To say that Aiden was more paranoid than he'd been since he arrived would be the understatement of the century.

He knew Roman wanted him, but now hearing the threat himself and knowing that the goal of the Titans was to protect as many people as possible, he was almost certain that we would give him up. That we'd sacrifice the one for the many.

Little did he know I was ready to sacrifice his one for mine; there was no way I was letting Roman come after Dick.

I'd set up the world to burn before I let that happen.

Jason passed out a few seconds after Roman disappeared and the fact that Conner could still hear his heartbeat was the only thing that kept me and Dick from losing it entirely. Dick stuck around to wait for Jason to come to again and get the mission report from Conner, so I made it a point of following Aiden out and making sure he didn't disappear on us too.

He was quiet as we walked through the halls, but I could practically see his mind racing in the way his hands fidgeted at his sides and he tripped a few times, clearly distracted. I was trying my best to be patient with him, to let him be the one to initiate the conversation this time but when we'd reached the door to his room I knew it was a lost cause.

He wasn't going to say what he was thinking, but I would. "Not saying that you should, but can I ask why you haven't just teleported out of here yet? I know you want to."

He took a moment to answer, leaning against the wall beside his door and tipping his head back against it. The way the lighting in the hall hit his green eyes caused them to sparkle in a way that made him look even younger than he was.

"Of course I do," he sighed, looking at the ceiling rather than me. "Your psycho twin wants me, whether to kill me or force me to join his crew I don't know or care. He just gave you a choice between keeping me safe vs a bunch of people who don't deserve whatever he has planned for them. And I'm pretty sure your boyfriend is ready to usher me to my death."

I couldn't help it; I snorted a laugh. "What? Why would you say that?"

"I've seen the way he watches me and it's not the most friendly look. Like I told you before, he gives off some intense controlling vibes and—"

"Let me stop you right there before I have to cause you bodily harm myself," I cut him off, noting how quickly his head straightened to look at me. At least now I knew for sure I had his attention. "What you're not going to do is talk shit about the man that's graciously allowing you to stay in his home, giving you not only free food but protection too. Because, kiddo trust me, if Dick wanted you dead we wouldn't be having this conversation right now." I watched his Adams apple bob as he swallowed hard and my mouth twisted into a sickeningly sweet smile. I swear I saw his shoulders shudder and it awoke a bit of that darkness in me for a moment.

Just because I wanted him to stay where we knew he was, doesn't mean I couldn't make him fear us just a bit.

"And if he's watching you, it's because he doesn't know you yet. You, a complete stranger, are in a space with his family and even though he's compelled to protect you from the bad guys, doesn't mean he won't turn on you if you make even the stupidest of wrong decisions. So, knowing that now, I'll ask you again. Why haven't you tried to run?"

Aiden sighed, his shoulders slumping and the tangled mess he called hair falling into his face. A sudden wave of remorse rolled through me as I stepped forward. My darkness was still satisfied with my warning, but it was like something far back in my mind was trying to push forward and make me feel like shit about it.

I gritted my teeth against an apology, not caring very much for giving one despite what my mind seemed to tell me.

"Because even if I'm not entirely sure that you guys won't give me up, I've seen enough to know that you're my safest option. I can't protect myself physically or mentally, apparently, but at least I know here he has a few more people to go through to get to me." His lips quirked into a small, playful smile.

Personal experience and intuition told me there was nothing playful about it. He would use us as his personal shield for as long as it was convenient and then he would be gone.

As long as it meant I knew where he was if it came time to intervene on Dick's behalf, that was fine with me.

"At least you're honest," I smirked with a shrug. "Try and relax for awhile, maybe get some rest. Someone will be back to check on you or let you know about food later." Aiden nodded, both of us turning to go our separate ways when I suddenly remembered something. "Hey, one more question," I said quickly, stopping him in his doorway.

"Shoot."

"Back in the infirmary, did you see anything just as Roman was leaving?"

"Anything like what?" he asked, one brow raised.

"Just anything..." I didn't want to mention the address I'd seen in case it was supposed to be where he wanted us to take Aiden. Not saying that we would just yet but I wasn't ready to let him know we had a drop off point in case it pushed him over the edge.

"Not really," he answered, seeming suspicious of the question. "Did you?"

"Yeah, but I think he was just fucking with me," I answered calmly, hoping it put him at ease. "He likes to leave little messages in my head before he disappears sometimes, so I was just curious if he did the same to you and Jason." My tone was so leveled and normal, I'd be impressed if he could tell I was lying.

"Oh, well, no. Sorry."

"No worries," I smiled, waving him off. "Like I said, get some rest." I turned my back on him and headed back down the hall, wanting nothing more than to take my own advice.

*********

When I got to our room, Dick sat tensely on the edge of the bed, facing out the window as the sky turned almost purplish- blue with sunset. I closed and locked the door behind me to give us some privacy but despite the fact I know he heard the click, he didn't turn to me. He stayed facing the window, seemingly lost in thought.

I crossed the space and climbed on the bed behind him, my hands coming to rest on his neck and shoulders to knead the stress knots out.

Almost immediately, his head rolled back slightly, a pleased groan rumbling from his chest. My thumbs dug deeper into the hard muscles of his back and I felt his body start to relax against me.

"I forgot how good you are at that," he said, voice low and deep. "I really should be asking for these massages more often."

"Anything to put my hands on you," I said against his ear, pressing a light kiss to the hinge of his jaw. He shuddered slightly at the action and I smiled, my hands never faltering in their movements. "Wanna share what you were thinking about when I came in? Whatever it was had you pretty tight here." My thumbs pressed hard into the back of his neck at the spine and he groaned again, dropping his head forward to let my fingers move up his skin.

"I don't like this new development with Roman," he grumbled grudgingly. "It's bad enough he shows up in your head when he feels like it, but now Jason and Aiden? It feels like an advantage we don't need him to have."

"What do you mean?"

"He can get in your heads whenever he wants, choosing when he wants you to know he's there and when he doesn't," he clarified. "At any given time he could be there without you knowing, listening in on whatever we're talking about and potentially taking away any upper-hand we might have."

My hands froze, my thumbs still pressed into his traps as I registered the information for the first time. "Fuck. I didn't even think of that."

"It's all I can think of," Dick sighed, his body growing rigid again.

He had every right to be concerned about it, but there was still the one thing we had going for us. "Well, I think you can take a break from worrying for a little bit," I said, digging back into his muscles and eliciting a short grunt. "He may be able to do that right now, but he made it clear that his energy is still waning. Whatever he had to do to get the power for that, it won't last long. We may not know how long it will last or when he uses it, but even a small win is better than nothing. Alfred told us that once, remember?"

Tilting my head to look around at him, I caught the fond tilt of his lips as he thought of the old man.

"I know what will get your mind off things for a bit," I said lowly, leaning in more. "Number 4."

"Number 4?"

"My fourth memorable moment with you."

He chuckled in surprised, apparently having forgotten our little pact. He reached back to encircle one of my wrists and pull it around the front towards him, feathering a kiss against my pulse point and keeping hold of my fingers. "I could be open to that."

"Mhmm," I smirked, kneading the back of his neck with my other hand, pushing his head forward slightly. "I expect to hear your's right after, so you better have one ready." His lips tilted up against my skin but he otherwise didn't respond. "It might sound stupid, but I'll never forget the first time you called me Madds."

"Yeah? That stuck with you?" He mumbled the words against my skin before angling himself to look at me, pulling shoulders away from my grasp so he could pull me against his side, wrapping an arm around my waist to keep me there.

"How could it not?" I answered with a slight shrug. "It was the first time someone else had given me a name, as far as I could remember. It was something personal. Not to mention the fact that it was coming from you, and the reason you decided to go with..." I trailed off with a smile, remembering that day exactly.

"What would even be the point of me having a nickname?" I'd complained to Donna as she pushed off the couch next to me to get more snacks. "My name is already made up, do I really need another fake one?" Donna rolled her eyes at me while Dick dropped down in the seat on the other side of me, having just gotten back from a shower. I could smell the rich, oatmeal scent of his shampoo.

"The point is, Madalyn doesn't exactly  just roll off the tongue," Donna retorted, pointing at Dick as she said her next words before disappearing around the doorframe. "It's why he's Dick and not Richard. Just be happy I'm letting you decide what you want to be called."

Dick's brows rose in amusement as I looked at him, the corners of his mouth tipping up slightly. "I see she's finally brought up the topic of your name," he chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "It annoys the shit out of her that you don't let her call you by anything else."

"Like I said, my name is already made up, why bother piling on with a made up nickname that isn't likely to fit me anymore than Madalyn does just because what I chose doesn't 'roll off the tongue.'"

His eyes roamed my face for a beat before he spoke again, his voice a note deeper than it'd been before. "Madds."

"What?"

"Madds," he repeated, his dark gaze growing intense enough I couldn't help but squirm slightly in my seat. "I think it fits you perfectly and rolls off my tongue more than comfortably."

"I--but my name isn't Madison," I stuttered, progressively growing flustered. The way he was looking at me, paired with the richness of his deep tone had me wanting to lean in and do something deliciously stupid. "So it wouldn't really fit."

"Doesn't matter," he shrugged. "It fits your personality. You have a way of driving... people insane. I don't mean that as an insult either because, with you, it's addicting in a good way." The way he'd said people made it very clear he meant himself and that fact made my heart hammer in my chest while he smirked, pleased with himself.

Ever since then, he was the only one I ever let call me Madds.

Now, as he seemed to look back and remember that moment for himself, he laughed lightly, his hand flexing against my hip. "I don't know what's worse; the fact that I thought I could get away with that line or the fact that I actually did."

"If it makes you feel any better, when I told Donna about it later, she said we were both idiots," I laughed, watching him shake his head in amusement.

"Yeah, well, she called me that enough that the word lost all its meaning anyway," he replied, leaning forward to press his lips lightly to my temple. "I like that that made your list; it wasn't stupid at all."

"Great, now it's your turn." I slid one hand up to curl into his hair behind his head, running through its silkiness calmly. 

Dick sighed contently, his eyes closing briefly before looking back to meet mine. Copying the action, his hand slid to the back of my neck but instead of tangling in my hair he started tracing the shape of my tattoo, immediately sending shivers across my skin. "I was trying to get lost in work night, stepped out into the main room with my head bent over the tablet and Gar announced that Jason had come back to the tower--" My brows furrowed, confused how it was a moment between us until he finished. "--and he'd brought BatGirl with him. There aren't enough words to explain how I felt when I looked up to find the woman who owned every piece of me instead." His smile was soft as he said the words, but I felt them like the best kind of weight on my soul. 

"As many times as I've disappeared and come back, why did this time make the list?"

"Because I'd already been fighting with myself to go to you. I knew I would have to eventually, even if only to tell you about Donna, but I didn't want to show up just to deliver bad news," he answered, hand slipping to cup the side of my neck, thumb tracing beneath my jaw. "Then you showed up saying someone had killed you but somehow you were back and it just felt like the biggest sign that we needed each other and I shouldn't let you go again."

"And so you haven't," I tried to say teasingly, watching his tongue dip out to run along his bottom lip unconsciously.

"And so I won't," he breathed, leaning in to press his mouth against mine. 

What'd started as me trying to get his mind off of things had quickly turned into him consuming every inch of mine. 

A/N: Yay another chapter! Since things are about to get pretty tense for the gang, I decided it was time for our fave couple to have a reminder of the moments that live rent free in each of their heads (and mine, haha), so I decided this would be a cutesy little number 4 for them.

And then I remembered how perfectly sexy Dick is and now I maaaaaay or may not be working on another attempt at a sexy time chapter for you guys. You know, to make up for the impending trauma. Depends on how I feel about the end result of it though, so we'll see. Just know I've already started working on it 😉

With three more memorable moments for each of them coming up soon, what do you think they might still have to include? (Just freeballing from what you know of their past and present so far.) I'm curious to know.