Dick shivered when he woke up.

Why does it feel cold? It didn't feel cold when I went to sleep...

The memories of the previous night came rushing back to Dick. His cheeks turned red and burned, so he didn't feel as cold anymore. Last night had been a fun night.

That's when he realized what was wrong. He was alone in his bed. He hadn't been alone last night.

Dammit, I thought this might happen. Shit. I really liked Devon.

Devon had been nice enough, (not too mention really hot) but he didn't seem very committed. Dick didn't want to believe it at the time, but what they had was clearly a one-night stand. They didn't even share last names, which was for the best. Most people were still familiar with Bruce Wayne's adopted son, even in Bludhaven. Dick didn't like one-night stands, despite the fact that he seemed to have a lot of them. Whenever he met a guy or girl he liked, he always intended to form a strong relationship with them.

Said relationships just happened to involve a lot of sex very early on, which gave some people the wrong idea.

Dick sighed and rose out of the bed. He picked up his boxers, which had been thrown across the room during the previous night's festivities. He put them on and stepped into the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, shaved, and combed his hair,(which had been tossed into disarray by last night's festivities.) He remembered that Devon had set his phone down in here last night. With a surge of hope he checked all of his drawers and cupboards, but did not find it.

So he really is gone. Damn. I thought he might be making breakfast or something sweet like that. How come nobody does that anymore? Is chivalry really dead?

Then again, people didn't attend gay clubs in the middle of the night, get a little drunk, and come home with a guy they had talked to for 15 minutes because they expected chivalry.

Dick decided he had to make breakfast himself, which meant cornflakes. He entered his small kitchen and grabbed a box of cereal. He poured some in a ceramic bowl and added some milk. He noticed the box was now empty. Dick was big on recycling, but his bin was all the way on the other way of the apartment, placed there for reasons no longer clear to him. He walked all the way over, shivering as his bare feet touched the linoleum floor.

"You know, you should put on more than your boxers if you're cold."

Dick turned around to see Tim Drake laying on his couch, dressed in his Robin costume.

"How long have you been here?" Dick asked cautiously.

"I came over last night. Bruce wanted me to give you some important details about the Regan case, and you left your door open."

Tim grinned. "I could tell you were... otherwise occupied, so I hung out on your couch. Must have fallen asleep. "

Dick crossed his arms across his chest, which he was painfully aware was not covered.

Tim's a bit creepy isn't he?

"So you've been here all night."

"Yep."

"In your Robin costume."

"I could use a shower."

"Lovely. This is just what I needed in the morning."

Dick sighed and sat down on the couch next to Tim. He lazily chucked the box into the recycle bin. He said, "This is going to be one of those days, isn't it?"

Tm yawned. "By the way, your friend left about twenty minutes ago. He didn't even try to wake you up. Pretty rude. He seemed to be in a hurry. Didn't even notice me."

Dick giggled. "We've got to talk about your stalking problem."

"Bruce doesn't mind."

"Bruce's recent romantic involvements include a leather-clad cat burglar and an ecoterrorist."

"Fair enough."

Dick's body jolted and he sprung up off the couch.

"Wait a minute. You don't know I like guys."

Tm sniggered. "Well, I do now. Anyway, about this case. It looks like the corkscrew wasn't the murder weapon after all..."

Dick shook his head angrily. "That's not the point." His voice cracked in a way Tim had never heard before. There was an edge of worry in his tone. He almost sounded panicked.

"I mean, I never told you I liked guys. I never told the other officers. I never told Bruce, for God's sake."

Tim looked puzzled. "Really?" His cape ruffled as he shrugged. "I assumed you had. You realize he probably knows, right? World's Greatest Detective and all."

Dicks's shoulders sagged. He shivered. "Probably. I don't know, I guess I wanted to tell you guys on my own or something. I wanted it to be special."

"Why haven't you told him by now? It's not like he'd have a problem with it."

"I guess I was uncomfortable or something. He's kind of an intimidating guy. Also, I'm pretty sure he's Catholic."

"I'm pretty sure Catholic masses don't include a rite where the parishioners beat up an escaped asylum patient and some gang members. I doubt he's very fundamental about things."

Dick smiled, which made Tim feel better. He'd seen Dick upset before, but this morning had been different. He was never this... uneasy. Tim vowed to make his older brother's mood improve. It was the least he could do, after all.

"You shouldn't have felt like you needed to hide anything. We're not that kind of family."

Dick looked down, as if there was something intensely fascinating about his carpet. There wasn't, of course.

Damn, I should be able to look him in the eye.

He turned to the teenager and took a deep breath. "That was part of the problem. I was the only one with a secret. And since I liked girls anyway, I figured it wouldn't be that hard. I didn't want to single myself out."

"So you kept it a secret from the best detective on the planet, who also happens to be your adopted father, and pick up total jerks from gay bars at night? That isn't healthy, Dick."

"I guess not," said Dick sadly. "I guess it seems pretty stupid to you."

"Not as much as you'd think."

Dick raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Tim stretched. "Well, I guess fair's fair. I found out your little secret, so I should probably tell you mine. I'm asexual."

"I'm not even sure what that means." said Dick, cocking his head.

"It means I'm not sexually attracted to anyone."

"What about Steph?"

Tim shook his head. "I can still have romantic feeling and stuff. They just don't express themselves as sexual desire."

Tim laid back into the couch cushions. "So yeah, I loved Steph. I didn't tell her, but I think she sort of knew. She never pressured me or anything, which was nice. I can only imagine what Rose Wilson must have thought when she jumped me without any clothes on."

Dick laughed and shook his head. "Well, this has been a sufficiently awkward morning. I'm glad we had this talk."

"Yeah. We should talk to Bruce, even though he probably knows."

"If so, I'm putting some pants on."