Chapter Text
Lor - Laurel now, she thought with a hint of excitement, a real name that real people had, and that was hers now, because she was a real person - watched as Tim said goodbye to Pops. She hovered between the kitchen and the entryway, holding herself upright on the doorway, and listened to them talk. She’d gotten a bit better at balancing on her leg, so long as she had a wall nearby. She didn’t like how short she was in the wheelchair Pops had given her, so she tried to avoid using it.
“You need a bigger place,” Tim was saying. “She can’t sleep on your couch forever.”
“I know. I’m working on it,” Pops replied.
“I can just get you a bigger place, Kon,” Tim said, sounding a bit frustrated, but also fond. It was nice.
She wasn’t sure if she liked Tim yet. She wasn’t even sure if she liked Pops yet, considering how weird he acted around her, though, since she wasn’t sure what kind of person she was, she tried not to get too upset about it. But it was nice how they looked at each other. Maybe someday, someone would look at her like that, like she was good. Tim had smiled at her, earlier, and Pops smiled a lot, but from what she’d heard, she thought maybe they were just doing it because they thought they had to. Which didn’t seem fair to them, but she wasn’t gonna ask them to stop. It made her feel like she was supposed to be here.
Was that selfish?
“If Lena insists on sending money, we can use that, not your money, Tim,” Pops replied, snorting.
Lena was her mom. Laurel hadn’t realized at first, until she saw something on TV about families, and remembered that your parents are your mom and pops, and since she came from Lena Luthor, too, that would make Lena her mom. But Lena didn’t like her, Laurel was pretty sure. She didn’t know why. Or, well, she didn’t know for certain why, but she had a pretty good guess that it had something to do with why Pops acted weird around her.
“Besides, I need to figure out what place I’d get, before we can move.”
“You could move in with me,” Tim offered. “If you want.”
“Do you really think that’s the best thing for her right now?” Pops asked dubiously. “I mean, doing that would mean she’s interacting with not just me everyday, but also you and Alfred, which would probably be fine, and Dick and Damian, which might cause some problems. She’s kinda on edge as it is.”
“Damian’s not that bad anymore,” Tim argued, though he looked like he was about to laugh. “Just a grouch. And what’s wrong with Dick?”
“Nothing’s wrong with him, he can just be a lot. I think he might overwhelm her, that’s all.”
“Fair enough. But if you change your mind, the offer’s still open, okay?”
“Got it.”
They exchanged a quick kiss, then Tim was heading out the door. Pops closed the door, then turned around, and paused, giving Laurel a smile when he saw her. It took him a second, like he had to remember to smile. Not like how quickly he smiled at Tim. “Want to watch a movie?”
That got her to perk up, at least. “Yes! There was a movie on the TV that had a superhero in it. Can we watch one of those?”
“One with a superhero?” Pops clarified. Laurel nodded enthusiastically. Superheroes were cool . They had to be, since they rescued people. Just like Tim and Pops had rescued her.
That meant Tim and Pops were cool, too. Laurel wasn’t sure if that was true or not, but maybe if she knew them better, she’d think that sounded right.
“Have you seen Into The Spider-Verse yet?” Pops asked.
“No. What’s that one? Is it cool?” Coolness was important, from what she’d seen on TV. Laurel wanted to be cool herself, but she hadn’t quite figured out how . Clothes shopping would help, she was pretty sure.
That just got a bit of a laugh from Pops. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool. It came out when I was like, 18, but it still holds up. C’mon. I think you’ll like it.”
“Old things are still cool sometimes,” Laurel informed him. “I saw something on TV talking about the Justice League, and people said they were cool, even though they’ve been around for decades .”
Pops snickered. “Oh?”
“Yeah! But I think some of their members have switched out when they get too lame, so that probably helps,” she informed him.
“Is that what happened?” Pops seemed to think she was being really funny, for some reason. “Nothing else?”
“Why else would they have changed?” Laurel asked curiously.
He stared at her with a raised eyebrow, before he seemed to realize something. “Oh. Well. I dunno, I guess it would depend, case by case,” he said, suddenly uncomfortable. She tilted her head, frowning. “For example, I just left to take care of you. Not because I got too lame, or anything.”
“You- you did?” she asked, stricken. “ Why? ”
“Well, I’m not about to leave you on your own,” Pops said softly, lips quirking upwards. “I know from experience how much that sucks.”
“Oh.” She looked down at where her hands gripped the door frame. “Why else would someone leave?” she asked, hoping for a change of subject.
“I mean, it really depends,” he said slowly. “They might just be ready to retire.” When she opened her mouth to ask more, he cut her off, clapping his hands together. “Let’s go watch that movie! You’ll like it, I promise.” And without further ado, he stepped forwards, and took her arm to help her back to the couch.
“I can get there on my own!”
As she bickered with him over her ability to cross a room on one leg, the conversation about superheroes changing and her confusion over why they would utterly fled from her mind.