Conflicts of interest and the strain of two identies really stink, don't they Mr. Grayson?
Shoot Straight for the Heart
Dick
Mondays. Everyone hates Mondays. Especially this Monday. Dick had been praying that somehow he'd wake up and it'd be magically Tuesday (the thought of Wally's face, in response to magic, helped soothe his unease) or, maybe he'd get swine flu. Or something. Because Dick Grayson-Wayne did not want to go to school. His rational thought told him it would be a very bad idea to check into Gotham Academy today. But Alfred was not about to let him play hooky (again).
Adjusting his necktie, Dick stepped out of the limousine into the brisk morning air, staring up at the stately front of Gotham City Academy. The repairs caused by Superboy and the Amazo had been repaired, the cost cut down to nothing due to generous donations of the wealthy parents and alumni.
It was exactly twenty-three minutes before the first bell. Not only had Alfred denied him his right to skip school, the butler-turned-chauffeur had dropped him off a near half an hour early. All his homework had been long since finished, so there was the idle question of what he supposed to do this unexpected excess of time. Thirty minutes was not enough time to pull off an elaborate prank. And after the stink bomb had shut down the west wing (it was only coincidence that Babs' history class was in the same building), Bruce had assured him there would be hell to pay if he tried to revive his unofficial war on Barbara.
Thinking about the Comissioner's daughter was never a good start to his day. Shifting his backpack on his shoulders, Dick muttered, "Fantastic. Truly turbing."
A light tap on his shoulder made him turn. Alternatively, his heart skipped a beat and his stomach clenched with dread. And, of course, he told himself the dread was borne of Batman's disapproving stare; no one should be able to sneak up on Robin.
"Hey Grayson, you're here early," a deliciously raspy voice said in his ear. Supressing a shudder, Dick turned, simultaneously taking a step backward, away from the girl accosting him. He admitted to himself she had all the grace of a tiger, catching him off guard. Next time, he might even let her see him shiver.
Bemusedly, almost resignedly, Dick mused to himself at the sight of the blonde archer in disguise. Bruce had good intentions at heart when he awarded Artemis Crock a full Wayne Scholarship to Gotham City Academy, but boy, those good intentions caused his ward a lot of grief. Not at first. Not back when he was a brainac freshman and she was a haughty sophomore. There was no attraction back then (well, except a little. Dick had been thirteen but he hadn't been blind), only the desire to pester Artemis and faintly allude that Dick Grayson knew a little more than was strictly plausible. But now, they were approaching the end of their junior and senior years. He'd finally shot upward and filled out and she... she'd got, well, prettier.
He felt guilty thinking "Artemis" and "pretty" together. Sure, it was true... But, Wally, his best bro had enlisted him to help him figure out the mystery that was Artemis. And it had never been Dick or Robin's intention to do anything besides use that as an excuse to troll the both of them.
Uncovering Arty's secrets was unnecessary at that point; Robin had known about Artemis' secret identity, her family history, and her tangled past mere days after her admission to the Team. Not because Batman told him, mind you. The only time the Dark Knight had discussed Artemis with Robin was when he said, "Keep an eye on her" on the first day of school.
Robin had had to find out the rest the "hard" way: hacking his way through the BatComputer. But maybe Robon hadn't covered his tracks as neatly as he intended or maybe Batman was just defending his title as the World's Greatest Detective. The day afer Robin had immersed himself in Artemis' personal files, he found Batman typing long, intermingling codes into the supercomputer, strengthening firewalls and laying hidden safeguards. However the real giveaway that Robin's hacking hadn't gone unnoticed was the slight upward curl of his mentor's lips.
Since then, Robin acquiesced to his mentors request to watch out for Artemis, while keeping the archer's past confidential. Even from KF.
That wasn't the only reason Robin felt an uncomfortable twist in his gut thinking about his Afriend. Privately, he knew Wally liked Artemis. And not in the hopeful, puppy-dog adoration way Wally tailed after M'gann either. And, maybe, for a brief window of time, Artemis had felt the same.
While the two had been tentatively trading spite for traught, Robin was carrying out his promise to Wally, and "researching" Artemis, both as Robin and as Dick Grayson. And it had been simple keeping his identities separate entities. Robin was light-hearted and purposefully sarcastic, becoming her Afriend their common lack of meta abilities and the tidbits of their tragic pasts they fed each other. Dick was played more aloof- borderline condescending- and politely disdainful, but always with an undercurrent of playfulness in his tone as he called her "Crock".
Yet somehow, through his careful planning, his two personas started merging.
Not because Dick had slipped and called Crock "Afriend" and not because Robin had politely asked Artemis if she understood the day's curriculum.
It was because both Dick and Robin were falling for her snarky mouth and her sharp eyes. And the way she walked determinedly down the hallways of Gotham Academy, and the way she had covered up how shaken she was as she picked glass from his arm, and the way her eyebrows flicked up when Dick explained he'd gotten his arm caught in Bruce's Lamborghini.
There were so many traits and quirks about her that Robin had observed.
A-and he didn't think he could chose a favorite.
But, the way she was eyeing him right now, with a smirk in place and gleam in her eye, was definitely up there.
...how had this gone from a simple recon mission to this... thing, was beyond him.
"Well, Crock, I was on my way to English. Despite my arguments otherwise, Ms. Dodsworth still refuses to recognize "bominable" as a legitimate word," Dick said lightly, facing the blonde girl with a completely serious expression.
That threw her a little, and her eyebrows pushed together in confusion. Maybe it was deja vu. Because Robin had called her bominable (the opposite of abominable) a few weeks prior. Dick hid a smile.
"But, now that I'm here, you'll be talking to me instead," Artemis supplied forcefully, recovering her composure quickly. She leaned to one side, a manicured hand resting on her the cinched waistband of her pleated skirt. It was a Gotham Academy regulation for all female students to wear a skirt. Artemis expressed her severe distaste for this particular rule several times. Dick, on the other hand, was just fine with it. Not that he said so aloud of course.
He nodded mutely. His English grade was still in the ninty-eighth percentile; that chat with Ms. Dodsworth could wait.
Artemis grinned triumphantly, patting his cheek as a reward. When he jerked away, he was forcing down butterflies in his stomach. Usually this species of butterfly was indigenous to instances where he was in costume (flinging himself off rooftops, gracefully cutting down ranks of henchmen, that sort of thing), but lately, they started making an appearance whenever she touched him, even when the contact was nothing but casual.
But he shouldn't be feeling this way. She was off-limits.
Despite what she had said. Well, despite what Wally had told him she said.
A year ago, Wally and Artemis just might've had a chance to have a budding relationship. The two where having friendly conversations that didn't degenerate into a fist shaped bruise on Wally's arm. In fact, the two were generating quite a bit of chemistry, if Robin knew anything about relationships.
He had slapped Wally on the back and told the speedster Wow Wally, I had lost hope for you, but man, Wally, look, she's not filed for a restraining order yet.
Wally had snorted indignantly then countered with a question about Batgirl.
That was a no-no and Robin had only given Wally a blank look.
Wally had hastily went on to offhandedly say that Dick Grayson had made an appearance in the latest conversation.
Oh? Robin had said, waiting for his bro to explain himself.
And Wally had continued on, saying that Aretmis had only brought him up, not one time, but two times in the past week, but it was no big deal. Hey, Wally had said with a conspiratorial wink, Dick might even be able to help me figure out old Artefact.
Yeah, Robin had agreed with a grin, I think Dick would be happy to help.
Dick gently peeled his thoughts from the past, finding himself being tugged along by his sleeve to a polished wooden benches, keeping a few paces of space between him and Artemis. He kept his eyes on her ponytail, fearing retribution if they strayed lower. Artemis pulled him down to sit with her, crossing her legs and giving him a faintly evil smile. Dick leaned slightly away from the beautiful girl, expression politely disengaging, like Bruce had taught him.
"So, Grayson," Artemis said.
He arched a brow, unintentionally flashing his very blue eyes at her. She paused, her expression shifting slightly, and his trained ear caught her breath hitching slightly.
And suddenly, he knew. He knew what was coming. And he for all his training, he had no frickin' idea how to handle it.
His thoughts began crashing into each other, like some bad freight train accident.
Oh man, Wally was not going to be okay with this. Wally had already given him the hurt-kicked-puppy look when Artemis' shift in conversation topic had frequented Dick Grayson. Robin had heard the edge in the speedster's voice as Wally described the look Artemis got whenever Grayson came up, and, oh no, crap, was this the look Wally was talking about? No wonder Wally was spitting out 'Grayson' like an overwhelmingly sour slice of lemon. Robin remembered trying to explain that he was only talking to Artemis because Wally had asked him to. He hadn't meant Artemis to talk about Dick Grayson with a look. The redhead hadn't been impressed. Wally had muttered something and left for the kitchen.
And the speedster's grumble made sense to him now.
Have fun at Prom.
The implications hit him in the face like a sledgehammer, and he had to fight against the impulse to widen his eyes and gasp dramatically. With Artemis sitting right there, obviously toying with her words, Robin had to make a calculated preemptive strike. Buy himself some time. Before the blonde could gather herself to pose the question that proportionally would bring the apocalypse to Robin's precarious balancing act, he was eking out an excuse and executing what hopefully looked like an unhurried escape.
He cursed silently. As he chanced a glance backward, he saw Artemis' pressing her lips together, the hard line of her jaw offsetting the fragile-looking glimmer in her eye.
Honor the code. "Bros before hoes"...right?
Oh poor Grayson. I kinda enjoy watching you squirm though. So, yay me! : D
I had to edit this chapter to fix some aging/school issues. Dick Grayson is definitely a junior when Artemis is a senior, not a sophomore. My baaaad.
And, for some reason, I can't make Robin swear. I have no problem with making Artemis swear. Or Wally, even. But I can't write little ickle Robbiepoo swearing. He gets it from me, I guess. XD And I couldn't think of a better way to phrase that "bros before hoes" code. I think there was one without the hoes bit, but Urban Dictionary ain' cooperating.
Reviews make me happy and joyful and Red Bull is good for your soul. I highly recommend it, especially near midnight. Even on school nights. : P
