(Roy/Dick) A little present goes a long way.
Roy pushed his draw shut when the doorbell rang to his apartment.
He reached over the wall of pictures and pulled out a 9mm gun. He armed it as he approached the door. He checked to see if anyone was there.
It was Richard Grayson, Bruce Wayne's son.
Roy quickly disarmed the gun and set it behind another wall of unused frames before he undid the lock. He released the hatch and turned the deadbolt. He opened the door.
The sun warmed his skin. His maroon tank top and blue jeans were keeping him slightly warm. His hair was slightly ruffled, but he still looked presentable. "What?"
Richard, well, Dick was what he preferred, was looking antsy. He finally lifted his arms. A silver package was presented with a dark, blood red bow.
Roy raised an eyebrow. "Did your dad put you up to this?"
Dick shrugged. "Kind of." Dick's hands trembled. He trembled all the way down to his toes. "He kind of ditched me and told me to wait. Green Arrow needed help with something." He gave Roy a weak smile.
Dick was kind of a no-nonsense kind of kid. He knew his dad was Batman, but he didn't know who Robin was or why Robin was always around his dad. He was never shown to be very bright when it came to street smarts. But he was really good at the intelligent side of smarts.
"So, um, you want it? I kind of found it." He looked at the package. He had lowered it and brought it back to his body. Dick looked slightly upset. Still, he gave Roy a quick smile. "I'll go see if there's someone else. Well, have a happy holiday." He turned to walk away.
Roy's hand reached out and grabbed Dick's shoulder. "Get in here. You're freezing."
He locked the door behind Dick.
Dick was standing by the coffee table staring at the little tree on it. It was actually a bonsai tree, but it had a candy cane hanging off one of it's highly trimmed branches. He didn't seem awed by how small the apartment was or how "untidy" the space was. He seemed focused on the tree.
Roy ran a hand through his hair. "Want juice or water? I don't have anything else right now."
"Water's good." Dick was still staring at the tree. "Is it real?"
Roy had gotten out a glass and closed the cabinet. "Yeah. It keeps me somewhat occupied. Not for very long, but long enough." He handed Dick the water before he pulled his little equipment bag out for his bonsai. "Want to give it a try?"
Dick looked curious. "Er, how does it work, exactly?"
Roy sat down and cleared away his old news papers so Dick had room to sit down. "I'll show you."
Dick quickly put the glass of almost gone water and perched on the edge of the sofa. He watched and listened as Roy instructed him on which clipper to use and what to do and how to clip it. Dick was finally offered to try it. Dick took the clippers with ease, but held it with both hands to make sure it was steady as he clipped off a dying branch.
Roy watched as Dick eased the sharp edges closer and then...
"Wow." Dick gave Roy a big, warming smile. He was awed by how easy it was.
Roy leaned back and watched Dick finish clipping a second one. Something looked familiar about the back of Dick's head.
Roy's thoughts were interrupted by-
"Sing it for the deaf, Sing it for the blind, Sing about all the ones you've left behind, Sing it for the world, Sing it for the world!"
Dick finally answered the phone. "Dad?"
Roy tried to ignore the conversation.
"Yeah. No. Roy's here with me. Why? Oh. Do I have to?" Dick hung up without saying goodbye. "Hey, er, Roy, I have to go. I hope you like your Christmas present!" Dick unlocked the door with ease and when he shut the door, the latch swung back into place.
Roy looked at the silver package. He took a moment before he did take the package. He slowly opened it and set the box back down. Using one hand, he opened the box to reveal a brand-new, hand-made quiver for the arrows. It was black with a maroon arrow pointing up, like his old, beat-up quiver.
Roy slowly stood up. Was he imagining things?
Roy's phone went off. "Frail, the skin is dry and pale, the pain will never fail, And so we go back to the remedy, Clip the wings that get you high, just leave them where they lie, And tell yourself, You'll be the death of me."
Roy picked up the maroon iPhone and hit the answer. "Oliver?"
"Red Arrow is needed. Care to come join us?"
Roy nodded.
Robin smiled to himself before he scurried away from Roy's door. He ran in between the pillars, pulling out his phone to make sure he was going the right way. He found a good place to change and darted over the dumpster in the alley.
He came out, his cape flying, and narrowly missed Red Arrow's head. He jumped high into the air and landed on the top of a light pole. "Ooo, Red Arrow got a new toy?"
Red Arrow virtually glowered at Robin. "What do you want?"
Robin just smiled. "Nothing. Say, I haven't given you my Christmas gift. Mind if we share?"
Red Arrow was ignoring Robin and was running down the street. Robin was following him on the tops of the lights. He groaned. "Fine, after we help them."
Robin used his grappling hook and swung passed Red Arrow. "Roger roger, RA!" He went spiraling into the fight, sending Red Arrow a wink.
Red Arrow skidded to a halt, his black boots shooting up bits of gravel on the street. He raised his bow and fired one arrow right at the Cadmus Genomes. The explosion sent the plum of smoke upwards and outwards.
Batman landed like a cat, sliding to a stop beside a parked car. Robin had twisted, his arms held close to his body, and landed on the car beside Batman. Green Arrow wasn't so graceful, but got up quickly.
Red Arrow aimed for the center of the group.
Robin suddenly attached one of his Birderangs to the tip of the highly explosive arrow. He gave Red Arrow a thumbs up. "Go for it."
Red Arrow just signaled for Robin to move. When he released the arrow, he realized that they were scattering. Batman and Robin took care of wrangling them back into a close group, using their grappling rope and a slight bit of them using their skills as fighters.
Red Arrow saw what the others had only described. The perfect synchronization of how they knew the other person. He saw the perfect symmetric way they joined forces.
Suddenly, Batman and Robin backed away as the bomb went off.
Without thinking, Batman dove for cover behind a large truck.
Robin wasn't going to be so lucky. He was still recovering from the first jump.
Red Arrow pulled out the sharpest arrow he had and quickly aimed and fired. Right when he did, he saw Robin's grappling claw shoot towards him. It unhooked and opened wide, grabbing Red Arrow by the bow arm.
Robin had one shoulder pinned to the wall and Red Arrow hit the brick wall just as the blast ripped through the air.
"Wow! Do that one again! KF would be off the charts with that one!" Robin edged the arrow out and landed, perfectly, beside Red Arrow, who was trying to pull the claw off. Finally, he showed Robin. "You're such a baby." Robin smiled and used one hand to pull away and the other to release one digit. It snapped open and Robin lifted it away. "Ta-da."
Red Arrow was about to say something when Robin reached up.
On tip-toe, he wrapped his arms around Red Arrow's neck. "My turn." He gently pressed his petal-soft lips against Red Arrow's. He backed away and smiled.
Red Arrow's heart had completely melted for a split second. He reached out and grabbed Robin back. At close range, he used a flash arrow and then took out the Genome while it squealed in frustration. He turned back to Robin. "Why?"
Robin shrugged. "I like you too much and miss you being around. I mean, remember when we used to go and be the two side kicks without the super, metahuman powers? I kinda miss having a regular guy to talk to." Robin made a face. "Artemis is too much sometimes. She doesn't say anything, really. Nothing important anyways." Robin put his hands on his hips. "Besides, after you left, I felt kinda lonely. You were the first person who really was like my best friend. Wally doesn't count. You're much more..." Robin trailed off. "Never mind. You're out on your own."
Red Arrow reached out and took hold of Robin's face. He brought him in and gave him a light kiss. "Then I'm glad I have someone to worry about me."
Robin's red face broke into a smile. "Happy Christmas?"
"Thank you... Dick Grayson."
"HEY!"
Red Arrow and Robin jumped back into the fray, their moment gone into the wisps of memories.