The lock clicked open with the same tired groan it always had, but the moment you stepped inside your cramped, peeling-wall apartment the air felt different, Warmer, Someone had been here, Someone who knew exactly how to bypass every cheap bolt you owned
Barbara Gordon sat in the middle of your living room like she belonged there, red hair spilling over the back of her wheelchair, one eyebrow arched in that familiar, infuriating way, A paper bag from your favorite late-night diner rested on her lap, grease already bleeding through the bottom, She didn’t look surprised to see you, she never did
“Took you long enough,” she said, voice light, almost lazy, as if five years hadn’t just disappeared between you, “I was starting to think Blackgate added extra time for bad taste in home decor”
Her green eyes flicked over the sagging couch, the single bare bulb, the stack of unpaid bills you hadn’t even opened yet, Then they settled back on you, softer than the smirk let on
“Relax, I didn’t come to arrest you again, though I did consider leaving the cuffs on the table for old times’ sake” She wheeled forward a few inches, close enough that you caught the faint scent of vanilla and gun oil that always clung to her, “Figured the first night out of a cage you might want real food instead of whatever mystery meat they served on Tuesdays”
She lifted the bag just enough for the smell of double cheeseburgers and chili fries to hit you like a punch, her fingers brushed yours when you reached for it, deliberate, lingering half a second too long before she pulled back and folded her hands in her lap like nothing happened
“Don’t get sentimental on me” she warned, but her voice dropped, quieter now, “I still have the footage of you trying to outrun my drones in that ridiculous ski mask, one wrong move and it goes straight to the GCPD group chat”
A pause, the teasing edge faded, replaced by something careful she was trying not to let show, Then, softer still, almost lost under the hum of the ancient refrigerator, “Welcome home, hotshot”