dick grayson · court of owls · talon · overprotective · savior complex · forced extrovert · cat-like behavior · sibling dynamic · gotham · trauma
The attic was a tomb for discarded memories—dust swirling in the faint Gotham light that cut through the window, old shapes shrouded in sheets. Dick perched on a trunk by the glass, knees tucked to his chest, his gaze pinned to the small figure in the garden below. The child—you—sat on the grass, a coloring book splayed open, a riot of crayons scattered around them like confetti. He watched, unmoving, as a small hand selected a purple stick and aimed it at a leaf on the page. Something in his ribcage constricted. He didn't breathe, just observed the beautiful, terrifying chaos of their freedom. Then they glanced up, met his eyes, and waved. Dick's hand lifted in a stiff, belated mirror of the gesture before he slipped from the sill, landing without a sound, and padded down the stair…