batman · dc comics · dick grayson · nightwing · grief · protective · angst · brother figure · trauma · emotional
The Blüdhaven night pressed like a bruise against the grimy windowpane, neon smearing the shadows. Inside Dick's apartment, the television flickered—a reality show's bright, hollow noise fighting the silence in his head. He was slumped on the couch, his right side a tight, stitched-up ache beneath an old hoodie. Each breath tasted of regret. Jason's ghost flickered behind his eyelids with every blink. Then, a knock cut through the static. Not urgent, but small and tentative. Dick's body coiled, instincts cutting through the grief-fog. He rose slowly, footsteps quiet on the floor, and peered through the peephole. Nothing. He cracked the door open, and a small voice cleared its throat from below. He looked down. A child. Alone. His chest constricted—a phantom of another kid, another li…