JADE (young justice/robin)

35. cats don't like birds

Blüdhaven
February 28, 06:50 EST

"Smells good," I peered over Dick's shoulder, watching him cook breakfast.

It was a surprise to see him up so early. He's been spending a lot of long nights at the cave; usually doesn't come in until around 3 or 4 in the morning. Yet, here he was bright and early, moving large helpings of eggs and bacon around with a spatula.

"I thought we could have breakfast together before I—"

"Leave?" Again?

"Before you go to practice."

"You do realize I come home at 6pm, right?"

He sighed in either exhaustion or frustration. Maybe both? "I didn't think the League being off-world would make such a difference to the team's workload."

My arms wrapped around his middle, sinking my chin into the crook of his neck. I found comfort in the way it made him open up; how my physical touch and his words were equal in meaning.

"We're still decoding all the intel recovered from Malina Island. Still trying to round up the last Kroloteans. Still figuring out every other possible detail about this invasion. Not to mention Kaldur—"

Dick seemed to cut himself off.

"Kaldur..?"

"Nothing," he lied. "Just that it's hard with him being on the opposite side of this."

I don't want to argue with you. I don't want to bring up the fact that you lied to me.

"How do you feel?"

"What do you mean?"

I'd never asked him about this before. I wasn't even sure if I had a right to. "Your anxiety."

Dick on a Xanax prescription was in the back of my head at every hour of the day. It made me feel like I needed a prescription too.

"It's the same as before."

Is it? My eyes scanned him, despite so much of his body being hidden away under his sweatshirt and pajama pants. They trailed from his fingertips all the way to the soles of his feet.

His nails looked full-grown, which means he's not biting them. The skin didn't look dry either, which meant internal reactions might not be agitated either. His lips still looked chapped, skin bitten towards the middle, but better than before. Slowly, my hands trailed upwards. My hand rested over his heart while I scanned the rest of him. His heart rate was moderate. The whites of his eyes were a healthy color. Does he seem thinner than before—?

"Stop that."

He broke me from my hard stare.

"What?"

"Studying me."

"I'm not."

"You just checked my pulse, didn't you?"

"No."

"Liar."

My hand trailed higher, combing my fingers through the back of his hair. "I just want to make sure you're okay."