Im sorry i just find the title funny 

angst makes the heart grow fonder

small cw because the killing joke storyline is alluded to but i never go into detail

Another late night had Barbara worried for her lover and thinking about his well being. Since becoming Oracle, she'd thought about how hard she and Dick worked keeping everyone safe. They worked day and night, their conversations revolved around work, their arguments were often about work and they planned all their couple time around work to the point where they were considering talking on intercoms during missions as dates. It had infected every part of their lives and Dick seemed even more engrossed in it than he had been when he was younger. He was raised by Bruce of course so that wasn't too surprising. He was out fighting crime every night before he was even old enough to get behind the wheel of a car. Before it was morally acceptable to leave him alone all day too. On the few times she'd seen him not work, one of the reasons had been looking after her either after surgery or simply because she needed the break. She hummed to herself upon remembering that and how great she felt afterwards. It was like a brain reset and it did a world of good. God knows he needed one. He'd been on missions after missions, patrol after patrol and all without a break in between. Both of them could do with the time off and she'd love to spend her time spoiling him as he deserved. He didn't get spoiled enough and that simply wouldn't do.

Her confirmation that a designated Dick day was needed came in the form of Dick coming home one night and trying to get in through the bedroom window. Emphasis on trying. What happened was he opened the window and basically fell inside. Things crashed to the ground and he'd hit the floor with a loud thump, successfully waking up his dozing girlfriend. She jumped awake only to find he'd gotten comfy on the floor and fallen asleep. Rather he'd passed out but assured her it was completely out of choice the next day. She wasn't convinced and decided that they were having a break that Saturday whether Dick liked it or not. He couldn't go around passing out on the floor and expect her to believe he didn't need the day off.

At 6 am, Dick's alarm waking him to go work out rang and he fumbled to turn it off only to find his phone wasn't on his bedside. He turned only to find it was on Barbara's and the ginger had already seized it, turning off the annoying tone. He cocked his head to the side curiously since he knew for a fact he'd put it on his side that night. "You're resting today," she stated as she set it back down. He stared at her even more confused. They hadn't talked about this nor could he think of a valid reason for a day off.

"Why? I'm not hurt," he protested.

"You don't need to be hurt to rest. Lie back down and get in a few extra hours," she ordered. He didn't lie down though. He instead got up and started rooting through his drawers for his workout gear only to find they'd gone missing. He looked at his girlfriend who smirked and patted the bed, trying to beckon him back under the sheets. "C'mon you need it. You've hardly slept."

"I slept eight hours on Monday," he whined, continuing to root through the drawers. There had to be something he could use for now. It would only be for today anyway so the discomfort wouldn't be too bad. He picked out a t-shirt and began his search for bottoms. Maybe he'd have to do it in his underwear. Shame that his gear was near a window. He could put something on the window to cover it up. 

"Aside from the fact that was five days ago, you were knocked out by gas for four of those hours. Try as you might, you're resting today." He sighed and shook his head. Working out in jeans sounded like hell so he just went with his shirt and boxers. 

 "I can't have days off from training Babs. What's this about anyway?" He picked up a blanket but paused when he noticed how long his girlfriend had remained silent. He didn't like when she went quiet. He put the blanket down and sat beside her, putting his hand on hers.

"You've worked a lot recently. We both have. I want to spend today spoiling you since you don't get that much," she explained. "It helps me slow down and I know it will help you do the same."

"You don't need to spoil me," he assured her.

"But I want to and you deserve it." She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips softly. He gladly leaned into the kiss. When they parted, Barbara grabbed his shoulders and pushed him over to his side of the bed before putting herself on top of him. "So sleep. I planned today so you'd have the extra time." Dick tutted but didn't make any attempt to fight back. He knew better than that. He wrapped his arms around her and snuggled up against her freckled skin. He let his eyes slip close again and did his best to let himself drift back off to sleep. Barbara waited until she was sure he was asleep then let herself get in some extra time too.

A gently shake made Dick's eyes flutter open and he was greeted by his smiling girlfriend. He couldn't help but smile back at her before sitting himself up. "Hey birdie, sleep well?" He hummed and rubbed his eyes. He was about to get up but she stopped him. She put a tray on his lap that had a bowl of his favourite cereal and a cup of coffee on it. "Before you ask, yes I did sleep for long enough, yes I have had my breakfast and no I didn't need any help." He smirked at her assertiveness but he secretly appreciated it. "Eat up then we'll go binge-watch some trash TV." 

"We've not done that in months," he commented. He was right to say it too. They usually just had the TV on as background noise and never really had the time to actually sit down and watch the drama go down. They used to take at least two hours out on Sundays to do that but then work got piled up and they had to ditch it. Dick would love for that time to return yet he was hesitant to have that time return today. He'd planned to do work, train, meet with Tim to get social updates, meet with Bruce to get professional updates, go over a few cases, meet with a few League members to talk about missions, investigate leftover cases, take a crack at a cold case or two, help Barbara through some exercises, make sure that the rail in the shower was properly installed because he had a horrible feeling it never was so he needed to check that every single day. That was only half of his day. "I appreciate all this but I've got work to do. I have like five meetings today-"

"I handled it. Your day is cleared and you're staying here. Only calm vibes." He frowned. "What's up?"

"I want to have a day off, I really do, but I don't know how comfortable I'll be when I know I have work to do. I've not had full days off aside from recovery times since I was with the Titans." She put her hand on his arm with a soft smile.

"You're allowed to take time off. Even the most secret of government spies have holidays. I've planned this out so nothing bad is going to happen if you take this time off." He hummed and began to eat his cereal although he wasn't too convinced. "I'll still need you to help with my exercises but aside from that you're getting looked after, got that?" He nodded. He'd try his best for her but he couldn't guarantee he'd give her the reception she wanted. 

After Dick finished breakfast, he moved into the living room and took over washing the dishes from his girlfriend. She complained multiple times but he wasn't hearing any of it. He needed to do something today or he'd lose his mind. Or he'd relax... Nah he decided that the break would make him stir crazy. He dried the dishes as he ignored the glare he was getting and put them away in the cupboards. "Are you done, sweetheart?" Barbara asked. The sweetness in her voice was as natural as reality TV and Dick cringed upon hearing it. 

"Sorry, Babs. It was just quicker if I did it," he defended. She hummed unhappily and took his hand, running her thumb along his blistered and scarred digits. There wasn't much of him that was left unmarked nowadays. She didn't have half as many but she guessed that was because she hadn't been in the business as long nor had she been a particular favourite of villains to torture. 

"I'll keep saying this until you get it: today I'm looking after you. Let me do that." He nodded but she could tell that he hadn't actually understood what she was saying. This would be much harder than she thought. "You want me to paint your nails? It's been a while since I last did them." Some wet nail polish might keep him in one place for more than ten minutes. 

"I'd like that." She smiled and kissed his knuckles before releasing his hand. 

"Get your ass on the couch whilst I get my things." He went to offer to get them for her but a harsh glare kept him quiet. Instead, he did as he was told and sat on the couch. He turned on the TV but kept an ear out in case she needed him. When Barbara returned, she had a bag of nail polish and a packet of cotton swaps with a bottle of acetone. She put her things on the table and then lifted herself onto the couch. "What colour do you want?" He shrugged in response so she didn't press him for more. She picked out a dark blue that looked almost black with a holo blue. She put a pillow between them and took a flannel she kept in her nail polish bag to protect the pillow. Dick put his hand on it and watched as she put down a base coat. "You wanna tell me why you're so averse to being looked after?" she asked. 

"I'm not averse."

"You're certainly not compliant."

"Do we have to talk about it?" he replied softly. The ginger frowned at him yet continued painting his nails. He'd tell her with time and she did have all day to figure it out. She'd be patient until there was a sufficient reason not to be. 

"I'll wait for you." 

"Thank you."

With a fresh set of painted nails and a few hours of binge TV, it was time for lunch. Barbara went into the kitchen and listed off everything they had but she didn't receive a response. She must've asked five times over before she spared a glance Dick's way. When she did finally look, she knew something was off right away. His eyes, although staring at the TV, weren't concentrating on anything. They were glazed over and barely blinking. He looked both too relaxed but also not relaxed at all. She couldn't explain it much further than that. He mouthed something but no words actually came out and lip reading was difficult when he was barely moving his lips. The ginger rolled over to him slowly and stopped before she got too close. "Dickie, can you hear me?" He didn't react to her voice. He was somewhere completely different. He mouthed something again but once again she failed to pick up on what he was saying. His expression was blank yet that didn't mean he was at peace. Something was wrong and she just knew it. Carefully, she reached out a hand and placed it on his thigh. She gave him a light squeeze to see if that would draw him out of this trance. He flinched ever so slightly. "I'm here." He breathed in deeply and blinked a few times. "Hey, you alright?" Dick didn't respond but he did look down to where her hand was. He slowly followed her hand to her forearm to her bicep, along her collarbones, up the crook of her neck and finally settled on her green eyes. For a brief moment, he looked as though he didn't recognise them. That brief moment scared the ginger more than anything. "Dickie?" He stared at her for a while but eventually seemed to return to his usual self. He smiled softly at her.

"Sorry, were you saying something?"

"Yeah I was but what was that?" He immediately tensed at the question which only urged her to get a definitive answer from him.

"Oh. Nothing."

"Dick," she called, cupping his face in her hands. "It's okay. You can tell me." He frowned and let himself lean into her touch. She tucked a piece of his black hair behind his ear then pressed a kiss against his forehead in hopes of coaxing an answer from him. Besides, he looked like he needed comfort. She moved closer and sat on the couch next to him so she could give him a proper hug. He immediately pulled her into his lap and put his arms around her, hugging her as though she were a teddy bear. She didn't mind one bit. "You can tell me what's going on."

"You've got so much on your plate Babs plus you've had to deal with so much change recently," Dick mumbled. 

"I'm at a point in my life where granted, I'm not where I thought I'd be, but I'm making the most of it. We've both taken on a lot but that's why we've taken a day off. You can talk to me just like you did before everything went down," she explained. He hummed softly. "Please tell me."

"Things are just coming up again. Memories. Bad ones." Barbara's heart ached for him. There were plenty of bad memories for him to be lost in and she doubted that he was venting properly. It wasn't surprising they would engulf him when they got the chance. She ran her hands through his hair and played with his curls. 

"Any certain ones?"

"Failures mostly. That Two-Face incident, being fired, tortures 'n not being there when you..."

A long pause was needed for both of them to comprehend that last one. It needed to be said but that didn't stop the shock of hearing it. Dick squeezed her as though she were going to disappear if he didn't and closed his eyes. He didn't like talking about it. How he felt so stupid and weak after knowing he wasn't there to stop Joker. He was a hero and he should've been there for someone he cared for so deeply. If he'd just been there then Barbara wouldn't have had the life-saving surgeries, the painful recovery, the horrible nightmares. He'd gone through enough in his life to never wish that experience upon anyone yet it had happened to his Barbara. In her home. Barbara continued to play with his hair as she tried to keep calm. The memories haunted her. Opening that door only to come face to face with the Clown Prince of Crime. She was afraid to open the door for ages afterwards. Every time the doorbell rang she'd be sent into a panic attack. All those surgeries, the scars they left and the realization that she wouldn't be the hero she thought she'd be. Then she remembered that although she hadn't been the hero she imagined, she was still a hero and a damn good one at that. One of the very best if she said so herself and she wouldn't let Joker rule her life. There were bad days but she had Dick. She supposed seeing her go through such things was just as terrifying as going through it yourself. Especially when you blamed yourself for it. No one had come out of the experience unscathed and that was painfully clear now. "It's okay. We've both been through far too much but we'll be okay. We just need to talk like this more, don't we?" 

"I don't wanna lose you." It was such a broken admission. She already knew of course he didn't want to lose her but it was just that tone. It made her tear up.

"I don't want to lose you either." They stayed relatively quiet, something they didn't normally do but clearly needed to. They concentrated on each other's touch, knowing that as long as that pressure was there then they knew where the other was. "I worry too. It's hard that even with everything at my fingertips, I'm physically not there. Can't push you out of the way of a stray bullet."

"When I work, I don't get those memories. I feel like I'm doing things right. Saving people." 

"Suppose that's why we've been working so much. We needed to feel useful." Dick nodded and yawned softly, letting himself completely relax with Barbara in his hold. "Tired?"

"They always make me tired." She'd keep that in mind. She kissed him a few more times and moved back to sit in her wheelchair.

"You can nap once you've eaten. What did you want?"

"Whatever is easiest."

Dick didn't last long after eating as he settled down, using Barbara's thighs as a pillow, and fell asleep. Barbara didn't protest and petted his hair. That's when she overheard Dick's phone buzzing. Her boyfriend stirred at the sound although after a few shushes he was lulled back to sleep. She picked it up and glanced at the contact with a scowl. Bruce. She sighed and answered the phone. "Hello?" she greeted in a hushed voice.

"Put Dick on the phone."

"No I won't be doing that," she replied calmly. 

"Well, you will be. I need him to take Damian for a few hours." She didn't appreciate his attitude one bit.

"Last time I checked, he wasn't your babysitter. I told you he's having a day off today."

"He's done it before-"

"Listen here Bruce Wayne, my boyfriend is having a day off because he's going to work himself to death. If you even think you're going to convince me to wake him up when he hardly gets any sleep so that he can look after your own son then you're sorely mistaken. Find someone else and if you call again today to ask for anything from him I will not hesitate to make sure you never ask again." There was silence before he hung up. She smirked to herself and put the phone down, putting it on silent. "Don't you worry Dickie, I've got everything handled."