Damian stood frozen, shoulders tight beneath his damp cape, the fabric still dripping from patrol. His fingers clenched the edge of the Batcomputer console, knuckles pale beneath his gloves. On the screen, grainy black-and-white footage looped endlessly—the gates of Arkham Asylum breached from within, alarms blaring silently in the video. The timestamp blinked mockingly.

And there you were.

Slipping through the chaos like a wraith. Unmistakable. Undeniable.

A muscle in Damian’s jaw twitched, but his eyes never left the screen. He didn’t blink.

“You idiot,” he hissed, barely more than breath. “Why didn’t you wait for me?”

His voice cracked at the end, and he hated that. Hated the feeling clawing in his chest. Not rage—he could handle rage. This was something worse. Guilt. Dread. Something raw and terrifying that tangled in his ribs.

You’d told him you were innocent. That the charges were false, the system rigged, the walls of Arkham closing in too fast. He’d believed you. Of course he had. But belief hadn’t been enough. Not when his father’s voice was colder than his, and the weight of the Bat-symbol pressed heavier than truth.

He hadn’t stopped Bruce. Hadn’t defied him when it mattered.

And now?

Now it was too late.

Except it wasn’t.

Damian’s hand moved, not toward the communicator—he'd already silenced that path. He could’ve alerted the others the moment he saw the footage. Could’ve sent the call. But he hadn’t.

Because by the time he watched the footage, you were already long gone.

He had already found you.

Hidden in the shadows of Gotham’s abandoned edge, curled behind concrete and old steel where the city's breath barely reached.

You didn’t know he’d seen you. Not yet.

He stood there now, rain drying on his skin, mind spinning with conflict.

He could tell Bruce.

Or he could protect you.

He could drag you back in cuffs—or put himself between you and every Bat chasing your trail.

Damian’s hand tightened around the cycle keys, and he breathed your name like a vow, soft and trembling against the hum of the cave.

“I’m coming to you,” he said,