CHAPTER 10
THE BED TROPE 2.0

"I know how this looks," Dick breathed out, but Iris hardly registered his words.

She blinked rapidly. For a second, she wondered if this was just the darkness playing tricks on her, creating an image from her own nightmare. I mean, this couldn't be real, right? She would pinch herself, but she couldn't quite move a muscle. His stare had frozen her in place – dark, caramel eyes burning into hers through a black mask. Those were the same eyes that she saw almost every day. The same eyes that once stared at her with such malice, and now looked at her with a little bit of hope. The same eyes she was starting to like.

It was the masked vigilante. It was Batman's partner. It was Robin. It was Dick Grayson.

Dick Grayson – the detective, the dickhead, Iris Kingsley's almost-archenemy – was Robin.

Iris pulled her phone out from her pocket and shined the flashlight in front of her. Dick put his hand out, blocking the light from his eyes. She exhaled heavily, breath filtering out into the cold air. "Are you fucking with me right now?"

"I –" He took a step forward and looked down at his attire. Iris eyed the golden R emblem on his chest, and blood started to crust beneath the stitching. "I really don't know what to say."

"Well, you could start by explaining why the hell you're dressed up as Robin."

Dick shook his head, stalking towards Iris before latching a gloved hand over her arm. "Not right now," he muttered, dragging her back over to the Porsche. For the first time, she let him, simply because she wasn't sure if she could move without his steady grasp. She felt stunned. Not only had she just killed a guy – at least, she assumed she did – but she also just found out her coworker was Batman's sidekick. All in one night.

Why, oh why, was her life now turning into one big clusterfuck?

Dick flung the passenger door open and practically shoved Iris into her seat. He reached over her lap, trying to connect the seatbelt together, but she was already pushing his hands out of the way. "I got it! I got it!" She said harshly. "I'm alright! Just fucking drive!"

He sighed and shut the door. Sprinting towards the other side, Dick jumped into the driver's seat and ripped his mask off. Iris watched sweaty tufts of hair cover his face as he put the car in drive. She swallowed hard, praying to whatever kind of fucking God in this world that her lights wouldn't show up right now. Her hands throbbed slightly, but nothing emerged. She formed her hands into fists and pushed herself back into the seat as Dick launched the car forward.

"Can you answer a serious question for me?" He asked, voice breaking ever so slightly. "Did you kill those guys?"

Iris couldn't look him. She gripped the edges of her seat so tightly that she was sure her knuckles were turning white. This wasn't the first time she had blood on her hands, but it felt different now.

"One," she whispered. "I think."

"You think?"

Iris chewed on her bottom lip. Her knuckles got whiter.

"I think – God! These things are so fucking annoying!" He ripped off the latex gloves that looked like they were practically glued to his hands. Iris noticed that he was increasing speed, running through several red lights. Car horns blew from every direction. "I think you're in danger."

"From what exactly?"

He glanced at her for a moment and took in the growing fear in her eyes. "I don't know." He gripped the wheel tightly, finally coming to a jolting stop at a red light. Iris held onto the window for balance. "That doesn't matter right now. You're staying at my place tonight."

"Absolutely not!" She snapped, whipping her head in his direction. "I need to go home. I need to rest and not think of this. Shower and sleep in my own bed –"

"This is not something you can forget about, Iris!" He slapped the edge of the wheel. "Something is very wrong. You and I know for a fact that that wasn't just some random attack. There were several people. It was orchestrated."

Iris gulped. "They all had the same necklace on too. The stone on it looked like mine, but a lot smaller."

"Someone is tracking you," Dick clarified, tone growing calmer, "and where you live is not safe now. Do you get that? It's important to me that you understand the words coming out of my mouth."

She turned away, wrapping her arms around her torso. Her hands clenched into fists again, and she felt her teeth grind together. This was absolutely ridiculous. She understood the risks of going back home. She wasn't stupid. But Iris was so goddamn tired, and fuck him for simply not letting her fall asleep in the comfort of her own sheets.

I need a cigarette, she thought doubtfully.

"Doesn't matter anyway," he muttered while shifting the gear in park. "We're here."

Iris hadn't even realized he had pulled into a parking garage. She looked out the window at the several story garage, eyes widening as she wondered where the fuck Dick Grayson lived.

"You coming?"

He was waiting for her outside the car already, adorning a long, black coat that successfully hid the Robin attire underneath. Iris knitted her brow together before finally opening her door and sliding out of the passenger seat. She took a moment to walk in a circle, eyeing the moderately expensive cars that littered around the large parking lot. When she noticed Dick walking away, she sprinted to catch up with him.

"This seems like a nice place," she commented, following him inside a small room that opened to an elevator. It looked like it was made from solid steel.

"It's alright," he shrugged, and she wasn't sure if he was just being an asshole or really humble. "It was gifted to me. I don't really like gifts."

Iris arched a brow as she walked inside the elevator. "This was gifted to you?"

"Kind of," he sighed, pressing the button for the eighth floor. "I don't really wanna talk about it."

"Fair," she huffed, though her tone was begging for more. Her eyes flickered to the rows of buttons. There were twenty floors in this building? This was something else entirely compared to her shitbox of an apartment!

After a few short seconds, the elevator doors flew open, revealing a long corridor with only five doors on both sides. Dick led her down to the last door, and Iris almost felt unworthy to have her feet touch the expensive carpet that covered the hallway. He stuck his key in the lock and turned, holding the door wide open for her. She hesitated before walking in, eyes widening at the sight before her.

His apartment was huge. Maybe a little dysfunctional, but huge nonetheless. A large windowpane covered the entire wall on her left, drawing her in with a perfect view of the Detroit city lights at night. His kitchen was big, taking up most of the space in the first room, while the living area was placed in back of that. A long corridor stretched down to reveal multiple other rooms right next to the kitchen. Beside the door, Iris noticed he made a little workout alcove. She circled around the punching bag and plucked an R-shaped dart from the surface.

She held it out between two fingers, and he took it quickly, stuffing it inside the inside pocket of his coat. "Sorry," he whispered.

"I don't care," she replied, approaching the large window. Iris marveled at the blinking lights of the city like it was the last thing she'd ever see. "This is so amazing. Why don't you like it here?"

He plunged his hands inside the front pockets of his coat. They were inches away when he stood beside her. "I never said I didn't like it here."

"You didn't have to." She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head slightly. "I'm an observer."

Dick licked his lips, taking a moment to stare at her before walking off. She almost didn't want to take her eyes off the view, but she turned her head at the right time to see him flagging her over with a wave of his hand. "Follow me."

With a swift nod, Iris shadowed his steps down the long hallway. There were about three doors down this way. One: a large bathroom. Two: some sort of linen cellar that it didn't look like he used. And three: the master bedroom. Iris lingered by the doorframe, taking in the large room with bright, wide eyes. The master even came with its own bathroom. It was covered wall-to-wall in black curtains, shielding them from the world, while a big ol' California King sat in the middle, adorned in messy blue sheets.

"Sorry, again," he said, running over to the mattress and fixing the comforter. Iris finally noticed his presence when he spoke. "I didn't expect anyone to come over tonight."

She ignored his apology, and instead walked over to the large bed to plop herself down on it. Iris smiled while running her hands down the soft sheets. "Egyptian cotton," she noted with a grin, and fell back onto the bed, releasing a content sigh. "Maybe this is better than my own bed."

When she lifted her head, she realized he was standing several feet away, hesitating by the long curtain that hung from the ceiling. He shrugged, "It's alright."

Iris raised a brow. "Are you trying to be humble? Most people would kill for a place like this, Dick."

He shrugged again. The gesture was starting to annoy her.

"Well," she huffed, getting to her feet. "It doesn't matter. I'll go take the couch. I don't doubt that it's just as comfortable as this mattress."

She turned on her heel to walk out the bedroom, but Dick was suddenly speeding towards her, clamping a hand on her shoulder. "Iris," he sighed, as if her name was a prayer, flowing off the tip of his tongue. She looked over at the hand that rested on her. "Take the bed, okay? It's no big deal."

"Are we really having this argument again?" She exhaled. "It's getting kind of old."

Dick slid his hand off, but his stance still remained.

Iris frowned, "You've already taken the couch once."

"I'm just a couch kind of guy."

"Did Batman let you sleep on his couch too?"

Dick furrowed his brow. "That literally has nothing to do with this."

She rolled her eyes, glancing back over at the mattress. It looked so comfortable, and all she wanted was to shut her eyes for the rest of the night. Rubbing at her lids, Iris viewed back at him and pointed over to the large bed. "Just sleep on the other side. The bed's big enough to fit three people. It doesn't matter to me."

Dick shook his head, chuckling under his breath. Iris knitted her thick brows together, wondering why he was laughing at her, but he beat her to it. "Why are you so stubborn when I'm just trying to be nice?"

"Stop deflecting," she scoffed, padding over to the California King. Iris ripped off her boots and jacket before flipping the covers over.

"Don't you want – I don't know –" He looked around the room. "A different pair of clothes to wear? You really want to sleep in dress pants and a sweater?"

She placed her hands on her hips. "You know what I want, babe? To sleep." Iris jumped up and settled herself into the sheets. It didn't take her long to curl the warm comforter around her freezing body. "Goodnight."

Dick laughed again before flipping the light switch and enveloping the room in a blanket of darkness. He strode towards the master bathroom and shut the door, but light still leaked from below the door. Iris didn't mind. She simply smiled and buried herself into the pillow, inhaling the sweet scent that lingered on the sheets. For a moment, she wondered why the smell was so familiar, and then she remembered that she was sleeping in her coworker's bed and how this might be wrong on so many levels, but she didn't really care all that much.

The scent was memorable. It smelt musky with a hint of sweetness, like ripe apples – the forbidden fruit. It smelt like home.

Eventually, Dick retreated from the bathroom and padded his feet towards the edge of the bed. She felt the weight of his body sink down on the mattress. For a mere second, Iris cracked one eye open and looked over her shoulder at him. He sighed and rubbed at his eyelids before pulling at the collar of his t-shirt in irritation. She hardly saw him in anything but a suit. When Iris noticed he was turning to look at her, she pressed herself back into the pillow again, shutting her eyes immediately. Dick smiled softly and fell onto the pillows on the far side of the bed.

Iris swallowed hard. The size of a California King was truly mystifying, and although there was a huge distance between both of them, she had never felt closer, as if they were sleeping cheek-to-cheek. Iris flipped onto her back, turning her head to look at him again. His spine was facing her.

"Dick," she called, frustration leaking from her tone, "you're going to tell me more about the Robin stuff tomorrow, right?"

"Yes," he groaned. "Goodnight, Iris."

She was asleep within minutes, sinking deep into the comfort of his sheets. Dick waited until he heard her snores to finally shut his eyes. He needed to know she was okay before he could rest.

•••

A/N: omg I know this is posting later than usual 😪 legit don't know how I forgot to post this???