Chapter 32
Wayne Manor – Garden Courtyard, Late Afternoon
The sky was golden. The kind of golden that only came after rain — warm, clean, still. The courtyard was full: voices, plates, the smell of Alfred’s absurdly good pie cooling on the table.
Peter sat on the stone bench under the tree, legs folded, quietly watching the people he once believed he’d never deserve.
Cass and Stephanie argued over who could beat who in a spar, hands flying faster than their voices.
Duke tried to steal a second slice of pie and got caught. Again.
Tim muttered something about “statistical anomalies” while Damian threw a grape at his head.
Jason rolled his eyes, muttering, “You’re all exhausting,” even as he leaned in to steal some of Dick’s fries.
Dick laughed, head tilted back, alive in a way that only happened when they were all together.
And Bruce?
Bruce stood just off to the side, watching them with that rare, silent peace in his eyes — the kind only family brought him.
His gaze found Peter’s.
And Peter looked back.
Not as a ghost.
Not as a lost child.
Not even as a weapon remade.
Just as himself.
Peter al Ghul.
Son of the League.
Brother of the Bat.
Home.
Damian plopped down beside him, grape juice on his gloves. “You’re not going to sit here brooding the entire time, are you?”
“I’m not brooding,” Peter said. “I’m observing.”
“Same thing.”
Peter smirked.
Dick called out from the table, “Alright, picture time! And no vanishing before it’s taken!”
Groans. Laughs. Everyone shuffled toward the camera Alfred had set up.
Peter hesitated—just for a second.
Then Damian grabbed his sleeve and tugged. “You belong in the photo, idiot.”
Peter followed.
They all crammed in, way too many limbs for one frame. Jason threw an arm around his shoulders. Cass leaned in beside him. Damian stayed glued to his side, as always.
Peter didn’t smile right away.
But when the flash went off, he did.
Small. Real. Soft.
The photo would go on the mantle. Right beside the others. And every time he passed it, Peter would remember—
He was never erased.
Never forgotten.
He was saved.
And he stayed.