"Thank you for coming tonight, everyone! I hope to see you all again soon!"

When he graduated from the Robins, he'd wanted to retire from showbiz. His plan had been to live a quiet civilian life, settle down with the girl he'd been unable to date because of company policy. He'd wanted to use the money he'd saved up from his brand deals to get himself a nice apartment, donate to charity, maybe take a long vacation. Life as an idol had been fulfilling, but harsh. He hadn't had much of a childhood at all, spending much of it rehearsing, exercising, filming, performing.

But things hadn't gone to plan.

His agency's owner—his adoptive father, Bruce, who'd ensured their contracts were fair—fell victim to a scheme by a rival agency and lost all rights to his company and fortune overnight. The legal battle dragged on.

He'd just barely escaped the fallout himself, having graduated only a few weeks before all this, but his juniors hadn't been so lucky. Jason, who had taken the position of leader, had suffered an "accident" on stage that the company's new higher-ups insisted had been the kid's own fault, and so they'd weaseled out of paying for the treatment.

Unable to ignore this, he'd used his hard-earned money to pay for Jason's hospital stay and physical therapy. Which he'd done gladly, but the money had run out partway. He knew the company's offer to have him debut solo was predatory, but he also knew brands would be eager to work with him again. Thus, he debuted as the solo act Nightwing.

Instantly his popularity exploded. He was handsome, an excellent dancer, a good singer, charismatic. His fans were thrilled. Merch for his first single sold out online in seconds. But as his career soared, his personal life crumbled. His girlfriend left, his dreams of a quiet life turned to dust, and he was stuck here again.

His dazzling smile faded the instant he went into the dressing room. He slumped into the chair, sighing. "This is for Jay," he told himself, hoping his manager didn't hear. "It's worth it. It's worth it."