Hanging with Sorrow

Chapter 14

     Dick sat on the sidelines, watching Damian train. They had both been there for hours; Raven had, just like she predicted, started her own healing process. So Damian assumed that she was stable, and that all they could do was keep her comfortable and wait for her to wake up.

     Dick watched as Damian ruthlessly slashed another virtual enemy. Damian was showing no signs of stopping, and Dick was getting concerned. He hadn't realized just how much Damian had changed since he had gone to the titans; Damian didn't treat people like shit, (most of the time) and he used manners like yes please, I'm sorry, excuse me... you know, the stuff most people are taught to say when they're little.

      He was so glad that Damian was getting better, but it was scary to think how much his progress had declined just because Raven got stabbed. Dick shuddered, thinking how bad it would be if something worse happened to Raven... Raven getting shot... Raven dying... Though Dick knew that Damian knew that this was a part of the job; there was always a chance for you to get hurt or die when you were a hero.

      "Hey, Damian? You wanna take a break?" Dick looked hopefully at the back of Damian's head. Not even bothering to turn around, Damian said "No." with no emotion in his voice. Dick sighed, slumping over in his chair. He was about to get up and go do something (He wasn't sure what; just anything besides this) when he felt a presence besides him. He turned and looked to see a frowning Bruce next to him. Bruce pulled up a chair and sat next to Dick.

     "Hey Bruce," Dick said, looking back towards Damian, who was still slashing virtual enemies.

     "Dick," Bruce said in a plain greeting, not really caring for small talk. "She stopped levitating."

      Dick's eyes turned to Bruce, confusion written plainly on his features. "Huh?"

      Bruce sighed. "Raven. She stopped floating."

      Dick nodded. "Is that a good or bad thing?"

      Bruce shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "Good, I think. I'm worried about..." He trailed off, running his fingers through his already mussed hair. It was a habit of his; everybody who knew Bruce well knew that when he was stressed or worried about something, he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Go on," Dick said encouragingly.

"I'm worried about Damian. I don't like that they're dating."

"What? Why?" Dick asked. "They're perfect together. And the fact that Damian is involved in a relationship at all, even just a friendship, means he's come a long way from the Damian we knew before the Titans."

Bruce nodded, but concern was still written all over his face. "Yeah, but... What if something bad happens?"

"Like what?" Dick scoffed. "Damian knows that something bad could happen to someone he cares about at any time, especially since we do what we do."

"I know," Bruce said, looking down at his lap. "But what if Raven breaks up with him? That would screw with the whole team's dynamics. Raven and Damian are a good team, but if they broke up, things would be awkward between them, and they'd refuse to work with each other..."

"Bruce, I know they're still kids, but they are mature. The hardships they've gone through, the things they've seen; Bruce, they may still look like children, but they're not. No child could go through what they've gone through and remain a child."

        Bruce rubbed the back of his neck and sighed again. "Yeah I know. But I wanted Raven to try and make him happier, not start dating him. And truth is, I don't know if she's dating him because she legitimately likes him, or because she thinks that's what I asked her to do."