Just Robin Oneshots pt 4

Side effects pt 4

SIDE EFFECTS COMING BACK WITH AVENGENCE BABYYYY

Set after the side effects pt 3 part where Dick now lives in the manor with Haley who is trained as a service dog because we all know that dog is an emotional support dog in canon you can't tell me any different

Tim woke up with everything aching. His last patrol had been far too long and admittedly understaffed. He should've brought someone along but the only person free was Dick and he was benched until his seizures were under control. Maybe even after that. He dragged himself out of bed and to the kitchen to start his first cup of coffee for the day. He wondered what Dick was going to do today. Probably just went over reports since that was all he was cleared to do in terms of work. 

Part of him wanted to hang out with the older. He found that their time together had become all the more precious since his head injury and subsequent mind-altering by the Court of Owls and Joker. They didn't talk about it much, more of a preference on Dick's part than his own. It wasn't weird to pretend things were normal and he was just hanging about the manor but it was certainly an elephant in the room he tried very hard not to address. Instead, they just caught up and went over cases they were each struggling with. Tim had to admit that sometimes he pretended to struggle on a case to give him and Dick something to talk about and he wasn't entirely sure that the acrobat was buying his act.

He would also admit that he wanted to be there in case something happened. Dick being on his own made him uneasy. Anything could happen and no one would be there to help. The house was so big that if he regressed far enough, he could get lost and if he shouted for help, it wouldn't travel. If he had a seizure in a random room, none of them would know to go there and he'd be trapped waiting for it to be over. Tim knew Dick could survive a lot of things and he was incredibly independent but sometimes it was simply better to be around others.

Another part of Tim wanted to be on his own in case the side effects came back which was a contradiction if he ever knew one. Even though he wanted to be there, seeing the effects were hard. He didn't like seeing Dick confused about who he was and where he was, not understanding why his body was so different and struggling to trust the people he no longer recognised. He hated that his big brother wouldn't have any warning signs that today would be a day he forgot or today would be the day he had another seizure or severe migraine that left him curled up in bed defenceless. His friends told him it was normal to have his thoughts contradicted and he wasn't being mean by not wanting to be there sometimes but that didn't make him feel any less guilty for hoping he wouldn't have to deal with it.

As he made his coffee, Dick came into the room slowly like he was testing the waters. He seemed tired and tense maybe because he thought Bruce was in the kitchen ready to give him that look like he was dying. Bruce had one of the best poker faces as Batman but he seemed to falter when it came to one of their own being hurt. That being said, Tim couldn't say he hadn't given Dick the same look on occasion.

Haley circled Dick's feet, always underfoot and by his side. She simply adored him and whilst she tolerated everyone else it was clear who her favourite person in the world was. Tim was surprised to find Ace had also joined them since the hound hadn't been all that happy to share his space with the excitable three-legged dog but maybe he was warming up to her as his owner had warmed to a bubbly acrobat coming into his life.