Lost Stars

Chapter Three

-Dick's POV-

I woke up with a start. It was the crack of dawn and my room was still dark. I sat up, rubbed my head, and yawned. Stretching my arms out, I glanced down at the figure beside me.

I climbed on top of Barbara's body, staring down at her. Her pale skin reflected the moon, illuminating her in the dark. She slowly opened her eyes. "Why are you awake?" Barbs asked, staring up at me.

I chuckled. "Nightmare," I whispered, glancing down at her chest. She slapped my peck and pushed me off of her.

"We should be getting ready for work," she said. Barbara got out of my bed and slipped one of my t-shirts over her head.

With her back turned away from me, she looked eerily like another girl. My nightmare had brought up old feelings. I blinked the thought away when Barb's red hair caught the moonlight.

Sighing, I got up too. I pulled on a pair of boxers and walked to the bathroom. Barbara was in the shower, so I decided to brush my teeth. "Are we still on for dinner tonight?"

I ran my fingers through my hair. "Yeah. Why, do you have other plans?"

"No, of course not," Barbara laughed, "do you want to risk going to the Watchtower before?"

"Aren't our reservations at six? I don't get off until five and it's a thirty minute drive to Gotham."

"Well, alright," Barbara pulled open the curtain, "I can't wait to see you in a suit. It has been a while." She winked, her eyes traveling up and down my body. I smirked.

"Our last date was like, a month ago," I pulled her against me.

"Yeah, and we've been re-dating for a year," she kissed my cheek, "I have to go. I'm going to be late."

I let go of her hip, letting her scoot past me. "Bruce is going to kill me if I let his personal assistant be late."

"For the thirtieth time, probably," she pulled on a blouse and a pencil skirt. I watched her from the threshold of the bathroom. "The drive from your apartment to Wayne Enterprises is far enough."

I shrugged. "Maybe I should move back into the Manor again then, even though I'm a twenty one year old man."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. Why live in a spacious mansion in Gotham when you can live in a one bedroom apartment in Bludhaven?" Barbara teased, putting on her heels and nibbling on a bagel.

It was true. Last summer, I had moved out of Wayne Manor to avoid any painful memories. I wanted to move closer to the Bludhaven Police Station where I worked. I was never a high maintenance guy, so I looked for apartments instead of penthouses. When I found a small apartment in the city, I rented it as quickly as I could.

I slipped on my uniform and stood in the kitchen with my girlfriend. She read the newspaper and sipped her coffee. I looked out the window to see the shining sun. "You know it's officially summer in only two months," I smiled.

Barbara didn't look up from her newspaper. She looked just like Bruce. "Yep."

I snuck up behind her, pushing her hair off of her shoulder and kissing the skin gently. "I could take you on a nice vacation. Bruce said he's giving you the summer off, remember?"

"Yeah," she put her paper down and turned around, "I got it off so I could resume hero work full time. It's the same reason why you took the summer off."

"I know, but maybe we could just go to the Bahamas or something for a week or two," I said, backing up from where she sat.

"Dick, I can't. Can we not just enjoy going on patrol together again? Like the good old days?" Barbara stood up.