Chapter Text
Nightwing walked into the abandoned house. The floor creaked with every step he took. There had been people down the street talking about seeing a woman through the window, even though there weren’t supposed to be any inhabitants living here.
Dick wondered if maybe someone was taking shelter here because they had nowhere else to go. He couldn’t stop thinking about it, since the place wasn’t livable at all and seemed to be a safety hazard, full of loose wiring and broken floors.
“Anyone here?” Dick called out.
“Who goes there?” he heard someone say behind him.
He turned around, and saw a blonde-haired woman in a black dress was standing there. She didn’t look injured or malnourished, and that was good enough for now.
“Don’t be scared, I am only here to help. I am Nightwing, who are you”
“I am Lilith.” She said with a playful smile.
“This place is not safe, you should not be staying here Lilith.”
“Oh my, how very nice of you to think of me. Then should I come with you?”
“Yes, of course. I can take you to a shelter.”
“That’s alright, sweetheart. With you is where I shall be.”
“What—”
Suddenly, Dick felt his chest burn. His heart was beating uncontrollably fast. It hurted. He dropped to his knees, wheezing, but it only lasted a few seconds before disappearing. When he raised his head up again.
The girl was gone.
He searched for her in every room and even outside for hours, but there was no sign of her. In the end, he had to give up and come back later since it was almost morning.
Dick entered his apartment through the window. He wondered what had happened to him tonight all of a sudden, but it was probably nothing he decided not to worry about it for now.
He just collapsed on the floor. It had been a long night, and he just wanted to lay down for a while before getting out of his costume and eventually going to bed.
“Sweetie, at least wash up first.”
Dick jolted his head up. Someone was in his apartment he hadn’t noticed. And that voice was familiar, the one he had heard just a few hours ago.
“What are you doing here?” Dick asked in shock, staring at the woman in the black dress.
Dick put a hand to his face and was grateful that he had not removed his mask yet. Could she have followed him? But she was inside before him, so she must have already known where his apartment was. That would mean she knows he is Dick Grayson.
“Who are you?” Dick asked, his voice low.
“My, surely you didn’t already forget me,” she said, her face plastered with a smile. “Don’t you remember? We formed a contract.”
“What contract are you talking about?” Dick said, and as soon as he said it, his chest hurt again like it did back at the abandoned house. He was on his knees again, breathless.
“Do you remember now?” she said, chuckling.
The pain stopped when she snapped her fingers. Clearly, this woman was a meta or a magician. It didn’t matter who she was, she was definitely bad news. Dick needed to take her out before she set his heart on fire again.
“What did you do to me?” Dick asked, trying to keep the conversation going so she keeps her guard down.
“My, you truly have an awful memory. I bound myself to you, silly.”
“What are you even talking about?” Dick ran toward her to tackle her down, only for him to pass through her and hit the kitchen counter instead.
He looked back at her, stunned because what the hell did just happen.
“You should really ask a lady for permission before throwing yourself at her, you know.” she said, smirking.
“What are you?” Dick asked cautiously.
“Ah, a very beautiful girl, of course. You blind goof.”
“No, I mean…what are you?”
“Oh, right. I am kinda dead… a spirit you can say. On a more important note, shall we clean up, this is not a place you bring a girl to.”
“You are free to leave anytime.” Dick said.
“You should not make me angry unless you want to have another panic attack.”
“Is that what it was?” he asked, looking at her.
“Yes. I have complete control over the emotions of the person I am in a contract with, so try to stay on my good side.”
Dick went still for a minute, trying to comprehend what she was saying. That can’t be true. Well, it could be he wouldn’t put it past a supernatural being to be able to control or even change his emotions.
Just the thought of it was making him uneasy. He needed to get her to free him from this.
“When did ‘we’ exactly form this contract?”
She rolled her eyes. “I asked you if I could come with you. You said, ‘Yes, of course, babe, I am all yours.’ ”
“I didn’t say that.” Dick said, frowning.
“Agree to disagree,” she said.
“So how do we break this contract?”
“That part, baby, is entirely up to me.” She said taking a seat on his couch.
“What do you want from me?”
“I like to unravel people slowly. Break them, especially the ones who like to act disgustingly nice while hiding who knows what in their heart,” she said, now sounding dangerous.
“I usually have my fun and move on when I get bored, so don’t worry, love.” she continued winking at him.
“Okay… and are you visible to others beside me?”
“When I want to,” she said, shrugging. “Go wash yourself and then clean the apartment. I don’t like messy places.”
“Well, you were staying in a dusty, falling-apart house until now,” Dick mumbled.
The only relief was that others could see her too, so now at least people won't think he is insane when he calls one of his friends who is more equipped for dealing with the situation.
“This place is no better. Also, you can’t tell anyone about me.”
“Why? Are you scared of people calling ghostbusters on you?”
“Darling, I didn’t say don’t tell anyone about me. I said you can’t. Like, your mouth won’t work, can’t. I was just being nice and giving you a heads-up.”
Dick just stared at her. If she was telling the truth, then the plan of calling Raven or Zatanna or anyone for that matter was out the window.
She had made herself comfortable on the couch, turning on the TV.
Dick looked around his apartment. The place was a bit disheveled. He decided he might as well clean it after all.
After he was done, and out of his costume, he did try to call Zatanna once, but like the strange entity in his living room watching ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ had said, he wasn’t able to tell her what was wrong. It was like his voice was lost the moment he tried to mention her.
Dick told himself he will figure out how to solve this tomorrow. He was tired from the patrol and doing dishes and laundry. He decided to go to sleep, since there wasn’t anything else he could do anyway.
He opened his bedroom door.
“Sweetheart, what took so long? To think you’ll keep me waiting this long on our first night?” she said, her voice teasing, lying in his bed in a nightgown or something.
Dick shut the door and slept on the couch.