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The gym
Mar 23, 2009 0:41:56 GMT -5
Post by Lois Lane on Mar 23, 2009 0:41:56 GMT -5
*Normally, running her mouth and chasing after leads would give her all the exercise she needed but lately, she found herself barely able to leave her room. She had rationalized everything inside her head and was able to convince herself that her inability to get out of her room wasn't because she was afraid of running into Bruce... but just under the surface, she knew that was exactly why.*
*More than awkward, she felt frustrated. She was a woman rarely out of control and being stuck in a situation in which control felt just out of reach was eating away at her.*
*Lois walked into the gym, the silence of the morning and the emptiness of the house causing a faint ringing in her ears. She quickly looked over all the equipment. Weights were never her thing and she didn’t feel like running or biking. But she did feel like throwing a few punches.*
*After wrapping her hands and wrist, she grabbed a pair of gloves and approached the punching bag. She let out a sigh before putting them on. Her punches were timid at first, little more than taps; it had been a long time since she had time for something like this. But Lois quickly found her footing and soon, her punches were stronger, more certain and fierce. It was all too easy to lose herself.*
*It was as if every punch and kick was aimed directly at the tangled mess of indecipherable emotions. It was liberating... addicting. The dull ache in her knuckles was increasing steadily into a sharp pain and sweat beaded and ran down her face, but all she could think about was throwing the next punch with all she had.*
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The gym
Mar 23, 2009 0:58:48 GMT -5
Post by Bruce Wayne on Mar 23, 2009 0:58:48 GMT -5
He knew very well he couldn't avoid Lois, definitley not forever. As big as the house was, he was bound to encounter her sooner or later.
Ever since the library, and what Lois had said, he'd been doing a lot of thinking. Most of it was some painfully honest self-evaluation, and he'd realized that she was right: he didn't let people in, because he felt that it only doomed them in the end. But he couldn't stay closed off forever, now could he?
So it was that he wound up at the gym to find Lois there. For a moment he thought of turning right back around, but instead he kept heading right on in.
"Remind me never to get you mad at me." He said.
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The gym
Mar 23, 2009 19:56:11 GMT -5
Post by Lois Lane on Mar 23, 2009 19:56:11 GMT -5
*Lois threw one last punch before turning. She laughed, finding it a bit easier to be around him. It wasn't until then her hand began to really hurt. She undid the velcro on the gloves with her teeth and took them off. Blood had seeped through the bandages she had wrapped around her knuckles. An annoyed sigh left her lips as she subconsciously tried to hide her hands.*
"...Sorry about the melodrama," *she said breathlessly, embarrassed that he had to see that.*
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The gym
Mar 23, 2009 22:32:40 GMT -5
Post by Bruce Wayne on Mar 23, 2009 22:32:40 GMT -5
His eyes lingered on her injured hands for only a moment, before meeting hers.
"Don't worry about it. I've made plenty of melodrama myself."
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The gym
Mar 23, 2009 22:42:55 GMT -5
Post by Lois Lane on Mar 23, 2009 22:42:55 GMT -5
*She grinned.*
"Yeah, but I doubt that it was this suited for a movie," *she said with a self-deprecating air.*
*Lois sat down on a nearby weight training bench and gingerly began to unwind the bandages, trying (but failing) to not wince at the pain.*
"Is there a first aid kit here?" *he asked sheepishly, looking up at him from the bench.*
((See what I did there with mentioning the movie? XD))
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The gym
Mar 24, 2009 0:18:44 GMT -5
Post by Bruce Wayne on Mar 24, 2009 0:18:44 GMT -5
(( ;P ))
"Sure, I'll get it."
He wandered over toward the back of the gym, popping open the kit that was mounted to the wall and pulling out the necessary items before bringing them back to her.
"Think that'll cover it."
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The gym
Mar 24, 2009 0:28:50 GMT -5
Post by Lois Lane on Mar 24, 2009 0:28:50 GMT -5
"Thanks."
*She went right to cleaning the wound.*
"Well, the weather cleared up," *she said, purposely exaggerating the casual tone in hopes that a truly casual conversation would somehow spring from it. But she knew that things wouldn't stop being awkward between them.*
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The gym
Mar 24, 2009 0:38:26 GMT -5
Post by Bruce Wayne on Mar 24, 2009 0:38:26 GMT -5
Bruce held out a hand.
"May I?"
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The gym
Mar 24, 2009 0:50:33 GMT -5
Post by Lois Lane on Mar 24, 2009 0:50:33 GMT -5
*She looked up at him and hesitated for a split second before putting her hand in his. Any effort to make this situation less uncomfortable would be futile and she knew it. Not to say that she didn't want him there. She did. Lois wished he'd be that close more often but she knew that he'd be able to see right through her. So she simply stayed quiet.*
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The gym
Mar 24, 2009 1:16:44 GMT -5
Post by Bruce Wayne on Mar 24, 2009 1:16:44 GMT -5
He sat down next to her, trying to ignore the small feeling of awkwardness and simply concentrate on what he was doing. He gently took her hand in his, carefully cleaning up the injury a bit before wrapping it up.
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The gym
Mar 24, 2009 1:24:02 GMT -5
Post by Lois Lane on Mar 24, 2009 1:24:02 GMT -5
*Lois kept her gaze at him the entire time, not really aware that he'd probably notice. She was, however, aware of the buzzing silence that filled the air between them... or was that just her brain?*
"I missed you," *she mentioned, almost like an after thought, completely truthful and vulnerable. The latter she realized only after the words left her mouth. But for some reason, she didn't regret saying them.*
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The gym
Mar 24, 2009 10:04:29 GMT -5
Post by Bruce Wayne on Mar 24, 2009 10:04:29 GMT -5
He glanced up from bandaging her other hand, having finished the first one.
"I missed you, too." He said, just as truthful.
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The gym
Mar 24, 2009 22:37:50 GMT -5
Post by Lois Lane on Mar 24, 2009 22:37:50 GMT -5
*Lois sighed, the tone of it indecipherable. She looked away, her gaze falling on the punching bag just a few feet away. There was a long pause before she spoke.*
"My dad used to go at these things all the time," *she said, the end of the sentence punctuated by a short mirthless laugh.* "I used to think, 'okay, Vietnam vet. I guess this is how he deals with his PTSD' but... thinking about it now, he never did when he was stressed or angry. It was always when things started getting normal. Imagine that: begin frustrated or maybe even scared of things getting better. But it makes sense. My dad knew..."
*She turned to Bruce.*
"...He knew that the fall from happiness to misery is much worse the second time around."
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The gym
Mar 24, 2009 22:38:59 GMT -5
Post by Louis de Pointe du Lac on Mar 24, 2009 22:38:59 GMT -5
((D'AWW))
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The gym
Mar 24, 2009 22:56:37 GMT -5
Post by Bruce Wayne on Mar 24, 2009 22:56:37 GMT -5
He thought to say something, but anything he thought of seemed trivial, not enough. He slid an arm around Lois' shoulders, comforting, not awkward. He couldn't be awkward around her forever--that would get them nowhere. After a moment, however, he DID finally say something.
"I know that feeling. But, if I would rather have normal and risk it than never have some kind of happiness."
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