Happy 2019 everyone!

I'd like to thank you all for your support in my 'no romance' decision, at least for the main story. At this point I have… three? Yeah, three, actual 'romance-y' oneshots planned, so those will happen eventually. I've been working on a few different oneshots (whether they be crossovers, glimpses into the past I couldn't put in a chapter, or the aforementioned romance) intermittently since around the fifth chapter of Fight or Flight was posted, so there's those to look forward to I guess?

Anyway, on the chapter, wherein our littlest hawk learns the importance of pinkie swears and a present day Skylar Hall makes a new/old friend.

GOTHAM CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
2008
MIDNIGHT

"You're late."

There were few people who could meet the full force of The Dark Knight's glare without so much as flinching, and Hawkwoman was definitely one of them. "We were waylaid stopping an arsonist from torching a national park."

Batman met her gaze evenly for a moment before dropping the subject, turning to address the man standing next to him. "You've met Commissioner Gordon before."

The older man stuck out a hand in greeting which she immediately took. There was no doubt that the commissioner was more than a little amused by the antics of the two vigilantes. "Hawkwoman, it's nice to see you again."

"Same to you, Gordon" The Thanagarian woman answered sincerely. "And this is Hawkgirl." She inclined her head, wordlessly urging her daughter to stand forward.

Up until this point, Hawkgirl had been loitering awkwardly in the doorway of the office, a pronounced smudge of soot marring one of her cheeks and her face just as expressionless as her mother's.

"It seems like every time I blink, one of you heroes gets a sidekick." Gordon quipped lightly, smiling at her. "Personally, I blame Batman for starting the trend, eh Robin?"

The Boy Wonder in question snorted a little from where he was sitting on top of a chair. Not in the chair, on top of the chair, carefully perched on the back like the little bird he was.

"Anyway, thanks for coming in even though I know you've got your hands full with your own city." The only non-hero in the room continued. "Batman said you were the best shot at identifying the dagger our culprit's been using."

"It's no trouble." Hawkwoman insisted as he handed over a manila folder, immediately opening it and began the task of reading it in depth and in its entirety.

Gordon's attention was drawn back to Hawkgirl as he saw her shift a little, looking very out of place. Clearing his throat, he spoke up. "Why don't you kids hang out in Peterson's office while we handle the boring adult stuff?"

Robin opened his mouth to argue (no doubt protesting the 'adult stuff' comment), but was silenced by a subtle shake of his mentor's head. Huffing out a breath, he back flipped off his perch and shot a wide grin Hawkgirl's way before ducking out of the room.

Ski'Lira froze for a moment, unsure what to do, but her mother reached over and shoved her half out the door without even looking up from her reading. Scowling, Ski'Lira had no choice but to follow as Robin slipped past her and led her away from her mother.

The empty office in question was only a few doors down, and had been clearly abandoned for two, three days at the most judging by the stale air quality. After a cursory examination, Ski'Lira carefully sat on the edge of the wooden desk, angling herself so that she didn't have to pull in her wings.

Robin had instead opted to keep poking around the office, opening drawers and examining framed photos knickknacks.

"So, arson, huh? How'd that go?" Robin asked out of the blue. "You've got a mark right here, by the way." He tapped his cheek.

She made no move to remove said mark, mostly because she didn't really care. For a moment, she considered just remaining dead silent just to see how he'd react, but then she remembered how Roy told her Robin was a bit of a chatterbox.

"It was a successful operation." She began. "No casualties, minimal amounts of trees burned, two cases of minor smoke inhalation, and one hospitalization for a severely broken arm."

"What? How did that last one happen?"

"He was the arsonist."

Robin paused and let out a low whistle. "Wow, you Hawks don't mess around, huh?"

Her silence spoke volumes.

"… This is weird, right?" He asked, decisively closing a metal drawer with a muted clang. "Us meeting like this? And weirdly late? Like… why haven't we been introduced earlier? You've been on Earth for years, right?"

Truthfully, there was an entire list of reasons why she and Robin had been kept apart. No doubt this meeting was pure coincidence, and something her mother would gain flak for later.

Long story short… more than one member of the League was concerned about bringing the two birds together. It wasn't anything nefarious, more… they had reservations about allowing two mortal agents of chaos interact.

That, and she had only recently finished undergoing the process Hal Jordan had lovingly coined "Thanagarian Brand, Angry Puberty". Not even Roy was allowed around her at the time, as there was a very real possibility she could severely hurt him.

Instead of telling Robin all of that, she just shrugged.

"Right…" He said slowly. "Should have expected that." Bending down, he opened up the last drawer in the filing cabinet. "Hey, you bored yet? Because I am."

"I have been trained to ignore such feelings."

"So have I." Robin pointed out.

"… Yes. I am bored."

Grinning triumphantly, he reached down and pulled out a stack of board games, setting them on the nearly empty desk with a hearty thump. "Pick one."

H

"Your aid has been invaluable, Hawkwoman. With any luck, we'll have Deforest in police custody and the sword on its way back to the Cairo Museum by tomorrow night." Shaking Shayera's hand, Gordon seemed visibly relieved at finally getting a solid lead on his case.

"He should be fairly easy to catch." Hawkwoman assured. "He certainly was the last time my husband and I went after him. Though then he was just a petty thief, not a serial killer."

"Criminals are unpredictable." Batman reminded.

That earned him an acknowledging head tilt from the Thanagarian woman. "Just give me a call if you need any help. For now, I should be getting my daughter home."

"I hope they weren't too bored." Gordon said with a smile as he personally opened the door to the empty office, and promptly froze.

The side of Batman's mouth quirked up ever so slightly. "Somehow I doubt that."

The office had practically become a warzone of strategic combat. Plastic pieces and playing cards were scattered all over, both in use and not, the desk and the floor covered in multiple game boards haphazardly strung together with tape.

In a mere forty five minutes, the two sidekicks had created what appeared to be an intimidating amalgamation of a game.

Knights and pawns were positioned next to hotels on a Monopoly board, while the extra player pieces and some deeds from Monopoly were carefully positioned around Chutes and Ladders. Most of the words on the Scrabble board clearly weren't English, and more than one had been flipped over and drawn on with marker to serve as additional letters. Several different card games offered as a strange link between the games, including blackjack, solitaire, and go fish.

And carefully sitting in the middle of the mess were Hawkgirl and Robin, who were in the process of rolling handfuls of dice and placing Scrabble tiles on the chess board.

Commissioner Jim Gordon, hardened detective of the Gotham Police Department, promptly burst out laughing.

H

"So, I guess this is goodbye for now?" Robin asked. While they had cleaned up their mess, Batman and Hawkwoman had gone to wait on the roof. After they'd finished the daunting task (as they'd had to meticulously re-sort everything and make sure the office was spotless), they'd ascended to the top of the building.

Hawkgirl nodded. "It is. This meeting was long coming and… it did not disappoint. I had fun, thank you."

"Hey, no problem. You're pretty cool, Hawkgirl. Maybe next time we'll get to do a real team-up instead of hanging out in an office."

A vicious smirk that only boded ill will for any potential criminals in the future appeared on her face. "That would be preferable, yes."

To her confusion, he held out a hand, his fingers curled back with only his pinky sticking out.

She just stared at it.

"You're supposed to take it." Robin prompted.

Confused, she reached out and grabbed his pinky with her thumb and index finger. Barking out a laugh at her expense, he twisted her hand himself until their pinkies were linked.

"It's called a pinky swear. It's a powerful binding promise." Robin explained. "I promise next time we meet up, we'll kick some serious butt."

Ski'Lira's smile made a reappearance. "That sounds like an excellent promise."

H

ST. ROCH, LOUISIANA
2010
16:00, CST

In the depths of the Stonechat Museum of Art and History, Skylar Hall was hard at work doing inventory. It was a simple job, just a matter of checking labels and matching it against a master list. Monotonous work, sure, but she'd rather be down here than dealing with the people upstairs.

Namely, her parents were currently trying to iron out the details in a deal that would hopefully end up with the museum permanently procuring a few new paintings and sculptures. Her father had told her the seller could be a bit of a hard ass and that he'd probably end up coercing a few personal favors instead of monetary compensation.

Ski'Lira didn't see how they could possibly lose the deal. There was nothing about Bruce Wayne that convinced her he wouldn't concede against her parents' aggressive approach to art dealing.

Checking the next label on a large bagged shard of pottery, Ski'Lira let out a grumble at the illegibility of the handwriting, no doubt one of the interns' work. Muttering slightly under her breath, she made a note about the appearance so she could track it down (and rewrite the label) later, continuing down the line.

A buzz from her pocket garnered her attention, and she stuck her pen into her bun in order to fish it out of her pocket with her newly freed hand. The short text, from her mother, read: Come upstairs ASAP.

Sighing, she placed her clipboard on a nearby shelf long enough to shrug her baggy green jacket back over her shoulders and slid her aviators off the top of her head and back down onto her nose. A slight wiggle of her wings later, and she was once more completely disguised as a human. Tucking the inventory clipboard under her arm, she trudged up the nearest set of stairs.

Five minutes later, she turned the corner to the main hall of the museum, where her parents were clearly already in the midst of their meeting. Her parents were clad in the standard work attire they favored, loose khaki shirts and jeans paired with leather jackets and sturdy boots. Creating a jarring contrast, who could only be Bruce Wayne had his hair slicked carefully back, pitch black suit immaculately tailored. She caught a glint of light from his wrist, confirming he was both wearing cufflinks and a watch she had no doubt was probably more expensive than her parents' car.

Standing next to Wayne, a black haired boy wearing a school uniform had his gaze locked on his phone.

"There you are. Did you get lost?" Carter asked with a sharp smile.

Skylar rolled her eyes and pointedly held up her clipboard. "I was busy."

"And now you're not." His smile only grew as he turned to the client. "Mr. Wayne, this is my daughter Skylar."

Disinterested in being polite, but unwilling to potentially ruin a business deal, Skylar held out her hand. "My parents showed me the photos of your collection, Mr. Wayne. It's fairly impressive."

"Thank you, Miss Hall." He replied as he took her hand, an indecipherable look in his eyes. "And this is my ward, Dick."

Skylar had to physically stop herself from blurting out 'What an unfortunate name for a human', clenching her teeth and holding her hand out to the much shorter teen.

At the sound of his name, he finally turned off his phone and tucked it away, stuffing his hands in his pockets. The movement stirred the air around him, and she was hit with a strong cloud of what was presumably very expensive cologne. Glad that her aviators obscured her slightly watering eyes, she gave him an acknowledging nod before addressing her parents.

"Was there something you needed?"

"I thought it would be considerate if you could show Dick around the museum, give him a personal tour." Shayera answered. Based on her tone, this was an order rather than a suggestion. Still, Ski'Lira felt the need to question the decision.

"But I haven't finished inventory." She pointed out.

"You can do it later."

Blowing out a long breath, she turned on her heel and started walking away. She made it about five feet before she angled her head back, scowling at the younger boy. "Are you coming or not?"

Mr. Wayne clapped his ward on the shoulder, nudging him onwards.

And just like that, Skylar found herself an acting tour guide for a rich brat.

Great.

H

"The museum's roughly divided in half, with art in the right wing and history based exhibits on the left. Do you have any preference?"

"Could I ask you to ask that again with more enthusiasm?"

Skylar narrowed her eyes and jerked her thumb towards a nearby replica of a fifteenth century Ming vase. "Do you want me to stuff you into that vase and leave you there?"

"Let's start with history!"

Wordlessly, she led him towards the left, which brought them into the prehistoric section of the museum. The crown jewel (at least in her opinion) was the massive Mosasaurus skeleton, carefully assembled and stretching out to its full thirty foot length in the very center. Once they were there, she steadfastly ignored her fellow teen as he wandered around, examining the different specimens and models.

"So, you work at the museum, huh?"

Ski'Lira blinked a little as she realized she was being addressed, with a personal question nonetheless. She hadn't even noticed that Dick had joined her next to the Mosasaurus. The last she'd seen he was on the other side looking at the giant sloth skeleton. "Yes. Obviously."

"You don't seem old enough to be an employee."

"My parents are the curators, thus my employment status is trivial. It's an honor to help them here." She desperately hoped that he would stop there, but apparently he didn't catch onto her aura of disinterest. The sooner he was gone, the faster she could finish her work.

And fix that stupid label because it was still bothering her.

"It must be pretty cool to work in a place like this. Does it have a name?"

Blinking once in surprise, she actually looked at him for the first time since the tour had started. "To what are you referring?"

Dick pointed at the Mosasaurus. "If it doesn't, you should give it one."

For a moment, she debated not answering, but she saw no reason to lie. "… His name is Angus."

"Really."

"I'm not the one who named him." She immediately snapped back.

Dick's face twisted into a smirk. "From the sound of it, you wanted something different."

Skylar couldn't help but smirk back. "That's for me to know and for you to never find out." Stepping away from Angus the Mosasaurus, she clasped her hands behind her back and led him back towards the stairs.

He would never find out that she still secretly called Angus 'Prince Malfeasance IV' in her head.

H

"Is there any reason why you're standing so far away?"

Skylar frowned, as Dick had interrupted her mid-explanation while they were in the midst of the Ancient Egypt exhibit. She had been offering a thoughtful insight into how they'd transferred all of the stone sarcophagi up the stairs.

Or at least, the fake explanation they provided to everyone who asked.

When you have three Thanagarians around, it was just easier to physically pick things up and move them yourselves instead of messing around with ramps and dollies.

She supposed it was weird for humans to carry out conversations while standing at least ten feet away from each other in completely empty rooms. But his cologne was really starting to bother her. She mentally weighed the pros and cons of potentially insulting someone who had a chance of ruining a good deal for the museum, before her irritation won out in the end.

Her parents said she had to take Dick on a tour of the museum, not that she had to be pleasant about it.

"Your cologne is offensive to my senses."

Whatever response he had expected, Dick probably didn't see that coming. His eyes widened the slight margin as he pulled his collar away from his neck, giving himself a discreet sniff and wincing a little. "Sorry about that, Skylar, I think I've just gotten used to it. Bruce insists on it this morning, since its 'important to keep up appearances'."

There was just something slightly off about the way he said it, but she let it go. Instead, she wrinkled her nose and said, "Smell is not an appearance."

That promptly caused him to burst out laughing.

For a moment in her mind's eye, she saw a much more familiar black haired boy cackling, but she quickly shook that thought away.

Once he'd composed himself, he returned to perusing the exhibits. He'd become a little more about asking questions about what he saw, just as she had become more willing to answer them. After she'd finished a short spiel about the dig her parents had retrieved a certain artifact from, Dick slipped in another personal question.

"So do you work here after school?"

"Yes and no" She admitted, tilting her head a little. "I am homeschooled. Judging by your uniform, you aren't."

"I go to Gotham Academy." Dick moved his jacket a little so the emblem was in clear view.

Face twisting into a snarl of its own accord, her mind flashed back to being flung into the rafters of the Gotham Academy gymnasium, hand drifting unconsciously to her side in the memory of injured ribs. Her experience had scarred her for life, apparently.

"Something tells me you've heard of it." Her temporary companion sounded a little amused.

"I visited once." She deadpanned. "It didn't end well."

H

"I don't think I've ever seen this many weapons in one place." Dick admitted as he did a slow circle in place, taking in all of the glinting steel surrounding them. "If this wasn't a museum, I'd be worried."

"My parents' expertise lies in weaponry through the ages." Skylar explained. "Or at the very least, it is their favorite."

"What about you?"

She actually had to consider for a moment. "I… don't have a favorite yet, I suppose. We can learn much from all kinds of artifacts; jewelry, pottery, swords. There is something admirable in that, how we can tell how someone lived merely from what they left behind."

"That's… surprisingly insightful. Maybe you should talk to people more."

Skylar whirled on him, obscured eyes narrowing, disliking his tone. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing!" Dick put his hands up in a placating gesture. "You just come across as a little… hostile. And you seem like you have a lot to say, but not a lot of people to say it to. I'm not helping my case, aren't I?"

"Not at all." She replied through gritted teeth.

"You just don't seem like you get out much. And considering you said you're homeschooled…" Dick trailed off a little.

Jaw set, Skylar was heavily debating tucking him under her arm like a football and carrying him back downstairs to stick him into that Ming vase after all. "And your point is?"

"Skylar… Don't you have any friends?"

Just like that, Skylar deflated a little. Turning away, she pushed back the loose strands of her hair from her face. "It's complicated."

"What's so complicated about having friends?" He asked, taking a tentative step closer. "Usually people have them or they don't, and that's the end of it. If you don't, I'm not going to hold it against you. Promise." Dick's tone was genuine, and she had zero doubts about his sincerity.

Letting out a frustrated huff, she whirled to face him again. "People are complicated." She clarified. "People should…" She trailed off, catching sight of the exhibit he was standing in front of. "People should be more like knives. Sharp, and willing to let you throw them at other people who get on your nerves."

Dick's brow furrowed, eyes clouding over and mouth in a firm line. And then, his face loosened, as if he had just solved a particularly difficult puzzle. For a beat, he just stared at her with blue eyes a few shades lighter than her own, and then he inexplicably started laughing.

He laughed loud, and long, to the point that she was starting to become a little concerned for his mental health.

Physically bent over with his hands on his knees, Dick drew in a shaky inhale as he finally managed to compose himself, wiping tears out of his eyes.

"Are you… alright?" She asked tentatively.

"I'm fine, just fine." He insisted. "Just… What you said, it reminded me of something one of my friends would say."

She let out a noncommittal hum, still watching him warily.

Straightening his tie and brushing invisible dirt off of his jacket, he did a sort of flourishing bow. "Well, shall we continue with the tour?"

H

If she was asked, Skylar would vehemently deny that she enjoyed showing Dick Grayson around her museum. She didn't think that his intuitive questions were actually fun to answer rather than the inane ones she had to field from the average human who walked inside. She wasn't impressed when he was actually able to name a few of the art pieces without looking at the placard. And she definitely would have opposed another visit and wasn't considering letting him down into the archives next time.

She somehow found herself escorting Dick all the way back to their car, where Mr. Wayne was waiting patiently in the driver's seat.

"This was fun." He said as he opened the door and slid into the empty back seat. "Very educational."

"I am pleased that you enjoyed your visit to the Stonechat Museum of Art and History."

"Can you try that again with more enthusiasm?"

"Can you go die in a fire?"

Dick flashed her a smile. "Really though, thanks. Today was asterous."

Slamming the door shut, Mr. Wayne promptly started the car and drove off.

She just stared. For one minute. Then two. Finally, three minutes after that little black haired gremlin took off, Skylar threw her hands up in the air. "That son of a-!"

The next time she visited the cave, she and a certain Boy Wonder were going to have words. Loud, angry ones. And possibly physical violence.

While I was planning this chapter out, I had the thought 'Why wouldn't Sky just be able to tell Rob's secret identity from smell alone?' Her sense of smell is hypersensitive and she'd definitely be able to distinguish between different people (something that will come up again in more detail later), so why wouldn't she connect Dick and Robin?

And then I thought… Hawkgirl isn't the only one with enhanced senses. There are plenty of villains whose olfactory senses are just as developed, if not better. So how does Batman keep him and his baby birds safe?

The answer? Expensive colognes that are highly offensive to the noses of the enhanced, and tolerable for normal people. Problem solved.

Thanks goes to one of my best friends for coming up with the name 'Prince Malfeasance IV'. I asked for a good shark name (while providing absolutely zero context) and I was not disappointed.

Hope you're all having a wonderful day!