Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Bruce Wayne P.O.V

“Alfred, I’m not so sure this is a good idea,” Bruce said, as the two pulled into the street. 

“Oh and why ever not, Master Bruce?” From his spot in the passenger seat, Bruce gazed pointedly out of the car window, out into the expanse of a much less polluted sky than what he was used to seeing, his eyes landing on a small point in the distance, where he could just barely make out the silhouette of a tall, windowed, distinctly T-shaped tower. A tower in which he’d helped partially fund the construction of, and housed a prominent group of young superheroes. Namely, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy, plus two recent additions of Kid Flash and Wonder Girl, and of course- 

Dick. Or Robin, in any case. 

If his observations (i.e the times he’d hacked into the systems to spy, and the occasional phone calls Dick would give Alfred) were correct, then he knew some of them weren’t currently in the Tower due to an international mission with a few of the honorary Titans, alongside a few members of Titans East. But he knew Robin wasn’t one of them, he was still home. Unless he still counted the manor as home, which would be nice, but was probably too much for Bruce to ask of him. 

Alfred, as always, was able to see right through his concerns, “Master Dick will not protest your presence here in his city over something like this. It is for a charity funded by Bruce Wayne, his father, not a case undergone by Batman, his mentor.” Bruce wasn’t so sure his ward would follow that logic, but it wasn’t like he was going to be the one to tell Alfred he was wrong considering Alfred practically ran his entire life. Now granted, Dick probably wouldn’t be willing to tell Alfred off either, so realistically, Bruce was in the clear. 

Except he didn’t actually want to do this all that much. 

A designer from Bludhaven, who’d been orphaned around the same age that Bruce had been, had been a very avid supporter of several of his foundations, had moved out into the world to expand her audience, starting with Jump City, and for some odd reason, she’d had the idea of calling up Bruce’s PR manager, and had asked Bruce to do a brand deal with her, modeling some of her designs as part of a joint charity fundraiser. 

It wasn’t a bad idea by any means, and it definitely wouldn’t be the strangest thing he’d done to keep his cover, but it did have its drawbacks, and he wasn’t quite sure if it was worth it. Not to mention several cases that he had on the backburner and would much rather be breaking down instead of going to a photoshoot. 

And he still wasn’t entirely sure Dick would appreciate him being in his city after how adamantly he’d set out to make a name for himself. 

Alfred however, was quick to look at him pointedly, raising an eyebrow, “Master Bruce, you’ve made the commitment, it is time you follow through.” The chastisement was a routine exchange for the two, and so from years of practice, Bruce only slightly felt like an embarrassed child making up excuses not to go to school. And so, with a grand sigh, Bruce opened the car door, and made his way into the studio. 

The moment he was in the door, he was ushered off to makeup, and thrown into the first part of the collection, holding his most airheaded smile anytime he figured someone was looking. And he was Batman, which meant he would assume someone was always looking. 

But when it came to the actual photos? All bets were off. 

______________

Dick Grayson P.O.V

“Hey I’m just saying, he’s not really like, my type- you know? But I definitely see the appeal,” Kid Flash said, sitting criss-crossed on the couch, hunched over his phone with Beastboy. Dick continued typing away at his computer; he had no idea who the two were looking at, but they seemed pretty engrossed. 

Kid Flash and Wonder Girl were two new additions to the living quarters of the Tower, and they’d fit in extremely well with the five of them. Robin in particular found himself getting along with the two rather swimmingly, in just days- he’d developed a comfortable, joking dynamic with both fellow heroes. It was times like this that he almost regretted his easy nature of acquiring friends, but he’d take it over being as emotionally incompetent as you know who . 

“Uh, duh- what’s not to like about him?” Beastboy responded, swiping his finger over the screen, still out of Robin’s line of sight. Dick clicked to hide a message that came through from Alfred, knowing that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to expose the man's existence in an area any of his teammates could walk into. He had alerts set in case something seriously dangerous popped up with Bruce or Alfred, and it hadn’t gone off, and a quick check at their vitals showed that there was nothing to worry about. So it was probably fine. 

Starfire had joined Raven for a meditation session in the corner, but seemed to break concentration as she opened one eye to observe the two. Raven remained unaffected. Cyborg and Wonder Girl were the only two missing from the scene, though Cyborg was bound to return at any moment. 

“I mean- I guess he’s kinda my type. I like the dark colors, look- he’s kinda dressed like Jinx in this one, right?”

“Honestly man, I think he rocks the look better than she does,” Beastboy admitted. Robin took some time to look as Starfire, brimming with a fondly familiar curiosity, broke from her meditative stance to float towards the two. Robin did not turn back to his typing. 

“Friends, what exactly is it about this device that has you so enraptured?” Starfire wondered, hovering above the two. 

“Oh just this hot CEO guy. Here, take a look- I think you’d like him too,” Kid Flash remarked, handing her the phone. Nothing out of the ordinary yet. 

“Oh I do quite like these photographs! To what does this…C-E-O do? Does he too partake in the world of fashion?” 

“Uh, probably? I mean from what I hear, the guy’s practically in every business. Generally- I think he’s some philanthropist or something.”

Alarms started blaring in Dick’s head, as he whipped his head away from Starfire’s figure, eyes glaring daggers into the phone in contemplation. 

“Oh the description says that these pictures were taken in Jump City! Does he reside here? I did not know of him,” Starfire asked. 

Oh don’t tell him…

Oh please don’t let this be who he was thinking of. 

Wally, please- 

“Pretty sure he’s from Gotham actually,” Wally answered. Now- let it be known that there was only one thought running through Robin’s perfectly clear, perfectly calm, mind. 

What a son of a bitch . 

“Oh from Gotham! Robin! Is that not where you are from as well?” Starfire asked cheerfully. Swallowing back a few choice words, simmering in resentment not at the girl in front of him, he felt the need to remind himself, but at someone else. With his carefully improved concealment skills, he stamped out any negativity from his expression to smile softly at his teammate as he nodded. Er- friend. Or well- his something . Maybe girlfriend? They hadn’t exactly had that conversation in full. 

Frankly it’d be a lot harder for him to talk about that if she decided to openly admit to finding his dad attractive. Although then again- Bruce was hardly the only CEO in Gotham- they could’ve been talking about someone like Jack Drake- though Dick didn’t really see the appeal in that at all, maybe they saw something in him that he didn’t. Or maybe it wasn’t actually a CEO and Wally just got that part wrong, hell he might not have even been from Gotham if Wally mistook him for someone else, oh he was turning the phone so Dick could see, maybe it was all a misunderstanding, besides Bruce wouldn’t-

Oh fuck everything. 

It turns out in fact, that Bruce would. He absolutely would. There was now evidence to back that up in fact. 

So- he fumed, was this how Bruce intended to let him know that he was in the city? Because if it was meant to be a joke, he couldn’t say he was all that appreciative that now of all times was the time Bruce chose to develop a sense of humor. 

So whatever- Bruce was here, he was doing some dumb modeling shoot, that didn’t have anything to do with Dick. He was giving him space, like he’d wanted. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t called. He wasn’t here for him, he was just here on Wayne Enterprises business. That was all it was, which meant he needed to calm down . 

“Ooh look at this one! Man, how do you think he gets abs like that with all the work he has to do?” Beastboy questioned. 

“He probably has a team or something to handle some of the company stuff. But I genuinely can’t believe- and sorry to say this Star but it needs to be said, I cannot believe that a middle-aged man is rocking a crop top better than anyone I’ve ever met.”

“Oh but look at this one! This one is most alluring, correct? Robin, Raven- I invite you to join us, I must implore you to offer your opinions on such artfully taken photographs!” Raven ignored them, continuing her meditation with a shake of her head, Dick filed that away as proof that Raven was his best friend now because she clearly knew what she was talking about. 

He was not going to calm down. Calming down was a social construct. Calming down is for Metropolis citizens. Not Gothamites. Calming down was for fucking losers. Dick Grayson was not going to calm down. He was going to leave, like a rational person. 

“Man I gotta send this to Cyborg and Wonder- hey, Rob! Where you goin?” Wally called out confusedly. 

“Training,” he replied shortly, not turning around so they couldn’t see how hard he was grinding his teeth. 

Moments later, Dick flopped down onto the bed in his locked room, tearing his domino mask off of his face and thanking the fact that he’d built his room to be sound proof as he let out a long, loud, screech into his pillow, less bird-like and more like the demonic giggles he used when he was nine years old and just starting out as Robin. His computer let out a ping sound, a reminder to check Alfred’s message. Grumbling more softly, he went to sit at his screen to pull up the email. 

Dear Master Robin, 

As I am sure you are bound to see at some point, your father was offered the chance to model several clothing designs for the sake of raising money to fund several orphanages and relief funds. The shoot was to take place in Jump City, we were under the impression that we would need to return to retake several shots, as expected of a person with no modeling experience and a tight schedule, and that the completed set of photographs would be published in two weeks time. However, our head photographer informed us that the photographs upon further inspection, were perfect as is and took far less time to edit than expected. And thus, we have only recently been informed that the photos would be released today instead. I apologize for the delay in warning you in advance. I felt it unnecessary considering I would hope that the two of you were raised civilly enough to not allow your squabbles to interfere with your personal lives, so this is only a precaution. All else is as normal as to be expected in Gotham, only one Arkham breakout has occurred in the past month, so it’s actually been rather quiet. I hope you are well, do please send updates should you need anything. Although I’m sure you’re aware that your father will find a way to find out what goes on regardless of whether or not you tell him, so please- call your father. 

Signed sincerely, 

Agent A

He already knew about Bruce hacking into his systems. He was going his best to keep his connection limited behind firewalls without Cyborg noticing and trying to lock him out completely. He knew the more he tried to hide, the more time Bruce would spend excessively stalking him through other means. He was just taking the lesser evil. This wasn’t at all because he too was also stalking Bruce’s endeavors in turn to make sure he was okay. Never. No one could prove anything. Nothing at all. 

Dick let his head drop onto the table with a groan. He let out a long, suffering sigh, his voice gravelly. Before jumping upright and shaking his head violently at how much the gesture reminded him of how Bruce acted when he was particularly exasperated. He was losing his touch, evidently. 

He needed to find a chandelier to swing off of or something. That’d get his mind off of unknowingly traitorous friends and crushes, and helicopter parents, and weirdly all-knowing grandfathers. 

______________

Wally West P.O.V

“So…” Beastboy started, “Is it just me or is Robin acting weird? Like weirder than normal weird?”

Wally found himself nodding, “Yeah, and he got all red and stuff, he like- clammed up super quick.”

“Perhaps he does not like this, ah- Brucie Wayne fellow? If they are both from Gotham, perhaps they have a history,” Starfire said contemplatively. Or- well, there was one other explanation that Wally could think of. And there didn’t seem to be anything weird about Wayne as far as billionaires go, so he didn’t think it was all that implausible. So he didn’t even hesitate to voice his thoughts out loud. 

“Do you think Robin had a crush on him as a kid?” The other two blinked at him, he saw Raven lose focus for a moment, briefly dropping from where she was floating in meditation before catching herself again. She too, looked at him oddly, but in a different way than the other two were, like he was some kind of unknown specimen. Starfire started frowning, Beastboy, on the other hand, nodded in agreement after a moment of thinking. 

“Maybe he still has a bit of a celebrity crush on him now, if he went all red like that. Ooh- maybe he even got to save him once when he was still working with Batman!”

Raven cut in sharply, her voice blank, but eyes flashing slightly, “I don’t think Bruce Wayne is really Robin’s type.” Starfire nodded in agreement, tilting her head in confusion. 

“He might not have a type necessarily, or he could just like his personality. I hear Brucie’s pretty nice and cheery and stuff, that sounds pretty up Rob’s alley,” Beast Boy reminded, looking pointedly at the Tamaranian girl. 

“I do not understand why he would be embarrassed then, considering all three of us offered him compliment,” Starfire said. Wally grinned. 

“Must’ve been a damn strong crush then, I don’t know about you- but I’m not letting him live this down, I’m milking this for all that it’s worth.”

“Milking what for all it’s worth?” a voice asked from the doorway, and the four superheroes turned to see Cyborg standing there in all his robotic glory. 

“We think Robin has a celebrity crush on this guy,” Beast Boy explained. Cyborg raised an eyebrow, gesturing for his friend to hand him the phone, to which he obliged. Cyborg let out a low whistle. 

“Well, I can’t say I blame him all that much. Little old for him though, what’s all the fuss about? You jealous, Star?” He nudged her suggestively, who glared at him in response, but with no real heat. 

“He reacted like, way stronger than any of us did, like massively,” Wally suggested, “So naturally, we gotta make fun of him, right?” Cyborg nodded in mock-graveness. 

“Oh yeah, absolutely.”

Chapter Text

“I’m looking for a man in finance-”

Robin, with as much grace as could be afforded him, snatched the phone from his mean half-robot friend, and lined himself up so he could shoot it straight into the trash, garnering an annoyed shout from his friend, but personally he felt it was well-deserved. 

Bruce Wayne edits. His teammates, mostly Cyborg and Kid Flash, kept shoving Bruce Wayne edits in his face. 

Every. Single. Hour.

For the past twenty four hours. He had been bombarded with what felt like a thousand people who felt the need to remind everyone on the platform that his adoptive father was conventionally attractive. 

If Dick Grayson were a lesser man, he would’ve started to regret not taking that Slade apprenticeship when he still had the chance. He didn’t. Obviously he was being dramatic people, come on. 

He hadn’t seen anything of Slade since their last confrontation anyway, as the man hadn’t been present when they’d fought the Brotherhood of Evil. Which was great of course, because it’s not like he would’ve wanted to lower their chances of success even further just because of a personal vendetta, not this time anyway, but it did still leave him uneasy as to what the man could be doing at the moment. 

______________

The day after the incident with Bruce's modeling photos, the other boys on the team had been relentless in their teasing. 

“Hey Rob, check this out, how huge do you reckon Wayne's biceps are?” Cyborg had questioned once while Dick was cooking breakfast, and in a state of surprise, he dropped the eggs on the floor, much to Cyborg's annoyance as well as his own. Not that Dick would've bothered sharing with him after that comment anyway. 

“Hey Rob, if you had to fuck, marry, kill Doctor Light, Condiment King, and Bruce Wayne, what would you do?” Wally had teased him in the city once, having spotted a billboard showcasing a Wayne Enterprises project. 

They'd originally been planning on going to get food together after that, but for that question, Robin withheld his wallet and they went home, Kid Flash sulking the entire time, but continuing to pester him to answer. 

Dick didn't deign to answer the question, but if he did, then he supposed the wedding bells were in order because he was about to come Mr Dick Light . Richard Light. Robin Light. Whatever. He wasn't giving an asshole like that the Grayson name. Condiment King was a pain as it was, and he definitely couldn't handle that mess for anything long term. He only refused to voice his answer because he knew how weird it would seem that the only seemingly good person on the list was going to have to die. Because there was literally no other option. 

“Hey Rob, guess what! Bruce Wayne is going to be in the next city over for a gala he's co-hosting, seems pretty exclusive, but I bet if his biggest fan asked for an invite, he'd totally agree,” Beast Boy had suggested slyly, nudging him. Raven, who'd been with them at the time, joined Dick in rolling her eyes. 

They'd been on the edge of the island at that point, and Dick only just barely refrained from pushing him into the water, considering he could just turn into an aquatic animal the second he dropped, he'd be fine. But he resisted the urge. Out of his general care for Beast Boy and the fact that he knew it'd be suspicious if he protested this hard. Mostly the latter. 

Raven however, had no such qualms. 

His only consolation was the fact they strayed away from anything too explicit. Mostly. 

“Say…you've seen Wayne up close and personal, right? Does he seem like the kind of guy that would to-”

Dick threw a birdarang at him before he could finish his sentence, whatever it was going to be, and he had his guesses, he didn't want to know . Starfire looked at him quizzically, placing Silky in his lap when he appeared to be getting too grumpy to function. 

______________

And in present day, snickering, Cyborg brought up his arm, and suddenly the song was ringing through the air again. Briefly, Dick wondered whether or not he could try throwing Cyborg into the trash. He probably could if he got the right momentum, but instead he merely sighed in resignation, choosing not to stir the pot any further. Most uncharacteristic of him, yes- but this was his life now. Unfortunately. 

Did he want to accept the fact that his friends thought he had a crush on Bruce Wayne? Not particularly. Did he want to risk exposing his identity by telling them why he actually felt so strongly about those stupid pictures? 

“ Finance, trust fund, 6'5", blue eyes- ”

Okay yes, at this point he kinda did. 

But he was Robin . A flying Grayson. He didn't lose his cool, he looked at some of the most dangerous situations every day, knowing he could very well die, and he'd run in anyway, he'd trained for years to mask his emotions to protect his, and Bruce's identity, and it's not like his friends had never teased him before anyway, this should have been no problem for him.

______________

He just about lost it two days later, when he emerged from his bedroom in the tower, only for something on the outside of his door to catch his eye. In one swift motion, he'd taken his bo-staff from its holster, and jabbed it into the object of his annoyance, hard enough that when he dragged his staff downward, the flimsy thing ripped in half. 

Because on his door, and subsequent other doors, had lain a printed photograph of Bruce, in full Brucie mode. The man in the photo was leaning back lazily, his eyes shadowed, and a smirk on his lips. All except his lowest shirt button had been left undone to expose his torso, and the man was drenched in water, causing the stupidly thin, but intricately embroidered shirt to cling to him.

It was fucking gross , and it was the absolute last thing that he wanted to see first thing in the morning after a late night patrol. 

He didn't often do patrols like that anymore, Jump City’s non-supervillain crime rate wasn't actually all that high, so any time he did end up patrolling for normal criminals, it would never be serious enough that he'd need to enlist his team. Which was nice, of course, as that meant that less people were being put in danger and he was a lot less tired than he was in Gotham, but he did miss the rush of adrenaline he got when he got to fly across rooftops every night. 

And not that he'd admit it out loud, but he also missed the nice moments he would get with Bruce, before things turned bitter between them. The ice cream shops, the head pats when he did something particularly well when he first started out, hiding underneath his cape only to leap out at unsuspecting criminals. But what he really enjoyed were the moments they'd share in the manor, just them and Alfred, chatting about any subject under the moon. Patrols these days felt just a little empty sometimes, when he was left alone with his thoughts for too long. 

So alright fine, he missed Bruce. When he wasn't being a nagging, overly controlling asshole that is, but yes, he did miss Bruce. 

These pictures however, he absolutely did not miss seeing in the slightest. 

Some of them had been placed over the doorways, which made him glad that he hadn't fully transitioned into using the escrima sticks he'd started becoming rather fond of just yet, the long range of the staff made it much easier to tear them apart without forcing him to look at them too long. 

He took a particular sense of pride in shredding the photo of Bruce in a corset vest that had been plastered to a kitchen cabinet. He also managed to stab a hole into said kitchen cabinet in the process. It was well worth it. 

The only one who witnessed the incident anyway, was Wonder Girl. Or Donna Troy, if Bruce’s sleuthing was spot on, which it usually was, as the man had sent him the files on both her, and Kid Flash the minute they’d begun living in the Tower, which had not been appreciated, but it’s not like he could erase the information from his memory now. He’d wanted to be better than Bruce, to trust his teammates and respect their right to privacy, as they did for him, but apparently that wasn’t in the cards. He was fairly certain it was meant to be some twisted kind of peace offering, but it fell flat. And all the teasing, he couldn’t emphasize this any more, was not helping. 

“Robin? Are you alright?” Donna asked. 

“Just- just fine, I could just use a break from all this,” he sighed. She placed a hand on his shoulder in sympathy, smiling slightly. 

“This is about the crush on Bruce Wayne thing, right?”

He groaned, putting his face in his hands, “Oh come on, not you too.” Donna held her hands up in surrender.

“Sorry, not trying to tease you, but I wasn’t exactly present for most of it. Exactly how badly could you have reacted for them to make such a big deal about it?”

“I don’t even have a crush on Bruce Wayne, I just left the room specifically because I didn’t want to see those pictures,” he complained. 

“Was it the clothes?”

Now, there were a couple ways he could go about his answer. Revealing that Bruce Wayne was his adoptive father was completely out of the question obviously. And he wasn’t really in the mood to conduct a lie that wouldn’t be particularly convoluted. So he told a truth, if not the truth.

“Just him . I- I grew up in Gotham, y’know? Br- Wayne isn’t a bad guy, and I loved that city. But I left for a reason, he’s just another piece that reminds me of what I was trying to leave behind,” he muttered mournfully, not lying at all, but definitely omitting the more embarrassing part of the situation. Donna considered him thoughtfully. 

“It’s stupid, it’s not like a modeling shoot was what made me run away from home, sorry for talking your ear off like this.” But Donna shook her head. 

“I may not get where you’re coming from entirely, but no one’s allowed to tell you how you’re allowed to feel about something. I take it there are some- rough memories that you don’t want to think about right now, and I won’t force you to tell me anything, but if it’s bothering you this much, then maybe you should try talking to the others. They don’t mean any actual harm, they’ll back you.”

It was easy to talk to Donna like this, he realized. It was actually rather miraculous that he’d grown to trust someone so quickly, but as far as he could tell, that was a good sign. It was a sign he wasn’t turning into Batman. Robin had always been a bright complement to Batman, not a direct copy, and he’d like it to stay that way. 

This definitely wasn’t the first time he’d had his connection to Bruce thrown in his face. It’d been one of his biggest worries when he was first made Slade’s apprentice, when he’d had to steal tech from a Wayne Enterprises building. He only marginally preferred this, because at least Bruce wasn’t in any potential danger from it, no the only thing in danger from this was Dick’s sanity . 

Donna was soon called away by Starfire, who offered him a concerned look, to which he returned with what was hopefully a convincing smile, but she seemed to see through it rather easily. With Donna’s exit, came Raven’s entrance. He waved calmly at her, but she only stared at him for a moment, before scanning the entirety of the room. 

“Everything okay?” he wondered. Raven nodded, before speaking. 

“She was right, you know.” 

“Yeah I’ve learned to expect that.”

“I know why you’re stressed about all this.” There was a certain inflection in her voice that made him feel queasy. Like there was more than the fact their walls had been decorated with roughly twenty photos of the billionaire. The twenty that he had found so far . For a moment, he was oblivious to her double meaning. And then he remembered. 

He wondered when the last time was that Bruce had been hit with a variant of Joker’s, or Scarecrow’s gas, or maybe one of Poison Ivy’s toxins. Alfred would try to bench him for sure until the effects wore off completely, but Bruce was always stubborn. He could hack into the cameras and check in on that at some point. But-

Slade’s mask. A puff of smoke. Hallucinogenic visions, so akin to the one’s he’d been struck with as a child, but he hadn’t experienced them in so long , that on top of how tired he’d been, he’d let his guard down. And then he awoke. 

Because of Raven . Who’d been in his mind . 

Raven who must have seen at least part of what Dick had seen. 

Dick had wondered whether there’d be repercussions for that on several occasions. But Raven had never brought it up after the incident, and he hadn’t pushed her. 

“I’ll talk to them at some point. The novelty’s bound to wear off soon anyway,” he remarked casually, watching her reaction, but if there was anyone who knew how to conceal how they were feeling, it was Raven. 

“I asked Star to call Wonder Girl away for me,” she admitted. 

“And why was that?” He prodded. 

“I didn’t know immediately.” His heartbeat faltered at her words, but his expression remained smooth. She took his silence, and lack of running away, as a cue to continue. 

“I didn’t actually piece what I saw together for a while, I don’t keep up with celebrity news all that often, and I wasn’t entirely sure if it wasn’t just a coincidence, so I didn’t want to pry. But I figured with- everything that’s been going on, you’d deserve to know that I know.” 

“Everything going on? Seems a bit of an overly serious response to just teasing,” He tried for a smile. Raven lifted an eyebrow. 

“Robin, I’m an empath .”

“Can you blame me for trying?” 

“Okay I’m going to just rip off the bandaid here, alright? There’s something else you need to know about-”

And then of course, the door burst open, and in rushed Beast Boy and Cyborg, the other Titans on their tail, Kid Flash’s blur appearing next to them in an instant despite being much further behind, though he looked a lot less easy-going than he usually did. Starfire and Wonder Girl walked in from behind much more calmly. 

Beast Boy was the most excited of the lot, “Guys, you’ll never believe who just left us a message!” 

“Who?” Robin asked, already filled with an odd sense of dread. 

“The Justice League! They called us, and Titans East for help! They want to meet up with us soon!” Raven glared at Beast Boy when he made his announcement. Ah. So that'd been what she wanted to mention. 

“Beast Boy, remember who you are speaking with,” Starfire reprimanded him gently and quietly. 

“Huh? What do you- oh.” He paused, glancing at his team leader with a wince. 

“Uh, sorry Rob.” He shook his head in dismissal, urging him to keep going.

“What do they need?” he asked, glad he could keep his voice level despite the ton of emotions running through his head. He consciously slowed down his escalating heartbeat, remembering that none of his alerts had gone off, so Bruce was fine . 

“They didn’t say,” Cyborg responded. Oh well that was just great. Leave it to Bruce not to offer up literally any details freely. But if he was asking for help, then…

His professionalism kicked in, “Where do they need us to meet them?” 

“They requested we join them at Titans East,” Donna answered. 

“I’ll get the T-Car ready!” Cyborg exclaimed, his excitement a harsh, but not unwelcome split in the tense atmosphere, unfortunately there was just one problem with that. 

“Cyborg, I don’t think that’s going to fit all seven of us, and neither will the T-Ship,” he pointed out. His friend slumped. Starfire patted his shoulder in comfort. Looks like they’d need to go separately. Honestly it’d be nice to be alone with his thoughts, just him and his Robin Cycle. 

______________

Unfortunately, Kid Flash had decided that he would just speed Robin to the Titan’s East on his back. And since the Justice League hadn’t arrived yet, they all just sat around talking. He found a sense of kinship in Aqualad and Speedy. 

“God I don’t want to be anywhere near Green Arrow, piece of shit better actually need our help or I’m gonna sock him in the face for wasting my time,” Roy said. Jeez, he had to wonder what happened there. Unlike Dick, who did still think about some of his fond memories with Batman, Roy seemed to hold much less of the same regard for his mentor. It wasn’t hate. Not totally, but definitely a lot of resentment. He knew Roy hadn’t made any public statements about Oliver Queen in his time as a Titan. Granted, Green Arrow also took Roy in when Roy was starting his teenage years, so they’d definitely had less time to develop the level of practically undestroyable, but potentially cracked trust he still afforded Bruce, even when he didn’t really want to see him. But at the same time, he did want to see Bruce, if that made any sense at all. 

Aqualad seemed to hold a similar hesitation to Dick in the notion of seeing his old mentor, but with some more general respect for the man in question. When prompted, he didn’t say much. 

“He’s the king. We’ve had some complications, but he is still the king.”

“What about you, Robin? Rumor mill says you were working with Batman for a pretty long time,” Roy said, lying down onto the couch. 

“We get the job done, and then I’m out,” he replied. Both boys nodded in acceptance. 

“How many of the League members are coming, anyway?” Aqualad questioned. Unfortunately, no one had an answer for him. They soon turned the conversation to other matters, as the other Titans arrived in droves, with still no sight of the Justice League. Dick had already mentally gone over several contingencies in his head for if the whole thing was a trap. Some might call it a little overkill, but old habits die hard. 

Eventually, Wally- who’d been more casually conversing with Bumblebee and Más y Menos, brought up the dreaded subject of his “crush” on Bruce Wayne. Dick didn't have the context, and judging by the expressions on their faces, he wasn't quite sure if he wanted context. 

At this point? He was starting to anticipate seeing Bruce just so he wouldn’t be the only one suffering. 

Actually- no. Because that would mean Wally would need to keep talking about his “crush” on Bruce Wayne in front of potentially the entire Justice League. 

This was absolutely not the legacy he was going to go down with. He would sooner throw himself at Killer Moth and his crazy daughter than let this go. Then, he heard a text alert on his communicator. The sleek black one he kept in one of the back pockets of his utility belt, not the gold one he’d grown so familiar with in recent times. 

He eyed the message, took one deep breath. Two.

Then three. 

______________

Chapter Text

Starfire P.O.V

Not long after they’d left the Tower, Starfire found herself curious.

“Friend Raven, if you do not mind me asking, what was it that you needed to speak to Robin about that required me to call Donna away from him?” Starfire inquired softly, as the two flew side by side, Donna flying somewhat away from them. 

Raven took several moments to answer, lost in thought to the point that Starfire almost thought she was just ignoring her. But she and Raven had known each other long enough, not to mention the time they’d experienced the other's life when they’d swapped bodies, that she could understand the way Raven needed to sift through her thoughts and emotions in peace. So Starfire did not fill the air with more chatter, allowing her friend to take things into consideration. Until finally, she landed on something. 

“I don’t exactly know how much I’m allowed to say. But since it’s you , I doubt Robin would mind too much. How much do you know about Robin’s life before the Titans?” Starfire mulled over the few times Robin had opened up to her about his early life; it actually pained her considerably to realize that there weren’t many of those instances. 

Not that she didn’t understand the desire to leave some things in the past, she hadn’t exactly decided to leave out her royal history on a whim, and there were still some things she’d neglected to tell her fellow Titans about, though not out of distrust. 

But her title as a princess had come out anyway, with Blackfire’s arranged marriage summons forcing her to admit it. It pained her even more perhaps, to realize that Robin’s life before the team formed would likely come to light in a similar manner, forced out into the open because of its relevancy to a situation he hadn’t asked to be in. 

Raven couldn’t fill her in on much without breaching territory deemed too personal to be said out in the open, regardless of how quickly they flew or how high up they were from the ground, with lives as dangerous as their own, they could never be too careful. That was something Robin had drilled into their heads as often as possible, and she did not feel the desire to be put through those lectures again if they were to falter now, even if he’d always make up for those lectures later on. 

But- given what she already knew about Robin, it was abundantly clear that he and Batman had a strained relationship. And so, Starfire arrived at Titans East soon after, filled with determination to ensure that even if Robin had to own up to the pain of the past, she would do whatever she could to make that fall as comfortable as possible. 

______________

Alfred Pennyworth P.O.V

Master Bruce had already informed him that he was going to be working with Master Dick’s team on his next mission. Now when he had heard that, his mind had immediately conjured up several rules for his adult ward, to ensure that his already shaken relationship with his son would not worsen due to their immense lack of communication. 

Now he wasn’t quite sure where they’d gotten that from. He knew he’d never been as on top of the emotional aspects of his son’s life, but he was both a British military man, and afraid of overstepping in his parental role when he’d been so fond of the two who should’ve held the most prominent role in guiding the young master in his stead. But he’d learned enough to know the basics of where things tended to go wrong with his far too complicated for a three person family-dynamic. 

And so he’d created a comprehensive guide, that he easily slipped into the seat of the Batplane along with his wards packed lunch. Along with cookies he could give the younger master as a peace offering, as long as he could avoid eating them all himself on his journey. In green, Alfred took special care in highlighting his most important guideline. 

You should understand this by now, but I fear I must reiterate it. Basic communication is key, sir. If you must question whether or not Robin needs to know something, then that likely means he does in fact need to know something.  

Should you neglect to retain my advice, please refer to page three. Should the backup scenarios on page three fail, please refer to the contingencies on page seven. Should those steps fail, you are to call me immediately. 

You could call him pessimistic perhaps, but he would bet his life on the fact that his wayward son would make it to page seven. He would be glad to be wrong. 

He wouldn’t be. 

______________

Bruce Wayne P.O.V

He could very easily tell that his son was now tracking his location. Mostly because he himself had also been tracking Dick at the same time to see if he would relent to their request to meet. Now it wasn’t like he thought their relationship was so terrible that Dick would consciously dismiss a potential threat, but he couldn’t always tell what it meant to cross the line he’d drawn between them. 

Was he still a father? Or was he demoted back to mentor, or even just legal guardian? Would it be invasive to hack into Dick’s civilian phone in an attempt to see what he’d named Bruce’s contact? 

He could practically hear Alfred’s glare as the idea crossed into his head. 

In any case, he hoped Dick would give him some points for semantics considering he hadn’t been the one to recommend seeking out the Titans. It’d actually been Barry Allen, the Flash- who was perhaps on the best terms with his former sidekick of them all. 

Or perhaps that’d make Dick resent him even more if it seemed like he’d been actively keeping him out of the loop. 

He was trying to understand his son, really- he was.

But in any case, there’d been a couple reasons why Barry had made the suggestion. The first point had been about the fact the Titans had been doing a lot of good during their run, and their influence was only spreading, they’d be a good asset to have on hand should they really need any assistance. But the primary reason Bruce had for accompanying him was regarding another threat that had popped up on his radar. 

Now, Ra’s Al Ghul was primarily part of his rogue gallery, but that didn’t mean he was incapable of branching out past their usual song and dance, far from it in fact. That fact had been proven when another crucial piece had been introduced to the board. A man that even the greatest detective in the world found difficult to discern. A man with little conscience, and a mountain of ambition. A man who apparently had experience dealing with the Titans.

How exactly, Bruce wasn’t entirely certain. Bruce had opposed the idea of getting the Titans involved, up until he’d finally discovered what exactly the man looked like. He was well armored, clothes mostly black with pops of silver and orange, his most prominent feature being his two-toned mask. The man would’ve fit in well amongst the rogues of Gotham. 

And considering the familiarity of the costume, it appeared to Bruce that he’d already dabbled in dealing with Gotham vigilantes in the past. 

Bruce was entirely aware of the time Dick had stolen technology from one of his buildings, Dick had disabled the company cameras, as expected, Bruce would’ve been honestly insulted if he’d made such an amateur mistake, but even he had his blind spots when he was in a rush. Because while Dick had ensured nothing would appear on company record, he had managed to leave a Bat-specific camera open. Now whether that was on purpose or not, was yet to be seen. 

He’d wondered then if Dick was just trying to prove some obscure point to him; naturally his instincts had told him to look into it more. He could see the appeal to practicality in the black and orange of his suit, but it was so far from the image of Robin that Bruce had wondered if Dick had been involved in some sort of cloning accident. 

But then Robin had shown up once more in the news not long after the incident, back in his ever so bright traffic light colors, even calling Alfred, not Bruce, to apologize for the mishap. The orange and black never resurfaced, and so he’d let the matter drop. 

He wasn’t certain whether his relationship with Dick could afford to be shaken like this, but Alfred had basically beaten it into his head that if he didn’t even bother trying, there would be no relationship to shake. And Alfred knew all. But this seemed like the kind of thing Dick would see as a sore subject, so he wasn’t going to start small. 

______________

Dick Grayson P.O.V

He held his breath as the doors opened, his back going ramrod straight; he wasn’t quite sure what he was meant to do with his hands, whether they were too stiff or too casual, it all felt immensely awkward. 

His eyes raked over the figures in the doorway, less than he had expected, and yet luck was still not on his side. Only five of them were present: Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and of course, Batman. 

He wasn’t the only one with a mentor present, he had to remind himself, as he noted the way Aqualad sighed softly beside him in relief, while Speedy seemed to be biting down on his tongue so hard that Robin was afraid he’d bite it clean off. Yet outwarding, he forced himself to appear professional despite his thunderous expression. No more slouching against the couch, or obscene gestures. Many of the other members of his team retained stoic body language in solidarity. 

Only Wondergirl and Kid Flash seemed content with the situation, as both eagerly went to greet their respective mentors. Dick met Batman’s gaze, as unmoving as ever, both entirely aware of the tension that surrounded them as Green Lantern’s eyes darted between them warily, but he did nothing to dispel it. 

Speedy and Green Arrow were caught in a similar deadlock not far from them, and Dick risked a glance at them, his training with Bruce being the only thing that kept him from recoiling at the intensity of it all. 

It was- uncomfortable to look at them, to say the least. Dick was far from scared of either archer, and after becoming immune to the infamous Batglare, he figured he could stand his ground rather well. He’d kept up with Bruce in every argument they’d ever had anyways. In fact, Dick probably could’ve kept up his own staring contest for another few hours if he really deemed it necessary. 

But being on the other side of that, having to watch his feelings, not- not mirrored exactly, but emulated maybe, on another person who’d come from a similar background- it was a little discombobulating. Bruce followed his look, appearing immensely disinterested to most, but Dick could see the man’s inward wince. 

It was nice to know that he could still get a read on Bruce despite their separation as vigilantes. 

They’d worked well together once. Incredibly so, could maybe do even better now that Dick had been able to find other perspectives in combat. No, the similarities of his training with different mentors and Bruce’s journey around the world were not lost on him. The point was that Dick knew what he was doing, and he knew Bruce did too. He knew how Bruce worked, Bruce knew how he worked, it was an all too familiar feeling, the idea that there was nothing they couldn’t find their way around as long as they were in it together. It was- a surprisingly hopeful feeling. 

As long as he was a partner, not a sidekick, this time around. 

Oh how he couldn’t wait for that hope to be crushed. Because it would be. Bruce always managed somehow. 

And god damn did he refuse to be the one to break the stalemate. 

Red Arrows boots clanked loudly as he got to his feet, scowl still ever present as he crossed his arms protectively over his chest, and Dick couldn’t hold back a flinch this time. At least he had enough luxury that he could hope. He met Bruce’s gaze again, this time slightly chagrined, and the man's shoulders seemed to relax in response. 

Starfire floated to stand next to him, and he locked eyes with her as she laid a hand on his shoulder in encouragement, gesturing with a nod to his adoptive father. And so at her behest, he swallowed his pride, and broke the silence. 

“Welcome, it's great to meet you all, my name is Robin, I'm the leader of the Teen Titans,” he gestured to each teammate in turn, introducing them quickly, with Bumblebee, the leader of Titans East, coming to stand by his side. He took note of Beast Boy in the background, who amusedly seemed ready to burst in anticipation. Less amusedly- Robin spotted the way his eyes honed in admiration on Bruce, who gave him no acknowledgement but could definitely see him. 

“It is wonderful-” Ha, pun. “-to meet the heroes of the new generation, I have heard much about you in recent times, I do apologize for the abruptness of our request, we had hoped that we hadn't interrupted anything.” Wonder Woman's voice was warm, her stance relaxed, and her smile was serene.

A golden lasso rested on her hip. The metal of her armor would be difficult to penetrate, Bruce’s notes said she had Amazonian strength, the ability to fly, and was certainly trained in hand to hand. But the right twist could still help him snatch the lasso away. Stealing Green Lanterns ring would be far easier, Wally could run and control enough of the speed force to outrun the Flash, and he was sure Roy was just waiting to throw a punch at Green Arrow, leaving him open to an attack from someone else. He had numbers on his side, and if they called for Superman, he had kryptonite ready in his utility belt. His teammates had their own powers, Starfire could fly, she had her starbolts, Cyborg had control of the building security if things went wrong, and Raven could- 

He shook his head harshly, hoping no one had noticed his mind wander. His observations had been instantaneous, drilled too far into his brain to escape, and he’d let himself get way too deep into them then. The thoughts racing through his head were absolutely not what one was meant to think of when meeting a new ally. 

Someone did notice. A few someones actually. He smiled comfortingly at the Tamaranean girl at his side, and promptly ignored the overgrown rich asshole glaring daggers into the side of his head. When the man didn't let up, he turned slightly, and brought up a hand tucked into his side, in a subtle thumbs up. He felt Wally shiver at his side, likely having glimpsed Batman staring him down. 

“What was it that you wanted to speak to all of us for?” Bumblebee questioned. 

“I, for one, was eager to see new faces amongst the hero community, and wanted to extend an invitation for assistance if any of you required it,” Wonder Woman spoke.

“Think Bats had something else though- which he still won't tell us about but what's the problem with telling a group of teenagers you've never met before,” Green Lantern grumped. 

Beast Boy blinked blearily, and Robin dreaded the words before they came out of his mouth.

“But Batman has met Rob, hasn't he? I-” Raven elbowed him harshly, and Dick felt his heartbeat spike. Each member of the Justice League turned to eye them curiously. 

Unsure of how he was meant to react here, Robin shrugged casually, “Yeah, we’ve met,” he replied simply. When the Justice League seemed ready to pry, Batman cleared his throat pointedly.

“We came here for a reason, our- experience with one another is irrelevant.” His tone was final, Dick would've argued regardless of the glare if he’d been in their place certainly, but it was enough for Bruce’s- friends? Coworkers? -To drop the subject.

“In any case, I thank you for allowing us to introduce ourselves to you, I look forward to working with you all in the future,” Wonder Woman remarked. 

“Would you want to tour the tower?” Beast Boy blurted out. 

“Beast Boy, you don’t even live here,” Raven said. That one got a few chuckles out of the League as the boy ducked his head down, they did in fact decide to take up the offer, allowing the Titans East to take the lead. Except for Speedy, who decided to go and sulk down by the water. Before he left, Robin heard Aqualad whisper grudgingly at him.

“Don’t eat any of my friends this time.”

“No promises.”

______________

“So what’s the whole thing you wanted to speak to us about?” Cyborg questioned, once the five original Titans had pulled Bruce aside.  Robin greatly appreciated the way Cyborg managed not to wither under the full attention of the Batglare then. He seemed almost used to it actually, wonder why? 

Wonder Woman and the Flash were still in the tower with them, far enough to be able to see them, but likely unable to hear them for the most part. Green Arrow had apparently been corralled by his companions into going down to try and speak to Speedy instead.

“Classified,” Batman responded curtly. 

“How are we meant to help if we don’t know what the problem is?” Robin kept his voice level. 

“As I said. Classified. You will know when you need to know.” 

“And why isn’t that time now?”

“You know why.”

“I know your probable reason, trust me when I say it’s not a good reason.”

“Like you’re the most reasonable person.”

“Whatever. Fine. You can leave now.”

“Hm.”

“If all you’re gonna do is ‘hm’ at me for the next hour instead of talking like a normal person you can take your problem and shove it right-”

“ Robin. ” His voice came out sharper than he’d likely intended, loud enough for Wonder Woman and the Flash to look over to see what was going on. Wonder Woman was focused on his father, her expression came off like a warning, while the Flash looked more than a little concerned for his safety. 

He felt a little guilty as he realized how awkward his friends must have felt at such open animosity, but he couldn’t help it. This is just what they do. Wasn’t avoidable even when their only communication was through Alfred or over text. They disagree, they fight, they punch a few things (or people) and then they go and do whatever they need to do because they’re not actually going to leave the other hanging. It was a system. 

Batman closed his eyes briefly to gather his thoughts before he spoke once more, “I’ll be in touch,” and then he swept away dramatically, as he always did. Beast Boy was the first to speak afterwards. 

“Soooo…he seemed nice?”

“Hm,” Robin hummed. 

(He’d later recall his response to Beast Boy in that moment and silently put his face in his pillow, before letting out the most ear-splitting scream imaginable. It was a good thing his room was sound proof.)

______________ 

Wally West P.O.V

“Seriously though, Bruce Wayne? Why?” Speedy asked incredulously, having just evaded Green Arrow when the blonde man had spotted him by the water. 

“Look I didn’t get it all that much at first, but you have got to see these pictures.” 

“No yeah, I’ve seen them. But he’s definitely too old for Robin.”

“We’ve been through this, it’s not like he was looking to actually get together with the guy. I don’t think anyway, he actually hasn’t talked about it much, think he’s too busy tearing his hair out.”

“Probably shouldn’t do that if he wants to avoid giving himself a bald spot. I’ve got tips if he needs them though.”

“Why would you know how to cover up a bald spot?”

“Look, when Aqualad gets mad, he gets mad . Pro tip, never give him a gift certificate to a sushi bar for his birthday.”

“You what ?”

“Okay look I know I don’t do myself any favors but that genuinely was an accident! I didn’t know it was a sushi bar, I just knew people said it was good!”

“Did you tell him that??”

“Not until after the damage was already done,” Speedy touched a spot on the back of his head forlornly, sighing. 

“He did buy me a new set of arrows and a hat to cover up the spot after he found out it was an accident though,” he admitted. 

“You know, I think there was an ocean themed part of the photoshoot Wayne did, if you want to play a little prank-”

“No thanks, I already told Aqualad I might eat one of his fish friends again, I didn’t, obviously and I’ll try not to, but I’ve already poked the shark enough for one day.”

“Hm, fair enough. You want me to help me try to sneak the photos into Robin’s utility belt then?”

“What if that distracts him from battle?”

“Nah, Robin’s too good to let that affect him in the middle of a fight, he’s too professional.”

“Sick, you should put it on his bike too then.”

“Oh I’ll save that one for later, pretty sure he’ll skewer me if I don’t wait out the teasing a tad more, especially with how busy he’ll probably be now. Who knows though, maybe he’ll find some inspiration in there somewhere- oh hey Uncle Flash, what’re you standing in the doorway for?”

His Uncle Barry stood there, not hiding necessarily, but he still seemed a little spooked at being called out. 

“Hey kid, I was just coming over to let you know I was about ready to head out, sorry I just couldn't help overhearing part of your conversation, got a little curious is all,” Uncle Barry responded sheepishly. Wally wasn't entirely sure why, but there was some feeling of dread that settled in his stomach, making him hesitate to voice the entirety of the subject. Perhaps he just felt a little awkward telling an older hero about something like this, Robin was like, super super professional, if it’d been anyone else, he would’ve probably made up something else, but it was still his uncle. And Robin’s reputation was pristine enough that this probably wouldn’t put even a little dent into it. 

“Uh, right- it's not anything important, it's just this uh, Gotham guy that Robin had like, a celebrity crush on at one point. He’s been around a lot recently so I’ve been having a little fun with it. Don't worry about it.” 

Did that last part sound worse to anyone? Because the dread in Wally’s stomach only seemed to intensify, and he still wasn't sure what seemed so foreboding exactly. 

Eh, maybe he was just hungry. There was a nice waffle house down in town he'd been wanting to try anyway. 

Uncle Barry looked contemplative for a second, before his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Was a Gotham guy being attractive really such a weird thing? Like yeah Gothamites were basically freaks, and he said that affectionately, it's not like he was wrong in any sense of the word. But his uncle's reaction seemed just a little too dramatic. Not a moment later, his uncle sped off, a rushed goodbye on his lips, and Wally turned to Speedy in confusion. 

Speedy frowned, “Your mentor isn't like, homophobic right?”

Wally shook his head vehemently, eyes wide and ready to snarl in response before Speedy held up his hands in surrender. 

“Sorry, sorry- didn't think he seemed the type, that was just really weird and y’know I'd rather avoid working with a potential homophobe if I can avoid it.”

“Dude, I'm not even straight.”

“I mean no duh .”

“Okay hold on what does that even mean?” He was ignored. 

“But seriously, he didn't even get a name. Like what, does he think Robin had a crush on the Joker or something?”

“Wouldn't it be like low-key taboo to have a crush on your old city's biggest supervillain?” 

“I mean the colors are kinda there. All bright and clashing and shit. Y’know like, twisted clown and the flippy acrobat? I could see why Flash might jump to assuming Robin might have been inspired by-”

Two birdarangs whizzed past their heads and embedded themselves into the wall. The two redheads whipped their heads to the side, the projectiles missing their faces by mere inches. Swallowing, the two looked to the doorway, where a dark-haired boy in “all bright and clashing and shit” colors stood, glowering openly with another birdarang in his hand. 

Wally could've sworn he felt the temperature drop as Robin brought the bird arranged up to point at them menacingly.

“Never. And I mean never, say that again.”

“Yes sir!” “Understood!” Their responses came immediately, and they simultaneously let out deep breaths as Robin turned his back on them, cape whipping dramatically, and his birdarang falling back to his side. 

Just as he left, Green Arrow came walking in, swerving slightly to avoid bumping into him, scratching his head in confusion. Wally could just barely make out his next words.

“Now where have I seen that before?”

______________

Barry Allen P.O.V 

“Hal, you’ll never believe what I just heard!”

“What’s up Barry?”

“You know how a bunch of us went to go and meet the Titans, but you left early?”

“Yeah?”

“You remember the leader?”

“The bird or the bee?”

“I- the bird? Hal, why did you have to say it like that-”

“Barry old pal, get on with it please.”

“Right so I was listening in on a conversation between my protege and Arrow’s old protege, right?”

“The protege that doesn’t like him?”

“Yeah that one, pretty sure it’s his only one- not the point though!”

“So what is it?”

“Dude, Robin had a crush on Batman.”

Hal blinked at him. Turned to the water bottle in his own hands, took a large swig- 

And then promptly spat it out, before slamming the bottle into the table, crushing the plastic instantly and sending his papers flying. 

“Genuinely fucking what ? Wait, had or has? ”

“Uh-”

Chapter Text

Barry Allen P.O.V

“Okay- no, no seriously listen-” Barry defended.

“Why the fuck would Robin have had a crush on Batman? Did you not see the way those two were glaring at each other?” Hal responded incredulously. 

“Well you know that phrase, ‘never meet your heroes-’ they eluded to having a history together, what if Robin was inspired to go into vigilantism by Batman but then they met and Batman was all broody and stubborn, and y’know- just Batman, so-”

“And so he set out to prove Spooky wrong? I don’t know man, I haven’t known Robin that long, but he doesn’t strike me as the type to be petty enough to learn all the skills I’ve heard he has just to prove a point.”

“You met him for like twenty minutes, in a professional setting, is it really that much of a stretch to think a younger hero might have a crush on Batman?”

“I mean no- like I get it, the guy’s hot, sure. I’m just saying, maybe it’s not like a full on crush in the ‘I like and respect you and I want to be just like you’ kind of way, and maybe it’s just an ‘I’d choose to marry you in a game of fuck, marry, kill’ kind of way.”

“Okay first off I really don’t see how that’s any better. But look me in the eye right now and tell me you’ve never wanted to be like Batman at least once in your life.” Hal opened his mouth once,then twice, before shutting it with a loud clack of his teeth, twitching. 

“Yeah, exactly! Anyway I’ll be honest, I was definitely freaking out a second ago but in hindsight I don’t think it’s actually that bad. It’s not like it’s a big deal anyway since they hate each other now, but like maybe we should be careful about pairing them up together for anything. Batman’s already quiet enough without us also making him uncomfortable.”

______________

Hal Jordan P.O.V

“...You’re seeing this right.”

Hal slumped downward. “Yeah…yeah I am.”

The League had decided to organize a sort of bonding mission to better integrate the Titans into their hero circle, much to Batman’s annoyance, but he’d been outvoted. The plan had been to pair a Titan with one of the Justice League members and send them out into the field on a fairly low stakes mission, so they’d have the opportunity to get to know one another without putting too much pressure on themselves. 

Low stakes were still stakes though, so Diana had suggested a prior meeting so they could analyze skill sets and see who would be best paired with one another. A little showcase so to speak in a general training session, sparring, powers, strategies, the works. 

Hal knew for a fact that Batman had specifically curated every case puzzle challenge to his own skill level, meaning even the most minute details could have been entirely relevant, but there were so many factors programmed in that Hal had never seen anyone able to keep up with Batman’s completion speed. 

Until today that is. 

9.4 seconds, that was Batman’s best record. In terms of the League, second place always fluctuated, but no one else had ever been able to make it under a minute. Hal remembered a day that Batman had pissed him off at a meeting so badly that he became determined to beat Batman’s record out of pure spite after the instance. He stayed glued to his seat, working on the case simulation for over two days . He never did get the score he wanted, but weirdly Batman had actually praised him for his work ethic, saying it was always good to work on improving your analytical skills and that his scores were pretty remarkable considering he hadn’t slept in those two days and was dead on his feet by the end of it. Not in so many words as Hal used now mind you, but the gist of it was there, and it’d been enough to placate Hal in that moment. But after all that, he knew he had gotten invested enough that he was still a tad disappointed he’d never made it down to a minute. Hal was certain that no man but Batman would be able to analyze that many factors, connect all the dots and formulate a countering action in such a short amount of time.

Robin made it in 51 seconds flat. On his first try. 

Needless to say- Hal was just a little upset. But the kid was damn likable. Witty, and intelligent, and as goofy as the others were when you really let him get comfortable, if still a bit more reserved. 

“ Wrong . Try again,” a deep, monotone voice growled out. 

Yeah- unfortunately letting the kid get comfortable was harder than one would expect.

 “It’s a subjective question, just because you don’t like how I handled it doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

“The risks involved-” 

Robin scowled, “Are hypothetical , but even if they weren’t, are easily countered if I-” 

Hal had expected Batman to be pretty impressed with finally seeing someone get so close to his record, especially since he’d seemed pretty supportive when Hal made it to a minute and fifty-eight seconds that one time, after what felt like a couple hundred tries. Robin had beaten him by over a minute, honestly the kid should be over the moon. But instead Robin had gotten a scolding . In front of his own team, and the Justice League. After beating Hal on his first try . Not that Hal thought anyone on either team would hold the spat against the kid, but it was the principle of it all. At this point, he almost wanted to protest on the kids behalf, but with how intensely they were glaring at each other, Hal wasn’t sure either of them would’ve even heard if he tried. 

“What you should’ve done was-” The scowl on Robin’s face as he sat through the lecture would’ve been enough to open the gates of hell if he had the power to. Hal didn’t think he did anyway, but he wouldn’t have been that surprised.

The plan Batman offered instead of what Robin had tried in the simulation hadn’t even been all that different as far as Hal could see, he definitely got why the kid was getting so pissed. If Hal were in his place, he would’ve stormed off ages ago. But luckily, it didn’t seem that all was lost between the two. 

They’d taken to the mats next for sparring. Seeing how poorly Robin and Batman seemed to feel towards one another, they’d been placed on the same team, to avoid them getting too heated should they have sparred one another. Poor Hal had been on the first opposing team, paired up with Beast Boy, and well-

They’d gotten pummeled. 

The two had a real connection in combat. Hal had fully expected to be facing off against Batman primarily, and the man had been staring him down just as they got the signal to start, so he’d been completely caught off guard when the red-clad teenager vaulted off of Batman’s shoulders and flung his foot out at Hal’s face. Once Hal had staggered, in a well practiced series of twists, Robin had catapulted off of Hal’s chest, the force knocking him out of the circle dazedly. 

Batman had engaged with Beast Boy, who was rapidly trying to switch between animals because Batman almost always seemed to have some kind of contraption specifically designed to deal with whatever he turned into- paranoid bastard as he was, Hal wasn’t all that surprised. Beast Boy soon realized his best bet was trying to dodge until Batman tried a different tactic, and had chosen to make himself a small bird to create a smaller target. Hal was fairly certain the kid had been trying to fly up to the ceiling to drop the chandelier on the two grumpy vigilantes at some point, desperate move but honestly fair considering the circumstances, however-

In perfect sync, both Robin and Batman had whipped out thin, sharp projectiles, one in the shape of a bat,and the other in what Hal assumed must have been a bird, tossing them at a speed Hal was just barely able to comprehend, with perfect precision. Each shot made its mark, pinning Beast Boy to the wall by both of his wings. 

Hal finally regained his bearings enough to rejoin the match, refusing to surrender so easily. A natural mistake really. 

The two had come at him full force, and he’d managed to hold his own with his ring for a bit thankfully, he was much more appreciative of the secret identity rule at that moment, because with the creepy ass grin on Robin’s face, he was certain the little shit would’ve just stolen the ring the first chance he got. A very off-putting contrast to how stoic he’d been before. Each strike was near-perfect, evidently held back to avoid seriously injuring him, but they fought in tandem with incredible clarity, always avoiding hitting one another despite how close they stood and what spots they striked, not a single pause in their movements, each move complementary to the one prior. Hal was proud of how long he’d lasted, short time as it may have been, it’s not like the odds had been in his favor, so he wasn’t too perturbed when Batman’s punch finally smacked him back out of the ring. He stayed down this time. 

Beast Boy had gotten himself down from the wall, turned to face the duo, saw the manic grin on his friends face, and the Batglare on the older hero’s, and promptly re-pinned himself to the wall with a sheepish smile. Smart boy. 

The cackle Robin let out at that moment was almost ear-splittingly eerie. And clearly wasn’t a normal occurrence considering how startled his own team looked when they heard it. 

But it was nothing. 

And he meant nothing. 

Compared to how terrifying Batman’s look of content was. Not just his less scowly-scowl as Hal would put it, but upturned lips and all- a small smile, but still a smile. 

Hal was pretty sure he was hallucinating from the head trauma or something, but he could’ve sworn he even saw Batman clap Robin on the shoulder once they'd left, and Robin had smiled back . The first time he hadn’t been looking at Batman with disdain the entire evening. Robin followed after the man shortly after, as they silently approached the bar, and they continued walking together until the next event. Hal would even go as far as saying that Robin reminded him of a baby duckling. Definitely potential puppy-love type crush material when he thought about it, he could see it now. 

He’d been sure that their fighting styles were enough to get them paired up for the mission. If Hal hadn’t thought Robin had gotten inspiration from Batman before, he certainly believed it now.  But even with how seamlessly blended the two were, against all odds- 

Robin was paired with Superman.

______________

-Several Days Later-

“Do you think Robin’s disappointed that he wasn’t paired up with Batman?” He asked Barry the next day. 

“I don’t know, hey Batman chose the groups this time, didn’t he? How come he didn’t want to work with him? I thought they were getting along more by the end of the night.”

“Maybe he just wanted to spread skills out more?”

“I guess so, but wasn’t the point of that just to see who would mesh well together? Because everyone’s meant to know how to easily adapt to whatever the other person has to offer. I didn’t think we were actually accounting for anything other than personal connection for the first missions.”

“Guess we’ll find out. Maybe it’s their strategies that don’t work out well, he was like way harsh earlier.”

“Hm…yeah he was, honestly maybe we should talk to Batman about that.”

______________

Batman P.O.V

Truthfully, the only reason he paired Dick up with Superman was because he remembered how Superman was his favorite hero growing up. How Gotham mourned, but that wasn’t the point. He hoped that would make up for the fact he’d decided to pair up with Starfire, see a bit into her relationship with his son. It didn’t seem that nosey as far as Bruce could tell, it wasn’t like he was trying to hide his intentions.

He could tell Dick was still very much not impressed. But he took the ruling surprisingly well, not a word was exchanged between them, but that meant no screaming matches, so Bruce was going to take it as a win.

The cookies from Alfred were probably a good consolation prize too. Alfred had sent him with extra this time to ensure the delivery was made. Right before he ripped into him for already failing to follow the rules he’d been sent with. 

-A Day Earlier-

“Master Bruce, I specifically asked you to deliver those cookies to Master Dick when you reached Titans East.”

“...I got hungry.”

“Master Bruce.”

“...Sorry.”

“For what?”

Bruce frowned, “For eating the cookies?”

“And?” Alfred prodded. Bruce blinked. 

“Master Bruce-” Alfred spoke disappointedly, “-what was the very first rule that I gave you before you left?”

“Well-”

“Did you avoid even touching the guidelines I sent with you?”

“...No, I read them.”

“Then why did you choose not to follow them, hm? Were they perhaps not up to your standards? Were the most simplistic of social rules too difficult for you to handle?” Bruce turned away. 

“ Basic communication, sir. And yet, how much information have you already neglected to extend to your son?”

“...I’ll talk to him.”

“Very good, sir. Don’t forget the cookies.”

-Present Day-

Bruce had felt a little indignant after that experience, but he figured the Slade Wilson matter was going to have to come up sooner rather than later. Breaking the news on an inter-team relations mission- (yes he refused to refer to it as a bonding session like Diana had claimed) -was less than ideal. He had his systems working, and there’d been no sign of prominent activity from the man so far, involving Robin could wait, hopefully just as a last resort. 

In any case, he still had work he needed to get out of the way before then. He’d figured out five teams, and assigned each one a specific task, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash had opted out of the mission but had agreed to have their own one-on-one meetings with a League member later on. He was sending Robin with Superman, Cyborg with the Flash, Beastboy with Green Lantern, and Raven with Wonder Woman. 

Robin could take on the role that he himself usually played when paired up with Superman, the strategic thinker and detective, an intellectual balance for the sheer force Superman held. Cyborg and Barry both had their interest in sciences, albeit different kinds, but they were intelligent enough to understand one another, they could keep each other grounded, but still remain lighthearted. 

He’d paired Beastboy with Green Lantern for similar reasons, but beyond all their antics, they were both people that’d earned the trust of their teams, he’d likely regret giving them a space to freely swap stories later, but for the time being, they seemed a good fit. 

Wonder Woman and Raven held perhaps the most stark difference in personality; he had considered swapping Raven and Starfire at one point because he figured he and Raven would appreciate the silence they so rarely obtained. But he had his reasons for pairing up with Starfire himself, and Diana was always good at conversing with people who didn’t always give her much to work with, so he could trust that she’d make something out of it. He was sure he was likely pushing her out of her comfort zone a bit, but considering the lack of protest from Robin, he didn’t seem to be pushing her out of her depth with the choice. 

Truth be told, he figured Starfire could have a similar effect on him if she was able to get past his connection to Robin, she reminded him quite a bit of Superman in a way. At least from a surface level perspective. He hoped this didn’t count as invasive, but just in case, he hastily scoured Alfred’s socialization manual for any indication that it was.

His mulling over his thoughts were soon interrupted by the arrival of Barry Allen and Hal Jordan, neither had monitor duty that day, so he couldn’t be certain what they wanted, but he shoved the manual underneath his cape. 

“Hey Bats,” Barry greeted. 

“Hn,” He acknowledged with a nod of his head. They stood in front of him awkwardly, to the point he questioned whether or not they may have just wanted to use the couch he was sitting on. When neither moved to speak further, he readied himself to leave. 

“Can we talk to you about Robin?” Hal blurted out, and Bruce felt himself stiffen. 

“What about Robin?”

“Uh- well, oh god, oh god, how the fuck do I say this-”

“Lantern.”

“Sorry Bats, it’s just that this is something we think we should put delicately-”

“Just say it.”

“Robin likes you!” Hal shouted, before comically smacking his palm over his mouth. 

Bruce had never recoiled more violently in his life. His coworkers evidently noticed, and they rushed to explain whatever that meant , because it definitely shouldn’t mean what Batman thought those words meant. Because that would be absurd. No- there was clearly a better explanation for this-

“Er- well, liked, like? I’m not actually that sure, but-”

“Elaborate.”

“I don’t have much more to say, and even if I did, it’s already bad enough we’re spilling this much about the kid-”

“ Where exactly, did you hear about this?” 

“It doesn’t matter! Look-”

“No, I think it definitely does matter.” He wanted to punch something. Really, really badly wanted to punch something. If it wouldn’t be so frowned upon, a coworker would’ve done the trick, but alas. 

“We didn’t tell you just so you could go and attack anyone or something! Look, just can you try being a little less angsty with the kid? He seems to really look up to you-”

“Trust me when I say he doesn’t -” Whether he did generally was one thing and even that was still up for debate, but if he did, then it definitely wasn’t in the way these two were thinking, or at least he really, really hoped it wasn’t. Then again, maybe he was misinterpreting what they meant- 

“No, no seriously- we’re pretty sure he does.” Pretty sure was okay, because that left room for error, plenty of it even, he couldn’t believe he’d ever praised these two for their abilities, he was going to throw himself into the Gotham harbor. Alfred could come and fish him out once he’d washed away all memory of knowing them. 

“We’re definitely not the only ones to have noticed-” Oh so Bruce was going to drown himself after this conversation, that was fine too. 

The memory of page five of Alfred’s handbook popped up in his head: Act as civilly and politely as possible when informing your comrades of what you perceive as incompetence. When one’s mind runs as quickly as yours, it is not prudent to assume that everyone else has come to the same conclusions so swiftly. It is simply rude. 

Alfred must have really thought he needed help with that one considering that rule earned its own entire page, with cartoonish diagrams, index, and documented exceptions to the rule. He kept that rule at the forefront of his mind now, if only because he wasn’t sure when or where Alfred had placed any listening bugs. 

But right now, he almost wanted to call Dick just to have another screaming match. At least it’d be an assurance that these claims were completely false.

“Your sources are faulty,” he insisted, consciously leaving out the usual growl that would’ve accompanied such a statement. Both looked incredibly skeptical. 

“I don’t know, Bats, they seemed pretty certain,” Barry admitted. 

“They’re wrong-”

Hal cut in, “Okay, fair, fair. Look, as far as I can see, the kid may not have a crush per say-” Bruce sighed inwardly with relief, “-but it feels like he’s definitely inspired by you. Seriously though dude, is it that hard to believe a kid could think you’re cool? I know I give you a hard time but it’s not like-”

He was quick to interrupt, bristling, “ A kid is fine, this kid is not-”

“Look look look, I’m already having second thoughts about even telling you, so sorry if this makes things awkward or whatever, but even if it’s not a crush, the kid’s still young, and I can’t imagine having you talk to him like you did that day being super great for his self-confidence, which isn’t great since he’s obviously been doing plenty to establish himself-”

He needed Barry to start looking at him so that the Batglare would work, but the man stubbornly kept his eyes closed without even realizing, while Hal turned away from him completely. He tried to tune him out for a bit, but the man just kept going on and on . Eventually, he grabbed Barry’s shoulder, he jumped- evidently startled. 

Batman stared daggers into his coworkers face, “If I say I’ll give him a break, will you leave?” Barry nodded enthusiastically, his expression still a bit terrified even as Bruce released his shoulder. 

The two idiots finally left the room, and the moment he was certain they were out of earshot, Bruce slumped back forlornly in his chair. Grieving his peace, he took out his phone, his finger hovering over the call button of his son's contact for several minutes. 

Eventually, he pulled up Alfred’s socialization guide, and eyed it with malice. Right now he had to wonder whether or not it’d be worth it to set the damned thing on fire. 

This was something Robin would likely want to know about, but he also really wished that he didn’t know about the rumor in the first place, so maybe it wouldn’t be. What would he even say? 

Oh hey son- this is the first time I’ve called you since you moved out over a year ago, say you didn’t start suddenly worshiping my image at any point after, right? He glared at his phone, finger still hovering. He hesitated for another few minutes, before it really set in what the two men had actually wanted. 

He’d been too distracted by his own panic to really consider their warnings, but now that he was convinced that it wasn’t admiration in the romantic sense, he had to wonder- had he really been that harsh with Robin during the strategy games? Maybe he had been harsher than he was with his teammates, but he thought he and Robin had actually had a nice time fighting together afterwards. Maybe it was all just adrenaline and Robin did still harbor extra resentment than he usually did, but just liked winning so easily and Bruce made that happen just fine. They didn’t really speak after that, but Bruce had thought it went okay overall. Had the disconnect really been that strong? 

“ He’d better be ready to catch these fucking hands,” he’d heard his son mutter disgruntedly afterwards to his half-robot friend, who patted him on the back sympathetically, even if his face was the picture of surprise. Personally, Bruce had seen nothing surprising about the words, perhaps it was his reputation as Batman playing a part in the blatant shock, or maybe they’d simply never heard their leader curse before. Nevertheless, Bruce had winced slightly at the tone, he’d even considered apologizing then, but truthfully- after years training the boy in detective work, utilizing practically the same puzzle program he used during the Titans-League meeting, in addition to all of the practical work he’d done in the field-

Robin was not getting an apology for that. That performance was frankly fucking abysmal. 

As he turned the page, his eyes caught on a line right at the top of page six. A single line continuation of the previous page, the list of exceptions to the politeness rule. 

You may forego politeness if the statement may cause any form of unreasonable distress to a person's image or well-being. 

Damn. Well if he wasn’t distressed before, he certainly was now. He’d been nice to his coworkers for nothing .

______________

Hal Jordan P.O.V

“Hey Hal, I thought you did believe that Wally said it was a crush,” Barry wondered, as they neared the zeta tubes. 

“ Who’s Wally?” Barry blinked, before shaking his head rapidly.

“Forget I said that.”

“Don’t even know who you’re talking about, but sure. Anyway, I do- but can you imagine how embarrassing it’d be to tell Batman to let someone down easily?” He replied.

“Ask Batman to let who down easily?” A voice wondered incredulously. 

“Oh. Hey Supes, how’s it going?”

“Did you mean that in the romantic sense, or the tossing someone off the roof sense?”

“Eh.”

Chapter Text

Hal Jordan P.O.V

“What do you mean by that?” 

“Just eh, like I could definitely envision Batman trying to throw the guy off a roof, but I did mean it in the romantic sense. But like, not in a weird way, it’s super surface level, probably.”

“...Right. So, who is it?” Clark asked warily.

Barry blinked, “Who’s what?”

“The one you asked Batman to let down easy!” Clark responded irritably. 

“Ohh yeah, we were talking about Robin.”

“Yeah, hope the kid isn’t offended that we stepped in on his behalf,” Hal remarked.

“You’re joking right?”

“Nope.”

“Hal, please for god’s sake, tell me that Batman isn’t giving the kid the wrong idea,” Clark groaned.

“Whoa now Supes, the Bat’s no pedo.”

“Obviously not! I’m not saying he is! But- you know he’s, uh- a bit of a complicated individual? I know his social cues are a bit, skewed. So maybe he just didn’t notice-”

A voice from the next room responded calmly, “I don’t quite understand how Robin could come to such a conclusion after how harshly Batman berated him during his online detective sequence.”

“Bat’s arguments were bullshit, yeah,” Hal agreed, still bitter on the kid's behalf as he turned to acknowledge the green-skinned man, the Martian Manhunter. 

“That…is not what I said. Though I do not wholly disagree.”

“Back to the topic! Bats isn’t encouraging it as far as I can tell. And even if Robin does like him, it’s bound to wear off soon.”

“It might just be an underlying thing-” Superman conceded, “-it could just come and go depending on how standoffish he is that day.”

“Oh? Do you speak from personal experience?” J’onn asked, completely straight-faced. 

“Oh would you look at the time, I’d best get home before my date with Lois.” 

Answer enough, Hal spent a few good minutes cackling in that doorway, and by the time he was done, his sides were aching and his friends were long gone. 

______________

Donna Troy P.O.V

The first set of inter-team cooperative missions were scheduled quite close, but Donna was leaving for a mission of her own with Kid Flash that had been planned for the same day, so she’d have to miss out on the first round. Five of her teammates however had been available, paired up in what would hopefully be a complementary pairing. 

Raven however, had her doubts about that. 

To Donna’s understanding, Raven and Diana didn't have much in common from a surface level perspective. Raven had been as professional as could be when asked about it, but she didn’t seem particularly eager about the prospect. Though then again, Raven never seemed very eager. But regardless, Donna had felt the need to reach out to her sister for a brief overview of what to expect. Not that she didn’t trust Diana to adapt, but Donna figured it might be best to bring her up to speed a bit. She assumed she’d find her sister wrapped up in her work during monitor duty, perhaps writing a report, maybe just going over the facts of a case. 

Instead, she found her sister listening raptly to something Superman must have felt incredibly passionate about, if how rapidly his hands were moving as he spoke meant anything. 

But the instant he spotted Donna in the doorway, his words abruptly ceased. Diana smiled apologetically as her sister stopped in her tracks. 

Donna broke the silence first. “My apologies, have I interrupted something important?” 

“No, no- Superman here just had a few interesting things to share about our comrades' lives,” Diana spoke carefully. It was nice to know that no matter how high up on the totem pole you got, no one escaped the lack of professionalism procured through the gossip mill. 

“Maybe…maybe you can provide some insight actually, if you don’t mind.” Superman began rapidly shaking his head at the notion, gesturing for Diana to be quiet. He was ignored completely. Curious, Donna tilted her head and motioned for Diana to continue, and she was more than happy to oblige. 

“You are quite close with your team leader, correct?”

“Robin? I’d like to think we’ve become fairly close, yes.”

“And how open is he, with you and your team?”

“A normal amount, I suppose. I’m unaware of his secret identity if that’s what you’re referring to, I believe Starfire once said that he’s no open book, but at the very least, he’s got a synopsis on the back cover.”

“Right, right- uh, well how much would you say that you know about his journey to becoming a hero?” Superman cut in. 

“Nothing I’d be willing to share without his permission,” Donna remarked, eyebrow raised. Not that she knew all that much in the first place, but she certainly wouldn’t learn any more if she spilled what she did know. 

“Superman, get to the point please, I would’ve thought you of all people would handle this rather easily” Diana admonished. Donna had no clue what that meant, but Superman suddenly straightened, his face smoothing over. 

“There have been rumors suggesting that Robin has held some degree of affection for a certain someone.”

“Who? Starfire? Those are true, yes. I’m not entirely certain what they are exactly. But I don’t quite understand what that has to do with his journey to becoming a vigilante. Or why you want to know about it.”

“Oh no, that’s plain to see, the rumors in question were actually brought up by Green Lantern, Hal Jordan that is, and the Flash,” Diana remarked.  

Donna groaned in realization, she really didn’t want to see Robin’s reaction to half the Justice League thinking he had a crush on airheaded billionaire Bruce Wayne, “By the gods, did Kid Flash say something?” 

“More or less, not to one of us however, so we’re hearing it rather secondhand.”

“He’s just a rich man from Gotham with clearly too much time on his hands. Even if it is true, it has no effect on how Robin operates. I still don’t see what this has to do with him becoming Robin, but I suppose I’ll leave that be for now-” Donna frowned, “-But listen, I don’t really want to add fuel to the fire here, this is already getting to Robin enough as it is. There are only so many times we can fix the holes he puts in the walls and cabinets. So could you both do me a favor and not bring it up?”

“We understand, I apologize for putting you in such an awkward position,” Superman replied. 

“No worries at all. I get that gossip has its appeal no matter where you end up. I’d rather you have told me so I could nip this in the bud than just let it run freely. But since that’s been cleared up, Diana could I speak to you about your upcoming mission now?”

______________

“Whatever you do before and after is none of my business. But mess up the mission with the fucking Justice League for no good reason, and you perish,” were Robin’s parting words to his team as they headed away from one another to join their respective mission partners. He regretted nothing.  

______________

Cyborg P.O.V

“Hey man!” Flash greeted him as he entered the training room. 

“Sup, you getting in some last minute practice before the mission, too?”

“Yep, Batman procedure-” he drawled, “-it’s fairly standard, what about you?”

“ Robin procedure,” he snorted, matching the way the other man had drawn out his teammates name in exasperation. 

Laughing, Flash replied, “Let me guess, crime never stops, so neither can you?”

“Every single time. Don’t even get me started on how much he analyzes those mission reports. And the quarterly diagnostic training schedules? Man, I didn't think it was possible for the human body to need that many calories after one workout.”

“Ha! You don’t even know, kid. And here I thought Batman was the only obsessive one.”

“Nah, Rob’s like, bad. Great guy, but god damn is it a miracle we’ve gotten through so many diagnostics without throwing a single punch-”

“I knew my ears were burning,” they both jumped, as a voice rang out from the shadow. The minute Cyborg turned around, he was smacked dab in the middle of his face with a pingpong ball. 

Robin stood behind them, openly smirking, “And I believe that , Cyborg is why I always tell you to stay alert, what if that had been a knife? Or a freezeray?”

“Well first off if it had been a knife, I woulda gone and yelled at the dude who thought it’d be a good idea to give you one. Now if it was a freezeray, I woulda freed my arms so I could come over there and smother you and make you share the cold,” Cyborg scowled goodnaturedly. 

“Only if you could avoid the subsequent attacks I would’ve used while you were still reeling from my initial projectile,” Robin spoke, face suddenly going neutral as he went into leader mode. Cyborg could practically feel the headache coming on. The Flash however, had his attention upwards, appearing curious, but perhaps too respectful to step in between the two. 

“Grappling to the legs, pulled you straight down. Hostage got taken out. Another kick to the head, go for the eye. You get knocked out. Quick move, bomb placed. A-”

“Alright, alright Rob- I get it!” he interrupted. 

“Another ping pong ball to the face,” Robin continued this time with a sudden grin, tossing another from his utility belt that Cyborg now caught with ease- 

“WOOOOOOO!!” It became very apparent what the Flash had actually been looking at on the ceiling as a force hit him from behind, green limbs came to latch over his neck, and Cyborg found himself plummeting to the ground. The Flash was smiling, but thankfully held back on actually letting loose a laugh. 

“Hey Cy, how’s it going?” 

“Get off me,” he sighed forlornly. Robin let out a loud cackle. A proper fucking hyena laugh, so different from what he’d grown used to from the guy that even Beastboy stopped to stare. It wasn’t as eerie as it had been during his fight with Beastboy and Green Lantern, but it was still kinda creepy as hell. 

Still, he wasn’t gonna lie, he didn’t expect Robin to sign off on something like that in the first place. He’d really let up over time, used to be a real hard ass even, but Cyborg would’ve expected Robin to care a little more about their reputation within the League. Or maybe Flash was just so approachable of a guy that he wasn’t really on Robin’s radar. 

“Alright I’ll leave you to whatever you were doing before-” Robin conceded finally, “-Make sure your systems are all updated, the T-Ship should be free for you to use if you want it.” Once his teammates were gone, his mission partner turned to look at him curiously. 

“The T-Ship?”

“Mhm, my pride and joy, built her fairly pretty early on after I started working with the Titans,” Cyborg responded. 

“So you’re really into the tech side of things, huh?”

“I mean you’d figure, I’m literally half robot. Rob helps with the tech too, but it’s generally more my thing.”

“Oh yeah, fair. That’s pretty cool though, Batman usually runs most of our tech, I’m more of a chemistry guy myself.”

“Do you guys have a lab up here?”

“Yep! Hey, do you want to come up and see how it works? I figure all the Titans might want to come and see the rest of the tower eventually.”

“Hell yeah man! Just do me a favor and keep the zynothium away from Robin,” he shuddered. 

“Uh, okay?” Flash shook his head, bemused.

______________

Raven P.O.V

Wonder Woman was surprisingly easy to sit with in comfortable silence. Raven had gone into the mission assuming she would be more of a genderbent Superman, someone well-intentioned and affable, but with an incredibly loud presence. Far too loud for such a long jetride.

But Wonder Woman was capable of appearing far more serene than Raven would’ve given her credit for. Sure, she was tall and bright and shining, just like she’d expected, but she felt no need to fill the air with chatter, and seemed perfectly fine with the silent atmosphere. Even-

“Would you mind if I joined you?” Perhaps she’d spoken too soon, she internally bemoaned. She raised an eyebrow. 

“Your meditation,” she clarified, and Raven felt her eyes widen a fraction before she relaxed once more, she searched the Amazon’s expression for a moment, and seeing no trace of mockery, she nodded, scooting over to give her a place to sit. 

“Have you done this before?” she could help but ask. 

“I have, yes. Meditation was a fairly common practice back home. My sisters and I may not have always appreciated it, but it is very nice to get a break from the conflict that comes from being in the world of man, is it not?” Raven didn’t respond, but she saw Wonder Woman smile softly as she got into position. She barely even noticed when the jet landed as they finally arrived at the mission site. 

Their mission was simple enough, as were all of the “bonding” missions each set of partners had been sent on. They just had to intercept a weapons dealer before he made it out of the city, as far as they could tell, no supervillains were affiliated with the guy, with their powers, it likely only should’ve needed one of them to handle it. But it turned out that things were just a tad more complicated than that. 

A boy, probably only about thirteen or so if Raven had to guess, was hanging from a net in the middle of the room. A very obvious trap, which was only concerning because it meant that they expected someone to try and stop them, but when Wonder Woman stepped forward, Raven put an arm in front of her to stop her. Wonder Woman smiled encouragingly at her, shaking her head and gently brushing her arm away as she walked forth. Raven stared, slightly dumbfounded. 

As expected, the minute Wonder Woman cut the boy down, he tried to pull a knife on her, his body language completely terrified even before she caught the knife in hand. If they were really trying to get untrained teenagers to attack an Amazon Princess, then at least that meant the operation was poorly funded. 

Once the boy was caught however, several armed goons sprung into action, running in from the adjacent rooms of the warehouse. Wonder Woman ignored the rifles pointed at her however, instead taking the knife from the boy and shielding him behind her body as Raven got to work with blasting through them. Sometime in the fight, Wonder Woman had gently ushered the scared teen away, joining Raven in a short series of attacks as the goons fell one after another. Once they stopped coming, Raven turned in curiosity to her mission partner.

“The boy was hanging upside down, likely for some time now, it’s terribly uncomfortable to have that much blood rushing to your head, and even his knife was dulled, he’s in no position to fight right now, for either side, nor should he have to,” Wonder Woman explained, as if that would change anything. 

Raven knew what it was like to be in a difficult position, the kid was clearly desperate for his job if he was going to try something that risky, he’d trembled as he’d quickly left, but stumbled so badly that Raven could see him just cowering in a corner barely outside the building. So she left it alone, committing the kids face to memory just in case. 

The longer the mission went on, Wonder Woman reminded her less of Superman, and more of the other members of the Titans. She saw Starfire in her empathy for others, Robin in her ability to think on her feet, Donna in her fierceness. It wasn’t a bad thought by any means. They may not have grown particularly close during the mission, but Raven liked having a better understanding of her character. She was an empath, as calm as Wonder Woman presented herself during the mission, Raven wasn’t immune to the sheer positivity that rolled off of her in waves. 

Maybe…Raven would be willing to converse a little more on the way back. After they got what they came for of course. 

______________

Beastboy P.O.V

He could barely fight off the sigh of relief he’d heard when Batman decided to pair him up with Green Lantern. Not that he had any problem with any of the others of course! But Green Lantern just seemed like a chill guy, and they matched! Honestly he would’ve hated to embarrass himself in front of someone as regal as Wonder Woman or as stoic as Batman, but Green Lantern? Well they’d already gotten their asses kicked together at some point, so they at least had that in common. 

Their mission to retrieve the encoded files was taking a little longer than they’d expected, there didn’t seem to be much of a threat of danger anymore, but all the firewalls protecting the files put them just a little out of their depth. He’d called Cyborg because- 

“Fucking hell, we are absolutely not calling Batman. That guy’s gonna give me so much shit about it, I swear I’d rather shove glass in my ears and then staple them shut.”

-Hal had some thoughts to say the least. Which was another good point! He was on first name basis with a member of the Justice League now! Because Hal told him they were cool like that! It’s like they were really in the big leagues now, and all on their own merit too, it was so much more than Beastboy had hoped for when he’d asked to be Robin’s sidekick after Starfire started wrecking the street when they’d first met. Wow, a lot had happened since then, it was weird to think the Titans hadn’t actually been operating for super long. The immediate danger had passed, and it didn’t take his friend too long to get everything settled for them before they were back on the plane. 

Conversation with Hal flowed pretty easily. He learned pretty quickly that Hal was a pilot, that he was best friends with the Flash, that when he was a teenager he’d once fallen into a fountain trying to impress a girl who turned out to not even be into men, they jumped from topic to topic without real worry. It wasn’t until they broached one subject that any strong feelings became apparent. 

And that was their respective team leaders, the Big Three, and Robin. 

“Does Robin ever do that creepy thing where he just, like, comes out of the shadows?”

“All the time! It’s like he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it half the time though, I don’t know how he manages to be so sneaky when his clothes are so bright.”

“Batman definitely does it to fuck with us, oh sorry- I should’ve asked earlier, you good with me swearing?”

“I know I’m one of the younger Titans, but I am still a teenager y’know.”

“My bad, anyways- Batman’s easily the strictest of the three. I don’t get why Supes and Wonderwoman keep trying to push him, he’s the most stubborn man I’ve ever met, and I worked in the military so that’s saying a lot.”

“Rob’s pretty bad too, most of the time anyway. He’s actually been surprisingly chill recently. I don’t really know what happened, but let me tell you I do not miss his lectures.”

“Yeah, what’s up with him anyway? I don’t really get his vibe, but he- well, he reminds me of someone.” Hal seemed to be purposefully keeping his voice as casual as possible, Beastboy had no idea why, but he wasn’t going to call him out on it. Robin may not have been pushing them as much anymore, but he did still have enough of his leader energy left to drill into his team's heads that he couldn’t breach any classified information or sensitive topics. He’d taken extra time drilling Beastboy for it, who’d been a little annoyed, because when had he ever accidentally spoken out of turn?

He’d proceeded to entirely tune out the list of instances that Robin had decided to list off in response.

“Honestly, it’s always been kinda hard to actually know Robin. He’s always been pretty secretive, but it’s kinda like he’s holding himself back, y’know? It’s why some of us actually thought he was possessed during our fight, when he was laughing all weird and evil-sounding,” he replied. 

“Oh so that wasn’t normal, then? He usually more stoic and stuff?” At his nod, Hal took the opportunity to continue, his expression seeming a little off. “So, like Batman then.”

Beastboy tilted his head in thought, before nodding.

“I mean from what I’ve seen, yeah, pretty much.”

“Right. Right. Say, where’s Robin from?” There was a weird, almost accusatory inflection in his voice now that Beastboy didn’t know what to make of. Was this like, a discrimination thing? Did he have to stop being friends with Hal because he was judging his friend for where he’s from? Or was this like, a baseball rivalry?

“I think he grew up pretty even split between a couple places.” That’s what Beastboy figured anyway, he knew Robin got his start as a hero in Gotham, that was basic knowledge, but he still wasn’t quite sure whether or not that counted as unnecessary sharing and the question came way out of nowhere. Robin hadn’t clarified what unnecessary meant, but it was probably better to be safe than sorry. 

“But like where’s he from, from?”

Regardless of the reasoning, Beastboy apprehensively answered Gotham, suddenly defensive. With narrowed eyes, he mentally noted the way Hal blanched at the answer before his face went back to neutral. 

______________

Starfire P.O.V

“Sir Batman, please slow down!” she called out worriedly.

“Hn. I’m fine,” he replied curtly.

“Please sir, your arm is bleeding rather heavily and if you’d rather I not fly you to the ship, it’ll be over an hour before we reach it once more!”

“I’ve had worse.”

“You sound like Robin.” That got him to stop in his tracks for a moment, and he turned to face her. The scowl on his face felt very like Robin as well now that she took it in fully. 

Swallowing anxiously as his glare deepened, she spoke quickly before she could lose her nerve, “And when it is Robin who says he is the ‘fine,’ it often becomes a necessity that his companions turn his own policy about injuries onto his person. Like Robin, you are not exempt from pain or injury, and if we have the resources to alleviate that pain, then why should we not take the chance?” He wasn’t glaring at her anymore, but he still frowned very heavily. 

She could identify that frown quite proficiently, as it was the same frown Robin would often acquire when he revealed any piece of information about his civilian identity. 

She readied her usual counterargument, “The exposure of your arm would not present any identifiable information, would it not? I can already determine your skin tone, so what would the harm be in allowing me to treat it?” 

Eventually, after about another half mile of pestering, he relented, albeit very, very reluctantly, deciding to remove his gauntlet and allow her to examine the large gash in the kevlar of his sleeve. 

“I have treated a few of Robin’s wounds before if that makes you feel less wary of my skill set,” she assured. His only response was a short grunt. 

They’d been sent to recover a stray piece of a green rock that she was soon informed was referred to as kryptonite. That part had been easy enough, and Batman had pocketed the rock before she could stare at it for too long. It was only when they’d realized there was another piece being transported that they’d finally been confronted. Starfire had flinched when she saw the knife cut into Batman's skin soon after, but he’d barely reacted before he slammed his fist into his assailant’s face. 

In truth, Starfire was unsure how she was to feel about the Batman. He was Robin’s father, at least to her understanding, as Robin rarely acknowledged their relationship. She couldn’t quite tell how their care for one another extended. But if nothing else, it appeared his teaching had stuck, because his antibiotics were in the same part of his utility belt as they would’ve been on Robin’s. She tried not to let the man’s gaze, accompanied by a raised eyebrow, intimidate her. 

“You seem more practiced than someone who’s handled just a couple wounds,” he said finally. She lifted her eyes from where she was covering the wound, tilting her head. Batman did not strike her as a person to strike up conversation without reason, he’d spoken little to her the entire mission, never coming across as necessarily hostile, but definitely not the kind of openness she had expected when she’d been informed of the impending “bonding” mission. 

Understanding that she needed him to explain his meaning, he responded much more gently than he had so far, “Is he hurt often?” The he in question was obvious, she hesitated, worried about the repercussions of whatever answer she gave him. But realizing that Batman may take her silence as answer enough, she hastily opened her mouth to speak. 

“Injury is inevitable, and Robin is not the only person to receive them, my abilities also come with a healing factor, but I was most eager to understand how I could help my comrades when I first arrived here on Earth. I’ve helped with some of the honorary Titans as well, not long ago we were patched to assist friend Jericho when he sustained a similar wound to the one you’ve acquired today.”

“Jericho?”

She sighed inwardly, hoping that she hadn’t already overstepped Robin’s bound of classified information. She was well aware that just because she and Robin were something , did not exempt her from his lecture.

“Indeed. I’m sorry I can’t provide you with anything beyond his name, I’m afraid I haven’t had much opportunity to work with him personally.”

“...Do all Tamaraneans have a healing factor?”

“Should you not already know that?” she shot back, referring to the vast knowledge Robin had told her his mentor curated for every potential threat he became aware of, before she realized her tone may have come off tenser than she’d intended. But when she met his gaze, she realized his only response was a vaguely amused smirk. 

“...My apologies,” she murmured.

“Unnecessary.”

“I’m assuming you were attempting to gather more information about my capabilities. Robin has warned me against explaining anything too prominently. He says that I put myself at too high of a risk.”

“To me?”

“No, not just to you. He…”

“Doesn’t mention me often?” he guessed, tone entirely unsurprised.

“He loves you,” she quietly emphasized. That much she knew for certain. Robin had no intention of returning to his roots for long, but she’d seen him going over the Gotham news every so often, if he ever indicated that he needed help, then Robin would come running. The man gave a little hum, turning away from her slightly, and perhaps most wouldn’t have noticed the way his shoulders relaxed a fraction, but she did. She purposefully left out that for all the love between them, Robin never seemed to like thinking about him much. Honestly, she doubted that the man before her liked to think about what had happened between them either. 

“...It is not that my weaknesses are unknown, I assure you. Robin has told me your reasoning for what you do, I would never wish for my abilities to be used against those that I care about.”

“Robin has them.” It wasn’t a question, prompting her to nod in confirmation. She wouldn’t be upset if Robin chose to share his findings with the man, it was- well, a matter of trust, she supposed. She trusted Robin, and she knew that Robin was trying to trust her. And that was enough for now. 

She finished dressing his wound, and suddenly whatever moment of peace they’d had was broken, as the man rose to his feet, his cape swishing behind him like a traveling shade as he returned to their path back to his ship, no other words were spoken between them. 

But she liked to think they’d made some progress on this earthling term, “bonding.” The establishment of a relationship or link with someone based on shared feelings, interests, or experiences. 

In other words, she could’ve had worse partners. 

______________

Robin P.O.V

Working, but not technically working with Batman again sent him on a mental trip that he didn’t really want to analyze now, or ever. It’s like his mentor was breathing down on his neck at every moment once more, the harsh whispers of his teachings stinging in the back of his mind. 

But all of a sudden, that parasitic annoyance was snapped away. 

“Wow, you’re really good at this,” Robin felt his heart spike as he fought away the instinctive joy that arose when his childhood favorite hero gave him a compliment. He’d hacked his way into the systems of the warehouse, disabled the traps and sensors, and gotten them to the safe without any complication. It was actually a tad disappointing if he were to be honest, he’d hoped to see more of Superman’s fighting in person. 

“I’ve had lots of practice,” he replied. 

“I’d bet, that’s the smoothest one of these missions have gone in a long time.”

“Well, it’s not like it was a particularly complicated one. Little bit of this, little bit of that, I kinda figured this would be below your paygrade.”

“Beyond the world-ending disasters, I do help around the city, super-hearing makes it rather inevitable.”

“It’s how you stay so popular with the public, I get that. I’ve seen some of your interactions with civilians.”

“Yeah, well there’s a reason Batman calls me a boy scout. Glad to say that petty crime in Metropolis is nowhere near the level he has to deal with, but in truth I think he could do with lightening up a little. I understand how stressful of a job he must have, but you’d think he’d put a little more faith in us by now.” How surprisingly forthcoming for a man who barely knew Robin. Really, it was a wonder how Batman hadn’t berated the man for talking about him to an allegedly random teenager.

“Were you?” Robin wondered. 

“Was I what?”

“A boy scout,” he grinned. Superman shook his head with a smile. 

“And in any case, for what it’s worth- he does trust you. He’s not very good at showing it, but he does. I doubt you’ll ever get him to act as lively or open as the rest of you, but that’s just who he is. He’s just not great at playing off the crowd sometimes.” Seemed to trust them a whole lot more than he did Robin evidently. 

Truly a wonder how someone who could act as ditzy as Bruce did during Brucie hours could also be such a brick wall of stubbornness. It was clear as day that these were Bruce’s friends. He didn’t have many, so Dick knew it when he saw it. But the real question was how he was managing to keep these friends despite how atrocious his efforts were.

“It’s always so interesting to consider how your team’s evolved over time, isn’t it? The Titans all stay in the Tower, right?”

“Oh yeah, it’s pretty hectic, has been since right at the beginning, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

“I get that too, trust me. We’ve all settled pretty well, or so I like to think. Y’know, Green Lantern once missed a meeting a few months back, and I swear that Batman genuinely missed having to tell him off for slacking off.” Robin bit back the instinctive remark that Batman just liked being an asshole with control issues, forcing a laugh. 

“You’re getting good at understanding him then, That’s good, but word for the wise, don’t let that be too obvious yet, let him adjust, or he’ll just put his walls back up another ten feet taller.”

“But so you do know Batman, then? I’ll be honest, we’ve all been wondering a bit.”

Dick nodded cautiously, refusing to allow his expression to shift as he continued the exchange, “We’re acquainted enough, yes. It’s nothing to worry about, we work fine.”

“I figured after how that fight went. Speaking of which, I have to say I’m amazed how you managed to not be dizzy after all of those flips you did.” They kept talking for a while, Robin diverting the topic whenever he picked up an odd change in Superman’s body language, usually when Batman came up, he had no clue what was on his mind, but the conversation had thus far been pretty light, and he had no desire to change that when he only needed to get through another half hour or so before the mission was over. 

Superman offered to drop him back off at Titans tower, and ever the opportunist when it came to flying, Robin readily accepted. Before Superman was ready to set off however, he pulled him aside for one more moment. 

“And Robin?”

“Hm?” 

“That advice you gave me about Batman? I think you might wanna give it some thought.”

“Hn.” Yeah he didn’t think so.

______________

Robin bit back a screech the moment he realized that Bruce had sent him a technical critique the next day. Really, the mission had gone without a hitch, and yet nothing about that part. Zip. Nada. To make himself feel better, he brought up the latest installment of the Batman fails folder he kept on his computer, over a month ago, a camera had caught Bruce slip off the docs and into the water because of some mystery ooze. He started writing a scathing report on what Bruce could’ve done to avoid the mishap, even condescendingly adding angle calculations of the proper attack path. Before he could start internally soliloquizing out of frustration, there was a knock at his bedroom door, he slid it open to greet the person, finding their youngest member in the doorway. With an expression on his face that promised nothing good. 

“Hey Rob?”

“Yes, Beastboy?”

“Just a heads up, Green Lantern might be like, vaguely xenophobic.”

“Huh??”

“I think that’s the right word anyway. Yeah, it was weird, man.”

“Again, I ask- huh??”

______________

Hal Jordan P.O.V

“Guys, I was talking to Beastboy, right? Remember that theory about Robin having a mini crush on Batman before growing up and meeting him and then changing his mind cause he was an asshole? Yeah, turns out he’s actually from Gotham, but didn’t spend entire childhood there, so those chances are looking pretty good.”

“That’s a lot of steps to jump, Hal.” Superman was frowning at him. 

“But tell me it doesn’t make sense.”

“No, it does. But it’s still just a theory,” Flash cut in, wavering slightly. 

“Got anything better?”

“Nope.”

“Didn’t think so.”

“Well at least the crush can’t rematerialize now, right? Right? Guys?”

Chapter Text

In a lot of ways, Batman and Robin had a lot going on, had things changed between them since the point they’d first started out? Of course they had, that was just life, change was natural, good even. Batman and Robin had built their very souls up from tragedy. They’d built their identities from justice. They’d built their relationship from genuine care. But that entire time, they’d been builders without a blueprint, they’d understood the science, they’d figured out the estimates, but they were far from perfect, and the cracks were there. Perhaps always had been, because there was no fixing what they had seen on those fateful nights. 

But a long time ago, together, they had liked to think they’d patched those cracks up, but in reality all they had done was throw on some duct tape. Good in the moment maybe, but a lackluster fix under strain. Time apart meant that other builders had a chance to take a look at the beauty of what had been built, imperfections and all, the statue was splintered, but not shattered. Fresh perspectives, fresh minds, it was enough to add just a little more structure to the form. 

But that didn’t mean the original plan was bad, it’d laid the foundation, without it, would the rest have been built at all? Not very well in any case. So one could say it’s rather important to ensure the stability of that foundation, the statue may be able to stand on its own if its careful, the intricacies of the true design thriving in the limelight, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to revisit that base once in a while. Who knew? Maybe it’d be more rewarding than one would expect. Even if on the surface, it was just the same old, rough and colorless flat block of stone it was before. 

Batman P.O.V

Five successful missions, five decently established acquaintanceships. 

Perhaps the most interesting part of his time spent with Starfire was the sheer familiarity of it all. He’d sent Robin out with Superman because they worked similarly, but oddly enough, he’d found his own sense of familiarity with Starfire as well. She wasn’t quite as classically girl scout to Superman’s boy scout, but there was overlap in their powers, they were like sunlight, bright and hopeful, embodying visions of pure good even if that assessment in truth fell flat, certainly strong, though sometimes with a bit of disregard for the environment around them. She’d certainly reacted to his injury in a way Clark would. She’d also destroyed quite a bit of the street like Clark would, but that was besides the point. 

The League members had convened in one of their usual meetings when they decided to breach the subject of the missions, and while Batman wasn’t exactly singing Starfire’s praises, it was evident to the League that she’d impressed him. The others were less reserved however. 

“Do you think we should bring them in more often? You should’ve seen Cyborg’s cannon man, someone with his skill set’s bound to be good for us!” 

“You can get quite a bit of versatility out of Raven’s powers.”

“Beastboy was epic out there dude. I don’t care if we don’t induct him officially, I’m still keeping him around.”

“I don’t think we need any more green on this team.” Martian Manhunter made a wounded noise, prompting a quick apology from the alarmed JL member. They were obviously talking about Hal and Ollie, they loved J’onn, they were thrilled he was here. Not like Mr. Weak to the Color Yellow and Discount Robin Hood. 

Alright maybe Bruce had added that last part himself. 

“Batman, how was your mission with Starfire?”

“Hn. Adequate.”

“Wow, not a single criticism out of his mouth? She must’ve done great then.”

“I for one, think I might have had the easier time out there,” Superman offered. 

“You had their leader, didn’t you? Was Robin as uptight as Beastboy made him out to be?” Hal questioned. 

“I wouldn’t say he was necessarily uptight. ” Batman ignored the prompted glances thrown in his direction. “Definitely a bit stricter than I was expecting during the brunt of it all, he definitely takes his job seriously, but by the end he actually seemed rather friendly, open even.”

Open? With a metahuman he’d spoken to twice ? Did all of Bruce’s training go in one ear and out the other?

Definitely fishing for something, though he couldn’t be sure what exactly, Superman turned to him, “Do you think it’d be a good idea for him to work with you next time?”

“Or maybe you think he wouldn’t want to- hey!” Diana cut Hal off with a light punch to the shoulder. Which from a relative standpoint to an Amazon, wasn’t particularly light. Hal swore softly under his breath. “ Fuck .”

“It will on depend on what skillsets are required for a mission. Right now, it would be prudent for him to gain experience with those who differ from him.”

“So you admit he and you are similar.”

“In the same way that there is overlap between Black Canary and I, yes.”

“Oh.” That answer seemed to disappoint them for some odd reason. He should text Alfred, tell him his friends were being weird again. 

Relenting a little, and perhaps being a bit excited to talk about his son to someone other than Alfred without having to dodge the reason he wasn’t living in the manor anymore, he continued, “He’s crafty, he’s analytical, and he’s capable of listening to his teammates.” But not his father . “He has a good system in place.” No one responded to him, not with the jovial remarks they’d made about their own mission partners, or even another jab at his quieter nature. He left his team to mull over their thoughts as he stepped towards the zeta beam.

He arrived at the Batcave moments later, pulling up each report he’d received over the course of the five missions, alongside any footage he could gouge on a short notice, logging in any discoveries he could discern about powers and personal weaknesses. If anyone ever saw there was noticeably less information next to Starfire’s name, then that was none of their business. 

He needed to figure out a pair-up for Wondergirl and Kid Flash soon as well, so it’d be a good idea to start looking into possibilities. He wasn’t certain if Titans East would also be participating in the program, he knew that Speedy wasn’t exactly fond of the idea when they’d last checked in, but it’s not like he had to be paired with Green Arrow. Batman could be mean, but he wasn’t that mean. 

But the best way in his opinion to figure out good matches between the teams, was through thorough analysis of multiple factors, ABCD: Abilities, Balance, Character, Detriments. Now, he didn’t know Kid Flash or Wondergirl all that well, but he did have access to a prominent resource. The Titans Training Logs. Run by Robin off the record, of course. He wasn’t sure whether or not the team knew about them, but it wasn’t like Bruce was going to say anything if they didn’t. (Especially since that would reveal the fact that he was looking through them too.)

Once he’d gotten the most up-to-date records, he played them side by side to the initial tournament held in the Watchtower. And down the rabbit hole he went, and soon he’d gone through the top file for each member, and well- he had some thoughts. 

Robin was good, of course he was, but he could be better. There were several small discrepancies in the way he’d worked through his mission, and the ways he seemed to handle other matters. His training schedule, was technically fine, but lacked the degree of specificity and discipline that Bruce would’ve expected. And he only rarely changed partners during team brawls. Everyone should always strive to be better, it was hardly specific to him. If Robin didn’t keep pushing himself, then he risked reaching a plateau. If one could find an opportunity to improve, then why not take it? Sure, Batman knew he worked fine with Clark, but that was just a matter of applying his experience with Starfire to his mission with Superman, a proper take, but a potential fluke if adjustments weren’t made in case of the need to work with someone else. So yes, he could be better. Bruce could also be better. Gordon could be better. Clark could be better. All of the Titans could be better, those were just facts. Anyone could be better than the person they were yesterday if they tried. 

On second thought, Alfred probably couldn’t be, but that was just Bruce’s personal, and yes completely biased opinion. After a moment, he’d configured the most repetitive or less effective pieces of Robin’s form, he noted Superman’s next, creating a separate email and sending that one off to Clark first. And at the end, he added that if he needed replacement gadgets or training equipment, he knew where to find them.

Without really thinking about it, he pressed send. 

He left the room to grab some papers from his office, not wanting to hassle Alfred when the man had already agreed to make him a cup of coffee and bring it down to the cave. When he returned however- 

WHACK

______________

Alfred had just about had enough. The minute Master Bruce walked through the door, a copy of the manual Alfred had painstakingly written was smacked right into his face. The Batcomputer monitor displayed the emailed report he’d sent to Robin, and Alfred glared at him in rapid disapproval. It was actually rather disturbing how intelligent his boy was, and yet how completely inept he was at seeing the social ramifications of such tedious criticisms to a teenage boy who wouldn’t even text him back. 

Two days later, he’d gone up to the Watchtower for joint monitor duty with Superman, when suddenly the screens switched, wariness flaring within him as the unauthorized personnel pulled up a video on screen. 

Titled The Klutzy Compilation: Subject 1- The Batman . 

No, Superman. He was not sulking. At least he’s never accidentally knocked an old woman over and destroyed her eightieth birthday cake with his super breath. No, he’s only ever purposefully knocked an old woman over, (it was long story) so take that. 

______________

Rather conspicuously, Alfred’s stupid manual began crawling its way into every aspect of his daily life. Sometimes it’d fall out from between the pages of his newspaper. Sometimes it was stuck between some of his Wayne Enterprises files, sometimes it was just pasted to the Batmobile window like a giant parking ticket. Hell, it even ended up in his meeting room chair at the Watchtower once. He’d only just barely stashed it away before anyone saw. 

And before anyone says he should just tell Alfred to stop, let him set the record straight. 

Anyone who thought they could stop Alfred once his mind was made up, is delusional. There, he said it. 

______________

Mission #1

Moving on to more important things than nosy father figures, the Justice League did end up calling upon the Titans again, but not for another month or so after their last set of meetings. For a significantly larger threat level, as alien invasions were never fun to deal with. Not everyone had been available, as some were on the other side of the world helping honorary Titans, it was only Robin, Beastboy, Raven, and Kid Flash that remained. But that was alright, it was a small enough force that for the sake of diplomacy, they’d wanted to attempt communication. At first anyway. 

But the minute the prior three Titans had spotted them? Diplomacy had gone out the window, and both sides were already swinging their weapons. Kid Flash had been horribly confused by the abrupt switch in attitude, but had happily jumped into helping his teammates the minute the signal was given. 

The Gordanians they were called, if Batman recalled correctly. He wasn’t entirely sure, he knew one had tried introducing them at first, but then one had spotted Robin and immediately attempted to spear his son, and that familiar, ingrained need to protect had arisen with him, and suddenly there was a batarang in the alien’s skull before they could finish speaking. 

He wasn’t certain what the history was between the two, so he tried grilling Robin for it afterwards, only to be huffed at. He wasn’t even certain if Robin was upset with him, or if he just needed to cool off. But for whatever reason, the Gordonians had earned his wrath, and Batman wouldn’t disagree with his judgement. 

When he was getting ready for bed that night, he did briefly wonder whether or not he could find the answer in Robin’s files somewhere. Only for him to open up his bathroom cabinet, and a familiar, cursed set of pages to fall out, its presence practically daring him to even think about it any further. He could try, but he’d better be ready to reap the consequences. What to do, what to do-

Oh who was he kidding? If Alfred had made it this long without killing him, then he could take one little look at those files. Just for his peace of mind.

Before he went home from that particular mission however, they’d gone as a team to get ice cream. Beastboy’s idea, and with ever nostalgic memories of post-patrol ice cream runs with Dick flooding through his head, Batman didn’t have the heart to shut him down, even if he wasn’t all that fond of spending more time with his team than he had to. 

They’d found a little local shop, that sold ice cream alongside all matters of classic cafe foods, and so the single, poor, probably underpaid worker dropped her headphones to gape as ten very well-built, renowned heroes tried to comically squish themselves into a single turquoise booth. Batman had gotten lucky and gotten an end seat, but seeing the Titans, who were generally much slimmer than any of the JL members, practically fighting to breathe, he’d excused himself to the booth next to them, with half the group following after. Robin hadn’t been one of them. 

Seeing as Batman basically funded the team out of his own pocket anyway, he was more than willing to pay the entire bill. (And leave a very generous tip for the poor worker who had to serve them. A quick look at the college hat on her head, and the backpack filled with textbooks in the background, tied in with her perpetual look of despair, he figured she’d probably need it.)

Speaking of which, would now be a good time to badger Robin about whether or not he’d be going to college? Probably not, but maybe he could squeeze it into conversation somewhere if he had the right opportunity. Though that’d be a little hard since he’d have to speak over the seats. 

He didn’t get the chance to strike up a conversation first, not that he usually would’ve anyway, but that was besides the point, because Robin received a call on his Titans communicator. From the sly smirks on his friends faces, sans Raven, he assumed it was Starfire. Just after his son had walked out, the girl at the counter, Caroline according to her nametag, finally managed to work up the courage to call them up to order. The group decided to start with drinks and save the ice cream for the road, so Batman ordered coffee, black obviously. 

“Uh, does anyone know what Robin wants?” Superman questioned. 

“I can go ask-” Kid Flash began, readying himself to run. 

But Batman answered without pause, “Large white chocolate mocha, five shots of vanilla, espresso, and caramel, extra whipped cream. Ask if they have cereal toppings. Otherwise, marshmallows and rainbow sprinkles.”

If it weren’t for how deadpanned Batman’s face was as he rattled off the order, they might not have believed him. But the man was completely and utterly serious, as usual, and so a very bemused Superman repeated the concoction to an only slightly disturbed barista. Remarkably, they managed to work up the courage and professionalism to ask Batman whether or not the raisin bran they had on hand in the backrooms would be acceptable. It was not. They went for the marshmallows. 

Tentatively, Raven placed the absurdly sugary drink in front of where Robin had sat. When Robin returned, Beastboy looked ready to explain that Batman had ordered for their team leader, but without missing a beat, Robin took a sip, either oblivious to the incredulous looks around him, or secretly enjoying their surprise. Eventually, the conversation picked up, and the atmosphere turned cheerful. And then it was Batman’s turn to step out for a moment, having received a message from Alfred. 

And if there was a vaguely ugly, crooked Batman shaped popsicle on the table when he returned that he damn well didn’t order, then he wasn’t going to say a thing. 

______________

Mission #2 

Robin P.O.V

“Genuinely just fuck off, B,” he found himself snapping. 

And like a flip of a switch- they were here again. How very, very like them. 

Starfire looked like she wanted to step in, but Donna held her back in warning. A shame, Robin would’ve happily accepted any distraction at this point. They’d gone so long this time without resorting to this, they were bound to explode one way or another, but to resort to this in front of their teammates? 

“You should’ve been more careful, your head smacked against the wall, Robin-”

He spat, “I don’t even have a concussion! Green Arrow got his rib broken-” Robin only faintly heard the noise of protest from the man in response, “-and I don’t see you on his ass about it!”

Batman scowled, “I don’t expect any better from Arrow-” A louder squawk was heard in the distance, “-and this isn’t about him anyway. If you’d been aware of your surroundings-”

“There was a kid on that ledge Batman, yeah the guy got the jump on me, fine, but if I hadn’t moved then-”

“If you’d just moved to the right instead-” Batman interrupted. 

Robin shot back, “Oh and gotten a face full of knives from the guy in the corner? The guy you let get past your defenses by the way-”

“I was surrounded , as you well know, and if you were already aware the one with knives was there, then you could easily have ducked before he-”

“And as you well know, the kid was still up on the ledge-”

“The ledge wasn’t crumbling faster than-”

“You know how I feel about falling you-” he stopped himself with a flinch as Batman reeled back, like he’d been physically struck. Dick let out a sigh as he felt all the fight leave his body, trudging back to his bike while ignoring the soft calls of his name as he left. Tried not to think about the fact Bruce’s voice wasn’t among them and whether that was a good thing or not.

Starfire, avoiding Donna’s arm this time, flew over to join him. The company was well-received, a calming presence, but Robin was ashamed to say that he wasn’t really reciprocating on that note. 

At least they’d shut each other out quickly this time. He’d text Alfred Bruce was going to be in a mood when he got home.  

______________

Hal Jordan P.O.V

“I’m sorry, what?! You’re telling me the kid told Batman to fuck off and I wasn’t even there to see it?” Hal whined. 

“It’s not like they were even the biggest issue on the trip all things considered. But it wasn’t really a morale boosting mission. That was near the end, but Green Arrow and Speedy were basically arguing the whole time until Aqualad had enough and threw Speedy over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Then Aquaman thought it was funny and slung Arrow over his shoulder too.”

“But it’s Batman. That’s got to count for something. Kid is brave .”

“I wish I could’ve laughed, man- but their faces were intense as hell. Starting to think this crush theory might’ve been a little out of hand,” Barry replied solemnly. 

“You said it looked like Batman knew a lot more about Robin than he let on?”

“Yeah but to be fair, Batman knows a lot more about a lot of us than he lets on.”

“True, true.”

“Manhunter said they were both basically radiating depressive energy. I think Supes wanted to cry a little.”

“God damn, they’re all over the damn place, what the hell is going on anymore?”

______________

Mission #3: 

Cyborg P.O.V

“On your right, Batman!” He called out. The man nodded in acknowledgement as he tossed a barrage of batarangs towards the approaching robots. Hm, didn’t look like the blast did too much damage to the outer shells, Cyborg wondered if he’d be able to scavenge for parts after they were all down. 

“Hey Cy, could use a little help over here!” Beastboy called, having turned into an elephant to avoid being crushed. Once Cyborg had sprinted over however, a loud crash went off behind him.  

When he saw what it was, Cyborg felt his heart drop. Titans Tower was closer, which meant- he whipped out his comm as quickly as he could. 

“Batman’s down! Sending him back in the T-Car on autopilot!”

“ What?!” Cyborg winced, ohhhh that was the one voice he really hoped wouldn’t have been on comms today. 

“How the hell did this happen?!” Robin demanded when Cyborg and Beastboy pulled into the garage later that day. Their other League companion was nowhere to be found, probably for the best since Titans East was visiting too. His leader looked fucking feral.

“I just turned around for a second-” he defended.

Robin snarled, “We have a partner system for a reason! You and Batman were assigned together, you’re meant to watch out for each other-”

“Beastboy needed me, Rob! That’s my best friend there, and Green Arrow was nowhere near him!”

A voice muttered from the doorway, “Typical Arrow, never fucking cares about anyone but himself-”

“Speedy, not really the time for this,” Bumblebee admonished. Mas y Menos shook their heads rapidly. 

“I’ve seen the recording! You could’ve just used your blaster instead but you-”

“So you’re monitoring our missions now?” Cyborg scoffed. 

“When they concern Gotham’s at current, only vigilante, yes-”

“Check who you’re starting to sound like, Robin,” Speedy taunted.  

“I- I- urgh!” Robin basically kneeled on the ground, hands over the sides of his head in frustration, a grimace present on his face. 

Cyborg suddenly felt his metaphorical haunches rising, “Like you’ve never made any mistakes, oh fearless leader- are we seriously about to forget about the Slade fiasco-”

“Cyborg!” Starfire scolded with a gasp. 

And in a moment of clearheadedness, Cyborg let his eyes roam over his friends form. Let him realize how genuinely tired the guy looked. His face, or what he could see of it anyway, was red all over, his hair was unstyled, he was shaking like a leaf in winter. This wasn’t his leader doubting his abilities. This was a teenage boy who was just worried about his dad. Even if they’d ended on a bad note last time they spoke. And well, Cyborg knew a lot about complicated relationships with father figures. 

“Look, I’m sorry. You’re right that we’ve got a system, and this is on me-”

“No, no it’s not. I’m the one who should be sorry. I didn’t mean to lash out. Accidents happen, and you didn’t leave him for no good reason. It’s just- I don’t-”

“Hey man, you’re stressing, I get that. But he’s gonna be okay. Probably feel kinda shitty for a bit, but he’ll bounce back. He is Batman, after all.”

“Batman is also in fact, human . To contrary belief. But… thanks Cyborg. You got him out of the field just in time, sacrificing part of the mission when I know you’re not a fan of having to follow up on these things, and that- means a lot to me.”

“I know, Rob. Don’t worry about it.” He sighed, letting the silence stretch out for a moment, before it got uncomfortably close to feeling sappy. 

“Bet you want revenge for how pissed he was when you got hit last time, right? Come on, I need to go apologize to him anyway, so you can berate him after,” Cyborg was only half-joking, he knew his teammate well enough to know that he would actually take the opportunity. 

“Somehow I think he’ll manage to turn the tables on me somehow anyway.” But Robin’s tone was more fond than bitter, so that was something. 

“Who knows? Maybe he’ll give you some leeway here,” Cyborg remarked, remembering their last argument.

“Hn.” Weird how Robin managed to make that sound more thoughtful than dismissive.

______________

While Robin went to go sit in with Batman, Cyborg called up the Justice League to update them on the situation. 

“So his vitals are fairly normal beyond that?”

“Yep, he should make a full recovery in probably a few days, he’s just a little drowsy right now.”

“Can he get home to Gotham like that? Or is he staying in Titans Tower with you?” Wonder Woman prodded, voice filled with well-meaning concerned. 

“He insisted on heading home, but I’ve got no clue how he wants to do that.” Cyborg scratched at the back of his head.

 “I’ve got him.” Robin entered the room, the worry in his stride basically gone.

“Batman gave me the keys to the Batmobile, he can’t be driving in his state and the autopilot isn’t ideal in case someone tries to attack him on the way, I’m the only one who has clearance to enter his territory, so I’ll drop him off,” he continued.

“You…you get to see where he lives? He’s letting you drive his car?” Wonder Woman’s incredulous questioning went ignored as Robin moved on, saying a quick goodbye to the older hero before cutting the connection. Cyborg gaped in what was probably a very unflattering way.  

“It’s a bit of a drive out to Jersey, better get started, I’ll probably stay the night, be back by morning,” Robin remarked, shrugging. 

“...Gotham’s located in New Jersey ?”

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t you have like, even the inkling of a Jersey accent?”

“Gotham’s like, a whole other entity, man. Kinda like California, but on a higher level. I don’t think Jersey even really counts us as part of them, but we’re not a state either, so…”

“Yeah well we’re based in California, man. How you gonna get there and be back by tomorrow morning by car?”

“The Batmobile flies.”

“It does ?”

“Take down all the Brucie Wayne posters that I’ve missed and promise not to put any more up, and I’ll send you the blueprints to look over.”

“Deal.” Satisfied, Robin headed out to herd his disgruntled mentor into the passenger seat of his car.

Too bad Robin didn’t specify that he couldn’t put up other Brucie Wayne media instead. He knew Beastboy had a bunch of newspaper clippings just waiting for this moment. 

______________

Dick Grayson P.O.V

“Dick?”

“Yeah, B?”

“Why were pictures from my last photoshoot inside the bathroom mirror?”

“How much trouble will I be in if I break the no kill rule?”

“Depends on whether or not I’ll still be high on painkillers when I find out about it.”

“Promise me you’ll never do a shoot like that again.”

“About that…”

“I will crash this car Bruce. Don’t think I won’t.”

“You won’t. Zitka’s in the backseat.”

“Fuck, fine.”

“Language.”

“Well holy digital footprint Batman, do you realize how often I had to see that fucking everywhere ?”

“You still swore in that one,” Batman reminded helpfully.

“Then shiver me timbers Batman, my friends are almost as stupid as yours are.”

“Except the girls?” 

“Except the girls,” he conceded. They zipped past Crime Alley, Dick taking several sharp turns that would’ve gotten him lectured if Bruce were any less tired. When they got to the manor, Dick unceremoniously dumped him in his room under Alfred’s watchful eye, agreeing to do a short run over Batman’s usual patrol route before coming home and resting in his old room. Which had gone entirely untouched since he’d left over a year ago, much to his surprise. Alfred of course assured him that he would also have a place in the manor, Bruce’s wished be damned, but that Bruce wanted him there too anyway. Dick was still too tired to deal with that though. Maybe in the morning.

Or never. They could keep their usual back and forth up for some time. They’d make it work. Mostly. They hadn’t been swarmed yet, and most Gothamites he passed seemed to welcome his presence back for the most part, though there were a few as bitter about his moving out as Bruce was, so that said something at least. At least no one could deny he’d made an impact.

His final stop was the GCPD roof, where the Batsignal lay. But Commissioner Gordon wasn’t there today, so it was either his day-off, or crime was taking a slower day. There was one thing of suspicion in sight however.

A vase of sunflowers placed next to a bright red envelope was sat right next to the Batsignal. Usually a pleasant sight, but in Gotham- you never knew when this would be a trap. Wasn’t green though, and there was no way of knowing he’d be back in town today, so it probably wasn’t Joker. Not nearly flashy enough. Ivy wouldn’t use fake flowers, so she was off the list. When he got close enough and the flowers didn’t spray him, he figured Harley was probably off the list too. And it definitely wasn’t Bane or Killer Croc’s style.

Selina maybe? It didn’t have to be a trap but it could still be a rogue. But then again, he doubted Selina would pick sunflowers of all things. Unless she was trying to be ironic. Sunny flowers for the Dark Knight and all that. But if this was really some interrupted date scheme, then he was perhaps even more wary of opening the envelope than if it’d just been a trap. He’d seen more than enough people thirsting over Batman’s civilian identity, he really didn’t need to hear it about his vigilante identity too. 

But a quick, cautious look at the note proved that it wasn’t her either. In fact, the handwriting, while neat enough to read, definitely felt more- dare he say childlike? So he did the more reasonable thing and took it back to Batman, barging into the man’s room without knocking of course. 

“Hey B, did you save any kids recently?”

“None directly within the week, at least as far as I’m aware, why?”

“Because I was patrolling the rooftops and found this little thing.”

Batman hasn’t been seen in a week, I haven’t seen anything about him on TV or anything, so I thought maybe he was sick. When I’m sick, I try to okay I’m a bad example actually. But I hear people like gifts when they’re sick. I googled happy flowers and they said anything yellow worked (I needed to make sure you weren’t allergic) They wilt a little quickly because of how dark the Gotham sky is even in the day, so I used fake ones, hope that’s okay. So get well soon, if you’re sick I guess, I realize I don’t actually know whether or not you’re sick, so if you’re not then, just have a good day maybe? Gotham needs you, and I know people give you a hard time sometimes, but I believe in you!

Enclosed in the red envelope was a photograph, a surprisingly clear photo of Batman crouched on a balcony as he surveyed a warehouse. 

“I cross referenced the photo across the database, it doesn’t exist anywhere else. Not publicly anyway.”

“Did you find any security footage?’

“For what? I can’t exactly figure out what day this was. I’ve been gone and you look like this basically every other night. And before you mention the detailing of the background, the shadows are too deep for me to make out any stand out intricacies in the building. In fact, you’re the only thing in full focus and our scanners can only do so much to enhance the image.” 

“Hn.”

“...Did you seriously let a kid get close enough to you for him to take this?”

“...Hn.”

“We’ll talk in the morning, B. Get some rest.” 

About what? Who knew? They certainly had plenty of options after the past few weeks.

______________

Hal Jordan P.O.V

He took a deep breath as he considered the people before him, creating a yard stick with his ring, and brandishing it like a madman. 

“Okay everyone- so here’s what we’ve got so far-”

For everyone’s sake, they’d better hope Batman never saw this conspiracy board. Ever.

Chapter Text

Dick Grayson P.O.V

As much as he’d like to tell you everything was all hunky dory and they managed to breach some massive emotional revelation that would help them somehow solve world hunger or something when Batman came to the next morning, lying would be a bit of a breach of etiquette here, yes? 

Instead, his father had grumpily wobbled down the stairs and into the dining room, and he’d laughed loudly as the man stumbled and accidentally knocked over Alfred’s second favorite vase. 

(He couldn’t laugh too hard considering he’d been the one to knock over his first favorite vase when he’d finally settled into the manor the first time. But why would you need to put a vase directly underneath a chandelier anyway? Wasn’t that enough of a centerpiece for the room as it is? He’d also broken that chandelier, but by then he’d broken so many that Alfred hadn’t bemoaned losing that one all that much. It had only been his seventh favorite chandelier apparently.)

Alfred had taken one look at Bruce and with a sigh, slid a plate in front of him, cleaning up the vase with a look on his face that meant Bruce should probably expect some subtle retribution at some point soon. For a moment, things felt almost normal. As normal as they could be anyway. But this was Bruce they were talking about, so the minute he’d taken his last bite of breakfast, he sat up, and turning to his ward, he wordlessly dropped a file in front of him. 

Dick couldn’t even tell where he’d hidden it. Had Bruce somehow managed to make his pajamas as endlessly spacious as his utility belt without ever telling him? He would’ve asked him that, if he hadn’t caught a glimpse of the central figure in the file. 

After all, it was a vision that once would have haunted him for what felt like the rest of his life. Though they’d parted on rather odd terms last time. He’d abhorred that teamup just as much as he’d abhorred it the first time around, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And your friend’s evil demon father about to end the world certainly counted in that case. 

Just looking at him made Dick’s skin tingle with the phantom reminder of dark bruises and sharp cuts, the cooled metal plating of the suit, the harsh contrast of black and orange wrapped in panic and exhaustion. Dwelling on this time in his life led to dangerous places .

He was quick to try and counter these thoughts with fonder musings. A hyper nine year old running around with Batman in a matching shadowy kevlar suit sounded incredibly dorky even to him. And this was coming from the person who fought crime without pants on for years. He may have looked like a Metropolis wannabe but it worked on him. Fight fire with fire y’know. Bright circus villains meet bright circus hero boy. For all his qualms with being delegated to a Batman sidekick, at least the Robin identity was his own. An apprentice didn’t even get that. Oh no instead he got: socked in the jaw, sleepless nights, four friends filled with nanoscopic probes and-

Ha. Coping mechanism failed. What else was new?

Slade Wilson. Or Deathstroke, he supposed others may have known him as. Why he decided to use his real name instead of his mercenary name when he’d met the Titans, he had no clue. Perhaps he’d been just that confident that Dick wouldn’t be able to use the information against him even before he’d forced him into an apprenticeship. It stung his pride a little too much for his taste. There was a reason he’d never spoken to Bruce about what was really going on that night. 

Letting a harsh breath loose, he set the file aside and turned back to the other mentor who’d stolen him because he’d seen some twisted image of himself in Dick. Not a fair assessment of Bruce, he knew, but blaming Bruce for shit was one other coping mechanism he’d developed over the years and that usually made him feel better for a little while. He’d feel bad later. When he was far, far from Gotham and from Bruce and from the manor and just all that he’d known here. 

“...If this is about the tech, I snuck it back into Wayne Tech the first opportunity I got.”

“I take it you’re bringing that up now because of its relevance to Deathstroke.”

“You’ve never been one to beat around the bush, Bruce.” He paused. “That’s a lie actually, you do that all the time. But not in an interrogation.”

“Is this an interrogation?”

He shot back, “What else is it meant to be? A questioning? An inquisition? An interview? Because I hate to break it to you, but those all mean the same thing.”

“Rather defensive, aren’t you?”

“Shouldn’t I be?”

“The tech was easily replaced, but that rooftop view isn’t as easily read. So that’s a question you should be asking yourself, not me.”

Eager to be done with this moment, Dick scowled. “Connecting two uniforms isn’t exactly rocket science. Get to the point already. Either ask what you want to know, or tell me what you’ve found. You’re not blind or stupid.”

“Perhaps I should question that about you if you’ve condoned-”

“ Bruce . I don’t want to hear it right now,” he snapped before he could finish that sentence and set them off further. 

After a moment, Bruce sighed, “Believe it or not, I hadn’t actually planned on asking about that night. Beyond that night, Deathstroke’s stayed clear of Gotham for the most part. But recently, he’s been cropping up further east .” Oh. Yeah, that checked out.

“Ra’s? Didn’t realize he was all that active after he went silent during your last Talia fiasco. Not that I want her back in your life, but is that still an option before anything with Slade goes down? Unless you’ve of course somehow moved onto another terrorist while I was gone.”

“ Dick .” His tone was so frustrated that he wasn’t sure if that was meant to be his name, or if Bruce was so annoyed he was now resorting to vulgar name-calling. 

Regardless, the taunts continued. “Harvey maybe? Or Selina. That’d be better. And I rather you didn’t fuck that one up again. But truthfully I’d take anyone over Vicki.”

“Did you want to hear what I found or not?” Dick begrudgingly fell silent. 

“What have you got?”

______________

He didn’t have much, it turned out. Figures. It was just like Bruce to flip on him like that without a single warning. Oh how Dick looked forward to going another month without being scheduled to speak to Bruce. And that would only be for League business. Justice League. Not the other one. Because no matter how much of a deal Bruce made about it, and how much Dick was obviously going to do his own digging into the matter by himself thank you very much, the other League was going on the backburner. For now. Maybe he’d share that information with Batman if they were actually on speaking terms by then. They’d probably be ready to ignore what they’d said by then. 

But if not, well then unless someone miraculously decided to apologize for- honestly he didn’t even know what, then Alfred could pass on the word. He wouldn’t be pleased about it, but he needn’t worry. This was just the status quo upon which they operated now, and had been for quite some time now. This was fine. 

Dick pointedly ignored the increasing churning in his gut.

______________

One Week Later

But as it turned out, while he could certainly avoid Bruce for a while. With his team around, the dumb half of them anyway, there was no avoiding Brucie . But since a quick sweep of the perimeter of the tower showed no sign of any of the other guys on the team, they clearly weren’t dumb enough to think he wouldn’t retaliate. 

Because while his remark to Bruce in the Batmobile about never doing another photoshoot had been a joke, as he’d never actually expected Bruce to do it again- it still felt like he’d done this just to spite him for their last argument. 

In congruence with the agreement he’d made with Cyborg in exchange for blueprints for the Batmobile, there were no posters of Bruce’s latest photoshoot on the wall. There were, however, magazine cutouts. And newspaper clippings. And printed screenshots. 

It was official. He was painting the T-Car mustard yellow and no one was going to stop him. Hell, he would chemically compound a kind of paint that resisted any matter of repaints or paint scrapers or whatever the fuck Cyborg would try to use to fix it and he didn’t care how look it took, Wondergirl could take over as leader while he was busy. Because he doubted Raven wanted to be leader and Starfire would use the authority to try to drag him out of his room or talk him out of his revenge and he couldn’t have that. And obviously the other members of the team with seniority were fucking traitors. This wasn’t going to be the T-Car anymore. This was Robin’s hotdog taxi now. 

And he was giving those roadtrip pictures of Beastboy to Raven. Never try a bat with access to blackmail. The bat may go down but they’re bringing you down with them. 

Kid Flash though, was a little trickier. He hadn’t known him as long, so the blackmail he had was pretty minimal so far, though he could always go looking for some more. Jinx might have something on him so that’d be a good lead to look into. 

This dumb fake crush, that he wasn’t even playing into, mind you, just happened to be an assumption made based on what, a couple off hand comments? Maybe some stand-offish behavior? He was always stand-offish in some way, he was raised by Batman and an old British military man. 

This was going to be the end of him. Robin. The Last Flying Grayson. Was going to be ended because the stupid secret identity rule wouldn’t let him explain why the idea of having a crush on Bruce Wayne was repulsive enough to send him to an early grave. If it weren’t for the fact that he was still somewhat adjusting to Wondergirl and Kid Flash’s presence in the tower, he might’ve already given in and told them. He’d managed to keep his identity under wraps for so long, he refused to allow this to be his breaking point. 

But damn it was he close. 

But the worst part of all this? 

This photoshoot was Justice League themed. That’s right. Robin woke up one morning, and pulled open his door, only to find a stupid magazine cover of Brucie posing in some kind of shirtless homage to his own alter ego, the top half of the batsuit having been swapped out for some intricately designed but entirely impractical shawl or jacket thing . He didn’t know what it was exactly, and he didn’t care whether or not someone else had pushed for him to wear it, someone in the universe out there wanted Dick Grayson to fucking die.  

Well a lot of people probably did technically, but he didn’t usually have many fashion designers on that list. 

All those revenge plans he’d mentioned earlier? Yeah he wasn’t kidding. He huffed as his hand clenched around his door handle again, ready to slam it loud enough for the entire tower to feel his wrath, when- 

Starfire beamed as she flew straight into his path of sight, “Oh Robin, you are awake! Would you care to join me for a day of the mall? Friends Raven and Wondergirl were busy and I recently came into the possession of these tickets- oh, is something the matter?” He blinked wondrously. Starfire was in civvies today, a lilac sundress and white boots, and she was waving two pieces of paper to- he squinted, Mamma Mia? 

Well, he had brought back some more of his old clothes from Gotham, most of which was pretty expensive and would be collecting dust in his closet for who even knew how long. 

He supposed revenge could wait a couple hours. 

______________

One week later

“ What could possibly be this important that you needed to tell me at 3:45 in the morning ?”

Unfortunately his attempts to evade Batman’s calls were moot, as the man decided to use the emergency line, prompting him to hastily grab his weapon as he opened the call, expecting to hear some villain monologuing in the background or for him to drop a clue to his location. But instead, Bruce was decked out fully in his Batman gear, and sitting stiffly at the Batcomputer,  smacking a file right up against the screen for him to see, in a wildly similar manner to how he’d done the last time they’d spoken. 

He’d half expected another Slade photo, perhaps he’d had some luck with his investigation, or maybe he’d looked into the entirety of his apprentice scheme. When he saw the blonde hair he’d almost wondered if it were his apprentice scheme with Terra instead. 

But rather than straight, medium length hair and glowing gold eyes, the picture was of a teenage boy with curly blonde hair, dressed in a white turtleneck and magenta tunic top. Alarms started blaring in his head. Wait…was this about-

Jericho ? What could Bruce have found about an honorary Titan that warranted Bruce physically sharing the information? Dick wasn’t naive enough to think any of the Titans, honorary or otherwise, wouldn’t have gotten a thorough background check the minute Bruce had heard about them. Not to say he hadn’t dabbled in doing the same himself. And well, yeah he knew he went a little far sometimes. Like father, like son and all that. 

Scholastic history, powers, weaknesses, medical records, the usual though definitely invasive yada yada yada, he couldn’t quite see what Batman wanted him to see- 

Oh . He stopped, his back going rigid as his eyes remained glued to a single line on the paper. 

That. 

Yeah that seemed pretty important. Fair enough, Bruce. That’s definitely something someone would figure he would probably want to know.

Name: Joseph William Wilson

Mother: Adeline Kane

Father: Slade Wilson  

______________

Bruce Wayne P.O.V

The potential for things to go wrong were so high that Bruce was almost ready to tear his own hair out for how long he’d put off having the Slade conversation with Dick. Especially since that sliver of conversation had been practically useless to them both . Possible routes and ideas ran through his mind as quickly as he could process them. 

This could be a case of abandonment. 

This could be a case in which they’re not even aware of the connection.

This more likely could serve as a massive conflict of interest, difference in morals. 

This could also be a potential case of abuse. 

This could also be a potentially massive breach of security. 

This could be a long-game pathway to treachery.

This could just be a matter of breaking away from the shadow of the man who’d raised you. 

They could just be like-

He refused to let his thoughts trail there. Bruce didn’t know what to make of the information exactly, but he knew that even if Jericho were harmless, and he was a Titan so obviously he wasn’t , Dick needed to stay on his guard. 

Neither of them were strangers to betrayal. Just look no further than Bruce’s relationships with his own rogues. 

Bruce immediately knew the instant that Dick saw what he’d wanted him to see. And in that instant, he also quickly understood-

That Dick had already known .

And a moment later, without a single word said between them, Dick hung up on him. 

______________

Wonder Woman P.O.V

She frowned, “Strange, are you certain? Batman had allowed your leader to drive him home last I checked in.”

Donna nodded solemnly as they entered the meeting room together, the first ones to arrive, “They’re avoiding each other at the moment. Robin’s been holed up in his room for a while. That’s why he sent me up here in his place as the Titans representative.”

“Well it’ll be a shame not to have his input, but I’m sure you’ll do very well here. I understand that he’s rather well-informed of the workings of the hero community, did your team compile any potential recruits?”

 “None that reach your age requirement I’m afraid-”

“Oh! Wondergirl! I didn’t realize you were joining us today,” Superman was the next to arrive, smiling warmly at the two women already waiting. The Flash and Green Lantern were at his side. 

“Sorry, did I just hear more Batman gossip?” Hal wondered. 

They all jumped at the resounding “No,” that boomed through the room as Batmen swept in. Diana certainly hoped this meeting wouldn’t devolve too quickly. But as her eyes raked over her chattering coworkers, highly contrasting the even grumpier than usual Batman at the head of the table, she had a feeling that was a fruitless wish. 

______________

Starfire P.O.V

It was rare for Robin to ever allow anyone else to take over Gotham business for him, but she had been most overjoyed to see that he’d been willing to entrust the responsibility to her and Raven. Though the reason seemed plain to see, and it pained her a little. She knew fully well that all of the Titans had complicated parental relationships in some form or another.

There was evidence Robin had needed them to collect from a crime scene nearby, hoping to cross examine it for a case that had spread beyond the city. Robin had assured them that the no meta rule would be temporarily waived for them, though Starfire was unsure whether that was because Robin had actually cleared their presence with the man of bat, or if Robin was just prepared to yell at his father if he voiced his displeasure. She did not want to be another source of conflict for their already tumultuous relationship, but Robin had insisted that he was unable to do it himself, and so she had given in. 

They’d been walking, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves when she caught a movement in the corner of her eye, she’d thought nothing of it until Raven paused her steps. 

“Friend Raven, are you quite alright?”

“Yeah. Yeah, sorry, I think I just saw a kid I’ve run into at one point. On a mission.”

“Do you believe he is a threat?”

“No. I doubt he’s any older than maybe eleven. Let’s just get out of this alley before we run into anyone who could be trouble.”

“Are you aware of which street we’re on? Perhaps we’ll be able to discern the distance from our destination,” Starfire mused. 

Raven replied, “There was a sign a block back for Park Row, but I think this is the area that Robin called Crime Alley .”

“That is a most sensical name. Do you think it got its name because of its crime rate or do you believe the name perhaps prophesied it?”

“Beats me. Last I checked, practically everywhere in Gotham has crime.”

“That is true, yes,” Starfire agreed, as they continued forward. 

______________

Dick Grayson P.O.V

Oh he couldn’t believe he was doing this again. He really thought he’d left all this in the past. But it was necessary. Apparently. He would certainly argue otherwise.

But obviously since he was here, he’d lost. Badly. He’d been dragged, fighting every step of the way, practically clawing at his clothes and readying his projectiles, all in hopes that at the last minute, he could finally pull off an escape. Slowing down his breathing, he eyes a window just a few feet away from him. If he could just get his captor to turn around for a moment , he may be able to make a run for it. 

He scowled openly at the man before him, knowing that antagonizing the man was far from the smartest decision he’d ever made, but also knowing that it would only be more suspicious if he tried to be cordial. But the captor, having clearly studied the way his mind operated, over a long period of time, looked him in the eye, and pointedly locked, and blocked the only window in sight. 

Dick let out a sigh of defeat, desperately hoping that someone, anyone would catch wind of his predicament and help him run. Though knowing what he knew about his captor, he’d only be making it worse for himself. 

If this went on too long, Dick- however shameful it may be to everything he’d ever known or trained for, was worried he’d have to resort to begging. 

…

…

…

…

“Oh chin up Master Dick, it is only a gala,” Alfred sighed in exasperation. 

“ Exactly ,” he grumbled. 

Chapter Text

Slugsss @briellegrace

So like, is Richie Grayson like, dead?? I haven’t heard shit about him in ages. 😭

The Bat Hypothesis @metalbread

He is to us.

Systematic Threatre Kid @theepicthief

Are we really cancelling a teenager rn?? 💀 

The Bat Hypothesis @metalbread

Actually? No. But like, Gothamite here. Rumors are he went to Metropolis. That fucker. 

Abby Glees @abbyglees

Was that confirmed?? Ain’t no way the adopted son of BRUCE WAYNE went traitor

Sweeney T @olivemarian

I’d believe it. Brucie left us for a while too that one time. We can’t confirm he didn’t go to Metropolis then. Grayson will be crawling back. Probs more himbo than when he left but I’m cool with that. 

Slugsss @briellegrace

Man hope he doesn’t see this if he isn’t actually in Metropolis, I was just curious why he I haven’t been getting any bumbling dad Brucie news in a while

Sweeney T @olivemarian

Nah but what if you asked that question and then it turned out he was actually dead-

Alice Mayhem @alicemillie

I say we cancel him until he confirms he didn’t go to Metropolis. 

Sweeney T @olivemarian

Y’all he doesn’t owe us shit, leave the man alone 

The Bat Hypothesis @metalbread

nah nah let her speak

______________

Dick Grayson P.O.V

He inwardly bemoaned all the events that had ended with him here. 

How could Alfred have done this to him? 

He’d seen the tweets, alright? Truthfully, he didn’t see what the big deal was even if he had gone to Metropolis, though he’d be hard-pressed to actually say that to any self-respecting Gothamite. The idea he was in Metropolis wasn’t bad in itself, but any extra attention like this wasn’t great. The chances that anyone would be able to connect his secret identity to Robin was low, especially considering how young his usual media audience was, but it wasn’t impossible. And he didn’t need more people snooping through his business. He already had Bruce for that.

And so in his own, public Dick Grayson kind of way, he’d tried his hand at some fun damage control. He hadn’t tried typing so informally like this in ages, and it took him stupidly long to recapture the energy of his old posts. But he figured he could make it work.   

______________

TheFlyingGrayson @dickgrayson ✔

Official Statement: i’m alive guys please dont cancel me i didn’t go to Metropolis i just left for college
______________

He’d thought that was that, and he could move on with his life, but then he got a notification that left him banging his head into the wall as an influx of comments came in. 

______________

Gotham University @GothamUniversityOfficial ✔

You could’ve done that here too. Traitor. 

Metropolis University @UniversityofMetropolis ✔

We would happily welcome you to the good side :))

______________

That had been the last nail in the coffin in Alfred’s head. Because of course Alfred had seen the tweets too. And for as posh and British as Alfred may be, he was still a Gothamite at heart. And so was Bruce for that matter, though Bruce wasn’t in the position to be approaching him for something as trivial as this. They’d both taken the “allegations” of his position in Metropolis to be borderline slanderous . 

Which it might’ve been in all honesty. Some of these Gothamites were really ripping into him just at the idea . Right after the University’s tweets had gone out, he’d been approached online by the Metropolis University account’s PR manager, who’d wondered if he could be convinced to model some Metropolis-U merch in a paid photoshoot. Not even questioning the fact that he didn’t even actually go to Metropolis University. And to advertise it that openly, that was practically social suicide back in Gotham. And while he may not have as much unbridled rage at the city like some Gothamites, he did have some pride for his city, thank you very much. 

Alfred had told Dick that he must have inherited his poor PR skills from his father. Which they’d both taken offense to. Bruce had reminded him that all of his poor PR was purposeful, to which Dick had provided several blunders that had definitely not been planned. It didn’t matter what he said in his defense then however. The damage was done, and the result was the same. 

Alfred had grown adamant that Dick and Bruce needed to make a public appearance together to offset the rumors, saying it would give the public something else to focus on besides trying to investigate the timeline of his whereabouts. It was a very transparent plan to get him and Bruce to speak casually again, that much was very obvious. And honestly, Dick wasn’t even all that opposed to making an appearance with Bruce, as it had been a rather long time at this point, but did it have to be a gala ?

Maybe Alfred really was still holding harsh feelings for that vase Dick had broken.

As far as his team knew, he was on a top secret mission, and that meant any other cases he had needed to be delegated out. He’d entrusted Raven and Starfire with a temporary free pass into Gotham so they could deal with one for him, but everytime they passed a window, he couldn’t help but weigh the odds that he could escape Alfred to go join them. 

Every raised eyebrow sent his way each time was enough to rid him of any hope. 

Alfred had ordered him home immediately, and Dick knew that a refusal would just put his head on the chopping block, and he really wasn’t in the mood to piss off Alfred. Not that he ever was, in all fairness. He’d arrived at the manor early morning, figuring that if he was going to suffer through this, he might as well reap the benefits of an Alfred-level breakfast.

He found Bruce in the foyer, loosening his tie and purposefully tousling his hair, trying to look as if he’d been caught in some steamy affair prior to the gala, ever the tabloid-magnet. At least his role was both clear and familiar. 

Dick’s story was already in place, he was going to a university off the coast under a pseudonym to avoid special treatment or accusations of bribery, he was majoring in mathematics, with a minor in sports science, and no he wasn’t competing in gymnastics anymore, but he still practiced on his own. Simple and straightforward, it couldn’t appear like he was purposefully trying to stay off the radar entirely after all, it just hadn’t occurred to him that people would miss him all that much, and so here he was, at his father’s charity gala, gracing them with his presence at last. 

He’d do a couple tricks for the crowd, smile and shake people’s hands, pretend he was listening to their dreadfully dull stories, nothing new. He just needed to get through the night, and maybe if he was lucky, he’d be able to get away with not having to make another public appearance until his fake college graduation year. 

If only he was old enough to legally drink. He couldn’t do that here with so many eyes on him, that’d be very counterproductive if he wanted to give people enough that they’d forget about him for a while. He wasn’t sure if he’d be better off stuck in the throes of socialite wolves, or trying to cling to Bruce throughout for the semblance of peace. 

When he was younger, he usually played as mediator whenever one of Bruce’s interactions was starting to spiral out of control. Young socialites trying to flirt their way into Bruce’s fortune, corrupt businessmen trying to swindle the supposedly airheaded billionaire, old woman trying to pry into Bruce’s relationship business, etc. A single signal from Bruce and he would come rushing over, in all his grinning, hyperactive, sugar-coated sweetness, dragging Bruce’s attention away and no one could complain lest their reputation take a hit for being mean to good ol’ himbo Brucie, and his young son. 

Somehow he didn’t think he was cute enough to manage that now. 

Bruce turned to him, his perfectly blank face a sharp contrast to his purposefully disheveled appearance. There was an unspoken truce between them, because while Brucie and Dick were certainly going to be having fun at the gala, for Batman and Robin- this was purely business. And not an enjoyable kind of business either. He was fairly certain Bruce would join him in hiding under the table the whole time if he genuinely asked. But then Alfred would just give them this look and- yeah, he wasn’t going to deal with that if he could avoid it. 

“Ready to go?” Bruce questioned, fully knowing the answer, but asking out of courtesy. 

“No. But let’s get this over with,” he sighed forlornly. 

“We’ll get through it,” Bruce reiterated. 

“We always do,” Dick agreed. The true extent of their words were understood completely, but they went verbally unacknowledged. Still, he let Bruce clap him on the shoulder, and lead him out the door, leaning into his hold just a little. 

______________

The limo ride to the gala venue was dreadfully silent. Alfred had caught Bruce trying to smuggle some case papers out and promptly confiscated all of his Batman-related gadgets, and delegated his oldest charge to the backseat, letting Dick ride up front in the shotgun passenger seat. At least Dick had had the grace to only silently rub it in his face.

The minute they made it to the venue however? Suddenly the sounds had erupted everywhere.

The paparazzi were stationed outside, held back by velvet ropes and large security guards, loudly clamoring for the attention of every vaguely well-known attendee- and so Prince of Gotham, Bruce Wayne and his wayward son? They made a much bigger splash. Bruce Wayne wasn’t here anymore though. Oh no, it was Brucie’s turn. 

Brucie, all traces of the grumpy scowl he’d been wearing throughout the entire car ride just a moment ago completely evaporated, smiled loopily at the crowd with pearly white teeth, and struck out in a well-practiced strut. Dick, playing the exasperated yet dutiful son he was meant to be, let out an amused scoff, shaking his head and shrugging at the paparazzi as he trailed after his guardian with a “well, what can you do?” kind of attitude. 

Bruce would stop occasionally to throw a wink or flirt with someone in the crowd, and Dick, playing up the act, would clap the man on the shoulder and gesture good-naturedly at the subject of the man’s attention, before hurrying him forward again. 

God- if the Titans could see him now. That was his only thought as he and his mentor finally entered the actual ballroom, a room as large and classically elegant as every other gala he’s been to. Just as lifeless and without personality as all of those galas too. 

This definitely wasn’t really a family gala. A quick look over the crowd made it clear that most of the people here were adults, maybe occasionally accompanied by their company heir. 

Hell, that was what Dick was here, wasn’t he? The mere thought of having to take over Wayne Enterprises was nauseating, 

“Brucie, baby! Over here-”

“Mr Wayne, aren’t you looking dashing-”

“Oh honey, so good to see you, is your father here with anyone tonight-”

Those were the kinds of remarks that followed them around immediately, and all of them left Dick very desperate to throw himself back into the criminal-run streets of Gotham City. Maybe one would hit him in the head hard enough that he’d forget about the entire ordeal. 

Still, as much as he had to complain about people thirsting over his father figure right in front of him, at least he expected this from these people. And these people knew this was his father, so at least he knew they were intentionally torturing him. If he heard his friends start thirsting over his father again however? Well- depending on which friend it was, Robin really would be taking an official stand away from Batman’s legacy, because he’d be breaking his number one rule . 

“Oh, Cassi, er- Christi? Cleo? Oh- Penelope! Of course, of course, thank you. Oh how have you been? Why- you look ten years younger than I saw you last, I didn’t even recognize you!”

“Very appreciated love, but why- I couldn’t even compare to you! You look stunning!”

“It’s nice to see you again too, Mrs. Carrington, my father doesn’t have a date tonight, no. Though he does look about ready for the dance floor, so if you’d like to swoop in-”

Bruce had shot him a very dirty look for that last comment, but it’d disappeared the minute Mrs. Carrington turned her eyes on him. Offering his hand in a gentlemanly manner, he and the woman took to the dancefloor, swaying lightly, Bruce making a point to step on her toe and then trip and fall onto his ass in order to excuse himself. 

Dick made his rounds, never spending too much time with any particular person, until he came across one very familiar man, with a very distinctive blonde goatee, dressed in a nice evergreen suit and tie. Rather than the blonde singer Dick had expected to be on his arm, Dick found him casually speaking with another very familiar presence. A woman with short, dark hair, wearing a slinky black dress with long sleeves, adorned with subtle crystal embellishments. The clear focus of her outfit sat not with the dress however, but with the very large diamond necklace resting at the base of her neck. 

Dick’s brain automatically filled in the absence of leather cat ears on the woman’s head, as she grinned cheekily upon noticing him nearby. Drawn in by the first familiar presence he’d seen all night, he bit the bullet and approached the pair. 

“Selina, Oliver- I didn’t expect to see you two tonight,” he greeted. 

“Dick! How’ve you been? How’s college?” Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow, asked cheerfully. 

“It’s certainly been an adjustment,” he admitted. 

“Oh I’d imagine,” Selina laughed lightly, “Heard you made a rather colorful group of friends over there though.” Oh of course she knew about that. Honestly, most Gotham villains had probably heard about it by now. It was kind of a surprise that most of them had left him alone so far, but he supposed living a life of crime outside of Gotham had a very different energy. It might’ve seemed just like a return to the old status quo, given most of them were around before Robin popped up on the scene. 

He hadn’t seen Selina in ages, and it’s not like he’d been hiding when he formed his own team of teenage superheroes, so it wasn’t surprising that she’d bring it up, and he trusted her to be subtle enough. Though he would still appreciate it if she just didn’t talk about it at all.

“Oh? I hadn’t heard that. Any special friend you might want to bring up?” Oliver teased, wiggling his eyebrows playfully. Could Dick get away with throwing Bruce at him? It could be a fun scandal to watch a drunken Brucie Wayne throw a fit at his old boarding school roommate and fellow businessman over his son’s honor. Roy would probably get a kick out of it too. 

Urgh. Bruce didn’t even look drunk yet, he was still making his rounds flirting, looks like Dick was going to have to wait on that plan.

“Nothing like that,” he lied. “I’ve been pretty busy with other things.”

“What were you majoring in again, wasn’t it in something regarding… criminal justice ?” Okay Selina. That was not subtle. Let’s take it down a notch. He tried conveying that hope in his eyes, but she only appeared more amused. 

“Oh really? I was expecting you to be into something like sports science,” Oliver chimed in, completely unaware of his inner-panic. 

“I went in without a declared major. I’m just getting my Gen-Ed out of the way right now,” he replied. 

Selina spoke next, “Have you had your first college party experience? I hear things get rather beastly over there.” He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Was that on purpose? 

“Though I’m sure the stars are a nice view . ” Oh yeah, that was on purpose. Two could play at that game, but it definitely wasn’t a good thing for his secret identity. Oliver Queen may have been fooled by the image he and Bruce have curated, but he wasn’t stupid . 

But. 

Dick was really bored right now. 

And he liked puns. He so rarely got to make them with his team, since he was meant to be the stern and serious one. And he liked being the cool leader, don’t get him wrong- but his inner performer was desperate to be released, even just for a little while. Bruce would be annoyed though. 

Fuck it. 

“Oh it gets a little hectic sometimes,” he said. “But it’s definitely not as batty as things are here. Seen a couple campus catfights , but not nearly as much crime. The people outside Gotham are crazy trusting, it’s nice though, they’re not as two-faced .”

“Well I’m sure your classmates will be all over you soon, the raven suit and the royal blue tie is a very nice contrast, I take it that’s Alfred’s doing? I’m not used to seeing you in colors so subdued.” Okay, that one was a stretch. He was a little curious as to how she could try working in a Cyborg reference into the conversation, but he didn’t really want to let that one slide. 

“Technically, the suit’s labelled noir, not raven. I’ve actually been keeping a pretty low profile there, I doubt many people really notice me. Helps me explore different career paths without getting attached to anyone in the classes.”

“You could try going into medicine. Make up for Bruce’s dropout status, it’d be a good thing to lord over him,” Oliver suggested jokingly.

“Nah, I’ve got plenty of material to lord over him as is,” Dick remarked. 

Selina cocked her head, “Oh, now do tell-”

“Dickie!” a voice interrupted boisterously. An arm slung over Dick’s shoulder lazily, and Dick resisted his trained instinct to throw him over his shoulder in a counterattack, which his mentor should damn well know about, but here he was. 

“You’re not embarrassing me in front of my friends, are you?” Bruce laughed.

“You do that enough as it is, I’m sure,” Dick reminded with a snicker. 

“Ha! He’s got you there, Brucie. How’ve you been, man? You make out with the councilman this time?” Oliver wondered, and his obliviousness to the fact that Batman was knowingly flirting with both Catwoman and the Green Arrow at the same time would’ve made this memory all the more entertaining on playback. Y’know- if the Batman wasn’t his dad . 

“I have better taste than that, thank you, I’m not that drunk. Speaking of which- I must say that you both look ravishing tonight,” Bruce complimented, eyes narrowed as he made a show of checking them both over, a motion that both Selina and Oliver took in stride. 

Which was a pretty big indication as to where this interaction was going to lead, and Dick really didn’t need to see that, thank you. So after shrugging Bruce off his shoulder, Dick excused himself to take a short break. His first thought had been to just go sit on the steps, but it turned out that he wasn’t the only one to think of that. 

Up on the top step, where he’d been planning on spending the rest of the gala now that there was enough proof of his attendance, sat a very small boy. Probably not much older than maybe  seven or eight, if he had to guess. He looked a little familiar though. He’d been about to find another spot to take a break in when the kid finally noticed him with a loud squeak. It was very cute, only accentuated by the way the kid suddenly seemed to huddle into his jacket, peering over his knees at Dick with open curiosity. 

Carefully, he climbed up the steps to approach. 

“Hey there kid, what’s your name?”

“Tim, sir. I’m uh- your neighbor.” His neighbor? The Wayne Manor grounds were massive , since when did they have a- ohh . That’s where he knew this kid. Though, he was considerably older since he’d last seen him. A little memory of a child barely out of the toddler phase with ruffled black hair and little pudgy cheeks running through a gala emerged at the front of his mind. 

______________

Several Years Earlier

“Whoa there!” he jumped, as a little boy went toddling through the hallway of Wayne Manor, definitely far from the gala that he must have come from. 

“Oh, Master Dick! Could you please grab onto Timothy? I’d been trying to give him some crackers from the kitchen when he ran off,” Alfred called out as he entered the doorway. 

“On it!” 

Dick rushed through the winding hallways of the manor that he’d finally gotten accustomed to navigating, following the little pitter-patter sound of the boy’s feet. When he caught sight of him once more however, it’d been when the boy was right at the top of a flight of stairs. 

Before Timothy could attempt to take a wobbly step down, Dick lunged forward, scrambling to pick him up before he could accidentally hurt himself. Thankfully- the speed of his instincts had been sharpened by his time fighting criminals, and Timothy was in his arms.

Timothy blinked at him, expression completely unconcerned by this random preteen that’d interrupted his adventure. After a few more consecutive blinks, Timothy’s face went incredulous, and he blurted out what must have been his first thought.

“You do flips!” 

It was Dick’s turn to blink now. Maybe his parents had talked about his history as a circus performer in front of him. If the amazement in his voice was anything to go by, it seemed likely his parents hadn’t been using it as an insult either, so that was nice. 

Dick wasn’t really sure how he was meant to babysit a kid this young, but well- he was a performer. And if nothing else, he knew how to entertain. 

“Do you want to see the flips?” he questioned. The boy nodded eagerly. 

“Alright then, I can show you some. But first- let’s go get that snack from Alfred, yeah?”

______________

Present Day

“Tim Drake? Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you and your family at a gala, I didn’t realize you’d gotten this tall!” He smiled encouragingly. 

“Yes sir, I can finally reach the hors d'oeuvres table by myself now,” the boy replied, his voice a little less timid as Dick took a seat next to him on the step. 

“You can just call me Dick, Tim. The formalities of these things have never really been for me.” 

“Oh- okay! Thanks si- Dick. Sorry again for hiding out here, the party is just, um- well it seems really nice but-”

Dick waved him off, “No worries, Tim. I get it. I’ve been doing these since I was nine and they’re still a little much for me sometimes. Especially as it gets later in the night.” He paused. “Hey, speaking of which, isn’t it a school night?”

“It is, but this mattered a lot to my parents, and they needed me here as their heir.” He sounded a whole lot more well-articulated than most kids his age, but he supposed that wasn’t too uncommon for someone from a family in the Gotham elite.  

“Well, if you get tired, I think there’s a library around here you can probably curl up in.”

“No need! My bedtime is much later than this!” Tim said proudly. Much later than 9:45? That didn’t seem healthy. Even Dick had had a fairly reasonable bedtime at this age, even when he spent the night beating up criminals on patrol, Batman would make him go home early on school nights so he wouldn’t be dead to the world in the morning. 

“Hey, um- Dick?” 

“Yes?”

“I don’t really know if you remember me- and it’s okay if you don’t! But-”

“I don’t think I’d ever forget the one person who’s ever escaped from Alfred Pennyworth’s watch. Trust me, you’ve earned my respect,” he joked.

“So…you remember one of the flips you showed me? Would you maybe um, show me again? It’s okay if you can’t! It’s just that I’ve actually been practicing some gymnastics myself-”

“That’s great, Tim! Of course I can show you again, how long have you been doing gymnastics now?”

“Oh I’ve-” Tim didn’t get to finish his sentence. 

Because the sound of gunshots suddenly filled the air. 

Dick instinctively threw himself over the younger boy, shielding him despite there being no enemies in clear sight. The younger boy had frozen at the sound, and the sudden screams filling the air from the direction of the gala had him shivering. Dick snuck a quick look at a gadget he’d carefully concealed on his wrist- and winced at the emergency message he’d been sent by Alfred. 

Roughly fourteen armed gunmen in the ballroom. No sign of any outside that area, do not enter. 

They’re taking him hostage. Suit up, I will be on comms, I’m tracking them as we speak. 

As if speaking through a megaphone, a loud voice boomed through the building.

“Listen up folks! You’ve got twenty-four hours to save your precious prince! I want the Wayne lawyers on standby, twenty billion- or he gets it!”

Dick should probably be more concerned than he actually was. And he was concerned, truly! But the only thing he felt upon hearing that incredibly uncreative demand was relief that at least they definitely weren’t Joker henchmen. He could rule out a couple notable villains, since this wasn’t really their style. With any luck- these were just some criminals in over their heads, and he could apprehend them and be in and out. 

Tim gasped out, “Oh no- Robin needs to- or, or- Batman! They need to save him!”

“Bruce is made of tougher stuff than he looks, Tim.” he promised comfortingly. 

But Tim’s eyes were still blown wide with panic, “You’ll make sure he’s okay, right? After y- Batman gets him back?” 

“Of course, it sounds like they’ve all shuffled out. You watch out for yourself okay, do you need help finding your parents?”

“No, no! I’ll be okay, I’ll just get out of your hair! Besides you need to- uh, go um- comfort your butler?”

“Yeah, of course, oh you can ask him for help if you need anything. I’ll see ya round, Tim!” He hesitated, shooting Alfred a text to get him to come collect Tim before he left. He really didn’t like the idea of leaving him alone right now, but on the off chance that these random kidnappers could actually get the jump on Bruce, he needed to act fast. 

______________

Robin should’ve left Brucie to get out of his bounds himself. 

He’d changed into his suit as quickly as he could, and thankfully Bruce hadn’t disabled the tracker he’d slipped into his suit that morning. Which was really just a gesture of fairness, considering Dick had done him the same courtesy and pretended not to notice when Bruce had slipped a tracker onto him that same morning. But anyways, this meant it’d taken him barely any time to find his location and swing down. 

The place wasn’t actually that far from the place he’d sent Starfire and Raven to, a pretty standard Crime Alley warehouse. As run down as every other building in the area. 

And what did he find when he got there?

Bruce was actively teaching one of the henchmen how to tie one of the knots on his restraints tighter. And he hadn’t even turned off Brucie mode, if the almost lascivious smirk on his face was any indication. Robin refused to look at him too long, afraid that he’d accidentally read Bruce’s lips and realize he was saying something that’d make him hurl. This didn’t even deserve a dramatic break-in entrance. 

If they were this poorly equipped to handle a kidnapping, Dick may as well just make this quick and easy, no need for additional property damage, like breaking through the glass of the skylight. Typing into a gadget on his wrist, he quickly hacked into the cameras of the building, checking out the different entrances from different angles. He’d been weighing out plans for two different entrances when he heard a loud hiss . Looking down, fully expecting a small cat of some sort, he was surprised to find that it wasn’t a cat at all. 

But rather a young boy with dark curls, small and lithe, practically drowning in an oversized red hoodie. The kid started pointing at something, and so Robin followed his line of sight, realizing that the boy had been showing him a latch to a trapdoor that must’ve led to underneath the building. And a quick once-over through the inside of the warehouse gave him a pretty good guess as to where it would lead, right behind the chair Bruce was tied to. 

Nodding his thanks to the boy, he leaped down, taking the chance to ruffle the boy’s hair before opening the trapdoor. The smile he received in turn was bright enough to melt even the coldest of hearts. 

Launching himself through the other side of the tunnel, he snatched the back of Bruce’s chair, and in an act of pettiness, unceremoniously tossed the man into the hole so he could take out his captors. He relished the indignant shout that Bruce made when he went careening backwards. 

The criminals could barely even be called C-list henchmen at best, they went down quick, and Robin escaped with barely a scratch. The only complication? 

Turns out they were live streaming. And Bruce was feeling petty today too. But Robin supposed he deserved that.

Bruce, who’d apparently broken free of his bounds, decided to poke his head through the trapdoor to start shouting encouragement at him halfway through the fight. And afterwards? He made a show of leaping out of the tunnel and crashing towards his “savior” profusely thanking him over and over, punctuated with a big hug. Now it’s not that Dick didn’t like hugs, he practically lived for them at one point. But one has to understand that a Brucie hug was very different from a Bruce hug. 

Bruce hugs were slightly awkward, but they were warm and comfortable, and it always felt like he was physically trying to shield you from every horrible thing in the world. Brucie hugs were slightly crushing, insincere, and fucking loud . 

“Oh my hero! Thank you, thank you, thank you-”

“Okay Brucie- you’re fine now. You get kidnapped like every other month, we’ve been through this before-”

“Oh but you did so well! Why, you’re nothing like Batman! That old coot always takes so long to drop by, but it’s barely been half an hour and here you are, all brave and fast and-”

“Mr Wayne! Could you put me down, please? I need to make sure the police are on their way to pick these guys up-”

“Right, right, yes- of course! Oh, can you call my butler for me? I seem to have misplaced my phone. Oh- wait! The livestream’s still going! Alfie! Alfie! I hope you’re watching! Look! Robin came back and saved me! Tell Dickie I said hi!” Bruce’s smile was plastered over his face as if he’d been kidnapped for a Sunday brunch and not a billion dollar ransom. In Robin’s humble opinion, Brucie shenanigans were only fun when he was in on them, not when they were directed at him . He sighed exasperatedly. 

Whatever. In for a penny, in for a pound. 

“Forget it, Mr Wayne-” he started.

“Brucie,” Bruce corrected. 

“Forget it, Brucie. I’ll take you home, unless you don’t feel safe going by grappling hook? It’ll be quicker than waiting for your butler, and I’d rather you not hang around this part of town for too long.” 

“Oh that’d be delightful! Let’s go! See you at home, Alfie!” He waved to the livestream. Robin cut the feed, before pocketing the camera to pile away as evidence, and Bruce finally let his grin drop, as he eyed the fallen gunmen. 

“GCPD are on their way,” Robin confirmed for him. 

“Good.”

“Is there something about what they said?”

“No. They seem as generic as a criminal can get. But the guns they have? Those should be way beyond their resources. And there haven’t been any notices of weapons dealings or weapons burglaries recently, so they’re likely from outside the city. I figured I could get some information about a supplier, but they seemed entirely under the impression that the guns were just a gift. They weren’t working for someone.”

“But you think they were someone’s pawns, but just didn’t know it?”

“Perhaps.”

“We’ll look into it. Seriously though, Gothamites just heard I’d be grappling you home, they’ll be expecting us soon.” The minute they stepped outside, the airheaded smile was back on Bruce’s face, and Robin grabbed hold of him. As they swung by, Bruce would wave happily and yell greetings at passing Gothamites that said hello to them first. There were some Gothamites particularly happy to see Robin back in town, and Bruce was quick to corroborate their statement, regardless of the annoyed glare he received from his son every time. 

“Would now be a bad time to ask you if you’d be willing to actually go to college at Gotham University?” Bruce asked, in his normal, deep, but not-Batman deep voice. 

“Yes.” 

______________

Meanwhile, a figure stood on the roof of a Wayne Enterprises building, a phone held to their ear. 

“So you actually managed to get him back to Gotham,” the caller mused. 

“Does this satisfy you?” 

“Your methods could use work. That was rather convoluted.”

“You requested subtlety. There’s no trace for them to latch onto.”

“Don’t underestimate them. Nonetheless, you did as I asked.”

“So we have a deal?”

“Indeed.”

“Perfect.”

______________

Robin really thought he was in the clear now. After his whole gala ordeal, Alfred had reluctantly released him from his PR prison sentence, and sent him off back to Jump City, leftovers in hand, and with a promise to visit more regularly from now on. 

He and Bruce hadn’t really breached anything very emotional while he was there, but he was willing to admit- the visit did make him miss the guy, it even made him miss getting to see the Brucie shenanigans in person. Sure, he heard about them over the news occasionally, but it was so different to see Brucie in action with his own two eyes. So- no, they weren’t back to sunshine and rainbows, but they were stable. 

Or they would’ve been if it weren’t for his stupid teammates. 

Because do you remember where this all started? 

That’s right, with his teammates falsely assuming that his superhero identity had a celebrity crush on Brucie Wayne . And what went viral last night? 

A collage of very high-resolution photos where Robin swung through the night, hanging tightly onto Brucie Wayne right after he saved him from a kidnapping. How they managed to get such clear photos when he was in motion was beyond him. But he should’ve thought this one through. Why- oh why, didn’t he just let Alfred come pick him up? Because he didn’t want to inconvenience Alfred when he was perfectly capable of getting him home on his own? Yeah well this was the price he paid. The shit-eating grins they’d had the minute he returned to the tower were enough to let him know that they’d seen the news. 

He’d take the photos down himself, but the damage was already done. And that may only make the teasing even worse . 

“Sooooo…how was the hug?”

“It was a hug,” he snapped. 

“Did you get his autograph? Did you get a selfie?” 

“No. And no,” he grumbled, refusing to turn around to look at them. Which may have only incriminated him more, in hindsight.  

“Did you hug him back or did you freeze because this was all you’d ever dreamed of?”

“No. And you’re delusional,” he stabbed his fork into his pancakes as hard as he could, accidentally cracking the plate that held it. 

“Friend Robin, you seem rather distressed. May I offer you a hug of my own?”

“...Please,” he sighed. 

The teasing went on for the rest of the day, forcing Robin to retreat to his room, flopping onto the bed and pulling the covers over his head as if suffocating himself in the silk sheets would be enough to save him. 

He swore loudly when his brooding was interrupted by the sound of a text. It was his day off, and all their major opponents were off the radar or in prison right now. If he opened up this text and it was from one of his teammates, trying to tease him when he wasn’t in front of them, or in enough reach for a direct attack from their disgruntled leader, he was going to toss his communicator out the window, and give up his position as Robin and join Catwoman as her new burglarizing sidekick or something. 

Reluctantly, he pushed the covers aside, and tapped into his comm, and the screen lit up with a notification he definitely hadn’t been expecting. 

Hey, would you mind meeting up with me at some point soon? There’s kinda something I think we need to talk about. I just don’t want to take too many chances right now, and I think you can help. 

Looks like his day off could wait. 

This was going to be a painful conversation. 

At least it wasn’t going to be as painful as adhering to gala etiquette. 

Probably. 

Chapter Text

Beast Boy P.O.V

“Beast Boy! What are you doing?! Get over here, now!” His oh so fearless leader demanded. 

“Yes boss,” he replied, forlornly saying goodbye to the veggie pasta he’d been trying to enjoy, before the Hive 5, finally fitting their name now that they actually only had five people, once Kid Flash got Jinx to defect that is, so rudely decided to interrupt their lunch with an impromptu bank robbery. 

Which was really a wonder, considering they so rarely got away with their crimes nowadays, but he supposed people needed to have their hobbies. 

He really needed to get Robin to tell him where he got this pasta. There was no way something this good was some pre-packaged microwave meal. He’d brought it back from his solo business that he’d been dealing with when he let Star and Rae into Gotham. He’d been really tightlipped about his time, but Beastboy really couldn’t see how giving him the name of a pasta place could possibly reveal his identity. 

OH- unless Robin’s family owned the place! But it’s not like Beastboy would try dropping the name of the place to a bunch of villains or something, this was the kind of place you had to gatekeep. Which he didn’t think would be something Robin would do,but he supposed he could understand. 

His musings were interrupted with another yell, “Beast Boy! Hurry it up, help Raven with Kyd Wykkyd!”

“I’m going, I’m going!” he returned with a scowl. Please, as if Kyd Wykkid had anything on Raven , really- what was Robin even thinking?

Whatever was going on with Robin before must’ve left him pretty high-strung, because Robin only seemed to get more naggy as the day went on. First it was the fight, but then it only continued into training.

“Beast Boy! Stop that-”

“Cyborg, what the hell were you even aiming for there, Gizmo or your own damn-”

“Beast Boy! Quit-”

“Kid Flash! Are you a speedster or a meadster? No way anyone could miss a sign that large unless they were drunk off their a-”

“Beast Boy, don’t even-”

“beASt bOy!

“BeAsT BoY!”

“BEAST BOY!”

Was it too late to go back to Doom Patrol? Elastic Girl could probably find problems for him, but at least she’d be- actually, wait. No. Elastic Girl would be fine, but Mento? Mento would be just as bad, if not worse. And at least he could yell back at Robin without being made to feel like just a disobedient child. Most days. 

“Wonder Girl, keep up the good work,” Robin greeted, sharing a high-five with the girl on their way out. And oh if looks could kill, Beast Boy would’ve already sent him six feet under-

Thankfully however, in another distinct difference to Mento, Robin was at least marginally more self aware. Considerably more when he got another day to get his mind off of whatever was bothering him. And so, Robin approached each member of the team separately over the course of the next two days, apologizing for his behavior, and accompanying his apologies with individualized gifts. Because you really knew it was bad when Robin had even snapped at Starfire at one point. 

Truth be told, Beast Boy doubted many of them were actually holding his behavior against him all that much. None of the original five Titans were anyway, this was hardly the first time Robin went through some extra grumpy phase, but it seemed even Kid Flash and Wonder Girl had gotten accustomed enough to understand Robin wasn’t trying to be an asshole. Still, the gifts were welcome, as far as Beast Boy was concerned. 

He was very partial to the inclusion of another dish full of the veggie pasta he’d been eating before their last fight with the Hive 5. Must’ve gotten it specially ordered, if what Beast Boy overheard from his call meant anything.

“Thanks A, I owe you one.”

“No, not another gala. Ask me to die for you if you must, but not that-”

“Yes, I know I was acting like B. But at least I apologized before they packed their bags and moved across the country to get away from me-”

“...Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you soon, thanks again for the food.”

To let Robin know that bygones were bygones, and they’d definitely forgiven him for saying far worse in the past, he and their other male teammates had extended an invitation for a boys night on the town. Robin unfortunately had to put in a raincheck on it, but told them to go and enjoy themselves, and they could do something together another time. He’d handed them the team creditcard, and when asked about the budget, just shrugged and told them it was taken care of and they could go nuts. 

Which was weird. Because he didn’t think Robin had an actual job. And Beast Boy sure as hell wasn’t being paid for his hero work, so he doubted Robin was all that different. Although Robin had been doing this way longer than any of them had, so maybe there was some quota or something he’d reached. He knew Robin had mentioned their tower being sponsored, but he’d never provided any specifics about that. Regardless, he couldn’t really complain about being handed what was essentially an unlimited bank account. 

But Robin’s lack of presence wasn’t missed, and the initial reason for their outing didn’t go unmentioned either. 

“Do you guys think Robin was ticked off because we immediately started teasing him about saving Bruce Wayne?” Kid Flash questioned, as he drank down a milkshake faster than Beast Boy thought even possible. None of them noticed the head swivel towards them, quick, and hidden beneath a hood. If any of them had bothered looking closely, they would’ve noticed the Gotham University logo proudly emblazoned across the back of their jacket, and the incredulous look on their face.

“Well we have been milking this for a while now. Honestly, it's about time we take it down a notch,” Cyborg reasoned. 

“Fair is fair. We may have gone a little overboard with all those posters,” Beast Boy replied sheepishly. 

“Not just your fault, little man. Anyway, think Robin’s gotten even anyway considering how grumpy he’s been.”

“Yeah but then he tipped the scales again by giving us an unlimited budget guys night. Not gonna lie though, I don’t really like the idea of us taking too much advantage of it.”

“A few milkshakes won’t put a dent in it, and in any case- if he’s really that bothered by it, I’m pretty sure it’s mostly out of our systems now anyway, no need to worry,” Kid Flash said assuredly. He continued, “Now! Night’s still young, who’s up for another round? After that- I say we head out bowling or something-”

The figure at the other table tapped away at their phone, the subjects of their incredulity entirely oblivious as to their plight. 

______________

Sweeney T @olivemarian

Bro. I think Robin’s new team is slandering him in a random Sweet Justice shop??

The Bat Hypothesis @metalbread

Slandering how?

Sweeney T @olivemarian

They’re talking about Robin having a crush on Brucie??

Abby Glees @abbyglees

Seriously? I know Brucie’s hot but like, didn’t Robin grow up saving him from dumb shit all the time? Why would he be into that

Slugsss @briellegrace

Not to mention Brucie’s like, maybe 15-20 years older

Alice Mayhem @alicemillie

Y’all telling me you’ve never had like, an admiration crush on someone. Like someone you just respect a ton and maybe think they’re pretty but wouldn’t actually date

The Bat Hypothesis @metalbread

We have and brucie lowkey is one of mine but like. Doesn’t brucie lowkey kinda hate batman

Alice Mayhem @alicemillie

All the more reason i could see robin liking brucie ngl

The Bat Hypothesis @metalbread

Nah. you’re all tripping. Remember when brucie said he thought batman was hot like five and a half years ago before some shit apparently went down between them and he switched up on him and called him an off-brand dracula

Slugsss @briellegrace

Proof? Link?? Literally please tell me you have a link, it would make my day

The Bat Hypothesis @metalbread

Found em. Vicki Vale interviews. And they’re both pre-Brucie/Vicki breakup so you know it’s not doctored or exaggerated

Sweeney T @olivemarian

Okay so we’re in agreement then that there’s no way robin has a crush on the guy that once had a crush on his mentor right

The Bat Hypothesis @metalbread

Yeah agreed. The titans weird asf for that

Sweeney T @olivemarian

They said they were teasing him about it and stuff, not actually sure if they seriously thought it was a crush or not but I like didn’t realize that I would hear more robin gossip even after leaving Gotham for spring break and I figured the gothamites at home just needed to hear about it

Slugsss @briellegrace

Fair enough

Alice Mayhem @alicemillie

Hey gang if we’re not cancelling richie grayson for going to metropolis can we cancel robin for going to jump

The Bat Hypothesis @metalbread

Nah. we don’t got beef with jump, they’re all cheery but at least they ain’t obnoxious about it. Cough *Metropolis* cough

______________

Metropolis University @UniversityofMetropolis ✔

Ya’ll hate us cause you ain’t us💅

Gotham University @GothamUniversityOfficial ✔

Nah. We hate you cause your baseball team sucks and your boy scout looks like he belongs at the center of a toothpaste ad 

Metropolis University @UniversityofMetropolis ✔

At least we can go in the sun without hissing. 

Gotham University @GothamUniversityOfficial ✔

At least our billionaire doesn’t look like Dr Evil if he dealt in mlm schemes (and he actually pays for our property damage instead of causing it 🍵)

______________

Robin P.O.V

What. The. Fuck.

Here he was. A simple teenage vigilante, trying to take his mind off his worries by browsing for legitimate college options. Because he didn’t actually want to rely on Bruce to fund his entire lifestyle for the rest of his life and college would at least be a good segway into finding a real job. 

Apparently Bruce had been stalking his browser history again, considering there were pop-ups for both Princeton, Rutgers, and Stevens Institute suddenly all over his computer. All of which were in New Jersey. Real subtle Bruce. At least he had enough shame not to try suggesting Gotham University, but everything was within a day or two drive. In any case, he’d been readying himself to send a very passive aggressive email to the man, when he was suddenly notified by his coded systems that Robin and Richard Grayson were being talked about in the same post. As always happened, because he needed to know when he needed to curb any leaks. This wasn’t an identity leak. But he almost wished it was. 

His teammates would hear a very eery, slightly hysterical cackle ringing throughout the terror for the next few minutes. All on high alert for a threat. Only to realize it was actually their team leader. Dying. God- he’d been away from Bruce for so long, he forgot how much he fucking hated the media. Oh he so wanted to die right now- 

But there was some unfinished business he had to attend to. 

Starfire P.O.V

“Friends, you cannot keep hiding from Robin within the rafters forevermore,” she said concernedly. 

“You’re only delaying the inevitable,” Raven added, but she seemed entirely unbothered by the fact. 

“Yeah well you’re only making our chances worse when you don’t keep your voices down !” Kid Flash shushed them, Cyborg and Beast Boy nodding rapidly in assent beside them. It was very 

comical, to see them so squished into a place that was clearly only made for one person to hide. Or none, she supposed. But Cyborg’s large mass in particular, and the bright yellow of Kid Flash’s suit, rendered their hiding spot rather moot. Only Beast Boy, who had transformed into a small green bee, seemed passable. But Robin was ruthlessly observant on a good day.

“Oh if the Justice League could see us now,” Wonder Girl sighed in exasperation. 

“...You know what, they’re right. This is pathetic! So we’re getting some bad PR, it could be a lot worse! We can’t seriously be cowardly enough to hide from Robin over something like this,” Cyborg concluded. 

“Alright- but if he kills us, I’m blaming you,” Beast Boy warned. 

“Robin doesn’t kill,” Kid Flash scoffed, and all three slipped off the rafters, and let their feet hit the floor with a stomp. They sighed in relief when it seemed the world hadn’t ended, slumping together- 

When a pair of steel toed boots dropped from the ceiling beside them, and the three released the most horrid shriek that Starfire had ever heard. She was unsure if she should feel bad for finding the notion amusing, but she did. Robin’s eyes were narrowed, but at least he didn’t have any visible weaponry on hand. That was a most joyous sign. 

“Five seconds. Explain,” Robin scowled. Taking pity upon her friends, Starfire floated forward to place a placating hand upon the boy’s shoulders. His face softened marginally, but it wasn’t enough. 

Robin P.O.V

Their explanations were total bullshit. But admittedly, what happened next wasn’t really their fault, but rather- his. He’ll be honest. He hasn’t slept at all since that text he’d gotten. He’s tired, and his brain isn’t functioning very well right now, sue him. 

Actually don’t do that. He had enough bad PR to deal with right now. 

“Look, man- we’re sorry about this whole thing, please don’t kill us!”

“Yeah! And look, no one actually believes you had a crush on Bruce Wayne!”

“That’s because I didn’t have a crush on Bruce Wayne!” he groaned.

“Oh come on man- it’s okay to admit it, let’s be honest here, the man’s not my type, but he’s definitely not bad to look at,” Kid Flash remarked.

“He’s all sweet and well-intentioned and shit, that seems right up your alley.”

“Genuinely how am I supposed to convince you that your theories are full of shit ?” he spat. At least the Gothamites in the comment section had his back. They weren’t traitors . He said traitors now, because even Wonder Girl looked like she was starting to doubt him. Raven remained passive, so she was his best friend right now. He didn’t even want to look at Starfire, fearing that he may see the same look of consideration on her face that he now saw on Wonder Girl’s.

“Honestly, I would’ve believed you a lot more easily if you weren’t getting so worked up about it. Wouldn’t have bothered with all the posters and stuff if you weren’t reacting like this. Like I said man- it’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Cyborg shrugged. 

He then proceeded to blurt out something that he immediately regretted. But he desperately needed a change in the status-quo, and there was no turning back now, no matter how much he might’ve desperately wanted to make a different choice. 

“I had a crush on Dick Grayson!” Blinks. Everywhere. It took everything within him not to crouch down and shove his face into his hands, and there was a distinctly warm feeling rushing across his cheeks. Oh what had he done ?

He’d opened the floodgates. That’s what he’d done. But not in the way he’d expected. 

“Yeah that’s fair,” Kid Flash responded, nodding. As if that explained everything perfectly.

“Yeah, why didn’t you just lead with that?” Beast Boy wondered. 

Raven was judging him immensely from her corner of the room, another reminder that she had been in his head - and thus knew exactly what kind of mess he’d just gotten himself into. Starfire however seemed only curious. 

“Who is this ‘Dick Grayson’ character?” she asked.

“Bruce Wayne’s adoptive son, he’s a lot closer to our ages, he’s not in the media as often as he used to be, but he made a reappearance at that one gala Bruce Wayne got kidnapped from last time Robin was in Gotham,” Cyborg explained. 

“Did you like him too, Cy?” Kid Flash teased, nudging the taller boy where his ribs would’ve been if they weren’t, well- covered in mechanical parts. 

“Not my type, but I see the appeal. Reminds me a bit of Rob actually. Especially now that Rob’s not just lurking around in the shadows like he did sometimes in the early days,” Cyborg explained. Oh he could hear Bruce’s condescending lecture in his head already. 

“Here, Star! Found a picture!” Oh no, oh no. Please tell him they at least picked a good picture. Don’t let it be one of his math competitions, don’t let it be one from his circus days. 

Thankfully, it was neither. As he followed after Starfire to look at the tablet, he caught sight of himself, not long before he’d joined the Titans actually, in an oversized black turtleneck that definitely belonged to Bruce, and some pastel blue pajama pants covered in fleece clouds that he’d left at home when Bruce tried benching him from Robin, which he sometimes missed more than he missed the man himself. In other words, they were incredibly comfortable. 

The figure in the photo was sleepily rubbing at his eyes with one hand, and waving at the camera with the other, a soft smile on his face as he reclined on the sofa. 

“Ohh! He’s rather cute!” Starfire exclaimed. There was a pang of both giddiness at the remark, and also a strange hint of jealousy. She didn’t technically know that the boy at her side, and the boy in the picture were one in the same, but at least he probably wouldn’t need to worry about her being disappointed if he revealed his identity to her at some point. One day. 

“He’s got range too,” Kid Flash responded, bringing up another photo, this one of him shirtless at the pool, the one in Wayne Manor to be specific, because there was no way he was trusting the water anywhere else in Gotham. He’d gotten the fun idea of recreating Ariel’s scene from the Little Mermaid, where she came out of the water and flipped her hair above her head. And bless Alfred’s ever-perfect skills in whatever he put his mind to, had gotten a perfect shot. 

“You really had those photos at the ready, didn’t you?” Raven remarked, eyebrow raised. 

“Not that we can really blame you,” Wonder Girl said, nodding appreciatively.

“Yeah well- I wasn’t always taken, you know?” Kid Flash grinned cheekily. Robin’s cheeks warmed even more at the implication. And even more when the rest of the Titans nodded in agreement. 

Raven looked horribly amused, and she grinned openly at him, not nodding along with the rest, but the effect felt so much worse. Somehow, even after weeks worth of teasing- which was still technically going, though it wasn’t super directed at the Robin him anymore, that may have been the worst part of it all. 

Oh god. He really needed to get this blush under control. Distractions were inevitable, but he did need to be able to take things seriously from now on. Lest things spiral out of his control. 

Again.

______________

-Several Days Before-

The diner he stepped into was dim and minimally decorated, the jukebox in the corner playing nothing but Footloose on repeat. It was plain. Bland. Uninteresting. But most importantly, it was neutral ground. Dick adjusted the sunglasses around his eyes as he scanned the room. Only two individuals present. One potential threat, but not an expected one. 

Short blonde waves fell loosely around his ears, his eyes were shut and shoulders relaxed, but Dick wasn’t foolish enough to believe him to not be paying attention. His purple tunic and matching knee-high boots had been traded out for a soft cardigan and ankle-high boots in the same color. For the sake of not drawing more attention than necessary, they’d agreed that there’d be no point in showing up in their Titans outfits. 

Dick had made a bit more stark of a change. Dark denim jeans in place of green kevlar. And a cerulean blue hoodie where there should’ve been a bright, scarlet red. A mask for glasses. Not that the glasses really mattered, but he’d grown used to the shield between his eyes and the world around him. And he didn’t have the drive within to deny himself that little extra protection.

Especially since the shield of secrecy had all but shattered between them. 

“Joseph,” he greeted mildly, testing the foreign name on his tongue as if it were a secret lost to the shadows. The boy opened his eyes and offered him the tiniest of smiles. 

“ Joey’s fine. ” he signed, rather than opening his mouth. Dick briefly wondered if it’d be better if he switched to signing too, but Joey waved him off when he voiced the question. 

“ Dick or Richard? ”

“Dick is fine. Are you ordering anything?” Out of courtesy- and because he was the son of one of the richest men in the country, Dick shouldered the bill and got them situated with food that was considerably better than what he’d expected considering the dull atmosphere of the diner, but still not incredibly appetizing. Which might’ve been for the best, since this wasn’t really a conversation they should be distracted from.

One may wonder how they’d gotten here. Dick had one of the most closely guarded secret identities throughout all of the Titans, honorary or otherwise. So if he hadn’t even gotten around to telling his main teammates, how did Joey find out, you may ask? 

Well truth be told, he’d come across it a lot more accidentally than the vice versa. 

______________

-Many Months Ago-

Alfred would’ve had a heart attack if he could see him now. There were papers strewn everywhere. Every screen he had available to him was propped up with a file, a video, a location, anything . 

He’d poured an ungodly amount of energy into this endeavour for ages. And right when he thought he could put it all behind him, he showed up again. Right when the world was basically ending, of course he just couldn’t avoid becoming one of the horsemen of the apocalypse. He was just that aggravating. And unfortunately, just as calculating. 

But he’d done it. Worked his ass off for it. He’d cracked the case. Solved the riddle. Unmasked the demon that had plagued him for nights on end over and over and-  

Shaking away the memories of a not-so distant past, he grinned triumphantly in spite of himself, the slope of his shoulders relaxing within the shadows of his room at a job very well done. 

He’d never have guessed that the man had actually told him his real name right from the start. Slade. Slade Wilson. A pain in the ass even indirectly, because it only made gathering intel warrant his overthinking to a tremendous extent. But this wasn’t Robin’s first rodeo, and he had been raised by the World’s Greatest Detective after all. He had no clue why the man hadn’t introduced himself by his mercenary name: Deathstroke . It had just as harsh of a presence as the name “Slade” had, but it just felt so fake . There was just an unexplainable feeling attached to it, most of the criminal underground would’ve known him that way, knowing that he’d just freely given Robin his real first name made him want to tear his own hair out. 

Had it been because Robin didn’t seem like much of a threat? Had he really been counting that hard on Renegade becoming a permanent fixture at his side? Was there something else entirely that he was missing?

There wasn’t much of a way to ask why, unless he talked to the man himself. And to be frank, he wasn’t very eager for that confrontation. There was an almost exhilarating feeling whenever he uncovered something about the man, having the high-ground had been so rare when they first met. And maybe this wasn’t necessarily high-ground here, but he was leveling the playing field, and that was enough for the time being. 

Or it would’ve been, if he hadn’t been trained to consider as many possibilities as possible. 

Deathstroke was sneaky, a mercenary that was rarely ever in a public enough light for anyone but the highest bidders to notice. Batman and Robin were out in the spotlight on both sides of the mask. There was a whole lot more information to work with in regards to discovering their identity, no matter how prominently they tried to cover their tracks. 

And Robin wasn’t stupid enough to think that Slade sending Renegade to steal tech from a Wayne Enterprises building was just a stroke of bad luck. It might not have been confirmed in his mind at that point, but it had to have been a suspicion at the very least. 

If it’d been confirmed by now, which it probably had been, then Slade had far too much to hold over his head than he was comfortable. He had no doubt that Bruce could hold his own. But Alfred, despite how capable he was, was also…old. And if Slade really wanted to delve deeper, then Bruce and Alfred weren’t the only connections he still had in Gotham. 

Robin wasn’t entirely convinced that Slade could care about anyone in his life in the same way he did, not with all the pride and sinister nature. But the moment he really thought about it, he’d nearly wanted to smack himself for immediately trying to turn his greatest nemesis into a 2-Dimensional robot made solely for his suffering. Even some of the most crime-heavy villains had people they cared about in some way. It was rarely healthy, but there was care. But just because they may have someone they cared about out there didn’t mean they’d have any sympathy for others. 

Robin had built up a life he was finally content with for the most part. And he wasn’t ready for that to change for the worse again if he could help it. He couldn’t let the dark and decay of the vigilante sphere taint the T-shaped, Bat-Sponsored monument of light he’d curated. 

And so in a moment he wasn’t particularly proud of, he let Bruce’s training take over. And he did what bats did best. He planned. He categorized every potential strength, every past plan, every little anecdote he could get his hands on. Every potential weakness he could exploit if all else failed. Which was how he came across Slade’s children. And boy did that give him some thoughts.

The bitter part of his mind initially wondered why Slade had bothered trying so hard to make him his apprentice when he had at least three perfectly malleable ones right there , one’s he’d had a hand in creating himself, the fruit of his loins or whatever. But then the rational part of his mind spoke up. Why the hell would he want to wish that life on anyone else? There was nothing that made any child more deserving of the pain he was put through as Renegade, and Robin was adopted , blood didn’t always mean anything when it came to family. He’d chosen his family over and over again. 

Even if they did have a good, healthy relationship, which Robin doubted, these kids hadn’t gotten to choose Slade. And it might’ve actually been worse if Slade had pushed it on his own kids. Slade should’ve had an obligation to protect those kids from harm. So maybe he should’ve been grateful that he wouldn’t be seeing any of them running around in a familiar black and orange suit anytime soon. But the more Robin delved into what he could find of his history, the more apparent it was that Slade was failing miserably. Maybe not purposefully, he had to remind himself, but it wasn’t looking very good. Robin didn’t think he could bring himself to try using one of Slade’s family members against him, even as a bluff. He wouldn’t be any better than Slade when he’d used the Titans against him. 

No. Robin shouldn’t be looking for revenge . That wasn’t what he’d built this identity for. If it were, Tony Zucco would’ve been six feet under the minute he’d laid a hand on his parents. Robin was about hope. About justice. He couldn’t purposefully put someone in harm’s way just because Slade may not have those same parameters. He didn’t put the kids down on file. But they’d be in the back of his head. He was just about to close out his research, when he found something else. 

Grant Wilson. Slade’s oldest. Rose Wilson. Slade’s youngest. Neither were faces he would be forgetting anytime soon. He wouldn’t be forgetting any of the three. Especially since he already recognized one. 

Joseph Wilson. Jericho. There was no doubt about it. 

He had a call to make. 

He kept it vague over the comms, but he knew what needed to be said. He held a surprisingly open mind about it, but that didn’t make the trek up the mountain the next morning any less tense, no matter how sweet the atmosphere should’ve been. And when he locked eyes with the other Titan, it was clear he knew what he was here for too. 

“ Was wondering when you’d ask, thought it was only a matter of time. ”

“...Do you know who I am?”

“ Mhm. Sorry, it wasn’t on purpose. ”

“Did he tell you?”

“ Yes. ”

“I don’t suppose there’s more you can give me than that?”

“ There is. Just hard to sift through sometimes. How much do you know ?”

“Depends. How much do you know?”

“ Not much admittedly. Can we…not go in circles right now? I haven’t been in regular contact with him. I promise. ”

“I believe you. And I’m sorry if this feels accusatory, you have to know I don’t hold anything against you. You fought alongside us against the Brotherhood of Evil, you’re a Titan. I just- I need to know what I have to do here.” 

“ Do you really have to do anything? ” 

“I can’t let a threat this big go unchecked Jericho. I’m sorry. That may sound hollow, but I don’t know what else there is to say. He’s dangerous. And I wish you didn’t have to be affected-”

“ I’m not asking because I’m worried about him. I’m worried about you. ”

“Me?”

“ You’re the leader. I know we aren’t exactly close. But I know one thing. You’re good, for lack of a better term. And he’s a lot, but so are you. Beast Boy and I talk sometimes. And he worries about you too .”

“I’m not trying to overdo it this time, I promise. I just- I have to know what we’re up against. We’ve come so far.” And he didn’t want to risk things falling apart again so soon. 

“ Please . Anything you think would be useful?”

“ I’ll tell you what I know. I’m sorry it’s all I’ve got. ”

______________

Jericho P.O.V

His mom had not been happy. And an unhappy Adeline Kane was never good for anyone. They didn’t talk much these days, but he didn’t think leaving her in the dark about this was a smart choice. And he had to have known she’d find out some way or another. 

Not that he and his father had been in regular contact for a while either. But considering his father had been presumed dead , things weren’t quite so easy. And he knew the Titans had a history with him. Not the specifics, but there were signs. Massive, blinding, alarm-sounding signs. 

The thing Joey was most unsure how to feel about however, was the fact that he didn’t even learn about his father’s return from his father . He’d learned because the Titans determined an official rogue gallery after the incident with the Brotherhood of Evil, and the original five Titans had put him at the top of the list, despite him not even having been a part of the ordeal. 

That didn’t mean Joey wouldn’t hear from him eventually though. Not in person though. Deemed too risky maybe. Or maybe Joey wasn’t worth the extra effort. Either way, when he got the first text, he knew. 

Sparse as the texts were, he did take notice that there was never a single “How’ve you been?” or a “Sorry for disappearing off the face of the planet and apparently starting the apocalypse,” because apparently that was too much to ask for, but fresh supplies sent to the middle of nowhere after any public Jericho sightings were perfectly within his reach. 

Still, a part of him was happy that this meant he at least knew the man hadn’t gone off and died on him again. He just had to hope he had enough foresight to not do anything Joey would have to intervene in. He was building something good with the Titans, and it already hurt his heart to imagine losing them so soon after connecting with them. 

Though in truth, he didn’t quite like the idea of losing his father entirely either. 

Once in a while, he’d get a text with more substance. A vague general location maybe, tiny business details here and there. For his peace of mind maybe. Joey doubted he wanted him to actually seek him out. Not that he could anyway without being at least a little suspicious. There’d been plenty of Titans reaching out to everyone in the circle, building a space for any teenage heroes that wanted to make a difference, he didn’t have the option to disappear without a word anymore. And his father had always made it evident that he was nowhere near the base of operations in Jump City. Sometimes it looked like he wasn’t even on the same continent anymore. 

Which was why the flash of orange he saw in the corner of his eye on the Steel City subway station during an altercation set him on red alert weeks later. 

______________

-Present Day-

Dick Grayson P.O.V

“ He’s up to something. ” Joey commented. 

“Any idea what it could be?”

“ You’re the detective here. You realize I didn’t even know I was a middle child until you dug up all those files you showed me? ”

“That’s right. I hadn’t known I’d be dropping that bombshell on you then. Did you reach out to her like you said you would?” Dick questioned apprehensively. 

“ I did. She seems like a good kid. Sneaky though. ” The softness of the other boy’s smile put him a little more at ease. 

“So she’s in good hands?”

“ She’s fine. Her mom seems to have things handled. Doesn’t seem to know much about her father though. But that’s probably for the best for the time being. ”

“She hasn’t been asking questions?”

“ She has. Her mom told her I was a relative, but she doesn’t want to give my father too much room to find out about her, so brother was off the table. And I chose to respect that- ” Dick would’ve expected some underlying bitterness there, but Joey seemed perfectly serene. “- But Rose is about a decade younger than I am, still young enough that you can find some easy distractions. She likes my guitar. ” It was evident that Joey would’ve liked to lead the conversation into nicer waters, but that wasn’t a luxury they could afford to fall into just yet. 

“ That’s something I wanted to talk about actually. I don’t want him influencing my sister too. He’s not really involved right now, but I doubt it’ll stay that way forever. ”

“What do you want me to do about it?” 

“ I want assurance. Please ”

“Of what?”

“ If he pulls her into his scheme. Protect her .”

“Are you planning on training her?” The affronted, almost scandalized look Joey tossed at him after Dick’s very much genuine question felt so out of place on his face that Dick felt like he was sent scrambling to right a wrong. 

“Right. Too young, sorry.”

“ Forget that wasn’t normal for a minute? ” Joey was back to smiling again. 

“No. But I didn’t mean having her go crime fighting or anything like that. Just, something to set her up defense-wise. I was already training with my parents to be part of their act when I was her age. Just didn’t get to actually be a part of it for very long when, well- you know.”

“ I do. I’m sorry. Maybe one day, her mom’s actually helping with self defense right now, but I won’t pull her too far into this if I can help it. ”

“But you can’t really see her escaping entirely,” Dick noted, recognizing his careful word choice. 

“ Too many things pulling her in different directions, and fate’s rarely on our side in these matters. Truth be told, I’m scared of her ever meeting Grant. ”

“I’ll do what I can to protect her if it comes down to it. You have my word on that,” he promised. 

“ Thank you. So. We’ve established that he spent some time abroad, and he seems to be back to doing his mercenary business here. ” Dick nodded his assent. 

“ He’s keeping his head down for the most part. I know I said I saw him, but if there weren’t any moves made then, I might’ve just been caught in the moment- ” And oh did Dick understand seeing Slade everywhere he turned. Far too well. But even if he wasn’t there physically, Slade had plenty of ways to show up in his life somehow, wreck his livelihood and drive him nuts without even breaking a sweat. Dick wasn’t letting any leads go unchecked. 

“I’ll check in with my contacts. If he’s doing business, then someone’s bound to have caught wind of it.”

“ Just who exactly are your contacts anyway? I never did ask how on Earth you managed to find out about Rose. ” 

“I have my ways,” he shrugged.

“ Oh ominous. Fun. ” His deadpan expression made him laugh loudly. 

“I was raised in Gotham. It’s kind of our thing.”

“ You don’t seem mean enough for a Gothamite, ” Joey cocked his head to the side. 

“I think my team would disagree, but thanks,” he chuckled. 

Joey’s face went solemn once more, “ I’m sorry for how little I have. This just didn’t feel right talking about over comms .”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m glad you reached out. I’ll be in touch, but don’t be a stranger, yeah? This was a lot nicer than I’d expected,” he smiled as they stood up, feeling a lot lighter than he should’ve after a conversation about one of the most sinister men he knew than he should have. Which reminded him, he had an old friend he needed to call up. 

Boy was this family fucked up. His was no walk in the park either, but at least he could say their problems were due to Bruce being emotionally constipated, and not evil . 

______________

But maybe his teammates were . 

Because why did he come home to see Raven showing Starfire a Dick Grayson interview from five years ago?