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"I LIED."
Dove has her stomach in a knot with apprehension. No matter how much she knows they need to hear about what happened, she still feels like something's bad's coming. Their reaction won't be as good as hers. And it'd make her feel bad for Dick, if she wasn't so in shock about what he said he did.
Kory, next to her, almost sensing how upset she feels, puts a hand on her knee to calm her down. It works... to an extent.
"I lied to you guys because I was afraid you'd leave this place... and me," he tells the kids. "And if that happened, there'd be no Titans." He takes a deep breath, and looks up to his former team. "And I lied to you, too. I told you that Jericho was dead when I got to the church. But he wasn't. He was alive. He died trying to save me from his father."
Honestly, after Dick just came up and said that he killed Jericho, knowing that his confession was ever so slightly altered by his guilt makes Dove feel better. Only by a little bit.
Seeing Rose look down, bite her lips and fidget – Dove wants to hug her, but knows she'd end up with a black eye. Rose isn't exactly receptive to her love language.
"I'm sorry," Dick ends. "You all deserve more."
There's silence, Dove looks at Dick's back, the only thing she can see from where she's sitting, next to Kory. She purses her lips.
Hank stands up, too slow, Dove and Kory immediately knowing that something is up, sitting on the edge of their seats.
He hits Dick square in the jaw.
Dove jumps from her seat, dragging Kory with her.
"Hank!" she cries out, almost yelling.
"You lying sack of shit," he spits out.
Kory stays in the back as Dove rushes over to Dick, trying to see how bad it is. His nose is bleeding a lot, and he recoils from her touch, standing up straight.
"How many other fucking half-truths have you told us?" Donna lets out.
"At least you got a half-truth," Rachel adds.
Dove and her share a look, but the teenager looks down. She feels like crying now.
"My brother is dead because of you," Rose seethes, before standing up. "I'm out."
"I'm going with her," Jason decretes, stepping up too.
Immediately, Dove is ready to go after him, concern written all over her face. "Jason, please, can we just talk about this?"
"You know, I like you, Dove," he says, not looking at her. "But you don't decide what I do anymore. What anybody does." Finally, he looks at her. "I'll give you a call."
She forces a smile, and it's maybe the fakest one yet. Once he's gone, her shoulders drop and she looks away.
"I'm out, too," Donna says.
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"I'm going with Donna," Rachel tells them, standing up after her. "Can I go with you?"
Now, this cuts deep, for Dick and Dove. The former can feel a lump in his throat, and the latter's eyes are beginning to leak.
Donna sends her a sorry look, but she obstinately looks away. "Sure," she says in a sigh.
"Rachel," Gar lets out.
She barely looks at him when she answers. "I can't stay here."
And she leaves with Donna, tears running down Dove's cheeks silently.
She begs Hank with a single look, begs him to stay. But he looks down, back at Dawn.
"Let's go."
Dove stifles back a sob when she sees them leave, and Dick tries to take her in his arms, but she steps away. She can't – not right now. It's way too much in too little time.
"Kinda messed up, Dick," Gar says, voice low. Without saying anything, he nods, staring at Dove's back turned on him. He really did fuck up. He's not even sure Dove will stay now.
She wouldn't normally let it hurt that bad. It wouldn't even hurt that bad. But with her imminent death, losing everyone in one go shook her up. A lot. She doesn't even hear Kory's phone ring.
Kory walks past Dick and Dove, head hung low.
"You're leaving now?" Dick asks softly, not wanting to say the wrong word.
Dove looks up to her best friend, and Kory can feel the guilt in her stomach.
"I got a loose end to take care of," she tells them. "Sorry." Then, with a smile, she looks over at Dick. "At least it's out now... the truth." she tells him. "I'm sure they'll get over it soon."
But, despite what she said, it's still the same. She's leaving too.
Dove takes a deep breath, wiping her tears, and walks away.
"You're not...?"
"No, Dick," she says, turning back to him abruptly, face wet with tears. "I just... need some air. That's all."
She walks to the balcony, and slams the door behind her, inhaling deeply the fresh air outside. She closes her eyes for a few minutes, welcoming the fresh air on her wet cheeks.
She doesn't know how long she just stands there, but, at some point, Dick joined her.
He's hesitant, at first. Just staying in the back, unsure what her reaction will be. He doesn't want to give her any reason to leave.
But then, he hugs her from behind, arms around his waist, burying his face in her neck, body pressed against hers. Dove heaves out a sigh, peaceful, putting her hands on Dick's, resting against him.
"Stay."
It's just a whisper, that she wouldn't have been able to hear if his face wasn't so close to hers, in that space between her shoulder and her neck.
"Always."
She can feel him more than hear him sigh in relief, and he lifts his head, putting his chin where his forehead was resting. He drops a kiss under her ear, and Dove smiles, almost against her will.
"I have to go."
She frowns, because that makes no sense when she just told him she'd stay, and tries to turn to look at him, but he hugs her even tighter.
"Okay. Where are we going?"
He laughs against her skin, it's shaky. "Dove."
"Dick," she says in the same tone. "I said I'd always stay. When are you going to get it through your thick skull? It doesn't matter whatever shit you did in the past. This is me staying. Deal with it." She takes a deep breath, drawing circles on the back of Dick's hand. "What happened to... Jericho, it's tragic. He didn't deserve to die. How old was he?"