dick grayson

"Team, the mission is compromised! I repeat, the mission is compromised!" Kaldur yells over the comms. Telepathic link was cut down ages ago.

   I throw a few smoke bombs at Bane's hulking figure and limp out of the scene, holding my stomach while trying to push out the pain in my thigh. It had only been two weeks since I had gotten the scratch stitched by Babs; it only took a strong punch to the stomach from Bane to get it bleeding again. It also didn't help that Lady Shiva decided to "play" with me (a.k.a. use me as a target for her knives. Predictable, but painful. Really painful.)

   "Robin, are you okay?" M'gann calls.

   I smirk. "Not really feeling the aster, but I'm alive."

   "Rendez-vous at Mount Justice. Take the nearest zeta tube and MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT DISCOVERED." It was Kaldur. Who was yelling. Which was something he reserved for rainy days. I shake my head. If this wasn't a rainy day, I don't know what is.

   With another, slightly pained smirk, I reply, "Yes, sir!"

   Wheezing, I fumble for my grappling gun and launch it at the roof of GCPD's office. Bane, Cheetah, Lady Shiva, a bunch of Talons, Silver Banshee, and Trajectory had chased us through multiple cities thanks to Mirror Master. I (obviously) was in Gotham. Kaldur was down in Jump City. M'gann was in Star, and Artemis was shooting her arrows in Central. Wally was zooming around in Metropolis while Conner was stuck on Stryker's Island. I was the only one in a city I knew extremely well.

Problem is, Gotham's too unpredictable. As proven by what I saw on top of the GCPD building.

"AH!" I yelp, covering my eyes with my arm. It was Barbara, tied and gagged on the roof. Which would have been pretty predictable.

   But she was stark naked.

   "Okay, really sorry, REALLY regretting that." Carefully, I pull off my cape with my unoccupied arm and walk carefully towards Barbara, feeling for the ground in front of me with my foot to make sure there weren't any landmines or anything. (I made the mistake once. I did not want to go through it again.) Once I do reach Babs, I wrap my cape around her shivering body, feeling progressively awkward by the minute.

   When I was sure that she was covered, I put down the arm covering my eyes and pull out my birdarang. I begin to carefully slice each rope, making sure Barbara wasn't cut. Her ragged breathing filters through my ears, making me wince as it was obvious she wasn't comfortable. "It's going to be over soon, okay? I promise. Promisiune."

   As I pull at a particularly tight knot, I start to wonder what Babs is thinking right now. Obviously, she knew it was me under the mask. Since I told her. Well, showed her. She was pretty irritated after that. And she really made it clear by ignoring me for weeks, which really bothered me. Not many people made the effort to really know me. But I didn't blame her. She trusted me with her darkest secrets and yet I had never told her mine in the four years of our steadfast friendship. It was a betrayal of trust. And I knew Barbara treasured trust.

The knot gives way to my fingers and the rope falls off. Heaving a sigh of relief, I look to the gag, and groan. It was duct tape. "Okay, this is going to hurt, and your mouth is probably going to bleed and sting, but..." I trail off, finding not much to comfort her. "...just, umm, it's going to be...over soon, 'kay?"

Barbara just gives me an amused look. I shrug. "Ready, three, two, one-"

The duct tape rips off her mouth with a sttttch, and Babs scowls just a little bit at the pain. Wondering how it didn't hurt that much (duct tape on my mouth was my pet peeve), I almost laugh at my shortsightedness when I see Bab's curled lips. She'd pulled them in when the assailant put the tape on her mouth. Of course she did. She was Barbara Gordon.

"Are you okay?" I ask as I help her up to her feet, mindful of the cape wrapping her body.

She thinks for a moment, and then smirks. "I'm feeling whelmed, thanks."

I stifle my laugh.

"Robin? ROBIN!" The sudden static of the comm startles me and I flinch. Babs looks at me quizzically, then understanding crosses her face. Comms? she mouthes. I nod with an embarrassed smile.

"Here, KF," I say.

"DUDE, YOU HAD US WORRIED SICK!"

"SHH. Can you be any louder?"

"UH YEAH-"

"That was sarcasm, KF."

"I KNOW, BUT I DON'T CARE RIGHT NOW-"

"Look, I just had to do some Robin stuff, okay? I'm traught, I'm fine-"

"-not counting your wounds, of course-"

"-and I just need to drop off at the Batcave for something. I'll be at base in 10. Promise."

"...I can't believe I'm saying this...fine."

"Thank you."

The static buzzes out and I sigh as the annoying sound of Wally's voice (oh, did I think that? I meant the static) fades away.

"Are you actually going to the Batcave?" Barbara asks, pulling the cape around her shoulders tightly.

I nod. "One, it's the nearest zeta tube from here and two, your place is on the way." Suddenly, a thought crosses my head and I slap my hand into my face. "Ugh, I'm such a gașca; you can't use a grapple gun!"

"You're right, you are a gașca," Barbara agreed. "My dad is the police commissioner; don't you think I'd have a place here?"

"Rahat, rahat, rahat," I mutter as I follow Barbara down the escape ladder.

-//-

I wait on the windowsill as Babs puts on her clothes. It doesn't take long until the window swings open.

   "You know I was changing in the washroom, right?" Barbara jokes, handing me my cape.

   "Couldn't be sure," I shrug, smirking. "And ew, I don't want to touch that."

   Her eyes lights up. "Can I keep it?"

   I laugh at her ecstatic face. "What, now you have a cape obsession?"

   She sticks her lip out. "My rock obsession only lasted for a week. Capes are cool." I smile.

   "So..." I start, piecing my words together. "Are we cool, or what?"

   Barbara puts the cape down. She sighs and sinks into the swivel chair. She has a serious liking for those. "Look, Dick, I'm really sorry. I didn't know how important it was to keep your identity safe."

   Sitting down on the table, I peel off my mask, staring at it, a thousand thoughts spinning through my head. Barbara's hands are shaking just the slightest bit. Her feet aren't stationary. Her eyes are downcast but blinking. Then I knew. "Whoever kidnapped you questioned you about my identity."

   "Yeah," Barbara says. "It was a Talon."

   Talons...I know they aren't the nicest guys when it comes with interrogation. "You didn't tell him anything, though."

   "Except the fact that he's the worst thing to grace the planet."

   "Of course."

   Then all of a sudden my arms were wrapped around Barbara, holding her tight and letting her cry this out of her system, and letting her tears start mine.

   After a while, Barbara's voice - muffled - breaks the silence. "You're hurt. And the KF dude's going to scream in your comm soon."

   "S'okay," I mumbled. "I don't want to do anything right now."

   "Too bad. You're helping me with my math."

   "...somehow you talk me into doing everything."

   "It's a gift."

Promisiune: promise
Gașca: "goose"; a Romanian way to call someone an idiot
Rahat: crap

Soooo much thanks to BatgirlGeek for her support and making me add the finishing touches to this chap :)