“You’re late,” they’d said as Nightwing had finally decided to show after the emergency phone call from the detective, who was waiting impatiently with the case folder clutched in hand, on the roof of the Gotham Police Department to meet up with him, once again. “Again.”

Being a detective in Gotham wasn’t always easy, especially not with the amount of crime in every corner of practically every alley and dark parts of the streets in the city, but with the help of the vigilantes, more cases were being solved - except if the vigilante in question didn’t show at all. But lucky for them, Nightwing always showed up. Maybe a little later than they had hoped, but he’d be there, they could be sure of it.

Maybe it was because Dick loved his job so much that he’d show up in the dead of night if needed. Or maybe it was because it gave him a reason to see his partner in action - without them knowing their boyfriend is secretly watching them be good at their job.

Which wouldn’t be so bad had they not been talking shit about the ‘annoyingly arrogant’ vigilante to their boyfriend, when they came home after a long, tiring shift working with Nightwing, and in the process, unknowingly badmouthing their boyfriend to his face. But he never minded, he was only amused.

“I had something to finish,” Nightwing said with a shrug, and the usual cocky smirk the detective (and probably most people in Gotham), had seen so often on his lips. Those lips that seemed so oddly familiar to the detective, but couldn’t quite tell why. “I’m only… twelve minutes late, does that even count? Or did you miss me that much?”