Warrior | Dick Grayson ¹

|2| 𝙰𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜✔︎

" Blunt as ever." Harper scoffed as she recovered from her initial shock. She'd believed she didn't have her head screwed on straight when she took a step back and gestured for him to enter. Dick hesitated before taking a small step into her small flat, his hands firmly placed in his pockets as he scanned the interior of the room.   " This is a nice place you've got here" he said trying to ignore the awkward tension in the room. The apartment was strangely fitting for her. It wasn't overly vivacious but it brought a sense of familiarity.

" Cut the bullshit Dick, how did you find me?" she hissed, all the pent up anger from him leaving resurfaced.    " You forgot who you're talking to." He mused, raising an eyebrow. Of course he could find anyone, he always could. He mastered that skill, tracing multiple criminals and villains using the Bat Computer, finding her would be easy. It made it harder for her to digest though. Why now she thought.

" Why are you not in Star City?" He questioned taking a seat by the island. Harper stood opposite him, her arms crossed over her chest as her brown eyes roamed his face. He was genuinely curious. Last time he saw her, she and Oliver were busting a drug ring downtown. Now she's living in Detroit and for years by the looks of it working as a waitress. He had searched her file.

" Really, well why aren't you in Gotham" she shot back. It was a petty retort and she knew he wouldn't react well and her understandings were confirmed judging by the wince he emitted. She pursed her lips, a habit she always used to do when she was nervous or stressed. " Well after you left, fell off the damn planet, being a hero didn't seem so grand anymore. Not without your partner at least" She said, her gaze flickering to the streetlights beyond the window before settling on his face. The face that plagued her thoughts and haunted her dreams.

" I packed my suit and left. Got a job , started a new life. I got a fresh start. No Artemis, nothing. I finally got to be normal." Harper didn't understand why she'd told him that. She was still mad at him but deep down she had missed him. Now that they're talking again it felt so natural, like they d
hadn't just spent years apart.

Dick nodded " Yeah I get that". He felt at ease, just her presence alone brought him the comfort he'd missed. He thought back to why he had left; he should've told her, asked her for help or just visited her at least. He grumbled internally, he was living up to his damned name.

Harper shook her head. " You didn't know how it felt Dick. To one day realise you were gone and it seemed as if you weren't coming back." The familiar ache in her chest returned, her steely gaze locked on his guilty ones. " You want to tell me why the hell you left, why you never messaged me, told me you were fine. WHY DID I HAVE TO FIND OUT FROM ALFRED, RICHARD!" She yelled, her hands met  the counter with a loud bang. She leaned over to be eye level with him, her chest heaved with the same rage she felt when Alfred had broken the news to her. The night she'd lost her best friend.

Her eyes bored into his, waiting for a response. " Harper, look I wanted to I swear. I just...didn't know how to start." He tried justifying himself but even he knew it was a futile attempt at an apology.

The reason he didn't want to tell her was because he was scared. Dick Grayson feared losing the only person who genuinely loved him, for him. He knew she wouldn't have wanted him to leave, she would have probably gone with him or convinced him to stay. That the city needed him but they didn’t, they had Batman. They didn’t need Robin. One look into her chocolate eyes and Dick would have  lost all self control, he would've stayed...for her. It's why he never said goodbye, it was too hard. So against his better judgement, he just left.

"You could have started with hello" Harper sighed sadly. The former crime fighters and best friends sat in silence, the words hanging in the air with a cloud of regret dangling above their heads. Harper was the one to finally break it." Why after all these years, you show up on my doorstep asking for help. What does the Dick Grayson need help with. I thought your ego was bigger than Bruce's and that's pretty damn big." She chuckled. The tension in the room seemed to dissipate after that. She couldnt blame him, he had wanted out of the life for years and when he saw the chance he took it. Whether it was with or without her. A part of her forgave him when she had left but the other part still held onto the sorrow of abandonment he had caused.

" Yeah ,but you have a soft spot for kids and plus I needed an excuse to visit." He said, he wasn't technically lying. Harper always had a soft spot for kids, she would always watch over children even at a young age, maybe due to the fact she lived in an orphanage majority of her life. Considering no one cared in that godforsaken place, Harper would always seat to the little kids, making sure they were fed, changed. Harper took care of them more than any of the caregivers ever could. When she fled, her biggest regret was not taking them with her. Dick had always admired that about the brunette, her heart. It was one of the many things he loved about her.

" Kids, damn Dick don’t tell me you have mini you’s running around" she laughed, picturing tiny monsters causing havoc, while Dick panicked and scolded them. He never really knew how to be good with kids, he always had her for that.

Dick grew red at the thought. " Aww is little Richard blushing" she mocked ruffling his hair. He swatted her hand away before trying to fix it. " Screw you Harps" he smiled, they both had missed this. They had missed each other.

" Alright alright jeez sorry. So, what's going on?" she raised her hands in surrender before pulling up a chair opposite him, her hands folded neatly on the counter. The light and airy atmosphere turned heavy as Dick grew weary.  

" There's this girl, her name is Rachel, Rachel Roth...and I think she's in trouble."