So lately I've been getting the urges to write, and found my Young Justice worshipping returning… and well, I revisited some of the episodes and came up with this wonderful little story.

Idk if this has already been written about, but I couldn't resist a little BB and Nightwing interaction after the episodes 'Summit' and 'Endgame'.

But, ANYWAYS, onto the story!

(R&R please since this is my first story!)

XXX

You Faked It, Right?

It had been… What, maybe two or so weeks since everything Reach related had been removed from the Earth? It had been long and tiresome work, kind of weird being directed by Kaldur and Batgirl for many reasons, and not to mention way too distracting.

Garfield had never realised how distracting hard work could be. With hardly anytime to sit and think he'd really never had time to delve into thoughts of… Wally, and if he was really gone. Now that he had that time though, and everyone else seemed to be too wrapped up in themselves or missions to really pay attention to him, the grief was thick and choking and so so overwhelming.

This wasn't the first loved one he had lost, and he probably wouldn't be the last, but he had just gotten Artemis back and probably could have had a life again and, heck, maybe he would have visited the Cave more! It wasn't very often he had shown up anymore but when he had, boy was it fun. Garfield had almost forgotten how awesome and sweet and fun he could be.

He liked to pretend they had been close before he really went into retirement. They had played so many pranks on Artemis and gotten Superboy so worked up and, and he just wished he could show up one more time so they could make Megan laugh and flash that bright and over the top happy grin at their antics! And maybe Nightwing would still be on the team.

God did he miss him so much!

It just wasn't fair. The Reach wasn't fair, the Light wasn't fair, life wasn't fair.

Garfield was just about to suck up his tears and wipe away his snot, then wiggle his way out of the corner he had taken to hiding in when overcome with blinding grief for him, when an idea struck him. It was probably stupid and ridiculous and so many other things, but it gave him hope and he wasn't ready to let go yet. Not ready at all.

So, with a brave face he finally did remove himself from the corner and head for the Zeta tubes. He wasn't 100% sure where he'd find Nightwing, but Bludhaven was a better place to start than nowhere.

XXX

Bludhaven, honestly, was probably worse than the news and everyone else made it out to be. The wind carried a chill to it that night that managed to even worm its way into Garfield's thick fur, sending shivers down his spine. The clouds above were a deep, angry grey and looked ready to unleash a downpour at any moment. And off in the distance thunder could barely be heard over the blare of police sirens.

Well, maybe he'd have luck finding Nightwing after all! Garfield hadn't heard if the black clad vigilante had decided to stay in Bludhaven for a while, or if he had ran off elsewhere, but he had a gut feeling the older man was still around.

With a sigh the little green boy took off in the form of a hawk, heading towards where he had last heard the sirens.

XXX

At last, he had made it to his destination, and it looked like he wasn't too late! Below him, just finishing handing over the thugs to the police, and getting ready to take off again was Nightwing. The dark haired man, even from Garfield's height, looked like he had seen better days and was about ready to fall asleep on his feet. Maybe coming here hadn't been such a good idea.

Any doubts he had though were thrown to the wind as Nightwing made to leave, grappling up to the top of a building almost directly below the circling green hawk in the sky. Instantly Garfield was diving downward, changing into his usual form as soon as he touched down.

The sudden appearance of Beast Boy had caught Nightwing off guard, if one look at his face was any indication, but after scrambling to collect his thoughts for a brief moment a mask of indifference slammed itself back into place on his tired, shadowed face.

"Beast Boy… I'm honestly surprised to see you here. How can I help you?" The older hero asked, trying to keep his voice even and not give away all the emotional turmoil he was actually in.

At first the little green boy was hesitant to respond, bright green gaze slowly tilting down to look at the rooftop below his feet. "Well, er, you see," he struggled to get out, gritting his teeth. Maybe if he just spit it all out, in one rush like he used to do, this would be easier? "I came to see if you faked W-wally's death!"

There. It was out, it was asked, now he just needed the correct answer that yes, Nightwing had in fact faked another death in the same year even though Garfield had specifically told him not to. And also that no, he could not runoff and share this information with the rest of the team.

Clearly though, the poor little boy realised with a sinking heart, that wouldn't be Nightwing's answer.

It was like Garfield could feel the older man's emotions rolling off him, first anger, then overwhelming sadness, and finally a begrudging acceptance and understanding.

Suddenly, when had he started crying?, he saw Nightwing's blurry form start approaching him. Warm, strong arms were then wrapping around him and a calming scent was swarming his sniffling nose.

The tight hug seemed to last for years before Nightwing finally started pulling back, Garfield's hands struggling to get a grip on the other's skin tight suit and keep him close.

"Gar. Hey, look at me, please." His voice was soft and it maybe sounded like he was holding back tears of his own but desperately trying to remain strong for the little one clinging to him like his life depended on it.

Slowly those usually vividly bright but now dull and watery green eyes rose to meet the white lenses of the other hero's mask. Once Nightwing was sure he had Garfield's attention he flashed him a small smile, though it was lacking its usual light and charm.

After allowing another moment to pass, gathering his thoughts, he slowly started rubbing circles on Garfield's shivering back. "Listen, I miss Wally too, and wish he could've just had to go on a deep undercover mission that required us faking his death but," the older hero took in a deep quivering breath before continuing. "That can't be the case with everyone."

Was this supposed to be Nightwing's lame, pathetic attempt at comforting Garfield? The shaking green form didn't know whether to be enraged or even more saddened!

"It sucks, and it hurts, and it feels like things will never get better, but it all fades eventually. I'm not gonna lie and tell you everything goes back to being normal, but it does get easier to handle. Me, I'm not trying to handle this situation in the best way I can… But you're not like me, and you don't push everyone away." God, nothing like a visit from a little brother figure to make you realise how stupid and big of a hypocrite you really were.

A little sniffle could be heard just before a clap of thunder, the clutching fury hands on Nightwing's suit seeming to relax a bit. "What're you trying to say, Nightwing?" Garfield quietly wondered, watching a flash of lightning off in the distance.

"Don't push the Team away. Don't go off by yourself, don't try and put on a brave face. If it ever gets too hard for you to handle by yourself, promise me you'll talk to Megan or Connor, even Kaldur. And definitely don't be afraid to talk about Wally or remember him. Reminiscing actually helps with the healing process, believe it or not…" He explained, having slowly been removing himself from the clutches of Garfield the whole time. Slowly he stood up, trying another smile, and offered a hand to help his friend up.

Maybe Nightwing was better at advice than Garfield originally anticipated. Either way, as he accepted the offered hand and stood up, it felt like a tiny piece of the sucking, emotionless void in his heart had been filled.

"I promise I'll try and listen to your advice, Nightwing. And thanks, a lot." He offered the older hero, finally managing a somewhat decent smile after being all frowns and scowls and serious faces since that fateful day he felt sick thinking about.

A tired but not humor lacking chuckle left the older as he gave Garfield's shoulder a quick pat.

A bit reluctantly the younger turned to leave, giving a tiny wave goodbye over his shoulder. "I better get back before Megan has a heart attack and gets the whole mountain rallied to find me," he giggled, reverting back to his hawk form before taking to the sky.

"And also," Nightwing's voice carried to him loud and clear, "feel free to drop by anytime!"

Smiling as best he could with a beak for a mouth he gave a cry of agreement before finally taking off, leaving Nightwing to return to his nightly activities.

Maybe when he got back to the mountain, he could get some of his friends to hangout, or talk to someone… One thing Nightwing had been right about, without a doubt, was that talking definitely hadn't hurt him anymore then not.

XXX

So yeah… That's my first story, hope the ending wasn't too cheesy or either of the characters was too ooc.

And it also might be a little headcanon of mine now that Gar and Wally were really close when Megan took in Gar, because they're both fun loving spazzes, and if I remember correctly off the top of my head, Gar had a thing for souvenirs too ?

Anyways, again please R&R, and this was a one-shot but if enough people want it, I might be willing to make it a two-shot!