Author's Note: Prepare for awkwardness to the effing extreme, guys XD

Roy just kind of stood there in awkward silence as Tim stared up at his brother...uh...which one was this again? Damn it, Bruce had too many sons with black hair and blue eyes!

Well, there was that one redhead, but he died, didn't he...and he does have a daughter that's blonde...but that's besides the point. This one was...uh...

Richard? Yeah, Richard Wayne! His name before that was Grayson. Assuming he didn't still use it. And everyone called him Dick.

Roy was not immature enough to laugh at the name. But he did find it weird.

I mean, how do you get Dick from Richard? (AN: Just ask Starfire XD) Seriously? Why not Richie, or something? Okay, not Richie. That sounded kinda white trashy.

His thoughts were interrupted by Tim nudging him and tilting his head towards Richard.

"What's your name, kiddo?" Richard asked with a handsome smile. He must get a lot of girls. Roy, without realizing it, smiled cynically. Even nice guys that get a lot of girls have commitment issues. Wonder how many hearts he's broken?

Of course, he said none of that out loud. He didn't want to hurt the guy's feelings.

"Isaiah Sanders." He lied without hesitation. That was the name of a friend of his from middle school. Luckily, he moved away. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Isaiah." Richard replied. "I'm Dick Grayson." Roy forced an amused grin onto his face, and Richard rolled his eyes as he returned the grin. "Trust me, kiddo. I've heard all the jokes about my name." Out of Richard's view, Tim was staring at him in surprise.

Wow. Roy was better at lying than Tim thought he'd be. He was even acting differently.

Or...or was he acting different? He most likely was. But...either way, Tim now wondered how Roy would be acting if he hadn't been abused. What had he been like then?

On the other hand, if Roy hadn't been abused, Tim most likely wouldn't have met him. Briefly, Tim wondered if there were even other Earths where Roy wasn't abused. Or where he was dead as a result of the abuse. Hell, there might be a Roy that was crass and rude instead of shy and reserved (if a little snarky).

For now at least, he'd go along with the lie. Roy may be good at deceiving on the fly, but it was much harder not to contradict yourself after telling an elaborate falsehood. He needed to be around for if that happened.

"Well, Isaiah." Richard said. "It was great to meet you. Mind if I talk to my little brother for a little while?" Before Roy could answer, Tim was speaking.

"Actually, we were a little busy. Call me later, Dick!" Tim grabbed his wrist and pulled him away, almost running.

"You're not going to answer the call, are you?" Roy asked when they were out of earshot.

"You're quick." Tim responded, a little bit sarcastically. Then he slowed down to just a walk. They were both silent for several minutes.

"He was nice..." Roy said, feeling awkward as he broke the silence.

"He's an inconsiderate ass under all that, trust me." Tim snapped. Roy stopped walking and stared at Tim. Tim stared back. "What?"

"...I always wanted a big brother." Roy said thoughtfully. "How about you don't take yours for granted, huh?"

"Listen to the runaway talk about taking things for granted." Tim replied...but he was smiling. And Roy didn't feel like it was an insult.

Tim was teasing him. "Touche." He smiled back a little, then dropped it. He still felt weird. Out of place.

"We'll be there soon, and you can take a shower." Tim gave him a quick once over before continuing. "I have some clothes that should fit you until we can wash those." Roy looked down at his clothes, as if he might be able to see what Tim was looking at, then nodded. "So, who's Isaiah?"

"An old friend of mine..." Tim smirked a little.

"You're a good liar, I'll give you that."

Roy wasn't sure how he was supposed to take that.

He didn't like this. Not at all. Roy had been gone for a few hours now. He was normally never gone that long. They weren't out of food, or water. There wasn't a heater, but the hotel walls were insulated so it probably wouldn't be necessary.

So where was Roy? The only person he could think to ask was Evelyn, but she was probably just as clueless as he was. She actually seemed fairly concerned for the boy.

He wasn't sure if he himself was more concerned for Roy's safety or Roy's usefulness. Yes, Roy seemed to be a genuinely good person. But if he wasn't around anymore (dead or otherwise), he would have to go out himself. And that was a result best avoided.

He hated interacting with others. So much about so many people in Gotham got on his nerves. And he could barely contain what he could do then. As sick as it was, he liked finding people he really didn't like and twisting them, almost to the point of insanity, with his illusions. It was amusing at worst and absolutely mesmerizing at best.

And he also hated talking to people, but he may as well check.

"Any ideas on where he might be?" He asked Evelyn, his dark eyes trained on her. She didn't look at him from where she sat in the lobby.

"With a friend. He won't be back for awhile." She responded after a pause.

Weird. She hadn't seemed to know before when he didn't return. "You won't be able to hide forever." He looked at her, eyes narrowed.

"Excuse me?" This time she did look up at him. Her eyes were sharp and gleamed with something he couldn't identify. Even from a distance, he could see that her eyes were black. Not dark brown, but black. It was disturbing enough to make him look away from her.

"You will not be able to hide that you live here as well forever. He's a smart child. And he has enough curiosity to kill ten cats. He'll find you eventually. What will you do then?"

For that, he didn't have an answer. So he turned towards the stairs and walked up them quickly.But he could still see her black eyes when he blinked. Black as midnight...he came to a conclusion right then.

Evelyn wasn't some ordinary old homeless woman. Far from it.

She might not even be human.

Thinking on it now, Roy really should've at least had the foresight to take a pair of clothes with him.

Of course, to be fair, he'd had no idea he'd be in Tim Wayne's freaking house an hour after talking to him. So here he was, wearing some of Tim's clothes and thsnking God that they were at least the same height.

And he didn't even want to think about how uncomfortble he was wearing someone else's...yeah. He shook his head a bit and looked at Tim from where he sat on the apartment's small couch. Tim was rummaging through some drawers. After a few minutes, he smiled and pulled out a pair of small scissors. What did he need those for. Suddenly, Roy remembered how long his hair was...

"Oh Hell no." He said loudly. Tim looked at him with a knowing smile.

"I know, but you have to look different if you want to get a job without arousing suspicion. And one of the easiest things to notice about you is your hair." As Tim walked in, he paused and stared at Roy, who shifted uncomfortably. "Hm...yeah, you could pull off black pretty well. A subtle difference, but better than something bright, like blond or red." He pulled out a cell phone and began to dial someone's number.

As Roy stared at him in confusion, Tim offered him a reassuring smile and pressed the call button. He waited for a few seconds. It picked up on the fourth ring.

"The Hell do you want, Timmy?" A gruff, tired voice answered. He was sleeping late, huh? Tim wondered what he might be up to before answering.

"Jason, I need to borrow some of your hair dye." Realization showed itself on Roy's face, and his tone was flat as he spoke.

"Ah, fuck."