Saviour || D. Grayson

𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨?

a/n: this is so bittersweet to say... but this book is coming to an end soon...

memes in the next one, i promise.

it's been a hell of a ride everyone

~One year later~

"I'm home!"

"Papa!"

"And there's my little dove!" Dick exclaimed as Viola ran up to him. "And where did you fly off to today?"

"We went to visit grandpa Bruce and uncle Tim at the office since I had a meeting, met up with Nana Harley and Cat for lunch and then uncle Jay and I took her flying just down the block." I smiled, emerging from the kitchen. "Dinner should be ready in a few minutes."

"Sounds like a fun day. I almost didn't clock out today."

"New case?"

"Yep. Already called Jaybird and told him to check it out and drop the evidence on my desk for tomorrow."

"Speaking of Jason... He brought up an interesting topic."

"For the last time, I'm not joining the US gymnastics team for the next Olympics! I'm perfectly fine with being-"

"He says it's time for us to retire, Dick." I interrupted and he froze. "And I agree..."

"How long until dinner?"

"Twenty minutes."

"Then I call a time-out until after dinner and Vi's asleep."

"As long as we don't clock in for the night shift tonight! Steph can't babysit because she has midterms and requested to eat in her room so she can study in peace."

"Deal!"

｡ﾟ•┈୨🃏୧┈• ｡ﾟ

"Retiring? You're serious about this?"

"Bird boy, I'm tired of this... Risking my life in this thankless job while having to pretend I don't have any cracked ribs so Vi doesn't start asking questions. She still likes to think Jay dresses up just for her."

"Maeve, we promised to keep doing this to make life safer for Viola." Dick pointed out and I sighed, leaning against the dresser. "Retiring means-"

"That we're here for our daughter's life and not worried about if we're gonna bleed out in an alley or if a goon is gonna take one bad swing and kill us." I defended. "Dick, we both grew up with Bruce absent most of the time. There's a reason they all call me 'mom'... I don't want this for Vi. I want her to grow up with both parents available at all times. Not us having rotating shifts while the other fights off crime."

"The world isn't safe for her. With us out there-"

"Dick, it'll never be safe for any of us."

"What we've seen, what we've been through... I don't want her to go through any of that."

"I don't want her to go through it either, but-"

"And we started this. You and me...Domino and Robin, Domino and Nightwing. Retiring just feels-"

"Like abandoning the mission?" I asked and he looked down. "Dick, I'm done... Frankly, I quit a long time ago after Jade left with the LOA. It's been about eight months since I last put on that suit and... and I feel free. I'm not feeling suffocated anymore by what everyone expects me to be."

"And what's gonna happen when something big hits Gotham and Blüdhaven, Mae? When there's no one left to fight for it? You think I can just walk away from that?"

"There's always gonna be something big in these two cities. Always a psycho running amok, another crisis, another damn mission... And we can't save everyone. I learned that the hard way in Arkham and it continues to break me no matter how much time has passed."

"That's the reason we have to keep doing this, Mae. Because no one is going to step up like we have... You're telling me, you can just walk away when people are dying because Domino isn't there?"

"I'm saying that I have to walk away from this, Dick!" I choked out and stepped forward. "If I don't walk away while I'm still willing, I'm going to lose what little part of myself I got back after everything. I can't just put on the mask and pretend these scars don't matter anymore because they do... I want to live, Dick. I'm tired of going from one fight to the next practically since I was born."

"You think I'm not tired, too? You think I don't feel it every single time I look in the mirror and see a new scar? But we don't get to be tired, Maeve. We're the ones who fight because if we don't, no one else will. That's what this life means."

"It's what Bruce made it mean, Dick. I won't sacrifice what's left of my soul, my sanity, my family for a mission that never ends. I refuse to become him, and I won't let you, either."

"Bruce isn't the only reason we do this. We do it because we care. Because we want better for people like Viola, for the ones who don't have anyone else. You're acting like... like this is just some burden we got forced into."

"It is a burden and you know it better than anyone." I defended as he sat on the edge of the bed. "You can dress it up with all the noble intentions you want, but at the end of the day, this life took everything from us. It took Bruce's humanity, it took Jason's childhood, Tim's innocence, Steph's happiness, and it nearly took me more times than I can count. Do you want to wait until it takes you too? Until Viola's left crying at your grave because you couldn't let go?"

"So what? I just stop? Pretend it's all fine while people die because I wasn't there?" Dick asked and I crouched down in front of him.

"You don't have to pretend, Dick. You can still care, you can still help... just not like this. Not at the cost of everything else. Let the next generation take up the mantle. We've given more than enough for so long. Don't let it take any more from us."

"What if I don't know how to? I've been doing this for so long... I don't know how to stop."

"We'll start small, okay? Maybe let Steph and Jay take over the big cases while you handle the smaller ones. I'll tag in for a while if it helps... One last ride as Nightwing and Domino before we hang it up for good."

"We're getting too old for this, aren't we?"

"Nah... Our priorities just changed."