For the Love of Nightwing

Home Coming

        Tim ran up to us after the court was dismissed- he looked so much like Dick... And Jason- I remember when Joker killed him and then he came back and stole Joker's red hood, but he's still on the DL about it. Him and I are great friends and we trust each other fully.

        "Good job." Tim said, giving me a high five. I smiled brightly and looked at Bruce, waiting for him to say something.
"Shall we go somewhere more private?" He stated rather than asked. I took my golden heels off and began to follow him. I got dirty looks as I made my way through the room.

        "It's because of your shoes. That's why they're staring at you."
"Yeah, you need to put them on."
"No, she doesn't, they're uncomfortable."
"Pain is beauty." The voices then all began to speak at once- about 20 of them- arguing over my shoes.
"So what now?" I asked, trying to ignore Them, as we were now approaching Dick's car and the limo.

       "Well I do believe you must come back to the Manor, Mistress Dolly." I looked over to the black limousine where a tall, thin, old white man stood. He had the door open and waited.
"Alfred, right?" I asked, putting a finger to my lips and looking him up and down. He stared at me, mouth open and eyes wide.
"Y-you must forgive me," he said with a gulp, "Mistress Dolly, it's come as quite a shock. I knew- of course- but I didn't realize... Never mind. Shall we go?" The British man spoke rather quickly.

         "Yes, let's go. Dolly, Tim, get in the back. Alfred and I have things to talk about." Bruce said, pointing. Tim immediately began to make his way through the door Alfred had open and I followed. I looked over to Dick, stopping in my tracks while Tim proceeded to sit inside.
"What about him?" I jabbed my thumb in Dick's direction. Bruce shook his head.
"He's busy. Now let's go." Bruce swung his arm toward the limo. I shook my head and took a step back.

        "He's the only one I trust." I murmured. Bruce groaned loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You spoiled brat. More than a month ago you wanted to kill him. And he's not the one who's going to fix you. I am," I could feel Bruce begin to get angry, "I am all you need, I can protect you. You don't even remember him as well as you do me." He pointed at his chest and let out a heavy breath, "I'm not going to do that again. Not to you or me."

         "What do you mean 'fix me'? I'm not broken." I asked after finding my voice.
"I ruined you. You felt like a daughter to me so I spoiled you. And now you just always expect to get what you want. It's like your the main character in a story, so everything goes your way." I snorted.
"I'm 19, why do I have to listen to you?"
"Because you do what I say, when I say- that's always been the agreement." By this point Tim was sticking his head out of the doorway with a scared look.
"Since when?"
"You know what?! I bet if you followed directions your *ss wouldn't have been kidnapped."
"So now it's my fault?" I asked quietly, I nodded once then got in the car. I tossed my shoes on the ground of the limo and sat down.

            Crossing my arms, glaring at my shoes silently. Not because I was mad, or sad, I just didn't know how to feel. I didn't feel like Bruce did anything wrong, but I didn't feel as if I did either. Tim tried to comfort me but I just pushed him away. Alfred started the car and we drove away. I looked out just in time to see Dick waving good bye, with a sad look, before turning the corner.

           I slumped further into the white leather seat and sighed. I could almost hear the faint mumbling of Alfred and Bruce speaking in the front.
"Are you okay?" Tim asked.
"Always." I said quietly. I turned my face away from him and began to stare out the window, watching Gotham blur by. It was completely different than I was used to seeing it- I usually saw it at night, with brightly lit windows, fog covering buildings, stars shining dimly over angry drivers.

        The only way I have ever seen Gotham was as a blur. I had just always been running across buildings, or running through alleyways away from cops or Nightwing, sometimes if I was lucky and well-behaved Joker would take me on fast-paced joyrides through Gotham in his purple Lamborghini- making it even more of a blur. I sighed glumly. 'What have I done?' I thought to myself. 

           About twenty minutes later the limo pulled onto jet black pavement, the door opened a moment later, by Alfred, to let us out. I got out slowly, after Tim. When my still bare feet touched the warm pavement my toes curled, a feeling of déjà vu ran down my spine until it prickled my fingertips. I glanced at the large, double, spruce door. Assuming it was the entrance I began walking to it.

          I found myself standing inside a large foyer, behind Bruce.
"I know you don't remember, so feel free to explore. Knock yourself out." Bruce said warmly. I was about to move when a voice spoke from beside me.
"Figuratively speaking," Tim said as he grabbed my shoulder to hold me back, "it would really suck if you managed to render yourself unconscious doing something dumb." I couldn't exactly tell if he was kidding or actually treating me like a child. I nodded and brushed his hand off my shoulder, beginning to look around, making a mental map of the giant manor.

       "It's a lot different during the day." I whispered to myself as I made a left turn and got lost for the third time since I began my journey an hour ago- I was trying to make it back to the dining room. When I came at night my feet took over, the guided me to where I needed to go; muscle memory.

       I came to closed door, curiosity opened it and led me inside. I gasped at what was laid out before me.