Sour Candy | T. Drake ✔

[08] Heart To Heart

Steph had taken Dora out to the garden with her, away from the chaos raging inside Wayne Manor. The two girls walked back to the isolated little grove of trees which Steph had introduced to her as her favorite meditation spot.

Dora felt a relaxing breeze sweep over her, realizing that Steph was indeed right to label the place as a meditation spot. It was calm and relaxing, perfect for chilling out.

They spread out the printed sheet they had brought out with them and sat down upon it, stretching their limbs out comfortably. Steph had rested her head in Dora's lap, her fingers gently streaking through the soft blonde tresses.

"So what secret do you have to tell me that you brought me here away from all others?" Dora asked, brown eyes gazing down in sparkling green.

"I just brought you here for some peace and quiet. I felt we both need a break from the chaos my brothers are cooking up."

She laughed, "aren't you used to it by now?"

"I am but that doesn't mean it is annoying." After a short pause, Steph resumed, "no, you're right. I do have to tell you something."

"Go ahead, I'm all ears."

She spoke up at last, "I applied for Uni and I got my acceptance letter."

A genuine smile broke out on Dora's face, "really? That's great news! Which university did you apply in?"

The smile on her face widened, "Yale."

"Oh, wait a second... You're going to Yale? That means you'll be seeing Luke very soon," She gently pinched her reddening cheeks, "aw Steph, you look so adorable right now."

Steph sat up, facing her, "yeah. I applied to three different universities, to be honest, but since Luke already goes to Yale, he had helped me out with the procedure. I guess my application got accepted for Yale because it was according to their format and Luke had guided me with that."

"That's great." 

She nodded, "our subjects are different obviously, but I'll surely be seeing him in campus."

Dora added, her hands gently resting on top of Steph's, "I'm so happy for you."

But then she realized that Tim was supposed to apply with Steph too but he hadn't told her anything about it yet. If he had really applied then he would have told her at least something about it but she knew not a word.

"But Steph, Tim was going to apply with you too, right?"

She nodded but the slight worry taking over her features didn't escape Dora's observant gaze, "well, Tim... He is taking another gap year. I had asked him before applying but he said he wasn't ready. Not after all that has happened in the past year."

A thoughtful look dawned on her features, "oh, I see..."

"Dora, I have to talk to you about Tim too," Steph spoke up, her grip tightening slightly on Dora's hands, "I... I think he's not okay at all."

Dora didn't interrupt, letting her finish with all she had to say, Though no one knew better than her how not okay Tim had been ever since he had returned from his mission.

"He pretends that he is fine but in reality, he's breaking down. I have seen him like that once before as well when he had been retrieved from the League of Assassins. I don't know if he has ever told you but he suffered from a lot of trauma back then too..."

"I know," she mumbled, looking down at their entwined hands, "he told me everything."

Steph was still quite surprised by the level of trust Dora and Tim had with each other, it was no doubt impressive the way the two never kept any secrets from each other and that trust was a solid foundation for their relationship. Tim always told her every single thing, even those which he shouldn't do so because it could make her quite disturbed. And in return, Dora kept his secrets and tried her best to help him out whenever required.

She asked, "then he must have told you everything that happened in this past year too?"

Dora paused, clearly not wanting that topic to be discussed, "yes. But I won't tell you that because I can't break his trust."

Steph nodded, understanding the situation, "it's okay, I wasn't going to ask that from you either. If he has told you everything then you would know better than me that he needs help."

She didn't answer but nodded in reply. 

It felt bad to talk about Tim as such in his absence. He needed help, she knew that very well, but deep down it hurt to hear that.

She clasped her hands tightly, "Dora, you understand what I'm saying right? Tim has changed a lot ever since he came back and I am not saying that he shouldn't have done so, it's definitely something he can't control. But by saying that he needs help, I definitely do not mean that he's... That he's unstable or..."

Her voice trailed off, unable to choose the right words. She didn't want to hurt Dora and she didn't want to keep the truth of what she had judged about Tim from her either.

"But he is unstable, right?" Dora thought of making it easier for her as she spoke up, her voice lower than usual, "and even though he might never agree to go for counseling... He does need it."

Steph nodded, "you do understand... It's just that all of us are really worried for him but he's not letting us in. You're the only person he completely trusts so you're the only one he would allow to help him. At least I hope so... Tim always shuts other people out when it comes to himself, he seldom trusts anyone else the way he trusts you. So we can only hope that you would be able to help him out this time."

"I know," she looked in her eyes reassuringly, "and I'm trying my best. It's hard for me too, y'know. One whole year without him was equally destructive for me too. And I've never told this to anyone before but you're my best friend so..."

Her voice trailed off, still unsure of whether she should tell her or not but Steph had never broken her trust and she regarded her as a sister so she decided to tell her at last.

"Me and Tim aren't the same anymore either. A lot has changed but we're trying to figure out a way to make everything work despite the changes."

"Oh," she had not been expecting that but it was understandable, "but you two still love each other, right?"

"Of course, we never stopped. But everything else has changed and even though we love each other, we still have a lot to figure out together."

Silence engulfed the two until a loud voice shook them out of their train of thought.

"Steph, where have you hidden Dora away? Tim is getting paranoid without her," Jason was looking out for them in the garden.

"We're just coming," Steph called back and stood up along with Dora, rolling up the sheet they had brought outside. "We should go back now but please consider everything I told you. I would be leaving for New Haven in a few days and I won't be here to look after Tim but I'm sure you'll do that very well."

"Of course," Dora nodded, "he'll be okay."

"Thanks," she hugged her gently, "you know, Tim is my eternal support system. A lot more than just a friend and means a lot more than any other person does to me because he has stood with me in times that were absolutely horrifying. I can't watch him slowly deteriorate so I got worried to see him like he is right now."

"I know. And I understand," Dora gave her a reassuring look as the two pulled apart, "you don't have to worry about him at all. I will try my best to help him in every way I can."

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