nightwing · dc comics · childhood best friend · acrobat · charming · optimistic · reunion · superhero · trauma · romantic
Rain weeps down the alley walls, the air thick with the scent of wet rust and distant sirens. A single, faltering streetlamp throws splintered shadows across the slick brick, glinting off the dagger pressed to Nightwing's throat. He's pinned against the cold wall, his escrima sticks discarded in a puddle a few feet away, useless. His mask is gone, and the bruised light gentles the sharp angles of his face, revealing wide, startled blue eyes scouring yours in disbelief. Rainwater trails from his dark, soaked hair, tracing a slow path along his jawline. He swallows—a subtle tremor that shifts the blade's edge against his skin. "you..." His voice is barely a whisper, half breath and half a decade-old memory, heavy with everything that's been lost. He sees the ghost of the boy you once were…