Legendary

We went back to my apartment after shopping, and after watching the late news, went to bed. I woke up the next morning feeling great.

"I can't remember the last time I had such a good night's sleep," I said over breakfast. Damian looked pleased.

"Happy to help, Sweet pea," he said, pouring me more coffee. "What's on your agenda for the day?"

"I get to register for classes today for next semester," I said, pleased. "And I have a meeting with my faculty advisor. That's this morning. Then I have therapy this afternoon."

"Come by the office after you get done in therapy," he invited me. "Then you can have a look at your new office and we'll go out to dinner."

I beamed. "Sounds great." I wasn't really involved with the business beyond funding it, so I hadn't seen the new premises. Some days it was hard enough to get up and take care of Eira. But today I was feeling perky. He was going out patrolling with Nightwing that night, so no sleepover.

"I wondered if I could impose on you to be at the apartment for the furniture delivery," he asked hesitantly. "I forgot when I paid that I have a meeting during the window."

"Sure,"I said. "That won't be any trouble."

"I'll get you a key," he murmured. "And perhaps you can bring over some of your things and whatever Eira needs." He smiled. "Did you notice the fireplaces?"

"No," I said with interest. "I can't believe I missed those."

"One in the bedroom, one in the living room. Both functional, they use gas. And it's cold at night."

"I like those features," I purred, and he grinned.

"I'm not patrolling tomorrow night," he mentioned.

"There's a storm moving in overnight," I said demurely. "It might be nice to try them out."

"We can go out for dinner, then spend the evening in." And so a plan was born. "And then you can spend the night."

"What's your dad going to be doing?" I asked, with a slight frown on his face. He laughed.

"Dad went to Asia today for Daniel. He'll be gone for a couple of weeks. Beside, he does not have a key."

"That's a relief," I said, and Damian guffawed.

"I think none of us wants a repeat of that," he said, wiping his eyes. "I thought for sure you'd head for the hills. But you were very self-possessed and insisted we finish before having breakfast downstairs. That was when I was sure you were the woman for me."

"I had a pretty strong hint that you were the man for me that first Christmas party back in the city. It was Bruce's annual work party and you asked me to dance. You'd taken dancing lessons."

"The band played "Night and Day," he said, remembering. "When we were kids I didn't like being outclassed, and you were a much better dancer than I was. It was initially motivating, then in college I kind of hoped to bump into you at a club or something, show you that I could improve. But I never did."

"I didn't like clubs much," I said. "We went mostly to kind of dive bars where you can play pool, drink cheap beer, hang out. And I wasn't one for small talk--I could take only so much of 'where do you go to school? what's your major? do you have a boyfriend?' We did mostly campus parties, some of the more casual bars for dancing. The ones with the cheap covers." I sipped my coffee. "I felt that we'd last that first time I came over to the suite to patch you up after that beating you took. You looked really bad, but although I hated to see you hurt, I thought I dealt with it pretty well. I felt like I could cope with your nighttime lifestyle choices and I wanted to make sure you were going to be ok."

"You did more than pretty well, Sweet pea. Oddly, I've never had qualms about placing my life in your hands. Even that first time, the garage, I had the feeling that you were going to get me out of trouble. And you always did. Meeting you was the greatest gift I've ever received." One of the many things I liked about Damian was that he never pretended to be above his emotions; if he teared up, he had his reasons and he wasn't embarrassed about it. I was, however, surprised to find him on his knees beside my chair, sobbing into my lap. I let him get it out, stroking his silky black hair, letting him clutch my hand.

"God, I've been so stupid," he finally said, looking up at me through red eyes and sniffing. "This crime fighting thing. It's taken you away from me too much. I've been on the wrong end of a beating before, but you've borne the worst of it. What happened in high school to you, and after you came back, then I died and left you alone, then my latest jackassery." His eyes were even more brilliant surrounded by the red as he looked at me, wonder on his face. "But you still keep coming back."

"Yeah, there might be some residual brain damage," I joked. I smoothed tears off his cheeks. "I'm glad you've had this epiphany, darling, but don't overreact and say you're going to quit nightgowning it," I said, stroking his hair back. "Because I think it's something that satisfies something inside you." He gave me a watery chuckle. "I want you to be who you are, Damian, I just want you to be less secretive. That you treat me as an equal and let me face trouble beside you."

"I saw you sometimes, after my death," he said. "I used to follow you and the kids around Manhattan." He shook his head. "First Boston, then the city. I never used to think of myself as a stalker." I burst out laughing and leaned forward to kiss him. "I do want to continue fighting at night," he said after touching my cheek. "But not forever. A while longer. It makes me feel like I'm making more of a contribution than just handing over checks to good causes or cutting a ribbon." I nodded, understanding.

"Then how about this? A bargain. You go on with your extracurricular evenings, until you reach the point where you slow down a little, when you miss a step. Because I would really like to grow old with you once, darling."

He exhaled and seemed to soften a little. "That is an agreement I can honor," he said, kissing my palms before pressing them together between his own.

I placed a kiss on his forehead, then helped him to his feet. He had to get to work, and I had a meeting. We left together, and when we were down on the pavement, ready to separate--he had to go home to change and shave--I put my hand to his cheek, feeling the stubble of his beard on my fingers. "I keep coming back, Damian, because we belong together. Nothing can change that."

"I will endeavor to not drive you away again," he said, his voice catching.

"Just don't be a dumbass," I said, patting his lips before lowering my hand. "Use that big brain for something besides business and tactics." I smiled and laughed. He looked abashed.

"You have my word," he said, and kissed me lightly before hurrying off. I went off in the other direction.

So I was still in a really good mood when I got to the school. Damian does his best to honor his word.

The meeting with my new advisor was energizing and exciting, and I couldn't wait to start classes. Dr Lenz helped me register, explaining how to navigate the programs that the university used, and gave me a list of textbooks I'd be using, in order to give me a head start on my classwork since I was eager.

I met Aslyn for a spontaneous lunch off campus and told her about it; we traded stories about our experiences in education thus far. "And somehow I ended up in a dual degree program," I told her, shaking my head, still a bit dazed. She laughed. 'The Masters in Architecture and the Masters in Historic Preservation. I'll get to take more interesting electives that way," I said.

"You're such an overachiever," she said, poking my arm. "Good thing I am too. I'm going to apply to law school, do a joint MBA/law degree."

"What is wrong with us?" I wondered.

"Work hard, play hard," she said briskly. Then we got to talking about other things, and I caught her up on how things were going with Damian. "It's about time, Alex," she said. "You're happier when you're with him."

"I am," I said. "I just needed to let go of some stuff. It's just been difficult lately, there's so much to deal with." She nodded.

Soon we needed to get going, as I had to get to therapy. And I seemed to be having a moment of clarity; the therapy seemed to make more sense. Or maybe it was just the good sleep I'd had. I had a nice walk to Damian's new place just in time; of course the delivery people were prompt, right at the beginning of the window. The smell of fresh paint wafted out as I let the delivery people in and I made my best guesses where Damian would like the lamps, bed, dresser, sofa, ottoman, and the little kitchen table and chairs. I smiled to myself, looking at the new delivery. He just barely had a drawer to offer me, he was a bit of a clotheshorse. The mattress thumped into place in the four-poster bed and I tipped the delivery people on their way out. Then I realized Damian had no sheets. Or pillows. Or towels. Or blankets... I hustled out and did some shopping.

When I returned, it was dark. I'd had the uncomfortable feeling that I was being watched, but that was ridiculous. Nobody knew where I was, and there were just a lot of people on the street these days. I frowned and made sure the door was locked behind me. I ripped into the packaging for the sheets and stuffed them into the washer, then unpacked the pillows, taking off tags. Washing technology had improved a lot while I was dead; the cycle was complete in fifteen minutes. Ten minutes for the dryer. I was carrying the freshly washed sheets into the bedroom when I heard a key in the lock. I stiffened; it was too early for Damian to be back. I threw the sheets on the bed and waited, shaking out my hands, ready for who or whatever came through that door.

Alfred blinked at me owlishly when he saw me. "Oh, Alfred. Sorry, you startled me," I said, coming forward to draw him into the room. "I wasn't expecting you. Damian didn't say you'd be by."

"Miss Alex," he said warmly. "I apologize for startling you. I was unaware that you'd be here. I thought that I would bring a few things over for Master Damian." He indicated the garment bags he carried.

"Damian asked me to let the furniture delivery in," I said. "Then I realized he had no sheets or anything." Alfred laughed fondly. He took suits out of the garment bags, then helped me make the bed. I'd gotten the mattress pad on and we each took a side to put on the sheets, blankets, and folded the duvet at the foot, talking about the fiber content of the sheets (I'd found a really nice cotton/linen blend in a crisp white) and his upcoming vacation. He was leaving the day after tomorrow. I could sense that Alfred wanted to know what was going on but was struggling not to ask.

"We're back on track," I mentioned as I fluffed the pillow on my side and smoothed the pillowcase.

"I am pleased to hear it, Miss Alex," Alfred murmured.

"That's why the huge ottoman," I volunteered. "Eira has her own place to hang out. I'm bringing some things over tomorrow."

"I do like that dog," he said with satisfaction. Then I got a text, wondering where I was. I'd forgotten I was supposed to meet him at the office. Alfred shooed me off.

"Enjoy your evening, Miss Alex." I smiled and hustled out. As advertised, the storm was moving in, and big fluffy flakes were lazing down to earth. I dashed the couple of blocks to the office and up the stairs. The space was large, open, and bright.

"I was starting to worry," Damian said, helping me out of my coat.

"You didn't have any sheets," I explained, and his face went blank.

"Oh, god," he said, looking rattled. I smiled.

"I got you a few things, so you'll have someplace to put your head tonight." I smoothed his tie. "And Alfred came by while I was there, he brought you some suits."

"I'd probably die from exposure without help," he said. "Thank you, Sweet pea." He tucked my hand into the crook of his arm as he showed me around. "Tony and Ann are finishing up at the old place."

"It looks good," I said. He showed me into an office. It was very small, about the size of a baby walk-in closet. Its window looked out into an alley. I smiled. In his office, the lovely desk he'd bought was already covered with paper and stuff. Then we walked to a restaurant and had a nice time talking about our days. He laughed when he heard that I'd increased to a dual degree.

"You never do anything by half, Petal," he said, and asked questions about what that would entail. It was a very nice dinner, then he walked me home, coming with me as I picked up Eira from Serena's apartment. Serena waved at Damian and smirked at me, and then we went to my apartment. Damian came in to make out some, then took a bag of my things to put in his apartment and went to do his heroing. There was some residual comfort from Damian, because my sleep was undisturbed.

Eira and I were about to go out for our morning walk when a delivery arrived: a huge bouquet of lovely white lilies (it's heavenly to be with you.) She seemed to enjoy watching me put them in water and fuss a little, texting thanks to Damian, who confirmed that I would be meeting him at the restaurant where we had a reservation.

Today was a day of meetings; people I didn't see enough of. First up was breakfast with my grandpa, Aunt Becca, and Uncle Bucky. I was distressed to learn that Aunt Becca was still in the tent city, there having been a snafu when she was supposed to move into an apartment. She dismissed our concerns. "The tents are well built--the fabric these days is astonishing--and there are safety features . The fabric can't be cut with a knife and the openings are secured with biometric locks. I have a nice heater and at nights it's cozy. During the day I'm rarely at home; I got a job with the emergency census." The government had commissioned a census just four years after the once-a-decade one to help understand the impact of the returnees. She was enjoying it a lot, meeting new people, being out and moving around.

"I'm not questioning your competency, Bec," Grandpa said.

"Good, because you know that would be a bad idea," she replied, sipping her coffee.

"I'm having problems with it because I can't help remembering you the way you were when I was a kid, Auntie," I admitted. "Obviously you're not old and frail anymore, but I still want you to have a real bed. Winter's not far off. Are you sure I can't ask Daniel to bump you up the list?"

She smiled and patted my hand. "You're a good girl, Alex, but I'm fine. People camp all the time in winter, I'm told, so I'll be fine. And no, I don't want preferential treatment. The people above me on the list deserve an apartment as much as I do."

"Don't argue, Alex," Bucky said wearily. "She's the most stubborn person in the family, and that's saying a lot." Grandpa nodded, while Becca beamed at him.

"It took a couple of lifetimes, but you finally learned there isn't any point trying to boss me around," she said fondly, and Bucky snorted.

"So, sweetie, tell me how your meeting with your faculty advisor went," he asked me, changing the subject. So I told them how I was now pursuing a dual degree.

"That sounds like a lot of extra work," Grandpa said.

I nodded. "I'm not actually sure I'll go through with it," I said. "But there are some very valuable electives that are only available to those in the Architecture program and I want to get a better understanding of architecture. The difference between the classes I want to take and the second degree is four classes, so I might just get the extra credential. Depends on how valuable that extra semester will be."

Grandpa smiled at me. "I'm very proud of you, sweetheart." He'd taken a job wiring new construction and found it engaging enough, but he was attending city-sponsored classes on career opportunities for returnees that described different careers and what training or education was needed for each field. "What are you doing these days, Buck?"

"I agreed to take over as the Avengers' combat instructor, temporarily. Their current one went on a mission that broke just about every bone in his body." He shook his head. "And they can't be without instruction for as long as it's going to take to put him back together. It'll give me time to figure out my next steps."

"Are you going back into the field, James?" Aunt Becca asked mildly. Bucky and I looked at her in early stages of terror. When she used Bucky's first name, it meant that she had some very definite thoughts that she was going to share with him.

"No, Bec," my uncle said hastily. I smiled. It was fun to see my hyper-competent uncle cowed by somebody. "It's just training. And there's a lot of work to be done." He shook his head and contemplated the situation. "You said that Stark was going to be doing some work as Iron Man, didn't you, sweetie?" he asked. I nodded. "Don't suppose you could speak with him and get his ass over to the tower--sorry, Bec--to take them in hand? Because they're not very well disciplined."

"I'll speak with him, see what he has to say," I promised, and he nodded.

"You should drop by the tower," he told me. "See the training facilities they have these days." I smiled.

"I'd like that, Uncle Bucky. I'm looking into gyms these days, but they're so high tech. I haven't seen a single weight. Maybe I can see how they're supposed to work and decide whether they'll be worth my time."

Bucky snorted. "I'm not sure they are. Tech isn't the answer to everything, and the best training opponent is a human." I said that I'd drop by the next day. Then Grandpa and Aunt Becca went to work, and Bucky went to the tower to try to sort out the Avengers. I went on to have coffee with Peter.

He too was going back to school, doing a refresher in business, polish his credentials. There was a lot of past talent out there, and competition for certain kinds of jobs was fierce. "I mention that I ran Stark Industry, and they ask if I'm related to May Parker," he said grimly. "It's a bit of a drawback."

I nodded, toying with my small coffee. "How's she doing?"

"Well, she went into that program, the one where they're recruiting people to go work on farms."

"Sounds like the land girls of WWII," I commented, and he nodded.

"That's where they got the idea. She was working on a farm, but took an opportunity to transfer to a ranch. She's caring for alpacas now."

My eyebrows raised. "That's quite a switch." He nodded.

"But surprisingly, she's enjoying it. Even more surprisingly, she's good at it. I went for a visit. Her bosses speak very highly of her abilities."

"She's got a lot of potential," I said. "Her abilities weren't in question, it was her judgment and her hubris." I cocked my head a little. "Are there any prospects there?"

"Yes, actually." He fiddled with his doughnut. "She could buy into the business. She would still work with the existing herd and build her own. She would continue to use the ranch and their business network to sell her fleeces for a small portion of the profits. The alpacas are herd animals and do best with a lot of their kind around." I didn't know about the business of alpacas, but I did know spinning. He brought out a few little bags. "This is the quality of the alpaca--fur? Whatever." I took it out of the ziploc bag and played with it a bit. It was fine and soft and twisted nicely. "This is the kind of alpaca she wants to breed and manage." The second sample was even finer. "It's called a Royal alpaca. And this is vicuna." The vicuna was even softer.

"Wow," I said.

"She wants to start out with three Royal alpaca females and one male, and add vicuna after she's gotten a little more established." I was surprised that she wasn't just jumping in.

"Well, I'm prepared to give her $50,000," I said. Peter brightened and rubbed the side of his head. We looked online and found that this would allow her to buy a decent quality male as well as her proven females with a little left over. "She might want to pay stud fees instead, buy an extra female."

After we were done with our coffee, we went to the bank and I got the funds on one of those nifty crystal plates and gave it to him. After that, it was lunch with my gals, hearing how Carol's apprenticeship was progressing, Margaret's work with the city, Karen's progress in the construction company, Dagny's progress in school. It was hard going for her--she'd been dead for a couple of centuries and she'd never gone to college--so Aslyn, Serena, and I offered tutoring. Aslyn announced her dual degree program to milk kidding, which she deflected by announcing that I was also adding a program. Serena snorted. I squinted at her.

"Serena, what are you hiding?" I asked, suspicious.

"I thought that perhaps I'd add on the real estate development program," she said, abashed. "It's only three additional semesters." I laughed.

After lunch, I waddled over to the office. Damian was out, but I wasn't really there for him although it would have been awesome to see him. I found Tony and Ann setting up tanks for algaes they were hoping would consume weathered old plastics and metals.

"What's up?" Tony asked. "Wayne's at the old place, getting the landlord to sign off on our move out, getting back the deposit."

"Today's been a day for catching up with people I haven't seen for too long. It's all revolved around eating and drinking. Big mistake," I said ruefully. "So I'm here for two reasons. First, measure my office to see what kind of a desk can be fit in there since you insist I have it." We smirked at each other. "Second, Uncle Bucky's been pressed into being the Avengers' combat trainer since their one is in the hospital. He wanted to know if, in your capacity as Iron Man, you could show up here and there to kick their asses." Ann snorted.

"Probably," Tony said, eyeballing adjustments in what he said was an automatic feeder. My personal opinion was, that when you were engineering a species, that they did best with some coaxing and coddling and attention, which included feeding. You do your measurements and water testing before the feeding, and you can more easily see how they're doing. I'd caught a die-off early enough to prevent it, once. But I held my tongue; this was their show.

"You haven't kicked anybody's ass for weeks," Ann teased him, and I grinned.

"Ok," he said, putting down the screwdriver and tossing me a measuring tape. "I'll go by this afternoon. I need to work on a new suit, anyway." I got my measurements and left, going to a couple of furniture stores before finding a table I liked. It was sturdy and had pretty turned legs. I got a desk chair, a set of chrome metal shelves, and some basic office supplies as a backup to whatever they were using. Additionally, my little office was right off the lab space, so they could use the shelving for storage. There's never enough room in a lab. I arranged for delivery and took the office supplies with me, planning on dropping them off later. After that, I dropped by Wayne for a coffee break with Daniel.

He was thrilled to hear that Damian were working things out. I guess he hated to see Grandma and Grandpa arguing. Things were working out pretty well with all the Batmen available--Bruce, Daniel, and Xander rotated the duty and I guess it was pretty lively in the batcave. He liked the idea of Dick and Damian doing their own thing; they all shared information and the batcave, so independence was a matter of degrees rather than a complete separation. That continued closeness was what Daniel liked; he hoarded his relatives and liked them close by.

"Are you and Grandpa going to move back to the manor?" he asked, tapping his stylus on the desk. "Your old suite is waiting for you."

"We're not living together again yet," I said, smiling. "And when we do, I would personally prefer some independence. Damian gets too focused on his second job, which is what led us to our current state of affairs." Daniel looked crestfallen. I patted his hand and topped up his coffee cup and congratulated him on making Alfred take a vacation. He gave me in invitation with my friends to Thanksgiving dinner and asked how my preparation for going back to school was going, interested when I told him about the adjustment I'd made to my plans.

"Are you going to come work for the company when you've graduated? We could really use someone with your skills," he asked brightly. It was a day of disappointments.

"I don't think so," I said. "I want to see what I can achieve on my own. Or, at least, as much on my own as is possible when word gets around to whom I'm related." Daniel's face sagged. "Honey, it's not that I'm ashamed or embarrassed to be related to you. It's just... Look. From the time I was in high school, who I knew has kind of shaped my life. Meeting Bucky led me to working for Stark. Bruce kept an eye on me when I went to work in his company. Both he and Tony wrote recommendations that helped get me into MIT. I worked for them both, briefly, then back to Stark and urged Martha to acquire Stark for Wayne when the time came. I spent a lot of time on Damian's arm, being an asset to him and the company socially. And after he was killed, I was still Alex Wayne, showing the flag at social and charitable events. I feel that I, myself, got kind of lost in the shuffle. Even in the afterlife, I came to Odin's attention and favor because he liked my aunt and uncles. Then I was a valkyrie, one of Odin's chosen warriors. So I want to see what Alex Barnes can do on her own. Not to say I wouldn't work with Wayne on projects, but I need this for me."

"I didn't know you felt that way," he said quietly.

"It's not a bad thing," I said reassuringly. "I chose it, all of it. I didn't have to meet my uncle, I could have gotten a job in retail or fast food or something rather than go to work for Wayne. I didn't have to get involved with Damian, and I could have limited what I was willing to do socially. I didn't have to go back to work for Stark. I could have even turned down being a valkyrie when it was first offered. It wasn't a bad life by any means, honey, for the most part, I was exceptionally blessed. But in this lifetime, I want to play by my rules."

"I can understand that," he said after some consideration. "I just miss you." He sighed. "And if you go into business for yourself, I've just got a new competitor to worry about." I smiled.

"Doesn't mean I'm not going to lean on you for favors," I said cheerfully, and he smiled.

"I'd be hurt if I couldn't help," he said, and we drifted into other areas of conversation until Catwoman--I mean, Serena--came in for a meeting.

"It's good to see you, pet," she said after air kisses. She cracks me up. "You let Bruce off the hook too early," she said sternly. "But we're having an evolving discussion about consideration." I laughed outright at that; she's totally got Bruce wrapped around her elegant finger. I said goodbye and let them get to their meeting. I was feeling really good about my accomplishments. I had one more meeting; coffee with my parents and J. I ducked into the bathroom before leaving.

At the coffeehouse, I just had water. J stared at me. "What's wrong?" he asked. "You never pass up the opportunity to acquire additional caffeination." I had to explain my very efficient scheduling. Mom laughed. It turned out that they were working on plans too; Mom wanted to open another coffee shop and Dad wanted to pick up woodworking again. They were in the city, looking for properties. Mom wanted Dad to make the tables, chairs, counters, and other fixtures for the store, and they'd found a space in a redeveloped old industrial park for his shop. It was filling up with other burgeoning small businesses. The area had two or three other developments like that, in fact, and Mom was angling for an empty space that was rather central to all the industrial parks.

"The space is rather large," she fretted.

"If you have the only good coffee in the area, it still probably won't be big enough," J said, and I agreed. Then Dad pestered J for an update to his plans, and he said that he was planning on going back for retraining and to brush up on his skills. The AMA had created a certification program for returnees; what you needed to learn depended in large part on how long you'd been dead. Then he wanted to focus on epidemiology. "I've always liked it, but now it's critical, with all the returnees. Conditions in less developed countries are abysmal, even with help from the UN and WHO. So much of it is just sanitation, but there are diseases popping up all over, like polio again." He shook his head. "And for some reason, viruses that were relatively stable are starting to mutate, avoiding the suppressing effect of vaccines. It's a whole new rodeo out there."

That was worrisome, and I didn't really like the idea of my little brother wading off into unknown viruses and bacteria, but it wasn't my decision to make. Then I got my opportunity to humblebrag. Dad was amused, but Mom was still uneasy about this career choice, since it would take three or four years before I could be back out into the workforce. "You could do your science again in less time," she suggested.

"It's a new life, I need a new challenge," I said, nicely but firmly, and Dad jumped in on my side. Good ol' Dad. Then Mom said that Grandma wanted to come over for a visit.

"Can she come over for Christmas?" I asked eagerly, with J just a second behind me. Mom smiled and said that this was the plan. J and I high-fived each other. Grandma always made Christmas better, not the least because she always made special desserts and breads for the holidays.

I had just enough time to get home to get ready and drop Eira off with Dagny (Serena was going to start her first tutoring session that evening) before meeting Damian for dinner.