Booster is Gold

Beetle is Blue

I don't own DC

So please don't sue.

This is a cutesy little DickxBabs fic about their first kiss. Any and all critiques are welcome.

"Robin. Now."

Bruce Wayne's voice boomed from the other side of the console computer as Robin parked his motorcycle on the platform. Robin has just returned from a solo patrol, as Bruce Wayne was required at a charity fundraiser. This was not unusual; Robin had been doing patrols alone for the last year and was doing a more than adequate job of it.

Robin took off his helmet and crossed the room to the chair where Bruce sat. Without a word, Bruce tapped a button on his keyboard and Vicki Vale's glowing personage flashed up on the screen.

"On the light side of things," Ms. Vale said in her classic newscaster timbre, "a keen-eyed Gothamite managed to snap a photo of our very own Robin and Batgirl in a rather tender moment."

Robin felt his chest tense as a low-resolution photograph of him and Batgirl kissing on a downtown rooftop replaced Vicki Vale's smiling face.

"Like most of you, I am not surprised. What does this budding young love hold for the future of Gotham?" The incriminating photo vanished from the screen and Vicki Vale smiled mockingly at Robin. "I don't know, but I'm excited to find out. This is Vicki Vale saying-"

Bruce paused the recording. He slow spun in his chair to face Robin. Robin couldn't bring himself to look Bruce in the eye and chose to instead stare at his boots. But as the seconds mounted, he could feel Bruce's increasingly cold stare on him. Bruce said nothing. Robin raised his hands to remove his domino mask.

"Bruce…" Dick said, raising his eyes. He nervously fidgeted with his mask in his hands.

"Why didn't you tell me, Dick?" Bruce's voice was low and intense, but not as intimidating as Dick had expected it to be.

"I don't know…" Dick knew. The relationship was new. Very new. He'd only just worked up the courage to ask Barbara out for coffee last week. Any one on the outside might have already considered Dick and Barbara an item for years. They had flirted endlessly since Dick his puberty, but in recent months it had become almost unbearably intense. He tried to take his mind off of her by dating girls at his high school, but it always felt wrong. No one had the connection that he and Barbara had.

Bruce waited a full minute before speaking again. It was the longest minute of Dick's life. "I can't say I didn't see it coming," he said finally. "It's part of my job to be observant."

Of course Bruce knew. Hiding a teenage infatuation from the world's greatest detective was like trying to fight Poison Ivy with store-brand weed killer. Dick bit his lip in anticipation.

"However, as much as I care for both you and Barbara, I can't say I'm happy about this. You're both very young and in a very dangerous line of work."

"I know, I know!" Dick protested. "But I think that's why we understand each other. That's why I think it could work."

Bruce nodded once. "I understand the appeal. People like us don't always have the luxury of a partner who knows about the life. But you have to understand that it doesn't always work."

Dick knew that Bruce was talking about Selina. Those two had been borderline making out in front of him since he was in pixie boots. They were currently in the "off" period of their on-again, off-again relationship and Bruce was feeling a bit bitter towards love at the moment.

"Barbara is a wonderful girl, Dick; I couldn't imagine a better match than you. But you need to be reasonable."

This felt more like nosey parenting than a genuine expression of concern to Dick. "This isn't like you and Selina, Bruce," he said sharply.

Bruce leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. "Whatever are you talking about?"

"This isn't about relieving ten years' worth of sexual tension with a 3am rooftop bang. I like Babs more than that."

"Don't be like that. My relationship with Selina is more complicated than that."

"You routinely have sex with a criminal. Of course it's complicated."

Bruce frowned. "I don't expect you to understand the things I do, but Selina and I are adults."

"Babs is an adult," Dick interrupted. "And I'm 16. What are you saying? That we aren't mature enough to hold hands and drink coffee at the same table?"

"I don't want you making the same mistakes I did… do… continue to." Bruce shook his head. "I just want you to be sure that you know what you're getting into."

"I like Babs. A lot. I want this."

Truthfully, Dick had no idea what 'this' was. The photographed kiss had been their first, and was actually more of a whim than some clumsily-planned thing. It came as a result of Batgirl whispering a flirtatious remark about Robin's well-toned backside into his ear. A second, heavy with tension and hormones, passed and was finished by Robin instinctively pressing his lips to hers. When it was over, he opened his eyes and saw her eyelashes flutter in the daze resulting from their first kiss. His heart skipped a beat.

Bruce's mouth twisted into something between thoughtfulness and contempt. There was silence again.

"You're both very important to me," Bruce said. "Obviously. I see you as my son, Dick. I always hope for your happiness, and I hope you know that you can trust me. You deserve each other."

He spun his chair away from Dick and resumed tapping away at his console. Dick took a deep breath and put his mask back on.

"Dad…" Robin whispered before spinning on his heels and running back to his motorcycle. He revved it loudly before zipping out of the cave, back to Barbara.

Bruce smiled his classic half-smile, pulled his cowl up, and prepared to finish the night patrol on his own. As he stepped into the Batmobile, he realized that his baby bird was growing up.