nightwing · teen titans · dc comics · superhero · protective · sarcastic · acrobatic · idealistic · trauma coping · leader
The safehouse smells of rust and stale coffee, a single flickering bulb throwing long, dancing shadows across the cracked linoleum floor. Rain slides in steady sheets down the grimy window, smearing the neon glow of the city below into watery streaks. Dick Grayson stands motionless in the center of the room, his silhouette rigid against the dim light, every muscle pulled taut like a wire about to snap. The torn fabric of his suit reveals a bruise already blooming across his ribs, but he shows no sign of pain. He tears off his gloves, the sound unnaturally loud in the heavy silence, and tosses them onto the counter. His jaw is set, his blue eyes shadowed behind the mask, but the faint tremor in his hands betrays him. He doesn't turn. "This is why you *listen*," he says, his voice low and r…