A/N: I realized that I don't have that many more chapters to post. Six more, I think. And then after that, I'll be posting the chapters a lot slower as I write them. So since I'm getting down to my last already-written chapters, I might space them out a bit more.

"Idiot. Jerk. Moron. Stupid."

Julia punctuated each word with a punch to the sandbag, which was hanging from the low ceiling of the gym. Panting from the exertion, the Asian girl threw a few more punches, and a few kicks for good measure.

Finally, anger temporarily spent, she turned away from the punching bag, leaning back on it, her eyes closed.

Even after a rested week from her fight with Silver, Julia was having second thoughts. She'd come back to the Tower, just in time to remember that her earrings, arm guards, and her belt were gone. She hadn't had time to look for them after she'd been forced to take them off.

What's more, Julia had basically told the Titans that she wanted to be part of the team. She'd had the chance to leave the Tower, but hadn't taken it. She could've left all of this, but she hadn't. She'd missed her chance.

What would Damien think?

With so many thoughts, Julia had gone to the gym, to work her frustration and stress off. Her long black hair was pulled out of the way, and into a ponytail, and she'd brought a small towel and a bottle water, just in case.

Pulling herself away from the punching bag, the girl began to practice her gymnastics training. It had been awhile since she'd had a real hand-to-hand fight, and she'd gotten rusty in the process. Now that the Titans had seen her use regular combat, she didn't have to hide it anymore.

Standing on the edge of a mat that Robin regularly used for martial arts practice, Julia raised her arms, and performed a neat cartwheel. Her back to the gym door, she dove into a tight Aikido roll, and sprang up from it.

Taking a few running steps, the girl did a round-off, then used her remaining momentum to do a no-handed forward flip in midair, landing solidly on both feet, arms raised above her head in the typical gymnastics landing position.

"Nice one."

Startled by the voice, Julia winced. Turning around slowly, she faced the source of the voice - Robin, leaning against the opposite wall. He'd probably come in when she hadn't been paying attention.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Julia looked away.

"Thanks."

Straightening from his position, Robin approached Julia thoughtfully, arms crossed.

"Where did you learn that?" he asked, more curious than demanding. "The gymnastics? The martial arts, and the hand-to-hand combat you used against Silver?"

Of course he'd asked - it was expected. Julia knew that Robin wouldn't just let it go without saying anything.

Shrugging, the Asian girl tightened her ponytail, just to be doing something.

"I took gymnastics when I was young," she replied quietly. That part, at least, was true. Her adopted parents had insisted on her taking gymnastics at a young age. It was something that the stereotypical little girl always did.

Robin nodded, his eyes still on her.

"What about the martial arts? And the hand-to-hand fighting?"

Julia avoided meeting his eyes.

"I took some martial arts classes later, too. Just for awhile, before I quit. Schoolwork took up a lot of time." That part was a lie. Damien and Roger had been the ones to teach her how to fight, to prepare her for her future as a thief.

Robin seemed to accept her lie, however. He looked contemplatively at Julia for a moment, as if considering her.

"You did pretty well, the other day," he remarked abruptly. "You fought pretty well, for someone who used to do that kind of thing a while ago."

Julia felt herself redden slightly.

Shrugging again, she explained, "I didn't-"

"But some of your punches were a little off," Robin interrupted. He sounded like he was forcing himself to get through everything he wanted to say. Raising his right arm straight in front of him, he made a fist.

Bewildered, Julia stayed silent.

"On some of your punches, your thumb was on top of your index finger, instead of to the side." Robin demonstrated the first technique, then the right one. "Just to let you know."

Julia nodded, mentally noting this piece of advice.

"Your wrist technique was good, although another one would've been better," Robin continued. He paused, then asked, "Mind if I show you?"

Startled, Julia nodded, extending her right wrist towards the Boy Wonder. She still had no idea what Robin was doing, but it didn't bother her unduly.

The team leader took her arm in one hand, and her hand in the other. Slowly, he twisted her wrist to the side using another technique. Stopping at the point where it would've been painful, he looked up at the Asian girl.

"Like that. From the position you were at to Silver, this one would've been quicker to use."

Still baffled as to why Robin was teaching her this, Julia nodded. Robin obviously thought he was teaching her something new, even if she already knew this. Still, she had to play along. It wouldn't hurt.

The girl met Robin's eyes.

"Could I try it on you?"

The Boy Wonder nodded, freeing her wrist. Julia hesitated, then took Robin's hand and arm, and practiced the wrist movement, purposely doing it wrong. By doing so, Robin would probably want to correct her.

He did.

"Almost," the Boy Wonder remarked. Taking her hand and arm again, he demonstrated the right way again. "Make sure your thumb is at the base of my ring finger, and your palm against the back of my hand. Try it again."

And so it went. Robin showed Julia several other wrist techniques, along with different punches and kicks, most of which the Asian girl already knew (but didn't tell the youth). She pretended not to know some of them, and purposely did a few wrong, just so that Robin wouldn't get suspicious.

At the same time, she learned a few new tricks that Damien and Roger had never taught her. Robin, it seemed, knew a lot of different techniques. He wasn't a bad teacher, either. He was mostly patient and seemed eager to show Julia the correct way of fighting.

Robin was just showing Julia an efficient technique of throwing an opponent over the defender's hip, when the gym door slid open, revealing Cyborg in the doorway. Julia had been in the act of grabbing Robin's arm, preparing to throw him. Immediately, the two of them froze in place.

At the sight of the two unlikely teens practicing fighting methods, Cyborg's eyes widened. There was a slightly awkward moment as the three stared at each other, at a loss for words.

Finally, Robin straightened, as Julia let go of him.

"Cyborg. What is it?"

The half-metal youth shook himself from his shock. Raising his left arm, he pointed at the reading, which showed the approximate time: 9:30 am.

"Man, it's breakfast time! We've been waiting for ages! Did you forget or something?"

Embarrassed, Robin pulled his gloves on tighter, looking away from both Cyborg and Julia.

"Actually, yeah, I did," he replied quietly, flushing. "Thanks for the head's up. I'll be right there."

Grabbing his own towel and water bottle near the door, the Boy Wonder left the room silently. Once the door closed behind him, Cyborg turned to stare at Julia, who had also watched Robin leave.

"What was all that about?"

Julia shrugged dismissively, picking up her towel and slinging it around her neck. Taking her water bottle, she took a swig.

"Nothing. It was nothing."

As she was about to pass Cyborg to the door, the Titan stopped her.

"I'm serious, Julia. What're you two doing in here? Robin's never late for breakfast. I don't even remember the last time we had to wait for him. Usually, we have to wait for Beast Boy to drag his butt down to the Operations Room, but never Robin."

Looking up at Cyborg, Julia kept her face impassive. She didn't even know why she was trying not to make a big deal out of this.

"We were just practicing some hand-to-hand fighting methods," she explained casually. "And we just forgot the time. It's no big deal."

Taking a deep breath, Julia left the room, distinctly hearing Cyborg say, "Well, I'm glad you two are finally getting along."

Julia had no idea what to make of this. Sure, she had just got along with Robin for more than an hour - was it really more than an hour? - without any bad feelings between them. And yes, they'd had something in common, and were working together.

But was it that surprising?

Apparently, it was. Cyborg kept shooting Robin and Julia glances all through breakfast, and Robin deliberately made no mention of it at all. A few hours later, when Julia was curled up on the couches, reading, she definitely heard Cyborg telling Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy the news, in the kitchen.

And when, a few days later, Julia came back to her room, she found a note and a small box on her bed. Sinking onto her bed, the girl unfolded the piece of paper and read:

Julia,

I think you forgot these at that fight with Silver a week ago. I went back and got them, since I know they mean something to you. Try not to lose them again.

Robin

P.S. - Starting Monday, it would be great if we could meet up in the gym, at 8 a.m., to practice fighting techniques. Hand-to-hand combat only would be fine. You seem to be the only one in the Tower, beside myself, who relies on it.

Stunned, Julia reread the note over. Robin actually wanted to practice with her? Had he actually made a joke when he'd said, "Try not to lose them again"? And what had he gotten back for her?

Picking up the box, the girl tore it open. Inside was her pair of lightning earrings, clean of blood and dirt, as well as the lightning buckle belt and arm guards, which had been newly polished.

As Julia put them back on, she dimly realized that the items had something in common: all of them were gifts - two were from the Titans, and one from a thief.