Nightwing, or in this case better said Dick Grayson, was nothing short of enthusiastic during the patrol. He had invited Selina on a date and she had accepted! So as he was taking down a criminal, he was smiling madly.
Maybe the criminals would mistake him for the Joker for that night (or morning?).
After two hours of patrolling, Nightwing stood on a building rooftop. All his thoughts were directed to the girl he had met a few days earlier.
Even as he was deep in thought he sensed a presence behind him. He mentally thanked Batman's training and turned around.
When he saw who it was, his eyes widened behind the mask and his heart missed a beat.
Are you kidding me?
The "presence" was none other than Catwoman, who had a flirtatious smile on her face.
"Long time no see, pretty kitten." purred the thief.
Immediately Nightwing recalled their encounter days earlier and shuddered involuntarily. "Catwoman!"
"What?" she asked innocently with a mischievous twinkle in her green eyes (of which Dick swore he had seen them somewhere else). "Didn't you miss me?" she asked with a smirk.
"Not at all." he replied promptly ignoring the little corner of his mind that whispered yes.
Catwoman put on a mock pout. "Oh, come on pretty bird, it hurt so much your comment!" she exclaimed dramatically.
Nightwing looked up at the starry sky, even though the criminal could not see him. "What do you want this time Catwoman? You haven't robbed anything." and it was true or else Oracle would have warned him.
Catwoman shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Haven't seen you in a while, pretty kitten."
Nightwing returned the smile. "And you didn't rob a jewelry store to get my attention. I dare say you're getting soft." he joked.
Catwoman chuckled amusedly. "Soft or not, I can still kick your ass." she asserted, her green eyes bright with amusement.
The vigilante snorted but had a small smile. "I doubt it."
A moment of silence passed and the thief frowned. "How come you're smiling so often now?" she asked casually, but you could tell by the tone of her voice that she was slightly suspicious.
Batman's first protege shrugged his shoulders. "You know I like to joke around with criminals, unlike a certain Bat." at this the woman chuckled. "And besides, you're one of my few enemies who don't want me dead."
And unfortunately for him, it was true: he had many enemies who wanted him dead. One of the risks of being a hero but details.
However, he liked to joke with Catwoman even when he was Robin. She was practically the only one who joked back and forth with him and had no desire to beat him into a pool of blood.
He recalled that she began stealing from when he was ten years old and, by his calculations, she was older than him by only two years. He never understood why she should have become a thief but he was fairly certain that the reason was motivated.
And anyway, she was better as a thief than as one of the deranged Arkham Asylum level killers.
"Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, you're the criminal I like to mess with the most." Nightwing admitted reluctantly, trying to suppress the blush he was sure was coming.
He wasn't sure why but it was as if he felt the need, or the duty, to admit it even though he knew it would boost Catwoman's ego.
Catwoman's reaction surprised him: instead of the usual smirk present on her face or flirtation, she blushed a pretty shade of red.
Wait a minute.
His brain went haywire.
He, Nightwing, had just made Catwoman, the queen of flirtation, blush.
No, something was wrong.
Then the thought of Selina came into his mind and he felt a twinge in his stomach. He felt a great sense of guilt at the thought that he is flirting with Catwoman while he is (more or less) dating her.
Even though technically it is Dick Grayson who is dating Selina Kyle.
Just thinking about his two identities, which are supposed to be different, is giving him a headache.
He didn't know that Catwoman was also having an internal battle.
She could not believe that she had just blushed. And with Nightwing, of all people.
On the other hand, though, she felt a warm feeling stir inside her.
For a brief moment the thought of Dick Grayson crossed her mind, but she put it aside for now. Although she felt a small sense of guilt.
Besides, she did not know how to respond; so she did the thing she does best.
Flirting.
"Oh really?" she asked with a smirk, moving a few feet closer to the vigilante. "I didn't know you thought that about me." she joked, now inches away from the hero.
Nightwing smiled slightly. "Don't let it go to your head, Catwoman."
Catwoman smiled back. "Oh come on!" she pouted. "Can't a woman dream big?"
"Not if the woman in question is you."
The thief chuckled. "You know, you're really funny for a vigilante trained for years by Batman."
Nightwing shrugged. "Part of my charm, I guess."
"And what charm." murmured the woman looking appreciatively at the vigilante and making him slightly nervous.
How the Hell does she make me nervous with so little effort? She's practically the only one who can get under my skin so easily.
"Thanks but I already knew I was very hot." he joked with a smirk.
"Big ego eh?" the hero merely nodded. "Well, I'm glad you haven't lost your ego at all since you were still Robin."
Nightwing opened his eyes slightly wide. "Do you remember me when I was still Robin?" he asked a little surprised.
The woman smiled. "To be honest, yes. I remember most of our battles. Also, you were the funniest of the Robins."
"Tell me something I don't know." said the vigilante with a smirk.
Catwoman rolled her eyes. "Growing up you became even more arrogant." she mumbled but the former Boy Wonder heard her and chuckled.
She smiled and moved closer to the boy who was now looking at her confused, curious and slightly suspicious. She gently rested her thin and graceful hands on his muscular chest. "But I like it anyway. Meow!" she whispered, watching him as a predator watches his prey.
Nightwing was now getting nervous. His mind was split in half. One part, the part trained by Batman, was telling him to remove her, fight her, and have her arrested since she was a criminal. The other part was telling him to continue the "game."
Logical part or irrational part?
To tread safe ground or dangerous ground?
Nightwing already knew which to choose.
After all, when did he ever choose the safe option instead of the dangerous one?
The first Robin smiled at her with all his Dick Grayson charm, and for a very brief moment he wondered if even with the mask on he could bewitch anyone.
Catwoman included.
Apparently the answer was positive since Catwoman shuddered. And the hero knew it was not from the cold.
Later the thief, who still kept her hands resting on his chest, smiled mischievously at him. "I didn't know the pretty kitten had such a charming smile."
Her comment only widened the vigilante's smile and he mentally thanked whatever deity that had ever existed for the fact that he had studied his city by heart and was sure there were no cameras around. Otherwise, not only would they most likely have aired it, but who would have explained to Batman that the protector of Bludhaven was openly flirting with Catwoman?
Nightwing certainly wouldn't.
"You don't know much about me." he smiled at her.
She murmured distractedly as she gently ran her sharp claws over the hero's chest, smiling openly when she felt him shudder.
Then I have some influence on Nightwing. Interesting. I am genuinely surprised and, truth be told, even slightly honored.
Meanwhile, Nightwing was also lost in thought.
When did I become so vulnerable against Catwoman? I swear to God, if Zatanna cast some kind of spell on me to flirt with Catwoman...
The thief smiled mischievously at him as she slowly approached his face. Nightwing lost a pulse and suddenly felt much warmer. As she was getting closer and closer, his first thought was:
I bet her lips are soft.
It's official. He's going crazy.
He mentally scolded himself and thanked heaven that Batman cannot read his mind. More or less.
Catwoman moved closer and closer to the vigilante's lips but at the last turned her face to whisper softly in his ear. "Maybe another time, pretty boy."
And with that she kissed his cheek which, coincidentally or not, was the same one from the last encounter.
In that moment Nightwing felt a vastness of emotions that he could not register a single one.
Catwoman took a few steps away from the vigilante and smiled as she noticed his slightly flushed cheeks.
The thief could imagine Nightwing blinking behind his mask. After that, the hero looked at her with an indecipherable gaze. "Don't you ever get tired of flirting?"
She shrugged and continued to smile. "Now and then. But with you? Never."
For a moment she thought the vigilante might go down the street and bang his head against a wall in frustration.
Before either of them could say anything, Catwoman saw Nightwing press something on her earlobe: she imagined his communicator. She heard him mutter something a couple of times before turning to her.
"Well, I have to go and stop an arms deal. Stuff for vigilantes, you know." he smiled winking at her from behind his mask.
The thief chuckled and immediately raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to try to arrest me?"
"Nah, I have to go now and besides I never managed to catch you even when I was still Batman's partner. Besides, you didn't steal anything today so." he simply shrugged his shoulders.
He started to leave but was immediately stopped by a "Wait!" from the thief. He turned to face her and she imagined he was raising an eyebrow.
Catwoman bit her lip, slightly uncertain. "Can I come with you?"
For a moment Nightwing thought he misheard but was proven wrong after seeing that she was serious. His lips formed a thin line. "Why?" she asked in a neutral voice.
"Well, I want to help you."
The vigilante tilted his head to the side, studying her carefully. "How come?"
Catwoman shrugged her shoulders. "No particular reason. Besides, I have nothing to do before I return to Gotham."
After a few seconds he nodded. "All right, but you'll have to listen carefully to what I say."
The thief smiled enthusiastically. "All right."
The hero smiled back and motioned for her to follow him as he climbed between rooftops. In less than two minutes they arrived in front of one of Bludhaven's many warehouses.
"There seems to be no one guarding the warehouse outside." asserted Catwoman.
"Beginners..." he muttered and the thief giggled. He signaled for her to follow stealthily in front of the entrance.
"So what's the plan, boss?" the woman joked.
Nightwing felt his lips lift a few inches. He leaned over to look inside the warehouse but without being seen. He saw a truck, where there were probably weapons, and around the vehicle were about 20 men, all armed. There were two men whispering in front of the truck.
Child's play.
He turned his attention to the woman next to him. "There are about 20 armed men. Negotiations are taking place right now."
"Do we go in now or wait until the negotiation is over?"
Nightwing thought about it and then a smirk appeared on his face. "It would be a real shame if we go in at the end of their negotiation and thwart their efforts, don't you think?"
Catwoman smiled back. "On your mark, captain!"
Nightwing chuckled before turning serious again. He glanced inside the warehouse and raised three fingers. Then he lowered to two, later to one, and the next second the two entered, with Nightwing throwing two wing-dings toward two men and Catwoman catching the whip.
Gasps of surprise and fear were heard. Nightwing easily downed in the few seconds of confusion a couple of men, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Catwoman doing the same.
He did several backflips to gracefully avoid the gunfire as he threw more wing-dings to disarm more men.
Meanwhile, Catwoman disarmed men with her whip and then took them down in hand-to-hand combat. She also gracefully avoided gunfire with her incredible agility and flexibility.
As he took a man down with an uppercut straight to the jaw, Batman's first protege could not help but think that Catwoman was a good partner to have. They had a fairly similar fighting style, both very agile and acrobatic enough to pull off the most difficult acrobatic moves with ease.
In less than three minutes Nightwing and Catwoman stood side by side with about twenty unconscious bodies. The first Robin brought a finger to the communicator. "Nightwing to Oracle. Weapons trafficking has been successfully stopped. Send the police here to the warehouse."
"Copy that. Oracle out."
Catwoman approached the vigilante. "That was fun." she declared casually.
The acrobat nodded, "Yeah. You know, you were a good partner surprisingly." he commented with a small smile.
The thief smiled back. "Glad to hear you say that, pretty kitten."
Nightwing playfully rolled his eyes. "Now we just have to stake out somewhere nearby to make sure the police arrest all the criminals. It's kind of boring, so if you want to go back to Gotham go ahead."
Catwoman frowned, thoughtful. After a few seconds she nodded, "Well, I'd better be going. See you, pretty boy." and with that the thief walked away.
The vigilante sighed. "Now for the boring part." he muttered.