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It had seemed like a wonderful idea for a date. They did so much of their work in the night, which meant they rarely had the opportunity to actually enjoy the night sky. In an effort to fix that, Dick had invited Barbara out for a night of stargazing, but he hadn’t considered—
“Light pollution!” Barbara exclaimed. The bright lights of Gotham obscured the skies, drowning out the stars.
Dick couldn’t help but let out a laugh as he stared up at the heavens. “Guess I should’ve planned that one out better.”
“Honestly, Grayson, I’ve never seen someone so brilliant who could be so dumb.” Barbara teased.
“I can fix this!” Dick stepped away for a second and seemed to be talking into something. Before Barbara could begin to question it, she was caught in a blur and found herself standing somewhere entirely new. At least she thought it was somewhere new. It was pitch black, so she couldn’t really get her bearings. In the distance, she thought she heard the sound of waves against the shore.
“What in the-” as she began to question, a gust of wind blew past her, strong enough to nearly knock her off balance. She felt the presence of someone – or someones? – next to her.
“Thanks, Wally!” Dick said.
“Happy to help,” Wally replied, and Barbara felt another gust of wind as he dashed off, leaving the two of them alone in… wherever they were.
“Now this is more like it,” Dick said, sitting down on the ground. At least, she thought that’s what he was doing. It was pretty hard to tell, honestly. Although the stars provided some light, it was hard to make out the surroundings.
“Dick, this is lovely, but I can’t see you” Barbara said. She fumbled around for a place to sit beside him. Even as her eyes adjusted to the dark, Dick remained a faint outline. “Where are we?”
“That’s a good question,” Dick said. “I asked Wally to take us somewhere we could see the stars, and he dropped us off here. Wherever here is. I hear some waves, so I’m thinking… an island somewhere?”
Barbara sighed. “This might be a little too remote.”
“Okay, let me get Wally back and he can take us somewhere else.”
“Nah, I think I can do better.”
“Oh you can?” Even though she couldn’t actually see it in the darkness, Barbara still sensed a smirk coming across his face.
“Let me show you a good way to watch the stars, Boy Wonder.” She pulled out her phone. “Oracle to Blue Beetle. Can we get a pick up Bug?”
Ted Kord’s voice chimed back. “Locked on your location and sending a Bug your way.”
Moments light, bright lights pierced the darkness as Ted Kord’s beetle-styled ship descended upon them. Its hatch opened up, and Barbara hopped in, motioning for Dick to follow her.
“Does he mass produce these things now?” Dick asked. “Starting a superhero taxi service?”
“Come on, Dick. Let’s go see some stars.” Barbara held out her hand to help Dick up, and they slid into the cockpit. Barbara took the controls and steered the ship upward into the skies.
“Crimefighter. Master of information. And apparently now a pilot. Babs, is there anything you can’t do?”
“Only the things I haven’t tried yet.” She steered the Bug higher into the atmosphere. When she was satisfied, she brought the ship to a halt, shut off all the lights, and gazed out at the skies. The sky was filled with stars. “Now how’s that for a view?”
“Somehow this feels more remote than the island,” Dick said.
“Can’t beat this view, though.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“All right then. Nightwing to Watchtower. Requesting immediate transport for myself and Oracle.”
As he and Barbara were teleported, they heard Ted’s voice come in over the Bug’s speakers “So you’re just leaving my ship some 30,000 feet in the air?” But before they could respond, they were sent up to the Justice League’s Watchtower.
“If you want to see stars, where better than actually being out in space?” Dick said, taking Barbara’s hand and leading her to one of the viewing decks. They sat down to stargaze, but Booster Gold soon decided to join them. After a far too long conversation -- if you could really call it that, given how few opportunities he gave them to speak -- about his latest attempts to go viral on LexTok, they managed to sneak away.
“Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the best idea,” Dick admitted.
“Besides, being here just kinda feels like we’re on the clock,” Barbara said. “Like Mongul is going to show up and we’re going to have to jump to action.”
“Maybe Superman would let us use the Fortress of Solitude.”
“Or I bet Jessica knows all the best spots in the Sector!”
“Or we could go to—”
Their debate was interrupted by the voice of Alfred coming in over both of their comms. “Master Bruce requests your presence at the Manor.”
“On our way!” Dick said, and the two immediately jumped into action.
They made their way to the teleporter, which took them immediately to Wayne Manor. Alfred greeted them and began leading them up the stairs.
“What’s up, Alfred? Is it Clayface?” Barbara asked.
“Did Jason steal the Batmobile again?”
“Nothing so serious,” Alfred said. He continued leading them up a series of stairs until they came out onto the roof of the manor, where a blanket and telescope awaited them.
“Alfred, is this-” Barbara began.
“We overheard your conversation, and thought you could use a good place to watch the stars. The lights on the grounds will be shutting off,” Alfred pulled a pocketwatch out and stared at it for a moment. “Now.” Immediately, the lights shut off leaving them illuminated only by the stars. “Master Bruce won’t say it, but everyone deserves a night off. And everyone deserves time to enjoy themselves. Ring the bell if you need anything.”
Dick gave Alfred a hug. “Thanks, Alfie. And thank Bruce for us too. Though perhaps we need to talk with him about eavesdropping on us.”
Alfred gave a short bow and left the two of them alone.
“So… Think we found the right spot?” Dick asked.
“It’s perfect.”
The two lay down hand in hand, staring at the stars above.