Disclaimer: So, nope, I don't own the characters in this story. They are immortal, transcendent and totally awesome as well as not being mine. All hail the Young Justice writers and creators who incarnated this particular Robin. Well done, my friends.
AN: Um...this is my first Young Justice story. I hope that you guys don't mind me playing in your sandbox! The fact is that I am a long-time Dick Grayson fan but missed seeing Young Justice until it appeared on Netflix. I watched it and loved it and began haunting Black Friar's fanfic page as well as other YJ writers to get more of these characters. I studied and read and wondered and supposed. Plot bunnies were born but for some reason, it took years for them to grow up and be REAL story bunnies. At last, here we are! I really hope you enjoy it.
"Mr. Roberts, what has your attention so fixed on the window outside?" The Japanese teacher, Mr. Hamasaki, barked out his question from the front of the classroom.
Dick, who, unlike his fellow students, had been following the lecture on Japanese culture with keen interest, swiveled his head to look at Devon Roberts. Devon was turning red as the entire class focused on him, an unfortunate side effect of being an Irish redhead.
"S-s-sorry Mr.-Mr. Hamasaki, but there's a stretch Hummer that just pulled up outside. It's got, like gold-plated everything!" A whisper of excitement went through the class. "It's got to be somebody famous, right?"
"A logical assumption, but one that will not help you on tomorrow's test. Perhaps you can help us conjugate the next verb on the list, Mr. Roberts. Bōdo ni shite kudasai made arukimasu."
Devon pushed himself out of his desk, unwillingly, and walked up to the board, still blushing. A few students giggled, but most were trying to catch glimpses out the window without being caught. Dick was only one row away, since Bruce insisted he sit close to the windows, just in case. He'd foiled at least one kidnapping attempt by going out the window and shinnying down one of the drainpipes. On days when school bored him, he often wished he could do it again.
But not today. Dick took a quick glance outside and saw that the stretch Hummer was indeed tricked out, just like Devon had said. Dick frowned. Gotham Academy was a premier college prep school. It wasn't that a limo pulling up to the school was such a startling sight, but that particular one and in the middle of the day...
Ostentation was frowned upon by the Gotham elite, and no family that Dick knew would drive something like that to school. Maybe it was a relative of one of the students. Dick's mind buzzed over the possibilities like one of Bruce's training questions, considering each student in the school in alphabetical order and listing their known relatives. It wasn't hard to listen to the lecture as well. Good practice at multi-tasking.
He remained happily engaged in the mystery until an announcement over the intercom turned this personal.
"Mr. Hamasaki, could you please send Richard Grayson to the office as soon as possible."
Mr. Hamasaki frowned in Dick's direction. "Go now."
"Yes, sir," Dick jumped out of his seat and headed for the door, head down, mind spinning. Whispers around the room grew until finally Dick caught a name.
"I saw her," a girl near the back of the room hissed, her voice rising hysterically. "It's Lisi Ericksson!"
Dick froze, then pushed through the door, his mind stuck in one place. Lisi Ericksson? Quickly, he cycled through everything he knew about the girl: movie actress, star of the current fad trilogy called Synapses. She was of Swedish descent, born in Ohio, but had moved to L.A. to pursue acting. And...now he was wondering why so much info about her had stuck in his mind. How did he even know all of that? It's not like he was a huge fan. But then again, Wally had drooled over her movies in the past and especially that bikini scene in a silly beach musical.
In fact, if she was here, Wally was going to kill him for not letting him know. But here? Why Gotham Academy, and why would Dick be called to the office to deal with it? Any reason he came up with was immediately dismissed as being ludicrous.
Better not try to figure this one out, he reasoned. He wasn't much of a celebrity hound, being the recipient of far too much of celebrity focus and hounding himself. He tended to try to respect people's privacy...well, unless they were a criminal of some kind. And then he tended to hack them and troll them mercilessly.
Dick smirked at the memory of the last corrupt banker he'd trolled, charging 400 pizzas to his business account and sending them to a homeless food bank one cold winter evening. If only Dick could have been there to see them scarf the pizzas.
But as he arrived at the front atrium of the school building, he slowed. Principal Stephens was there, along with several secretaries, several security guards and a large man that had to be a bodyguard. Dick read his body language and found the line of a gun inside his jacket when he moved. Armed and dangerous, then. The man was frowning at Dick, completely ignoring Principal Stephens.
The man in charge of Gotham Academy, who regularly dealt with Bruce Wayne as well as other high-profile Gothamites, was looking uncharacteristically nervous. "I'm sure everything will be fine," Principal Stephens said in a light tone, "as long as Mr. Wayne gets back to us very soon."
As soon as he caught sight of Dick, his expression brightened. "Ah, here you are, Richard! There is someone here to see you."
Dick came to a stop in front of the two men, still trying to read the situation. The two security guards he knew seemed to be at ease. But Dick kept his stance light, ready to jump away if the bodyguard proved to be dangerous. "Principal Stephens, who wanted to see me?" he asked.
"A young lady named-"
The bodyguard interrupted, "Lisi Eriksson is outside and wants to have a little chat with you."
Dick's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Why would she want to talk to me?"
The guard crossed his arms. "She'll tell you as soon as you come outside."
The principal gave a light laugh, "Which is the problem. Mr. Wayne has very strict rules regarding Richard's safety and he would never agree-"
One security guard stepped up. "There's three of us, as soon as Murphy gets here. We'll accompany him outside, sir."
Dick gave a little sigh. Overprotective!Bats strikes again. But really, this bodyguard could be dangerous. It would be stupid to go outdoors with an armed guard while Dick couldn't act as Robin. Dumb, even. But if Lisi was outside...
"Come out, come out, Dick Grayson!" came a sweet voice from outside, projected by some sort of microphone loud enough to hear through the front doors, in fact, probably loud enough to be heard by the entire school.
The bodyguard uncrossed his arms. "There are cameras outside the gates of the school from Entertainment Tonight. Do you really think we're going to do anything beside talk to Dick?"
"Entertainment Tonight? We have strict rules regarding publicity-" the Principal began.
"They're off-property," the guard insisted. "Now, Mr. Grayson, if you'll follow me."
Dick looked at the Principal, considered his options, and followed the guard.
"Richard?" the Principal said shrilly, "if you'll wait until Murphy arrives..."
Dick looked back and made eye contact with man. "Two guards will be enough, right guys?" He gestured to them to accompany him. "It'll be fine. I'll explain it to Bruce." As he turned back, the bodyguard gave him a wry smile, and Dick relaxed. This man was sending off solid, trustworthy vibes.
The two guards took up positions on either side of him and Dick tried not to sigh too loudly.
Outside, there was the tacky, white stretch Hummer with gold accents. Bruce would have said something scathing if he had seen it. But Dick's attention was completely taken by the short, slight girl in front of it, dressed impeccably in an ivory sweater dress and high-heeled ivory boots.
"Hi," she called out, waving to the students peeking out of the school windows. Her eyes lit up when she caught sight of Dick exiting the building and put down the microphone.
"Dick!" She waved to him with a sweet smile.
The cheers of the kids surprised him as he stepped out from under the portico. He looked over his shoulder to see kids hanging out of the windows and yelling down to him, some of them with their phones out, taking video and pictures.
There was going to be ample evidence of this conversation. Bruce was going to kill him. But what else was he supposed to do? Hide in the bathroom?
Lisi gave him a dimpled smile as he approached. "Hi, Dick! Sorry for the uproar, but, well...I'm pretty sure that you would refuse to see me if I didn't make this much of a big deal out of it."
Silently agreeing, Dick stopped a few feet away from her, trying to ignore the whole world watching, wondering if anyone could hear the conversation, figuring they probably could. Damn.
"Um...why would you want to see me, anyway?"
"Well, you are Dick Grayson, after all. Bruce Wayne is your dad."
"Guardian," he corrected without thought.
"Oh, sorry-guardian. So you've been almost everywhere and done everything."
"And you haven't?" Dick deflected, patently aware that she was more right than she realized. She didn't know about his nighttime job.
"Okay, yes...maybe more than the average girl. And, unlike some celebrities, I don't avoid public appearances."
Dick flushed, embarrassed that someone had noticed how much he'd been out of the limelight over the last year, ever since the Team had begun. He wanted to defend himself, but found no reply that would help. Truth was, he wasn't really comfortable with his celebrity life; he hated having a Dick Grayson fan club, since those people could only be a fan because of his looks or the famed Wayne inheritance. Whatever. The Robin fan club made much more sense to him.
"You have a perfect right to your privacy and I totally get why you hate celebrity life. Believe me. I give you full permission to crawl back into your cave after this...but Dick I need your help!" Again, Dick blinked at her choice of words. If she only knew...
"Can you help me with something?" she went on, taking a step closer.
"Uh...that depends on what it is." His cell phone rang. He pulled it out automatically and saw Wally's number on it. "Sorry." He Ignored it. "What do you need help with?" Her dark brown eyes were pleading with him. "I need someone to take me somewhere, someone who can handle pressure situations, someone who is gentlemanly and well, being completely, drop-dead gorgeous is a plus."
Dick's eyes opened in shock. "Wha-you mean, me?" His voice didn't exactly squeak, but it didn't sound very manly either. And his cheeks may have gotten a little pink. Damn. Who teaches girls to do this? She was totally in control of this conversation, and-
His phone rang again. He pressed Ignore.
"Yes, you," she said with a light giggle. "Do you have any idea how intimidating it is to go to an awards show? How awful it is to be there alone with all those cameras on you? But I have to go. So. I want you to go with me and share the-maybe you should answer that?"
Dick sighed and nodded as his phone rang again, "It must be important. This'll just take a second." He turned slightly away and hissed, "Walls, what is it?"
"DUDE! Youarestandingthisclose to Lisi! WhatisshedoinginGotham?"
"Wait-how do you know-"
"T.V.! Dudetherearecameracrewsrightoutsidethegatesofyourschoolandyou're
ontelevisionrightnow!"
Dick glanced back past the Hummer and sure enough, there were camera crews filming him right now.
"Kiss her!" several voices from classrooms above called down.
Dick felt his face flushing.
"Dude!" Wally said louder, "I said why is she there?"
Dick turned away from Lisi again, unable to meet her eyes again. "She wants me to go to this awards show with her, but-"
Wally hollered loudly in Dick's ear. "OHMYGOD! That isthemostawesomethingI'veever heard!"
"But-"
"Wait-you aresaying yes, right?"
"I don't think Bruce-"
"Bruce? Don't worry abouthimrightnow. Ifyousaynotoher, I'll never speaktoyouagain! Ever!"
"What?"
"If my friendship means anythingtoyou, youhavetosayyes!"
"Wally,that's-"
"I mean it! I am speaking for every dude in America rightnow. We are all you and we all want you to say yes! Do it for all of us who never have a chance to even look at her in person, much less hold her handorkissher!"
"I'm not kissing her-" Dick whispered.
"Don't make promises you can't keep! Now turn around and say 'yes!'"
Dick groaned and turned off his phone. When he turned back around, Lisi was waving at the students above and the cacophony had risen to the level of a din.
"Sorry about that," he said in a low voice. "I really would like to say yes, but I'm not sure Bruce would feel safe with me at an awards show. There have been...problems in the past."
"Oh, I know and I know that's one reason you aren't out in public as much. It's a good reason! But you've already met Gunther, who is my bodyguard and head of my security. Trust me, he'll convince your dad-I mean, guardian- that you'll be safe."
Dick raised his eyebrows and looked at the man anew. After a moment of speculation, he asked, "Special Forces?"
"Navy SEAL. Honorable discharge eight years ago, after a bullet caught me in the knee. Reconstructive surgery made it almost as good as new. It's the almost that keeps me a bodyguard and not a SEAL. You'll be safe. I'll make sure of it."
Dick hesitated. Something in him responded to the man's earnest statement and to Wally's threat...and maybe something else responded to the plea in Lisi's brown eyes.
"Please, Dick?" Lisi asked, and the answer seemed simple.
"Sure. I'll go."
She shrieked and jumped forward to grab Dick in a hug, which resulted a loud roar of approval from their audience, especially when that hug culminated in a short kiss to Dick's cheek. Dick's arms automatically rose in surprise, but he stopped himself from touching her, not sure of what to do. When she pulled away, his cheeks felt like they were flaming.
Lisi was smiling wide, her eyes sparkling. "I have so many ideas of what we can do!"
"Uh...aren't we just going to the awards show? Is there more?" he asked nervously. "Oh, and which awards show is it?" Dick suddenly realized that he should have asked for more details. Bruce was going to have his head for this!
"Oh! Silly me, it's the High Five Awards. And yes, we're just attending but I'm giving out an award and I would really, really love it if you walked up there with me. But we'll talk more about it later. It's not until January!" By this point, she was already at her Hummer door, gesturing for her chauffeur to let her inside. "Bye Dick! Thanks again! I'll call you."
Her bodyguard, an amused smile on his lips, gave Dick a nod and then climbed in after her.
As they drove away, causing a flurry of motion at the school's gates, Dick turned around to face the school. Hundreds of students were hanging out of the windows, cheering for him.
Despite himself, he gave them a wave and a smile back. It wasn't the worst thing in the world, getting kissed by a gorgeous girl.
His phone rang again, and he sent Wally off into a torrent of words when he confessed that he'd agreed to accompany Lisi on a date to a televised awards show. The more Wally talked about it, the worse Dick felt. He really hadn't thought this through.
There was probably going to be a very uncomfortable dinner where he had to make small talk with a movie star; there were going to be cameras and screaming fans; there was going to be pressure to kiss a girl who would then be asked about their relationship in every interview she did for a very long time. Dick hung up feeling queasy.
And then, the number one question on his mind: what on earth was Bruce going to say?
"No. Absolutely not. There is no way to guarantee your safety in a building that large and full of...teenagers. No."
That's what Bruce said, and for some reason, Dick had felt relief at Bruce's words initially. He was off the hook. No cameras, no kiss, no potential for failure that would live on in infamy forever. But.
He hadn't counted on the persistence of Lisi Ericksson, or the brilliance of her bodyguard. Gunther. They double-teamed Bruce, bombarding him with pleas (Lisi) and plans (Gunther) that were so winning and air-tight that Bruce found himself amusedly agreeing that it was an airtight security plan. Of course he would make his own security plan and check out Gunter's staff obsessively. Dick kept expecting for Bruce to call it off when he found the plan faulty. To Dick's surprise, nothing of the sort happened. Which meant that it was up to Dick to come up with a last second foolproof reason to bow out, and that's where Lisi's brown eyes really came into play.
An hour later, Dick became Robin and floated into Mount Justice in a haze. As soon as Wally could get him alone, he peppered Robin with questions about Lisi.
"Yes," Robin finally answered, disbelief still coloring his voice, "Bruce said yes and then what could i do? I was going to say no, I really was! But I said yes."
Wally's subsequent celebration was so loud that Conner was there in a heartbeat and the two had to come up with a quick lie. "New PS4 game coming out. Rob can get me an advance copy."
Conner studied them a moment. "There's no point in lying," he growled as he turned away. "You're too loud to keep secrets from me."
Robin turned to Wally, the whites of his mask wide in panic. "Dude, help me. My first date is going to be on television. Live!"
"No way. This is your first date?" Wally abruptly sat in the desk chair, huffing out a frustrated breath. "Why do you always get the cool stuff? Your first date is with Lisi Eriksson and is nationally televised! How is that even fair?"
"Wally-focus! Live television, dude. LIVE. As in, I can make a fool of myself in front of the entire world and it will be on YouTube forever!"
Wally shrugged it off. "I guess, but I bet all anyone will remember is how adorable you look in a tux."
"Oh, shut up! And I'm not wearing a tux. It's not the Oscars."
"Doesn't matter. All your fans will take pictures and put them up on their walls. 'He's so cute and adorable and I just want to kiss his -'"
At that point, Robin tackled him off the chair and slapped a hand over his mouth. Kid Flash half-heartedly fought back, but he was laughing too hard.
"KF, I swear...this is all your fault and if this goes wrong I will kill you!"
At the emergence of Robin's mini-Batglare, the redhead finally stopped laughing and shook his head under Robin's hand. Robin jumped off him.
Wally watched him pace across the room. "It's going to be fine, Rob. Geez. Who cares if the whole world is watching? You'll be on a date with Lisi Eriksson...and it will be awesome. Something you can brag about forever, even though you won't. I swear the good stuff is wasted on you."
Rob frowned. Since when was Wally the one telling him to calm down? For the first time, he wondered why he was so jittery about this. On the outside, it did seem like a win/win situation: beautiful girl, fun night, lots of excitement. Sure, there would be lots of cameras, but It wasn't the promised media attention that was bothering him-not really. There was something else...something he couldn't put his finger on. For some reason, he had a seriously bad feeling about that night.
A/N: Just did some editing. Nothing important!