EUPHORIA

The world can burn

Damian's POV

The city is on fire.

Not literally. Not tonight.

But Gotham is falling apart the way it always does.

Sirens echo through the streets below. Criminals crawl out of every dark corner. Somewhere in the distance, a building alarm screams into the night.

Normally, none of that bothers me.

Tonight, all I can think about is Raven.

She's asleep on the couch when I return to the apartment.

Titus is curled against her side, snoring loudly.

The sight immediately makes some of the tension leave my shoulders.

I lock the door behind me and walk over.

She's fine.

No injuries.

No danger.

No reason for me to worry.

Yet I still do.

I always do.

Carefully, I pull the blanket that has fallen off her shoulder back into place.

Raven shifts slightly but doesn't wake.

Good.

She needs the sleep.

The last few months have been difficult for her. Even though she'd never admit it, she still wakes up from nightmares sometimes. Sometimes she sits by the window and stares outside with a distant look in her eyes.

And every time I see it, I want to fix it.

The problem is I don't know how.

I can fight assassins.

I can track criminals.

I can survive things most people never could.

But helping someone heal?

That is much harder.

Titus lifts his head and looks at me.

"She's fine," I mutter.

He huffs.

I swear that dog judges me.

A small noise escapes Raven as she shifts again.

Instantly my attention snaps back to her.

Her eyebrows pull together.

A nightmare.

Without thinking, I kneel beside the couch.

"It's okay," I say quietly.

Her expression relaxes.

The tension leaves her face.

I don't know if she heard me or not, but it works.

A few moments later she's sleeping peacefully again.

Only then do I breathe normally.

It's ridiculous.

I've faced people far more dangerous than a bad dream.

Yet seeing her upset makes my stomach twist in ways a battlefield never could.

I hate it.

I hate how much I care.

But I can't stop.

Because somewhere along the way Raven became family.

And family is not something I abandon.