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Everything was so good in the beginning. After everything that happened with Kal, and Artemis, and Wally; It was nice to feel something good.
After Wally died Dick fell apart. He tried to hide it by stepping away from the team but Y\n saw through it all.
She knew what he was feeling because she was feeling it too. Wally had been her best friend. When she first got her powers he was the only person she could confide in. He was the one that got her a spot on the team. He did everything for her and she did everything for him. And then he died and she felt broken.
That’s what brought them together in the beginning. That shared pain and tragedy turned them into each other's shoulder to cry on. But somewhere down the line their night spent talking away their problems became nights wrapped up in each other's arms.
And maybe that was the problem.
Their relationship had been built on pain. They were each other's safety blankets. And eventually the time came when they didn't need that safety anymore.
Y\n had seen it coming.
It started with him being gone on longer missions. That was easy to write off as him just trying to protect the world. It was their job to save people after all. They couldn’t put that aside for anyone.
But then more, much longer missions came up and he never said no to them. She accepted it. Instead she focused on her own missions with the newer Young Justice members.
Then came less texts and random sweet calls. She just convinced herself it was because he was busy when he was away on missions. She knew how quickly something could go wrong when you were in the field.
But when he was back, everything got worse. She'd wake up alone and more times then not, she'd fall asleep alone.
When he was with her it wasn't loving, it was just about feeling each other's touch. But even that became hidden beneath the little arguments and hours alone.
It was when his eyes started to wander that she knew it was really over. She just wasn't sure if she was ready to let go.
He had become her safety net, always there to catch her if she fell. Taking that net away meant she'd hit the ground so much harder.
Y\n sat in the watchtowers lounge. Her leg bounced violently against the floor. She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there. In reality couldn’t have been too long, but it felt like forever.
She stared out the large windows across from the sofa. The stars twinkled against the black emptiness of space. Usually she found it peaceful but right now it just reminded her how alone she really was.
She hadn't seen Dick in over two weeks. He had taken his team out on another mission, one that he purposefully left her out of.
In a way that pissed her off more than their relationship falling apart. She was his teammate, and one of the best fighters he knew; yet he still chose to constantly leave her behind.
Could he really not stand being around her to the point he was willing to risk the missions?
She sighed heavily and dragged a hand through her hair. She was so tired of this feeling in her chest and that constant nagging voice in the back of her head.
People fall out of love, it happens sometimes and she knew that. She just wished she didn’t have to feel it.
The sound of the zeta tubes whirring to life caught her attention. She could hear the robotic call out the designations before footsteps echoed down the hallway.
She shot up from the couch and watched as shadows stretched down the hallway and towards her. Her heart began to pound against her rib cage and that nervous fear crept up her spine.
Artemis came down the hall first, Jaime was just behind her laughing with Bart; and just behind them was Zatanna and Dick.
Y\n smiled softly at the joy on her friends' faces. She really hated being left off of missions. She missed taking down the bad guys and boasting with Artemis or Cassie. It was dumb but she loved those moments.
Y\n sighed as her gaze drifted over to Dick. And just like that, a familiar ache returned to her heart.
His arm was tossed over Zatanna's shoulders. He was smiling bigger than he had in months, and it was because of her.
Her heart sank as that final nail was hammered into their coffin.
"Hey, Y\n!" Artemis grinned at her friend.
Dick glanced away from Zatanna when he heard Artemis call Y\n. The moment he saw her his smile faltered and he pulled his arm away.
"Dude, this mission was so crash!" Bart zipped over to her before holding up his newest souvenir. It was some kind of robotic eyeball that honestly gave her the creeps.
She forced a kind smile and tried to find the right words to make him think she was fine. As much as she loved the team, she didn’t want them to know what her and Dick were going through.
"Bart come on." Jaime groaned. "She doesn't care about your weird eyeball."
Bart rolled his eyes before zooming over to him to bicker. The group went their own ways pretty quickly. Artemis and Zatanna went to go over the mission with Aqualad, Bart and Blue went to the trophy room; which left her with Dick.
"Hey." He smiled softly but the smile never quite reached his eyes.
"Hey." She walked over to him, meeting him halfway.
His usually lively blue eyes seemed dull and cold. It was like she was seeping the life from him by just standing near him. She knew that he was feeling the same as her but just like her, he was afraid to lose this.
"How was the mission." She asked, trying to avoid what was coming. She felt like she couldn't breath, like she was suffocating under the tension.
Dick shrugged and dragged a hand through his slightly grease hair. "Could have gone better."
She scoffed without much thought. She couldn’t help but find irony in his words. "You've been saying that since you stopped taking me on missions."
She meant it as a joke, or a slight jab at their situation. Dick quickly tensed, preparing for an argument she didn’t want to have. "It's nothing personal Y\n."
His expression stayed neutral but the way he spoke was almost condescending.
She rolled her eyes. "You know, you keep saying that but you never give me a real reason." She said, her annoyance growing with his.
Dick tossed his hands up. A sign he was already fed up with this all. "There isn't a reason. I just need to balance out who goes on what missions."
She shook her head. She was so tired of hearing his excuses, and she knew he was tired of creating them.
She couldn't keep putting this off. She needed to do this before they completely ruined whatever friendship they had. She couldn't keep being afraid of losing him.
She crossed her arms protectively around herself and forced her eyes to meet his. "We can't keep doing this."
"What do you mean?" Dick's brow furrowed. For the first time in way too long she saw real emotions in his eyes when he looked at her.
It was fear, fear that what he had been thinking about was finally happening. His eyes searched hers as he waited for her response.
She took a deep breath to steady her pounding heart. "I think we should break up."
Dick's eyes widened for a split second. "You want to break up because I'm not putting you on away missions?" it wasn’t quite annoyance in his voice, it was more like uncertainty.
"No." her eyes dropped to the slate grey floor. "Dick we both know we aren't working anymore. You're never around and when you are it feels like loving a ghost. And I know you feel that too."
Dick opened his mouth to speak but it quickly fell closed. The silence was all she needed to know he felt the same. And somehow that only made it hurt more.
"Maybe you're right.” Dick walked over to her and she forced herself to meet his gaze. “Maybe I haven't been the best boyfriend. But we can fix this." He gently took her hand in his. The panicked uncertainty in glassy blue eyes broke her heart.
Tears welled in her eyes and a lump formed in her throat. "Even if we could, this wouldn't work." She gently pulled her hands from his. "We built this relationship on tragedy Dick, it was never going to be a happily ever after."
"Y\n please." He sounded so desperate. He was still clinging on desperately to their safety. To the love they both had for someone they could never see again.
She shook her head and forced herself to look away from his teary eyes. "You deserve someone who can love you unconditionally, and so do I."
"I do love you Y\n, and maybe I didn't say it enough, but I do love you." He reached for her once more.
She gently brushed off his touch and with it reality sunk in. It was over and they both needed to fall to learn how to fly again.
"I love you Dick, but we both know it's time." She said. She wiped away her tears and made her way over to the sofa. Sitting next to the wooden leg was a small duffel bag she had packed earlier.
"I was going to head back to Central City for awhile.” She grabbed the back and looked back at him one last time. “But I'll always be here if you need me."
Dick was silent. He was looking at her but his thoughts were a million miles away. This was the best for the both of them, she just needed to keep telling herself that.
You can’t build love on tragedy.