0003. CHAPTER THREE
— long time, no see

SOME PEOPLE THRIVE IN SITUATIONS THAT CREATE CHAOS, OTHERS SEEM TO SINK THE MINUTE THEY'RE PUT INTO THEM. Augustine Finley had always been good at managing chaos. She had to be. Between being one of the most prominent socialites in all of Gotham (a heavy burden to carry at such a young age) and having the weight of another person's life, their entire future, in her hands; it was safe to say that Augustine Finley and chaos were synonymous with one another. She was so effortlessly capable of surviving in the chaos that it made others survive as well — at least, that was the case for Dick Grayson. One would think that growing up in a circus made chaos easier to handle, something he was used to. And while it was something he was used to, he never got good at handling it. Not until he had Augustine Finley by his side. Holding his hand, giving him tips and reminders to do something a little different. She was the guiding hand he needed for being thrust into the world she had been molded to fit from birth.

Chaos lived within her, meanwhile, it merely existed in the world around him.

The two were different, so very different. Yet, it was what made them work. What made them click. Because of the things they had in common, they were the things that mattered most. They could stay up for hours just talking to each other about the things going on around them. Or, sometimes, stay up for hours while Augustine taught Dick how to do a certain type of dance. Her personal favorite was the Waltz, she thought fondly of the memories when the two first learned how to dance the Waltz with each other. How his feet would step on hers, the way his hand tentatively went to rest on her waist, the shakiness of the hand that held her own. It was something that made her heart soar with happiness, thinking of him like that. When they were younger, more carefree.

When they had less that weighed them down. Because now, Dick Grayson and Augustine Finley were two entirely different people.

People who had changed over just a few years, people who would never be able to go back to what they once were. Hell, as Augustine sat behind the wheel, she questioned why she was even helping him. Why was she spending her time, her vacation days, trying to help someone who hasn't spoken to her in far too long? Fingers tapping on the steering wheel, she looked out at the long expanse of highway in front of her. It was barren, desolate even, something even she was surprised about. No traffic whatsoever, it just meant she would be getting there on time. Which wasn't a problem with her, the faster she got there, the more time she had to help Dick figure out whatever mystery he was trying to solve this time. Or, at the very least, it gave her more time to try and hurry up the process of whatever plan he had already been creating. She knew him better than she knew herself, she knew his calling was a last-ditch effort. A cry for help. All because he had no idea of what to do, at least, he had no idea what to do at that point. She also knew he would have come up with something in two days — he had always been quick on his feet like that.

He never thought twice when his prom tuxedo came in the wrong color, instead, he worked the tuxedo he had into what he needed it to be. And it still somehow matched her dress perfectly, there were some things she never wanted to know about him. Some things were too good to know, too magical (and she knew that that kind of magic wasn't real, she did. but some part of her wanted to think that it might have been for him), so she never questioned it. And she had no care to question about it now, it had been too long for the magic of Dick Grayson to matter to her.

At least, that's what she was trying to convince herself.

Dick Grayson wasn't someone who mattered to her anymore, not in the way that he used to. Not in the way that her heart would stop and mind turn fuzzy. No, he was just her former best friend who only talked to her when it was convenient for him. When he needed her. Never when she needed him. At least, not in the past five (give or take) years. Augustine Finley couldn't remember a time in the past few years when she's called him and had an answer. Not directly. Not at the exact moment, she had been calling. Not when she needed him to answer. His response always came in the form of indirect text messages and push-offs, tales of 'can I call you later?' or questions of how important the call was. Augustine had stopped calling him after a while, he wasn't the person she thought of telling first anymore. Not when she had Roy. Roy Harper is the man who would instantly answer her phone call even when he was in a meeting. Roy Harper is the type of man who was never afraid to drop whatever he was doing to greet Augustine when she walked through the door. Never afraid to smile at her, pull her into his side. Roy Harper was the kind of man who made time for her even when he had almost none to give. Because she mattered to him.

Dick Grayson hadn't been that type of person for years. Maybe, at one point in time, he was that kind of person for Augustine. She liked to remember him that way. As the person who dropped anything to listen to her. When they were teenagers, he was. Augustine knew she could go to him for anything, it's why she was always over at the manor (or vice versa, but she liked Wayne Manor) (thinking about it now, though, maybe she only liked it because Dick was there). Hell, when they were teens, Augustine would have trusted him to drop whatever he was holding to make sure she wouldn't fall. There had been plenty of times she ran to jump into his arms, watching as he dropped whatever he was holding in his hands to make sure he could hold onto her.

And if you had told Augustine that Dick Grayson wouldn't be that person to her when she grew up, she wouldn't have believed you. That would mean she followed down a similar path as her mother, which was the exact thing she tried to avoid. The exact thing she never wanted to experience. Yet, here she was. While she had never been in love with Dick (not in the same way her mother had loved Bruce) (of course, Augustine may have just convinced herself she was never in love with him) she had lost her best friend. The person she trusted with a part of herself. She had done exactly what her mother warned her of. And it got her hurt in the end.

The sound of her ringtone brought her from her thoughts, clicking on the green 'answer call' button on her steering wheel. She waited a few seconds before she spoke, waiting to see if the person on the other line would speak first. "Hello?"

"August," A smile grew on her lips as she listened to Roy's voice fill the space of her car. "I just wanted to check on you, how's the car ride going?"

"It's slow," Augustine replied. "Really fucking slow."

"Bad traffic?"

"No," Augustine shook her head as if he could see her. "Anything big happen at work today?"

"Nothing you'd want to know about," Roy dismissed her quickly. "Unless you wanna hear about the bomb that we deactivated in Central City."

"Another one?" Augustine's voice went up an octave as her brows drew together quickly. "Jesus, how many fucking bombs can these people get?"

"A surprisingly large number. What I find even more surprising is how many weapons the good guys can get without the government ever finding out."

"Yeah," Augustine let the scoff fall from her lips. "Ollie has an entire arsenal of weapons, bombs included. I've been questioning how the other superheroes that aren't billionaires can afford to have any weapons."

"Most of them have powers," Roy sighed. "Actually, yeah. No, most of the others are either part of a league with a fuckton of money or they are just naturally enhanced."

"Or you're like my mother and have a fuckton of money while also having alien DNA embedded in the genes that give you powers."

"Yeah, there's that too."

"Funny how that happens, isn't it?"

"Sure is," Roy let out a laugh. Augustine smiled more when she heard the small voice coming from behind him, "Oof, Lian you can't just jump up onto my lap like that." A beat, some whispering that Augustine couldn't quite make out came from the other line. "What do you want to tell her?" Another beat of silence as more whispering occurred. "Well then, why don't you tell her that? Don't get shy with me, Lian. You know you can talk to her. Why are you giving me that look? Just ask her the question."

Augustine couldn't help but smile as Roy argued with Lian, she had been there for most of her life (of the parts that Roy had her for). Though she wasn't with Roy until Lian turned four, she had watched the young girl growing up in front of her eyes. It was one of the things that made Augustine hesitant about getting into a relationship with Roy, she didn't want Lian to get used to having her around and then just, not have her there anymore. It's why they waited until they were dating for a year to even think about moving in with each other, or waiting until six months to tell Lian they were dating. But now? Now, Augustine couldn't imagine not having Lian Harper in her life. Not waking up to her squirming into her arms, or pushing their bedroom door open because she had a nightmare, wanting to sleep in between her father and her. "What do you want to ask me, Lian?"

"When you come home," Lian trailed off, she could already picture her brown eyes staring back at her dad for comfort.

"Yeah?"

"When you come home, can we do a movie night again?" Augustine couldn't help her smile grow larger. Roy's laugh could be heard in the background, alongside the squeals that came from Lian after he leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek. Augustine could hear a vague 'now was that so hard' come from him, another laugh coming from Lian. She could almost picture the situation. The two of them sat on the couch together, Lian sitting on Roy's lap as his fingers tickled her stomach, causing the giggles to roar from her chest. It made her heartache, she longed to be there with them. Watching it in person. Seeing their smiles, hearing the laughter. She wanted to be there, making more memories. But instead, she was driving past the Welcome to Washington D.C. sign.

"Yeah, we can do a movie night again. Got any preferences for the movie?"

"No," Lian quickly answered.

"Well, maybe you and your dad can spend the next week figuring out which movie you want to watch."

"Okay!" She excitedly answered. "But it's a surprise."

"A surprise?"

"Mhm," She hummed matter-of-factly, "Me and Daddy won't tell you what movie we chose until you get home."

"You heard what she said," Roy singsonged into the phone. "How far are you from Dawn's apartment?"

She peered down at her car's navigation system, letting out a sigh, "About ten minutes."

"Alright," Roy sighed. "I'll let you go, then."

"Yeah," Augustine's voice was soft. "Is it too early to say that I miss you?"

"Nah, I miss you too," Roy answered honestly. "I love you, be safe okay?"

"Just because of that, I'm going to make the dumbest decisions that I possibly can," Augustine laughed. "I love you too, dork."

"Love you August!" Lian's voice overpowered whatever Roy was starting to say.

"Love you too sweet girl," Augustine responded quickly, "I've gotta go."

"Alright," Roy sighed. "Text me when you get there, ease my worries a little bit."

"I will, worrywart."

"D.C. has a very high crime rate, don't blame me for being worried," Roy defended.

"I'm pretty sure I can protect myself," Augustine simply stated. "But, I love you for worrying about me anyways."

"Someone has to, you were born without any self-preservation instincts."

"Gee, thanks. I'd like to say that's the Wayne in me, but we both know it's a toss-up for which gene pool I got it from."

"Give the Finley genes some credit, they're not as reckless as the Wayne genes are."

"Fair point," Augustine turned into the parking lot of Dawn and Hank's shared apartment. "Alright, I'm pulling into the apartment now, does this serve as my text?"

"That was my plan all along."

"To what? Keep me on the phone long enough that I would be getting here by the time we ended the call?" Augustine laughed, she knew it was exactly what he had done. He kept the conversation going just so he could be sure she got there safely, he did it almost every time she went somewhere. That was something she had noticed about him, he liked to know she was safe. Her safety (and Lian's) mattered more than most things to him, it's why he always tried to keep track of where she was. Or tried to talk to her whenever it was most convenient for her. "You know what, never mind, I answered my question there. I'll call you later, alright?"

"Sounds good," Roy's smile could be heard through his words. "Can't believe you're off to help people with your powers and I'm not there to watch."

"There's really nothing to see," Augustine sighed.

"That's a lie and you know it, your powers are amazing and you never use them."

"Roy," She sighed.

"I know, I know."

"Love you, bye."

His response was quick, "Love you too. Bye."

And the dial tone was the last thing Augustine heard before she turned off her car, placing the keys back into her purse. She stared at the apartment building for a while, questioning if she should even go in there. What was she supposed to say to Dick when she saw him? Something along the lines of, 'Hey, it's been a while! I've missed you! We need to catch up!' or was that too casual? Thinking about it, it was probably too casual, she was hurt (still is hurting) by the way he treated her. He was lucky to even get her out here, to have her help him. She didn't need to greet him like everything was okay and they were just two friends who lost touch. Because they didn't lose touch. At least, not on Augustine's part. She tried to talk to him. He was the one who pushed her away. He's the one who caused their issues. So, she thought again, maybe she should let him do the talking. Let him be the one to greet her. See what he wanted to play things off as.

Closing the door to her car, she pressed the lock button on her keys (hand resting inside of her purse, fingers grazing over the pocket knife she keeps stored in there just in case), as she walked closer to the entrance to the apartment building. She had been to Hank's apartment before, back at the start of the Titans. The team had made a pit stop at his apartment, Dick needed something and Bruce had convinced Augustine to be the one to take it to him. It was one of the last times she saw him face to face — something she tried to block out of her memory. But those halls and the sight of the chipped paint on the apartment's front door were enough to make them resurface. To have her heart wrench at the thought of how young they were. How happy they were. Augustine would have to be an idiot to believe that that door would open and it would feel the same way it did before. But, god, she wished it would. She wished that the version of Dick she remembered would be the one opening the door. Holding it with a smile as he welcomed the younger, more innocent version of Augustine into the apartment. Shaking her head, she knew it wasn't going to be like that. Dick Grayson had lived up to his name, he was a dick. And Augustine Finley wasn't the innocent, easily scared woman she used to be.

She was confident, an up-and-coming surgeon (actually, she was more like a downright exhausted surgical intern but she'll take whatever she could get), and overall a different version of Augustine Finley. She had done what anyone their age does over their early twenties, grow. Like a plant given the proper sunlight and water, Augustine Finley had flourished over the years without Dick Grayson by her side. She was coming back, seeing him for the first time, as a flower who had finally gone in bloom. A flower with colorful petals, a flower that wanted to be seen. Unlike the dandelion, she had been before.

With a timid hand, she knocked on the door.

She could hear the movement behind the door, feet shuffling, and judging by the volume of the thoughts in the room, there had to be more than three of them in just the front room. Augustine tried to ignore the thoughts, she was normally pretty good at it. Using her powers was something she didn't like to do, this was the one part she wasn't able to turn off at the flick of her wrist. Hearing thoughts was almost an instinct for her, she couldn't turn it off no matter how much she wanted to. Especially now, when one person's thoughts almost called out to her. A smile formed on her lips as she listened to his internal monologue, he was just as worried about what to say to her as she had been minutes prior. And he knew she had the right to be angry, from the sound of it, he wanted her to be (more of a reason for Augustine to not show him any anger).

Sucking in a quick breath, she watched as the door opened to reveal Dick's face. He opened it further, the hint of a smile on his lips, "August," his eyes trailed over her, fixating on the hickey that rested just above the collar of her shirt. "It's uh, it's good to see you."

Augustine gave him a tight-lipped smile, "Can I come in?"

She peered her head around to look into the apartment, smiling at Dawn who stood a few feet behind Dick. Dawn smiled back, giving her a quick nod before they both turned back to Dick. He still stood in the doorway, eyes fixated on the hickey as he dryly swallowed. Augustine let a cough rumble from her chest, shifting on her feet as she watched Dick with soft eyes. The cough shook him out of his trance, making him look back up to her expectant face. "Oh, uh. Yeah, yeah," He shifted over so she could walk through the door. "Long time, so see."

"Yeah, who's fault was that?"

AUTHORS NOTE

AugustDick interaction! (We all screamed, I know it). Also it's the way that I was like "yeah y'all are getting augustdick interaction next chapter" in the last authors note and then gave you guys three sentences worth.

Anywho ... August/Roy and Lian make me emo. I love the three of them so much ur honor. It makes me sad to know they're not all going to be one big happy family together one day 🥲. But, thankfully, that day is not today. And we can all rejoice in that bc AugustRoy is kind of cute. Kind of soft. Kind of everything I want in a relationship 🙏. God if you hear me asking, pls give me a Roy Harper (but specifically this version of Roy Harper I can't take an actual canon version of Roy ... I might die).

Also, there will for sure be AugsutDick interaction in the next chapter. I've finally reached the point where I have to start rewatching the episodes of the show to remember what happens in them all to actually write the chapter. And the quicker we get into the plot of the show ... the quicker we get into the meat of the story. And the quicker we finish up with act one. Mainly excited bc act two is where I have all of my fun headcanons lined up for y'all.

Let me know your thoughts! What do you think of August & Lian's relationship? How do you think her conversation with Dick is going to go next chapter? Give me some feedback, the last two updates of this book have seriously lacked in interaction and I am a whore for attention. Aka I need and survive off of comments to find the need to update my stories (and considering this chapter was written in one day that I also wrote two other chapters for other fics on, it's safe to say that with the interaction, we're more inspired to update).