Siren's Song

DISCLAIMER: With the exception of my original characters, those appearing in this story are not mine, no harm intended, no profit made.
Author's Note: A new fandom for me, though I’ve been in love with Batman since I was a kid and Green Arrow for about two years now. Hope you like and, as always, feedback would be most welcome!

All of my stories can be found under the files section of my group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dimensions_of_Dhvana/

Siren’s Song


“Did anyone ever tell you you fight like a girl?”

“Did anyone ever tell you you have a death wish?” came the growled response.

“Are you going to hit that Orc or just stand there making eyes at him?”

“Keep your shirt on--I’m getting there.”

“Do you want to get there a little faster? Some of us have other things to do tonight.”

“Like what?” Dick grinned.

“We’ll never find out because that Orc’s going to--damnit, Dick! Very nicely done--now you’re dead!”

“Sorry,” he shrugged, tossing the control aside. “And language!”

“Sorry, and language, my ass! You’ve just destroyed all the hope of Men on Middle Earth.”

“Maybe if you’d wanted to play the King, they’d still have a chance.”

“I like Legolas better,” Tim said, finishing off the last of the Orcs with a couple of well-placed arrows. “He’s much cooler than Aragorn.”

“Then don’t complain if Middle Earth falls,” Dick said, rising to his feet and stretching, reaching towards the air.

His long body was stiff from sitting hunched over on the floor in front of the television for too long, but he wasn’t going to complain. He’d promised Tim twenty-four hours with just the two of them doing whatever it was Tim wanted to do, and as Bruce had banned any sort of video games from the Manor, video games had occupied most of their day. They’d started at the arcade, then watched a movie based on a video game, and then they’d ended up sitting in front of the Playstation trying to defend Middle Earth from the forces of darkness.

“You’re not giving up now, are you?” Tim asked, and Dick grinned.

“Give me a break, little brother. At this rate, I’m not going to be able to walk tomorrow.”

“Getting out of shape?” Tim smirked, and Dick glared at him.

“Not likely, just tired of sitting. Besides, pizza should be here in a few minutes. We can save Middle Earth after we’ve eaten.”

“We can try,” Tim smirked and Dick stuck his tongue out at him.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and both their stomachs jumped with anticipation. Grabbing the money from the table, Dick went to answer the door and was caught by surprise when he was met with a strong arm around his waist and eager lips on his.

He considered fighting it for a moment, but the lips tasted far too good, and he gave himself over to the pleasure of the mouth devouring his. When they finally broke apart, he couldn’t help feeling a little dizzy.

“Hi,” the lips said under a pair of sparkling green eyes. “I know you said you weren’t free tonight, but I thought I’d try my luck, just in case.”

“Will,” Dick said, still a little breathless as he tried to think of a way out of his boyfriend’s arms without offending him.

“Dick?” Tim called from the living room and Will arched an eyebrow at his boyfriend.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you weren’t alone.”

“Will, it’s not—”

“Dick,” Tim said as he approached, mischief twinkling in his gaze as he appraised the situation. He slid an arm around his brother’s waist and snuggled against him. “What’s keeping you?”

Will’s eyes instantly hardened at the possessive grip of the younger man, and Dick glared at Tim, unwrapping himself from his brother.

“Have I mentioned ‘death wish’?” he snarled, and Tim grinned.

“Just a couple of times.”

“And don’t you forget it. Will,” Dick said, wrapping his arms around the other man, “this is my kid brother, Tim Drake, who’s under the mistaken impression he has a sense of humor. Tim, this is Will Wyatt, who has too good a heart to strangle you as you deserve.”

“Nice to meet you,” Tim said, holding out his hand, and Will took it.

“Pleasure’s all yours,” he answered, though the humor in his eyes took the bite out of his words, and Tim chuckled.

“So, are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to come in? And can I have one of those?”

Dick glanced down at Will’s free hand to see he was carrying a twelve pack of beer. He immediately snapped “No!” to his brother’s question, then turned to his boyfriend.

“The thing is, Will, I promised Tim today would be spent with just the two of us. You know, so he doesn’t feel neglected and he at least has one good influence in his life.”

“Like I don’t have enough of those,” Tim muttered. “And I don’t mind if Will stays. It was getting boring watching you get your ass kicked on the game.”

“You think Will’s any better?”

“Depends,” Will said, walking inside as Dick closed the door, “what game?”

“We were playing The Two Towers,” Dick said, a smile on his face as he took the beer and headed towards the kitchen.

“He sucks at that, doesn’t he?” Will said to Tim, and they both laughed at the resulting sound of protest from Dick.

“You any better?” Tim challenged, and Will met his eyes.

“Wanna find out?”

Tim grinned and tossed him the control Dick had been using. Dick flung himself on the sofa, beer in hand, watching as the two fought their way through the perils of Middle Earth with a grin on his face. He knew Tim had always been particularly accepting of his sexuality, but he’d never had a chance to introduce any of his boyfriends to his younger brother.

But then, he’d never really had a boyfriend before Will. Lovers, yes, but not a boyfriend. A boyfriend implied longevity, permanence, solidity. A boyfriend implied healing, forgetting, accepting. Lovers. . . lovers were only for release, quick, painless, and easily discarded.

Will was not to be discarded.

Dick had known that the moment he’d laid eyes on Will, the contractor with the lean, muscular build, a dancer’s body that was agile, limber, and could keep up with even a circus performer like him. Will’s eyes were warm, his smile comforting, his arms strong, and Dick could feel the love in him he only wished he could return.

Maybe one day.

After all, that’s what having a boyfriend was all about, feeling loved and being able to return that love--a lesson he wished at least one person would have learned.

But Dick refused to think about. . . him. There was no point in even trying to pretend things would have worked out differently if he’d stayed. There was no changing Bruce, no matter how they might feel.

“Dick, please?” Tim asked, eyes wide and pleading as they sat around the cardboard box eating pizza and downing beers. Soda, for the teenager, but Tim was trying to worm his way out of that.

“No.”

“Please?”

“I said no.”

“Why not?”

“First off, Bruce would have my head. Second, I’m a cop. How would it look if I got caught with an underage drinker in my apartment?”

“I won’t tell your boss, and I’m certainly not going to tell Bruce.”

“And that would keep him from knowing?”

“If I could insert a comment in here,” Will said, a slice of pizza raised halfway in the air, “when I was curious about alcohol and wanted to see what it was like, my folks insisted that I stay at home and drink--just once. They said they’d rather have me drinking where they could keep an eye on me than have me go out drinking with someone I might not be able to trust or end up driving home drunk because I was too afraid of their reaction to call and ask for a ride.”

Tim’s eyes lit up as he gave Dick a triumphant smile. “See? He’s on my side. I can tell,” he said, turning to Will, “that we’re going to be great friends. In fact, you’re well on your way to becoming my new brother, whether Dick likes it or not.”

“You,” Dick growled at his boyfriend, “aren’t helping. And you,” he said to his little brother, “can have one--and only one, but if he finds out, it’s your head.”

“Deal,” Tim grinned, grabbing a beer. He used his shirt to twist the cap off and downed half the bottle at once. Seeing the suspicious looks pointed towards him, he lowered the bottle and pretended to cough a couple of times. “Eww. Gross. Can’t understand why you drink this stuff. Nasty liquid. Much prefer soda.”

Dick rolled his eyes. “Right. Just. . . don’t give me the details. I’m not sure I want to know. And if I ever hear about you doing it again, I’m turning you over to Bruce.”

“Yes, big brother,” he grinned and finished off the beer, reaching for a second. Will gave his boyfriend a sharp look and Dick shrugged.

“Like you said, I’d rather have him drinking here where I can keep an eye on him. But that is the last one.”

“Sure it is,” Tim said with the self-assurance typical of a teenager who knows he’s being spoiled out of guilt spawned by lack of attention. “Ready to get your butt kicked again?”

Will glanced at Dick, then looked back at Tim. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ve got an early day tomorrow, and I should probably be heading out.”

“Dick, do you always make Will drive home this late at night?”

“Well, I. . . that is. . .”

“I didn’t think so. Will, you can stay and play another game, and then the two of you can go curl up in bed together while I sleep on the sofa. However, if I hear a single sound that might possibly have to do with the exchange of bodily fluids, I’m kicking you both out.”

Will and Dick laughed their agreement to Tim’s proposal as the young man wolfed down a final piece of pizza and started a new game, handing the second control over to Will. Dick picked up a book and tried to concentrate on the words while keeping one eye on the pair. His heart was bursting with love and pride for his little brother, and for his boyfriend. In that moment, he considered himself the luckiest man alive to have Tim in his life, who was so accepting, and to have Will, who was so worthy of that acceptance.

Even so, Dick still couldn’t resist teasing his little brother later that night by deliberately bouncing on the bed and making the springs squeak until the young man threatened to castrate them both.




Batman’s eyes narrowed as he focused the binoculars on the front of the jewelry store, adjusting the lenses until he could see inside. Glass was flying everywhere as a dozen men smashed the cases containing the sparkling gems and other treasures. They shoved the contents into bags, their eyes blank, their faces determined, with not a word said between them.

He frowned as he studied the thieves and their quiet robbery--something about them didn’t add up. From appearance alone, the men didn’t seem to have anything in common. The youngest was around nineteen, the oldest somewhere in his late sixties. A couple were dressed as businessmen, a couple as your common street thugs, and one looked like he’d been plucked off the street while jogging. They were of different races, different body types, different personalities. It didn’t make sense why they would all be working together.

Finally, late enough that Batman was sure whoever had done their security system was doomed to a huge lawsuit, bells began to sound from the trashed jewelry store. With the alarm ringing in their ears, the men appeared to grow confused and began to pile out of the store, each one blinking as if they’d suddenly stepped into midday light, even though it was nearing two in the morning. They stared at each other and at the bags in their hands, recognizing nothing. They looked as though they were about to run when a sound filled the air.

It took Batman a few seconds to locate the source and then he focused his binoculars on the iridescent figure gliding across the roof of the building in front of the store. The sound was coming from a woman with hair as pale as sea-foam and dressed in a light blue body suit that looked to have been painted on. As he watched, she raised her voice, her song filling the night air. Batman concentrated on the sound, but didn’t recognize the language and couldn’t tell if the song had any words at all. She could have just been singing random notes and it wouldn’t have mattered to the thieves below. The men’s faces lost their bewilderment and became blank slates once more. Clutching the bags tight in their hands, they began heading off down the street.

Batman had seen enough. It didn’t matter who the men were or even who the woman was. He’d just have to capture them all and leave it to the police to sort things out.

Standing up, he focused once more on the woman, a muscle in his jaw twitching with surprise as he found a pair of shimmering eyes the color of the Caribbean looking directly at him. The woman smiled, blew him a kiss, and that was when he heard the sound of a shoe scraping across the blacktop behind him.

He’d let himself become too focused on the scene in front of him that he hadn’t spared enough of his awareness for what might be happening elsewhere.

A beginner’s mistake, he scolded himself as he turned to face the six hulking men. And a good thing Robin hadn’t been around, or he’d never hear the end of it.

The men didn’t make the mistake of so many criminals and wait to attack him one at a time. If he’d had time to analyze the situation, he’d say that they weren’t even thinking at all. They just jumped on him, fists and feet and--did one of the bastards just try to bite him? Now that ticked him off. Were they aware of just how many germs resided inside the human mouth?

He fought them off as best he could but couldn’t help feeling a bit like a tenderized piece of meat by the time he’d managed to subdue them all. And of course, the mystery woman and her gang of thieves had vanished. Grunting slightly at the bruises he could already feel developing, he handed the thugs over to the cops, told them what he knew about the robbery, and made his way home.

It was bad enough having to face Alfred like this, Bruce thought as he eased his way upstairs, his fatherly retainer following behind with ice packs and a numbing salve. As Alfred tsked over the darkening bruises, he again considered himself fortunate that Tim wasn’t there to witness his cautious movement across his bedroom.

He was even more thankful Dick couldn’t see him.

Damn, Bruce sighed as he eased himself into the Jacuzzi. He’d actually almost managed to make it through an entire night without thinking about him.

Almost.

He always almost made it, but there were some parts of him even he couldn’t control. There were some parts he didn’t want to control. It eased his mind to think about Dick, even though it did little to ease the tension in his body. Just knowing he was out there seemed to make his life a little more bearable.

Closing his eyes, Bruce relaxed into the warmth of the massaging jets and absently wondered how they were doing, if they were talking about him.

If he was thinking about him.

He shook his head, forcing the idea from his mind. It didn’t matter. Dick could spend every minute of his day thinking about him, or not spare him a second at all. It wouldn’t change things. They’d made their mistakes, and now they were both forced to live with them.




“Hey Dick, get a move on!” Tim yelled above the running water of the shower as he walked into the bathroom to take a leak. “I’ve got to get home or Bruce will ground me.”

“Be just a minute,” Dick answered, his voice sounding oddly strained.

“Did Will leave already? I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.”

“Bye!”

Tim paused in washing his hands, his head turning slowly--ever so slowly--towards the shower curtain, grateful that it wasn’t transparent. “I warned you two. . .”

“You told us not in the bed,” countered Dick, clearly trying not to laugh. “You never said anything about the shower.”

“It was implied!”

“You need to be more specific next time.”

“There’s not going to be a next time! And I hope you’re happy. I’m now scarred for life.”

“Then my job is complete,” Dick said, giving way to his merriment as the bathroom door slammed shut.

“Think he’ll ever speak to me again?” Will asked, his hands sliding over the soapy skin of his chuckling lover.

“Yeah. If he stops talking to anyone, it’ll be me,” Dick said, wrapping a hand around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss.

“Okay,” Will grinned. “I can live with that.”

“Good,” Dick said, turning Will around so he was facing the wall. “But I’m sorry--he’s right in that I do have to hurry.”

“I know,” he said, spreading his legs to give Dick better access, then arched his head to look at him with sly green eyes. “So hurry.”

Dick gave him a wolfish smile and graciously complied.




“You coming in?” Tim asked as they pulled up in front of the Manor.

The morning’s afterglow having faded, Dick eyed the looming house, a flutter of apprehension making its usual appearance in his stomach. “I don’t think so.”

“Look,” Tim sighed, the sound filled with the annoyance he wasn’t trying very hard to hide, “you don’t have to see Bruce, but the least you can do is say hi to Alfred. He deserves that much.”

“More,” Dick said, feeling guilty about how much he owed Alfred and how he couldn’t even make time for a decent conversation because he was too busy avoiding Bruce.

“Please? It would really make his day if he got to see you. After all, it’s been a really really really long time.”

Dick looked into the accusing blue eyes of his brother and sighed, turning off the bike. “Just for a few minutes. I wanted to fit in a workout before heading off to the station.”

“You can do that here,” Tim said with a brilliant smile as he grabbed onto Dick’s arm and dragged him inside. “We’ve got a state-of-the-art gym, and I could really use someone to train with who won’t criticize my every move.”

“Just for that, I’ll make sure to nitpick every little thing you do.”

“Brat,” Tim muttered as he opened the door.

“Isn’t that my line?”

“Not when you’re the one being a brat,” he said, then raised his voice. “Alfred! It’s me!”

“I always got yelled at for hollering in the Manor,” Dick muttered, stepping over the threshold and onto the marble floor. His left foot hesitated as if reconsidering whether or not it wanted to join the right one inside, but he took a deep breath and dragged it in after him. No point in turning back now.

“Good morning, Master Tim--Master Dick!”

Again the guilt whacked him across the head at the delight in Alfred’s eyes, and he couldn’t resist going over to the old man and wrapping his arms around him in a huge hug. “Hi Alfred.”

“Goodness, Master Dick, is everything all right?”

“Wonderful,” he said, easing up just a little to smile at him, noting with concern the added lines to the elderly face. “Just missed you, is all.”

“And I’ve missed you,” Alfred smiled. “It’s good to see you again, Master Dick. Now, would you like some breakfast?” The earnest eyes glanced over him, a slight admonishment appearing in his gaze. “You clearly haven’t been eating enough.”

“That’s a great idea,” Tim said, his hand on the railing of the staircase as he started on his way upstairs. “You two should go, fix me some breakfast, catch up--I’m sure you have tons to talk about. And Dick, you should definitely tell Alfred all about Will.”

Dick shot his brother an evil glare as Tim raced up the stairs.

“Will?”

A slight flush creeping up his face, Dick turned to Alfred with a shy but smug smile. “My boyfriend.”

“Your boyfriend? Why, Master Dick, that’s wonderful!” he said, guiding the younger man towards the kitchen. “Tim was right--you must tell me all about him. Over breakfast.”




Tim watched from around the corner as Alfred led Dick away, not bothering to keep the jaw-aching grin from his face when he turned and headed down the hall towards the master bedroom.

Must have been a rough night if Bruce was still asleep, he thought, tiptoeing towards the closed door. He knew that if anything had been seriously wrong, Bruce would have called him, but he still couldn’t help feeling a little left out.

“Bruce?” He softly opened the door and peered inside. The bed was empty and perfectly made, as if no one had slept there at all.

“Did you want something, Tim?”

He jumped a little as Bruce approached from the bathroom. Damnit! How did he do that? Tim had been trying for years to walk without noise, and every time he thought he was making progress, he just needed to be around Bruce to realize he had miles to go.

“Just wanted to stop in, say hi, see how last night went.”

“We’ve got company in town I’ll have to brief you on, but otherwise, last night was fine. How was yours?”

“Great. Dick and I had a blast! He let me do all the things you never do. I wish we could spend more time together--I miss having him around.”

Bruce didn’t respond to that, but he didn’t have to. There were times when Tim could read the code in the tic above Bruce’s right eye, and the code more often than not was screaming about Dick.

“If you want to see him, he’s downstairs talking to Alfred, briefing him on the b-f. We’re going to train for a bit before he has to head off to work, but first, I need to call dad, let him know my plans for the day.”

Tim ducked out of the room, but paused when Bruce’s voice caught him.

“Tim, what’s a ‘b-f’?”

“Boyfriend.”

There was no response and Tim grinned as he continued down the hall. Now there was a silence that required no interpretation, and he couldn’t wait to see what Bruce would do about it.


[Completed April 3, 2004]