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“Red Hood, you have more coming in from your six o’clock. Five men, all heavily armed.”
“Thanks for the tip, O. I’ll go introduce myself.”
Barbara took a swig of her (third?) energy drink. She had been online for hours. Or had it been a day? Did she even go to bed last night?
Beside her, Haley was sound asleep in her bed. Barbara couldn’t help but feel jealous of the little pup. She could sleep soundly without the weight of Gotham City on her shoulders.
Barbara wasn’t so lucky.
She really needed to logoff and take a break. She always lectured Cass and Steph about the importance of rest. But then again, Barbara was always more of a “Do as I say, not as I do” kind of mentor.
She would get off as soon as everyone else was home safe for the night.
“Spoiler, the sample you sent me was mostly powdered sugar. Someone in the gang is skimping on the coke, which means things are bound to get violent. Be careful.”
“Noted. Gotta love greedy drug dealers.”
And so the hours continued. The pile of empty energy drink cans by her desk grew taller and taller. Barbara sent out lab reports, manipulated traffic, and even hacked into the Penguin’s email account. She was always productive, but tonight she was on fire. There was no way she was stopping now.
Of course, it was then that she received an alert from the Clocktower’s external sensors.
Nightwing was climbing into her bedroom window.
“Honey, I’m home!” he called.
Of course, that woke Haley up. The puppy immediately started barking and bounded clumsily down the hall towards her father.
“There’s my little girl!” Dick squealed with delight. “Oh, Daddy missed you so much! Where’s Mommy? Let’s go find her.”
“Mommy is working,” Barbara grumbled as her boyfriend emerged into the room. His suit was still on, though he had removed his mask. Haley, of course, was nestled in the crook of his arm. She looked very content there.
“And when was the last time you took a break?” Dick asked, cocking his eyebrow accusingly.
Barbara sighed. Busted. “A while.”
“Then I think it’s time you sign off for the night.”
“Tim, Bruce, and Jason are still patrolling,” she defended. “I’ll get off when they head in. Now, go shower. I can smell you from over here. No kisses until you’re clean.”
Dick laughed and gently deposited Haley onto the couch. “Yes, ma’am.”
He was gone for about fifteen minutes – long enough for Barbara to guide Red Robin and Batman through a bank robbery across town. When he came back, he wore only a towel around his waist.
Okay, so what if she did take a thirty second break to stare at her half-naked boyfriend? He was hot. She was still a woman, after all.
“Like what you see?” Dick said with a dazzling grin. He was such a peacock when it came to her.
Barbara hummed, trying to sound blasé. “Only a little. You head on in to bed. I’ll be there soon.”
Dick swooped down and planted a kiss on her cheek. Barbara could smell his woodsy aftershave. It smelled like home. “I have a better idea,” he whispered warmly in her ear. She pointedly ignored the goosebumps that erupted on her skin as a result. “I just drew a hot bath with one of those fancy lavender bath bombs you like.”
She cocked her head at him. “Didn’t you just shower?” she asked, even though his intentions were painfully obvious.
He nodded with that stupidly handsome smirk of his. “I did. Because no one with a shred of decency would get into a nice bath all filthy. Especially when they expect to be having company.”
Barbara sighed. “Dick, I gotta –”
Without another warning, Dick scooped her out of her chair, losing his towel in the process (not that he seemed to care in the slightest; Barbara certainly wasn’t complaining, either). “Nope, you’re coming with me,” he announced. He reached down and spoke into her headset’s microphone. “Attention fellow Bats. Nightwing here. This is a PSA. Oracle will be signing off for the night now. In case of emergency, please contact someone else. Thank you, and goodnight.”
“Ooooh, they’re gonna do it,” Red Hood snickered.
“Keep the comms clear, Hood,” Batman grumbled.
“He’s not wrong, though,” Dick pointed out. He then took her headset off and tossed it onto the desk. “Now, where were we?”
“You were kidnapping me.”
He smiled slyly. “Ah, yes. We’d better get going before the bath gets cold. You seem to have a lot of pent up stress that needs releasing. And yes, I mean that as an innuendo.”
“You’re insufferable, Boy Blunder,” Barbara rolled her eyes.
But did she struggle as a very naked Dick Grayson carried her to the bathroom? No. No she did not.
“I don’t know about you, but I feel much better,” Dick sighed happily after they got settled into bed. Barbara’s head was nestled on his broad chest while Haley curled up at their feet.
She hummed in contentment when he started combing his hand through her damp hair (one of the mighty Oracle’s few weaknesses). “I suppose there are worse ways to be forced to stop working.”
“Amen to that. That was awesome.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, it was.”
“In fact,” he continued, “one might say I really pounded some sense into you.”
“If I wasn’t so relaxed right now I would smack you right in your pretty face,” she warned, though it lacked any real heat. “But in all seriousness, thanks for being there for me, Dick. I knew I was overworking myself, but I kept going anyway.”
“Hey, we all get like that sometimes,” Dick assured. “I know there have been plenty of times when you’ve called me out for not taking enough time for myself. That’s why our relationship is so great, babe. We look after each other.”
“That we do,” she nodded with smile. “I love you.”
He pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. “I love you too, Babs. Now, I think it’s time we both get some rest.”
Dick turned the lamp off then rolled back over to spoon her. Barbara settled happily into the embrace. She could feel her boyfriend’s warm breath on her neck as one of his delightfully muscular arms draped over her waist.
Sleep came easily after that.