Work Text:
The sun was setting, and Dick Grayson was on a very nice rooftop.
Next to him was a woman he’d met earlier in the day, who was cool and scary and heroic. Also, she was from another dimension, at least probably. The weird bald wizard who controlled the universe had been a bit vague on that front. Whatever the case was, she had saved him and he had saved her. Also, he had saved her sister? Or clone? Or both? He needed to clear that up.
After an awkwardly long pause, Dick finally worked up the courage to ask another question.
“So… you have those knives in your hands…” He looked away. “Do those…”
“Hurt when they come out?” Laura interrupted. She clearly noticed Dick’s embarrassment. “Everyone asks. And yes, they do. But, what are you gonna do? Those twists you do can’t feel too good.”
Dick chuckled. “You’d be surprised.” He thought about his follow-up.
“So, you picked those moves up in a circus?” Laura asked.
“Yeah, I grew up in one,” Dick said. “It was great while I had it.”
“Were the costumes worse than… this?”
“That’s nothing, you should see my older outfits,” Dick said. “You know your embarrassing teenage photos?”
“I don’t.”
“Oh.” Dick paused again. “Sorry. Erm…”
Laura laughed.
“No, I understand. I wish I had embarrassing teenage photos,” Laura said.
“And I wish I had gone to school,” Dick said. “Funny the things you don’t get when you grow up like we did.”
Laura smiled. And then she caught herself.
Dick decided it was probably OK to acknowledge, so he smiled at her.
“Yeah, it’s just… I don’t like showing myself to people. No one gets it,” she said.
“I hear you. But, hey, we’ve got each other,” Dick said. He reached out with one hand. He saw Laura stare at it, and felt a bit like a wild dog. And then she took it.
They sat there for a bit, resting their hands in each other’s.
—
The next time Laura saw Dick, he was dangling over a vat of acid underneath New York fighting some guy with a puppet on his hand. He swore up and down that it was intentional and part of some great plan, but Laura knew that was just superhero for “I screwed up, thanks for saving me.”
They were close enough to Laura’s favorite pizzeria in Queens that it just made sense to catch their breath. Dick got pepperoni, which Laura wouldn’t have recommended. It turned out that when you can’t smell someone’s toothpaste from half a mile away the pepperoni was just fine.
“You know, Bruce never let us get takeout pizza,” he said.
“What, did your fancy butler cook you a five-course meal every night?” Laura joked.
“It was three, and that was only if we’d made a successful arrest.”
Laura caught herself laughing. She was surprised how often that had been happening lately.
A piece of pepperoni missed Dick’s mouth and tumbled towards the table. Laura reached out and speared it with her claw.
“You want this back?” Laura offered.
Dick paused and grimaced.
“Erm… is that sanitary?”
“The majority of our time together has been in sewers,” Laura said.
“Still… I don’t think we’re there,” Dick said.
“Your loss,” Laura said. She picked the meat off her claw and ate it. Clearly she made her own disgusted face, because Dick laughed. “It’s only because my sense of taste is better than yours!”
—
Barbara Gordon was doing her thing, and doing it well. Of course, she always did, but there were some nights where Dinah was taking out an entire gang, Bruce and Damian were fighting some ice-themed bank robber, John Henry was fighting a space robot, and Dick was doing some low-stakes anti-mugging thing, where it just felt right.
Unfortunately, Dick’s low-stakes anti-mugging thing suddenly got very high-stakes. She heard a suspicious “snkt,” and some panicked voices in the background.
And then Dick laughed.
“Oh, hey, Wolverine,” Dick said. A bit too excitedly.
“Hey, Nightwing,” “Wolverine” said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare them off.”
“You pulled up in a dark alley with your knife hands!” Dick said, giggling. Since when did he giggle?
“In my defense, I usually deal with guys who are… less easy to scare,” Wolverine said. Barbara was about 95% sure she was smiling.
Barbara cut in.
“Dick, your heart rate is spiking. By any chance, is the woman you’re currently poorly flirting with the same one you said you saved in New York?”
“I do have super-hearing,” Wolverine said.
Dick cursed.
—
It was at this point that Dick Grayson would rather have jumped off of Finger Tower while having laser playing cards thrown at him than deal with the situation he was currently facing.
Laura noticed that he was very much not OK.
“I’m sorry. I thought it would be funny, but now it looks… I am really not good at this.”
“You’re fine,” Dick said. “You’re so fine. I… would rather not have this conversation with Oracle listening in.”
“Fiiine,” Babs said in his ear. “You sort this out, I’ll best friend you later. I’ll go bug Catwoman or something.”
In the silence, Dick hesitated.
“We are going to address it, right?” Laura asked.
“Do we have to do it here?” Dick asked.
“Is your place an option?” Laura asked awkwardly.
“You can’t fly, right?”
“Nope.” Laura shrugged.
“It’s going to be a bit of a trek.”
Dick spedwalked to his Nightcycle, which was conveniently parked at the gate to the alley.
Laura laughed.
“This was you?” she asked.
“Did the giant bird logo on the front not give it away?” He straddled the seat and turned the engine on. “How are you with motorbikes?”
“More than fine.” Laura leapt onto the Nightcycle, wrapping her arms around Dick.
Her warmth on him was just a bit too comfortable. Laura grunted also. Dick revved the engine and drove, trying to remember the way home.
—-
Laura knew her way around motorbikes. She regularly stole, purchased, or commandeered them. She also tended to crash them, but that was usually intentional on her part.
This one was a lot bulkier than she was used to, though. Which was funny, compared to Dick’s build. Laura hadn’t spent a lot of time with him, but she had a good sense for her allies’ body shapes. Because she had to know how they moved relative to her. Physical synergy was important in active situations. Like combat.
“Um… Laura?” Dick asked. “Are you sure you’re comfortable back there? You’re holding on a little tight.”
Laura shifted her grip.
Mercifully, Dick slowed to a halt in front of a rather nice-looking brownstone.
“I’m on the third floor,” Dick said. He hadn’t moved. Laura realized that she hadn’t let go yet. Awkwardly, she withdrew and climbed off the bike. Dick exhaled and followed.
He started explaining something about the fire escape in the back and secret garages, but Laura was thinking about that exhale. She had spent years studying body language, and knew what relief sounded like. But why would he be relieved when she got off his motorcycle? Why did he suddenly smell so good? Was that just what Blüdhaven smelled like? Was that the sound of the spandex on his suit stretching? And when did they get into his apartment?
“So, here’s home,” Dick said. “Um… I have ramen if you want-”
Laura kissed Dick before he could finish the sentence. And Dick kissed her back.