"He gave us time to get out. We just got caught in the debris fields from the explosion."
"Do you even hear yourself? What if even one of you had been left behind? Why take that risk? Why go to such extremes?"
"The drive explains that too."
"Well does it explain what to do if your little brother had gotten there after you left just before the explosion?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the fact that Tim called me asking if I knew where you were right before the explosion. He was about to go to the cave before I heard the news. I didn't tell him what happened. I told him whatever he did not to go to the cave and that you would explain when you got home. He was still on the phone with me, and if he hadn't called first then...Well, there would be a job opening for a new Boy Wonder."
Dick's eyes are wide behind the domino mask as he takes in what his best friend just told him. Tim almost...he could've...What was I thinking?
"I have to go now, and I know you probably have other more important things to do, but you need to go see him. Tell him what happened, and apologize to him for lying in the first place. I know how you think when it comes to your brothers; you hate lying to him." That's the last thing Wally says before he leaves through the Zeta tubes.
Dick wastes no time at all running to the Zeta tubes, and going back to Gotham. When he gets to the cave he quickly changes back into Dick Grayson before locating Tim who was pacing the length of his bedroom.
"Dick, I-" he's cut off as Dick wraps him in a hug.
"Umm, Dick? What are you-"
"I'm so sorry, Timmy." Dick says.
"Sorry for what?"
"I almost got you killed. Wally said you were looking for me, and that you almost went to the cave, but if you had then you would have died, because it exploded, and I wouldn't have even noticed you were there, and I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you and-"
"Dick, you're speed talking." Tim says, eyes widening as he registers what Dick said, "The cave exploded!?" he says pulling away enough to look up at his adopted brother. Dick nods, and pulls the younger boy back into him and runs his fingers through his hair.
"I'm so sorry."
Tim normally isn't a hugger, but he wraps his two small arms around Dick who obviously needs it. Just the 'what if?' is bothering Dick, and, honestly, it bothers Tim too. If he hadn't called Wally first then...He nuzzles his face further into Dick's chest.
"Are you okay?" Tim asks.
"Yeah. We got out; we were just thrown a little bit."
"We? Who else was there?" Tim asks pulling away again to look Dick in the eyes.
Dick sighs as he pulls Tim over to his bed and they both sit down. "Kaldur attacked the cave. He had help from the Terror Twins, Icicle Jr., and Tigress. They took Impulse, Beast Boy, and Blue Beetle hostage and left me and Superboy. I was able to get us out, but we were thrown into the ocean along with Sphere and Wolf. Mal came and he helped us get back to land. Superboy was fine, but Mal made me go through an examination since I'm a normal human."
"But you are okay, right?" Tim asks hopefully.
Dick nods wrapping his arm around his little brother, "Yeah, I am."
"And Conner, Wolf, and Sphere? They're okay too?"
Dick nods again, "Conner is half Kryptonian; it would take a lot more than that to kill him. Wolf is fine, and last I heard Sphere was still in the ocean, but she doesn't need to breathe and once she's healed she'll come back up." Tim nods and wraps his arms around Dick's waist again.
Tim has feared ending up like the previous Robin since he first put on the mask. Everyone doubted him in the beginning, didn't want him to be Robin in fear he might share the same fate. They were always told that he was different than Jason had been by both Batman and Nightwing. That he wouldn't make the same mistakes.
If he had died in that explosion...What would people have thought of him then?
But it's something he'd rather not worry about. It's over, and nobody was hurt. Some of his teammates were kidnapped, but they'll save them. Tim knows they will. But again, he can worry about that later. His big brother is safe, neither of them died, and as he buries himself further into Dick's protective embrace all of the what ifs go away.
Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice
Just a random idea I thought of after watching the episode. This has been sitting on my laptop for a while so I decided to finally post it. This episode gave me a lot of ideas, so I might eventually write one of those.
Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of it! :)
