"I don't want to do this," Raven growled.

Robin pouted, saying, "My doctor wants me to work on trust, and I think you guys need it, too."

"I think that's why she doesn't wanna do it, man," Victor said.

Kori scratched their arms. "I- I trust you all, but… I cannot do this."

"Maybe some other time?" Garfield offered.

"I think we should do it, guys," Victor said. "Maybe we should sit backwards, though? Instead of facing each other."

"You can use fake names, Kori. It's about sharing experiences," Robin said. "About learning how to help each other. We won't push you."

Kori nodded and wedged their body into a corner of the theater. Their fingers danced over the fabric of their new skirt. They hadn't bothered with makeup after the smoke-bombing incident, and they looked a bit odd to Robin. Garfield remained flopped across three seats as Raven sat on the floor nearby, crossing her arms. Victor returned to his bucket of popcorn, and Robin sat down a few seats away.

"I can go first," he said.

"Well, it was your idea, so you probably should," Victor said flatly.

Robin scoffed. Where to start?

"The first few months I spent in foster care," he said slowly, "I pretended I was a girl so they'd leave me alone."

"Dude, what?" blurted Garfield with a laugh.

"That's not the secret, but yeah."

"What's the secret?" asked Raven.

Robin bit his lip and said, "I kinda liked it. I liked having my hair long and styled. I liked wearing pink."

"I am wearing pants," said Kori. "This is not a problem."

"To be fair, Kori, there's a lot more pressure for guys to conform than girls," Victor said. "No one here cares that you wear pants, but Rob in a skirt might turn a few heads."

"Does that make you trans, too?" Garfield asked.

"No," said Robin firmly. "I'm a guy. I'm happy being a guy. I just like to be someone else sometimes, too."

"Like a drag queen, Gar," explained Raven. "I'm actually going to take my turn now. I had a lot of fun doing Kori's pants, and I'd love to make clothes for you, too. I… enjoy it."

Robin let himself smile a bit as Garfield laughed.

"Does this mean you'll stop assaulting my ribs?" he asked.

"About sewing? Yes."

"Thanks, Rae," Robin said. "And I like your aesthetic, so… that'd be perfect, I think."

He saw Victor nod in his peripheral. "You can be you around us, Rob. And if being you is someone else sometimes, be someone else. And Raven? Designing clothes doesn't make you less scary."

"You think I'm scary?" Raven asked, not bothering to hide her amused tone.

Everyone quickly agreed, and Raven chuckled.

"Good. Now you talk, monkey brain."

"I don't keep secrets. I'll talk about whatever's on my mind. You know that."

"I do know that. I wish I didn't. I know more about crocodiles now than I ever wanted to," Raven said, audibly rolling her eyes. "But what about the stuff you don't talk about?"

"Like what?"

Robin glanced over his shoulder.

"Well, what about your dad?" he asked.

Garfield's innocent demeanor soured instantly. "Oh. I just don't think about him. I don't need him. I have Mom."

"Yo, did something happen, man?"

"He bailed, dude. Mom was always working, and I was impossible to talk to." Garfield scoffed, "It's not some big deal or anything. He just decided to move on with his life. So we did, too."

"Jesus," Raven said, taking his hand. "How old were you?"

"Uuuh, like, nine? No, ten. Look, once I realized he wasn't coming back, that was it. I'm good with it. He's the one missing out on me."

"Good point," Victor said, shaking his bucket before grabbing another handful of popcorn. "You are pretty funny."

"I do not want to go home."

Everyone stared at Kori in surprise. They hid their face in their hands and continued.

"I forgot how afraid I was," they said. "I miss my family. But I forgot about the bombs, the fighting, the smoke… I forgot about living as though I might be dead the next day. Then… today…"

"The smoke made you remember it, right?" Victor asked. Kori nodded. "Sometimes, when the car lurches or I smell gasoline, I freeze up. It takes me back to the crash."

"I can't go in my old house, and that's not even where it happened," Raven muttered. "I panicked over how I was dressed. Heh. How stupid is that? Freaking out over a house I used to live in over some denim because of a man in a coma."

"I wish I'd put Gregory in a coma," growled Robin.

"Is that who busted you up?" asked Victor.

"Nah, that was some kid. Jake? Jason? Something with a J. Gregory was my boss. The ass who made me fight him."

"Back up," Garfield said, leaning between the two. "Who busted what now?"

Robin sighed. "Gregory was my foster dad. They'd pretend to give us good homes and rent us out to mobsters to gamble on."

"Like dog fights?"

"Yeah, like dog fights. He sucked. Minor things, scrapes and bruises? No big deal. 'Aw, the kids were playing and fell.' Broken jaw? That would get me taken away. All of us taken away. There's no money in that. So I spent a few days on painkillers and hoped it'd fix itself. It didn't. Big shocker there, right? Now I've gotta get X-rayed and probably surgery. Best case scenario, I'm eating through a straw for a few weeks."

"How?" Kori asked quietly. "How do you move on from that? The betrayal, the fear… How do you keep the past behind you?"

Robin only shrugged. Raven sighed.

"I'm not sure it's possible," she said hoarsely. "I mean, I don't know about you, but my father's still alive. What if he wakes up?"

"He'll go to jail," Robin assured her. "Do you know what happens to people like him in jail?"

"Where I am from, nothing," said Kori. "What happens here?"

"You see," Victor said slowly, "legally speaking, there's usually jail time. But some things don't exactly fly in prison. If he ends up there, the other inmates will make sure he never gets out."

"Can we talk about something else? Please?"

Robin watched as Garfield hugged Raven and whispered to her gently. He stood up.

"Rob?"

Robin smiled and motioned for Victor to stay.

"It's okay. I just remembered something I need to go do. It's fine," he assured them. "I'll be back soon."

"What the hell, Robin?"

Robin growled as Wayne wrapped his arms around him, pinning his wrists to his chest.

"Rob. Rob. Look," he calmly ordered. "You're going too far."

Robin rolled his eyes at his skinned knuckles. Wayne dragged him away from the punching bag.

"I wasn't done," spat Robin.

"Yes, you are. What happened? You're supposed to be with your friends. They're wondering where you went."

"I just… got a little mad."

Wayne released him to pull down a first aid kit. "It looks like you got more than a little mad."

"It's complicated."

"Try me."

Robin sighed and let Wayne clean his wounds.

"I like Raven. Like, really like her."

"She said no?"

"Yeah, but I was fine with it. But she's all snuggly with Garfield now."

"Uh-huh. So you're jealous?"

Robin nodded. Wayne looked at the punching bag again, then back to his ward, blue eyes stoic as ever.

"This isn't how to deal with it, Rob."

"That's what Quinzel told me to do," said Robin. "To take out my anger on the mat."

"Really? That's all?"

"Well… And to leave it there. She said I- I have to let go of things."

"And have you?"

Robin wiped his cheeks and closed his eyes. He was tired, too tired to stay mad, especially over something Raven couldn't control. Like Victor said, it was chemistry.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's going to be fine, Robin. Just remember to breathe, okay? You have a long way to go, but you've made a lot of progress, too." He put his hands on Robin's shoulders and asked, "So. Where's your head now? Any better?"

Again, Robin nodded. "Yeah… I just want to watch movies."

"Good. Maybe," Wayne said, "you should let Kori pick tonight? That little prank triggered something in her head."

"Syria." Wayne stared and Robin shrugged. "They're Syrian, aren't they?"

"'They.' Yes. Robin, no one can know this," warned the guardian. "Sh- They might be a target."

"Why?"

"That's private information. Skylar hasn't even told them. He only told me so I'd help get them out."

Robin followed him out of the gym, nearly running behind the much faster, older man.

"Is it that bad?" he asked.

"People like us cannot begin to imagine."

AN:

Sorry for missing last week! I was writing an entry for a contest. I'll keep you updated on how that goes. In the meantime, I'll make this up to you buy posting an extra chapter next Saturday, October 30th. It will be a Halloween chapter (This one takes place towards the end of September, start of October), and I need to get moving to the holidays so we can start seeing more of the other characters from the show.