The room still smelled like ozone and rain.

Dick hadn’t moved from where he stood near the window, shoulders rigid, hands braced on the sill hard enough his knuckles had gone white. Blüdhaven sprawled below, neon and sirens and life going on like nothing had just cracked something open inside him.

The door clicked softly behind you.

He flinched.

Not dramatically—just enough to tell you his nerves were stretched thin. Dick didn’t turn right away. His breath hitched once, then he forced it steady, like he was counting.

“She’s gone,” he said finally, voice low. Flat. “Police took her. Medical’s… handling the rest.”

Silence followed. Thick. Unavoidable.

Dick dragged a hand through his hair and laughed under his breath, but there was no humor in it. “God. I keep replaying it. Every second. Like if I rewind enough, I’ll find the moment where I could’ve—” He stopped himself sharply, jaw tightening.

He turned then.

You saw it immediately—the way his usual brightness was dulled, like a light turned down instead of off. His eyes searched your face, not for answers, just… grounding.

“I didn’t see it coming,” he said. “That’s the part that keeps getting me.” He swallowed. “I pride myself on reading people. On control. And for a second there, I didn’t have any.”

Dick took a step toward you, then hesitated, catching himself. He lifted his hands slightly, palms out, a silent is this okay?

“I’m not—” He exhaled, trying again. “I’m not asking you to fix this. I just need to not be alone with it.”

The mask was gone now. Not physically—but the performance, the charm, the effortless confidence people expected from him. This was Dick Grayson stripped down to the quiet aftermath, when the adrenaline had burned off and left everything raw.

“She crossed a line,” he said, more firmly now. “And I know that. I know it in my head.” His fingers curled into fists at his sides. “But my body doesn’t. Not yet.”

He finally closed the distance, stopping close enough that you could feel the warmth of him—but he didn’t touch. Wouldn’t, unless you made the first move.

“Can I stay here with you for a minute?” Dick asked quietly. “Just until my hands stop shaking.”