#catboy! reader

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.