#dinah loyal

[mydarlingdearestdead]

"And there she was."

Dinah held her mug to her lips, blowing gently, creating ripples across the dark surface. She was smiling behind the guise of a mouthful as she muttered, "Odessa."

Hayden pushed aside his own mug, confirming with a nod, "Dr. Halliway, they had me call her."

"I remember the first time I met her, you know." Dinah placed her mug upon the granite with a clatter, quaking hands in the cold. She buried her hands in the cavernous pockets of her father's overcoat, pressing against the worktop, edging toward him despite the barrier, "I remember mum's ranting after she left."

He barked a laugh, short and lively, "Caoimhe was still waiting on an engagement ring when Odessa appeared... It wasn't- I don't want you blaming her, Di. I- If it hadn't been- I mean, Caoimhe... When-"

"Daddy!" Dinah's face was flushed, rosy with December and her hair lifted in spectacular curls, framing her face. She was beaming, glowing with a contentment Hayden could not claim responsibility for, "You and mum are blameless, okay? Odessa, too, if you need to hear it. I never needed you to make yourself miserable on my account."

Hayden rounded the island, then, reaching for her, muttering, "I've never been miserable, baby, not with you."

[mydarlingdearestdead]

Loyal, perched lightly upon Odessa's desk, swung his legs idly, seemingly content to witness her mind at work. All the while, the watch on his wrist ticked monotonously, counting off the dreary seconds. Odessa, having counted in her mind 137 of this ticks, closed her eyes tightly. Then, drawing her hands into fists, she asked, "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"No." Loyal's voice rose from the darkness, "Dinah doesn't get out of school till half past two. Turned in everything urgent last night. Not a hobbies guy- Unless watching you counts-"

"It doesn't."

"-So, no. Nothing to be doing, nowhere to be. Plus I, er, kind of enjoy how you crinkle your nose when you're mad at me."

Odessa consciously relaxed, opening her eyes. To her dismay, Loyal looked at her, beaming with pride. She exhaled, leaning back in her chair, "Your daughter's named Dinah?"

He nodded, "Like Black Canary." In reply, Odessa made a vague, dismissive gesture, "Oh, ouch."

"Is that a... Sports team?" Odessa, in all honesty, quite enjoyed how his face fell into utter horror.

Spluttering, he leaned forward, "No! She's a superhero. Black Canary is Dinah Lance, a member of the Justice League. Really? Oh..." He paused, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips, "Oh, you're fucking with me."

"Not at all, Loyal." Odessa replied, but her smile was soft and satisfied, "When have I ever?"

[mydarlingdearestdead]

Hayden supposed that his assumption that Odessa, largely due to her reservations regarding children, would not care for consultation on matters which concerned Dinah that fixed him to become ensnared in this trap of damning specificity. 

Odessa Halliway sat on his living room carpet, one arm thrown over the sofa's low cushion, while Dinah reclined with her head in Odessa's lap, face turned toward the television, upon which the pale, cheaply animated expression of a young girl transformed momentously by the second. Odessa dragged her fingernails across Dinah's scalp, carding her fingers through frizzy red curls. 

He was helpless but to observe, lifeless marble in the entryway, veined by anticipation, by fear. 

Dinah's attention, far too fickle, rested solely on her entertainment. It was Odessa whose eye found his, the soft smile upon her lips swiftly withering. She nudged Dinah, disturbing her fantasy and setting her eye upon her father. 

Dinah squealed, charging, and Odessa drew her knees into her chest. All the while, her eyes remained fixed upon Hayden Loyal, the helpless voyeur. 

[mydarlingdearestdead]

In one manicured hand, Odessa held a daffodil by it's sullen stalk. She offered it to Hayden, "Your daughter," She began pointedly, "Insisted on giving this to me. I have no use for this."

Gently, he relieved her of the flower's drooping weight, "She means well." Hayden assured, "She just hasn't grasped those pesky social conventions yet, y'know?"

"Like father like daughter." Odessa wiped her hands on her skirt before crossing them over her chest in a vaguely protective manner. She sighed, "I better be going."

Hurriedly- Perhaps too hurriedly- Hayden surged forward to block her path, "You don't have to!" Wincing at his own eager register, he continued in a softer tone, "I mean- Dinah clearly likes you and god knows I do. You can stay... If you want, that is. No protest here."

This, he knew, may be a rare chance to prove himself as a human being before her eyes. Loyal was, after all, an entirely different person to Hayden who, still, was entirely separate from Dinah's father. It was seldom that Odessa had the privilege of laying eyes on anyone but Loyal. This was a unique occasion in that may be afforded a glance at all three.

Hayden swallowed, "Please, Dess? Stay for tea?"

But Odessa was swift to sidestep him. Stealing one final glance at Dinah, she merely shook her head in what seemed to be a solemn, resigned gesture and took her leave through the open door, all without a word.

Hayden, abandoned in the silence of the foyer, heard the crunch as he strangled the daffodil into submission. Having forgotten entirely about its existence, the broken stalk seemed all the more poignant and depressing.