Disclaimer – Still own nothing.

To vi – Thanks for your review! I'm so glad you liked the last chapter and yes, no one should be foolish enough to prank Kory lol. I hope you like this one as well!

AN – Hi! I'm sorry for the wait. I got busy with work and when I found out that Titans season 3 is airing on Aug. 12 (SCREAMING IN EXCITEMENT), I tried to focus more on a different fic that I started around when season 2 ended. I really want to get that one done before the new season. And if I can, I would like to get this done as well. We'll see how it goes. Hope you guys like this chapter!

Enjoy!

Dick laid on his side on the bed, staring at the clock on his bedside table. 6:03 in the morning. He'd normally be getting up right now. Do a quick workout, clean up and get breakfast going. It had been his routine ever since he left Gotham. Not today though. Today, he wanted to stay in bed and pretend that there was no world around him. That he didn't have things to do, kids he needed to train and take care of. That he could just lay here and be sad.

It had been years since his parents died. At this point, he had lived more years without them than he had with them. Yet every single time this day came, this twisted anniversary, he just shut down. Maybe it was because this was really the only time he let himself be sad. Normally he bottled up any and all emotions that kept him from functioning. Eventually he just couldn't do it anymore and he'd let himself break.

If Dick was being honest, it had gotten better since the Titans have come back together after dealing with Slade. He was happier with his friends, his family. He had been hoping that maybe this year he wouldn't be feeling like this when this dreaded day rolled around. It was clear though that wasn't happening and not only did he have to deal with it, he'd have to somehow hide it from the others as only Donna knew what this day was to him. If he told everyone else, he knew that they'd understand, somewhat, but that they'd also give him those looks of pity. He hated that.

A slight knock on the door pulled Dick back to the real world. He was a little surprised. No one else is even up this early. He should probably answer but that meant moving. Meant talking. He had no willpower to do either. So he didn't. He just laid there silently as the door quietly opened and the person slipped inside.

"Dick? You awake?" Donna asked, her voice soft and gentle as she rounded the bed and crouched down so they were face to face.

Instead of answering, Dick stared at her. A sympathetic expression covered Donna's face and the man felt his eyes fill with tears. It was okay though. This was Donna, one of his best friends, his big sister. He had no fear of being vulnerable in front of her. He knew she wouldn't judge him and would comfort him.

"Probably a stupid question, but you doing okay?" She inquired, placing a hand on his shoulder. Dick just blinked in response.

Knowing what that meant after helping her little brother through this day several times over the years, she nodded and said, "Okay. Scooch over."

Without arguing, Dick slid backwards to make more space on the bed. Donna laid down beside him on her back and wrapped an arm around him. He moved a little closer so his head was resting on her shoulder. As soon as they were comfortable, Donna whispered, "It's okay Dickie, we can lie here as long as you need."

"No, we can't." Dick murmured. "The others, the kids."

"They'll understand." Donna quietly cut him off. Running her fingers through his hair, she added, "Just try to go back to sleep."

Dick didn't try to argue. He knew he wasn't going to win, nor did he have any energy to try. So he closed his eyes and tried to get some more sleep.

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Dick and Donna's absence was extremely noticeable in the kitchen as everybody ate their breakfast. They knew what day it was. April 1st, April Fool's Day, the day Dick lost his parents. It had been months since the Titans had been in Gotham and gained some insight about their leader so they had somewhat forgotten about it until Dick started acting a little weird a week ago. Then Conner asked if they were going to pull anymore pranks for April Fool's Day as that was apparently the day to do it. That was when they remembered what Barbara had told them.

After they explained everything to Conner, since he wasn't with them when they went to Gotham all those months ago, they did their best to not do anything that would upset Dick in any way. Now that the day had come though, they weren't sure what to do. Barbara had said to just let him be, and last night Donna told them that she would take care of Dick and they could just have an off day. That they could just do what they want but it didn't feel right. Not without Dick, and not when he was miserable.

"Do you think we should bring them food or something?" Gar wondered, looking over his shoulder at the hallway that led to the bedrooms. Specifically, Dick's bedroom.

"Donna said that she would take care of him and to give them space." Hank reminded him though he also glanced up at the hallway. As much as he didn't like the idea of his… teammate suffering in the other room, he didn't think there was anything could do. Whenever the anniversary of Don's death rolled around, he would spend it with Dawn, as she lost her Mom the same day. And they'd just go through the day in a haze. It was probably the same for Dick.

"That doesn't mean we can't get them something to eat." Rachel said. She then stood up, put her empty dishes away and started preparing two more plates. Kory quickly got up to help.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Dawn questioned as they got out the trays. As considerate and practical the gesture was, she knew that Dick preferred to lick his wounds in private and having people constantly checking on him when he wanted to be alone tended to tempt his patience very quickly.

"We won't try to stay or anything." Kory replied. "We'll just drop the food off and come back."

Armed with two trays filled with pancakes, syrup and orange juice, the two made their way to Dick's room. The door was shut and there was no noise coming from the other side of it. The silence suddenly made Rachel nervous but Kory seemed unaffected. She knocked on the door then opened it without waiting for a response.

Following her inside, Rachel's eyes immediately landed on the bed. Donna was sitting on the far side, legs stretched out in front of her, back against the headboard. Dick was laying curled up beside her, head on her lap, cocooned in his thick blanket. When she saw them come in, Donna turned off the TV, which was so quiet it might as well have been on mute, and whispered, "What is it?"

"Thought you two might be hungry." Kory answered.

"Oh, thanks. You guys can just put them on the bedside tables." Donna told them before glancing back down at Dick. When she saw that he was still asleep, she relaxed even more.

Putting down her tray on the table on Donna's side of the bed, Rachel asked, "Is he okay?"

"He will be. He's sleeping now which is good. Usually it's best to just let him sleep the day away." Donna replied, looking at Dick once again as she ran her fingers through his hair.

It always amazed her at how young he looked when he slept. He seemed so innocent, so vulnerable as opposed to when he was awake and appeared like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, and actually seemed strong enough to do it. A weight that he rarely ever talked about and refused to accept help carrying. For as long as she's known Dick, he had always been like that. Donna hated seeing her little brother when he was like this, when it finally became too much for him and he needed a break, but the only thing she could do was be here just like he was always with her on the anniversary of her own father's death.

"Isn't there anything else we could do?" Kory hated knowing that Dick was right in front of her up, in pain, and she couldn't do anything about it. When she finally broke down in grief over the fact that her sister Komand'r had killed their parents and forced her to kill Faddei, Dick was there and she wanted to do the same for him.

Donna thought about it for a minute, then said, "Maybe later. For now, we should just let him sleep."

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Despite the fact that he barely left his bed all day, Dick felt exhausted. He only got up about three times, and that was just to go to the bathroom. Donna stayed with him the entire time, doing her best to comfort and support him in whatever way she could. He didn't see the others but he knew they were checking in on him due to the trays of food that found their way into his room and the nearly silent conversations he had heard when he was half asleep. He felt bad that he was basically ignoring them yet at the same time, touched and grateful at their attempts to help.

"So. How are you doing?" Donna waited until Dick had finished eating the supper Dawn and Rose/Jericho had brought before she spoke.

"Okay I think." Dick answered, letting Donna wrap her arm around his shoulders as he put the tray back on the bedside table. "Might seem strange but I think I just want to sleep a bit more."

"That's okay. You can sleep more." Donna told him, leaning her head on top of his.

Dick however shook his head and said, "Been sleeping too much. I should get up and do something. Check on the others at least."

"They understand Dick, and after all the work you do, you can take a day off. Especially on a day like today." The former Wonder Girl replied. When Dick stayed quiet, she asked, "Do you want to see the others?"

"I think so?" Dick hesitantly responded. He was feeling better than he was this morning but he didn't know if he had the energy to deal with all of them.

"Like, just a quick visit, or do you feel up to doing something, like a movie?" Donna wondered.

"As long as it's nothing gory or heavy, and they don't mind me most likely falling sleep, I guess that would be okay." If he was being honest, Dick wasn't sure if he was up for that, but he felt bad for not leaving his room all day and watching a movie was something easy to do as group.

"I'll go talk to them. I'll be right back." Donna said, then slipped off the bed and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

After a minute or two, the door opened again and Dick watched as the whole team slowly came into the room. They were quiet and looked a little nervous, but what really captured his attention were the blankets and bowls of popcorn. Looking over at Donna, who had led the group in, he said, "That didn't take long."

"We got a little… eager." Gar admitted, looking a little sheepish as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Are you feeling better?" Conner asked worriedly, coming to stand beside the bed.

"Yeah, I am. Sorry for barely existing today." Dick apologized.

"Don't worry about it. It was actually kind of nice to have a break from training." Rose/Jericho told him with a smirk.

"Don't get used to it." Dick warned, a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. Seeing that, everyone relaxed and got comfortable on the bed and chairs they dragged inside.

When Rachel, sitting right beside Dick, grabbed the remote to pick a movie, Dick asked, "What are we watching?"

"We thought we'd watch a Disney movie." Rachel answered, completely surprising the former Robin.

"You like Disney?"

"I don't mind it. Sometimes it's nice to just watch a fun, light-hearted movie." Rachel explained, leaning against him. He looked over at the others and saw that they seemed okay with it, which also surprised him. But he wasn't going to argue. He liked Disney and he could definitely watch that on a day like today.

As the movie Mulan, the animated one, started to play, Dick felt himself relax and the cloud of grief that had been hanging around all day start to dissipate. Considering what had happened in previous years on this anniversary, this day was actually better than it had been before, and was ending on a much higher note than any other. This might have been the day he lost his family years ago, but it also reminded him that he had gained another.

AN – Sorry if the ending seemed a little sucky, but I didn't really know what else to do with this one. Hope you guys liked it though!

Quick question for you guys. I have two other chapters planned for sure. One is kind of funny and one is angst and mature (I'll be putting trigger warnings on it). Which one do you guys want first? See you all next time!