buckleupcreampuff | oh lately it's so quiet

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partner: oracle_knows

oh lately it's so quiet

Barbara had been the one to suggest this whole endeavor, but they'd never actually discussed details. Carmilla was fairly certain that the redhead hadn't actually expected Carmilla to show up. It had seemed like more of a hint, a hope that Carmilla would take her up on the offer. Luckily for Barbara, Carmilla was currently looking at a lot of free time and disposable income. A trip to Gotham hadn't been out of the question at all.

So it took Carmilla all of two days to pack and plan out the trip. She'd booked her flights and found a decent hotel easily enough. It wasn't one of the more decadent hotels, but it wasn't stingy either. The dorms that they stayed in at Silas were as shabby as Carmilla would typically bring herself to stand, and that wasn't by her own choice. So when she was given the opportunity, now certainly wasn't the time to skimp on accommodations.

After she'd checked in and unpacked, she ventured out into the city. It was her first time in Gotham, though she'd heard plenty of stories. She knew there were a fair few of her kind within the city limits, but she hoped to avoid them. She had other plans, in any case. She wandered down the streets, trying to familiarize herself with the area surrounding her hotel, when she finally pulled out her phone to shoot Barbara a message.

So, where can a girl get a good cup of coffee in Gotham, cupcake?

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Barbara smiled as her phone went off. Carmilla. And she fished it out to answer, but blinked as she read the message. Apparently Carmilla had been trying to surprise her, and had managed it successfully. She frowned at her computer screen - but she was only polishing things that didn't need polishing. And having her girlfriend visit was an excellent excuse to do things she actually wanted to. And possibly scare the life out of Carmilla.

It's a big place. Where are you?

Not that she couldn't pinpoint her with either police or bat-gear from tracing the mobile.

Carmilla grinned, tucking one hand in the pocket of her leather jacket. She vaguely knew where she was, and if she had a few more hours to explore, she probably would be able to give better directions. She looked up at the nearest street sign.

Midtown. Church St and Park Place? Shall I meet you somewhere?

She'd hoped that Barbara would be okay with this. She felt confident that it would be, it's not like she'd showed up on her doorstep. But still. She knew that Barbara had to take certain measures to protect herself. That was why Carmilla thought it was better to provide her own place to stay for this trip. She didn't want to be an inconvenience to Barbara's... Activities. But god, had she missed her.

It's a few blocks away, but I'd recommend Laughing Man. See you there in about half an hour?

Barbara also texted a link so Carmilla could find it with Google Maps before plotting her own route there. And as Barbara things took slightly longer than as Batgirl, so she'd be a little late - but the metro was near enough.

Possibly almost an hour. Depends on the Metro.

Carmilla smiled, feeling the kind of butterflies that she thought she'd squashed out ages ago. It was times like these that she remembered how young her body actually was, technically speaking. It wasn't all bad, getting to be young forever, but there a few moments like these that she wished she could have been a little older. Butterflies were awful.

I'll be there, cupcake. I'm in no rush.

Which was a lie. She wished she could just go to Barbara right then, but she understood the need to meet up. She just wished she could speed things along, somehow. It had already been so long since they'd seen each other. Okay, it had been like a week and a half. But still.

She ordered her coffee - black - and found a seat by the window. She'd remembered to bring a book, so at least she'd have Kafka to keep her company until Barbara arrived.

Barbara was there in the half hour she initially said, but she was back home in her native Gotham. She even moved a little more like a predator here - and with an economy of movement that meant she was almost soundless. This was her town, and if anyone could sneak up on a vampire occupied reading it was Barbara. So she was going to try just because. Try and sneak up on her vampire, cover her eyes with her hands and whisper "Guess who" without being spotted. Not something she'd have even tried at Silas as she had more than one walk and used one of the more innocuous ones by default. But as things were the only things that would give her away were her heartbeat, her scent (she'd had a couple of hours of gym in the morning as well as last night's little trip), and Carmilla looking up and round at the wrong moment.

It was the scent that ended up giving her away. Carmilla would recognize Barbara from a mile away from her scent alone, though she wouldn't ever admit to the way she'd memorized it. She'd missed it. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, but she didn't lift her head from her book, instead waiting until Barbara had almost reached her.

"Punctual, as always, cupcake." She grinned a little wider, knowing that she'd just ruined Barbara's plan to sneak up on her. It would have worked, too, if it hadn't been such a shock to her system to have Barbara's scent flooding her senses again. If they actually had been at school, where their entire dorm smelled like Barbara, it might have actually worked. "I hope the train wasn't too much fuss."

Barbara, not particularly worried about not being able to sneak up, enfolded Carmilla in a hug. "Better than the plane, I hope? I've missed you!" And she didn't seem to be letting go of the hug right now even as her expression turned into a frown. "Although I'm not going to have as much free time as I'd like at the moment. And I'm banned from cookies!" She pouted although still hadn't let go of Carmilla.

A soft laugh escaped Carmilla's lips, setting her hand on top of Barbara's arm around her. "Don't worry about it, it's not like I called ahead," she pointed out. She pulled back slightly so she could look up at the girl behind her, immediately feeling gratified. This whole trip was worth it even if this was all she saw of Barbara. "I've missed you too."

She tilted her chin up to kiss Barbara's cheek, letting it linger an extra moment or two. "How'd you get yourself banned from cookies?"

Barbara shrugged with a smile. "I've not been allowed cookies for years. Why do you think I had so many at Silas?" She smiled, still not letting go. "And Coach managed to convince me that Worlds wasn't the disaster it felt like at the time." She shook her head wryly. "And far from a disaster, it gained me a ridiculous number of points qualifying for 2016." It hadn't crossed her mind that Carmilla would barely have a clue what she was talking about.

Carmilla blinked up at Barbara, a small, confused pout on her lips. She spoke almost a dozen languages fluently and dabbled in a handful more, but she could barely piece together what Barbara had just said. "Was that... Sports, of some kind?" she asked, tilting her head. She laughed a little at herself, shaking her head. "I didn't know you played sports. I don't know if it's worth it if this coach of yours won't let you eat a cookie. What do you, um. Play?"

"I'd retired." Barbara shrugged. "A week before last semester started I'd come 8th and last in every single event I was qualified to enter at Worlds, and then been driven to tears by an interviewer." She shrugged. "My fault for not pacing myself." And raised one eyebrow as she let go of the hug with a teasing smile. "You've seen me naked and didn't realise I was a gymnast? We must get your eyes tested."

Carmilla laughed softly, rolling her eyes. "I suppose I didn't know what I was looking for. And I'll remind you that I was a little busy," she replied with an amused grin. Though it did make a lot more sense, now. She knew that Barbara was athletic, she just knew next to nothing about competitive sports. But she'd had to guess, competitive gymnastics did make the most sense. "I guess I'll just have to take another look." She smirked, kicking at the chair across from her, pushing it away from the small table so that Barbara could sit. "Makes sense, though. Your coach still doesn't let you eat cookies if you're retired?"

Barbara smiled as she sat down. "There's no rule saying that someone who's retired has to stay retired. But I need to get into shape if I'm going to compete before the start of next semester. And that means no cookies for a while." Of course for her 'out of shape' was still incredibly toned. But to her there was a difference. She then smirked. "I had no idea that several of the message boards would have threads on my vlog. They all think it's entirely fiction, of course." In fact she'd been buried in messages and clearing out those inboxes had taken her the best part of a day. "Which means you have an active fan club."

Carmilla raised an eyebrow at Barbara, amused. "Out of shape," she scoffed, rolling her eyes a little. She supposed that probably meant something different in the gymnastics world than it did in real life. But whatever, more cookies for her. Because really, it was far more concerning to think she might have fans. "There are message boards? About me?" She narrowed her eyes at Barbara, trying to decide if she really believed this. And how she felt about it, if she did. "... What do they say about me?"

Barbara shrugged. "Of course I'm out of shape. For world class professional competition. And I intend to qualify for 2016, not miss by a place." And she followed that with a slight smile. "Message board threads, even on my gymnastics boards." Barbara shook her head. "And let's not get into the fanfic. Or the fanart. Or the tumblrs dedicated to following my vlog. Most of them fancy the pants off you, some think I should have gone with Danny." Another shrug. "You've got fangirls. So have I."

Carmilla felt like she should be concerned. She, of all people, had no business getting placed atop a pedestal. She pursed her lips, tilting her head at Barbara. There probably wasn't really much she could do about it, and she didn't think it'd be wise for her to go delving into that world in any case. But maybe she could ask Barbara a little more about it. "So you're saying that out there, somewhere, someone is writing erotic fiction about you and I?" she asked, letting a smile tug at her lips. It was mild deflection. She would much rather talk about this. She let her voice drop to a low drawl as she leaned across the table. "How many ways have I had you fictionally now, Cupcake?"

Barbara lowered her voice and flushed slightly. "I'm not sure? I don't normally read PWP, and it's weird reading fiction about yourself." As Batgirl knew all too well. "But lots." She decided to tease Carmilla a little if she wanted to play these games. "Nowhere near as many as Poison Ivy's fictionally had Batgirl." And that was both hideously embarrassing and highly amusing given that Pamela had been her closest friend when they were both at school.

Carmilla laughed appreciatively. She felt a little strange about this revelation herself, but it was at least fun to tease Barbara about it. At least until the tables were turned. She narrowed her eyes at the redhead across from her again, doing her best to keep the growl at the back of her throat at bay. She didn't know much about this Poison Ivy, save for what she'd read up on after Barbara's revelation, but she knew that she didn't much care for this concept. "Isn't that the one with all the plants? You don't happen to know where I can get my hands on some good weedkiller, do you?"

"Don't!" Barbara raised one finger, raising more with each point. "You'll just get her mad. And she can do in ten minutes what would take the alchemy club the whole term. And other than protecting the environment they have higher ethical standards than she does. And aren't normally surrounded by a cloud of mind controlling, lust inducing pheromones." And lower ethical standards than the alchemy club was scraping the barrel. "But she does have a glass jaw." Barbara closed her hand emphatically.

Carmilla rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Noted," she replied. She'd keep that knowledge tucked in her back pocket for a rainy day. She wasn't actually sure if she'd encounter any of these lunatics that Barbara told her about, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. Besides, if Carmilla had any say in it, Barbara wouldn't be flying solo at night for much longer. She didn't really know what all was involved with the whole vigilante gig, and she probably wasn't best suited for the hero thing, but she was already committed to supporting Barbara. If that meant donning a mask to watch her back, then so be it.

She turned back to her coffee, taking a sip from it before suddenly remembering. She'd been a little caught up in the reunion. "Shit, sorry. Do you want coffee? Or maybe hot chocolate. I won't snitch to your coach, promise."

"Better be a tea." Barbara smiled. "Lemon and ginger please? If I'm entering I'm entering to win." She remained seated, but her eyes roamed shamelessly over Carmilla. "Either that or I'll show you a private gym I use?" A mostly Bat-run affair, it would be closed at this time of day meaning she could use it freely and Carmilla could show off without raising eyebrows. Carmilla didn't have the skills for Gotham-parkour and even if she could probably survive a fall from a skyscraper Barbara didn't want those consequences.

"Coming right up, pumpkin," Carmilla agreed. She stood up from the table, though she didn't leave to order right away. She stopped Barbara first and bent to plant a firm kiss to the girl's lips. They had spent far too long apart for her to leave any opportunity to kiss her unattended. She grinned as she pulled back, tucking a lock of red hair behind Barbara's ear. "A private gym. That sounds impressive. We can take the tea to go, if you'd like." Normally you'd be hard pressed to find Carmilla anywhere near anything resembling a gym, but she couldn't deny her curiosity. Besides, maybe a gym wouldn't be so bad if she was just there to spectate.

Barbara smiled as she was kissed and kissed back. "Sounds like a plan." But she was going to watch Carmilla's ass in those leather pants of hers for now. But she pitched her voice low, trusting to vampiric ears to pick it up. "If we go I'll change into one of my leotards when there. Skin tight with nothing underneath. And old enough that I don't mind if it gets torn." Or rather torn off her entirely by her girlfriend. But for now Carmilla probably had to wait for coffee.

Carmilla was already in line by the time she'd picked up on Barbara's muttered proposition. She couldn't really respond from across the small coffee shop and the barista was looking up at her expectantly for her order. She flashed Barbara playful warning look ad stepped to the counter, clearing her throat so she could order the tea for Barbara and her standard caffe americano. Once she could carry their cups back to Barbara, she narrowed her eyes at the redhead, pursing her lips. "Keep saying things like that and I probably won't care if it's an old leotard or if it's brand new and covered in glitter," she growled, smirking as she held out the tea for Barbara. "Now come on. I know you're a tease, but jesus cupcake."

Barbara smirked as she took the tea. "If you destroy any of my competition gear you're paying to have it replaced. And in the doghouse. And I never thought I'd see the day when you were disappointed that I was flirting back." She paused to sip the hot tea. "And it's a few stops away. This way." She lowered her voice. "In the train or on top of it?"

"Not disappointed," Carmilla insisted, grinning. "Just frustrated when I can't do anything about it. Not here." She took a sip from her coffee, letting the scalding heat roll over her tongue. She could barely feel it, but maybe that's why she liked it. It helped her remember what it felt like. She almost choked, however, when she realized what Barbara was suggesting. "You ride on top of trains?" she asked, her eyebrows raised. "Without me? No, you've got to show me this. On top."

Barbara smiled. "Follow me. It's a few minutes to walk, so on the way I'll tell you what to hold on to. I'm trusting to your sense of balance, and to follow any orders I give up there." For the next few minutes she gave Carmilla a bit of advice on how to hang on before they reached a bridge over a set of train tracks going North where she met a boy in a black metal t-shirt and faded jeans.

"Back in town Babs?"

Babs smiled. "Yup. Hi Pete. And this is Carmilla, my girlfriend. Carmilla, Pete."

He frowned as he offered his hand. "You know you're going to disappoint a lot of the Parkour club?"

Carmilla raised an eyebrow at the extended hand, shooting Barbara a glance. She took a sip of her coffee instead.

"I'm sure the Parkour club will figure out a way to deal," she replied a little snidely, bristling at this kid's attitude. She didn't care how disappointed he or his friends would be. Even if he apparently had good taste in music. Whatever, one good band shirt wasn't going to make her want to be best friends with some asshole.

Barbara laughed. "Just tell them I'm with a girl. That'll distract them." A jump and she was doing a handstand on the side of the railway bridge. "On my mark, Carm. When I say jump, jump."

Pete shook his head. "Showing off for your girlfriend? Or for me."

Upside down, Barbara shrugged, her t-shirt falling to reveal her stomach. "Because I can. And because I haven't in a while."

Carmilla smirked at the guy, throwing her coffee away before positioning herself at the edge so she could follow Barbara's lead. She allowed herself to be just a little distracted by the way Barbara's shirt fell and revealed just how good of shape she was in. Maybe she wasn't in competition form, but she looked plenty good from where Carmilla stood.

"Not even a little bit for me?" she asked, grinning.

"Of course a bit for you!" Barbara shifted her weight slightly so she could take one hand off the wall and blow Carmilla an upside down kiss as she fell backwards. It wasn't until her body was horizontal she said "Now!" and pushed off from the wall with her only hand touching it. Alarming on its own, what might be even more alarming was that although the train could be heard coming under the bridge, it wasn't visible yet. But Barbara's timing was superb - and it was there when she made a three point landing only about four foot back from the front of the train. And hoping that the Vampire wasn't going to somehow fall faster than the law of gravity indicated she should.

Carmilla almost went after Barbara just to stop her from falling, before realizing that she was probably doing it on purpose. She was relieved to have confirmation when Barbara signaled for her to jump. She shot one last smirk at Pete and threw him the bird for good measure before leaping down onto the train after Barbara. She was a little less graceful about it, but she was happy to find that she hadn't done too badly for herself. She landed a few yards down the train from Barbara, gripping onto the roof carefully. If she was human, she probably would be terrified. As it was, feeling the wind whip her hair back was exhilarating. She felt more alive than she had in ages.

Barbara smirked, turning round and crawling to Carmilla as she shouted "Fun up here, isn't it? Another couple of rides and I'll show you how to change trains!" Without vampire hearing, Carmilla would have had problems making out what Barbara was saying as the wind, currently whipping through both of their hair, carried away Barbara's voice. And she was looking at Carmilla so she could lipread any reply Carmilla made. "Of course this is illegal! But for some reason they have problems catching us!" One of those reasons was the Bats who had interrupt mechanisms on all the cameras people had tried. "It's one of the things I missed most at Silas!"

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oh lately it's so quiet

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