Author's notes :

So I kind of realized I've never done author notes in any of my fanfics, so I figured hey, let's start with this one. Anyways, thank you all for taking the time to read this, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

...

The great Gotham City. That's where it all began for Nightwing. It was where he was raised, where he grew up, everything that ever happened in his life revolved around Gotham. It was his best memory, but it was also what haunted him at night.

It was the place he lost his parents.

That's probably what started his, career, as he liked to call it. When the police ruled their deaths as an accident, he became furious. He was angry at the police for ruling it an accident, he was angry at himself for not realizing that the act had been sabotaged. He was angry nobody would listen to him.

Richard, a name he didn't like to be called anymore, was taken in by the famous Bruce Wayne, where he learned everything about almost everything. Combat fighting he excelled in, criminal justice laws, psychology, sociology. He learned how to read any given person like an open book. He could pick out one thing that got under their skin and exploit it.

Bruce couldn't have been more proud of Robin, the name the acrobat's mother had called him during their acts in the circus, and was very pleased in how well he had learned everything, how quickly he had learned, how great of a detective he would become.

Only, he didn't become that. He took all of his training and all of his hard work and he turned into the opposite of what was expected from him. He knew it was something his parents would have never wanted for him, but it was always a thought lingering in the back of his mind.

Avenging his parents was the only thing that mattered to him. He vowed to find the man responsible for his parents' deaths, and he would end him. He would put every second of every day into training and hunting for the man. When he found the man, Nightwing would break him in more ways than one.

Soon, Nightwing had become a notorious criminal in Gotham, evading capture and detection everywhere he went. He made out well, thanks to the chip he stole from Wayne Enterprises to teleport here there and yonder at any given time. He could be in and out of a place in under three minutes and make his mark, rewarding him immensely.

But it was nights like these he really liked. He gave himself one night a month to go out for the night and do whatever it was he pleased. Usually, he spent the night drinking at a bar a little over a block from his apartment. Women always came onto him, but he brushed them off and just minded his own.

Tonight, however, was a different story.

He had been sitting at the bar beside a couple that were having a tongue war when he caught sight of her. Finishing his drink, he placed his napkin over the glass indicating he would be back, and strode over to her.

She had pitch black hair that barely skimmed her shoulders and was holding a glass much like the one he had in his grasp mere seconds ago. As he approached her, she looked up at him, her dark eyes seemingly dancing with mischief.

Oh boy, what had he just walked in to?

"I couldn't help but notice you were sitting all alone." he slid into the chair across from her, giving her that smile that no one could resist. "A girl as beautiful as you should have people lined up for miles just to be near you."

She flashed a smile back at him and his heart nearly stopped. Her head cocked to the side and she spoke. "How stupid do you think I am?" There was a slight amusement to her voice and Richard picked up on it instantly.

"I don't think you're stupid at all." He replied, not able to tear his eyes away from her. "In fact, you seem to be rather intelligent."

The girl raised the glass to her lips. "You'd be correct in your assumption."

Richard just stared at her, taking in everything he could about gather from the girl sitting in front of him. All of his life, he could read people so easily, but her... she was an entirely different book, like she was written in a language he couldn't even fathom.

"You're staring, Boy Wonder." Her voice brought him back to the scene unfolding before him.

"I apologize for that," he said, fighting the faint pink coloring his cheeks, "it's just..."

"It's just what?" She challenged.

"I find you... Intriguing."

"Intriguing." She repeated, finishing the rest of her glass. "Well, that's a first."

"A first for what?"

She got to her feet, toying with the hem of her dark gray skin tight shirt. "Of all the things I've ever been called. Would you like to accompany me out there?" She gestured to the dance floor.

Smiling, he stood and invaded her space. "I think I will."

She weaved her way through the dancing bodies with Richard right on her heels. Once they made it to the middle of the floor, she stopped and spun around, facing him, and smiled. He smiled back and together they fell into the music.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I ever caught your name." Richard said as the girl slowed her movements.

"I never told you." She smirked at him.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

She nodded at him. "Rachel."

"Richard."

"Is that what you prefer to be called?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"Is that what you like to be called?"

Oh. "Well, I'm not exactly around people that often, and most people it's only a brief interaction."

Her eyes widened slightly. "You mean you don't have a wife or a family or anything?"

He held up his left hand and wiggled his fingers. "No attachments." He gestured to her own hand. "I take it you don't either?"

"Wanna get out of here and go get some dinner?"

He raised his eyebrows. "At this hour?"

Rachel put her hands on her hips. "Would you rather stay here with all these people or go somewhere quiet so we can continue this conversation?"

Richard couldn't get out of there fast enough.

...

"He seriously thought he could dive off of a three story balcony and into the swimming pool?" Rachel snorted, covering her mouth with her hand.

"He was drunk off his ass, of course he did! He also thought that he could snap his fingers and have an attractive woman on his arm."

Rachel laughed even harder, her eyes squeezing shut as she did. Richard laughed along with her, her laughter becoming another thing on the very long list of things he found that he liked about her.

"So you really don't have a family or anything? A girlfriend? A cat?" She asked him, wiping tears away from her eyes.

"Hey, I think I look like more of a dog person." He earned a small laugh from Rachel. "But nope. It's just me and my empty apartment."

"God, how could you not?" She asked, taking a sip from the cup in front of her.

"What do you mean by that?" He straightened up and pushed away his empty plate.

"Well, I just figured you'd have some type of life outside of the bar. Like a super model girlfriend, three cars, live in a really big, really expensive house."

"So I peg you as a rich boy?" He said, his voice tinted with amusement.

She laughed again, covering it up with the back of her hand. "No, I am not pegging you as a rich boy. I don't know what I expected honestly. It just seemed like you'd have someone waiting for you at home."

"Nope. I haven't had anyone to come home to in years."

Rachel's eyes softened, then flared up with something Richard couldn't place. "Rachel? Are you al-"

"I have to go." She jumped up abruptly, digging through her wallet and tossing a twenty on the table. "I'm sorry, I really wish I could stay, but I just have to go."

Richard latched onto her hand as she walked by. "What is it? Did I do something-"

"No you didn't do anything wrong, you did everything right." She said quickly, turning her hand so that her fingers laced with his. "I just really need to go."

"Can I see you again?"

"What?"

"I want to see you again, if you'd like that."

She smiled and gave his hand a hard squeeze. "Meet me here tomorrow, same time, same booth."

"Okay." He smiled at her. "Be careful, Rachel."

"You too." She said before taking off out of the door.