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ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Big Damn Table Fics: 61-80
By Merfilly
Title: Seclusion
Prompt: Winter
Word Count: 100
Rating: G
Summary: The girls get away
Author's Notes: Post 'ship, first winter OYL
Barbara looked out at the pristine snow, wondering how Dinah knew every single secluded spot in North America that could be so rustic, so charming, and so isolated from the Internet.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Dinah asked, all traces of the city girl lost in this woman who had embraced nature's peace at the side of a man more than a decade her senior. It is perfectly evident half her joy is sharing this with her new lover and partner in life. Every complaint Babs wants to make about isolation, lack of conveniences dies on her lips.
"Yes, Dinah, it is."
Title: Dedication
Prompt: Spring
Word Count: 100
Rating: G
Summary: Barbara needs a pep talk
Author's Notes: pre 'ship, pre move from Gotham
Dinah sighed in exasperation. The redhead she worked for was being defeatist in ways she and Helena had no idea how to cope with.
"Look at it this way," Dinah began, watching her friend sit under the glow of the clock face. "That thing keeping time…that's the system. We, the cops and vigilantes…we're all the cogs that keep it running. The crooks are the dust and the sand trying to wind it down." She cupped Barbara's chin in her fingers, moving closer. "You're the spring that keeps us all wound up."
Barbara nodded, and Dinah saw the dedication there again.
Title: Summer Blooms
Prompt: Summer
Word Count: 100
Rating: R
Summary: Interlude
Author's Notes: Post 'ship
Barbara gasped softly, the aftershocks rippling through her as Dinah caressed her breast. She closed her eyes, letting the warm smell of the flowers float over her, pressing closer to Dinah's strong body. The blonde shifted them to their sides, lying spooned against the redhead.
"Always summer in here," Barbara said sleepily, boneless from the intense pleasures Dinah had given her. She felt Dinah's hand roam over her stomach lightly.
"Best part of growing up in a flower shop," Dinah purred. "Snow on the streets, and we'd come in the cooler, take a few flowers out, and instantly feel warmer."
Title: Falling
Prompt: Fall
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG
Summary: Oracle had bad dreams
Author's Notes: Post 'ship
It's all she ever does now, every time she closes her eyes. It's been this way since she opened that door. She falls every night, whether it is into the coffee table, or from the line that is not there over the city streets. She's never been grounded like this, so her mind torments her; the air is where she belongs, but where she can never be again.
She's falling again, only to be caught by the woman with golden hair, who swears not to let her fall.
And then true sleep begins, safe in the hold of her Canary.
Title: GoodBye
Prompt: Passing
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG
Summary: Two Canaries part
Author's Notes: Spoilers thru #95
She looks down at the street, and sees just what she expected. The beautiful assassin was just in sight, looking up at the window, as if she had known when to make her appearance. The blonde stands at the window for a long minute, even though it is too far to truly make eye contact. She knows she should go hash this out once and for all.
Then she sees Sin, asleep in the seat of Barbara's spare chair. They were off to a slow start, but a good one.
And she knows this goodbye is strictly one in passing.
Title: Fears
Prompt: Rain.
Word Count: 494
Rating: PG
Summary: A touchdown in Star City
Author's Notes: Set sometime OYL, but before the formation of the new Lantern/Arrow/Bird League
Barbara watched through the oppressive rain as Black Canary kissed Green Arrow, a sad kiss of friends that had been more, before the blonde crossed the tarmac to the Aerie One. She made sure to clear that screen, even though she knew Dinah would suspect that she had been watched. Landing here in Star City to help the man had not been high on Oracle's priorities, but she had been unable to ignore Dinah's wishes, or let her go alone. Huntress, Gypsy, and Zinda had returned almost an hour before, so Barbara had gotten antsy and tried to listen in.
Only to find that her number one operative and lover had switched the communication gear off.
Dinah also had an annoying tendency to make Barbara wait, while she checked on Sin, even though the girl was safely at Roy Harper's home, having a sleep over with Lian. It was obvious as Dinah walked past the monitor station where Oracle was keeping an ear on a hostage situation for the JSA that it would be a long time before Dinah was hers again. The blonde was so lost in her talking to Harper that she did not even look in; apparently Oliver Queen had successfully distracted the woman again.
Barbara tried hard not to think on that, tried very earnestly to not remind herself that Dinah and Ollie had been considered an almost mythical pair of lovers during their rather long affair. She remembered people talking about Robin and Batgirl, but nothing with the reverence attached to the Green Arrow and his Pretty Bird.
The redhead fought every instinct to listen in as the plane began to taxi for a rainy take off. She could no longer hear the rain hitting the plane, but almost wished she could, as her hand hovered over the switches that would let her know what Dinah and Roy were talking about. She thought it would be so much better to know, to just get it over with that the blonde was going to leave her, leave the business to go back to the philandering archer.
She pushed the switch, opening the hidden receivers in Dinah's room, unable to bear the tension of not knowing exactly how Dinah would break up with her.
"…told him about her too, Roy. He seemed happy for me, but I just want you to check up on him." A long pause. "Yes, I know it's a weird situation, and yes...I did talk to Dick. I asked him to give me space with her."
Barbara felt tears well up as relief replaced the fear of losing her lover, mingled with sheer astonishment to find out Dinah had stood up to Dick for her. She hastily turned off the receivers, ashamed that she had ever doubted the blonde who had promised her forever. Now, as Zinda flew them toward Metropolis, she could see the rain as washing away the old, and bringing them a clean start.
Title: Snowy Nights
Prompt: Snow
Word Count: 550
Rating: PG
Summary: New Year's Eve in Gotham
Author's Notes: pre 'ship
Oracle finished her business with her computers for the evening and brought herself up out of mission mode to the cool draft of a breeze from her balcony. She looked over to see her partner had slipped outside, into the still snowy air of late December. Considering Oracle was fairly sure from the sounds earlier that Canary had bruised ribs, she was doubtful of the sanity of her partner for being out there.
"Dinah?" She wheeled herself over to the doors, slipping out onto the balcony carefully. The blonde turned toward her, her face pensive and drawn.
"Do we even matter in the grand scheme of things?" the blonde asked, hugging herself tight and looking, for all the world, like a child playing dress up in mommy's clothes. She looked back out over the city, her mood so dark that Barbara could almost imagine the world turning black right where she was. "I stopped one rape, two muggings, and a gang initiation tonight. When the papers hit, that won't mean a thing, because there will have been five rapes, eight muggings, and at least one murder to show what I failed to do."
Barbara had to cock her head to one side, to see if this was the same woman that had fought for her day in and day out, sometimes against seemingly insurmountable odds. "We do make a difference. Every day, you and I do something that impacts more than just the life of whomever we save. It affects every person that person touches, and so on."
"It just feels hopeless," Dinah murmured, as the snowflakes cascaded around her. Barbara had the impulse to take her inside, pick any one person they had helped and show her, statistically, how many people that one person had impacted. The impulse died away, as she peered under the skin of Dinah's oddly timed soul-searching.
"Dinah, you came through Christmas with flying colors; why get so down on New Year's Eve?" Barbara asked her. "You are the one who grew up with the sole goal of being a hero. I've heard your speeches to other people, especially Green Arrow…" As soon as those two words slipped free of Barbara's mouth, Dinah's whole body tensed, and the redhead suddenly knew. "Hey, Dinah…it's my job to be the one doing the melancholy for ex-boyfriends bit, remember?"
"Not melancholy for him," Dinah said, her tone of voice petulant. "Just…. so tired of being alone. They always said he and I were forever, and I believed it, so long." She was staring out over the city, lost in her reverie. It was easy for the redhead to wheel closer to her friend without being truly noticed, until she could take Dinah's wrist. A gentle tug, and the short blond looked down to her friend.
"Hey, I'll tell you a forever you can take to the bank," Barbara said, her eyes meeting Dinah's and holding them. "You and I, no matter how many hearts we break or pints of ice cream we eat for the boys that break ours." Green eyes could not fail to miss the surge of warmth in blue ones, but Dinah's smile remained wistful.
"We'll just have to try not break each other's," the blonde murmured, and Barbara laughed, thinking her friend was teasing.
Title: Unexpected Visitor
Prompt: Lightening.
Word Count: 100
Rating: R
Summary: Batman swings by…
Author's Notes: Very post 'ship
He's still not happy with her refusal to come back to Gotham, and he feels a need to shake her out of the Metropolis mindset. Metropolis is for bright, light people who like to be noticed, not the ones who actually get the work done.
He lands at the small balcony and has to hope he's landed with customary silence, as he sees what is inside.
Dinah Lance, kneeling to Barbara, in the beginning stage of seducing the redhead. Barbara has never looked so happy in memory.
Suddenly, Metropolis seems just right for Barbara…who's getting all the notice she deserves.
Title: Knowing Glances
Prompt: Thunder.
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG
Summary: Oh come on, how could I not go here!?!
Author's Notes: SPOILERS! Thru current Outsiders issue (41 I think)
She's glad they're alive. She's sure that whatever happened can be worked through. And not just because Metamorpho is on the team. Not even for Nightwing, her partner's ex that still holds a chunk of said partner's heart.
She knows it because they are heroes, with the possible exception of the son of Harkness. If he's on a team with Rex, with Dick, then maybe he's not lost either.
Later, she'd admit to Babs it was for the glance Thunder had given to Grace. Dinah had known, and the romantic in her can't bear to see them in separate cells.
Title: Stood Up
Prompt: Storm.
Word Count: 159
Rating: G
Summary: There was to be a date…
Author's Notes: Post 'ship, in Metropolis
Barbara tried not to look at her watch, tried hard not to be aware of the fact Dinah was now twenty minutes late for their planned night out. It was not often Barbara could break from her Oracular duties, and Dinah knew that better than anyone.
So where was she?
The redhead looked up at the sky, from beneath the awning, and saw the threatening storm with displeasure. No mere weather could have dissuaded her lover from joining her. With a small sigh of displeasure, she tried the cell phone, and was dismayed to get a 'not in service area' message. She went back up stairs then, resigned to the fact she had been stood up.
Once she was at her monitor station, she tried activating Canary's jewelry, to hear the sound of serious butt kicking happening. A smile lit Barbara's face. Of course no storm had kept Dinah away; it was only a small bit of crime fighting.
Title: A Book Shared
Prompt: Broken.
Word Count: 425
Rating: PG
Summary: Babs reads a Book
Author's Notes: I'm ignoring BoP 99 for this mostly, sorry Gail
Barbara had not meant to snoop in Dinah's room. She had only wanted to surprise the woman by being there when she go through patrolling. Seeing a proof copy with Dinah's name on it had been too much to resist, though, and she began flipping through it…her flipping slowing down as she read the passages she found there.
Especially when the book began to speak of Dinah just before their partnership. Barbara had known the woman had been low; she had targeted her for that very vulnerability, using it to manipulate Dinah into being a willing agent for her.
Barbara had not suspected how broken the woman was by half. As she read further, and the talk spoke of a 'friend' lifting her up, Barbara felt shame, remembering just how merciless she had pushed, how mercenary a deal it had all seemed when it began.
That had lasted until about the first shared pint of ice cream, still an unknown face to Dinah, but a voice of support, as the book described. And every bit of professional willpower in Barbara's reserve had vanished the minute Dinah had boldly given herself up to Blockbuster's team, taking on the weight of the Oracle mantle.
In her book, Dinah treated it as a small point of little significance. Her faith in her 'friend' had kept her strong, and that faith had borne out in a daring rescue. It was a pattern they would keep over the years together, and the book showed Barbara the depths of their evolution, with such concise flavor, and so few details, that the redhead found herself wiping at tears. Dinah had shown her off to the world, and yet never once revealed her.
"I was going to dedicate the first copy to you," Dinah said, her voice low as she stood in the doorway. Barbara had no idea how long she had watched, as she looked up to the blonde. "It was supposed to be about following in Mom's footsteps." The vigilante crossed the floor, settling on the bed beside her, smelling faintly of the streets, of her leather and her bike. "I think there's more of us in there than any other relationship I ever had."
"How long did you know?" Barbara asked, setting the copy to one side, before running her hand up into the blonde's hair.
"I'm not sure, Babs…you snuck in when I hated love…and never let me go."
"I won't either…we belong to each other…" The redhead pulled Dinah in, kissing her as a seal to her vow.
Title: Broken Truth
Prompt: Fixed
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG
Summary: Dinah does regret IC
Author's Notes: Set in the nebulous time frame of the Identity Crisis
Barbara is slowly filtering the information into the horrifying truth. She sees Dinah growing more withdrawn with every little piece that comes out. The blonde is almost morose, a painful thing to see. It takes the final pieces being brought out, showing just how broken the League is to make Barbara realize why Dinah is so lost. The information broker sees Dinah overcoming her past to do the right thing, to try and contain the League's growing dissolution.
Only in private does Barbara admit this is one thing that just can't be fixed…and she worries that Dinah won't be either.
Title: Absolution
Prompt: Light.
Word Count: 242
Rating: PG
Summary: Set during Crisis of Conscience--ish
Author's Notes: Belongs to DC Comics of course
It took a long time, even once the rumors started concerning Dr. Light. Dinah just did not want to talk about it. She was busy, handling every mission Barbara could find, every emergency tagged to the JLA.
Barbara watched her burning bright, like a candle lit at both ends, and knew it could not last. Her heart ached for her friend, even as she dreaded the truth of the events in question.
It was after Dinah backed down from an almost-fight with Helena that Barbara knew she had to. As harsh as it would be, she needed to know, and Dinah needed to tell her.
After, Barbara was shocked to her core by the grim details. She could not be a judge and jury in the matter as Dinah had hoped, seeking condemnation, as Barbara had done unethical things in other fields of work. She could never truly conscience the effect this all had had in the long run but Barbara could give Dinah one thing. As the blonde slowly held herself still, as the tears of self-loathing came to a stand still, Barbara spoke softly.
"You have to atone…and the only way you can, is to keep fighting for right. Then, maybe one day, you'll see that you have been on the side of the angels, even when your will faltered."
Dinah nodded, and that chin came up just a fraction, remembering just what it meant to be a true hero.
Title: End of the Day
Prompt: Dark
Word Count: 189
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Small scene of nightly routine
Author's Notes: set anywhen, post OYL, post'ship
The cabin is barely lit, a small glow from emergency lighting, as Barbara rolls into it. She sees the bed is occupied, which heartens her somewhat. She can only hope…yes, Dinah is alone, which means her adopted daughter is asleep in Gypsy's quarters probably. The redhead locks her chair into the docking clamps Zinda installed, then slides onto the bed's edge to undress. Dinah barely stirs; the blonde must be exhausted. By the time Barbara is mostly nude, she can feel the weight of having worked almost thirty hours straight as well, and slides under the covers, reveling in the sensation of soft cotton against her legs. Even that tiny bit of healing, giving her back the sensation of feeling, is a miracle she is thankful for everyday. The sensation makes her almost giddy in her sleepiness, when Dinah moves closer, slipping one leg over one of hers as they spoon with the ease of knowing one another at the most unconscious level. Barbara slips one hand back, resting it on the satin of Dinah's negligee, and lets the dark overcome her, to be with her lover in sleep.
Title: The Shadow of the Past
Prompt: Shade.
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG
Summary: Babs realizes she never really got to know Dinah's past
Author's Notes: Just toying with an idea here
The sight of the blonde kneeling in the shade is a touching one. The redhead had never known about this spot. She realized on the way here that she knows less about Dinah's past than she ought to. It hurts to know that all the pain of her own life has been laid bare in talks, but that Dinah has just let what 'everyone' knows speak for her past. She intends to fix that, a vow made more solid when she hears the woman kneeling in the dark cast by two gravestones.
"Mom, Dad…I want you to meet my lover…"
Title: Orchid
Prompt: Who
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Secret admirers
Author's Notes: doesn't fit my continuity very well, but it's kind of sweet
Her first thought on seeing the orchid was of Ollie. She had talked to him, and they had made peace, of a sort. She wondered if the archer thought that peace immediately meant them dating again. That was not what she wanted; she had other options in her life, and a friend who needed her more than ever.
So she called him.
"Thanks for the flower," she began.
"Flower?" The genuine puzzlement was unfeigned, and Dinah apologized for making assumptions before hanging up.
"If not him, then who?" she wondered aloud.
Somewhere in cyberspace, a green avatar mask was smiling.
Title: Bored
Prompt: What?
Word Count: 160
Rating: R
Summary: A small talk
Author's Notes: Belongs to DC Comics, post 'ship
"I don't think I heard you right." The redhead was incredulous as she looked at the blonde who had been sharing her bed for half a year now, the woman who had committed to her life as an equal partner.
"I said, I think we're getting boring to one another," the blonde said just as easily as if she were commenting on the weather.
"This from the woman who can't seem to get enough time in bed."
"I did not mean that." As if to prove it, the blonde moved lower in the bed, her lips tracing secret messages on skin that evoked so many thoughts of abandoning the mission for just one night.
"Then what…oh, Dinah…did you mean by…god, woman, not so …oooh…that statement…ahhh, yessss…"
Some time later, Barbara prodded her dozing lover.
"What?"
"What was this about boring?"
"Just wanted to get your feathers ruffled," Dinah admitted, closing her eyes sleepily.
"Hmm, we'll have to see about feathers…"
Title: A Kiss
Prompt: Where
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Babs is in charge
Author's Notes: just a harmless little drabble
The blonde moved in close to take a kiss, but the red head evaded her lover's lips.
"Not here," she whispered, smiling coyly. Her eyes were lit by a desire to play.
"Here?" A suckling, teasing kiss descended on the exposed collarbone.
"Mmm, good, but no." The red head ran her fingers through blonde tresses.
"Here, then," the blonde purred, kissing a tightly erect nipple.
"No." The kisser moved lower at the negative.
"Where?" she asked, her breath blowing over soft red curls.
"There," the red head moaned.
Maybe Brainiac was evil, but he had given her a sweet blessing.
Title: Missing Her
Prompt: When?
Word Count: 100
Rating: G
Summary: Post BoP #99, Babs considers
Author's Notes: Belongs to DC Comics
It was not the sex by a long shot. It was the arguing. The sharing food from every restaurant they can find was another thing. Or the sheer knowledge that Dinah had known, just when and how to talk to get her to open up might have been the thing she missed most.
It was entirely too close to the holidays to be dwelling on the loss. She had Huntress, Gypsy, even Zinda, who actually lived with her.
It just wasn't the same.
Dinah was gone, all over a child far too similar to Cass…and look how that had ended.
Title: Lonely
Prompt: Why?
Word Count: 100
Rating: G
Summary: Beginning fic
Author's Notes: Written in 2005, just rediscovered it
She would never be able to fully share why she agreed. She could never tell anyone what it was about the call that finally made her leave her wreck of a life there and come back to where it had begun.
Was it the difficulty of keeping going, day after day? The unpleasant memories of all that had gone wrong? Or, worse, the reminders of what had been right, at least at the time?
No, those might have added to it, but they were not the reasons.
The reason was the voice: a voice as lonely as her own was.
The End