I like imagining a scenario in which Jason, Tim and Damian are arguing about Dick and just keep trying to one-up one another:
Damian: I was his Robin and he clearly likes me best.
Tim: I mean, technically I was his Robin first. And that last statement is debatable (and wrong).
Damian: Tt. You were father's Robin, I was Grayson's only before the original Batman returned.
Jason: Oh, for fucks sake, why does that even matter? He accepted me as Robin first and gave me his old costume, try topping that.
Tim: Been there, done that.
Jason: Not first you haven't.
Tim: Irrelevant. I think being accepted as Robin and being his Robin first puts me above you both.
Damian: Richard made me Robin on his own accord, father's intervention was unrequired.
Tim: Do you think that maybe that was because, I don't know, Bruce was 'dead' at the time?
Damian: I don't see how that refutes my argument, Drake.
Tim: He didn't even want you as Robin, he did it so you didn't go running off to the league.
Jason: Face it, brat, Dick didn't have much of a choice on the matter. With me, on the other hand-
Tim: I can give you a list of reasons why what you're about to say is wrong.
Jason: Stop trying to be a smartass, you-
Damian: This discussion is getting sidetracked. I can win this argument with the simple fact that Richard planned to adopt me.
Jason: Get in line kid, he tried with me first.
Tim: Wait- what? Damian makes sense because Bruce... but you? Full offense, by the way.
Jason: I was a redhead and a circus kid, he had all the reasons to adopt me.
Damian: Todd, you're a brunette, you're spitting nonsense.
Tim: And you most definitely did not grow up in a circus. I've heard your backstory from Dick himself.
Jason: You had to be there.
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I'm just such a big fan of Edwin having some permanent issues after a second trip to hell and the final run in with Esther.
I like the idea that he actually has to sleep now. Nowhere near what a living human needs but more then he ever needed before. Maybe sleeping for several hours every few weeks.
Iron wounds take longer to heal, even though Edwin has always had a higher pain tolerance due to his experiences in hell.
When he's really tired, things start to hurt. Tender pain along all his joints, the spots where the demon spider found it was the easiest to tear him apart.
He get bruises under his eyes, headaches, occasionally a little chill, stiffness, and just a general aching all over his body.
It's hard for Edwin to sleep, for several reasons. Nightmares, anxiety, restlessness, and just being stubborn.
The vulnerability of sleep is terrifying.
The idea of leaving Edwin alone somewhere to sleep, even in their office, has Charles skin pickling. Especially knowing Edwin is also reluctant to sleep without him there.
So, Edwin does not sleep alone. Ever. Occasionally he gets left with Niko, and sometimes Crystal, but it's for very brief amounts of time before he's back with Charles.
It should be embarrassing to have these issues now, and it is, but they're even closer after Port Townsend and it's not something Edwin can avoid. He has to sleep now.
Really, it comes down to does he wants to keep it to himself and nap when no one else is around to avoid feeling weak? Or does he want to sleep with the comfort of knowing someone is with him and hell won't take him before he even gets a chance to wake up?
It comes down to how fearful is he of something dragging him off into hell again and the answer is apparently incredibly so.
Also, if he's going to look vulnerable and weak then it might as well be with Charles, who's seen him at his worst.
He tries not to overthink how pleased Charles is each time Edwin seeks him out for a nap or how good it feels to be held, the safest place he can think of is in Charles arms or under his sharp watch.
Charles hovers, and he's aware of it. He can't convince himself to stray too far from Edwin. Part of it's because he's protective, reluctant to leave Edwin in anyone else's hands when he's more vulnerable then before.
Part of it is selfish, he's a little possessive. A sleeping Edwin is not something anyone else needs to see. Edwin in pain is not something anyone else needs to see.
Crystal had recently demanded they have a bed available in the office for when her and Niko stayed over, even though they rarely use it. It's soft, covered in pillows and blankets, and Edwin has taken to hiding away in it when he sleeps. Crystal looks incredibly pleased when it slips that Edwin uses it and Charles is hit with a intense wave of fondness for her.
No one needs to see Edwin like this. Especially not when he loses a lot of his layers and curls up in something more comfortable. It leaves him vulnerable, his throat and wrists bare, and looking smaller without all extra clothing.
Nobody needs to see how he only really lets himself sleep when Charles is in bed with him or close enough in the room to reach out for if needed. He watches Charles do whatever it is he's doing with half lidded eyes, a strip of green that stubbornly stays visible until Charles is closer.
In the beginning they thought it was something temporary. Ghost don't need to sleep, Charles never sleeps. Sometimes he can get himself to relax enough that it's almost like sleeping but it's not anywhere near actual sleep.
They think it's just him trying to make up what Esther took.
But it keeps happening. Again and again.
And it makes them both anxious. Charles is worried about why Edwin suddenly needs to sleep but Edwin is worried about the actual sleeping part.
He does not want to sleep. Sleep means dreaming and nothing good will come from his dreams, he's sure of it.
It's also scary. Sleep is a weakness, it leaves him vulnerable and unaware. He doesn't want to sleep.
In those first few weeks where they all still thought this would pass, exhaustion caught up to him one evening as they were finishing up a long case. Charles was out and he couldn't even think about how wonderful it would be to go to go lay down because Charles was not there.
The office was too quiet. It made him restless and he would have paced but he was feeling especially sore that day. His hands had ached while he was writing and he had to stop frequently to flex them.
He was weak, alone, and rapidly sliding into a decreased mental awareness due to exhaustion. It's not a situation he liked.
They weren't apart for long those days, and still aren't, so Charles is back pretty quickly but it's long enough that Edwin was struggling. He blinked sleepily at Charles, with eyes that itched when they shouldn't have, and he must have looked terrible because Charles straightened up a little bit and his eyes jumped around the room before he relaxed.
He said something, dropped his bag and walked forward until he could put his hands on Edwin and that's it. Edwin leaned forward until he was relying on Charles to hold him up, turned his face into his neck and passed out still standing up.
It doesn't get that bad again. Charles is good about noticing when Edwin starts to slow down, and when it takes him a little longer to string his words together or explain himself. He picks up the way he carries himself different on day where things hurt a little more or how he rubs his temple when he feels a headache coming on.
He herds Edwin to bed like a sheep dog and makes sure everything is locked up so they won't be bothered. Edwin had managed to find a spell that would keep anyone else, living and none, out of their office when activated. It's perfect for extra privacy and security.
Charles hates that Edwin was hurt enough that he needs this now, and he hates seeing him wore down and exhausted... but part of him loves these days.
Edwin sleepy and soft, usually pulling Charles down with him until they're under all the blankets and pillows, tucked on their own little world.
He clings when he sleeps. He buries his face in Charles throat and under his chin like he's trying to hide, presses in as close as he can until they're completely tangled together. Not that Charles has any problem with that. He runs his fingers over skin in soothing gestures and pulls him in close if he starts to show any signs of a nightmare.
He wakes up with hair sticking up and clothes rumpled, blinking at Charles a few times as he tries to wake up enough to remember what's happening. Sometimes, Charles gets lucky and Edwin will stretch out like a cat before readjusting himself to be close again and doze off for a little longer.
It knocks the breath he doesn't need out of his lungs and love sits in his throat until it threatens to choke him.
Sometimes there are nightmares and Edwin shoves himself away desperately with a pained and fearful noise that has Charles cringing. Edwin stares at him from the other side of the bed, eyes big but unfocused in a way that shows he's not actually seeing Charles. He's tight, tense and completely locked up. He couldn't move even if he wanted to. They're both still laying down, and Charles doesn't move even though he wants to. He starts talking, low and soft, keeps doing that until Edwin starts to relax again. It's a slow process and it takes a while before Edwin is relaxed enough that Charles can reach out and coax him back closer. He's exhausted after those little episodes, too tired and his body too sore from being so tense to put up much of a fight as Charles tucks him in close again. Sometimes he's asleep before they're even settled back in, limp with sleep as Charles rearranges him in a way that won't have him aching when he wakes up.
Sometimes Charles is too wired to lay down, even if cuddling is great motivation, and he keeps himself busy while Edwin rests. Sometimes they're in the middle of a case and there's still work that needs to be done, so he does what can while until Edwin is back up and functional.
It's a powerful feeling, having Edwin trust him so much and so openly. Sometimes Charles has to check on him, the quiet and unmoving lump on the bed making him nervous until he looks him over, just to make sure everything is okay. It's hard to tell sometimes since they don't breathe like the living, and Edwin sleeps so quiet. He doesn't even flinch at Charles getting close, nothing triggering those survival instincts gained in hell that would have him awake and moving if it was anyone else this close.
God help anyone stupid enough to try something when they're like this. He'd fight anyone who disturbed them, anyone who woke Edwin up from his much needed rest or threaten to cause them harm. It burns under his skin and it makes his teeth itch.
Nothing would separate them. Nothing could take them away from each other.
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