Nightwing: Heartless

Part 35: Identity

He found her in a courtyard near the side of the building, sitting on a bench. Under different circumstances, Dick would think the setting was romantic, a moonlight garden, but now he just shifted his weight, not exactly sure what to do. It was an odd feeling. So he watched her for a minute, trying to gauge her emotions. He could always read her, every look, every feeling... except now. Her face was turned from him, but her arms were crossed. She was slouched on the stone bench when she noticed him. Relief crossed her face, but her usual smile was absent. Dick approached cautiously.

He held up her shoes as he got closer, "thought you might want these back." Willa nodded and looked at the ground. She was shivering, Dick realized, that's why her arms are crossed. He shrugged off his, now charred, suit jacket and kneeled down to wrap it around her shoulders. Now that he was closer, he could see there was no anger in her body language. His hands lingered around the collar of the coat, wanting to touch her but not knowing if that was wise.

Willa finally met his eyes, looking for something, but he didn't know what. He searched for anger, sadness, but couldn't figure out how she felt. She sighed and shrugged his hands away, "where did Ivy and Harley go?"

"They ran off once Catwoman signalled. Made off with a few hundred thousand."

Willa nodded, "and you're okay?" Dick nodded, still kneeling before her so they were almost eye level. "Good," she said quietly.

Dick looked down at his hands, "how did you..."

Her lips twitched in an almost smile, "deep down I don't think you wanted to hide it from me. There were plenty of clues, I just put them together." He shouldn't be so surprised at how smart she is. She looked down and laughed a little, "you threw me out a window."

Dick laughed too and rubbed the back of his neck, "it's all I could think of on short notice." He gently set his hand on top of hers. "You saved my life."

"That's dramatic," she scoffed, "you could have saved yourself."

"Maybe," he agreed, "maybe not. Thank you." She nodded. Dick looked down at their clasped hands. She didn't move away, but she didn't interlock their fingers. There was also... "you're bleeding," Dick said, filled with concern. How did she get hurt? Was it the window? Did he not drop her low enough? Did he cut the line too soon? He moved the jacket out of the way. She was holding her injured arm. Dried blood stained her skin all the way down from the elbow. "What happened?" He gently searched for the source of the bleeding.
"The axe was in a glass casing," Willa shrugged, "it doesn't hurt."

"It will once the adrenaline fades," Dick concentrated on plucking the small shards of glass out of her arm. They were small and surface level. Bigger pieces of glass must have only cut her. He tore a length of fabric from his dress shirt crossed the courtyard to a drinking fountain to wet the makeshift rag. He cleaned the blood away, which made him feel a lot better.

"Really, it's barely anything-"

"No, you're hurt. Because of me." Dick clenched his jaw and wrapped the cloth around her arm as a bandage.

"I'm hurt because of me," Willa said, soft yet firm, "you didn't even know I was there. I decided to get the axe all on my own."

"Because-"

"Because I'm brave. And kind. And I saw an opportunity." She brushed a strand of his hair behind his ear. "You can't blame yourself for my decisions. You can't blame yourself for who I am."

Dick ran a hand through his hair, suddenly exhausted. "Are you mad?"

She looked away, thinking. "Yes," she finally said, "I already knew, but yes, I'm still mad, and I can't help it," she said before Dick could cut it, "you don't get to dismiss my anger just because I already knew your secret."

"Will, I'm surprised you're not running away from me."

"I'm mad, but I understand. I don't blame you for not telling me."

"What?"

Now it was Willa's turn to place her hands on top of his. "You have a lot of responsibility, you hold people's lives in your hands. Why would you tell some girl all your dangerous secrets?"

"You're not just some girl, Will," Dick paused, trying to find the words, "I wanted to tell you. I've never wanted to tell anyone, but I wanted to tell you."

"Would you have told me?"

Dick sighed and looked away, "I don't know." Willa nodded, taking it all in. "But I do know that these months with you... they've changed things. They've changed my perspective."

She laughed, "I imagine that's not good in your line of work."

"It's not always bad."

Willa took her hands away, "then why risk it?" Now she was showing a little of her anger. "You had to know this," she gestured to them, "had an expiration date if you were never going to tell me. If you could only give half yourself, half your life, why play with me-"

"I never played with you," Dick moved to sit beside her, "I had to lie to you, and I'm sorry. I did know that this might end, and I tried to stay away from you, I did, but I couldn't. I tried to reason with myself that it wasn't serious, just a couple of dates, have some fun. I didn't mean to..." he ran a hand through his hair again. "I didn't know what this would be. And now I'm stuck."

Willa looked away, "you're not stuck, I'm not going to tell anyone."

"That's not what I meant." He reached for her but she pulled away. "I'm stuck because I can't bear to leave you. I think about you all the time, even when I shouldn't. I get so excited when you smile, or when I get to hold your hand. I didn't mean to fall in love with you, Will."

She went still, "you don't have to say that, Dick."

"I'm not just saying it." She leaned forward to put her head in her hands. "I love you, Willa, and you don't have to say it back, or feel like you owe me anything, but I need you to know I was never toying around with you."

Willa stood up, contemplating something, before extending a hand to Dick. He looked up at her, unsure what to say or do.

"Take me home," she said simply, "please."

He stood and swallowed. "Of course."

But she threaded her hand through his as they walked out of the garden together.