#connor richard | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le · 3 months ago

Text

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) - Chapter 9

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 4983 Warnings: death, violence, fighting, bloody wounds, angst, infuriatingly oblivious love interest, slowburn Spoilers: Young Justice Seasons 1-3 plot partially, but it ended in 2022 so catch up

Y/N Prince - miracle daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor - and Dick Grayson - first adoptive son of the Batman himself - have been best friends since day one. They went to school together, trained together, kept each other's alter ego secret from everyone else, and they founded the Young Justice alongside their friends together.

But as time progressed, Y/N and Dick grew up and Y/N found herself wanting more than friendship with Dick. But he never seemed to indicate that he reciprocated her feelings. And when Wally died and Dick abandoned the team, Y/N realised he never would. So she heads to the one place she knows will help her become a stronger warrior so that one day she can take her mother's place: Themyscira.

Two years after his leave, Dick reaches out to his old friends to help him with a mission. But when he finds out Y/N left too, he chases after her in the hopes to bring her back.

However, when the two finally reunite, it isn't as warm as he hopes. Not to mention Themyscira becomes under siege as they go to war against Echidna, the Mother of Monsters in Greek Mythology, and her army of monstrous children.

Will Dick and Y/N be able to put their past behind them and save the Amazonians' homeland? Or will they fall, unable to tell one another their true feelings?

~~~

Y/N sat by a fire pit alone, stoking the flames absent-mindedly as her mind raced with the events that occurred on the beach.

In that respect, she couldn't recall much, but she remembered an unfamiliar power coursing through her - how strong she felt when it took over. And that was another thing, she didn't feel like she was the one in control.

Y/N stared into the fire and thought of the white flames that encased her and her lance before. She'd felt another presence in them, coaxing her, guiding her to using the new power.

'But who are you,' she whispered.

'Hey.'

Y/N flinched as she turned to find Dick standing there, both hands carrying two legs of lamb. His head tilted as he gave her a confused look. 'Who are you talking to?'

'No one,' she answered, shaking herself back to reality. 'Just... clearing my thoughts.'

Dick nodded in understanding. 'Oh, okay...' The two awkwardly looked at each other in silence until Dick held up the two lamb legs and said, 'So... you hungry?'

As if her stomach was listening, it growled loudly before she could give an actual reply. The two chuckled at the comedic timing.

'I think that was answer enough, don't you? Y/N asked, happily taking one of the lamb legs off Dick's hands. She hadn't realised until now how hungry she actually was. The smell of the lamb had her salivating so she took a massive bite from the leg and almost groaned with delight.

'Whoa, someone's hungry,' Dick said amused before taking a bite of his own out of the moist meat. 'Whoa!' he exclaimed. 'This is really good!'

'Much better than MacDonalds, right?' Y/N asked.

With another mouthful of meat, Dick replied, 'You bet!'

It didn't take long for Dick and Y/N to finish their meal, although if Y/N had kept up with time correctly, there was only three or so hours left until sunrise. The fight had gone on longer than she'd imagined, but then there was that whole point of the battle she couldn't recall. It frustrated and scared her to think that she could forget something so important so easily.

A hand on her shoulder brought her back out of her thoughts to see a concerned Dick looking at her. 'Hey, where'd you go just now?'

Y/N shook her head. 'I don't know, really,' she answered. 'I just... I was just thinking about the beach. I don't really remember what happened down there.'

Speaking of it, Y/N's gaze drew to the beach just down the stairs she was situated atop. She saw the fires of the lanterns the Guard that Calliope had set up, saw their light reflect off the dome that still stood around the whole of the mountain Themyscira sat upon. But that just meant she saw the wall of darkness all but pressing up against the dome.

No doubt the monsters remained in case the dome broke down, but they also didn't appear to be doing anything but waiting. What was Echidna planning? That unknown answer was the one that scared her most.

'Well, to put it plainly, you saved all of us,' Dick answered matter-of-factly, his gaze also moving to the beach.

'Don't mess around with words, Dick,' Y/N warned, though her threat was weak at best. There was no heat behind her words, no animosity, just truth. 'I meant... what happened to me down on the beach? When, you know...'

Dick hummed in understanding. 'Yes, that... Well, I don't have the answer specifically, all I know is that you had this... power that just... I don't know, it was like nothing I've ever felt or seen before.'

Y/N chuckled. 'That's saying something considering all we've been through, too.'

Dick let out a soft chuckle, the kind that could warm even a freezer up. 'I'm glad you can find the humour in all this. I can't imagine what you must be feeling all things considered.'

The honesty in his words caused Y/N to face Dick, and she found an equally honest expression on his ridiculously gorgeous face. She spared him a grateful smile before she looked down to her hands that fiddled with the stoker once more.

'I have a theory, you know,' she said. 'About what possibly happened to me.'

'And?' Dick encouraged.

'And... I think it wasn't my power that helped us just now.'

'What makes you say that?'

'When I... blanked, I do remember hearing a voice. It wasn't clear but I know the voice was guiding me, telling me exactly what to do. The most clear statement from the voice, however, was a question: But who are you? I think it was Athena herself speaking to me.'

'Athena?' Dick was stunned. 'You mean, the goddess of warfare and wisdom, as well as your ancestor, technically?'

Y/N nodded. 'I know it sounds crazy, but who else could it be that held such mighty power when it comes to weaponry and warfare.'

'Apart from Ares, no one else but Athena, I guess...' Dick gave Y/N a confused look. 'Why would Athena want to possess you for you to then use her power? If she wanted to help so much, why didn't she just fly down and help us herself?'

Y/N rolled her eyes. 'First of all, Gods don't have wings, Dick. They don't fly down, they would just... appear. Secondly, I don't know why she would want to help us, but I do know Gods never help without a reason.'

'Or a price,' Dick added solemnly.

Y/N nodded, recalling the power she'd held. The danger it possessed if she wielded it wrong. The scene of the monsters simply disintegrating into nothing but minuscule dust particles replayed at the back of her mind constantly.

'I'd like to think she'd help us because we are her blood and bone,' Y/N said, curling her fingers inwards to form frustrated fists. 'But her power... I don't know if I can wield it as she does. So precisely and destructively. What if someone innocent gets hurt because I can't control it. Goodness, I can't even remember half the battle just now; how am I supposed to control the power if I can't control myself?'

'Okay, whoa, ease up,' Dick said, holding his hands out in a "calm down" manner. 'I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself here. You don't even know if you still have the power. What if it was a one time thing?'

'But what if it wasn't?' Y/N argued.

'Then we will cross that bridge when we get to it,' Dick answered cooly, without hesitation. 'Look, Y/N, you are not some tyrant who uses power to harm others. In all the time I've known you, I don't think you're even capable of harming innocents. Your worst fears of yourself, they are never going to come to fruition because you're-'

Dick cut himself off and Y/N couldn't help but notice the red flush creeping up from his neck. The intensity of which his blue eyes were looking at her made her feel simultaneously vulnerable and impenetrable. The silence that hung between them had her heart stuttering. Out of hope, out of fear, she couldn't tell the two apart anymore.

'I'm...?' she asked, not daring to try and finish that sentence, It was silly really. They were in the middle of a war and here she was thinking about all the almosts, all the close calls. The moment back on the balcony before Echidna decided to wage her war on Themyscira. It was stupid, but Y/N couldn't help it. Even after all this time, she couldn't help it when it came to Dick Grayson.

'You're... you're the best person there is,' he finally finished, but his words sounded strained. As if he had planned something else to say. 'You're a good leader, Y/N. You are strong and compassionate and I've never known anyone else to hold onto their resolve and values as much as you can. If it's Athena's power that possessed you, then, well, I couldn't think of anyone more suitable to wield it.'

Y/N wasn't sure why she was surprised anymore. Her heart deflated at his words, or more so at the words he didn't say. She couldn't believe she was still hoping after all this time that he would ever say what she wanted him to say, to feel all that she felt for him and more.

But she wasn't some heartbroken eighteen-year-old anymore. Dick was right, she was a leader now, and they had a war to win above all else.

So she smiled her gratitude, but couldn't help a chuckle as she said, 'Athena's not a demon, you know. I don't think gods "possess" people.'

'Well what would you call it then?'

Y/N shrugged. 'I don't know. I just... I don't want the women to think I'm weird, you know?'

'Too late for that I'm afraid, Princess.'

Y/N glared at Dick at the mention of her title, but eventually dropped it and sighed. 'I more meant I don't want them to think I'm a god or something. I don't want them to fear me.'

Dick looked thoughtfully down at the beach for a moment before returning to look at Y/N. 'God or not, everyone should be right to fear you. I mean, you're an actual Amazon warrior who can lift cars above her head with one arm and can fly with just a single thought. Who wouldn't be a little fearful of you?'

'Are you really trying to make me feel better?' Y/N flatly asked.

'I'm getting to that point,' he countered. 'What I'm trying to say is, yes, you are terrifying to certain people. But anyone who knows you and cares for you knows who you truly are.'

'And what's that, Grayson?'

'A good person,' Dick answered, eyes locked with hers. 'A true leader with a heart of gold. Echidna messed with the wrong Amazon, and she's gonna regret it. I just know it.'

Despite his joking demeanour, Y/N could tell he was being sincere now. Better yet, he was being honest, and while it didn't appease the fear in her heart, she appreciated his kindness.

Another thing she frustratingly loved about him.

She smiled at him. 'Thanks. I really needed that.'

Dick smiled in return. 'I know you, Y/N. Just like you know me. I'll always be here to help keep your head on straight.' With a tired groan, Dick stands up. 'Speaking of which, you should probably get some sleep before the sunrise. Who knows what Echidna has in store for us next.'

Dick offered his hand to help Y/N up, to which she graciously accepted. He pulled her to her feet and the two of them walked to the tent that was setting up cots for soldiers not on duty to sleep on until it was time to get up.

At the first empty cot they found, Dick said, 'You take this one. I'm sure there is another one nearby.'

'Thanks,' Y/N said, offering him a sweet smile. 'And thanks... for before.'

'Don't mention it,' Dick replied, but instead of walking away he continued to stare at her. It was like he was contemplating his next move. Just as Y/N was going to go to bed, he swiftly stepped close enough to her to place a kiss on her forehead.

The action caught her so off guard she just froze, aware of nothing but his lips on her skin. Even when he stepped away, his kiss felt like it was burning into her forehead.

'Goodnight, Princess,' he said softly, and then he was turning away and striding down the aisles of cots in search of an empty one.

Long after he'd disappeared from her sight, she still looked on into space, fingers delicately pressed to her forehead. What in the name of Aphrodite was that about?

~~~

Y/N didn't remember falling asleep, only that one moment she was frozen with confusion over her conflicting emotions regarding a certain dark-haired batboy, and the next she was waking up at the first ray of sunshine.

Y/N sat up and threw her legs over the side of the cot. Her muscles ached slightly, but that was possibly the cot's fault. It really wasn't the comfiest of bedding to use. But they were at war, so they would have to make do.

It suddenly struck Y/N how quiet it was. She looked around her; everyone was still asleep. She strained to hear for any outside noise but could not register any. That's odd, she thought, and so stood up and made her way outside the tent.

Even when she had first entered the tent, there were Amazons sitting around chatting and laughing and cooking. In general, there had been a huge commotion even in the early hours of the morning. But as she stepped out of the tent, it alarmed her to see nothing but white fog around the campsite they had set up in the streets.

What in the world... Y/N walked around the fires that had long since died when they should've still been burning. She noticed the absence of warriors heavily. Where is everyone?

A thought had her running for the stairs that lead down to the beach. She could barely see the next step as they came up, but she didn't care. Some horrible feeling inside her said something was wrong.

Distracted, Y/N tripped on the last step and landed face first in the sand with a heavy thud. But she didn't waste time getting up as she spat out sand and scrambled to her feet. There should've been torches, but the fog was too thick even almost standing next to them.

Y/N walked slowly through the fog, unsure what direction she now was heading. I really should've brought a weapon, she thought, berating herself at how vulnerable she felt.

After a few metres of blindly walking, she saw a torch stand through the fog. She ran for it, but upon closer approach she noticed the flame had gone out. Y/N looked into the pit in which the flame would've been burning, and found still warm ashes sitting there.

This went out recently. Now Y/N was really regretting not bringing a weapon. She spun around blindly, expecting an attack at any point. But what was she going to do if they did? I need to get back to camp and wake everyone up.

Just as she took a step in the direction she thought the stairs were, she kicked something quite solid, almost tripping over it. She had to bend down to see through the fog to see what it had been.

To her horror, it was the body of an Amazon. Well, just her torso that is. As Y/N inspected closer, she found more body parts scattered nearby. Blood and guts littered and stained the beach, and Y/N finally realised that it wasn't just the parts of one body she was looking at. It was the entire Guard they'd assigned to watch the dome.

Y/N covered her mouth to stop her from both screaming and throwing up the lamb she had only a few hours ago. What could've done this? Unless...

A growl emanated somewhere in the fog, and Y/N put aside her disgust and picked up one of her dead comrade's swords. Again, she spun around in anticipation of an attack, but she couldn't tell where the sound was coming from. It sounded everywhere and nowhere all at once.

She backed up and to her relief her feet met with stone. The stairs. Y/N took a step up backwards, keeping her eye and sword aimed on the fog in front of her. She was trying to be quiet, but the fog made the steps slightly wet. One step she didn't quite make, and her foot slipped down, causing her to yelp in fear. Y/N quickly balanced herself, but she'd given herself away.

A giant dog-like creature leaped from the fog, its fangs bared sharp and ready to bite. Y/N reflexively put the sword up as a block and pushed the hound off. When it lunged at her again with an open mouth, she plunged the sword into the roof of the hound's mouth. It howled in agony, but Y/N only pushed the sword even more until it pierced the creature's brain.

It fell lifelessly to the ground as Y/N pulled the sword out. As she did, she noticed the fog clearing slowly and revealing more hounds and other creatures waiting on the beach. They stared up at her hungrily, snapping their jaws as if imagining how she would taste when they got to her.

Y/N didn't wait to find out that answer, instead turning and sprinting as fast as she could up the stairs and back to camp. She heard the howls and hisses of the monsters, felt the stairs tremble with their paws and hooves. Y/N ducked as a giant wasp-like monster swooped at her, but she just swiped at the monster's wings and didn't look to see it plummet to the earth.

As she approached the top of the stairs, she cried, 'Get up! Get up!' Assume offensive stations!' But as she reached the city, she was horrified to see that the fight had already begun. The fog had been a hiding place for the monsters, as well a way to keep everyone but her asleep, it seemed. Giving them enough to infiltrate the edges of the city.

The dome hadn't held, and now they were well and truly under attack.

Remembering the creatures that followed her, she turned and began slicing her sword at any that came near her. She sent some tumbling back down the stairs, knocking others down as well. But they just kept coming.

'Princess, look out!'

Y/N turned around to find some warriors about to roll a barrel down the stairs, so she dove out of the way as they did. The creatures howled as they were taken out and rolled back down the mountain. Out of nowhere, a flaming arrow arced over the mountainside and landed perfectly on the still-moving barrel, causing an explosion that sent monster guts and marble stone flying everywhere.

Y/N looked to her left to see archers lined up on the roofs of houses, some flaming, some normal. They aimed at those on the ground, as well as the giant insects and harpies that flew in the sky.

Y/N caught the eye of one of the flaming archers, no doubt the one who'd blown the barrel up, and gave a nod of approval. The warrior returned the gestures, then returned to her duties.

'Keep this up! Don't let anymore up the stairs!' she called to the barrel soldiers.

'Yes, Princess!' they replied, already moving onto their next barrel filled with, Y/N figured, explosive powder.

Satisfied that the area was being taken care of, Y/N looked to the skies. The harpies and insects were dropping rocks and attacking from on high. The screams of her friends compelled Y/N to run towards a tall pile of rubble and leap onto a harpy flying by.

The creature screeched and spun around in the effort to shake Y/N off. But Y/N gripped the scruff of the harpy's neck nape and pulled backwards. The harpy, midair, reared up like a horse, but still Y/N held on. Now with a better grip, Y/N guided the harpy to fly high and forwards. Guiding the harpy with one hand, Y/N used the other hand to slice and stab the other harpies and insects attacking her friends.

One by one, they plummeted to the ground. The insects splattered while the harpies either fell on the rubble or they were killed by nearby warriors.

A certain large gathering of hounds on the ground caught Y/N's attention, and as she flew the harpy closer she saw what brought the hounds there. Quickly, she plunged her sword into the harpy's head and leaped off it as the creature fell lifelessly to the ground.

She tumbled right into the middle of the gathering and pressed her back up against the meat that drew the hounds there. 'You sure know how to pick your battles, Grayson,' she said as she spun around with her sword at the ready.

'Hey, it's not my fault I'm so appealing,' he countered, that arrogant charm of his unfaltering even now. 'Though I have to admit, this isn't the target audience for my charms.'

'Gods, you know no shame, do you?'

'I know, it's both a flaw and a super power.'

Y/N rolled her eyes. 'Less talking, batboy, and more fighting.'

Simultaneously Y/N and Dick swung out at the hounds, causing them to leap at the two of them. It didn't take long for them to behead the creatures, leaving the two of them standing in the middle of the circle of death heaving for breath.

Dick finally broke the silence when he turned to Y/N and said between gulping breaths. 'Batboy? Really? That's low, even for you.'

Y/N shrugged. 'Sorry. Slip of the tongue.'

Out of the corner of her eye, Y/N noticed something was happening to the slaughtered hounds. It looked like green energy was being sucked out of them, slowly causing them to completely disintegrate.

'What's happening to them?' Dick asked, coming to stand beside Y/N.

'I don't know,' she answered, eyes following the trails of green energy back to the camp. A cold stone feeling settled in her stomach. 'But we better go find out. Come on!'

Y/N and Dick ran back through the damaged streets towards the camp, leaping over fallen statues and jumping over giant holes in the cobblestone ground. Y/N had never been more grateful for her call to evacuate the city two evenings ago. Who knew how many more bodies, how many more innocents would be lying dead on the streets with their fallen warriors.

Y/N and Dick raced around the corner but stopped at the sight that greeted them. The energy from the hounds - along with the other monsters, both fallen and still fighting - wasn't just going anywhere. It was being sucked and sourced into creating something larger than all the monsters Echidna sent. The last of the energy from its fellow monsters finished the third head of the serpent-like dragon creature, causing that stone cold feeling in Y/N to spread over her whole body in terrified realisation.

'Hydra! Take cover!' Y/N cried as she grabbed Dick's hand and dragged him towards a building that had pillars out the front.

The monster reared its three heads back before spitting out fire all over the camp. Y/N and Dick ducked behind a pillar just in time, but Y/N felt the heat of the flames at the pillar's edge. Dick must've felt them too, as he quickly pulled Y/N into his chest and held her close. Y/N instinctively clutched onto his back, and there they held each other until the heat died down and they could move.

Y/N took a peep of the damage that had been done. Warriors - friends - that hadn't taken cover were melted into the ground, the walls of buildings, into carts too. Some laid screaming from where the flames had just caught them. The flames had been so intense they'd melted off the body parts unfortunate enough to be caught.

The screams threatened to consume Y/N. She couldn't take her eyes away from them all. But one girl caught Y/N's eyes. She laid just a few metres away from where Y/N stood in the safety of the building. She was on her stomach, crawling towards Y/N, towards safety. Her head was partially burnt, leaving behind only tufts of brown hair. Her legs had melted off, and still she struggled.

As the warrior's eyes met Y/N's, and she reached out with one hand and cried, 'Princess! Help me! Help me, please!'

Y/N realised what the warrior meant. She'd saved them all on the beach last night, she could pull off another miracle again. But Y/N couldn't feel any power surging inside her. In fact, she'd never felt more powerless in her life. Athena was not coming to help them this time, and there was nothing Y/N could do about it.

But I am here. I can help.

Y/N shook herself out of her thoughts and made to go down the steps of the building. 'I'm coming-'

Y/N stopped when the hydra slammed its foot down on the warrior, spraying her blood and guts all over Y/N. It took Y/N's brain a moment to compute what just happened, and even after she did, Y/N did not move. The image of the warrior pleading to her to help froze her; the feeling of blood and guts all over her made her want to hurl, but she was - for the first time in a long time - too scared to move.

The world had gone quiet, all senses but her sight had gone numb.

'Y/... /N... Y/N!'

One moment she was staring at where the warrior had just been squashed, the next Y/N was rolling along the bloodied cobblestone streets, Dick's arms around her.

Once they'd stopped, Y/N looked to where they'd been standing to see another foot of the hydra's standing there. She'd been so out of it, she almost ended up like the fallen warrior.

Y/N's attention turned to Dick as he placed a hand on her upper arm and heaved her to her feet. 'Come on, we've got to move!' he cried, dragging her to follow the other warriors who were fleeing the camp area.

It was like his touch activated her senses once more, as she was able to regain balance and a sense of surroundings in order to run alongside Dick. Together, the two scrambled through the city, following the remaining warriors that fled for the palace. The palace possessed ancient magic that dispelled any unwanted visitors. Y/N hoped that included unwanted and unexpected hydras.

As they drew closer to the palace gates, Y/N recognised Calliope was the one holding them open, ushering everyone. 'Hurry up, get inside!' she cried, then she turned and spotted Y/N and Dick. Relief softened her expression, but her eyes quickly widened as her gaze drifted somewhere behind them. 'Hurry, it's right behind you!'

Both Dick and Y/N turned to briefly look at the hydra. It had turned the pathway they'd just run on into a scorched wasteland, nothing but burning houses and scolding hot rocks in its wake. Its triple green gaze fell on the two of them and reared its three heads, ready to strike.

Y/N and Dick didn't wait to see what happened next, as they turned back around and sprinted with all their energy and will to survive to the gates of the palace.

'Come on!' Calliope called, and soon she was joined by others.

'Keep going!'

'Run faster!'

'Hurry!'

'Come on!'

They'd reach the gates as the hydra blew its fiery attack. Y/N, Calliope, Dick, and whoever was nearby gripped onto the palace gates and yanked them as hard and as fast as they could to close them.

Calliope yelped as some of the flames squeezed through the gap of the closing gates, stumbling backwards before falling into a crouch with her hands tucked tight to her chest.

Everyone stood back from the gates, waiting for fire or smoke or the hydra itself to burst through the gates. But no matter how much it attacked, nothing came through.

'We're safe,' one of the Amazons nearby said with immense relief.

'For now,' Y/N added, turning to crouch with Calliope. 'What's wrong? How can I help?'

In the time Y/N had known Calliope, she had never seen the brave warrior cry. But her she was, crouched, almost folded in on herself, offering her burnt and blistered hands out to Y/N with tears pouring like waterfalls down her flushed and dirty cheeks.

Horror and guilt tore through Y/N like a sword to the heart, piercing what she thought was a soldier's composure. She reached out to Calliope's hands and gently cradled them, avoiding actual contact less she cried more.

'I am... I am sorry, Calliope,' Y/N murmured softly, unsure how else to express the pain she felt for her friend. The pain she had caused her friend.

Y/N looked to the crowd that was huddled in the courtyard of the palace. There were, by the looks of things, less than one quarter of the warriors that were based at Y/N's camp standing before her. That including the injured, the barely standing, the barely breathing. She could hardly tell if anyone but herself and Dick had come out of the hydra encounter unscathed.

Princess! Help me! Help me, please!

Y/N swallowed the stomach acid that threatened to come up and stood up, addressing the crowd. 'Anyone here a medic?' Three girls put their hands up. 'Good. Take General Calliope and any other injured warriors to the Palace Infirmary and assist with their care. Everyone else, head to the kitchens and find some food. Then get some rest. I will... I will...'

This is where her mind went blank. Even with all her training, all her experiences with bad guys and death, she couldn't unsee the poor girl, who couldn't have been much older than herself, reaching out to her, expecting Y/N to save her. She couldn't unsee the blood, the guts, the melted bodies.

She couldn't see what their next step was.

'You heard the Princess,' Dick suddenly interjected. 'Now go.'

The remaining warriors nodded their heads in agreement and scurried away, many helping the injured to the infirmary as they went. One of the medics and another warrior came to collect Calliope, who still cried with pain.

Her howls echoed well and truly past when she left the courtyard, leaving Y/N feeling more empty and sorrowful than she'd ever been.

~~~

Tag List:

135 notes · View notes

downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le · 2 days ago

Text

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader - Chapter 13

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader)Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 3279 Warnings: death, violence, fighting, bloody wounds, angst, infuriatingly oblivious love interest, slowburn Spoilers: Young Justice Seasons 1-3 plot partially, but it ended in 2022 so catch up.

Two years after his leave, Dick reaches out to his old friends to help him with a mission. But when he finds out Y/N left too, he chases after her in the hopes to bring her back.

Will Dick and Y/N be able to put their past behind them and save the Amazonians' homeland? Or will they fall, unable to tell one another their true feelings?

~~~

The moment Echidna wrapped her tail around Y/N, entrapping her completely, Dick knew this would only end one way.

'Y/N!' he cried out, scrambling for her in the centre of the courtyard, desperate to prevent the inevitable. Echidna was squeezing tighter, Y/N was getting paler, and he was still too far away.

Something snagged the back of his armoured back-plate, pulling him back so harshly he almost fell over.

'No, Grayson!' Calliope yelled at him.

'Let go of me!' Dick pulled and tugged to get himself free, desperation and fear spurring him on. 'Please! Let me go!'

That was when the first bolt of lightning struck down, striking the ground just in front of them. The impact sent broken bricks flying their way and Dick allowed Calliope to heave him behind one of the entrance pillars for protection.

As the bricks and dust settled, Dick and Calliope peaked out from behind the pillar to see the whole courtyard lighting up with lightning. So too was Y/N, burning bright as white fire. Echidna looked in pain as rubble crumbled down on her, as she tried to retract her tail from around Y/N. But it appeared she was sealed to Y/N.

Their fates were now entwined. No one was stopping it.

Dick made to run to her again, but again Calliope held him back at the wrist.

'Don't,' she said, but she wasn't looking at him. Calliope was looking up at her princess, her friend, and a set of tears ran down her cheeks like twin rivers. 'She has made her choice.'

Horrified and disbelieving, Dick turned back to find Y/N looking at him. Even through the light that encapsulated her body, her bright E/C eyes found him, and a grateful smile spread across her lips.

To Dick, she'd never looked more at peace.

Amidst the brightness, she mouthed a message. It was only three words, but they shot Dick straight through his heart, making him bleed with guilt and regret.

I love you.

She'd said it already to him that morning; hell, she'd said it everyday of their lives and he had been too blind and selfish to hear her. But he'd heard her this morning, as the rising sun haloed her in a saintly glow and she bared her heart to him. A heart he had been so careless with all these years.

And yet it had clicked only then what had been holding him back all these years from settling down with someone else. Dick's heart called to Y/N's in a way no one else could even start to compare.

He'd heard her this morning - finally - and he heard her now, and he felt his heart break just as Y/N completely gave in to the light and the giant bolt of lightning struck down upon Echidna.

Calliope pulled him back behind the pillar just as balconies and the roof came crashing down. Dick braced against the pillar, eyes closed as he felt dust and chaos swirl around him for what felt like eternity.

The funny thing about eternity, however, is that it is simultaneously ever-lasting and as short as a blink. Once silence settled on the courtyard, Dick dared to open his eyes. Immediately he looked to Calliope beside him. Her skin had a layer of dust on it, all over her face and arms, even her armour didn't shine so brightly anymore. She looked the most dishevelled Dick had ever seen her, but he doubted he looked much better.

He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention to him. He couldn't muster up his voice to ask if she was all right, so he just raised his eyebrows in a silent question. She nodded slowly, looking over him to check on him too.

Satisfied with her answer, Dick peaked out from behind the pillar finally to see sunlight beaming down on the demolished fountain, where a giant pile of rubble half-covered a motionless Echidna.

'Where's Y/N?' Dick asked finally breaking the room's silence, unable to find her amongst the carnage. He turned to Calliope to see if she could spot her. But Calliope had no answer, looking at the pile of rubble on the verge of tears again.

Fear struck Dick's body into moving as quick as he could, stumbling over the giant pieces of rubble that had fallen from the roof, scraping his hands and knees in the process but he didn't care. He had to find her, even if he knew what he would find.

As soon as he reached the giant rubble pile where Echidna lay lifeless, Dick reached for the first piece he could get his hands on and pushed it away. The next one he picked up was smaller, so he threw it as far away as he could with a painful grunt.

He repeated the process on his own, the only sound filling the courtyard being his laboured breaths. He heard more footsteps echoing behind him. He didn't turn around though, didn't waste a damn second on whoever showed up at the door. All that mattered was finding Y/N.

Piece after piece he ripped away, grunting and crying out with exertion and exhaustion. But he couldn't stop, he wouldn't, for she wouldn't.

He cried out as he sliced his hand on a sharp rock, but before he could keep going, someone grabbed his injured hand and wrapped it in cloth. He looked up to find it was the Queen of Themyscira herself treating him. Her touch was gentle and guiding, tying off the cloth with a soft tug before looking up at him, tears in her eyes.

For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other, their eyes mirroring one another's heartbreak. But then Queen Hippolyta bent down and picked up a rock and threw it away. Then another, and another. So Dick restarted his work too, moving rubble piece after rubble piece as quick as his tired and aching body would allow him to.

Dick didn't know how long he did this for, but his exhaustion wiped away at the sight of a hand, the palm facing upwards.

'Here,' he said to the Queen and the two of them started moving the rubble away from that area as quick as they could. The more rubble they removed, the more Y/N was revealed, and once her top half had been exposed, it was easy enough for Dick to pull her out from underneath the rest of the loose rubble.

Dick, exhausted, collapsed to his knees, Y/N carefully cradled in his arms. Her S/C skin was covered in nicks from the rubble and the fight, bruises blooming all over her exposed arms and legs. Her H/C hair was littered with dust and little rocks, and yet as Dick stared at her lifeless face, she looked as beautiful as she had always been.

'Y/N...' Dick whispered, hoping beyond hope there was still a chance for her. But when she didn't respond, angry and guilty tears finally fell from his eyes as he gently shook her, saying more firmly. 'Come on, Y/N. Wake up... please...'

His plead was only met with silence, and that's when he let out a bellow that echoed throughout the courtyard. The sound was all his anger, all his regret, all his love he never showed her unable to go anywhere but into thin air.

He bowed his head and pulled Y/N in tighter, one hand around her back, the other cradling her cheek as he rested his head atop hers. 'I'm sorry, Y/N,' he whispered in between sobs. 'I'm so sorry.'

He couldn't apologise more, for all he had done their whole lives was hurt her. Over and over again, he had missed the signs, had chosen to dismiss it all because of one reason or another. And even if this had always been her fate - to die saving her people - he at least could've given her what she deserved beforehand. A life full of love and laughter, not of death and pain, of suffering and loss, of fighting and hiding.

He'd never deserved Y/N, never deserved the kindness she brought to a room, the unwavering support she gave without expecting anything in return, the unconditional love she gave away for free. If she were alive still and they were both immortal, he would never deserve her still, even if he had forever to make it up to her.

He prayed to no gods for a second chance, because the only god he believed in was now gone.

Even so, he found himself pressing a gentle kiss to the crown of her head and whispering into her hair, 'I love you, Y/N. I've always loved you...'

A hand placed itself upon his shoulder, and Dick finally looked away from Y/N to find the Queen looking down at him, her cheeks also stricken with tears. 'We should take her to the infirmary,' Queen Hippolyta said, her demeanour oddly calm for someone who just lost their granddaughter. 'There she can be prepared for... a proper warrior's burial.'

Dick could tell it was taking all of the Queen's will not to fall apart, especially not in front of all her other warriors that, as Dick now noticed, surrounded the entire courtyard now. As Dick looked around, he noticed many crying or bowing their heads as a sign of respect. Many held each other as they grieved, and it suddenly struck Dick that he would have to tell Diana the news when he returned home, not to mention the rest of the team.

Dick never thought he'd feel the same pain and heartache he felt when Wally fazed out of existence. But he was feeling it now tenfold, and it threatened to tear him into nothing.

But the Queen was right, he couldn't hold Y/N here anymore. She deserved some privacy before her burial, and so he made to stand while holding Y/N, but a bright light sparked atop the large rubble pile, freezing him and everyone around him in place.

Unlike Y/N's light just before, he was transfixed by this light, unable and unwilling to look away from what emerged from the light.

It was a figure, feminine-looking based on the initial curves, but then it changed to small and petite, then again to be tall and muscular, all the while never having a definitive face. Dick felt a sense of deja vu as the muscular figure morphed into an old crone, then into someone truly familiar as the light stopped just above Dick, the Queen and Y/N.

To Dick's horror and confusion, the womanly figure looking down at him looked exactly like Y/N. Though she wore white flowing garments, gold armbands and bangles, and her H/C hair billowed out behind her on a wind Dick couldn't feel.

She smiled kindly down at him first, then directed her smile to the Queen. Without a word, Queen Hippolyta nodded graciously at the floating figure. 'Mother Aphrodite,' she said in a reverent manner, a tone Dick had never heard her speak with anyone before.

That being said, the Amazons around the courtyard immediately fell to one knee and bowed their heads as a sign of respect. Dick would've done the same had he not felt so numb and off-kilter.

Dumbly, he looked up at the goddess and said, 'You appeared in my dreams once. The night I came here... you wore her face then too.'

To his surprise, Aphrodite's smile dropped into a sad frown as her eyes landed on Y/N still being cradled in Dick's arms. 'I appear as someone's most loved one,' she answered simply. 'I do not look the same to all, even now.' She gestured to the rest of the room and Dick could only imagine who everyone saw in that moment.

A fresh wave of tears fell down his cheeks at what she implied. 'So you knew even before I did? In just one moment?'

Aphrodite nodded. 'I see all bonds of love, no matter how long it takes for the two connected to see it themselves.'

Sobs threatened to escape Dick, but he bit them down as he looked down at Y/N, brushed a loose strand of hair away from her peaceful face. 'I saw it too late,' he said as the tears kept flowing. 'It had always been there, I know that now. I just wish...' He wished for a lot of things, he just didn't know where to start, so he cut himself off.

'Doesn't matter now,' he said instead. 'She's gone. Forever.'

'Death is not the end of love,' Aphrodite interjected. 'Certainly not for your love story, Dick Grayson.'

Dick looked back up at the goddess confused. 'What do you mean?'

Aphrodite gave him a knowing smile before answering. 'Athena is not the Amazons' only mother, you know. They are also my children, and I say that it is not Y/N's time to pass on. Not when love as pure as yours awaits her.'

Dick doesn't comprehend what she said, and before he could ask what she meant, Aphrodite leaned down and pressed one finger to his heart. A spark of light bloomed on his chest where she touched, and a warm sensation sunk into him from it. She did the same for Y/N, placing her light over Y/N's heart.

'Your lives are now linked together,' Aphrodite said as she pulled away. 'Do not waste any more time, Dick Grayson. Swear it.'

'I swear it,' Dick said breathlessly, though he wasn't quite sure what was going on still.

'Good,' the goddess of love said, then disappeared into her light once more. Once her light had finally disappeared, Dick felt the slightest movement in his arms.

Heart racing, he looked down to see Y/N's fingers twitching, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.

'Y/N?' he said gently, holding his breath in case this was all a dream.

But her body felt warmer, and he saw the rise and fall in her chest as she finally opened her eyes with a huge gasp for air. She looked around wildly until her eyes finally met his, and with a hoarse voice she said, 'Dick?'

'Oh thank the gods,' Dick gasped out, pulling Y/N into a bone-crushing hug as more tears fell from his eyes, this time with joy and relief. 'You're alive!'

He could hear the cheering of the Amazons behind him, the happy sobs of the Queen somewhere nearby, but all he could focus on was Y/N's arms tightening around him, pulling him to her as much as he pulled her to him.

Once they pulled apart, Y/N's hand fell to his chest as she looked around at the damage around her. 'What happened?'

'You killed Echidna,' Dick said, eyes drifting to the large, lifeless body in front of them. 'But you... you sacrificed yourself to do so.'

'I...remember that,' Y/N said, closing her eyes as if replaying the moments in her head. 'I brought that bolt of lightning down on us, and I felt myself die... How am I alive?'

'Aphrodite saved you,' Dick answered. 'Brought you back to life.'

Y/N looked up at him shocked. 'Aphrodite? Are you sure?' Why?'

'Because...' Dick started, then found himself doing what he always did when it came to his feelings and close up. But he remembered his vow to Aphrodite, and she was right, it was time to stop wasting time.

Dick locked eyes with Y/N and they were pressed so close together he could feel her heart racing in time with his. 'Because our love story hasn't even begun yet,' he answered, which only made Y/N furrow her brows in confusion.

'Our love story?" she asked. 'I don't understand....'

Dick moved his hand from her cheek to cover her hand pressed on his chest. 'I love you Y/N. I have since the day we met, I think. I've just been too much of a coward to tell you and too much of an absolute idiot to see that you felt the same this entire time.'

Y/N looked up at him as if he placed the stars in the night sky, a mixture of hope and disbelief in her radiant E/C eyes.

'You... You love me?' she whispered, as if worried that if she spoke too loudly the fantasy would disappear on her.

But it was not a fantasy, and Dick wasn't going anywhere.

'I never knew it until I got here,' Dick started, 'but it's always been you. Always.'

With that, he leaned down as she leaned up and their lips locked in a kiss that had been building up for over a decade. It was the culmination of all they had been through together, all the tears and laughs they had shared, and a promise of what they still had left to love and learn about one another.

Dick's hand over hers fell back to her cheek to pull her even closer while her now free hand roamed up to rest on the nape of his neck, delving into the locks that laid there. The sensation was like nothing he'd ever felt before - a buzz of excitement radiated through him at her gentle, loving touch.

And when they finally pulled apart for air, they kept their foreheads touching like neither could bare being apart from the other. At least that was how Dick felt, but the smile on Y/N's face reassured him the feeling was mutual.

'You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that,' Y/N said breathlessly.

A pang of guilt went through Dick as he stroked her cheek. 'I'm sorry I made you wait so long. I'm such a fool.'

'Perhaps, but you're my fool,' Y/N said cheekily as she pulled him in for another mind-melting kiss. Dick thought in that moment he would never get over the wonderful sensation kissing her brought him, and he never wanted to.

When they pulled apart again, she said, looking at the crowds of Amazons cheering and hugging each other from the out skirts of the courtyard. 'We better get up. It's not everyday a goddess brings someone back from the dead.'

'Right.'

Dick helped Y/N to her feet and she was immediately embraced by her sobbing grandmother, which elicited a bigger round of cheers and clapping and clashing of swords in celebration.

Y/N quickly scrambled her way atop Echidna, and the room went silent as she raised her hand.

'Echidna's war is over!" she cried, and the crowd roared in celebration. They quietened again as she spoke once more. 'We have much cleaning up to do, and many of our sisters to formally send off into the afterlife,' she said more solemnly. 'This war is a dark time in our history, but that is all it is now: history. Let us build new homes, new lives, amidst this destruction. Let us celebrate the lives of our loved ones that we have lost. And let us grow stronger together from this ordeal. We are Amazons, and we have proven to the gods themselves that we are not to be reckoned with. Today we celebrate this victory as we aim to restore and improve our home.'

The crowd exploded in a cacophony of claps and cheers and clashing weapons, and amidst it all Y/N was looking down at Dick, the most gorgeous smile on her face. Dick clapped up at her, pride and love flowing out of every pore in him. He truly did not deserve the goddess that stood above him, but Aphrodite had given them a second chance, and he would spend every second of that chance making sure Y/N knew she was loved by him.

~~~

Tag List:

56 notes · View notes