Summary: Takes place about a week after the last chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own DC

Grayson felt like utter crap.

It had been a week since the loss, and since it happened he had a lot to think about. Jason was his brother, sure they weren't the closest or anything, but he had promised to watch after him. He failed, and now the boy had died at the hands of one of his greatest enemies.

I fucked up, so bad…it hadn't exactly been easy sailing before, but nobody died. I...I promised to teach Jason. I promised...and I fucked it all up. If I had been better at helping him with his anger issues, Jason could still be here today. But I wasn't.

You can't blame yourself. You did everything you could for Jason, it was his anger that got the best of him. There was literally nothing you could have done to fix that, the anger was always there with him. Even Bruce couldn't help him!

…what if it had been Zatanna? What if SHE was the one who died in that blast? How…how could I live with myself?

It wasn't.

But what if it was? Joker went after Babs to get to Gordon, and now she's paralyzed for life. He went after Jason to get to Bruce. What would happen if he or Deathstroke or Brutale or some other fuck paid Zee a visit? I don't exactly have a shortage of enemies. So long as Zatanna is with me…she's in danger.

So, what, you're just gonna dump her?! After everything she's stood by you through, you're gonna leave her?!

I'm trying to keep her safe! It's better for her to hate me and be alive than to love me and be dead. This…this might just be the hardest thing I've ever had to do…

So don't do it! Let her help you, stop playing Batman to keep her safe!

I HAVE to! I can't let anything happen to her.

Do you even hear yourself? Shit can happen to her, or to you, no matter what. Even if you're not together. Doing this isn't you trying to protect her, it's you trying to hide from reality. Even BRUCE isn't this pigheaded, at least he fucking lets Diana and Alfred help him! You can't-

I have to. I don't have a choice.

...you're making a mistake. You NEED her.

I do, which is why I can't be with her. I've ignored the risks for way too long, and we've had a lot of close calls. But now that Jason's...I...I can't live with it anymore. I can't risk Zatanna's life just to be with her.

Dick slowly walked into his room to find Zatanna just about to leave. "Dick?" He gulped and faced her. How was he even going to do this?

"H-hey, Zee. We...we need to talk." Zatanna smiled at him and raised an eyebrow, and Dick closed his eyes for a minute, mentally preparing himself. He was about to break his girlfriend's heart.

Zatanna noticed his tense expression and frowned, taking his hand in her own. "Dick, what's wrong?" He pulled his hand out of her grasp, eliciting a frown from her, and he felt his heart stop as a billion thoughts ran through his head. Was he doing the right thing? How could he even tell her this? Should he lie? How would she react?

Would she hate him?

"Zatanna, I...there's something I need to do." Zatanna was getting worried as Dick went on, but she didn't interrupt. After a long pause and a large series of shaky breaths, Grayson looked her dead in the eyes and did his best to keep a clear voice. "We need to break up." Zatanna raised an eyebrow, as if she didn't believe him, but upon seeing the look in his eyes, she knew he was serious. Her eyes widened and her voice cracked when she next spoke.

"Wh-what?! Dick, is this some kind of joke? I know Jason just...but you and I are-"

"Zee, please. You can't be with me. I'm serious." Zatanna snorted.

"No, I'm not letting you do this. Not to me. You and I are going to be-"

"Zatanna!" Zee was caught off guard by the severity in his voice and the shakiness of his breath. If she didn't know better, she could swear Dick was on the verge of tears. "This...kills me, but...I can't do this. Not with you." Zatanna's own breath started to become erratic as she felt wetness overcome her own eyes.

"D-do what?! We've been together for almost 5 years now, why the fuck are you pushing me away now?!" Dick closed his eyes, trying so hard to control his breathing before he continued.

"Do you know why Joker went after Barbara? Or Jason? He...he did it to get to Jim, and to Bruce. He didn't care about who he hurt, who he killed, he was using them to hurt his enemies. I...I can't risk that. Not with you."

"I c-can take care of myself! Y-you know that!"

"I do. But I can't risk your life anymore. H-how would I be able to live with myself if Joker, or Deathstroke, or Savage, or anybody came after you to get to me?"

"And you s-seriously think that's gonna change if we're not together?!" Tears were streaming down Zatanna's face as she grasped Dick's hand once more. "D-Dick..." He pulled his hand out of hers, trying not to let his own tears fall.

"Yes, I do. Zee, this is killing me, but I can't be the reason you get hurt, or worse. Please...if you really do love me...stay away from me. I need you safe, n-no matter how bad it hurts." Dick turned to leave, closing his eyes to try and regain some sense of control over himself, but Zatanna reached out for his hand.

"P-please! Y-you said you'd a-always be there for m-me! Y-you said you would n-never leave me!" Dick could hear the sobbing in her voice, and he felt his heart shatter. It wasn't enough he had to break her heart, he also had to break that promise he made to her?

"...I'm s-so sorry, Zatanna. I can't be who you need me to be anymore. Just...I..." I love you. Even if I can't say it, or show it. I'll always love you. Please, don't forget that. You're everything I will ever have, which is why I need to let you go. Dick left the room, letting the door auto-shut as he sank to his knees in the hallway and banged his head on the wall, letting his tears fall as he closed his eyes. From where he was, he could hear Zatanna's tears and sobs from inside their room. He shut his eyes in shame, wanting so badly to go back inside and fix things. To tell her he was wrong, to hold her in his arms again. But he didn't. I...I did the right thing. I kept her safe.

So why does it hurt so fucking much?

I feel like I should address a few things right away. Firstly, no, I'm not keeping them broken up forever. This was always part of the plan for this story, and I felt it made sense to do this now given the recent events. Secondly, I realize that the chapter where Jason actually died was probably more than a little underwhelming, and I apologize for that. I just really didn't have it in me to write that chapter, and it came out pretty weak all things considered. But I'll try to make it up with these next few chapters. Dick and Zatanna will get back together, it's just gonna be at a bit of a later point in time, which I feel is the right move. Feel free to leave comments or suggestions for chapters you wanna see. Next chapter up soon.