A/N: Contain/mentions of Self Harm, child abuse and fluff.
~This chapter is for my new follower/reader: Bsftmar I hope you like it! :)

"I just d-don't want to be late going h-home that's all'' whispered Dick as he lowered his head and looked down at the floor.

Jason so badly wished that Dick wasn't in the situation he was in, that he didn't have to go to a place where he was always in fear and always getting hurt. But right now, he was going to protect Dick and make him feel safe for a little bit.

"Okay'' said Jason who walked towards his door and held it wide open for Dick. Dick looked up at him and gave him a little smile which clearly was Dick saying thank you and Jason nodded his head.

The two of them set off down the hallway.

Both not knowing that this evening was the beginning of something new, the start of change for not just one of them but for all of them.

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Jason and Dick slowly made it into the living area, Alfred leaving the two with two mugs of hot chocolate before leaving them to go and clean Dick's school uniform.

Dick sat on one side of the couch and Jason the other, even though both of them wanted to sit much closer to one another they didn't want to push it. Jason began to flip through many channels before he finally landed on something. He glanced over at Dick to see him looking over at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. Jason sighed and closed his eyes. He knew that Dick was on edge because he was both afraid of returning back to his foster family's home and possibly being late because that most likely would end up with him being beaten. Jason couldn't stand that Dick was being abused, he hated it so much. Anger filled him up and rushed quickly through his blood stream. Jason opened his eyes and reached over slowly and tapped Dick's knee.

Dick gave a tiny jump and quickly looked over at Jason.

"We can go if you want to Dick'' said Jason with a small pout on his face.

"N-No, it's okay'' said Dick, ''as long as it's okay for m-me to be here?"

Jason's eyes widen a little bit but he quickly chuckled and moved over closer towards Dick, tossing his arm over his shoulder. "Of course it's okay! You're totally welcomed here'' Jason said and could feel Dick sigh in relief. Jason smiled and leaned back against the couch and turned the volume up on the TV as the two of them watched, slowly sipping on their warm chocolates from Alfred.
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As soon as they entered the living room, Dick's chest felt tight but he tried his best to push that feeling aside. He didn't want to have another attack, he didn't want to constantly look weak in front of Jason, his new friend.

Jason has already seen him as a complete mess and he has helped him a lot which Dick is very grateful for but he fears that it won't last too long, that Jason will eventually grow tired of him and no longer wish to be his friend, leaving Dick all alone again.

Dick watched silently as Jason flipped through the channels, but his mind couldn't focus on the images on the screen right now. All that was on his mind was his foster parents.

What if they find out that I left school early? What if I'm late getting home? How badly will I get punished tonight? What if they learn about Jason and force me to never see him again?

His blue eyes filled with his worries and fears glanced over to the large, old grandfather clock off in the corner of the living room. Dick got lost in the ticking of the hands as the time slowly went by but it wasn't truly slow but moving regular and forcing his free time with Jason to end. Just then Dick felt a small tap upon his knee and without meaning to, he jumped slightly and quickly looked over to whom tapped him, taking his mind off of the clock and making him now focus onto Jason who sat on the other end of the couch as him.

"We can go if you want to Dick'' said Jason and Dick could see a small pout on his face. He didn't want to leave, he liked the manor, he loved spending time with Jason but his chest was still tight knowing that no matter what this fantasy would come to an end eventually and he would be left all alone, broken and bleeding. But for this second, for this tiny moment in time as the clock in the room continued to tick not caring about the lives it affected, Dick wanted to forget everything and just stay.

Just stay there with Jason.
Because with Jason, he felt safe.

"N-No, it's okay'' said Dick, but then he paused for a second, his mind racing with thoughts and quickly yelling at him.

What if Jason doesn't want me to stay? What if he is trying to get rid of me? Maybe I did something wrong.

He isn't your friend, he never was. He wants you gone! You are worthless, who would want to be friends with you.
Why would he like you in the first place?

But Dick wanted...no needed to be sure so he had to ask, to see if it was okay for him to still be here. Dick squeezed his hands tightly shut as he both feared the worst and hoped for the best.
''as long as it's okay for m-me to be here?" Dick questioned and watched as Jason's green eyes widen. He feared so badly that Jason was going to kick him out, leaving him all alone once more when things where just beginning to look up slightly but then Jason chuckled a little bit. Jason moved over closer towards him, tossing his arm over his shoulder.

"Of course it's okay! You're totally welcomed here'' Jason said and Dick sigh in relief.

"So maybe Jason doesn't hate me" thought Dick and smiled a little bit, the tightness in his chest faded a bit as he saw Jason smile. He leaned back against the couch and turned the volume up on the TV as the two of them began to watch. Dick along with Jason grabbed their mugs and slowly sipped on the hot chocolate.

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As the time went by, their mugs where empty and the two of them were pressed against one another, Dick's head rested on Jason's shoulder with his eyes held shut.

Jason smiled as he glanced over at Dick, sleeping peacefully on his shoulder, he wrapped his arm slightly tighter around Dick, pulling him in closer.

After a few more moments a thought popped into him mind and he glanced down at Dick's arm. He was over come with curiosity as his slowly reached over, his finger tips just grazing over the fabric of his t-shirt, which he had to admit Dick looked good in. He grabbed a hold of the sleeve and slowly lifted it up, pausing for a second to look over at Dick's face to make sure that he was still sleeping. Dick hadn't moved a muscle so Jason took that as his cue to continue on. He lifted the sleeve up and could see the bandage Alfred had place there.

There were a few dots of blood here and there but nothing worrisome or that's at least what Jason thought before he began to gently pull at the bandage.
Dick moved slightly, turning his head more so into the crock of Jason's neck, causing a small pink blush to dust his checks.

As soon as one edge of the bandage was up, Jason peeked under and his eyes doubled at the sight below the bandages.

Cuts.
Many cuts and a could deep ones that now held stitches in them from Alfred. Jason smoothed the bandage back out and pulled the sleeve down to cover it up once more. He pulled Dick closer towards him, feeling his faint warm breath against his skin, the up and down motion of his sides as he inhaled and exhaled in his sleep. Jason sighed and closed his eyes tightly shut, feeling more pain rush through him.

Cuts.
Dick has cuts on his wrist.

Dick self harms.