Veil of Shadows ๋࣭⭑⚝ Dick Grayson

5 ๋࣭⭑⚝ Surprise..? Or not.

"According to those files, the man who came after you might have been involved with some doomsday cult."

"How charming..." Jules muttered, clearly annoyed.

"They apparently believe it’s their destiny to stop the end of the world." Dick continued, glancing briefly at the teenager in the backseat. "Does that mean anything to you?"

Rachel was silent for a few moments, looking out the window. "Well, when I was a kid, I didn’t get too angry or scared... because bad things just happen."

"Like what?" Dick asked softly, frowning when she didn’t respond.

"I guess I’m an orphan now, too," Rachel said, watching as the detective tensed and exchanged an uncomfortable look with the teenager. "That billionaire, Bruce Wayne—he raised you?"

The brunette couldn’t suppress a small scoff. "‘Raised’ is a generous term."

Dick shot her a fond glare before answering, "...Yeah."

"Must’ve been cool..." Rachel said, breaking into a tight smile.

"It was... complicated."

"Does it ever go away?"

"What?"

"The feeling that you got left behind."

He glanced at her, then at the teenager. "Yes."

Rachel tilted her head, raising an eyebrow at his obviously dishonest response.

"Well, no... not entirely."

Jules faltered as she noticed Rachel’s lips quiver slightly. "You’re going to leave me too, aren’t you?"

"Rachel, that’s not going to happen." Jules cut in, fully turning to face her.

"Yeah... We’re not gonna do that."

.˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳.

"So, who are these people?"

Dick glanced back at her before answering vaguely, "Old friends... we haven’t seen them in a long time."

"Just you," she mumbled sarcastically, giving him a side-eye.

He sighed, raised his fist, and knocked three times.

The door slowly creaked open, revealing a soft-looking blonde whose expression faltered slightly when she saw him, then brightened when she saw Jules.

"Hi, love!" she giggled softly, quickly pulling her into a hug.

Dawn tightened the embrace, grinning ear to ear. "It’s so good to see you in person, Jules."

They pulled away slightly as Dawn glanced at the pair by the door, who were watching them in confusion.

"Hey," Dick greeted in a low tone.

"Hi."

"Hi." To Jules’ surprise, Rachel cut through the silence, extending her hand to the older woman. "I’m Rachel."

"Dawn," she smiled gently at the girl.

Rachel briefly frowned when she felt a jolt the moment their hands met, awkwardly pulling her hand back.

Dick’s eyes flicked between Rachel and Dawn for a moment. "Can we talk?"

Dawn glanced at Rachel, gently rubbing her arms, before looking back at Dick and shaking her head. "You’re about four years too late, but sure." She stepped aside, opening the door wider for them to enter.