Warnings: Violence, Guns, mentions of death, some pining by the reader
Notes: Don = crime boss, crime lord; Consigliere = an advisor or counselor to a crime boss; Caporegime = rank similar to captain or sergeant; in charge of a group of soldiers and enforcers who report directly to them
Summary: You’re the decoy for a mafia princess. Dick Grayson is her bodyguard. When you start to take her place more often because of increasing threats to her life, you and Dick are forced to spend more time together. This is all to keep the mafia princess safe, but it was only inevitable that you’d fall for the man “protecting” you.
“Our former Don* was assassinated this morning, and she,” Barbara gestured to the woman beside her, “will soon take his place as Don. It won’t be long until the news gets out and she will become the top target of the rivaling Mafia families.”
Your eyes moved to the newly appointed crime boss—Princess, is what you’ve always known her as. “My condolences,” you said to her. She nodded in acknowledgement but said nothing.
Barbara redirected your attention to herself. “[Y/N], for the next few months you will be making all public appearances in her place. All eyes will be on you. It will be very dangerous but it’s very important that you do this.
Like I have a choice, you thought to yourself. You simply replied, “I understand.”
“Good,” Barbara said with a hint of a smile. “Her identity is and will remain a secret until we weed out her assassins. Most of our underworld colleagues have never seen her face before, which is why it is possible for you to continue to pass as her for an extended period of time. She will try not to travel anywhere unless it is absolutely necessary but it is essential that you go wherever she goes, and trick the public into thinking that you’re her.”
You were nodding along to her explanation when a door opened behind you.
Barbara looked past you. “Good, you’re here.”
You turned your head and watched Dick cross the room to stand beside the Mafia Princess. He offered you an easy smile in greeting and you nodded back. As usual his 3-piece suit was neat and tidy as he stood upright. In the time that you’ve worked as the Princess’ decoy you rarely interacted with Dick and thus, you didn’t know him very well. Every interaction with him was both brief and professional.
Barbara explained, “As you know, Dick is the Princess’ bodyguard but for now he will act as yours for appearance’s sake. In the past Dick had a reputation as a highly skilled caporegime* so when people see him as your bodyguard they’ll assume you’re the real deal.”
You were silent as you took in the news. Whenever you acted as the Princess’ decoy Dick had remained as the Princess’ bodyguard and was always at her side while you had a different set of bodyguards protecting you. The change in assignments made you wonder just how public your appearances would be that you would need the best bodyguard protecting you.
“I hope you guys get along,” Barbara said while crossing her arms, “because you’ll be spending a lot of time together.”
“Are you scared?” Dick asked while you looked into the mirror and fidgeted with the wig on your head.
“Not really.” You glanced back at him and continued, “Maybe a little nervous but nothing’s ever really happened whenever I took the Princess’ place.”
“Good,” Dick said with a small smile. “I’ll make sure it stays that way. You don’t have to worry about athing.”
You watched him cross the hotel room to look out the window and said, “Thank you.”
“So how did you become the Princess’ decoy anyway?” he asked while scrutinizing the streets below.
You hesitated to answer. “My family was in debt. Every day was a struggle and for a long time things weren’t looking up. Then Barbara found me and I was offered a ‘special’ job that only I could do. I’ve been living like this ever since.”
Dick regarded you for a moment. “You’re a good kid.”
And dispensable, you thought to yourself. You cleared your throat and tried to shift the conversation. “What about you? What’s your story? How did you join the Mafia?”
“Well, long story short: My parents died when I was young and then the Don at the time took me in.” His features softened as he continued, “I owe everything to this Family. They raised me to be what I am today and I’m good at what I do. And it looks like it’s time to prove it,” he said while looking at his watch. “We gotta get a move on.”
You grabbed your things and Dick escorted you to the elevator. On the way down to the hotel lobby you adjusted the earpiece in your ear and looked over the itinerary for the day. “Why does she have so many meetings?” you muttered under your breath.
The voice of the Mafia Princess filtered in through the earpiece. “I need to attend the meetings and gatherings as the new Don of the Family. Act confident, [Y/N]. You’ll be fine; I’ll tell you what to say.”
“Understood, Princess,” you mumbled. Dick was signaling the other guards stationed around the lobby and was walking closely by your side when there was a sudden explosion at the hotel entrance.
Dick yelled at you to get down as he whipped out a handgun from the shoulder holster hidden beneath his suit jacket. You felt his hand on the nape of your neck while you ducked your head down. You flinched when another explosion went off and shook the building. You brought your hands up to try to protect your head from the debris falling from above.
“Let’s go! We need to get out of here,” Dick shouted. It was then that you registered the gunshots ringing through the building and distantly across the street. A protective arm wound around your shoulders and coaxed you to stand.
“Who is it?” you asked, trying to yell over the commotion.
“It’s Deathstroke’s men,” Dick answered with a grim expression. “We’ll find out who sent them soon enough. Let’s head to the basement.” He ushered you through the emergency stairwell and directed you to follow along as he scouted the area. He kept his gun pointed down with his finger hovering just over the trigger. “My comms isn’t working. What about yours?” He pulled the device out of his ear as he made his way down the stairs.
Your fingers touched the earpiece as static sounds buzzed lowly in your ear. “Mine isn’t working either.”
Dick cursed at this. He then carefully opened the door at the B1 level and surveyed the floor with his gun in hand. It appeared to be an underground parking garage from what you could tell, albeit a small one. He lowered his gun and motioned for you to follow.
“I think I should have my own gun next time,” you whispered to him while slowly crossing the B1 floor. You were desperately trying to calm your racing heart but you couldn’t help but comment on the unfair circumstances.
You saw a smile of amusement creep its way onto his face. “You bring up a good point, but we’ll discuss it later.”
His expression suddenly turned serious and he raised his gun close to his chest. Then Dick swept you behind him while firing two shots at a figure hidden in the shadows. There was a sudden movement and you held your breath in anticipation as you hid yourself further behind Dick.
“Those were warning shots,” Dick announced, his voice slightly echoing through the garage.
“Nightwing,” the figure drawled while stepping out into the light of the poorly lit basement. “A lot of people want your Princess dead. I’ll give you a share of my cut of the reward if you let it happen. Well, no, someone else’s cut.”
“Not gonna happen,” Dick snapped. He kept his gun trained on the assassin who seemed much too relaxed for someone with a gun pointed at them.
“It’s going to take a lot more than that to kill me,” the figure said while gesturing to the gun in Dick’s hand.
“I certainly hope so.”
In a short moment the fight ended with the assassin beaten and knocked unconscious, though it wasn’t much of a surprise. Dick ended up winning the fight with the escrima sticks he kept concealed within his jacket. Like the assassin said, the gun wasn’t enough and Dick had run out of bullets fairly quickly. But Dick’s opponent was no match for him in hand-to-hand combat.
“It’s still not safe here,” Dick told you. “And you’re way behind schedule.” Then he gestured across the garage. “Alright, pick a car.”
“Pick a car for what?” you questioned.
“We need a ride to get to your next meetings. Now pick something.” You laughed at his answer and chose the most expensive car there.
He hotwired the car you chose and drove you away from the hotel and out of harm’s way.
You ended up missing your first meeting of the day but you successfully attended the rest of your appointments despite the scare at your hotel.
It had been a week since the first incident when the next threat to your life happened in your own hotel room. It was during a business trip to Russia when the assassin waited until the dead of night to strike.
You were already asleep but you awoke to a thump outside the window, out on the balcony. Then a loud shuffling followed and the pistol that you kept on the nightstand was immediately in your hands. All traces of sleep had vanished and you pointed the gun at the balcony door while your eyes glanced around your dark room, looking for movement.
Then there was a knock on the glass door and you were thrown into confusion. What kind of assassin knocked before entering? You slowly moved to get up but before you could leave the bed, the glass door slid open.
“Good, you’re awake. Well, I figured as much with all the noise this guy made,” Dick said in a hushed voice as he peeked into your room. His eyes fell on the gun in your hands that you kept pointed at him. “Oh, looks like you’re prepared. Well done.”
You broke out of your stupor and lowered the gun quickly. “What are you doing? What happened?” you asked.
“Well, this guy was trying to enter your room through your balcony but I already took care of him. Here he is,” he said in a casual manner. Dick dragged the unconscious man into your room and you clamped a hand over your mouth to keep from making a noise. “Don’t worry. He won’t bother you anymore. I’ll get rid of him now.”
“Thanks,” you said quietly. “Um, goodnight.” You watched him throw the body over his shoulder and cross your hotel room.
“Goodnight. Sweet dreams,” he said before closing the door behind him.
As expected, Dick was the perfect bodyguard. He planned carefully and paid attention to every detail, whether it was planning your transportation or screening everyone before allowing them to see you. However the more time you spent with him the more you noticed how his guard was always up, even when it was just the two of you. Despite his friendly demeanor, he constantly kept you at a distance and avoided getting closer than necessary. You knew you were only his job and you should remain professional, but you couldn’t help but be disappointed by his aloof behavior. It was almost alarming how much you wanted to be with your bodyguard, or rather, with the Mafia Princess’ bodyguard. You were slow to realize it but your feelings hit you like a ton of bricks one day while you were working.
He had simply held your hand while you ascended the stairs leading to a private party. The party belonged to some business associates and of course you decided to wear a long gown. While you lifted a handful of the skirt in one hand, he offered to take your free hand. His touch felt so warm and comfortable but you noticed the aching of your chest the instant he moved away from you. You longed for his proximity, for his body to be close to yours. You enjoyed his protectiveness and undivided attention. You stared at the hand he held and you knew you were already in love.
And that was a very bad thing. So you buried the feelings you had for him as deep as you could, but he really made it so hard sometimes.
Dick was standing behind you while you discussed business matters with the club owner. You were in a private booth towards the back of the nightclub to ensure confidentiality.
You smiled and thanked the club owner for his time while standing up to leave. It was already past midnight when you finally concluded your business. You could finally escape its booming music and blinding lights.
“Ready to go?” Dick asked, his mouth near your ear so you could hear him.
You nodded and tried to keep yourself from thinking about the proximity of your bodies. He was at your side and his hand was at your back as he guided you through the sea of clubgoers. You felt your heart pounding in your chest, almost mimicking the heavy bass of the music as it shook your body.
You were so swept up in the euphoria of the nightclub atmosphere that you didn’t react right away to the sounds of gunshots that was concealed in the reverberations of the music. It wasn’t until Dick suddenly grabbed your hand that you finally realized what you were hearing. People soon started screaming and pushing against you as they frantically searched for an exit.
Dick was ushering you toward the back of the club to use the back exit. He kept one hand on your back as he tried to cover you with his body. You were struggling to keep up and were stumbling every so often because of the heels you were wearing.
“Dick?” you called over the gunfire. “Wait...I can’t run that fast!” You yelped when the gunmen shot at the ground around your feet and you squeezed Dick’s hand tighter. Dick turned back to shoot back at the assailants and shouted for you to go on ahead. You did as you were told.
People shoved and raced past you to escape through the backdoor as well. When you finally made it outside you found yourself at an alleyway and instead of following the flow of people escaping, you turned around to look for any signs of Dick. He was supposed to follow after you.
With all the commotion, you hadn’t even noticed Barbara was speaking to you through your earpiece. “[Y/N]? Can you hear me? Are you okay?”
“Barbara!” you said with obvious panic in your voice. “I-I’m okay! But I got separated from Dick... I don’t see him. I can’t find him.”
“Relax, [Y/N].”
Your hands trembled slightly despite your efforts to calm down. “Do you know if he’s okay? What should I do?”
“Calm down. His comms probably got damaged again. The other guards are helping him dispatch the assassins. Just wait there for him.”
Suddenly you heard a loud clatter and you yelped in surprise before Dick burst out of the side door. He seemed out of breath and he visibly relaxed when he caught sight of you. He quickly ran over to you.
“Dick,” you said while exhaling and smiling in relief. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
He gently grabbed your shoulders. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt?” he asked while scouring your body for injuries.
“No, no, I’m okay,” you reassured him. He looked into your eyes for a long moment as he lightly cupped your face with both hands. You thought maybe you were mistaking his loyalty for something else; something that would give you hope and eventually break your heart. You could see the worry in his expression and you were suddenly so envious of the Mafia Princess who would often get to experience this man’s fierce attention and devotion.
Dick swallowed thickly before slipping off his suit jacket and placing it over your shoulders. “We need to go. Who knows how many more are still lurking around here. We’ll head back to the hotel on foot.” Dick took your hand in his and pulled you along through the back alleyways and small streets.
“Barbara, Dick is okay,” you said, reporting to the consigliere*. “He’s met up with me and we’re going back to the hotel.”
“Good,” Barbara replied. “Move quickly because I’m getting reports of some activity around the nightclub.”
You nodded at this and said to Dick, “Barbara said to hurry back.” Dick tightened his grip on your hand and began a quick pace with you in tow.
After a moment Barbara said, “You did well, [Y/N].”
“Thank you,” you said while staring at Dick’s back. You pulled his suit jacket tighter around yourself and ignored the memory of how you acted just moments before.
You had to remind yourself that Dick was not your bodyguard—he was the Mafia Princess’. And once this was all over, he would return to her once again.
Dick dropped you off at your hotel room and was about to retire to his own room when you stopped him. “What’s wrong?” he asked when he saw you holding onto his sleeve.
“You’re hurt,” you said.
A wistful smile appeared on his face. “Just some scratches. Nothing serious. I’m more worried about you. You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just... scared of losing you,” you admitted.
Silence fell between you two and your face burned in embarrassment. You peeked up at his face and saw his troubled expression. You immediately regretted your words. “I’m sorry. Forget I said anything. Goodnight, Dick.”
“Wait, [Y/N].” He stopped you from closing your door. “I’m not supposed to get too close to my charges,” he said slowly, as if in conflict with himself.
“I know. I’m sorry, I’m just being silly,” you said quickly. You stopped talking when his hand brushed the hair out of your face.
“Tonight I was really scared of losing you, too. I shouldn’t have left you alone. Being separated from you scared me more than I thought it would.”
Your brows furrowed in confusion as you searched his face. “What do you mean by that?” you asked quietly. He closed his eyes and lightly leaned his forehead against yours.
He murmured softly, “It means I won’t let it happen again. I’ll try harder and I’ll be more careful from now on. I promise I won’t leave your side ever again.”
“Dick?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m not scared if you’re with me,” you said with a smile.
A smile of his own spread across his lips. “I feel the same way.”
