bildungsromans | for watcheslanterns

[ Rapunzel is happy to share what little she knows about Gothel, but it really is that; little. The woman had never been very open about her past, for reasons now obvious. And everything with the League of Assassins and Ra's Al Ghul was equally mysterious. All she had been told was that Gothel was bringing her to an old associate.

She turns to look at Dick, her expression mostly one of helplessness. For so long she's been focused on just getting free. Now that she is, she isn't sure what else to do. All of the fear and adrenaline from before is gone from her system, and honestly she just feels exhausted. At the same time though, she doesn't want to go to sleep. ]

Not physically. [ She sighs, recalling all the little ways in which Gothel had hurt her over the years. With the clarity of truth, she could see the emotional abuse that had always been there. ]

Something...well, something happened and I found out the truth. I was using my hair to threaten her. If it's cut, the hair looses it's magic and turns brown.

[ She doesn't think that an elephant's soul is something someone like Dick would take lightly, so the assurance helps. His promise, and Pascal's enthusiasm is enough to convince her. ]

Okay. I will.

[ She nods and gets to her feet. She's a little sad that Dick is leaving so soon, but the prospect of seeing him later helps. She pulls her hair together and whips it over the support hook outside the window. ]

It was nice meeting you, too, Dick. Be careful on your way back, though.

[ Well. That sounds a bit morbid. ]

Again... I'm sorry.

[ At this hour, Rapunzel must indeed be quite exhausted. Alfred is probably asleep because it's literally that late, 3 AM. Nonetheless, Dick turns to her in concern. ]

If you want any food or drinks, we've got plenty in the manor upstairs.

There's also more bedrooms than anyone in this household will ever need, so feel free to take your pick.

[ Dick puts the Batcomputer on sleep mode and stands up. ]

...Did you want to keep your magic hair?

If you want it gone, there should be a pair of scissors in each bathroom.

[ It was the only leverage she had against Gothel, but now that she's free... does she really want that burden, still?

Dick admits that the healing could be useful if Rapunzel stuck around, but he's just getting a little too hopeful, then. As far as he's concerned, as far as he should be concerned, the two of them are like ships in the night - merely passing each other in the journeys of their lives.

Like so many he'd helped before. ]

C'mon. I'll show you to your quarters.

No promises.

[ A beat. ]

...Kidding, of course!

Though I think I'll take any excuse to come see you again, even if that means getting injured.

You and Pascal.

[ Before he spends another moment dilly-dallying, he grabs hold of Rapunzel's hair and rappels down the tower wall. As he descends, he still looks back up at Rapunzel and waves with his free hand. ]

Bye, Rapunzel!

I'll come back when the Big Top is ready!

I'm not sure, really.

[ Rapunzel twists a piece of the golden hair around her hand and studies it. Healing would be helpful now that she's out in the world, but it could still attract danger as well. Thinking on it though, her heart clenches. There's visible sadness on her face that she can't conceal. Some small part of her wants to believe that her hair could still do something about Eugene. Her hair is a miracle. Couldn't it do something miraculous for her? ]

But...I think I want to keep it. For now.

[ She follows Dick as he leads the way. She doesn't know what she's going to do tomorrow, let alone the rest of her life, but she's going to take up his offer for the time being. ]

[ Rapunzel leans out the window so that she can watch Dick move away from the tower. She waves at him, her heart full of hope. ]

I'll see you then!

[ For now, it would be safe for him to return. If they were going to try another visit though, Rapunzel was going to have to figure out some way to warn him if her mother was home or not. Her mind was already whirring with idea.

Pascal hops down on the window ledge and leans is head against Rapunzel's arm.

Rapunzel smiles. She was going to leave her tower. ]

[ Eventually, Dick's gonna want to know about Eugene. If Rapunzel suspects there's even a chance of her saving Eugene's life, Dick would want her to take it. ]

Gotcha. Might be for the best if you can still do some good with your gift.

[ Dick leads Rapunzel up a winding staircase that seems to lead to a dead end, only for a door-like shape to emerge and slide open from the cave wall. On the other side, Rapunzel will find that she's just come from hidden passage behind a large grandfather clock. As soon as Rapunzel stands a safe distance from the grandfather clock, it slides back in place to conceal the Batcave entrance. ]

Before you ask? We've got a lot of secret passages like that.

Now, c'mon. This way to one of the guest rooms.

[ Rapunzel will find the guest room Dick's picked out for her to be very spacious, though maybe not as spacious as her room back in the tower. It's not small enough to make her feel constricted, and it's not big enough to make her feel too alone - and maybe this happy medium this room occupies will help a bit. ]

I can leave you to it, then. I've gotta go change, and if I look hard enough... I think I can find you some spare clothes.

[ Dick had realized communication might be a concern, especially if Rapunzel needs to warn him about her mother's presence. So before he's even halfway down the tower, he climbs back up using Rapunzel's hair. ]

Okay, I swear I'll leave, but Haly's Circus has messenger pidgeons.

In the future, I could leave one with you, and you'd just have to attach a note to it and it'll fly back to me.

And any time I return, I'll give you a new pidgeon to use for the next occasion.

[ Never mind the fact that Rapunzel's gonna have to hide the pidgeon or keep it quiet whenever Gothel's around, though... ]

And with that, I bid you adieu. For real, this time.

[ Once Rapunzel has her say, Dick rappels down the tower with her hair once more, and finally follows through. He makes it home safe with some firewood, and spends the whole evening glowing with excitement for his visit the next day. ]

[ Rapunzel takes in every nook and cranny for the building as Dick leads her to the guest rooms. She's curious, of course, but mostly she looks out of habit. Whenever Gothel had brought her to a new location, Rapunzel had made sure to memorize everything so that she could have the advantage in her escape attempts. She may be welcomed her, but it's difficult to curb that instinct.

The room is, unsurprisingly, bigger than anything she's ever stayed in, but not intimidatingly so. It's difficult to feel one way or another about the accommodations. Part of her still feels numb from everything that has happened. Still, she is grateful to have a place to figure things out.

She manages the tiniest of smiles when she looks at Dick. ]

Thank you. For everything. Is there anything I should know about staying here?

Nearly every amenity you can think of is at your disposal here.

I wouldn't suggest searching every corner of the manor for secret passages, though.

[ He's only saying that because that might have been one of the first things he did here as a kid. ]

Be right back.

[ And indeed, moments later, Dick returns clad in a dark v-neck shirt and some pajama bottoms - a very stark departure from that Batsuit - while holding a stack of folded clothing: stuff for the day tomorrow, as well as women's pajamas Rapunzel will obviously need. ]

I hope these satisfy.

[ He leaves them on the corner of Rapunzel's bed. ]

Need anything else?

[ Otherwise, he has no plans on sleeping. He intends to perform a more thorough search on Gothel, more than simply entering her name as a search term. ]

[ Rapunzel had taken a seat on the edge of the bed when Dick had departed for clothes. She isn't sure why, but it startles her when he returns in casual clothes instead of the intimidating suit. Her escape/rescue feels like a strange dream with everything that happened. A superhero savior hadn't exactly been a part of her plan, and it all seems like something impossible. Seeing him now, looking like any other person, well, an extremely cut person, is a bit jarring.

There's a millisecond of a pause between Dick's offer of the clothes and her reaction. Blushing, she takes the pajamas and holds them close to her chest. ]

Um...thank you. Again. [ She nervously tucks some of her hair behind her ear. ] I don't think there's anything...but if I have questions, is there a good place to find you?

Hm. Good question.

Remember that grandfather clock entrance? Just knock. I'll be able to hear you, then I'll open it remotely.

[ With that, he steps back, poised to make his leave. ]

And with that, I'm off.

Take care, Rapunzel. And get some rest.

I'll get Alfred to prepare you a mean breakfast tomorrow.

[ It's been a few days since Rapunzel's escape from Gothel and the League of Assassins. While she wouldn't say that she's settled in, Rapunzel is at least more at ease in the Wayne mansion than she had been any place since her return to the tower. She's seen Dick a few times, but mostly their conversations were innocuous as she danced around what went unsaid. She knows that Dick is giving her space, and it makes her feel guilty that she's keeping something from him. He'd given her a place to recover and much more beside. What happened with Gothel really had little to do with him, but it didn't feel right to hide, either.

Besides that, whenever Rapunzel thinks back on Eugene, and the mess she and Gothel had left behind, a small part of her yearns to go back. Maybe it's silly, but with all that her hair could do...would it be so impossible to do something impossible? It's a half-hearted hope, but it'a better than no hope at all.

Still...she needs help if she's going to even try, so one afternoon Rapunzel finds her way back to the grandfather clock. She's not sure where Dick might be, but this was the spot he had told her about. She raises her fist and knocks a few times on the side of the clock. ]

[ It might feel like forever as Rapunzel waits for the clock to move. Part of it might also be because the clock never moves today.

See, Dick doesn't actually emerge from the secret passage like he once said he would.

Instead, Rapunzel hears a voice from behind her. ]

Need something?

[ Clad in his Batsuit sans cape and cowl, Dick's already standing behind Rapunzel. He might've been in the Batcave at some point, but he'd clearly left to do something else in the manor.

Despite the innocuousness of their small talk throughout Rapunzel's stay, Dick couldn't help but feel there was an elephant in the room, like there was simply something Rapunzel wasn't telling him. He wasn't going to pry about it, though-- not until Rapunzel's ever ready to talk.

Having dealt with the League countless times, Dick felt he could afford to wait before acting against Ra's and Gothel. Maybe Gothel's going to go into hiding, but Ra's has no qualms leaving his whereabouts known to the Bats.

Ra's knows that even if he tried to elude Dick's reach... he'd fail. And now that Dick's Batman?

Ra's would fail miserably.

So Dick has taken to finishing off other cases in Gotham, keeping the city safe one arrested supervillain at a time. All the while, Rapunzel's had a chance to meet Alfred (whose snarkiness dropped some embarrassing hints about Dick's childhood) and Damian (whose brattiness knows no bounds - partly because he's jealous Rapunzel has so much of Dick's attention, currently). ]

[ For all his life, Dick had only known Haly's Circus. It's where he was born and raised, where he'd experienced so many new and wonderful things as a child. There was no adjustment period to circus life, no introductions needed for any 'new normal,' because, to Dick, Haly's Circus was normal.

So things beyond it were always what fascinated him. Which was why, when he introduced Haly's to fresh eyes, he finally felt genuine wonderment towards his own life, towards the gifts he'd been born into, the loving and talented family that he was proud to call himself a part of.

Strange, then, how quickly that wonderment had passed. How quickly it fell by the wayside when Rapunzel, whose fresh eyes rekindled Dick's love for his home and everything it represented, was taken away. When Dick stopped hearing back from Rapunzel's pidgeon messages, and he checked to see a tower empty of its furnishings and inhabitants.

And that wouldn't be the end of it. Dick's parents had been murdered by bandits, who sabotaged their rope during their last act on their last day in Corona... and Dick was never the same since.

He lived in the shadow of his parents' deaths for years, letting it change him. He ran away from Haly's and began embarking on a crusade to right the wrongs committed by bandits' and thieves' guilds, systematically taking them down all his lonesome, leaving injured bodies to be seized by local authorities.

Though his own roguishness turned him into a wanted man, he'd earned the name 'The Nightwing,' and had become something a folk hero throughout the continent. He eventually came to lead his own crew, the Titans, whose loyalty and camaraderie gave him wistful recollections of life at Haly's. Leader that he was, Dick felt responsible for every member of the group. They had all been hurt, had all lost something to bad people.

As such, he took it upon himself to fetch them some firewood one evening, as the least he could do for his comrades' loyalty.

Seems this is the same evening that Rapunzel's been wandering the woods, having freshly escaped Gothel's clutches.

Of course, Dick knew nothing of this until finally, navigating the dark of the woods, he senses frantic movement. He climbs a tree and maintains a silent vigil over the body in motion: a familiar one, albeit older than he'd last seen.

He almost can't believe his eyes, so paralyzed by the realization-- does she even remember him, he wonders?

Before Rapunzel can continue down the trail, Dick leaps down from the branch where he was perched. He crouches into his landing to properly absorb the impact of the fall, and slowly rises, clad in all black with some blue highlights. He even wears a mask now, but imagines it does little to conceal his true face if one simply looks at him long enough. ]

Recognize me, Rapunzel?

[ His voice is obviously deeper since they last met, but it carries that familiar cadence. ]

[ Rapunzel's reflexes work into overtime at the sound of Dick's voice behind her. She cries out as she spins on her heels. Her hair is gripped in both of her hands as if she's readying herself to fight again. Honestly, it's a good thing she didn't have a frying pan on her.

She takes in the sight of him, and forces her guard back down. She sighs heavily and releases her hair. Rapunzel knows that stealth is probably important to his work, but did he have to use it all the time? But then she makes the connection of his suit. She wonders how much time he spends skulking about Gotham and fighting crime. ]

I'm sorry. [ Her voice is still tense from the jolt of fear that had taken her. ] Did I interrupt something important?

[ Rapunzel had probably just had the biggest fight she had ever had with her mother. She was finally going to be eighteen and she had hoped that it would mean something. Maybe her mother would see that she could take care of herself, that it wasn't incredibly dangerous to see the world...but that hadn't happened. The way her mother had shouted and starred at her...Rapunzel didn't know how to feel. So when she and Pascal had been left to her own devices, they had fled. More than anything she wanted to find the floating lights that seem to call out to her, and she was determined that this was the year she would make it happen.

...

Of course, they weren't getting anywhere except lost.

Rapunzel had only just admitted that they were lost about an hour ago when the sun had set. In the forest all the tree and plants look the same, and having never actually traversed said forest, Rapunzel doesn't have a clue how to get where she wants. With the sun gone, the forest feels far more sinister. Every rustle in the brush and snap of a twig makes Rapunzel jump. Pascal holds fast at her shoulder, doing his best to keep her calm. It's a large task for someone so small.

Every fright has turned out to be nothing worth worrying about, that is until a stranger in dark clothes lands squarely in front of them. Rapunzel screams and swings out her frying pan in front of her like a sword. It's difficult in the dim light, but she takes in the sight of him. Fear, unfortunately trumps recognition for the moment and she holds her position. Surely this is one of the bandits or ruffians that her mother had warned her about. ]

Don't move! I don't have anything worth stealing...so...so just go back from wherever you came!

[ Surely she's threatening enough...right? ]

That frying pan looks pretty valuable.

[ Dick keeps his distance, knowing full well he isn't impervious to solid kitchenware. He'd hate to startle Rapunzel with any sudden movements and get himself knocked unconscious. ]

Been hoping to have eggs for dinner, so I'd appreciate it.

Though, to be honest...

[ Standing in the moonlight, Dick hopes to alleviate Rapunzel's fears just a little bit. Namely, by removing his mask. ]

...I'd appreciate dinner with old friends even more.

[ Being older, Dick's hair is somewhat longer. His frame is much broader, thicker and more muscular than he'd ever been as a boy. From all his troubles, he's accumulated several small scars along his face and neck - but none of it's enough to dampen his natural handsomeness. One can only imagine, however, the vast number of scars he must have accumulated underneath his clothing. ]

It's been forever, Rapunzel. So much has happened, and I...

[ His features soften, as that initial swashbuckling demeanor gradually fades. ]

I've missed you.

[ Rapunzel's own surprise even startles Dick, who slightly flinches at her reaction. Best, after all, to be ready for anything - but he immediately sees that Rapunzel means no harm.

Because of the tension in her voice, though, Dick places a gentle hand on her shoulder. ]

No, I'm sorry. For once, I actually didn't mean to be that sneaky.

[ He smirks at his own little joke, letting go of Rapunzel before the prolonged contact becomes something awkward. ]

And nah, you didn't interrupt anything.

I was on my way to the Batcomputer to analyze some shell casings, but it's nothing essential.

Deadshot's always been pretty easy to find.

[ His voice is unfamiliar, deeper than any voice she's heard before. But he says her name and really there's only one person other than her mother who should know it. Tentative, Rapunzel inches closer, but still holds her pan at the ready. There's just enough light from the moon for her to bring his face into focus. Her eyes narrow as she studies him. There's definitely something familiar in the unfamiliar man standing before her.

In the end, it's his eye and the casual smile that alights her recognition. She gasps. Pascal too must have come to the same conclusion as he lets out a squeak and turns a friendly shade of orange.

It seems so impossible that of all the times and places she finds him here, but now that she's realized the truth, she can't deny it. ]

Dick? Is that really you?

[ Dick removes his hand from her shoulder just before she has time to think about it, which she most certainly would have. But there's no time for that. Not if she wants to stick to her plan. Rapunzel knows that if she doesn't just start talking that she'll convince herself to change her mind and keep her secret. In fact, she almost does change her mind when Dick talks about his work. But she screws her courage and keeps going despite her hesitation. ]

Okay. Well. I hope you're not saying that to make me feel better, because I'd like to ask you a favor and it might take some time.

[ Okay, so she's not exactly charging into the truth so much as dancing around it. But she's determined to tell Dick everything. ]

Alright, Rapunzel.

[ He keeps his arms crossed as he listens intently. ]

Lay it on me.

[ Dick's already wondering if this is going to be something trivial, like if she needs a fresh batch of towels or something. But surely this must relate to the reason he even found her - why else would she have approached the grandfather clock?

This was definitely Batcave business. ]

In the flesh.

[ 'Dick in the flesh.' Yeah, he's not piecing that together out loud. ]

A lot's happened, Rapunzel. Too much, maybe.

But how are you? Are you safe?

[ He can guess that Rapunzel running around the woods at night means she's been far from safe.

But he wants to be polite. ]

[ Rapunzel takes a breath. It's now or never, and never just isn't an option. ]

I left the first place Gothel kept me, with the help of...well, he acted as a guide for me. He called himself Flynn Rider, but his real name was Eugene.

[ There's a sharp pain in her chest as she voices his name for the first time in a long while. She fights the tears that sting in her eyes. ]

Gothel tricked me to go back with her, before I knew the truth about her. Eugene came to save me, but Gothel... [ Her breath hitches. ] She killed him. Right in front of me.

[ About a million things are running through Rapunzel's head at the moment. Suddenly being face to face with a friend she thought long gone, getting herself lost in the woods and not knowing what to do next, well, it takes it's toll on her.

She throws out her arms, her tense stature now loose from the chaos of feelings rolling around inside of her. ]

I don't know! I think so? I was just trying to get somewhere, but I got lost, and I really have no idea where I'm going. I was following the stars I charted, but it's not easy to do out here in the woods. And now it's dark and there could be wild animals, or ruffians and thugs, and I don't know what I'm doing!

[ The words spill out of her at full speed. Sentences run together, and in the end she's gasping for some much needed air. ]

for watcheslanterns

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more dark timeline

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medieval/childhood au cont'd.

ps. this just makes me want adorable interactions with rapunzel, alfred and damian.

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my god that would be adorable af!!!

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i know, right???

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