"I had that completely under control, you know." Dick protested as the two of them entered the apartment they shared.
"Sure you did." Raven spoke calmly and barely gave him a glance as she made her way to the bathroom. "Come here."
Of course, she didn't believe him even for a second. Not with all the bruises on his body. Groaning, he followed her to the bathroom and sat down on a chair they'd put in there specifically for this. He then carefully stripped out of the upper part of his uniform, while keeping an eye on her as she reached up in the cabinet to grab a first aid kit. Dick always refused to get healed by her, so she'd just stopped asking. A part of her understood why he didn't want to have all his wounds magically disappear from his body. She only wished he wouldn't go out and do reckless things like this.
Although frustrated at him, her face was as calm as ever. Raven simply put the first aid kit on the side of the sink and ran her fingers through it until she found what she needed. Pouring some disinfectant on a cotton pad, she then turned to him with a knowing look.
"I know, I know, this is gonna sting a little." He knew this sentence all too well and braced himself for what was coming. It didn't matter how many times he'd had to experience it, that shit still hurt like a son of a bitch. Even if Raven was trying to be as gentle as she possibly be. Which didn't seem to be the case tonight because she pressed the cotton pad against the wound on his shoulder so hard it made him jump a little.
"Ow!" He exclaimed and hissed in pain, watching the lack of reaction on her part. "Raven, are you mad at me?"
She hummed in thought for a mere second before replying with a simple "No" and pressing the cotton pad against his skin again, making him wince.
"You know, something tells me you are."
"I'm not."
"Raven," he sighed and gently grabbed her wrist, finally making her look at him, "I'm fine. It's just a bruise. I've had plenty of those. I told you that you could've stayed home."
"And I told you not to go alone." She frowned at him and freed her hand from his grip, resuming to clean his wound, more gently this time.
"After all these years, do you really not trust me to go alone?"
"It's not about me not trusting you, Richard." Raven sighed and threw the cotton pad away, grabbing bandages from the box. "I worry about you."
"You don't have to worry about me." He let out a small chuckle as if finding the seriousness in her voice ridiculous.
"How can you say that? Of course I have to!" She now raised her voice, baffled by the clear disregard not only towards his well-being, but also her concerns.
"Listen, it's-"
"No, you listen." The young woman was visibly upset by now, but she still took care of his wounded shoulder as carefully as she possibly could. "What am I supposed to think when you disappear like that without saying a word? Or even as much as leaving a note saying "Hey, going on a suicidal mission, see you in the morning"? Is it really too much to ask?"
Dick listened to her without saying a word. It was best to let her speak her mind. She didn't quite explode on him like this often, so it was obvious she'd held it in for some time now. And he felt bad for making her go through this.
"You know full well how our line of work can be. It's not a walk in the park." Her eyes glanced down at him as she finished bandaging his shoulder, her eyes filled with sadness and disappointment. "And I thought we don't keep secrets from each other."
"I know- It- It wasn't exactly a secret. And it wasn't a suicidal mission." He tried to defend himself. "Look, it really wasn't that b-"
"You're sleeping on the couch." She suddenly proclaimed and left the bathroom after putting the first aid kit back in its place. Saying that he was baffled by this decision would be an understatement. Never ever had she made him sleep on the couch before. And he was going to make sure that this wouldn't be the first time either. But- After he'd given her some space and time to calm down.
So he took his time with brushing his teeth, changing into boxers and a t-shirt, walking around the apartment a bit as if to check if all the windows and doors were properly locked before standing in the doorway of their bedroom. She'd gotten into bed by now, reading a book just like she always did. And he knew that she saw him standing there but she didn't move a muscle, nor did she say anything. So he made a careful stride towards the bed, taking a seat right at the edge of it by her legs.
"Couch." She said sternly, still not even giving him a split second of a glance. He watched her intently and couldn't help but to think how cute she was like this. It wasn't often at all when she got so protective of him and angry at him for these things. And before he even knew it, his lips stretched into a smile.
"You're adorable."
"What?" Raven deadpanned at him, her eyes finally meeting his as she lowered her book nearly dropping it in her lap. But he only chuckled. Did he really find this amusing?
"Well, now that I have your attention"- he gently took her hands and brought them to his lips- "I'm sorry, Raven. I should've told you."
"Yes. You should have."
"I know. I'm sorry. I'll do better. From now on, you'll know my every move."
"I don't need to know everything, Richard." She sighed and shifted to cross her legs, putting her book aside and leaning closer to him. "It's not about controlling you. It's just- What if you leave like this again without saying anything and you don't come back in the morning? What if something happens and I don't know where to look for you?"
With every sentence she spoke her expression became more and more sad, worry spreading across her face. Her voice nearly cracked too. "I- We've lost so many in our lives already. I don't want to lose you too. I don't have anyone besides you."
Slowly, it dawned on him what the real reason behind her anger was. And counting back how many times he'd done this before already with or without her finding out, he realized just how much of a jackass he'd been. Mentally, he scolded himself mentally for being such an idiot, but he still put a warm smile on his face.
"Well, as my wife, inherently you have the entirety of my wacky family." He grinned trying to make her laugh, in which he succeeded, to an extent.
"You know that's not what I mean."
"I know." He smiled and slid closer to her, embracing his arms around her and placing a gentle kiss on top of her head. "But I will do better. I promise."
"Thank you." She rested her head against his shoulder and released a sigh of relief. "That's all I ask."
"So," he gently stroked her back as his lips curled into a cheeky grin, "can I come sleep next to you know?"
Raven couldn't help but to let out a laugh. "Yes. You can sleep next to me now."