Inamorata

Chapter Thirty-Six - Take Liberties

Author's note: Just a quick note: the last chapter was not written as a response to feedback. As a matter of fact, I wrote that chapter very early on in the story. Trust me, if I were catering to the opinions of Wattpad as a general public, Nightingale would be with David and he would be six foot two with rock-hard abs. He would also probably be a werewolf....also, we are getting close to the end. Just a few more chapters after this one.

It was the next morning that Nightingale announced her desire to see her sisters. She was sitting across from Robin at a long, oak table, eating the very first breakfast she'd ever had. In her five years of life, she'd never once eaten any meal besides a light, midday lunch. And now, she was seated opposite Robin, experimenting with putting the yolk from a soft-boiled egg on a piece of crunchy toast.

"Your sisters?" asked Robin, staring at her from over the tablet that was attracting his attention. "I'm not sure I can take you, Nightingale."

When he gave her a strange look, his eyebrows raised and his lips pursed, Nightingale looked down to see the reason for it.

Sitting on her left hand, leaning down to peck the crumbs from her plate, was Nightingale's bird.

"Are you sure she should be at the table, dear heart?" enquired Robin, the sweet pomposity of the endearment mingling with the light sarcasm in his tone. "I'm not sure it's sanitary to have a bird eating from your plate."

Nightingale shrugged and stroked her nightingale's head. "She couldn't give me anything, Robin. The Corporation saw to it that I'm immune to every known viral or bacterial infection," she said. She snorted bitterly as she went on. "Making sure I wouldn't get a venereal disease and die on my owner, I suppose. How good of them, to keep me healthy to make sure I was a good investment."

When she saw Robin smile sadly, she went on, her tone a shockingly convincing mimicry of his stuff tone. "Besides, her name's Freedom. You don't expect me to put Freedom in a cage, do you?"

Robin laughed. "Clever, but really, Nightingale? Freedom? What a terrible name."

Nightingale snorted. "My bird, my rules," she retorted.

Robin chuckled. "Now, about your sisters. You'll have to call David, I think."

Nightingale snorted once more in a most unladylike fashion. "Where is the illustrious detective, by the way?" she asked. It was a testament to her infatuation with Robin and her new interest in Freedom that she had not even considered his presence until that point.

"Gone. Drank most of my fine cognac and then disappeared, the bastard," sniped Robin. However, the smile on his face betrayed his affection for his friend.

"Well, I'm going to try to avoid him as much as possible," said Nightingale. Seeing that Freedom had finished with the crumbs on her plate, Nightingale lifted the bird to her shoulder.

"For the obvious reason?" asked Robin.

"For the obvious reason," said Nightingale.

There was a little pause.

"We are thinking of the same obvious reason, right?" she asked, arching her eyebrows.

There was another pause.

"Awkwardness?" asked Robin.

Nightingale nodded. "Besides, I'd be going by myself if I didn't need someone to fly me there," she added. Freedom, meanwhile, in a flutter of wings, launched herself from Nightingale's shoulder to the top of her cage.

"You could always take the public shuttle," said Robin.

Now Nightingale eyed him disdainfully. "I've been free for only a few days, Robin. Pardon me for not having an intimate knowledge of the city's transit system. Besides, I've still got my identification anklet, remember? It's probably not the best idea for me to be-"