Ah, my lovely romance story . . . In the end, I chose for Dick to come to his decision in a slightly different manner, but this remained close to my heart, and I couldn't bear to get rid of it. It had been meant to be Ch. 50 for the story, "Last Chance".
SPOILER ALERT! This is a BIG spoiler, so think about it first.
Last Chance - "The Next Step"
No Warnings: Rating "K+" (for the excerpt; "T" for the story)
This week their schedules didn't coincide much as at all. Their time for several days was limited to an hour for dinner, and a few hours of sleep. Even though Dick knew Elle wasn't home, he dropped by her apartment after work to check on Mook and to just soak in her essence. He'd been keeping clothes there, and he had another uniform in her closet just in case he spent the 'night', which happened more times than not now.
He began to wonder why they bothered paying rent on both apartments. Actually, he paid rent on two. But if it came to actually moving in together, he would need to come up with a plan. He needed more room than Elle had to store Nightwing's uniforms, weapons and gear, and hold his specialized computer and communications system. It was also convenient to the gym he used after hours. For these reasons, it made more sense for Elle to move in with him than the other way around. But, these were the only reasons he could come up with for her to give up her apartment. In the end, it was more important for her to remain in her own place than to move in with him.
He didn't actually want Elle living in his neighborhood. She had joked with Bruce and Alfred at how bad it was, but she hadn't been all that far off the mark. Crime was far higher where he lived than in her neighborhood, despite the mugging she had interrupted in her area and the attack on her at her work. Dick would worry about her constantly.
It was convenient to her work and it wasn't actually that far away from his precinct; just an extra ten minutes by subway, less by bike. He didn't like to think of Elle coming home from the club at three o'clock in the morning by herself. Of course, he would be escorting her, but each time she traveled that distance at night only increased the risk of her running into trouble that they could do without.
She had building security. Dick would be less inclined to worry about a break-in in her upscale, high security building than in his run-down apartment with its sticky doors, questionable locks, and broken light near the stairs.
But despite all his security worries, the most important reason for her to remain in her apartment was the filtration system her father had installed. His apartment didn't have one. Elle was exposed to low levels of chlorine with every shower she took, every meal she cooked there, and every time she even brushed her teeth while staying with him. She almost always took her dirty clothes back to her apartment to wash, but if she lived with him, her clothes would be saturated with low doses of the chemical. It was only a matter of time before she started reacting to even those low amounts. It was better to hold her ever-worsening allergy at bay by not exposing her needlessly to the chlorine in the city water.
So, basically, he needed to find a place near her apartment in which to set up his base of operations, and see what she thought of their actual living together full time. He dropped a couple of crickets into Mook's terrarium, and watched the tarantula stalk its meal for a time. Suppressing a shudder, he turned and surveyed the apartment.
Elle loved pictures and videos, and she had framed photos of the two of them hanging up everywhere. He grinned at the newest one sat in a place of honor on the entertainment center of Elle and the Wayne clan at the park sledding. It was taken before she had sprained her ankle while riding on the inner tubes. She was in the center of the photo. If she could have, she would have hugged everyone for the picture, but unfortunately her arms just weren't long enough. He and Bruce had been standing on either side of Elle, and Dick had an arm slung around Alfred's shoulders. Tim and Damian had kneeled in front of Elle and Dick. She looked so short, he thought with a grin. He'd never point it out, however, unless he wanted to see her pout.
He smiled. That had been a good day . . . a rare day! The Wayne clan didn't get together unless it was related to their night time activities. But he had a warm feeling inside that told him that was about to change.
He wandered into her closet and tugged out one of her dresses, holding it to his nose. The scent of her filled his lungs, and Dick felt the muscles in his neck and back suddenly release their tension and relax. It was amazing! She could manage to do that without even being here. More proof that it wasn't her voice that affected him, but Elle herself.
Dick hung her dress up and changed out of his uniform so he could shower and get into a pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt. Elle did most of his laundry now, and he had to admit that it was nice not having to search for something clean to wear when he came home.
He had never really lived full time with a woman before. He had come close with Kori for a while, but had kept his own place up despite staying with her for four nights a week. He imagined that his life would take on a sense of normality living with Elle. He thought it would be a lot more like being married to her than merely living together and sharing a bed.
No one knew yet that Elle was aware of his Nightwing identity, or that she had immediately made the connection between Bruce and Batman, as well as Tim and Damian's alter-egos. As such, they spent more time with regular friends and couples, talking about things other than the latest Arkham escape and what new mobster was trying to set himself up in Bludhaven or Gotham City. It made him laugh to picture Nightwing being domesticated.
It also felt really, really good . . .
So good, in fact, that he wondered why they didn't just skip the pretense and cut right to the vows? They knew they were already destined to be together forever. There was no mystery there. Technically a wedding was a mere detail at this point; just a piece a paper they signed in front of a judge or minister. It shouldn't mean anything in the long run, but . . . it sort of did.
Elle was getting ready to go to Chicago to spend the weekend with her father for an early Christmas. He had already been scheduled to work this weekend, but he was still searching someone to switch with so he could join her, at her father's request. There was some big company Christmas party she was required, as his daughter, to attend, and she had practically begged him to come up and go with her. He might still be able to swing it, although he might have to drive back after the party so that he could work the next day.
Anyway, it would make it a good time to ask Cedric officially for her hand in marriage. It would make her old man happy, he knew. Cedric was sick. Dick had seen death before; enough times to realize that the elder Hamilton wasn't long for this world. Elle was in denial, and Dick didn't have the heart to press the situation on her before she was ready, but it would do the man a world of good if he knew she would be taken care of.
The engagement could be as long or as short as necessary to accommodate the man as well. Dick wasn't sure how much longer Cedric would be able to walk on his own, and he thought Elle would be crushed if her father couldn't walk her down the aisle. It made his decision for him.
Funny; it was one of the easiest decisions he had ever made.
Babs entered his mind again as he unwillingly found himself comparing this decision with the decision he had made a while back to ask Barbara to marry him. He had, interestingly enough, always assumed that he and Babs would marry, and yet he had been incredibly nervous about asking her; slightly terrified of what her answer would be. A frown marred his face when he remembered her answer. It had been no that first time. As well as no the second time as well. Babs had often joked that he had had to wear her down.
He and Elle had never actually talked about a wedding, but it was understood that what they currently enjoyed was a far deeper connection that any vows could ensure. Although it was possible that she might say no, in his heart he could feel her answer. His smile returned. He was, amazingly, content with where the next step in his life was taking him.
He looked at the clock. He had time to run out and begin the search for the perfect ring before heading over to Chez Donovan's for dinner with Elle before her show.
I seriously adore this series . . . It's not for everyone, of course, but it is my favorite. It was what got me to writing fan fiction in the first place.
