Adding to this, I think the jealousy and admiration Dick has towards Tim is my favorite part of their relationship.
Tim is so in awe of Dick and Dick, for a lot of their relationship, does not understand it. I would argue he still doesn't. But he comes to rely on Tim's admiration when he feels down/lost/hates himself. Tim's admiration saves him in Prodigal and gives him the strength to be Batman. Tim's belief in Dick (and his assumed death) gives Dick the urgency to wear the cowl again during Battle of the Cowl.
Tim and Dick's mutual admiration is the foundation of their brotherhood. But so is Dick's jealousy.
Dick sees Tim as the better Robin. He says Tim is the better detective, goes to him for help on cases, relies on him for tech support when he doesn't want to bother Babs. He takes the kid train surfing and welcomes to him into his apartment. He calls Tim "Little Brother" first, claiming a family role long before Bruce adopts him. For fucks sake, he claims Bruce is Tim's father while Jack is alive!
And yet...When it comes to Bruce... Well. that's his Bruce...his Dad-Mentor-Brother-Person. And here is this kid, who he loves, but is so similar to Bruce (in many ways similar to Dick, though I don't think Dick sees that). And I think Dick is jealous of Bruce & Tim's relationship.
I think about Dick's passionate defense of Bruce during Murder/Fugitive. How he claims he "can't stand besides" someone who doesn't believe Bruce is 100% innocent and angrily walks away from Tim. Tim's forlorn expression as he watches Dick walk away. And I think about how much of that conflict is fueled by how grateful Dick is to be adopted by Bruce.
And then I think about when it's Tim's turn to get adopted after his father dies. Dick is upset. He's so visibly jealous that Tim feels bad for telling him that Bruce wants to adopt him. So much so, he runs after Dick to try to reassure Dick of his importance to Bruce. This recently orphaned kid -- who hasn't been answering Dick's phone calls, who Dick was so worried about, who Dick followed around Bludhaven all to reassure himself Tim is okay -- is so hurt by Dick's jealousy that he reassures Dick that he can never replace him in the eyes of the only father figure they have left. And Dick just walks away. Again.
(And clarifying, Dick was at a very low point during this arc. Post-Blockbuster and imploding his life and relationships. There was a lot going on in that scene beyond Dick & Tim's relationship and history of assumed communication.)
Dick calls Tim his "equal" at the beginning of RR 2009 and means it. He respects Tim so much. And yet, in the next breath, can be so condescending and cold.
I know Grant Morrison deprived us of Dick's half of the Dick-Tim conflict during the Bruce-Timestream arc, but I think about it all the time. Dick must have resented Tim for "running away." He must have wanted Tim to stay, to do the hard work of becoming his own superhero instead of stealing Red Robin. He must have wanted Tim to besides him, managing Gotham, fixing Damian. Did Dick resent Tim for believing Bruce was alive when Dick couldn't? Did he resent Tim for escaping into a fantasy Dick could not follow him into?
When they reunite during the Blackest Hour and again on that rooftop when Tim returns to take out Ra's, they're so distant...Until Dick catches him. And Tim reassures Dick that he always believed Dick would catch him (a lie).
And they're good again. All is forgiven.
(This is a ramble. And not to say Tim doesn't have his own hang ups in this relationship, but I have a tendency to focus on Tim in the Tim & Dick relationship. And I wanted to focus on Dick's pov for once.)
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