AN: When I wrote this story it was 3:30 in the morning (I have insomnia), but I was too tired to post it. I literally collapsed into my bed after I finished writing this. So there may be some grammar/spelling mistakes. If so you can just tell me in the comments and I will try to fix it. Now, without further ado, here it is. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Young Justice or any characters associated with the show (obviously), so don't sue me.

Not Better, But Bearable


Richard flipped and twisted across the mats in the training room of Mt. Justice, lost in his thoughts. Today was that day of the year again. Today was the anniversary of his parent's murder.

Normally he would spend his day at the manor. Bruce would stay with him and they'd watch movies or train, and Bruce would there for him if he wanted to talk or cry. They'd visit his parent's graves, and when they went back home Alfred would be waiting with cookies and milk. However, Alfred was visiting England, and Bruce had been called on a last minute mission. So he had been left at Mt. Justice.

He had gone through his morning in a daze, robotically going through his routine of getting ready to face the day. After he had made himself breakfast, he slowly migrated to the training room, to distract himself from memories of dead eyes and blood. At least, he tried to.

Dick did one last somersault before walking over to the benches for a water break. He wiped his forehead with a towel and took a gulp from his water bottle, still panting from his workout. He missed his parents so much.

He remembered his mother's red hair and intelligent blue eyes, and his father's warm amber and his raven mop of a hairdo. He remembered countless evenings spent learning new tricks and techniques on the trapeze with them. He wished they were still there to guide him, but Zucco took them from him. They were gone, and they weren't coming back. So now he was all alone.

"A-are you okay, Robin?" M'gann's voice came from behind him. He shook his head and blinked at the clock on the other side of the room. He had been staring at nothing for ten minutes straight. He turned around and realized that the rest of his teammates were also standing behind him. They all looked concerned.

Well, at least I'm not totally alone, he thought to himself, trying to cheer himself up. But he knew they couldn't help. He couldn't tell them about his parent's death, because it could reveal his secret identity. Besides, even if his other teammates didn't discover his civilian identity it wouldn't take Artemis a long time to recognize him. He bit his lip and stared at his feet, conflicted.

"I'm fine," he muttered almost too low for the others to hear him. He winced. His voice hadn't sounded very convincing, even to his own ears.

"Robin." Richard looked up to see Wally walking towards him, his face full of sympathy and understanding. He gazed back hopefully. Surely Wally would be able to would be able to comfort him. Robin didn't have to hide from Wally. He had already told Wally his identity years ago.

"Dick." Wally's voice was hesitant. Richard finally lifted his eye to meet Wally's, and realized that Wally had been trying to get his attention. As he looked Wally in the eyes his emotions boiled over. His shoulders shook with sobs, his eyes started to burn, and his vision blurred.

Wally crouched beside him and wrapped warm arms around him. Funny, he didn't remember sitting on the ground. "It's alright," Wally murmured. They both knew he was lying.


As soon as Wally saw Dick look down at his feet, he started to walk up to him. Something was bothering Dick, and Wally was pretty sure he knew what it was. "Robin." Wally tried to get Dick's attention. Dick's head snapped up, but he didn't respond.

"Rob." Nothing, he just continued to stare blankly ahead.

"Dick."

Blue eyes finally met his gave from behind tinted shades. Tears leaked from Dick's eyes and he dropped onto his knees. Wally crouched beside him and hugged him ignoring the rest of the team's stares.

"It's alright," he murmured even though he knew it wasn't true. Nothing was all right anymore. Wally held Dick as he wept, because even though Dick was in pain he didn't have to bear it alone.

Wally looked over Dick's shoulder, and saw the rest of the team still looking stunned and confused. They looked like they wanted to ask a million questions, but one look from Wally stopped them from starting their interrogation. After all, Wally wouldn't be this solemn unless he was serious.

So instead they walked over to the two boys kneeling on the floor and joined them in a group hug. Even if they didn't know what was going on they were there to offer their support to their grieving teammate. Robin looked up and smiled shakily.

He still missed his parents and he didn't know if he'd ever stop missing them. But he was glad his teammates were there to comfort him. Even though the pain wasn't better, it was bearable. He'd make it through. He always did.


AN: I'm finished! To celebrate here is some snowflakes: ❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄