Author's Note: I wrote this story literally months and months ago and my "inspiration" for this story was the fact that Batgirl was not on the show and I was trying to think up the reason why. Soon after, she was and thus my story became irrelevant. So I played around with it and never felt it was quite what I had in mind and it lay on the cutting room floor if you will. However, I rediscovered it and decided, why not? So if you are looking for a random Dick/Babs story that has nothing to do with anything going on really . . . read on.
Disclaimer: If I owned this, I would also own Nutella. (YUM)
Just Like Old Times
Nightwing stared tiredly at the monitors above his head. Trying to keep everything in order all around the world, all at once, was draining.
But, someone had to do it.
A noise came from off to the side as Robin tumbled into the room. Nightwing surveyed his younger adopted brother.
"So much energy." He said dryly although with a touch of envy. Robin ignored his comments and instead looked up at all the screens.
"So is anything going down? Do you need help?" The boy asked eagerly. Nighwing offered a thin smile.
"When is anything not going on?" He asked humorlessly as his fingers skimmed across the controls. The smile on Robin's face fell. He looked around the room.
"Hey Dick?" He asked softly. The use of his real name caused Nightwing to look up suddenly.
"Yea?"
"Are you . . . okay?" The boy asked carefully. Dick gave a slow smile at his brother's concern.
"Just tired." Nightwing said dismissively turning his attention back to the screens. He knew Tim was just trying to be . . . brotherly, but he didn't have time to
stop and talk—especially about himself.
"So you don't need me at the moment." The boy's statement hung in the air.
Nightwing raised an eyebrow. What was Robin getting at?
"So I could go home for a bit?" The boy finally asked.
Nightwing sighed. Home. How long had it been since he had been there?
"Sure, you can go if you want." Nightwing made sure that there was no trace of envy in his voice.
"Okay! I'll tell him you say hello!" Robin rushed out of the room needing no further permission.
Nightwing stood there silently as the computer voice chimed Robin's departure.
At least Tim's arrival would make Alfred happy. The English butler was starting to think that no one would ever come home again. Dick got a call every week
about it.
It was kind of a hard thing to explain to Alfred. The range of their night jobs were now taking them farther
then ever. At the moment, Gotham was a small fish in the ocean.
After a few more minutes, Nightwing decided he best check to make sure Tim made it home.
He pulled up Robin's tracker and was surprised to see that not only was the boy in Gotham, but he was out
in Gotham. Nightwing frowned.
It wasn't that he didn't think that Tim couldn't handle himself, but it made him uneasy that he was alone.
But Nightwing realized that he wasn't.
There was one other person on the scene.
Batgirl.
Nightwing tapped all the right buttons in order to contact Robin's communicator.
"Robin here." The boy answered cheerfully.
"Hey Robin. I just called to make sure you made it home." Nightwing said nonchalantly.
"Oh, yea. You know me." The boy gave a nervous laugh.
"Robin. . . ."
"Okay, so I'm kind of out and about tonight." Robin admitted. "I was going to go home but . . . well,
things seemed busy like always so I thought I would give her a hand." He explained.
Nightwing stared up at the screens as they shifted to show the streets of Gotham.
He stared at the two names listed as active: Batgirl and Robin.
It had been a long time since those names were alone side by side.
"But I won't stay out too long okay? I know I need to get back tomorrow." Tim's voice shook Nightwing
out of his memories.
"No it's . . . fine. How is it going?"
"Oh, it's going oka. . ." Robin paused. Nighwing could hear another person speaking. Robin started laughing. "We are doing awesome." He said trying to stifle
his laughter somewhat.
Nightwing frowned. He hated to think that they were having fun without him.
"Don't get distracted Robin. You have to stay alert." Nightwing chastised. The line was silent. He could hear mumbled talking.
"Batgirl says that you need to lighten up. . . Boy Blunder." Robin added that last part carefully. Nightwing snorted.
"Well tell her that some of us are trying to work here." Nightwing retorted.
Robin was silent again.
"Ah, maybe you should tell her that." Robin said uneasily. He hadn't expected Dick to be that harsh about it.
Nightwing picked up on his brother's discomfort.
"Never mind Tim. Stay safe." He added shortly.
"Yep! Don't worry; Batgirl and Robin are on the case!" Robin signed off and the line went dead.
"He's not the same." Robin told Batgirl softly. She glanced back at the boy from her position on the edge of the roof.
"He's just getting tired. Dick gets cranky when he's short on sleep." She explained with a small smile.
"But I don't like Dick when he's cranky. I like old Dick better." Robin said while crossing his arms.
"Oh, old Dick is still in there. It will just take more to pull him out." Batgirl said. Robin glanced back at her with a smile.
"Can you get him back?" Tim asked hopefully. He watched as the girl in black stared back at the traffic below.
"I don't know how much I can do. The world has changed so much. There is so much more to do."
"Oh, come on Barbara. I bet you could." Tim said confidently. He had no doubt that she could.
"He just needs a good night sleep I think." She said rising from her position. "I wouldn't worry too much. Now come on Boy Wonder, let's go see what kind of
trouble we can stop." She said trying to cheer him up.
Robin brightened.
"Right behind you Batgirl!"
Nightwing fiddled with the controls as he stared out over the various screens.
He couldn't get Gotham off his mind tonight. Sure he missed being out there, but he had to put this new situation first. There was a job to do and he was going
to do it. He resolved to put the entire matter out of his head. And so he did.
"Come on Robin! You have to go faster than that!" Batgirl yelled over her shoulder at the boy.
"I'll catch you yet!" He promised as he picked up speed.
It had been a successful night of bad-guy catching and now they were both speeding home to get in on some of Alfred's hot chocolate. Winner got the bigger mug.
Batgirl made a quick turn and stopped.
"Come on Tim. At least, give me the chance to think that I might lose."
Robin leaned over taking in deep breaths.
"I'm coming! I already worked today remember?" He pointed out.
"Oh, poor baby. Come on!" She encouraged him. "Even Dick gave me a better chase than that!"
"You two had a lot of fun didn't you? Despite all the seriousness of the job, I mean." Tim asked.
"Come on kid." Barbara said gently.
"You didn't answer the question." Tim pointed out.
"I realize that. It's called evasion." She replied back. She waited as Robin quickly caught up to her.
He stood in front of her waiting for an answer. She sighed.
"Look, Tim . . ."
"The old days were the best, weren't they?" He said quietly. She gave him a smile.
"We all have to grow up. Things can't stay the same or things will get stale."
"We never had any trouble not keeping busy." Tim told her. "There's always something to do here."
"Yes there is, and I am here to do it."
"I should try and come by more. I miss not being out here." Robin said while looking around. "As odd as it may seem, after being everywhere in the world,
Gothom seems small."
Batgirl said nothing.
"I think Dick misses it too. Although, I guess he wouldn't actually say it." Robin mused. He turned to see that Batgirl's mouth was set in a line.
"He hasn't been here in a while, has he?" Robin stated knowing that it was true.
"You ask too many questions. Come on." Batgirl said taking off again leaving Robin by himself.
Nightwing felt his personal phone buzz. Pulling it out, he noted that once again, it was Alfred.
"Yes, Alfred." He answered looking about the empty room.
"Master Dick, could you please come home. It's important." Alfred promptly hung up before Dick could respond.
Nightwing stared back down at his phone wondering what had happened. It must be important. He quickly went to find someone to take over the controls for a
bit.
Dick stepped out in the dark Gotham night. He quickly made his way home and let himself in the front door.
"Alfred? Alfred?" He called sticking his head in various rooms. Suddenly a thought seized him. What if something had happened to Tim? Or Barbara? "Alfred!
Alfred!" Dick called louder. He heard a noise coming from the kitchen and rushed to the door.
"Alfred?" He asked pushing the door open.
Alfred turned around from his position in front of the stove and gave him a smile.
"Ah, Master Dick, you've made it."
"What happened?" He asked.
"Nothing. I just wanted you to come home." Alfred said with a bit of a smile. Dick's face contorted into a look of disbelief. "Besides, we have a guest." He said
while walking out the door with a pair of mugs.
Dick pushed the swinging door open. He could see Tim sitting at the dining room table. He couldn't see the other person, but he recognized her voice.
"And then I was like . . ." Tim stopped speaking as he saw Dick standing there.
"Hey, you made it!" He exclaimed.
"Just proving that you can't always trust Alfred." Dick told him while crossing his arms.
The butler went over and filled Tim's mug as if he hadn't heard a word.
"See? I told you that he would fall for it." The familiar voice said. Dick gave an irritated snort.
"Well, some of us have to take things seriously." He retorted leaning against the door.
Barbara turned her chair around to face him.
She held a cup of hot chocolate in her hands and had a smirk of a smile on her face.
"Oh, come off it Grayson," She started. "You needed a break, and quite honestly we were starting to forget what you looked like."
Dick resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Besides," Tim pointed out. "You won't be away for too long." He gave Dick a sincere smile.
The thought of sitting down and doing nothing for a few precious minutes finally won Dick over.
He pulled out a chair as Barbara turned her chair back around.
Alfred happily set a filled mug before him and walked back to the kitchen. He took one look at the gathering at the table and gave a smile as he walked inside.
Dick turned to Barbara.
"That was some trick Gordon." He chastised her.
She raised an eyebrow.
"You admitting that you fell for it?" She edged him on.
"Am I not here?" He asked waving a hand around good naturedly.
Tim sat in his seat saying nothing, but grinning madly as he watched them.
"Well it had to be something dramatic. Nothing else would get you out of your little 'place of authority'." Babs said making quotation marks in the air.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Dick charged, now a bit peeved.
"Absolutely, nothing." Barbara said backtracking. She realized that she was letting her emotions get to her. She took a deep breath and took a long drink of hot
chocolate.
Dick was still staring at her—hard.
Tim sat there looking between them. He attempted to lighten the situation.
"So while Barbara and I were out tonight. . ." He began to say. Dick turned his face towards him so as to listen.
"Yea, how did that go?" Dick asked genuinely. Tim fiddled with his cup.
"It was good. Nothing has really changed much to be honest with you, but it was nice to be back." Tim added that last part softly.
"It was nice to have you." Barbara said with a smile. "You did great."
Tim shrugged off her praise as he stared down at the table.
"He did great." Barbara repeated this time to Dick.
"I have no doubt." He said evenly as he took another sip. Barbara frowned.
"So do you want to hear about our night?" Tim interjected excitedly.
"Not really. I have to get back." Dick said as he finished his drink and placed his mug back on the table.
"Oh, come on . . ." Tim pleaded. Dick leveled a look at his younger brother.
"No arguments, please." He said holding up a hand. Barbara practically slammed her mug down on the table and stood up.
Both Dick and Tim's head swiveled and they watched her leave the room.
"Babs?" Dick called out.
Both boys got up from their seats and went out into the hall and out the front door where she stood on the front steps.
"Babs . . .?" Dick asked again tentatively. She spun around looking furious, but paused when she saw that Tim had followed Dick out.
Dick caught her eye and turned to Tim.
"Tim, don't you have schoolwork or something?" He asked him.
"It's summer." Tim stated.
Dick paused. "Well that's a lousy excuse." He finally said.
Thinking of no other way to get rid of his brother and since Tim wasn't offering to leave, Dick walked over to Barbara and said, "Come on, I'll walk you to your
car."
She didn't object, and followed him off the stairs.
Dick stared back as Tim took a step back into the house, but as soon as his back was turned, Tim reversed course.
They walked silently for the first few seconds down the walkway. Dick wasn't stupid enough to try and start the conversation.
"Sooooo. . ." Barbara started by saying. "You trust me to watch the city, but don't trust me to walk to my car?" She asked evenly.
Dick sighed.
"Babs. . ." He said as they both came to a stop. "What is wrong with you?" He asked her.
She gave a look of disbelief.
"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you? You never come home anymore and Tim says you've been really cranky." She said sternly. Dick opened his
mouth a few times but nothing came out at first.
"It's just . . . it's so crazy now Babs, with everything, I mean." He finally said.
"You think I don't know that?" She asked raising an eyebrow. "What on earth do you think I've been doing all this time—knitting?" She asked still angry.
"No, of course not." He replied holding his hands up as if it would hold back her fury. "But, things can't, I mean you can't expect me to handle everything with
the same . . . you can't be that unfair." He ended abruptly saying. "I'm not the same person I was and neither are you."
The statement made Barbara quiet.
"It's funny," She said quietly. "No matter what has happened in the world, when I get up on the roof tops I feel as though nothing really has changed. I guess
that's silly." She shrugged. "But even tonight, it was like I was thrown back in time." She said wistfully.
"Robin was back."
He offered it as a statement.
"Tim is really good. I'm proud of him. I hope we all are." She added softly. A grin came to her face as she said, "He may even have a chance to be better than
the first one."
Dick started walking again.
Barbara seemed to realize her misstep.
"I was just joking Dick, Dick!" She called out after him. "Seriously, see? That's what we are talking about. Years ago you would have found that funny." She said
catching up and stopping in front of him.
He looked over at her. His blue eyes almost seemed dull.
Barbara reached out and touched his arm.
"Dick, what's wrong?" She asked tenderly. He seemed to heave a sigh.
"I can't see how I am supposed to stay the same when the whole world is changing." He said bitterly.
"You can't be the same, just don't become someone else." Barbara replied. "My word, that sound like a cheesy saying that would be on some inspirational
website doesn't it?" She said in her next breath.
He managed a grin at this.
"So who does that leave me to be?" He asked her. She twitched her lips thinking up a response.
"You couldn't stay Robin, but you didn't become Batman, you became Nightwing. But you will always be Dick Grayson."
"I don't entirely make sense of all that, but it is getting late, even for us." Dick said after a moment.
"Yea, maybe." Barbara admitted crossing her arms.
A gentle breeze floated across the path and rustled the leaves of the trees. The stood as two lone figures on the empty lawn.
"Dick, just don't think you have to do it all yourself. You never had to before, and you don't now." She said firmly. "Okay?"
"Was it ever any use arguing with you?" He asked her, a bit of sparkle coming back into his eyes.
"No, especially not when you know that I'm right." She said with a smirk.
"You know what Batgirl?" He asked mischievously. She said nothing but smiled as she let him envelop her in his arms.
"I've missed you. And you will never know, how much I envy Tim sometimes . . . but don't tell him that." He added.
"You don't have to envy him; you could join him over here sometime. I could use the help . . . even from a former boy wonder."
"Yea?" He asked.
"Yea." She nodded.
"I accept your open invitation." Dick said in a mock formal voice.
"You better collect on it." Barbara ordered playfully.
"I intend to Miss Gordon . . . sometime." He added regretfully with a bit of a grimace. He could tell from her face though that she wasn't still upset with him. She
smiled back at him and gave a simple nod.
Taking advantage of the fact that she was still in his arms, he pulled her a bit closer and kissed her lightly on the mouth. It lasted too short for either of them.
"Be careful okay?" He told her seriously as his eyes opened to once again look at her.
"Aren't I always?" She lectured him. "Don't you forget that there are plenty of people out here to help."
He nodded ruefully as he let her pull away.
"Got to get to bed." She explained.
"Sleep some for me okay?" He said somewhat jokingly. She shook her head as she walked away.
Dick turned on his heel, now in a bit more cheerful of a mood. Maybe he didn't have to feel regret when he came back to Gotham, maybe he could still be
himself here.
As he got back in view of the house, he caught a glimpse of a figure darting back inside. With his suspicion aroused, he entered the house to find Tim on the
couch reading a book. A goofy grin was on his face.
"Tim." Dick said.
"Yes?" Tim looked up with an innocent face.
"Your book is upside down."
Tim's eyes opened wide.
"Shoot!" Tim shut the book and fled the room knowing that his older brother would not let him get away very easily.
Maybe the old Dick was back. He hoped so.
Random End Notes: Maybe this story is trying to do too much. I have no idea, what's bugging me about it. Whatever . . .
{Dick/Babs because, HELLO! They are perfect for each other!}
Alright you know the drill. Advice, and (gentle) [be nice please! :}] criticism, would be appreciated. Or a haiku if you feel like one.