flashbossXD let me link their request to my villain Dick story so massive thank you to them

also THERE IS A REFERENCE TO A REALLY OLD STORY I DID IF ANY OF Y'ALL REMEMBER IT YOU GET BROWNIE POINTS  

This felt weird. 

It was so unnatural. 

Nightwing hadn't been alone in so long that now he was, the feeling was foreign. He hadn't been completely and utterly alone since his time as a child in the Juvenile Detention Center knowing that he had no home to return to or any family waiting for him. The source of this loneliness came as a result of moving out of his apartment with Wally upon confessing how he really felt about the hero gig. How was he supposed to know it would end so poorly? Wally must've told everyone Nightwing knew because the next minute he was swamped with messages, most of them harsh and unfeeling, urging him not to proceed with his plan of starting anew. Although the prospect of being alone was a terrifying one and he desperately didn't want to be, hadn't he already been alone as a hero wondering if it was all worth it? Nightwing couldn't stay where he was. He'd off himself in a month. 

So he packed up all his stuff, hit the final big red button on changing his identity, and began sleeping in a crappy hotel room since it was cheap until he figured out somewhere else to go. Nightwing would make appearances on patrol, being careful to make his movements erratic so his family wouldn't scout him out and drag him back to the hero life kicking and screaming. He found that he rather liked being malevolent. It'd come at a great cost to be crueller but boy did it feel good. He hadn't realised just how angry he'd been at everything he'd suffered until he allowed himself to let it all go. 

Still, the loneliness was getting to him more than he liked to admit. He'd begun to speak to himself just to fill up the empty air of his room. It started out as small mumbles here and there as though he was on a weird version of The Office but now he was pouring his heart out to a person who simply wasn't there. He knew no one was there. He knew that when he stared at the space beside him there was no one to fill it or someone pulling him into a well-meaning hug. No one was going to answer back aside himself. Yet it helped to talk to himself as though he were two people. It was on one of these occasions that he was interrupted.

It was a cold night in December, Christmas decorations were being put up around the city and Nightwing was sitting alone as always. He knew the holidays would be hard as such a family-centric person and the whole point of this time of year was coming together. Nightwing was basically off the grid since the criminals who did see him were critically injured before they could spread the word of where he was and he'd threatened the hotel manager that if he even thought to speak a word to another person about him being there then he'd happily beat him to a bloody pulp. There was always a rush when he threatened people now because he could follow through without being held back. He supposed freedom went hand in hand with loneliness. 

Unable to sit still in his room, he'd gone out into the night and found one of his favourite lookout spots he hadn't shared with his family as part of the Robin to Robin pitch talk he gave. The building always had scaffolding around it and if you climbed to the very top, you'd be met with one of the best views of the city. He couldn't climb all the way up at this time of year so he happily settled on one of the worker platforms.

"So Dick, what's the topic today?" he asked himself. "I fucking love this new life. It's amazing, I'm finally me but my family hates me. I think it's this time of year getting to me." He fiddled with his gloves. "You wanted this life and there is a price to pay. It's early doors but if you keep going, who knows what can happen? Maybe you can form your own gang." He perked up at the suggestion. "My own gang. Now that would be amazing! Oh, I know the perfect hideout spot and I certainly have the know-how to run one without a hitch."

"Out of all of the Bat brats I have to say I suspected you'd be the first to go loopy," a new female voice announced. It was coming from behind Nightwing but in his fractured mental state, he wouldn't be surprised if this was just a new layer of madness. Plenty of villains had bats in the belfry, maybe it just came with the job description. He had hoped he would last a little longer but he was never the most mentally stable of people.

"You're new? But you sound familiar?"

"Turn around dumbass," the voice commanded. He turned around and found that the voice belonged not to his mind but to Harley Quinn. Nightwing brightened up at the possibility of company even if she was here for a fight. They always had some banter between them though the fight usually got in the way of most of it. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked. 

"Been worse, been better. Has word spread about my change of heart?" She nodded and walked over, perching beside him on the rooftop. "I didn't think everyone would freak out so much."

"You kiddin? You're like the beacon of justice to those folks in Gotham and Bludhaven. If you turn then what hope is there?" Harley asked. There was a lightness in her tone that said she wasn't trying to make him feel guilty for what he'd done. She of all people knew that a person could change drastically without warning so maybe that's why she empathized with the hero. Well pretty much ex-hero. He'd killed three people once he made the change for various reasons. Nightwing also used to visit her in Arkham so it could be argued they were friends. He was a well-welcomed break to her week when she was inside and he always brought about a sense of bliss when he was around. It'd be awful if this was a mental break and not a well-thought-through decision. She doubted his mind could take the strain. 

"There's hope to be found in someone else but not in me. One too many dark nights I think. Aside from the major icing out, I'm really liking this new life." Harley smiled. 

"Good to hear. I'm actually glad that I found you since I want to propose something," she began. He tilted his head to the side with curiosity. 

"Oh do tell."

"I thought, since we've been sort of friends ever since I left Mr J, I'd extend you an olive branch. My rent is getting higher and the jobs that would pay for it as well as my shopping habits are two-person. You're pretty much the only person I trust to join me and not stab me in the back," Harley explained. 

"That does sound rather fun but what's in it for me?"

"Where you're living now can't be the best, I'm guessing a hotel since you guys rig your safehouses. We could share my apartment. I could do with the company. Don't tell Bud and Lou but I could do with a human every once in a while. Plus I'm a knowledge bank baby. Gots the know-how and the street cred to get you the jobs," she answered, tapping her temple at the last comment. He chuckled at her inflexions and thought over the idea. He could do with the company and he would love to be around those hyenas without them ripping his face off. Getting out of that crappy hotel would probably be best in the long run too. Harley was offering a fairly nice place to say, something to occupy his free time and companionship. He grinned and held out his hand. 

"Call it a deal then." Harley took his hand and shook it with an equally as excited smile. 

"Deal. Getcha stuff and meet me you know where. I'll let you in and we can talk specifics." 

About an hour after their meeting, Nightwing showed up at Harley's apartment with a duffle bag over his shoulder. He didn't have much stuff with him when he moved out of his previous home with Wally since he just grabbed essential work stuff, clothes, and some photos. The blonde opened her door with an excited smile and let him in. Bud and Lou looked him up and down before glancing at their owner. She gave them the nod and they trotted over to the acrobat, sniffing at his hands and legs. Nightwing lit up at their reaction to him and managed to find a spot behind the pair's ears that when he scratched them caused them to relax into his touch. He giggled as they pressed up against his legs so the scratching could continue. 

"They're like big dogs," he commented, noticing their tails wagging. 

"I know right? They're such cuties when they play nice. You must have a magic touch since they're normally wary of new people," Harley answered once she finally finished locking all the locks. She liked to keep this place safe and that required fifteen locks at the least. "C'mon, I have a spare mattress you can sleep on for now. These two kinda took over the guest room so you're bunking with me," she explained. 

"I don't mind," he replied. He followed her to the bedroom and put his duffle bag in the corner. The mattress would do considering he'd slept on worse surfaces. As soon as he sat down on it to take off his boots, the hyenas quickly climbed onto it and licked his face. They then pushed at his hands with their snouts, trying to get him to stroke them again. Harley whistled at them and sent them into the next room. 

"Do you have steak on you or something?" she asked through a laugh. 

"I'm just good with animals. Used to be in the circus before I started living with B so I guess they can smell the wild on me," he replied. Nightwing finished taking off his boots and put them to the side. Without them, he revealed that he was actually rather short. A good inch or two shorter than the height Harley had always seen him as. 

"I gotta ask, do I have to keep calling you Nightwing? It's a bit of a mouthful ain't it?" she said. 

"Considering phase 2 of my plan is to announce to the world who I am, I suppose I can let you in on the insider knowledge." She laughed at his dramatic phrasing. He reached up to his domino mask and pulled it off to reveal his sparkling blue eyes. "Call me Dick." She stared at him.

"You're kidding?" she said, barely holding in a laugh.

"Oh haha, my name's Dick. I can guess the next ten jokes you're gonna make."

"Alright Dick, let's get you settled."

Everyone who'd once shunned Dick for his decision was now terrified by his disappearance. Nobody had heard from him and nobody had seen him. Every lead anybody managed to get was now gone. Dick was gone. Until one night someone spotted him. He was sporting a suit similar to his original Nightwing one but now there were slight alterations. Namely the lack of a mask. He wasn't alone either. He was with Harley Quinn. The pair seemed to get along like a house on fire. They were laughing and joking as they slaughtered half of a gang together. Now the whole world knew that Dick Grayson was Nightwing and Nightwing wasn't pulling his punches anymore. Batman was outraged, his sons were no better. The League was fifty-fifty on the subject depending on who you asked. Young Justice actually seemed to like this side of Dick aside from the murder. He was kinda badass. Villains of both Bludhaven and Gotham admittedly felt intimidated. Nightwing was a threat before but now he was a deadly one. To what extent would he go now?