anonymous asked: 19) "You're gonna make it, just stay awake." Batfam with dick being gravely injured!

Sometimes, Dick thinks, people forget that there isn't just Brucie Wayne or Batman. It isn't just one or the other. When it's quiet, when he's around his family, when he finds a reason to care,Bruce Wayne quietly shines through the other two personas, and it makes Dick relieved. It's nice to know that Batman hasn't completely taken over the man who had taken him in and given him a home.

And it's now, right now, that Bruce Wayne leaks past the cowl. It's times like this. When someone's hurt, that he shows that he really does care.

Dick chokes as the pressure on his shoulder increases, as Bruce presses down, trying to keep Dick from bleeding out on the ground in the warehouse. It's too much. It's too much. He feels dizzy, light-headed, and he can barely focus on what Bruce is even saying to him.

"Come on, Dick," Bruce pleads—pleads—and he keeps going. Keeps talking. Maybe for Dick or maybe for himself, Dick really doesn't know, but Dick tries to latch onto them. Bruce meets his eyes, and Dick realizes with a jowl that Bruce's cowl is down. It is Bruce looking down at him right now. "Stay with me, Dick. Just stay with me."

Blackness starts to creep in and Dick's eyes flutter. But Bruce presses down even harder, and Dick can't help it when he moans in pain.

"Stay awake, Nightwing," Batman orders, and Dick kind of mourns the sudden loss of Bruce. It was easier when there wasn't that harsh glint in his eyes, when there wasn't that harsh tone telling him what to do. Dick could always disappoint Bruce, but there's no way he could not obey Batman. Not when it's a situation like this. It had been drilled into him from the moment he'd become Robin. "You're going to make it, so just stay awake."

But Dick doesn't want to obey. Not this time. Maybe he should feel guilty about it, maybe he should keep fighting, but he can't seem to find it in him. There's a weight on his shoulders—one that's been there for a long time, and Dick doesn't think he has it in him to keep on holding it. Even knowing what will happen to Bruce if he does stop fighting.

But Dick's tired. And so, he lets go.