Archangel {A Robin Love Story}

Epilogue

I kinda can't believe this is it. Thank you to every single person who ever read this, left a kind comment or encouragement me, because without you, I probably would've run out of motivation and never finished. That said, I'm sorry it took so long for me to finish the book.

(heather_brett thought I'd never finish it. Thanks for the vote of confidence, girl.)

Thank you for everything, everyone. You all mean a lot.

- TAAF_

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There was no sound as Richard Grayson carried the body of Scarlett Donovan across the stage in the concert hall. It was like his world was barely moving, like everything stood still when her heart stopped.

Nothing but the overwhelming grief that filled his chest dared enter his mind. Not where they were, not where he was going, not who was around him.

Nothing.

His arms were locked in position; unbending iron as he shuffled behind Batman, the shrieks of the ambulance sirens tearing into his ears. The noise was slow, distorted and sharp. He couldn't hear with clarity; the pressure in his head swelled the further he walked. His eyes were swollen from behind his mask, burning from the tears that had flowed, but there were no more. He had no more left in him. It felt like he'd been sucked dry.

"Lay her down here." An EMT directed quietly. If Dick hadn't been so disoriented he might've thought she was afraid of him, or perhaps Batman. The two of them needed to get away before the paramedics called the cops to have them arrested, if they hadn't already.

As tenderly as he possibly could, he laid her cooling body down on the gurney near the back of the ambulance. When she left his arms, a part of his heart left too.

Not touching her was exceedingly painful, a rusty knife lodged in his gut. His gloved hand found hers again, covered in dark blood.

"Scarlett—" he breathed, choking on his words.

They would never take Clove for a walk around Wayne Manor again. He would never dance with her again. He would never kiss her again.

He would never hold her alive again.

She was gone.

He brushed a thumb across her bottom lip, wiping away the blood, as he took her left hand. Even her brand-new diamond ring was stained red.

The gouge in his heart tore even deeper, with every heartbeat.

"Scarlett, come back." Dick whimpered, caressing her hand. "/Please./ I don't want to do this without you." His voice lowered even further. "I can't."

"Robin—" Batman's grating voice broke through his devastating bubble, and he glanced over his shoulder. Dick's guardian laid his massive hand on Dick's shoulder, and for the first time in the longest time, he felt cared for by the towering man. Loved.

The look in Bruce's white eyes—behind the cowl that Dick could practically see through he knew him so well—said I've got you. It hit him with so much force that he couldn't breathe. More tears welled from behind his mask.

"I don't think I can do this."

"Yes, you can." Bruce said softly. "You've still got me. I'm not leaving you."

Dick squeezed Scarlett's hand. He couldn't let her go.

"But we have to go." He breathed, gentle but with a hint of desperation.

"I can't let her go. Please don't make me." Dick begged hoarsely, his broken voice betraying him. He looked down at her face and bloody lips, so painfully still.

"Robin, we have to go." Batman insisted, still as soft and comforting as before. His delicate grip on Dick's shoulder tightened only just, signalling his increasing need.

The hollow pit that was now Dick's chest felt bottomless, anguish spilling into it like an endless waterfall at all of it. He squeezed her hand, searching for life, life he knew deep down was gone. He held in a deep breath, willing his fingers to relax and release her chilled hand, and he considered using his other hand to help pry it away.

He couldn't do it. Dick turned to Bruce, his throat raw. "Batman—"

Something in his hand twitched, and his gaze fell to it. Scarlett's pale, bloodied fingers almost seemed to curl around his hand, as if they were holding onto him. They hadn't been that way before.

"Do— do you see that?" Dick said quickly, trying to calm his racing heart.

"What?" Bruce softly asked, glancing down at their entwined hands.

"H-her— her hand was limp b-before." Dick gasped, not having the energy to fight the rising hope in his chest that would probably be crushed with a swift blow of reality. "It was flat. Now it's holding mine, I don't—"

"Fresh bodies sometimes do that. The energy in her body isn't quite gone and it causes muscle spasms." The paramedic explained quietly from the tailgate of the ambulance, from where she was giving Robin his time with Scarlett.

Another twitch, this time Dick watched her icy fingers dig into the back of his hand, squeezing tight. Then they relaxed. "What the—" He turned to Batman. "That— that can't be normal."

Beneath his onyx cowl, Bruce's eyebrows knit together, examining Scarlett's hand. Dick knew he'd seen it move, too.

No one moved, and no one breathed as a deep groan was heard amidst the whooping sirens. Dick's heart dove into his stomach as he was pretty sure some kind of hallucination came over him.

What was happening?

Dick fixed his eyes on his beautiful lover's face, entranced as it scrunched like she was in pain, but not such agony as before.

"Scarlett?!" Dick's hands flew to the side of her face, over her cheekbones. This couldn't be real. No way. "Scarlett, can you hear me?!"

She had no pulse, no signs of life. She was gone, but—

Now she was moving, and Dick was convinced he'd been drugged somehow. This wasn't possible.

"Scarlett—"

And with that, the Archangel's eyes flew open.