Fic Commentary 2: "Study Buddies," DCU
zoe_chan asked for commentary on Study Buddies, which can be read without commentary at the link.
This fic has the notable distinction of being written all on my lonesome--as in, I was not attached to zoe_chan at the hip via IM during the writing of this fic, as I usually am when writing anything. ;) Possibly this is why my commentary got so wordy, because usually I get all the commentary out in IM to her.
Heh.
Summary: Roy and Donna fight, and Dick does damage control.
Oh, summaries. I don’t think this does this fic justice.
***
Dick didn’t exactly enjoy being on watch duty on a Friday night, but sitting in the control room at least gave him a quiet place to do the assigned reading for English. It also meant he didn’t have to overhear what was looking like a pretty intense fight between Donna and Roy.
I was digging my car out of the snow and a scene in which Roy and Donna fight and break up ran through my head, and it was kind of glorious, but when I came back in it was gone. But the idea that Dick might have seen the fight stuck with me, and while the fight I envisioned while shoveling is not the fight that happened here (I don’t think Donna broke up with Roy in this particular argument), it was still intense.
He might not actually have done much reading, but when it came to lovers’ spats, Pip and Estella had nothing on Roy and Donna.
The fact that Pip and Estella weren’t actually lovers was completely beside the point.
I wasn’t sure when I wanted to set this, as I’m not 100% decided on how old Roy was when he used heroin, but the only books I could remember reading in high school were Great Expectations and The Great Gatsby and the scene where Pip meets Estella popped into my head. Plus, my iTunes played “Right Through You” and the line I’m like Estella / I like to reel ‘em in and then spit ‘em out stuck in my head.
Also, Pip and Estella never did hook up.
The point was that Dick had damage control to do, and he wasn’t sure which of his friends was going to need it more. He wished again that Wally and Garth-hell, at least one of them-had been able to come this weekend.
Reading the same sentence for the umpteenth time and still not comprehending it, Dick glanced up at the monitors in time to see Donna and Roy storming off in opposite directions. They surprised him; Roy was headed for his room, and Donna looked like she was going to the kitchen. Usually at least one of them went to beat the shit out of some equipment in the training rooms after a fight.
It’s Dickens’. Even when you’re not distracted you can read a sentence ten times and still go “bwah?” ;) Also, when you have punching bags at your disposal, why not use them?
In frustration, Dick threw Great Expectations into the air and decided that the kitchen was on the way to Roy’s room. He caught the book only because while he doubted Dickens would mind, he knew Alfred would never forgive him for treating a book that way.
Dick’s Jiminy Cricket has a British accent. There’s no logical reason for Alfred to find out that Dick threw a book, but he would find out.
Dick made his way to the kitchen, where he stopped and leaned against the door. He didn’t say anything, but watched Donna open and shut drawers, muttering angrily to herself. After about half a minute, she slammed a drawer and turned to glare at him, hands on her hips. "Why are there no clean spoons in this place?!"
Here is where I state that I sort of love Donna, and have very little canon experience with her. I’ve read Graduation Day and The Return of Donna Troy, but that’s the extent of it. I think my fondness for her is based on how much Dick and Roy obviously love her and how important she is to them. I was hoping to ignore her, and planned on having Donna storm to her room and leave her relegated to the background, but she’s a pretty strong personality and refused that.
It’s always interesting when characters take over like this, but it was nerve-wracking because I wasn’t sure I’d do her justice.
Dick blinked. Not exactly the outburst he’d been expecting. "Uh…"
Donna threw her hands in the air and returned to her search of the cupboards. "Never mind. I don’t know why I-" She stopped and gripped the countertop with one hand, pinching the bridge of her nose with the other.
She knows perfectly well why she bothers; she loves her boys. And here, she and Roy are a pretty established couple.
Dick took a step into the kitchen and reached a hand toward her. "Donna…"
She shook her head at him and took a breath. She moved her hand from her face and waved it dismissively at him. "I’m fine. I guess you saw all that?"
Dick shrugged a shoulder and crossed the room to rest his hand on her shoulder. "I didn’t hear any of it."
It’s important to Dick that she knows he wasn’t eavesdropping, not on purpose. And Donna doesn’t mind. To me, Dick and Donna love each other and are friends, but it’s not sexual at all; it’s more of a sibling love. Dick is Donna’s best friend, at this point in their lives.
Donna turned and hugged him, resting her temple against his. "He’s so stubborn, Dick," she said. "I’m so mad at him right now, but I’m worried, too. Something’s wrong, and he won’t talk about it."
"Donna, it’s Roy. I’m sure he’s fine, it’s just…" Dick trailed off, shrugging and feeling uncomfortable. "Nothing’s wrong. It’s Roy."
Oh, Dick, you are in world’s of denial. Donna is pissed off; the fight with Roy (in my head) was a normal fight; Donna’s worried about him and she wouldn’t let him wave her concern away, so he got prickly and defensive and her feelings got hurt and they both shouted and said things they didn’t mean. And just because he pissed her off and hurt her feelings doesn’t mean that Donna’s not still worried about him, although it makes her angry that she’s worried when she wants to be seething.
And Dick is in denial because, like he says, it’s Roy. They’ve been friends for several years at this point, and it’s never easy to see your friends go through rough times.
Donna pulled back and smacked his shoulder lightly. "Go talk to him," she ordered. "I’m too angry to deal with him right now, but something is wrong, and you need to go fix it."
Plus, if Dick is taking care of Roy, Donna is free to slam things around the kitchen without feeling guilty or worried, and she can work through her anger.
Dick rolled his eyes and saluted her mockingly. "Yes, ma’am." He pulled her in for another quick hug and turned to leave, stopping to say, "Whatever he said, you know he didn’t mean it."
"I know," Donna said, pulling a cereal box out of a cabinet. "But I’m angry and I plan on staying angry for a few hours."
Dick nodded and asked, "You okay?"
Donna huffed and waved a hand at him. "I’m fine. Get out of here."
She is fine, she does know Roy didn’t mean anything he said-not the mean things, anyway-and she fully intends on indulging in her anger for a while.
Dick left the kitchen and turned toward the bedrooms. He shoved aside the nagging worry Donna had planted; there was nothing wrong with Roy, aside from the usual shit he dealt with at home.
Blarg, awkward transition! Not as awkward as the original version, but how many ways can you say “character A went from Point B to Point C?” Really. And, oh, Dick, you just have no idea. The usual shit at home hit the fan.
I wrote this with the assumption that Ollie is very rarely around, and that he’s lost his fortune-which means that Roy’s lost his home and everything familiar to him, and Ollie’s beginning his social justice ranting and hanging out with Hal, but no road trip yet. I’m undecided as to whether or not Roy has actually started using heroin yet (although I lean toward not), but I think he might well be very close to trying something and in fact, it’s more than likely he *has* begun experimenting.
Dick knocked on Roy’s door, calling out, "Roy, it’s me. Open up."
He was met with a long silence, and just as he raised his hand to knock again, the door opened. Roy leaned against it, arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. "Well?" he demanded. "What do you want? You wanna yell at me for being an ass, too? Donna send you to finish what she started before she ran off to cry about what an insensitive jerk I am?"
And Roy is being cruel as a defense mechanism. He fully expects to be yelled at for being an ass, because he knows he was an ass. He also doesn’t really think Donna’s crying; if he thought he made Donna cry, he’d be miserable and hate himself.
And, shit. Apparently he should have come after Roy first. "You really think you made Donna cry? She’s tearing apart the kitchen in her search for a rusty spoon to castrate you with."
A very large reason to include Donna was to use that line. I like it. Donna’s not your damsel-in-distress and doesn’t need anyone defending her honor. She’s not invincible, either, and I don’t want to imply that, but I want the boys to acknowledge that she’s not the stereotypical weepy girl, either.
Roy rolled his eyes and slammed the door, but Dick shoved his way past him before the door could shut. They looked at one another for a long moment before Roy grunted and stalked past Dick to throw himself onto his bed. Dick watched him, and neither spoke for several minutes.
This was… unexpected. Dick wasn’t sure what to do; he hadn’t had a plan, but he’d expected yelling and maybe a fight. He didn’t know what to do with this cold, silent anger. He considered provoking Roy, but instead wandered over to his desk, where his schoolbag rested. He reached for the zipper.
Dick doesn’t know what he’d doing; he’s trying to figure that out. Roy’s giving up here. He’s in a really pissed off mood, and he’s depressed and what he wants is for Dick to leave. He figures the best thing he can do is ignore Dick, because he knows Dick well enough to know that will throw him off.
"What are you doing?"
Dick opened the bag and rummaged through it, shrugging. "You have a lot of homework this weekend? I’ve got four chapters of Gre-"
"You didn’t come in here to talk about school," Roy accused bitingly.
At about this point, Dick and Roy started having subtext in my head and I tried to beat it out of them with a sledgehammer, because Donna is in the kitchen.
Dick pulled out a copy of Romeo and Juliet and turned, waving it in Roy’s direction. "Aha! Shakespeare, huh? We read this last month."
Roy pushed himself up on an elbow and made a face. "Good for you. Leave my shit alone."
I enjoy that bit of dialogue because in my head, Roy’s voice is dry and biting. Also, I think they’re in the same grade and I flailed for something other than Great Expectations that I read my freshman year of high school and Romeo and Juliet is what I came up with.
Dick took the book with him when he crossed the room and jumped onto Roy’s bed. He ignored Roy’s muttered curses and flopped over to lie on his back, forcing Roy to move up against the wall. He opened the play at random and read aloud, "‘They fight. Paris falls.’ Ugh," he said, making a face. "You know, this play isn’t romantic at all; it’s depressing, and Romeo is an idiot."
Hey, anyone notice the gratuitous Twilight reference? Huh? ::points:: Well, New Moon, technically, but I couldn’t help it. Plus, the opinions expressed by Dick *do* reflect the opinions of the author, in this case. ;) (I still love the play. Doesn’t mean I don’t have a lot of disbelief to truly enjoy it.)
Roy snatched the book from him and sat up. "What do you want, Dick?"
Dick didn’t answer, but nudged Roy’s ankle with his foot. He wondered why Roy was so tense and confrontational, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. When Roy looked back at him, he said, "What’s going on, Roy?"
Ahem, the touching. First, I am a very touchy-feely person; I tend to reach out to people a lot. I also tend to project this onto characters I write; this sometimes causes a problem. Because in any given situation, I can find a reason for character A to reach out and touch character B’s arm/shoulder/hand/leg/what-have-you, but not all characters are the touching type-Bruce, for example. I have a hard time with Bruce, because where I would have him exhibit some emotion through touch, he doesn’t usually want to.
All that being said, I think Dick and Roy are touch-oriented guys. And Dick is worried and wants to get Roy’s attention, because Roy is not reacting the way he should-and by sitting up, Roy turns his back to Dick, which is also alarming to him.
Roy’s eyes narrowed and he looked away again. Dick sighed, and reached out, putting his hand on Roy’s back. "Okay, we won’t talk about it," he said. He balled Roy’s shirt in his fist and yanked. "Just stop being an ass and lie down, would you?"
Um, yeah. More touching. About this point I stopped and went “boys!”
Roy resisted the first few tugs, but finally dropped back onto the mattress to lie stiffly next to Dick. He shifted closer to the wall, and Dick briefly considered moving to close the inch of space between them but didn’t. Instead, he grabbed Shakespeare back from Roy and opened it again, this time to the prologue. "‘Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene...’" he began. He read the entire prologue and then asked, "So, what’s the assignment for the weekend?"
I’m not sure if it’s all the touching, or the lying in bed together, or the reading of Shakespeare in bed that made this scene so hard to keep from going to a Dick/Roy place. But I wanted to keep it from going there, possibly because it so easily could have and apparently wanted to.
Why was I so intent on keeping that from happening? One word: Donna. I had Roy and Donna fairly established as a couple, and that fight was not a break-up-and even if it was, I wouldn’t have gone the Dick/Roy route yet. Because Donna isn’t a fling for Roy, and she’s like a sister to Dick and unless it’s Dick/Roy/Donna I wasn’t touching Dick/Roy when Donna is in the picture.
This is probably a case of over-thinking and letting personal morals get in the way of what could have been really fun gay sex. Also, this is possibly more than anyone needed to know. Moving on.
Roy muttered, "Act Three."
Oh, and a point I meant to make: Dick calmly picking up the play and reading, not reacting to Roy’s obvious temper? His way of diffusing the situation. It works. Roy’s grudging here, but he’s caught on that Dick’s not going to yell, berate or be angry with him. And he also knows Dick isn’t planning on leaving anytime soon, because Dick can be stubborn too.
Dick flipped to the right page and read, "‘Act Three, Scene one. A public place. Enter Mercutio, Benvolio, Page and servants…’" Holding the book up with one hand, he let his left arm drop to the mattress between him and Roy. He didn’t close the space between them, but he kept reading.
He read through the first two scenes before Roy’s hand brushed the back of his. He could feel Roy watching him, but he didn’t stop reading until Roy grabbed his hand and interrupted him. "Dick."
Touching! Hand-holding! ::cough:: Ahem. Ignoring the UST *I* felt when writing this, it’s something I can see happening. Roy hasn’t been listening, exactly; he’s feeling guilty and lonely and embarrassed about how he’s been acting. It’s suddenly important for him to say something to Dick about this.
Dick let the book fall onto his chest and turned his head to look at Roy.
Roy swallowed and his voice had a desperate edge to it when he spoke. "I didn’t-I don’t mean to…"
Dick squeezed his hand. "I know. Donna knows."
Roy wants to apologize for a lot here, including and especially the things he has no control over. He hates that he loses his temper with Dick and Donna, because they’re the people he’s relying on most right now. And what Dick says-totally true.
Roy shut his eyes and turned his head back to the ceiling, his jaw tight. He didn’t let go of Dick’s hand or loosen his grip. "Everything kind of sucks right now."
Understatement of the century, folks. Roy’s heading to a very bad place and doesn’t know what to do about it.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Dick hesitated before asking, "You wanna talk about it?"
"Not really," Roy answered, almost apologetic. He met Dick’s gaze and looked… young. A little scared.
Dick debated pushing the issue, but he found he couldn’t. "Okay," he said.
Roy’s a lot scared, and Dick knows it. It scares him. The reason he doesn’t push for more here is because he can see how freaked out Roy is, and he knows Roy’s having a tough time, and he’s had a really bad night. Dick’s trying to give him a break-and he thinks he’ll try again later.
Roy smiled his thanks and rolled his head back again. Dick stared at Roy’s profile for a minute before turning to watch the ceiling with him. "It’s gonna be okay, Roy."
Roy sighed. "Maybe."
Roy can’t see his way out of things right now. It’s hard for him to believe Dick here.
Dick gripped Roy’s hand harder. "It will. You’ve got us."
"Yeah?"
The uncertainty in Roy’s tone made Dick want to shake him. "Yes."
Shaking him might not be a bad move, really. It’s worth noting that Dick firmly believes that this is true; the Titans are a family, and he truly believes they can handle whatever Roy’s going through, even though he has no idea how bad things are or how bad they’ll get.
Neither of them spoke immediately, and then Roy’s knee brushed Dick’s and he said, "So Romeo’s banished now?"
Dick picked the book back up, nodding as he read, "‘Hence from Verona art thou banished: / Be patient, for the world is broad and wide…’"
Okay, this last quote? COMPLETELY accidental. A miraculous one, to be sure. It wasn’t until I posted and re-read that I went “huh, WOW.” Because it does pack a wallop and I considered using some part of that for the title (which I HATE, btw). But I grabbed Romeo and Juliet and opened up to Act 3, scene iii and stuck my finger on the page. Friar Laurence says this to Romeo, and it fits so WELL, on several layers: on the one… Really, Roy, be patient--things will change and you will get through this. Then there’s the abandonment by Ollie, which is already starting, and oh, Roy. I wish I could claim I chose this quote knowing how perfect it was, but I went “oh, that’s pretty.” ;)
I really love this fic because it's such a moment between them, as friends. Also, I think I managed to make them believable teenage boys here, and to convey how awkward they're both feeling. Roy needs Dick, and Dick wants to help, but neither of them know what to do about it. I'm also glad I managed to keep this gen, because I think anything beyond the touching that happens here would distract from how important their friendship is to each other.
To borrow from Grey's Anatomy... Dick and Roy are so one another's persons... with the possible exception of some UST between them. Ahem. (If you don't understand this, I can explain.)
That was fun, and I will take more requests!
This fic has the notable distinction of being written all on my lonesome--as in, I was not attached to zoe_chan at the hip via IM during the writing of this fic, as I usually am when writing anything. ;) Possibly this is why my commentary got so wordy, because usually I get all the commentary out in IM to her.
Heh.
Summary: Roy and Donna fight, and Dick does damage control.
Oh, summaries. I don’t think this does this fic justice.
***
Dick didn’t exactly enjoy being on watch duty on a Friday night, but sitting in the control room at least gave him a quiet place to do the assigned reading for English. It also meant he didn’t have to overhear what was looking like a pretty intense fight between Donna and Roy.
I was digging my car out of the snow and a scene in which Roy and Donna fight and break up ran through my head, and it was kind of glorious, but when I came back in it was gone. But the idea that Dick might have seen the fight stuck with me, and while the fight I envisioned while shoveling is not the fight that happened here (I don’t think Donna broke up with Roy in this particular argument), it was still intense.
He might not actually have done much reading, but when it came to lovers’ spats, Pip and Estella had nothing on Roy and Donna.
The fact that Pip and Estella weren’t actually lovers was completely beside the point.
I wasn’t sure when I wanted to set this, as I’m not 100% decided on how old Roy was when he used heroin, but the only books I could remember reading in high school were Great Expectations and The Great Gatsby and the scene where Pip meets Estella popped into my head. Plus, my iTunes played “Right Through You” and the line I’m like Estella / I like to reel ‘em in and then spit ‘em out stuck in my head.
Also, Pip and Estella never did hook up.
The point was that Dick had damage control to do, and he wasn’t sure which of his friends was going to need it more. He wished again that Wally and Garth-hell, at least one of them-had been able to come this weekend.
Reading the same sentence for the umpteenth time and still not comprehending it, Dick glanced up at the monitors in time to see Donna and Roy storming off in opposite directions. They surprised him; Roy was headed for his room, and Donna looked like she was going to the kitchen. Usually at least one of them went to beat the shit out of some equipment in the training rooms after a fight.
It’s Dickens’. Even when you’re not distracted you can read a sentence ten times and still go “bwah?” ;) Also, when you have punching bags at your disposal, why not use them?
In frustration, Dick threw Great Expectations into the air and decided that the kitchen was on the way to Roy’s room. He caught the book only because while he doubted Dickens would mind, he knew Alfred would never forgive him for treating a book that way.
Dick’s Jiminy Cricket has a British accent. There’s no logical reason for Alfred to find out that Dick threw a book, but he would find out.
Dick made his way to the kitchen, where he stopped and leaned against the door. He didn’t say anything, but watched Donna open and shut drawers, muttering angrily to herself. After about half a minute, she slammed a drawer and turned to glare at him, hands on her hips. "Why are there no clean spoons in this place?!"
Here is where I state that I sort of love Donna, and have very little canon experience with her. I’ve read Graduation Day and The Return of Donna Troy, but that’s the extent of it. I think my fondness for her is based on how much Dick and Roy obviously love her and how important she is to them. I was hoping to ignore her, and planned on having Donna storm to her room and leave her relegated to the background, but she’s a pretty strong personality and refused that.
It’s always interesting when characters take over like this, but it was nerve-wracking because I wasn’t sure I’d do her justice.
Dick blinked. Not exactly the outburst he’d been expecting. "Uh…"
Donna threw her hands in the air and returned to her search of the cupboards. "Never mind. I don’t know why I-" She stopped and gripped the countertop with one hand, pinching the bridge of her nose with the other.
She knows perfectly well why she bothers; she loves her boys. And here, she and Roy are a pretty established couple.
Dick took a step into the kitchen and reached a hand toward her. "Donna…"
She shook her head at him and took a breath. She moved her hand from her face and waved it dismissively at him. "I’m fine. I guess you saw all that?"
Dick shrugged a shoulder and crossed the room to rest his hand on her shoulder. "I didn’t hear any of it."
It’s important to Dick that she knows he wasn’t eavesdropping, not on purpose. And Donna doesn’t mind. To me, Dick and Donna love each other and are friends, but it’s not sexual at all; it’s more of a sibling love. Dick is Donna’s best friend, at this point in their lives.
Donna turned and hugged him, resting her temple against his. "He’s so stubborn, Dick," she said. "I’m so mad at him right now, but I’m worried, too. Something’s wrong, and he won’t talk about it."
"Donna, it’s Roy. I’m sure he’s fine, it’s just…" Dick trailed off, shrugging and feeling uncomfortable. "Nothing’s wrong. It’s Roy."
Oh, Dick, you are in world’s of denial. Donna is pissed off; the fight with Roy (in my head) was a normal fight; Donna’s worried about him and she wouldn’t let him wave her concern away, so he got prickly and defensive and her feelings got hurt and they both shouted and said things they didn’t mean. And just because he pissed her off and hurt her feelings doesn’t mean that Donna’s not still worried about him, although it makes her angry that she’s worried when she wants to be seething.
And Dick is in denial because, like he says, it’s Roy. They’ve been friends for several years at this point, and it’s never easy to see your friends go through rough times.
Donna pulled back and smacked his shoulder lightly. "Go talk to him," she ordered. "I’m too angry to deal with him right now, but something is wrong, and you need to go fix it."
Plus, if Dick is taking care of Roy, Donna is free to slam things around the kitchen without feeling guilty or worried, and she can work through her anger.
Dick rolled his eyes and saluted her mockingly. "Yes, ma’am." He pulled her in for another quick hug and turned to leave, stopping to say, "Whatever he said, you know he didn’t mean it."
"I know," Donna said, pulling a cereal box out of a cabinet. "But I’m angry and I plan on staying angry for a few hours."
Dick nodded and asked, "You okay?"
Donna huffed and waved a hand at him. "I’m fine. Get out of here."
She is fine, she does know Roy didn’t mean anything he said-not the mean things, anyway-and she fully intends on indulging in her anger for a while.
Dick left the kitchen and turned toward the bedrooms. He shoved aside the nagging worry Donna had planted; there was nothing wrong with Roy, aside from the usual shit he dealt with at home.
Blarg, awkward transition! Not as awkward as the original version, but how many ways can you say “character A went from Point B to Point C?” Really. And, oh, Dick, you just have no idea. The usual shit at home hit the fan.
I wrote this with the assumption that Ollie is very rarely around, and that he’s lost his fortune-which means that Roy’s lost his home and everything familiar to him, and Ollie’s beginning his social justice ranting and hanging out with Hal, but no road trip yet. I’m undecided as to whether or not Roy has actually started using heroin yet (although I lean toward not), but I think he might well be very close to trying something and in fact, it’s more than likely he *has* begun experimenting.
Dick knocked on Roy’s door, calling out, "Roy, it’s me. Open up."
He was met with a long silence, and just as he raised his hand to knock again, the door opened. Roy leaned against it, arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. "Well?" he demanded. "What do you want? You wanna yell at me for being an ass, too? Donna send you to finish what she started before she ran off to cry about what an insensitive jerk I am?"
And Roy is being cruel as a defense mechanism. He fully expects to be yelled at for being an ass, because he knows he was an ass. He also doesn’t really think Donna’s crying; if he thought he made Donna cry, he’d be miserable and hate himself.
And, shit. Apparently he should have come after Roy first. "You really think you made Donna cry? She’s tearing apart the kitchen in her search for a rusty spoon to castrate you with."
A very large reason to include Donna was to use that line. I like it. Donna’s not your damsel-in-distress and doesn’t need anyone defending her honor. She’s not invincible, either, and I don’t want to imply that, but I want the boys to acknowledge that she’s not the stereotypical weepy girl, either.
Roy rolled his eyes and slammed the door, but Dick shoved his way past him before the door could shut. They looked at one another for a long moment before Roy grunted and stalked past Dick to throw himself onto his bed. Dick watched him, and neither spoke for several minutes.
This was… unexpected. Dick wasn’t sure what to do; he hadn’t had a plan, but he’d expected yelling and maybe a fight. He didn’t know what to do with this cold, silent anger. He considered provoking Roy, but instead wandered over to his desk, where his schoolbag rested. He reached for the zipper.
Dick doesn’t know what he’d doing; he’s trying to figure that out. Roy’s giving up here. He’s in a really pissed off mood, and he’s depressed and what he wants is for Dick to leave. He figures the best thing he can do is ignore Dick, because he knows Dick well enough to know that will throw him off.
"What are you doing?"
Dick opened the bag and rummaged through it, shrugging. "You have a lot of homework this weekend? I’ve got four chapters of Gre-"
"You didn’t come in here to talk about school," Roy accused bitingly.
At about this point, Dick and Roy started having subtext in my head and I tried to beat it out of them with a sledgehammer, because Donna is in the kitchen.
Dick pulled out a copy of Romeo and Juliet and turned, waving it in Roy’s direction. "Aha! Shakespeare, huh? We read this last month."
Roy pushed himself up on an elbow and made a face. "Good for you. Leave my shit alone."
I enjoy that bit of dialogue because in my head, Roy’s voice is dry and biting. Also, I think they’re in the same grade and I flailed for something other than Great Expectations that I read my freshman year of high school and Romeo and Juliet is what I came up with.
Dick took the book with him when he crossed the room and jumped onto Roy’s bed. He ignored Roy’s muttered curses and flopped over to lie on his back, forcing Roy to move up against the wall. He opened the play at random and read aloud, "‘They fight. Paris falls.’ Ugh," he said, making a face. "You know, this play isn’t romantic at all; it’s depressing, and Romeo is an idiot."
Hey, anyone notice the gratuitous Twilight reference? Huh? ::points:: Well, New Moon, technically, but I couldn’t help it. Plus, the opinions expressed by Dick *do* reflect the opinions of the author, in this case. ;) (I still love the play. Doesn’t mean I don’t have a lot of disbelief to truly enjoy it.)
Roy snatched the book from him and sat up. "What do you want, Dick?"
Dick didn’t answer, but nudged Roy’s ankle with his foot. He wondered why Roy was so tense and confrontational, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. When Roy looked back at him, he said, "What’s going on, Roy?"
Ahem, the touching. First, I am a very touchy-feely person; I tend to reach out to people a lot. I also tend to project this onto characters I write; this sometimes causes a problem. Because in any given situation, I can find a reason for character A to reach out and touch character B’s arm/shoulder/hand/leg/what-have-you, but not all characters are the touching type-Bruce, for example. I have a hard time with Bruce, because where I would have him exhibit some emotion through touch, he doesn’t usually want to.
All that being said, I think Dick and Roy are touch-oriented guys. And Dick is worried and wants to get Roy’s attention, because Roy is not reacting the way he should-and by sitting up, Roy turns his back to Dick, which is also alarming to him.
Roy’s eyes narrowed and he looked away again. Dick sighed, and reached out, putting his hand on Roy’s back. "Okay, we won’t talk about it," he said. He balled Roy’s shirt in his fist and yanked. "Just stop being an ass and lie down, would you?"
Um, yeah. More touching. About this point I stopped and went “boys!”
Roy resisted the first few tugs, but finally dropped back onto the mattress to lie stiffly next to Dick. He shifted closer to the wall, and Dick briefly considered moving to close the inch of space between them but didn’t. Instead, he grabbed Shakespeare back from Roy and opened it again, this time to the prologue. "‘Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene...’" he began. He read the entire prologue and then asked, "So, what’s the assignment for the weekend?"
I’m not sure if it’s all the touching, or the lying in bed together, or the reading of Shakespeare in bed that made this scene so hard to keep from going to a Dick/Roy place. But I wanted to keep it from going there, possibly because it so easily could have and apparently wanted to.
Why was I so intent on keeping that from happening? One word: Donna. I had Roy and Donna fairly established as a couple, and that fight was not a break-up-and even if it was, I wouldn’t have gone the Dick/Roy route yet. Because Donna isn’t a fling for Roy, and she’s like a sister to Dick and unless it’s Dick/Roy/Donna I wasn’t touching Dick/Roy when Donna is in the picture.
This is probably a case of over-thinking and letting personal morals get in the way of what could have been really fun gay sex. Also, this is possibly more than anyone needed to know. Moving on.
Roy muttered, "Act Three."
Oh, and a point I meant to make: Dick calmly picking up the play and reading, not reacting to Roy’s obvious temper? His way of diffusing the situation. It works. Roy’s grudging here, but he’s caught on that Dick’s not going to yell, berate or be angry with him. And he also knows Dick isn’t planning on leaving anytime soon, because Dick can be stubborn too.
Dick flipped to the right page and read, "‘Act Three, Scene one. A public place. Enter Mercutio, Benvolio, Page and servants…’" Holding the book up with one hand, he let his left arm drop to the mattress between him and Roy. He didn’t close the space between them, but he kept reading.
He read through the first two scenes before Roy’s hand brushed the back of his. He could feel Roy watching him, but he didn’t stop reading until Roy grabbed his hand and interrupted him. "Dick."
Touching! Hand-holding! ::cough:: Ahem. Ignoring the UST *I* felt when writing this, it’s something I can see happening. Roy hasn’t been listening, exactly; he’s feeling guilty and lonely and embarrassed about how he’s been acting. It’s suddenly important for him to say something to Dick about this.
Dick let the book fall onto his chest and turned his head to look at Roy.
Roy swallowed and his voice had a desperate edge to it when he spoke. "I didn’t-I don’t mean to…"
Dick squeezed his hand. "I know. Donna knows."
Roy wants to apologize for a lot here, including and especially the things he has no control over. He hates that he loses his temper with Dick and Donna, because they’re the people he’s relying on most right now. And what Dick says-totally true.
Roy shut his eyes and turned his head back to the ceiling, his jaw tight. He didn’t let go of Dick’s hand or loosen his grip. "Everything kind of sucks right now."
Understatement of the century, folks. Roy’s heading to a very bad place and doesn’t know what to do about it.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Dick hesitated before asking, "You wanna talk about it?"
"Not really," Roy answered, almost apologetic. He met Dick’s gaze and looked… young. A little scared.
Dick debated pushing the issue, but he found he couldn’t. "Okay," he said.
Roy’s a lot scared, and Dick knows it. It scares him. The reason he doesn’t push for more here is because he can see how freaked out Roy is, and he knows Roy’s having a tough time, and he’s had a really bad night. Dick’s trying to give him a break-and he thinks he’ll try again later.
Roy smiled his thanks and rolled his head back again. Dick stared at Roy’s profile for a minute before turning to watch the ceiling with him. "It’s gonna be okay, Roy."
Roy sighed. "Maybe."
Roy can’t see his way out of things right now. It’s hard for him to believe Dick here.
Dick gripped Roy’s hand harder. "It will. You’ve got us."
"Yeah?"
The uncertainty in Roy’s tone made Dick want to shake him. "Yes."
Shaking him might not be a bad move, really. It’s worth noting that Dick firmly believes that this is true; the Titans are a family, and he truly believes they can handle whatever Roy’s going through, even though he has no idea how bad things are or how bad they’ll get.
Neither of them spoke immediately, and then Roy’s knee brushed Dick’s and he said, "So Romeo’s banished now?"
Dick picked the book back up, nodding as he read, "‘Hence from Verona art thou banished: / Be patient, for the world is broad and wide…’"
Okay, this last quote? COMPLETELY accidental. A miraculous one, to be sure. It wasn’t until I posted and re-read that I went “huh, WOW.” Because it does pack a wallop and I considered using some part of that for the title (which I HATE, btw). But I grabbed Romeo and Juliet and opened up to Act 3, scene iii and stuck my finger on the page. Friar Laurence says this to Romeo, and it fits so WELL, on several layers: on the one… Really, Roy, be patient--things will change and you will get through this. Then there’s the abandonment by Ollie, which is already starting, and oh, Roy. I wish I could claim I chose this quote knowing how perfect it was, but I went “oh, that’s pretty.” ;)
I really love this fic because it's such a moment between them, as friends. Also, I think I managed to make them believable teenage boys here, and to convey how awkward they're both feeling. Roy needs Dick, and Dick wants to help, but neither of them know what to do about it. I'm also glad I managed to keep this gen, because I think anything beyond the touching that happens here would distract from how important their friendship is to each other.
To borrow from Grey's Anatomy... Dick and Roy are so one another's persons... with the possible exception of some UST between them. Ahem. (If you don't understand this, I can explain.)
That was fun, and I will take more requests!