Tim had called Dick a few times to see if he could help out on some cases aka hang out because Bruce was annoying him but when they hadn't been answered nor returned, he found himself stuck with his meddling mentor. It was odd that there was no answer considering he always picked up or called back not long after even when on patrol but he wasn't immediately worried about it. Dick was Dick and he'd return the calls when he had time. It wasn't until Barbara asked him to swing around the acrobat's place to check up on him did he seriously worry. "Why am I going?" he asked, already getting ready to set off.  

"I'm swamped with work and you owe me a favour. Besides, he'll give you good snacks as payment," she answered. Whilst she was trying to sound nonchalant, he could hear an underlying concern. She hadn't been able to get a hold of him too which meant he was either actively ignoring them or something else was going on. If she was outsourcing the work to him then it shouldn't be something awful but it was something concerning. They all knew Dick was doing his best to be fine. He got a dog, he threw himself into his work, and he was doing everything he could to keep what family they had together. He was playing the part of the big brother living on his own and fighting crime at night. That was the problem Tim supposed. He was playing the part. 

"I'll be over soon. He might've just slept in." 

The spare key to Dick's apartment came in handy when knocking on the door for ten minutes got him nowhere. He could hear Haley whining behind the door and scratching as if to open it for him. Clearly, there was something wrong so he unlocked the door only for the dog to quickly seize his pant leg and pull him. "One second, girl, I need to lock the door." She whined at him but relinquished her grip. She'd been worked up by something and he was in the right mind to think that something had to do with Dick. He locked the door quickly and then looked down at her for help. She barked and ran off into the bedroom with Tim following close behind. When they got to the bedroom, he didn't understand why she'd led him there. It wasn't messy but it wasn't clean either. No signs of struggle but also no sign of their MIA acrobat. The bed's covers looked like they'd been kicked off which wasn't too surprising. Dick was a restless sleeper so that could've happened at any point. Haley didn't give up though and continued to yip beside the closet. He frowned at her, wondering if there was a clue inside there or if maybe he was putting too much trust in this dog. Her toy could just be stuck in there and without her owner around she was making use of him. Nonetheless, he opened the door and was surprised to find Dick curled up in there. Dick seemed just as surprised to see him there. He took off his headphones and coughed awkwardly whilst Haley bit at his sleeve to pull him out. 

"Haley, did you invite a friend over?" he asked the pitbull. She let go of his sleeve for a moment to lick his hand before returning to her efforts of pulling him out. He crawled out from beneath the blanket and got to his feet, bringing the small dog with him in his arms where she licked the tear tracks on his face. He cackled softly at her before letting her down. Haley didn't wander far though, she stood beside her owner like a tiny guard dog. "So Timbo, what are you doing in my apartment?"

"What were you doing in the closet?"

"Well since you came out, there was an empty space there and I thought I'd fill it," he replied with a grin. 

"Oh please, I know you're still in there."

"Yeah, the Discowing suit made the closet transparent."

"The original Robin suit made the closet transparent." The older laughed and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. There was no coming back from being found in the closet with clear tear streaks on your face. "What were you doing in there?"

"Doesn't matter. What did you need?" he asked, closing the closet door behind him and leaning against it. 

"You weren't returning our calls," Tim answered.

"Lost my phone."

"Did you think you'd find it in the closet?" There was a beat of silence before he began to mill around the room to search for his device, Haley never leaving his side. "Dick, what's going on?" 

"Looking for my phone. You wanna help? Since you're here?"

So they looked for his phone. They didn't talk about the closet and instead started talking about work. Tim wasn't the best at getting him to open up but he had his tricks. Distracting him seemed to work most of the time that way he could catch him off guard when he went in for answers. If that didn't work, he did some detective work to come to his own conclusion and work from there. So whilst he was waiting to go in for the strike, he did some detective work. Dick was in the closet with a blanket and headphones. All of those were typical signs that he was coming down from a panic attack or he was feeling overwhelmed. His lost phone may be the cause. Maybe he got worked up trying to find it? No, he usually needed something harsher to send him into that isolating mood. Everything that had happened since he'd been gone might've just hit him now but it had already hit him, hadn't it? It'd been months since it happened. Then again, you couldn't put a timeline on trauma. It was unpredictable and ebbed and flowed. Was it getting worse for him? Ugh, why did no one go to therapy in this family? As he thought, he came across the phone. He found it behind a table in the far corner of the living room and found the screen had a crack running through it. "Found it!" he announced. Dick popped up from looking under the couch and smiled. 

"Guess you are a better detective." He strolled over and handed over the phone. He watched Dick turn it on and his eyes widening at whatever was on the screen. He slammed the phone back down on the couch and went off into the kitchen. 

"Dick? What's going on?" Tim inquired, picking up the phone and chasing after him.

"It's uhm, it's Bea's birthday."

"His birthday isn't-"

"Not B. Bea. Ric's girlfriend. My ex?" He sounded unsure and Tim couldn't blame him. Dick knelt down and picked up his beloved pet then hopped up onto the counter with her. He let her get comfortable in his lap and stroked her, giving her a few scratches here and there to keep her happy. She licked his free hand to comfort him. Tim watched the pair for a moment before placing the phone down and joining him on the countertop. 

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not at all. I hate what he- what I did but I feel guilty about even the nice parts. Bea was a great person, she didn't deserve what happened. None of you deserved it either."

"You didn't deserve it," Tim pointed out. "You need to stop beating yourself up for what happened. We forgave Jay for his Lazurus years."

"Things would've been so different had I been there. Damian wouldn't have run off to wherever the hell he is now." 

"I don't think you can say that. People change and Alfred's death changed him."

"I wish I could've said goodbye to Alfred. He was the best." Tim moved closer and leaned against the older, patting Haley whilst he was there. 

"I miss him too."

They didn't talk for a while and instead focused their efforts on keeping Haley happy with plenty of pets. She simply adored all the attention she was getting and she was doing much better than when Dick first brought her in. Tim thought that she was good for him. She gave him something to do and be responsible for that wasn't traumatising. She loved him back and he needed that. Something unconditional and dependent. "Are...are you going to be okay?" Tim asked softly. When he didn't get a reply, he continued. "It's okay if you aren't but I need to know so I don't hold out hope." The older shook his head at him. 

"Don't do that to me Tim. Don't guilt me like that. I did my best for this family whenever I could so don't think for a minute I'm giving up on it all," he snapped.

"I'm not guilting you. I just want to know."

"Then you have your answer that I'm still here and as long as I'm still kicking, I'm not dipping. I've lived through worse."

"Have you?" Tim asked genuinely. 

"I must have if I'm still going," he replied quietly. He scratched behind Haley's ear and smiled when she kicked out her back leg. He really loved this dog. Babied her almost. Tim wondered if it helped the transition of not looking after Damian anymore. Maybe it had nothing to do with Damian. He just wanted a kid but knew he couldn't have one with his life the way it was or because of how Bruce raised him. The teen felt sorry for his brother. He felt sorry for nearly all the heroes he came across, including himself. They couldn't have normal. They got trauma and had to deal with it. Perhaps, moving forward, what Dick needed was more of those slices of domestic life. Tim felt an idea spark. 

"Were you happy as Ric? Just living your regular life without all of us?"

"I'm not sure. I thought I was happy but the Court messed with my head. Then Joker messed with it more. Bea was happy though. They always are in the beginning," Dick answered. 

"I felt that about Steph. It's different with Bernard though. Steph and I had a great time but it wasn't how I feel now." The older turned to him and cocked his head to the side curiously. 

"What're you trying to say?" he asked.

"Maybe you're barking up the wrong trees. You go after people you love but maybe you don't love them like that."

"I loved Star and Babs a lot though," he argued but he wasn't mad. Tim found it interesting that he wasn't defensive about this but had been defensive about the suggestion he wasn't prepared to be there for his family. It meant he wasn't secure in this. This might be the thing he needed to move on from everything that happened. 

"You're pursuing something that's already failed. You love them and it's clear they love you but I don't think you love them like that. I didn't think I'd love Bernard as I do but I do. Maybe because he's a boy or maybe because we just fit together better."

"I always thought you'd go for Connor or maybe Bart," Dick admitted. The teen rolled his eyes with a smile and lightly hit his arm.

"Point is, have you ever thought that maybe you could try a relationship that hasn't already failed? Maybe you could have some single time and then go after someone else. Perhaps a certain speedster."

"Wally?" the acrobat squawked. "I mean sure we had chemistry growing up but then I got with Star and then he wasn't free-"

"He's free now. You're free now. I think it's time you try someone new."

"I think you're just saying that so I don't mope about my apartment. Getting with someone isn't going to heal my trauma," he pointed out. 

"No, but it'll help you move on. You need someone and I don't think you'd ever work with a civilian. Besides, Wally seems to know you best and you know him best." Dick sighed, knowing it was true. People had heard too many rumours and they'd never trust him going out every night with no excuse. He didn't want them to get hurt either if they ever found out what he was doing. 

"I'll think about it." 

"I think it'll do you some good. You need more domestic parts of life. Speaking of, I'm hungry and I know damn well you don't have good food here." Dick laughed and bundled Haley in his arms before hopping off the counter. 

"Alright but we're going somewhere dog friendly. I need my emotional support dog." The younger nodded and watched him get ready. He sent a text to Barbara to let her know about what happened and she promised to follow it up when she found the time. She also didn't mind the part about him getting with Wally. In fact, she was already looking for a way to set them up. Tim smiled at his phone before pocketing it. They really did love each other but not that way anymore and that was for the best, he thought. Dick needed something new. The past he knew was gone so he may as well push forward to something else. "Hey Tim," Dick called as he got Haley's leash.

"Yeah?"

"You know I care about you right?" Tim smiled.

"I know. Ditto."