"Dude, can I have some of your chips?"
"Have you finished your Wally's yet?"
"...Yes."
There was a sigh and then, "Alright- EHY YOU SAID SOME NOT ALL!" exclaimed off-duty police officer Richard Grayson to his best friend Wally West aka Kid Flash. Usually the two of them, Roy Harper aka Arsenal and Donna Troy aka Troia met at the McDonald's in Bludhaven every Thursday of the week when Dick finished his shift early but this time only the speedster was not busy.
"I'm hungry," the red-haired boy simply replied with a shrug.
"When are you not hungry?"
"..."
"Damn you speedster metabolism." muttered the 19-year-old.
Wally burst out laughing. "So," he began after calming down. "Anything new Dick?"
He shook his head. "No, just the same old life. How are things with Linda?" he asked curiously as he took some chips from his plate.
"Fortunately, everything is fine." then he gave a devious smile and Dick could already foresee trouble. "Did you happen to meet any girls?"
Richard almost choked. After making sure he didn't choke to death on food (which would have been a stupid death for a hero like him, to say the least), scowled at him.
"What the hell, man!"
"What?"
"Why the question?"
"Because, as your best friend, I have the right to know if any girl has won your heart." a few seconds of silence passed and then he added. "Besides, I'm curious."
More seconds of silence passed where Wally blinked innocently even though the devilish twinkle present in his eyes betrayed him. Dick sighed; already knowing that his friend would not abandon the matter. "Nope, no girl."
"Oh come on!" he almost whimpered. "You, son of Bruce Wayne, can't get a girlfriend? This is nothing short of a scandal! Look, i notice how every girl practically drools on you!"
"It's not my fault I'm hot!" replied Dick amused. "Besides, you know I'm terrible at relationships."
"Just like Bruce." Dick laughed. "I swear, if I didn't know you were adopted by him, I would trade you in as his biological son because of all the things you have in common!" the cop smiled and took a sip of coke as his friend continued. "You've had many one-night stands and only two serious relationships, brother!"
"Three."
Kid Flash blinked a few times.
"I've had three serious relationships." he looked amused at his friend's confused face.
The speedster frowned. "So you've been engaged to Barbara and Kara, from what I remember." the non-metahuman snorted at the mention of the first girl's name. "Yes I know after the breakup Barbara acted like one of those jealous exes."
Dick shook his head sadly as if trying to forget some memories and sighed. "You have no idea, man. Yet I didn't think of her as one of those girls."
"Still, at least you were happy in your three-year relationship with Kara."
Dick smiled sweetly, remembering the good times in his relationship with Supergirl. "More than I was with Barbara." he admitted.
Kid Flash smiled as he stole some chips and ignored the indignant 'hey'. "The good thing was that Barbara couldn't do anything because Kara could easily rip her arm off and use it as a tennis racket!"
Dick chuckled and remembered the jealous but helpless look she had given his then-girlfriend.
Wally smiled before smirking and leaning forward to whisper in such a way that only the 19-year-old could hear. "Man, I'll never forget the look on Batman's face when you announced at the Watchtower that you were having an affair with Superman's cousin!" the vigilante threw back his head and laughed openly along with his best friend, ignoring the confused and irritated looks from other people.
"My God! To say he was shocked is an understatement!" Dick managed to babble in laughter.
Wally laughed and after a few minutes needed for both of them to recover, he spoke. "I've never seen the slit in his hood go so wide open!"
"Neither have I, and that says a lot brother!"
"True." there was a comfortable silence before he resumed speaking. "You didn't answer my question."
"What question?" he asked even though he knew what he was referring to.
"The other relationship you had."
"You never asked me that."
Dick smiled slyly when Wally opened his mouth to protest but closed it again when he went over the entire conversation. He scowled and out of spite stole more chips.
The dark-haired boy sighed annoyed but answered anyway, "It was my second relationship. Helena. Helena Bertinelli."
"Oh right, she's-"
"Yes, she's Huntress." he whispered so as not to be heard by the others.
"You were together for, like, seven months?" the other boy nodded "That's why I didn't remember. You were engaged for a very short time."
"Or maybe it's because you have a poor memory."
"Could be." he admitted. "Now that I think of it, out of three relationships only with Kara have you remained on good terms."
"More than good I would say. She is my best friend along with Donna. I often visit her in Metropolis. And also I'm on good terms with Helena as well." he corrected him.
"Anyway, speaking seriously, I hope you find the right girl for you. You deserve happiness more than anyone I know, brother." said the redhead with an unusually serious facial expression.
Dick smiled slightly. "Thanks man, I hope so too."
Then the friend's serious face disappeared and he returned to his usual lightheartedness and stole more chips. Before the other protested, he spoke first. "I deserved these."
The policeman shrugged his shoulders and ate a few. After about thirty seconds of a pleasant silence, he spoke. "Now are we done with the questioning about my lousy love life?" Wally nodded and the policeman gave a creepy smile that sent chills down the sprinter's spine. "Good, because Barry told me some interesting stories."
Wally's eyes widened dramatically and he groaned, running his thumb and forefinger over his eyes. "This is not going to end well," he murmured.
At 7 a.m. the next day, following a long patrol, Dick Grayson was fast asleep on his bed when the alarm clock rang. He groaned annoyed and reached out to turn the thing off but still made no movement to get up, even though he was already awake. He spent a minute absorbing the comfort of the sheets when he slowly got up, stretching and cracking various joints.
Once out of bed, he headed for the bathroom to wash himself quickly, then reached the kitchen to prepare himself breakfast, which consists of milk and cookies; a classic. After finishing breakfast in a few minutes, he changed his clothes, donning his uniform.
Dick drove his car to the station and then parked. When he entered, it was his partner who greeted him first.
"Good morning partner!" exclaimed Officer Will Jones cheerfully. Will was Dick's height, medium build, often cheerful brown eyes, and brown hair.
The two had been assigned together and bonded a lot, becoming good friends. The 23-year-old always brought a smile to his partner. He reminded him a lot of Wally because of his infectious cheerfulness. Dick could not have asked for a better partner.
Besides, he was one of the few honest policemen in Bludhaven.
"Good morning, Will!" replied Dick as they walked to their desks, which were located next to each other. The two desks, however, were organized in opposite ways: Richard's was more organized, with every single piece of paper put in their place and a picture of him and Bruce. The two stood side by side, with Bruce's arm encircling his adopted son's shoulders.
The photo was taken when Dick graduated from the police academy with honors. Both of them had big smiles on their faces, and Bruce, although at first opposed to his son's decision to become a policeman (not so much because he had to carry a gun but because they doubled the chances of being seriously injured or worse), was endlessly proud of him; you could read it in his particularly sparkling blue eyes.
On the other hand, Will's desk was more cluttered, covered with papers and notes, and there was a picture of him and his girlfriend Emily.
"Do we have anything interesting?" asked Dick as he sat down and turned on the computer. He smiled sweetly at the photo. It was one of the most important days of his life, and not only did his family come to attend his graduation but also every member of Young Justice, his former team of which he was a leader (although he often still leads it willingly), and most of the Justice League; of course all wearing civilian clothes.
Whenever something went wrong in his workday, just seeing Bruce's proud smile was enough to lift his spirits.
"No big deal. You know how it is now, with Nightwing watching over the city. He gives us less work, fortunately."
Speak for yourself. He wanted to answer but obviously did not. He hated lying to Will, partly because he knew he was good at keeping secrets; but this was too important a secret. If some criminal mastermind learned that his partner knew Nightwing's secret identity, it would put him and his fiancée in potential danger. And this is something he would like to avoid at all costs.
"It only takes us out of work at night, but that doesn't stop criminals from making trouble out there in the mornings and afternoons."
"Unfortunately." he grumbled but said no more.
Just then the police commissioner entered. "Officer Grayson-Wayne, Officer Jones."
"Commissioner Johnson." the two officers greeted in chorus as the commissioner walked past their desks. Commissioner Noah Johnson is a man in his fifties, divorced for many years and the father of a twelve-year-old girl. He has been with the police since he was twenty-three, so he is a man respected by many officers.
Dick and Will spent the rest of the morning finalizing reports on old cases and, after a lunch break spent in a small diner, spent the rest of the afternoon patrolling the streets, arresting various criminals.
Dick returned to his apartment at 7:30 p.m., just in time to prepare a little something simple for dinner (despite the fact that he lived at Wayne Manor for many years with Alfred but never learned to cook, just like Bruce for that matter).
He spent the rest of the evening alternating between watching television and taking a nap until eleven o'clock. After all, even though he was a member of the Batfamily, that did not prevent him from catching up on some sleep.
At eleven-thirty he stood over an apartment next to his own, fully dressed as Nightwing, equipped with his usual gadgets and with escrima sticks behind his back.
The patrol began.