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Blüdhaven… 

It used to be a vile city, covered in shadows and filth. A city once so rampant with criminal activity and police corruption, even the people of Gotham avoided it. After a long crusade against the nefarious underground, hope seems brighter than ever in this city. And its guardian, Dick Grayson, maintains his nightly defense even while on a personal mission of his own. 

His heart echoes in his ears, his whole body on edge. Dick jumps to the next rooftop and sticks his landing, a sharp jolt running down his leg. His right knee has been tensing up lately with his jumps. He’s probably got to go get it checked out.

It’s chilly tonight. With the holidays coming up, the streets are decked out with lights and festive decorations. The city’s been peaceful for the past year- he’s grateful, but crime always has a habit of skyrocketing during the holidays. Dick stops to catch his breath, puffs of warm air growing visible in the cold as he exhales. When he’s alone like this, on a quiet chilly night, his mind wanders. To the future, to the present… and to the past.

“John! Dick! Are you ready?”

“In a minute, Mary!” His father calls out.

Dick looks up as his father steadies him into his new costume. It’s his first show and he’s as stiff as a board. He’s practiced swinging on the trapeze with his parents everyday since he was four years old. He knows he’ll do a good job, but he’s never performed in front of a crowd for Haly’s Circus. 

His dad gets dressed and grumbles about his costume feeling a little tight around the waist. He notices Dick’s silence and bends down to his eye level. “Hey champ,” he greets, rubbing Dick’s back. “Nervous?” 

Dick shifts, grabbing on to his costume. He has his pride as a performer, yet he hesitates to answer his father’s question. His father puts his callused fingers beneath Dick’s chin and lifts his gaze up towards his eyes.  

“You know what you do when you’re nervous?” His father coaxes, his tone warm. “Just smile. Wave to the audience. Be confident that no matter the landing, you will always walk away. Otherwise, you’ll be too terrified to jump. And don’t worry, son. Your mother and I will always be there to catch you.”

Dick nods, assured in his father’s words. The Flying Graysons are the best acrobats in the world. Mom always said that the first show is a leap of faith. If his dad believes that he can walk away from landing a jump, then he has to believe it too. 

He follows his dad outside the dressing room and they reunite with his mom. She ruffles his hair, so proud to see him in costume. “There you are, my little robin. Are you ready to fly tonight?” 

He nods and they walk on stage for their first show together as a family.

As a kid, Dick always knew his parents would catch him. No matter how dangerous the stunt, even when they were flying up in the air, his parents were always there to take his hands and keep him safe. His parents always had a plan. That level of total trust between parent and child is impossible to recreate. Until one day they encountered a landing that they couldn’t walk away from.

It happened so fast. One minute his parents were flying through the air. The next, the trapeze rope snapped and his parents fell. Dick rushes down, desperate to hear their voices. 

The entire circus is in an uproar, the audience screaming but all Dick can hear is his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Then he sees them.

Mom and dad and blood all over their-

A figure comes behind him and wraps their arms around him. He doesn’t know who it is, but he can feel the person’s spirit. This is someone who has experienced loss and grief, someone who understands pain. And someone who feels so very lonely.

To this day, he’s not entirely sure how Bruce Wayne managed to take him into his custody. They barely knew each other and it’s not like he received money for taking him in. Maybe it was because Bruce was a billionaire and he could get away with bending the rules. Maybe times were just different back then. Either way, Dick was grateful to him. 

He couldn’t go back to Haly's Circus, not after Tony Zucco threatened to sabotage the circus again. An orphan kid with no one to look out for him- he’d be a prime target for a vicious mobster. With his parents gone, the only other family he’d ever known left him too; the circus left Gotham as soon as they could. And rumors swirled around that the Batman was hunting down Zucco and his goons. 

Never in his wildest dreams would he have guessed that his new caretaker and Batman were one in the same, but when he stumbled on the Batcave…

Alfred dimmed the lights in the Batcave for this special occasion, a sole candle acting as the main source of light. Dick begged to join Bruce in his mission. To take down the people who had killed his parents. To try and fix the world. Bruce saw something in him and agreed to train him. That night, with his hand on a Bible, both he and Batman made a promise. That the two of them will fight together against crime and corruption and never to swerve from the path of righteousness.

The training was tough, but Dick took to detective work and combat like he did to acrobatics- a complete natural. He just had to take that first leap and believe he’d stick the landing, just like his parents taught him. Bruce even let him design his own costume. 

He tried to come up with a cool bat-themed name for the design, but all he could come up with was Batboy, Batwing, and Bat-Mite. Those weren’t good enough. 

He thought of the circus and his old uniform. Some people might look at an acrobat’s uniform as comical but when he stood alongside his parents in matching uniforms, he felt really powerful, like he can accomplish any trick on stage.

Maybe that’s it. Instead of trying to blend into the night, he should stand out. What better way to spread their message than to turn it into a show? To smile and wave and give regular people hope, even on the grimmest of nights. So he designed his costume to resemble his old uniform.

His mom used to call him robin because he was born on the first day of spring and with the way he bobs in and out, she said he acted like a little bird. When people call out Robin, it’s almost like hearing his mother again. His costume, his name- all ways to remember his parents and remind him of his family.

In hindsight, the whole thing was ridiculous. Who drags a kid with them to fight against serial killers and monsters? It’s a miracle either of them survived as long as they did. 

Still, those were some of the best years of his life. Batman and Robin, the Dynamic Duo, fighting side by side. He pushed himself to heights greater than he ever imagined and he learned from so many amazing people- people like Clark and Diana, and the other members of the Justice League. They’ve saved the world together on countless occasions. 

And as time passed, he realized a selfish, honest side to himself: that he would never trade his new life to get his old life back. Not a single day goes by where he doesn’t miss his parents or the people at Haly’s Circus- yet if given the option to go back in time and change things, he wouldn’t take it. He couldn’t sacrifice his present happiness to undo a painful past. 

Sadly, Bruce didn’t share that sentiment.

Dick exhales, tapering his temper. His shoulder aches, burning beneath the fresh bandages. He was careless tonight- one misstep and he’d have taken a bullet to the chest. The Joker snuck up on him with a gun and landed a lucky shot on his shoulder. Alfred was besides himself, tending to his wounds. Bruce couldn’t even bare to look at him, his disappointment evident through his cowl.

Something’s changed recently, but Dick can’t put his finger on it. He’s been butting heads with Bruce more and more. Bruce is his family- he loves him, he’s grateful to him- but the older he gets, the more his flaws grow apparent. Like his abrasiveness. He’s been so curt and indifferent to his allies, even Alfred’s noticed. 

Or like his manipulative, controlling attitude. Bruce knew about Barbara acting as Batgirl for years and never bothered to share that information with him, even when Dick thought she was in danger. After all they’ve been though, Bruce still doesn’t trust him. It’s suffocating- like the mantle of Batman is weighing down on both of them.

He hears a knock on the door and Bruce enters, still in his Batman costume. Dick sits up, hope swelling in his chest- hope that he didn’t disappoint his adoptive father. Stoic and somber, Bruce tells him that he doesn’t want him to assume the responsibility for a child fighting crime. He wants Dick to give up on Robin. 

Dick is speechless. He wants to protest, he wants to curse him out but he’s stunned that his greatest insecurity came to life. Bruce trained him for years to be a crimefighter but one mistake and that’s enough to terminate their partnership. 

Bruce assures him that it was for his own good, but Dick knows it’s a lie. If Bruce cared about his own good, why did he ever take him on his mission in the first place? Why give him that hope, that purpose, and then yank it away for his own convenience?

Bruce walked out with a smile, thinking he was doing everyone a favor, and Dick laid there with a bandaged shoulder and his life in ruins. After Batman left the room, Dick gave himself permission to cry.

Weeks pass and once his shoulder heals up, he didn’t see any other option but to leave the manor. Alfred tried to talk him out of it and even gave him money to make sure he had something to live on. Bruce couldn’t even be bothered to say goodbye. He was too busy working on a case.

And just like that, he left his old life behind again.

He wasn’t Batman’s partner anymore. He wasn’t really Robin anymore, despite taking the costume with him. He wasn’t even a Flying Grayson anymore. Maybe he joined up with Batman to find a purpose in his life, an identity for himself. Pretty grim prospect for a kid.

He had to make his own way and craft an identity of his own. During his time with Batman, he’d worked alongside other superheroes his own age, meta and regular human alike. They had teamed up on several occasions, bouncing off each other’s strengths and skills, and a nostalgic part of him decides to pay them a visit. Maybe reunite the Titans together. 

Then he met the love of his life.

An alien invasion in New York-! Just his luck. 

He just got through reuniting with everyone. A part of him almost wants to call up the Justice League but the thought of seeing Bruce again puts a damper on that plan. Besides, it’s just a few aliens. He, Donna, Wally, Victor, and Gar can handle aliens.

An alien woman with golden skin and glowing hair rampages across the city, shouting in an unintelligible language and shooting bolts of light from her hands towards a reptilian, more hostile alien species. She is… stunning. Bold and powerful, unlike any woman he’s ever seen. He mentally chastises himself for sounding like Wally. 

A mysterious raven-haired woman calls the alien Starfire and they subdue her, pinning her to the ground. As they force her down, it becomes more apparent that their alien invader is more confused than wrathful. She continues to shout in her native tongue.

“What do you think we should with her?” Wally, the Kid Flash, inquires, “Let her go?”

“Let her go?” Dick counters, standing over her. “Are you crazy? She seems to relish violence!” 

From the corner of his eye, he watches the alien’s expression change from disoriented anger to a confident grin. Quizzically, the young alien stares at him, as if sensing the tone if not the exact meaning of his words. She leaps up, grabbing the back of his head and pulling herself in.

“Hey? Hey?!? Cut it out- Mmmm!“

Before he can defend himself, she locks her lips with his, enveloping him in a passionate kiss. His heart races as his mind tries to catch up- all the worse case scenarios flash through his head. Is she holding him hostage? Is she trying to suck out his organs? Is she trying to insert an alien egg inside his mouth? None of it matters at the moment. His body interprets the reaction for him.

It’s the greatest kiss of his life.

He later learned that people on the planet Tamaran can learn languages through physical contact, such as kissing with another species. In hindsight, it made way more sense than randomly kissing a person who you were fighting a minute ago. Well…

“We don’t always have to kiss. Holding hands can suffice in some situations,” Kory confesses one night after an intimate sparing match in Titans Tower. She won the bout, knocking Dick to the ground, and she leans in to him, whispering in his ear. “But kissing is more fun that way.”

Her blow knocked the wind of him, but he tries to laugh anyways. Koriand’r, also known as Starfire, is amazing. It’s not just her power and beauty, but her confidence, her kindness, her loyalty to a planet of strangers- all those traits draw him to her. The freedom to feel at home with even her strongest emotions. A freedom he longed to embrace. 

She lets her guard down and in that moment, he returns her prank with a kiss of his own.

Dick started to change with the Titans. He started to feel… happier. More trusting. Almost like he was with his parents again. Only now, it wasn’t just his loved ones protecting him- he was protecting his friends as well. The greatest friends in the entire world. And yes, there were hard times. Sad times.

Leading the Titans gave him more pleasure than he could say. He built on his strengths as a leader- determined, driven, perfectionist- but never succumbing to the darkness like Bruce. Justice doesn’t always have to come from the shadows. Yet the shadow of Batman always looms over the identity of Robin- and Robin belongs at Batman’s side. Deep down, a part of him wanted to imagine himself as a kid, still swinging alongside Batman- that they could go back to the old days. But for all Bruce’s sentiments on not wanting to look after a child, there was a new kid living in Wayne Manor now. Jason Todd would carry on the mantle of Robin.

If he was truly going to separate himself from Bruce, if he’s truly going to be an adult, he needed to craft a new identity for himself.

There’s an emergency! The H.I.V.E. and Deathstroke have kidnapped the other Titans and aside from Slade Wilson’s ex-wife and his son Jericho, Dick's basically on his own. He chastises himself for giving away his Robin suit but he does have his new costume ready. 

He’s run through hundreds of names and nothing seemed to fit. Each one sounded so strange to his ear. But there’s one name that’s stuck with him. 

A name that serves as a combination of his mentors and friends. A commemoration of all those who made Dick Grayson someone special. From his parents, who gave him his morals and his love, traits forever locked in his heart and soul. From Batman, who guided him, trained him, to whom he owes everything. From his friends and Kory, supporting and pushing him as a leader. From Superman, who taught him honor, selflessness, and the true meaning of the word “hero”. Clark once told him of a legendary vigilante from Krypton- a hero who soared in the sky like a bird. 

The legendary Nightwing. 

Nightwing- it’s a proud name that he’s carries to this day, even after leaving the Titans. Things got… difficult as the years went on. He and Kory tried to make their relationship work, but they were too young and rushed into things. They weren’t ready to make the full commitment to marriage. Maybe he was just scared of losing her and pushed too hard.

Eventually, they both left the team, though they maintained contact over the years. He found himself in Blüdhaven, a city worse than Gotham, and built up his reputation as a solo vigilante. It was a rough couple of years alone, but he managed.

Then one day, he received a distress call and he found himself back in Gotham again.

Dick can’t believe it. Leave town for a few years and Gotham goes to hell and back! Bane’s attack on the city devastated the police force and there’s still a few of his masked lunatics hiding in the shadows. Bruce got seriously injured in the fight- his back broken. Hell, it’s a miracle that he can walk again. And to top off the tower of insanity, Bruce while in recovery passed the mantle of Batman off to Jean-Paul Valley. Jean-Paul! The sleeper agent for the Sacred Order of St.Dumas! The programed religious assassin, Azrael!

It’s no wonder people died under his watch. Jean-Paul let a hostage die because he was so focused on killing his enemies. Bruce left Tim Drake- a child- in the company of a lunatic who could have gotten him killed! And now people are more scared of the Batman than ever.  

What was Bruce thinking? Why didn’t he call him? He had to find out about the situation from the local news! A phone call, a letter- anything to let him know how to help. Bruce didn’t even reach out to the Justice League. Does Bruce really trust so little?

And as soon as Bruce comes back, he abandons the mantle of Batman again and Dick is forced to pick up the slack, abandoning the life he made for himself. 

Familiar footsteps echo in the Batcave and Dick removes his mask to face Bruce.

“If you say anything about ‘finding yourself’ I think I’ll puke.”

Bruce doesn’t flinch, as stoic as ever. “I thought you’d be glad to see me back.”

“That depends on why you came back.”

“To take up the mantle again,” Bruce states, his authority absolute. ”To take back my place.”

Dick’s rage boils over. “For how long this time?”

Bruce tries to dismiss him, but Dick refuses to let him brush him off. “No! We’re discussing this now! Everything that I’ve kept buried all these years!” 

He waits for Bruce’s counter yet to his surprise, his mentor subsides, awaiting for Dick’s grievances. 

Dick takes the first step. “We dissolved the partnership… but we never really discussed it. There always seemed to be something going on. Some interruption.”

“There was nothing to say,” Bruce replies, cautiously, his tone flat. “You’d outgrown it. You needed to strike out on your own. I understood. After all the years and all the dangers, we didn’t need words.”

Dick sighs. Bruce has some nerve, acting like he knows everything yet Dick’s the one wearing the Batsuit now. “Sometimes you’re hopeless. You know that? You never need words. You never question. You never examine yourself or the people around you. I think that’s the thing you’re afraid of. You’re scared of the answer.”

Bruce doesn’t reply, averting his eyes. Dick presses on. “That’s right, isn’t it? You question yourself, you doubt yourself for a second and it all comes apart, right? That’s why you can’t face me now.”

Dick trembles, a part of him hoping to be wrong. To believe that Bruce is not so egotistical as to force his assumptions on the rest of the world. Dick catches Bruce’s line of sight and realizes that he’s not avoiding eye contact- he’s staring off at the memorial with Jason’s old costume.

“You don’t know how I question myself and everything I’ve become,” Bruce answers, his voice filled with regret. “The right of it. The wrong of it. Thinking of everyone who’s sacrificed themselves in my war. Everyone close to me. Everyone who ever cared.”

Dick’s heart sinks. He wasn’t particularly close to his Robin successor Jason, but his death stings, as does the regret. It must weigh heavily on Bruce most of all. Still, he does not waver. “But you left Gotham in the care of Jean-Paul. You hardly knew him. And what you did know didn’t exactly recommend him for the job. You left Tim alone with a lunatic. The kid could have been killed.”

“There wasn’t time,” Bruce mutters, his expression cold.

“No time to pick up a phone? No time to call me?”

“It wasn’t that easy, you know it wasn’t,” Bruce counters, some fire finally showing in his voice. “I didn’t know your situation. I knew you were working through some problems-“

“Yeah, problems. And I thought there was one guy who’d have faith in me. But when it comes down to the test, you picked someone else to succeed you. A stranger!”

Bruce blinks, taken aback and slowly replies, “I never knew you wanted to follow me as the Batman.”

Dick huffs and confirms. It wasn’t so much the mantle he wanted, not really. In the end, the Batman is both a blessing and a burden. No, he wanted something else. 

Bruce’s gaze softens. “I assumed you wanted to get out from under my shadow. Make a name for yourself. You’ve done that. Created a life. Fought your own fights. I didn’t have the right to call you back.”

Bruce hesitates and for a moment, he lets his guard down. “I couldn’t ask you. I didn’t know how to…” 

Dick stiffens, surprised to see Bruce’s hand on his shoulder. “Look, this is the part I’m not good at,” Bruce confesses. “You grew up and a distance grew between us. I left so many things unsaid. I handled it all wrong. But that’s the way it always is, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you mean. The way what always is?”

“Between fathers and sons.”

There it is. The thing that he always wanted, more than anything else from Bruce. The acknowledgement that they’re a family.

Years passed and the Bat-Family was back together again, bigger and stronger than ever. He reconciled with people he never thought he’d speak to again, like a resurrected Jason. He built new relationships and mentored Tim and Damian as the new Robins. Even when he had to take on the role of Batman a second time, he still managed to stay to true to himself, not falling prey to the darkness… 

But some old wounds are impossible to mend.

There’s no turning back now. 

He’s a fool. Nothing’s changed. In his paranoia, Bruce has crossed a line that he can never take back.

Dick’s done everything he could to bring Bruce back from the edge, time and again. And it never lasts. He couldn’t bring Bruce out of the past. Sure, things get better for a while but after a month or two, Bruce goes back to edge and he tries to drag everyone else down with him. Even Tim, who’s sacrificed everything from his normal life to serve as Robin, cut ties with Bruce.

It hurts, knowing that there’s nothing he could do for him. That he could never make him happy. That Tim, Jason, Damian, Babs, Cass, Selina, Clark, Alfred- no one can make him happy.

He can’t keep sacrificing everything for Bruce. He can’t sacrifice his future to keep Bruce whole. So Dick decides to set himself free again.

It seems like everywhere I go, my family falls apart, Dick broods, reflecting on the Bat-Family’s fallout. Maybe I was just never meant to have a family stick around too long. 

Much like how a circus isn’t supposed to stay in one town for too long. When the lights dim and the show’s over, all that’s left for the performers is to quietly disappear. Yet even after every show, he still had his parents. He was a still a Flying Grayson, both on the trapeze and off. He was still Nightwing, both in and out of the mask. But without his parents and without the Bat-Family, who was Dick Grayson anymore?

He worked solo again for a time, making his way back to Blüdhaven. With Alfred’s sudden passing, Dick became the inheritor of his estate and with his vast wealth, he dedicated his energy to rebuilding Blüdhaven and eradicating the city’s poverty. He even decided to turn an abandoned prison complex into a new home for the Titans. And with that, Kory re-entered his life… 

“Dick, you can’t just eat cereal all the time,” Kory chastises as Dick reads over a report, bowl in hand. “This is your second bowl. I think you need to have more regular meals.”

“I can’t absorb sunlight. I can’t help it if I have a different metabolism from you, Kory. It’s fine. I’m just working on a case right now,” he mumbles. It’s been a rocky couple of months between the city’s changes, his role as Nightwing, and working with the Titans, but he somehow managed to find time to talk to Kory again in the Titans headquarters- at least until this new job came up. “There’s rumors of a new shipment of narcotics coming in through the harbor and-“

“That’s not what I meant,” she frowns. Dick chuckles and she tilts her head quizzically. “What?” 

“Nothing. I just forgot about that thing you did with your nose every time you got angry with me.” 

“What thing?”

He tries to imitate her gesture and she laughs. “I do not look like that.” 

“Nah, I’m doing it wrong. It’s much cuter when you do it.”

He joins in her laughter, the urgency of his case taking a brief pause. There’s been… something between him and Kory. A spark? Resentment? Regret? He can’t pinpoint it, yet it revitalizes a missing part of himself. 

“I missed this,” Kory confesses, her voice softening. 

Dick averts his gaze, guilt weighing down on him. He’s tried other relationships over the years and yet, none of them carried that same zeal, that same weightlessness as his relationship with Kory. A part of him tries to suppress those feelings, but then memories of Bruce pop in and he realizes that he’s imitating his mentor again. 

He bites his lip and allows his honesty to pass through. “…I missed this too. It’s just things always seemed so much simpler back then.” 

She shifts her head, a longing in her voice. “They’re not simple now?” 

“No, everything’s too… convoluted. Too messy.” 

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” she observes, her voice soft. He shakes his head. 

“Kory, I want to believe you. I do. You’ve alway stuck by me, even when I almost alienated everyone, and I love you for that,” he sighs, sitting down on the Titans’ couch. “I’m just worried that everything we’ve built is gonna get messed up again. That I’m going to mess it up again.” 

“Dick, it’s not your fault. Our relationship, we were young and-“ 

"That’s not… exactly what I was referring to. It just feels like the more I try to let people in, the more I drag them down with me.” His memories flash back to all the people he’s loved. His parents, Alfred, old friends and lovers… How many ended up getting killed? How many times has he gone to sleep, thinking of all the people he failed to save?

“Sometimes… I wonder if maybe it’s better that I never let people in at all.”

Kory’s eyes widen and grow crestfallen. “Dick…” 

Damn, he didn’t mean to make her upset. 

“I’m sorry Kory," he assures, forcing a grin. "I’m not trying to dump this all on you. I think somedays I get worried that I might just be turning into a second Bruce. Anyways, I need to get back on this case-”

Before he can rise up, Kory extends her hand and exerts some of her superior strength to keep him in place. She takes a seat besides him and moves her hand to his cheek. “I know your greatest fear is to turn into your mentor. You want to be different from Batman, Dick?”

He turns to face her, her bright green eyes unyielding in her conviction. “Take care of the people who love you.” 

Dick swears he hears his heart stop. In a second, happiness, confusion, delirium, uncertainty, and a thousand other conflicting emotions circle his mind. He almost forgot what it was like to feel that way. 

Reading the odd expression on his face, Kory gives a shrug. “Or don’t. It’s your choice.”

Dick breaks eye contact and thinks back to Bruce. Bruce, for all of his love, is terrified to let people get close to him. He’s terrified to lose them, so he pushes them away. 

As a kid, his mom used to tell him that the first show for an acrobat is a leap of faith. That you have to trust yourself and your partners or you will always be too scared to make that jump.

Dick hesitates. Is this another one of those leaps?

Slowly, he inches his hand towards Kory’s and intertwines his fingers in hers. He holds her hand firmly, confirming his commitment to her. She leans her head onto his shoulder and he mumbles an apology.

“Stop talking,” she whispers, pressing her lips against his. He embraces her, accepting this new leap of faith. 

After six months, they got married in the Blüdhaven courthouse. It wasn’t a specular event; given their first disastrous attempt, neither of them wanted to endanger anyone’s safety. They did manage to hold a wild wedding reception in the new Titans headquarters.

Everyone came- new Titans and old-, the Young Justice crowd, Clark, Lois, and Jon as well as some other members of the Justice League. He even invited remnants of the Bat-Family, who despite their hectic lives, all managed to attend. His entire family was there. All, except for Bruce. 

He sent an invitation, but he received no answer. Dick couldn’t tell if Bruce ignored him out of shame or if he decided to bury himself in work again. 

The public treated Dick Grayson’s marriage to an alien as a publicity stunt for his charities; as the adoptive son of infamous billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne, these types of crazy exploits were almost expected of him. As long as he kept a professional demeanor around his wife as Nightwing, no one would suspect his civilian identity.

Once they got his dog Haley and her pet alien silkworm, Syl’Khee to stop fighting for dominance, he and Kory actually managed to build a stable life together. For about a year.

The rustling sheets disrupt Dick’s sleep and he rolls over towards his wife. Kory moans, restless, as if experiencing a nightmare. He rubs her shoulder, stirring her from her slumber, and before she can reply, she rushes off to the bathroom. Kory’s been acting strange all week. 

At first, he assumed it was the expired bottle of mustard she drank from the fridge, but lately she’s gotten really spacey, forgetting to use his codename on patrol, and tripping over own her feet when she’s not flying up in the air. He didn’t think it was possible for her to get food poisoning from Earth cuisine.

He throws the covers off and checks on his wife, hunched over the sink. He helps pull her hair back as she heaves, coughing out her bile. 

“Kory, I think we really have to go and see a doctor.”

She pulls her head up to protest, only for her nausea to overwhelm her and heave again. Kory’s never exactly had a good history with doctors but Dick decides to make a call to the Justice League sickbay.  

Up at the Watchtower, the doctors scan Kory in the sickbay while Dick waits outside and watches. The League’s medical tech is the best in the galaxy, but with Kory’s Tamaranean biology, it might be difficult for them to pinpoint the cause of her condition. No one has said anything. It could be some alien form of cancer, or a severe allergic reaction to something on the planet, or a virus harmless to humans but lethal to her. His mind swarms with the endless possibilities and an insurmountable fear overtakes him.

Dr. Mid-Nite, the world’s most prominent superhero doctor, walks out of the sickbay and ushers Dick inside to an exhausted Kory. Dick takes her hand and turns to the doctor. “Is everything alright? Is it something serious?”

“Oh, very serious,” Dr. Mid-Nite replies grimly before his lips curl upwards. “Congratulations.”

One word. One word changed his life forever. Pregnant. Kory was pregnant. How? They are literally from two different worlds, the biology of that should have been impossible! Then again, Lois and Clark are from two different worlds and they still managed to have Jon.

The topic of kids was never on the table, so he didn’t even think about protection once they tied the knot. Kory was over the moon with the news, flying around the sickbay even though the sudden motion triggered her nausea.

As for him, Dick was terrified out of his mind. A kid? In their line of work? It’s a disaster waiting to happen. A potential hostage, a distraction- and that’s not even including his own weaknesses. But he didn’t want to ruin the mood. He was too scared to admit it.

Dick came home exhausted and lugging a crate full of mustard bottles. Ever since Kory’s pregnancy cravings kicked in, she’d been devouring more human food for the kid’s sake but for some reason, drinking mustard still remains on the top of her desired list. Thank god, the pregnancy seems to be normal otherwise. 

Kory’s taken a complete break from patrolling the city, much like how Donna temporarily retired during her pregnancy, and is focusing most of her energy on preparing the baby’s room. They won’t have to worry about the possibility of flying until their kid is older, but given that Tamaraneans get much of their energy from the sun, a steady light source is a necessity and she wants the room to reflect that.

As he sets the crate down, he spies Kory hovering in the air, fresh from the shower. She’s gotten used to wearing a bathrobe while they’re in private but it does nothing to hide her growing bump. The kid gets bigger everyday, like a growing time bomb. A reminder of his ever expanding dread. 

He notices his hand trembling on the counter and he forces himself to the couch to the relax. Kory joins him. 

“Dick, I spoke with Raven and Gar. They’re both coming by this weekend to help with the choosing of baby clothes. Gar said that if I travel alone with Raven, she’s just going to choose ‘gloomy’ colors but Raven claims that shadowy colors help to soothe a baby. What do you think? Do human babies have a preference?”

“Huh?” He mutters, his mind distracted. Raven and Gar are coming? In their cramped apartment? Granted he owns the whole apartment block, so it’s not like they have neighbors to worry about but still, if the Titans keep coming over that’s just going to draw more and more attention to their family; people might start asking questions. Gar is not the most subtle person. Not to mention if Raven and Gar get tailed, someone could figure out about Kory’s newfound vulnerability. Her outside appearances have been very limited these past few months but now he’s starting to wonder if he’s veering into Bruce’s levels of controlling. 

“Are you listening to me, Dick?”

“I’m sorry, my love, I’m just… really distracted right now.”

Her hand intertwines with his and her deep green eyes bore into him. “With what?” She encourages, resting her head on his shoulder. “Tell me.”

What’s there to tell? That he’s made the biggest mistake of his life? That he put her life and their child’s life in danger? That he’s scared of his own failings as a man? He knows he can be cold and manipulative like Bruce. He wallows in grief and he self-sabotaged his happiness in the past. And now he’s supposed to be in charge of a kid?

“Are we doing the right thing?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean this,” he directs, signaling to the unpacked boxes for the baby’s room. “All of this. What are we doing Kory? We can’t bring a child into this. Into our lives. We’re both in a dangerous line of work. There’s no telling what could-”

“We’re not alone, Dick. We have the Titans and-“

“And that doesn’t mean anything! Look at what happened to Donna’s son! And Garth’s son! Look at what happened to Lian!” 

Kory frowns, agitated at the memories. The Titans have lost so much- too much- and it wasn’t always the people who willingly put their lives on the line who paid the price.

“Even if we weren’t in this line of work, anything can happen- an accident, a permanent injury, a disease. Us or our kid. Kory, our kid is going to have Tamaranean and human DNA, we don’t know if that’s compatible. They might be sickly or they-“

“Darling, breathe,” she persuades, rubbing his back. “You’re taking too much at once. You can’t account for everything.”

“But I have to! Because if I don’t-!” Then everything that happens from here on out is my fault. 

“So what am I then?” Kory counters, her fiery temper flaring. “Am I just someone who sits on the sidelines while you make all the decisions?”

Taken aback, Dick stutters. “W-What? No, Kory I just meant-“

Kory pressed on, her intense passions dominating. “Even if it was unexpected, we made this commitment together! Your parents made decisions together, did they not? They were acrobats. They chose a dangerous life and yet they brought a child into their world. You said they did so because they loved their craft and they wanted to spread that happiness to others. Is that not what we do too?”

Kory pouts, egging a response from him. For a brief moment, he forgot Kory’s frightening temper. Stunned, Dick tries to collect his thoughts. He had compared his parents’ showmanship to his super heroic lifestyle in the past, but he never considered his parents’ thoughts on children. To him, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Is it possible that they were scared to bring a child into their lives, just like he feels now?

“It doesn’t matter what my parents wanted, Kory,” he counters, defeated. “They were civilians and in the end, their lives were cut short. All for some petty pocket change.”

“It doesn’t matter if they were civilians!” Kory protests. For a moment Dick’s temper flares before he sees the tears pooling in her eyes. “It doesn’t matter if they were superheroes or gods. They raised you! They kept you safe and did a wonderful job taking care of you and you spread that love in return.

“Same as my parents,” she reflects, her tone growing morose. “They did not seek conflict, yet conflict found them too. They tried, they tried to keep me and my siblings safe.”

Kory trembles, the memories of her enslavement overtaking her. Her family couldn’t protect her and she still loved them all the same. Dick takes her in his arms. More than anything, he hates seeing Kory upset.

His fingers run down her luscious, glowing hair and he can feel her lips brush on his ear. “No matter what happens, our child will be protected. We have better odds than our parents.”

Dick buries himself on her shoulder, ignoring the growing wetness running down his cheeks. He takes another leap of faith.

He chooses to believe her.

A few months later, Mar’i Grayson graced their lives. They named her after his mother. The first time Dick held her, he was terrified that he was going to drop her but he surprisingly managed to keep a steady hand. Her skin held an orange Tamaranean tint and her eyes glowed like her mother’s, but otherwise Mar’i was indistinguishable from a normal human baby. Well, except for one difference…

She was the most beautiful baby girl on the planet- no, the entire galaxy! Doesn’t matter what anyone else says. She’s his little starshine.

His entire family came to see her- the Titans, his adoptive brothers… and Bruce. They came face to face for the first time in years. They never really repaired that bridge when it broke the second time. Things were tense at first, until Bruce offered him a blank check to pay for Mar’i’s college fund. Despite all their differences and their arguments, Bruce was able to put aside their tremulous history to show his care for his granddaughter.

And Kory was so happy. After spending so many years, tortured and alone, Kory was surrounded by her Earth family. It was the greatest day of Dick’s life.

“This day has been a complete disaster,” Dick groans, rocking a screeching Mar’i. 

Kory and Dick rotate patrolling duties with the Titans, leaving the other parent behind to watch Mar’i. Normally, Mar’i’s a pretty relaxed baby, except tonight it feels like her cries on par with Dinah’s canary cry. Due to his hectic lifestyle, Dick doesn’t sleep normal hours anyways but there’s something about watching Mar’i that makes him much more exhausted than crimefighting. Taking down a dozen goons, fighting the Riddler and Two-Face and Deathstroke and Blockbuster? Those all seem so easy. Maybe it’s because he knows what he’s doing.

He’s tried all his usual tricks for her- the bottle, the pacifier, her toys- yet she’s totally indifferent in her cries. Mar’i has Kory’s Tamaranean biology, so he tried to offer her favorite snack-ketchup- only for her to ignore that too. Normally, he’d rest with her in the sun since the UV rays tend to soothe her but at this time of night…

Is she in pain? What if she’s in pain? Does he call Kory? No, no he can’t rely on his wife for everything. He has to rule out all other options before he reaches out to the Justice League. Desperate, he decides to call his best friend, the fastest man alive, Wally West.

“Hey, what’s up?” His friend casually answers his communicator, a loud crash almost drowning out his voice.  

Dick slaps his forehead at his thoughtlessness. The Titans are on a mission. “Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?” 

“Nope,” Wally assures, a punch echoing in the background. ”You caught me at a normal time, normal day. Something wrong, man?" 

“It’s Mar’i. She’s been crying nonstop for forty minutes and I don’t know how to make her stop. I thought with your experience-” 

“Got it," Wally snickers, his cocky ego inflating through the phone line. “You want the expert. I dunno, did you try giving her a pacifier? The red ones are always the best.” 

“Yeah, yeah I tried that already. It’s not helping.” 

“Maybe a diaper change then?” 

“I checked already.”

A second, huskier voice intercedes. “Did you try taking her out for a walk? Lian always got out of her fussy moods when we went out for a walk.” 

“It’s a little late for a walk-“ Dick expounds before his mind registers the new voice. “Wait, Roy? How did you get on this call?”

“I let him in,” Wally explains, switching the line over. “Oh, try singing to her. She might like that.”

Dick tries to hum a quick tune but in his frazzled state, he can only manage a jumbled mess of a melody before Mar’i’s screams drown him out. A feminine voice joins the phone call.

“Try placing your baby across your lap on their belly and rub her back,” Donna directs, a second crash from their fight ringing in the background. “For Robert, he’d fall right to sleep afterwards.”

Dick follows her instructions, changing Mar’i’s position from his arms on to his lap. To his surprise, Mar’i’s squirming slows and she coos, impressed with her new point of view. Dick exhales, the fatigue fully setting in.

“Thanks Donna. That worked,” he breathes, resting his head on the couch. The phone line grows eerily silent and the implications set in. “Donna?” He repeats, his heart tensing. They didn’t-?

A snicker gives away the charade, followed by another voice reverberating in the background. 

“This is an open line isn’t it?” Dick deduces, his relief transforming into mortification. 

Wally’s laugh echoes on the other side. “Sorry man, I couldn’t resist. You just sounded so desperate.”

Kory giggles and jumps in the call. “Sorry honey. Is Mar’i feeling better?” 

“Yeah, she is. I finally got her to calm down. Hopefully she’ll go back to sleep soon.”

Donna checks in. “Well, we’re wrapping up here. You keep the emergencies down on the home fort, got it pops?”

He mutters an affirmation, his eyelids now heavy. At this rate, he might drift off to sleep before Mar’i. He steadies his hands to ensure his daughter’s safety and waits for his wife to return.

Dick's not sure how they managed with the occasional super threat attacking Earth, but they created a peaceful life together. Kory helped with managing Mar’i’s Tamaranean quirks and he handled most of the cooking and cleaning at home, his years of practicing with Alfred paying off. The Titans would visit all the time, to the point where it felt like they all shared the same apartment. 

Same with his brothers, occasionally checking in from time to time. Damian was the biggest surprise, offering to train Mar’i when she got older. It’s weird watching the antisocial teen act so natural around his daughter, as if greeting a younger sibling. One night, Damian confessed to Dick that spending time with Mar’i reminded him of the times Dick used to take him out on patrol during his first outings as Robin. He’s proud of how much Damian’s grown over the years, to the point where he cares so deeply for others.

When Mar’i turned five, she started flying, as easily as a kid learns to ride a bike. She’d hover around their apartment, occasionally trying to sneak out, but they always managed to catch her. Her strength far exceeded that of a normal child as well. And Mar’i loved flowers, so much. At the age of six, she learned all the names of her mother’s favorite Tamaranean plants to the point where she could recite them by heart. From her personality to her interests, Mar’i was definitely more Tamaranean than human. 

Dick honestly felt a little left out, that is, until one day…

“What you got there, my little starshine?” Dick teases, setting dinner on the table. Kory is running a patrol with the other Titans this evening, which makes cooking much easier for him since his daughter’s growing accustomed to having meals not covered in ketchup. Mar’i is huddled in the corner on her side table, deeply absorbed in her drawing.

“My hero,” she states, as if listing an obvious fact. Dick chuckles as he watches her pick up a blue marker.

“So Superman, huh? Yeah, he’s one of my favorites too.”

“No, not Superman,” she pouts, upset at his incorrect guess. “You have to try again,” Mar’i orders, covering up her picture. 

Dick snorts, bending down to her eye level. “Or what, kiddo? You know I don’t have to guess.”

“Or…” she mumbles, her nose twitching like her mother’s. She huffs, unable to find a justification, and grins. “Just guess!”

“Okay…. Blue Beetle?”

Mar’i shakes her head, her thick black hair bobbing along. “Nope.”

“Supergirl?”

“No.”

“… is it Auntie Raven?”

“No, daddy. It’s you!” She giggles showing off her drawing.

“Me?” He blinks, studying her handiwork. Somehow he missed the copious amount of black that she used, but the shaky outline does resemble his costume somewhat. He and Kory have never kept any secrets from her, it’d be hard to explain Gar’s green skin otherwise, yet Mar’i never expressed much interest in his superhero side. “Why me?”

“Because…” she giggles, stretching her arms on her corner table. “You’ve been to space…”

He laughs harder than he intended. “Mar’i, that’s hardly special. Well, I guess it is actually special for most people-“

“And,” she adds, her excitement cutting him off. “You used to live in a circus! And you were friends with the elephants!”

As he listens to her list off her favorite traits, Dick grins so hard it hurts. For some reason, Mar’i seems fixated on the relatively mundane parts of his life, like his charity work and his ability to backflip. Yet he’s touched all the same. To think she was paying this much attention to his stories. That picture has a special place on the fridge tonight.

He’s not sure how the topic came up- maybe he and Kory were riding off the high of a successful mission, maybe they had grown comfortable with their domestic lives, or maybe he took a really heavy blow to the head and was just grateful to be alive- but somehow, the topic of trying for a second child popped up. Mar’i felt like such a miracle, he didn’t even think it was possible for a second try. Maybe he had just grown soft. But when he’s with Kory, somehow the impossible feels much more obtainable.

So they gave it a try.

On the Justice League Watchtower, Dick sticks his fork in a pile of mashed potatoes, crushing the sticky pudding for the dozenth time. He’s starving, yet his stomach’s too tied up in knots to concentrate on eating. These last few months have felt like a haze.

“Hey!” A boisterous voice calls out in a familiar red jumpsuit. Dick raises his head up to find Wally and Roy heading over to his table with their lunch trays. Wally sits besides him, his voice dropping to an excited whisper. “Congrats on the good news. When’s the date? September?” 

Dick nods, rubbing his temple. “Assuming everything goes to plan.”

“Man don’t sweat it.” Wally mumbles, stuffing his face with a large mouthful of his burger. “You survive one pregnancy, you can survive another.”

Roy smirks at his long time companion. “Are you speaking from experience, Wally? ‘Cause from what I can remember, when Linda made the announcement about Wade, you had a day where you paced back and forth so much you made a trench in Keystone City Central Park.”

“Well, can you blame me?” Wally swaggers, proud of his third child, before his tone turns somber. “Our first pregnancy didn’t go so smoothly. We were lucky to have Irey and Jai.”

Dick sighs, his anxieties taking hold again. Wally softens. “You alright man?”

“Yeah, it’s just… does it ever go away?” 

“What?” 

Dick bites his lip, steadying his nerves. “Listen, not to brag but I know I’m a pretty courageous guy.” Roy tilts his head, amused at Dick’s attempt at modesty while Wally snorts. Dick presses on. “We’ve all faced Trigon and Darkseid’s forces as well as every other crazed lunatic under the sun. It’s one thing when I put my life on the line. I knew that. I made that choice. But now that I have kids…”

Roy nods, biting into his casserole. “Ah, it’s the fear of losing your children. Is that what you mean?”

Dick doesn’t know how to respond. Roy knows that fear with Lian. Hell, Roy’s lived that fear, even if he has Lian back, it doesn’t erase the fear and lost time. Roy takes his silence as a confirmation. “Well to answer your question: I wish it did. But a part of you is always going to be terrified for them. It comes with the territory.”

“I know it’s normal to worry,” Dick admits. “I just wish there was more I could do.”

Wally cuts in. “Well coddling doesn’t help either. Even if we somehow manage to eliminate all crime on the planet and block off alien invaders and inter-dimensional travelers, there’s always going to be new problems that arise. Do you think people in the 16th century were worried about car accidents? Of course not, they didn’t know what cars were yet. At some point we have to pass the baton and trust that we raised our kids well enough to protect themselves. And if they can help other people along the way, even better.”

“As much as it annoys me to admit it, Wally’s right,” Roy consoles. “Parenthood is a leap of faith. And I can’t speak for everyone but in my experience, I realized my capability as a fighter and as a person after having Lian, not before.” 

“Yeah, you’re not alone in this," Wally assures. “If you ever have any questions or you need a helping hand, just reach out." 

Dick’s lips curl upward, the first sincere smile he’s had all day. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” 

He takes a heavy bite out of his lunch, the others chatting casually when a thought occurs. Dick drops his tone. “I do have one other question.” 

“Shoot,” Roy encourages. Dick takes in a deep breath.

“…Is the dad bod a real thing?”

Wally and Roy both stare at Dick like he suddenly grew a second head. They both snicker. 

“Yes.”

“No.”

Both Roy and Dick glare at Wally, who simply shrugs and returns to eating his third burger. “Hyperactive metabolism, remember?”

Dick frowns, his envy seeping through. “That is beyond unfair Wally.” 

“But it comes with the territory,” Roy grumbles, having also grappled with his weight in the past, “I was wondering why you were wearing a jacket. When did you start to notice the change?”

“About a week ago,” Dick confesses, his face flushing. “For the past three months I’ve been stuck doing desk work for the Pennyworth foundation and one night when I was getting ready to run my patrol, I noticed my suit felt… snug. Around the waist.”

Wally laughs and Dick buries his face in his hands. How humiliating. He’s never felt this uncomfortable in his own skin. He’s always maintained top physical form- a few extra pounds can mean the difference between life and death in this field. How could he let this happen?

He thinks back to his parents and how they maintained a rigorous routine in order to maintain their physiques as acrobats. He recalls his dad once telling his mom about how his uniform felt tighter all of a sudden, despite constantly exercising. His mom gently teased him, assuring him of her affection despite his changing figure. At first, Dick thought his dad was kidding since he never looked any different but now that he’s getting older, he’s starting to empathize with his dad’s struggles.

Roy shrugs, unperturbed. “Yep, once you become a dad, it’s like the body knows.”

“Well, we are getting older,” Wally commiserates. “It’s easy to feel self-conscious. Even my suit’s starting to feel different. You might want to talk to Animal Man. He’s got some tips when it comes to the whole balancing work life and home life.” 

“Just focus on working your core,” Roy adds, smirking. “And try not to strain your back, gramps.”

Dick snorts. “Haha, you guys are the worst.”

A few months later, his son Jacob “Jake” Grayson was born and life found new ways to be hectic. Jake was a completely different baby from Mar’i- much more human, in terms of both temperament and physical appearance. Unfortunately, he was a lot more sensitive to sounds and sudden movements, much like a regular baby, which meant that Kory’s attempts to soothe him through flying didn’t quite pan out as planned. His powers kicked in a little later than Mar’i’s as well, but Jake got into the swing of his changes. They maintained their happiness.

And time moved on. Dick got back in shape, continued his superhero career and his work in Blüdhaven, all while his family grew. The city’s corruption died down, thanks to the efforts of his sister, Mayor Melinda Grayson-Lin and with the Titans using Blüdhaven as their city of operations, the extreme criminal activity died down as well. People retired, some friends passed away. The fear of death looms over him with his line of work. It loomed over him as a kid too, even at the circus. Practicing without a safety net, there was always a chance for death. 

He knew that, he had come to terms with that possibility. But now, with his children, suddenly that possibility for death weighs much heavier on his soul. Makes all of his decisions tougher.

Dick ruffles his hair as he goes back to the drawing board. For some reason, changing costumes always turn into such a headache; he just can’t seem to find the right fit. He’s experimenting with adding a cowl to his costume, similar to Tim’s Red Robin outfit, but he can’t seem to come up with a design that doesn’t make him look like an overgrown rodent. 

Kory looks over his shoulder, her long luscious ponytail brushing against him. “I kind of like that one,” she points, signaling to a bat-like cowl. Dick grins. 

“You know who that looks like, right?”

“Well… it’s not a bad look on you.” Kory teases, wrapping her arms around his neck. Dick chuckles and returns to his project. He hasn’t exactly buried the hatchet with Bruce, even after all these years, and he’s not exactly rushing to copy his former mentor’s look. In truth, he’s not in love with the idea of adding a cowl to his costume, but he needs to take more measures with hiding his face. It’s growing more obvious that he’s not exactly “youthful” anymore and as grateful as he is to still have his hair, the downside is that his grays are growing prominent at his roots. Hard to strike fear into the heart of the suspicious criminal if they realize the city’s protector is a mortal man. He can’t keep trying to dye his hair black either.

Kory’s aging too, though her Tamaranean biology make it a little harder to distinguish the fine lines on her face and body. Her powers have diminished significantly though, particularly her star bolts. Hard to say why, though Victor suspects it might be her body accommodating to the Sun’s ultraviolet rays after living on Earth for several decades. She’s taken to teaching at Titans Academy for the time being, applying her expertise to the next generation of meta human teens.

Jake pops in. “Hey, for dinner can we have pizza-? Whoa, dad are you making a new costume?! Can I see?” 

“It’s not done yet,” Dick admits, his six-year-old too excited to listen. His mother boosts him up for a better view before he levitates on his own. 

“Wow! Mar’i come look!”

Mar’i, his preteen, floats in and Dick accepts that he’s just not going to get any work done on these designs tonight. 

“Hmm,” Mar’i tilts her head, observing the designs. “I don’t know if I like any of these.”  

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly.” Dick muses. Jake hovers over to him.

“Dad! Can you make a costume for me? Something really cool like-“

“Whoa there, buddy. Getting a little ahead of yourself. It’s too soon to be thinking about that kind of stuff. You’re too young for superhero costumes.”

“But dad,” Jake whines. “Uncle Damian’s been in the costume since he was a little kid. Why can’t I?”

“We do not copy Uncle Damian in this house,” Kory firmly states, likely recalling Damian’s troubled years.

“Yeah dad,” Mar’i steps in, her curiosity peaked. “Why can’t we have costumes?”

Dick sighs. Not this talk again. “Mar’i, honey-“ 

“I’m older than Uncle Damian and Uncle Jason when they became Robins,” she presses. Her little brother, sensing an argument, lands on his mother’s arms for protection. “I’m older than you were when you became a Robin. You said you were nine when you first joined Grandpa Bruce and you had no powers. I have mom’s star bolts, I could-“

“Mar’i, I’m not taking you on patrol with me,” Dick insists, his brow furrowed. “We’ve discussed this before. If anyone figures out-“

“I can defend myself!” Mar’i protests, her eyes glowing. She definitely takes after her mother, in both power and temper. “I’ve been training ever since I was a little girl, I can handle myself!”

“It’s not about handing yourself!” Kory shouts, her abrupt temper now flaring along with her daughter. “If it were about power alone, you would do spectacularly!”

Mar’i’s temperament quickly shifts from anger to enthusiastic pride and she beams. “I would?” 

Dick rubs his eyes, his head pounding from the two yelling Tamaranean women in his life. “Of course you would, Mar’i. That’s not the reason I don’t want you patrolling with me. Listen…”

Dick inhales, steadying himself. “Superhero stuff, it’s not all fun and games. It’s dangerous, people die and get hurt all the time. Stronger people than both of us. We’ve lost friends and family in this line of work. I would never want that to happen to you or Jake. Do you understand?”

Mar’i, now with her feet planted on the ground, gazes on with terror in her eyes. Mar’i, his little girl, who’s grown up so much. In a few years, she’ll be his height. Once she’s an adult, she’ll likely tower over him, just like her mother. And her powers have progressed far beyond Kory’s skills at her age- she’ll likely surpass her mother too. But for now, she’s just a scared kid.

“Dad… you said that you lost your parents when you were little, right?”

“Yeah…” he breathes. Even after all this time, the memory still seems fresh. The memory of losing the people most precious to him. Mar’i turns to Kory.

"And mom too?”

Kory, with a somber Jake in her arms, gives a nod. Jake sniffles against her t-shirt, the realization sinking in for him too. Mar’i continues.

“But they were regular people right? They weren’t supposed to die. If your jobs are so dangerous, are- are you two going to die too?”

Her words hit him right in the gut. On instinct, he denies her fear. “Of course, not Mar’i. Your mom and I would never-“

“But didn’t they make that promise to you?!” With tears in her eyes, Mar’i bolts out of the apartment, flying off into the night sky.

He’s ashamed to admit he didn’t go immediately after her. He just sat there in silence, along with Kory and Jake, the weight of the argument holding him down. 

Mar’i wasn’t wrong. His parents did promise to keep themselves safe; Kory’s as well. And yet both pairs died in the end. He has no business trying to guarantee the same to his daughter, especially now. The years are wearing on him and as much as he hates to admit it, he’s getting older- slower. His parents died in their prime and he’s turning into an old man. Sooner or later, he’s going to have to retire, assuming a stray bullet or bad fall doesn’t take him out first.  

Kory was the first to regain her spirit, encouraging them to go after her. Dick, his mind refocused, suggested splitting up to cover more ground: Kory and Jake can reach out to the Titans to see if Mar’i makes contact and Dick can reach out to his contacts in Gotham. Mar’i’s a smart girl; she’d never run far from home.

He got a message from Damian stating that he saw Mar’i’s energy streak travel through Gotham airspace but she didn’t seek him out. She must be looking for her uncle Tim; after all, Tim’s always been a great listener. Jason’s off, traveling the world and working on his latest novel, while Damian… hasn’t always been the best listener, despite his fondness for his niece.

All he has to do is wait for his daughter to turn around and come home. 

An hour passes before he finally recognizes a familiar streak of light in the distance. The streak of light slows and lands on a skyscraper six streets down. He pulls out his grappling gun and swings towards the building. He finds Mar’i, perched on the side of the building, tears still streaming down her face. She sniffles, oblivious to her surroundings until Dick feigns a cough.

“Dad?” She turns, stunned and embarrassed that she missed him in the shadows. 

Dick offers her a reassuring smile, taking a seat alongside her. “Hey, my little starshine. Did you have fun visiting your Uncle Tim and Aunt Steph?” 

Mar’i pulls her legs up, cradling them in her arms. “Actually… I went to go see grandpa.” 

“…I see,” he utters, his smile weakening. The talk of dead grandparents must have pushed her to check on Bruce, the closest man she’s ever had to a grandparent. Even with Damian taking on the brunt of the vigilante work, the damage to Bruce’s body from his time as Batman is substantial. His movement is limited, his body dented from years of fighting, and he's developed a heart condition from the constant stress of his dangerous life. Still, he remains active in assisting Damian, his stubborn pride keeping him tethered to the world of the living: it’s both admirable and frustrating. 

“I told him what we talked about,” Mar’i mumbles, burying her face on her legs. “About how I want to be hero and how… how I’m scared. I’m so scared, dad. About losing you and mom and Jake. Even if I’m okay, there’s no guarantee that I can keep you safe.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Dick admits, looking up at the pitch dark sky. “There’s never a guarantee. A giant wave of anti-matter can come over the planet and wipe us all out from existence, for all I know. I should have known better than to make false promises.”

He turns to Mar’i, her head still buried, closed off and afraid. Gingerly, he rubs her back, much like how his father used to soothe him when he was afraid. 

“You wanna know something though, Mar’i? For all the awful things I’ve gone through, I still wouldn’t trade it.” She looks up, her bright green eyes wide. Dick gives a casual shrug. “Pretty sure your mom would give you the same answer. We’ve had our share of heartaches. Of loss and broken relationships. 

“But if I hadn’t have gone through that, I never would have met your mother. I never would have had you. And we wouldn’t be sitting on the rooftops with the best view of the city.”

He extends his hand and showcases the city below. The lights, glittering like diamonds, and each building, each room has a story to tell. Sometimes beneath the gunk and the fear and the misery, you have to remind yourself that there are wonderful things in the world. 

Mar’i takes in the sights. “It really is beautiful.” 

“It’s worth protecting,” he asserts, gazing at her reaction. “The whole planet is really. I wouldn’t trade it or the time I spend with you for anything else in the world. Sorry I didn’t give you a better answer the first time.” 

Her eyes shimmer in the evening lights, in awe. Hard to think she started off the night so rough. “It’s okay. I think I let my fear get the better of me.” 

“Speaking of fear, what did you and Bruce do together?”

“He listened. Told me I should head home. He said ‘As scared as you’re feeling right now, your father’s probably worried out of his mind’. That Jake and I are the most important people in the world to you.”

Dick’s lips curl upward. “Did he now?” 

Now that he thinks about it, he does feel a lot calmer. The tension in his chest vanished, assured after his daughter’s safety. Even after all this time, Bruce still thinks of them, huh? “We’re going to have to pay him a visit sometime during the holidays.”

Mar’i nods, excited at the prospect. They chat for a while, discussing Mar’i’s options to start her superhero training. He recommends that she join the Titans. With the academy up and running again, it might be good to surround herself with people her own age. He might have to give Victor and Gar a call, see how soon they can fit her in.

In the distance, he spots two familiar streaks flying in the air. Mar’i squints. “Is that mom and Jake? How did they get here so fast?”

“Oh right,” Dick mentions, pulling out his tracker. “I signaled for them. Sorry, should have said so earlier.”

Kory lands with Jake at her side and she grabs Mar’i in a tight embrace. “Sweetie, are you okay? Thank X’hal we found you!” 

“Yes, I was visiting grandpa Bruce,” Mar’i muffles, buried deep in her mother's chest. Kory loosens her hold and takes her daughter’s face in her hands. 

“Don’t ever scare me that like. Who knows what dangers lurk when you’re alone?” 

“It’s alright Kory,” Dick assures, resting his hand on her shoulder. “We’re all here now. Let’s head home.”

Her hand matches his as she floats up along with Mar’i and Jake. Dick pulls out his grappling gun and Jake snickers. 

“Hey dad, check it out,” he brags, looping through the air. “We’re the Flying Graysons.”

Dick blinks, while Kory gives him an amused smirk. Jack prattles on. “Yeah ‘cause you see we’re all-“

Mar’i nudges him and points her eyes in the direction of their dad. Jake stares before his lips curl downwards in embarrassment. “Sorry dad, I forgot you couldn’t fly.”

Kory rests her hands on Dick’s shoulders. “Oh dear, do you want me to carry you sweetie?”

Dick chuckles, thinking back to all the times she carried him bridal style across the sky. He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it, Jake. I don’t fly in the traditional sense, but I still manage. Come on Graysons, let’s fly off.”

He shoots off his grappling gun and swings off the rooftop, his family flying close behind him.

He’s lost one family before and suffered breakups and heartache with his other two families.  Yet for all his pain, he’s met so many wonderful people. People who brought out the best in each other, people who made life special, and who he’ll continue to help and guide in return. From the Titans to the Justice League to Superman and Batman to his wife to his parents. Now he’ll get to watch his kids soar to new heights, protecting them as best he can.

There were so many times in his life where he thought he was going to die. So many times he had to make tough calls, take huge risks but knowing that didn’t stop him from saving the world. Or living, despite all the odds. Sometimes you just have let yourself be happy.

That’s the ultimate leap of faith.