A/N: This is a short little story dedicated to FrankandJoe3, as a sort of thank you for all the fucking amazing stories she's written that I have had the pleasure of enjoying. (It's also kind of a payback for all the times she's made me cry… just read the A/N. ;P) Just a warning, there's a super long A/N at the end, so you all can skip that if you want, but I highly encourage you to read it. :)

Also: Short disclaimer, I do not own Young Justice. If I did, I would have made it a FREAKING WEB SHOW OR SOMETHING INSTEAD OF GIVING UP WHEN CARTOON NETWORK PULLED THE PLUG GODDAMNIT.

Now onto the fluff. ;D

Family.

Dick didn't really know what the definition of family was; he had never bothered to look it up. Most people thought family consisted of just your biological bonds, but through his short life, one thing Dick knew for sure was that you choose your family. If family really was just biological, then Dick would be family-less. And he had used to think that — that he was doomed to live his life out as an orphaned vigilante who had lost his only shot at family before he had even reached double-digits. Goddamn, had that thought been real, and it had used to haunt his every breath, but over the past year, Robin had realized he couldn't have been more wrong.

Now, if you asked him, Dick still probably couldn't define family for you. But really, who could? Family has a different meaning for each person you ask, because family is something you have to find yourself.

But as Robin watched Beast Boy tease Supey by morphing into various different breeds of monkeys, as he heard Wally, Jamie, and Bart share snacks and talk science, as he smelled M'gann cook up a delicious (though probably messy) snack, as he tasted the blood from when Jason had accidentally knocked out his tooth during sparing, and as he felt himself being pelted with little pieces of crumpled up paper tossed from a very bored Artemis… he knew he had found his family — quirks and all.

Though there were countless material traits that could define his family, Dick was still convinced that family wasn't a physical thing at all — it was a feeling. The family he knew was the family that made him feel happy. But it was a specific type of happy. It was the feeling that makes you grin when you listen to your favorite song. It was the feeling of that snickering pout that creeps onto your face when you admit you're wrong about the silliest of things. It was the feeling spawned by spontaneous hugs and silly references. It was the feeling of absolute boredom that most often lead to ridiculous pranks and giant messes. It was the feeling of corny jokes spouted at midnight when none of you can sleep. It was the feeling of shared adrenaline as you all soared through the skies or raced on the ground, chasing the baddies and saving civilians.

But it was also the feeling of tears shed almost every day as you all brave your way through a dangerous life. It was the feeling of the gut-wrenching worry you gained when a life hangs by a thread. It was the feeling of dark, deadly guilt when a civilian can't be saved. It was the feeling of night terrors and panic attacks, of depression and threats, of barely hidden PTSD and of rare but frighteningly stupid attempts to escape your haunting past.

Or maybe that's a description of life. But that doesn't matter — Dick knew he never would have survived this long without his family.

Who can?

A/N: Now, this was just a short drabble, but my question at the end wasn't rhetorical. (And BAM! There's your punishment, Frankie. I expect an eloquently worded two page report on my desk by Monday. Just kidding. :P But in all reality, I'd love to hear your input.) My theory is that all those people who weren't able to make it through their life were the people who didn't find their family in time. However, that's not to say it wasn't there. Everyone has a family at all times of their life, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Whether it's the neighbor who nodded hello the other day, or the two people who favorite your post, your family is made up of the people who are happy you exist. Now, most of your time, your family is a lot closer than just your neighbor, but I know from personal experience, sometimes you don't see your family. Those friends who ask you how you are seem fake, those family compliments seem forced, those strangers' smiles seem empty… I know. All I can say to you who feel that way now is I know. I know how that feels because I was there, even less than a year ago. I'm not going to say that it all gets better, because it doesn't. Things don't "get better", because happiness isn't circumstantial. You have to make things better. And it's going to be hard. It's going to be so goddamn hard that you're going to wonder why you even try.

But let me tell you why you try. You try for that fresh morning air, for those cloudy skies that remind you of bunnies. You try for that mildly annoying bird that just won't stop chirping and let you sleep in. You try for the prospect of a better life, because life can always get even better. You try for that sense of contentment when you realize that you truly are happy, regardless of the curveballs life keeps on throwing. You try for that delicious first bite of cake, or ice cream, or cookies, or chocolate, or whatever you love the most. You try for that empowered feeling as squash your demons. You try, because no matter what mistakes you've made, no matter what things seem to be wrong with your life, you're still here, and you still have a family.

Now, I don't want to hear any ifs, ands, or buts about whether or not you have a family, because I just want to say, you are MY family, and I am yours. Now, I know that seems like a load of bull, seeing as I have met, like, literally none of you, but I swear on my mother's cooking it's not. Every favorite I get, every comment, every view — it just makes me bubble with happiness. I swear. Without you all, no matter how "useless" you think you are, I just gotta say, you're all pretty goddamn important to me! Even though I've never met you, the fact that you took the time out of your day to read a silly little thing I wrote, favorite it, or even comment, it makes me so, so, so, unbelievably happy.

And so this is me saying thank you, to all of you for reading my works, and you know, just existing in general. You rock.

P.s. my herb garden also wants me to thank you for all the carbon dioxide you produce. :3