"Ughh." The groan was followed by a distinct thump - the sound of Robin throwing his head down on his keyboard in defeat.
Artemis glanced up from her physics textbook to check in with the boy wonder. "You good?"
"No."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Eh…" he noncommittally responded, shoulders shrugging.
"Such a way with words, boy wonder…" Artemis joked. Robin did not respond. With a sigh, Artemis closed her textbook, pushing it off to the side. "Alright, spill. What's going on?" When he didn't answer, she began to guess. "One of the villains in Gotham give you a hard time? Girl problems? Something at school?" Robin peeked up at her. "So school then."
With a sigh, Robin slowly sat back up in his chair. He abandoned his sunglasses on the table to massage the bridge of his nose, fighting back a headache. He turned to Artemis, his normally bright blue eyes looking dull and defeated. "I can't do this, Arty."
"Do what?" she gently prodded. "Assignment being a pain?" she asked, nodding at his laptop. "If you need help studying or something-"
"It's not a homework thing, but thanks." Artemis stayed quiet, hoping he would elaborate. Sure enough, "... I'm having some trouble with my college applications."
Ah. Yes. Artemis had been in the same boat two years prior, and fondly looked back on the entire college selection process as a complete pain in the ass. "Mmm. Yeah, college apps suck. But hey, you got this! Let's just fire this thing up," she began, knocking on his laptop, "and power through! We'll pull up all the schools you're applying to, knock out the hardest one, and-"
"But that's just the thing," Robin interrupted. "I'm not even there yet. I don't even know where I wanna apply to, or what to study, or if I want to-" he cut himself off. "Bruce has... suggestions. Expectations," he corrected. "And I wanna live up to those expectations. I have to, after all he's done for me. It's just… I don't know. The two of us just have very different visions of my future."
"Well does he know that?" Artemis asked, pragmatically. "Like have the two of you ever actually sat down and discussed what your plans are, and how they match up?"
Robin ran his hand through his hair. "Tried once. Didn't go well. He just… he doesn't want to hear it. I mean he means well, I get it. But… I know he expects that I'll take over Wayne Enterprise some day. He's been grooming me for the position since I was like twelve. And that position goes along with an Ivy League education - preferably one he and all the Gotham elite approve of - a masters degree in business management or finance, straight A's through graduation, then off to spend every day in board meetings proving that I'm capable and deserving of a job that I never asked for, brown nosing up to the snobs who're nice to my face but calling me a charity case the second I turn my back, and then, for the grand finale, when he's really retired for good, there's the batsuit."
Robin's voice had been growing progressively louder and angrier through the course of his rant. But now, he slumped down in exhaustion, looking as small as he did when Artemis first met him. Quietly, he admitted, "I don't want to become him. I can't. I can't do it."
Face softening, Artemis grabbed the boy wonder's arm, pulling him up and into a hug. She felt his body tense up, then gradually relax, as he sunk into the embrace, resting his head on her shoulder. Robin softly spoke into Artemis' ear, "Art? Can I tell you a secret?"
"Of course," she mumbled into his shoulder.
A pause, and then: "I don't want to go to college."
Artemis pulled back from the hug, sitting down on the couch. She motioned for Robin to join her. He complied, all the while searching her face for any signs of judgement. To his relief, he found none. Artemis wrapped an arm around him, offering what support she could. He rested his head on her shoulder.
The pair sat in a companionable silence, each lost in thought. After some time, Artemis broke the silence.
"You know, Dick, he'll be proud of you no matter what you decide to do." He wasn't sure if he believed her, but he took solace in her words nonetheless, snuggling deeper into her shoulder.
"He wants to know what my plans are. At dinner, tonight."
"Well, if not college, what's the game plan?"
Robin took a deep breath, preparing to voice his plan for the first time. "After graduation, I want to-" he started over, strengthening his voice. "I am going to move out. I'm gonna link back up with Haly's Circus for a bit - join them on the national tour. And when they start prepping to leave the States again, I'm gonna hop off tour, and- and enroll in the Bludhaven Police Academy."
He turned to Artemis, looking for any sort of reaction. "So… What do you think? Be totally honest, if you think it's impractical, or stupid, or-"
"-I think… I can't wait to see you on tour." Artemis couldn't help but smile as she watched Robin's eyes light up at her response. He grinned, relief rolling off of him in waves. Knowing that at least one person had his back on this… it helped. It helped a lot.
Robin was broken out of his stupor by the ringing of his phone alarm - the one signifying it was time to meet up with Bruce. He packed up his bag, slinging it over a shoulder, then grabbed his glasses from the table. He fiddled with them in his hands rather than putting them on.
"Well Arty, it was nice knowing ya. If I don't come back tomorrow, assume the Bat broke his no-kill policy, or has me tied up to a desk somewhere, watching TED talks on the importance of a college education on a loop."
Artemis shot him a reassuring smile, reaching for her forgotten physics homework. "You got this, Grayson. Now go. Tell him what's up!"
Robin laughed, waving back at Artemis as he headed towards the Zeta tubes. He knew that Bruce was not going to be as easily accepting of his plans as Artemis was. Tonight would not be the end of the college discussions in Wayne Manor. Not by a longshot. But at least now there would be a discussion.
He turned back to Artemis, and in that moment, the Zeta beam sweeping over him, teleporting him back to Gotham, he knew that everything would be okay.