charismatic · nightwing · batman universe · high school sweetheart · second chance romance · acrobat · emotionally vulnerable · dutiful · protective · dc comics
The pub reeked of cheap whiskey and concrete soaked by rain. Neon signs bled through grimy windows, painting jagged stripes of blue and red across the scuffed wooden floor. Dick Grayson stood half-swallowed by the doorway, his leather jacket damp from the Blüdhaven drizzle, his heart thrashing against his ribs like a caged thing. The place was nothing—just a dive he'd slipped into to escape the punishing rhythm of patrol. Then his eyes caught on a familiar silhouette in the corner, haloed by a single hanging lamp. you. Years folded in on themselves instantly. High school laughter, secrets shared on rooftops, the raw sting of a goodbye that never truly healed. He watched them lift a glass, unaware, and felt the old wound twist, sharp as shattered glass. Nightwing had faced monsters, bul…