Dick adjusted his new black gloves, acutely aware of Wally's eyes on him. The stylised blue silhouette of a bird stood out, bright and electric, against the black backdrop of his chest. The suit was like a second skin, which Wally seemed to appreciate.

"Hey, beautiful," Wally whispered in Dick's ear, snaking his arms around his waist, slowly rubbing circles on his abdominals.

"No real names in the field, KF," Dick teased, lifting the new domino mask to his face.

"Not in the field yet, Nightwing," Wally murmured. "That suit leaves nothing to the imagination, you know. Not that I'm complaining…" He'd been distracted by finding Dick's hip bones.

"I did tell you I hate capes, didn't I?"

"Mm, you did." Wally paused to nibble Dick's earlobe. "You ready for this?"

"I'll be fine," Dick said. Wally's attentions scattered the rest of his thoughts away and he took a moment to pick them up again. "It's just a test run. Bruce has already made it clear I'm not allowed to do the really dangerous stuff yet. If something happens and it stops being a normal patrol, he's sending me home."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Not really." Dick sighed. "Don't have a choice, though. I need to prove I can handle normal patrol before he lets me start working properly again. If I can't do that, then I'm never gonna get back on the team… where I can watch out for you."

"Aw, are you getting protective?" Wally pressed his lips against the pulse point beneath Dick's jaw, making Dick melt in his arms.

"I'm always protective," he murmured lazily, his eyes sliding shut. "We both are." The rest of his thoughts slipped through his fingers like water when Wally grazed his teeth against the pulse point on his neck. A soft moan tumbled past Dick's lips before he clapped a hand to his mouth.

"Relax, Dickie." Wally's warm breath tickled his ear. "Nobody heard that." Butterfly kisses along his jawline had Dick resting against Wally's chest again. "I like your costume."

"Of course you do, you pervert. You've been feeling me up for the past five minutes."

Wally chuckled, pressing a kiss to the shell of Dick's ear. "You don't seem to mind. God, I almost don't want to let you out on the streets in that."

"You just want to keep me all to yourself," Dick said, laughing softly. "The suit must be having a serious effect on you. You've never been this handsy before."

"Mm." Wally was planting kisses along his jugular while his hands continued their exploration, although they stopped just shy of anywhere truly inappropriate. Neither of them was ready to cross that particular boundary yet. "Robin was cute, Nightwing is sexy. I can't help myself. I wanna go back in time and thank your parents for those genes, because damn."

Dick let out a very attractive snort-laugh. "You're just laying on the charm tonight, aren't you?"

There was a knock on the door. "Master Dick, Master Wally, Master Bruce would like you both downstairs immediately."

"Awww." Wally spun Dick around and caught his lips in a deep kiss. Dick bit on his boyfriend's lower lip in response. The kiss was quick and violent by their standards, but they needed to get downstairs before Bruce came to check on them himself. While Bruce had been incredibly permissive about their relationship, testing his patience just before patrol was not a good idea.

Dick pulled away first, taking a moment to count Wally's freckles while the other boy took his time opening his eyes. "Don't wait up for me," he said. "I probably won't be back until late and you should show your parents you still exist every once in a while."

"But it's not a school night," Wally complained. Dick dragged him out of the room, grabbing his modified utility belt and escrima holster on the way.

"Then you can come see me tomorrow," Dick promised as they started down the curving stone staircase that led to the rest of the Batcave. "I'll text you when I get back in so you know I'm okay." They hadn't really discussed it, the thing hanging over both of them that made Wally grab Dick and crush him to his chest at seemingly random moments, that stopped Bruce and Alfred from commenting when they occasionally caught them sleeping in the same bed. Sure, they'd talked around the issue, stated the facts, but they had never truly discussed how it affected the two of them together as a unit.

"I… yeah, thanks." Wally ran a hand through his hair, trying to look casual about the turn the conversation had taken. "I'd like that." Dick squeezed his hand in silent understanding. They'd have to put this into words eventually, but now wasn't the time.

Bruce was seated at the computer, entirely in costume except for his cowl. "Ready?" he asked when the two boys had reached the floor.

"Just about." Dick wrapped his utility belt around his waist and snapped the clasps into place while Wally took it upon himself to do the same to his escrima holster around his thigh. That may have been a tiny bit inappropriate in front of the others, but whatever. They'd get over it. Dick made sure the straps connecting the holster to his utility belt were secure before straightening.

"Where are we going?" Jason asked, putting on his mask. For the first time, seeing the kid in the costume didn't bother Dick in the slightest. He had outgrown it and it was time to move on from that. Jason was a capable kid; he'd earned it.

"We'll start downtown and work our way north," Bruce said, turning off the computer screen and donning his cowl. "Nightwing will be riding with me tonight. Robin, take the bike." Jason whooped and ran off. Dick and Wally laughed after him. Wally's shoulder brushed against Dick's; he hadn't bothered moving away after helping him with his costume.

Batman watched them for a moment. "Are you ready for this?"

"I've been ready for weeks," Nightwing replied confidently. He had spent his daylight hours training to be in sync with Batman again and refamiliarise himself with his escrima. Hand-to-hand combat wasn't a problem for him, but he found after packing heat for so long that he now preferred to have a weapon in hand. During his breaks, he had read up on Batman's updated case files while enduring Wally's teasing that "all work and no play makes Dick a dull boy", which Dick had been all too happy to disprove when he was finished for the day.

The corner of Batman's mouth turned upwards. "We should get moving." He headed towards the car while Wally twirled his boyfriend around for another kiss.

"I'll be fine," Dick promised, patting Wally's cheek. "Don't keep yourself up worrying, okay?"

Wally leaned into Dick's hand, managing a small smile. "I'll try. Be careful out there."

"I will." Dick reached up for one last kiss. The Batmobile's engine revved impatiently. "I'll see you tomorrow… KF." He extricated himself from Wally and ran for the Batmobile, unable to contain a gust of laughter. He felt light and he felt free. He had a long way to go before he would be truly okay—Dinah had finally diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder—but he had set himself on the road to recovery. With travel companions like Bruce, Alfred, Jason, Dinah and Wally, he would make it.

After all, he was no longer a victim. He was a survivor.

A/N: I've just started work on a sequel, but given I'm about to start the next semester at university, it's probably going to be a while before I start posting it-a month at the very least and that's an optimistic estimate. It'll be categorised under Young Justice only, so it should be easier for most people to find. Anyway, until then, bye guys!