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[cohero]

[Maybe that's a quandary for another day, but having been under his mentor's taunts and torments for years, it's really nothing in comparison for Dick. He knows that Bruce is very much The Batman, but is also not Dick, Nightwing. They are both winged creatures of the night known to strike terror into those that might oppose them. The crazy may tell stories about them, but so many more are locked away wishing they'd never looked upon the masks of either.

Dick can hold the eyes that settle upon him now, and as fixated as they are-- he won't let them go, not now and he has no thoughts for the future. It's about moment by moment, and perhaps today and tomorrow.

The bolder they grow, the more Dick too thinks about the cartons on the bed. Even as he presses into the hand that moves within his robe, and tips his head to the mouth that covers him, there's a sigh knowing that they will have to move. Pulling his hands up into Bruce's hair, Dick's fingers stick to the short feathered bits in the back and clings to them]

Let's move...

[He bends to kiss Bruce's lips and then the corner's of them, nipping lightly before pulling back.]

The food. So that we don't spill, or mess the sheets, like dogs.

[batsymbol]

( the pause is one that's inevitable, yet it still gets him to huff in soft amusement. yeah. he did mention that earlier. )

Can't have that. Especially when neither of us are dogs.

( they're a bat and a bird. tangled up in one another as they are.

bruce lets hands and lips slip away from dick, giving him the space he needs to move about. he leans back on his arms for a moment, robe laid open and baring all. watches dick with a sort of fixation there in those blue eyes of his that tells of things he has in mind for him. maybe just for today, who knows. but he did ask him to clear his schedule for him and dick so willingly did so. that deserves a sort of praise, he thinks.

after a moment, he sits himself upright, looks around at the cartons while running the pad of his thumb over his bottom lip. obviously he figures this will go in the kitchen. where else would dick put it? but he's not all that familiar with the layout of the place, so he looks to the other man as he starts to reach for a carton, shoving a chicken ball in his mouth while he can. )

Where do you want them?

[cohero]

I've never had one either... Maybe some lions in the circus.

[He laughs. It's a joke, obviously. They had plenty of animals in the circus and Dick was pretty good with the elephants. He loved everyone so much at that place. It was most likely why he tried to seek out similar type families with the titans as he grew up. It was all twisted around by the missteps in his growth and lack of a real childhood after his parent's murder, but he tried. He had a small group of friends for what it was worth-- even if they were all scattered.

Stacking up all the boxes he had. Dick nods with his head at Bruce. It was easier than losing his precarious hold on all the things he was carrying at once so that they only needed one trip. ]

You can follow me. It's to the right, down the hall and on the left side of the great room, right off the living room, basically.

[Following his own directions, Dick moves silently through his house, not bothering with lights. There's a small glow from the light above the stove in the kitchen. It illuminates that area of the house. Dick opens the fridge and stacks boxes up, moving so that Bruce can do the same with whatever he has. The paper plates go in the trash, and silverware into the dishwasher to the left of the sink. All things in their place. While they are there, Dick turns to Bruce and sneaks a hand around his waist and pulls him in so that he can kiss him there in the quiet of the kitchen. They can mark every room with at least a kiss. Why not.]

[batsymbol]

( he does just that. follows after dick with the couple cartons he has and stacks them where they need to be stacked in the fridge. bruce is used to delivery and take-out when he doesn't have alfred's cooking. bruce is a shit cook and he's learned that the hard way a couple times. he wonders if dick inherited that from the one he knows or if he managed to get more of alfred's influence there.

regardless, the thought trickles from him when he finds himself suddenly in a kiss and he lets it happen. because he wants it to.

gently, he leans back against the edge of the counter, his own hands gripping to it at his sides while they indulge in a few seconds of making out in the kitchen. when he finally tips his head back some, it's done with a softness there both in his eyes and on his lips — a hum that almost seems to vibrate through him from the back of his throat. )

You cleared your schedule pretty quickly for me.

[cohero]

[Currently, Dick's letting all the worries of this second drift away as they sit there in the kitchen. It's like there's a tiny little bubble that's going to last all of a few minutes and it will allow Dick the wonder and priviledge of wrapping his arms around a half naked Bruce and pressing his own half naked body against the man while he seeks little tokens of affection.

He curls up the corners of his lips against the other male's and noses against him. ]

I make my own schedule. If I want to clear it then I do. There's nothing pressing going on. The city won't rot without me for two nights. It helps that there are others out there.

[Dick might not approve of Red Hood's tactics, but he does take the trash out so to speak. He's always watching, covering things that Dick misses, or things that Dick doesn't feel the strong need to get involved in. There are darker deeds that Red Hood makes it his mission to do. He breaks the carnal rule of being a former Robin. He kills when he feels it's right. They fight over it often, but it's the darkness from the Lazarus pit that still lingers in his brain, still addled from his death. Still -- he's out there.

Dick doesn't have to worry, and so he can lick over Bruce's lips and kiss down his chin.]

[batsymbol]

( the sound that leaves him at that lick of lips is soft in its amusement, hands smoothing down the small of dick's back before they settle themselves over his torso and its muscles. gentle. slow. much like this moment seems to be between them for the time being. there's a chance it'll shift — blow up into something more needy and impulsive like it was back in the bedroom. almost a guarantee it will, maybe. but right now, it's this. for however long that might last. )

Just two nights then.

( insinuating that they shouldn't push it beyond that. )

One's already more than I could have ever asked for.

[cohero]

Two nights, for now.

[He agrees in part at the start, not worrying about too much more because this is Bruce and they are liable to change all the rules whenever they both feel like it, and Dick knows that as much as he says that he won't push later-- he will. There's too much chemistry that he enjoys and extending this stay another day will only prove to be more than he will be able to tear himself from in the future.

Arching against Bruce's touch, Dick feels so much like an animal falling under the spell of its owner. He sighs in utter contentment. Unable to help himself, he leans forward and lets his head fall against Bruce's chest for a matter of time nondescript.]

You can ask for whatever you wish. I know you will only allow yourself so much, but I'm not leaving the city.

[batsymbol]

( sometimes bruce needs to be pushed. he might resist at first — is more than likely to in all honesty, but. sometimes, he needs it. like batman has always needed a robin. someone to ground him. to keep him from slipping too far into the darkness he carries with him. to make him remember he's also bruce wayne.

he leans back some when dick goes and says that, hands slipping away to grip under the edge of the counter he's against. blue eyes search the other man's face. not for anything in particular, really. just searching. )

What if I make you leave?

[cohero]

[When he feels Bruce retreating, Dick lifts his head. It lasted for a few seconds, as all of the best things in life do. There and then gone, Dick has learned. He knows exactly how this life works, and has learned it very well by this point.

Sliding himself back from Bruce, Dick draws his fingers over the chest that's still near winging his own symbol over Batman's chest. A fierce reminder of who he is, and what he as Nightwing has gone through. A spark lights Dick's dark eyes and he curls up a corner of his lips.]

How do you plan on doing that, Bruce? Kicking me out of our city?

[batsymbol]

( could he do such a thing? it certainly seems within his power to. his status, his name, the intimidation that comes with him at times. the way he can more or less completely erase someone from his life and not seem to care. he does, though. always. but bruce is a man who sacrifices far more than he sometimes needs to. all because he believes he should. that it’s what’s needed.

a duck of his head, damp strands of hair fall in front of his face. he stares at the floor. quiet. finally lifting his head to look up to dick, still leaning there against the edge of the counter. )

I was thinking more making you leave on your own.

( because he has a knack for overcomplicating things that don’t need to be and, in doing so, ruining things by his own hand. self-sabotage at its finest. )

[cohero]

[It takes a beat. two. three, and then Dick realizes what Bruce meant. Everything softens. The spark that had settled in his eyes turns into a different sort of look. The finger that had been tracing along Bruce's chest moves over to his heart, joined by the rest of Dick's hand and spreads out there.

There's a small twist to his lips that turn them into a soft smile. Dick's free hand reach up into dark, damp strands of hair and tuck them back as he leans in and rests their foreheads together. Pressing in even closer he lets the front of their bodies rest as one again.

Lips dust in bare observance of one another.]

You're not going to make me leave Bruce. I didn't leave before, and so much has happened. There's no way I'd leave now.

[Not even if this is self-sabotaged does Dick intend on leaving. He's not even sure he would intend on letting it go all that easily. He's pretty good at screwing things up in the most brilliant factor-- so maybe this one time he'll figure out how to combat someone like himself. Maybe. There are never, ever guarantees in life. So, it's still one day at a time.]

[batsymbol]

( if only he could believe that.

he knows he's difficult — knows he puts those who care about him through the ringer at times. alfred certainly has had more than his fair share of probably wanting to rip his hair out when dealing with him. yet he stays around. for some reason. love, he assumes. love for a boy he raised and sees as his own in ways.

being so close to dick as he currently is, blue eyes gently fall shut and he stands there with him. just breathing. just taking in this moment as he's been doing over the course of the night. taking in the smell and presence of the other man. )

I wouldn't blame you if you did though.

( and those words are so very soft as he says them. )

[cohero]

[Merely laying their faces together, Dick listens to the sounds around them. The hushed inhales and exhales of their breathing as it mingles between them, and the small ticking of a clock somewhere off in the distance. There's a hum from the fridge, and a creak every now and again as the apartment settles here and there.

Bruce isn't the only one who knows how to be difficult. Dick has been a stick in the mud for so many years, and had chased of all his girlfriends, and many, many friends. He's brought harm to people he's loved and worse. Maybe that's one of the reasons why he's not so afraid of all the things that he knows Bruce capable of.

The words are soft and yet still powerful. It twists Dick's heart to know how deeply Bruce feels -- how deeply he feels about how things might end up between them. Pulling back he slides a finger along Bruce's chin and looks at him softly. Eyes open or not.]

What if you don't. What if you're one of the reasons I want to stay the most. Don't chase a future you don't know yet.

[batsymbol]

( this feels vulnerable of him and yet, some part of him seems to lean into it. lean into dick in ways he hasn't really with another before. maybe it's due to the fact that dick understands this life — understands how difficult and how much sacrifice comes with this path. or maybe it's the fact that they both share a darkness within themselves that strike similar chords within one another. like attracts like, isn't it? but is it always for the better? he doesn't know and he's sure to overthink it at some point like always, but. for now...

...for now he noses at the man there so close to him. the man who slides a finger along his chin with brown eyes soft and warm on him that he can almost feel despite his own blue ones being closed. gently, lips chase after dick's and he steals a kiss from him. soft and slow. tender almost in ways that one might not think bruce is capable of being. he is. in his own ways. he just doesn't always show it so much. a vulnerability he can't always seem to afford.

but with that kiss comes a gentle touch to the nape of dick's neck, fingers pressing so soft to warm skin there and when that kiss comes to an end, he presses his forehead to his again. breath slow and steady, like his heartbeat seems to be right now. content. he doesn't even know how long it's been since he's felt that emotion. )

[cohero]

[Much of this feels like a play and replay of some of their earlier moments, the tiny gentle ones that they started the evening off with-- except these are tempered with an even greater amount of emotional entanglement than previously. Dick knows that they've wondered what it is that continues to bring them back to this, their bodies close, noses touching, lips sharing space and breath curling between them.

Their shared darkness, the evil that twists up their lives, the murders and mangled up childhoods they never quite had, all bring them into this place where Dick knows that he is drawn to Bruce in a way that he is drawn to no other man. He's given a part of himself over to this man that no one else will ever have, and there is not an ounce of regret. There will be moments to ponder-- but regret is not something that Dick has a feeling will come, not for the action.

When they kiss this last time, Dick can sense the soft tick of their hearts and the whole of ease that is brought into this singular moment. There's so much contentment that Dick barely breathes out of want to hold it. He runs his fingers softly over the swell of a prominent cheekbone, and back into bits of drying hair. With a smile his eyes greet the ones that stay across from his. Emotion wells up, and Dick holds steady, reveling in the simple fact that it exists.]

[batsymbol]

( the vulnerability— the softness of this moment has bruce gently duck his head. this version of him is so much more fragile than the dark knight of gotham who hides within the shadows of the streets at night. skin, pale and littered with scars and bruises that batman earns. then there's his heart that wears unhealed wounds across it that cut so incredibly deep, he doesn't even know if they'll ever fully heal. the loss of his parents and the guilt he carries with him for not finding their killer(s)... it gives him purpose, despite the pain, but it comes with such a cost and so many sacrifices at the same time.

he feels more comfortable — less vulnerable when he sits there in his darkness than he does in moments like these that often leave people feeling warm and safe. but that's not to say he's not trying. he's right here. to be happy... he doesn't know if he'll ever reach that. but... maybe he can try. slowly. very, very slowly.

at least he has this. at least he has... at least dick is here.

a lift of his head, he just barely noses at dick again. blue eyes searching his face in a way that's more soft than scrutinizing. )

You planning on watching the sunrise or want to go back to bed?

( that's where they'd been before the whole we should probably move the food suggestion happened. )

[cohero]

[It doesn't matter how slow they have to go. Dick will move at the speed of a glacier if that's what it takes for Bruce, and he knows that it'll be one step forward and half a million back. That's how this dance works, and how it was always going to work if they truly crossed the threshold of it. All it meant was that the word try had moved into their vocabulary. Not that there were any expectations on it. It merely existed on its own, as simple as a word could, wrapped in the warmth of a moment created here in the dim light of Dick's kitchen as they both shared the heat of their bodies and the brush of their faces, in tiny intimate gestures.

Dick was becoming more and more used to the tiny little sacrifices of nose and cheek that Bruce gave every time he would feel anything. It was a language all of its own, Dick believed. He'd done it enough throughout the night and now into the early morning, that it begun to make him hold his breath in anticipation, waiting for the tiny touch of lips that usually followed.

Watching those eyes, Dick softens his and lets them speak gentle emotions, care, safety, comfort. Nothing overtly dangerous all on their own, but mildly cautious and there to wrap around Bruce exactly like Dick's arms do. ]

Which would you rather. The glow is just beginning. We can go to the window, or even to the balcony to watch the colors before the sun actually rises.

[Moving around the counter, Dick moves toward the door in the living room. There's no one to see him this chill morning hour. He grabs an extra blanket from the couch and holds out a hand to Bruce. ]

Come to me?

[batsymbol]

( there's a softness with his movements — with his very expression when dick goes and says what he does. but it's the come to me part that has those blue eyes of his really looking to the other man there with that blanket. with his hand held out for him. it's enough to have a huff leave him, though it's more in gentle amusement than anything else. a sort of is this really happening? in his head. because... since when does anything as soft and gentle and intimate like this ever happen with him lately? )

I get the feeling you might like when I come.

( a bit of innuendo there, because why not.

but he takes the other's hand and lets himself be dragged to wherever dick wants to take him. he won't resist or be picky about it. he'll just follow. this time. for now. )

[cohero]

[The huff has grown to fondness status that equals a touch of a nose, or the way Bruce flicks his hair back from time to time when they are so close it falls against both their cheeks. It's almost a term of endearment in Bruce's world as far as Dick is concerned. There's the same simple amusement in Dick's eyes, settled there, patient, waiting.

A larger laugh meets the question, and Dick can't help but smirk. ]

Well, I do like that. You are a beast. That's not what I was looking for here. Get your gorgeous bruised up ass over here, Bruce.

[Taking the other's hand in his, Dick pulls open the door with a short blast of cold air that tempers when the door is closed behind them. He quickly wraps them up both with the blanket and moves to nuzzle them down in a small single person hammock he has on the balcony.

With Bruce in front of him, Dick is able to wrap arms about the the other male, and rest his chin on Bruce's shoulder, wrapping them together tightly while they gaze toward the pale glow of reds, pinks and oranges that begin to peek over the horizon, pushing back at the shadows they both know so well.]

All long nights eventually come to an end, or so they say.

[batsymbol]

( it's nice. almost a little too nice to be settled out here on the balcony in a hammock. dick behind him, arms there along with the blanket. the thought occurs to him that this isn't just a sort of once in a blue moon moment for him, but. more than likely, also for dick, what with their similar lifestyles and habits.

his gaze turns towards the sky — to the way the other man goes about describing the night and he sighs as blue eyes fall shut, breeze gentle in the way it brushes by. )

I'm not so sure when it comes to people like us.

( words soft as he lets them fall from his lips. because it feels as if the nights they endure never quite seem to end. even when the sun is risen and the sky blue with light and warmth. somehow, it still feels as if he's still wading through the night. as if it's simply become a part of him. )

[cohero]

[It's true, this probably the second or third time Dick's ever used this balcony at all. The chair squeaks terribly, because it's been out in weather and never oiled properly. It's clean, because he has people do that-- but it's unused. So this has been a small dream, and ideal never followed through on.

Watching the colors as they continue to streak across the sky, Dick enjoys the purple that comes into being along with the deep amber, and other hues he has no name for. His fingers stroke along Bruce's leg, and up to his waist to cling, making sure all the heat stays trapped within the circle of the blanket as they barely move ]

I never said ours did. That's why I added the caveat. I don't know where nights end, and days occasionally begin, if they do. Here, gaze for a second more before the sun begins to crest and we should go inside. We don't need the bright light of dawn.

[Kissing the back of Bruce's ear, all of Dick's words are softly spoken, a dream within the small tiny world they've created right here in this little space of moments.]

[batsymbol]

( slowly, eyes flutter open and he lets himself look to the sky as per dick's suggestion. he's seen it numerous times. usually when heading back home after a long night on the streets of gotham. but it's not his to enjoy. not to be taken as the beginning for him as it is for so many others. for him, it's the end of another day. another night. because night is his beginning every time it falls.

the kiss, the softness, the way dick is so close to him there... bruce glances down then — glances to the arms around him beneath the blanket enveloping them. dick deserves better than this, he thinks. better than this life he's now stuck living. better than the sacrifices he's no doubt made at the cost of his own well-being and happiness more often than not. better than him, right here. someone who, he may have thought saved him at one point, but. wonders now, if he might have simply just damned him instead. damned him to live the very same life he's living.

sigh leaving him, he shifts then, letting himself pull away from the warmth of dick's embrace and the blanket. standing, he looks back to him, blue eyes soft. )

We should head inside.

[cohero]

[There's a moment, and then it's come and gone as the night has. It melts away with the day. Dick doesn't know what exactly caused it, but he knows it's there in the pull and tug out of his arms. They release, but it hurts a small part of him. It had been so warm, and the soft circle is broken. The huff becomes a sigh.

Dark eyes still meet the soft blue ones and he closes his eyes as the sun begins to crest, pushing himself out of the swing that pushes back and smacks him in the behind. Laughing, he turns and holds it still before taking them both inside. The spell is broken, but it was a lovely one indeed. The day isn't done, and neither is the night they have before them.

Eventually they will probably nap, not that Dick has to, but it might feel good. Padding back to his bedroom, where now there are no more cartons in the way, Dick stopped by the kitchen to pick up some coffee he brewed before they went out. ]

Shall I set this over on this side?

[Dick motions to the side that he doesn't have his supplies on, and crawls into the bed completely. ]

[batsymbol]

Sure.

( this is when bruce usually crawls into bed anyways. when he drops his head to the pillow and tries to find some semblance of peace within his slumber. it doesn't always come— rarely, really. nightmares are more prone to greet him when his eyes finally fall shut, but. not always. sometimes there's just nothing but black and he doesn't dream at all. he prefers it that way, really. even if it all feels over within the blink of an eye.

he makes his way to the bed — removes the robe he'd been given. naked. pale. scarred. both physically and emotionally as dick himself is. dropping down on the bed, he sighs. lets his fingers gently brush over the clean sheets beneath him. they're not his own, yet somehow they remind him of his. after a moment, he falls back. lays there on the bed and cards a set of fingers through his hair that's now just a little damp. he's tired. of a lot of things. but he tries to not let them weigh him down. not right now, right here, at least.

if he can find just a moment of peace, he'll take it. for as short-lived as it may be. )

[cohero]

[Coming back to lay in his bed is so very different from the way they left it, and the reasons. Before, it had been because they were making room to lay out because Dick had wanted more room to make out with Bruce-- who had been more than agreeable at the time. Their hands had been shifting along the insides of their robes and moving with a determined intent, that had still been soft and gentle all the same. No making messes, that's all it had been, but the moment was spoiled.

It seemed like in the span of fifteen, twenty minutes it all had changed. True, Dick now had Bruce laying naked in his bed, but he was on his back and quiet. There were no more huffs, or little brushes to his nose as they moved back into the room. Neither met at the doorway to catch a kiss or something else.

Removing his robe, Dick lets it fall to the ground and slides over to Bruce. He moves an arm across the other male's midsection and lightly kisses his chest. ]

Tired now? I can leave you be.