Dick had only ever had a few relationships. None of them had worked out. Some tried to kill him, but apparently it ran in the family. Like father, like son. Since his break up with Babs and even Kory, Dick had been a little less of a playboy. Less of a show off. He just stopped trying to be happy and it showed. He tried to hide it with a cool exterior of strictly business and jokes, but in a private room it was impossible to hide. Dick had many regrets in his short life time, but the main one had always been not being there when Babs needed him the most. Being off on Tamaran for Kory and away from home where he was supposed to be. In the first couple years of his "freedom" he had been angry. A whirlwind of selfish emotion, and it did nothing but complicate things further to the point where they stood.
He rubbed a hand awkwardly through his dark hair against the back of his neck and just gave her a sheepish look as she moved closer. He thought it was going to end poorly. But then there were arms around him and a familiar warmth he forgot he was capable of feeling. His eyes slid shut. They were so tired of seeing nothing but pain. Part of him wanted to fight. The other was too tired to keep up the charade. The tension in his body slipped away and he rested his cheek in the crook of her neck. He was for once at a loss for words.
It'd been so long since he felt warmth and kindness. The last time was what?..he didn't even remember her name.. He managed finally to straighten slightly in the embrace as he tried to regain his bearings and not sink into a sea of memory. "I can't." He couldn't let himself get comfortable just to be rejected again.