Author Note: This is my first Young Justice story, I just finished the whole series and had some feels that I needed to express and so I did so in fanfiction form.

I do not own Young Justice nor any of its characters. They belong to their rightful owners.

Everybody was celebrating on the Watchtower for Earth had been saved from certain doom once more. You were with Beast Boy and Miss Martian, listening as BB talked excitedly about how he had helped shut down the Reach's pod that would have surely destroyed the Earth. Your (e/c) eyes looked around the Watchtower before they caught a glimpse of black as it slipped around the corner. You knew Nightwing had taken Wally's death hard as much as Artemis had, but did not show it because of his training with Batman.

"I'll be back," you told Miss Martian and Beast Boy before you followed, turning the corner and calling out before he could perform one of his disappearing acts, "Nightwing! Wait up!"

Your voice echoed down the hall and for a moment you thought he would ignore you but he stopped and just stood there, waiting for you to catch up. His back was to you, head hanging and all you wanted to do was wrap your arms around him and tell him it was okay.

"Nightwing, I'm... I'm sorry about Wally but please don't blame yourself," you said softly, knowing about his habit of taking everything upon himself. You saw his fists clench up and for a moment you thought he was going to punch the wall but instead he turned around. Even with his mask on you could see the pain, the guilt written on his face as well as anger.

"How can I not blame myself?!" Nightwing demanded angrily, throwing his hands up in the air before they fell back to his sides, "Part of me knows I'm not to blame but still I feel this burning pit of guilt inside me. He was my best friend and I did nothing!" His words came out close to yells, his teeth showing as he gave a slight growl of annoyance. You had never seen Nightwing so full of emotion before, and it scared you. He was the one who was always so calm, so in control but now the roles were reversed and you had to stay in control.

Opening your mouth to speak, you were silenced as he held up a hand, "(y/n) please don't. I know what you're going to say. That it wasn't my fault, that there was nothing that I could of done, that Wally would want me to move on. It's just that I can't move on, I don't want to move on. Every other time someone on this Team had died, I knew that they weren't dead and I find myself hoping that this is just the Team getting me back. But I know it isn't... I just want him back so..." Fists clenching up once more Nightwing let out a strangled cry and punched the Watchtower wall, a clear indent appearing as he pulled his fist away.

That was the final straw for you. Moving forward, you wrapped your arms around him and hugged him tightly, not saying anything at all, just holding him. At first Nightwing didn't know what to do, but soon enough you felt his arms come around you and his head bury itself in your neck.

"The worst part of it all was that he just ceased to exist, there was no body to mourn over and bury. He was just gone." The anger in his voice was gone now, all that was left was the pain as his body began to shake slightly. You ran your hand up and down his back to soothe him, content to just stand there and hold him for as long as he needed.

"You're holding onto your pain and guilt because you don't want Wally to just 'be gone' and I understand that. But there is a difference between holding on too tightly and remembering. I know you miss him, we all do and none of us will forget him anytime soon." Your words were sincere, you would not forget Wally anytime soon and neither would anybody else. You felt Nightwing begin to relax his grip and so you did the same, taking a step back but holding your hands on his arms. You could see a wet track on the right side of his face and so reached up gently to wipe it away.

"Don't tell Batman I've been crying," Nightwing said, giving a single breathy laugh as he looked down at the ground, "I'll probably get another lecture on 'keeping cool under pressure' or something."

Your eyes soften and you dip your head to look him in the mask - since you can't really see his eyes -, "I won't. I promise. I want you to do something for me though. Take a break."

Nightwing looks up at you, confusion on his face, "What?" he asks, head tilting slightly.

"Take a break. You deserve one. Aqualad is back so you don't need to worry about running the Team anymore and I'm sure that Barbara is more than capable of picking up whatever duties you perform. You just lost your best friend, ran the whole Team for five years and more," you rubbed his arm with a small smile, "Even the almighty Batman has taken a holiday before."

"But the others..."

"They'll understand Nightwing, and if they don't it doesn't matter. You need to worry about you, no one else. We'll all be here when you're ready to come back, if you decide to come back. Who knows, maybe you'll find a nice woman, settle down and have two and a half kids, work some nine to five job and never worry about who's protecting the world." It pains you to suggest such things, but it was for Nightwing's benefit. He deserved a break to collect himself and his well being was more important than your own selfish wants.

"I... I don't think I'll settle down but maybe a break will be nice. Thank you (y/n)." Nightwing smiled at you, not a forced smile but a genuine 'thank you' smile that made you smile right back at him.

"Don't mention it, what kind of a friend would I be if I just left you to brood by yourself. Now come on back with the others, being around them will help." Turning to walk back, you felt Nightwing follow behind you before his hand rested on your shoulder, spun you around and then his lips were on yours. His actions had caught you so off guard that for a moment all you could do was stand there like an idiot before you finally reacted.

Wrapping your arms around his neck, his hands on your waist, you pulled him close before the kiss was broken and you were finally able to catch your breath. "Really, thank you." Nightwing said, looping his fingers with yours before the two of you joined the rest of the Team.