Author's Notes: Hey there. So this took me a while because I was having trouble thinking of a not overdone way to have this done. And then this idea came to me while I was talking with a friend of mine. Be sure to let me know what you thought!

30. Retirement.

Day twelve. Daniel had marked his calendar, pasted the newspaper clippings in the last page of the old scrapbook, wrapped Archie in a tarp, and hung up the cowl. He had expected to feel relief, or anger, or an intense burning sadness. But instead, all he felt was numbness. Like his insides were full of cotton, and the cotton had absorbed all of his emotions. He still had the Gazette article about the success of the Keene Act on his kitchen table, folded out to the section discussing the different costumed heroes; who they were, what they had become, no more human than any other man.

The lack of fanfare or ceremony felt like a betrayal.

Dan supposed it was his little, weak form of rebellion that he chose to not reveal his name or any part of his identity to the public, that he would keep some of that otherworldly mystery. Nite Owl deserved that small favor at least.

Rubbing his temples against an anticipated headache, Dan sighed. It had been surreal not going out that first night. He'd sat up in the Owl's Nest, feeling like an intruder in slacks and a worn sweater vest feeling a tension headache build up around his eyes and staring out into the darkness of the tunnel mouth. He'd stayed up the whole night, not even feeling the hours pass and when he finally pulled himself off of the cold workbench and trudged upstairs, he felt as though he was waiting for a judgment in this cold, secret place that had never come.

He started having nightmares in the days after.

Daniel never really had nightmares. He attributed it to the lack of any good material, because despite his nights elbows-deep in other people's cruelty, he was always able to find something to help him cope. So his sleep was usually dreamless. Now, though, he began having nightmares that he never could really remember when he woke up, mostly recalling colors and gaping mouths and necks bending the wrong way and someone grabbing for him and never quite reaching.

He always woke with the sensation of falling, and it made his stomach turn.

Day thirteen and the nightmares were starting to go away, and his sleep was becoming quieter in their absence. He was beginning to develop a more "normal" sleep schedule and it bothered him, just a little, that it was barely two weeks and he was already getting used to inaction. But Daniel had always been good at adapting.

He stared into his coffee on day thirteen and that was one of the things that he hadn't adapted out of. He still drank coffee at stupid hours in the middle of the night and still sat at his kitchen table, tracing out the patterns with his fingertip for at least an hour. He wondered when he would start missing it. When he would start missing Nite Owl. Probably not for a while, he hadn't turned on the news or picked up a paper in thirteen days and that only kept him up sometimes.

The sound of things being moved in the Owl's Nest pulled his attentions away from the tabletop's patterns and jerked his eyes towards the door. Breath caught in his throat and adrenaline, sweet and fiery and oh, so missed, flooding through his veins and clenching his fists. He was on his feet in an instant and grasped the handle of the door. He paused a moment, bracing himself, fingertips tingling in a sort of giddy anticipation.

And then he threw open the door.

Standing impassive in the half-light was a familiar black and white visage looking up at him at the bottom of the stairs. His breath stuttered out of his chest and icy shock washed over the adrenaline. They both stared at each other for a moment, the rumblings of the air conditioning the only noise in the cave. Finally, Daniel stepped over the threshold and switched on the light. A light buzz of electricity joined the air conditioner to dance in the silence. Daniel closed the door and cleared his throat. Rorschach hadn't moved.

"Um, Rorschach." Dan greeted, confused and wary, stepping into the corona of light, "What are you doing? Er—not that I—uh."

"Why is Owlship covered?" Rorschach looked up at him, sounding as aloof as ever and Daniel would be fooled were it not for the years of partnership he shared with this man and the resulting proficiency he'd obtained for the language of Rorschach. And a fist, clenched and then released, spoke volumes.

"Uh. Wh- didn't you hear the news? About the Keene Act? And-and my response to it?" Dan asked, phrasing his words carefully.

"Yes," Rorschach answered dispassionately, "Didn't listen to meaningless slander. Know better than that," He paused and Dan winced mentally. God, how do you even respond to that? Rorschach stepped forward and this was the closest he and Dan had been in months. "Still," there was hesitation in his voice and something in Dan's chest hurt a bit, "Not sure why Owlship is covered up. Is it out of commission?"

Dan swallowed hard, "Uh. You could say that." Rorschach made a noise in the back of this throat.

"Made the right decision coming then," and the way it sounded like he was talking more to himself than Daniel… "You'll need backup without Owlship."

You'll need backup. It was always just that simple with Rorschach.

"No. Rorschach. I won't," Dan replied, forcing himself to look his (god, former, isn't it) partner in the face. Forcing himself to grant Rorschach that last courtesy, "Archie's covered up because I'm not gonna need him anymore."

Rorschach looked surprised in that distant, second-hand way he felt things lately. But he didn't ask what Daniel meant, or make any more assumptions about it. Instead, he stared at Archie, head tilted in that familiar way that meant 'piecing things together' and then slowly turned his gaze back to Daniel. And he would look completely apathetic, were it not for the small, nigh imperceptible drop of his shoulders that screamed out 'lost'. Rorschach had only ever looked that way one other time, ever so briefly, covered in ash and blood. Dan winced and took a step forward, "Rorschach--"

Rorschach stepped away from him, hands rising defensively. Dan didn't think he even knew he was doing it, that was just how it was with Rorschach. Things were either neutral or threat. Dan just didn't know how he had come to be put in the category of threat. "Appears I've been mistaken. Going now."

"Wh-hey, no! Rorschach, wait!" Dan wanted to reach out and grab his arm, but he already knew how well that would go. Still, Rorschach stopped. "Wait," Dan pleaded, "This… this is what the people want. We began this business to help them," He threw up his hands in a helpless gesture he'd never felt so keenly, "This is too big to be hardassed about."

"No." Rorschach gritted out from beneath clenched teeth and latex, "Can't compromise."

"Yes you can," Dan begged, feeling at this point that he'd get down on his goddamned knees if that was what it took, "It's not even that big a compromise. Think about it, you could come over during the day, we can do things normal friends do, I'll help you. Just… please."

Rorschach stared at Daniel, hands in his pockets, shoulders quivering and tense, "Goodbye Daniel." He turned around and walked back down the tunnel, shoulders hunched over as though he was preparing for a blow. Dan made a hopeless noise.

"Rorschach! Rorschach, wait a second!"

But he didn't. Dan stood in the Nest next to Archie staring at the point where his former partner had disappeared for hours, waiting for something, always waiting.

He had nightmares for the rest of the week.

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A/N: Sad!! D: Anyways, I think I'll be working with some more of our tiny ginger psycho in the next chapter. You know, how he's coping with things and such. Which will be interesting. Thanks for your feedback, as always!!