Joey crept as carefully as he could over the floorboards of the apartment, cursing along the way the fact that his boyfriend was such a light sleeper. By some miracle he managed to get all the way to the front door without any of the boards creaking. He paused and listened to the silence of the morning, waiting for any signs that Dick had awoken. From within the bedroom, he heard the soft continuous sounds of the younger man breathing deeply, still in sleep. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief before looking down at the phone in his hands to the text that had just arrived.

Here, open up.

With slow deliberate movements, Joey managed to unlock and open the door without too much noise. He raised his finger to his lips at the redhead in the corridor. Wally nodded in understanding and handed Joey the takeaway food bag he had brought with him.

'Fresh from Gotham no more than 10 minutes ago,' he whispered. 'You do know there's a Charlie's Pancakes in Blud Haven, right?'

'Yeh, but he says the one in Gotham is better,' said Joey, taking the bag and quickly peaking inside. Wally shook his head.

'The lengths you two will go for each other is actually nauseating.'

'So, I've heard,' Joey grinned, handing Wally the money for the food. 'Thanks for helping me out.'

'No worries, have fun.' The redhead was gone before Joey had even shut the door, which he did with the utmost care. He then made his way over to the kitchen, using every ounce of training he had ever endured to dish up the freshly made pancakes onto a breakfast tray without making a sound. He forwent the coffee, knowing there was no way he would be able to turn on the coffee machine without waking up Dick. Instead, he filled a glass with the disgusting bitter grapefruit juice that Dick seemed to enjoy and added it to the tray. Once everything was ready, he made the journey back to the bedroom.

Dick was still fast asleep, on his stomach with his arms wrapped around his pillow, facing the bedroom door. Joey looked over every detail of the man; from the wispy cowlick that stuck up on his bed hair, to the littering of scars over his bare back. All the little details about him that only a year ago had been a complete mystery, but now were familiar and comforting. He placed the tray quietly on Dick's bedside table and crouched down until he was eye level with the sleeping man. He traced his fingers along the bare flesh of Dick's back until the younger stirred, bringing a hand up to rub his eyes before they cracked open.

'Morning sleeping beauty,' Joey said, tilting his head at the cute display before him.

'Morning,' Dick mumbled. He yawned and stretched without sitting up. When he was slightly more awake, he turned back to Joey and frown suspiciously. 'What are you up too?' Joey grinned and kissed the tip of his nose.

'Happy Anniversary.'

'We have an anniversary?' Dick said, sitting up and leaning his back against the headboard.

'A year ago today, is the first time you kissed me.' Joey said, a warmth spreading in his chest at the memory of Dick's shy face approaching him, I just want to try something, to see if it feels the same whilst sober.

'If memory serves correct, it was you who kissed me first,' Dick grinned mischievously.

'Yes, but we were both very drunk at the time and I'm pretty sure I confused the crap out of you. So, I thought it best we didn't count that one.'

'Fair enough.' Dick sniffed, noticing the sweet smell of pancakes for the first time. 'Do I smell Charlies'?'

They ate breakfast in bed, spending the morning paused in time, the world outside ceased to exist. Dick had only ever had sad anniversaries to remember; but marking the day his lover had come into his life every year with pancakes and sex, seemed like something he could get on board with. But as the afternoon rolled around, their little bubble finally had to end.

'I've got to get ready for work,' Dick said, trying to roll out of bed but Joey wrapped him in his arms and held him tight.

'No, stay here with me.' He nuzzled his nose into Dick's hair. 'Call in sick.'

'Joseph, I have the worst attendance rate in the whole precinct.' Dick laughed. 'Between being allegedly mugged, overdosing, being at risk of being kidnapped and your surgery, I have barely been to work in the last year.'

'Then why start now?' Joey bit gently into the flesh of Dick's neck. But Dick wriggled free.

'Don't start that again, or it will lead somewhere.' Dick headed into the bathroom to get changed.

'That was kind of the point.'

'As much as I would love to do…that', he popped his head around the bathroom door and waved his hand to gesture towards Joey's naked form on the bed. 'I have to go to work. There is an opening for that new building the mayor commissioned. The commissioner is going with a handful of officers to act as security for the event.'

'See, even with your bad attendance rate, you're still the commissioners favourite.' Joey teased.

'Not if I miss this opening because my boyfriend is insatiable.' Dick called. Joey pouted, realising he wasn't going to change the younger man's mind.

'Can I at least come watch?' The thought of watching the man in uniform doing his duty was a small constellation prize. Dick came out of the bathroom, doing up the final buttons of his shirt.

'Unless some time since last night you became a member of the press, you won't be allowed in.' He threw a pair of jeans at the naked mans head. 'Get dressed, you can walk me there and we can grab coffee on the way.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

'Grayson, is that a hickey?' Hale pulled at the collar of Dick's shirt, causing the younger man to blush and pull away.

'Get off,' he said, pulling his collar up higher. He'd been so distracted by Joey this morning that he hadn't properly looked in the mirror. He hadn't realised the idiot had left a bruise like mark on his neck until he noticed the commissioners' eyes on it. The Senior officer had not made any remarks, but somehow that had made it worse. Officer Hale on the other hand had no such tact.

'Damn Grayson, getting it on last night, were we?' Hale nudged Dick with his elbow. The blush that had started on Dick's cheeks was slowly spreading down to his ears. 'Pick up some chick at the bar?'

'Are you dense, Hale?' Monroe interjected. 'Grayson's with that blonde guy that's always showing up.' Hale looked visibly confused, which wasn't unusual.

'Wait! You two are together?' he said, pointing a stubby finger towards Dick. 'I thought you were roommates!'

'Oh, they're roommates, alright,' Monroe winked, and Dick wished the ground would swallow him up. He was used to the two men mocking him, although it had become a lot more friendly teasing since the time, he had arrived at the station black and blue with a bruised lung. He knew they meant no harm, but he also couldn't stop the blood rushing from his neck to his ears in embarrassment.

'Leave the kid alone,' Commissioner Decker said sternly. 'His out of hour antics are not why we are here.' The press were being led through the double doors of the foyer towards the stage that had been erected near the back for the Mayor to give his speech on. The four officers straightened their postures as the mayor also walked out onto the stage, waving to the camera. Decker lowered his voice and quietly hissed, 'But for God's sake, Grayson. Pull your collar up.'

Dick did so as subtly as he could. He was going to murder his boyfriend when he got home. His mind ran through all the horrible ways he was going to torture Joseph Wilson, as the press conference ran on. They were just about wrapping up when a loud cracking sound echoed throughout the marble room. Everyone stopped and listened. Dick worked out where the sound had come from a second too late, as a large crack appeared in the ceiling and large sections descended.

'Get out!' he shouted. As the ceiling came down around them, all the members of the press managed to escape through the double doors, before the rubble blocked the exit. In a few seconds, Dick had scanned the room for shelter. When he had first arrived at the new building, he had internally scoffed at the fact they had built the reception desk out of solid granite, but now he was thankful they had, as it was their best shot for survival. He grabbed the mayor's arm and pushed him towards the desk.

'Get under there!' he yelled, forcing the politician under the stone surface before turning back for his colleagues. He pushed them all towards the desk, then realised the mayors PA was frozen on the spot. He ran to her, pushing her towards the others. When they were all safely under the long desktop, he did a final scan for any remaining press members.

'Come on Grayson, get your ass over here!' Monroe shouted, as more parts of the building came down around them. Dick ran back towards them, preparing to duck under the solid surface, when a sharp, hideous pain screamed through his head. He vaguely recognised that his body had hit the ground, but everything was already turning black.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

As soon as Dick had hit the floor, knocked unconscious by the large piece of debris, Decker had dived from the protection of the desk to drag his rookie's limp form to safety. Even through the thick layer of dust that was filling the air, he could see the blood that was pouring down from the crown of the young man's head.

'Hang in there, Grayson!' He rested Dick's back against his chest and could feel the heat spread as the blood soaked into his uniform. The debris was falling faster, and Decker realised with a cold knot in his stomach that the whole building was going to come down. The six of them sat in silent horror, as the rubble piled up, until not even the sunlight could reach them.

A/N So it's been a little while since I've really worked on this story, but I've suddenly had a rush of inspiration on where to take it! So enjoy! And please review to let me know what you think! Karin x