Kagome had a large grin on her face as she skipped down the sidewalk, singing as she went, "Birthday, birthday it's my birthday~!" It had been two months since she first met Robin, who has become a great friend. She had enjoyed watching him freak out when he realized that her Mommy and Papa were Harley Quinn and the Joker. She thinks he had the impression that she was the daughter of a hero, which obviously wasn't even remotely true.
Her Papa had broken out of Arkham a few days ago along with Mommy, Auntie Ivy, and Uncle Riddler. She hadn't seen any of them yet but Auntie Selina told her they were setting up her birthday location. Which was where she was headed now, and very excited to see what it looked like this year. She had woken up this morning to an empty house, except all of Auntie Selina's cats, and a card on her bedside table. The card said happy birthday and listed an address on it and a time. Next to the card had been a slice of cake, which had been the best breakfast ever. Since the card said she should show up at six o'clock she had spent the day playing with all of Auntie Selina's cats. As it got closer to the time to leave she had taken a shower and gotten dressed before heading out to meet everyone at the birthday location. It was at one of the largest warehouses by the docks this year. She wondered who was all going to show up, she had made lots of friends in the past year. She had spent a good chunk out of Gotham this year being babysat by random Aunts and Uncles, it had been a busy year for her parents this past year. She had been to Central city for a few months being babysat by the rouges. She had met most of the members of the suicide squad when she had been watched by Uncle Deadshot. She liked being watched by him, he had a daughter that was only a couple years older than her and she got to play with her when she was with Uncle Deadshot. She hoped that they would be at her party. She had also met Cheshire this year, which had honestly been a complete accident. She really liked Cheshire though and she was pretty sure Cheshire liked her. She would sometimes wake up and find random cat themed presents waiting for her, and she knew they weren't from Auntie Selina.
She was getting out of the nicer/richer area of Gotham and into the dark and dirty slums of it. She would have to pass through it to get to the docks. For any normal kid going through the slums at this time of night would practically be suicide. She wasn't a normal kid though, she was the daughter of the king and queen of Gotham. Anyone who knew better would stay far away from her, if they wanted to stay alive that is. There were only a very select amount of people she actually had to look out for. She had to watch out for Zsasz, but then everyone had to watch out for that psycho. She was pretty sure he was still in Arkham though so she didn't have to worry about him tonight. She had to keep a close eye out for Penguin and some of his higher up goons. Penguin and her Papa had had a falling out a few years ago when Papa blew up some of his weapon transport trucks. She got kidnapped by the Penguin more often than she liked. He didn't do anything to her though, he did still have a slight soft spot for her from when him and Papa had been allies. He mostly just put her into a room to bring out Papa and Mommy from hiding to rescue her. She knew he would leave her alone today though, her birthday was off limits to practically everyone if they knew what was good for them. Batman would have a nice quiet night tonight as everyone would be lying low, not wanting to get on the Joker's bad side for messing up his daughter's birthday.
She was only a few blocks away from the docks when her stomach let out a low grumble and she slowed her skipping to a stop. She was much hungrier than she realized, she had accidentally missed lunch in her anticipation for tonight. She patted the hidden pockets in her skirt for any money, idly thinking that she needed to get her Papa to make her a belt like Robin's. Oh, maybe she could get Batman to make her a belt, he seemed to make them extremely well. With a pout she realized she didn't have any money. Sure, she was only about ten minutes from the birthday warehouse and she could wait. She was hungry though and a pack of twizzlers sounded really good right now. Maybe she could steal a pack now and come back later to drop off some money. She did do that sometimes if she saw something she really liked but didn't have to money to get it at the moment. She was about to go into the convenience store to steal a pack of the delicious red sticks when movement from above her caught her attention. She looked up and saw Robin looking down at her. A large grin overtook her face as she waved at him.
"Robin come on down here for a sec." she called up to him. Maybe he would have some money she could borrow, he did have a belt to keep some in after all.
A few seconds later Robin was standing in front of her, looking a bit nervous. "What are you doing out tonight Domino?" he asked. He asked her the same thing practically every time he saw her, probably hoping to get any ideas if her family was up to something that night.
Kagome shrugged and smiled at him, "I'm on my way to my birthday party but I want to get some twizzlers. Do you have five dollars I can borrow?"
Robin looked at her in surprise. He knew it was her birthday, Batman had it logged in his computer. Today probably wasn't her actual birthday, it was simply the day that Harley and the Joker had found Kagome on the streets about to killed. Harley had stepped in to save the child and apparently that child had called her mom and she decided to keep her. No, Robin was surprised that she was going to pay for something that she wanted. He was under the impression that villains just took what they wanted and no matter how nice Kagome was she did fall under the villain category. He smirked at her, "What don't have any money on you?"
Kagome pouted, "I rarely do. It's kinda pointless to carry around when there are other things that are more important to carry with me. This outfit doesn't exactly have much pocket space, no matter how cute it is."
Robin rolled his eyes as he led Kagome into the store, "Come on then." He wasn't really worried about missing some crime tonight as Gotham seemed to be sleeping for the night. He believed it was because of the birthday girl behind him. The two found the candy isle and Kagome happily grabbed a pack of twizzlers. Robin led her to the checkout counter, they seemed to be the only other two people in the store at the moment. Kagome put the package on the counter as Robin pulled out the money from his belt. She watched him, slightly jealous of his belt. Yes, she definitely needed to invest in getting a belt from somebody.
"Evening Domino, any plans for tonight?" the worker at the counter asked.
Kagome looked up at the worker who she had ignored up to this point. While practically everyone knew her not many would actually talk to her normally like that. Her eyes widened in surprise at who she saw, "Marco! I didn't know you had a job. It's my birthday today and Papa planned a party for me."
Marco grinned down at the girl, he was one of the people that worked regularly for Harley when she needed some henchmen. Marco was her one of Kagome's favorite henchmen as he would play with her when he had some time. Marco gave a small shrug as he handed Robin back his change, who was watching the conversation with wide eyes, "Ah I've got a nephew to look after and your mom hasn't needed any extra help lately. I don't really like working for any of the others here in Gotham, except maybe Ivy if she needs some help. I found this job isn't too bad, and it's very amusing to stop people trying to rob the store. They don't expect a henchman to be working behind a counter."
"I'll have to let Mommy know to let you in on her next job. I think she's planning something within the next six months or so. Maybe you can get a bit more money then." Kagome said grabbing the package of twizzlers and hugging them to her happily, they were her favorite candy.
"Thanks kid that would be a big help. Happy birthday by the way." Marco said before sitting back down to wait for the next customer to come in.
"Bye Marco!" Kagome called out, dragging Robin out of the store by his hand. When she left the store, she didn't let go of Robin's hand, she just kept pulling him along. She had never actually gotten an answer from him or Batman if he could come to her party. So, she was answering for them; yes, he was coming to her party. She opened up the package with her one hand and her teeth before pulling one out and starting to eat it happily.
Finally, Robin spoke up, "So what was all that back there?"
"Oh, that was just Marco, he's one of Mommy's henchmen. I like him, he's nice to me. Thanks for the twizzlers I'll try and pay you back soon." It wasn't like she had a lack of money, Papa has thousands hidden away all over Gotham alone. She just wasn't sure if she would have money on her the next time she saw Robin. Like she said money wasn't really something that was important to keep on her. The things that she regularly had on her was her phone, a few SOS signals, a small vial of Joker laughing gas, and picture of her parents and herself.
Robin shook his head, "Don't worry about it, it can be part of your birthday present." Robin wasn't short on money either, which was a new experience for him. Bruce wouldn't even blink an eye at the missing two dollars from his belt. He had actually been looking for Domino tonight. He had gotten her something for her birthday and he had hoped he could give it to her on her actual birthday.
Kagome's eyes lit up as she realized his wording, "Part?"
Robin nodded his head and dug into his belt to pull out the small wrapped box he had put in there a few days earlier, "Here you go Kagome, happy birthday."
He didn't say her real name often as a professional curtesy, but sometimes things needed a bit more of a personal touch. He figured a birthday present was one of those times.
Kagome let out a shriek of happiness as she let go of Robin's hand to take the present. She handed him the package of twizzlers and he promptly took a one out and started eating it. He figured he had paid for it and he was kinda hungry. Kagome was practically jumping in place as she unwrapped the present. She hadn't expected Robin to get her anything tonight, she really hadn't seen it coming. She tore open the small box to see a necklace sitting in the bottom of the box. She pulled it out and let the box drop to the ground. It was a black velvet choker that had a flying bird charm connected to the front. Kagome froze as she looked at the necklace.
Robin suddenly became much more nervous than he had previously been. He had been a bundle of nerves to just give Kagome the necklace. He had seen it one day when Alfred had taken him out shopping and for some reason his mind jumped straight to Kagome. Alfred had gladly gotten it for him once he explained who he wanted to give it to and why. But now he was second guessing his gift choice for her. He had never seen her so still before, she was always in movement one way or another. Did she not like it? "Domino?" he asked cautiously. She then looked up at him with tears in her eyes and Robin went in full on panic mode, did he do something wrong?
She loved it, she absolutely loved it. It was the second best present she had ever gotten, second only to the shoes her Papa had made for her. She lunged forward and wrapped Robin into a tight hug. He was about a foot taller than she was but she did her best to wrap her arms around his neck. "I love it! Thank you." She grinned into his chest as she felt him hug her back. He was definitely coming to her party now, there was no way he was getting out of it. Not after giving her a present as amazing as this one. She would say that Robin was pretty much her best friend, and now she would have something of him to have with her everywhere. The flying bird reminded her of him as he flew over the rooftops of Gotham. She finally let him go and pushed the necklace into his hand, "Help me put it on." Robin fumbled with the clasp for a bit but eventually he clicked it on her neck. She turned around and Robin idly thought the necklace looked really good on her.
Kagome ran to the nearest window so she could look at her reflection. Her smile was practically splitting her face as she saw the necklace, it fit her perfectly. She would have to get new bands for it while she grew up but she decided then and there that she was never going to take it off. This necklace was proof of friendship with Robin!
Somewhere in the distance Kagome heard a clock ringing the hour and her eyes went wide. She grabbed the twizzlers from Robin with one hand and Robin's hand with the other as she took off running down the streets, "We're late, hurry up."
"Late for what?" Robin asked, allowing the younger girl pull him along.
"My party, duh."
"Wait, what?" Robin shrieked.
That night Robin got back to the manor at three in the morning, utter exhausted. Bruce was obviously worried about him, having been practically missing for the past nine hours. But he had brushed past Bruce and Alfred mumbling about Domino and birthday parties. He wouldn't admit it to Bruce but having spent the last nine hours surrounded by villains had actually been fun. When they weren't causing death and havoc for the world they were nice people. Kagome had explained it that he only interacts with them while they are at their worst, even supervillains are normal people ninety percent of the time.
The night had been a flurry of following Kagome around, presents, cake, and lots of party games. It had been kinda weird seeing a bunch of adult villains playing child party games, but it was nice at the same time. It was a good opportunity to see another side to the bad guys he usually fights. He had been worried at first when he realized that the Joker was there but the man practically ignored him. Kagome had been glued to her father's side for most of the night, when she wasn't interacting with her extended family. The night had ended with a very large and extravagant fireworks display set off by the Joker, Heatwave, and Plastique. Robin had to admit the display had been amazing to watch. As he fell asleep he wondered what Bruce had meant to watch Kagome closer, she had seemed fine to him.
