They entered the restaurant.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eBtoKKgoq
The table was by the window, the lighting was soft, and a few vintage-style American paintings hung on the walls.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrQE4E1AFY
After placing their order, the clinking of silverware on the table signaled the beginning of that perfect phase—conversation.
Robin was the first to speak. His tone was calm, his words short and direct:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4iv0HcHSX
“Is this a date?”
Dick was just about to say something—the words were turning in his throat—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufAcFFpijv
but Claire had already nodded without hesitation and added,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WjwQSsQPK
“I asked him out.”
Her tone was so casual, like she was simply saying “I ordered that dish.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9n0mTD8nX
No hint of flirtation. No trace of concealment.
Robin instantly turned to Dick, eyes glinting with mischief.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmoKG3JjqK
“Nice one, bro.”
Dick nearly choked.
He had just learned her name was Claire,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4G4SeXfDyg
and now he had to accept this narrative?40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ro3qwYMUB
And in front of his little brother, no less?40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5kyWMxfpE
Sometimes life hit you too fast—it left you speechless.
Robin followed up,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5e7Wp7GWU
“Why did you invite me to dinner?”
This was the one question that mattered most to him today.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hVm82N6Iu
He didn’t have a public trail, wasn’t someone regular people could just reach out to.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW9d1gdsVwI
How did this woman know he was even in Blüdhaven?
Claire shrugged. Her tone remained breezy:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbf5mimNjm
“Oh, I have a certain ability. Let’s just call it... clairvoyance.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoNrXIhZMEk
“I knew Robin was hungry, so I invited him.”
At that moment, both pairs of blue eyes across the table widened and met for a brief second.
Of course.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyITDmvYDco
Magic-side.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWVIY4OLET
No wonder everything felt like some cosmic joke from the start.
They each silently recalled those bizarre missions that had ended in magical chaos—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qVCyXdiz1
and yeah, her behavior tracked perfectly with that non-logical pattern.
Claire noticed their faces shift into that classic “alert level rising” expression.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cJoMtjIfm
Her lips twitched slightly.
What is it with these people?40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOiXU6T0wrk
The moment you say ‘clairvoyance,’ they act like I’m about to summon a demon.
Just as the atmosphere started slipping toward “awkward” again—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nw87Vsm0d
the drinks arrived.
The waiter smiled and placed three drinks on the table.
Claire’s was a cocktail—a pale golden drink with a hint of lemon.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsclK8jwls
The clink of ice against glass was crisp and pleasant.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiO8YvW3y3
She hadn’t had a drink in ages—today, she finally had a small excuse.
As for the two across from her...40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWp6MDfvTco
Both ordered cola.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMe9SUMiBx
Robin—well, obviously underage. No questions there.
Claire took a sip.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxjrk19LAj
The mix of bubbles and alcohol sent a warm, tingling sensation through her.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvsRQgJIzla
Her eyes glinted faintly.
She turned to the kid sipping his soda so seriously.
“Can I ask a question now?”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnb2x87AGiZ
Her smile was gentle, her cheeks tinged a soft pink.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqCBVukFSa
The alcohol was beginning to work its magic.
Robin nodded, unguarded.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQImHq7DbQR
“I don’t mind.”
Claire tilted her head slightly.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Dk8rSCfUx
Her tone stayed light—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2b3bHerzSc
but the question she threw was a fastball straight at the heart:
“Is Batman your dad?”
PFFT!!!
Both of them instantly spit out their drinks and erupted into violent coughing.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTWggXrF6r
The entire table descended into chaos.
Dick was red in the face, grabbing napkins and pounding his chest.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMt7Oztt7aO
Robin looked like he almost snorted his cola through his nose,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiTCKxIgu4
coughing as he turned to stare at her—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpsyUXPxhp
as if she’d just asked, “Are you an alien?”
Meanwhile, Claire lazily raised her glass,40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSaiYcCrwSi
watching them like two birds that had just forgotten how to speak.
40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAmFDkSuFZ
Robin and Dick finally recovered from the chaos of nearly drowning in soda.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡet1YcoxoNi
Each held a damp napkin, their faces still dotted with drops of cola, their breathing uneven—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ457MlZL3ca
but their eyes had gone razor sharp.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmEPAqeiO3
Both were now glaring directly at Claire.
She, on the other hand, looked like nothing had happened.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9H2QIYKAnh
Propping her chin on one hand, she smiled gently, her expression relaxed, faintly tipsy.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrPJK1EsVv
There was a hint of red at the corners of her eyes, her lips subtly glossed by the alcohol.
To Robin, that expression didn’t sit right.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBTGqabYk2
It wasn’t just casual confidence.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80utF4ZBfi
It was—calculated? Or maybe... she had a plan all along?
He tested the waters.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzPbMQ5qiN
“Why would you think that?”
Claire shrugged, voice light as ever:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1cC5IyAa9
“It’s a logical deduction. When I was a kid, Robin was a kid. And now—Robin’s still a kid. So I thought... maybe Batman has more than one kid?”
The moment her words landed—
Both of them almost spit out a second round of soda.
Her tone was just too natural, too reasonable—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYqQfApmsV
even laced with an innocent kind of puzzlement.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQ5VyX5n8e
But the scariest part was—
She was right.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXy29ZQGA8C
Dead-on.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyPqRFzdS7
And now, the two “kids” she was talking about were sitting right in front of her.
Claire smiled again, her eyes curling into crescent moons.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8zffTJ572
The blush on her cheeks deepened, her whole presence glowing with a soft—but undeniably dangerous—femininity.
She lifted her glass, swirled the ice inside, and casually added:
“So I’m guessing that other kid... is Nightwing.”
Clink.
That single sentence hit like a block of ice dropped on the table.
Robin nearly bit his own tongue.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUih6PrOpXQ
Dick, still dabbing his mouth with a napkin, had already started mentally counting down whether he should toss a smoke bomb and vanish.
Their scalps prickled. For real this time.
It wasn’t the kind of shiver you get from being hit.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vTpKWPgE0
It was the kind you get when someone sees through you too easily.
And they both knew—
This wasn’t just a lucky guess.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOzdCIEwnP
She had observed them.
Claire, meanwhile, had no idea she’d just earned herself a bright red tag in the vigilante brothers’ minds: “High Risk Civilian.”
But the truth was—she’d suspected for a long time.
This wasn’t some sudden spark of intuition.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kX4iiHEHv
It was the result of months of quiet watching and gut instinct.
The café’s daily comings and goings.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbWPPTSMVJ
The way Nightwing and Robin interacted.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGXP0rlk53
The rare, heavy silence when Batman appeared.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWshZceIl9A
Claire had seen it all.
The glances, the unspoken hierarchy, the weight of command and familiarity—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEduZ1ijOQJ
This wasn’t some simple coworker dynamic.
It was the vibe of a grumpy dad handling two rebellious sons who kept screwing up their homework.
She wasn’t blind, okay.
40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfUhA4crSy
