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Normally when you wake up to someone in your apartment it's okay. Normally it means your boyfriend is visiting, and maybe he brought one of his siblings along.
Tonight is not normal. Tonight, Harley Quinn picked your lock and sauntered in like she owned the place.
Now she's sitting on the end of your bed as if you just finished a movie at a sleepover, smiling down at your groggy face as you sit up in bed. You reach for the bat leaning against your nightstand, but she holds up her hands in a placating gesture.
"Hey, hey, no need for all that! I'm just here for the juicy details of how it went!" You give her your most bewildered and confused look, and she groans. "He hasn't done it yet!? I overheard him talking about it with Red Hood almost two months ago! I figured he'd'a done it by now!"
You continue to look at Harley as if she's grown an extra head, and eventually she gives a frustrated sigh. "Look, I'm not here to hurt you or to spoil the surprise, but I've known Nightwing since he was running around Gotham in green undies, so I just wanna make sure we've got something clear," Harley says, and you nod, eyes wide. "Take care of him. Be good to that boy like he's been good to everyone else. And if you hurt him, know there's people on both sides that'll come after ya. You got it?"
You nod again, and Harley pats your cheek with a fond smile. "Good. You two don't have to invite me, but you better save me a slice of cake," she says as she leaves back the way she came.
"Wait," you call after her, finally finding your voice. "Were you saying-- did you overhear Nightwing talking about proposing?"
"Aw, jeez, he's gonna kill me if he finds out I gave it away..." Harley mutters, and you can't help but laugh.
"It's okay, we've talked about a future together, so it's not a total surprise or anything. I hope it's soon though!"
Her shoulders sag in relief. "Okay, good. After he pops the question, tell him he's gotta let Aunt Harley know. I don't hafta be at the ceremony, but I better get to see some photos!"
"Do you think Poison Ivy would do the floral arrangements?" you ask, mostly joking.
Harley's face lights up like the Fourth of July, and you realize your mistake when she says, "She will if I'm the wedding planner!"
-----
It's almost another month before Dick pops the question, but the day it happens you can tell it's coming. He's on edge, nervous in a way you rarely see him unless he's working on a big case. What really gives it away is the fact that all of his brothers are working together without arguing. Steph, Cass, and Duke can get alone with each other just fine, but Jason, Tim, and Damian are always squabbling over something. To have them be perfectly civil to each other screams that they've been bribed, threatened, or mind-altered in some way. Your bet is on either the first or the second.
You go as a massive group to the aquarium, and it's an absolutely magical time, but nothing out of the ordinary happens there aside from everyone being on their best behavior. After everyone finishes up in the gift shop, where Dick buys you and himself matching socks with pairs of otters on them (because you're his significant otter), you pile back into vehicles and return to the manor for dinner. When you reach the table, Alfred serves your favorite meal, which is another sign that something's going on. For dessert there's some fancy French pastry you don't recognize, brought in from a local bakery. It's decorated with little cream and chocolate hearts, even though Valentine's day is months away, and you eye Dick suspiciously, but he eats his share as if he doesn't notice anything strange.
Perhaps it's just a coincidence, you finally decide, everyone in a good mood and on their best behavior for an outing for no real reason. Your favorite food and a fancy dessert for no reason. Maybe he isn't actually planning to propose tonight after all.
You're just letting that hope slip away and planning to enjoy the evening for itself and not in expectation of something bigger when Dick takes your hand and leads you to the library. No one else is there, and it affords you some privacy from the prying eyes of his family.
"So, uh... you probably noticed I've been acting weird today," he says, rubbing the back of his neck and flashing you a dimpled smile.
"You and everyone else, yes," you confirm, though there's obvious humor in your voice. Dick gives an embarrassed laugh.
"Sorry about that. I had this big plan to, well, you've probably already guessed... I wanted to do it at the aquarium, but it felt too public... We spend so much time in front of so many people as it is, so I changed my mind and asked Alfred if he could make dinner so I could ask after dessert, but that still felt like I'd be pressuring you if I asked in front of my whole family. So here we are, but it feels like I've already ruined everything and it's not romantic enough, and I'm definitely overthinking and ruining my whole suave reputation with all this rambling..." He absolutely would have continued, but you stop him with a gentle kiss.
"Dick, it's okay. Just ask me. I don't mind if we're alone or if your family is there. I love you, and I'm excited to say yes whenever you decide you're ready. Today was wonderful, and I really did enjoy myself."
He lets out a breathy, nervous laugh, and all the tension in his body goes with it, leaving him relaxed as he smiles at you.
"You're the best thing that ever happened to me. I hope you know that," he murmurs, his eyes gone soft and fond. Dick pulls a small box from his pocket and gets down on one knee. You feel your pulse begin to race with excitement.
When he looks up at you, the words he prepared flee his mind, and he's left staring into your eyes unsure of what to say. "I had a whole speech planned, but now that I'm looking at you I can't remember any of it. I just keep thinking about how pretty your smile is. Even if I turn into the biggest idiot you know when I'm around you, will you marry me? I promise not to be this dopey at our wedding."
You can't help the delighted laugh that slips out, because he really is a disaster right now, but in an endearing way. He gives you a sweet, hopeful look, and you beam and nod, too choked up to speak. It's the world's messiest proposal, but it's yours, and you're so, so happy.
As Dick slips the ring onto your finger you're blinded by a camera's flash, and you look up to find Alfred in the doorway, with everyone else pressed up behind him trying to see.
Suddenly you're scooped into your new fiancé's arms and spun in giddy circles as the camera goes off again, and then there are happy voices all around you and calls of congratulations.
When you're finally set down, dizzy and lightheaded in the best of ways, you remember something that you need to tell Dick. "So, I might have accidentally promised Harley she could be our wedding planner..?"