Hey, ModernDayBard here! Until there's enough interest/inspiration for a full sequel to if 'I'm a Hero Why Don't I Feel Super?' I figured I'd post a series of one shots with Nightwing and Nicole. There will be no regular updates, as I just jot these down as they come to me. Well, here's the first.
Of course: I don't own YJ or its associated characters—just my oc's.
*A nice, normal date,* Nicole thought with a flush of nervousness. *A nice, normal date in our civilian identities—just a couple of regular teenagers.*
She took a moment to size up her reflection in the mirror: a knee-length red dress with a thick, black belt; red flats; her curly red hair wrestled back into a bun (which it was already in the process of escaping); pale skin with freckles not quite concealed by light makeup; and blue eyes with a determined glint behind them that said they'd see tragedies no nineteen-year-old should.
*Like Dick or I could ever pass ourselves off as 'normal'.*
Still, there were some typical elements to the evening. Like nerves, for instance, The redhead felt her heart hammering as her first date with the dark-haired detective neared. Actually, it wasn't just nerves, it was uncertainty mixed with a hefty dose of self-doubt. In the past few weeks, and even before—before her brother died—the two young heroes had grown close. They'd even gotten to the point that Nightwing had revealed his identity and asked her out as Dick Grayson, but Nicole still didn't know if they were an official couple or not.
*I mean, I guess a date means we're more than just friends, but, if I'm honest, do I really believe that this can last? As a civilian or a hero, Dick could have pretty much any girl he wants. As Ember, I'm a rookie sidekick with a questionable past and family. As Nicole Zilareko, I'm a former foster child who ran away for a year and a half. Marji may have taken me in and helped me, but I've aged out of the system. By all technicalities, I'm a charity case!*
Before she could continue her fretting, the door to her bedroom opened and Marji came in, smiling. In her hands was a chunky, black-and-red necklace. "Here, I thought this would go well with your dress." With that, the dark-haired young woman came up behind her protégé and clasped the jewelry. Still smiling at Nicole in the mirror, Marji put her hands on the teen's shoulders. "Dick's a lucky young man; I hope you both know that."
Impulsively, Ember whirled around and embraced her mentor—something she hadn't done in years. "Hey, don't you get emotional now," Silver whispered kindly, "or you'll get me started and ruin your mascara. Now come on downstairs, I'm sure he'll be here any minute now."
Marji's prediction proved accurate. Within moments of coming downstairs, Nicole hears the doorbell ring. The flame-wielder froze. Shaking her head in amusement, Silver crossed to open the door. She had to smile at the sight that greeted her—a nervous young man doing his very best to feign confidence. In the field, Ember and Nightwing were two of the most confident members of the Team, cracking jokes and taunts though nearly every battle.
*But put them in a 'normal' situation, and they're just as scared as anybody else would be.*
There was something almost reassuring in the observation, and Marji stepped aside with a smile, allowing her protégé's date to enter. She led him to the living room where Nicole waited, and prepared to vanish. But before making herself scarce, Silver let her smile slip for a second, revealing an expression that was pure 'mama bear'. Then she vacated the room, feeling Dick had been appropriately terrified.
The nervous young man decided to start with a sentence that was generally safe (and, in his opinion, always true of Nikki): "You look nice."
"So do you," she replied, feeling the blush spreading across her face. He did, in his dress pants, white button-up shirt, red tie (they hadn't purposefully coordinated, but as red was her favorite color, it'd been a safe bet), and black blazer; but then, in her mind, he always did.
"Th-thanks." Dick mentally kicked himself for stuttering and tried to calm down. This was Nikki for crying out loud! *But then, it is our first date, and we got off to a bad start when we first met.* "So, uh, are you ready to go to dinner?"
Nicole nodded, snatching up a small black clutch purse, but not before Dick noticed her hands were shaking. Somehow, realizing that she was as uncertain as he was helped to calm him, and a bit of his normal confidence returned. The two teenagers exited the house, and Dick held both the front and car door for his date (silently thanking Alfred for having constantly drilled 'proper behavior' into his head as she smiled at him).
As they were in Nikki's town, where Dick Grayson was slightly less recognizable, he'd taken one of his not-so-flashy (though still nice) cars. It was the same one he used when spending time with Tim, and Dick realized that the younger Robin had left a duffle bag of his gear in the back. Fortunately, Nicole didn't seem to mind (or else didn't notice) and they soon arrived at the intended restaurant.
When planning the evening, Dick had kept his plans a surprise, and when she recognized the restaurant, Nikki spared a moment to give her date a look. She'd asked that they not go anywhere too expensive or ostentatious.
*Though, given her background as Bruce Wayne's ward, I guess this qualifies.*
And at least she wasn't under-dressed (though it was close). The host showed them to the table and left them with glasses of water and their menus.
As the evening wound on, the two grew more comfortable, remembering halfway through the salad course that: Oh yeah—they knew the person across from them! By the time their entrees arrived, they were teasing each other, laughing, and talking as they would over a quick snack in one of the galleys—though strictly on civilian topics, of course. It'd turned into a pleasant evening.
So, of course, that's when things went wrong.
Shouts erupted from the host's station, followed seconds later by the ominous sound of gunfire. Like every other diner, Dick and Nicole hit the ground, though, unlike everyone else, they were tensed for combat, and Nicole highly doubted anyone else had to snuff flames that'd flared up around their fists.
Two masked and black-clad figures entered the dining area, holding the terrified host at gunpoint. "Nobody move, nobody call the cops, and everyone hand over your valuables."
*Regular crooks? Just our luck.* One look at Dick, and Nicole knew the plan: they'd play along and maintain their civilian identities, for now. *I don't like this plan.*
One of the attackers stayed in the dining room to see that their orders were carried out while his partner dragged the hostage with him as he stalked towards the kitchen. Nikki held her tongue as she took off the necklace Marji had given her and placed it and her earrings in her small black clutch before handing the purse over. She tried her best to look scared, instead of glaring daggers at the robber.
As the final few trinkets were collected in the dining room, shouts erupted from the kitchen. "The head chef is reputed to be a tyrant—and skilled with his knives," Dick murmured under his breath. Then two shots rang out, followed by muffled screams, and the young detective paled, clenching his jaw. "That bastard just killed someone—maybe two—"
Nicole thought her date was about to blow his cover (and she would've helped) when the first criminal returned, minus his hostage and with blood spattered on his mask. "Grab the sack, we're going," he barked at his partner before whirling on Dick and Nicole, gun raised. "Hey, you: you drive your date here or did you make her take a cab?"
Dick's mind raced, calculating. The man was too far away for him to take down before he fired at Nikki, and he obviously had no qualms about killing. Inserting a small stammer into his voice to maintain his pretense, he replied, "I d-drove."
Lunging quickly, the masked man grabbed Nicole's arm, hauling her upright, the gun pressed to her temple. Dick tensed, but there was nothing he could do. Nikki met his eyes, silently urging him to remain calm.
The moment was interrupted by the lead crook's shout. "Grab the loot!" he barked again at his partner, before turning his attention back to Dick. "You're driving, pretty boy. Grab your keys."
Grayson kept fuming silently, but he reached for the keys that the second robber had let him (and the other diners) keep.
The four made their way to the car, the crook with the loot claiming the passenger's seat, his 'boss' forcing Nicole into the backseat with him. The robber with the gun frowned at the duffle at Nicole's feet. "What's in the bag?" he barked at Dick.
Nicole saw Dick's eyes in the mirror meet hers for the briefest moment before he answered. "J-just some of my brother's stuff. H-his extracurricular—a-arts." *Translation: Tim's weapons. Not his Robin weapons, just his practice martial arts gear.* She stored the information, watching for the opportunity to capitalize on the cache at her feet.
*I think he's starting to overdo the stammer, though. His character is becoming a caricature.*
"D-did you kill someone, George?" the crook with the loot asked. At the answering affirmative grunt, the terrified voice continued, "What'd you have to do that for?"
"It was that or become shish-kabob," George growled. "Plus, I warned them: anyone tries anything, and I kill them and the hostage. Once thy both went down, no one else made trouble."
"But you said you wouldn't hurt anyone, George: 'just a simple robbery'!"
"Shut up, Mike! Hey, pretty boy, head for the freeway, and go until you take exit 143. And don't you try to attract attention, or your little ginger here is gonna make it a three-kill night for me."
Nicole saw Dick's knuckles go white on the steering wheel, even as Mike whimpered, "Oh, George—they're just kids; don't kill 'em. Anyways, I don't want to go to jail for any murders. You wouldn't kill em, really?"
George didn't answer, but both hostages knew their odds: if they didn't act soon, they wouldn't survive the next few hours. *Or we wouldn't—if we weren't superheroes,* Nicole amended, meeting Dick's gaze in the mirror and nodding nearly imperceptibly.
A heartbeat later, Nicole ducked under the barrel of the gun as her date jammed on the brakes. The unprepared criminals lurched forward, and the nineteen-year-old's surged into action before their would-be kidnappers could recover.
Reaching up with her left hand, the redhead seized the gun and twisted it from the startled robber's grasp before he could fire, restraining her flames and relying on her combat training. Her right hand, meanwhile, thrust into Tim's duffle, seizing on –*Is that an escrima stick? Hm, I guess Tim's been practicing with Dick's weapons to stretch himself or something.*—and swinging at the brutish figure beside her. She caught him first in the throat, then in the temple before he could recover his breath, knocking the killer out cold.
Dick, at the same moment, took a simpler tactic. Mike had slammed face-first into the dashboard when the car screeched to a halt, and as he sat up, dazed, Dick shot out his right hand and shoved the criminal into the dash again. The second blow proved too much for Mike, who remained slumped and semiconscious.
Two pairs of blue eyes met in the rear view mirror, and the young heroes grinned at each other, chorusing "switch!" in unison. With that, they piled out their doors, Dick opening the rear driver's door and pulling the unconscious form of George to the ground. Nikki pulled Mike out, stepping aside and letting the dazed robber land head-first on the deserted road. Moving quickly and nearly identically, the two nine-teen-year-old's bound the unconscious criminals.
Dick turned to Nicole with a smirk. "You just had to knock him out—didn't you? You couldn't leave some for me? You know I wanted to hit him."
Nicole shivered in the wind as she waited outside the Police Station. She'd answered their questions, and was now waiting for Marji to pick her up. Suddenly, someone dropped a blazer around her shoulders, and she turned to face Dick.
For once the detective looked sheepish, uncertain. "Nikki, I'm sorry. I wanted tonight—our first date—to be...well, perfect."
Taking courage, the redhead leaned into her date's chest and was rewarded when he put his arms around her. "It's not your fault—not like you could've known."
"Still, not an auspicious start to a relationship." As Nicole stiffened in surprise, he hastily added, "Th-that is, if you want to—I-I didn't mean to assume—but I'd love—"
"Dick, of course I do, I wouldn't have said 'yes' to a date if I didn't. I...I just wasn't sure you wanted to be with a-a charity case."
Grayson turned Nikki until her light blue eyes met his dark blue ones. "Don't call yourself that—don't even think about yourself like that. Whenever you are tempted to, remember this—" as he talked, he slipped the necklace Marji had given her out of his pocket (where he'd put it when he slipped it from the sack of loot) "—you are loved." As he fastened it on her neck, he kissed her on the lips for the first time. As they parted, Nikki saw Silver drive up. Giving Dick back his blazer, she reluctantly made her way to the car, reflecting on their 'normal' date.
*Eh, normal is overrated.*
So, yeah. I realized that my long story ended with a relationship that wasn't well-defined at all, so this was my attempt to rectify that...in my own way. As always, if you liked it, or saw anything you think I can fix/improve for next time, don't hesitate to leave a review to let me know!