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"Oracle."
"Nightwing, what’s the emergency?"
"I’m bored."
"What? I specifically told you to only call in case of an emergency. This is my free night, Dick."
"Hey! No need to insult!" he jokes.
He can almost hear her smile across the communicator. Or maybe she’s scowling. It’s hard to know.
"What are you doing, Dick?" she asks after a long silence.
"Obviously, nothing. This stakeout is turning out to be ten thousand times more boring than I expected."
"Stakeout is not supposed to be fun, Nightwing."
"Now you are sounding like Batman."
She snorts.
"I do that a lot, don’t I."
"Yeah, you do. But it’s fine Ba… Oracle. Is this line safe?"
"Of course it is, Dickie Bird. Who do you think you are talking to?"
"Now you sound like yourself, Babs," he smiles.
"Quit smiling, Boy Wonder."
"I wasn’t… how can you know?"
"I just know, Richard.”
"Don’t call me that," he frowns.
"What’s the problem with your name?"
"That’s what Bruce called me when I was in trouble."
Now he gets to hear her laugh, clear and strong and perfect, from the other side of the line. It is well worth giving up the information.
"You know I’m never gonna let you forget that, right?"
Alright, maybe not such a great idea.
"I don’t remember stakeouts being so boring when we where kids," he says in an effort to change the subject.
"That’s because you used to be so excited to be working with Batman on the field you didn’t care about anything else."
"That’s not…"
"You should’ve seen your face lit up."
"Stop it, Babs," he actually laughs awkwardly. "Besides, I’m sure that wasn’t the reason. I got bored with him too from time to time. I remember the best nights were when you would stakeout with us."
"That’s just cause you had a crush on me, Dick."
"Still do, Babs."
The next silence is not awkward, but tense.
"What do you say I call it a night and come over for a while?" he rushes.
"That sounds great," she answers quickly and they both know what each other’s thinking about.
"Then I’ll… Oh crap."
"What?"
"Bad guys are out. Gotta go kick some butts."
Barbara sights, in the darkness of her room.
"Thanks for making stakeout easy for me again, Babs," he says as he walks to the edge of the building. "Just like when we were kids."
"Not exactly like it,” she says with a suggestive tone. “Hurry up, Hunk Wonder. I’ll be waiting up.”
"Sorry to interrupt guys, but I’m kind of in a hurry and this is not your lucky night. But totally is mine,” she hears him say from afar before the communication link breaks down.
She smiles and shakes her head, silently treasuring the boy she used to stakeout with —and who never really quite grew up.