They had a great dinner. Tim had to admit it.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFJFb2gJ85
That kind of time—without reconnaissance, without surveillance, and definitely without pressure testing—actually made him feel… relaxed?
They talked about many things that had nothing to do with Gotham.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmCX5y1A5K
Tim mentioned his current work assisting corporate transformation, green energy development, and financial strategies.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53Pi9Oprny
Nora responded with thoughts on budget allocation in education, and how recent childcare legislation updates were impacting frontline teachers.
The conversation branched into child safety and social cases—especially a few child abuse incidents that had come to light in recent years.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2fyAsUpUO
Tim hadn’t previously been deeply involved in these topics, but Nora’s insights were precise, calm, and sharply articulated—without emotional blackmail.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbZYRM0mZo
He quietly noted every case number and keyword she mentioned.
Nora’s eyes shimmered in the candlelight dancing across the table.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxb15ZRPm7
Tim wasn’t sure if it was the effect of the red wine,141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJ7a2sto3T
or the way she spoke—so gentle, yet uncompromising—that left him a little dazed.
Until Nora suddenly paused, her gaze shifting to the floor-to-ceiling window, a momentary stillness washing over her.
“What’s wrong?” Tim turned—
A little face was squished up against the glass.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnH8uQ6tEQS
His entire face flattened against it, bright blue eyes wide with excitement as he stared inside.
Tim’s heart clenched—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDGZd3HObA
Then his gaze shifted just a bit further.
Standing next to the child was a face far too familiar—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjQum9kcNz
One he had hoped not to see.
Bruce Wayne.
Looking into the restaurant with a disapproving expression,141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHyN85qE9d
like he’d just stepped off the front page of the Gotham Times.
Tim suddenly felt like the utensils in his hands had doubled in weight.
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141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvCaRTcihK
Tim stepped out of Finn’s room, gently closing the door behind him.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccf2gRXQLX
He exhaled and leaned against the hallway wall, closing his eyes briefly as he replayed the absurd sequence of events in his head.
He’d thought dinner would be about gathering intel—maybe even an in-depth probing conversation.
Instead—
“Got caught red-handed by my own nephew,” he muttered under his breath.
Dim lighting, two layers of glass—Tim had thought it was absolutely secure.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqoQKsVdeY
But the kid had eyes like a bat.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJh2GVQXqgR
He’d spotted Nora in a second, and then, like a bullet, burst into the restaurant.
Nora had smiled naturally, without a hint of awkwardness.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbX5ptqXE1H
She’d crouched down to talk to Finn, gently patting his messy hair.
Tim had stood beside them, eyes inevitably falling on Bruce.
That look.
Bruce hadn’t said a word,141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46r8tB5G5Q
but the “you better explain this later” expression weighed heavier than a hundred pages of briefing notes.
Tim could almost hear Bruce’s brain opening up cross-referenced files, auditing the risk logs for the event labeled Timothy Drake and Kindergarten Teacher Nora.
“Finn, this is my grandpa!” the kid said gleefully, as if showing off his favorite armored tank.
Bruce seamlessly switched into CEO mode, giving a perfectly polished smile.
Nora had calmly spoken a few standard lines about how well Finn behaved at school.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FvWd1qqV3
Tim took the opportunity to interject, “It’s getting late—I’ll give the lady a ride home.”
Bruce shot him a look.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPdTUGXYzc
A look packed with a hundred unspoken messages.
Tim didn’t want to translate it.
Finn had begged to come along, insisting “If teacher’s in the car, I want to be too!”141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKxZMe8bP5
In the end, Bruce went home alone, and Tim scored some alone time.
Thinking of Bruce’s expression, Tim chuckled silently.
“I have a lot of explaining to do,” he murmured.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9lxIp2H8j
This night had only just begun.
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Back home, Tim tried to spin a story for Finn.
He knelt by the bed, his tone sincere as he tucked the boy’s scattered blanket back into place.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMwdhzD3aP
“Today, Nora and I were talking about a very important children’s public welfare project.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcdmdUkeSe
It’s something that helps kids grow up safer and happier. You understand, right? It’s important for kids.”
Finn tilted his head and thought for a second, then nodded.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEWGd8STsh
His small hands still clutched that dinosaur plushie—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFFRtewtGi
as if it helped him judge whether the world was still safe.
“So… you guys weren’t on a date?”
Tim gave a tight smile, one that looked like it was holding up a house of cards.
“No, we were talking about serious stuff. Really.”
Finn nodded in satisfaction, buying the story.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGWM04j3wU
Tim looked at his face and suddenly felt like a terrible adult.
Once Finn’s breathing settled and his eyes closed, Tim gently slipped out of the room.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbEib9NEWh
He took a deep breath, straightened his collar, walked down the hall, descended the stairs, passed through the study—
and entered the Batcave.
The lighting there was low, and the rhythmic hum of machines pulsed like a slow, steady drumbeat.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQl4TkoUAA
Batman stood with his back to him, flipping through a report.
As soon as Tim stepped inside, that low voice rang out:141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbdjR3rKVG
“Tim, I need an explanation.”
Batman’s voice hit him like cold water.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelGctBUcrR
Tim sighed silently and stepped up to the computer, unlocking his most tightly guarded investigation file.
The screen’s blue glow lit his face—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiCk7n6I5G
and reflected off the Batman’s unmoving cowl.
“I just felt something was off about Nora,” Tim began, his tone steady as always.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBZNAjysrM
“So I checked her computer. Nothing deep—just public records, cloud links… stuff she didn’t really protect.”
He clicked open a folder, labeled plainly: Nightnest.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESaX6wAGrM
Inside were screenshots of posts, comment threads, and repost logs.
“She turned out to be Nightnest,” Tim said, turning toward Bruce.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3OEOzK2us
“The famous Gotham fanfic writer. The one who writes about… you.”
Batman had his arms crossed, listening intently.
But at that line, his brow twitched, and his expression shifted.
Tim watched Bruce’s face closely and instantly regretted bringing it up so soon.
Bruce Wayne was well aware of Gotham’s... enthusiastic online fandom.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1s41TZPUQ
He’d known for years how people spun wild stories, imagined all kinds of relationships—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmB4eKY6Dv
Bruce and the mayor? Bruce and Superman? Bruce and the Joker?141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovvtyA91w5
Even Bruce and his own split personality.
There was nothing people wouldn’t dream up.
But those had always been fantasies—fictional, absurd, harmless.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OhtNumHdA
And fantasy, after all, wasn’t a crime.
Batman couldn’t, and shouldn’t, stop people from imagining.
But this…141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6EwRURJba
This wasn’t just fantasy anymore.
This fantasy had a name.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORd2ixjVfA
A face.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTUPqhO1KX
It was now Finn’s teacher.
Tim shifted slightly, standing before the monitor, arms at his sides.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9DmRkJcPK
His fingers crossed silently behind his back—like a private buffer against judgment.
“That’s why,” he said, looking at the screen, tone cool and composed,141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7uLZPEg9W
“I wanted to confirm whether she had access to too much intel about the vigilantes.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmXVXeYlEX
Whether she posed a risk.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9EEfuSHZE
That’s why I decided to ask her out—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkdGwJeaTf
strictly part of the investigation.”
He said it steadily.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleTLr88LEd
Didn’t even flinch.
But the truth was—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7B4IBqn9y
yes, he’d brought surveillance gear;141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRszXTVV954
yes, he’d tried to profile her through interaction;141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHvjtyW0F4
and yes… during all those observations and conversations…
something not part of the mission141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7af0nlp4o
had caught his attention.
So he crossed his fingers.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZKyQu1vV9
It wasn’t lying.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKJ8Vhv12o
Just… omitting certain details.
He didn’t mention the shooting range.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZv7mGbQXZ6
Or the red wine.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiXJKYq9Ji
Or the candlelight.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vxnbXnztz
He didn’t mention the way she knelt down that day to draw stars for the kids.
Tim thought to himself—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGB7FE6Mxpq
Nora should be thankful.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr85mxpPxyK
If Bruce had found out her identity from the start,141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6550EuUbuB
or if one of the other Bat-family members had gotten suspicious,141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnttbxgMiGC
the outcome might’ve been far uglier.
Batman stayed silent for a moment.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdm239uLsQQ
His gaze sharp, like it could carve deeper truths into Tim’s face.
But in the end, he simply gave a slow nod.
“What you did was reasonable,” Batman said in a low voice.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsA0QtylTPo
“Her identity… for now, doesn’t appear to be a threat.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJVt9WRb6Y
But this stays between us. No one else can know.”
Tim nodded, exhaling quietly.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZKmhi4SyW
He’d pulled off a tightrope act, balancing on the edge of a storm.
But he also knew—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WsFOp5iYn
if even one step in this undercover investigation went wrong,141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4prI8kiLZe
that woman who filled pages with fantasy141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bEJIMW3Fn
would no longer be the subject of a romantic subplot—
She’d become someone Batman watched personally.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWCYockhyt
And that’s no love story.
141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvA8QXzS0x
and then Add to home screen.