"That's the foot peg…that's the shifter," I lectured, pointing to the parts of the motorcycle.

Peter nodded along as I went down the list of parts. Then I glanced up at him with a bit of a smile.

"Never get those two confused, ok?" I giggled.

I had done that once or twice when I first learned to ride. It was an unpleasant surprise to put your foot on the thing that shifts gear and to immediately start riding backwards.

Moving on to the head of the bike, I said, "That's the left handle; it has your hazard light and turn signal controls. That's the right handle—the fun one. It's also known as the throttle and it makes you go faster."

When I first learned to ride, it was in broad daylight with a friend of my brother who happened to be very experienced rider. I, on the other hand, was mediocre at best and chose to give Peter a lesson in an empty parking lot at sundown. Ever since Thomas mentioned that he had seen me with Peter, I didn't want to risk hanging out in public during the daytime.

"Which button lets me pop a wheelie?" he asked with a bored expression.

I knew he wanted to hop on and get going right away, but powers or no powers, I didn't want him wrecking our new bike.

"Okay, not even I know how to do that," I rolled my eyes, "Now pay attention. The right handle also has the front breaks. Now the back breaks are also on the right side, but are…"

My words eventually faded away to Peter, focusing more on myself rather than my voice. He watched as I pointed to different switches and levers, explaining them through thin lips. I was definitely no beauty queen like the magazine covers, but Peter always figured having someone like that would be too good to be true. He liked the more realistic, down to earth girls…like me. For the past few days, I had been on his mind a scary amount of times.

He wasn't entirely unaccustomed to crushes, but he was used to them ending very quickly; either because the girl was too good for an adult living in his mom's basement or because she was grossed out by the thought of dating a mutant. But despite the prospect of liking me, he still had a few things holding him back from admitting it. He was part of the X-Men now, and his life had a lot more weight to it than it did before. Had he met me before going to Xavier's, maybe he would have gone for me…but now. By dating a human, who knows what kind of danger he could put me in? He didn't want to deprive me of a normal life. Not to mention the age gap.

He had even considered his mother's words from before, that maybe he should go back to the mansion. But of course, I didn't know anything about the stuff that had just ran through his head. I was still going over the controls of the motorcycle, blissfully unaware.

"…And lastly, never try to floor it while the kickstand is down," I concluded the lesson, "I once saw a guy wipe out like that. The bike went flying out from under him!"

I laughed at the memory, but was a little off put when Peter didn't laugh as well. He was delayed about two seconds before he realized I had said something funny. It wasn't like him to be behind.

"Peter, are you ok?" I asked.

"What?" he looked up, "Yeah, I'm just…bored by all this explaining. When can I get on and ride?"

I backed away from the bike and gestured to it, "It's all yours. I mean, if you're done with my 'boring' explanation."

A sly grin spread across his face as Peter straddled the bike, revving the motor with the throttle. I rolled my eyes; he thought he was a pro. Well ok, he wasn't awful at riding. I'd like to think it was beginner's luck, but he did fairly well for his first time. Watching him ride around the lot, I couldn't help but feel envious. My first time had been far slower and far wobblier than his. When there was nothing left to critique him on, I got bored and resorted to sitting on the curb and listening to my Walkman. That's when Peter rolled up next to me and tapped me on the shoulder. I took off my headphones and looked up, seeing him holding out a hand for me.

"Ready to head out?" he asked.

The chucklefuck sure looked pretty smug on the bike. He had his biker goggles down, and if he had been some random stranger who rode up to me on the side of the street, I would have accepted his offer either way.

"Sure, where to?" I asked, taking his hand and sitting on the motorcycle just behind him.

"I got somewhere I wanna take you," he said casually.

"Ok," I shrugged, "But we gotta hide the bike first."

We drove a few blocks before reaching the less populated areas of town where the bike's hiding spot was.

"Hey, can you cover the motorcycle and hide it?" I asked, starting to head off, "I'm gonna stop over there and get some drinks. Want anything?"

"Just an energy drink," he shrugged, "Like a Monster or something."

I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything. Why that boy would need any more energy was beyond me. I left Peter to tarp the motorcycle on his own and trekked over to the gas station. The sun was really going down now, and the store was empty except for the clerk at the front desk. Now I had stolen from a lot of gas stations around my neighborhood, and this one was no exception. The man who ran this one in particular was short with greying hair and in his late 40s. So basically, he was always 100% done and just wanted to make enough money to pay for the retirement he never saved up for. He also knew I was full of shit and had stolen from him before. Lucky for me, he couldn't afford security cameras in his store, so he could never prove I had taken anything. The moment I walked into the store, he gave me a side glance and muttered a, "Robin."

"Hey," I gave him a playful wave.

"Keep yer nose clean," he warned.

"Relax, I'm just here to buy a few drinks," I brushed him off, walking past the front counter.

He stared daggers at me as I walked to the back of the store, eventually disappearing behind the rows of snacks. The second I was out of his line of sight, I snagged a chocolate bar off one of the shelves and unwrapped it. I perused the refrigerated shelves as I munched on my Snickers bar, looking out for energy drinks. Eventually I got stuck deciding between two different kinds of sodas for myself. Mountain Dew…or Pepsi… As I glanced back and forth between the two, I heard someone else enter the station. I immediately finished off the candy bar and shoved the wrapper in my pocket.

"Can I help you with something?" I heard the cashier ask at the front of the store.

There was no response from the new guy, so I just continued my shopping.

"Sir?" the cashier asked.

At first I thought they were just being antisocial, but then my skin went pale when I heard them speak.

"Alright, empty the register. Now," the new guy said.

I slowly turned around, peering between the shelves to get a better look. The clerk had his hands up, staring straight at a pistol aimed right at his head. The new guy—more aptly known as a robber—wore your stereotypical black hoodie and beanie hat. All he was missing now was a ski mask.

"For fuck's sake…" the clerk muttered under his breath, "Look—"

"I don't wanna hear it, old man!" the robber snapped, "Money on the table. Nice and slow."

I felt myself freeze up. This guy didn't know I was in the store—I had been hidden in the back! If I showed myself now, I was dead! But if I didn't, then the cashier was dead. Not like I cared too much for him, but he was still a person and who would I steal candy bars from if he was dead? I took a few deep breaths before calming down a little. I tried to think of what my favorite action movie heroes would do, but all the ideas that came to mind were far too dangerous.

If only Peter were here, I thought.

But he wasn't, so I was left to my own devices. I'd have to solve this problem old school—the human way. Slowly, I began moving my way up to the front of the store, trying to stay hidden behind the shelves. As I walked through one of the aisles, I grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the shelves. I always saw people breaking them over people's heads in movies so…it probably worked in real life.

"I worked hard for that money," the owner was surprisingly still putting up an argument, "You don't have the right to take it."

"Oh, I will!" the robber snapped, "I'll put a bullet in between your eyes if you don't!"

For all the talk this guy spouted, he sure wasn't pulling the trigger. In fact, his voice seemed awfully shaky; he was probably nervous that the clerk wasn't giving him what he wanted and that he risked leaving evidence of a murder. Meanwhile, I slowly crept up to the front, whiskey in hand. The clerk glanced behind the robber at me, but I held a finger to my lips. The clerk looked back to the robber and pretended he hadn't seen me.

"For the last time—" the robber began to say.

Smash! I slammed the bottle of whiskey over his head and glass and alcohol went flying! The robber went limp and collapsed to the ground. Just outside, Peter had finished up hiding the motorcycle. He instantly knew something was up, and the world around him slowed down. I was in trouble—he could feel it. Speeding through the lot, he stopped in front of the gas station windows, seeing the mess before him. It was all nearly frozen since he was going so fast, but he saw me standing above a man in black with a broken bottleneck, my eyes widened in shock. Then he spotted the gun on the floor and the clerk with his hands still in the air.

Peter's expression dropped as he felt himself go into "X-Men mode." He dashed through the door as fast as he could, ready to save the day. But to us humans, the door suddenly flew open and Peter magically appeared in a rush of wind!

"Robin!" he shouted.

"Ah!" I shrieked at his sudden appearance, dropping the bottleneck.

I was already shaken up enough, but now I had Peter showing up out of nowhere! He had a really urgent look on his face…a real worried one. He looked almost scared.

"What happened?" he asked firmly.

"I…I—um…" I found myself still speechless, glancing back and forth between the unconscious felon and my friend.

I had actually stopped a bad guy! Like a hero! If I were as suave as James Bond, I'd have a cool, whisky-related one-liner, but I was still in shock. Finally, I looked up at the owner of the store, hoping he could explain.

"You saved my life," he breathed, "Uh…Thanks, kid."

He looked a little surprised to find the same girl who stole from him had just saved his life and his profits! Looks like I was back on his good side.

"Look, you two better get out of here. Especially you," he gestured to Peter, "I'll call the cops. You guys just go."

Peter took my hand and dragged me out of the store as I waved goodbye to the clerk. He waited until we were a good distance away from the gas station to speak up.

"What was that about? What happened?" he asked hurriedly, the same urgent look on his face.

"An…An armed robbery, I guess," I breathed, still in disbelief myself.

"Why didn't you come get me?" he hissed.

"Because then the guy would have seen me!" I retorted, "I was stuck and I had to do something!"

Peter took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he exhaled.

"You just scared the crap out of me is all," he sighed.

I shifted my weight uncomfortably, "Yeah well…It scared me a lot, too."

It was weird to have someone else fight crime. Peter was used to doing it himself with the X-Men, but it was odd to see Robin doing it. He would have thought that with a name like Robin Banks, she wouldn't do much crimefighting.

"Are you ok?" he asked carefully.

"Yeah…I think so…" I mumbled, shoving my hands in my jean pockets.

But he could tell by the way I kept my head down with a nervous expression etched onto my face that I wasn't ok. I had never had to do something like that before.

"Alright," he took my hand again, "Well, come on."

"Where are we going?"

"To that place I was gonna take you to before. Don't worry, it's far away from here."

So I followed him as he took me off the beaten path through some old gravel roads. If it were dark, I'd swear he was leading us onto a horror movie set. But eventually we got through the trees and overgrowth until we came onto a big lookout. It looked like it used to be an old parking lot where a lot of couples would go to makeout, but the "No Trespassers" signs and barbed wire seemed like it ended those days.

He showed me an old tree stump that you could stand on then hop over the barbed wire from. I was a little concerned about the owner of the lot rushing out with a gun and chasing us off, but I trusted Peter knew what he was doing. Even if we were trespassing, the view was worth it. The lookout gave a full view of our town, and the setting sun made it look all the better. It wasn't the classic Manhattan skyline, but the view of a New York subdivision wasn't half bad. We both plopped down at the edge of the lookout, shoes crunching against the old gravel.

"Oh, shoot," I mumbled, "Forgot the drinks."

"Pft. No big deal," Peter shrugged, "Ya saved a man's life, isn't that good enough?"

Pulling my knees to my chest, I muttered, "I guess."

He could see that the whole gas station ordeal still had be on edge, so he decided to ease the tension.

Punching me in the arm, he laughed, "Hey don't worry, you did good."

Looking over at him, I said seriously, "You said I scared you."

Peter's smile slowly faded. Cheering me up clearly wasn't going to be as easy as our usual quips. He sighed and pulled at one of the zippers on his jacket.

"Yeah, but I mean…" his voice trailed off.

I could tell his instincts were telling him to tell a joke or be ironic—anything but serious or heartfelt. But despite that, he gazed out from the lookout with a grim look in his eyes.

"You did," he said simply, "But what you did; not everyone would have done it. You were really brave."

A small smile crept onto my lips. I suppose I had looked pretty badass.

"You could have handled it better if you were there," I shrugged.

"Buuut I wasn't," he added, "You were,"

A small gasp escaped my lips when I felt his arm wrap around my waist, pulling me closer to him. He was either making a move on me, or trying to comfort me. I didn't say anything for a while. I just let him hold me there. It felt nice to be so close to someone especially since it had been a long time since my last cuddle. I had missed the feeling of someone else's body keeping me warm. Eventually, I laid my head down on his shoulder, letting a long-winded sigh out.

Peter took his eyes of the town's skyline for a moment, staring down at me. I was too busy admiring the view to notice, so he moved a hand for my hair. But his better judgement told him it'd be too awkward, so he stopped himself. His judgement didn't tell him to not sniff my hair, though, so he did that. That I noticed.

"Did you just sniff me hair?" I spoke up.

"No," he said quickly.

"You totally did," I smiled, looking up at him.

"You're imagining things, Robin," he played dumb.

I just rolled my eyes playfully and went back to the view.

Then I asked, "So what it'd smell like?"

"…Mint and VHS tape."

"Is VHS tape a good smell?" I thought aloud.

"It is if you're me," he chuckled.

For that short amount of time, it felt like we were…together. It was a moment where we could forget about all our responsibilities and worries and just pretend like we had nothing to lose. I forgot that he was nearly a decade older than me and Peter forgot about my overbearing brother. But as the evening came to a close and the sun had mostly set, reality came back to Peter. He realized that this—the moment we were in—wouldn't last. It never would. He had a life elsewhere, and besides…

"I'm going back to the institute in a few days," he said.

Lifting my head off his shoulder, I looked over at him. That was right: he had to go back. He had friends and classes to get back to. I was the one thing holding him back from that. Soon enough, my summer of fun would end and I'd be back to pickpocketing at the arcade.

"Oh…" I mumbled, staring at the ground.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud."

"No, no," I shook my head, "It's fine. When exactly do you leave?"

"Day after tomorrow."

By now, the sun had completely gone, and we were left with nothing but the fireflies and an old, flickering streetlamp. A silence fell between us.

But then I tried to think more positively, saying, "Well, you'll finally get to see your friends again!"

He looked over at me with a sullen expression settled into his face. He was looking me right in the eyes, something rare for Peter.

"But I like hanging out with you," he said softly, "I wish I didn't have to go."

Then a smile broke his serious look, and the rare moment of eye-contact was broken.

"I mean, I've gotten into more trouble with you than I ever do at the institute," Peter laughed, "I'm always getting lectured about something there—can't even steal a notebook without hearing about it from the Professor."

After another long silence, I stood up from the ground, offering a hand to Peter.

"Come on, let's head back," I said.

He walked me home in the dark, holding my hand the whole way.

AN: Thank you to the guest who left the lovely comment~ Please leave a review if you have not already! They really help with the writing and brighten my day!