But what Claire didn’t know—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlp1qocGoc8
was that the two vigilantes sitting across from her, who only just “introduced themselves” today,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcnNodJGQm
had already raised every internal alarm system they had.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNgf5TD77g
Their minds kicked into full Batcave-alert mode.
This woman didn’t just know too much—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5mT6Y9fBb
she had a handle on their most sensitive intel: identities, locations, relationships.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Qfm65X7RV
She had even casually connected Nightwing to his civilian alias and somehow arranged a dinner with all three of them.
This wasn’t coincidence.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5LOsEKC1y
This was infiltration.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyxWaq7Nj9
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdEOi5oKaQ
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFx8uka1UD8
The burgers and fries were placed neatly in front of them, and they nodded politely—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHe57k0pc4A
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOueWqmFqac
They chewed through American cheese and existential dread at the same time.
—She’s extremely dangerous. Unpredictable.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbOPjKSdIM
—She might expose us. She probably already knows everything.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbykvdjPvF
—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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5nwabmHWv
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSJL1PsvMv
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:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9SPkBDHIAy
“My place, of course.”
Dick: …17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SsjztgEyz
BEEP—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEnLIrzG9F
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLgw50VbPM
But it wasn’t.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPfMNCuFm7
Jason was right there.
And this wasn’t just any younger brother. This was Jason.
Dick turned slowly.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJFPvZVXyy
Jason’s face had frozen over like a glitching video frame.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnhZKek5U4
He looked like he was thinking, “Yeah, I know ending a date at her place is a thing...17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3m1E84fgd
but bringing me along? You’ve lost your minds.”
Jason’s brain was screaming EXIT MISSION. NOW.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMaaOEiMWf
He took a deep breath, gently put down his cup, and tried to decline with some grace:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoPKCbFQoK
“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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJlrGhUvqC
It wasn’t rushed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHL8Ce7GE7A
It wasn’t demanding.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8pUMxb61D
It carried that quiet kind of knowing that made your spine itch.
“I know,” she said gently.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVr3NPVs1D
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzx0bBQ5hOH
—What else do you know?
Claire lazily added, as if commenting on the weather:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ZVGEZcNbY
“Well, obviously, you’re here for Nightwing. He’ll be at my place soon.”
Dick: ???17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVE6WHXIDH0
Robin: ????????
The air above the table turned so thick it was practically solid.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnak3NNHdU3
Both brothers went blank—
She didn’t just know about Robin,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqq3xdPDGQ
She knew Nightwing,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnOe8faac3
She knew where he was going,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzlf4dJcsT
She knew when he’d show up.
What the hell?
Was she psychic?17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSUI48lkkX
Did she somehow hack into the Batcave’s core database?17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAND95vIj8j
—Or was she some kind of secret weapon planted by Batman as part of a top-secret test?
They exchanged another look.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9pZxJzLdf
Threat Level: Off the charts.
And Claire?17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbtjP9b4RG
After casually dropping that reality-shattering statement, she stood up—swaying slightly, like the alcohol had just caught up to her balance.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uVE3S9atb
Elegant, but clearly tipsy.
She reached for the bill.
Dick, faster than instinct, grabbed it first.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡER7joP6Slb
His voice was calm but firm:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRTKsE83qFQ
“I’ve got it.”
Claire blinked at him, then smiled and nodded.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GKSPBCW3S
“Then next time’s on me.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpf1aJd5d0f
She said it like a promise.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zXIyQJqwF
Like she already knew there would be a next time.
(And there would be.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1qyHwpMTW
She’d already cooked them dinner—long-term.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9dtZNFF5b
They just didn’t remember.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjej9orpk1
Thanks, timeline reset.)
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrJm6fIK8v
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoM6CiQopFE
But it brought a dull ache to her temple, creeping from her forehead to the back of her skull.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRqnQNBESW
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:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ08nfnB8sN
“How do you know Nightwing’s going to your place?”
His voice was steady—too steady.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKN2ETPtn9e
Inside, he was already mentally running emergency cover plans.
One thing was clear: She didn’t know he was Nightwing.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXe1LZWzF0x
Yet.
Which left him with one big question:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgsVuQUKAcz
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA968p1SDSj
She was definitely drunk—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UyIQOLASH
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be staring at the cop in front of her,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuF586FC8UT
and seeing the exact same blue eyes as Nightwing.
She smiled—soft, glowing, and dangerously confident.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxFlViY2QK
Her voice floated like a breeze,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWwLkNfzfv
but hit like a prophecy:
“Because—this is my city.”
Dick froze.
That line...17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKznr7BqNb
It was his line.
Whenever he stood watch over the city under the cover of night, he would quietly tell himself:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9m6G33i4X
“This is my city.”
But today—for the first time—he heard someone else say it.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwnTb5err8
So naturally.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nIBJpYl1l
Like she was the one who truly belonged to the night.
Robin sensed something spiraling out of control.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcsNXURh6m
He raised a hand like an emergency stop sign.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5c3cDIUTX
“Wait, Claire, Dick can’t go to your place.”
Jason couldn’t play the obedient kid anymore.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFagxGN0A2R
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqj9vHnUvHU
“Why not?”
Robin gritted his teeth.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKu9UoKAjO
“Because... because... they’re love rivals.”
It was the most explosive, absurd, yet somehow believable excuse he could come up with on the spot.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkxHnonxCN
Better that than the truth.
Dick turned to him with a look that screamed:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5g2wloFYJd
“What the hell are you saying?!”
Claire froze, blinking as if trying to focus her gluey brain. Her eyes slowly widened as realization dawned.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBLDbbEPML
She turned to Dick with the gleam of gossip burning bright in her gaze.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl41RoeVy2Z
“Didn’t expect you to have a juicy backstory.”
Then, a flash of clarity cut through the fog of her drunken thoughts:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhDGiZzvvu
“Wait—you said you didn’t know each other.”
Robin felt his soul leave his body.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpqyYlhvuk
But he still forced out a reply:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtE12ByiU1
“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:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZM8HS13ev
“So you like the same girl, huh…”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzM2TpeZDD4
She didn’t sound surprised—just mildly intrigued.
Then she raised a hand and pointed at Dick, her tone calm and dismissive:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0O9RQ8cH3
“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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡet0gOy9fxs
His mouth twitched—unsure whether to laugh or be offended.
Eventually, he managed a sentence—wry but polite:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTGbU0Xhae
“I’ll walk you home.”
Claire nodded.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnIxcf3BMAR
But this time, she didn’t say anything more.
She just kept walking ahead, steady-paced and silent.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5Mtdk9F2k
The alcohol still lingered, but her tone had lost its playfulness—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMklSXJUDz
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,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxiSyTlj9Hr
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”,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAeEqkhude
or “You better explain later”,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRAxvpHwyo
or just “My head hurts.”
Dick nodded—small, but clear.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSn6WVvwpZ
He knew this wasn’t the end.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodPd2JaYZX
Just the beginning.
Robin followed Claire up the stairs to the third floor.
She opened the door, pointed toward the balcony, and said casually,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUO06zKset
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FZhwycv6N
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxogCXwqEvN
Not pretending.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhnlJdcg2l
Not spying.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3koUvfCd3
Not scheming.
She’d simply laid down—unguarded, vulnerable.
His eyes swept the room for hiding spots—nothing.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeFntcFWXWQ
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgKRFE8H4p
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—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLu3L9Ap9xk
Then both turned to look at the woman asleep on the bed.
She was curled on her side, breathing steady, cheeks still flushed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7EYuJEYGZ
One hand rested lightly on the edge of the blanket—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI54HSB8kv4
Even in her dreams, she hadn’t fully let her guard down.
The two brothers stood at her bedside.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMtvBYOQxa
Saying nothing.
Only the wind filled the room, rustling the curtain with a soft whisper.
Silence.
Then—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVLMmFXie1
Robin shrugged.
As if to say:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoP4bSihy7R
“Your problem now.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88EbLAmhNR
“I’ve got nothing.”
Nightwing sighed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1J2KBwgkre
Staring at the woman who made him rush between identities just to keep up—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMH7C32P3c
he wasn’t sure if he felt exasperated… or something stranger.
She’d said he’d arrive.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbErQIx7yZ
And then she’d just… laid down.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuk6mFbY8Lu
Like she knew he’d come.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡriiZOzymhQ
Like it wasn’t a guess—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqnj6SIUpM
but part of some rhythm she trusted without question.
And now, here they were.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrCUn4pgjG
The three of them—once again—drawn into the same space.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tBJhxOqNE
The next morning, sunlight poured through the slits in the curtains, casting soft, angled streaks across the room.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Z9k1530Gu
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF01miGRuUE
Her head was clear—clearer than usual, even.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoShDKvRmPn
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgHm50YTsE
She remembered the cocktails.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWoow7fe0s
She remembered the walk home, the chilly wind… and that she’d said something outrageous.
And then…
Did she lie down?17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIhTnIAufr
Was Robin there?17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAC92xfwmvC
Did she say something weird?
She furrowed her brows and muttered to herself,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYOZhszoLF
“I really shouldn’t have had that drink…”
What had they talked about?17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCM7SDn9TYV
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.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EQAekkoup
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,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5TrP2RjAL
like she was catching up on an old soap opera—half amused, half pitying.
She stayed sitting in bed for a long while.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0waVqnWUl
Her feet didn’t touch the floor.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFKzhuYZpS
Her back rested against the wall, and both hands pressed into the sheets,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfoGjEgX6UO
as if trying to coax gravity into letting her stay just a bit longer.
But eventually, she swung her legs over the side.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9qT5l0cFg
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,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSLhis9xUO
today… the café still had to run.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk83hvDErGH
《End of Bonus Chapter》
ns216.73.216.201da2
