Double Date with Nightwing and Starfire

Just as she said she would, Kara set up the double date with Dick, who according to her was excited about the idea. After a bit of back and forth they eventually decided that we would hang out at the Metropolis Boardwalk for a night of good old amusement park fun. Honestly I was just relieved we weren't going back to Gotham, though from what Kara told me his actual stomping ground was Bludhaven, which might be the one city in America that was even more dangerous than Gotham. So yeah, staying in Metropolis was the right call in my opinion.

Fears of cities without a Superman aside, I was pretty nervous in the days leading up to the date. Other than Kara and Diana, the only two superheroes I had met in the past were Wally and Barbara, both of whom had been pretty weirded out by Kara's behavior towards me. Given that we hadn't been on a 'date' with other people since (not counting Diana), I was understandably of a repeat of that experience. I was able to calm down a little by reminding myself that back then we had only been together for about a day. Now that we were dating for about two months her lovey-dovey behavior towards me should be seen as more normal.

Still, I couldn't help but fidget nervously in Kara's arms on the flight over to the boardwalk. And as we were walking up to the park entrance, Kara gave my hand a reaffirming squeeze, "It'll be okay, Charlie. Just try to have fun tonight and the rest will come naturally."

"Easier said than done," I muttered.

Kara leaned in, her other hand drifting suggestively close to my crotch as she whispered in my ear, "Well if you need a little bit of help relaxing, we can find somewhere a bit more secluded and..."

"There they are! Hey Kara!"

Kara quickly pulled back with a blush, and we turned toward the source of the interruption. Another couple was approaching us. The man, who I had assumed was the one who yelled judging from the voice I heard, was the definition of tall, dark, and handsome, well-built, and wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. Normally a guy like him would turn heads, but he paled in comparison to his date. She was even taller than he was, with long red hair, bright orange skin, and eyes so green that from afar they looked like solid green orbs. She was dressed in a similarly casual manner, though her white shirt was short enough to show off her belly, and the sparkly pink Japanese kanji printed across the chest only drew more attention to how she seemed to have gained a cup size or two since her teen years.

"Hey guys!" Kara said with a smile, "Glad you could make it! This is Charlie, my boyfriend!"

I felt her hand on my back not-so-subtly pushing me forward. Taking the hint, I said, "Uh, hi."

"Nice to meet you," the guy said, shaking my hand, "Dick Grayson. And this is Kori, though you probably know her better as Starfire."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Charlie," Starfire said with a smile.

"Y-Yeah, likewise," I said, "It's an honor to meet you- er, both of you! I used to be a fan of you two back in the day."

"Oh, no wonder you look so nervous!" To my surprise, I was pulled into a very strong hug by the alien girl, "Do not worry, I love spending time with my fans, especially one as cute as you!"

"I think he'd be cuter if he could breathe," Dick joked.

"Oops," Starfire said, letting me go, "I am sorry, Charlie. I should have asked if it was okay to hug you first."

"You'll have to forgive Star," Dick said as I was catching my breath, "She tends to be overly friendly with people she likes, especially when she's 'off the clock'."

"It's... it's fine," I said, "I'm used to being bear-hugged at this point."

Starfire giggled, "I like this one! You are a very lucky woman, Kara."

"Yeah, I know," Kara said with a grin.

Starfire gave one back, then announced, "Now that the introductions are out of the way, let us commence with the double date!"

As Starfire started to walk up to the ticket booth, I realized something, "Um, Starfire- I mean Kori..."

"You can call me Starfire if you want," she said, "Almost everyone does."

"Good to know, but aren't you going to do something about, um... ugh, there's no easy way to say this... your appearance?"

Starfire tilted her head slightly, then looked down at her outfit, "I do not understand. Am I not dressed appropriately for a night out?"

"That's not what I meant," I said, "I mean, shouldn't you be trying looking a little more... you know..."

Seeing me floundering and possibly about to say something racist, Kara quickly came to my rescue, "I think what Charlie's trying to ask is, aren't you worried about being recognized?"

"You are talking about the 'secret identity' thing, correct?" Starfire asked. When I responded with a nod, she clarified, "I do not have one of those. While I understand why other heroes might see it as necessary, I have no need to hide who I am from others, and do not wish to do so."

"Yeah, the closest she's got to an alternate identity is an 'Earth name' she uses sometimes," Dick said, making quotes with his fingers, "It's made it complicated to explain to people why she's dating Dick Grayson instead of a superhero like Nightwing, but we manage. I think the most prevalent theory online right now is that she's dating me for the money."

"The money?" I asked, before realizing I heard his name before, "Wait, you're that Dick Grayson?"

"You've heard of me?" Dick asked.

"Yeah, weren't you that orphan kid Bruce Wayne adopted? I remember it being all over the news when it first happened."

Dick sighed, "Yup, that's me. And here I was thinking you were a circus fan..."

"Nope," I said, before adding, "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, not a lot of people are," he said with a dismissive wave of the hand, "My bruised ego will heal with a nice mouthful of cotton candy. Shall we?"

As Dick and Starfire went in ahead of us, I whispered to Kara, "I'm bombing so hard here. I don't know if I can do this."

"Yes you can! It's only the start of the night," Kara whispered back, "Focus on having a good time, and don't overthink it."

Taking Kara's advice turned out to be the right call, as once we got in and started checking out the attractions, the fairground atmosphere helped make things feel more normal. Before I knew it, I was competing with Dick at a ring toss for an oversized stuffed bear. And unsurprisingly, I was losing.

"Come on, come on, come on..." I muttered under my breath as I aimed my last ring towards the bottle. When I inevitably missed it, I shouted, "Dammit!"

"Hey, you got one of them at least," the attendant said with a shrug, handing me a small clip-on key-chain.

"Alright, my turn," Dick said, rolling his shoulder in preparation, "Let me show you how it's done."

I stepped back to allow Dick to take his turn, making my way to Kara and handing her the key-chain. "Not really a stuffed bear, but if you want it..."

Kara took it eagerly, smiling as she looked it over like I gave her a diamond, "Aww, that's sweet of you Charlie! Thank you! I'll look around and see if I can return the favor."

"Oh, you don't have to do- aaaaand she's gone."

I sighed, watching as Kara ran off to find another game. Turning back towards the ring toss, I watched as Dick threw ring after ring around the bottles with perfect accuracy, to the amazement of the attendant and some curious onlookers. As he made his way through the bottles, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my neck and hair brush against my cheek. Thinking it was Kara having given up on her search, I placed my own hand over hers and looked over, only to see Starfire resting her chin on my shoulder.

"He is very good at the ring toss," she asked, watching Dick as he started doing trick shots for the crowd.

"Uh, y-yeah," I stammered, suddenly feeling very hot.

"Dick Grayson is talented in so many things," she continued, "Ring toss, combat, leadership, lovemaking... I consider myself quite lucky that he shares the feelings I have for him. I am sure Kara feels the same about you."

"Well, um... I don't exactly have those... those talents," I admitted, doing my best not to completely short-circuit mentally, "Or that body."

"Yes, he does have a much tighter butt than you," she said bluntly, "But do not, as they say, sell yourself short. Your body has its own appeals."

She took a long, deep breath, her eyelids fluttering as she did so. Before I could ask her what she meant by that, we were both snapped back to reality by the attendant of the ring toss shouting, "I can't believe it! A perfect game! Here's your prize, sir!"

Starfire gracefully slinked off of me and towards Dick, who was being handed a ludicrously gigantic stuffed bear. Once he saw her approaching, he held it out to her with a slight bow, "Milady, this is for you."

Starfire squealed as she took it from him, then set it aside so she could pull him in for a deep kiss, an action that was met with hoots and cheers from the audience around them. Still feeling rather awkward about what just happened, I looked around for Kara, and found her a little ways off waiting in line for one of those 'Test Your Strength' things. I made my way over to her just as it was getting to be her turn.

"Alright young lady, you know how this works," I heard the attendant tell her, "Hit the bell, get a prize!"

Seeing me approaching, Kara gave me a sly wink, then turned to the attendant with a pout, "I don't know... that mallet looks pretty heavy."

Kara took the wooden mallet that was over half her size and made a show of dragging it over to the target as if she could barely carry it. She paused for a brief moment, adjusting her glasses and sized up the target, then gave a few false starts at lifting the mallet. Just as the attendant looked like he was going to step in and try to help, she swung it over her head in one fluid motion, slamming it into the target and sending the ball all the way to the top, hitting the bell with a loud 'DING'!

Stunned, the attendant wordlessly handed Kara the stuffed elephant, and with a grin she skipped over to be and pushed it into my arms, "Here you go!"

"Thanks," I said, "Though I think your performance was the real prize."

"Eh, I thought she was overselling it," Dick said, coming up behind me with Starfire, "Those mallets aren't as heavy as they look."

Kara stuck her tongue out at Dick, "Spoilsport. Anyway, how about we hit the Ferris Wheel next?"

"That sounds like fun!" Starfire said, "But can we get some pizza first? There is a stand selling some on the way to the Wheel."

"Sounds like a plan to me," I said, and Dick nodded in agreement.

The four of us made our way to the pizza stand, but as we were about to get in line Dick gestured for me to hang back. Curious, I did, letting the girls be the ones to retrieve our pizza.

"Hey," Dick said with a slight frown, "Were you and Kori getting handsy with each other behind my back earlier?"

The blood rushed out of my face, and I stammered, "Um, well... she was... I mean... it wasn't anything..."

He laughed and playfully elbowed me in the side, "Relax, I'm just messing with you. Believe me, I know how strange her behavior might be when you're first getting to know her. The first time I met her, she didn't say a word to me. Just yanked me in by the collar and kissed me, with full tongue."

I stared at him, bug-eyed, "Seriously?"

He nodded, "Yep. Turns out that's how her species learns new languages. Course I didn't know that at the time, so the whole thing came as quite a shock to poor teenage me. And even with that head start, it took her time to learn all the nuances of English. And the cultural differences between Earth and her home planet are huge, especially with how much more open emotionally her people are. But as time passed and we got to know each other, we were able to bridge all of those gaps and become great friends, and eventually even more than that. She's still got her quirks, like that for example..."

He gestured towards Starfire, who was currently squirting a large bottle of yellow mustard over her slice of pizza.

"But they're just more unique things for me to love about her. And if we can do it, so can you and Kara."

I blinked, "Whoa... well, uh, thanks, but where's all this come from?"

"Please, I can tell what this date is really all about," he said, "Kara's got plenty of other friends, ones she's closer to, that she could have done this with. Asking Kori and I, an alien girl and a normal human, to go on a double date with her and you, another alien girl and normal human, is her way of trying to put your mind at ease about being her boyfriend."

Well, not exactly, I thought, but what he was saying was still hitting a bit close to home. "I mean, when it's just us, I already am. It's when all this other stuff comes up that I'm reminded about how crazy it is that I'm with her."

Dick put his hand on my shoulder, "Take it from someone who's been in your shoes already: don't overthink it. Yes, the relationship you find yourself in may feel unbelievable sometimes, but obsessing over the 'why' is only going to lead to you overcompensating and screwing things up. Just do what you can to make her happy, and be the partner that can help her out when things get rough. You think you can at least pull that off?"

"...Yeah, I think I can do that," I said.

"Then you're golden," he said with a pat on the back, "Keep being a good friend to her, and the rest will sort itself out."

At this point Kara and Starfire returned with two plates of pizza each.

"Hey! Got your pizza!" Kara said, handing me my slice of pepperoni, "Looks like you two are starting to really get along."

"You could say that," I told her with a smile, "Though I'm thinking maybe we should have spent a bit more time finding a table."

"You do not need a table to enjoy pizza, Charlie," Starfire said, biting into her mustard pizza with a satisfied smile.

I shrugged, "You got a point there. Bon appetit!"

Just as I was about to bite into my own pizza though, I felt another hand firmly grip my shoulder.

"Excuse me," a man's voice said from behind me, "I'm going to have to ask you come with me."

Looking behind me, I saw a tall blonde man with cold green eyes staring down at me authoritatively. From the dark blue windbreaker he was wearing, I assumed he was security at first, but I didn't see any kind of tag on him saying such.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"We've had some complaints about you," he said, before repeating, "You're going to have to come with me."

"Hey, back off," Kara snapped at him, "He didn't do anything wrong."

"That remains to be seen," the man said, looking over at her, "I need to speak with him alone about the situation. It will only take a few minutes."

Something about this was starting to feel very weird, and I could tell that Dick and Starfire were starting to pick up on it as well.

"The hell you will!" Kara yelled, reaching out to grab the hand on my shoulder, "Let go of him!"

In an instant, the man used his free arm to backhand Kara across the face. To my shock and horror, the hit was enough to send Kara flying through the air. She crashed into the nearby shooting gallery stand, knocking over the attendant and breaking through the flimsy cardboard targets to hit the back wall.

This sent the people near us into a panic, a feeling I was very much beginning to share. Dick ran off in the direction Kara had been launched, and Starfire raised her fists, which started glowing with a bright green energy.

I suddenly felt a very strong arm press itself against my torso, and a hand tightly grip the back of my head as I was held up to act as a human shield.

"Ah ah ah! Hands down and lights off, hero," the man said, his voice now taking on a metallic reverb, "You make a move against me, and I'll crack this guy's skull open like an egg."

Starfire held her stance for a brief moment, and the fingers on the back of my head started digging in painfully. Seeing me grit my teeth trying not to yell, Starfire relented and dropped her arms to her sides.

"Good girl," he said, before shouting loudly for everyone to hear, which made the reverb even more intense, "Now here's how this is going to go down! I'm taking this fellow here somewhere nice and quiet, away from any 'accidental casualties', and we're going to wait for a certain girl who's just a bit more super than Ms. Tangerine here, if you get my drift! If anyone else shows up, hero or cop, they'll be cleaning his brains off the sidewalk! You hear me?!?"

"...Yes," Starfire growled, before adding, "Stay calm, Charlie, Everything is going-"

I didn't get to hear the rest of her reassurance, as I was picked up like a football by this man, or whatever he was, and he took off at a superhuman speed, leaping over any obstacles in his path with incredibly high jumps. I was absolutely terrified, and it's possible I even peed myself, but my brain was cognizant enough to realize what was happening. I was being taken hostage by a supervillain as bait to draw in Supergirl, and that could only mean one of two things.

Either this was the craziest coincidence in the history of coincidences, or this guy somehow figured out that I was Supergirl's boyfriend. And if he knows that, Supergirl may not have a secret identity for much longer.