CHAPTER FIVE - Reaching my hand out to you

Robin certainly had other, more interesting things to do than worrying about whether he would get along well with his peers on the team or not. At least that was the case at the beginning, so only later he could notice his mistake. Needless to say, it goes without saying that as time passed, as he was in the company of other young superheroes, he was able to understand that to lead this team he would have to get to know the others.

He was not so sure about it. It seemed to him that to be satisfied and to successfully lead this team, he only needed his knowledge and all the experience he had gathered so far.

So he was really surprised when it turned out that he and the others had a hard time finding common ground on the mission they were sent on. After all, he tried his best! He was trying to remedy the problems their team had, so what was wrong?! At one point, he even began to judge their failure by his age, claiming that others didn't want to listen to him just because he was younger than them. (It wasn't even like that, that they knew how old he was)

It was only after returning from a mission that was unsuccessful for him (he didn't admit it openly thought, he was too proud of himself to do so) that he was able to be left alone in the cave with his thoughts and frustrations. Needless to say, he wasn't necessarily in the best mood right now, only to leave him in a state of perpetual nervousness while he sat on the couch and played some console game he managed to bring from the mansion.

He didn't even notice when another, new figure appeared in the room, who first did look at him for a moment, only to see that he hadn't even paid attention to him, so he could just shrug and take care of himself.

Only when the younger of the two current people in the spacious room threw the controller on the ground with nerves, breathing heavily after that, the man who found himself in the room with the younger teenager noticed that something was clearly wrong.

He didn't have to wait long for the young hero to notice him. In fact, it may have taken him a while, and in the meantime, as a result of his frustration, he also smashed the TV in front of him, but after turning around, Danny didn't have to be a genius to see the disgrace on his face painted under the mask when he saw that someone was watching him for all this time.

Without a word, he sat on the couch with folded arms over his chest, and with his back turned to the older, he just combed his hair to rest his head on the back of the couch. In the background, one could hear a characteristic clatter of flakes bouncing against the inside of the bowl, which was also later flooded with milk.

After putting the cardboard aside, there was quite a long silence in which Robin didn't know if his witness had already left. To his surprise though, he again didn't hear him walking out of the room at all (Which was very strange, because he was supposed to be the one whose steps were soundless!), or perhaps he stayed in the room to observe the teenager's miserable condition.

"Something bothering you?" Suddenly the other's voice broke him out from his train of thoughts, echoing through the empty room as he said it.

Robin certainly hadn't expected the adult behind him to try to make contact with him as he didn't even want to when he remembered the last few weeks. He was even able to tell that he didn't want to have any connection with the young heroes by how seldom he spoke to them. The boy himself thought of him as a person who would rather do everything quickly, smoothly, and without any problems, at the same time not being too interested in his surroundings, and ignoring them at the same time.

So he was really surprised when the aforementioned words were directed towards him. At first, he didn't know what to do, he wasn't sure if he hadn't maybe misheard him saying these words, so to make sure that wasn't what had happened, he looked back to see the other's reaction.

But no, Danny, whose name he had just remembered, was indeed right behind him, watching him closely.

Opening his mouth a few times, so only he could close it close afterward, the younger one tried to find the right words, to say something to the sudden disturbance of his "peace", but after a short while he realized that he was just unable to so.

Sighing and looking down after some time, he again didn't notice how the adult man was, in a short time next to him, standing over his person. Dick didn't have the slightest reason to be afraid of the man in front of him either, but a part of him preferred to stay away from a man who was anything but as tall as Batman, or Superman, which was saying something.

"Can I sit...?" Again his thoughts were disturbed by the voice of the other, for which the latter only after having looked over him once more from head to toe, Robin moved to the side, thus informing his interlocutor that he had permission to do so.

When he felt the characteristic exhalation of air from the couch they were sitting on, which was bending under the weight of the other, he had to suppress the urge not to sigh deeply.

Needless to say, the second silence between them was not at all comfortable. He had no idea how this man was going to "cheer him up" if he even wanted to do so.

With stoic calmness, he watched every smallest move made by the other, so that when he folded his hands in front of him, putting them to himself with his inner part, he could start talking.

"Would you like to say what make you upset so much?" The question asked by an adult male might have seemed bold and confident, but in reality, it wasn't.

It was clearly noticeable from Robin's perspective that contact with other people was difficult for the other. Nevertheless, he still tried to help the teenager he barely knew, not counting the various television commercials or radio broadcasts he could have had seen him in.

He didn't know if he would have any benefits from speaking with the man right next to him, at one point in his paranoia he could even swear that he was sure the other would turn out to be some kind of villain who would only use him and others from team later! However, as he had already found out, belonging to a family consisting mostly of superheroes, who protect one of the most dangerous towns, had such consequences of being paranoid most of the time.

He did not want to look at him, therefore he didn't think about raising his head to cross their gazes.

Instead, exhaling a frustrated breath in an attempt to calm his nerves, he looked down, then hesitated for a moment to speak.

"I was supposed to be the captain of our team..." He started slowly, and with each word he spoke, he felt more and more like there was some weight on his heart, pulling him down and causing him profound discomfort. "But... The mission didn't go as I wanted it to... I couldn't even control our team!" Raising his voice in frustration, he clenched his hands into fists on one of the knees obscured by a layer of clothing from his heroic outfit.

Pushing the tip of his tongue out in front of him, pressing it down with his teeth at the same time, he didn't even bother to peek to know what kind of look his interlocutor was giving him. He was after all frustrated by a little thing, even a sitter thing if you look at it closely. He didn't have to see the second doubt on his face and hear the next words telling him how childish and irresponsible he was. (And he tried his best not to look like that, after all, he wanted to do well and prove himself!)

"Do you feel you're ready for this?" Robin couldn't describe how much the words had ignited the spark that in mere seconds turn out to set the fire in him.

"Of course I feel like I'm ready, why is that even question?!" He growled, turning instinctively towards his interlocutor, gritting his teeth tightly as these words fell from his mouth.

Danny just sighed, and Dick now felt as if he was staring down at him. Not only that, but the teen was trying his best to be understanding for him at the moment, as much as he could, but he was unable to so the longer the other looked in front of himself with these eyes and Robin only wished for a moment to tell him what he thought about what he had said earlier.

"When I was your age, I also often thought that I was able to control the situation." Not to be interrupted by the younger of the two of them, he continued. "Maybe I didn't have adventures like you, but believe me, our lives, apart from a few small details, weren't that different."

At this point, Robin stopped. He took a moment, even two, to understand what the older man was trying to tell him. Could he really take on more than he could bear? He doubted, but he was after all an inseparable partner of Batman himself, there shouldn't be something for him that he wouldn't be able to deal with!

"I can see your gaze, don't think so much about it." Only now, looking closely at the face of the other, was he able to see what it was. The usually neutral and calm expression of the other, not expressing any specific emotions, now showed peace. His eyes seemed to have depth in them, informing younger at the same time that he had no evil intentions, and only wanted one... He wanted to help.

Robin didn't know what the man was looking for in his mind while sitting next to him. But he could have sworn that for a moment he thought he had seen something. The spark that spoke of how much younger Dannywas like him, something Batman himself often told him about when they were able to talk in the privacy of in the mansion.

"Sometimes it's not a sin to admit that something is too overwhelming for us."

"But what if I'm trying my best, and in the end, it still comes out to nothing?" Biting his lower lip lightly, he continued. "What if I am unable to do something now, what is the guarantee that I won't do it in the future?"

"There isn't any."

Seeing the posture of his converser, for the second time, the younger of the of them were unable to describe how much the figure of the scientist in front of him now seemed so detached from reality. For a short moment, he could have sworn that he felt as if he was looking at his future reflection, which at that moment was trying to help him, to support him as much as he could.

"But that doesn't mean we should give up." Only now did he manage to notice the sad smile on his face. "Let me tell you something that a lot of people have probably already told you. Try not to think too much about the past and focus on what will and could be, okay?" Turning towards him himself, Dick was able to see for the first time the real, crystal-like glow in his eyes, which made him feel for some reason very comfortable. "I am not telling you to forget about your past, but by worrying about what mistakes you made in it, you'll just stop in one place."

"By doing this, at some point, it may be too late, and then suddenly you see how much energy you have lost for this one little thing." Standing up without a word, he stretched his arms only so that at the moment when he heard the characteristic sound of his bones clicking, he could sigh. His stare for a relatively brief but eternal moment for both of them was focused somewhere in the distance, indicating his loss in his thoughts. The younger one felt an irresistible urge to find himself in the head of the other, only to see what he was struggling with so much in his thoughts, that he really wanted to know.

"I'm not a psychologist like my sister, so don't take my words personally." After laughing softly at his own words, he made the teenager still seated on the couch confused for a moment, but he didn't care much about it and continued. "Maybe treat them as a means of reflection to come to your own conclusions, being only inspired by them."

When he finished speaking, he only walked over to the tabletop, from which he also took the bowl, in which there were probably flakes that bounced against its sides with a characteristic clatter. Putting all other things aside, he gave Robin one last look, to whom he soon joined a smile, so after doing that he could be on his own way to leave the room, leaving said teenager alone with his thoughts.

And Robin really thought about what the older male said to him, just a few minutes ago.

Greetings, mortals!

There is a chance that I won't be able to update the new chapter the next week because I'm probably going to the hospital-

So here you go, I've tried my best to write this one the best I could, so you won't have to wait another few weeks for it!

I honestly don't have anything else to say, just wanted you to know guys that I'm fine and I'm still alive, so you don't have to worry that I've dropped this story!

Also - Yeah, I won't be really following and writing chapters about every episode. It wouldn't be that interesting, and only tiring for me and you guys.

I'm trying my best to focus on the plot that I've made, and not really on the background missions that were in series. Of course there would be chapters that concetrate around episodes from YJ, but I really want to explore the characters and their personalities more for now!

That's all I've wanted to say guys, remember to stay hydrated and have a nice day/night!

~Beware, Haven!