I'm sorry about the long wait! I had some writer's block with this chapter. I hope you all enjoy! :)

"You're acting weird," Tim observed, once he and Dick arrived at Gotham Academy. Dick gave him a sideways glance.

"What do you mean?"

"You're all giddy," he replied, observing him.

"I am not," Dick replied back, refusing to look at the younger one.

Tim didn't reply, but Dick's mind began to wander as he thought about Tim's comment. Yes, he was all giddy. Who could blame him?

He had gotten together with Barbara yesterday.

He still couldn't believe it. His beautiful, smart best friend for nearly ten years became his girlfriend yesterday. After years of everyone accusing them of being together, they finally were.

He was the happiest he had felt in a very long time.

"You're giddy again," Tim said, and Dick let out a little laugh

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Tim didn't reply, and the silence continued until they finally arrived at Gotham Academy. They both got out of Dick's car and walked inside, sitting down in the Entrance Hall once they did so.

"How are you doing on your History project?"

"It's done," Tim replied.

"Already?"

"Yup."

"Nice," he said, clapping the younger one's shoulder.

"I should probably be going. I have a science test first thing."

"See you at lunch," Dick said, watching as Tim stood up, waved goodbye and walked away. He stretched his arms over his head and looked around, wondering where Barbara was at.

As anxious as he was to see her, he couldn't wait for the minute she walked through those doors.

"Good morning," Barbara said, smiling at him once she walked up to him. He threw her one back.

"Morning."

He patted the seat, and she sat next to him, pulling a book from her bookbag after she did so. Silence fell between them for a few moments before she finally spoke.

"I thought a lot about us last night."

"Me, too," he replied, running his hand through his hair nervously.

"I'm really happy about this."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she whispered, and he threw her a grin

"So, are you interested in a date tomorrow night?"

She put her finger to her chin and tapped it, taunting him as she fake-thought about it. She then smiled.

"I can't wait to see what you have planned."

The bell rang, and they both stood up. She then turned and pressed a kiss to his cheek, lingering for a second.

"See you at lunch, Grayson."

"Thanks for the ride," Tim said, stepping out of Dick's car.

"Anytime, kid."

"Are you staying, Tim?" Barbara asked, stepping out of her own car. He shook his head.

"My parents want me back home as soon as possible. See you later."

"Bye, Tim," they both echoed, watching as he waved goodbye before taking off. Once he was out of sight, Barbara turned and wrapped her arms around Dick's neck.

"Hmm, it's a beautiful day outside. We're alone. Whatever should we do?"

He smirked, watching as she lifted her head up in thinking mode. He then brought it back down and pressed their lips together.

"Not what I had in mind," she joked, and he chuckled as he kissed her head.

"Want to take a walk around the pond?" he asked, and she nodded, grabbing hold of his hand. They slowly walked around towards the pond, enjoying both the company and the beautiful, sunny day.

"I'm really looking forward to our date," she said, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"So am I," he replied back, kissing the top of her head. She then tugged on his hand.

"Come on!"

"Where?" he asked, following behind her as she dragged him towards the pool. She then threw her flip-flops off, sat down on the ledge, and placed her feet into the pool.

"That's probably a little cold."

"Come on, chicken," she said, patting the ground next to her. He shook his head, but took his socks and shoes off and sat down next to her, placing his feet into the water as well.

"Summer's close," she said, looking up at the sky.

"Yeah, it is," he replied, looking at her. She dropped her head back down and met his gaze.

"I really can't wait for tomorrow."

"Me, either," he said, and she threw him a smile before leaning over to press their lips together.

"What do you think?" Dick asked Tim, turning to face the kid who's like a brother to him. Tim looked over him.

"You look nice."

"Thanks," he said, grabbing for his wallet. "Are you going to hang out for a while?"

"Not sure," he replied with a shrug.

"You're more than welcome to. I need to go. Catch you later."

"Bye, Dick."

Dick walked down the stairs and out to the garage, his nerves getting the best of him as he started up his car. He then began to drive off to the city, eager for his night with Barbara.

Once he arrived at her apartment, he took a deep breath before climbing the stairs, knocking on her door once he arrived. He waited for a minute before it opened, and his breath caught in his throat.

She was beautiful.

"Hi," she said, smiling up at him.

"Hi," he replied, unable to formulate any more words. She then grabbed for her purse. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," she said, beaming as she looked up at him. She turned around, and his throat went dry. "I'm leaving, dad."

"Have a great night, pumpkin," he said, giving her a hug. She walked past Dick, and Jim stopped him before he could follow after her.

"Hello, Mr. Gordon."

"Hello, Dick. Make sure you have my daughter home on time."

"Of course, sir," he said, his voice shaking. Barbara walked back up to them.

"Dad," she said, watching as he smiled at her.

"Just saying hello, hun. Enjoy your night."

"We will," she said, grabbing hold of Dick's hand. She then pulled him away from her apartment. "I'm sorry. Dad is very protective of me."

"Can't say I blame him," Dick replied, and she looked up at him.

"This is so weird," she said, a smile lighting up her face as she tucked a piece of her hair back behind her ear.

"Why's that?" he asked softly, turning to face her.

"After nearly ten years of being best friends, we're going on our first date."

He smiled at her before he leaned down and pressed their lips together. He pulled away a minute later.

"Ready to go, Gordon?"

"Always, Grayson," she said, and he grabbed hold of her hand and led her to his car.

The drive to the restaurant was awkward, with both of them unsure of what to say to each other. Once they finally arrived, they walked inside, and he went to talk to the hostess.

"You made a reservation?" she asked in surprise, watching as he threw her a smile.

"I wanted this night to be perfect."

She looked up at him and smiled, before they followed the hostess to their table. He helped her take her coat off and pulled her seat out before sitting down opposite of her.

"This place is so beautiful," she said, taking a look around.

"I thought you would like it."

"What else does the famous Richard Grayson have planned for tonight?" she asked, placing her hands underneath her chin. He smiled.

"After dinner I plan on taking you to the movie theater."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Can't wait," she said, and his heart fluttered in his chest.

"Good to know that you picked a restaurant right down the street from the movie theater," she joked, and he let out a laugh in response.

"Hope you don't mind walking."

"No. It feels good out tonight."

He grabbed hold of her hand, and they began to walk to the theater slowly and in silence, enjoying the time with each other. Once they were halfway there, they immediately stopped.

"Help!"

They both looked at each other before sprinting off into the dark alley. Quickly pulling their clothes off, they put their masks on and took off in the direction of the screaming, finding a man getting attacked by another man. Nodding to each other, they ran around the corner and fought the man off, Nightwing finishing him off while Batgirl called the police. Once the man was down, they quickly grabbed for their bags of clothes and grappled up to the top of the nearest building.

"This is not how I wanted our first date to go," he finally said, and a smirk filled her face.

"Are you kidding? With the life we live, this is exactly how I expected it to go."

He smiled at her before looking back down at the street below. She walked up next to him and grabbed hold of his hand, laying her head on his shoulder.

"It's beautiful out here tonight," she said, looking up at the stars. He followed her lead. "The moon and the stars are just lighting up the sky."

"Yeah," he whispered, and she turned to face him.

"Really romantic," she whispered back, and he ran the back of his fingers against her cheek before pressing their lips together.

He pulled away a few minutes later, when their scanners began to go off.

"Heroes never sleep," she said, watching as he pressed his lips together.

"Let's go," he replied, and they began to grapple off towards the next location.

"We should probably get you home. I don't think your father would be too happy with me if you were late," Dick said, watching as she looked over at him.

She laughed, but nodded in agreement. Putting their civilian clothes back on, he led her back to his car and drove her back to her apartment. He walked her up to her apartment.

"I'm sorry our date got interrupted," he told her, and she looked over at him.

"I had a great time," she said, stopping outside of her door.

"So did I," he replied, stopping in front of her.

"Even though our date got interrupted, it was still an amazing night. Don't let that bother you, ok? The other lives always come first." He nodded. "Thank you for the amazing night."

She stood up on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He then pressed his hands on her face and kissed her softly, treasuring the moment.

"Good night, Babs," he said, pulling away.

"Good night, Dick," she whispered back, before turning to walk into her apartment. His smile never left his face as he walked away from her apartment door and back down to his car.

He finally pulled into his driveway and parked his car, the smile not leaving his face as he did so. Walking into the manor, he immediately walked into the study and down to the cave, spotting someone down there.

"Tim? What are you doing here?" he asked, taking off his jacket. He then threw it on the back of the chair.

"Thought I'd get some practice in before we go out tonight," he replied, lowering his staff. "So, how was your date with Barbara?"

"I had a really great night, actually," Dick said, sitting down in the chair. "Barbara and I just clicked."

"Isn't that sweet," Tim replied, dodging an attack from the dummy. Dick gave him a look.

"Avoid the right."

"What?" he asked, before getting hit by the dummy. Dick pressed his lips together.

"Told you."

"Shut up," Tim replied, grabbing hold of his side. "When are you going to go on another date?"

"Next weekend."

Tim nodded, fighting with the dummy again. Dick sat there and watched him as he continued his training, extremely impressed with what Tim had been able to do since he fought his way into the Robin role.

"Finally home," Dick said, throwing his backpack to the living room floor as he and Barbara walked into the room. She shook her head.

"Complainer."

"But school was so long today," he complained, once she sat down on the couch. She threw him a smile.

"You're complaining again."

"It was long," he replied, sitting down next to her. She rolled her eyes.

"Lay your head down," she said, watching as he threw her a smile before laying his head down on her lap. She gently ran her fingers through his hair, watching as he let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes, the stress from the day melting away the moment she touched his hair. "Feel good?"

"Feels amazing," he replied, completely relaxed as she rubbed at his head. She continued for a few minutes before his eyes finally popped back open, smiling up at her.

"What?" she asked, looking down at him.

"Why did we wait so long?" he asked, watching as her eyes furrowed in confusion. "We've been best friends for ten years. How did it take us so long to figure it out?"

"We're stubborn," she laughed, watching as he smiled at her.

"Maybe that's why we work so well."

"Maybe," she said quietly, her hand paused in his hair. "This newest mission of yours…."

"What about it?"

"I'm worried," she whispered, and he sat up, staring her in the face. "This sounds too dangerous, Dick."

"We'll be ok," he said, placing his hands on the sides of her face. "Trust me, we've had our share of dangerous missions. If Bruce didn't think we could do it, he wouldn't let us do it."

She stood up, and he followed behind her, placing his hands on her arms. He then moved them and wrapped them around her waist, placing a kiss on her head.

"What's really bothering you?" he asked, and a moment of silence fell between them as he waited for her response.

"I don't know," she replied, placing her hands on top of his. "I really don't know."

He turned her around, pressed her hands to her cheeks, and pressed their lips together, slowly and softly. She immediately relaxed in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did so. When he pulled away, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Babs, I worry every time we put our suits on," he whispered in her ear, and she felt her eyes begin to water. "We've lost Jason. It changed everything."

She nodded into his chest, and he kissed her head again, now understanding what was going through her mind. They stood in silence, wrapped up in each other's arms.

She didn't want to be anywhere else.

"Please be careful," she whispered, and he nodded, kissing her forehead.

"I will be, Barb."

"We all know what we need to do," Nightwing said, looking amongst his teammates. "Batman chose us for this mission, and we'll get what we need to get."

Superboy, Miss. Martian, Zatanna and Rocket nodded, and Nightwing dismissed them. They all walked away, and he let out a deep breath, hoping this mission would go easier than expected.

He just wished Bruce had assigned Barbara to this case as well.

Walking away from the group, he walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, putting his face into his hands.

That's when he felt hands slide onto his shoulders and give them a gentle squeeze.

"Babs," he said quietly, turning his head to face her. She threw him a smile. "I didn't think you were going to come here."

"I wanted to see you before you left."

He stood up, placed his hands on her waist, and pressed their lips together, closing his eyes as her arms wrapped around his neck.

He pulled away a minute later.

"Hey, Wonder Boy, I thought we were keeping this quiet?" she asked, a smirk filling her face. He smiled.

"We are. I just wanted to kiss you."

"How sweet," she whispered, placing her hand on his cheek. "You do know that, if someone catches us, they'll figure out your identity, right?"

"That's why no one's around," he smirked, and she playfully rolled her eyes before withdrawing her arms.

"Good luck today."

"Thanks. What do you have planned?"

"I'm going to work with Robin a little more. See how he's doing, you know?"

"He'll like that."

"Nightwing, we need to go," Miss. Martian said, and he nodded before turning back to Barbara.

"You better get going."

"Yeah," he said, placing his hand on her arm. "I'll see you later."

She nodded, and he removed his hand from her arm and followed M'gann to the bioship. Once they were ready to go, she started up the bioship and they drove off, Nightwing lost in thought as he stared out the window.

He felt like he had been a different person since he and Barbara got together.

Just as she was extremely concerned for him, he was for her. When they would go out on missions, he wanted to be near her and make sure she was ok.

Clearly, she was feeling the same way for him. She didn't want him to go on this mission without her.

"You're clearly lost in thought," Zatanna said, breaking his thoughts. He turned to her.

"Just a lot on my mind."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"No," he said softly, turning to face her.

"Well, whatever it is, clearly has your mind in overdrive."

He shrugged, unsure of how to respond to her. She gave him a look but didn't say anything back in response. She gave him a look but didn't question it any further.

One the bioship finally landed, they all got out and surveyed the area, wondering how they were going to break in to the building without being noticed.

"Nightwing, you're the stealthy one here," Superboy said, looking around. "What are you thinking?"

Nightwing narrowed his eyes, looking around before pulling out his grapnel gun. Using it, he grappled up to the tree and took another look around, spotting an opening they may be able to take advantage of. Quickly climbing back down, he met back up with his teammates.

"There's an opening near the top of the building, but I don't think we should all go in together."

"I'll go with you," M'gann said, turning to him. "Connor, Rocket, and Zatanna can be lookout. We'll go in, get what we need, and get out."

"M'gann," Connor said, walking towards her.

"We'll be ok," she said, smiling at Nightwing. "Keep an eye out, and alert us to any trouble."

He finally nodded, and Nightwing walked up to M'gann, waiting for her cue. Once she gave him a head nod, he pulled his grapnel back out and followed after her, breaking into the opening he saw moments ago.

Once he was through, he immediately took down the guard that was nearby and broke into the office, plugging his gauntlet into the computer.

He had just hoped Batman's hunch was right, and the intel they needed was here.

"Coast is still clear," M'gann said, looking through the crack in the door.

"Shouldn't be too much longer," Nigthwing said, typing on the keyboard. "I just need to get past these firewalls."

He continued typing, and she looked out the crack of the door, trying to alert Nightwing if any trouble comes their way. After another minute he was able to crack through and get into the system.

But not without an alarm going off first.

"What happened?" M'gann asked, looking over at him in worry.

"I don't know," he whispered, frantically typing away. "Damn it, I'm locked out of the system!"

"Nightwing, we need to go!"

"We don't have the intel!" he told her back, watching as she shook her head.

"We're not going to get it now. They know we're here."

"We can't leave without it."

"Nightwing, we have to go," she said slowly, watching as enemies began to rush to the door. She quickly closed it and locked it. He let out a growl.

Unplugging his gauntlet, he moved beside her and watched as the enemies broke down the door, helping her fight them off. The roof above them caved in, and Superboy, Rocket, and Zatanna appeared, all three looking slightly worn down.

"We tried to hold them off," Zatanna told Nightwing and M'gann. "There was more than we expected."

"Something went wrong," Nightwing said, taking down his man. "It wouldn't let me in."

"I think they knew we were coming," Superboy replied, covering Nightwing's back.

"We should go," M'gann repeated, helping Zatanna. She nodded in agreement.

"Nightwing, let's go."

He growled again, but nodded in agreement. Quickly taking down the men, they rushed back to the bioship and escaped, Nightwing mad at himself for allowing this to happen.

He didn't talk to anyone until they landed back at the cave. Then, he went straight to the person he wanted to talk to most.

"Hey," she said, standing up when he walked into the room. She noticed that something was wrong. "What's the matter?"

"I messed up," he said, giving her a hug. She hugged him back.

"What happened?"

"I tried to get the information we needed, but I somehow alerted them that we were there. Man, did I wish you were there. You're better at this than me."

"I'm sure you did everything right," she said, rubbing his back. "Sometimes, these things happen."

He didn't reply, but he held on to her tightly, calming down in the presence of her arms. After a few minutes he pulled away.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said, throwing him a smile. Somehow, he was able to throw her one back.

He was so happy in this relationship.

"Hello, Tim," Barbara said, meeting him in the driveway.

"Hi, Babs!"

"Any idea why Bruce called us?"

He shook his head, following her into the mansion. They met with Dick in the study.

"Hi, Hunk Wonder," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck to give him a kiss.

"Gross," Tim joked, moving the hands of the clock to open the passageway. They both laughed as they followed behind him.

"Don't worry, Tim. Someday you'll find a girl, too," Dick joked back, rubbing the younger one's hair. Tim swatted his hand away.

"Be nice," she said, pointing her finger at her boyfriend.

All three of them sat down at the table, watching as Bruce walked up to them holding something in his hands. He waited for a few minutes before he began to talk.

"Last night, the G.C.P.D. received this from an unknown source," he said, handing his protégés an envelope. Barbara took it and took the contents out.

"Riddles?" Dick asked, once she handed them to him.

"This is different," Bruce said. "This isn't a riddle. This is a clue someone left behind."

"So, it's not Riddler?" Tim asked quietly, looking over at him.

"No. I've dealt with Riddler for years now. This isn't Riddler's work."

"Then, who's is it?"

"Someone similar to Nygma. Someone who likes to leave behind clues for me to follow."

"This is so different," Dick said, looking at it.

Bruce looked through the clues, his mind reeling as he thought about it. Putting it together in his mind, he rearranged the clue, spelling out the letters A.B.

"A.B.?" Tim asked in confusion.

"Initials. Someone's initials," Dick said.

Bruce put the initials into the computer, watching as a list of names showed up. Pressing his hand to his chin, he rubbed it.

"It could be any one of them."

"There's more," Barbara said, as she and Dick looked over the clues. "The word "Cluemaster" has appeared multiple times, it's just hard to see."

"Cluemaster?" Batman said.

"There's nothing else," she sighed out. "That's all that was left in this clue."

Bruce rubbed his forehead, trying to figure it out in his mind. Somehow, there was still a piece of the puzzle missing. A piece they couldn't figure out.

Dick pressed his finger up to his ear, his brow furrowed in concentration as he did so. He then looked up at Bruce.

"Something's happening in Gotham. Police are moving in."

"Let's go assist," he replied, and they all drove off towards the city to the location. When they arrived, they spotted several officers armed and waiting outside the door.

"It looks like a hostage situation," Batman said, looking around. "We've got to get in there."

"Through a window might be our best option, boss," Nightwing said, and Batman nodded in agreement. Taking off, they looked around the building for a window to break.

But they spotted one already broken.

"Someone else is in there," Batgirl said, and Batman snuck through the broken window and looked around before calling everyone else in. They quietly walked around, looking for any signs of trouble.

"Batgirl, Nightwing, I want you both to take that entrance over there. Communicate through comms what you see. Robin, follow me."

Robin nodded and followed behind his mentor, staff at the ready in case it was needed. They continued to look around, curious as there was still no word from Nightwing or Batgirl.

"Someone else has broken in here. We need to figure out who it is."

Robin nodded in agreement, using his night vision to look around. Nothing had shown up yet, and his mind went into overdrive trying to figure out who could have broken in.

That's when he was hit from someone.

Quickly turning around, he spotted someone running back towards the window. He began to chase after the person, trying to get answers.

He needed answers.

Once they were out of the window and to the roof opposite the building, she turned around and looked at him, watching as he moved his feet to avoid hitting her. He fell to the ground, and a small laugh escaped her lips.

Robin looked up, his brow furrowing in confusion as he saw the person who landed the punch. The woman was dressed in all purple, with a black mask covering her mouth.

His heart immediately fluttered in his chest.

"W-Who are you?"

"My name is The Spoiler."