They entered the restaurant.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4uTA1bDl3
The table was by the window, the lighting was soft, and a few vintage-style American paintings hung on the walls.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XhEnfgO5Y
After placing their order, the clinking of silverware on the table signaled the beginning of that perfect phase—conversation.
Robin was the first to speak. His tone was calm, his words short and direct:93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAv0wcP9UwY
“Is this a date?”
Dick was just about to say something—the words were turning in his throat—93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1kqeO0fPU
but Claire had already nodded without hesitation and added,93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzhYf1nB26
“I asked him out.”
Her tone was so casual, like she was simply saying “I ordered that dish.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKy8TYxWqN
No hint of flirtation. No trace of concealment.
Robin instantly turned to Dick, eyes glinting with mischief.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHa75nCbx1
“Nice one, bro.”
Dick nearly choked.
He had just learned her name was Claire,93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlsi7bOwHF
and now he had to accept this narrative?93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIICXXZFjD
And in front of his little brother, no less?93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFAWxn1nU3
Sometimes life hit you too fast—it left you speechless.
Robin followed up,93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyt5mtgXxnB
“Why did you invite me to dinner?”
This was the one question that mattered most to him today.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUTbAOXVRX
He didn’t have a public trail, wasn’t someone regular people could just reach out to.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIVpUgAxs5
How did this woman know he was even in Blüdhaven?
Claire shrugged. Her tone remained breezy:93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADh4etqAJq
“Oh, I have a certain ability. Let’s just call it... clairvoyance.”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyUhZk3fmZ
“I knew Robin was hungry, so I invited him.”
At that moment, both pairs of blue eyes across the table widened and met for a brief second.
Of course.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kVROBBJHe
Magic-side.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRy86Saevc
No wonder everything felt like some cosmic joke from the start.
They each silently recalled those bizarre missions that had ended in magical chaos—93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YoGHJXlB5
and yeah, her behavior tracked perfectly with that non-logical pattern.
Claire noticed their faces shift into that classic “alert level rising” expression.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4Dac4pZbU
Her lips twitched slightly.
What is it with these people?93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡploa7rVPc0
The moment you say ‘clairvoyance,’ they act like I’m about to summon a demon.
Just as the atmosphere started slipping toward “awkward” again—93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsuitHPV3W
the drinks arrived.
The waiter smiled and placed three drinks on the table.
Claire’s was a cocktail—a pale golden drink with a hint of lemon.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyncb1IfP4O
The clink of ice against glass was crisp and pleasant.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1Cx5KBjze
She hadn’t had a drink in ages—today, she finally had a small excuse.
As for the two across from her...93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjduluyTNJ
Both ordered cola.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFZlLHCii5
Robin—well, obviously underage. No questions there.
Claire took a sip.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcj6Ifzpurb
The mix of bubbles and alcohol sent a warm, tingling sensation through her.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7pMDRc54P
Her eyes glinted faintly.
She turned to the kid sipping his soda so seriously.
“Can I ask a question now?”93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASTPbVCETD
Her smile was gentle, her cheeks tinged a soft pink.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUTSaRARJm
The alcohol was beginning to work its magic.
Robin nodded, unguarded.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡStVAuQzOV7
“I don’t mind.”
Claire tilted her head slightly.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82clKo2TII
Her tone stayed light—93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNTMqBvzdl
but the question she threw was a fastball straight at the heart:
“Is Batman your dad?”
PFFT!!!
Both of them instantly spit out their drinks and erupted into violent coughing.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL73lC2y4Ib
The entire table descended into chaos.
Dick was red in the face, grabbing napkins and pounding his chest.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeycNewhgfC
Robin looked like he almost snorted his cola through his nose,93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSic1HRFei
coughing as he turned to stare at her—93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bKeW5EzqV
as if she’d just asked, “Are you an alien?”
Meanwhile, Claire lazily raised her glass,93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByoKwaXgFz
watching them like two birds that had just forgotten how to speak.
93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLPpwcH4U1
Robin and Dick finally recovered from the chaos of nearly drowning in soda.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZ3zOKkLxf
Each held a damp napkin, their faces still dotted with drops of cola, their breathing uneven—93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FF96H5oBz
but their eyes had gone razor sharp.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKR6UnNZDdC
Both were now glaring directly at Claire.
She, on the other hand, looked like nothing had happened.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjVOVP680V
Propping her chin on one hand, she smiled gently, her expression relaxed, faintly tipsy.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcunB9zupp
There was a hint of red at the corners of her eyes, her lips subtly glossed by the alcohol.
To Robin, that expression didn’t sit right.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtW4u2u01r
It wasn’t just casual confidence.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsathajnkS
It was—calculated? Or maybe... she had a plan all along?
He tested the waters.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcDZ5mAzZy
“Why would you think that?”
Claire shrugged, voice light as ever:93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0ApTkklEW
“It’s a logical deduction. When I was a kid, Robin was a kid. And now—Robin’s still a kid. So I thought... maybe Batman has more than one kid?”
The moment her words landed—
Both of them almost spit out a second round of soda.
Her tone was just too natural, too reasonable—93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvvkf8eSm3f
even laced with an innocent kind of puzzlement.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMbToFFKZa
But the scariest part was—
She was right.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlsChhRcga
Dead-on.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡviTd9hxzvF
And now, the two “kids” she was talking about were sitting right in front of her.
Claire smiled again, her eyes curling into crescent moons.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTzim5XTl8
The blush on her cheeks deepened, her whole presence glowing with a soft—but undeniably dangerous—femininity.
She lifted her glass, swirled the ice inside, and casually added:
“So I’m guessing that other kid... is Nightwing.”
Clink.
That single sentence hit like a block of ice dropped on the table.
Robin nearly bit his own tongue.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QsTV0vrvc
Dick, still dabbing his mouth with a napkin, had already started mentally counting down whether he should toss a smoke bomb and vanish.
Their scalps prickled. For real this time.
It wasn’t the kind of shiver you get from being hit.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpH8FKo7xb2
It was the kind you get when someone sees through you too easily.
And they both knew—
This wasn’t just a lucky guess.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkNLwBrD3s
She had observed them.
Claire, meanwhile, had no idea she’d just earned herself a bright red tag in the vigilante brothers’ minds: “High Risk Civilian.”
But the truth was—she’d suspected for a long time.
This wasn’t some sudden spark of intuition.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORn7hzNNYV
It was the result of months of quiet watching and gut instinct.
The café’s daily comings and goings.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7PezyzWlZ
The way Nightwing and Robin interacted.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9qaOjsqN5
The rare, heavy silence when Batman appeared.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltrb7ST846
Claire had seen it all.
The glances, the unspoken hierarchy, the weight of command and familiarity—93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYKqHmAVIa
This wasn’t some simple coworker dynamic.
It was the vibe of a grumpy dad handling two rebellious sons who kept screwing up their homework.
She wasn’t blind, okay.
93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJPwTVZlfT
and then Add to home screen.