An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Relationships: Barbara Gordon & Dick Grayson
Characters: Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon
Additional Tags: Whumptober 2023, Hurt/Comfort, Past Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Pining, Mutual Pining, Communication Failure, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Barbara Gordon in a Wheelchair, Dick Grayson Loves Barbara Gordon, Hurt Dick Grayson
Series: Part 7 of Whumptober 2023
Summary:
She needed to focus. She was Oracle and Oracle couldn’t falter or be distracted by personal feelings, not when multiple lives depended on her coordinating teams across the city, the country, the globe. There was no time to worry about Nightwing or his radio silence. Too much going on to pester him. He got out, said he wasn’t majorly wounded, and she needed to trust him. After all he was Nightwing. Vigilante since he was ten. Dick didn’t need her worrying in his ear while trying to stay alive. They needed to be professional because anything else could end in death.
Whumptober Day 7
Inspired by this fanart by deadhermiteye
“Oracle, are you there? I need that passcode!”
“It takes a moment to work miracles. Keep your cape on.” Barbara responded crisply over the mic, fingers flying across her keyboard. “Sending it now, along with those schematics.” With a quick swipe, she slid a new screen onto her center monitor. “Robin, emergency services are headed your way. Sending you the rendezvous coordinates.” Tim’s response faded to the back as another alert popped up from Dinah and Helena.
But the onslaught was welcome. She needed to focus. She was Oracle and Oracle couldn’t falter or be distracted by personal feelings, not when multiple lives depended on her coordinating teams across the city, the country, the globe. There was no time to worry about Nightwing or his radio silence. Too much going on to pester him. He got out, said he wasn’t majorly wounded, and she needed to trust him. After all he was Nightwing. Vigilante since he was ten. Dick didn’t need her worrying in his ear while trying to stay alive. They needed to be professional because anything else could end in death.
Which was why Barbara didn’t flinch when a sensor disarmed with a beep and a glass panel in the clock tower's face scraped open. She didn’t turn around as Nightwing approached the workstation near silently. She couldn’t afford to look away from the maps and trackers and video feeds on her screens, the messages flashing through, and voices bouncing back and forth.
But she gave herself one single moment to close her eyes and relish the relief that came when Dick leaned over the back of her chair and pressed his cheek to hers. “For a minute…I thought I lost you.” she admitted in a whisper.
titans | dick/barbara
teen, 1446
Dick shows Barbara his Nightwing suit for the first time.
"Does it hide your best asset?" Barbara smirks, cocking her brow. Dick’s cheeks heat; his Nightwing suit’s beginning to feel like a sauna. She lifts her hand and gestures with a simple twirl of her fingers. "Come on, show me."
He sighs in exasperation. "Babs…"
"Come on," she says, clapping her hands. "Nightwing won the best ass in Gotham without even being in Gotham. I have to make sure that the city isn’t lying to our citizens. It’s an important job of mine as commissioner."
“No,” Barbara explained, “What I do have is an idiot of a husband who thought it was best to swoop in and save the day for me when I was completely fine handling the situation myself.”
“Babs, I-”
“No, Dick, you know how these reporters always are at Bruce’s parties. Always sniffing around for the latest gossip to fuel their hate-sites. But I was fine. I was handling it.”
“I was just trying to help,” he interrupted. “I know how these things are, Babs. I’ve had the training. Perks of being Bruce’s ward.”
“And so have I, Dick. Perks of being the Commissioner’s daughter.”
She glared at him, her eyes softening after seeing the sorry expression on his face. She knew he hadn’t meant any wrong. She knew she was overreacting this one time.
She wheeled up to him from the other side of the bedroom and pushed herself up on their bed, leaning on his shoulder, offering him solace and comfort.
“I’m sorry. I overreacted. I’m just a little nervous.”
Dick turned his head, his nose softly grazing up her head, “Nervous about what, love?”
She turned away from, scared to meet his eyes, trying to find the courage to speak the words. She raised one of her hands to her stomach, and found the words she had been looking for for the past week and a half.
“You see, Dick, I don’t just need you to be a husband...Soon I’ll need you to be a father.” She blew out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding in.
“Wait, you mean, we’re, I mean, you’re...?” She turned to face him, seeing the confusion and wonder in his eyes, confirming his thoughts.
One of his hands found her face and he leaned in for a long kiss. As they caught each other’s breaths, he whispered, “This is the best news ever.”
He gave her another kiss, “And I’m sorry about tonight.”
And another kiss, “And I can’t wait to meet our little one.”
This time, it’s not a Batfam-based one-shot... But I finally finished the next chapter of my DickBabs Fanfic, “Partners”, a police officer AU! :) You can also check this chapter out on Ao3.
Partners - Part 7: Revelations
Pairing: DickBabs
Rating: T
Summary: Barbara finally tells Dick what that mysterious letter contained.
“Huh?” Dick stared at Barbara, a look of utter confusion on his face.
Barbara took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was about to do. She then repeated: “There is something I’ve got to tell you.”
At this point, Dick had recovered from his initial reaction and the expression of bewilderment that had been displayed on his face before was now replaced by a more serious one, wordlessly urging Barbara on to continue.
Before she could begin, there was another gust of wind of the chilly night air and while Barbara tried to hide the shiver it caused her, it didn’t escape Dick’s notice.
“Let’s get back inside,” he proposed, gently ushering Barbara into the pleasantly warm bedroom.
Once inside, Barbara sat down on Dick’s bed with a sigh, ready to begin and get this pesky, not-so-little something off her chest.
“I hadn’t meant to bring this up tonight because I didn’t want to ruin the evening,” Barbara began nervously, feeling a little defensive.
But when she caught a glimpse of the expression on her partner’s face, Barbara was relieved to find that there was nothing judgemental in the way he looked at her, only honest curiosity. With her heavy heart feeling a little lighter now, Barbara continued:
“There is something I’ve been neglecting to tell you - something I’ve been trying to ignore for my own sake as well, if I’m being honest…”
The redhead halted, not sure how to go on.
Since she was being honest about this ugly little thing that was bothering her, Barbara figured that she might as well be honest about the nicer things, too. It only felt fair.
“Dick, you inviting me to this party as your plus one really meant a lot to me and I was really looking forward to tonight,” a shy smile appeared on her face before she resumed more gravely, “which is why I haven’t told you about this before. But I just realized that it’s not fair of me to keep this to myself - not when you have been so open with me this entire time, and here I am, keeping secrets from you-”
“Secrets?” Dick knitted his eyebrows.
“Well, one secret,” Barbara clarified, nervously picking at the bedspread, “but a big one. I should have told you sooner, but I just… I just wanted us to have good time tonight, not being weighed down by my stupid mistake-”
Dick still looked confused.
“I have no idea what this is about,” he admitted haltingly, before assuring her, “but you can tell me. No matter what it is.”
The earnest expression on Dick’s face was all the encouragement Barbara needed to lay bare the source of her distress:
“The day you invited me to this ball, I found an envelope from anonymous in my locker, addressed to me personally, telling me in big black letters to “open in private”.
Dick’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything.
Barbara then went on:
“Inside the envelope there was a letter - more of a message, actually: Telling me that the author of this note had been watching me closely and in light of recent events wanted to give me a chance to prove my loyalty to my badge. If I was seriously dedicated, I am to come to Saint Dennis church this coming Wednesday evening, where it will be decided if I am to join their ranks.”
Dick stared at Barbara.
“‘ Their ranks’ ?” he repeated carefully.
Barbara nodded.
Her partner quirked an eyebrow.
“That seems to imply that there are multiple people involved.”
“Yeah,” Barbara agreed, “it certainly sounds like it.”
Dick took another moment to mull over what he had learned so far.
The expression on his face was most serious when he addressed Barbara again: “You think that ‘in light of recent events’ refers to-”
“My entanglement with Richter’s ‘early retirement ’? Yeah, I think so.”
Deep in thought, Dick only nodded wordlessly, still processing, before asking Barbara: “Do you think that the sergeant from the 1-9 has something to do with this?”
“Rohrbach? I think it’s not unlikely.”
Intense concentration was etched on Dick’s face. Then, he looked at Barbara, his dark blue eyes razor-sharp:
“This could be a trap. To get you to admit to what you have pulled on Richter… To get rid of you.”
Barbara returned Dick’s stare calmly: “Yes.”
“And you’re going to go?” Dick asked, his eyes never wavering from hers.
Barbara already knew that Dick wasn’t going to like her answer.
“Yes.”
Dick closed his eyes, turning slightly away. He hunched over and let out a long and deep groan, his hands dragging over his face.
“Goddammit,” Barbara could hear Dick mumble under his breath.
She gnawed nervously on her lower lip, dreading what had to come next:
“There’s more,” she said haltingly.
Dick gazed up at her, incredulous: “More?”
“The message also said… it said that I could bring my partner - mentioned you by name - if I chose to; but nobody else was to know about and come to this meeting.”
Dick just kept on looking at Barbara as if he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop: “And?”
“Didn’t you hear me?”
But Dick remained unperturbed.
“Yeah, it means that I can come with you if you let me - that’s the least distressing thing you have told me so far…”
Barbara couldn’t believe how Dick could be so oblivious to the distressing implications of what she had just told him: “They mentioned you… By name!!! Whoever they are, they know all about you!”
Feeling responsible for getting her partner involved into this mess, Barbara hung her head in shame, a stray strand of hair falling in her face.
Her voice sounded small, even to her own ears:
“I’m sorry, Dick, I didn’t mean to drag you into this. Richter was my mistake, not yours!”
“Babs,” Dick said softly, gently cupping her face, “you didn’t drag me into anything - I was the one who didn’t listen to you and went into that abandoned building without any backup in the first place... I was the one who got caught in the line of fire… You were the one who stopped me from saying something stupid to Richter that could have made everything way worse… I’m in this as much as you are.”
“You don’t have to-”
“Sure I do - we are partners. You have my back and I’ve got yours.”
He’d said all of this completely matter-of-factly, his voice now adopting a more pleading quality: “And as your partner, I’m asking you to please let me come with you to that meeting - I’d rather stand by your side than have you face this alone - if you’re okay with that.”
A wave of relief washed over Barbara. Despite her fierce resolve to go to that meeting and deal with whatever consequences that it would bring with it, she hadn’t realized how much she had hoped to have Dick’s support through all of this. Still, it was important to her to make one thing clear:
“You really, really don’t have to come with me,” she insisted forcefully.
She could see Dick getting ready to protest against her assertion most fervently, making it impossible for her to suppress the fond smile forming on her lips as she reached for his hand, “But I’m more than okay with you coming with me - there’s nobody I would rather want by my side.”
The indignation in Dick’s eyes turned into something softer, warmer: “Good.”
For a short moment, the two of them just looked at each other, tender smiles on both their faces.
Soon, Dick’s smile turned back into that goofy, endearing smile Barbara had come to love over the months of their partnership.
“Now, since we still have plenty of time for you to let me in on that great battle plan I’m sure you’ve already formulated over the course of these past few days-”
Barbara couldn’t help but chuckle: “You know me so well.”
“- and the entire point of today’s evening was to enjoy ourselves and forget about your mysterious message for a moment-”
“Very true.”
“I’ll venture to ask: Could I interest you in some more kissing before we resume our tour of Wayne Manor’s best sock surfable hallways?”
Despite the bravado of his words, Barbara could see the shy nervousness in Dick’s eyes.
A bright grin stretched across her lips.
“You can.”
***
The Circle *²
It was early Wednesday evening, mere minutes before the mysterious meeting was about to take place - Dick and Barbara were sitting in her car, right across Saint Dennis church, eyes fixed on the imposing architectural structure in nervous anticipation.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” Dick asked gently. “If you want to call it off, that’s fine, too.”
Barbara’s eyes were still glued to the neo-gothic building.
“No, I’m sure… I want to know, I need to know where this is all gonna lead to,” she found herself saying, her voice carrying far more conviction in it than she currently felt.
She finally tore her gaze away from the church, looking over at her partner instead:
“How about you? I meant it when I said that you don’t have to come with me.”
Dick smiled.
“Well, and I meant it when I said that I’d rather stand by your side than have you face this alone.”
And with that, he reached over the console and took her hand in his. Barbara gave Dick a nervous smile. She glanced once more at the church, then looked back at her partner, when she felt a gentle, reassuring squeeze around her fingers. Her fraying nerves calmed a bit at the gesture. No matter what awaited her behind the church doors, it was nice to know she didn’t have to face it on her own.
She squeezed Dick’s hand in return, earning her an unwavering, warm smile from her partner.
Go time.
Entering the church, they found it to be empty except for the two people talking quietly to each other in the chancel, the area around the altar. Their quiet conversation came to an immediate stop when the heavy door thunked shut, announcing Barbara and Dick’s presence. Barbara could feel her heart beating faster. Nevertheless, she kept on walking towards the two individuals, the sound of her and Dick’s footsteps on the stone floor echoing eerily. Upon their approach, Barbara recognized that one of the people they were heading for was Sergeant Amy Rohrbach, causing the tension in her muscles to lessen.
Suspecting that Rohrbach might be involved with the mysterious message she had received, Barbara had put in the time and effort to find out more about the sergeant from the 1-9. After digging through a plethora of files and reports, she hadn’t found anything that would even remotely suggest that Rohrbach was not an exemplary police officer. Indeed, only one incident in the track record detailing the sergeant’s career had caught Barbara’s eye - and interestingly enough, it had involved officers Hicks and Richter.
The most peculiar thing about said report was that there was nothing concrete to be gained from studying it: The case had involved busting Juan Ricardo Banez, a known drug dealer, at his girlfriend’s home. Simple enough - but the exact circumstances of said bust were shrouded in mystery. All that Barbara had been able to find out was that some shots had been fired from both Rohrbach’s and Richter’s guns, the perp had wound up dead and Richter had taken a medical leave subsequently. It was the bag with half a million dollars that had been filed as evidence, her thorough knowledge of Richter’s history of taking bribes and collecting money for the mob, as well as her and Dick’s own run-in with Richter and Hicks just a few weeks ago, that allowed Barbara to piece together a pretty plausible scenario of what must have gone down that day… And if she was right, Barbara had no reason to think that Amy Rohrbach was setting her and Dick up right now…
“Gordon! I knew that you wouldn’t pass up on this opportunity,” the sergeant greeted Barbara friendly, her keen brown eyes soon flickering over to Dick - “and as I can see, you’ve decided to bring your partner along.”
Dick took this statement as a cue to introduce himself, shaking hands with Amy. On the outside, he was all friendly smiles and easy-going charm, but Barbara knew her partner was actually on high alert, making note of the smallest detail that could be helpful in unravelling the enigma their current situation proved to be.
After shaking Dick’s hand, Amy went on to introduce the elderly man next to her as Father Mike, who greeted Dick and Barbara warmly.
“He was kind enough to offer the back room of his church as our base of operations,” the sergeant explained, unfortunately neglecting to mention what this “base of operations” was actually for.
“Well, now that you’re both here, we might as well get started,” Amy said energetically, making a parting gesture toward Father Mike before motioning for Dick and Barbara to come along with her: “Follow me, the others are already here.”
Dick and Barbara exchanged a meaningful look behind Amy’s back.
When it came to Rohrbach herself, Barbara felt she had a good understanding of the sergeant’s character - the company that police woman kept, however, was still a different story.
Rohrbach lead the two partners to an unassuming door to the side of the room. The sergeant opened it, revealing a small, dimly lit room, with four indistinct figures already inside. The four shadows were seated along the long side of a medium-sized table that had been squeezed inside the small space, making Barbara feel like she was at a really bizarre film noir job interview.
The trio’s arrival was met with unintelligible mumbling, that soon was replaced by complete silence.
Dick was the first to speak, breaking the uncomfortable silence that was hanging in the air like cold cigarette smoke: “Soo… what is this, exactly?”
One of the silhouette-like figures stirred, a rough, deep voice rasping: “It’s an initiation, son.”
“And if you don’t pass, it’ll go hard on you,” another voice was quick to add.
A third voice practically growled: “We don’t like taking chances.”
“But Amy vouches for you,” chimed in the last person of this mysterious quartet, the voice suggesting a female.
Barbara strained her eyes, trying to recognize any of the people they were facing – why was it so damn dark in here? And why, for the love of god, could nobody get to the effing point?!
Fortunately, Amy seemed to have taken pity on Barbara's thinly-worn patience:
“We’re like a police force inside the police force, you see,” the sergeant said, sending a wry smile in Dick and Barbara's direction,”as I'm sure you have noticed, there are a lot of cops in this town that appear to be under the impression that they can do as they please – as long as the price is right. But our little group here,” Amy gestured towards her fellow conspirators, “we have made it our goal to remind those who abuse their position and privilege that they are not above the law.”
Barbara felt relief rushing over her - she had been right in trusting her gut; Amy Rohrbach was one of the few good cops in Blüdhaven. And even better - there were more! Certainly, they weren’t legion, but even a small group had a better chance at cleaning up the corrupt police force than she and Dick on their own.
“It's a risky business, though,” Amy was quick to remind them, continuing in a warning tone, “should our plans come to light before they are seen through, anyone involved with them would be dead meat.”
The sergeant looked sternly at the potential new recruits for her cause.
“Just, keep that in mind… Now, are you guys in?”
Barbara's eyes darted over to Dick's, the two partners sharing a single, determinant look that left no room for doubt that they were on the same page-
“Yes,” was their unison reply.
Amy smiled triumphantly: “I thought so.”
“Welcome aboard,” the raspy voice from before piped up, now sounding a lot friendlier than it had before.
With the flick of a switch, Amy turned on the bare light bulb of the tiny back room, finally revealing the four other members of this little circle.
“Please, let me introduce you to Blüdhaven’s few proud and, most importantly, honest cops.”
And just like that, Dick and Barbara made acquaintance with tall and gangly Officer Zircher from the 15th precinct, Sergeant Dixon from the 2-3 (his kind eyes and friendly smile a stark contrast to his hulking physique and gravelly voice), tough-as-nails Lieutenant McDaniel from the 1-8 and young, but fiery Officer Leonardi from Amy’s precinct (the young Italian American woman had started her stint at the BPD only three months before Dick had joined Barbara’s precinct).
Dick and Barbara were readily welcomed by their more seasoned teammates.
“The more cops we bring into the circle, the stronger a case we can bring to the feds,” Zircher pointed out eagerly, his slim face adorned with a lopsided grin.
“You guys have joined us at a very opportune time,” Amy informed Dick and Barbara energetically, ”we finally have found a DA who is willing to pursue this, as long as there is enough evidence to build a solid case-”
“A case Chief Redhorn won’t be able to slip out of,” McDaniel grumbled darkly.
Amy nodded.
“Exactly. Since the problem of corruption reaches up to the very top of the chain, Flores won’t make his move until we have an airtight case that will allow him not only to go after small fry such as Hannity and Hicks, but also make it possible for him to indict Redhorn for his crimes.”
Amy paused for a moment, then turned to Dick and Barbara, fixing them with one of her piercing stares:
“And this is where you two come in.”
***
Teaching Moment *³
Even with their secret mission going on, Dick and Barbara still had to deal with the usual day-to-day of their job.
Today, they had the pleasure of sorting out a reported noise complaint. What should have been a simple affair, was dragged out unnecessarily once the neighbors of the offender had felt compelled to weigh in on the whole ordeal, leading to a heated dispute on the stairs - which, ironically, ended up being way louder than the music blasting from inside the respective apartment.
Once the situation had calmed down and all the inhabitants had returned to their apartments, Dick and Barbara finally left the building, ready to get back to their cruiser.
On their way back to the car, Dick and Barbara could see that a group of four boys had gathered around it - or rather: three of the approximately eleven-year-old kids were standing around the car, while the fourth one was standing atop the hood.
Seeing the two police officers coming their way caused a certain amount of commotion among the kids.
“Kenny, get down! Here they come,” a boy in a red hoodie warned his friend.
But Kenny appeared to be unfazed.
“I ain’t doing nuthin’ wrong!”the kid insisted, his balled up fists raised as if to fight.
Barbara suppressed a sigh; she really didn’t feel like quarelling with an eleven-year-old today.
Dick, apparently, didn’t seem to mind:
“Actually, you are,” he argued with Kenny, gesturing towards the kid’s hands, “if you take a swing at me like that, you’re gonna break your thumbs.”
Surprised, the boy looked down at his hands, inspecting the way his other fingers curled around the thumbs of each hand.
Meanwhile, Dick approached Kenny calmly and Barbara couldn’t help but be impressed by the way her partner had managed to defuse the tense situation with a simple remark.
By the time Dick had gotten to Kenny and his friends, the kids gathered around the cruiser only stared at him curiously, their resentment from before - gone.
“Keep ‘em out, like this,” Dick explained, gently adjusting the position of Kenny’s fingers, making sure that the thumbs were outside the balled fist.
He then put his palms up, facing the boy: “Okay, now try”
Excitedly, Kenny punched against Dick’s palms.
Dick grinned approvingly: “There you go! Good job!”
He then lifted Kenny off the car hood. The boy smiled widely.
“Thanks.”
The boys scampered off soon after, although Barbara could still hear their delighted chattering until they rounded the corner down the street: “my turn!”, “hit me, Kenny, hit me!”
Barbara quirked an eyebrow at her partner while they were both getting back into the car, a teasing smirk on her lips: “Making the world safe for disciplined violence everywhere?”
Dick just shrugged his shoulders.
“I prefer to think of it as teaching finesse and self-respect.”
Barbara smiled and started the engine to resume their patrol.
“You were really good with those kids,” she acknowledged in a more earnest manner.
Again, Dick simply shrugged, making a dismissive gesture with his hands, “Practice - when I was still bartending at Hogan’s, waiting and hoping to get into the BPD, I spent some afternoons at the gym in zee mores, teaching kids some basic self-defense lessons.”
Barbara only shook her head, smiling fondly at her partner.
“How do you manage to fit your halo under that hat, Grayson?”
Dick grinned flirtatiously: “Same way you fit all that brain power under yours, I presume.”
“Flatterer.”
Dick gave her a playful wink, then went on to look out of the window to keep an eye on the street.
“So, what are the plans for the evening?,” he asked casually.
Barbara’s eyes flitted over to her partner.
“Well, I kinda planned on spending it checking out some stuff for Amy - why, did you have any different ideas?”
Dick grinned.
“Well, actually... I thought we could spend a nice evening in, something along dinner and a movie - but how about we combine those two?,” Dick proposed, continuing quickly before Barbara could disagree,”You could focus on working on the thing for Amy while I’m fixing us up some dinner, then, during dinner, you can fill me in on what you’ve found out and, depending how late it’ll be by then, we can check out something on Netflix or something along those lines-”
“Something like the new Brooklyn Nine-Nine episodes?,” Barbara suggested teasingly.
Dick ducked his head sheepishly.
“That could be an option... if you insist on it.”
Barbara let out a laugh: “Sure, because I’m the one usually insisting on it.”
She was met with a goofy smile.
“But you know what,” Barbara said, after carefully considering his suggestion,”I think that’s a really good idea.”
“Don’t know why you sound so surprised,” Dick said with a fake pout,”I’m full of good ideas.”
Barbara nodded knowingly,“You’re full of something, all right.”
“Hey!”
They spend the rest of their shift bickering back and forth.
*²
Nightwing #60: The "initiation" at Saint Dennis Church happens in this issue (although Dick thinks that he gets a chance at infiltrating the corrupt cops after acting like taking a bribe wouldn't be too bad - Amy immediately sees through Dick's tough-guy-act, seeing him for the goody-two-shoes he is and instead introduced him to the circle)
Nightwing #69: The "incident" between Amy and Richter is from said issue (meanwhile, Dick is in Gotham, helping out Alfred and Tim in the "Bruce Wayne - Murderer?" story arc); Amy is part of the raid out to get Banez, but once Richter suggests taking the money for themselves, hinting that killing Banez and his girlfriend would rid them of any potential witnesses, the situation escalates into a shoot-out between Amy and Richter, during which Banez dies and Richter and Amy get slightly hurt;
DA Flores: Mateo Flores, the DA working together with Amy and the gang. He's also the brother of Catalina Flores, the new Tarantula... who is not going to make an appearance in this fic because... no. Just no. (I did not like that storyline at all.)
Zircher, Dixon, McDaniel & Leonardi: I don't think the police officers in the circle are ever mentioned by name, so I just chose the names of some of the most important Nightwing writers and artists from the Pre-New 52 run (and I made Leonardi into a woman, because... well, there are just too few women in those stories and that just won't do ;)
*³
Nightwing #71: Dick interacting with Kenny and his friends is a cute scene from that issue, I just had to include that here;
Dick giving a self-defense class in zee mores is also from that issue, although that one is aimed at adults and where we meet Catalina Flores and... well, I decided to change it up
Nightwing #142: We see Dick teaching kids how to fly on the trapeze during his time in New York, so I combined both of these instances of Dick teaching into him teaching self-defense to kids
Characters: Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, The Joker
Rating: T for violence
Length: ~1300 words
Prompt: “He looked down to see himself in his old uniform, crimson and black, and filled with too much nostalgia. He was a boy again, fighting in a war that would never be won, a child playing soldiers; losing himself to everything he feared.”
Notes: Set after YJ:O 3x06 “Rescue Op”
God, she looked beautiful. Her hair was in curls and her dress was just… it looked good on the mannequin but that had nothing on her. He watched anxiously, his heart beating fast in his chest. It was so loud in his ears, the whole church must have heard. He couldn't even smile, his mouth ajar in awe of the woman he was about to marry. He was so goddamn lucky.
He could finally breathe when she came to stand in front of him. His heart slowed down to normal and the corner of his mouth crooked up into a smile. She always knew how to calm him down. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to join these two adorable lovebirds in a very holy matrimony."
No. That voice. The purple suit and red lips painted into a simper sent a panicked shock to his heart and his eyes widened at the figure standing between him and Barbara. The man's crooked smile beamed and he tilted his head at the bird in what seemed like fascination, orbs wide and intruding. Dick's stare could only flash to Barbara's panic-stricken eyes as the Joker strode towards him, backing him away from her. "What's the matter?" he asked with laughter. "Having second thoughts?"
Dick gasped as he tripped over his own two feet and landed on his back, the back of his head bouncing off of the floor, the wind knocked out of him, leaving him feeling waterboarded. Lights flashed behind his closed lids and he would have kept them shut if it weren't for the next set of words in the same hideous tone. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Haly's Circus!"
Dick bolted upright to find that he stood at the very top of the trapeze, looking down at the crowd of one below: the Joker. Barbara was nowhere to be seen and Dick's heart started to beat in an unnatural rhythm, speeding up his breathing as a panic attack ensued. Okay Grayson, don't panic. Think rationally. Second thing Batman taught you.
"And for our first act, I give you the Flying Graysons!"
Dick's eyes widened as he stared across the way. Not again. There they were, his parents, one behind the other, ready to take to the sky. They smiled at him confidently, their little Robin. "Mom, no!" John stepped off of the platform first and swung into action, Mary soon after joining him. This was the part. Dick could remember it clearly in his mind. His mom smiling, her arms outstretched, ready to catch him and never let him fall.
And then the face of panic, despair, sudden realization that this is the end. Dick fell to his knees, clutching the edge of the platform with white knuckles as he squeezed his eyes shut, willing the memories to go away. The gasp of the unseen audience and deafening thuds below told him when it was over.
"And so!" The Joker's laugh echoed through the massive tent. Dick willed himself to open his eyes and regretted the decision immediately. The maniac stood on the opposite platform across the lot clutching Barbara's arm like it was the last thing keeping him alive. "It's time to say our vows, isn't it Dicky dear?"
"It's over, Joker!" And he noticed that he sounded of a younger time, of black capes and unbridled innocence. He looked down to see himself in his old uniform, crimson and black, and filled with too much nostalgia. He was a boy again, fighting in a war that would never be won, a child playing soldiers; losing himself to everything he feared.
"Oh, no," was the retort, clear and concise, and sharp. Menacing. "It's over when I say it's over! Say your vows, Birdy Boy!"
Dick clenched his teeth together so hard he was surprised they didn't shatter. He knew what was going to happen next. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he spun around, his breath catching at the shock of red hair and splatter of freckles. "Wally," he breathed, reaching out to touch him. The feeling of solid flesh beneath his fingers had Dick shaking.
"I can't."
He squeezed his eyes and fisted the speedster's suit in fear. "It's okay." Wally put a hand on Dick's shoulder and turned the bird around, forcing him to face Barbara's fate once more. His eyes widened when they landed on the younger redhead, now clad in her cowl with the all too familiar black and yellow. The Joker pressed into her more now and her eyes searched across the platform for his striking blue, a silent plea bringing him back to reality.
"Barbara, I vow to be your shelter, to care for you in times of darkness and to celebrate with you in times of joy. To speak when words are needed, and to listen when they are not. I vow to be your best friend because you are mine. I vow to love you in all of your forms, now and forever."
"In all of them?" Joker's wry smile twisted again and he sighed, a sound almost resembling admiration. "I did say it was going to be holy…" The deafening echo of the gunshot pierced Dick everywhere, pulling the breath out of him like a rope of magician's handkerchiefs.
He watched in horror as Barbara's legs started to wobble, her mouth open in a silent scream. Her legs crumpled beneath her and soon she was laying on the platform, closer to the edge, a used rag-doll in a child's game of pretend. Pools of red and yellow stained her outfit; Dick did this to her.
Dick's eyes watered and he dropped to his knees, just watching for something, anything to happen next. It felt as if he was watching the whole ordeal from the audience below, waiting with bated breath to see what the daring Dick Grayson would do next. Her eyes started to close and he found himself shaking his head emphatically, murmuring "no, no, no," over and over again under his breath as if that would stop what was about to happen next.
He watched in horror as her hair floated around her and her cape billowed against the wind skipping across her skin as gravity began to grab at her—an anchor pulling her down into the dark abyss. Her cape wrapped itself around her, a cocoon she would never emerge from. He opened his mouth to scream her name but his voice was replaced with a sinister laugh, purple and green and unhinged.
He curled into himself, arms wrapped around him as if his insides were bound to fall out. Red hot tears streamed down his face and drenched his own suit, his chest searing and gasping for not enough air. He felt Wally's arms engulf him next and the speedster whispered in his ear, "It's alright. Everything is alright."
And then he was falling, plummeting to the Earth with his stomach in his chest and his arms outstretched and hoping to catch onto something, anything. He watched the redhead above him disappear, sand being blown at the wind until there was nothing left. "Wally!"
"No!"
Dick's eyes opened as he bolted upright out of bed, a sheen of sweat layering his skin and his hair sticking to his forehead. He looked over frantically, letting out a relieved sigh and something akin to a sob as he realized that Barbara lay next to him snoozing soundly, peaceful and perfect, that it was all a dream. Still, he felt a weight in his chest like no other as he eyed the wheelchair next to the bed and the picture frame on the nightstand he had put away for so long before Barbara convinced him to display it once more. He pulled his knees up, resting his elbows on them as he rested his head in his hands, his heart going a million miles an hour and his head swimming in the aftershock. The tears rolled down his cheeks uninterrupted. It wasn't just a dream. It was all too real.
Disclaimers: I do not own Dick Grayson or Barbara Gordon
It was three in the morning and my eyes had long been adjusted to the darkness of my bedroom. Dick snored softly next to me as my eyes followed the blades of the ceiling fan round and round and round. Apparently, God hated me and was denying me any kind of sleep tonight. I huffed in frustration and threw the blankets off me and stomped (as quietly as I could) to the living room. If I was up all night, I may as well catch up on some binge worthy tv.
I tied my hair up into a bun on top of my head and turned the lamp on dim then plopped on the couch grumpily. As much of a night owl that I was, nothing pissed me off more than not being able to fall asleep when I wanted to. And even though I was saltier than the Dead Sea, there was no helping it so I pulled up Netflix and picked on the last show I was watching.
Curled up on the couch without a blanket and in just Dick’s tshirt, I was freezing but too lazy to go and grab an extra blanket from the linen closet. I pulled my knees into my chest and tucked them into Dick’s shirt, stretching it more than he’d be okay with but I didn’t care at the moment, he had plenty of shirts.
The minutes ticked by slowly and I felt like I was going insane. All I wanted was for my body to shut down so I could get a few measly hours of sleep, but noooooooooooo. That just wasn’t the card I drew.
“Babs?” I heard a groggy voice come the hallway as Dick peaked his head around the corner. “It’s 3:55 in the morning. What are you doing up?” His sleepy voice took a bit of the edge off my mood.
“Can’t sleep.” I replied, pausing the tv. His hair was all disheveled as he stood there in just his pajama pants. We’d been together for what seemed like forever and I still got butterflies when I looked at him. It didn’t help that he was built like a fucking Greek god for crying out loud.
Dick yawned and sat down next me and casually wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I snuggled into his chest, praising the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost for his body heat. His fingers danced lightly up and down my arm affectionately and we sat there in silence for a moment. Then he realized.
“Hey that’s my shirt!”
I giggled. “Sorry. I was cold.”
Dick sighed. “I guess I forgive you then. You just owe me a new shirt.” I smiled, leaning my head on his shoulder. Even though I would be overjoyed to pass the fuck out right then, I couldn’t help but be content in the moment. This was one of my favorite times. Just me and Dick existing happily together.
After a few minutes I had warmed up enough to stretch my legs out from the shirt and across Dick’s lap. He absentmindedly ran is hand up and down my calf and I leaned back against the arm of the couch, resting my hands on my stomach. The show had resumed playing in the background but neither of us were watching it anymore.
“What woke you up?” I asked quietly, shifting my weight to my elbows to prop myself up. Dick’s blue eyes met mine as he ran his hands through his hair.
“I missed you.” It was so cheesy but I loved it.
“Is that so?” I asked, straddling his lap and placing my hands on his shoulders.
“No. It just got cold without your body heat.” He teased before promptly planting a chaste kiss on my lips.
“Jerk.” I giggled and smacked him lightly on the shoulder before he caught me in another kiss, this one deeper than the last. My hands tangled themselves in his thick dark hair as I kissed him back. I felt him smile into the kiss.
“Easy now, Gordon, you know you won’t get any sleep tonight if you keep this up.” He warned, his voice darkening. I ignored the warning and moved my lips down his neck in slow, gentle kisses.
Dick’s hands found their way to my hips as he pulled me closer and I stifled a moan as his lips met mine again. He was right. I wasn’t getting any sleep and honestly, I didn’t mind anymore.
Hello! Could you please do DickBabs mama Mia lay all your love on me? Your writing is exelent by the way
// Thank you anaon. That means a lot to me.
Mamma Mia- Lay All Your Love On Me
Babrabra smiled, not really minding the sun in her eyes. She loved how peaceful it was on the quiet beach, especially with Dick’s arms around her stomach. They sat in silence for a long time, the man breaking the silence with a “Wow”
“I can’t believe we’re getting married here.” He continued, giving her a soft squeeze.
“I can barely believe we’re getting married at all.” The red head teased, turning her head to look at him.
“Well that’s easy enough to explain. You can’t resist me.” He gave her his stupid grin, causing her to laugh.
“Well, that could be part of it, but you also can’t resist me so…” She pulled away from his arms, but kept her hand on his as she laid down on the sand, gently puling him on top of her.
“It’s always been you, Babs.” He smiled down at her before placing a few kisses along her jaw. “You tamed the beast.”
She laughed loudly, almost snorting. “Beast?”
“Yeah, beast.” He made a growling noise, digging his face into her neck. The vibration from the noise tickled her skin, forcing her to continue laughing. The tickling continued as he moved his hands to her exposed stomach.
She closed her eyes, shouting and laughing as she tried to push him off. Suddenly, it was gone. She heard Dick let out a short shout before the tickling was gone. She opened her eyes, seeing all of her male friends surrounding them. They were carrying her fiance away, but Wally stayed behind to explain.
“Sorry, Babs. Gotta steal the groom away for his party.”
She sat up on her elbows, nodding in agreement. “It’s fine. Just be weary of ‘the beast’.”
The Speedster winced. “Did he really call himself that?”
Send me a ship (or a character) and a song and I’ll write you some drabble
“God, you are just like him!” Barbara shouted, her frustration boiling over as she slammed her hand down on her armrest. “You are so focused on this false sense of keeping the people close to you safe that you refuse to let people help!”
“Seriously, Babs, I cant deal with this now.” Dick started to walk away, but she yelled after him.
“No! You don’t get to walk away! I have done nothing but be supportive and all you do is push! Why, Dick!?” She pushed herself around him, getting in front of him to force the Former Boy Wonder to look at her. “What are you so afraid of?!”
Dick bit his lip, trying to avert his gaze to hide what she had pointed out. “I…I could lose you, Babs…”
She took a moment to gather herself, taking a deep breath before she looked up at him. “There’s always been that possibility, Dick, it’s in the job description.”
“But it’s never been so real before…before now.” He closed his eyes, also taking a breath before kneeling in front of her. “I love you so much, and the thought that at any moment you could be…I’m terrified.” He looked up at her, tears rolling down his face.
She had never seen him this…distraught. She wrapped her arms around his back, pulling him in to softly touch her lips against his before pulling his head into her chest. She closed her eyes with him, just wanting him to know that she would always be here. Too quickly, though, it was gone.
“I’m sorry, Babs.” He said as he pulled away, covering his mouth as he stood.
“Dick, what are you doing?”
“If there’s any chance that I can protect you by keeping you away from me…I have to take it.” He walked past her, going to the door.
She said nothing as she heard her apartment door close. Barbara was left totally alone, telling herself that there was no point in trying anymore.
