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[ It's not an omission that escapes him. But it's not as if he's not keeping a few cards close himself, and she's allowed some privacy there. He files it away for consideration later.

He's glad she isn't alone. ]

Like one of those glimpse through the veil things? [ It would be funnier if that wasn't a thing that had actually happened to his universe a few years back. But it makes him smile anyway. ]

Could be. There's not much that would surprise me now.

Though something tells me I'd remember you if our strings ever crossed.

He'd love that. [ And the thought brings a bright grin back to this face. ]

...It's funny. As much as I wouldn't want to see him pulled away from all the stuff we've got going on in Gotham, I actually feel like he'd be a lot safer here.

We tend to have other ways of getting the job done in Gotham.

[ And there he hesitates. ]

...Is he really the only one?

Oh, and why is that?

[ Inspecting the sugary cereal with a smirk, she delves into it to steal a few pieces to munch on as she cooks. Totally innocent, not flirting at all. ]

[ "the only what?" is at the tip of her tongue, but given their topic of conversation and his background, lois can guess. ]

He is.

[ but - ] Not in your world?

It is safer here.

[ Dick should have people around who know him, too. Clark benefits from him more than vice versa. He's not sure how to close that gap. ]

How big is your family?

There's a few of us now. It used to just be me and Batman. And, uh- Alfred. He doesn't wear a costume, but none of us could get by without him.

[ He's been hesitant to mention Jason. When there's a version of him here already that Dick doesn't know what to do with. When thinking about him at all still fills him with anger. Disappointment. The grief of missed opportunities.

It doesn't seem fair to put that on Clark, when he already has so much to handle now. When Dick should already have it handled himself.

Jason is the closest thing he has to a brother in this place. If anyone would know what to do, it's Clark. ]

...There's been three Robins, actually. We lost the second one.

[ He sets his jaw, studying the horizon intently. Lost is so inadequate. ]

There's kind of a big crowd, yeah. [ It worries him to think of Clark fighting alone indefinitely. It's too much for one man, if their world is anything like his.

But it's a worry he tried to school out of his expression. Lois probably doesn't need any more. ]

He kicked off a few trends, but he wasn't the first.

[ Clark lets Dick have his moment. He deserves it.

They're in the business of helping people. Clark can't fathom anything hurting him besides that world engine. It took no thought at all to act against it. For people like Dick, who're human, they take greater risks every day with costumes and masks. Clark doesn't see anyone in Dick's family being willing to walk away when there's work to be done.

Lost means only one thing. ]

I'm sorry.

[ He hopes the other him was there in their time of need. ]

If you want to talk about it, I'm here.

[ honestly? it worries her, too, and she didn't even know that there was another way before now. she worries about clark a lot and she hasn't even known him all that long.

but it's probably natural to worry about your partner, isn't it? ]

Who was? If you don't mind sharing that.

[ A little time and distance has done a lot for the immediate shock and anger of the encounter. In it's place is a lingering sense of guilt. An old ache for the kid who's still dead in his world. The knowledge that somehow he'd failed Jason yet again. ]

...There's a version of him here now.

But he's older now. And he's different. [ He's done terrible things. Terrible things were done to him. He's trying to be a better man. Dick scrubs a tired hand across his face. ]

I didn't handle it well, when we met.

[ He taps his chin, pretending to give the question serious thought. As if she doesn't already know. ]

Hm. Can't be the retiring mystique or the dazzling wit.

[ He's stealing a handful of that cereal too. ]

Must be the eyes.

You really are the worst. Total cheese! Mozzarella-wrapped-cheddar.

[ Inordinately pleased as she indulges in a wider smile and can't hold back a pleased blush (she's a little shallow when it comes to flattery, sue her), two plates are served up on the breakfast bar and when she reaches his side, Loki pecks him on the cheek. ]

Eat up, you're a growing officer of the law.

[ Perching on her own stool next to him, she makes sure her one of her folded legs rests against his. ]

It's hard to lose family.

[ Clark speaks from experience. ]

Anyone, even us, would be shocked at seeing someone or something we thought was gone. Maybe this is a second chance for you both.

Edited 2017-05-01 09:31 (UTC)

It'd be nice. [ It's almost a confession. ]

...It wasn't easy for me to see someone else in the suit, at first. There was... a lot going on between me and Batman.

[ It isn't easy now to admit to just how selfish he'd been. How hurt, how angry, how lost.

But for a Clark that doesn't know, who hadn't been there with him to see it, it's probably only fair for him to try to explain it. He hasn't been the brother Jason deserved. He hasn't always proven himself worthy of the trust Clark places in him. ]

But he needed someone, just like Robin does now. By the time I was starting to figure that out, he was gone.

[ He takes a breath. ] ...Then when he was willing to be upfront about who he is now, it was just- it was a lot to process all at once.

I don't know that I have the right to ask for another chance.

[ It's a very fetching blush. Like everything else about her.

And Loki, as it turns out, is a hell of a cook. He needs to return the favor soon, if she lets him, even though that'll probably mean going out on the town rather than subjecting her to his embarrassingly utilitarian skillset in the kitchen.

There's a sweetness to her odd sense of mischief. Something generous in her obvious desire for company. He doesn't really think for a second that the press of her leg against his is an accident, but he's... finding himself very disinclined to pull away. He should probably be thinking that through a little more.

But the truth is it's been a long time since he's had anything like this. A warm presence in an empty space. Contact with someone he doesn't have to wrestle into a wet gutter. He's missed it badly.

A few blissful bites in, he reaches across the bar for the cereal, which he sure is going to crush up in his hands and then sprinkle delicately across his plate like table salt. ]

Not that I wouldn't admire the hell out of your finesse either way-

But I've gotta ask. How much of it's actually magic?

[ It's pretty much what he would use magic for if he had the power, so. ]

[ Since Dick did it, Loki crumbles up a little cereal too and sees how that tastes with her own meal. Not awful! ]

I don't cook with spells, that'd be lazy as Hel. [ The look she gives him is steady. ] You shouldn't do everything with magic, Grayson. Once you do, it becomes easy to lose sight of the value of the thing you create.

Like breakfast. Or a person.

[ MUNCHMUNCHMUNCH, time to eat so she doesn't need to follow up on that hint; yes, she's created a person. Dick has an innate habit of making her want to be more truthful with him, that's all. ]

[ It means a lot that Dick would just tell him. This Clark is a total stranger to him and Dick keeps choosing trust.

Clark promises himself he's not going to be more surprised or less grateful. He didn't know what friends were like until he was here. ]

If he told you the truth, he must have wanted you to have one.

Yeah. You're right. [ And in a way that's all he really needs to hear. A little of the tension drains out of his posture, and for Clark he has a small, almost sheepish smile. ]

Man. I'm way overthinking this, huh?

Most of my friends don't actually come back from the dead. [ ha ha ha ]

[ Dick gives that thought his full attention, meeting her gaze for as long as she lets him. It's a responsible, grounded line of reasoning. And maybe that shouldn't surprise him.

A person, she'd said. He wonders if she has a child. ]

I guess if we're not calling breakfast sacred, that kind of begs the question of where you'd even stop from there.

[ This breakfast actually is sacred. All the more so for not being magiced that way. He goes back to eating, munching thoughtfully. ]

I've never really envied people that kind of power.

[ Kory. Raven. Joey. Danny. Superman. Almost all of the names hurt. All of them are dead, or died at least once in the past, or are lost to him forever now. ]

[ He raises his eyebrows at the comment. Clark will ask another day, when Dick isn't worried about how he's coming off to his long-lost Robin. ]

Birds of a feather.

[ Look at Clark, fretting and overthinking everything his son will face in the future. He'll be all right eventually and so will Dick.

It's been a tough conversation. Clark thinks they shouldn't keep going on a sombre note. ]

Did the other me ever take you flying, for fun?

[ This is delivered to Dick's workplace. It's a beeper which can be used as a watch strap. Press it and it emits a sound at a frequency only Clark (and Jon) can hear.

He took a while with this: he had to disguise it to fit a cop uniform and a Kevlar-Nomex weave. ]

If you can't shout for me, use this.

[ The note is signed with the S. ]

It was kind of our thing, yeah. [ He casts a glance sideways, brightness returning at once. ]

We worked cases together from time to time. But more often he'd drop by just to see how I was. We'd tour the Andes for a few hours and talk shop.

I think he felt a little bad for me, when I was a kid. I don't know that he ever really got the Robin thing.

They called themselves the Justice Society. They kind of started the cape thing. [ At least as a thing people with abilities started to do with their powers. Dick pauses. ]

I always figured that's where he got it from.

That's smart. Magic ... Magic is wonderful, it helps you become more than you are, but if you abuse it too much then you risk losing yourself in it. It's like swimming, in a way. It's fun to take a dip in the sea and avoid the sharks out there, although odds are you'll get bitten if you go too far.

[ This is turning into the most thoughtful breakfast. ]

My best friend never envied me the power I wield. [ Her lips twitch with a smile, fork idly stabbing her food. ] She preferred it when we did normal things, yet she accepted I was not.

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