Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, you guys remember Amnesia? (Chapter 10) This is how Nightwing and Rae met in that AU.
This is titled Start because...you know, it's the 'start' of their relationship...
Start
"Nightwing, it's Oracle."
He paused his running and hid deeper in the shadows; masked eyes still set on his target. "What's up?"
"I just send Robin your way, do you see him?"
Nightwing frowned and followed his target, still keeping enough distance as he jumped from roof to roof. "You send Tim?!" He hissed quietly. "Barbara do you even know how dange-"
"Yes, and that's exactly why I send him."
He shot his grappling hook and balanced himself on a gargoyle when his target turned around. He waited until it was safe before jumping down and continuing to follow. "He's just a kid."
Actually he was seventeen, but Nightwing used the kid excuse ever since Tim first became Robin; and while he was on his way to becoming an adult, the teen was still a kid in his eyes.
If he was honest with himself; he used the excuse to keep his little brother safe. Even if he knew that Tim was almost as skilled as him and definitely smarter.
"And you're only human, Dick, don't forget that."
"Not the point, Babs."
"It's exactly the point! You and Bruce both seem to forget that you aren't invincible, I used to think that too when I was Batgirl, look where that got me-"
"Barbara, don't." His voice hardened and he jumped from the roof, grabbing onto a ladder and sliding down the rest of the way. "You may be wheelchair bound but you still managed to beat Damian's ass while sparring.* And I'm pretty sure that if it wasn't for you following my every move, I'd have died a long time ago."
His eyes scanned the area quickly before focusing back on his target. "Oracle or Batgirl, you're important, Babs," he finished.
"Thanks, Dick." He could practically hear her smile.
"As heartwarming as this is; don't forget that other people have communicators too." Robin chirped.
Nightwing rolled his eyes but smiled, continuing to get closer to his target.
"Tim! Are you with Dick yet?"
Robin snickered. "Yes, I have been since the moment you started talking about him being only human and he didn't even realize it."
"Correction: I made you think I didn't notice. Now get down from the roof and get over here."
"Where-"
"Third roof across from me, the one with the black tinted windows," he didn't even look at the location as he named it. "Nice try though, it took me about five minutes to realize you were here; last time it took me three. You're making progress."
Nightwing watched as his brother jumped from the roof and grappled his way. "Ha, ha, very funny," he muttered, landing beside him.
Nightwing shrugged.
"So what's the plan?"
"He's going to start running as soon as he sees me," The former Boy Wonder explained. "He's going to walk into an alley soon; get there before he does and block his exit the moment he starts running."
"Don't need to tell me more," Robin was already getting ready to go.
"Be careful."
Robin paused and looked at the man he had come to see as his older brother. He smiled. "I always am."
"Not always-"
"Not listening!" He called as he ran away.
Nightwing followed the criminal for a little bit longer; before making his appearance when he entered the alley.
The man yelped. "Shit, it's Nightwing!" Just as predicted, he started running.
Robin dropped down from nowhere, blocking the man's exit. "And Robin, thank you for noticing me. How come people always see me last?" He muttered the last bit to himself but pulled out his staff in warning as the criminal tried to escape.
How the boy could be distracted but focused at the same time; no one knew.
"Maybe it's because you aren't wearing the traffic light costume," Nightwing answered, tossing his Escrima Sticks in the air casually, but the threat was clearly there: Run and we'll catch you.
"Sorry, but your old costume sucked." Robin twirled his staff just as casually as his brother; but still as threatening.
They weren't even focused on the man but he was still peeing his pants.
"I know, why do you think I ditched it?" Nightwing grinned.
Robin shrugged. "I always thought it was a new name new costume kinda thing."
The man snapped. "Wh-what do you w-want f-from me?!"
Robin looked up at his brother and raised an eyebrow. "It's your mission, should we tell him?"
"Let's see how cooperative he is." Just for good measure, Nightwing made a spark of electricity come from his weapons. "So," he kicked a nearby trashcan to the side. "What exactly did you need all those drugs for?"
"J-just a casual drug deal, man, I swear!"
"Really?" The man jumped three feet in the air when he heard Robin behind him. The current Boy Wonder was focused on the build-in computer in his glove. "The how come my tracker is finding traces of magic? Dark magic?"
Nightwing kept a serious expression, but on the inside he was laughing his ass off. Tim was smart, but even he couldn't create something that found magic. They got Zatanna to help them on this one.
The criminal paled.
"I think it's best if you just tell us what we want to know."
"Oracle, see if you can find the location of the drugs."
"Robin? Weren't you with-"
"Apparently the guy was working with demonic forces, Nightwing went to investigate."
"Ugh, I swear he never listens."
-mini linebreak-
Nightwing entered a creepy looking abandoned library, and almost immediately he felt as if he was being watched.
He tensed when a blur of purple rushed past him.
"Leave."
Yep, definitely demonic, the voice alone convinced him of that fact.
"Who are you?" He called.
The room was silent for a moment and he turned when he heard something crack. But just as quickly as he did; the figure rushed past him to hide somewhere else.
"None of your business, leave, now."
Nightwing stood still. "What if I don't want to?" He challenged.
He tensed, standing completely frozen as he felt its presence behind him.
"In that case, you have a death wish."
He turned around, surprised when he saw a small figure covered in a blue cloak that had a slight purple hue to it. Its head was bowed, but when it looked up, he was a little surprise.
Four demonic red eyes were staring back at him.
He had to be going crazy, most people would run away as fast as they could, but not him. He felt...drawn to this person.
He should probably have himself tested on traces for Joker venom; this wasn't healthy.
But then again, a lot of the things he did weren't good for his health.
"Who are you?" He asked again.
He was ignored. "Why are you here, Nightwing?"
He blinked. "So you know who I am."
"It's hard not to, answer the question."
"If I answer your question, will you answer mine?"
The figure paused, thinking his words through before nodding hesitantly.
"I found out people are trying to wake a certain Demon King; naturally I have to stop that from happening." His eyes narrowed when he saw it flinch the moment he mentioned the Demon King, but he pretended not to notice.
After a moment of silence, he grew impatient. "You know who I am, it's only fair that I know who you are." He sang, freezing shortly after.
What was he doing?
The figure disappeared into a blur again. It's voice suddenly taking on a more feminine monotone when it said "Raven."
Nightwing turned again, raising an eyebrow when he saw a purple haired woman about his age levitating in the air. Her four red eyes were replaced by two amethyst ones.
As strange as it may sound, he thought she was beautiful.
"Who wants to summon Trigon?" She asked.
Nightwing took a careful step forward. "You know him?"
She hesitated. "You...you could say that, yes."
"Are you helping him?"
"Perhaps," from the way her monotone shook slightly; he could tell she was lying.
He frowned, something was off, way off. "What are you to him."
"A portal," she answered curtly. "His daughter."
From the short time he spend with her, Nightwing could see Raven was a very closed off person. She only told him that information to scare him off, but it only made him more interested.
"You don't look like a Demon," he blurted.
"Don't I?" Her voice sounded like the hissing of a group of snakes as her four demonic eyes returned. She grew taller and taller, black tentacles pooling at her feet as they appeared from underneath her cloak; her hair flying everywhere despite the lack of wind in the library. "What about now?!"
He shrugged. "Yeah, that'll do."
She blinked and shrunk back, obviously surprised and clearly not knowing that this was the exact reaction he wanted from her. Because in truth, she scared the crap out of him for a moment.
"You're not really sane, are you?" Her voice slipped back into monotone as she tilted her head to the side in curiosity.
"No," he admitted. "A hero never is; not with all the insane things you see on the job."
"Trigon may be my father," she blurted out of the blue, not looking at him. "But I don't want to help him destroy Earth, it was my mother's home and I find it quite...peaceful."
He tilted his head. "You're half-human."
She nodded.
"Well, Raven." He rolled his tongue at the 'R', dragging out her name longer than necessary and he smirked when he saw the light blush and confused look on her face. As if she didn't understand why her cheeks suddenly turned a shade of pink.
She hadn't been on Earth long, he guessed.
And just because he found out that he actually liked playing with her, he stepped closer; invading her personal space. She was obviously uncomfortable, but was torn between pulling back and staying put.
Nightwing leaned closer.
"Why don't you tell me what we can do to stop your father?"
Batman was going to kill him, he was so screwed.
*Tim's still Robin, but Damian is training to become the next one if necessary
