A/N: WARNING: MAJOR FLUFF. It's so sweet I got a toothache writing this. :P


BLÜDHAVEN
SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
06:56 EDT

DICK GRAYSON

I woke up before the alarm.

I reached over to the nightstand, easily turning off the alarm before it could go off. I threw my right arm back, resting my head on top of it.

I heard a sharp intake of breath and the warm body that was beside me cuddled up against my side, practically draping herself over me. "Go back to sleep…" Verena mumbled sleepily.

The corner of my lips curled up before I angled my head down, kissing the crown of her head. "It's almost seven, V," I said simply.

"On a Sunday," Verena grumbled back in response, burrowing herself deeper into me, much like a groundhog. She draped a slender, toned leg over me, and her left arm shot out to trap me to the bed.

I rubbed my hand up and down her side, before placing my hand flat over her toned, scarred stomach. My fingers traced the scars there gently, recalling the story of how she got each and every one.

"I have work today, though," I pointed out. "I'm taking one of the guys' shifts because it's his ten year anniversary with his wife." It was just an FYI thing, because she already knew it. She knew everything about me.

I didn't want to go to work. I wanted to stay home and just ravage my beautiful girlfriend, was that too much to ask?

"Then you should take a day off on our anniversary," Verena commented, tracing my own scars from my torso to my stomach. "It falls on a Sunday this year."

"I will," I promised. "Well, I can't say much for our other job, though."

Verena moved her head so she could look up at me. She smiled, her tousled, blonde hair framing her face. "Then we'll kick ass together. It'll be incredibly romantic." I chuckled before giving her a closed-mouth kiss, simply pressing my lips to hers.

I let out a sigh when I noticed it was seven. I should get out and prepare for the day…

Verena heard my reluctance and smiled, pecking my cheek before climbing out of bed. My eyes trailed over her body, flawless in my eyes. The Team, though used to her scars, still stared at them whenever they saw all of them together in one go. They didn't care, but I had caught their eyes wandering in amazement or respect or pity in seeing them. Verena was always quick to knock down any negative feelings they had about them, though.

In public, because no one would be able to handle them, she wore a special cream that Zatanna made that covered her scars. The rest of our family wore it, too, because some scars were just difficult to explain. How the hell do you talk about a scar that obviously looked like a bullet wound on the torso?

I watched as she bent down to pick up a discarded shirt on the ground. I let out an audible groan, throwing my head back. "Come back to bed, V." I just wanted to grab her and have my way with her. If I wasn't working today, we'd be working on round… something. I lost count.

She simply tossed me a saucy smile; her eyes knowing what I was thinking. She pulled on a pair of panties before walking over to the restroom, closing the door behind her.

I looked up at the ceiling, vaguely hearing the toilet flush before the water from the sink started running. I let out another sigh before kicking off the warm sheets, heading to the restroom.

I did my business, washed my hands, and joined Verena in brushing my teeth. As we brushed, I watched her hair move with her movement. It still had that rumpled look from our night together, and framed her face just perfectly.

Her hair, falling to her mid-back in waves, ran like a waterfall down her back, with a few strands stick out cutely. And me, being the guy I was, also watched the way her chest moved with her movements.

Whoa. Down, boy.

Verena leaned over, spitting the toothpaste in the sink before rinsing her mouth. I did the same, reaching over and squeezing her butt in the process. She choked on the water she was gargling, and glared at me. I tossed her a smile before walking off to the shower.

I could feel her heated gaze on me, but knew that it was no longer anger. I smirked.

"Wipe that cocky smirk off your face," I heard Verena say.

"You could always join me to get another kind of cocky," I called back.

"Just go shower," I heard Verena say, with great restraint before striding out of the room. Damn. I was kind of hoping she'd join me.

Without her, it wasn't as fun staying the shower. I quickly washed myself, got out, dried myself, and dressed in my uniform. Working undercover was a lot of pain.

As I was getting dressed, Andrei climbed up my leg before perching himself on my shoulders. I scratched his head and he made a happy dooking sound as I walked out of the bedroom, smelling the delicious breakfast Verena was working on.

"Smells great," I commented casually, circling my arms around Verena's waist from behind.

"Hm…" Verena hummed contently, leaning back into my touch. I picked off a piece of bacon that was on a nearby plate, dropping it into my mouth. "Hey!" Verena protested. "That was mine! Yours is on the table!"

I released her from my grip, kissing her cheek. "You can take one of mine, then."

"I'd take it even without you offering," she retorted. I gave her a smile before sitting down at the dining table, eating the breakfast Verena had cooked up.

There was bacon, eggs, green beans, and toast, with a glass of orange juice. I was digging in when Verena placed a plate down next to mine. Even though there was plenty of room for us to sit (given the company we hung out with sometimes), we liked sitting next to each other.

Since we took a break from the Team, Verena and I mostly did solo missions, sometimes teaming up with Bruce, Jason, or Tim. We've only been called in for a mission with the Team because it involved Deadshot. Everyone knew if someone could take down Deadshot at his own game, it was Verena, and wherever V went, I did.

"Where should we go for lunch?" Verena asked, and I felt her soft, bare thigh against my pant-clad one.

"Dunno," I replied. "I'll text or call you when I find out when my lunch break is and we'll work from there."

"Alright," Verena acknowledged. "I'll just be shopping for Kyle's birthday."

"Oh, yeah, it's his birthday in a few days," I remembered. And I had no idea what to get him. "Shit." Andrei nuzzled his nose against my cheek, making me look down at the creature. "You know what I should get him?" I asked.

Andrei shook his head, giving more dooking sounds.

"Good luck finding him something," Verena patted my back. She got up, collecting our empty plates. "You mind letting Andrei out on your way?"

"Sure thing," I replied.

Verena smiled, throwing her arms around my neck, capturing my lips with her. "Have a nice day at work." Her voice then scrunched up adorably and she commented casually, "I just sounded really domesticated right now."

The corner of my lips curled again and I replied, "I will, honey." To my amusement, Verena's cheeks got a teeny bit pinker. If I didn't know her so well, I would've just thought it was her normal shade. I chuckled. "Better get used to it. I'm marrying you someday."

I left the house, letting Andrei scurry off to the back of the house before getting in my car. With Martian and Earth tech, it took the appearance of a regular police cruiser. The police-issued car was just chilling in the Batcave.

I parked outside the police department and strolled in easily. "Morning, guys," I greeted the guys at the front desk easily.

"Hey, Grayson!" one of the guys greeted me. "There's a girl here waiting for you! We took her to the back, since we said you'd be here soon."

I furrowed my brows, confused. Just who was it? "Alright, thanks, man," I said before walking off to the back.

I entered the break room, and my eyes immediately fell onto a dark-haired figure sitting at one of the tables alone. She looked up, brown eyes connecting with mine.

Legally, on paper, I had two sisters. To me, however, I only had one.

"Hey, Cassie," I greeted the Tibetan girl, taking a seat across from her. "Why didn't you just drop by our place?" It was interesting to see Cassie seek out one of us before going to see Verena.

Verena found Cassandra in the streets of New York a few years ago, took her in, and honed Cassie's skills that were originally designed to kill to help people. At first, Bruce was wary, but later on grew to accept Cassie and she was given the mantle of Batgirl.

Bruce adopted Cassie, and Verena personally took on the role of being the older sister, teaching Cassie how to read, write, speak, and learn more about the modern world. She was greatly oppressed by her father, and Verena made it her mission (she was so cute when she declared it) to give Cassie the life she deserved.

"I wanted to ask you about boys," Cassandra said, and I mentally let out a groan. "Is something wrong with that question?"

"Cass," I started, "you're like a baby sister to me. I really don't want to know what you and Tai do." I also didn't like the kid. I mean, c'mon! He's a bad guy!

"We broke up," Cassandra told me. "We were too… different." Bat-translation: She was a good guy and had to kick his ass when it happened, but with great difficulty and he was a bad guy that didn't hesitate to kick her ass. I needed to talk to Verena about getting her to beat people's asses. V would beat any of ours with no hesitation if we strayed.

"We need to work on that," I commented casually. "But if you guys broke up, why are you so insistent on asking?"

"It's just a general question," Cassandra informed me. "I asked Megan about it, and she said something about… a soulmate?" Her face furrowed in confusion. "I looked it up, but it didn't make sense to me. What's a soulmate?"

Gee, that was a hard question. "It's a…" I started off intellectually. My mind automatically went to Verena and I ended up replying, "Well, it's like a best friend, but more."

Cassandra gave me a look that told me to elaborate even more.

Verena's face flashed in my mind, her emerald orbs staring down at me. She wasn't having any of my nonsense. Her brows furrowed and she said, "Cut the bullshit, Dick. Something's bothering you."

"It's the one person in the world that knows you better than anyone else."

Verena's laugh echoed in my head, and a smile crept onto my face. She happily swung our entwined hands as we walked through Central Park, just taking a day off to stroll through the area for the hell of it. She turned, feeling my gaze on her. Her smile only grew and a voice just echoed in my head: I'm going to marry her someday. To hell if I was ever gonna let her go.

"It's someone who makes you a better person. Actually, they don't make you a better person, you do that yourself… because they inspire you."

The night was dreary, and there was a light summer breeze that filled our apartment. I sat quietly on the edge of the bed, tracing the picture frame that held a picture consisting of Wally, Verena, and me.

Arms snaked around my neck carefully, and I relished in the body warmth, despite it not even being cold. I leaned back, using Verena as my anchor.

"A soulmate is someone who you carry with you forever."

"I don't know if I can do this," I sighed out, running my hands through my hair. I paced back and forth, "How the hell are we gonna tell Bruce we don't want to be Robin and Black Falcon anymore?" Verena didn't reply, simply flipping through the book she was reading on my bed. "How can you be so calm?"

"Dick, relax," she said simply. "Bruce will understand. He knows we can't be in his shadow forever. In fact, I think he might be proud that we want to graduate from our current position. The public still sees us as his sidekicks, even if the other heroes and he don't. With us not being Robin and Black Falcon anymore, Bruce will just get to see just how great he raised us to be. And even if he doesn't – which I highly doubt – you've still got me."

"It's the one person who… who knew you and accepted you and… believed in you before anyone else did, or when no one else would."

This was it. We were going to the Northern Magnetic Pole to shut off the last Magnetic Field Disruptor, but it was going to be difficult. I didn't even know if we were going to be alright after this.

Verena moved to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist quickly, stopping her in her tracks. She turned around, her face full of curiosity, even if her mask hid her eyes. "I know this isn't the best time to say this, but… but after this, marry me. Not this second, not this day, not tomorrow, not even this month, but someday, marry me."

My hand was involuntarily shaking. I didn't ever want to lose her. To an outsider, I was completely calm. But Verena was no outsider.

Instead, she smiled softly, feeling my nerves. She leaned up onto her toes, giving me a soft kiss. "Of course," she beamed.

"And no matter what happens, you'll always love them. Nothing can ever change that. Make sense?"

Cassandra looked at me, her eyes scanning me up and down to read my body language. "Yeah…" she said after a long time. "It makes sense now."

The questioning gaze in her eyes didn't escape me. "What is it?" I asked.

"How do you know when you love someone?"

"Romantically or just regularly?" I needed clarification.

"Both."

"Well, with regular love, I'll just classify it as friends and family. It just happens naturally, I suppose. Since we're all adopted, it took a different time for us to develop and get used to the idea of each other. Has there ever been any doubt that you loved Verena?"

Immediately, just like I predicted, Cassandra shook her head. "I'd die for her," she said firmly, and I knew if it came to it, she would. We'd all die for each other.

I gave her a small smile. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that, yeah?" I said casually. "And for romantic love...? What, specifically, do you mean by that?"

"How or when did you find out you love Verena?"

I quirked an eyebrow. "Dunno…" I shrugged. "When I first met her, I thought she was the cutest person I've ever seen. Then, I think it was happening gradually over time as we got closer and Bruce adopted her, but it didn't hit me until just randomly one night. I was just looking at her and bam. Holy crap, I love her."

Cassandra nodded, but her eyes still held an emptiness that she didn't fully understand.

"You're still young," I assured her. "You're only fifteen. There's plenty of time for you to actually understand this. It just so happened I realized I loved Verena when I was thirteen. Not everyone's as lucky as me." I tossed her a smile, giving her a wink.

A smile appeared on Cassandra's face, and she nodded her head, her black locks bobbing. "I understand," she said. "Thank you for telling me, Dick."

"I should be thanking you," I mused. "It's… interesting to actually sit down and see how my life has changed so much since with V."

"I've seen it," Cassandra said to me softly. "You need each other." I nodded in agreement. There was no use denying it. It was true. "Thank you, again, Dick." She stood up.

"You going to see her, now?" I asked. Cassandra nodded. "Have fun, then. Hope you stay for dinner." My sister smiled at me before leaving the break room, leaving me in my own thoughts.

I reached for my phone, pulling it out easily. I unlocked the phone, and accessed the photos album. I actually had my own album just full of random pictures of Verena, because hey, she's very nice on the eyes.

I scrolled through them casually. Most of them were candid shots, some caught while she was just spending time with one of our friends.

A low whistle appeared from behind me and I angled my head to look behind me. "Whoa, she's a cutie."

Gannon's blue eyes twinkled down at me before he took a seat on my left. Amy sat down on my other side, looking at the picture on my phone. "She was the girl that was at your place those few days you were really sick," she said.

I looked at her and nodded. "Technically, it's our place."

Gannon's blond brows shot up, almost to his hairline. "Seriously? Aren't you guys a bit young to be living with each other?"

I cocked my head to the side. "No…" I drawled. "It'd actually be weird if V and I didn't live together." It really would be. Ever since Verena entered my life, she's always been just across the hall from me and now we share bedrooms.

"What's it short for?" Gannon referred to my nickname.

"Verena," I said, locking my phone.

"Must be serious if you two live together," Amy said, eyes scanning me. "How long?"

"Six years next month," I grinned. "I'm planning on having Gavin be in charge of anything they need me for then. Just a day with V and me." With the possibility of us taking down some bad guy, but they didn't need to know that.

The rest of the morning was spent casually talking to Gannon and Amy, who were on patrol with me. Throughout the entire time, Verena and I were texting each other, and we decided to just have lunch together. Cassie, unfortunately, left after a call from Tim requesting back-up.

Before I could even open the front door to my place, the door swung open enthusiastically. I caught Verena just as she launched herself at me, my arms automatically going around her waist.

"Whoa," I said, letting out a small chuckle. "Not that I'm complaining, but what's got you so happy?"

Verena smiled up at me, looking at me through her thick lashes. My chest was throbbing, but in a good way, now. "Well, Cassie got me thinking just about how much I love you."

"Yeah?" I smirked, running my hands up and down her side.

"Mhm," Verena hummed in confirmation.

"And conclusion?" I pried.

She gave me a mischievous smile that held many promises, and I felt a heat surge through me. "Well, Officer Grayson," she cooed. "Why don't you take me inside and I show you? After all, actions do speak louder than words."

My smirk turned into a full-on grin and I swiped her up easily from the ground. I dragged her into the house with me, kicking the door shut, the automatic locks clicking.


A/N: Anyone recognize where Dick's little mini-explanation is from? ;) Review~ :D