Dick made us move to the living room before he let me tell them anything, giving me extra time to think of what I was going to say.

Aiden sat in the armchair next to the couch where Dick and I sat, Jason perched on the armrest on the other side of me. Gar and Conner left on Dick's request, Hank choosing to stick around, propped against the fireplace with his arms crossed. I shifted in my seat, catching Aiden's eyes. Guilt twisted in my gut as I felt Dick's body heat beside me, knowing there would be no doubt in who I would protect between the two. And the longer I sat with that knowledge, the more I considered one other thing.

If Dick knew it meant keeping me alive and us together, that darker side of him might not fight me on that choice.

"Can you just tell me what your brother wants with me?" Aiden blurted out, his leg bouncing in agitation. 

All eyes moved to me and I straightened up, releasing a sigh. I was officially out of time.

"Roman thinks that your ability might be helpful to saving his life."

"How? I mean, that British guy could turn into mist or whatever, I saw him do that," Aiden replied, green eyes darting around the room. "I'd say that's a hell of a lot better than me teleporting only when I've been somewhere."

Jason snorted a laugh. "Yeah, well, he kind of got rid of that option when he let his head get smashed in."

"He...what?"

Dick shot Jason a look that said he needed to shut up before turning back to Aiden. "What he means is, that is no longer an option that he has."

"Yeah, because he used him to fake his own death."

Aiden looked terrified at the words as his eyes dragged back to mine. "And now he wants to use me? Like I said, I'm useless unless--"

"It's somewhere you've been," I finished, seizing my lifeline. I couldn't tell him the truth, not until I had a better plan that worked for all of us, but I could at least buy myself more time. "I'm pretty sure he's aware of that." I left my words there, leading him to what I wanted without saying it exactly. Even if this all came back to bite me in the ass later, at least I could honestly say I didn't lie.

Outright, anyway.

"So he thinks I've been where he needs to go? Why?"

"Because we brought him here," Hank said, throwing me off with the thought that I hadn't considered. 

"He wants to use him to get to you," Dick said without looking at me, his hand balling into a fist. Guilt struck me again, this time over lying to him.  Aiden being terrified Roman wanted him was one thing, but Dick stressing and running himself ragged trying to get the Tower on lockdown to keep me safe was too much.

My hand came down on his, working to pry his fingers back open. He held them so tight together, you'd think they were welded there. Gritting my teeth, I tried harder until just one finger broke through between his forcing his attention back to me. I could almost see the gears moving in his brain through his eyes, that shadow of fear lingering along the edges. "He doesn't want to use him to get to me."

"It's the only thing that makes sense--"

"Trust me, he doesn't," I interrupted him, his brows drawing down at the words. His eyes searched mine and I could feel the moment he realized there was something I wasn't saying, his hand loosening long enough to let all of my fingers slip through just so he could trap them there. 

"How can you be so sure?" Hank asked and I sighed, finally looking around the room. Guess there was at least one thing I was going to have to tell them now rather than later. 

"Because he wants us to hand deliver Aiden to him," I answered. From the corner of my eye I could see him stiffen at the words. If he wasn't already feeling uncertain about letting me bring him here last night, he definitely was now. "If Roman only wanted to use him to get to me, he wouldn't expect us to be dumb enough to hand him over. He needs him for something else."

"For what?" Jason asked aloud and my skin grew cold. I was hoping no one would ask that question. I couldn't be lying if the right questions weren't asked.

"I shouldn't have come here," Aiden said, shooting to his feet. Truthfully, I was surprised he hadn't just teleported away. "I need to keep moving."

"No," Dick spoke, his eyes focused on a spot somewhere ahead of him. It took me a moment to realize he wasn't really looking at anything, more lost in thought. He was hearing the conversation around him but he was working on piecing together what wasn't being said. I gritted my teeth again, knowing there was no way I was getting out of telling him the truth once this little meeting was over. "You should stay here; it's the best place you can be."

"Are you kidding me?" Aiden demanded, green eyes fierce. "I'm under the same roof as the sister of the guy that's been hunting me, that sent assassins after me--"

I couldn't help but snort a laugh at the choice of words. "Calling them assassins is giving them more credit than they deserve."

"He sent them to kill me, what else would you call them?"

"I think we've already established that he's not trying to kill you. Not yet at least," Hank corrected calmly. Aiden looked at him like he was insane.

"I don't care! I need to get as far away from him and all of you as possible--"

"No," Dick interrupted again and Aiden turned a glare on him. "Do you know why he doesn't have Madalyn right now?"

Aiden shrugged. "I'm sure you're about to enlighten me on that."

Dick went on like he didn't speak, his eyes finally moving over to him. "Because she's too powerful for him. He needs her, but he can't get her no matter how hard he tries. If you're going to be safest anywhere, it's wherever she is."

My heart swelled at the compliment as I cleared my throat to speak. "And I'm safest here because I've got all of them," I gestured around the room, meaning the entire penthouse full of badasses. "I told you before that we would protect you and I meant it. That doesn't change just because Roman thinks he can dictate what we do. We don't just hand over innocents."

Aiden looked at all of us warily, still clearly unsure of what to do. When his eyes landed on me again, I gave him a reassuring smile, hoping I wouldn't have to dose him to be compliant. And that was only assuming I could do so without hitting everyone else and before he could teleport away. 

Aiden was a flight risk and one I was going to have to keep close to keep control of.

I felt the relief seep out of me as he nodded his head stiffly. I closed my eyes and sighed as I sagged a bit against Dick's shoulder, the exhaustion from the lies and Roman messing around my head finally kicking in. My body suddenly felt tired, like I hadn't slept for days, a dull throb at the back of my head. The more I felt it, the more I leaned into Dick, feeling his muscles tense as he threw one arm around my back, turning slightly into me.

"Madds?"

"I'm fine," I said, opening my eyes slower than I'd intended. "I'm just really tired all of a sudden..."

"You should take her to get some rest," Hank told him, his voice sounding a little farther away than I remembered. I wanted to turn in his direction, tell him it wasn't necessary, but my eyes kept drooping lower. "Can't be easy having a psycho twin project into your head."

"Right," Dick said, his body shifting beside me as I felt both his arms come around me. He paused to add, "Do you know how to fight?" 

At first, I was confused, and then I realized he must've been talking to Aiden as he answered. "I can throw a punch without breaking my hand. Why?"

Dick sighed. "He's going to need to be trained. It'll be better for all of us if he can at least hold his own long enough to not die or get taken."

"Jason will handle it. Right kid?" Hank asked and I could just barely make out the enjoyment in Jason's tone.

"A newb? My favorite." I was sure if I could turn to look at him I would find him grinning tauntingly.

Instead, my head rested in the crook of Dick's neck as one of his arms slipped behind my knees and he pulled me into his lap. I felt the light jostle of him standing us up, his hands tightening around me to make sure his grasp was strong. In his chest, I could feel his heart pounding a bit harder than usual, the only giveaway that he wasn't as entirely calm as he wanted the others to think. "Good, I'll check in with you guys when I can."

He started leading us away when Jason called out, "Rest up, Maddie, you owe me a rematch!"

All I could muster was a light grunt in response, feeling Dick's head twist slightly to brush his lips over the top of my head.

I don't remember a thing after that.

******

When I woke up later, it was to a gentle knock on the door followed the soft cadence of Dawn's voice. "Hey, Dick."

"Hey."

"Just wanted to check in, see how she's doing."

I kept my eyes closed, breathing even, but I could still feel the heat of Dick's eyes on my face. "Okay, I guess. She's just been sleeping the last few hours. Sometimes she mumbles something but I can't hear what it is."

I was mumbling something? That was weird; I didn't even remember dreaming about anything. One minute I was in his arms, being taken away to rest, and the next I was waking up to Dawn visiting. I'd say everything in between was darkness, but it didn't feel like the hours he'd claimed had actually passed. As far as I was concerned, it really was just a minute between points of consciousness.

I felt my brows twitch slightly, fighting to quirk down in thought and knew that Dick had to have seen it. Still, he didn't mention it.

"What exactly happened?" Dawn asked. Of all of Dick's exes, Dawn was the only one I couldn't bring myself to hate; not even a little bit. She was too kind, caring for everyone she crossed paths with and a soft voice that could lull the most stubborn baby into sleep. Even knowing that she was Donna's other best friend couldn't make me jealous enough to hate the woman. She had deep connections with the only two people who ever meant anything to me and I couldn't even muster up an appropriate amount of jealousy about it.  Dawn was just one of those people who made it impossible for you to hate them.

The bed shifted around me, Dick's hand grazing over the back of mine softly, silently letting me know that he knew I was awake. My pinky twitched in response.

"Roman projected to her," he answered, tone tight at the mention of my twin. I could imagine how his eyes must've hardened at the name too. "She passed out, he told her what he wanted with the kid and then she came to. Thirty minutes later, she said she felt tired and then passed out again. That's all I know."

"Hmm," Dawn hummed lightly. "She'll be okay, Dick, you know that don't you?"

"No, I don't."

This time my whole hand twitched, whether in desperation to reach out to him or to slap him I couldn't be sure.

"She's literally fought her way back to you from death, twice," Dawn went on. "She's not going to let a little astroprojection visit from her brother keep her from you. Madalyn's too strong for that."

Dick laughed lightly, sounding more like a gust of air being punched from his lungs than anything else. "That much I know."

"Good. Then use that to know that she'll be okay." Dawn paused and I imagined she was smiling at him softly, trying to encourage him not to worry. I wanted so badly to hug her for the attempt. "Well, I'm about to start dinner. Do you think you guys will be joining us or should I just leave some aside for you?"

"Just save us some."

"Will do."

There was a brief paused followed by, "Dawn?"

"Yeah?" she called back.

"Thanks." For the food, for checking in, for being there for him. It was just one word and yet it stretched to cover so much.

"You're welcome."

 I faintly heard the door click behind her but kept my eyes closed, trying to gather myself before joining the waking world. I felt the bed shift again, Dick's hand sliding into place to entwine our fingers and bringing them up to kiss the back of my hand. His skin was so warm and familiar against mine, I couldn't help the small smile that danced on my lips. His own came down to brush the corner of my mouth, his hair dusting over the back of my eyelids.

"How much longer do you plan on pretending to be asleep?"

"Mmm, guess that depends on how long it takes for you to cover my skin in kisses like that."

"Madds," he let out a laugh, this time a real one. My heartbeat stuttered happily at the sound of it.

Finally, I opened my eyes and looked up at him, reading the relief behind his eyes. My free hand came up to rest on his cheek, my thumb brushing over his cheekbone. "I'm getting real tired of telling you that I'm fine, Grayson."

"That makes two of us," he sighed. "What happened?" I opened my mouth to tell him he already knew what happened but he cut me off, already knowing what was coming. "And I mean what really happened? What's the part that you didn't tell us? Does it have to do with why you passed out again?"

I dropped my hand from his face, rolling my eyes up at the ceiling as I answered. "I told you before, I just felt really tired all of a sudden. Roman being in my head and then dumping all that information on me..."

"What information?"

I sighed, bracing myself for what I knew was coming since this morning. 

God, how was Dawn talking about Dinner already? It felt like I'd just woken up for the day, not for it to be ending.

"He does want Aiden," I said slowly. "But not because he wants to use his ability to get anywhere. He claims that our parents were working on an idea that they could use Aiden's enhanced teleportation to isolate and remove DNA. Roman thinks he can use Aiden to get rid of the alien DNA that's killing him."

"And then he wouldn't need you," Dick said, connecting the dots in an instant.

"So he claims."

Dick's hand let go of mine as he sat up on the bed, a cold rush of air filling the sudden distance between us. I turned my head to look at him, watching as he stared off at nothing again, lost in his own thoughts. Then he turned to look down at me. "Why didn't you just say that earlier?"

I pushed myself to sit up beside him, crossing my legs under me. "For the same reason you just stared off into the distance there."

He didn't bother trying to deny it; we knew each other too well for that. "You considered giving him up."

I knew he'd considered it too and still a chill ran through me. It was so different and yet so much like that night he snapped over Tony Zucco. I could see the darkness raging in his eyes, the tension of his shoulders. He'd found a possible way to keep me safe and it didn't matter what it cost him; even if it was his soul.

I swallowed hard, not wanting to accept how much I wouldn't fight him on it if he decided to hand Aiden over. It would damn us both, but as long as we were together I couldn't bring myself to care as much. "I did. I knew there wouldn't be any hiding it if I told Aiden the full truth, so I let him lead himself into another theory."

"Roman needing him to teleport him somewhere."

"Exactly." I traced shapes against my leg, unsure of where else to go with the conversation. We'd both admitted our darkness and neither one of us was reprimanding the other. It was a terrifying realization that we were on the same page, no matter how wrong that page was. "We can't do it. We can't sacrifice Aiden for me." I said the words, but nothing about them sounded like I meant them.

"I know," Dick said, sounding just as hollow.

"It's wrong."

"It is."

"We can't do it," I repeat, my eyes dragging up to lock on his. "But if the alternative is you risking your life to keep me safe, I will do whatever I have to to make sure I keep you alive. No matter who else pays the price."

Dick leaned forward, his hand cupping my neck to pull me in closer. His breath tickled my face as I stared into his dark eyes, feeling their heat like he was on fire.

He knew my darkness and yet here he was accepting it, loving me all the same.

"I don't think I have to say what I'd do for you," he said quietly and I shook my head, knowing the truth.

Anything. Everything.

"How sure was he that your parents were right?"

My breathing stuttered. This was real; this was a conversation we were actually having. We were monsters for it, but we were monsters together.

God, what would the rest of the Titans think if they knew?

"Honestly, I don't know," I whispered, afraid to speak much louder. Conner had super-hearing. All he had to do was walk by the door and he would hear everything. We would instantly become the villains and as much as we believed Dick would do anything for me, we knew it didn't include killing his family. Even if he could manage it somehow, it would change everything. "He could've been lying about the whole thing for all I know. Or even if he wasn't, he could still come right back after me, possibly stronger than before. He wants to save his own life but--"

"He wants your power too," Dick finished and I nodded roughly. "Then we do nothing about it for now. Not until we know more."

"But how?" I asked. "Gar looked at everything he found on Aiden. Even if what Roman said is true, where is it? Where's the notes, the theories...?"

"I don't know, but we'll find it," Dick said fiercely, pulling me even closer until his forehead was pressed into mine, long lashes brushing over mine. "If it exists, I promise you we will find it. Maybe they'll be a way to use it for ourselves and not have to hand over anybody. There's nothing that can stop us when we're together, right?"

"Right," I agreed with a small smile.

It was that fact that terrified me most.

A/N: Wow 👀 that got a lot more intense than I originally planned for it to end with 😅 Clearly, emotions are running high on my end of things because I just love these two together so much! 

What do you guys think? Is Roman lying about why he wants Aiden? If he isn't, do you think he'd come after Maddie anyway? And what about that mutual darkness Dick and Madds have going on?

I'm excited to hear your thoughts, so let me know in the comments and I hope to get another chapter out to you soon!