Wingnut

Part 1

Dick Grayson woke on the morning of his 16th birthday to a fierce burning on his right arm. Groaning, he rolled out of bed and went to inspect the supposedly injured area, although he didn’t remember being injured on patrol the night before.

Stumbling to the mirror, he rolled up his sleeve and gaped at his reflection.

There were words, like a tattoo, on his arm. Dick couldn’t believe his eyes. He had heard about soulmates before, but it was very rare for someone to have one, and even rarer to receive a Mark.

The Mark itself was composed of words you would oneday speak to each other, although it was unclear exactly when. The one thing that was certain was that it would never be at your first meeting.

The words themselves couldn’t be seen by anyone except the person they were on, and their soulmate, once they found out. Only after both soulmates knew their counterparts were their Marks visible to others.

Dick stared at the words that now adorned his right bicep.

“Wingnut”

Well $%*#.

…::-::...

Dick did not tell anyone about his mark. Not Bruce, not Alfred, not Babs, not Jason. No one.

He was glad of this when Bruce tried to fire him two weeks later, and he quit instead, storming out of the cave and leaving Jason to take his place. If Bruce treated him like that, he didn’t deserve to know.

…::-::...

Dick went to Bludhaven and became an independent hero known as Nightwing.

He kept in touch with Babs and Jason, as they were the people he missed the most. He did not, however, tell them where he was, or about his new mantle. He needed some time to figure things out for himself.

…::-::...

One day, two years after leaving Gotham, Dick received a phone-call from a distressed Babs.
“Dick,” she sobbed, “Jason, Jason’s dead.”
Dick froze on the spot as his mouth became dry and his heart-rate increased.
“Please come home,” she begged, “Bruce needs you, I need you. Please, Dick.”
“I’ll be there in half an hour,” he replied hoarsely.

…::-::...

He made it in 25.

He knew he was breaking the speed-limit, but he didn’t care, he could pay the fines later. Right now, his little brother had died, and Babs needed him.

He sped towards Wayne Manor, but purposely missed the turn into the drive. Instead, he veered of towards the other entrance, pressing a button he himself had added to the dash.

Before him, the wall of rock parted to give way to the infamous Batcave. Quite frankly, he didn’t care that he was going to get a lecture from Bruce about parking a civilian car in the Batcave. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Dick got out of the car and strided over to the Batcomputer.

“What happened?” he asked
Bruce turned around sharply.
“What are you doing here?”
“What happened?” Dick insisted, ignoring his question.
Bruce glared at him, but relented.
“Jason snuck out by himself and was kidnapped by the Joker.”
Dick tensed. He knew what the manic clown was like.
“Alfred and I were both out at the time, and didn’t realise until too late. Just as Barbara and I got to the warehouse he was being held in, the whole building exploded.”
Dick gazed down at his shoes in ashamed depression.
“I should have been here,” he said, “Maybe I could have gotten there in time…”
“It’s not your fault, Dick,” Bruce said firmly, “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I’m the one that drove you away, and I’m sorry for that.”
Dick gave him a sad smile, pulling him into a hug.
“It’s alright, Bruce. It’s no one’s fault but the Joker’s.”
Bruce gave him a small smile in agreement.

It was then that Barbara arrived.
“Dick!” she cried, quite literally, jumping into his arms, “I’m so glad to see you!”
“I’m glad to see you too, Babs.”

…::-::...

Later on that afternoon, Dick and Barbara stood alone in the cave, using the time to catch up.

“So, where have you been?”
“Bludhaven.”
“This whole time?’
“Mm hmm.”
“Nightwing?”
Dick laughed, “You know me too well, Babs.”
“I guess you deserve a new nickname then, huh?” she smirked.
“And what, pray tell, might that be?”
“Wingnut.”

Both of them took a sharp intake of breath and clutched their right arms, which had begun to burn fiercely.

They caught each other’s eye. Slowly, Dick rolled up his shirt sleeve as Barbara did the same.

The words that had been etched into Dick’s skin since his 16th birthday were glowing. He looked up at Barbara. She was studying her right arm as well, seemingly with the same result.
“Babs?” Dick queried, tentatively.
“Dick?” she asked, in the same tone, looking him straight in the eyes, “You never told me that you…”
“You didn’t either,” he pointed out.

There was silence in the cave for a moment.

“Dick?”
“Yes?”
“Does, does this mean, that, that we’re…”
“I think so.”

More silence.

“Good,” Babs responded, “ ‘cause I love you.”
Dick responded without hesitation, as if it was always meant to be said, “I love you too, Babs.”

As their lips met, the words on their arms burned slightly, now visible for anyone to see.

…::-::...

It was only two weeks later that Bruce found out.

Dick and Barbara had gotten changed to help Bruce with Tim’s training. This resulted in their Marks being easily visible.

Bruce had noticed something going on between the pair, and had commented on it, but they had just smirked before leaving the room together.

Bruce noticed the Marks almost instantly, and gave them the look, which meant they’d talk after Tim’s training.

A good three and a half hours later, Tim headed upstairs to grab some of Alfred’s cookies, eying them suspiciously.

Bruce waited for him to be out of earshot before starting his interrogation.
“How long have you known?”
“Two weeks.” Barbara supplied, helpfully.
“When did you get them?”
“On our 16th birthdays,” Dick answered.
“And why didn’t you tell me?”
They glanced at each other. Dick shrugged.
“Don’t know. I didn’t tell anyone.”
Babs nodded in agreement, “No one except my dad.”
Dick’s eyes lit up, “Have you told him about me?”
“Not yet.”
“Should we go and tell him now?”
Babs smiled and took him by the hand.
“Why not?”

Before Bruce knew it, they had disappeared to change. He shook his head in exasperated amusement, a smile playing on his lips.

Those two certainly deserved each other.

1090 words

I'm open to continuing this if you'd like me to. Hope you enjoy ❤️