A/N: Hopefully people will still remember this story exists because I did enjoy writing this last part, even if it seems a little fast. Thanks to anyone who has read and reviewed. I hope this isn't my last BB story, but I fear it may be.
There was so much she had to learn about him now, but it still felt like he hadn't changed.
He was still as hotheaded and stubborn as always, drank coffee at absurd hours of the night, and still had a spot in his heart for every single person he had ever laid eyes on.
Currently he was using many of his characteristics to the extreme, including the hotheadedness and coffee drinking, but also mumbling about 'stupid Batman' and being 'a grown man'. And he was doing it all in the comfort of her living room, watching infomercials without the sound on.
Barbara leaned against the wall behind the couch where he lay, smiling to herself. If she was honest with herself, she could admit to still being a little in love with him.
But she rarely was honest with herself anymore about many things, her past being one of them, and Dick was a blind spot that suddenly seemed so clear now that he was back in Gotham again.
"I think it's time for bed, Robin."
Dick turned his head and looked at her with a smile. "Hi."
She smiled. "It's three in the morning, Dick. You may have a Fortune 500 company that makes millions every time you blink, but some of us have to be at work in four hours."
"I'm..."
"You're mumbling to yourself and hating Bruce, obviously."
He did his best not to pout, but she could see it coming. It was just like it used to be, with Dick resenting Bruce not spending time with him when someone new was in the way. Barbara walked over to the couch and pushed his feet off, sitting down beside him.
"Babs..."
"Lord, don't call me that. I'm not," she saw the look he gave her and sighed, "I'm just not that person anymore, Dick. I'm a policeman. I..."
Dick scooted closer to her and she to him, sighing into the familiar warmth.
Sam was asleep upstairs above them, oblivious to the danger he'd allowed in his home and the effect it was having on his wife.
She wouldn't let him know.
"I..."
"He's seventeen, Dick."
He licked his lips and whispered, "So was I, once."
"And look what you turned out like. You think if you'd actually gotten into a relationship with Bruce that something good would have happened out of it? That somehow you'd be happier?"
His hands were clenched into fists and she could see him struggling not to answer. Taking one of his hands in hers she whispered, "Stop thinking about what-ifs. It's not worth the pain, believe me."
Dick looked at her, surprised, and she kept her face a mask of indifference even as a tear slid down her cheek. He put his arm around her and she closed her eyes.
"I spent seven years praying, hoping that he would change his mind," she whispered softly, "...and it never happened. You did the same for half your life before you got away."
"Terry..."
Barb looked at him sharply. "Terry isn't like you and I. He's been in that suit. He understands the power, the privilege, hell, even the pain. And he embraces it."
"I don't think I can just leave, Barb."
She sighed. "I know. Why do you think I'm still here?"
When he woke up hours later Terry knew that he was not alone. Warmth on the back of his neck, labored and uneven breathing echoing in his ears and the eerie feeling of a hand on his knee alerted him to the fact.
Then he remembered.
Bruce kissed him.
Terry smiled and leaned back into Bruce, looking over his shoulder. The older man was sound asleep at his back, having obviously fallen asleep after staying as Terry asked.
How'd he get into the bed?
That was weird. Terry didn't imagine Bruce indulging in such impulses on his own except maybe after long hours of, "Please? Please? Please?" from Terry himself. Maybe he'd finally given into temptation for once.
Terry sighed and lay on his back, causing Bruce to move and turn away from him. He frowned. "He is used to sleeping alone," came the answer, scaring the hell out of him.
Dick Grayson sat calmly in an armchair by the bed, the same armchair that Bruce himself had vacated to climb into bed with Terry. He stared at Terry without humor or even warmth, which made him instantly wary.
"How'd you get in here?"
"I'm ex-vigilante, kid. What you should be asking is why I haven't called the police yet?"
Terry's eyes widened and he looked down at himself: half clothed, bandaged,and underage. Then he looked at Bruce.
"From here, things don't look very good for Bruce."
"It isn't..."
Dick laughed, causing Terry to look up and glare at him. Dick smiled.
"I know it's not exactly how it looks, Terry. But it will be."
"I was hurt and Bruce..."
Dick looked at Bruce. "Is a very attentive employer? Yes, I know that myself."
Terry continued to glare at him. "Nothing happened."
"I know, Terry. But both you and I know that something did, judging on your close quarters with Bruce. Did he finally give in to temptation and steal a kiss?"
From next to him Bruce rolled over onto his stomach and Terry bit his lip to keep from waking him. He looked so peaceful.
"It may seem that I'm the bad person here, Terry. But honestly I just don't want to see you get hurt."
Terry didn't look away from Bruce, feeling tears come on.
Then, amazingly, Bruce opened his eyes. Terry tried not to show his surprise.
"Both Bruce and I have been at an impasse the last week over you and you're an underage boy. You have no clue what the choice you're making will entail."
Bruce smiled at him and Terry fought the urge to smile back.
He'd been awake the entire time. Terry knew that now.
"Terry, look at me."
Terry looked at him.
Dick smiled. "Bruce, you can stop pretending to be asleep now."
Bruce rolled over again, onto his back and then slowly sat up, wincing and looking at Dick. "Why are you here?"
"I wanted to be sure things were all right. Terry isn't exactly..."
Bruce glared at him. "Terry is more capable than anyone gives him credit for. He is also very strong. When he makes a decision he knows that is what is truly best for him. No matter how many others try to turn him around."
Terry frowned, not sure what they were talking about. Had Bruce heard Dick say he'd help him? Or was he talking about something else? Terry remembered Dick's hand on his arm and swallowed.
Okay, so maybe he did understand.
Dick grinned, nearly laughing. "I haven't seen you this lively in years, Batman. Is this all it took to get you back? A little R & R with a new partner and suddenly you're twenty-six again."
Bruce didn't smile. "Are you through? Or is Barbara on her with the squad car?"
Dick stood up, grinning still. "No, I think I'm fairly sure of what's going on, now."
Dick looked Terry over, licking his lips and then shook his head at Bruce. "You catch all the breaks, Bruce. You may not believe it, but you do."
Bruce didn't say a word, only gave him an impending glare.
"And Terry," Dick smiled as he said this, standing up and stretching out his back with a snap, "be glad for your youth, kid. Because sooner or later," he looked at Bruce knowingly, "It'll catch up to you. Especially if your partner is 60 years older than you."
Terry blushed and bit his lip to keep from replying with, '57 years not 60.'
Oh man.
Fifty-seven years.
More than both his parents' ages, his and his brother's combined.
Dick shook his head at Terry and smiled still at Bruce, who indifferently stared back. "Take care, old man."
The door closed behind him and Terry heard Bruce let out a laugh. A real one too, like the one he'd heard him use when laughing with Dick not two weeks before.
He stared at Bruce and Bruce smiled at him. "Well McGinnis, that was close wasn't it?"
Terry smiled. "Totally. I was about ready to freak out when he talked about calling the police."
Bruce sighed and lay back on the bed, propping pillows behind his back and closing his eyes. "That is where the two of us are different, Terry. I never for a moment believed Dick would call the police."
"Why?"
"Well..."
Terry nervously scooted closer to him and Bruce grabbed his leg, pulling Terry down on top of him. Terry laughed and Bruce reached out with his fingertips and traced the line of Terry's jaw before kissing him softly.
"There was something I knew that you didn't."
Terry smiled. "Oh yeah?"
Bruce nodded and kissed him again, making Terry sigh. "You see...I fell asleep with my head on the end of the bed...but woke up in it."
Terry raised an eyebrow. "So?"
Bruce laid Terry's head on his chest and the younger man complied, closing his eyes and letting Bruce pet his head. "So that means, McGinnis, that someone put me here."
Terry's eyes snapped open. "Really?"
"Truly."
Terry grinned up at him. "That's pretty schway."
Bruce looked more pleased than Terry had ever seen him look before. He kissed him and Bruce smiled. "Indeed."
FIN