Everything had been going smoothly, but there was one date that never did. Dick had already booked the day off work in preparation, and so had Babs in case he wanted any support. The clock struck midnight, April 1st. Dick lay awake, looking out the window at the city. He lay there, still, until the sun came up, waking Babs with it.

"You ready?" Babs asked as she snuggled closer to him.

"Yeah," Dick breathed as he climbed out of bed and changed into his suit.

The weather outside was threatening to rain, but so far the clouds had held back as best they
could.

"You guys going somewhere?"

They both turned at the front door to see Raven standing in the kitchen, she was still in her nightclothes, a pair of joggers and a tank top.

"We're not going to be long," Babs said, "A couple of hours most. Feel free to do what you want."

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Gotham," Babs said, "We're off to see his family."

"Oh, see you later then," Raven called and the couple headed outside.

Babs drove down to the station and watched Dick as they went through the country. Once at the station they deboarded and walked down to the graveyard, the rain started halfway there and Babs got out the umbrella, holding it up above them. Once at the graveyard they moved over to the graves where his family had been buried. 

He was lucky Bruce had been there that night in one aspect, his family had been given a proper send-off. 

He kneeled down in front of his mothers grave first and placed down a smooth pebble to join those he had left before. He sat there for a couple of moments, muttering words of peace and safety in Romani. He repeated this at each grave, Barbara watching him. Eventually, he sat in front of all of them, speaking louder so that they could all hear him. Telling them about his year, all that had happened. And in his confidence that Babs could not speak Romani, he told them of his plans to propose and promised he come back to tell them how it went afterwards. All this time Barbara just stood and watched, like a silent angel making sure he survived. A few hours had passed when they got back on the train and back into the flat. He could hear Raven in her room, talking to her mom as she always did. 

It gave him a sense of peace he wasn't the only one talking to the dead on this day. This was one of the reasons he liked Babs, most people on this day tried to make him smile, make him forget if even for a moment. Babs didn't do that, she just stayed by his side and let him express himself. She admitted that she didn't understand the pain he was going through like so many of the others did, that though she didn't understand she wanted to help. And when Dick told her she could help by just being there, she had listened. 

The two of left again in their gym wear, leaving a note for Raven should she wish to join them, and headed off. This was the part he could never forget to do. Even as they fell, he knew they'd want him to fly, and he only really got the opportunity at night and that wasn't how they had flown. So at least once a year, he would come down to the gym and use the trapeze. Sometimes, he would even give a performance to honour their memory. It was what was right, and he could feel something come alive in him as he flipped in the air.

----------

Babs was out patrolling as the moon reached its peak, but Dick still couldn't. That was one thing he had not become better at as he got older, he still could not patrol on the night of his parent's murder. So he found himself sat on the roof of the flat, just watching the stars and listening to the city. It wasn't peaceful, there was too much going on for that, but it was soothing. To hear the life on this day of the dead. It was soothing to know that he had survived another year in their memory. His mother wouldn't have wanted him to die, not like he had wanted to for the first couple of years. And so he let himself just sit there, remembering.

----------

Raven bolted awake, the sounds of the screams dying as she planted herself back in the present, focusing on three words.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," Saying them aloud grounded her, gave her something to focus on other than what she had done.

But it wasn't enough tonight. It had been almost a month since she had left home, well, destroyed her home. There was no way she was getting back to sleep tonight she so decided to sit there instead and listen. But another panic settled in, she couldn't hear any noise coming from Dick and Babs' room, not even breathing. 

She ran out of her room and threw open their door. The bed was still made, they hadn't even got in it. Her breathing quickened as panic began settling in. Had she done something to them as well? Had they found out what she'd done? Had they left her? She could feel tears running down her cheeks as she moved through the apartment, but they weren't there. She ran up the stairs and threw open the door to the roof, letting the night air cool her as she sucked in shaking breaths. She hadn't known them that long, she shouldn't be reacting like that.

"Hey, hey, Raven," She looked back up at the sound of her name, Dick was there, "What's wrong?"

"Dick," She breathed, "I thought, I thought you were gone."

"I'm not going anywhere," He soothed her, "I'm staying right here."

"Why are you out here?" She asked when she had regained her composure.

"Couldn't sleep," He replied.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" She ventured as the two of them moved over to the edge and sat with their legs dangling over.

"Shoot."

"Did your family die?" She regretted as soon as she said it.

The way he hunched his shoulders in and became stiff to her. As if hit by something unpleasant, but when he spoke his voice was normal.

"This day 15 years ago," He replied, "Don't worry about dancing around it. I've come to accept it."

"I'm sorry," Raven said and looked back out over the city, "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No," Dick said and turned to face her, "You can ask whatever you want, in this house, we don't keep secrets."

She swallowed the lump in her throat, still not looking over at him. He turned his head back to look over the horizon as well and they sat there in silence for a moment, the only sounds the traffic and the wind blowing in the potted plants behind them. She let her eye catch on a person as they walked the streets, someone who looked remarkably like Kori were it not for the yellow skin. She wasn't aware they had people with yellow skin on Earth, she thought they were all shades from pale to dark, but Dick didn't seem overly worried about though if he had even noticed the woman. She continued to watch the night, the stars twinkling with hope and the promise of life.

"Do you ever talk to them?" She asked and he turned to face her, the blue of their eyes melding together as they met.

"Of course," He replied after a moment, "Do you talk to your mom?"

"Yes," Raven smiled weakly at the thought of her mom, "Every day."

"Then she can't really be gone, can she?" Dick said.

And Raven felt in her heart, that was the truth. For as long as someone's in your heart, they can't ever be truly gone from the world.