I can handle it!!!! (she said, clearly not handling it)

"I'll never be your chosen one" Bruce never picked her for Robin. No one did. She picked that herself

"I'll be home, safe and tucked away" Bruce fires her because he wants her safe and gone and she hates it so much she steals his plans to prove to him that she doesn't want the Safe life.

"The pull on my flesh was just too strong Stifled the choice and the air in my lungs" She had to prove herself. It wasnt a concious choice. She has to be a hero.

"Better not to breathe than to breathe a lie" She "dies" thinking that Bruce was just a figment of her imagination lying to her that she was worthy as Robin just because it's what she wants to hear

"There was a way out for him" Tim got to quit. He got to choose.

"So hold my hand Consign me not to darkness" Bruce is there when she flatlines, holding her hand

"I'll never wear your broken crown" She will never be Robin, never be Batman, never be considered a part of the legacy because the writers and the fans betrayed her.

And sure, Hal goes over and celebrates Dick's birthday parties and they all get invited over for Christmas dinner and meet Jason and yada yada

They're friends but not past the most basic level of willing to die for each other and the idea that they could be vulnerable but just haven't had a moment to be that yet

And then Hal is coming home from a long mission out in space- he's been gone for weeks now or something- and all he wants to do is slump onto one of the couches in the lounge and not wake up for years

except he has this little Itch that he always has to satisfy when he comes back because every Founder has something that they do to check up on each other, so he has the ring do a rudimentary scan of everyone's names and just ensure no one got gravely injured or anything

Barry and Clark are dealing with something on Venus, J'onn and Arthur are in the core of the Earth for some reason that will surely be entertaining when they share it later, and Diana and busy chatting with Hades for something

And Bruce...

Hal drops everything and breaks the soundbarrier to reach Gotham.

Bruce is in the middle of a media storm, his smile forced and shoulders tense and he looks five seconds away from breaking down right then and there and he has every right to because his son is dead and that's horrific

And just as Bruce's knees buckle, Hal slides up right beside him, pushes the reporters that were getting just a little too close away and slips his hand into Bruce's

Bruce manages to catch himself, half of his weight sinking entirely against Hal's side.

"Hey. I got you." Hal whispers, and wraps his arm more securely around Bruce's waist, tucking him closer, his other hand taking its previous place and holding Bruce's.

"You okay?" He whispers as they push through the crowd, and Bruce just squeezes his hand back silently in answer.

No. His eyes scream, but his shoulders have relaxed by the time they make it to the Manor, and when they make it through the doors Bruce just buckles into Hal's arms and they sit in the foyer, holding on as Bruce sobs and Hal strokes his back and whispers words of what he hopes is comfort and is There for him.

It's been a while since I've visited my delightful Stony realm. This was remedied.

Steve's classic phrase. Tony's classic brashness. Or "I can do this all day." "Good. Because I don't want you to stop."