There were a lot of people Robin was really close with, who he loved to be around and spend time with. Bruce, Alfred, Wally, Barbara, all of his 'aunts and uncles' on the League, Roy, the whole Team in general...but there one person who he was really close to, a relationship that many didn't seem to recognize.
Not as a romance, but as really good friends. And it was just a bonus that she had red hair.
Like all friendships, it started out slow. Both were nice, friendly, but they hadn't really bonded, spent time together as just the two of them and...gotten to know each other.
Of course, going on missions together quickly built an underlying layer of trust and fondness, but the first time they really connected on a personal level was when M'gann, clueless, asked what Disney was.
And Robin cleared an entire day of his schedule to help show her.
"Okay, ready for A Day of Disney?" he asked her, wearing sweatpants and a Gotham Knights hoodie.
It was 7 am, and he'd arranged to not be bothered by anyone for the entire day.
M'gann had been touched, and rather embarrassed; nobody had taken such a personal interest in her before, or done such a sweet gesture. It was relaxing to be around Robin; he wasn't always hitting on her like Wally, hard to hold general chit chat with like Connor, didn't act so formal all the time like Kaldur...sure, he and Wally had a lot of inside jokes, but she liked his sense of humor. Most of all, she appreciated his acceptance.
Starting the first movie, Robin handed her some donuts and orange juice, which was apparently their breakfast. She smiled her thanks and snuggled down into the couch, comfortable in her soft, white cotton tank top, fuzzy pink sweatpants, and dolphin slippers.
"This one is Tarzan, and then we'll watch Dumbo, Bambi, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Mulan, Pocahontas, Hercules, Lilo and Stitch, 101 Dalmatians, and Aladdin. After that a few Disney Pixar; Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Brave, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. Trust me, you'll love them all." Robin told her, flashing a knowing smile.
And the thing is, she did; both trust him, and love every single movie. It was a great day.
M'gann looked at herself in the mirror, grinning at her reflection. The girl looking back was a redhead, but by no means was it 'M'gann'.
Earlier that week:
"The best Disney princess is definitely Ariel,", M'gann commented, looking close at Robin for his reaction. She could tell that he had loved the movie and especially the redhead, and just had to get him to admit that Ariel was his favorite.
The thirteen year old slightly shrugged and showed a small smile, but she could tell from the emotions he was projecting...the movie had a special sort of significance and emotional attachment to his past.
She went to find Robin, excited to see his reaction. Finding him in the kitchen, she loudly cleared her throat.
The martian shifted her weight to one hip and crossed her arms as Robin turned to say 'hey'.
His expression as he saw her was priceless.
Dumbfounded, astounded, confused, shocked, bewildered..and then he got a real kick out of it. Completely at a loss for words until..
"M'gann, that's brilliant!"
They both began to laugh, and M'gann changed her appearance from Ariel back to M'gann M'orse.
Truly brilliant.
"What's a music video?" M'gann asked the room at random. The team was snacking in the kitchen, and it was Robin to look up first and say,
"Its a video the singer makes that goes with a song, gives a person something interesting to look at while they listen to the music."
"Oh."
"Let me show you."
And that is why, one hour later, they were sitting shoulder to shoulder at the kitchen table, slightly hunched over her phone.
"But that's a real crocodile?"
"Yes!"
"How do they get a real crocodile?"
"I dunno, hey, click on that one."
...
"I don't get it."
"You don't want to."
...
"Why is there an eyeball on her chin."
"She tries to be weird, I guess."
"What about the last one?"
"That lady wasn't really on fire."
"Oh."
...
"Well that was just insulting."
"Don't worry M'gann, it's been a martian stereotype for decades now; we know it's not accurate."
True to his namesake, Robin never seemed to spend much time with his feet on the ground.
If he wasn't flipping around, he was cartwheeling. If it wasn't cartwheeling, he was perched on something. If not perched, he was swinging from the the assorted gymnast equipment in the gym. And when all else failed, he was walking on his hands.
Sometimes he would 'stroll' right past M'gann, walking by on his hands as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. Well, perhaps to him it was.
One day she decided to ask him about it.
"Robin, why don't you like keeping your feet on the ground?"
The small acrobat leapt off of his perch on the couch, pausing to consider the question.
"I once had a conversation with gravity," he told her, "and I didn't like it's attitude, so decided to ignore it."
Laughing to herself, M'gann rolled her eyes at his sass, which reminded the martian girl of what Robin had haughtily told her a day ago; that he was 'Master of the Aster', and 'The Sire of Sass'.
The kid had way too much cheek.
M'gann bit her lip, twirling her pencil in her hand as she thought. She'd been sitting there for 30 minutes, unable to come up with a single thing to write.
Robin dropped into a chair beside her, startling the redhead out of her sluggish thoughts.
"Need some help?" he offered. He must have been observing her complete lack of progress, and become sympathetic.
She was about to refuse, but then changed her mind. Well, why not? Nothing to ashamed of, asking for help.
"I have to write about what I would do if I was on a cloud, and can't think of a single thing."
The thirteen year old snorted.
"Well, unless they've been lying to us in Science class, wouldn't a person who wasn't martian pretty much fall right through it? And be seriously cold."
Again, the sass.
But the thing is...he had a point.
...The Next Monday...
M'gann walked up to Robin, who was at the Cave and literally hanging above the kitchen table from a light fixture. She shoved the graded essay in front of his face, so he grabbed it.
Crossing her arms, she tried to maintain an irritated/grumpy demeanor, but as soon as Robin looked at her after seeing the grade, they both busted up laughing.
Stamped on the front of the paper was a big, red F.
"And then you 'pin' it." Robin showed her, leaning over the top of the couch, tapping on her phone screen to demonstrate.
"Cool!" M'gann breathed out, creating a new board to 'pin' on.
Robin suddenly piped up and went, "Oh, pin the cat!"
"How about a Disney board?" she excitedly suggested. "Wait, what's DIY?"
"Do It Yourself crafts and stuff, you'll like it - make a board." Robin told her. Then for some reason, M'gann started giggling hysterically.
"Robin, look at this - what's it called...fanart of you! Thats so cute! And look, there's Wally!" she kept scrolling, but suddenly looked very uncomfortable. Clearing her throat, she tried to move past the picture, but Robin, eyes locked on the picture and choking on air a bit, stopped her.
"Why would they - what's this - come on! We're just bros! Friends!" he stuttered. At that moment, a new voice was heard behind them, "What are you guys doing?"
As one, Robin and M'gann whipped their heads around and exclaimed, "Nothing!"
While M'gann was not-so-discretely stuffing her phone under a cushion, Robin quickly made his exit, telling Black Canary over his shoulder that he was going to go train.
The whole 'high-five' thing between M'gann and Robin started when the 16 year old eagerly announced that she'd made the Bumblebee's cheerleading team, and Robin held his hand up for a high-five. At first she had no idea why he was holding him palm out, but after the awkwardness and explaining of the gesture were over, they both found it quite funny.
Resulting in it becoming a sort of joke between the two. They'd hold their hand up for a high-five in greeting, congratulations, just to be funny, sometimes for no reason at all. Eventually it evolved into a game, using both hands and an extra motion added every time. Low, to the side, quick succession, patterns; just horsing around with it.
In fact, after a few months their 'routine' was so fast their hands became blurs, and it lasted a full 30 seconds - until it got competitive. Whoever messed up first was the loser, and they both quickly learned that the other was a fierce competitor.
The question was, who would admit defeat first? The martian or the acrobat?
M'gann was doing homework on the kitchen table at the Cave when someone came running into the room. She'd barely glanced up before that someone grasped her hand, and began pulling her towards the nearest exit.
"Wha..?" she asked, trailing off in confusion."You'll see in a second," Robin told her, smiling as they went outside the Mountain.
It was a crystal clear night, with a slight chill to the air. In the almost complete silence, dark waves rolled onto the beach in a calming rhythm.
Robin led her to the middle of the cool, bare sand and pointed towards the sky. Looking quite pleased with himself, he asked the green-skinned girl, "I was wondering if you'd ever star gazed here on Earth."
Grinning, M'gann shook her head no, and looked up to where he was pointing.
"That's the Big Dipper," Robin explained, "See how it's shaped like a soup ladel? And there's the Little Dipper, those 3 over there are Leo, and diagonally up from that is Gemini."
"The stars look a lot better from Earth's point of view." M'gann joked, but she was really trying to say thanks.
Robin laughed and replied, "You would know, right?" you're welcome.
"Bit early for you, isn't it?" Robin asked a yawning M'gann. Bleary eyed, she'd stumbled into the kitchen and plopped down at the table, opposite of Robin.
She just groaned in reply."Cereal?" he offered."No thanks."The pair sat in companionable silence for a few minutes until M'gann murmured, "Waffles." "Huh?" The thirteen year old looked up.
"Waffles." she repeated, and got up to presumably make some.
Robin watched her as if contemplating something. Hopping up out of his chair, he started pulling the instant biscuit mix out of the cabinets.
"What are you doing?" M'gann wondered, pulling out a mixing spoon and promptly dropping it.
"Thought we could make breakfast for the whole team, ya up for it?"
The idea seemed to snap her out the drowsiness as her eyes lit up. "I'll do the waffles, you're doing the biscuits? And I'll do the eggs and toast, you make the bacon, slice up the fruit, and make the instant gravy too, okay?"
"Yes ma'am, M'gann." Robin flashed her a smile, getting to work.
30 minutes later
"They're sticking really bad!"
"Did you use Pam spray oil? Shoot, this is burning!"
"You've been trained by Batman, you're supposed to know how to cook!"
"I have bad days!"
The fruit, eggs, toast, and biscuits were finished and waiting on the table, but the gravy was seriously runny and still on the burner, the bacon looked extra extra extra crispy, and half the waffles were all torn up.
"You gotta clean it out, or they'll stick even worse."
"The bacon is done! Pull it out!"
"Ya I am but the oil is popping! Why don't you take it out telekinetically?"
"Because I'm trying to deal with the waffles!"
A different voice piped up from behind them. "Awesome, you guys made breakfast!"
"Wally, don't touch it!"
This is definitely a different theme I'm trying; not familiar waters for me. But I've put humungous effort into this fic, so I really hope you guys liked it.
And hopefully it helps warm people up a bit to M'gann, I know she gets a lot of hate.
By the way, no worries, I'll get back to writing Dick and Wally shenanigans soon!
Alright, this shoutout goes to Skylark Evanson - seriously cool username, right? If only all of our real names could be that cool!
Will post the next (and final) chapter soon. Y'all Savvy?