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Hollis Mason was a good mentor and Dan considered himself lucky that his favorite hero not only gave him the time of day, but had actually passed the title of Nite Owl to him and trained him. It was thanks to him that Dan really felt like himself and felt like he was doing something good for the world, and he was honestly elated when he got the invitation to Captain Metropolis' meeting, where the subject of forming another team, like the Minutemen, would be addressed. To be a part of something like that was one of Dan's dreams; his partnership with Rorschach was something, but this would be so much more.
Rorschach was an unusual person, but Dan had found he enjoyed working with him, even if the other man rarely had much to say outside of pointing out case details. He wasn't sold on the idea of a full team, but Dan managed to convince him to come to the meeting anyway, and they arrived together. Captain Metropolis welcomed them and they settled in with Ozymandias, who had already arrived. It wasn't long after that that Dr. Manhattan appeared with his girlfriend on his arm, causing Dan to jump a bit, though Ozymandias seemed unfazed and Rorschach was unreadable.
He was just wondering if one of them should say something, maybe welcome the strange man, when in came the Comedian, with a lazy grin that looked artificial, like it was something he had rehearsed for years and become habit. Behind him strode none other than the Silk Spectre, his daughter and sidekick, and Dan's heart leaped and he glanced away quickly.
He knew of her not just because of her status as the Comedian's sidekick, but because he was not her only father. The situation with him and Hollis was complicated and Dan wasn't sure about all the details, but he knew that the he had raised her alongside the Comedian. Her real name was Laurie, and she was a lot more grownup than the girl in the photographs Hollis had in his garage.
Dan knew, of course, that she was known for being a beauty like her late mother, but seeing it in person was another matter entirely, and he could feel himself blushing. It was absolutely ridiculous for him to even think about having a crush on his mentor's daughter, but it was looking like he didn't have much choice in the matter, and he wondered if Hollis would go easy on him, should he ever try to ask her out.
But then the meeting was underway, and Dan was distracted, listening to Captain Metropolis talk about his plans for the group, even stepping in to agree about the fact that they would work better in groups. Things seemed to be going well, until Ozymandias began to argue with Captain Metropolis, the two of them both showing interest in a leadership position, and when the Comedian butted in to make fun of them, things really went to hell.
By the end of his speech, he had gone from mocking them to sounding downright angry with them, but when it came time to say what was so important, he stopped himself. “It don't matter because...because...” There was a pause before he finished, “It just doesn't matter, alright? Now, if you'll excuse me, my daughter and I have more important places to be. Come on, Silk Spectre!”
The poor girl looked mortified as she followed him out, and Dan wondered what the older man had on his mind that he couldn't bring himself to say, and he wondered if it were really Hollis that he would have to worry about, when it came to trying to take Laurie on a date.
~X~
“I'm worried about Laurie,” said Hollis one day, and Dan jolted. He felt guilty, almost, as if the man had read his mind at some point and knew just how interested he had become.
“Uh...why is that?”
“You were there for the Crimebusters fiasco. Well, there was a fight between her and her father, and she's insisted that she patrol the city on her own, fight crime on her own...do pretty much everything on her own.” Hollis sighed. “I'm worried about her being out there by herself, but what can I do? If she saw me or her father out there, she'd be even more angry with us.”
“I could...” Dan paused, unsure if he should even offer, given his personal interest. “I could check up on her, when I'm out.”
“Could you?” The older man looked so relieved that Dan felt guilty, but he knew he was, in a way, doing the right thing. “Just see that she isn't in any danger, maybe try to team up with her from time to time? I would really appreciate it.”
~X~
Laurie didn't seem to appreciate it, however, and any time he dropped in on her, she would look so annoyed with him that it broke his heart all over again. He hadn't wanted her to hate him over this, and had actually hoped it would help them get closer, but any time he offered her any sort of assistance, she would just say, “So, what? Hollis put you up to this or something?”
“No, no,” he said, because it wasn't entirely a lie. “This was my own decision...I mean, I just...it's a shame about the Crimebusters not working, but I'd really like to be able to work with more people.”
“I am so sure,” she said with a roll of her eyes, walking off without him. Most of the time, he would follow, not knowing when to give up, but he never really knew what to say to her, and when she asked him if Rorschach was waiting for him, he knew that he had struck out once again.
He didn't want Laurie to think of him as a babysitter, which is what she referred to him as on more than one occasion, but he didn't know how else he was supposed to get close to her, and he really did want to get close to her. She wasn't just gorgeous, she seemed so fun and interesting, and if she'd give him the time of day, he was sure that he'd have a great time talking to her. Sometimes he really hated how much of a loser he was; the costume was supposed to make things easier on him, was supposed to help with his confidence, but when it came to Laurie, he felt just as lame in it as he did out of it.
But even if he tried harder, he knew it wouldn't do him any good. He had seen the way she had looked at Dr. Manhattan during the meeting and he had seen the two of them together on nights when he had tried to track her down. On those nights, he would not try to talk to her at all, because he knew better than to interfere with that. He knew that if he tried to compete, he would only make himself look worse in comparison, and so he stepped back, until he wasn't trying to talk to Laurie at all.
After all, it was ridiculous to even think about having a crush on his mentor's daughter, much less to think about trying to date her.