[a beat. then a breath where dick does reach over and take that stubborn hand.]
You know he loves you, right? A whole lot. He yanked me out of a room to yell at me for saying something that might upset you. He tries to protect you every way he can. It's how he shows love. You need to push him back, show it back. He needs you through it all too.
[It's really not easy. What did Dick do but lose his temper with his teens. Rachel over and over, and yet for some reason she kept tossing her arms around him when he didn't deserve it.]
We don't deserve their love, or whatever it is, but we can't help it. I went through it back home. My titans. Three teenagers, all strays, all attached themselves to me when I didn't want it. I fucked up. I yelled at them, even hit one. I left them alone, abandoned them more than once, ran away, and they kept taking me back. I don't know why. Maybe that's why I'm stubborn. They were first. Damian's rock hard stubborn. He will have Dick. Trust me. Damian knows that. He knows who his brother is, and told me that too. He also needs you. Don't doubt yourself there.
[No, the nightmares will never cease. Dick has been in one of Damian's nightmares and it was a doozy. It's horrible. Dick knows this is causing a lot of pain for everyone involved. He doesn't like that it had to happen, that this horrid place did this. It did it for this purpose. Wedges, grief, but also to show bonds, Dick imagines.]
no subject
You know he loves you, right? A whole lot. He yanked me out of a room to yell at me for saying something that might upset you. He tries to protect you every way he can. It's how he shows love. You need to push him back, show it back. He needs you through it all too.
[It's really not easy. What did Dick do but lose his temper with his teens. Rachel over and over, and yet for some reason she kept tossing her arms around him when he didn't deserve it.]
We don't deserve their love, or whatever it is, but we can't help it. I went through it back home. My titans. Three teenagers, all strays, all attached themselves to me when I didn't want it. I fucked up. I yelled at them, even hit one. I left them alone, abandoned them more than once, ran away, and they kept taking me back. I don't know why. Maybe that's why I'm stubborn. They were first. Damian's rock hard stubborn. He will have Dick. Trust me. Damian knows that. He knows who his brother is, and told me that too. He also needs you. Don't doubt yourself there.
[No, the nightmares will never cease. Dick has been in one of Damian's nightmares and it was a doozy. It's horrible. Dick knows this is causing a lot of pain for everyone involved. He doesn't like that it had to happen, that this horrid place did this. It did it for this purpose. Wedges, grief, but also to show bonds, Dick imagines.]