Disclaimer: Darn! I lost the contract giving me the rights to these characters.
Let Me Spell It Out For You
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"Don't even think about it, Wally," Robin mumbled from his spot relaxing on the couch.
A disappointed sigh met his ears, followed shortly by the sound of a marker being capped. "You know it's seriously freaky how you can do that," Wally said matter-of-factly.
Robin smirked and simply hummed in agreement. He refused to move or open his eyes until he was properly rested. His exhaustion this time had nothing to do with school or patrolling, surprisingly.
Babs had convinced him to help out with a charity carwash/bake-sale over the weekend. A noble cause, to be sure; and they had raised a good chunk of money for a local center that cared for victims of violent crimes. Still, it was strange he'd never realized how taxing two days of cleaning cars and assisting Alfred in making a quadruple batch of chocolate chip cookies really was.
Here he was, an accomplished acrobat who fought criminals on a nightly basis, completely wiped out from doing something considered normal.
It was kind of embarrassing.
In his defense, he didn't normally have to listen to people complain about invisible smudges on their paintjobs and too much sugar in what was actually a sugar free cookie… not that anyone could tell from the taste.
And Batman may be a hard man to please, but even he had nothing on Barbara when she was in the zone. Calling her a 'slave-driver' had been a joke starting out… but after three hours it had taken on a more literal meaning. He'd seriously begun to wonder if she would hook him up to a ball and chain or crack a whip over his head.
"You'd better be planning on eating that whipped cream, Walls," Robin interrupted his friend's second attempt at pranking.
"Dude!" Wally sounded indignant, "How do you do that?! You're, like, half-asleep and not even looking at me!"
The younger teen snorted softly, "Don't strain your brain trying to comprehend the uncomprehendable."
He could practically hear Wally's eyes roll and the vague mutter of, "What is it with you and prefixed words?" Robin smirked as the speedster collapsed noisily into one of the recliners.
"Seriously though," Wally sulked, "how do you know everything? I mean, I'm not dumb… but I certainly feel it when I'm talking to you."
Robin sighed, vaguely amused and slowly growing closer to falling asleep. "I'm just that awesome I guess."
"And so modest too," a new voice said close to his ear.
Robin actually jumped in surprise as his eyes shot open, making him roll off the couch. He had been so distracted with Wally and the need to sleep he hadn't heard anyone else.
He shot a quick scowl at Wally, who was all but rolling on the floor laughing, before turning his glare to the mystery attacker. His eyes widened behind his glasses when he saw who it was.
Leaning with his arms crossed over the back of the couch, wearing civilian clothes and a smug smirk was…
"Roy?" Robin couldn't quite mask his surprise. Wally immediately calmed down and raised a pair of questioning eyebrows.
"Sneaking up on a Bat," the archer teased, "Either I've become a master of stealth or you need to work on your observational skills, Rob."
Wally's face split into a grin and he was throwing an arm over Roy's shoulder half a second later. "Long time no see, Roy Boy," he greeted happily, "What brings you here? Mission? Meeting? You joining the team or what?"
By this time, Robin had regained his feet and was able to catch the slight downturn of Roy's lips at the last question. It was only there for a millisecond before being replaced by a, somewhat strained, grin.
"None of the above, actually," he responded, "Had a bit of free time… thought I'd drop by."
"Why?" Robin asked, keeping his expression carefully neutral, "You've never just 'dropped by' before."
Both redheads frowned at him, though Roy's eyes held a twinge of guilt. "I was… kind of busy before, I guess," he shrugged.
A pitiful excuse in Robin's opinion. He was nothing but busy quite often and he still made sure to spend time with his friends.
He crossed his arms as he fixed Roy with an unimpressed frown.
The silence was awkward for a moment before Wally cleared his throat. "So Roy," he forced a smile, eyes shifting between his friends, "How's life been treatin' ya? Catch many bad guys recently?"
Roy nodded as he stood up straighter, though he kept his arms crossed in a clear sign of discomfort. "It's been… interesting. Different, for sure. I've been kicking my fair share of butt. How… how have you guys been?"
"It's been great," Wally said overenthusiastically as he removed his arm from the older boy's shoulder, "The team's been awesome. Kal's still exceedingly proper and authoritive. Supes needs to lighten up, of course. And Artemis is a total pain as usual. But M'gann's pretty hot and she's getting better at cooking, so that's a plus. Not to mention all the sweet missions we've been on. We're, uh… still working on the whole, 'team' thing, you know?" He rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish expression.
"Yeah, I'll bet that's tricky," Roy nodded slowly. He glanced at the other young teen and cautiously inquired, "Robin?"
"It's been fine," was the short response he got.
Before it could get too awkward again, Wally clapped his hands together loudly. "Hey, I've got an idea," he addressed Roy, "If you're really free for a while why don't we go catch a movie?"
"Sounds good to me."
Wally turned to his younger friend, "What do say, Rob? I'll even pay."
Robin's frown deepened, "No thanks, Walls. I'm kind of tired; I was thinking about heading to my room for some shut-eye. You two can have fun though." He nodded at the archer, "Roy."
When he turned to leave, he came face to face with pleading green eyes and a pout that only Wally thought of as 'irresistible'. "Come on, Rob," he begged with his hands clasped under his chin, "It won't be any fun without you."
Robin turned his gaze up to the ceiling in annoyance, "Wally, you know what I get like when I'm tired. It wouldn't be fun with me."
"Please," Wally ignored his comment.
"No."
"Please."
"No."
"Pleeeeaaaase."
"No, Wally!"
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaase!"
Robin glared at him for a long moment…
Then huffed and crossed his arms. "Fine," he growled looking away, "But only because I'm too tired to argue or kick your butt."
"Or fight me if I dragged you with us regardless," the speedster pointed out with a triumphant grin.
Robin snorted, though he didn't sound overly amused, "You do know I keep knock-out gas in my utility belt?"
Wally ignored him, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the Zeta-Tubes. He snagged Roy's elbow on the way. "This is gonna be awesome, guys," he declared, looking far too happy for Robin's progressively sour mood. "I'm thinking we should see a chick flick. I'm in the mood to make fun of stupidly cliché misunderstandings."
Robin didn't even attempt to mask his groan as the computer announced their departure.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Robin wished he had never agreed to this.
At the moment he was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, Roy right beside him as Wally waited in line for their tickets and a multitude of artery clogging snacks. Robin had wanted to wait with him, so he could avoid the awkward silence he was stuck in right now, but his best friend had insisted he had it all taken care of.
Obviously Wally knew something was up besides the 'tiredness' Robin had claimed. Probably wanted them to clear the air.
Well, Robin wasn't about to start this conversation, sooo…
"Listen, Rob," Roy started hesitantly. Robin's head hit the wall with a soft thunk; apparently some mystical being out there hated him. "I get that you're upset with me," Roy continued despite the lack of any clear interest expressed on the Boy Wonder's part, "It's not like I meant to hurt you and Wally when I left, you know? I was just so… sick of being treated with the kid gloves. Like we couldn't hack it because we're young. I needed to find myself… to prove myself, I guess."
Robin shook his head in disbelief and finally turned to glare at the archer. It probably would've been more affective if he could put the full force of his gaze behind it, but secret identity and all. "You think I'm mad because you stood up for yourself and made your own way?" he demanded.
Obviously this was indeed the case, because Roy stared at him as though he were a puzzle he couldn't figure out. "You mean… you… aren't?" he questioned hesitantly.
"No! Of course not!" Robin whisper-shouted, throwing his arms up in frustration, "You want to make a name for yourself? Go ahead! You've got the skill! You've got the experience! Why would I be mad about that?"
Roy huffed, voice going gruffer in annoyance, "Then what is with the cold shoulder every time I see you? What did I do?"
Robin pushed his fingers under his shades to rub at his tired eyes. "Look, Roy," he explained more calmly, "I don't have a problem with you giving up Speedy to become… Red Arrow, or whatever. You're eighteen, you're old enough to make your own decisions and strike out on your own."
He pressed his hands against his own chest and said as earnestly as he could, "But it's not the same for us, Roy." He shrugged helplessly, "I mean, I know I've been doing this a while, and mentally I'm probably older than a lot of kids my age… But I'm thirteen, man. Wally and Kaldur are sixteen, Artemis is fifteen, M'gann- well I honestly don't know how Martians age, and Conner is technically just a few months old!" Robin shook his head, "What you don't seem to get is that we don't have the choice to run off and do our own thing. Our only choice to do anything on our own is through this team. And it's been really hard; none of us really knew how to work together with so many people when we started. We still struggle a lot, honestly. But we're making it work, because we have to… because we want to."
He sighed, slumping back against the wall again. "But it's more than just that," he admitted when Roy still hadn't said anything. "You've been gone, Roy. You don't know what we've been through, how we've had to have each other's backs. When the Reds attacked, Artemis and I were the only two left fighting. I almost died but she saved my life. She's my teammate and my friend… and you come in and treat her like some enemy agent when she's trying her hardest just to be accepted. I know more about her history than you do," Roy opened his mouth at this, but Robin cut him off, "I'm a hacker, you don't think I've read her whole file? The reason I'm upset is because you belittle our team every time we meet on the field and act like you know more about us than we do." Robin crossed his arms and turned his gaze back to where Wally was just now placing his order. He had said his piece, it was up to the other to take it or leave it.
Quiet reigned for so long that Robin nearly jumped when it was broken. "You're right, Rob," his voice actually sounded a bit clogged, "God, I've been a real jerk lately, haven't I?" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm really sorry, man," he sounded sincere and Robin softened a bit at his words, "I guess I've just been so caught up in my own drama, listening to questionable sources, trying to do everything on my own now…"
Robin huffed a breath and conceded, "Well you are a pretty big drama queen."
Roy snorted and tilted his head in agreement, "Yeah."
"I guess I can forgive you," Robin allowed with the hint of a smile, "If you apologize to the others too, especially Artemis. And if you stop acting like we need the kid gloves."
"Deal," Roy agreed instantly, face softer than it had been in a while. He'd only been hurting himself, cutting everyone off like that.
"Okay, so do you guys want to be surprised by the snacks I hand you during the movie, or do you want the full list? Because if so we'll be out here for pretty much all of the trailers." Wally joined them, loaded down with a mountain of junk food that Bats would kill Robin for partaking of if he knew. It was entirely impressive that the freckle-faced teen hadn't spilled anything, but he did have a lot of practice.
"I'll just take the Reese's Pieces you have squirreled away in you back pocket," Robin replied in an off-handed way.
Wally squawked indignantly, "Seriously, how do you do that?"
A mysterious smirk was his only response.
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