Welp here it is part 2. Did I die? No, I'm only dead on the inside. Whoever thought GCSES should be done like this is a LITTLE FUCKER

After leaving Dick to his own devices, Bruce and Tim tried to quell Damian's rage over the matter. If he had it his way, Wally would be dead with his head on a spike as they spoke. "It's not right!" he exclaimed.  "Neither is killing him," Tim mumbled. He was just as upset as Damian but Wally wasn't worth the hassle of killing. No matter how many times he saw red just thinking about what he did, Tim couldn't bring himself to actually waste the time figuring out how to kill the speedster without getting into trouble. Bruce couldn't blame Damian for his violent stance on the subject. He was taught that way. Years of lessons from Dick and him combined wouldn't completely strip him of that mentality.  In a way, Damian showed his love through violence. His evidence being Damian beating the hell out of a random man that had catcalled Dick during the day. Call it what you will but to them it was love. "Damian, this is an adult matter," Bruce started. "Are you suggesting I'm too immature for this? Let me remind you it was me who confronted Grayson on his behaviour whilst this douche bag was away." He was quick to defend himself, they gave him that. "I'm not suggesting immaturity, I'm suggesting this isn't a matter you are capable of fully understanding," Bruce replied. The kid was smart for his age but intelligence in emotions wasn't exactly his strong suit. It wasn't a strong suit many had them had come to think of it.

The ensuing argument was stopped by Alfred announcing that dinner was ready. Bruce sent Tim to collect Dick from his room whilst he tried to calm Damian down. He couldn't trust the young teen to not grab a fork and seek vengeance for his brother's reputation. 

There was a knock on the door, shaking Dick of the thoughts that had paralyzed him for so long. He had cried himself into a senseless piece of meat a few hours ago, seeking anything to help but too tired to find it. His mind had been going through millions of the hypotheticals of that night. All of them making him feel even more used and played for a fool. He should've known things were going too well. He should've known things were going to mess up sooner or later. Yet he let himself get wrapped up in a domestic bliss that shouldn't have ever been in his grasp. One thought had been ruling his mind. The woman Wally slept with was someone he considered a sister. If it had been some stripper named Diamond who got a little too comfortable with Wally letting her, maybe it wouldn't sting so much. But it was Artemis. The universe sure did like to screw him over.

As though on autopilot, he got up from the bed and opened the door. He plastered a fake smile on his face in hopes it would get whoever was behind the door to leave him alone for another hour. The person at the door was Tim. Just seeing him brought Dick back to that moment of realisation and nausea. A feeling he would never let happen again. "Dinner's ready. We were wondering if you wanted to eat something, I know you haven't eaten today," Tim said. He had those pleading puppy dog eyes that even as an emotional wreck Dick's heart melted at. His first thought was to shrug it off and return to wallowing in his sorrows. Then his stomach rumbling brought about the second thought that said fuck it and join them. "It's not like I'm doing anything else. Sure," he answered, his voice painfully hoarse from the hours of concealed sobbing. Tim's eyes lit up at the response and he smiled comfortingly. Dick couldn't manage a smile back but appreciated the gesture.

It was clear that the family hadn't expected his appearance as both Bruce and Damian had to do a small double take. "Hey chum, how are you holding up?" Bruce asked. His voice was cautious, like a Chris Pratt's when he talked to the Raptors in Jurrasic World. Dick knew why he said it like that. When Dick got angry, he was like a volatile reaction just a few seconds away from exploding. And when he got really angry? Let's just say no vase is spared. Dick took a seat beside him and Damian. "Fine. Just a lot of feelings I guess," he muttered. He didn't have enough energy to make it louder than it was. They were understanding about that. "I will gladly gut West if that will aid in your healing process and restore your honour," Damian stated in the deadpan way that meant he wasn't joking. He may seem somewhat calm on the outside but inside he was dying to rip that man apart. A sad chuckle escaped Dick's lips; a ghost of his usual laugh. "That won't be necessary. If it was, I would've done it myself." That voice. That voice was just so devoid of the normal one that he almost sounded possessed. It made them uneasy, Tim going so far as to shuffle in his seat nervously. Dick seemed to notice the off tone and apologised under his breath, focusing his eyes on the cutlery placed on the table neatly.

All eyes fell on Dick as their food was brought out by Alfred. He shrank back slightly, an unwanted recipient of their attention. "Apologies Master Dick, I didn't know of your arrival today or its circumstances. Perhaps tomorrow I could prepare your mother's soup," Alfred said as he placed the salmon in front of him. He knew that Dick wasn't a big fish fan. A bad day completed with a bad meal Dick had thought to himself. "That's alright Alfie. Anything you make is great," Dick assured him. He was given a soft smile from the butler that had co parented him from the age of nine. Dick managed a smile with no real emotion to it in return before his eyes fell on the food in front of him. Suddenly he didn't feel so hungry. "I hope you've got room for one more", a voice announced from the doorway. The voice belonged to Jason Todd. "We didn't hear you come in," Bruce replied. 

"You crawled through the window again didn't you?" Tim said in a disappointed tone. He couldn't count how many times he had caught the man scrambling through a window in the dead of night because he couldn't be bothered using his damn key. "Doors are a social construct Replacement," Jason answered, sitting beside the younger. 

"They are most certainly not," he mumbled under his breath. He didn't notice the look from Bruce that told him to keep his mouth shut about the state of the eldest brother. "Okay, who died? Did Dick's marriage finally fall apart or something?" he joked. Bruce sighed inwardly and wanted to hit Jason on the back of the head like a mother would her misbehaving child. The joke hit Dick right where it hurt. Right as he thought there was no emotion left in him, one sparked. Anger. He began to stab at his fish, glaring as the meat flaked off. "You'd love that, wouldn't you? You're gonna burst a blood vessel from laughing when I tell you this," Dick said in a cold and flat tone. "It was just a joke Dickie-bird, what's got your knickers in a twist?" Jason asked. Throughout the years, Dick had dealt with much worse taunts so why was he so pissy about this one? It wasn't even one of Jason's best. Bruce attempted to calm the issue before it went into a full-blown argument. "Something very upsetting happened that-"

"Wally fucked Artemis whilst we were engaged," Dick interrupted.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. "I-I'm sorry to um hear that." Jason stumbled over his words harder than ever before. He was completely caught off guard. There had been jokes for, well, since forever about Wally being promiscuous. Jason never thought he'd have the balls, or lack thereof, to do it. Artemis as well? That was an even bigger shocker. Just last month she punched a guy in the dick because he stared at a girls butt whilst on a date with Artemis. "Oh and you wanna know the best part? She was drunk and he was completely stone cold sober. I really have married a catch haven't I?" Dick joked pathetically. The tone was so sarcastic it was actually sickening for them to hear. Damian went to put a hand on his shoulder but Dick was already stood up, tears gathering at the corner of his eyes. "I've lost my appetite," he stated, walking out with a brisk pace. He was practically running. This time, Damian didn't wait for his father to talk him out of following the older. "Great job Todd. You're a pathetic excuse for a brother," Damian snapped, chasing after Dick.

Perfect, the week Jason chose to see his family out of his own free will was the week everything was turning to shit.

The door to Dick's room was opened slightly and Damian dared to push it open further. His brain was telling him to go finish dinner but his heart was basically telling his brain to go fuck itself. He entered the room and found Dick searching through a closet, mumbling incoherent curses to himself. "Grayson? Are you alright?" he asked. At first, he didn't get a response so he repeated his question. "Yes, Damian." Was the sharp reply. He had whipped around to face him with a stern expression, looking almost dead behind the eyes. Damian hated that a flicker of hurt showed in his eyes as Dick suddenly looked very apologetic towards him. The roles should be reversed right now. It should be Damian looking at Dick apologetically. "Sorry. Could you give me a hand?" he asked. Damian nodded and gathered up what Dick told him to. They were old papers that looked like love letters. "What are these?" Dick glanced at the messy handwriting and grimaced. "Love notes. Wally leaves them around the house when he's going on a long trip. There's a couple in there from before he," Dick cut himself off but Damian got the point. 

"What're you going to do with them?"

"I'm going to burn them. I'm going to burn the pictures, the notes and hopefully the memories."

Even though Damian really hated the idea of stopping Dick, he knew he had to. This was all driven by emotion and he knew that Dick would regret it as soon as he did it. "You can't," he stated as Dick took them out of his hands. "Can and will," Dick replied, walking to the door. He was stopped by his younger brother standing in front of it, blocking him. "Damian," he warned. "Listen, I may not be well educated in romantic love but I know of love from our family. I know of the love you have shown me. This is me showing my love. You can not burn what has brought you joy because of this," Damian explained. He had his back pressed against the door and a look of determination that said you'll have to pry me away from the door. "And why's that?" Dick almost spat. "We both know you still love the idiot! You love the fool and you will regret destroying your past. Throw the photo frames, smash the glass but do not destroy anything. It will bring you no satisfaction."

For a moment Dick looked like he was about to throw Damian across the room like the photos before. Then the anger subsided and he sank back onto his bed, the box of memories clasped in his hands. "What am I doing?" he whispered. He placed the box beside him and raised his legs to his chest, hiding his face in his arms. Damian bit his lip nervously as sobs racked through Dick's body. Cautiously, he crept over to the bed and sat beside the man he idolised more than his father half the time. "Grayson, you need to rest. Think about the events of today. Then decide what to do from there." Dick nodded silently. That wasn't nearly as satisfying as Damian would've liked it to be. His eyes darted around for some clue as to what would help Dick. Swiftly, his arms wrapped around Dick tightly. Said hero's head shot up at the feeling and looked down at the younger. "Damian?" he sniffled.

"Hugs are a great way of telling someone you love them without saying it," Damian said, his eyes firmly set upon Dick's. A little smile, as real as it could be, played on Dick's lips and he hugged back even tighter. "Wanna know something that I hate?" Dick asked. 

"What?"

"I still love him. I still want a life with him."