Robin was sitting on a bed in the infirmary of Titan Tower. He was stripped to the waist, his blood-soaked vest and shirt lying discarded on a bench with his utility belt. Batman hovered near him.
"Did you get him?" Robin asked, grimacing as he stitched his own injury. He hated stomach wounds. They were just the pits.
"Yes," Batman answered coolly. "Those flash grenades you gave Raven blinded the Joker enough to make him an easy catch. Apparently, he was trying to seed the bay with a time-release toxin. He must have wanted to try for easier targets than Gotham."
"I'm just glad he's out of my hair." Robin took a pair of scissors and finished the stitch. "Sometimes I really hate this job," he groaned, leaning back into the bed. His stomach still felt like it was on fire, despite the painkillers he had taken. "I'm surprised I'm not in a million pieces yet."
"One gets used to it, I suppose," said Batman. He picked up Robin's utility belt and examined it. "You've made some modifications," he noted. "I didn't see these before."
"Something I picked up from Cyborg a week ago," Robin explained, pointing at a gadget. "It's like a GPS, but more precise."
"And this?" Batman opened another compartment.
"Uh…" Robin said hesitatingly, scrambling to take the belt away. Don't let him see it! he thought wildly. But his injured stomach wouldn't let him move.
Batman opened the compartment. A pair of wrapped items fell into his hand. An eyebrow arched on the Dark Knight's grim visage.
"Care to explain this?" he asked his partner, holding up one of the items. It was a condom. He read the wrapping. "Has 'special heat-transferring materials' for 'maximum pleasure.' All this while being 'easy to use,' no less."
Robin shifted uncomfortably.
"I take it your relationship with Raven has…improved," Batman observed tonelessly.
"It's nothing like that," Robin protested. "Those…I bought them yesterday. I don't even know why. I was getting some painkillers at the pharmacy, for our medicine chest. And they just…stood out, for some reason."
Batman just looked at him.
"Honest! I…I really like Raven. She's important to me and I care about her. I respect her. Picking those things up…I felt dirty afterwards. I mean—aw, hell, I don't know what I mean."
"You mean you respect her but buying those made you feel like you were treating your relationship as something crude and distasteful," Batman reasoned.
"Yeah, that's it, you got it. Freudian psychoanalyst that you are," Robin added snidely.
Batman regarded the item in his hand again. "And you put them in your utility belt?"
"Well…I'm usually in costume these days."
Batman turned the contraceptive over in his fingers, his expression thoughtful. "When I was your age…before I took up the cape and cowl…I used to carry one of these in my wallet. It was something a lot of boys did at the time. Actually, when I was first starting out as a crimefighter, I used to carry one in my belt, too. Catwoman, Talia. You get the idea." He handed the item back to Robin. "Maybe you should, too. You never know." He was grinning.
Robin laughed. That's certainly one way of giving the Talk, he thought wryly. Aloud, he said, "I didn't know you had a sense of humor."
"Seriously Dick," Batman said, "you're entering some unusual territory."
"You make it sound like I've never been in a relationship before," Robin said.
"You've certainly never had to buy one of these when you were with Batgirl," Batman replied, fingering the contraceptive meaningfully.
"I said I bought them on impulse," Robin protested weakly.
"And impulse, in my experience, shows what you're really thinking about," his mentor said.
"You don't make me sound like the most chivalrous person," Robin noted shamefacedly.
Batman laid a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Dick, there's nothing wrong with wanting this. But you have to think about Raven, too. Are you both ready to progress that far in your relationship? It's a big step. I'm just concerned that you might be taking this too fast. I don't want you to do anything that would ruin the happiness you found with her."
Robin spoke seriously, "Trust me, I don't want to." Then he smiled brightly. "I definitely want to be with her, Bruce—body and soul. I…I love her. But right now, I like things just the way they are."
Robin grimaced as his stomach knotted up. It hurt like hell. He sighed as a thought hit him. "Raven's probably chewing herself up over this. Me getting hurt, I mean. She lost her powers a while ago. The Joker simply couldn't pick a more convenient time, could he?"
"Are you going to talk to her?"
"Yeah."
Batman silently left the room. Robin sighed again, threw on his shirt, grabbed his vest and cape, and headed out.
Author's Note: A change in style here. I tried to lighten the mood, considering how depressing the next (and final!) chapter could be. I always wondered what "daddy" Batman would do if he ever caught Robin in a situation like this. Batman's "wallet" dialogue is based off an episode of SeaQuest DSV, which is actually where I got the silly idea that spawned this particular chapter. This chapter's kind of an experiment; it was never part of the original storyline I devised.
Second Note: Because of the drama involved in the final chapter, there will be no "Author's Note" section in Chapter 13. Putting one there would detract from the impact of that chapter. So stay tuned for the conclusion.