( this is familiar to him. being yelled at, doing this incorrectly and being berated for it. but this feeling is - new. different. if he ever apologizes to bruce, he apologizes for getting caught, but. in this, he's just sorry. as sorry as a person could be, so sorry it feels like it's overwhelming him, flooding his pores and making a mockery of every time he's ever said sorry in his life. if he could take it all back in this very moment, he would. he's not thinking about the grief he saved the people of republic city - he's thinking about mako being upset, and knowing he's the one who put it there.

his eyes are wide before they dim, bright before they darken. he leans off the windowsill and into mako's space.

this man is still dick grayson, but he's minorly different from the snack hungry kiss drunk boy in the warehouse a few months ago. he looks tired, more than anything. he reaches a hand up to wrap around mako's pointing finger, looking down where they meet. )

I know.

( he doesn't care if mako plans on shoving him off - he just wraps an arm around his shoulders, a hand at the back of his head, embracing him. )

I didn't mean to worry you. I'm — so sorry. They caught me off guard, and I didn't know what else to do but. Wait. For you.