Chapter Text
Gotham is…
Dick Grayson sits in the car of one of the many trains that run from Gotham to Bludhaven, still bleary, still trying to wake up. The commute each morning is long, hard, a test of his dedication to the life he’s chosen for himself. But it is worth it. Worth it to wake up each morning next to the woman he loves, listen to her gentle breathing, feel her warm skin and smooth scales. Worth it to see the brothers and sisters he loves more frequently than on holidays and birthdays, to watch the youngest of them grow and forge their own paths.
The train emerges from the tunnel, and the commute is worth it. To go from darkness into the sprawling chaos of Midtown Gotham, to see the first rays of the sun wash over the looming buildings. He loves the view, likely would have stayed in Bludhaven and just come for visits, if it weren’t for that beautiful skyline. He remembers it from when he was Robin, swinging above it all, a freedom in the air that he could never find on the ground. Dick Grayson has always been a free spirit, never wanted to be tied down. It is what made his relationship with Bruce Wayne so strained, what led him to quit being Robin and set down his own path as Nightwing.
But now, as he gets older, he thinks about the quiet comfort of having those bonds. Not ones that want to tie him down. But ones that keep him from flying too high, from losing perspective. Dick Grayson is not grounded. He never can be, will never allow himself to be. But when he wants to sink just a little closer to the earth, rest his wings for a while, he has a home to do it in.
To Dick Grayson, Gotham is home. The death of his childhood and the birth of the man he became. A dark place, a place where his parents were taken from him, where he was grounded and tied down. But also a place of hope, where he can swing through the skyline and protect the children beneath him, keep them from becoming like him. Gotham is where his beloved is, a city as difficult and cruel as she can be, but still full of love, once you get to know her well enough.
He watches the city stretched out before him, the bold colors of day banishing the dark. He thinks of the ring he saw in a jeweler’s window a few days ago. Sipping at his coffee, Dick Grayson thinks of how beautiful that ring would look on Koshka’s finger.
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Gotham is…
Tim Drake slumps in his office in WayneTech R&D. He is exhausted, running himself thin. There are still loose ends on the cases he has been working as Red Robin, questions that still need answers. He is uncertain of how long it has been since he’s slept. A few days, at the very least. His tie is on crooked and the rest of the department knows that when he is on his fifth cup of coffee for the day, it’s best to leave him alone. There are emails to answer, schematics to look over, patents to send up to Legal. There never seems to be enough hours in the day.
There is a soft knock at the door. He bites back a growl, gets ready to tell one of his people to fuck off, he’s busy. But it is not one of his people who let themselves in. Areum smiles, that wolfish edge to it, as she lets herself in. And just like that, Tim feels at peace. All it takes is her smile, although he would never tell her. She is merciless when she teases him, and much as he loves her for it, he doesn’t need to give her more ammunition. Free for the afternoon, she tells him, placing bags of take-out from the Korean place just down the street.
If it were not for her, the way she barges in and demands that he take care of himself, Tim would not have had a proper lunch. Hell, it’s the first time he’s had a proper lunch in days. She sits at his desk across from him, pulls out containers of kimbap and bulgogi and kimchi and bibimbap and more food than either of them could eat in one sitting. Leftovers, for him to set in the fridge so he’s not starving himself while she isn’t around. Her backpack sits in one corner of the room, her jacket tossed on top of it.
As she tells him about her day, about her upcoming exams and her plans for graduation, Tim feels energized. While he eats, lets her take care of him, he thinks about all of the strange circumstances that had led them to meet. It would have been all too easy for them to have never crossed paths, as large as the city is.
But to Tim, Gotham is a forge. A place to rebuild oneself, to take in different elements and make yourself whole. He still does not understand the darker parts, the kind of poverty that gives birth to the very criminals he tracks down. But he is trying, letting Areum take him by the hand to gently guide him. Empathy does not come naturally to him, but he is trying. And he thinks that he is ready to take another step, to see her smile every morning and do his best to take care of her, too. The extra key is in his pocket. But he thinks he will wait. The right moment will come, eventually.
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Gotham is…
Jason Todd bandages his knuckles, the sink still full of blood and discarded tissues. These beatings are not new to him. He has always been a brawler, always known the streets and what it takes to survive in them better than anyone else in the family. It is dark, and it is rough. But he is there to face down the darkness, to teach lessons to those who need it beaten into them. There is still so much work for him to do. So many women and children and people down on their luck who need freedom from the predators that keep them cowering in the dark.
The door opens and she steps in. A little ray of light in that unending darkness, although she would never agree with him on that. A girl who once had no name, who he’d found cowering and helped bring out of the shadows. She will always be Delphi to him, the name a gift that neither of them will ever let go. But she is also Mai, himawari, darling… So many identities, all of them still new and strange. She smiles as she approaches him, kneels on the tile to take his hands. Her skin is warm, soft, fingers gentle as she finishes bandaging his hands.
They have both gotten used to this. To him coming back a little bloodied, a little wild. He is always afraid that one day it will be too much. But she always stays, always does her best to take care of him. A soothing balm to the boiling rage, cooling him down when he runs too hot. She dabs ointment on his split lip, kisses the edge of his black eye. When she pulls at his hands, he obeys. Lets her lead him into the kitchen, press a mug of chamomile tea into his hands with two aspirin to help with the pain. The cookies she has been baking are still cooling, the smell of them making his apartment feel a little bit more like home.
To Jason Todd, Gotham is hope. A terrible, filthy, disgusting place that he wants to hate. But he sees it through new eyes. Sees it the way Delphi does, as a place that sheltered her from the past. A place that gives people like him, like her, a second chance. There is still a darkness at the heart of Gotham, one that cannot be chased away easily. But he can also see the light. The many people who want to change it, who do their best each day to make it a better place. They fail, and fall, and despair. But it is getting back up that is the most important step.
He sips at his tea and watches her move with a practiced ease in his kitchen. She stays more frequently, now. Not only because she knows that it eases his nerves to know she is safe in his home, but because there are pieces of her there, too. Books on his bookshelf, clothes in his closet. Not yet her home. Because she has pieces of herself in many places, in the room that her mothers have given her, in her own little apartment. But one day, he hopes that she will stay. That his home will become her own, too, and he can care for her in the way he wants to.
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Gotham is…
Bruce Wayne sits alone in his cave, observing his city through computer monitors. He appreciates the peace, the silence that allows him to think. There are times when he believes that isolation is when he works his best. When Alfred is up taking care of the house, when Damian is off at school or one of his art lessons. When Cassandra is off testing herself, or taking care of the girl she has taken under her own wing. Duke Thomas will be coming, soon. A new ward, a new child to mentor. But he will not be alone in it. Jason has already taken a liking to the boy, and Koshka, too.
He thinks he should be alarmed that the two most violent members of his family want to be there to teach Duke. But he also knows them well enough to know that neither of them will ever try to shape Duke in their image. They are both haunted by the things that they have done. There are nights when Koshka stays late with Bruce, when he can see in her eyes that she is stuck in the past. The brief moments that Jason has been around Bruce, he has seen that same look in his eyes. They will be good teachers for Duke, not only for their knowledge, but for their wisdom.
Bruce knows, first hand, that guilt and regret are some of the best teachers one can have. To keep from making the same mistakes, to hope that one can keep others from making them, too.
He slumps in his chair, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. He has been fighting a migraine for several hours, has been trying to push through it. But the pain does not go away so easily. Giving in, he stands from the chair, retrieves the medicine he has been given for it. Swallows the pill dry and leans against the desk while he waits for it to kick in.
To Bruce Wayne, Gotham is his mission. A project that he can never seem to give up on. The place he was born and the place he will die, either of old age or bleeding out on the streets. He is getting older, the grey blooming at his temples and the wrinkles around his eyes giving it away. His body is slowing down, too. No matter how hard he trains, how far he pushes, there are some walls that he simply cannot bust through. One day, he will have to pass on his mantle, the duty that he has held on to for so long. He hopes to keep that dark responsibility from hanging over his children’s heads for as long as he can.
Bruce Wayne stands, a white envelope catching his attention. Tickets to the ballet, given to Cassandra as a gift for the help and friendship she has given to the Kurogane girl. A production of Dracula. He has avoided the ballet, sent Dick or Damian with Cassandra. But he cannot keep avoiding it. Cannot keep avoiding her. He takes a deep breath, picking up the envelope. Two tickets.
He tells himself that he is only going to be a good father, to make Cassandra happy. But in his heart, Bruce Wayne knows better. He only hopes that he can hide the truth, just a little bit longer.