DISCLAIMER: Birds of Prey is the property of DC Comics. No infringement intended.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Big Damn Table Fics: 21-40
By Merfilly
Title: Just Friends
Prompt: Friends
Word Count: 459
Rating: PG
Summary: Ollie and Dinah chat
Author's Notes: Takes place at the end of issue 88, BoP
"Pretty bird, something's eating at you." Ollie and Dinah were walking away from the mess they had just delivered; one hog waste truck right into Boss Verrick's pool. The unconscious goons littering the grounds would never be believed that Green Arrow and the Black Canary had done such an amateur prank, even if they had been of a mind to talk about it to anyone.
"Really, Ollie, I may want things at peace between us, but there's no need to get all concerned and fuzzy on me," she replied in a light-hearted vein.
He gave a warm, robust laugh, and she knew she had done right to renew their friendship, placing all the old heartaches in the past. Her pretty blue eyes looked him over, and saw he may have laughed, but he was not going to let it go.
"Alright, rogue archer; I've got something on my mind beyond training under Shiva." She took a deep breath.
"I can guess already. Relationship, right?" He did well, she had to admit. No sign of jealousy, only genuine concern for her welfare was in his voice. "Is it that JSA fellow again? Or have you run into that Nightwing guy from Bludhaven?" He paused. "No, he's too young, right?" At that, he waggled his eyebrows at her, making her laugh now.
"No, on both of them, Ollie." She sighed softly. "It is someone close to my age, but I really can't tell if it is a two way street." She winked at him. "You have me spoiled; no guesswork on the attraction there." He chuckled as she moved close enough for him to hold around the waist. "I can't tell where I stand, what my shots are, and because it is a friend, I'm too afraid to push the envelope."
He raised an eyebrow at that. "Now, that is not like you at all. This is the girl that told four other heroes to get off their butts and help you form a Justice League. The woman that took out that speedster from another world with one shout. You usually jump, then look back to see how far you went, Pretty Bird. And no one has ever managed to stay mad or walk away from you."
"This is different, Ollie. I won't risk losing what I have. I've had to build myself up too far this time." She quickly leaned into him, to take away any insult. "Not your fault, Ollie. I let myself fall after we ended in Seattle."
"Doesn't change why you did not have a net," he said gruffly. "But, hey, all water under the bridge, right?"
"Yeah." After that, they walked in companionable silence, with so many shared memories that the future could find no foothold.
Title: Untitled
Prompt: Enemies
Word Count: 1006
Rating: 15
Author's Notes: Set in comic continuity, pre- Hunt for Oracle storyline, but definately AU.
Canary was in trouble. She was in some god-forsaken, no embassy country with no communication, no allies in sight, and there was a very painful hole in her leg. She looked up from tightening her makeshift bandage, and grimaced; she also had some angry mob hunting her for some relatively unimportant reason.
"Except it is important…they want to kill me because I helped save the world from the end their religion deemed necessary." Her sigh now was for the haunting of her current life by a really, really stupid mistake. "Never date a man without running his credentials past Oracle, Dinah." She picked up her pace as she tried to get some distance between her and the search parties. "And don't go offline with her, just because you want to check out the local beef, either." She reached up and tried to get her communicator to work by fiddling with it. "Come on Oracle! Figure out why I can't talk to you!" She could feel the blood seeping again, but she pressed on, invoking lessons learned long ago from Sensei.
_____
"I CAN HEAR YOU!" The irate voice on the other end of the dysfunctional link was practically screaming. The pretty red head had endured about all she could of hearing her agent in distress, and not be able to do much about it. The GPS function in the circuitry had been fried by whatever had killed Dinah's mic. And, as usual, Canary had hared off on some personal hijink, going offline on purpose, so as not be 'spied' on. "Damnit, Black Canary, I am going to microchip your pretty little…" her voice trailed off as she had to take a call for assistance on the WatchTower frequency.
_____
"So then Ollie says 'I think it needs more spice', and I just rolled my eyes. J'onn never knew what hit him…" Canary was talking to herself, fighting back nausea, blood loss, and steady dehydration. She had found a small hiding place, thanking her mother for giving her small sized genes. "Of course, I bought him loads of Chocos after that…poor guy." She grew quiet again, hearing someone pass close by. Without even realizing it, she closed her eyes, willing them to move on by her place.
_____
"Canary, you have to keep talking!" Oracle sounded determined rather than frantic. The communicator she had given to Black Canary activated the instant it detected voices, but was cutting off in between, making tracking its signal difficult. Every word the agent said gave the computers more time to search for the frequency, to triangulate to a specific region. And she had a plan…if only the Canary would sing long enough.
_____
Once the patrols were past her, or so she assumed due to a long silence outside her hiding spot, Canary eased herself out of the cramped hiding place. She felt woozy, and suspected that she had dozed off while hiding…. neither thing very safe for her in her condition. She had to be thankful that, for whatever reason, her constitution was on par with the average Olympic athlete. Otherwise, she would long since have passed out from the seepage on her leg.
"Okay, Dinah…let's trek to a more hospitable locale…with wheels. God, I'm going to have to steal a pair of wheels…if Dad could see me now!" She looked around, remembering the way she had come, and moving within the shadows. At least the Bat's lessons are coming to mind. If anyone can sneak, he can…well, J'onn, but he does the whole bend-light-around-me-and-go-ghostly routine." She was keeping her voice low, but the effort to talk, to put coherent thoughts together was helping her push a growing gray haze back from her mind.
_____
"She must be hurt in a serious fashion," Oracle muttered. "Come on…." Her eyes never left the narrowing grid search, even as she listened to her agent's meandering words.
_____
"…girl has got to be gorgeous. I mean, that voice is so prim but…. I don't know, she sounds sexy." Canary giggled, the grayness a bit too close to ignore. "Prob'ly never know. Darn girl thinks a computer is a girl's best friend. Oh well…I can dream her up…. Say a little bitty thing like me, curved in the right spots. I bet she's in shape. She might be a nerd, but all that Oracle does…got to be a high nerves, high metabolism little thing. I'll bet she has glasses too…"
_____
Oracle was startled out of watching the grid narrow when she realized abruptly that her agent was beginning to paint a picture of her. And the more she listened, the more she realized that her file on the Black Canary had only scratched the tip of the iceberg. She felt her cheeks flush hotly as Canary's loquaciousness combined with some very bawdy speculations on Oracle's body and abilities. She was quite relieved when the search pinged a location…and not just because it meant being able to retrieve her agent.
_____
"So how'd you find me?" Canary was at home, her leg up and resting from the recent trip to the WatchTower, via Wonder Woman's capable assistance. "I mean, I was incommunicado and all."
There was a slight pause on the new link. Oracle flushed again, remembering the things she had heard from Canary's fantasizing. Rather than open that pit, she opted to prevaricate.
"Your GPS came back online…once I had it tracked, I called in help for you." ("But who will help me from these thoughts I have, about you, now?") she thought to herself, as she launched into a berating on how Canary never should have been offline to begin with.
Title: Time Off
Prompt: Lovers
Word Count: 324
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Dinah is watching over Barbara at work
Author's Notes: I'm not happy with the way this one turned out. I'd really like to hear what people think I did wrong
Dinah sat quietly in the background while Oracle coordinated Huntress's mission in Bludhaven. She was not needed for this run, a simple surveillance exercise. Zinda had Huntress's back today, leaving Dinah far too much time to watch over her best friend.
She knew Nightwing had been trying to mend fences with Barbara lately. In her gut, she knew she did not stand a chance at acquiring the closeness she had found herself wishing for. Barbara had given her no indication that she would consider herself open to an advance from another woman. Dinah had wondered if Barbara ever had an experimental phase, or if she was just closed to anything but heterosexual encounters. To be honest, Dinah was surprised by how intensely she had come to want to share that aspect of life with Barbara. Her casual attitude toward men was a reflection of her view on sex in general. It was fun, but it was not the end-all, be-all of life.
Just once, though, she'd love to take the redhead to her bed and explore her body. She had imagined the taste of Barbara's mouth, envisioned the swell of her breast, and daydreamed over the scent of the woman. In short, she felt somewhat obsessed by her friend. The whole thing defied Dinah's take on the world, that relationships were always temporary and there was no such thing as true devotion anymore. She knew, though, that if Barbara gave her the least encouragement, she would be more than happy to settle into a life long pattern at her side. No one in all her life, not even Ollie in those first months after her ordeal, had come close to connecting so firmly on such a basic level. Barbara had the knack for knowing what exactly was on her mind…except for this private obsession. And Dinah would not let her know, because to aim for being her lover might make their friendship too awkward.
Title: Lunch Date
Prompt: Family
Word Count: 620
Rating: PG
Summary: Set before Batman's team goes after Brother Eye
Author's Notes: Read the issues with Sensei's death and the hunt for Cheshire after it for more depth on Shiva and Black Canary
"Siu jerk jai." The almost teasing lilt in Shiva's voice did garner a smile from Dinah as she looked up from her menu. The gracefully deadly Asian took a seat, looking her 'date' over.
"Paper monkey." The pair had crossed paths as enemies, but the loss of Sensei had set them on a path that had led to an almost family-like connection. Dinah kept her business as far from Shiva as possible, to keep her promise to not try and arrest her, while Shiva, likewise, seemed willing to steer clear and not try to kill Dinah. However, Shiva had taken to teaching her 'little' sister more of the martial arts they shared, and they did occasionally meet for their own personal reasons.
Dinah's eyes met Shiva's for a long moment, and both read something of the other that disturbed them. The blond took a deep breath and released it slowly.
"Rumor has it you saw Cassandra recently."
"I do not wish to speak of the girl." Shiva's voice was not hard, merely truthful. "You are a long way from Metropolis. And you do not wear your earrings."
"I have a mission to attend soon. And after, if we survive it, I have some searching to do." Blue eyes were saddened, which led Shiva to frown.
"The woman…the one you love, something has changed." Before Dinah could protest, Shiva gave her a hard look. "Do not deny it. You would still wear the jewelry if this were just a mission. I have heard it in your voice, seen it in your letters, that this Oracle woman means a great deal to you. More than that rutting male I first met you with."
Dinah blushed furiously, but did not refute her. "She is getting married soon. And Batman…yes, him, has a job for me. You've heard of recent events among the bad guy brigades? And the attacks on metahumans?"
"Yes. I take it you are to help him with one aspect or the other?"
"Yeah, the attacks part. But I wanted to meet with you first." Dinah matched the Asian's gaze. "I came to ask you not to join the Society. If they have not spoken to you yet, they will soon. I don't want to see you in their numbers."
"They have nothing to offer me, nor anything to hold over me, as they have done to others." Shiva leaned her head to one side, curious now. "You fear if I joined, Sensei's promises would be broken?"
"No." Dinah shook her head. "I know you could kill me if you saw any reason to. But, I just don't want to see you on their side. Rumor has Luthor running it, and he's the type to get people killed if he decides they are useless."
"Your concern touches me." Shiva's voice was ironic, and then they both smiled. "I will go one step further, Siu jerk jai. I have chosen to walk a new path. And I believe that path will take me to where your place has been."
"What…why?"
"To guard the one you love, and to see who I may test myself against now. With so many vipers in a nest, this Society is likely to give me enough ground for breaking weak fighters."
"If you go work for Oracle, she will not accept lethal measures."
"Then I promise not to avail myself of them." The two women measured one another, and then nodded to each other. "Be strong." She stood to go her own way.
"Be safe," Dinah said. She would have to get word back to Oracle, to accept this offer of help. She would see if Robin would deliver the message when she got back to Gotham.
Title: Hindsight
Prompt: Strangers
Word Count: 380
Rating: PG
Summary: Barbara has to figure out why Dinah pulled away
Author's Notes: This is set after issue 92
Barbara can only think that the Dinah of recent months was nothing but a stranger to her. Yes, she knew Batman had made plans for her, but that did not excuse her disappearing into thin air. It did not excuse the return of several pieces of technology, most notably the earrings and necklace that kept them linked. Barbara was too proud to ask for ideas from her other operatives, even when Robin came to say Dinah had asked her to take Shiva on in her place. She just reviewed the events that had led to this disappearance.
There had been the horrid mess of Sue Dibny and the related fallout. Dinah had been called back up to full JLA status to handle a good bit of it. Though Dinah had known Sue, that had not been the cause. If anything, Dinah had been quite open with Barbara in discussing the horrid debates and subsequent bad choices made.
As Barbara analyzed the timeline, she could see where Dinah had reached out to her for support from time to time, as she handled her League duties and still put in a good bit of time for Oracle as a Bird of Prey. She focused on that, correlating when that reaching had fallen off, and other things going on. It had nothing to do with heroics, Barbara was sure. She ran over all the other interactions she had been having, trying to see if it was just Dinah, or if others had changed too. The way everyone treated her seemed the same, except for Dick, who had finally put the wheels in motion and proposed to her.
Like a puzzle piece snapping into place, it slowly dawned on her that Dinah's withdrawal had begun the same day she told the Birds about that. It had been slow, but steady. And then she recalled all those little incidents of seeing Dinah watch her, or the slightly provocative things Dinah had done over their friendship. And with that came the knowledge that Dinah had remained single and not been preoccupied with chasing men for quite some time now. It gave her pause, and cause to grieve the absence of her valued friend, just as she was coming to understand the extra layer of their relationship.
Title: Heart
Prompt: Teammates
Word Count: 154
Rating: PG
Summary: The new team works, but is it meshing?
Author's Notes: set after 92, spoilers thru that issue (and yes I know who the new teammate is at the end of the book, but others might not, so no identity is given)
Oracle watched the flow of action from the vid chip she had given Huntress, as the de facto senior operative on the mission. She saw as Zinda kept the retreat open, knew when their more elusive teammate slipped by and into the waiting bird. She could see Jade Canary move through the mob with the ease of a hot knife in butter. The team worked well, despite wide background and methodology differences. But, in the end, they were not teammates. They did not have each other's welfare at the back of every move they made. That synchronicity was lacking, no matter how they accomplished the missions. Without even meaning to, she found herself looking at the heart of her team, the one no there, and the one thing that could have melded them.
"Come home to me, " she whispered, her hand touching the frame a picture of her and Black Canary together. "Soon."
Title: Fate
Prompt: Parents
Word Count: 208
Rating: PG
Summary: Set post Infinite Crisis
Author's Notes: no real spoilers, but had to cameo a character here for just causes
She dreamed. There were children in the dream, practicing their archery skills. Blond and black hair mingled among the Clan of the Arrow, as some called them. She saw her almost son, almost brother, with his red hair and seriously hard life etched on his face, calmly explaining to his daughter how to string a bow. She saw a young girl, Olympic level ability, earnestly drawing back her bow, as a mixed ethnic man coached her. To one side, a silent child that seemed wholly Asian worked diligently at his fletching. And over it all, there was the patriarch, not as old as he should be, holding her around the waist as her stomach jutted out in front of her.
"This is not yours any longer." She glanced to one side, but the shimmer of gold, the flash of blue, and the sepulchral tones said that it was Fate. He removed his helm, showing the face of her friend and former teammate, Hector.
"I can have children again, Hector. I can be a parent to my own, pass my legacy on as well."
"That is not the fate I refer to." He merely smiled, and it all faded away, save an impression of red hair flowing past her.
Title: Meeting
Prompt: Children
Word Count: 363
Rating: G
Summary: I wrote this on the basis of the very early series reference to Barbara and Dinah having met, but Dinah not remembering
Author's Notes: Using for the fanfic100, but an older story of mine; written before issue 66 told us that Larry and Jim served together 'before' Dinah was born
Dinah never got enough of seeing the policemen in their spiffy dress uniforms, even if it did mean she had to be in an itchy, scratchy dress. Having her mama and daddy together, with him dressed in his best uniform, and her in a pretty dress was wonderful in the small girl's eyes. Being at the center of attention just made it all the more fun. After all, it was not every day that somebody's daddy took home a medal of courage, or honor, or anything at all like that.
She listened to the big speeches about bravery and honor and everything, while discreetly looking around. There were not many children here; she would not have been if it had not been her father getting an award. She did see the new lieutenant, and his children. The pretty little red head looked very interested, but her brother kept fidgeting, much like the woman at the lieutenant's side. Dinah's mama had said that Mrs. Gordon was not cut out to be a cop's wife, and Dinah believed her. After all, her mama was a superhero and knew all about reading people's characters.
As the talking drew on and on, Dinah felt the effect of all the soda she had been drinking with her dinner. She caught her daddy's eye and got a nod that she could go use the bathroom. Quietly, and without a lot of fuss, the petite girl slipped away to use the restroom. So intent on her course was she that she almost ran into the red head from the lieutenant's table.
"Oh!" the other girl exclaimed, and then smiled. "I'm Barbara," she introduced.
"Dinah." The ebon-haired child smiled back. "Going to the bathroom?"
"Yes, but I don't know where it is," she admitted. "Do you?"
"Oh, yes. I've been here a lot." She had been part of the crowds honoring the JSA, of which her mother was really a member. And she had come here for dinners when her daddy had been decorated. "I'll show you the way."
"Thank you." Barbara followed the lead of the other girl, glad to know at least one other child in Gotham was nice.
Title: Calls in the Night
Prompt: Birth
Word Count: 192
Rating: PG
Summary: Oracle wishes Catwoman well
Author's Notes: SPOILERS for Catwoman OYL
"Hello?" Irena answered the phone as she nursed her infant Helena, hoping it had not disturbed the girl out of her sleepiness.
"S…Irena." The new mother instantly knew the voice on the other side.
"Oracle." A smile crept into her voice; she was fond of the information broker. "Two fly-by visits in one night, my my."
"Oh?" Hope flared in her voice before she could clamp down on it. "Did Canary come by?" She tried, very hard, to sound casual.
"No, pretty one. Not your fair bird; the dark and handsome bat darkened my doorstep." Irena had a bit of fun even in her weariness puzzling through why Oracle would not 'know' if Canary had been by.
"Ahh." Oracle felt hope crash apart within her. "I merely wanted to add my congratulations, on the birth of your daughter. And add that I will be watching out for you and yours."
"Thank you, Oracle…the sentiment is most appreciated, all things between us in the past now."
"For what it is worth…I believed in you." Oracle left it at that, so that Irena would not dwell on the murder. "You have my number."
"Always."
Title: Grief
Prompt: Death
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG
Summary: Remember, they were close
Author's Notes: Set in the midst of Identity Crisis
The world had fallen apart, and a friend had died. There had been too many deaths of late, but guilt plagued her over this death. Silently, she slumped forward, her red hair falling over her face as she wept for Ted. If only she had paid attention….
The arms were strong but gentle as they encircled her, drawing her into a safe place. She rested her cheek on the leather, inhaled the familiar scents, and just cried. Blond hair mingled on red as hot tears came from both, but Dinah said nothing as she held Barbara and let her grieve.
Title: Early Hours
Prompt: Sunrise
Word Count: 200
Rating: PG
Summary: Tired of waiting to see how things play out, so I suppose most of my ficlets now will wind up definitely AU
Author's Notes: Set well after Issue 92
It was still dark, indicating the sun had not cleared her level of the city skyline. Without much thought to it, she rolled herself into the kitchen to make herself a cup of something hot and stimulating. By the time the mug was in her hand, she was almost fully coherent. A few sips, and then she made her way toward her computers, noting that the growing light in the apartment indicated she had not beat the dawn by much. Her movement into the living room was halted as she caught the wisp of a shadow reflecting in from the eastern windows. She turned her head, expecting one of her more unnerving operatives, and was completely unprepared for the sight of her first partner in this team standing at the window. The sun had just peaked enough to provide a halo effect around her long blonde hair and slender silhouette. The part of her mind that functioned told her that the apparition made by light and human was artistically beautiful. The rest of her mind merely froze in the sunrise, unable to put the realizations she had come to with the reappearance.
"Hello Babs. I've come home," Dinah told her.
Title: Return
Prompt: Sunset
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG
Summary: Dinah's view of the Sunrise bit
Author's Notes: Here's hoping these two play well
Dinah remembered the last time she had seen the sky lit in the colors that it now was. The sunset had shaded slowly from iridescent reds and purples to black, and she had left. Simply, in the middle of the night, and without a word to any, she had proceeded through the jungle to the civilized world. Her training, her exorcism of her demons had gone as far as she could take them there, and now she had come home. She turned and told Barbara that, sure only that she belonged wherever the redhead was.
"It's about time," Barbara retorted.
Title: A Time For Actions
Prompt: Too Much
Word Count: 200
Rating: PG
Summary: Words fail
Author's Notes: Set right after Sunrise and Sunset prompts
The pair of women just watched each other for close to a minute, not speaking. Dinah had many things she wished to say, but was treading lightly, to avoid saying too much. Barbara, ready to ramble through all the things she had realized, held back for the pensive look on her friend's face. Then Dinah moved, coming across the floor. Barbara's heart started hammering, and she tilted her head back to better see the woman now standing in arm's distance. She wanted to be brave enough to bring the truth into the open.
Dinah had words rehearsed in her mind, so many things she needed to tell Barbara. Their time apart had been harsh for her, and she only had herself to blame. Still, as she looked down into Barbara's eyes, she caught a glimpse of the change there, of knowledge that Barbara had gained. Suddenly the idea that what she might say could be too much translated into something different, and she knelt on the floor, laying her head on Barbara's legs, her arms going up around her waist. The gesture spoke far louder than any words they could have said, as Barbara started stroking Dinah's hair in silence.
Title: The Proposal
Prompt: Not Enough
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG
Summary: He proposed, right?
Author's Notes: Plays off the last Nightwing before OYL
When he proposed, it seemed like a good idea. She had seen this as the logical outcome some time before. No matter how he strayed or she doubted, Batgirl was meant to be with Robin. The fact they had long outgrown both identities did not matter; they had originated them. Dick Grayson would float from frail flower to raging Amazon, but in the end he was meant for Barbara Gordon. Now, the proposal was there.
Fate had come full circle for them.
But she would refuse, in the end.
It just was not enough.
She dreamed of blond hair instead.
Title: Back in Action
Prompt: Sixth Sense
Word Count: 474
Rating: PG
Summary: Doing what heroes do, even when their personal lives need work
Author's Notes: continuing my take on a possible return of Canary to the flock
The reunion was doomed to be brief. The Oracle Alarm went off just as Barbara began to tell Dinah that she had feelings and thought Dinah had them too. Her half formed declaration of love became a small litany of techno curses, but even preoccupied by the alarm and moving to answer it, she was struck by the fluidity of Dinah's reactions. If the woman had been poetry in motion before, she was now a masterpiece brought to life. The blond was at the console with her partner, waiting in silence still. The silence, Barbara noted, was yet another of the changes she sensed as being etched into her friend.
The tactical situation looked bleak for Huntress and Shiva, both holed up and cut off from Zinda and Gypsy. Barbara turned to ask Dinah if she could lend her weight, but the operative was already gone, having noted the coordinates. She had been slow to come up to speed on technology, but she could read a city grid map on sight, showing her where the two halves of the team were. Barbara cursed a bit again, muttering about going off without a net until a new locator beacon flared to life, leaving her building at high speed.
"Where'd you get a new set?" Barbara asked with a smile.
"You left them by my picture," Dinah replied, the noise of her motorcycle filtering in slightly on the mic.
"Humph. Just never got around to redesigning the carrier jewelry for another operative." Barbara tried to keep her tone light, then realized that Dinah's mic and receivers were on an older frequency, unsynched to Shiva or the others. "I'll have to fix them for the team's latest specs," she added, noting uncomfortably that Dinah had not replied to her teasing thrust. "You did say you had come home." That last came out with the fear and foreboding that she had erred, that Dinah only meant the city, not her.
"Tell me I have my place with you," Dinah murmured into the mic, controlling the bike in a very deep ninety-degree turn. Her phrasing caught Barbara in the throat. 'My place', not 'a place' spoke volumes that had still been unsaid for them.
"Mission," Barbara said, firmly, more for herself than Dinah, but it was the confirmation the blond needed. When Barbara hit her emotional walls, when she was truly feeling, she made herself work, and those around her. What could be between them would be seen, in due time. Dinah knew it, with that sense of hers that defied the wrong choices she made through life. She had known the world needed the League. Likewise, she had felt the need for the Society, just before Alan and Jay had approached her. And now, she sensed that Barbara needed her in the same way she needed the redhead.
Title: First Kiss
Prompt: Smell
Word Count: 214
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Barbara associates things by all her senses
Author's Notes: Continuing from the last 5 prompts
The smell of leather and fuel was the first indication that Black Canary had returned. Barbara had monitored the fight, and been surprised when Dinah merely cleared the outlying goons and left, so that Huntress and Shiva never actually saw who had removed the obstacle for them to reach their pickup point. Now, she thought she understood, thought that Dinah wanted the situation between them resolved before she confronted her teammates. She continued to monitor her operatives as Dinah came to stand behind her. The silence was there again, and Barbara hated for someone to loom but she felt that Dinah was biding her time.
As soon as the Birds were together, in the air, Barbara cut her side of communications to turn her face up to see her partner, to try and read her expression. As soon as she tilted her face up, the smell of leather and fuel was replaced by the soft tones of floral essences as Dinah bent down and claimed her mouth. Barbara's surprise caused her to open her lips, and Dinah pressed, not with force, but with a gently questing tongue. And Barbara surrendered, lost in the scents that had been absent for too long, her eyes closed, and her entire body yielding to the hungry, aching kiss.
Title: Team Reunion
Prompt: Sound
Word Count: 376
Rating: PG
Summary: Shiva can be helpful
Author's Notes: Still continuing from the previous prompts
It took the sound of the helicopter landing to force Dinah to move away from Barbara. Blue eyes and green met, then the blond walked away from the flustered redhead. She returned to the spot by the eastern windows, as the team filed in, standing so still that only Shiva noted her. It was also Shiva who noticed that Barbara was discomfited, and that her one time student was letting the others brief Barbara without making any interjections at all. For one who used her voice as a weapon and who had been very vocal most of her life, Canary's silence was the strangest sound Shiva had ever heard.
"Siu jerk jai," she said, when the debrief ended. Her words caused the others to look where her attention was focused.
"Lordy, lordy, look what the cat drug in," Zinda said.
"Canary was who covered our butts," Huntress said, smiling to have figured that detail out.
"I thought I saw a motorcycle leaving the scene," Gypsy added, smiling at the longtime friend of her surrogate father. Dinah merely nodded to them all, then calmly walked over and took a chair near Barbara.
"I hear you all are doing a wonderful job." Her words were even, carefully spaced, and Shiva's eyes narrowed at the cadence of them.
"They do, but don't think you're off the hook," Barbara warned. "Two canaries are better than one." Her voice was forced, by the sound of it, Shiva noted. She studied her employer, then her friend, and a small smile touched her lips. There was more to be said than had aired here, and she would assist her sister/friend/student.
"I think we all deserve our rest, now that our stakeout has been successful," Shiva said succinctly. "Gypsy, come…you have training before you may sleep." She took the young woman's hand and led her out of Oracle's apartment to the training room. Zinda yawned mightily as the suggestion of rest triggered her own sense of fatigue.
"See you all after forty."
Only Huntress lingered, looking at Dinah, then Barbara. "You two aren't going to kill each other, are you?"
"Helena, it is the furthest thing from my mind," Barbara replied honestly. That seemed good enough for the crossbow mistress, and she too left.
Title: Choice
Prompt: Touch
Word Count: 394
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Still following the last several prompts
Author's Notes: In case you missed it, Barbara was almost married (twice), and Dinah was married
They were alone, neither moving yet. Dinah wanted to weigh the reaction to the kiss, and Barbara did not know how to go forward from it. She brought her hand up, lightly touching her lips, and Dinah drew in a silent breath.
"You kissed me."
"I've wanted to for a long time." The blond was guarded, but honest. She held Barbara's eyes a long moment. "And I think you wanted me to."
"Think, not know?"
"I'm not J'onn." She smiled then, finding her stride. "You can either let it be a one time thing, and we go back to pretending that I'm not head over heels for you, or…" She let her sentence fall away as Barbara's breathing became somewhat erratic.
"How can I do this? Jason, Dick…"
"Weren't right for you. Just like Craig, Ollie, Pieter weren't for me." Dinah stood up and came over to crouch in front of her partner again. "I'm not saying that I won't notice the boys. Or that you would ever consider me your one and only. I just want a chance, a chance to show you how I do feel, to give you all I have to offer." Blue eyes were earnest as they captured green. "I have never felt the way I do about you for anyone else. Anyone. I felt it before I had ever seen your face, Babs. I walked into hell for you five minutes after I did see you."
"You left," Barbara whispered, laying her hand flat on the side of Dinah's face.
"Because I knew Dick was wrong, but I knew you would never hear it from me. And I thought you'd chalk it up to jealousy, if I did come out to you about how I felt." She took a deep breath, pressing her cheek into Barbara's palm. "Then it took me awhile to truly find myself, and find the strength to come back, to tell you what I should have years ago."
Barbara stared into the woman's face, remembering so many shared moments, and then she closed her eyes. "I don't want to be hurt again."
"Then let me be here always." The other woman was quite serious. "I'll be discreet, if that is your choice. Doubt anyone would believe it anyway, with my reputation." That made Barbara laugh, and they both grinned at one another.
"You're right."
Title: Lunchtime
Prompt: Taste
Word Count: 233
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Dinah will take care of her loved ones
Author's Notes: I really need to break from these continuous stories ;-)
Oracle was very much in demand as the day progressed, while Canary withdrew to the sofa to sleep. She was not upset anymore; a strange giddiness about having someone she knew to be devoted to her had descended. When lunch rolled around, she was between briefing Superman on the latest journals concerning Kryptonite poisoning, and briefing Booster Gold on how to handle a young Latino's pride. She was not looking forward to playing psyche professor, but she was trying to do all she could for Ted's successor, even if it meant dealing with Booster more often.
"Booster, go talk to J'onn," Dinah said, cutting in on the conversation.
"Canary?!" both members of the conference said in surprise.
"Yes, Michael," Canary said in a slightly amused voice. "If J'onn can cope with Vibe's histrionics, he can teach you how to better handle Jaime. Now go away and quit wasting Oracle's time." She turned the channel off for emphasis, grinning at her partner. "You need to eat. I interrupted breakfast, and then the mission, so you will eat lunch, and take the time to taste it."
"Yes ma'am," Barbara mocked, but she was relieved that she was excused from the call. She reached out, stopping Dinah's progress to the kitchen by grabbing her wrist. "Dinah."
"Yes?"
"I hope it tastes as good as you did this morning." She blushed a bit, but Dinah merely smiled.
Title: Bed Time
Prompt: Sight
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The end of the day
Author's Notes: Maybe the last in the line of chained together prompts
The day had been long, but now, she ccould relax, and take it all in. Her eyes trailed to the other body in her bed, amazed that she was not sleeping alone for a change. She was still riding a high, as she drank in the sight of blond tresses on the pillow. The day had ended chastely, though Dinah had kissed her a few times through the day, just for reassurance. When they had decided she would stay, Barbara had not considered the bed issue.
Dinah had merely assumed, and for once, Barbara thought that was the best thing.
The End