Mio Amore Rosso

Trust all around

Wally's POV.

"Honestly, Dick, this seems really great for him. From what you've told me, Jason has helped him more in just a day, then therapy ever could in over ten years."

I paused, taking in a slow, deep breath and watching the steam rise from my coffee mug. "I know it's not always the relationship that you imagined... but Tim isn't you, Dick. He's Tim."

This was the truth I knew Dick needed to hear. It was hard, but he needed it.

When I just got a sigh as a response, I continued, setting my mug down on the window seal beside the couch. "He's not like you or me. If he's connected with this Jason guy like this, heck, what right do any of us have to get in between them?"

We didn't have any right. Tim had been through so much, and I, for one, was ecstatic that he was finally this happy.

Dick sighed again, and I could hear the irritation over the phone. "I know, Wally...I just...I guess i've been too overprotective, but after what happened with Stephanie -"

He paused, and I knew why, feeling myself grow tense just at the mention of her name.

It had been torture for Tim. Steph was his first grown-up relationship. The others had been flings or crushes, but Steph, she was different. We all thought so. Tim had pushed himself so hard to return her affections. Her love.

I remembered nights where he'd be curled up beside Dick, a blanket wrapped snugly around him so he could cuddle without touching. All because he was so stressed and anxious about how he was handling things.

It tore him apart when she broke it off. The night before their six month anniversary, no less. She never deserved Tim.

Shaking my head, I pushed away the slight anger rising inside me from thinking about it.

"This is obviously different. Steph didn't understand why Tim was the way he was. Jason seems to not care. In a good way, I mean. He understands that Tim is damaged but doesn't blame him or make him feel bad about it."

I picked my mug up again, but I just looked down at the black liquid, feeling indifferent about the caffeine now.

I was more than wide awake after the news I had just gotten, then this coffee could ever make me.

Dick's 5am phone call definitely wasn't unwelcomed and I was more than happy to talk to him.

Getting news that Tim was in the hospital after getting shot by a mafia boss, no less, well... shocking doesn't really describe it well enough.

I felt sick about it. Nauseated and Jaded. Then, to find out Dick was blaming himself for everything over a fight with Tim, I was more than tempted to be on the next flight there.

Dick took a deep breath, causing a muffling sound to crackle over the phone. "I know you're right...I just wish I had handled things differently. I never should've said what I said, Wally... how the hell do I take something like that back?"

I could hear the shakiness of his voice. The way it wavered and cracked. He was scared. He was scared that his relationship with Tim was screwed up beyond repair.

I didn't blame him. His words had been harsh. Knowing myself, if I had said something like that to Bart, I'd be anxious about our siblings' dynamic, too.

Coming to terms with a situation like this takes time with Dick. From experience, I knew he tended to speak without thinking. Even if he meant it with all the love in his heart, sometimes, like now, it got him into trouble.