Prompt: Written for shadow-spires for the 2014 DCU Fic Hunt
Warnings: None! Pure fluff. (A slightly over-paranoid Roy but fluff really.)
Characters: Dick Grayson, Roy Harper, mentions of Lian
Words: 838
Dick was late. Which wasn't at all unusual but still.
It wasn't paranoia if people were after you, right? Or your friends.
Plus, this was Gotham; anything could happen and dangit if Dick didn't show his idiotic behind soon....
"Arsenal, you there?"
Roy pressed two fingers against his comm link. "Yep. You're late."
"Yeah, sorry. Ran into some trouble."
"What else is new?"
"I could-" Was that yelling in the background? "Use some help."
"Where are you?"
Another loud noise. No doubt some twerp smashing past the too-quick circus brat. He hoped. "Crime Alley."
Roy swore. "'Course, where else would you be?"
"Hey, I don't pick the hangout."
"Whatever. Just focus," He slung his bow onto his back and suppressed a sigh as he peeked over the roof edge. "Meet you in a sec."
He took a deep breath and did what Dick did. He jumped off a five-story building.
Crime Alley was the same as it always was, and Roy had no clue where his best friend was. The fights he'd already scoped out didn't involve Nightwing, and Roy was trying not to panic again. He heard a yelp coming from a nearby alley, and Roy made a sharp turn toward the sound.
Dick's back faced him, and his hunched shoulders neared the ground in an oddly still squat. Roy felt his breath stop even as his stride halted, but he pressed forward, touched his friend's shoulder.
The carny brat turned and grinned up at him, thrusting whatever he held into the archer's arms as he stood and stretched. "Lookit what I found."
Roy felt the ever-present urge to punch his best friend in the gut but instead looked down at whatever thing Dick had found.
The warm, squirming, and very much alive thing. "Dick, this is a dog."
"Hmm, more like a puppy."
"Where did you get this?"
"Here, near the dumpster. Spotted it during the fight, and that's when I called you."
The tiny thing was shaking so much, Roy felt an instinctive pull to protect that usually only presented itself with Lian. But he still managed to register Dick's words. "Wait. You didn't call me because you were in trouble; you called about the dog?"
"Well, I can't keep her. I can't keep a plant alive for more than a week; just think what I'd do to an innocent puppy."
"There's no way in hell I'm keeping this thing."
Dick whined louder than the puppy. "But look at her. She's cold and wet. No collar. Someone's gotta take 'er in."
The puppy nosed his hand when Roy stopped petting her, and he shouldn't have done it but now he was looking into big, brown eyes and chuckling at the tiny, pointed ears, and Dick was giving him that stupid, knowing look and. "Damn it, Dick, I do not need a money-sucking dog in my life."
"Oh come on," The man practically cooed. "You're already taking care of Lian. What's one more?"
Roy snorted. "Did you just compare my daughter to this runt?"
"They're both ridiculously adorable?"
"Nice try." A pause. "Aw, crap. Dick?"
"What?"
"I think the puppy just fell asleep."
"Did she?" He was cooing again as he leaned over to get a closer look. "Aw, she did!"
"Yeah, and she got about ten pounds heavier doing it."
Dick gave him the look again. "That pup can fit in one hand; clearly you need to work out s'more."
"You know I'm not gonna cave on this right?"
"Lian would love her, you know I'm right."
"No. Stop."
"You could give her one of those little Robin Hood hats with a feather and a cute little code name." Roy started shaking his head, but the little manipulator kept going. "She could be your new sidekick with one job - keeping Lian company while you're...away."
Dick just haaad to bring Lian into this. "No hat. What would the name be?"
Dick grinned. Probably thinking he'd made some headway. Hadn't, of course. "How 'bout Arrow?"
Definitely no headway there. "That is the stupidest name I have ever heard."
His best friend shrugged and backflipped onto the overhanging fire escape. "Lian'll come up with something better. That's the hardest part anyway."
Back to Lian, of course. Roy snorted and shook his head. "We'll try her for a week. I'll tell Lian we're just dogsitting. If it doesn't work out, she's your problem. Capiche?"
Another huge grin. "Deal." A pause. "Sooo, you comin'? Figured we'll clobber any trouble-doers on our way to your place."
"Dude." The ginger nodded to the puppy. "She's asleep; I'm not going anywhere."
"Oh. Right." The acrobat climbed the wall to the next ledge. "Guess I've got a headstart."
Arsenal glared up at him. "You're not going anywhere if you want this dog to stay in the family."
Heaving a sigh, Dick dropped down and landed softly next to the dumpster. Roy settled on the ground without disturbing whatever-her-name-was, and Dick followed suit.
The archer still felt irritated about this whole mess. "Jerk."
