18662/The End In Sight

The End In Sight
Date of Scene:	24 July 2024
Location:	Lake House - Wayne Estate
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Stephanie Brown, Dick Grayson

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Stephanie Brown has posed:
This is one of the best times of year for Stephanie. Not just because it's summer and there's a reprieve from the grimy snow that grips Gotham in wintertime, but because it's summer and that means that she's free from her classes at Gotham U. At least this summer. In past years she's had summer classes, but not this year.

The blond coed is sitting cross-legged on the floor of the lake house, wearing a pair of shorts and a blue tank top that brings out the similar color in her eyes. Her hair is flowing loosely about her shoulders, with some lighter natural highlights from the abundance of sun she's gotten lately. Her skin is beautifully sun-kissed and tan where the summer clothing shows it.

She has a few papers nearby though is mostly focused on a tablet with which she is browsing the Gotham University registrar's list of classes. Entering her senior year, studying to be a forensic examiner, Stephanie is, perhaps miraculously, on pace to graduate at the end of the coming year.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Outside sloshing and splashing water goes unheard on account of the muffling of glass walls, but those same walls allow the visual to work perfectly. From the lake water Dick pulls himself up and onto the dock, springing up and into a crouch as the cool morning waters drip from him. The crouch is maintained for barely a second before the acrobat and gymnast springs up to his full height and begins to walk forward, leaving behind a series of wet footprints as he moves to collect a towel to dry himself. He spies the blonde inside and lifts an arm, still trailing the towel to gesture a wave in her direction. Whether he's acknowledged or not, Dick sets himself to the task of drying himself as water streams and drips from his trunks.

The ambient warmth in the air though prevents him steaming as it may come autumn or winter. Instead the late morning swim proves refreshing and cooling as Dick continues drying, despite the fact that his steps continue him onward and toward the patio door. He winces a bit while he's drying off, notably near the right side of his ribs. He suppresses the expression and reaction quickly. He pulls the door aside and upon leaning forward to cant his head through the portal, Dick's blue eyes alight upon looking to Stephanie and a lopsided grin splashes itself across his features when he speaks with mirth and good cheer threaded throughout his very being, let alone his voice, "Who's doing breakfast this morning? Cereal?"

He sounds almost hopeful.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The motion catches Stephanie's attention, blue eyes drifting over to watch as Dick emerges from the waters of the tranquil lake set far back on the grounds of the Wayne estate. Her eyes slide across the splendor of his form like a caress. Even after a few years of dating and engagement, the sight of Dick Grayson still has that effect on her.

By the time that he makes it in through the doorway, Stephanie is leaning back on her hands, the tablet set aside and the class schedules forgotten. "If you worked up an appetite, I could make some bacon and eggs and toast," she offers. Her eyes slip down from where they meet his gaze, taking in the sight of him again and a smile growing. It took a very long time before she lost the blush that would normally accompany that smile. But the same emotions are there if not the color.

Lucky, lucky girl.

Stephanie rises deftly and makes her way over to Dick. Leaning in to brush her lips to his, fingers brushing the junction of his neck and shoulder before she continues on past him towards the kitchen.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Bacon, eggs," then he inserts a brief pause to place emphasis on his next words, "and toast?"

For a moment Dick Grayson seems faint. His knees grow weak and his shoulders slouch, just before his chin lifts and his head drops back, "That sounds to die for". The brush of lips is accepted with a bit of playfulness, but inevitably Dick slips away from beneath Stephanie's touch with a comment toward one shoulder, "I'm going to slip into the bathroom and finish drying off, get out of these trunks, and everything."

He only makes it two steps before he pauses and angles his body partially to make looking back toward Stephanie all the more convenient, "I want you to go out on patrol with me soon. I miss suiting up and working with you," he says with a small smile and a wink.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
"It's a date," Stephanie says, flashing a bright-eyed smile over towards him. "Anyone in particular you want to focus on? Or general patrol looking for trouble?" she asks as she heads for the fridge.

Eggs, a package of bacon, and butter are all removed from the fridge and balanced in the crook of an arm or held in hand, then the bread is grabbed and everything set on the counter. A pan clatters softly as it is placed on the burner, the gas flame starting up beneath it while Stephanie adds some oil.

"Getting through this last chemistry class is going to take some work. But it's really the only one I have left that gives me much pause," the Gotham U coed comments while getting four slices of bread out to put in the toaster. "Not my best subject, but the professor is just a real bear on his assignments and tests," she says with a sigh. Stephanie lets out a puff of air in an exasperated exhale, dislodging a few strands of hair that hang down in front of an eye. "How are things at work?" she asks as she grabs the eggs and deftly cracks and pours four of them into the pan.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"A general patrol, but we need to keep an eye out for Victor Fries," Dick answers succinctly as he begins to trail after Stephanie when she makes for the lake house's kitchen. He follows after with his towel still wrapped about his waist and offering some context as the pair travel through their shared home, "I and a couple others had a run-in with his lackeys a few weeks ago. He's around and we just need to find him before he does something truly heinous."

While Stephanie sets herself to the task of breakfast and begins to expand upon her own trials and tribulations, particularly those with a particularly draconian professor, Dick's there to be supportive and an attentive ear. He frowns appropriately, but by the end optimism wins out and he offers her a winning smile and swift reassurance, "I have full confidence that you'll knock this class out of the park. The climb up can be tough, but you're a loveable weirdo that'll come out on top."

The question of work does draw him into silence and Dick's shoulders rise and fall in a light shrug, "It's what you'd expect. Procedure and presence. An uphill battle," he pauses a beat before his smile returns anew, "I think contrary to some more brooding minds though. We can change things, no matter what persona we employ. The more publicly we are able to push those objectives, the better."

Dick's shoulder slips away from the door's frame and he corrects his posture, offering Stephanie a once-over finally. He begins to take a step back, begins to turn, and comments as he does so, "I'll be back for breakfast in a snap. I just need to get dried off and changed. We'll talk more over breakfast?" He seems to offer, rather than request.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
As Dick prepares to head off to finish drying off, Stephanie moves over to a cupboard to get some plates. She uses the movement as an excuse to give Dick's rump a little goose, with no sign that she did it other than the slight grin turning up the corner of her lips. "I should have it ready by the time you're back," she tells him.

And true to her word, Stephanie will have two plates ready at the little table with the view looking out over the lake. Eggs over medium with buttered toast, and a bunch of strips of bacon. one benefit of the patrols they do, calories usually aren't too much of an issue. A few extra strips of bacon fit into the diet without any fuss.

Stephanie pours two glasses of orange juice and sets them on the table, then fills two coffee cups and she takes a seat at the table. She lets out a happy sigh, reflecting on her life and the direction things have gone with Dick Grayson.