But what Claire didn’t know—256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfSnQYucz6
was that the two vigilantes sitting across from her, who only just “introduced themselves” today,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Q9WYrpdSj
had already raised every internal alarm system they had.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qZhfN7rCJ
Their minds kicked into full Batcave-alert mode.
This woman didn’t just know too much—256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3mLcSBo5s
she had a handle on their most sensitive intel: identities, locations, relationships.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyB38UUhKfn
She had even casually connected Nightwing to his civilian alias and somehow arranged a dinner with all three of them.
This wasn’t coincidence.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMU8CXujvLg
This was infiltration.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD73y5NcX2p
If she wasn’t intentionally getting close, then she was... some kind of meta.
Thankfully, the food arrived.
It was like the trumpet of salvation sounding across a battlefield.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0F3kVcIx5B
Both snapped out of their tactical calculations at once.
And thanks to Alfred’s lifelong etiquette training, no matter how internally wrecked they were, externally they would still sit up straight and eat like gentlemen.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxAsjz0Jo4
The burgers and fries were placed neatly in front of them, and they nodded politely—256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLed6Q889r
time to eat first, survive the crisis later.
But their guard never dropped.
Each bite of burger came with a side of intense eye contact and silent strategy meetings.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHkpVBOANC
They chewed through American cheese and existential dread at the same time.
—She’s extremely dangerous. Unpredictable.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvWAXbYHgu
—She might expose us. She probably already knows everything.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBf90dl1092
—How did she even reach Nightwing’s civilian persona? That’s priority one.
They silently agreed: Contain this first. Then move to extraction.
But the universe had other plans.
Claire, seeing their plates empty, calmly set down her utensils.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdKs6hTHR8
She wiped her hands with delicate precision—elegant, efficient. Like she was preparing for the next item on the itinerary.
She glanced at the two men still wiping their mouths, gave a small approving nod, and said in the tone of a cheerful tour guide:
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Both of them: !!!!!!?????
Dick nearly choked on his own spit.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZSM5xIhQq
He swallowed it with effort, forced a crooked smile, and asked carefully:
“Uh... may I ask... where are we going?”
Claire tilted her head, voice light as a breeze:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN02DUOYBZs
“My place, of course.”
Dick: …256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuMukO63cy
BEEP—256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAw09GJA2Sx
His brain short-circuited.
If it were just the two of them, sure, maybe this could be chalked up to some kind of flirtatious momentum.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZex26nKfnT
But it wasn’t.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjrJGZ6U9n
Jason was right there.
And this wasn’t just any younger brother. This was Jason.
Dick turned slowly.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFyx6XUZ33d
Jason’s face had frozen over like a glitching video frame.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5zqBcMbVy
He looked like he was thinking, “Yeah, I know ending a date at her place is a thing...256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7E0GOgITx
but bringing me along? You’ve lost your minds.”
Jason’s brain was screaming EXIT MISSION. NOW.
256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPoZYNinCXf
He took a deep breath, gently put down his cup, and tried to decline with some grace:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmaA3TaNf2C
“I’ll sit this one out. Just remembered—I’ve got... stuff.”
But Claire turned toward him, cheeks slightly flushed, wearing that same familiar smile she often gave regulars at the café.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CzDvoCXop
It wasn’t rushed.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHt0UEw0Y1s
It wasn’t demanding.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQagnFHBmdf
It carried that quiet kind of knowing that made your spine itch.
“I know,” she said gently.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbNA8zQGYF
Like she was saying, “You like two sugars in your coffee, right?”
I know what you're thinking. I know what you’re about to do.
Robin’s inner sirens went off.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKpFz0n24J
—What else do you know?
Claire lazily added, as if commenting on the weather:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW27UTBxVoR
“Well, obviously, you’re here for Nightwing. He’ll be at my place soon.”
Dick: ???256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8h38ygYzMK
Robin: ????????
The air above the table turned so thick it was practically solid.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQOzkUcThb
Both brothers went blank—
She didn’t just know about Robin,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlGUc2MW5l
She knew Nightwing,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ofMWMCoRS
She knew where he was going,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSw2JEIlE90
She knew when he’d show up.
What the hell?
Was she psychic?256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qCiLPsFYq
Did she somehow hack into the Batcave’s core database?256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbmmWXrbbh
—Or was she some kind of secret weapon planted by Batman as part of a top-secret test?
They exchanged another look.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNhzVg0iZI
Threat Level: Off the charts.
And Claire?256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEuwIhvcmh
After casually dropping that reality-shattering statement, she stood up—swaying slightly, like the alcohol had just caught up to her balance.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfNXl7VKjN
Elegant, but clearly tipsy.
She reached for the bill.
Dick, faster than instinct, grabbed it first.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIr4b5XVCp
His voice was calm but firm:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCP5SSKCJSN
“I’ve got it.”
Claire blinked at him, then smiled and nodded.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4SpBDSGdr
“Then next time’s on me.”256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfuERrAzeT
She said it like a promise.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdin1nN74Zh
Like she already knew there would be a next time.
(And there would be.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleRbR4uIsi
She’d already cooked them dinner—long-term.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeG1TORbfGt
They just didn’t remember.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSbffmBVhW
Thanks, timeline reset.)
256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7L6byPPTo9
The three of them stepped out of the restaurant.
A cold breeze swept past, snapping Claire’s mind briefly out of its alcohol-soaked haze.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsdFxAXs03
But it brought a dull ache to her temple, creeping from her forehead to the back of her skull.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpsdxyRLCh
A hangover before the night was even over.
She shoved her hands in her coat pockets, turned to the two vigilantes, and said:
“Come on. Follow me.”
Dick finally worked up the nerve to ask:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kZBLf1e54
“How do you know Nightwing’s going to your place?”
His voice was steady—too steady.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9aMBuwJP0
Inside, he was already mentally running emergency cover plans.
One thing was clear: She didn’t know he was Nightwing.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSS8bpkW1Fq
Yet.
Which left him with one big question:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1ca4TKnOY
How the hell was he supposed to get ‘Dick Grayson’ and ‘Nightwing’ into the same room at the same time?
Claire looked back at him, cheeks still flushed.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cOj1khFFr
She was definitely drunk—256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWnInwmMSg
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be staring at the cop in front of her,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz071HoRIFt
and seeing the exact same blue eyes as Nightwing.
She smiled—soft, glowing, and dangerously confident.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevuiq4WfKf
Her voice floated like a breeze,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsUpr1y8L3
but hit like a prophecy:
“Because—this is my city.”
Dick froze.
That line...256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTh62hghOQ
It was his line.
Whenever he stood watch over the city under the cover of night, he would quietly tell himself:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUp75Z4cHF
“This is my city.”
But today—for the first time—he heard someone else say it.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLBo0LVGkD
So naturally.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Zszoq8kot
Like she was the one who truly belonged to the night.
Robin sensed something spiraling out of control.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfw239jvZbj
He raised a hand like an emergency stop sign.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXRbuCi5gs
“Wait, Claire, Dick can’t go to your place.”
Jason couldn’t play the obedient kid anymore.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVfO1ZKBXO
Someone had to step in and stop this rapidly escalating mess of a romantic-horror identity farce.
Claire turned her head, voice still hazy but filled with genuine confusion.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAb8Xv81bMc
“Why not?”
Robin gritted his teeth.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkURKVqWJVC
“Because... because... they’re love rivals.”
It was the most explosive, absurd, yet somehow believable excuse he could come up with on the spot.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFxJzelBb2
Better that than the truth.
Dick turned to him with a look that screamed:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7T58EdRNvZ
“What the hell are you saying?!”
Claire froze, blinking as if trying to focus her gluey brain. Her eyes slowly widened as realization dawned.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXB6t6iOrJo
She turned to Dick with the gleam of gossip burning bright in her gaze.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLobSPHkPF
“Didn’t expect you to have a juicy backstory.”
Then, a flash of clarity cut through the fog of her drunken thoughts:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKVhmTw4zC
“Wait—you said you didn’t know each other.”
Robin felt his soul leave his body.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelMkUHDQLg
But he still forced out a reply:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0xqOuP5B5
“Right… but I know Nightwing. He often says there’s this cop—Dick Grayson—his romantic rival.”
Claire nodded, murmuring like someone piecing together the latest drama at a café:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKRjlYcAAe
“So you like the same girl, huh…”256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHoltPtpZKa
She didn’t sound surprised—just mildly intrigued.
Then she raised a hand and pointed at Dick, her tone calm and dismissive:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBaEQSEc8L
“Alright. You can go now. Thanks for dinner. I’ll treat next time.”
Dick stared at this woman who’d just used and dismissed him like an old umbrella.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLQbYAZpha
His mouth twitched—unsure whether to laugh or be offended.
Eventually, he managed a sentence—wry but polite:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSddllYUabE
“I’ll walk you home.”
Claire nodded.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvojbIvKT1x
But this time, she didn’t say anything more.
She just kept walking ahead, steady-paced and silent.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEx3mdwZLMB
The alcohol still lingered, but her tone had lost its playfulness—256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQuhYbm2B1
replaced by a deeper calm.
The two men followed quietly.
They crossed neon-lit corners and passed under dim lampposts until they finally arrived at—
Claire’s café.
This time, Dick remained outside, watching the other two go in.
The streetlight cast his shadow long and thin,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LIpTJDFSy
stretching all the evening’s chaos into a single, quiet silhouette.
Just before the door closed, Robin turned back and gave him a look.
It might’ve meant “I’ve got this”,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflFS3wUsQo
or “You better explain later”,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28EoprE98Q
or just “My head hurts.”
Dick nodded—small, but clear.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6p1QtgxBZu
He knew this wasn’t the end.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMChakuQmZ6
Just the beginning.
Robin followed Claire up the stairs to the third floor.
She opened the door, pointed toward the balcony, and said casually,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1AhUBM67F
like she was announcing her morning routine:
“He’ll show up at 11:11. You wait here. I’m going to lie down.”
She said it too naturally—like she was used to expecting mysterious guests.
Then—without another word—she just… collapsed onto the bed.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OwSY8QuDF
Right in front of him.
Robin: …
He stood there, staring like she’d just cast some kind of spell trap.
But she was actually asleep.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjmDWrmZub
Not pretending.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsVKeiEv3V
Not spying.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4HJbIdndk
Not scheming.
She’d simply laid down—unguarded, vulnerable.
His eyes swept the room for hiding spots—nothing.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ708Uce1jEX
He pressed an ear to the wall—silence. Only his own heartbeat.
A few moments later, a familiar thwip echoed from outside.
Nightwing had arrived.
He was already changed—still catching his breath, a few strands of hair sticking to his forehead from rushing over.
Robin was ready.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnGfk0VaiJ
He walked over and opened the window.
Cold air rushed in, snapping his senses back into focus.
Nightwing climbed in, landing with a slight wobble, eyes scanning the room urgently.
Their eyes met—256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3AwkHATta
Then both turned to look at the woman asleep on the bed.
She was curled on her side, breathing steady, cheeks still flushed.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGs82spwqN
One hand rested lightly on the edge of the blanket—256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEgwQbxtMu
Even in her dreams, she hadn’t fully let her guard down.
The two brothers stood at her bedside.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCE3kadLgp
Saying nothing.
Only the wind filled the room, rustling the curtain with a soft whisper.
Silence.
Then—256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBXSE2tyDeT
Robin shrugged.
As if to say:256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnz1yaLX8r
“Your problem now.”256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVJaa7M9LL
“I’ve got nothing.”
Nightwing sighed.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg79GbiRrSH
Staring at the woman who made him rush between identities just to keep up—256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SLVEoXZKJ
he wasn’t sure if he felt exasperated… or something stranger.
She’d said he’d arrive.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzHeSd1rcb
And then she’d just… laid down.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGRgdrGNDp
Like she knew he’d come.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuNbAr12bM
Like it wasn’t a guess—256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB41pbXfnPy
but part of some rhythm she trusted without question.
And now, here they were.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrB4urTDQ1y
The three of them—once again—drawn into the same space.
256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvttHNsPfT
The next morning, sunlight poured through the slits in the curtains, casting soft, angled streaks across the room.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbAad5ZKIY
Claire awoke to the sound of familiar music—gentle, slightly old-fashioned jazz that tugged her gently out of sleep.
She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, realizing with mild surprise that she didn’t have a hangover.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZ98hCCF6Q
Her head was clear—clearer than usual, even.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3KGKf1HsC
It felt like some lingering anxiety had been washed away along with the alcohol.
But—
Her memory of the latter half of last night was… fuzzy.
She remembered dinner.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVddAoZoet
She remembered the cocktails.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GcVoM4L9V
She remembered the walk home, the chilly wind… and that she’d said something outrageous.
And then…
Did she lie down?256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjokkej3mL
Was Robin there?256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQo5uK7gbCW
Did she say something weird?
She furrowed her brows and muttered to herself,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMup2pwkTqc
“I really shouldn’t have had that drink…”
What had they talked about?256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxsXT51Dgv0
She tried to recall, as if piecing together a dream scattered across the corners of her mind.
Ah, right.
Nightwing and Dick are love rivals.
That line leapt into her mind with startling clarity, like a scene from a forgotten film reel.
She remembered pointing at Dick and telling him to go home.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOsxOaBkYw
Said something like, “Thanks for dinner, I’ll treat next time.”
Claire rubbed her temple and couldn’t help but let out a small, wry laugh.
“So they’re in love with the same girl…” she murmured,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSOGgUNbX2
like she was catching up on an old soap opera—half amused, half pitying.
She stayed sitting in bed for a long while.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDESPOBWOp
Her feet didn’t touch the floor.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJoC8YHgrDQ
Her back rested against the wall, and both hands pressed into the sheets,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZp8VF8gQLN
as if trying to coax gravity into letting her stay just a bit longer.
But eventually, she swung her legs over the side.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74IFvhChFh
The moment her feet touched the wooden floor, she knew—
It was time to get up.
Time to open the café.
No matter how chaotic last night had been,256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAJE2WlqtP
today… the café still had to run.256Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WZqmArPrg
《End of Bonus Chapter》
ns216.73.216.208da2
and then Add to home screen.