Sour Candy | T. Drake ✔

[24] Promise

They say time is the greatest ointment of all and the proverb proved itself as time passed, things gradually but steadily returning on track. Tim had joined Wayne Tech officially even though he did turn up at meetings even before but by then he had taken up the post of deputy CEO, managing the enterprise alongside Bruce.

He often used to visit Dora by evening as that was the only free time he had since he was also regularly going out on patrol. With keeping himself busy, Tim had managed to get a lot better than earlier. And while Dora was trying the same and had recovered considerably, there were sometimes when she would feel overwhelmed by it all.

One such evening while Tim came to visit, Alex told him that Dora had been very silent the entire day so he went up to check on her immediately.

He found the door to her room open and she was sitting on her bed with a book open on her lap however, her eyes were closed as if she had gotten tired of reading.

"Dora," he spoke up and she looked in his direction.

He saw that her eyes were red rimmed, as if she had been crying and as usual, seeing her like that got him worried.

But he didn't ask just then as he stepped inside and sat down on the bed across from her.

"How are you?" She asked, placing the book aside and rubbing her eyes to lessen the redness.

"I'm fine, you?"

"I'm... Fine too, I guess."

He saw the tears gleaming in her coffee-brown eyes as he pulled her closer and his fingers gently wiped her tears away.

"It's okay to not feel fine sometimes," he told her reassuringly, "it's okay to cry and let it all out. Don't suffocate yourself by keeping everything inside you." 

Her head rested on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. The navy blue fabric on his shoulder was getting wet as her tears poured out but he didn't stop her from crying, knowing that it would be better if she released all the sorrow building up inside of her in the form of her tears.

"I just... I still feel so bad that I... That I saved my own self but didn't give our child a chance," her voice was shaking but it felt better to tell him how she felt instead of wallowing in the guilt on her own, "it's been months now... But I still feel terrible, Tim."

"I know, I understand," he whispered back, "and even though we can't change what's past now, we can look forward to making the best out of it."

She held onto him and he pulled her even closer, placing soft kisses on her temple as he rubbed her back soothingly. Her eyes had fluttered shut and she was focusing on counting his steady heartbeat, slowly but eventually calming down herself.

"How?"

"By staying with each other, by making many more happy memories to overlap this," he replied, "I don't want to sound selfish, Dora, but the truth is that our child would have been at more risk if you had taken the other decision."

She kept silent, letting him continue with what he had to say. He knew he had to make her see the other side of the picture, the scarier side, for her to be able to appreciate what she had chosen for them both instead. So even if it hurt him to say it all out loud, he did so anyway because he wanted her to understand.

"Would it really be fair to let a child live without his or her mother? Do you honestly think that without you I would be in the right state to look after and care for the baby? It hurts me to say this, Dora, but I would have been an utter wreck without you. It would have been so hard on the baby to survive like that."

A shudder passed down her spine as she realized that she hadn't looked at it that way, "oh..."

"And what if something happened to you before giving birth," his voice had a trace of fear in it and he didn't want to resume but he felt that she should know, "you remember that the doctor had told us the toxin was eating you up much faster. What if... What if all the struggle would have been of no use and I would have lost both of you?"

His grip on her had tightened, blue eyes welling up as well.

The silence lingering between them was growing heavy so she took in a deep breath, realizing that he was right about it, "I never thought about it like that..."

"Whatever happens, happens for a reason. You took the right decision and you will stop feeling bad once you start to accept it," he resumed, closing his eyes and letting himself believe the fact that they had taken the right decision, the one that caused lesser damage. 

No matter what, Dora was alive and safe, and with the antidote, the toxin had no longer been a threat to her either.

In the other case, that could not have been possible.

But Dora was still thinking that it was unfair on him to spend his entire life with a person who couldn't give him the blessing of children. They had always talked about getting married eventually and settling down with each other, but right then she didn't feel so certain about it.

She didn't want to be the one for whom Tim would have to make that compromise, even though it hurt her to think like that too.

Perhaps he would eventually realize that and with time they might part ways, her heart sank at the thought and she buried her head deeper into his shoulder, taking in the sense of presence while she still could.

However, Tim seemed to have sensed what she was thinking and he wanted to take all of those fears she had and chase them away as far as he could from her.

"Marry me," he breathed out in a barely audible whisper, lips touching her forehead in a sweet kiss.

She looked up in surprise, thinking that she had probably misheard him, "wait what?"

"Marry me, Dora," he repeated, blue eyes looking sincerely in teary brown, "you are always so scared that I'll leave you no matter how many times I tell you that I won't. You're the reason I'm still alive and sane, I can't even think of parting with you."

"But you said..."

"Yes, I asked you to marry me because that way you'll have permanent proof that I am not going anywhere. I'm forever yours. What we have been through is not going to make me go away from you. You are the only one I ever want to spend my life with, it doesn't matter that we can't have children of our own. We are more than enough for one another."

Her lip quivered again as she wrapped her arms around him, her head nestling in his neck, "Timmy, you hopeless romantic..."

A soft smile broke out on his face, fingers running through her hair gently, "forever yours, never forget that."

"I can't marry you just yet though," she mumbled, her jagged breaths slowly coming back to normal as the tears ceased at last, "it's too early."

He nodded, "whenever you're ready then. I am always going to be right here for you, I promise."

She cupped his face in between her palms, leaning in to kiss him. As always, she felt the wave of comfort and safety engulf her as he kissed her back. And in that instant, she knew well from the bottom of her heart that there was no other person she would want to spend her life with either.

***