Waiting for an audience had always been one of the things Dick hated more about being in the army. Bruce had always considered him a son in everything but name, and had treated him as such. However, as a general working on an official, important assignment, he was supposed to follow the same procediments as everybody else, and so he was there waiting. The people around him didn't seem to notice him, all worried in their equally official and important business -all the better, because Dick had yet to stop wincing whenever he looked at a mirror. He couldn't wait for his hair to grow again, it looked even worse with his normal clothes.

"Sir Richard Grayson," a steward called.

With an impatient sigh, Dick stood up and followed him. They found Bruce alone in his office -a weird occurrence, since he usually kept a handful of advisors around even if it was just for show- and the steward was soon dismissed.

"Tell me what happened," Bruce asked, skipping over the preambles.

"We got him," Dick replied, a bright smile on his face. "We got the papers, a confession, and he's in the dungeons waiting for the day you decide to pass judgement."

Bruce nodded solemnly and immediately started writing in an empty sheet of paper. It would appear that Dick had just been dismissed too, but Dick didn't back down. He had known the older man for too long. Instead, he stood in place, the smile not going down a notch.

"Alright," Bruce finally said after a minute, not even pausing to look up.

"Alright?"

"Alright, you can bring Damian back here now. He's not going to be happy to see you, though."

"Of course he will," Dick replied, and was turning around to leave when a different thought assaulted his mind. "Can I bring Tim back too? It's been a while since he could come to the castle."

"Very well, I guess the boy deserves a recompense for being able to bear Damian for so long," Bruce said, and when Dick had almost left the room he added to himself. "It will be good to see them both again."

Dick heard it anyways, and the smile didn't leave his face in the whole way to the -already saddled and waiting for him- horses and his guard. They were the same men that took Damian as a prisoner to the Drake's castle, and so it was only fair that they would return with him as a prince.

Tim couldn't sleep. The night was cold, colder than usual -probably due to the fact that he had been too distracted thinking about Damian to remember to light the fireplace-, and he would have sworn it had been longer than a day since Damian had kissed him. Meaning, way too long. Tim hadn't been able to stop thinking about the other boy all day.

The kisses had been nice, definitely. They could only share a handful, between laughter and burning cheeks, before Damian had been called off to work on something at the courtyard, but it had been more than enough to keep Tim's mind busy the rest of the day. It had been pure happiness at first. He liked Damian, he was in love with Damian, and Damian liked him too; everything was perfect.

Except that Tim was to marry someone else -and nobody had ever bothered to ask him, had they?- and Damian was going to leave. Tim hadn't seen him ever since he had left the library, how much work could he have at the courtyard? What if he had changed his mind and decided he didn't want to kiss Tim again? His mind had been spiralling down like that since the sun sank, and now he lied awake on his bed, wondering what was there he could do and coming up with nothing.

A knock on the door brought him out of his trance, and Tim shoot up, rushing to open the it regardless of the hour. When he opened it, however, Tim found-

-that that was definitely not Damian.

"Lady Drake wishes to inform you that you shall depart from the castle to Krypton for the wedding in two days," a servant Tim couldn't recognize said. "Both her and Lord Drake will be leaving in the morrow, but they trust you to be capable to prepare the journey by yourself."

Tim nodded, pale, and closed the door again on the servant's face. His mind couldn't possibly process what he had been told. Damian was to leave the next day, and Tim wouldn't even be able to say goodbye! It was more than enough to make tears well up at his eyes. They weren't supposed to leave for another two weeks! Tim lied back on the bed and let out a shaky sigh. It wasn't like he didn't know Damian would leave, but he had hoped he would have time to get used to the idea -not of having to say goodbye, but of saying goodbye after Tim had finally…

He almost wished Damian had never kissed him, because now he would never forget how warm his breath had been against his face and how did his lips taste. How was Tim supossed to ever be happy if he had to live the rest of his life without it?

There was another knock at the door, and after hastily cleaning his tears in his sleeve, Tim got up to open it with way less enthusiasm than the first time. But now, though, the door got thrown open before Tim even touched it, and soon he was eveloped by strong arms.

"D- Damian?!"

"I'm sorry, Timothy, they had me carrying boxes until now," Damian replied, his voice muffled because of how he was pressing his face against Tim's shoulder. Just the sound was enough for the tension on Tim's frame to start melting slowly.

"It's alright. I'm just happy you are here now." When Damian didn't reply, Tim continued. "So, leaving tomorrow, right? You must be excited," he said, trying to smile even if Damian couldn't see his face. "Maybe in two weeks you will be home. I hope your time here wasn't too terrible."

"How can you-" Damian choked out and squeezed him tighter. "Come with me!"

He broke the hug to cup Tim's face carefully and make him look up. His blue eyes were sincere and, even if that might have been just Tim's imagination, slightly red-rimmed.

"Damian, I don't…"

"I cannot ever be happy knowing you are married to that moron. You must come with me, we could do anything together!"

Tim sighed, resting his hands on Damian's arms. He wished he could be as hopeful as the younger man; in many ways, a slave was more free than Tim himself was. Nothing to lose meant one could do anything.

"I can't do it," he whispered, looking away from Damian. "You owe yourself to your country, and you are going back. I have to follow my family's wishes, I've known all my life. I can't throw my life away and… elope with you! It would destroy my parents!"

"They don't deserve you!" Damian's tone didn't let Tim know if he had surprised him or if the younger man had been expecting it. "They don't love you!"

"And you do?"

"Yes. I do."

The surprise made Tim look up again, and Damian froze under the look. His face looked… so utterly betrayed, it was worse than when Dick had left him at the castle as a prisoner. Though that felt like a lifetime ago; Tim could barely remember his life before Damian arrived.

Everything before that day might as well had been a dream -but he knew what the real dream was. That exact moment, with Damian's hands still lingering on his face, wasn't real, the same way that Tim's desired continuation wasn't either. A life together, not having to worry about kingdoms, or wars, or alliances ever again.

A nice dream, but with Damian having just told him that he loved him, Tim could imagine there had been enough dreams coming true in this lifetime for him. It would have to do.

Moving his arms so they were surrounding Damian felt completely natural, as was kissing him again -more harsh, more desperate than before, but still every bit as wonderful as the first one had been.

"Damian, we can't do this," Tim protested between kisses and promises of love. It fell on deaf ears, especially since when Damian stepped away Tim immediately pulled him closer and claimed his lips again.

And again.

And even if Damian had better spent the night sleeping getting ready for the journey ahead, they kept kissing until their lips were swollen and Tim's naked feet were cold. Damian picked him up and they fell into bed together, kissing -just kissing, but there wasn't anything Tim could think of that might be better than that- until they fell asleep.

Morning came sooner than Tim wanted, but his will alone wasn't enough to stop the sun from rising. He turned to look at Damian, who had his face buried on Tim's shoulder and was snoring peacefully, still wearing the previous night's clothes. Tim didn't want to wake him up, and contented himself watching his chest rise and fall next to him. Soon, the rest of the castle started waking up, and as much as Tim would love staying like that for a bit longer, he wasn't selfish enough to let Damian lose his chance in exchange of maybe a couple of hours more together.

"Damian," Tim called, shaking the other's shoulder. Damian just mumbled something and turned to bury his face in the pillows, and really, why couldn't Tim just keep this forever? "Damian, they're leaving without you."

"What?!" Damian sat up and threw away the sheets, scrambling to get out of bed as fast as possible. "Where are they? I have to-"

Tim laughed and slipped away from the bed, going to put on his clothes. He wanted to be able to say goodbye, at least.

"Just kidding, they are still here. But you should hurry if you want breakfast or need to pack something."

Damian didn't reply. Tim could feel his eyes fixed on his back, and took care not to let his eyes meet as he put the clothes back on the bed. He wasn't sure he would be able to deal with it. The bed shifted as Damian got off it.

"Let me help you," he said, and carefully took a jacket from Tim's hands -Tim hadn't even realized he had been clutching it- laying it out over the crumpled sheets. "It won't do for you to be badly dressed when…"

Tim inhaled sharply, his eyes stinging, and he begged himself not to cry. Badly dressed was better than red-faced and with tear tracks on his cheeks. Though, what did it matter anymore? Damian lifted his gown, pulling it off after Tim lifted his arms, and helped him into his undershirt and pants without a word.

"It's a shame you aren't taking my clothes off on different circumstance," Tim tried to joke, but his words only got a frown and silence as response. Soon, he was finished. "Aren't you even going to say anything?"

"What can I say?" Damian replied, sounded as upset as Tim felt. "I kissed you for the first time less than a full day ago, and now I'm losing you!"

"Don't come now telling me something like 'my home is with you' or anything, Damian. It won't help anyways."

Gathering all his strength, Tim looked up and pressed a soft kiss against Damian's lips.

"Let's not fight on our last hours together, alright?"