Chapter 49: Comic Con Author Meet-and-Greet, Sea of Flowers...
"A little deer!! Oh my god! A little deer!!! Waaaaah!!"
ART was a young girl who wanted to hug Enid as soon as she saw her. She looked just like the heroine in the story, with the same determination and gentleness. So she quickly took out the gift she had prepared, a huge gift box that looked almost half the height of Enid. She and Damian each received one.
"Don't worry, I'm fine now." Enid hadn't even had time to look at the gift yet, but instead leaned in so the author could hug her. She must have been worried about her too, Enid understood, so she smiled gently. ART was overjoyed; her anxiety finally subsided. She released Enid and began signing autographs as required.
"Hey little deer, it's so great that you and your brother can come! Quick! This is a gift for you! You can only see it when you get home!"
Enid stared at the gift box in silence for a moment, then suddenly became very happy and called her family to come along. Otherwise… she and Damian probably wouldn’t have been able to carry it home, right? “Okay, thank you. I’m glad I brought my family…” ART gave a thumbs-up to the group of perfectly cosplayers behind Enid, and Enid smiled weakly.
"Keep your eyes to yourself, I'm enough on my own."
Damian sneered, then picked up both boxes at once. Enid and the author gave him a thumbs up. Enid thought to herself that Damian was Robin after all, but she didn't expect him to be so amazing.
"Wow...that's amazing!"
"He's been really good. We'll be going now, so we won't bother you anymore! Keep in touch online when we get back!"
After saying their goodbyes, Enid and the others left. Of course, Damian didn't take the gift box home alone; it was placed in the car they had brought. After getting the autograph, they headed off to other places.
Unexpectedly, many people came to take photos with them on the way. The cosplay of the Enid family was so accurate that almost everyone who had seen it would ask to take a photo with them. Not to mention that this exhibition was mainly a signing event. Although many cosplayers related to the theme also appeared, and there were even performances, most of the people who came to this exhibition were people who had read the comic and were waiting for the new book launch and signing.
Enid is super satisfied with the autographed gift, the personalized autograph, and even the autographed drawing board. The drawing board is a small portrait of Enid drawn by ART, and Damian's is also included. ART also quietly mentioned at the end that there was a surprise in the gift, but he wouldn't say what it was.
However, the gift box had already been put back in the car, and they planned to open it when they got home. At this moment, Enid was initially excited but gradually became tired. Before the fatigue could take hold, Dick gently pulled her back, and so they left the venue.
As they turned the corner, the car was already parked there. Enid, looking rather disheveled, leaned back in her chair and looked with some admiration at Bruce, who, despite being asked for photos countless times along the way, was still full of energy. And it wasn't just Bruce; everyone else was too.
"Is this the difference in stamina?" Enid puffed out her cheeks. Barbara couldn't help but laugh and handed Enid a glass of warm water with a potion Enid had prepared to restore her stamina. "Waaah, sister is so kind."
“If you knew that Barbara was the one who prepared your upcoming physical training plan, I bet you wouldn’t praise her.” Jason ruthlessly exposed Barbara’s arrangements. Enid suddenly looked a little gloomy and looked at Barbara pleadingly. Barbara tacitly agreed; yes, she admitted it.
"Um...can I refuse?"
"No! Or do you need me to give you special training?"
Damian was the first to reject Enid's proposal. Enid felt like she was going to die from exhaustion. She weakly raised her hand and said in a feeble voice, "Can we start later?"
"Actually, the plan wasn't to start now, so you can be mentally prepared. At the very least, you need to have the stamina to escape before your magic runs out, okay?"
Barbara's voice was so gentle that Enid couldn't help but agree, even though she knew they were all doing it for her own good. But Enid knew she couldn't refuse, and Tim, who already knew how the story would end, turned off his phone.
“None of the characters in the upcoming performance are from your favorite anime.” Enid’s eyes lit up when she heard this, and then Tim added, “I’ve already received the other freebies, and I’ve also bought the merchandise.”
"Wow, that's great! Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome. Just don't invite me to these kinds of events next time."
Tim was joking; he certainly didn't mean to really refuse. Enid could tell, so she firmly declined, suggesting Tim find another offer. He could only feign regret. After the playful banter, Dick noticed that Enid seemed to want to leave.
"Should we tell her? Or would you like to have dinner with her?"
Dick asked Enid about her plans, and Enid hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. Just then, Dick sat down next to her, so she rested her head on his shoulder. "No need," she said. "Keeping our distance is actually better. I like things this way, so we'll go... but maybe we need a photo together?"
“This won’t work,” Damian rejected. “Go back or go to the Sacred Forest. Aura and the others can’t stay here.”
"Too!"
Enid agreed to Damian's suggestion, and the others naturally did not object. However, instead of in St. Woods, they were at Wayne Manor. After Tim adjusted the camera's position, everyone stood in the perfect spot. As soon as the flash went off, the photo turned into a framed family portrait and hung on the wall, with everyone showing their most adorable smiles.
Standing in front of the family photo, Enid seemed somewhat lost in thought.
“If you don’t like it, we can take another one,” Bruce said gently, standing behind her. Enid shook her head. “I like it. I’m just thinking, this is nice.”
Saint Forest is her home, but it's more than just a home. She learned the meaning of home when she was learning to write, and after copying it countless times, she still couldn't fully grasp its true meaning. Only now does the meaning of home suddenly leap off the page, and she seems to understand why. Saint Forest is her home, and so is this place.
Bruce gently touched her hair. Jason and Enid in the photo, or even more people, the children he had lost or almost lost, were all here now, in the kitchen, in the living room, in the playroom, making noise or playing, they were all here.
"Father, you will never lose me or us again."
"I think that's the best thing. Let's go, didn't Dick ask you out on a date?"
Enid blushed slightly. She had guessed what Dick wanted to say. At that moment, the sun seemed to be getting tired and the sunset was about to fall. Her memory returned to that time, and she remembered that he actually owed her a sunset. Although she said she didn't owe him anymore, Nightwing had always kept his promises, hadn't he?
"I'll head over now, I'll see my father later."
She waved goodbye to Bruce. Since she had already changed her clothes, Dick was already waiting for her downstairs. Enid looked at Dick's outstretched hand and took it without hesitation. She could feel the warmth of Dick's fingertips and the gentle sea in his eyes.
"Ready, my esteemed Princess Enid."
"Ready, great Mr. Nightwing."
...
The glow of the setting sun kissed the sea, and the sea breeze lifted pure white petals. Suddenly, transparent yet slightly pink flowers blew up on the beach, radiating a dazzling rainbow of colors in places unseen by the sunlight. It was clearly sunset, but it seemed as if one could see the joy and hope of sunrise in the east at dawn.
The flowers kissed the sea, and the sea embraced the sun. The colorful glow was like ribbons gently lifting the flowers. Even the waves seemed unable to steal away their fading light, and could only watch helplessly as the standing dawn flowers played out a sweet melody.
It was a transparent crystal piano playing the music from the animation. Reality and her scene in the video overlapped dramatically, even the empty piano was the same. Enid's eyes saw it. Behind all the blooming, Dick seemed to have been preparing for a long time, and time was slowly rising.
"Will it be tiring? Not just this, but others too, including..."
“No,” Dick said casually, as if he were simply describing someone else’s story, but you could tell he was serious. “It’s not hard at all. I think it’s all worth it. Whether it’s Robin, Nightwing, or Dick Grayson, as long as they need me, I won’t get tired, no matter when. But now it seems I might have a new identity: Enid Grady Wayne’s boyfriend.”
The first thing she did after waking up was to drop her middle name. She no longer needed to be proud of being Niaf; she was Enid, she was her own honor, and Grady's honor as well.
She was actually a little afraid to look at Dick, because his eyes were gentler than the sunlight at that moment, but she seemed unable to control her body. She could only turn her head and the light kissed his hair and the corner of his eyes, igniting a faint light in his clear eyes. Enid touched his cheek as if possessed, and Dick caught her just before she could pull her hand back.
"I owe you not just one sunset, but many. Today doesn't count, so I haven't paid you back yet. But you know I don't actually intend to settle it all, so can you allow me to keep owing you?"
"Fine, then you'll owe me a sunset for the rest of your life."
Enid understood why her heart was pounding; it seemed she couldn't refuse the man in front of her. She needed Robin in the past and Nightwing now, but she wanted Dick to need her. She just happened to have a hug and a kiss right now, and she wanted to give it to him. So Enid threw herself into Dick's arms.
“They need Nightwing, but I hope Nightwing needs a druid. Mr. Nightwing, can you tell me if you need one? She just happens to have a hug and a kiss she wants to give you.”
He knew that Enid was sometimes very straightforward, but at other times she tended to avoid expressing her feelings. But just like now, the sun was shining so brightly, and Enid's words couldn't help but move Dick. He saw it all too clearly, so this was an embrace that Dick couldn't escape and didn't want to run away from.
“Yes, I need it very much. Nightwing needs druids, Dick needs Enid, and I need you.”
When Dick looked down, he met those eyes, which held the look of his heart fluttering and the starry sky above. Enid looked up and was lifted up by him, so that their eyes met. Enid kissed his lips.
Breath and the petals of the dawn flower intertwined, surrounded by sea breeze, petals, and each other's breaths gently mingling together without reservation.
The sun had not yet set.
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Author's Note: I finally confessed! Hehehe
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