Disclaimer: I don't own'em.

—Moon Gazing Pt II—

Five years later. . .

It was past midnight when most living creatures were asleep and tucked in their beds, oblivious to the night owls that refused to join them. The night was cruel and heavy with the constant pattering of the rain on the apartment windows. Through the rain the moon's light peaked out and created a ghostly effect. That is the reason why the no longer caped figure sat in the window seat; dreamily watching the sky. She reached up with her petite hand, vainly trying to grasp the moon or at least some of the light surrounding it.

She had changed over the past five years. Trigon was defeated and she was now twenty-one. She had grown taller and curves in all the right places. Her violet hair was now longer, to her lower back, but her amethyst eyes shone as mysterious and lovely as they always had.

She rested her hands in her lap and felt the otherworldly element everything around her. It felt like a dream. A dream she wished would never end. Maybe that was what the moon was to a certain extent. Sure, it seemed hopeful and the light it emitted looked surreal, but was it actually everyone thought — or wished — it was?

It didn't matter, because to her the moon would always be her salvation; her wake up call. Just like he was. . . She smiled as she felt their bond grow stronger with his ever approaching presence. She looked to her left where he was standing, soaking wet. "So you scouted Blüdhaven even though I told you to stay inside, didn't you?" She tsked Nightwing, or Dick, with a small smile on her face. She already knew there was no stopping this man even though it was raining cats and dogs outside.

"Can I sit with you?" He asked with a smirk and walked over to the window seat, knowing that though she may not show it, she got lonely easily. Raven, or Rachel as she was now known, nodded and chanted her mantra. He sat down nest to her and waited for whatever she called to appear.

"You are soaked to the bone, you know that?" She told him as a towel floated into her hands.

"No, I had no idea." He replied sarcastically. "What's the towel for?"

"Your hair is too long to let sit when it's wet." She replied. "But first you need to take off your shirt. You'll catch a cold otherwise." He nodded and complied, but she knew what he wanted to say without saying it. Their bond was that strong. You know you just want to see me half-naked. He smirked and Rachel just rolled her eyes.

"You've become quite the housewife." Dick said as she started drying his hair with the towel.

"Someone's got to take care of you since you obviously can't do it yourself." Rachel looked at the moon as she had been previous to Dick's entrance while she continued drying his hair and shoulders.

"Oh, so there's something outside that window that is more interesting than I am?" He pretended to sound offended, but it didn't fool her.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is." She paused. "Why? You're not jealous, are you?" She teased him.

Dick chuckled and shook his head. "Seriously, though, what's captivating you so?" Dick turned his head while his upper torso was being hand dried so he could look outside the window.

Rachel shrugged. "I guess it's nothing really." Dick looked at her skeptically. It's not nothing. He told her through their bond. "Okay, okay." She gave up and admitted what she was so enthralled with. "It's the moon." Dick smiled knowing why.

"It does look very beautiful tonight." He said.

"No, there's something more to it than just being beautiful." She bit her lip as she wondered what made the moon so appealing, so sought after. "It looks surreal." She said after thinking for a few moments. "Almost like a dream you never want to end." She told him what she had thought earlier.

"Do you feel like this is a dream?" Dick asked her and she knew that when he said 'this' he meant 'them'. They had been together ever since that night five years ago. Their friendship and bond had grown stronger as their hope became brighter. They had fallen in love, and, two years ago, gotten hitched and moved to Blüdhaven.

"Yes." She answered honestly. "The moon is something constant. We always know it's going to be up in the sky every night, but people are different. When there is no change in their life, they tend to feel caged and get bored. But that's why they have dreams. Their dreams — or even daydreams — mirror their need for change and, in a way, they experience the life they want even if it isn't real." She paused to think of how to word all of this and Dick waited patiently with the towel in his hands. "A lot of the time I feel like I'll wake up one day to find that I'm sixteen and still have to face Trigon. I'll find out that that one night we shared never happened and that we're still teammates, nothing more."

"But what does that have to do with the moon?" Dick curiously asked her.

Rachel smiled. "The moon's light gives me the hope that I can control my future, and that it isn't just a dream my subconscious has conjured up. You're real." She wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and embraced the one and only man who ever made her feel secure.

"Oh, I'm definitely real. And so is my love for you." They separated and Dick moved the hair from her eyes to behind her ears. "I'll always love you, Rae. Always."

And he did.

—Fin—

This time it's for real! I started this god knows when and finally finished it to the best of my ability. I know it wasn't as good as the first part and didn't really make too much sense, but I hope you aren't hating my story. But this is the end, I swear it is!

Signed,
Her Sappiness