Rapid does not make an appearance for another two weeks. By then, a gentle snow has begun to fall over Gotham city, white blankets of frost coating the rooftops.

Damian rests on a vantage point, the radio tower overlooking the city. Oddly enough it feels warm instead of Gotham's usual chill. Things are silent and calm with the snow and time keeping people inside.

It's a good thing. They are expecting ice villains to rear their ugly heads any time soon, even though Mr Freeze is in Arkham for the moment. Perhaps Forecast, an ally of Rapid would show up and wreak havoc with her weather powers.

Rapid. The ire of Damian's life at the moment. Is it because she kissed him when they first met? No. Is it because she had bested him in their last fight? Maybe.

Obviously the only reason she is on his mind is because she is a foe he wants to defeat.

That's why the telling woosh from behind him and the scent of marshmallows sends a chill up his spine.

"Dobroy vecher milashka," she says, an obvious smile to her voice. Damian wishes Russian had been a language he had learned. He knows at least that she said 'good evening' with the name she calls him attached.

He straightens from crouching, pushing his hood down to turn and face her.

She is smiling at him, a softness to it, leaning back against the radio tower. Her skin is a pale colour with faint cream scars embedded along her neck above her collar.

"You have been absent," he states emotionlessly, folding his arms. Rapid grins, teeth white as the snow around them as she steps forward to stand beside Damian.

They are shoulder to shoulder, facing opposite directions. Damian, staring at the place she had been, Rapid watching the city at his back.

Don't look at her.

He looks at her.

Klavdiya is already watching him, fringe swaying in the wind. She's smirking, probably noticing the flush on his cheeks. Some boys are so cute.

Damian does his best to hold his composure and tries not to stare at any fixed point- the flecks of green in her golden eyes, the many piercings in her ear, the smile on seemingly soft lips...

"Did I steal your first kiss?" She asks quietly, intrigued.

Damian glares at her, twisting in a way that obscures his blush, "Don't be absurd."

"I'll take that as yes."

He watches with skeptical eyes behind his mask as she faces forward again, jaw moving in a chewing motion. She must have gum he thinks, which is strange. The scent which emits from her is nothing like Stephanie's sickening bubblegum shampoo, but rather something much more sweet.

The waves of unknown feelings, the innuendo in her stare, the gleam of the moon on such pale skin and the intoxicating aroma of such a sweet treat all compiles into Damian losing his mind.

"You smell like marshmallows," he suddenly bursts out, shaming his life. He clamps his teeth together the moment the words are out. Klavdiya draws back, expression only changed by the delighted raise of her eyebrows.

Damian's attitude goes in the opposite direction. He panics at the suddenness of his words, the familiar sensation of not being in control of himself returning.

He goes from shock, to humiliation, to anger in a total of five seconds, emotions showing in his face before he leaps off the building in a panic.

Robin allows himself to glide for a few seconds, before grappling the next building, swinging passed it to attach to the next.

In his head he asks himself the same question on repeat; why did I say that?

Grayson had been right one night in a drunken state. He had been yelling angrily about some girl before passing out. He and Tim had to drag him upstairs.

He had shrieked that women were evil descendants of the devil.

It seems, to Damian, the most viable excuse for his recent behaviour. It's obvious; Rapid has more powers than super speed and conductivity. She can also manipulate people.

Yes, that's it.

Damian stops when he's as far away from the radio tower as possible. The roof of the library is familiar enough, so he sits atop one of the old gargoyles where he likes to rest sometimes.

He takes a deep breath, running a gloved hand through his hair. This is Stephanie's section of the city but he doubts she'll be alert enough to notice him.

Aggressively, he rips his glove off and presses his fingers under the plate of armour on his tunic. It's the one covering his heart. The elated and heavy thump pulsing there isn't from exertion.

Pull yourself together. That's what Todd would say.

Mere seconds later, his ears catch an odd humming to his left....with the scent of marshmallows.

"You know you can run as fast as you want, but I still catch you, da?"

Robin jumps, reaching for his bo staff upon automatic instinct. Seeing her relaxed exterior eases his fears that she may attack, but he remembers she has the ability to change that before he can know it.

"Why are you following me?" He demands angrily. She grins again, she's always grinning, before leaning back against the building with her arms folded.

"When Gotham looks like this it's easy to forget that it's, well, Gotham. Da?" She queries lightly, casting her gaze out to the snow dusted streets. Damian suddenly loses his Robin glare, opting out for an expression of concentration. If he focuses enough, perhaps he won't make a fool of himself again.

"No," he snaps irritably, turning away from her. He doesn't want her to smile at him and make him do something stupid again.

"It reminds me of my favourite song, by my favourite artist," she continues. That draws his eyes to her again, this time in confusion hiding curiosity. He asks himself two questions.

Why is she telling me this?

...What song?

"I don't care," he lies, thinking that if he's mean enough she'll go away and there is no risk of him looking like a fool.

Because he definitely wants her to go away.

"Winter Things by Ariana Grande. It reminds me of this," she glances at the sky and the tops of the buildings like she's in awe, enchanted by their existence. It enthrals Damian. Golden eyes flicker from left to right, sparkling, until that gaze lands on him, "Of you, I suppose."

He gulps heavily. Rapid turns something in her hand; something Damian doesn't see. A weapon?

"Don't you think?"

He regains himself with a pinch to his leg.

"-tt. It reminds me of winter and Christmas and cold and snow," he states dryly, hoping his tone will shoo her. He turns away from her again in case she lunges at him with whatever is in her hand.

Instead she just smiles.

Robin's communicator crackles, Oracle's voice coming in through the earpiece. Damian presses it and listens to her telling of a robbery Stephanie is intercepting.

"I'm on my way. Tell her not to engage," he says, before taking out his grapple gun. He looks at Rapid, feeling something like reluctance stirring within him.

"Dobroy nochi, milashka," she bids him goodnight, smirking. Damian has no idea what to say to that, so he fires at the next building and sails through the air towards it. "And be careful!"

He hears her before he reaches the next roof, sprinting across the tiles to the other side. He takes a moment to freeze, allowing himself to smile a little.

◊

◊

He gets home first with Alfred being the only present one in the cave. The old man asks if his night was eventful and Damian senses the lure, but he doesn't bite. After a quick shower he runs up to his room, closes the door and makes a beeline for his desk.

One of his laptops sits atop of the mahogany wood, waiting for his return. He opens it, locates the Spotify account he has been forced into sharing with Grayson and Brown and finds himself typing Winter Things by Ariana Grande.

The song is the first to appear, and he clicks on it, opening to the full page of the singer.

He frowns; why am I doing this?

Is he so emotionally invested in this girl that he has to listen to a song she named? All she did was steal his first kiss, unappreciated. If their genders were reversed it would not be considered such a cute act.

Angry at himself, he shuts the computer, stands up and walks towards his comfy seat where he draws. His scrapbook and graphites are waiting there for him. He can sit back, pick today's animal and just draw.

Just draw.

Maybe he can put some classical music on.

Music.

Music.

The teen halts his walking, turns on his heel, rushes back to the computer, opens it up again and presses play on Winter Things.

He places his headphones on as excitement hums in his veins.

It ain't even cold outside, not where I'm from
Feeling like it's mid-July under the sun
My jacket don't get no love, no hats and no gloves
Not even a chance of rain
But my baby's in town and we're gonna do some winter things

Heyo, I wanna pretend we're at the North Pole
Turning the heat into an ice cold holiday
Made just for me and my baby
My baby's in town and we're gonna do some winter things

Unintentionally, Damian finds himself (annoyingly) tapping his foot to the rhythm of the song. He has never liked dancing, or pop music, but years of training has given him a sense of movement.

Without much thought he hovers over the '+' button which adds the track to his list of songs. Mostly that list is comprised of Chopin and Beethoven. Instead with a soft grumble, he clicks on the title of the album, Christmas & Chill.

Remembering Rapid had said Ariana is her favourite singer, he adds the whole EP, containing six songs.

He hopes neither Tim, his father or Oracle stumble across the addition while working.

If that happened Damian might really die from embarrassment.

◊

◊

"Reporting in."

Klavdiya races up the fire escape external to her apartment building. She slips in through the window, phone still pressed to her face.

"What have you been up to?" The person on the other side of the line, Rowan, asks.

Klavdiya has a deal with her sister; she may live in America, away from Russia, if she promises to live somewhere a hero reigns. She has to report in every night to her sister herself, Rowan, or another member of their circle named Sailor.

"Just enjoying myself. How is Valeria?"

"Valeria is...Valeria. On my back about the last contract I took. Now she just sits there glaring over her drink at me."

"Isn't that what most marriages are like?" Klavdiya grins, placing the phone on the bed as she removes her uniform. Rowan chuckles dryly from the other side of the phone.

"Real funny, kid. She wanted me to ask if you want a bigger apartment," the Australian pushes on. Klavdiya frowns on the phone, tugging her shorts and over-sized Die Antwoord shirt on.

"Bigger? I want one smaller. This place still feels scary sometimes," she replies, falling back on her bed.

Living alone, seventeen, in a modern two-bedroom apartment is not as fun as it sounds.

"Well you know; if you feel like that, you could be home in five minutes. Just run," Rowan laughs, bringing a smile to Klavdiya's face.

"Da... I'm alright though, okay?"

Rowan and Sailor are like sisters to her, as much as her actual sister is. Therefore they worry as much.

"Alright," Rowan says, lacking her usual tone. "Anyway. Good news. Someone needs me to kill an old friend in Gotham, so I might stay with you yeah?"

"I'd love that!" Klavdiya replies, sitting up.

"Well good. I might be there for a while. This guy is hard to kill. Bet they've only ever sent men after him."

She giggles, "Probably."

After the phone call, the teen finds herself in the kitchen. She turns the television on, loud enough to be heard from the bedroom, and makes dinner.

As she stirs bolognese in the pot, her mind wanders to Damian. The thought of the other teen brings a bright smile to her face. He's everything she's ever wanted; soft inside, hard outside, built, tall, fairly shy.

The kind of guy she'd contrast with.

No wonder they're soulmates.

She can't wait to really be with him.

When she finishes eating the family-sized meal, she leaves the hallway light on and her bedroom door opened. She slips beneath the covers, curling up with a smile. It's not too dark and there's background noise; good enough.

Her last thought is the way Robin smiled (when he forget she has super speed and can zip around a building faster than he can), as she falls asleep.

Klavdiya's taste in music is pure gold.