loligiary | Mirror Maze: Cypher Side Story

She was at the club a week later, as promised. Platinum blonde, blue eyed, hot as hell in fishnets. She made a promise, and she kept it. Cypher didn't, and that stung a little -- but shit happened. Ozzie said it had nothing to do with her charms and everything to do with his dangerous work. Tensions were high, so she didn't ask. She just did her job, went to school.

Ozzie, on the other hand, reached out a kind hand; she asked about you, she's interested, it wouldn't hurt to have something in your life that isn't a fat old man, no don't say another word, take her out.

And between all this? Rumors are starting to fly of a woman with legs up to here and a rabbit motif appearing on the scene. A mad as a March Hare. But Genny and Waylon don't know a damned thing about this new interloper, and Ellis is intrigued but too busy enjoying his newfound domestic bliss with Jackie and playing at being CEO on the side. They'll figure out the newb later. See if they're trouble or worth recruiting.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

chasingtherabbit

Or that he set the bar so high that no one could reach it. It was safe in being alone, because then no one could ever disappoint him. It was the mirror of Edward Nygma, who set the bar low so he could be easily disappointed and use people as he needed but never have a real relationship...

Well, until he finally met someone who made him want to raise his standards on his own life, in all arenas, who made him want to be better, stronger, everything that he could be...

"That would have been the truth, no?" she asked, before another sip of wine went into her mouth. She swallowed it down, musing. "I think I'll stick to forensic anthropology. Making sure the dead rest peacefully."

From:

suaveandspectral

"Quite a noble look at it." As the salads arrived Cypher launched into a few stories of his time on the force, neatly excising the details of how the administration had seen his surplus of insight.

He'd been better, once. It would have been less of an act, or at least a more enthusiastic act, to trade life stories with the beautiful woman across from him. She wouldn't find it so easy to tell how distracted he was by other matters.

The tumor was gone, but the cancer lingered. Since Red Hood brought him back from Egypt Cypher had thrown himself into his work so hard he caught bruises, working his fingers to the bone to prove that he was once again an asset to his former friends. People like Waylon trusted too easily, people like Jonathan would never reforge what was once broken. All he had to give them were results--and anything besides that was selfishness. Selfishness had gotten Harvey Dent murdered.

From:

chasingtherabbit

"You can tell a lot from a person's bones. What they eat, where they lived, who they were, what did they do for work, how they made love, the children they bore..." Bunny said, picking at her salad.

Something was wrong with Edward Nashton's bones. She just didn't know what yet. She couldn't peel back the layers and find out, either.

"All the things I want to have. But no one will ever read mine," she added. "Or jump them."

Yeah, she can tease.

From:

suaveandspectral

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Cypher offered a grin over a forkful of tomato. "You might have an interesting death. Or an interesting life." Sex was definitely not off the table, even if he wasn't as engaged as he should be in order to be a courteous date.

From:

chasingtherabbit

"My life is already very interesting," she said, blinking her eyes once. "I'm a melanin challenged waitress with a kink for truth and justice."

She crunched a crouton, tilting her head. "I suppose I should ask what yours are."

From:

suaveandspectral

"Truth and justice is a pretty interesting kink." Cypher leaned forward slightly, still grinning. "I would say we're of a single mind on that one. Strong women with strong moral values certainly hold my attention."

From:

chasingtherabbit

"I don't smoke, I work out and I give to charity, too," she ribbed gently. Finally, some bite on the hook. She seemed a little happier now, at least. "And I look good in fishnets and leather... half of which is my uniform at Ozzie's."

From:

suaveandspectral

"I reunite children with their parents, I do pro bono legal assistance on the side, and I find leather to be particularly alluring." Kinks, ironically, were a safe discussion topic. Plenty of people who weren't secret superheroes had kinks.

From:

chasingtherabbit

"Pro-bono is entirely sexy," she said with a grin. Alright, he wasn't entirely a dead fish. Good, she could work with this. "Can you tell me about any good cases that really-- helped you along? Not financially, but -- in what you do. Made you feel like it was the right thing?"

From:

suaveandspectral

It took Cypher a few minutes to come up with a good example. He sat back, put his fork down, and began relating one of his more exciting cases--the King Hatshepsut incident, concerning a museum professor obsessed with the female Egyptian king whose successors had tried so hard to rub her name right out of history.

He'd saved lives and saved a maddened woman from doing something monstrous, it was truly a generous duty. But it had been so fun.

From:

chasingtherabbit

Bunny sat and happily soaked up his stories--she only had practicum to compare, though that had some interesting things if you didn't mind discussing corpses at dinner. (She kept the details few and small, and didn't get into anything gross.)

By the time salads were cleared and entrees were half-eaten she was pretty sure that she'd seen him smile more often tonight than she had in the last month.

From:

suaveandspectral

And then he'd saved the professor in his underwear from being sacrificed to Horus and then they'd had a dramatic fight in a collapsing pyramid and then--

It was so nice just to gloat for once. Bunny was in no place to judge him, she was just a date rather than a father or a colleague. He adored her discussions on corpses, finding rates of decay far more interesting than the nature of his pasta.

"They went away after I threatened to throw my lawyer at them, but I still get the occasional bit of hate mail. It lets me know I did things right."

From:

chasingtherabbit

Bunny might be encouraging his good mood with toes against his ankle, teasing with contact. Confidence is hot. Eddie Nashton is rapidly becoming more and more hot as the night goes on. This is good. She likes this.

"I'm glad it all worked out for you in the end," she said, smile bright, pink lips over white teeth. "And hate meal does mean you're doing it right."

From:

suaveandspectral

The touch garners a reaction from him this time, a slight widening of the smile as he presses back against her foot. "And I do like to do a good job."

He sets his fork down as the check comes wandering back to them. Ozzie had insisted on paying, to avoid any distractions by Cypher's frugal tendencies. "Speaking of that, I hope my rating as a date has somewhat improved?"

From:

chasingtherabbit

"I think you've earned more points. I'm glad I could help take your mind off a few things... but I think," she muses, toes teasing over the cuff of his sock, inching along his calf. "Yeah, I think you need more practice dating. Thankfully, I have a lot of free weekends. Well, at least until finals roll around."

From:

suaveandspectral

"I...do not, unfortunately." Cypher gave an awkward shrug as he was reminded once more of his duty. Really, even being here was an indulgence. "Work keeps me very busy. But, if it's any compensation, I have the entirety of tonight left free..."

From:

chasingtherabbit

"Coffee, then, in the afternoon," she said. Bunny was anything, if persistent. "There's always time, if you're willing to make it... After all, you cleared... all night."

And if you want to put it to use, Cypher, you might spring for a second date as not to fuck and run.

From:

suaveandspectral

"Willing, yes. Of course. The concern is that I'll have to rush off on somethign an hour before we're supposed to meet and leave you frustrated at me." Cypher leaned forward and rested his head on his folded hands. "I'm not trying to get out of a date, I swear. I'd love nothing more. But while I am an orderly man I am not a dependable one. Could you cope with that, for the sake of coffee?"

From:

chasingtherabbit

"And there will be days that I have to call off because of family issues," she noted helpfully. "My sister does have the occasional need I have to see to that comes up shortly. I'm more than happy to make room for you if you can for me."

Compromise was key to any relationship, right? But she reached out to touch his arm, offering a little smile. She got it. Life was... well, life.

From:

suaveandspectral

Her admission of unreliability actually made him feel better. Usually he hated tardiness almost as much as Timekeeper (who took the entire matter way too far) but if she would be late, that meant he could be late.

His arm pulled back, but only so he could take her hand instead.

From:

chasingtherabbit

She twined fingers with him -- smiling brightly. Desert was served -- Ozzie was a good sport about that too.

"So, awkward truth: I live with my sister, but she's got a big house and I get a lot of privacy. What's your after-date living situation like?"

Because she knows you have a brother, Cypher, she just doesn't know if you're rooommates or just dicks to each other on the side.

From:

suaveandspectral

Oh god no, they'd murder each other within the week. "It's just me," says Cypher, barely paying attention to his tiramisu. His hand squeezes hers. "It's not much, but I'd love for you to come over and see it."

He's so close to closing the deal, this is amazing.

From:

chasingtherabbit

"That'd be nice," Bunny says, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. Yes, that'd be very nice. You have rebounded from distracted to interested, and this is a nice ender to the evening.

Especially after all the suggestion she's picked up on just what he likes in bed.