Me no own. Notes at the bottom.
Patrol in Gotham was nearly always eventful. If there wasn't a big name causing trouble, it was several minor incidents that combined together into a single large one – a mugger here, breaking and entering there. There was never a quiet night in the mess that was Robin's city.
That was why, while he was on patrol one chilly evening in spring, Robin didn't have anything to do. Icy rain poured down upon the rooftops of Gotham and the rich smell of spring was nearly overpowered by the smog that every perch that he may be on. The noise of the traffic was offset by the noise of the rain pattering across the surfaces around him.
He stood on the balls of his feet leaning out slightly over the several-story drop from the edge of the roof. Wind grabbed what hair that wasn't plastered to his skin and caused if to fly around his mask, which, no matter how often he wiped it from the lenses, continued to be covered in rivulets of water, making it nearly impossible to see. To most, leaning out over the edge of such a drop would make them uncomfortable, but to Robin, the slight hole in the pit of his stomach exhilarated him, as opposed to making him nervous.
Wally called him crazy for that.
He and Batman had split up in reaction to the lack of action, the more experienced of the two expecting that there was something big going down elsewhere, enticing the rest of the low-level names to lay low.
It was the one good thing about living in Gotham. When a big name was out, no one wanted to distract from them and possibly incur the wrath of whoever happened to be going back to Arkham that night.
Unfortunately, this odd courtesy amongst the rogues meant something possible negative for the younger Boy Wonder. Robin was bored. A heavy sigh, masked by rain and the noises of angry people simply wanting to get home before someone fuckin' attacks the street echoed from his chest. It was the type of sigh that didn't symbolize weariness, but rather, preparation. The kind of sigh that grounded, calmed.
He leaned slightly more, then turned around and spread his arms, allowing himself to freefall for a moment. He twisted in midair, falling easily into a few midair tumbles in a rare show of masked acrobatic expertise. It was only when he was within two stories of the ground that he twisted one last time and shot up from his grappling hook, watching as it wrapped around a gargoyle on one of Gotham's several older buildings. It jerked him up as he reached the end of the slack and he swung easily to the next rooftop, pressing the button to retract it.
He was distracted a moment from the grapple when the light on his wrist computer pinged with a blue flash as the grapple gun finished retracting the carbon fiber filament and hook.
Pausing to open whatever message had appeared, Robin arched an eyebrow at the text.
From: That one Redhead that I guess I like
Good morning babe! Just wanted to remind you that I love you 3
[4:03 AM]
Robin looked at the screen for a moment, arching his eyebrow at the timestamp. While the message from his best-friend-turned-boyfriend was sweet, and caused butterflies to rise in his stomach, but he didn't care at the moment. Three in the morning was two in Kansas.
Typing his response proved to be a problem, as each time a liquid drop fell through the blueish glow, it hit a button. It was everything Robin could do not to have the message send prematurely.
To: That one Redhead that I guess I like
…why are you sending this at four in the morning?
[4:04 AM]
The response was almost instantaneous, and caused the younger of the two to roll his eyes, equal parts in exasperated affection and frustration that the restless speedster wasn't getting the rest he should.
From: That one Redhead that I guess I like
why r u responding at 4 in the morning?
[4:04 AM]
Robin simply shook his head, eyes rolling again as he quickly typed out a response with one hand on the glowing projection. Instead of struggling with the display this time, he simply ducked into a small alcove, allowing his chilled skin a brief respite from the rain as well as keeping his message from forming itself into gibberish.
To: That one Redhead that I guess I like
Unlike you, I patrol in the wee hours in the morning. But you have school and a need for rest that's slightly more aggressive than most /normal/ people's.
[4:07 AM]
Pausing for a moment, he typed again.
Why did you bother typing out the word "why" but not the words "are" and "you"?
[4:07 AM]
He stepped from the alcove slowly again, smiling slightly at the sky as the rain had begun to lighten up somewhat, and fell into an easy front flip, stretching his limbs and muscles that were slightly stiff from the chill of the icy water. He just as easily flipped backwards again – the boredom had to be getting to him if he was doing random acrobatics. A momentary distraction came in the form of another message, and Robin once again smiled softly at his wrist as he read the message.
From: That one Redhead that I guess I like
bro u need rest too
[4:08 AM]
There was a pause as Robin considered how to respond. While it was sweet that Wally was concerned for his health, it wasn't anything new that he was out this late. Before he had to think up a reply, the three dots of typing appeared on his screen, then another message popped up.
Just promise me you'll get some rest tonight. You also have school.
[4:08 AM]
Robin nodded at the message, though Wally couldn't see him, then began typing the response, not having to think about it at all.
To: That one Redhead that I guess I like
I will. Don't worry. Go to bed!
[4:09 AM]
Once again, the response was instant, filled with the teasing tone that they'd always had and that hadn't disappeared in the dramatic shift of their relationship.
From: That one Readhead that I guess I like
Fine, Fine! I'm going. Night, Dick.
[4:09 AM]
The hero shot off a last message before once again flying off into the sky, and the bleary eyed speedster opened it from his spot snuggled under his blanket.
From: My Favorite Bird 3
And Walls? I love you too :D
[4:10 AM]
I remembered a bit too late that when we're talking about Dick Grayson, "that one redhead that I guess I like" is really unclear. Is it Babs? Kori? Wally? Roy? We just don't know!
Except it's wally. Cause I'm trash.
Anyway!
I have a question. I'm looking for a beta reader. While I don't publish a whole lot, I think having someone edit my work will help me a lot in the creative process. If anyone wants to help me out, I'll beta what you write as well! Just PM me.
Winglet