Work Text:
The dark sky slowly started losing its overcast and murk colour as the small tints of red and orange gradually appeared on the sky. This was the time most - specifically sane - people would be deep asleep. Dick was the exception. Or maybe he was insane...
To be frank, it didn't matter what the circumstances, he would find himself patrolling over the unmonitored scope of Blüdhaven. Was this necessary? He would be alerted of crime in the comfort of his own small apartment, but he was also raised by Batman. Patrolling was a crucial role for a superhero. Something about keeping civilians safe and preventing people from doing something illegal and suspicious before it becomes a crime. Oh, and to also to pump his adrenaline.
Over the past decades or so, things have changed. Dick remembered being referred to as Boy Wonder for the first few years of life in Gotham City with his elf-like costume. As he started aging into his late teenage years, he was addressed as Robin, still with the gaudy colour scheme, but actually wearing actual pants this time. This era was a pivotal time of his journey in battling crime as he was now able to fend off for himself to Jump City with a team. By the time Dick was in his 20s, the red and green on his uniform were gone and so were his team. Now, Dick adopted the name of Nightwing as he moved to Blüdhaven and now wore black and blue.
It was almost 6 a.m. when Dick stopped spying on a sketchy operation he noticed on his daily patrol. But obviously, a quick glance was never enough as the superhero had to explore the inside. Safe to say that his impulsions got the better of him, leaving him slightly bruised in the end. He'll come back tomorrow again, but now with a little awareness of the scheme and a plan that is still in progress.
For now, it was time to head back to his beautiful girlfriend and bug her for the rest of the night - morning really.
Dick drove on his now blue motorcycle back to his apartment complex. Not before slipping into the darkness to change out of his uniform of course. A swift in and out. This was done as a safety precaution to prevent somebody, who was probably against Nightwing, to follow him and find out about his whereabouts. It was also because the staff working in the apartment would be quite perplexed seeing Blüdhaven's Batman requesting for the keys for Room 29, under the name of Richard Grayson.
Once he arrived at the distant apartment, Dick limped in with his raven-coloured helmet tucked underneath his right arm as a singular strap of the mediocre-sized bag was strapped on his shoulder as the other was not. Inside the bag contained his superhero uniform and mask that were stashed under some random files.
"Pretty late timing, don't you think? Even for your standards, Grayson." An old man, one of the staff running the reception, claimed. "Caught up in that police thing again?"
"Private investigator." Dick corrected. "And yeah, got tied up in a bit of work."
The old man let out a slight chuckle. Not in a mocking or contemptuous manner. Rather, a thought struck him. "With this commitment to your job, you might as well be a police and get that bag-" He said, referring to money. "-Rather than lettin' your ol' lady be the breadwinner. She's a woman after all!"
A slight grimace fell on the superhero's face, but was masked with a fake smile. Dick couldn't really blame the worker. The old man spent over 70 years of his life under this way of thinking and had only slowly started learning how wrong it was when he came to the country.
"Yeah." Was all Dick responded.
"Here for the spare keys, eh?" The worker questioned, changing the subject. Dick nodded as the old man started scavenging through the drawer of keys. Then, he looked up with a rather cheerful smile for somebody up at this time of the day. "Here ya go. Just return it by noon."
Dick nodded, holding the keys before asking another question. "Oh, and when would the replacement keys come?" He questioned. What happened to the original keys? Well, as Dick would place it, someone, who was totally not him, and was definitely his girlfriend lost it. Now, the two had to rely on the spare key which belongs to the apartment complex staff until they receive their replacement.
"I'd give it another day or two."
"Cool. I'll see ya later." And with that, Dick left. His leg felt a little stiff and his knees felt as if it was unable to bend, but he managed to conceal it for now.
With a slight limp, Dick trudged over to his room. His body ached and stung quite a bit but it was nothing out of the ordinary. Over his many years, the superhero faced many injuries a normal person his age typically wouldn't have. But also how many other people his age are dressed in tight superhero suits and running around the city to stop bad people?
As soon as Dick entered his apartment, he immediately dropped his items on the couch. After taking a deep breath, he hobbled to his room, attempting to ignore the pain on his body.
Quietly, Dick entered his (shared) room, trying not to wake up his girlfriend. He glanced over at their bed, noticing a small lump which he wasn't sure whether it was his girlfriend or just the three blankets making it seem like a human figure. Brushing the thought off, Dick pulled out his work clothes for later that day. No, not his Nightwing one, the semi-formal attire he wears to his actual job. As the man was picking out clothes, the door squeaked open.
A short girl with long purple hair revealed herself, tiredly glancing up at her boyfriend. Her dark circles were more prominent and that was probably due to a lack of sleep. She was wearing one of Dick's shirts that fell off her shoulder and black shorts despite the weather - she wasn't one to wear pants often. There was no smile, but also no scowl.
"Rae, you're awake?" Dick stated, which sounded more like a question rather than statement.
His girlfriend, Raven or "Rae", closed the door behind her, entering the room with a slight smile. "I'm not sure what you expected from a medical student in college who is entering her finals." She shot back playfully as she leaned up and pecked his cheek. "Where were you?"
Dick dropped his clothes, placing his hands on her sides and leaned in to peck her lips. Don't worry, she's not going to bite his head off for the affection. After being with each other for years and patience, Raven started being comfortable with being... intimate and being affectionate.
"Got caught up with this operation. I need to check it out again tomorrow." He responded, hands still placed on her waist. "You want me to tell you now or later about it?"
"Leave it up to you to find some shady business." Cue in a yawn. "I might go to sleep now. I've got a test later and..." Raven's words left her when she noticed Dick flinch. No, it wasn't from the word "test". It seemed like he flinched when she rested her hands on his chest. "Did you get hurt?"
"Leave it up to you to sense when I'm hurt." Dick retorted, watching her hands leave his chest.
As if the two hadn't been affectionate to each other not even a minute ago, Raven pushed his hands off. She got worried about her boyfriend over these kind of things. "Did you get hurt anywhere else?"
"Bruised my legs quite a bit and I think I fractured a rib again... I'll be fine though. I can check on it tomorrow." He reassured, also noticing the dark circles under her eyes. But, Raven didn't bother to listen to his words after the first few words. Then, Dick was pushed to sit on the bed by Raven. "You're tired, Rae. I can sleep it off."
Raven sternly glared at her boyfriend, placing her hands back on her hips. "And you're hurt. Now, pull your shirt off."
"I didn't know you wanted to do that now. You could've just asked, you know." Dick shot back, grinning.
The empath found it confusing how Dick could always say such stupid things when he was injured. It was probably due to the fact that he was immune to injuries and Raven was his appointed doctor anyways.
"Sorry, sorry. Just trying to make light of the situation." He added, obviously not actually being sorry. Mostly to stop Raven from her intense glaring. But, he still pulled off his shirt. "Happy?"
"No. You don't need to try and get yourself shot to prove that you're the good guy." Raven responded, her mood shifting from worried to annoyed with a hint of concern.
Dick watched as Raven placed her hand on the place he was injured: Ribs. She was going to use her powers again to heal him because for some twisted reason, the superhero finds dopamine in crimefighting and only crimefighting. And bickering with Raven here and there.
To give a little more insight to Raven, she used to be on a team with Dick in their teens: Teen Titans. After the team disbanded, she didn't seek out to fight crimes on her own. Instead, she retired and focussed on getting her degree in medicine. This was now her fifth year in college and she has only one more left.
"How else am I going to have you care about me if I don't get injured?" Dick jokingly questioned.
Boom. A slap on the back of his head by none other. "Oh please, if I don't care about you, you wouldn't be sleeping here, Dick." She rolled her eyes. "And when I call you that, I mean that I'm calling you a dick."
"That's not very nice." He responded, rubbing the back of his head. "Even for you, Rachael."
Her hand was still placed on his chest. A blue glow slowly fading off; the bone was almost done healing. "Nor is having to drain my powers to fix up your injuries every second night."
"Then, don't waste your energy, Rae!" Dick exasperated, about to pry her hand off his chest before a gentle kiss was placed on his forehead. He couldn't help but smile as she pulled away.
Raven, who was still standing, stared at her boyfriend, who was still sitting on the bed. "Leg right? Show me where it is."
"You want me to take my pants off too?" He challenged, lifting his bruised leg onto the bed.
A little caught off, Raven caught herself, shaking her head. "That... won't be necessary. Just roll it up."
"So, you told to pull my shirt off just to get a good look at it, huh? I wouldn't blame you." Dick claimed, grinning up at Raven. She rolled her eyes, but didn't deny it. Frankly, Dick wasn't too far off. But then he thought of his comment. "That sounds too much like Beastboy, didn't it?"
"You two are the same except that you know how to pretend being somewhat serious in front of others." Raven commented, rolling Dick's pant up for him as he was too busy talking. As Dick stared at her offended that he was compared to a green boy who still finds fart jokes, Raven was sitting beside his leg, healing it.
"Now that was low."
"It wasn't wrong though."
Dick scoffed, wrapping his arms together. For years, he'd been compared to Batman for acting too distant and emotionless like him. Now, it's Beastboy, who is the still has the same humour back when he was fourteen. "And to think you're the woman I'm going to marry. I thought you were supposed to help me."
"Am I not healing all your broken bones?" Raven quizzed, looking up at him through her glasses. "And also, you haven't proposed to me yet, Wonder Boy. Don't get your hopes too high."
"That's 'cause you said that you'll only marry me after you complete medical school."
Raven proudly nodded. "And I stand by that." Her gaze flickered at his leg which was getting healed by her powers and back onto her boyfriend. "Plus, I have another year after this. You might want to plan the proposal. A little heads up, if you do it in public, I will reject you just to humiliate you."
"At this point, you might as well propose. So, I don't get rejected by your millions of conditions." Dick claimed, playfully rolling his eyes.
Not a bad idea. "I was thinking that too. Would a pretty, pink ring suffice your standards, princess?" She sarcastically asked, smirking. "Or do I need to go all out and buy fireworks and rent a Mariachi band?"
Dick leaned his face closer, grinning back. "Is the ring big and glittery?"
"Anything to make me sweep you off your feet."
"Like you actually do that."
Just then, the blue glow disappeared from his leg. All fixed.
The two stared at each other for a moment. It was as if they were planning on kissing again. They both stared at each other intently, smiling and leaning in before Dick felt Raven ruffling his hair. "Anything else I need to fix?" She questioned, pretending they were not about to kiss. As a result, irritating Dick.
"Come here." He stated, pulling her in for a kiss.