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“Nigthwing? Like the killer-bat movie?” Wally asked looking up at his boyfriend with a raised eyebrow. “Cause I get following the Bat-theme and all, but that was a really crappy movie.” Dick looked at him lost for a second and it occurred to Wally that maybe Dick wasn’t as well-versed in Jaws rip-offs as he was.
“No, idiot.” Dick moved into his room in the apartment “Like the Kryptonian myth. You know, Nightwing and Flamebird.” Wally turned around and raised an eyebrow at Dick, and he threw himself into a story about two shunned Kryptonians and their heroics.
They walked up to a covered mannequin surrounded by several pieces of black and blue material. Wally had to summon all his self-control not to take a peek. His boyfriend lived for theatrics and Wally lived to make his boyfriend happy, so he resisted the urge.
“Hmm, so a Kryptonian folk-hero,” Wally wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. Half of the superhero thing is being on-the-nose or evoking a specific mental image, so people actually understand their theme.
Bats evoked fear.
A flash evoked speed.
Nightwing didn’t evoked anything.
Ok, it evoked feral vampire bats in Native American reservations, but that was for movie buffs and even then, B-list horror movie buffs, so… too niche.
Maybe that’s the reason.
Dick was adamant about standing as far as he could from Bruce’s shadow. Coming with a symbol he could fill and shape as his might be what he needed. Plus, it could kind of work. With the whole -wing he could keep the bird thing he got from the Flying Graysons. And Night- because “I’m the Night” and all.
So Nigthwing.
A Night Bird.
Like a Bat.
Which it’s what he is, and what he wants to be, but not what he wants to become. Not with Bruce in the mantle…
Deny thy father and refuse thy name.
Huh…
“Yeah” he said moving closer to Dick and watching the drawing of a blue bird on one of the walls. “You could make that work, babe. Nightwing. I like it.”
“You really think so?” Dick asked and he simply nodded. If he had any doubt about the importance of his support in this whole enterprise, Dick’s huge grin and shiny eyes told him all he needed about how much his opinion meant to him. “So, this is the suit I’m working on. Stand here,” he moved to the place Dick signaled and smiled at Dick’s overly exaggerated moves and theatrics. He even bowed and gestured before putting his hands on the cloth.
Dick unveiled the mannequin and Wally saw the black and blue suit. He whistled approvingly. The suit was a black two-piece suit. It was really simple although it did gave a military/stealth-op kind of vibe, but without the pouches and pockets you usually associate with a military uniform.
It didn’t had many particular details other than the chest symbol (a rather large blue bird) and a couple of grey pieces in the abs and on the joints. The suit had a high back collar that ended in a low V-neck, which opened the suit down to the blue symbol.
Wally walked around it and raised the black cape to look at the back. Then, he noticed that the utility belt was very different from the Robin’s suit; with only one pouch on the front and just a couple more compartments on the back. The suit didn’t had any hard lines or any distinct features. Most of the lines were defining muscle lines and joints. Probably to ease the movement.
All in all, the suit was quite good.
Although a little simple for Wally’s taste.
And that collar… That has to go.
He let go of the cape and moved towards Dick, who had his eyes fixed in his face, probably trying to assess his reactions. Wally noticed the closed fist, the shift on the feet, and the casually relaxed pose. All hard-learnt tells that Dick was nervous and anxious.
He smiled at his boyfriend and decided to stop the torture. “It is awesome, babe” he told him, moving closer to him with a smile. Dick immediately brightened and beamed at him “Really? You really think so?”
“Yeah” Wally said doing a once over around the suit. “It’s really good.” It gave a very… Batman vibe, a bit Dracula with the cape and the collar. But with a softer look, not as imposing. Though, he didn’t told that to Dick.
He knew he’ll take it the wrong way and start mulling over how much he wanted to leave Batman behind and how he needed his independence.
And Wally loves his boyfriend, he really does--but he does not need the independence lecture all over again.
Dick moved closer and stood in front of his suit, with an unsure expression in his face “I thought it might be too grim and dull in this palette, so I had a design for a cyan and dark blue one that I could also do with a golden thing here in the chest, you know, more… young and flashy.” Wally grabbed the page Dick gave him.
He scrunched his face. This was… Something
“God, no. Stick with the black.” Really… please do.
“Says the guy in the mustard suit.” Dick huffed hurt and Wally closed the distance and gave Dick a slight peck on the cheek grinning to get rid of the grumpy frown. “Yeah, well, what can I say, I crave the attention. Plus, isn’t being able to merge in the night supposed to be like, half your thing?” Dick tilted his head.
“Maybe…” he conceded still grumpy.
They stood there, shoulders bumping staring at the suit, Wally running over the different aspects of the suit. He noticed the Eskrima-stick-holder thingy and thought about how much Dick was using them lately. Dick was probably trying to make them a more direct part of his image as NW…
No.
Nwing…
Nah, just N.
“So… No suggestions.” Dick said softly. Wally ran over ideas in his head and move closer… there was a thing that was bothering…
“Maybe… I would lose the collar and chest opening…” he said coming closer and touching the fabric.
Something’s off.
“Dude…” He looked closer.
Yeah. This isn’t Robin’s material, this…
“Is this Nomex?” he asked, not really needing an answer. He was already really familiar with the material. This suit was a light-weaved Nomex fabric without an internal layer... Ok, probably an internal electrical layer, to serve as a heater and to carry the internal circuitry that allowed the wrist holo-computer, comms and other Bat-essentials. He turned around and looked at the zipper and saw the normal security features of a Bat-suit.
But still…
Nomex is a fire-resistant material. A light fire-resistant material that allows for safe maneuver without adding too much weight.
And this only had a double-layered Nomex.
Which meant...
“This isn’t bulletproof,” he stated as he turned to look at Dick who was looking at him questioningly. “Well, yeah. Less weight. It’ll allow me to move faster.”
Wally opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came up. Serioulsy? Is his boyfriend crazy? “You’re planning on going through Blüdhaven on a double-layered Nomex suit,” he stated, trying to wrap his head around it.
No bulletproof material, no deflection material, no shock absorption, no electric isolation…
“Babe… This is a death wish!”
Dick waved him off and gestured at him “You wear Nomex, it’s like 50% of your suit.” Yeah. But, I can outrun a bullet.
“I wear Nomex because I move fast and I need a heat-resistant suit that compensates the friction the Speed Force won’t absorb.” It was an almost negligent amount, so any single-layered heat-resistant fabric helped. And still… the other 50% is a mix of Dyneema and carbon steel rigid on his chest and leg pieces.
You know… for bullets. Even though I’m a Speedster that can outrun them or even phase through them.
Still, Dick seemed to disregard his not-so-veiled attempts at freaking out over this. “Exactly. I’ll move faster, so I’ll get hit less,” Dick said coming closer and inspecting the fabric.
“But if you get hit, you’re done!” he barely repressed a scream “You don’t have super-healing…” Or super-speed, or super-strength, or super anything.
Dick had the gall to roll his eyes at him.
“Walls, you’re getting too worried over this…” Wally actually huffed at that. “It’s too dangerous,” he retorted. Dick faced him and shrugged again.
“I’m used to dangerous,” he replied, but Wally saw in his eyes he was starting to notice Wally’s discomfort (fucking finally!) because he put a hand on his shoulder and added “I’m a Flying Grayson. I don’t use a safe-net. I’m used to performing without one.”
Wally shook his head.
Nope. You’re not going there, babe. Not this time.
“D, babe. Jumping without a safe-net to perform in a circus is a daring act, and you can train and be good at it. But if you try to perform without a trapeze, then it doesn’t matter how much you train; it’s no different from jumping off a cliff,” he said looking at him directly to his eyes, trying to show him how much this meant to him. Wally knew he was bringing about images of his parents’ deaths to his mind, but that was exactly what Wally needed, to make him realize there was a point of no return, when dangerous becomes deadly. “Babe, this… this isn’t jumping without a safe-net; this is jumping without a trapeze. You need at least some protection.”
Dick was mulling his words and was looking again at the suit. Finally, he let his head hang a little and groaned “Ugh, I hate it that you actually made that into a good metaphor.” Wally smiled when Dick looked up and was wearing an unpleasant grimace, it meant he was giving this one up. “Fine, I’ll ask to incorporate a double-weave Kevlar lining.”
Wally frowned “That’s half of the lining in your current Robin suit.”
Dick huffed “It’ll stop a revolver bullet,” he countered.
“It won’t stop anything larger than a handgun! And Blüd’s thugs use semi-automatics. You know they do,” he reminded Dick. It had been half the main argument as to why Wally had protested over Dick coming here.
Unsuccessfully, he might add.
“Babe… Anything heavier and the whole point of the suit will be lost,” Dick reasoned.
“I don’t like this,” Wally said, and he knew he was pouting. He didn’t care.
“You need to trust me. My abilities,” Dick said and he huffed louder and countered “Oh, no. Don’t turn this into a trust issue! You know I trust you… you know I do… We talked about this when you came into Blüd and I’m not having the same fight again. But, I…” Wally bit his lip “I don’t like this,” he said again, grabbing the fabric. At least some Kevlar could help, but still…
“Double Nomex, Double Kevlar and the safety features. It’s enough,” Dick said with a little finality to his voice and Wally just shrugged dissatisfied. He looked at the suit.
It suddenly looked less like Dick’s new phase and more like a deathtrap that was waiting to get his boyfriend killed.
Dick seemed to notice his apprehension so he turned to face him “Let me do a fitting for you, so you can have a real look.”
Wally nodded and left the room to give D some time to ease into the suit, knowing he’ll want Wally to see the result, not the fitting process.
Five minutes later, Dick was entering the living room and Wally had to admit Dick had truly grown into a damn hot man. Because where Robin looked like a sidekick and kind of a teen. There was nothing teen about the hunk standing in front of him.
Surpassing his sidekick phase and going full-hero.
Wally let his eyes move through the suit and gave it another look over, making small comment and listening to Dick describing every part and piece of the suit.
“How about losing the cape?” Wally asked, after Dick made a third turn and placed himself in front of a full body mirror. Dick raised an eyebrow and messed with some things in the shoulder area before letting the fabric fall into the floor. “Like this?” he asked.
And Wally knew Dick kept talking and was aware Dick was expecting confirmation of the new state of the suit, but he couldn’t focus on that. Because taking off the cape had revealed a very interesting perspective on his boyfriend’s suit. “Damn, Dick!” he exclaimed, feeling his mouth water at the sight “That’s a really tight fit!” And it was.
God, it was.
Of course, Wally was very intimate with Dick’s ass, but looking at it all wrapped up in that tight Nomex fabric, it looked so yummy.
It was like he was wearing an underwear…
A really tight underwear...
“Like what you see?” Dick asked shaking his ass and a very specific part of Wally’s body was very interested in that movement.
“Hell, yeah!” he replied, and before he could stop himself he added “Man, I should have made you lose the Robin cape ages ago.”
Dick just cackled before saying a half-hearted shut up.
“I’m serious, D!” Wally said swallowing hard “Shit. If you go out like this, Blüdhaven won’t have to worry about crime. Nosebleeds and drool-choking are gonna be the real hazards.” Dick laughed deeply, turning Wally’s bones into jelly. “Maybe, I’ll use it as a distraction mechanism.”
“I’m distracted-” Wally muttered coming closer because he’d realized something. If this was as tight as it looked, to the point of looking like a second skin. And there were no creases on that second skin. That meant…
D is going commando…
So this sight… really was second skin…
And Wally needed to be sure of it.
Dick moved to come closer and was about to give him a kiss when something caught his attention. “Oh my God, Walls!” he said half offended, half amused and Wally just raised an eyebrow. Dick looked down “You’re actually hard!” he said punching him in the arm.
Well, Duh!
“Babe, look at you!” he said just signaling the entirety of Dick’s amazing body covered in his tight suit.
Dick just huffed indignantly and raised his cape. “I’m so keeping this cape” he said. And Wally pouted but moved to the couch and grinned wickedly. “Yeah. I mean, you should, it wouldn’t do for me to get a boner every time we’re on mission.”
Dick made a choking noise and turned around and used the cape to hit him a couple times while saying something about him being a pig and having no respect for his boyfriend.
He briefly wondered how mad would Dick get if he called him the Sweet-Ass Wonder but he decided he actually liked his natural teeth. Wally just raised his arms to protect his head and sat there laughing at his boyfriend, who then just huffed and let him draped on the cape. Dick walked up indignant back to the mirror and kept looking over himself. Wally grabbed the cape.
The surprisingly heavy cape.
How does he even flip with this thing on his back?
An idea came to his mind and he looked up to his boyfriend. “But, really…” Wally said running the cape though his fingers and looking up at his boyfriend “What about weaving a third Kevlar layer- hear me out…” he said as Dick looked annoyed and ready to interrupt him “This cape is like 6 pounds, easy. What if you lose the cape, add a third Kevlar layer and maybe use a carbon polymer to create a chest-plate with your symbol? You could increase protection and without the cape you can reduce the drag and increase your speed for acrobatics.”
“That… is actually not a bad idea,” Dick said eyeing over the cape with a careful look in his face. Wally decided to go a little further to secure the deal “Less Batman-y without the cape. And with a chest-piece you can actually close that horrendous V-neck/high-collar thing”. Dick just flipped him off and Wally laughed at him coming closer to his boyfriend.
Plus a chest piece might not stop a railgun, but it would protect from semis, knives and blunt force trauma to the chest.
“Will you think about it?” he asked and Dick nodded, so Wally just trapped him in his arms from behind and hugged him tightly kissing him at the nape of his neck. Dick let his head fall back into Wally’s shoulders and he took advantage of the position to softly kiss and nibble on his boyfriend’s exposed neck. They stood there for a couple seconds, Wally enjoying the warmth of Dick in his arms.
“I’m really proud of you,” he murmured into Dick’s neck skin and looking at the reflection of his Nightwing.
A hero on his own name.
“Thanks, babe” he said and Wally hid his face on his neck again. He smelled the Nomex fabric and he couldn’t help the soft ‘I love you, D.’ that escaped his lips. He liked to remember him that he did, as often as possible.
In their line of work, chances to regret an unsaid word abounded.
They’d been lucky they hadn’t lost anyone, but… It happened...
The mental image of the failed training with Megan flashed on his mind. Dying with his bird in that explosion, without telling him how he’d felt, even back then…
“I love you too, Walls.” D said, and Wally joined their lips and let himself be bathed in the light and warmth that was Dick Grayson, his Night Bird.