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[dawn_is_breaking]

[She nods and lets go of his face but is grateful when he kisses her cheeks and she nuzzles him softly.]

Oh really? Which songs?

[cohero]

[Isn't that the way it always goes? At the mention of a song, the mind blanks and Dick has to sit there quiet for a few moments before he can even begin to scroll through the songbank in his mind. There have been so many over the years that have made him think of her, but right now, this moment, he wants the ones that pertain to them and how things are going here.

He bites his lip, and nuzzles her a little more. ] Putting a man on the spot makes it hard, but how about...
[Dick pulls out his phone and starts to scroll through things, pulling up a few titles.]

Okay, here's a small list that you can listen to:

one
two
three
four

There are about a hundred more that I could find. I know that I could send you all the love songs and it wouldn't be enough. I love you, Dawn and I won't ever stop. I'm so lucky to have you back in my arms.

[dawn_is_breaking]

[She makes him play each of these songs, listening to them as she hugs and holds him, a little smile tugging at the corners of her lips. As the fourth and final song plays she tilts her face up to look at him.]

I love you too, Dick.
I always will.

[cohero]

[Smiling down at her, he sighs deeply and tips his head to rest against her.]

I'm a lucky guy to have found the most wonderful woman out there. I love you Dawn and I always will. I'm glad I found you again, and that we will make it work this time. Now that I've played all my sappy songs for you. I'll figure out one to sing for you one day. It's been a while since I had the guitar out.

[dawn_is_breaking]

I'd like that. It's hard to keep up with the little things that bring you joy, isn't it? Life can get so hectic and dangerous that we forget to take a few moments to ourselves and do what we enjoy.

[cohero]

That's exactly it. [He runs his fingers through her hair and takes up the edges of it to brush over his lips, remembering how soft that always felt.]

That is my purpose now, to remember all the little joys and to take time to spend with the people around me, the ones I love and away from my piles of work, because I know what I'll remember when I'm gone and it's not that desk.

[dawn_is_breaking]

[She chuckles softly and gives him a squeeze.]

Look at that, it only took a near apocalyptic event to get you to start enjoying your life and not disappearing into your work....

[cohero]

[He has to laugh with her because it's the gosh awful truth.]

Yes, well. I guess we all must go through our toils and troubles, bubble, bubble before we come out of the witch's brew a better person? I don't know, Rachel would agree.

[He laughs again, because yep. another corny Dick joke.]

[dawn_is_breaking]

[Dawn snorts and rolls her eyes at that joke because yeah, it was pretty bad.]

Do you still keep in contact with her now that she's in school?

[cohero]

I do my best to when she answers. I mean, someone has to keep track of her. I can't just throw her into the world and not keep an eye on her. She's always wonderful, why wouldn't she be. She grew up while we worked together and faced so much...

[Dick shakes his head at that, still in wonder at all the young woman went through. She always touched his life and was close to him in a way that a younger sister might be if he had one.]

[dawn_is_breaking]

[And now, because she can't help herself Dawn asks the question that every big brother hates....]

Has she mentioned if she's dating anyone at school?

[cohero]

[There's a laugh and a shrug of his shoulders, because he hasn't bothered to ask. Dick doesn't really push that hard into things Rachel might not want to tell him. He listens, and does a good job of it. If there was someone special in her lift, he imagines that he'd pick up on it eventually.]

Not that I know of. You could always call and ask. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you. Girl talk would be easier than talking with me.

[dawn_is_breaking]

I'll send her an email first, she might not want to talk to me anymore considering I kind of took off.

[cohero]

That's an idea, but I have a feeling that she'll probably still be happy to talk to you. I think she'll understand considering all that happened. It's not like she's had the easiest time with things. She's grown a lot through it, but the year was a lot.

[He snuggles against Dawn's neck, unable to keep himself from holding her tight. Right now it's his greatest privilege and that's all he needs from this date. They'll have all the time in the future for other things. Kissing and nuzzling, is enough to fill his heart and help him remember what it is to be loved like this, and to be able to hold a person and to need them in the depth of his being and for no other reason.

Dick could lose himself completely in the best way, not because he isn't complete without her-- but because she makes him feel better in every way when they are together. It's a wonderful, empowering feeling and he's glad that she's the one that does it for him.]

[dawn_is_breaking]

All the more reason to send her an email first, the last thing I want to do is throw her off or stress her out with a random phone call.
Or heaven forbid, show up on her doorstop years later....oh wait no, that was you.

[She teases, poking his side a little.]

[cohero]

That's fine. I'll let her know that we're together too, and that way she has some communication from both of us and it will make more sense all around.

[Ducks his head and laughs, poking back.] Okay, well, it worked out for the better now, didn't it? I get to nibble on you, and we get to start our torrid love affair all over again, making it work this time around. Who knows, maybe in a year or so you'll be picking out a wedding dress.

[dawn_is_breaking]

[She pokes him again, harder this time.]

It is not a torrid love affair. It's not an affair at all since we're both single.

[His comment about a wedding dress makes her stiffen suddenly though and she looks at him, her eyes troubled.]

Dick.
Don't joke about that.

[cohero]

[Dick slides his arms from her to rest them lightly on her hips, but he sits back eyes open a little.]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding. I- I didn't think we were single any more. I thought we were dating again. I would never have gone this far with you if I was single. I don't think I could have.

[His heart was still cautious and he knew that hers was too, and while he figured that he owed her a lot to earn her trust, he didn't realize that after being with her like this, even after their first conversation didn't mean that they'd decided to try again. He'd been serious about the wedding dress as well. There was no joking to it, so it hurt that she thinks that he'd even tease about something so serious. It all tosses him into a dose of reality that he didn't see coming, that he probably should have. ]

[dawn_is_breaking]

I didn't mean single as in we aren't dating, we are. You're my boyfriend. My partner, there's no one else.
What I meant was it's not an affair because I'm not with Hank this time and you're not with...anyone else.
Does that make sense?

[She explain and then runs a hand through her hair.]

I'm sorry, it's just marriage is....a touchy subject with me after Hank.

[cohero]

You.. you weren't with Hank last time. You'd slept with him once you told me, but that's where it ended.

[He takes in a breath and lets it out slowly. Dick never thought of Dawn as taken when they started to hook up. Sure, he knew that she had met Hank previously and that they'd bonded, and slept together once. That's where he thought it stopped, that dawn had ended it because it was better for both their recovery process if they remained platonic team mates. Then they met up and formed Titans, and he and her dated.

The marriage situation confuses him even further, because they had been the ones married in the dream, not her and hank. He didn't recall anything beyond her and hank dating, and ... ]

Did he propose to you? I'm still confused. I know that you and I had that dream, but... Dawn, you can't let go of a future because of the past. I'm not saying we have to rush into it. I mean, I want to be able to talk to you about things that I desire with you. I have no trouble moving at your speed, but I mean it when I say it. These things aren't jokes to me.

[dawn_is_breaking]

It was where it ended. But I was alluding to when you showed up with Rachel on my doorstep, I was with Hank then. Never mind, I made a dumb joke and it confused both of us.

[She says and then shakes her head again.]

No, he never proposed but we talked about it. About getting married, starting a family. That's one of the reasons why we were trying to move away from hero work.

[But in the end she couldn't let it go, she needed it and then everything went to shit.]

And I'm not saying it's an impossible future but Dick....you can't just drop that kind of comment and not expect me to flinch.

[cohero]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to turn a good conversation into such a tough one. Maybe we should go slower with things. I feel like I keep stepping on the toes of your healing process. I never knew all these things, and if I didn't know, I'm going to keep feeling like I'm stepping on eggshells when I'm only trying to daydream about a future with you.

[It's not a comment that he dropped lightly, and if he hadn't meant it he wouldn't have said it. He's been thinking and dreaming of this for a lot longer than Dawn has probably realized, and he's incredibly serious about her. For a couple who have already dated and surpassed so many odds, a year is a respectable amount of time to find a commitment between them.

Maybe Dick's far more optimistic than he should be, or should have been. He's got to be more gentle and watch everything he says, but that's not exactly what he wants either. He has been working so that he can say what he's feeling, not repress it. He sighs, stuck in his thoughts.]

[dawn_is_breaking]

[Dawn turns and slides carefully into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a long hug.]

No, it's me who is sorry. I like that you're daydreaming about us, I want us both to be able to hope and dream of a life together for a very long time.
I just....

[Her voice wavers and she hugs him tighter.]

My heart is just scared. But maybe what it needs is your assurance, your confidence in us. So don't stop, don't hold back when you feel like that. Just be aware that I might flinch a few times but just hold me and let my heart get used to being loved again.

[cohero]

[There's a small widening of his eyes when Dawn slides into his lap. His stomach twists and his heart turns over. He lets out a sigh of relief. It's terrifying, the thought of losing her or of having her pull away from him again. Dick has his heart out there right now, and has given up all that tightly won control and placed it out there so that they both can work together equally in this relationship, standing side by side-- no one ahead of the other.

Wrapping his arms around her tightly, he turns into her neck and kisses over a few of his favorite spots over and over, whispering words of encouragement and love. ]

I don't want to ever let you go. I want to think about us, to always dream about us and imagine what life can be like for us when the pieces do fall into place, and if you need me to hold on tighter, I will do that. I will always hold you, and love you. You are all I need and all I've ever wanted Dawn. i will keep reminding you, and showing you with all I do, I promise. My heart gets scared too, so scared to lose you. It's not easy, but I believe in us.

[dawn_is_breaking]

[She hugs him harder, upset at herself for almost pushing him away and all because she is scared. It's ridiculous because he is the one person who has always made her feel safe and after hearing his encouraging words she pushes her lips against his. Kissing him hard and firm in an effort to push past the fear.]