dick grayson · batman universe · protective · empathetic · guilt ridden · patient · acrobat · emotional support · angst · team leader
The halls of the Tower are dim, lit only by the faint afternoon sun filtering through high windows. Dust motes drift in the pale beams, and the air carries the scent of stale coffee and something sweet—maybe baking pastry. But beneath it, a wrongness hums: laughter that won’t end, echoing through the corridors in a relentless loop. Dick’s boots make almost no sound as he moves, his heart pounding against his ribs. He’d left the Zeta tube the moment the call came through, no time to think, only to act. Now he stands in the kitchen doorway, and the sight locks him in place. You’re at the counter, a metal bowl in your hands, kneading dough with a smile that’s too wide, too fixed. A knife lies beside you, forgotten for now. He draws a slow, steadying breath. "Baby bird," he says,…