Nightwing: Heartless

Part 20: Carnival

Gotham knew how to throw a carnival, that was for sure. It was a huge event, a great tourist draw before the winter made it too cold. The sun had just set but it seemed to Willa they had been at 'Robin's Ringtoss' for a century. Chris swore he could win about five turns ago. Willa scanned the crowd, watching families on the ferris wheel and play games or buying food. The sound of laughter and arcade games filled the air.

She jumped as she felt a hand on her back. She swung around but it was only Dick. Her surprise faded as the familiar butterflies replaced it. He gave her a hug and Willa finally noticed the boy Dick had brought along. A little taller than Willa, short black hair, and could be Dick's brother.

"Will, this is Tim," Dick said. Tim nodded and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Tim. Are you two... cousins?"

They exchanged a look that made it clear it was a private joke. Willa tried not to be annoyed. "No," Dick finally answered, "we just look alike."

"Dick!" Willa heard Abby squeal and throw her arms around his neck. Willa laughed at Dick's shocked expression and raised her hand in a drinking motion. He understood immediately. "Chris, Dick is here, can we please do something else now?" Abby whined.

"This thing is rigged," Chris muttered as his second to last ring bounced off a bottle. "Let's go, this is impossible." Chris tossed the ring behind him.

Tim reached up and caught it, throwing it back up. They all watched it fly through the air and land on the neck of a bottle, winning the game. All her friends turned to look at Tim, in shock. For his part, Tim looked uncomfortable at the attention.

He held his hands up and smiled, "beginner's luck?"

"Dude!" Chris exclaimed. He swung an arm around Tim's shoulders, "nice to meet you, kid."

Chris let Tim keep the prize and they all walked away from the game. Dick wrapped his arm around Willa's shoulders, pulling her close as they fell to the back of the group. These were the moments she loved, the private ones where Willa could pretend no one could see them. She hated couples that were all over each other all the time and, like pretty much everything else, Dick seemed to know that. She loved stealing these little moments of affection.

"How was your week?" She asked him.

He shrugged, "interesting. Busy. How was yours? You had that big Spanish paper, right?"

"Si. It was fine. Glad it's the weekend, though."

Dick pulled her closer, "me too," and kissed her forehead as Willa wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Yo, lovebirds!" Abby called back, making Willa jump a few inches away. She felt like her mom had caught her or something. Dick chuckled under his breath. "Do either one of you want to ride the ferris wheel with me? Chris is meeting up with Lia and Tim is afraid of heights."

"You're afraid of heights?" Willa asked Tim. She heard Dick cough and patted his back. Tim offered a cheeky smile, probably a little embarrassed, Willa reasoned. "I'll stay down here with you, unless Dick is afraid of heights, too."

"Is that a challenge?" Dick raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a denial?" Willa started to walk to the ferris wheel line, "it's fine, no big deal, it's normal to be a baby about some thi-" she was interrupted by Dick running up behind her and picking her up. Willa laughed as he spun her around, holding onto him as he set her down. "We'll take next ride."

"Definitely." Then he was gone, helping Abby onto the ride.

Willa found Tim relaxing on a bench and took a seat beside him. "Thanks for letting me tag a long tonight," he said.