is that what you think this is about?

i like to roleplay using this site...

݁ᛪ༙ i like to write about dc; my favorite characters are jason todd and damian wayne.

i LOVE games! but i dont play them much. games i have finished are: arkham knight, red dead redemption 2, detroit become human

the first time robin met catboy, you, was because catwoman was visiting the manor.

it became apparent you knew nothing about their secret identities. you staked out in the batcave, secluded to a corner. like a total loser! you sat there, maybe sometimes walked around to sight-see like it was some national museum.

it felt like having a civilian poke and prod until they found out something they shouldn't. but you weren't a civilian. you were poking, though.

he didn't know why you wouldn't just go home. especially after selina and bruce headed to a room, and she left you there with the number of somebody to call for a ride. you sat there like a total stubborn idiot, like the only way you would accept going home was if selina held your hand and skipped with you off into the sunset.

you seemed pathetic, that was certain. there was zero doubt in his head that the boy in his batcave dressed up as a cat was a pathetic mess. you were attached to selina by the hip until she decided she wanted to go mess around, and when she wasn't there you sat on your lonesome, what he would call moping.

it became apparent, as soon as you stepped from the shadows for the first time, that selina didn't let you wear the same type of suit. it was like a childproofed version. he supposed it was because you were a teenager…? he assumed.

while she wore latex, you wore leather. it was obvious that there was padding to protect you from injuries near arteries and major organs, but not so much that it made you look stupid. the glass of the aviator goggles perched atop your head was thick, and it seemed the rest of the goggles material was made for the most possible protection.

you had a black utility belt. what he could see from the moment you left the shadows, it had a mini grappling hook and a massive location monitor. he assumed it was something of better quality. what he couldn't assume was how selina managed to get her hands on it. a blue flash told him it had a camera.

he tilted his head when you returned to your secluded corner. selina had hand-picked all of it for you. the grappling hook for throwing yourself off of buildings and the monitor to track you at all times.

it was something he didn't expect of selina.

what about you was so special?

what endeared you to catwoman?

from seeing you he could read selina. he could read that she made sure you were safe. he could tell you meant something to her. your mask was up. your identity was available, he could find out who you were at any time.

the worst part was that he couldn't tell a thing.

he couldn't look at your face and tell who you were.

when alfred went and offered you cookies, he couldn't tell if you liked them, despite the fact that you ate an appropriate amount to be considered polite.

your face was the hardest thing to read.

he left the batcave confused and annoyed.

the first time damian spoke to you, it was because you messed up a heist.

damian was just beginning patrol with batman. he expected to be going around the usual route and then oracle would find something to busy with them with. the night usually took off from there.

this time, the second they were at the start of the route and patrol officially started, oracle was piping up in their ears.

"robbery at the gee-em-aye," she said, "pretty sure its catwoman— and catboy, if that kid sticks around? keep an eye out."

"we'll check it out, oracle," batman said.

so the pair went to the gotham museum of antiquities, and arrived to see catwoman crouched over you, exasperated.

you looked so extremely ashamed that robin almost felt bad for you. he caught himself, though, because he couldn't share a common weakness with his father. it'd be like asexual reproduction, a single disease could take down the whole group. he couldn't pity you like his father pitied catwoman.

catwoman turned to batman, and then threw a dusty, odd-looking, two-hundred year old necklace at him. "take it. i don't care," she told him, while she helped you with your shoe.

in his head there was already a perception of what was happening.

this was alerted to when you were injured, or fell over. by a look at how your foot was twisted a bit, he assumed injured from a fall. catwoman went to you like nothing else mattered.

a closer look.

you had been wearing stiletto boots. the heel was completely split from the — some feet away. catwoman had moved you. it made sense, you were beside a wall with an outwards shape in the wall for you to hold onto when you'd stand up.

your heel broke and you fell. or you were walking weird and the heel broke.

batman caught the necklace like it was nothing and handed it to robin, expecting him to find where it was stolen from and to return it. robin was already on it.

"what's the issue?" batman asked. robin knew batman already knew what happened, that whole thing robin just went through in his head, his father had and more.

robin found the small, glass display that the necklace had come from. there was a perfect circular hole in it. he placed the necklace back as it was supposed to be and then he refocused on you.

you were vulnerable here, so he could try and read your expressions with a bit more ease.

you looked a little exasperated at batman, a little hostile but that was a given. it was like a cornered cat, bristling with its ears pinned and fur sticking up everywhere.

the more he thought about it, about you, the more he thought about how he would hate to be pitied in a situation like this. he had been in this situation. multiple times. people standing around him, cooing at him or yelling at him or anywhere along that spectrum, his wounds being peered at.

from listening, he knew that at best you had a sprained ankle, and at worst a broken bone.

"robin."

damian materialized by his fathers side. "what do you need?" he asked, glancing. between batman and you.

"take a look at this. tell me what you think."

something in damians chest swelled with pride. it was immediately crushed when bruce leaned over to selinas ear and whispered, "its for practice."

he crouched down to look at you, staring you right in the eyes.

"take your shoe off."

"im not doing that."

the first words you ever spoke to be gave him a headache.

"why not?" he demanded.

"im not letting some guy i don't know feel my feet."

he could hear selina snicker.

"first of all," he breathed out slowly, "i am not some guy. i am robin and i am the best person here to deal with this. second of all, i would rather die than touch you in any situation where i dont have to."

"fifty bucks," you said. "if you touch my leg it counts an extra twenty."

selina, though thoroughly amused, stepped in when that was said. "kid, its okay. robin wouldn't be interested in anything on earth, and even then i doubt it would be a foot."

robin though that what she said didn't account for much, but it seemed to wear you down. you unzipped your boot and then took it off. underneath it was a couple of layers — leggings that were just under the leather of the rest of your suit, then a pair of socks. he poked around until you winced in pain.

along the side of your ankle. he could feel the swelling. plafond? hopefully not. malleolus? maybe.

"its broken," he declared, "somewhere between the tibia and the ankle joint. closer to the ankle joint." he finally pulled his hands away.

when damian went to look at you to see if there was some relief, for him to get his hands off of you, he was surprised.

he could see each emotion pass through your face.

annoyed. disappointed, definitely with yourself. already thinking of fifty-one reasons it didn't matter and fifty-two reasons this shouldn't affect your ability to be included in burglary.

his face softened for a split-second and you glanced at him the second it did. that was what sent him back to reality.

you were still a cat burglar. your senses were sharp. you didn't care about him or relate to him, because you knew nothing about him. you'd probably jump at any weakness you saw from him.

catwoman stood up. "well, batman. this has been great. ill be going home now. id love to be lectured but i have a teenage boys broken bone to take care of."

"we'll speak about this later," bruce said.

robin blinked. why did his father pity her so much? why did he give her so much space?

catwoman ended up disappearing with you.

damian went home and thought about the interaction when he went to sleep.

the third time he found you, it was you sneaking out and wincing in pain because your feet weren't responding the way you would've liked for it to.

he landed on the rooftop soundlessly, five feet behind you. you knew he was there anyway. where did you develop this from? you'd barely been out on the field as catboy.

"what are you doing out?" he asked, and then cleared his throat. "it doesn't matter. i caught you. go back inside now."

"what? no," you muttered, and you kept on walking like the idea of him at all was an afterthought.

"im already going to foil whatever it is that you're going to attempt to do."

"okay, d— robin, i need to do this," you told him, turning to him and putting two hands on his shoulders, a quick look down could tell him that it was just because you needed to re-stabilize. "but my foot is fine. just in case you were suuuuuper worried about me—"

"i really was not."

"—but iiiiim going to go do cat burglar stuff to redeem myself," you said as you plummeted straight into an alleyway.

the concern he felt was more like he was watching a civilian fall off a building rather than a vigilante. he caught you by the wrist and hoisted you back up. he watched you readjust, but he didn't let go.

"…ttthhhhaaank you?" you said slowly, like you were trying to find what button to press for him to let go.

"you were about to call me something that started with a d," damian stated coldly, staring at you.

you paused.

"…right, selina told me."

his brows furrowed. she just told you? selina wasnt stupid. why would she do that?

"how long has she even known you? why does she care about you so much?" damian finally erupted.

you were like this mystery— he could see evidence that people loved you. that you were cared for. but he couldn't see why. the way you talked? the way your voice seemed like it was trying to convey something that your face wouldn't? or, the way you made up for said expressionless face with fake emotional tones?

you groaned. "why are you asking me this?"

"you're not taking this as seriously as you should. you and catwoman never do."

"you dont know me enough for a 'you never do'!"

he scowled. "you know my civilian identity. you can be interrogated. you could be trapped and tortured until you say who we are."

"yeah, catwoman gave me the rundown," you muttered. "do you even know how i met her?"

"no," damian said. finally, something he could get about you.

you sighed and walked away.

his face cinched together like he'd eaten something sour. "so? wont you tell me?"

"why do you feel the need to know?"

you dropped down to somebodies balcony. he could see an issue as soon as you landed.

you were dependant on your left foot. you walked longer with it, you landed on it, and you were scared to even put your right leg down. he could tell.

he dropped down beside you.

"have you at least changed your shoes?"

"yes, they're even higher now," you said irritably.

he assumed it was a joke.

when you didn't say anything afterwards, he glanced down, and it turned out you had resorted to even slight platforms.

"i thought you were joking," he said quietly.

you sat down, perching yourself on the guard rail of the balcony. he stood beside you. "i never joke," you said dryly, "couldn't you tell?"

"oh, of course i could tell," he muttered, "and you wear normal boots too."

"i do when im not proving a point," you said.

you were causing yourself issues just so...

"you were proving a point during that heist?"

"im proving a point now."

"which is?" he asked, squinting at you.

"that i can still help selina out with robbery," you said. "cant you see? im currently attached to her hip and helping her cut open an exhibit."

this felt all so familiar.

he blinked. "you want to prove to her that you aren't dead weight."

you frowned, looking almost offended. "i wouldn't call myself—"

"i know what is happening."

you scoffed, "you dont know anything."

he rolled his eyes. "i know everything. you dont want her to think you're weak."

"i dont care if she thinks im weak," you said, "i just want her to not make me—"

"you stop being catboy and you turn in your badge. then, what, you live a normal life?"

you looked over at robin, breathing out slowly. "i wouldn't have a normal life without her. im already in too deep if i know who you are. i wouldn't be anything without her. i wouldn't even be normal," you muttered, "she's all i have."

"she's all you have?"

all he did was restate one thing you said.

no person accessorization of the sentence.

no flair.

but you looked at him and the dam burst.

"everything was so shit without her for so long, and then— she found me, or really, i found her," you said, "i was just on a walk. i dont know. i didn't mean to get involved. i think it was the penguin? oh, who am i kidding, i know it was the penguin, and i walked into the building because i heard some talking behind me— and— and i got in that building and she was tied up! she looked half-dead and her mask was half-on, and it took her a second to see me, but when she did she called me over and told me to be careful, because there could be guards everywhere. isn't that so cool? she— she could've just told me 'hey kid, come untie me', but she thought of me first!"

you gestured wildly, and damian thought about interrupting but you just wouldn't stop. "so i helped her out and then she made sure i got out safe too, and i guess i wasn't supposed to keep following her but i felt like she was too messed up to get wherever she needed to go all on her own, and—"

"—robin, are you there?—" the comms piped up mid-speech.

he pressed onto the button on his domino mask. "here, oracle."

"are you with batman?"

"no," he said. straightening up. somewhere during your spiel he had let go of his posture. maybe relaxed, was the right word. the thought irked him.

"okay, then find him," barbara told him, "he hasn't reported to his comms since he said he was searching for something earlier and completely ditched the idea of communication. red robin is searching through the south. i need you to search north. if i can get batgirl and spoiler on it, they'll take over west and east."

-

oh no.

no way.

you didn't do all that for the robot-lady to steal robin away.

"on it," robin said, and he let go of the button on his mask and stood up.

no way you pulled that whole speech out of your ass, next to no stuttering, just for the comms to ruin everything.

when his hand was on his grappling hook, you didn't think. more like couldn't. but you moved forward and ripped the weird speaking button from his mask, and threw it over the edge of the balcony.

he paused, then turned to you. he glared at you. you could see the furrow of his brows from under his mask. "what is wrong with you? are you demented in the head?" he demanded, before throwing himself over the edge of the balcony.

you landed beside him. winced a bit, of course.

robin was looking each way, squinting, widening his eyes, probably even unfocusing them like he thought he was some machine. did they have jarvis? no, then they wouldn't need oracle. would they? hm.

"oh noo…" you said, moreso insincerely, as you twiddled with your thumbs.

when his search was twelve different kinds of unsuccessful, he pivoted and glared at you. "where is it?" he demanded. no 'why would you do that' 'that was so mean' 'im gonna cry and make a puddle of my tears', just immediate pissiness.

"dunno," you shrugged.

robin looked at you like you were stupid. then he turned back around to keep on looking.

something glinting caught your eye.

well, over the last couple of months, anything shiny began to be automatically filtered into the 'maybe i should steal' folder in your head. but it was a dark shade of green that reminded you oddly of robin—

you snatched it from the ground and flicked open your utility belt, tucking it in and then closing it.

robin saw the motion just as it ended and you knew it was over for you. you were already preparing to run. the adrenaline was building up.

"give that back," he said. you could practically see the steam pouring out of his ears. "i need to look for batman and i dont have time to argue with you."

"who?" you asked. stupid. why would you ask that? you had been so great at bullshitting earlier. even if it wasn't really bullshitting.

he moved. he stepped towards you.

you swiveled around and booked it.

heels be damned, you were scared as shit.

you could hear him running after you. if you managed to ignore the sound of your own breathing, you could hear his feet slamming into the ground.

a slight sound, a weird one, immediately made something ugly twist in your chest and you slammed yourself into a wall. where you had just been and expanding to a yard or so in front of it was a net.

you looked at robin.

robin moved towards you again and you pivoted, one hand on a pipe and the other in the divot of the brick like an insane mountain-climber. you hoisted yourself up. selina would be proud of you if she saw you now, climbing up a building this fast with a broken foot.

"get back!" you could almost hear a frustrated whine in robins voice. it was almost cute. "i cant spend time like this, catboy."

one hand grabbing onto the edge of the building, you put all of your weight on it and swung yourself up. you slid a bit, and thought oh, maybe ill have a moment, but no. you panted, searching for air, and then you could see robin.

you tried to stand up.

he grabbed you by the utility belt.

you slammed your fist straight into his stupid face.

the force of it pushed him back, but he wouldn't let go. if anything, his grip tightened when you both plummeted over the edge of the building.

it wasn't slow, cinematic, dramatic. any pretty, flashy words, were entirely inaccurate. it was quick and scary and the ground was running towards you, and you had never hated the idea of your feet being on the ground more.

you were pulled upwards so hard it took your breath straight out of your lungs. there was a grip around your waist.

you didn't move.

you stared at the ground.

were you hanging? you were moving a small amount.

you looked up and there was robin, paused. he looked mad as hell. you winced. his arm was above his head, his hand tightly gripping a grappling hook.

you breathed heavily. you felt like a cat held by its scruff. you were frozen and uncomfortable, but you were certainly more comfortable than you would've been as a pile on the ground.

neither of you talked as the hook lifted you both back up.

when you got back to the building he dropped you onto it like you were dead weight.

"give me back my comms," he sat brusquely.

you blinked at him.

"ask nicely?" you said, trying to plaster on a grin like you weren't still grinning.

"you are such a fucking headache," he muttered. "oh," he said slowly, or dryly, "wait.

he lifted his hand up and there was your utility belt. he grabbed his weird green button and pressed it back onto his domino mask.

then robin turned to look at you.

his own utility belt was in your hand.

you snickered. "you look stupid without it. imagine batman without his belt, ew."

he glared at you sharply. you winced. god, he had to be so mad at you, and you didn't want to tick him off any more.

you handed him back his belt and he kicked yours towards you, and you winced.

you were starting to regret this.

—

robin stepped away. it felt like every second he was near you he was getting increasingly stupider.

he pressed on his comms. knowing how hectic patrols should get, he should rep—

"robin? robin, are you there?" the second he lifted his finger, she was talking in his ear. worse, the sound was glitching out and raspy(?).

"im here, oracle," he said. "there was a small issue with catboy, ill report when i get back."

"ah, shit," barbara muttered, "okay, robin. batman is fine, catwoman just got away with a heist. he said something about dealing with it on his own and then refused to explain any further, sounded annoyed."

damian paused, and turned around to look at you.

you were on the floor, tapping at your tracker. you sat criss-cross, with your leg up like it was hurting again.

"understood, oracle."

fuck, he was so stupid. why would he ever listen to you? of course you were tricking him. he wasn't usually this stupid.

he breathed out through his nose, tapped the button again, and stepped towards you.

"you were covering for catwoman, weren't you?"

you jolted, looking at him. "its done?"

damians brows furrowed. he chewed on the inside of his cheek. he made a small tt sound and reluctantly muttered, "yes."

he didn't want to think about this.

he felt weak.

he didn't like being the pathetic one out of the two of you.

no, surely you were still the pathetic one. you lied just for somebody else so you wouldn't be ditched. so why did he feel so pathetic?

it took a second to process it. he felt hurt.

he dropped off the building.

 this time, you hadn't even done anything wrong! no crime, no wrong deed, nothing morally wrong. you did nothing, but something was nagging you in your head to look up.

so you did. you committed the crime of looking where your gut told you, and you looked up a tall cathedral.

where robin was sitting, brooding, grumpy, with a look of plotting. it concerned you. it scared you.

it had to be two hours, or something! you would(nt) know, because you and selina had been going around, searching for places to rob, and every once in a while you looked up and there he stayed. was he watching you? maybe it was just a robin-shaped camera statue.

once the worrying became too much to handle, you called out, "uh, catwoman, hold up! im gonna be gone for a bit." she looked back at you and tilted her head, like she was thinking it through, and then nodded over at you. she had to be really focused.

you made your way over to the building. considered the idea of it being an unworthy journey and effort altogether—going to see him, checking up on him, potentially getting pushed off and squashing on the ground like a watermelon. wouldn't that be worse than your leg…

eventually you got over yourself and began to scale the building. it was difficult. you didn't know why people made cathedrals so spiky. you didn't know why, in one of the most populated cities in the u.s., that they kept these old things. the city wasn't even old enough to have these!

you managed to throw yourself over the flat top where robin was. his head tilted the smallest amount.

then he turned his head back to where he was looking before like you didnt matter at all.

you frowned. what could possibly have him so down? the feeling of sadness seemed like it should be completely foreign to him. you couldnt think of him being sad. at least you didnt have to, a sad robin was right in front of you.

"…robin?" you asked finally, when he refused to break the tension with his own voice. "why are you moping?" the word came out a little too harsh.

"i am not moping," he said coolly. you could almost feel ice in the roof around him. and you thought he had no powers…

you thought he was going to continue.

he didnt open his mouth again.

you felt like screaming. you ignored the feeling and walked over to where he sat, and then lowered yourself. you sat beside him.

"my foot is better now," you said awkwardly.

"it is not better. its been maybe three weeks. it should take between six to twelve to heal," he said sharply, like he was going to rip apart each and every thing that you said. what was even the point of talking to this wall?

it was like every attempt at making conversation bounced off of him and struck you right in the eye.

"*well*," you responded, with great restraint, "its walkable. i can go around the block without feeling like falling. is that good enough for you?"

he snorted.

"is this about last time?" you asked, finally. it was eating at you. you needed something to pinpoint this attitude with him, even if it wasnt with you, especially if it was because of you specifically. "i wasnt fully lying, its probably way different from what you think—"

"i doubt that."

there it is.

you squinted at him. "okay, robin," you breathed out, feeling like ripping out your hair. you didnt need to be friends with him. "if im going to be at your house every time catwoman and batman—"

"my house has other people in it. our butler can entertain you. other people in the batcave can entertain you. im not going to make conversation because you imagine that we're friends when you lied to me to use me."

you froze.

obviously you werent friends yet. you thought maybe you could be acquantinces. you thought maybe he could have some pity for a teenager who had no friends in the vigilante-criminal scene yet.

"i know youre hurt," you muttered. "youre basically screaming it."

"im not hurt," he scoffed. "someone like you could never hurt me."

"maybe not physically, but whose to say how weak you are emotionally?" you regretted it as soon as it left your mouth.

"you lied," he said brusquely. "i dont owe it to you to be your friend."

"i didnt think itd be that much of a problem," you tried.

"just for catwoman to pull off a heist."

"i wasnt under her instruction," you blurted out. "does that mean anything? i wasnt following her orders then."

"hardly," he said bluntly, glaring at the city because he refused to so much as look at you. "so what, you lied to me because you thought it would work?"

"and it did!" you pointed out. "it worked. come on, catwoman comes first and you know that, and i dont even know you that well."

"you dont," he said lowly, "and you have been making a disgusting impression for the past two months."

you sat there, feeling like an idiot. youd sat yourself here, in hopes of doing something right, in hopes of being someone able to pull him out of a stupor, and he put you in one.

he was right.

was he?

you hardly even lied.

why was he so hurt by this?

"im sorry."

robin stayed quiet.

"im really sorry."

nothing.

"i dont want this to be a thing where we meet and dont talk."

silence.

"itd be uncomfortable for us both."

you tilted your head to look at him. the same as before, his eyes were focused on some central point in his vision. somewhere down in the city he probably knew by heart.

you sighed.

the two of you were entirely different things. you hurt his feelings, somehow, when you didnt even know where to poke to find them. you dont know what you said that triggered him into taking your words to heart.

robin was so strange.

when he was pleasant to be around, the feeling was next to addicting.

but when he was closed off, it felt like being frozen in a giant piece of ice, trying to pick at it with your fingers to get out.

"bye, robin," you said quietly, and you dropped off the building.

if you had looked back, you could see him watching you as soon as your head was turned.

three months passed full of the worst possible interactions during outings.

you did your best to do your part, but it felt like every time the two of you got caught by batman—which turned out to be pretty often—youd hand to stand by and twiddle with your thumbs, avoid eye contact, and run off the second that catwoman said so.

when you felt risky, you smiled at him.

he looked at you flatly and then refocused.

you figured out maybe he'll talk to me! and pissed off for a bit.

he completely ignored you when you tried that.

you offered him some chocolate when you decided you didnt need to keep your hand.

nothing worked at all.

it was weird how despite that, everything continued as normal. nothing happened with school that was so stressing. selina let you stay as catboy after that stunt. she took in another cat. you got better at landing silently.

at the end of those three months, you managed to speak with someone remotely robin-related. even then, it was batman and the mistake of finding him mid-patrol.

you were just supervising selina. she was on a rooftop bar between the five buildings you had been circling for the past twenty minutes. you were her backup. if anybody started a fight that was a little too much for her to handle, youd be there, and youd be in full vigilante getup! so youd definitely have it handled.

your focus didnt let you hear when a shadow landed behind you. but lets be so for real, you wouldnt have heard it even if you werent locked in on each move someone was making on that restaurant.

because you didnt hear, you kept on walking. you circled the building twice before he decided to say something.

"selina is there, isnt she?"

you screamed and spun around. you nearly tripped over yourself and slipped off the building. then you stilled.

"yes,," you breathed out slowly, trying to chill out, "and im watching over her right now, so you dont need to be here to be a guard dog."

batman nodded, but you didnt think he really cared about what you said, or the surface level of it. you felt like your skin was being peeled off because he was a little curious. you could feel his gaze burning into the side of your head. occasionally the searing feeling would be replaced and he would look back down at the restuarant where selina was, but it wasnt nearly enough.

"can you go away now?" you finally cracked when you felt like you were being stabbed by a thousand itty bitty knives.

"hm." when batman hummed it felt like acknowledgement of what you said, like he wanted you to know he heard it, but you doubted hed listen.

until he passed you.

until you saw a shadow flitter beside him that couldnt have been a trick of the light.

"robin?"

the word sounded croaked out. stupid. like it meant anything. too pathetic for how he would brush you off and ignore you.

robin, cast in shadows, turned to look at you after a whole moment of stillness.

the light just barely made out his face and torso. he looked fresh, clean. also like he was trying to pass by you and was sour you caught him in the act.

"yes?" he said irritably.

funnily enough, that was progress.

"nothing," you said, "am i not allowed to say hi anymore?"

"you couldve said 'hi, robin', and not my name like—" like you were starstruck. he didnt finish his sentence, just looked towards batman.

you winced. shit, you did feel stupid. why bring this up here? in front of his mentor, his father? the man who supervised everything?

"right, sorry," you said gruffly, rocking back and forth. this was so uncomfortable. you shoudlve let them go and kept your mouth shut.

batman took a step away and you felt the guilt swell up, it was too much. you felt like something was slipping away, even if you couldnt name it, even if it was just an idea or a theory that you kept in your head.

"wait," you finally said. the tone of exasperation in your voice was unmistakable. "we need to talk."

"why should i?" robin swiveled around to glare at you.

batman looked between the two of you.

he seemed to make his mind of something and then vanished. much better hidden in the shadows than robin was in his colorful suit.

but god, you hated how they did that.

"because you think im an asshole for all the wrong reasons!" you sighed, stepping forward. he didnt move an inch, refused to budge even if he wanted to move, but he did cock a brow.

"and what reasons do you think those are? do you think im entirely too stupid to know what you did?"

"you think," your hands curled into fists, "you think what happened a couple of months ago was something it wasnt. i dont know what you think."

"so you didnt lie to me in order to assist catwoman in committing a crime?"

"i didnt lie!" you exclaimed. "all of that shit i told you was real, i was scared about what i would be after that night and i thought if i didnt do something to distract you, sel— catwoman, would get caught easier!"

"*you* thought?" he snarked, "i doubt that. youre attached to her by the hip, whose to say she isnt feeding you her own ideas?"

"i— robin, what the hell is with you? is this about catwoman or me?" you walked in a circle, damn near about to pull your hair out. "yes, it was me. she didnt tell me to. i wasnt. supposed to go out with her, and i thought it was some soft way of being fired, so i forced myself into the equation."

robin blinked at you. you wished you knew what was going on in his head.

"and?" he said slowly.

"so when you found me it was the best thing possible, because you were stuck to me for some reason, and i thought it was a trick for a solid seven minutes! but i knew better than to ask, i was scared if i hinted you towards anything that you would check in and figure out what was happening, and i cant do it on my own. im not smart enough to predict what catwoman will do before she does them, or do make excuses for her, or to say where she isnt— okay, is this enough of me going on?"

robin didnt respond.

you felt like screaming.

what did you have to do to appeal to this moron? you wanted to be friends. you wanted there to be a peace between crimes. you didnt want that awkward hostility to continue so long you were treading on thin ice every time you encountered each other. that wouldnt work. it never could.

you could tell he was thinking the same. you knew that, surely, he had to think something similar, but then again hes an ice prince and so cold that you could freeze just by being beside him. that slight warmth that you felt when you were beside him all those months ago was nice.

it made you feel like something.

you wanted it back.

but now he was cold enough to be on pluto. cold enough to be nowhere at all, zero kelvins and zero interest in speaking with you.

"i understand," he said finally. "more than you think i do, im sure."

finally, something to hold onto. he'd been leaving you hanging for so long you were beginning to wonder if he was listening at all, or if you were talking to a brick wall.

"im not going to trust you completely." you could slam your head against the roof right about now. "that is because you are still a criminal." a lot better than you thought!

"that makes sense," you said. you felt like you could breath again, "thats fine."

robin looked at you for a long moment. maybe you were mistaken because of hte big whites of his mask, but you were certain you felt eyes burning into your face.

you shifted awkwardly. you didnt know what to do from here. you didnt even expect to tell him the truth, opposed to whatever he really thought. robin really thought you made it up. how bad did you look from his eyes?

"are we okay, then?"

"despite that five days from now youre going to get in another heist that me and batman with have to take care of?" he snorted. "if thats what youd cal it, we're okay."

you sighed through your nose. "thats good to hear," you said, "it sounded like you thought i was a douchebag or something from what you thought of me."

he only hummed in response to what you had said, and continued on his own. "how is your ankle now?"

"its healed," you said, "i still get scared sometimes. that ill, you know, fall or something and ill break it again and it be double as bad. but i go out and patrol and then i jump, and when i land, it doesnt break on me."

robin cast a wry glance at you. "is that because catwoman got you better heels."

you snickered. "barely. i didnt let her. i got another pair of heels with better support but not any thicker!! so most of it is my own talent," you boasted.

he snorted. "of course it is."

there was a lull in conversation. it wasnt fully uncomfortable or awkward. it felt natural, like it was placed there for a second for the both of you to think.

it became awkward very fast.

you sensed it from robin first, and you couldnt tell where it was from. but the shadows in some places looked darker than the shadows in others.

"batman," robin cleared his throat, turning to face him.

you visibly flinched. youre sure batman saw it, made note of it, psychoanalyzed you, found out all avaliable pressure points. you disliked the feeling greatly.

"robin," batman responded. "lets go."

oh shit.

he was definitely listening to that whole conversation.

you felt stupid.

from the faint, brief flush on robins face, you could tell he felt similarly.

you didnt think anybody could manage to catch him off guard. but then again, if anybody could, his dad would probably be pretty high on that list of people.

robin turned to look at you for a second, before he dropped over the edge of the building. batman vanished much more mysteriously.

you stared at where they had just been, and then turned around. you felt a little bit dumbfounded.

dumbfounded was better than disappointed.

that was one thing you definitely weren't.

the street was dreary. every once in a while, somebody passed down the street with an umbrella over their head. a stream ran down the drains, cars passed by and sprayed you with runoff from beneath them.

your were sitting on your lonesome waiting for a bus. it was more common that you would walk to work with you headphones on. but today the rain was pouring down ridiculously hard and it had never occured to you, in the rainy climate of gotham, to buy an umbrella.

you were under a covered bench. next to you was the code for the bus and some advertisements you didn't care enough to look at.

the phone in your hand was the one distraction you had for some time, until you began to hear the buses engine.

you looked up and sighed through your nose. you put your phone in the pocket of your pants.

and then the bus drove riiiight past you.

you groaned and sat back, pulling your phone back out.

you settled in again and waited again. the downpour only got heavier. worse, it began to tilt under the canopy. the bottom of your pants were getting absolutely soaked. your skin felt gross.

so you waited. you waited for another ten minutes.

so you waited.

then the bus finally came and you sighed in relief, and then it drove directly past you. you tapped on your phone with your nails nervously.

maybe… wrong bus?

definitely. that had to be the wrong bus.

you waited for another five minutes but then you were too anxious to wait any longer.

at work you could get a change of clothes, it didn't matter. if you went home you would lose too much time. you tucked your phone next to your ear and called your boss, charlie. he picked up on the third ring.

"hey," you said, "i'm going to be late— uh, more late, i mean."

"okay," he said simply. "don't get sick. it's raining pretty bad."

you blinked and breathed out and then said, "alright," and hung up.

a car drove past you and splashed you. you instinctively protected your face, but then your entire back was soaked.

your sulking was interrupted by a scream down the street. you froze. your heart did a double-take and you turned around, looking behind you to see the situation.

what? what are you doing? are you stupid? it's gotham, somebody else, anybody else can help them! especially the vigilantes that were out all the time!

but. it was five pm, and you didn't know if even signal was out right now or if this was his downtime after noon? the nights vigilantes always took a couple of minutes to get to work when they had their own daytime lives.

did that technically mean signal had a nightlife?

you shook your head and rushed down the street, hurrying to find whatever you could help with. after the visit from nightwing you began to keep a pair of brass knuckles with you. you put it on your hand, although maybe a knife would've done better.

when you twisted around a corner, you could see a gas drifting towards you.

no.

no, not again.

this couldn't be happening.

the back of your neck tingled.

your head hurt, your breathing sped up.

didn't they arrest scarecrow? what happened to arkham, or blackgate?

the feeling on the back of your neck didn't leave.

you spun around swiftly looked up just fast enough to see a flash of dark colors retreat to the rooftop on the nearby building.

you ducked into the alleyway to your left. your heart thudded in your chest faster than the cars driving the opposite way of the smoke. was somebody following you from the rooftops? did you already get hit with fear toxin? did scarecrow have an obsession with ambushing places you happened to be around.

you needed to get away.

you needed to leave.

your vision began to curl in on itself. everything was turning into colors they certainly shouldn't be.

shaking you head, you continued, breath coming out in heavy, nervous puffs. you ran as fast as you could, you slammed your shoes into the ground as fast as you could and yet it did nothing. because where would running ever get you in gotham? you're still in the same pit.

a rock was the thing that did it.

well, maybe not just the rock— the harsh rain made you slip with every step and overcorrect. it was majorly the rock, though. you tripped and landed hard on your knee, and then your face slammed into the pavement. you cried out in pain, and then pulled yourself back behind the cover of a dumpster.

you waited but nothing was there.

you waited and by the second everything was worse.

the rain came down harder, you could see the gas drift slowly down the alleyway. no, no you couldn't get caught. you were being followed and you couldn't sit here. you tried to stand up but your knee gave out, and it hurt so bad. your body felt like it was burning, it was agonizing and you could feel the pounding. what did that pounding even mean?

something was there, though. you could only tell by a thud that barely made its way to your ears.

did you hear something? yes, you heard the thud… er, what there something else? was that a voice? yes, that was definitely a voice. but it wasn't saying anything, it was flashing in and out of logic. your head hurt so much.

you looked up, trying to see who it was but you couldn't make sense of what was in front of you. it was like the connection between your brain and eyes was severed, completely faulty. there was a shadow in front of you. it was the height of a person and it had big white eyes, like uh… like spidermans. biiig white eyes.

was there some purple there? it looked like a painting where all the colors were twisted into each other, smeared and curling and spinning. it made your eyes hurt more. you couldn't tell what was happening with this thing. you pushed yourself up against the wall, before realizing you had legs and using the operating one to kick the ground and send you up. you managed to stumble to your feet, relying heavily on your right leg.

the shadow was lower than you for a minute, then doubled in height, standing at its full extent.

it spoke to you. at least, tried to. "h… seeeeeee…..?" the words came out halfway and rang in your ears like an echo in a big room, your heart pounded like it was trying to punch a hole through your chest. "are…. iiiiiing?"

and then the shadow opened itself. it took a tendril cut through the top of where its head would be, and pulled the shadow down.

skin.

eyes.

eyebrows.

freckles.

a mole.

some blond hair spilling out like bangs.

bangs.

this was a human.

"hello?" and that was a full word that actually, finally made sense.

"fear toxin!" you spat out, glancing around. they looked at you like a wounded animal.

"i know," the shadow said, as some form finally came to its body. it looked sad for you, almost pitying. instead of shade there was purple and pink and deeper colors and brighter colors and a human body. there was a big yellow shape on its chest… their chest? "im sorry."

you looked at the shadow and then you slammed against the wall. a sharp pain was sent through your head. an even sharper one was in your arm. sharp, unyielding, and almost like getting a shot—

it was the spoiler that was right in front of you. you were in a gross, dark alleyway and soaking wet. you were leaning against a big blue dumpster, and spoiler was holding you up.

"oh," you said slowly, looking at her unsurely.

"yeah," she winced, "sorry i had to do it like that," she said sheepishly. she pulled the syringe out of you and pulled out the needle, placing the syringe back in her yellow utility belt. "you were moving a ton, and i really didn't want to make it any worse for you."

"yeah, it's uh, okay," you said shamefully, feeling for the phone in your pocket. feeling for the phone that was absolutely not in your pocket. your heart sped up again. you staggered around to try and look for it, brows furrowing.

spoiler grabbed your shoulder and spun you around, supporting you when you stumbled just a bit. her eyes weren't visible anymore, she put her mask back up, but she had your phone in her gloved hand. "you dropped it on your way into the alley," she told you simply and handed it to you.

"ill take you home. batman, signal and robin have the gas handled, you definitely need some help."

right.

you looked pathetic. there was mud all over your clothes, your face had to be scratched up, and your pants were ripped up and already bled through.

"do you usually need three people for some fear gas?" you asked, turning in the direction of your home. she walked a little behind you.

"do you always run towards imminent danger without any protection?"

"actually, i have—" you felt for your brass knuckles.

"i have those too," she snickered, handing them to you when you turned to look at her with an exasperated look on your face.

you put it back in your pocket—the baggiest ones you had, where they couldn't be seen as glaringly obvious. then you realized where you were going.

you took your phone out of your pocket and called charlie. he picked up on the third ring.

you were about to speak, when spoiler took your phone and turned it to face time. she fixed herself in the camera for a minute before saying, "your worker can't get to work today. got caught in a fear gas attack," she said cheerfully, before hanging up.

she handed the phone back to you, and shrugged when you stared at her. "it usually helps people out when vigilantes call people on their phone. i do it all the time."

"really?" you asked, puzzled.

"pfft, no," she laughed. she had such a sweet laugh, this was definitely the best vigilante you had met so far.

it took another two minutes to get home. you lived nearby, since this was near the bus stop you decided to take to work every once in a while.

when you finally got to the apartment, spoiler gasped like you were something to behold.

"it's you!" she exclaimed. "i knew that i knew you from somewhere. im smart as hell!!"

you looked at her, confused, as you shivered in the clothes that tracked mud and water into your home once you walked inside. "what do you mean? im not— oh. im stupid. you have a big fat yellow bat symbol on your chest," you sighed, face-palming.

she laughed, a full, big one, and you quickly ducked into your bathroom to get a towel. "are you going to leave now?" you asked.

"like hell i am! i have questions too. you know, i am very important in robins life."

you squinted. "really? are you sure you're not talking about the one with the yellow cape, and not the one that always looked like he can never be happy in life?"

"oh, they're both my friends," she shrugged, then paused. "…it's actually the other way around, kinda, im less friends with the yellow robin than i am with the itty bitty robin. anyway! i should've known who you are by now, we've basically all memorized your address by now. maybe it was your face being all messed up."

you hit your head on a cabinet in an attempt to get out of the bathroom faster than your legs would support you. "what?" you panted, looking at her.

she snickered. "okay, go get a change of clothes. you're gonna be sick."

you groaned nad mumbled to yourself abotu how weird all of it was. you went over to your bedroom and then through your dresser.

you picked out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt from the cleanest clothes you had and untied your shoes, took your socks off, and when you were about ot pull your shirt over your head—

"your cognitive skills are disappointing."

you spun around and hit your head on the dresser. "what the head?" you shrieked, and there was robin, standing right beside your bed. his shadow cast over your room far into it, long and intimidating.

"you noticed nightwing in your home without seeing him, but you walked right past me when im in your bedroom? disappointing," he huffed, "like i said prior."

"how do you know— there's already another of you in my apartment, can you leave so i won't be tag-teamed again? and also so i can change?"

robin stared at you for a moment. "nightwing told me, obviously. i will leave your room but i do not trust spoiler alone with you," he muttered, "she may tell you things you shouldn't know."

you dried off, using the towel to dry your hair, face and body, and then put on the new clothes. you still couldn't stop shivering.

walking back out to the living room, you could see robin and spoiler. they seemed like complete opposites.

spoiler was sitting on a chair like she was relaxed, but her eyes gave it away. she looked every which way every second, like she was waiting for something to jump out at her.

robin, on the other hand, sat on your couch like he normally did. like he had a stick up his ass. but, he looked calm, almost at ease. for some reason, him being at ease in your home felt good.

both of them, though, were drenched.

"do your guyses suits not let you get sick?" you asked, sitting on the couch opposite the site that robin was.

"we have multiple suits underneath this," robin said curtly, "it keeps our bodies at stable temperatures, helps with form, and acts like a barrier."

"does that answer my question…?"

"yes, it does," he said irritably, "haven't you ever taken care of a cold? do you know anything about anything?"

"okay, robin, chill out," spoiler said. he rolled his eyes. she rolled her eyes back at him. she looked back at you and placed herself between you and robin "you know, it's good that robin finally has a friend that's a civilian. i just wish he would've gotten a civilian friend in his day-life."

"i am not friends with them," robin muttered quietly, looking at the floor.

"you were supposed to be dealing with fear gas right now but insteaaad he's here—"

"do not listen to spoiler!"

robins voice cracked.

it actually peaked in a high note.

you stared at him for a second before you burst out laughing.

spoiler doubled over laughing, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

robin sat there, miserable, his face a reddish color as he sat there.

he looked like he would rather even die than talk.

you were grinning at him when he glanced at you, when his face was a little too soft to be described as the usual amount of constipated. he fixed himself in a split-second and cleared his throat.

you mouthed 'sorry'.

he swiftly turned his head away, but nodded to you.

from the small amount of his cheek you could see, it was even more flushed.

when spoiler finally sat back up, her face still flushed with how much she was sick with laughing, robin stood up.

"we have better things to be doing," he said, slowly. like he was scared of another voice crack. "let's go, spoiler. we should help with the fear gas."

spoiler rolled her eyes, still grinning. "so now we need to help with the fear gas, i see how it is."

spoiler jumped out of your window first. robin climbed through, then paused. he looked back at you and nodded, before jumping back out.

you sighed and settled back, feeling a bit warm in the chest.

then you sneezed so bad your nose honked.

eugh.

spoiler and robin sat atop a water tower. robin had stayed close to her side ever since earlier, and now the sun was setting.

the silence was uninterrupted until stephanie finally had something to say, pulling her mask down her face.

"i helped them home, you know. they were in proximity to the fear gas, but, y'know, i gave them the antidote."

damian nodded quietly, like he was deep in thought. "i think they might be sick of treating people."

stephanie laughed. "really? i think they like seeing us. otherwise we'd be kicked out by now."

"hm."

"ill be honest though, i didn't know that it was them until we got to their apartment. i just thought it was some random guy that needed help really bad."

"yes, it was… raining. do you think they have a cold?"

"pfft, definitely!" stephanie snickered.

damian went quiet for another moment. then he mumbled something that could be heard as a thank-you, and jumped off the water tower.

your head hurt almost as much as it did earlier in the day.

you didn't know what you did wrong— you put a cream on your face and knee, and uh.. you got warm. that was all. wasn't that all you were supposed to do?

you couldn't even breathe in the whole way. you sneezed every five minutes. your body ached. you still felt cold.

you were sitting on your couch with a fuzzy blanket wrapped around you. it was the only thing that could really warm you up.

tissues surrounded you— on the floor, on the table, on the keyboard of the computer that was on your lap. you tried to breathe in again. unsuccessfully.

"you are congested."

you screamed, then you toppled over the edge of your couch. you just barely saved your computer by nod fully falling onto it, holding onto the table beside your couch.

you didn't even need to look up.

"i have vaporub," he said, walking over to the couch and crouching down, grabbing the computer from under you and putting it on the table, then the vaporub beside it, "because i didn't give you some with the rest of those supplies."

"robin. what the fuck," you said, exasperated. you untangled yourself from the blanket, kicking your legs out and wincing at the ache in your left leg.

"i will also be making you soup to recover. if you are to treat me when i am injured," he said, walking over to your kitchen.

when you finally managed to untangle yourself, you immediately walked over to him. "excuse me? what are you doing here?" you asked, and then another atrocious sneeze came along.

"put the vaporub on, you're too many questions," damian said defensively.

you staggered over to the kitchen, glaring at him. "how do i do that? what does it even do?"

robin sighed, "bring it here." he took a light blue tuperware, "i assume your microwave works?"

"what? yes— you didn't even bring ingredients! you brought pre-made soup! you're a phony!"

he groaned and put the heel of his hand against his forehead. "im being amazing company right now and you still complain!" he grumbled.

"excuse me? you came into my house through the window. could have knocked on the window. didn't."

he shook his head and took the container, putting it in the microwave and setting it for a minute.

"open the vapo rub. you treat it like vaseline but you put it on your nostrils?"

"you use vaseline?" you asked, thinking about that for a moment.

"be quiet," he huffed.

you opened it. it sort of looked like a blue-ish vaseline. then you applied it.

it was the worst feeling ever. you immediately wanted to wipe it off.

"robin. why would you do this to me. robin this is gross," you said, lifting your arm to wipe it off, just when he pushed your arm back down to your side.

"do not. it will ease your breathing," he huffed.

you groaned and firmly kept your arms down. you glared at him, when he piped up,

"for your information, this soup was made by the best cook that i know," he said as he put it for a minute.

"which is, what, gordon ramsey? does he work for you?"

he snorted. "as if. my cook is much better than that moron."

"…moron?" you questioned.

"go back to your couch," he said before you could do anything.

you went back to the couch, lying down and fixing the blanket over yourself, and put your computer back on top of your lap.

after a couple of minutes, he walked over to you with the soup in hand. "it's hot," he told you, before looking at you, again, like you were stupid. "you will only make your sinuses worse," he muttered.

he went to your room and grabbed a pillow from your bed, and then gestured for you to lift your head. when you did, he put the pillow below your head.

 "your head needs to be lifted."

you looked at him for a moment. "…okay."

then he went to your bathroom, but all he did was get disinfectants and bandages for your face and knee. it stung, but you didn't have it in you to complain.

he sat on the other side of the couch, despite you still being fully stretched over it.

and he just sat there.

you drank the soup.

you watched your show.

eventually you fell asleep, somehow more comfortable on your couch, with a cold, and your body stinging, than you would've been on your bed any other night.

who knew?

it was two weeks after your encounter with robin and you thought maybe that little note meant nothing. maybe, because he seemed really stupid, the little note was just to intimidate you. did that make sense? he would probably try to intimidate someone in that way.

you were walking home from a day out with your friends. you had just gotten paid and decided to go to the movies, which turned into a whole thing, because its a city and everything is next to everything… anyway, you ended up also going to a couple of little stores and you ended up with a plant and some clothes.

it only took a couple minutes to walk home once your friends left you to head to their own homes. it took you a couple of minutes but you made it back safe. but when you got inside your home…

the air felt off.

something was here.

the fear curdling in your head was similar to that of two weeks ago.

was there another fear toxin attack recently? did it get into your house?

you set your bags down and looked around the entrance for something to protect yourself with. you looked behind you at the front door, should you leave? reasonably you should leave, there was fear toxin in your apartment…

but your head was still clear. not as foggy as that night, when you thoughtlessly tried to bring robin with you. in fact, it was even sharper. something was still definitely wrong here.

another quick look over your things told you that you had nothing.

your gaze slid slowly over to your plant.

no. no, you shouldn't, no, you just bought it, and who knows if poison ivy feels the plant getting wrecked and comes to kill you?

you looked at it again.

damn it.

you grabbed the pot and began to walk into your house, glancing around every which way.

a gloved hand went over your mouth.

you felt someone behind you and you went for it, you grabbed the pot with both hands and slammed it backwards, behind your head. you felt it break, signalling to you it did hit something.

"ah, shit!"

the hand let go of you and you quickly moved away, staring at the culprit.

"what the fuck?" you gasped.

before you stood nightwing, beaten half-dead, suit torn, face black and blue and bloody. wasn't he supposed to be in bludhaven? what the hell was he doing here? more importantly, why was he in your apartment?

"hey," nightwing said, supporting himself with the wall. "you remember robin, right?"

"…yes," you said slowly. "why? also, why are you in my house? is this..." you think back to the little note he left you, "...this is about the note. he told me to expect more vigilantes. you are more vigilantes."

"well, yeah. the bat-affiliated vigilantes doctor is out of commission, and i heard about robins little friend."

you blinked. "and you… saw the state he was in? you saw the state that he was in after i treated him and you thought i was a good decision to help you out?" you asked skeptically.

nightwing snickered. "maybe not. but i figured maybe you would prefer to have someone speak to you rather than stalk you from afar as somebody has been for the past two weeks."

"excuse me—?"

"heeeey, where can a guy find a chair in here?" he said, looking around before choosing to collapse onto the same chair you put robin on before. "get that first aid kit robin left here, yeah?"

you stared at nightwing for a minute. then you groaned and turned to go to your bathroom.

the area wasn't really clean. it'd been a bit since you deep-cleaned your bathroom. you sighed and reached for the first aid kit, before walking back out to the living room where nightwing was.

"so. you ever met robin before?" nightwing asked, looking over the first aid kit as you set it down on the table beside him.

you blinked. "well, uh… only really in the normal way people meet vigilantes. you know, saves you, runs off two seconds later."

nightwing nodded, looking over your home now. "im gonna just ask the big question here, did you take off his mask?"

you look over at him, incredulous. "excuse me? of course not! do you think i have a death wish?"

nightwing glared at you. "excuse you, none of the bat-vigilantes would kill you—"

"okay! but, i wouldn't do that. somebody would find out i know who the guy is and then they would skin me or something," you told him as you opened the first aid kit and looked at nightwing, and then the first aid kit again.

…you went and got a couple ice packs. you handed them to him and then took note of the few cuts he had, and the way his face was fully bruised. you set an ice pack over his cheek and then went to your bathroom again to get painkillers.

all the while, nightwing was noticably quiet, taking in your home and trying to make up his mind about you.

you handed him the pill and a cup of water. "so about someone watching me,"

"so about anything else! actually, so about you getting dosed with fear toxin. it was a small dose, right? you were able to walk a mile from the beach to here," nightwing said as you disinfected a big cut along his shoulder. with his other arm he put the pill in his mouth and washed it down.

you shrugged. "i dont know how much of a dose it was. however much can travel a mile and still affect me, i guess," you responded, wrapping gauze around him over his suit.

"why did you pick up robin?" nightwing asked, narrowing his eyes at you, and you stop moving.

"i dont know! i called for batman and he wasn't there, and i guess i felt kind of bad. he's a kid."

"and you are too," he pointed out. "i know your birthdate. you're about the same age as him."

"…woah, okay, chill out," you said, stepping away. was there anything else you had to do for bruising…?

"do you know what you're doing?" he asked you, seeming actually a bit curious.

"well obviously not. does it look like it?"

"absolutely not. okay, put some pressure on the gauze. you can see the blood through it. honestly, robin should be here…"

"why? robin's stupid," you scoffed.

nightwing tilted his head. "is that really what you think about him?"

"yeah. he's stupid. he thought i worked for someone! and then he insulted me when he realized i wasn't!"

nightwing snickered. "i mean, can you blame him?"

"yes i can. he's a vigilante. he should be smart."

"he is smart," nightwing said. "maybe you just haven't gotten to learn that about him yet."

"no, i think he's really stupid— do i take this gauze off?"

"alright then." he laughed. "dont take it off… or do you?" he went to grab his comms, but was stopped.

"you don't take it off," said a voice. when you turned to look, there was robin, in all his stupid glory. the shadows covered most of his face, and he looked horrifying for a minute.

"jesus! i have a door you can knock on," you scolded. robin rolled his eyes.

"add more gauze on top of the wound. if you pull off the gauze already then it can restart the bleeding." when you stared at him for a minute, he gestured furiously for you do continue. "do it!"

you scoffed and took more gauze out of the first aid kit, placing it over the red wrapping already on nightwing's shoulder.

nightwing looked a bit at ease, now that robin was here. "see! i told you he should be here. he knows more medically than i do, usually i would just let our doctor take care of it."

"do not give up information like that. now this civilian knows you're weak. do you want to seem outwardly pathetic?" robin said, looking over at you again.

nightwing shrugged. "we're still working out some kinks in his behavior, sorry about that."

"do not tell a civilian that either, nightwing," robin said stiffly, glaring at him. he turned back to look at you, sighing through his nose. "we recovered all of my things. it turns out you were completely unrelated to my condition two weeks ago."

"now apologize," said nightwing, mid-whispering something into a little box that had a wire connecting to his utility belt.

"no."

"oh please, you've talked about this kid so much and now you're here again and—"

"shut up!" robin said, glaring at him again. (it was weird how his face was red, even more weird how that was sorta cute.)

you blinked. "why have you been talking about me? are you the one that's stalking me?"

"no," he said, looking at nightwing like if he said one thing he would get punched in the face. "and i have only talked about you once, when i returned to batman, and i dont know how nightwing would hear about that."

nightwing sighed. "it was just some one-off comments about 'how shitty you took care of him' and how 'you should never become a doctor'."

damian visibly deflated. "yes, that is right. did you give nightwing painkillers?"

you nodded.

he nodded briefly and then stepped away, back towards the window, and you turned towards him swiftly. "don't jump out of my window! who do you think you are?" you demanded, "i still have questions."

robin stopped in his tracks and glared at you. "have nightwing answer them." then, he turned and opened your window.

just as he moved and perched on the windowsill, you surged forward and grabbed him hard by the arm, pulling him back into the room. he almost fell, but then caught himself. he turned to you, and you could see his face cinching under that mask— he looked pissed.

he lunged forward to hit you. you just managed to avoid the punch but he got you down anyway. your back hit the floor hard and you winced. propelling your knee, you kicked him hard in the waist and rolled over, just about to punch his face—

nightwing had you by the scruff (aka the back of your shirt) and he pulled you off of robin. you scrambled and almost elbowed him in the face. "geez! okay, you both need to chill out," he said, deliberately hanging you away from his face.

robin stood up and dusted himself down, his face reddenned. he looked humiliated.

for some reason, him looking humiliated made you much happier than landing that hit on him would've.

"robin, you're not even supposed to be on patrol today," nightwing said, glaring at him knowingly, "so you have nowhere to be. if we're going to drop in and make them heal us, you are going to stay."

after a couple minutes of wrangling with robin, nightwing managed to get him to sit down. he, on the other hand, made sure to sit directly beside the window so robin couldn't make a quick escape.

"so… is this gonna happen more?" you asked, cautiously sitting on a different chair, and gesturing towards nightwing and robin himself. "are you guys gonna keep showing up?"

"maybe," robin said. "maybe you'll never see us again because we don't need subpar mending from a civilian teenager," he sneered.

"excuse me? nightwing came here completely on his own!"

"you were about to reopen his wound."

"oh yeah? i didnt see that little note also having a guide on dealing with wounds like that!" you snapped, "what, do you think everybody knows how to treat peoples injuries? why don't you do it if you know so much?"

robin rolled his eyes, fully accentuating it by swaying in his chair. "i'd expect someone living in gotham to have even a tolerable knowledge of medicine. and it is not my responsibility to treat other vigilantes."

you groaned. "am i at least going to get paid for this act of insane kindness im granting you?"

just as robin was about to speak, probably about to say something shitty again, nightwing interjected, "did you… not notice the extra thousand dollars in your bank account?" he asked, resting his chin on his hand. "you should've gotten it the next morning. there's no way it was sent to the wrong account.."

you froze. then, fully, you turned to look at nightwing. you stared at him for a long moment before you pulled out your phone.

why hadn't you'd checked your money? at all? hadn't you gotten paid recently?

you had another thousand dollars.

you had another thousand dollars.

it was dizzying, if anything. so much money and you didn't even notice it.

you straightened and beamed. "i would be delighted to continue treating you!"

robin scoffed and nightwing snickered. you were still sorta dazed.

"well i need to get going," nightwing said, "i should probably get professionally checked up, at least back with batman. hopefully you won't need to see me again."

he nodded to you politely, before dipping out of the window. you didn't hear any sound from where he could've landed.

you looked over at robin.

he glared back at you.

"you must learn more medically if you want more payments," he said stiffly.

"so im.. not getting paid for tonight?" you inquired.

he snorted and stood up. this time, you let him jump out of the window.

now your apartment was empty. you sighed and stood back up. you took the ice packs, which were now partially melted, and put them back in the freezer. you put everything else back in the first aid kit and returned that to your bathroom… which you decided to finally clean through.

you closed the window and locked the front door, and went to sleep pleasantly tired.

as you partially suspected, there was another box at your front door the next morning. inside were slightly less common supplies like a professional tourniquet and a stethoscope.

the note attached said 'check your bank account this time'. glued to the back of it was an extended guide on fifty ways to treat way too many kinds different injuries.

the waters withdrawal from the beach was the loudest thing you could hear. for some odd reason, there was nobody else around the beach. yes, it was night time, but why was nobody there? why was there nobody hanging around?

since for some reason you hadn't looked at your phone for the whole night, you had little to no idea about what was going on in the city.

if you had your phone, you would realize that a mile to your in front of you was where a battle between batman and scarecrow, and people had been evacuated from the area. you hadn't gotten the memo, because there was nothing to get the memo from.

you walked along the beach for some time before you heard a heavy splash in the water.

…you turned to look to the side.

there was a body in the water. the body was wearing a dark-colored suit, with red accents and a yellow utility belt spun around their waist.

your eyes widened and you began to hurry over.

after being able to see it better, the suit was heavily ripped. the clothes had gaping holes along the waist, the utility belt was holding on by a thread and visibly missing multiple. you could see now that there was a spandex under-clothes that protected the person below the colored suit.

you glanced around. this was— well, maybe it wasn't so obvious with the suit being both soaked and different colors from all of the other suits, but this was robin. with robin there was always batman. so where was batman?

"hey! batman!" you called out, glancing between the skyline and back at robin.

you waited a minute.

well, maybe you waited thirty seconds, but whatever.

batman wasn't showing and your skin was beginning to prickle, you felt like you physically had to shiver every fifteen seconds. you walked over to robin and winced as water hit your feet. it was so cold. you kneeled and shoved your arms beneath robin's torso and knee's.

you pulled robin up and double checked. glancing at their face, which was covered by a domino mask that somehow still held up, you could tell this was the new robin. or newer robin? had he been here long enough to not really be called new?

you got him stably in your arms and began to walk to the opposite direction from the beach. you needed to get home. you needed to get home. your head was beginning to hurt, and when you looked at robin again, he looked wrong.

"oh shit, was he out here because of…?"

you sighed and put robin down, and then fished your phone out from your pocket.

there it was! a warning to evacuate the gotham beach, scarecrow attack. it was dated to twenty minutes ago.

you groaned. "god fucking damnit, robin. why did you do this to me?" you looked back at him but now he had fangs piercing past his mouth.

you staggered away from him.

why did robin have fangs?

'cause of the fear toxin, dumbass. why did fear toxin move so fast? shouldnt it be concentrated in one area or something?

turning, you picked up robin again, doing your best to not look at his face or at him in general, despite how he was in the bottom of your vision and from him there seemed to be growing mass of tentacle evilness.

you stumbled your way into the city and struggled to even be able to see anybody. your legs began to shake and you were already trembling from fear but you knew you had to keep on moving.

as you ducked into the alleyway that led you home you could feel eyes on you. so many eyes. you dizzily glanced above you and saw a flicker of red, but only for a split second. was that the fear toxin? you groaned and continued on you way.

"stupid," you muttered, "i should've gone home earlier. i shouldn't have gone outside in the first place."

you barely managed to get your front door open and set robin down on a chair quickly, and then sigh in relief after lifting well over a hundred pounds for an extended amount of time.

after, you went to your bathroom and looked for genuinely anything. why did you not even own bandaids? you needed to look into that. you groaned and went back to the living room to look over robin.

turning him over a couple times, you could see that he had major bruising but overall just a couple of cuts.

you went back to your bathroom. you had genuinely the cheapest disinfectant wipes known to mankind, but you took them anyway. then you took a washcloth, thinking that maybe you could use them in place of formal bandaids.

sitting beside robin, you took his arm first and carefully went over each cut to try and disinfect them. then you did the same along his legs and torso. then you covered the majority of the cuts, which had been situated on his left thigh, with the washcloth.

you turned to go to the kitchen and opened your freezer. you had… no frozen vegetables. why did you have no frozen vegetables? you blinked and then decided the ice pack you hadn't used for lunch in maybe a whole year was a good enough fit. you grabbed it and quickly went back, wrapping it in a seperate washcloth and then setting it over the most of the bruising.

by now, you could realize that most of the fear toxin had worn off. you collapsed onto a different chair and sighed, relaxing for a bit.

a bit turned into you waking up because you heard whispering.

"what the hell? this fabric is revolting."

you jolted awake from your chair and saw robin sitting up, with the ice pack on the floor haphazardly and the two rags somewhere on the floor as well.

"you're awake."

"you are awake."

you blinked at him, and he. blinked at you.

"…why did you wake up?" he asked, disgruntled.

"you were whispering. i think i could hear whispering from five feet away. hey, do you talk to yourself?" you asked him. "it's okay, i—"

"excuse me!" he huffed, "i do not talk to myself. you have no business making assumptions about me-"

robin stilled and stared at you.

"where are my comms?"

with surprising ease considering the boy had bruises all over his body, robin stood up and stepped towards you.

your hands shot up beside your head in some attempt to put him at ease. "chill! i dont have an idea where your vigilante shit went. you dropped into the water next to me and i took you home to help you out."

that didn't calm him at all.

"where is my tracker?" he asked, stepping towards you again, and then his face was a foot from yours and there was a knive next to your head, fully in your seat.

"shit, i don't know!" you exclaimed, glancing around.

for some stupid reason, you thought maybe you could beat the robin.

your foot connected hard against his abdomen and he stepped away, but not before grabbing you by the shirt and dragging you with him, before he threw you hard on the floor.

"don't act dense. who do you work for?" robin demanded.

robin was supposed to be an extension to batman. since when was robin so intimidating all on his own?

"im not working for anyone, holy shit! i swear," you winced, shuffling away from him. why would you kick him? stupid.

robin looked over you for a minute. then he looked around your home. he hummed to himself and turned swiftly.

"you aren't strong enough for anyone to be willing to hire you. i seem to have misjudged you, i…" it sounded like he was about to say i'm sorry but he either pussied out of it or never was going to, to begin with. "your methods of taking care of someone medically are very flawed."

you stared at him for a moment, genuinely awestruck. how could someone be this stupid? robin was stupid! stupid and had big words to try and cheer himself up with!

"im sorry im not a doctor? if you want me to be able to treat your wounds better, maybe send some supplies my way."

robin ignored that. "tell me what street am i on. i need to find batman," he said.

you sighed and went to grab your phone, "dude, chill, ill just look up recent batman sightings…"

"dont be sarcastic with me."

"im not, dumbass."

"excuse me?" he turned to you swiftly, his face looking sorta flushed.

you put your phone up for him to look at before he could punch you. or grab that knife and do some unimaginable shit with it.

robin blinked at it for a minute.

"…ah." again, it sounded like he was going to say thank you, but he just didn't. what was with this guy?

he turned swiftly and headed for your window. "robin, i have a door-"

it was already open and he already jumped out. you hurried over to see him, but he was gone.

for some reason, your head already told you that this was typical. you let it slide and went to rest.

when you woke up in the morning, there was a box at your package at your front door. inside it were enough bandages to store a hospital for a week, antiseptics, bandaids, gauze, and for some reason even tweezers?

then there was a note.

expect more vigilantes.

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