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“You, Barbara Gordon, are getting married?” M’gann squealed. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
Barbara smiled, tucking a lock of her red hair behind her ear as she moved her wheelchair so she was facing all of the Young Justice team. Only Wally knew Dick’s identity still, but that would all change soon enough. “Richard Grayson-Wayne.” Barbara said. “We’ve been best friends for ages, started dating somewhere along the line, and just kind of. . . fell in love.” She shrugged, feeling heat flood her cheeks.
“Wayne?” Zatanna asked. “Wait, isn’t he one of the many adopted kids of Bruce Wayne? The billionaire?”
Barbara nodded. “Yeah. We met because our dads tended to do a lot of stuff together. And we’d both get kidnapped in Gotham a lot. Perks of being high status one way or the other.”
“So you bonded over kidnapping? Sounds healthy,” Artemis drew out.
Barbara rolled her eyes at her friend. “Come on, you’ve actually met him. You know he’s amazing.”
Artemis shrugged. “Not as amazing as Baywatch over here, but he does know how to make you laugh, Barbara.”
“When’s the big day?” Wally asked.
“Tomorrow, actually,” Barbara confessed. “We had the hardest time setting it with my. . . extracurricular activities, and his family being well, his family, and then we had to figure out who to even invite since it’s being held in Gotham, which led to a whole talk with Batman about letting metas in his city—wasn’t sure he’d crack, but Nightwing convinced him since I’m Oracle, and well, now, here we are. And Batman cleared everyone’s schedules already, don’t worry. Unless the world decides to go crazy tomorrow, you are all going to my wedding.”
It had taken her and Dick so long, and they’d almost lost each other—had even lost each other—too many times. But not this time. Barbara smiled again, thrilled to be marrying her Pixie Boots in just twenty-four hours.
“What about getting ready? Who’s helping you?” Cassie asked.
“Dick’s sister, Cassandra, and his brother’s girlfriend, Stephanie. Oh, and Bruce’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, Selina. Though Dick’s little brother mentioned his mother coming in. . . oh, I really hope she doesn’t. I think.” Barbra paused, considering. Would Talia actually be willing to help? Or would she just want to murder everybody? Especially Selina? She took off her glasses and cleaned them on her sweater. That was a problem for tomorrow.
“With everything being so last minute, Dick and I decided to try and have a lowkey ceremony with just the Wayne kids in the wedding. Dick’s dad said he’d officiate, but their butler insisted he be the one to do it.”
“Butler?” Rocket asked. “Girl, how rich are the Waynes?”
“Rich.” Barbara confessed, “but Dick—and honestly his whole family—is amazing.”
“I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on us, Barbara!” M’gann squealed. “Oh, this is so exciting!”
“I know,” Barbara laughed as the zeta tubes announced the arrival of Nightwing and Red Robin. “Hey Nightwing!” Wally called. “Did you hear that Barbara is getting married to Dick Grayson-Wayne!”
Nightwing grinned. “Congrats, Oracle. Never thought I’d see that kid settle down.”
Barbara rolled her eyes. “Right, ‘Wing. Never.”
“Takes a special person to ground the kid that grew up on trapezes,” Red Robin snorted, and Nightwing shoved him playfully.
“Right, Red Robin, right.”
Red Robin ducked away from Nightwing and made his way into the kitchen.
“No coffee, Red Robin,” Barbra called. “You need actual sleep before tomorrow!”
“I’ll be fine!”
“Until a villain attacks the wedding,” Nightwing interjected, flipping over the counter and stealing Red Robin’s coffee.
“Oh, please no,” Barbra glared at Nightwing. “Don’t even mention it.”
“Relax, Oracle,” Nightwing told her. She could tell he was winking under his mask, and that impish grin. . . it made her want to kiss him. “Bats is working on making sure nothing will mess with the big day. Pretty sure that means that the Bat himself will be in the shadows, and he might make the birds be in the shadows, too, but we’ll all be there.”
“You better be,” Barbra told him with a laugh. “After all—” she broke off laughing as Red Robin dove for his coffee and Nightwing held him off.
“You better take him back to the Batcave, Nightwing,” Barbara told him. “And see what Agent A can do to get him to sleep.”
“Yeah, like any of us will get any sleep tonight?” Nightwing told her as he dragged Red Robin to the zeta tubes. “See you guys tomorrow!”
***
“What if I mess this up, Bruce?” Dick asked, looking at his adoptive father. “I mean, it’s Babs. I–I don’t want to disappoint her.”
“I’m pretty sure you loved her before you even knew what love meant, chum,” Bruce told Dick as he straightened his tie.
“Besides, you know she loves you and you love her,” Tim said, entering with a cup of coffee. “Even if you do steal coffee from poor unsuspecting brothers.”
At that point, Jason decided to enter the room and steal Tim’s cup of coffee with a cackle reminiscent of the original Robin’s cackle.
“Jay!”Tim protested. “Don’t be like Dick!”
Dick laughed as Damian came into the room and studied him. “You look like you’re about to go to war, Grayson. Smile.”
“Did the demon spawn just tell Goldie to smile?” Jason hooted. “Oh, this is gold!”
Damian glared at Jason. “Yes, Todd. Riveting, I’m sure.”
Bruce pulled all of the boys together in a hug, and Dick smiled. “Love you guys.”
“We know,” Jason, Tim, and Damian chorused.
“Now go get married already,” Jason prodded. “Then I won’t feel the urge to kill someone for at least a week.” Bruce glared at him, and he held up his hands. “Kidding, kidding!” Dick smiled and ruffled Damian’s hair.
“Bruce, are you sure you don’t want to be in the actual ceremony at all?”
But Bruce was shaking his head. “No. It’s your day, and Alfred’s officiating. He knows I’d cry.”
“And terrify every villain who knows your identity,” Selina’s purr came from the doorway. “Bride’s ready, and Talia insisted on doing her hair. Who knew she’d be willing to do that?”
Damian and Dick swapped looks, and Dick hugged Selina. “Thanks for being here.”
“Of course, kitten.” She squeezed him tightly. “And if you’re looking for a villain count, Ivy said she’d be here to handle floral arrangements—and she promised nothing crazy, Harley said maybe so she’ll walk in late to cause mischief of some sort, but that should cover the villain leagues. Some of the League of Shadows have somehow agreed to protect the wedding.”
“Dami?” Dick turned to find his youngest brother hiding behind Bruce. “Dami, did you get Talia to do this?” He pulled his little brother into the light to find Damian bright red.
“Yes, Grayson. I. . . I approve of you and Gordon, and I want you guys to have a. . . good wedding.”
“He cares,” Tim cackled, and Tim and Jason high-fived as Dick hugged Damian.
“Thanks, Dami.”
“Alright, well, let’s go, let’s go,” Selina prodded. “The bride still has to make a grand entrance, and your superhero friends look about two seconds from eviscerating Ivy.”
“Right. Hard to remember she’s mostly reformed,” Dick laughed.
***
Barbara took a deep, steadying breath as her dad came to stand behind her. “Ready, Barbara?”
“Yeah, Dad.”
“My little girl is all grown up.” Commissioner Gordon’s voice cracked. “How did this happen?”
She looked up at her dad. “It just did. Like a robin leaving the nest, I guess.”
“He’ll take good care of you.”
“He already has, Daddy.” Barbra told him. “He already has.” In front of her, Selina was finishing Cassandra’s hair with a most-likely-stolen-from-Bruce clip, and Stephanie was fluffing her purple dress.
“Purple and blue are your colors?”
“With gold accents.” Barbara laughed. “After all, after today. . . everyone here is going to know about Dick’s identity and mine.”
“Even the villains?”
“The ones coming have known for ages, Daddy. And they’re reformed. Mostly.”
Her father sighed as the music started and the bridesmaids walked down the aisle. Then, it was time for Barbara and her dad to walk down.
“Daddy, when I get up there, I need your help to stand.”
“Your legs—”
“Tim helped me. And I trust Dick to catch me if I fall.”
“Okay, Barbara,” Commissioner Gordon whispered as he started to push his daughter toward where Alfred was. The old butler was smiling, and Bruce was already crying.
Dick just had that impish grin on his face when he saw Barbara, and he was by her side in a second when he saw her stand, her legs shaking as she leaned on the braces Tim had built her.
“I would have helped, Babs,” he whispered.
“Surprise for you,” she whispered, and the two stood for a moment, his arms supporting her and their foreheads touching, eyes closed.
Alfred cleared his throat as Harley swept in, but she gasped when she saw they’d already started and sat in the back without making another sound.
The supers were glaring at her, but she winked at them, and Dick shook his head in amusement.
Alfred began to speak. “If anyone wishes to protest to the marriage of these two, then don’t. Your objection will be overturned, quite possibly by the bat himself.”
“Or the scarier Nightwing,” Jay snorted, and Tim nudged him. His comment, however, elicited a smattering of snickers from the batfamily.
“You could still walk away from my crazy family,” Dick whispered to Barbara.
“As if,” Barbara told him. “They’re as much mine as they are yours. Have been from the moment I saw you.”
“Pretty sure I fell first.”
“Absolutely.” Barbra agreed.
Alfred interrupted them again. “If the lovebirds would like to begin their vows, now would be the time to do so.”
“Right,” Dick laughed. “That’s me.”
Barbara smiled at him as he let out a deep breath.
“Barbara Gordon. I’ve known you since I was a kid running around in tights. . . and I’ve loved you since I first saw you. Somehow, in the midst of losing my parents, you understood. And you cared. You became my best friend, and before I even knew it, I was in love with you.”
Could her heart grow any bigger?
“In this world of superheroes and supervillains, everyone always wants to know what power I would want. And whenever someone’s asked what power they wish they had, flying is always at the top of the list. But I have to admit, I’ve learned to love falling, too.
Because I got to fall for you.”
Oh.
“My best friend, my batgirl and oracle, the person who reminds me of why I fight every day. The person who someone has managed to tame all my siblings, managed to tame my dad for crying out loud. I’ve spent my life in the air, but—” Dick paused, his voice cracking, “---but I spend every day falling for you, and it makes it all worth it, Babs. All of it.”
“Oh, Dick,” Barbara whispered, but he kept going. He was somehow making her fall for him even harder, and she glanced at his brothers to see Tim openly crying and Jason and Damian trying to act tough. She fought back a laugh as she turned back to the man in front of her, the man she was marrying.
“Barbara Gordon, I promise I will always love you. Always. And in our line of work, we don’t make promises we can’t keep, not to each other. But I will always love you, Babs. And I promise to respect you always, to protect you, to help you. To be your partner in life, Babs. For as long as possible.”
Barbara blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears, but they kept coming. “You’re gonna make me need to sit down, Dick.”
His face creased in worry, but she brushed him off. “I’m fine, really. That was just. . . really sweet. And I love you so, so much.”
“Your turn for vows, Miss Gordon.” Alfred told her, but she was ready.
“Richard John Grayson-Wayne. Dick. Ever since I saw you in those tights, those ridiculous Pixie Boots, I knew. I knew I was a goner. I mean, you and Batman saved me from Penguin, and sure, the Bat had saved me before. But you brought laughter and joy back into my life after my mom had died. You bring joy wherever you go, inspire hope whether it’s as a cop in Bludhaven or Nightwing. Or heck, even the occasional stint as Batman, because we all know you’ve done that for the Bat. You bring out the best in people, Dick. You bring out the best in me.”
She paused, searching for the right words. “You fell for me, but you taught me how to fly, Boy Wonder. And that led me straight to you. To home. Because you are my home, my safe place.” Barbara couldn’t keep the tears back, and she’d stopped trying. “You, Dick Grayson, are my safe place. The person who taught me how to fly, reminded me to dream and fight for everything good and worthwhile in this world. You’ve inspired me, Pixie Boots. And I promise I will love you always. Always. And you’re right, in this line of work, we don’t make promises we can’t keep. Which is why I promise you I will always love you, always respect you, and be your partner. For as long as possible.”
“And now, you may kiss the bride, Master Dick,” Alfred said, and Dick swept up Barbara and kissed her deeply. They broke apart, laughing at their friends’ expressions.
“Think they picked up on my secret identity?” Dick asked with a laugh. Barbara responded by kissing her husband again.
“Let’s go to the party now,” she whispered. “And then we’ll go from there.”
“Always, Babs. Always.”