titans of a different tower/lovers' leap

[bossymarmalade]

Dick rocked on his toes as he waited for Bette to arrive at the Manor. He felt a little guilty about calling her over the day before, but he needed the time to prepare. They both would. This was going to be the best Valentine’s gift ever, he was sure of it!

Bette was a little curious why Dick wanted to get together. After all, they would be seeing each other the following day, she assumed, since it would be Valentine’s Day, and Calendar Man was locked safely in Blackgate. Still, it didn’t take much to convince her to put down the books and put off working on her paper another night or two. Alfred let her in with his usual aplomb, but she could swear he had a twinkle in his eye, like he was part of a secret…well, more than usual, that is.

Dick all but pounced on her as soon as Alfred showed her into the downstairs parlour. “Bette! Bette, Bette, I’m so glad you came. I’m so excited, I—” He took a breath and kissed her firmly, calming himself through the kiss. “Happy Almost-Valentine’s Day.”

She couldn’t help but squeak just a little as he grabbed her arms and kissed her with such enthusiasm. “Happy Almost-Valentine’s Day, Dick,” she echoed with a giggle in her voice. “I can tell you’re excited! What’s going on? What’s happened?”

He beamed. “I got you the best Valentine’s present ever! Well, it’s kinda for both of us, but it’s really awesome!” He led her over to the couch, sitting as close to her as he could in his excitement. “What’s the one place everyone wants to go for their most romantic dates? Where in the whole world?”



Bette grinned down at Dick from the girder she was perched on and watched admiringly as he performed a handstand for the cameras on the platform below them.

“Okay, the waving to them as we passed the platform was one thing, but now you’re just showing off!” she teased him.

Dick laughed, hopping from one hand to another. ”I can’t help it! I just love being admired.”

He swung up to meet her on the girder and grinned. ”Tu m’admire?”

“Mais, oui,” she beamed at him as she reloaded her grappling gun. She’d have enough difficulty answering questions when they were on the ground again, so trying to speak French while focussing on scaling an unfamiliar structure like the Eiffel Tower wasn’t her top priority. “I’ve had lots of practice over the years, you know.”

He pulled her in for a quick kiss, smiling at the excited hum of the photographers below. ”Ready to reach the top, darling?”

“Feels like I’m already there,” she smiled back at him before giving the paparazzi and tourists a wave as Nightwing’s arm still held her around the waist.

Flamebird lifted her grapple gun over her head and aimed, giving him a last peck on the cheek before again taking flight. The bright yellow and red figure zipped up another fifty feet, the more ninja-like black and blue form in close pursuit.

He gave her a quick kiss at every landing until they reached their jump point. He wrapped his arms around her as they looked down at the crowds below and the empty space cleared for their landing. ”Are you excited?”

Her breath was coming fast now, the anticipation of their base jump building exponentially. “I am…this is simply amazing, Dick.” A helicopter hovered nearby, ruining their own moment just a small bit, but it would bring so many others joy as the sun set over Paris, that it was worth it.

“I love you so much…” she said, and kissed him, interlacing the fingers of both her hands with his as a gust of wind caught her ponytail.

“I love you, Bette.” Dick held her close and looked out over the city. The sun was just starting to go down, casting a warm glow on the clouds. His stomach clenched as he remembered the last time he was this high up. Higher really.

He glanced back at the very top of the tower where he’d gleefully shown off for Guy. For a moment, he wondered if they would’ve been here today, flying over the city on their way back to Tre Ville, or if they would’ve gone somewhere else, maybe even off-planet.

He shook his head, blinking away tears. This wasn’t right to think about, not when Bette was holding him and smiling, not when he could feel the excitement and anticipation almost vibrating off her. He kissed her head, looking back down at the crowd. ”That’s the signal. I think it’s time.”

Even with the wind, and the helicopter not far off, and the sparkles of cameras going off below them, she wasn’t so distracted that she missed his shift in mood. There was nothing to say, so she squeezed his hands, silently letting him know it was okay, what he was feeling. She neither judged it, nor was threatened by it.

She stepped away and held him firmly by his hand, once again interlocking their fingers. “Okay…but I may never touch the ground.” She smiled for him, and added, “I feel like I could fly, right now.”

Flamebird checked the location of her pullcord one last time with her free hand. “Ready.”

He smiled softly and squeezed her hand, happy she seemed to understand. ”Then let’s fly, Flamebird.” He touched his pullcord once, and stepped to the edge. ”Allez…HOP!”

The rush of wind as they jumped was exhilarating. He squeezed her hand and looked at her, grinning from ear to ear. ”I love you!” he shouted, sure she’d understand even if she couldn’t quite hear him.

“Love you too!” she shouted back, easily reading his lips. A second later they reached the point they needed to spread their arms and angle themselves to catch the breeze and launch themselves forward to avoid the expanding base of the tower. The air caught the specially-fitted panels attaching their arms to the sides of their costumes, and they cut through the air like they could actually fly under their own power, side by side.

Dick beamed as he watched Bette, the golden wing-like fabric giving her the look of a phoenix. Dick could almost feel the excitement from the crowd as gold-and-red and black-and-blue soared down from the tower. Finally, they reached the point to pull their chutes. With a shared smile and squeeze of their hands, Bette and Dick pulled their cords, grinning as the chutes pulled them upright.

The nylon fabric billowed out above them, and everything around them was silent for a few moments as they hung in the air under the blue and gold chevrons on their chutes. At the center of each, Dick had included each half of a heart, clearly only able to fit with the other’s half and no other. “Oh, Dick…” she said breathlessly as she looked up and saw for the first time what he’d done with their chutes. The collective approval of the crowds of spectators below drifted up to their ears, and she beamed at him. “You’re incredible.”

He beamed, looking up at the chutes with pride. ”Not terribly cheesy?”

“We’re in Paris! What better place for fromage d’amour?” she called back.

He laughed loudly all the way to the ground. A flurry of reporters rushed them as a small team unhooked their chutes. Dick smiled for the camera, ready with the prepared statements about crime and the protection by the authorities and other capes. Still high off of the jump, he squeezed Bette’s hand.

«In Kryptonian legend, Nightwing and Flamebird were partners in fighting crime, partners in justice, partners who did what was right, together.» He smiled at Bette. «Now, they’re partners in even more.» Dick pulled her into a deep kiss, holding her tight as the crowd around them cheered.

She was still processing what he’d said in French when he pulled her into that kiss. She wasn’t sure if the roar in her ears was the crowd, or her own blood pumping through through her impossibly fast from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. But as Dick held her, her high school language classes finally caught up to her.

Partners.

“Je t’aime…” she cooed in his ear as cameras flashed all around them.