Archive of Our Own ^beta

There was so much on the line and he had to believe it would work. Dick knew the right way to go about it this time. Saving Gotham was about joining forces with all of his teammates. If they stood any chance of winning against Crane, it would be the result of them working united, not him trying to save everyone by himself.

The pit had not only revived him. It had shown him his worst nightmares – it had reminded him of his darkness, of who he’d been becoming when he’d been living in Gotham and why he had left Batman in the first place. Returning to that city had thrown him back into his old ways so quickly that he had completely lost himself in the chaos and the dangers circling around them. Since they have come to Gotham, Dick had been selfish, he had acted impulsively and alone. He had turned his back on his team, disrespected them and tried to prove that he knew better. Sure, he had done it to protect them. He hadn’t wanted to lose anyone else he cared about. Still that wasn’t the way a team was supposed to operate. There had to be trust. And Dick knew he had betrayed theirs. Gotham had drawn him back to Barbara, back to his worst instincts, back to violence – all aspects of his life he had believed he’d left behind. And that had led to his death. 

That Richard Grayson had died brutally. Gone and buried in a pit of nightmares. This current version of him was miraculously alive again and had to make an important choice. Who he was going to be from this moment forward was entirely up to him, not up to his past. 

I hope you find out who’s inside of there, Dick Grayson.

He remembered Kory’s words to him from 3 years ago. She had barely known him then and yet she had believed that he was a good person, that he was capable of finding his true self. Since then Dick had made some right choices but also many wrong ones, relying on the survival instincts he’d learned from Batman and from being Robin. Kory always pushed him to dig deeper, to be better, to consider his team and to find new ways. 

Therefore, since they’d come to Gotham Dick had tried to keep her on the outside, not truly letting her in. He couldn’t allow himself to be vulnerable, not when Batman had asked him to take over. He had believed that vulnerability would prevent him from being a good leader. A good leader wouldn’t talk about his feelings, fears or pain, right? He wouldn’t allow others to step into his agony. No. He would focus on finding a solution to the problem and then giving the answer to the others. He would try to carry all the weight on his own shoulders in order to protect the people he loved. That was how Dick had learned to act. That was what he’d done. That was why he’d died. He understood that now.

In the midst of his death and revival, however, he had seen something else too. Hope . A chance at a better future. A light inside all that darkness. Hi Daddy , the little girl had said. His daughter. A reason to live for. A reason to let his true and best self come to the surface. Hope that it was possible to be a better person. Not a better Batman but a better Richard Grayson. 

Dick parked the car in front of the location Barbara had sent him and got out. He took a few steps forward and then abruptly stopped when he saw her pink strands of hair being blown by the wind. Kory had her back to him, her hands wrapped around Donna in a genuine gesture of happiness. Dick stood there and simply observed, unable to move. He couldn't see Kory's face but was certain there would be tears of joy on it as well as that huge smile of hers that always made him chuckle like a carefree child. 

He realized he was doing it right now too just by imagining Kory smiling. Dick saw the image of the little girl with the red balloon in his mind again. 

Not just my daughter , he thought. Our daughter .

Then Kory turned towards him as if she had sensed he was looking and met his gaze. Dick realized that he’d been right. Her green eyes were shining with tears but the smile was no longer there. Her nose wrinkled and her eyebrows narrowed. Dick knew that look all too well. It was a fire storm. It meant trouble. He’d seen it too many times to count and there’d always been a good reason for it. It mainly surfaced when he’d made a stupid mistake and Kory was angry with him. This time, however, there was something new and unfamiliar in her eyes too. 

She made a few steps towards him and Dick moved forward as well. He expected her to start shouting at him at any moment, to punch him in the face, to tell him that he’d been an idiot for going off on his own, to shake her head with disappointment, to tell him that she was mad and didn’t trust him to be the leader of the team anymore. So many scenarios went through his head as Kory hurried towards him. All of them resulted in fire and pain. 

Instead Kory wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him into a tight yet gentle embrace. For a moment Dick was stunned, unsure if that was real or just another possible scenario happening in his mind – the one he actually wanted to take place. 

“You’re an idiot,” Kory whispered, her chin resting on his shoulder. 

Dick wrapped his arms around her too then and realized he was smiling. Whether that moment was real or not, he chose to fully lean into it. He buried his head in her curls, breathing in the lavender scent of her hair and breathing out relief for making it out of the pit in one piece, for getting another chance to make things right.

“I expected you to punch me in the face,” Dick said finally, his tone teasing. Kory moved away from their embrace to look at him. There was a smile on her face but her eyes were serious. 

“Oh you’re not safe yet, Grayson. You’re lucky that today I choose to focus on the fact that you’re living and breathing, not dead. Can’t promise that would be the case tomorrow though.”

“Good for me then. I get to live another day.” They both chuckled at that.

“So, Boy Wonder,” Donna said. She had approached them while they were talking. 

Dick couldn’t stop smiling. His best friend was alive too. Donna was standing right in front of him, more confident than he’d ever seen her. A miracle.

 “I knew you’d be sad if I died but I never thought you’d die just so that you could join me in the afterlife,” Donna teased and then gave him a hug 

“What can I say, life wasn’t the same without you so I decided to check out how death felt like.”

“And?” Donna asked, an eyebrow lifted.

“I’d rather not do it again any time soon.”

“Good. Smart boy,” Donna replied, elbowing him in the arm.

Then Dick noticed that all the other members of the team had approached too. They had gathered around, waiting patiently, smiling. The titans were all together now. Rachel. Gar. Donna. Conner. Tim. Blackfire. Kory. His team. His titans. His way forward. The path to his true self. Dick’s eyes filled with tears as the magnitude of everything he’d been through over the past weeks caught up with him. Emotion took over his whole body. He didn’t try to stop the feeling. It was gratitude. It was hope. It was love. He chose to lean into them this time. In that moment he felt like the happiest person in the world even though he knew the next battle would be full of dangers. Dick took the time to look at each of their faces, then nodded as a gesture of reassurance and smiled.

“So what’s the plan?” Rachel asked and they all looked at him expectantly.

They would need a miracle to win against Crane. However, it seemed like the day was full of wonders. So why not find a way to win that impossible battle? United – like real titans.