But what Claire didn’t know—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9mu3Tu44A
was that the two vigilantes sitting across from her, who only just “introduced themselves” today,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ctqzJNqOM
had already raised every internal alarm system they had.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwTDxNMIsS
Their minds kicked into full Batcave-alert mode.
This woman didn’t just know too much—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4xq15WxnL
she had a handle on their most sensitive intel: identities, locations, relationships.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJesOhtE1xL
She had even casually connected Nightwing to his civilian alias and somehow arranged a dinner with all three of them.
This wasn’t coincidence.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUffnfDWKLV
This was infiltration.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWBd6Bk0Pc
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PWQ2PRk2S
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5DlPlvqre
The burgers and fries were placed neatly in front of them, and they nodded politely—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVBasB4V1m
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJXptvZ5Yi
They chewed through American cheese and existential dread at the same time.
—She’s extremely dangerous. Unpredictable.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwVYGr6GsD
—She might expose us. She probably already knows everything.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5VqZIVxbI
—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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qsy7NmmLR
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsAb27Bo7H
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:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4wk3d5JNB
“My place, of course.”
Dick: …18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAlBc99SLM
BEEP—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoT6wdpFDcs
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9uJazUT6A
But it wasn’t.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OMjvF0meo
Jason was right there.
And this wasn’t just any younger brother. This was Jason.
Dick turned slowly.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMOQqqaWNR
Jason’s face had frozen over like a glitching video frame.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwEhIDvnKM
He looked like he was thinking, “Yeah, I know ending a date at her place is a thing...18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbrszAajfd
but bringing me along? You’ve lost your minds.”
Jason’s brain was screaming EXIT MISSION. NOW.
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZkok49m39
He took a deep breath, gently put down his cup, and tried to decline with some grace:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG68Si2U8XM
“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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqx1gjUxQt
It wasn’t rushed.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2oQOlwF6P
It wasn’t demanding.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAJkIW3dHP
It carried that quiet kind of knowing that made your spine itch.
“I know,” she said gently.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYCEWPR6Of
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWd0o5JxDF
—What else do you know?
Claire lazily added, as if commenting on the weather:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHeWhzkIZL
“Well, obviously, you’re here for Nightwing. He’ll be at my place soon.”
Dick: ???18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70ayc5mGTR
Robin: ????????
The air above the table turned so thick it was practically solid.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCm4Fpeerd
Both brothers went blank—
She didn’t just know about Robin,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1gFkEzlW5q
She knew Nightwing,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkCIQtXm3O
She knew where he was going,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeeHJUcahb5
She knew when he’d show up.
What the hell?
Was she psychic?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcLRHRcIg2
Did she somehow hack into the Batcave’s core database?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdn15qpZDLE
—Or was she some kind of secret weapon planted by Batman as part of a top-secret test?
They exchanged another look.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSnNx5Tfth
Threat Level: Off the charts.
And Claire?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpobIKmv7vN
After casually dropping that reality-shattering statement, she stood up—swaying slightly, like the alcohol had just caught up to her balance.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2DoHvMYFS
Elegant, but clearly tipsy.
She reached for the bill.
Dick, faster than instinct, grabbed it first.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJaSgDg9HI
His voice was calm but firm:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOiKIQz6eiw
“I’ve got it.”
Claire blinked at him, then smiled and nodded.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWf0g8o9ArM
“Then next time’s on me.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAaloxaj9o
She said it like a promise.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ46gob7Sau
Like she already knew there would be a next time.
(And there would be.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfoDWdg4MyT
She’d already cooked them dinner—long-term.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WBu1bHvLp
They just didn’t remember.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vyZduhjB9
Thanks, timeline reset.)
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCp4FlhrpEb
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEYRUf9MxE
But it brought a dull ache to her temple, creeping from her forehead to the back of her skull.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoAFKATsaC
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:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡskePBxfYFf
“How do you know Nightwing’s going to your place?”
His voice was steady—too steady.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBWRsRfZmA
Inside, he was already mentally running emergency cover plans.
One thing was clear: She didn’t know he was Nightwing.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6T8cCJbIoj
Yet.
Which left him with one big question:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43gRTCG697
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYQVt35o35
She was definitely drunk—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXogu8CYdtL
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be staring at the cop in front of her,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclgc1wHPpQ
and seeing the exact same blue eyes as Nightwing.
She smiled—soft, glowing, and dangerously confident.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpl0REyOxI
Her voice floated like a breeze,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmfuPRsGsj
but hit like a prophecy:
“Because—this is my city.”
Dick froze.
That line...18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ55WujZQq6C
It was his line.
Whenever he stood watch over the city under the cover of night, he would quietly tell himself:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPlRzDQ2yQ
“This is my city.”
But today—for the first time—he heard someone else say it.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQwS2LHsWU
So naturally.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvCr6hhXlC
Like she was the one who truly belonged to the night.
Robin sensed something spiraling out of control.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMyDOpp7g4
He raised a hand like an emergency stop sign.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3UeNBVdCZ
“Wait, Claire, Dick can’t go to your place.”
Jason couldn’t play the obedient kid anymore.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSch20XvoUT
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39kQQEsJ2V
“Why not?”
Robin gritted his teeth.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQA7x092DBj
“Because... because... they’re love rivals.”
It was the most explosive, absurd, yet somehow believable excuse he could come up with on the spot.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YFKZtA9HG
Better that than the truth.
Dick turned to him with a look that screamed:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hZUs9U4Nr
“What the hell are you saying?!”
Claire froze, blinking as if trying to focus her gluey brain. Her eyes slowly widened as realization dawned.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtU2qO6fqk
She turned to Dick with the gleam of gossip burning bright in her gaze.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHXGrZ6lfQ
“Didn’t expect you to have a juicy backstory.”
Then, a flash of clarity cut through the fog of her drunken thoughts:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHi0uMfmvnu
“Wait—you said you didn’t know each other.”
Robin felt his soul leave his body.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOvAjAKNMy
But he still forced out a reply:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJH6PYOti7k
“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:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLj4kr7Si6l
“So you like the same girl, huh…”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtm36YFEY1
She didn’t sound surprised—just mildly intrigued.
Then she raised a hand and pointed at Dick, her tone calm and dismissive:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgG3XB8YbqK
“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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdoD0GrWnq
His mouth twitched—unsure whether to laugh or be offended.
Eventually, he managed a sentence—wry but polite:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzYI4kXsCN
“I’ll walk you home.”
Claire nodded.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMLuAYroFB
But this time, she didn’t say anything more.
She just kept walking ahead, steady-paced and silent.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhpaTFzxSB
The alcohol still lingered, but her tone had lost its playfulness—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNFafx3TaS
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,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyMcm3yJpT
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”,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUe2MUimNNe
or “You better explain later”,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDrheJNQIz
or just “My head hurts.”
Dick nodded—small, but clear.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuECcmEDBg
He knew this wasn’t the end.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwhteIl6IQ
Just the beginning.
Robin followed Claire up the stairs to the third floor.
She opened the door, pointed toward the balcony, and said casually,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahwv8ejdab
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKDVLtZrWL
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AsoVK7ZGG
Not pretending.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FmFAeZ3RW
Not spying.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSjPOJp7kN
Not scheming.
She’d simply laid down—unguarded, vulnerable.
His eyes swept the room for hiding spots—nothing.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRaZrliugG
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyGg54Pocu
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—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUnlTDAV4N
Then both turned to look at the woman asleep on the bed.
She was curled on her side, breathing steady, cheeks still flushed.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbiH120ZN1w
One hand rested lightly on the edge of the blanket—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3Vk5l7m3w
Even in her dreams, she hadn’t fully let her guard down.
The two brothers stood at her bedside.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6lHMIlo8G
Saying nothing.
Only the wind filled the room, rustling the curtain with a soft whisper.
Silence.
Then—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluEFrleH8V
Robin shrugged.
As if to say:18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2wC54GV9A
“Your problem now.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKm5D9FkQGf
“I’ve got nothing.”
Nightwing sighed.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNBI9LvC4Q
Staring at the woman who made him rush between identities just to keep up—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDUloREOGw
he wasn’t sure if he felt exasperated… or something stranger.
She’d said he’d arrive.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgv5nRksaVj
And then she’d just… laid down.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVEe1HyEfq
Like she knew he’d come.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNi3ot8gaKr
Like it wasn’t a guess—18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngIVMXiC0S
but part of some rhythm she trusted without question.
And now, here they were.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4HbIY7rnP
The three of them—once again—drawn into the same space.
18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkRGiNCIVz
The next morning, sunlight poured through the slits in the curtains, casting soft, angled streaks across the room.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXhXMtYfZ8
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2AyTb3wNEo
Her head was clear—clearer than usual, even.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkULVstDWy
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mkxztngmm
She remembered the cocktails.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7yR4dsXdqo
She remembered the walk home, the chilly wind… and that she’d said something outrageous.
And then…
Did she lie down?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusP6NJqXni
Was Robin there?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD81AVwjv1H
Did she say something weird?
She furrowed her brows and muttered to herself,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVl0SpBJEv
“I really shouldn’t have had that drink…”
What had they talked about?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUj5HLZoiol
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.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXA8bdRR0Ew
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,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlHe9k3hfe
like she was catching up on an old soap opera—half amused, half pitying.
She stayed sitting in bed for a long while.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HajdfUaYR
Her feet didn’t touch the floor.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9ncDTjrEk
Her back rested against the wall, and both hands pressed into the sheets,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84Sp3CEu8j
as if trying to coax gravity into letting her stay just a bit longer.
But eventually, she swung her legs over the side.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluiSCQ06YT
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,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHkZ3vbCS8
today… the café still had to run.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlys4p6mczD
《End of Bonus Chapter》
ns216.73.217.11da2
