Chapter Text
(Name) carelessly strolled through the streets of Gotham, his bare feet making soft pattering sounds with every step. Unlike the people around him who rushed and stressed, he walked slowly, shoulders relaxed and seemingly completely unbothered. A few people shot him weird glances as they passed, their eyes moving up and down over his figure before they moved past. Perhaps if they were in New York, they would have tried to judge him, but here in Gotham they didn’t have the time to judge his choice of attire, or rather, lack thereof.
(Name) wasn’t in a state of undress per se, but his clothes didn’t exactly leave much up to the imagination, if you could even really call them clothes. His outfit really only consisted of black shorts, reaching his mid-thigh; the rest was really just accessories. Thin, silver chains, braided silver wire and bands adorned just about his entire body, from his legs all the way up to his neck, not covering much but leaving the impression of actual clothes.
Despite the many strange looks and judgemental stares, (Name) didn’t seem all that bothered. Years of dressing the way he did had numbed him to the lack of approval from most people. That, and the fact that he knew that no one would be bothering him any time soon, at least not with the giant of a man that was his friend currently walking on his left side.
The man walked with his head held high, shoulders squared, back straight and glaring down at any person who dared to get too close. He was tall and obviously strong, even if his body was hidden beneath dark clothes and a thick, warm coat. His dark brown skin almost glowed in the light as his long black hair flowed down his back in almost hypnotic waves. He was the perfect mix of angelic and unnerving. Beautiful yet scary.
“Stop glaring like that, Qori; you’re scaring everyone away,” (Name) said, his lips pressing together as he tried to suppress the smile threatening to slip through.
The man, Qori, grunted in response, looking over at (Name) out of the corner of his eye. “I didn’t realise you wanted to chat with the locals.”
“Well, no, that’s not what I meant, but still! Stop being emo for once and just try and enjoy life,” (Name) complained, barely stopping himself from whining. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with Qori if he was just going to be all mysterious and nonchalant like a sixteen-year-old boy trying to impress a pretty girl.
You’d think (Name) would’ve gotten used to how his friend acted after having known him for so long, but it was hard to get used to it when said friend acted like a completely different person when away from spying eyes.
“You know I don’t know what that means,” Qori said, his voice becoming just slightly higher as he said it, his frustration at the lack of knowledge obvious as he furrowed his brows together.
“What? Emo? L, imagine not knowing, loser.” (Name) poked, clearly intending to further annoy Qori. Qori, on the other hand, simply stared his friend down with slightly narrowed eyes.
Before Qori could complain or say anything else, (Name) spoke up once more.
“Anyways, we’re going to Otto’s Place today.” He said, trying to move on to a new topic. “It is the number one, bestest sandwich spot in all of Gotham. I’ve been yearning for those sandwiches for years.”
His eyes filled with admiration and longing just at the thought of those amazing sandwiches.
(Name) used to go to Otto’s place every Tuesday and Thursday after school; it was his sanctuary, a place where he could just relax and enjoy his favourite food without having his siblings around to annoy him, but after the incident, he had been forced to leave, so he couldn’t go anymore, much to his dismay. But now he was back in Gotham, older, with Qori and unsure how long he was staying, so he was going to make sure he went to Otto’s at least once and savoured the food properly.
Qori and (Name) continued walking side by side, shoulders lightly brushing against each other as (Name) rambled on about the different sandwiches you could get at Otto’s place.
Egg sandwich, pulled pork sandwich, meatball sub, Reuben sandwich, whatever those Peruvian sandwiches were called, (Name) just kept going. It was mind-numbing.
Qori tried to listen, but before long his mind went blank, until his attention got caught on something else, or rather someone else. On a rooftop on the opposite side of the street, sat a figure, almost entirely hidden by the shadow of a gargoyle nearby. But Qori still saw him. He had noticed the figure a while back, not yet realising he was following them until now. (Name) hadn’t mentioned it, though, and he couldn’t sense any ill intent coming from the figure either, so he let them be, for now. If he was a threat, (Name) would've already dealt with him, but he hadn’t, so (Name) must not be that worried. Regardless, he kept his eye on whomever it was, keeping his guard up.
“Hey.” (Name)’s voice snapped Qori out of his train of thought. “Keep those eyes of yours on me,” (Name) said, stopping right in his tracks to turn his body toward Qori, face suddenly serious.
“Don’t focus on him; that’s just Red Robin. He’s harmless.” He tried to reassure him as he glanced over Qori’s shoulder at Red Robin, only looking for less than a second before returning his gaze to Qori.
Qori didn’t look back at Red Robin; he just stared at the shorter man in front of him.
“Hm… If you say so.” Qori mumbled softly, his attention now fully on (Name) and away from Red Robin.
The moment (Name) got Qori’s attention back on him, he immediately brightened back up, very quickly resuming walking with Qori following close behind.
“As I was saying, my favourite is the turkey club sandwich, but the falafel pita and tuna melt are great too,” (Name) yapped, mindlessly continuing his rant about sandwiches as he and Qori made their way through Gotham, heading straight to Otto’s.
Neither acknowledged Red Robin again.