Chapter 20

Dick was trying to catch up on active case files on the Batcomputer, but his mind just kept wandering. Things just hadn't been the same since the world remembered who he was. Since his family remembered who he was. Damian had dealt with the change by being extra clingy. Dick couldn't go a single step without the boy on his heels. He practically needed to pry him off with a crowbar in order to use the bathroom in peace. Tim on the other hand, lurked in the shadows. He was always there, but he never said a word. Dick had tried to start a conversation with him, only for the boy to turn his nose up and walk away. Bruce was his usual functional mute self. He barely grunted in Dick's direction, which Dick wasn't sure how to feel about.

All of that Dick could deal with. Or at least manage. It was Jason that he was having the biggest problem with. He was avoiding him completely. The few times they had run into each other, Jason had practically screamed at him. Mostly nonsensical things, but Dick understood the gist of it. Jason was angry beyond belief. The man wouldn't even let Dick try and explain. Everytime Dick opened his mouth, Jason took a swing at him. Eventually, Dick just stopped trying, which seemed to make Jason even more mad.

A roaring sound alerted Dick to a new arrival to the cave. And speak of the devil, Jason hopped off of his bike, pulled off his helmet, and practically snarled at Dick. He stomped around for a bit, obviously put off by the fact that Dick was in the Cave. When Dick made no move to leave, Jason started yelling profanities at him.

Dick decided to do the grown up thing and ignore Jason. He would tire himself out eventually. Besides, past evidence seemed to suggest that Jason didn't actually want a response. And if that wasn't enough reason to sit there and take it, then Tim lurking in a particularly dark shadow was. Tim didn't need to see them fighting more than he already had.

Apparently, Jason didn't like being ignored, because he shoved Dick out of the chair he was lounging in. Sprawled out on the cold and hard cave floor, Dick stared up at Jason who was glaring at him and panting. Lurching to his feet, Dick got into Jason's personal space and shoved him back, hard.

"What the hell do you want from me? You don't like it when I try to talk to you, and apparently staying quiet and just taking it isn't good either. So make up your damn mind and tell me what the hell you want from me!"

"I want the truth! Not some damn platitude bullshit that you keep trying to spout!"

Dick ran a hand down his face and felt the urge to start screaming. "You won't even let me get a word out! How do you know what I am going to say? Or are you some sort of psychic now?"

"Don't talk out of your ass. I know you far better than you want to admit. So either tell me the truth or stay the hell away from me!"

Dick couldn't help himself. His mouth opened and words came tumbling out. Words he knew were going to get himself punched. "Well, not like I'm trying to seek you out. In fact, one may think that you are the one trying to be in my illustrious presence."

As expected, Dick was punched right in the jaw. All things considered, Jason must have pulled his punch because Dick's jaw was not broken and he wasn't missing any teeth. Dick's face thanked Jason's self-restraint. Spitting out some blood, Dick gave Jason an assessing look wondering if any more punches would be coming in his direction. When it appeared like the coast was clear, he let out a sigh. He was so tired of being alone. He was just tired in general. "What do you want from me, Jason? Really? What do you want?"

Jason ran a hand through his hair, his anger and frustration seeming to bleed away into something more weary. "Jesus Dick. What do you think I want? I want you to tell me why you faked your death! You know better than most what it feels like when somebody you care about dies, so why would you do that to us? You're the one who is constantly preaching about being a 'family' and how 'you care about us' and more crap along those lines."

"What makes you think that I had any choice in the matter?"

Jason's eyes widened minutely, and that was the second that Dick realized precisely what he said. Shit. There was no way that Jason missed that. And if by some miracle, Jason did miss it, Tim didn't. Fucking shit. There were going to be too many questions. And not the kind that Dick wanted to answer. Could answer. Not without breaking his own heart.

Jason managed to get a "Wait! What the hell does that—" before Dick fled out of the cave on Jason's motorcycle.

###

Jason scratched his head in confusion as he watched his taillight disappear. He felt like the wind was knocked out of him. What could Dick mean by not having a choice? There were very few people that had the capability of giving Dick no choice, but one of them would have said something by now, right?

"That was weird, right?" Jason had to tamp down the urge to jump, and turned around to see Tim appear out of the shadows like some sort of fucking ghost.

"What?"

"That was weird. Dick looked so scared. You think that there might be more to what happened then what we know?"

"I mean, wouldn't Dick have said something before?"

"Not necessarily. Not if he was doing it to protect us. You know what a self-sacrificing moron Dick can be."

Jason shrugged. He didn't know. Not really at least. He had learned more about Dick as a man, and as a hero, in the last few months than he had known in the past. He had heard stories about reckless Dick became when it came to protecting others, but he figured that they were exaggerated for the purpose of making a story more dramatic. But it was doubtful that Tim would exaggerate at a time like this.

"So how do we find out what happened? If there were any witnesses, they've made it pretty clear that they aren't coming forward anytime soon."

Tim shrugged. "I figured that we could start by looking at the Batcave security tapes for that night. See if Dick came back to the cave before he disappeared to play spy."

"Solid plan. If he came back to the cave, the surveillance system might have picked up some sort of clue."

"Kind of why I suggested it, Sherlock."

Jason let out a dry laugh. "Hey, if I'm Sherlock, that makes you Watson."

Tim rolled his eyes but didn't comment. He walked up to the Batcomputer and started typing something that Jason couldn't make out. Computer nerd bullshit or something of the likes. Jason was decent at computers, but Tim was typing too fast for Jason to keep up with what he was doing. He didn't really know what was happening, but judging by the furrow between Tim's eyebrows, it wasn't good.

He wondered if he should ask, or if Tim would say something without prompting. He hoped it was the latter. He hated asking. It made it seem like he cared or something. After another minute, Jason was about ready to give in, when Tim stopped typing with a frustrated hit to the keyboard.

"It's gone!"

"What is? What's going on?"

Tim ran a hand down his face, and appeared to be counting to ten in his head. After a minute, he let out a long breath. "The security footage from that night has been wiped. Considering how I can't find any trace of the footage, it was probably wiped by Bruce."

Jason nodded. He knew that while it could be argued that Tim was better with computers than Bruce, Bruce was damn good and knew how to wipe things cleanly. "Have you tried looking at what Bruce has on that spy organization? What was it called again? All I remember was that the name was stupid with an obvious typo."

"Spyral. And I'm pretty sure that the person who named it was related to Dick in some way because that is the worst pun I've ever heard. But to answer your question, not yet. Hold on a second, let me check."

A few moments passed before Tim started swearing. "He has this file encrypted! The Pentagram is less secure than this file! I don't understand why this file is so well protected."

"Means that Bruce anticipated us eventually snooping and didn't want us to get a peak."

"I can probably get in eventually, but Bruce will be notified. My guess is that we need to get the password correct in one to three guesses."

"Try SCealtiwnoamKaynl6e9."

Both Jason and Tim turned around with a yell. Tim even raised his hands in a stupid karatee chop position. And there, with a smug smile was Damian and his dog, who looked just as superior as his owner did in that moment.

Jason really wanted to give the kid a noogie or something. Just to wipe that look off of the kid's face, but he chose not to, and to instead focus on what the kid said. "Why should we try that? If we only get one chance, we don't want to blow it on a random password attempt."

Damian sniffed disdainfully. "I have found that to be Father's password of choice when it comes to things he doesn't wish others to see. I myself, find the password to be ludicrous and disgusting."

Realizing that Tim wasn't going to ask the kid who he viewed as some sort of rival what he meant, Jason took one for the team. "Tell us what the password means Squirt."

Damian looked at them like they were idiots, but upon seeing that they genuinely had no idea he rolled his eyes and relented. "He switched off between writing letters from Selina Kyle and Catwoman and then added 69 as some disgusting sexual reference. I myself see no appeal to such action."

Jason wanted to laugh, he really did, but laughing at the kid wouldn't help matters. So instead, he kept his voice perfectly neutral and said, "Maybe in a few years. But back to the matter at hand, how sure are you?"

Damian just smirked, which was an answer in of itself. Jason and Tim shared a look, both of them debating whether or not to trust Damian's information. The brat could be playing them. But, and this was a big but, Damian loved Dick. And if memory served, Damian thought of Dick as some sort of second father figure. In all likelihood, Damian, more than anybody else, wanted to know why Dick faked his death.

Jason gave Tim a one shoulder shrug, and Tim entered the password slowly. When the file opened, Jason thought that they were all a little shocked. Nobody had actually expected it to be that easy to gain access to the file.

Tim scanned the file quietly. After a few moments he made a muffled noise of surprise, which had both Jason and Damian crowding around him to see what he found so interesting. "The missing security footage is in this file."

That was both surprising and not surprising at the same time. Bruce was way too anal to ever get rid of a file without having it backed up somewhere. "What are you waiting for? Play it!"

Tim pushed play and the image that greeted them was shocking. Dick was there and he looked awful. He was battered and slumped down on one of the medbay cots. Bruce was at the Batcomputer ignoring Dick as he asked plaintively when he could see the rest of the family. Then Bruce started telling Dick about Spyral and asking him to infiltrate the organization since the whole world thought he was dead. Dick was getting noticeably upset and saying something about how Bruce let Lex Luther kill him so that he would have somebody to infiltrate Spyral. When Dick continued to refuse the mission, Bruce started to beat Dick into submission. He eventually started to say something nice about Dick being the only person he could trust to do the job, but the effect was kind of ruined by the fact that Bruce was holding Dick off the ground by his neck. It was only then, that Dick agreed to remain dead.

Jason didn't know what to think. He was confused and angry. Really, really, truly angry in a way that he never had been since the last remnants of pit madness left his system. Since they had regained their memories of Dick, Jason had never thought once that Dick hadn't volunteered to fake his death. He thought that Dick was just sucking up to the bossman like usual. He wasn't sure how he feels now. He was still mad at Dick. Not as mad as before, but still mad. Dick could have disobeyed orders and contacted them, but he chose not to.

Nobody said anything, not for a few minutes. The silence was broken when Damian started throwing a fit and breaking things. "How could father do that! Grayson was obviously injured, using force to get Grayson to agree was obviously a poor choice. Not to mention Grayson's claim that Father let Luthor kill him."

Jason pushed down his own hurt in order to focus on preventing the kid from falling apart. "I think the only person that has all the answers is Dick. That said, I think that we should go through the rest of the file and find out all that we can."

Damian remained silent, obviously pouting, but he stopped throwing things, so Jason took that as a win. Tim meanwhile was sifting through the rest of the file. Obviously disturbed by what he was finding. "Looks like Bruce was in regular contact with Dick for a while, but slowly stopped responding to Dick's messages. It seems like Bruce hadn't responded in months before the world forgot who Dick Grayson was."

"So Bruce left Dick alone. No wonder Dick didn't come to Bruce for help."

"Actually it makes sense that he didn't come to any of us. From what I've read in these emails, Bruce made it sound like he told all of us that Dick was alive and well. Dick thought we all knew."

Jason felt a sinking feeling and the walls seemed to be closing in on him. He couldn't breathe. Dick thought that they knew. He must have figured out eventually that they didn't know, but he must have felt so alone. Jason couldn't stay in the cave any longer. It felt like a coffin. Getting smaller and smaller by the second. He needed to get out. So he did the one thing that he could do and stole Tim's motorcycle and made his escape into the cold, dark, Gotham night.

###

Dick was three shots in, and about to down his fourth by the time Wally and Donna arrived at the dinky bar in Bludhaven. Dick didn't say anything to them, simply waved over the bartender and said, "Get whatever you want, it's on me."

Donna sighed and sat down next to him, gesturing for Wally to do the same. "Dick, you sent a SOS text. Please tell us what's wrong."

"Is Roy coming? I sent him a text too. But I haven't checked my phone in a while."

"He texted something about not wanting to take sides. He's friends with both you and Jason. He also said that Donna had this well covered, which was rude because I can totally play therapist too!"

Dick nodded, and kept nodding a few too many times. Taking out his phone he waved it in Wally's face and said, "Can you text him back for me? I don't think that I can type right now." Upon receiving Wally's affirmation, Dick continued, "Tell him that I understand why he didn't come. And that Jason probably needs a friend right now. Like more than I do. Also tell him that I'm really glad that Jason has a friend as good of a friend as I know he is. And as roguishly handsome. And with his flowing splendour of red locks."

Wally gave him a look before shaking his head with a small chuckle. "You and your redheads. Don't worry, Buddy, I'll text everything you just said verbatim."

"Thanks, Wally. You are such a good friend!"

Donna shook her head. "You won't be saying that in the morning. Dick, what is going on? Why are you drinking? Why does Jason need a friend right now?"

Dick ignored her, instead choosing to order another shot. Downing it, he turned to Wally. "Want to know what Jason called you and Roy once before his death?"

Looking highly amused, and ignoring the 'look' Donna sent him, Wally asked, "What did Jason call me and Roy? The best bros in the history of bros?"

Dick giggled. "No. Not even close." Dick let out another giggle. For some reason everything seemed really funny right now. "Jason called you two my 'Harem of Redheads.' He didn't even know about Kori and Barbara at the time! Wow, I really do have a 'Harem of Redheads.' Do you think I should make t-shirts?"

"Don't you have to sleep with me and Roy for it to be a real harem? I mean you slept with Kori and Barbara."

Dick pondered this for a moment. "I don't know. Does a drunken make out count? Cause Roy and I made out once when we were both really drunk."

Donna chose that moment to cut in. Dick was glad, he was pretty sure that Wally was about to ask for a make out session between bros. "Dick, honey, I need you to focus. What is going on? And why didn't you ask us for help, earlier?"

"When should I have asked for help? When nobody remembered who I was?"

Donna shrugged. She knew how to deal with belligerent and drunk Dick. "How about when it was revealed that the world forgot who you were? Or after we all remembered who you were? You haven't contacted us since The Presence restored the world's memories of Nightwing and Dick Grayson. We decided that we would give you space and wait for you to contact us, but as usual, you waited until you were falling apart to do so."

Dick flopped his head on the bartop. She was right. She was always right. She was a goddess amongst humans for a reason. Letting out a mournful sigh, he groaned out, "I know. I'm sorry."

Donna seemed to forgive him because she patted him on the head. Dick liked that. When she stopped, he grabbed her hand and brought it back to his head. She resumed the patting, which was very much appreciated. Finally, he felt calm enough to speak. "I slipped up. Jason has been avoiding me since regaining his memories. We got into it today, and I mentioned that I had no choice but to go undercover."

Wally was the one who spoke up this time. "Dude. Maybe you should start from the beginning. What happened after you escaped the bomb?"

"I didn't escape. Luther gave me a pill that stopped my heart. Bruce allowed him to."

Donna's hand stopped patting his head. "What do you mean that Bruce allowed Luther to kill you? Bruce may have made some questionable decisions in the past, but he would never have allowed Luther to kill you."

Dick shrugged. "It took me a while to figure out, but I'm certain that Bruce could have hacked the machine and tricked it into thinking that I was dead. And even if Bruce couldn't, Tim certainly could. They are two of the best hackers in the world, I'm certain that they could do it if they wanted to. But Bruce saw a convenient solution to Spyral if the World believed me to be dead, so he allowed Luther to kill me."

Donna and Wally shared a look. Obviously they thought that Dick was too drunk to notice the look, but he wasn't. He was surprisingly sober given how much alcohol he had consumed. Or maybe he was a coherent drunk. He would have to ask Donna and Wally their opinion on the matter later.

Dick's musings were cut short when Wally rudely interrupted them. "So what happened after that?"

"Bruce and I went back to the Batcave. I kept asking when I could tell people I was still alive and Bruce was ignoring me. Finally he told me about Spyral and asked me to infiltrate. I said no, and well, Bruce proceeded to beat the crap outta me until I agreed. You know, the usual. Anyway, we were in regular contact for a while, but then his replies became more and more seldom until he just stopped replying. And then everybody forgot who I was and when I checked on them, they were all fine. I figured they just might be better off without me."

Wally and Donna shared another significant look before both of them slapped the back of his head simultaneously. Dick had to admit that he kind of deserved that, so he thanked them. Wally, being his usual self, actually replied with, "You're welcome."

Donna resumed patting his head, and said, "Dick you know that we all love you. Of course we were fine when our minds were wiped, but according to what I've been told, your family started experiencing deja vu once they came into contact with you. Their minds were wiped, but their souls knew that something was wrong."

Dick sniffed. Tears were starting to prick at the corners of his eyes. "You think so?"

"Of course."

"Truly?"

"Yes."

"Really truly?"

Donna sighed. "I pinky promise. Dick why don't we go back to your place? We can watch a movie and I'll make popcorn."

Wally perked up at the mention of popcorn. Which was pretty typical. His favorite thing in the world was probably a tie between family and food. With food trumping family ever so slightly on a day where he was particularly hungry. "That's such a great idea! Dick why don't we pick up some take-out and then go back to your place. Take-out and popcorn and a movie. That would be awesome. And because I'm such a good member of your Harem of Redheads, I will let you choose what kind of take-out we get."

Dick pondered that notion for a moment. He did feel like eating a greasy pizza. And Donna's popcorn could win awards. But he didn't feel like giving in to their demands so easily. Not when they were obviously trying to bribe him away from his supply of alcohol. So Dick narrowed his eyes at them with faux suspicion, and said, "Only if I get to choose the movie too."

Both Donna and Wally looked weary at that idea. They knew from past experience that Dick's tended to choose cheesy Rom-Coms if he had a choice. "Or, we can all do tequila shots together? Wally can't get drunk, so he can drag us back to my place later."

Donna and Wally both nodded in unison and got up from their bar stools. Donna put her coat back on, and then helped Dick put his on. "Good idea, Dick, you should totally choose the movie. Now why don't you give Wally your wallet so that he can pay your tab, and give me your keys so that I can load you in your car."

Dick nodded, before shaking his head. "Sorry. I rode here on Jason's motorcycle."

Donna pursed her lips for a second before sighing. "Okay. Wally will carry you back to your apartment and I'll ride Jason's motorcycle there. You better return that before he decides he misses it."

"Don't worry. By now Jason and Tim have figured out that Bruce punched me into agreeing to exaggerate the duration of my death."

Donna gave him a look. When Dick just blinked at her, she rolled her eyes, hard. "What does this have to do with Jason coming to shoot you in a non-lethal area for taking his baby?"

"Because Jason is going to avoid me like the Plague now that he knows. Duh."

Donna sighed. Apparently she didn't like dealing with drunk Dick. Which didn't make sense. Drunk Dick was a delight. Even Dick had to admit that his drunk self was pretty entertaining. He wondered if Jason would like Drunk Dick better. Or if Jason even liked Dick at all. It sure seemed like he liked Dick for a while, but maybe remembering all the hate and resentment that laid between them made him decide that he no longer liked Dick. Dick might have been inclined to agree, but all that time together actually made him like Jason.

Wally walked up to them, and Donna shoved Dick into his arms. "Carry his drunk ass home. I gotta drive Jason's motorcycle back to Dick's apartment."

Wally was shoving Dick out of the door when Dick wiggled free and faced Donna. "Get pizza on your way back. There's a good place about a block from my place. Pretty sure it's used to launder cash for the mafia, but the pizza's spectacular."

Donna nodded in agreement, and Wally wrangled him outside and picked him up bridal style. The last thing that he saw before the world became a blur was Donna staring at them fondly while she snapped a photo on her phone.

###

Roy wasn't sure what to expect when he arrived at one of Jason's lesser known safe houses. Dick's text had said something about Jason needing him. Then again, he had also talked about his flowing splendour of red locks, which obviously proved that his judgement was less than perfect at the moment.

He wished that Dick had done him the favor of telling why exactly Jason needed him. Then again, he doubted that Dick would send him Jason's way if Jason weren't bordering some sort of breakdown. Which is why Roy pinged Jason's latest burn phone and found himself outside of some crappy apartment on a night he was planning on watching Moana with Lian. Bruce had a talent for adopting children that ruined his plans.

Roy knocked on the door a few times, and when there was no response, he took out his lock picks and broke into the apartment. Jason was lying on the couch and barely flinched when his front door swung open. Instead he lazily raised a hand in greeting, before going back to staring at the ceiling.

"Have you been drinking?"

Jason stayed quiet for a second before propping himself up on his elbows so that he could glare at Roy. "You know that I don't drink on nights where I feel like this."

"Well how was I supposed to know that you were feeling that way?"

Jason gave him another look. Roy called this one Jason's "Stop being an idiot Roy" look. It took a lot of work for Roy to get one of this intensity. He was oddly proud of himself. Finally Jason let out a little huff and flopped back down on the couch. "You always know when I feel this way. And I usually spend my time when I feel like this staring at the ceiling, which you definitely know."

Jason trailed off for a moment and Roy took that moment to survey the apartment. It wasn't too messy which was a good sign. Jason tended to be super anal about keeping his apartment tidy, which meant that when it was messy Jason's head wasn't in a good place. Suddenly, Jason sat up with an unforeseen velocity that startled Roy. He really hoped that Jason didn't see him jump.

Jason gave him a hard look before saying, "Don't you have a movie date with your daughter tonight? Why are you here?"

Of course Jason picked up on that. Jason rarely misses anything. Which made it really hard to plan surprise birthday parties for him. "Got a text, saying that you needed me. And that I was roguishly handsome."

"Clearly whoever sent it was in an altered state in order to hallucinate you as good looking."

"Half right. Dick sent it. And considering that he sent an SOS text earlier, it was pretty obvious to conclude that he was drunk off of his ass."

Jason scratched his head for a second before giving him a look reminiscent of a confused puppy. "If he sent you an SOS text, why didn't you go?"

Roy really wanted to hug Jason and tell him that he was loved, but he knew from past experience that that would not be well received. So instead, he settled on telling Jason the truth, no matter how cliche and boring it was. "Jason. I may be friends with Dick, but I am also your friend. You told me that things haven't been good between you two since you regained your memories, so I told him that I didn't want to take sides and that Donna had it well handled. Anyway, he texted back that I should go see you. Whatever happened between you two shook him up pretty bad."

Jason ran a hand down his face. "I doubt it was our encounter. He let something slip. Needless to say, Tim, Damian, and I followed up on it, and found Bruce's file on Dick's time in Spyral. Including the beatdown Bruce gave him to convince Dick to infiltrate Spyral. I blamed Dick for faking his death: yelled at him and punched him. And the whole time he let me. Never even tried to correct me."

Roy sighed. Why was he friends with Dick and Jason? Their problems were always so complicated. Taking a deep breath, Roy steeled himself for weaving through Jason's complicated emotions. "Look, Jay. Dick is really complicated and has been known to be self-deprecating to a pathological degree. He also has a really complicated relationship with Bruce. Let's put it this way, if Bruce were his boyfriend instead of his father figure, I would be telling him to dump his abusive ass. That said, Donna, Wally, and I have been trying to get him to stop going back to Bruce for years. Their relationship is beyond unhealthy."

"Roy would you please get to the point?"

Roy sighed. Jason was so impatient. But he supposed he could get to the point a little quicker. "Dick loves you guys. My guess would be that he didn't want the brothers that he loves to be angry at the father that he loves. Because he knew that you guys would be angry at Bruce in a way that he couldn't be."

Roy had never seen Jason look as defeated as he did in that moment. He supposed that Dick had always been a stranger to him, and that he was learning more about his neurosis than he had previously known. "You really think that Dick can't be mad at Bruce? I mean I've seen him mad, and it's never pretty."

"Look. Dick can be mad, but he always forgives him. I think that he just can't lose another father."

Jason's breathing was becoming more and more ragged. Roy watched as he held his breath for a moment before releasing it shakily. "Can we discuss something else now? Maybe order some food?"

"Please. I haven't had your cooking in ages. Did you really think you could get away with ordering take-out?"

For the first time since he arrived, Jason smiled. "Come on. We have to go to the grocery store first."

When Jason left the room to grab his coat, Roy quickly and stealthily sent Dick text with the thumbs up emoji. He would know what it means. Probably. It would depend on how much he drank before Donna stopped him. But his job was keeping Jason from falling apart, not keeping Dick sober, so that's where he would focus. Which is why he plastered on a bright smile when Jason reappeared, swung an arm over his shoulder, and started chattering away about the cutest things Lian had done since they had last spoken. Let nobody say that he wasn't good at his job.

###

Dick woke up on the couch with a hangover the size of Texas. Scratch that, the size of Alaska, which despite how misleading maps were, is bigger than Texas, California, and Montanna combined. In other words, his hangover was massive, and Wally and Donna laughing at his pitiful groans was not helping him feel any better.

After Donna stopped laughing, she handed him a glass of water and some aspirin. Dick took it gratefully. His head really was killing him. But it was nothing that a greasy meal couldn't fix. Speaking of which, the smell of bacon permeated the air. Wally made a small noise before rushing at a normal speed back to the kitchen.

After a moment, Wally came back into the living room balancing a few plates filled with bacon, eggs, and toast, as well as forks. Dick took a plate, grabbed a fork, and mumbled a thank you before shoveling food into his mouth. Wally sure knew how to cook. Which made sense given how much food he consumed.

After finishing his plate, Dick sat back on the couch with a small smile on his face. He felt so much better already. Now all he needed was to get up and find his sunglasses to block out that annoying sunlight. As if reading his mind, Wally zipped off and found his shades for him, placing them on Dick face with a tenderness that instantly made Dick suspicious.

Both Donna and Wally were being far too nice. Normally they would laugh at his pitiful groaning before telling him that it served him right for drinking so much. So why were they being nice? They must want something. And if they were acting this nice, it must be big. Really big, if the innocent looks and covert glances were anything to go by.

Giving the two of them a suspicious look, Dick let out a sigh. "Out with it. Why are you buttering me up?"

Donna and Wally shared a look. Finally, after a few aborted gestures shared between the two of them, Donna waved her arm in a sweeping motion. "Why don't you take a seat, Dick?"

Dick sat down. Nervous energy feeling like it was about to spill out of his body in the form of a handstand. Tamping down his baser instinct, Dick sat down on the couch, only to have Donna and Wally settle down on either side of him. Donna took his hands in hers, and looked seriously into his eyes. "Dick, sweetheart. Roy, Wally, and I had a little chat after you fell asleep. After piecing together more of what happened from what Jason told Roy, we have decided to stage an intervention."

Dick leaned his head back to rest on the back of the couch. Of course they were staging an intervention. He should have known that his day was going to be crap the second he woke up with a hangover. He should have kicked his pesky friends out the second he realized how nice they were being. Rubbing a hand down his face, Dick decided the best course of action was to buy time and hopefully change the subject. "So where's Roy? Since this reeks so strongly of his idea. Probably revenge for the intervention I staged for him when he was still using."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Yes it was Roy's idea, and he's with Jason. Something about Jason making him a brunch extravaganza, so you can kick his ass later. But, you're not changing the subject. You are going to sit there, and listen to what we have to say. I don't care if I have to tie up and gag you. You will listen."

Dick knew better than to argue with Donna when she got like this, but he still looked at Wally, hoping that his best friend would save him. "Dude. I will help her tie you up, so you might as well do what she says."

"Traitor. Okay, lay it on me. Why do I need an intervention?"

Donna and Wally shared another significant look. "Dick, honey, we all have said in passing that your relationship with Bruce is unhealthy, but you've never wanted to hear us out. We were content to allow you two to figure it out on your own. However, after hearing what Bruce did to you, we think that it is time for us to talk and you to listen. Dick, no father should do what Bruce did to you, no matter how right for the job he thought you were."

Dick opened his mouth, ready to interrupt, to defend Bruce, but Donna held her hand up to prevent Dick from speaking. "Honey, you know that if Bruce had done that to anybody else, to one of your brothers, you would be the first person punching him in the face and probably making an attempt on his life. So why is it okay that he does it to you?"

Dick looked around helplessly. He didn't want to be a part of this conversation anymore. Why did he still have to be here? Donna must have seen the freaked out look in his eyes because she drew him into a hug. Wally draped himself over his back, and Dick was enveloped fully in the hug of the century. After a few minutes, Donna whispered into his ear, "It's okay not to want to lose another father. What is not okay is allowing yourself to be treated in this manner."

Wally made some sort of nodding motion against his back. "Yeah dude. Enough is enough."

Donna pulled back slightly so that she could look at him in the eyes. "I know that you have been staying at the manor, but why don't you move back in here? I think some space from Bruce will do the both of you some good."

Dick wanted to cry, but instead choked back tears to nod, and then put on his cheeriest smile. "Can we please talk about something else now?"

Donna and Wally once again shared a look. But this time, they booth rewarded him with a smile. Finally, Wally patted him on the shoulder. "Sure, Buddy. Let's talk about something else. How about we discuss some of Roy's most embarrassing moments as revenge for him not showing up to the intervention that he planned?"

Dick's grin was almost feral. Roy would rue the day that he chose brunch over the intervention he plotted and subjected Dick to. "Sounds like a plan."

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Bruce watched stoically from the doorway as Dick packed up his bedroom. Dick had yet to notice him. Or so he surmised. Dick was never good at ignoring him once he had spotted him. Even when he was angry, he couldn't help but sneak glances or talk to him. Bruce had always found Dick's excessive chattiness annoying; however, his silence was unnerving in a way that was unexpected.

Minutes ticked by, and Dick was finished packing his clothes. After a few moments, Dick started grabbing a few pictures off the wall, staring at each before he put them in his bag. Finally, he stared at the Flying Grayson poster. Reverently, he lifted a hand up to touch it before gently taking it off the wall, and placing it on the bed next to his things. He surveyed his stuff for a moment before shouldering his bags. The Flying Grayson poster was saved for last and he picked it up gently, obviously deciding it was too valuable to be stuffed in some bag.

Dick didn't even glance at him, just pushed his way past Bruce and out the door. He obviously was not planning on talking to Bruce before he left. Bruce wasn't sure what to do with that. Dick always talked, even if it was to scream, or to get the last word in. This was something that he had never had to deal with before, and he wasn't sure what the best way to approach was.

Frustrated, Bruce growled, "What the hell is wrong with you."

Dick didn't respond, just kept walking. So Bruce grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn around. Dick looked at him passively, his face impossible to read. After a moment, he said, "My shoulder's going to bruise."

Ignoring that, Bruce asked, "What is your problem?"

Dick sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. "This. This is my problem! Bruce you just left a grab mark on my shoulder and you see nothing wrong with that! On anybody else, you would be dangling the abuser by his feet off the side of a building, and giving the victim the number to the Domestic Violence Hotline. So why is it okay that you've beaten the crap out of me? Sure I hit back, but why is your behavior okay?"

"Training doesn't count as abuse."

Dick grabbed at his hair and it looked like he was going to rip it out. "I'm not talking about training! I'm talking about you punching me into submission when I told you that I didn't want to infiltrate Spyral! I'm talking about how you forced me into staying dead. Making my family and friends mourn me, while you knew the entire time that I was still alive!"

Letting go of his hair, Dick continued in a more subdued tone. "The sad thing is that I forgive you. But my friends made me realize that forgiving you is not healthy. So I'm going back to Bludhaven until I can get my head on straight when it comes to you. Please respect my wishes and don't contact me. I'll call you when I'm ready."

Bruce could only watch as his son walked away from him. Nothing he could say would change anything, as Dick was remarkably stubborn when he wanted to be. Dick walked down the stairs and out the front door, only pausing momentarily to say goodbye to Alfred. He did not look back. Not even once.

###

Dick had dropped off his stuff, unpacked, and hung his Flying Grayson poster. Then he had gone to Amy's to hang out with her and her kids. She had commented on how she didn't remember where he had gone or when he had come back to become her partner again. Just that she was glad that he was her partner again. Dick had been happy that she hadn't asked any questions. She had just watched and laughed as Dick taught her kids cartwheels, handstands, front handsprings, and back walkovers.

They had eaten chinese food and ice cream together. They had laughed and watched a Disney movie together. Dick got to cuddle with happy and wiggly children. He was just so happy, and it was the perfect ending to such a stressful day.

Dick got home to his apartment exhausted but happy. He dropped his keys once before he managed to open the door, but that was nothing too unusual. What was unusual, was the fact that his apartment was not empty. There in his living room, was Alfred, Tim, Damian, Jason, Titus, and Alfred the cat, along with a few bags containing what Dick could only assume were their things.

Dick stared openly at them, knowing that he was gaping like a fish. After a second, he tossed his keys, phone, and wallet on the kitchen counter before making his way over to his uninvited guests. To give himself something to do, Dick pulled Damian into his arms and squashed him into his chest. The boy made a grumbling noise of protest, but he didn't fight the hug too hard, so Dick was pretty sure that the boy was enjoying it.

After a few moments Dick let go of Damian and took a step back. "What are you guys doing here?"

Damian sniffed, and took another step back. He took a look around, before turning his nose up like the little brat that he was. Though Dick was offly fond of his bratty attitude if he was being completely honest. "Grayson. This place is disgustingly small, inadequate, and messy. I refuse to live here. I insist that we move to a more appropriate location, suitable for our station."

Dick scratched his head. What the hell was happening right now? Maybe this was some sort of dream? Maybe Jason had knocked him unconscious the last time they fought? He probably should just ask instead of speculating. "What is happening? What's wrong with my apartment?"

They all ignored him. Alfred gave him a page from a newspaper. "I've taken the liberty of circling a few penthouses near here that have multiple bedrooms and are pet friendly."

"Again, I have no idea what is happening right now. Can somebody please explain?"

Jason gave him a look that made him feel like an utter moron. "Dickhead. We are moving in with you, duh. Bruce is an asshole and we all like you better, so we want to live with you and have you play Daddy to this messed up family."

Dick blinked. He didn't know how to process that. Nor did he know if Jason meant for the innuendo. He decided the best thing to do was to ignore the comment. "You guys can't all move in with me! Bruce will self-destruct. Not that I don't want all of you to move in with me, because that would be awesome and like a giant sleepover everyday."

Jason crossed his arms, and his face looked so resolute that Dick knew there was no changing his mind. "I'm not living in the same house as Bruce. If you don't want me here, then I can find my own place in some far away city. That said, you can't keep an eye on me if I'm living alone in another city."

Damian nibbled on his bottom lip looking more unsure than Dick had ever seen on his young expressive face. "You told me once that it is never okay to physically or psychologically harm a loved one. After reviewing security footage with Todd and Drake, I believe that Father did both to you on that night. While I cannot force you to allow me, Titus, and Alfred the cat, to stay with you, I can say that I do not think that I can trust Father again after witnessing what he did to you for defying his order."

Dick couldn't help himself. He reeled Damian into a tight hug. The boy didn't fight it. He didn't hug back, but he didn't fight it. After the boy seemed to relax fully into his arms, Dick said, "Of course you can stay with me."

Damian sagged even more against him. One of his arms raised up and his hand clenched the back of Dick's shirt. Dick kept holding him, and looked up at Tim, asking with his eyes what his argument to stay with him was. After a moment, Tim shrugged. "I can stay with Bruce. Part-time at least. I spend most of my time at Titans tower these days anyway."

"Only if you're comfortable, Timmy. If you rather stay with me, that's okay too. I'd never want you to do something that wasn't 100% voluntary."

Tim gave him a soft smile, and Dick's heart melted. So he gave Tim a mischievous smile and said, "Maybe you can stay with me on the weekends."

Tim grinned back at him. "You sound like you are splitting custody with Bruce. But that does sound good. I'd really like that. As long as I have my own room."

Dick nodded. "Deal."

Alfred nodded. "Perhaps I could do the same thing. I shall stay the work week with Master Bruce, and visit on the weekends to shop, clean, and do laundry. Unfortunately, you will have to fend for yourselves during the week."

Jason smirked. "Don't worry. I can cook. Dick will just have to do the dishes."

Dick scrunched up his face and made an exaggerated disgusting face. Everybody laughed, and Dick felt even lighter than he had felt in a long time. "Give me those apartment listings. I'll look at it overnight before bed. It might be for the best if you guys stay in a hotel until I find a place. Not exactly enough room here for so many people."

Everyone agreed, and Dick watched everyone but Jason leave. Jason made no move to vacate the premises, but was obviously uncomfortable as he stood in Dick's living room. Dick waited for him to speak first, knowing that nothing came from rushing Jason. After a few minutes, Jason mumbled out, "Sorry for punching you. And yelling at you."

Dick didn't say anything. He didn't have to. He just opened his arms, and smiled when Jason took the few steps to close the distance and step into his embrace. Dick was wrong before. This was the hug of the century.

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A/N: So it took me a little bit to update but I do hope that this chapter was well worth the wait. There will probably only be one more chapter...but I may add bonus chapters every once in a while.

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Hope that everybody is safe and healthy right now. I also hope that as protests go on around the world that you all are being safe and hopefully not getting arrested. I just want to say here that I believe 90% of cops to be good people that are cops for the right reasons (ie to help people) and its the remaining 10% that give the rest a bad name. As such, I think that cops need to be appropriately reprimanded (or fired) for misconduct, and not be able to jump from one station to another when excessive force complaints are made. So I think that everybody should keep fighting the good fight and force the government to enact positive change!

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If I were a youtuber, I would say like and subscribe...as I am a fanfic writer, I will say follow and favorite this story, and write a review.

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