35 CHAPTER 31

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[David Lance POV]

After I had left to take a shower.

I was greeted by the surprise that Oliver had asked my sister to marry him. 

Dinah had said yes. 

I was happy for them. Dinah deserved to be with someone she loved and loved her back just as much. And, as immature as Oliver was at times, he loved my sister with all his heart.

He might talk big here and there, but I knew he would shave his precious mustache if Dinah asked him to.

I guess in the end, setting him up with a trap had worked in his favor.

"See, kiddo? You can't escape me!" Oliver chuckled, beaming at me.

I rolled my eyes at him, turning to Dinah with a look that said, you are marrying a child.

"I know," Dinah sighed, giving me a small playful nod.

"I feel like you two are talking bad about me," Oliver muttered, crossing his arms, his eyes narrowing into thin lines.

"Us?! Never," Dinah gasped for the dramatics. 

"Really?" Oliver raised an eyebrow, looking at her in disbelief.

"Fine, we do it pretty often. But we do it with love," Dinah winked.

I smiled, giving the archer a slight nod.

"Well, I don't care… I have the most beautiful fiance in the universe and the greatest mustache this world has ever seen. A man can't ask for more!" Oliver declared, pumping his right hand into the air.

"You got the first one right," Dinah chuckled.

"You two envy the mustache's power," Oliver replied, giving Dinah a playful look.

My cue to leave. I have things to do, and quite honestly, they need to celebrate their engagement. ~Well, as lovely as this is, I have some books I want to read, so go out, have fun, and do whatever a recently engaged couple does.~

"To the librrrrrary I seeee.." Oliver purred mischievously, chuckling between words.

"I wonder if you are actually going for the books or racheeeel," Dinah added with an impish smirk on her face.

Oh god. Not her as well.

~This is exactly why no teenager tells shit to their family,~ I signed, rubbing my temples.

"I mean, that's on you, not us," Oliver chuckled, "You told us about your frrrrriend; we didn't ask." He added, purring the word friend out, to imply there was something more.

"Ok, that's enough," Dinah chuckled, playfully pushing Oliver aside. "Go and have fun, don't pay attention to Oliver."

"B-but… you?! You were teasing him as well!" Oliver complained in an insulted manner, crossing his arms.

"See? Non-sense, that's all that man says," Dinah winked at me, insulting the insulted Oliver in the back, who was able to see her wink from his position quite clearly.

No, no, sister, Oliver has a point.

But I won't stay to defend it. I have shit to do and little time to do it. So if I wanted to have time for all the stuff I planned today, like watching a movie after reading, I needed to leave. Now.

~Bye, remember to behave, children,~ I replied, grabbing my wallet before darting out of the house. I had a few things to do before reaching the library, one of them being, buying some vegetarian snacks I had seen Rachel eat every now and then.

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I arrived at the library twenty minutes after leaving the house. Greeting everyone inside, I knew with a smile before reaching my spot to find Rachel sitting on the floor, with two bags of snacks and a book by her side.

~I saw you eating… this, so I bought some,~ Rachel signed, pointing at the snacks. ~If you want some, feel free to eat them.~

I smiled, showing her my bag full of snacks. ~I guess we had the same idea today…~

~It seems we did,~ Rachel nodded, offering me a faint heartwarming smile that faded almost as quickly as it came.

~I haven't tried any of these before,~ I replied, putting the bag of vegetarian snacks on the floor. ~Which one would you recommend?~

Rachel looked at the snacks for a moment before replying. ~SunChips veggie harvest farmhouse ranch, they are pretty good.~

I nodded, grabbing two bags, and offering her one.

~Thanks,~ Rachel said before taking the bag from my hands.

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[Dick Grayson POV]

I was avoiding David.

Because I was a coward, that was the harsh yet unavoidable truth.

I was afraid of his reaction to what I had done. I was scared of what telling him meant in the grand scheme of things…

At this point, I was simply looking for self-validating excuses to not talk to him, to prolong that talk for as long as possible, taking a ghosting approach to this, ignoring his calls and messages until he simply decided not to call me anymore, which apparently already did.

I hadn't had a single text or call from him in over three weeks.

I didn't feel better at all with this development.

If anything, I felt worse.

Just as Batman had told me, I would feel.

I knew he was right.

But that didn't make it any easier.

I had betrayed everything I thought I stood for… just because I wanted validation from others. Risking his life, mine, and many others in the process.

I had tricked him. Abusing his trust in me, for my own benefits. 

I had risked so much, for absolutely nothing worth the sacrifice. 

After all this time, I was but a child playing hero. I always thought of myself above my peers, kids, and anyone my age, but SURPRISE SURPRISE! All along, I had been the child, one that is willing to lie, to cheat, and more to get his way.

I'm pretty sure that's the definition of a spoiled brat.

How pathetic is that?

I'm not even a normal brat; no! WHY settle there?! I mean, I had to be the worst type of brat, the spoiled kind. Right?!

"Robin," Bruce said, entering the cave, as I worked my frustrations on a training dummy. "I know it's easier said than done. But you have to face the consequences of your actions, sooner or later."

"I know," I replied, punching the dummy, trying to avoid this talk. 

"The more you wait, the worse it will be, for you and for him," Bruce added, pulling me into a hug. "You made a mistake; everyone does. It's up to you to learn from it. Remember, when you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it; admit it, learn from it, and don't repeat it. David might not forgive you right away, but if you show him you learned from this… I promise you that eventually, he will open up." 

I nodded, tears welling up in my eyes as I sighed heavily, letting my head drop on his chest. 

"That's how we learn. We learn more from our mistakes than our victories; our mistakes have more to teach us than you might think. Making mistakes does not mean you're a failure. It just means you're trying and learning in life." Bruce said, letting me cry on his suit. "However, you have to remember, son; you can never make the same mistake twice. The second time you make it, it's no longer a mistake; it's a choice."