moves over, letting Barbara finish up and starting to prepare the coffee. The cape she detaches- popping the clasps off of each corner of the bat so that she can drape it over the back of a chair, though the balancing act is a little more finicky than it seems like it would be.

    "I happen to like quiet librarians." she states, setting up the coffee and making use of the liberties she's taken. It's not that she wasn't allowed to learn the layout of Barbara's apartment, but more that the level of what she's learned is probably just a little more than one would be comfortable with... Not that that isn't just a Bat habit. Pretty hard to break.

    "I know the feeling. We have more out there now than we ever have, which makes things... Really complicated. We're getting crowded."

Oracle has posed:
    Barbara settles heavily onto a sofa and kicks off her shoes, one at a time. She chuckles at the 'faking it' comment. "I wouldn't think that you'd have to fake it at all, really." Babs quips back lightly. "I mean, women are so much more attentive than guys. From what I've heard."

    Letting out a long, low sigh she chuckles again. "Sorry about that; pretty rude of me to assume." At least without apparent first-hand knowledge. "And you're right, Kate. It IS getting crowded around here. On the one hand it's nice to have the extra hands. But I worry about these kids. I just know how I'd feel if something happened because *I* sent them out on a mission unprepared."

Batwoman has posed:
    Kate isn't necessarily going to shy away from that kind of topic, and her response comes rather quickly. "You've -heard-, huh. Librarian's not so quiet." she remarks, setting the coffee on and turning away from it to face Babs proper. "You're not really assuming much of anything." Pushing off of the counter, her heavy boots thud against the floor despite the grace of the person walking with them.

    "Prepared. What a good joke." she responds, dryly. "I defy you to name a person who walked into this forest fire prepared in -any- way. If you try, I'm calling you a liar." she takes a seat, then, in position to take the coffee off once it's done. "I still don't like it. We were doing fine, now we have all of these kids to look after. I figured it'd take longer and that there'd be paperwork involved before I was doing this much babysitting."

Oracle has posed:
    Barbara gives the *look* again, only this time her freckled cheeks are coloring a bit. "This librarian has done her research on a WIDE variety of subjects, is all." she quips back, with a bit less bravado than she normally would.

    Shaking her head, Barbara stretches her legs out and props her stocking feet on the coffee table. "For my part, I was lucky that I didn't die about every third time I went out during my first year." She lets her head fall back onto the sofa, reaching up to pull out the scrunchy holding her ponytail in place. "I like to think that things ARE different, though. We never had someone like Oracle watching over us."

    Of course Kate does know who Oracle really is. Not all of the Birds, especially the younger ones, have been let in on that secret.

Batwoman has posed:
    "Oh we're calling it -research- now. Last I checked, most people don't need to bypass library firewalls to do research but I guess you could be doing it on your own time. Let me know when you need to start expert interviews." In contrast, Kate's bravado is escalating quite nicely.

    "Every third time? Sounds pretty lucky. It's all that ballet." she states, folding her arms quietly, and tilting her head as she looks over Barbara for a moment. "We've never had someone like Oracle watching over us, and trust me, I'm sure everyone out there is thankful for that. But. Now we have an even greater margin for error when people's heads get big. Now overconfidence has backing, it has substance to it. The hole has been dug deeper. It's harder to fall into, but when you fall in..." she sighs, then. "I don't play well with others, sorry. Plus half the catchphrases we could use for the team mean a couple different things to me."

Oracle has posed:
    A soft groan, and as Babs lifts her head up she manages a rather nice eye-roll. "One of these days you'll catch me in the right mood to take you up on that." she replies. And dispite the wry grin she's blushing furiously.

    Barbara clears her throat softly, sitting up and then leaning forward along those long legs. She grips the soles of her feet, stretching briefly before releasing. "I hear you, though. You and I both know that Oracle isn't *really* omniscient. In many ways, by me taking up Her mantle I can't help but feel I've only raised the stakes."

    Another sigh. "You'll find a bottle of Bailey's in the freezer, when the coffee's ready."

Batwoman has posed:
    "Yeah, I just have to catch you on the rebound from jetsetting adopted billionaire heir-apparents, and probably halfway intoxicated. Not my usual game." Kate turns, then, making her way into the kitchen. She noticed the blush, but isn't about to bring it up. As well, she saw the stretch coming and figured it'd be inappropriate to linger around the living room.

    "She's as close as it gets, which is probably all we can hope for. Any more, and you'd have to be stuck in front of the computer. I'm pretty sure you'd kill somebody. Great for research, though."

    Kate fetches the bottle of Bailey's, and for a moment, she's almost gleeful- then, she remembers the cape, and that brings her back to the reality of the fact that she's had issues in the past. Barbara gets what she asked for, but Kate keeps the coffee black. Not by preference, but by design.

    Turning back toward the living room, she sets down the mug near the couch Barbara was laying on, and takes a seat nearby with her own. "There you go."

Oracle has posed:
    Barbara doesn't *look* tired, but Kate would definitely pick up on the signs. It's part of what they DO in the Bat-family, after all. Smiling as the mug is set down, she reaches for it without hesitation. "So long as we have people in the field, I can't allow myself to get muddled." she replies.

    "And I'm *sure* I don't know WHO you're referring to." Or at least which adopted billionaire. "I mean we tried that once, and found it too complicated." she adds, in a rare admission. Taking a sip of coffee, she wiggles her toes and lets out another sigh.

    "Thanks, Kate. I'm really glad you stopped by. I just hope your -own- social life is going better than mine these days."

Batwoman has posed:
    Kate has less of that particular tired, but she knows the signs. She's been around the family enough to recognize the years of burning the candle at both ends, and how the body adapts enough that it doesn't -look- tired, yet it almost certainly is. "I don't know if I believe your statement, but I'll take your word for it that you've never met anyone quite like that." There's a pause, "Yeah, he seems like a complicated person." As if they're not -all- complicated people.

    Now, it's Kate's time to sigh. "Yeah, my social life is great. I sleep during the day, hurt people at night, and sometimes I beat up bad people who shoot at me. There's really nothing I could possibly ask for."

Oracle has posed:
    Babs smiles a bit wanly. "He is friend-zoned, by mutual agreement." she raises her mug before taking a sip. "To the friend-zone!" She drinks deeply, breathing in the alcohol vapors a bit too quickly but managing not to sputter.

    "Look at us, will you? Couple of hot gingers staying up late together and crying in our coffee." The next sip is slower, and she keeps eye contact with her houseguest. "I think I'll put on the cape and cowl tomorrow night. Get a little physical exercise." Her gaze wanders a bit, as if lost in the past.

    Babs looks back to Kate again. "Fatigue and bruises aside, it was always good for clearing my thoughts."