16168/Narrator: And Stephanie Really Was Stunned. You Could Tell By The Silence

Narrator: And Stephanie Really Was Stunned. You Could Tell By The Silence
Date of Scene:	24 October 2023
Location:	New England autumn color tour
Synopsis:	Dick surprises Stephanie with a trip to New England to see the trees in their autumn glorious colors.
Cast of Characters:	Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown

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Dick Grayson has posed:
    It's a crisp fall day with a clear blue sky and only a few small white clouds. For Gotham this is a lovely break from the all too common gloomy sky. Dick wanders out of the bedroom dressed in pretty typical fall clothes, jeans and a blue and black flannel shirt. Looking over to Steph he asks, "Do you have any plans for the day? I've got a bit of an idea for a small trip if you're free." He leans against the doorframe looking like he might be thinking something over while awaiting her answer.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown is up but hasn't had any classes today. She's wearing boxer shorts and a tank top that she threw on after her shower as she has puttered around the house cleaning. She looks up from where she's running a dust rag over an end table, replacing the lamp on it after.

The girl's blue eyes light up at the sight of Dick. It's been two years and he still can make her heart flutter with just a smile. She sets the dust rag and the furniture polish down and moves over to him. "Oh yeah? I don't have any plans. My free day from classes," she tells him as she moves up near to him, running a hand up Dick's arm and leaning in against his torso, head tucking beneath his chin to rest her cheek on his chest.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick smiles as she moves over to him, wrapping an arm around her and squeezing her gently against himself. "Well, that fits perfectly into my plans then. We're going on a little drive, so find yourself something a bit warmer to wear while I pack a light lunch." He kisses the top of her head before letting her go so that she can change.

    "I'll be down below switching features on the Nightbird once I get the food together, so if I'm not in the kitchen just head down there."

    He pauses for a moment to see if she has any questions before moving on with his plan.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown takes advantage of Dick's arm going around her to nestle in against him. Her hands moving to slide over his chest as she sighs happily. Having found something with Dick Grayson that the girl from the wrong side of the tracks in Bristol never really had expected to find. Never even really let herself dream of something so perfect.

And her face lights up so beautifully when he does little thoughtful things like this for her. Or, not so little. She goes up on her toes to kiss his lips, fingers brushing Dick's cheek. "I'll get dressed," she says, nodding eagerly and then hurrying off to the bedroom to change.

She comes down to find him soon after. Wearing jeans and some light boots that are good for any thing from hiking to casual wear. A t-shirt with a dark blue cotton button up shirt overtop, but left undone. And a jacket to take with her in case it is needed. "How's this?" she asks of what she chose.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick looks over as she comes down after changing, nods and says "Perfect, actually. I'm just finishing up here.". He uses an impact wrench to tighten the last bolt on the car body he's selected for the day. It's the convertible version of the normal Camaro SS body he uses for non-Bat driving. He moves over to the worktable and replaces the wrench in it's place on the pegboard above it, then turns back to car and fiancee.

    "Picnic basket is already in the trunk, so we're all set to go." He takes her hand, leans in for a light kiss then leads her over to the car, opening the door for her with his free hand. "Ok, that should be everything we need. Well, almost everything, anyway." Once she's settled into the car, he moves around to the driver's side and gets in as well. "I'm going to cheat just a little. Don't tell Bruce, ok?" He turns the key and the McLaren engine roars to life.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown returns the kiss, her face utterly shining with warmth. Dick still makes her feel like a school girl getting shone attention by the cutest boy in school. Attention she'd have never thought was possible. And she hasn't lost those feelings in her time with him.

She squeezes Dick's hand and climbs into the car, getting buckled in. "Mum is the word," she tells him with a smile as she spends a little time on her phone looking at playlists. "Anything in particular you'd like to listen to?" she asks, glancing up as Dick fires up the engine of the beautiful car.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick shrugs, "Your call as far as music goes, I trust your taste." He hits a control on the dash and the auto door out of the cave opens. Driving out, he turns back towards the lakehouse, coming to a stop on the cleared area around the lake. He rolls up his sleeve to reveal that he's wearing one of the touchscreen controls from his armor.

    A minute after he types a command, a shadow falls on the car as one of Bruce's transports comes to a hover above them, then lands and extends a ramp. He drives the car up into the hold, then types a few more commands. The ramp closes and the transport moves up into the sky. Unseen from the inside, stealth mode engages and hides the transport from both radar and view as well.

    "So do you just want to stay here or actually go up to the cockpit? It's only going to be about a ten minute flight or so." Acceleration pushes them lightly into the car's seats as the transport starts to move.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The shadow from the plane catches Stephanie by surprise, as she as going through building a new playlist. "Oh, and here I thought we were just going to drive somewhere around here," she says with a soft laugh, reaching over to give Dick's hand a quick squeeze.

"Might as well just stay in here then," she says if it is only going to be ten minutes or so. "Let's see I'm feeling kind of retro. Really retro. Maybe some Rolling Stones and Beatles and stuff like that," she says, quickly building up a playlist of classic rock that she starts up playing.

She focuses her attention on Dick then once done. Stephanie just looks at him, then lets out a happy sigh. Her cheeks touched by a little color as she knows she's wearing her heart on her sleeve with him. Again. "So where are we going? Or going to make me wait for us to roll down the ramp?" she asks with a smile.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick taps in the course for the transport then shrugs a little, "It's not a huge secret, I'm just guessing that you may not have had the opportunity to head up the coast to see the leaves turn in autumn. What you see in Gotham's parks is nothing compared to what you get in some of the more forested settings. Today, that means Vermont. It's really pretty amazing what nature can come up with when we don't pave it over."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
"You're definitely right, I haven't seen more of Autumn than what we get in the city, or around Bristol," she says. She's smiling at Dick having taken her like this and making a day of it. Though he can probably get the sense she doesn't truly understand how spectacular it can be as she says, "I've heard of people taking entire vacations to just drive around and look at the tress. I admit I've kind of not really gotten it before, doing that. I mean I've seen some amazing pictures. But I figure it wouldn't be a thing if it wasn't worth doing, right?"

She turns sideways in her seat, a hand reaching over to rest on Dick's, fingers curling about his hand. "You know you have a pretty low bar for entertaining me, as long as you're here," she tells him, the pretty blond smiling so warmly over to Dick.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Holding Steph's hand, he nods and says "Some of the little towns in these states actually owe their prosperity to the folks who take those autumn trips. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what a show it actually makes."

    "I would more call it a chance to show you a bunch of new things than a low bar. I enjoy taking you around to things you haven't seen or done before because that smile you have just lights up the whole place when I do."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie draws her legs up to her as she sits sideways in the seat. "I know you do. And it means a lot to me, it really does," she says, her thumb gently brushing the back of Dick's hand where she holds it.

"Did you get to do this much before? With Bruce? Or before you ended up with him, when you were with the show and your parents?" she asks softly.

Stephanie can hear the sound of the plane's engine changing slightly, and feel how it slopes as it begins descending already. In her head, her training has her gauging how long they were in the air and the likely speeds of the flight, trying to figure out about how far north they might be touching down.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    "Well, we did travel a lot with the circus, but we didn't have a lot of time for sightseeing. It was usually arrive, set up tents, get in a little practice, then perform for a couple nights and pack for the next location."

    "With Bruce, it was kind of a whirlwind introduction to high society, because there was also all the Bat stuff most nights. So yeah, I got to do a lot of things, but I was usually a bit overtired to really enjoy it. It got better after a few years after there wasn't as much training to do and I was just sidekicking in general. After that, I had more time to take advantage of all the doors Bruce's money opened. These days, with all the additional Bats around, we can afford to just go off on trips without leaving Gotham vulnerable."

    The ramp extends as the transport touches down, and Dick lets the car roll down the ramp. They are in a grove of evergreens, so the fall colors are not visible yet. "Ready to see?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie continues to gently brush her fingers over Dick's hand as he talks about his past. "Too bad it takes so many of us," she says of all the Bats it takes to keep up patrols in the city.

But then they are rolling down the ramp, and Stephanie turns to peer out the window. Even to roll the window down and look out. Though the green needles of the evergreens are definitely nice, especially to someone who lived so long in Gotham's dark, gothic streets, it also isn't quite what she figured they were there for. "I'm ready," she says, turning back and the pretty girl flashing a beautiful smile at Dick.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick flicks a switch on the dashboard and the roof retracts automatically. The day is a bit crisp, but not too terribly cold. "Ok, here we go. Welcome to autumn the touristy way."

    He turns the car, rolling out past the evergreens. They are on a hill, and spreading out below them is an amazing blanket of colors. Bright reds, oranges, yellows and some still green spread out in every direction. The colors ripple in the breeze, almost giving the illusion of flame in the myriad of colors surrounding them.

    "So, starting to see why people drive days to see this kind of thing. Sometimes nature still trumps the things we can come up with."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
As the car rolls forward to the top of the hill and the countryside cloaked in autumn colors appears before them, Stephanie's eyes widen and her mouth falls open as she stares at the explosion of colors. Reds and orange and yellows, seeming at once to be contending with each other, yet somehow working together in a harmonious way in the view of the landscape.

Stephanie is impressed. One can almost hear Morgan Freeman's voice narrating the moment: And Stephanie really was stunned. You could tell by the silence.

Finally she does murmur, "Dick, it's just so incredible." Her hand has let go of his to let him drive, but moved to rest on his leg instead. She squeezes and finally pulls her eyes away from the view to flash a loving smile over at him. "Yes, I'm starting to get an idea of why," she agrees and gives a warm, girlish giggle.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick grins and starts driving down the road leading to the top of the hill, moving them into the colorful trees, swirls of colorful fallen leaves following the cars as it's passing stirs them up. Glancing over at Steph as she takes in all the color surrounding them as they drive, he says "It really is. This is the kind of thing that you can't easily recreate even with tons of cash, which is why so many people head for New England in the fall for one of nature's most spectacular shows. Pictures and film just don't do this credit, in my opinion."

    He follows the curve of the road, not putting much strain on the engine. This is a drive for seeing, not arriving anywhere in particular. "I figure we'll drive for a bit, then find somewhere to park and have lunch. Let me know if you get hungry."

    Slowly making his way down the road, each new vista just adds to the beauty of the season.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
It's easy enough to tell Stephanie's reactions. The girl is so expressive, those smiles of hers just lighting up at the views. "Oh wow," she murmurs as they round one bend. She pulls out her phone to snap a picture. "For Mom," she tells him, "But I think you're right. I've seen some beautiful pictures of this stuff, but it really doesn't capture how amazing it is, does it?"

She gently brushes her hand over Dick's leg as they drive. "Thank you for taking me up here," she says, leaning over to press a brief kiss to his lips at a moment it isn't likely to cause any problem for him driving. "Sure, whenever you want to stop and eat," she says.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    He grins at her reactions as they round each curve, and manages to keep the car on the road since the kiss is a quick one. He slips an arm around her shoulders so she can lean against him as they drive, taking in new colors around almost every curve. Finally he pulls off the road. "This looks like a good spot."

    He turns off the engine, gives Steph a quick kiss, then opens the door. Climbing out, he walks to the rear of the car and presses a control on the key fob. The trunk pops open and he pulls out an actual wicker picnic basket. Holding the handles in one hand, he extends the other to Steph so they can walk hand in hand out into the clearing he parked near.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown slips her hand into Dick's once he has the picnic basket out. She grabs the blanket with her free hand walks with him over to find a good area to set it up. She unfolds it and gives it a flip to spread it out, then lowers it down to the grass.

"Best boyfriend ever," she murmurs, giving Dick a kiss, her body gently against his, before she takes a seat on the blanket. Sitting on her side, legs drawn up beside her a little. "So what do we have today?" she asks of the food.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Once the blanket is in place and the kiss enjoyed, Dick also sits on the blanket and puts down the basket. "I've got a few things that seemed like a good idea for the time of year. It's a little chilly, so I have a thermos of vegetable soup" which he pulls out of the basket and sits on the blanket before also pulling out two bowls and setting them down. "I also have a rotisserie chicken in a nice warm thermal container. I figured we could enjoy a warm meal while we enjoy the show nature has for us."

    He pulls utensils and napkins out of the basket as well, putting them down in easy reach before starting to unscrew the top of the thermos. "And I didn't even make Alfred make it for me, it's actually homemade." He grins and adds, "So it won't be as good as his, but I believe I've become a decent student in the Alfred school of cooking."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
"I think it'll be a little better, for you having made it," Stephanie says warmly. Though her lips quirk in mischief. "I mean maybe not better tasting, but you know, it'll mean more," she says in an obviously teasing tone of voice.

She helps Dick get the food ready and then digs in. She didn't have much for breakfast, just a small bowl of oatmeal. So the food definitely hits the spot.

And the view? Who can contend with that view. She sits eating and looking out at the valley below and all the trees. Alternating her focus on it, and on her fiance. "You know I love you, don't you?" she asks softly.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Smiling at her teasing he shrugs, "That was what I was going for, yeah. Made with love and all that kind of thing." He winks and starts in on the soup as well, dividing his attention between Steph and the natural splendor around them.

    At Steph's question, he looks right into her eyes and replies, "I do, and I love you too." He reaches up to touch her cheek, then leans in for another kiss. When it ends, he says "I'm just happy to be the one showing you this kind of thing" gesturing around the clearing "because I love the way your whole face lights up when you smile."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown's face does light up so much. And she scooches across the blanket to be able to sit leaning close against Dick Grayson. "You're so thoughtful," she tells him with a happy sigh, resting her head against his shoulder, nuzzling her cheek there. "I never really thought that you might feel for me how I felt about you," she says. "I don't think I'd have ever had the courage to let you know, if you hadn't... if it wasn't for that night at the gala," she says tenderly.

Stephanie gets a slice of fruit to bring to Dick's lips as she snuggles against him. "You've lived so much compared to what I have. I don't even know some things... like this... are worth doing," she says, motioning towards the colors Dick has brought her to see. "Until you show me," she says, turning to shine her loving smile at him.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick puts his arm around Steph when she snuggles up, taking the fruit she feeds him. "That was probably the best decision I've ever made. I still don't know exactly I hadn't realized how I felt about you at that point.'

    Smiling back at her he replies, "Fortunately being Bruce's heir gives me the ability to show you just about, well, everything really. It's just a matter of deciding what to do next, and not piling it all on at once." He grins and boops her nose. "Don't want to overwhelm you, after all."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown nestles in closer against Dick as his arm goes around her. "Just spending an evening cuddling in your arms watching reruns of Seinfeld is enough to overwhelm me, Dick Grayson," she tells him. Voice lighthearted, yet it's the simple truth.

"I do love getting to see and do so much," she admits, looking down for a moment before looking back up to Dick. "But you're all that I need. We could live in the smallest apartment with the thinnest walls and noisiest neighbors, and I'd be nothing but happy so long as I had you," she tells him.

She can't help but break out in a goofy smile. "Just realizing I described my college apartment across from campus," she says, laughing.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick shakes his head, laughing as well. "I remember that apartment. It wasn't all that awful for a college student, really." He looks into her eyes and gets serious for a moment. "If I had to, I'd give up everything I have as long as I could be with you. Taking you places and showing you these things is wonderful, but the important part in all of it is you." He kisses her again then just holds her against him, enjoying the closeness.

    "I honestly thought I'd be going Bruce's route of avoiding being ensnared by whichever socialite is currently on top of the pile, but instead I found the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. I think that just might make me richer than he'll ever be."