[ He coughs again, more from the exhaustion of his lungs than from any residual water he might've gulped while swimming. ]
Coming home to a PS6 is reward enough, believe me.
[ That's him matching Hana's energy about making light of their shared near-death situation. It's not the funniest joke he can make (Dick being the biggest critic of his own quips), but he laughs anyway, just happy to be alive. He's survived more surreal experiences than this in all his time as Robin, and then as Nightwing, but what he barely accomplished to save Hana is a sobering reminder that he's still human. He can punch down alien gods and send transdimensional wizards back from whence they came, but Dick remains so utterly and fundamentally human.
For all the heights that Nightwing seems capable of reaching, he can still plummet to his death trying to take on Firefly. For all the ways he's sailed the stars and walked through other realities, he can still drown to death trying to save that lousy Killer Croc. Maybe that's what makes his feats all the more special, that he doesn't have the luxury of powers.
Maybe... that's what makes him a hero. That while mindful of his limitations, he tries anyway.
If it took nearly dying to see that, he doesn't care. There's a number of stupider ways he could've died, at least, like stumbling and falling so that his neck lands on a rock. Totally not a pointed example of a stupid death whatsoever, but digression aside-- he's even happier to know Hana's alive. That every way she's pushed back at him and brought him out of his funk... was what gave him the acumen he needed to save her. Acumen he's always had, but nearly lost sight of.
And now, she's clambered onto him, sprawled atop his body as her head hovers over his. She's looking down at him in admiration, he up at her in reverence. And for once, he wishes he had the luxury of powers. Some way to contain this moment for as long as possible, if not forever. But surely that goes again Dick embracing who he is, so... he laughs again. Perishing the thought.
Thinking, instead, to lift his head and crane his neck. His lips find Hana's as he wraps his arms around the small of her back, surprising himself to find he's got enough energy to keep kissing her. He notes the softness of her lips, so familiar yet so distant from what he once recalled. But that's nothing worth resenting, worth mourning. What he has in front of him, what he actively relishes with affection now... is worth celebrating. ]
I read your lips earlier, Hana. Underwater.
You have nothing to be sorry for.
Nothing.
[ That's the most he says before motioning to kiss her again, a hand rising from the small of her back to sink its fingers in her hair, cradling the back of her neck. He only disrupts the kiss one last time before continuing, hoping never to stop for the world. ]
no subject
[ He coughs again, more from the exhaustion of his lungs than from any residual water he might've gulped while swimming. ]
Coming home to a PS6 is reward enough, believe me.
[ That's him matching Hana's energy about making light of their shared near-death situation. It's not the funniest joke he can make (Dick being the biggest critic of his own quips), but he laughs anyway, just happy to be alive. He's survived more surreal experiences than this in all his time as Robin, and then as Nightwing, but what he barely accomplished to save Hana is a sobering reminder that he's still human. He can punch down alien gods and send transdimensional wizards back from whence they came, but Dick remains so utterly and fundamentally human.
For all the heights that Nightwing seems capable of reaching, he can still plummet to his death trying to take on Firefly. For all the ways he's sailed the stars and walked through other realities, he can still drown to death trying to save that lousy Killer Croc. Maybe that's what makes his feats all the more special, that he doesn't have the luxury of powers.
Maybe... that's what makes him a hero. That while mindful of his limitations, he tries anyway.
If it took nearly dying to see that, he doesn't care. There's a number of stupider ways he could've died, at least, like stumbling and falling so that his neck lands on a rock. Totally not a pointed example of a stupid death whatsoever, but digression aside-- he's even happier to know Hana's alive. That every way she's pushed back at him and brought him out of his funk... was what gave him the acumen he needed to save her. Acumen he's always had, but nearly lost sight of.
And now, she's clambered onto him, sprawled atop his body as her head hovers over his. She's looking down at him in admiration, he up at her in reverence. And for once, he wishes he had the luxury of powers. Some way to contain this moment for as long as possible, if not forever. But surely that goes again Dick embracing who he is, so... he laughs again. Perishing the thought.
Thinking, instead, to lift his head and crane his neck. His lips find Hana's as he wraps his arms around the small of her back, surprising himself to find he's got enough energy to keep kissing her. He notes the softness of her lips, so familiar yet so distant from what he once recalled. But that's nothing worth resenting, worth mourning. What he has in front of him, what he actively relishes with affection now... is worth celebrating. ]
I read your lips earlier, Hana. Underwater.
You have nothing to be sorry for.
Nothing.
[ That's the most he says before motioning to kiss her again, a hand rising from the small of her back to sink its fingers in her hair, cradling the back of her neck. He only disrupts the kiss one last time before continuing, hoping never to stop for the world. ]
I'm not letting you go this time, okay?
Never again.