I know he had to have that little talk with Nightwing tonight. He mentioned it over dinner – one of a few attempts at conversation that were met with stony silence.

"Nightwing will be checking in tonight," Robin had said over dinner. "Anyone have anything they want me to mention to him?"

Vic sat at the other end of the table. He didn't say anything. Cassie sat on his right, twirling her fork through her pasta – she didn't say anything, either. Kid Devil sat next to me, devouring his own pasta – he was too busy with the food to form words. And as for me...I didn't say anything right away. Vic was Nightwing's friend – wouldn't he have a message? And Cassie was Robin's friend...why was she always so...quiet and angry?

"Uh...tell him...I said "hi," okay?" I said, a bit hesitantly.

"Me as well," Vic said, a half second after me.

Silence descended again, but for the scraping of Cassie's and Eddie's forks. "Sure thing..." Robin said, and abandoned the idea of conversation.

Dinners were usually like that; why Robin insisted that we all eat together, I'm not sure. Maybe I'll ask him about that sometime.

Damn...where is he? That call is taking an awful long time...

Finally, the door clicked and retracted, admitting Robin into his room. This time, I felt his eyes scan the room and catch sight of me in the dark. He wasn't going to be surprised the same way twice. My eyes flashed – who doesn't like a guy with a brain?

Robin put his hands on his hips and attempted to look stern; mostly he looked tired. "Rose, I'm not in the mood for this again tonight," he said.

"And what do I have to do to get you in the mood?" I asked, trying to sound seductive. I was in costume, but, with a slight tug in the right places, that began to change quickly.

"Rose, please," Robin said, and for the first time since I'd arrived at the Tower, I felt as though he was really talking to me, rather than at me. "It's been a long day...and a long week...I really just want to lay down and relax for a little while."

"So? Let me help you relax," I said, moving off the bed and walking towards him.

Robin caulked his head, seeming to size me up. "Do you suppose you could do that while keeping your clothes on?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah...if that's how you swing, sure," I said, surprised. "What do you want me to do, exactly?"

"Uh, I don't know," Robin said. He reached inside his cape, fiddled with something, and it came off. "I'm not really used to situations like this..."

"Well...would you like a back rub?" I asked. "Those are...relaxing."

"Uh...yeah," Robin said. "Yeah. That sounds nice."

I moved around behind him and raised my hands to his shoulders. Hesitantly, I pressed my thumbs into his back, around his shoulder blades, and I felt him cringe. "Sorry," I said. "I've never done this before."

"That's okay," he said. "My back is probably pretty tense."

"No surprises there," I muttered. "You really need to lighten up a little, Rob..."

"That's not happening any time soon," he said. I hit a knot and he cringed again. "I need to be on the ball twenty-four seven to get this team running again."

I giggled mischievously. "Well, if you ever want someone on your balls..."

Robin pulled away from me. "Rose, why do you do that?" he asked. "That stunt that you pulled the other day, too...why do you do all this?"

I faltered. "Don't...don't you like me?" I asked.

"I barely know you," Robin said. "I want to get to know you better, but I just don't do the things you keep implying. It isn't in my personality."

I was met by several different emotions at once. Amazement was strongest – I'd figured, up until now, that Robin was just too pigheaded to accept me as a mate and that he'd knuckle under and go for me eventually. This, though...what was this?

"I don't understand," I said casting my eyes downward in embarrassment – one of a few emotions I kept concealed at all times. "Is there something wrong with me, that you don't want to..."

"No, no," Robin said. "It has nothing to do with you – it's me..."

"Oh, like I haven't heard that one before," I interrupted. "I watch TV, Robin."

"God, will you just listen for a minute?" Robin said, a bit angrily. "What I mean is, I like you just fine – I just don't want to rush into a physical relationship."

"Why not?" I asked. "I mean, you say its not in your personality – okay, I get that. But why isn't it in your personality? We're both consenting...uh, near-adults. And its not like you and me haven't seen enough to be considered adults. I lost my innocence a long time ago, and I'm pretty sure you lost yours a long time ago, too. So...what's holding you back?"

Robin stopped to think. "I guess I've never really thought of it that way," he said. "It's just that...I feel like that sort of thing should go along with love. You know, that I shouldn't do...have sex...until I really fall in love. That's just how I feel."

I felt my eyes well up and, once again, I dropped my head to avoid having Robin see me like that. "Oh, man..." I said. "You're actually a decent guy..."

Robin laughed. "We do exist,"he said. "Come on, sit down and talk to me...I'd like to get to know you better..."

So...I did. I sat next to Robin, on his bed (although I quickly forgot what it was), and I told him about myself. I told him about my mother...I talked a bit about my adoptive parents, the ones I'd barely had the time to get to know myself...I talked about Wintergreen...I talked about the time I'd spent with the Titans, the time before Robin himself had been a part of the group...and I talked about my father, Slade Wilson – Deathstroke.

To his credit, Robin seemed just as interested in the mundane parts about my mother's perfume or how Wintergreen used too much starch as the parts about my father. It would have been okay with me if he'd only cared about getting more useful information on Deathstroke, but in the end...it didn't feel like that was what he was doing at all.

I talked for what could have been a couple of hours or a couple of minutes; although I felt tired when I finally wound up my story, I also felt as though I didn't want it to end. However, I realized that the conversation had become entirely one sided.

"What about you, Robin?" I asked, inclining my head. "You've heard my story, and I...I've never even heard your name."

"That's a secret," Robin said. "I keep my identity a secret, Rose."

"I'd like to keep mine a secret, too," I said. "But not from all of you. I trust you with my secret, don't I?"

"Well, yes," Robin said. "Look, it's just that...I'm not comfortable telling you my name yet. I need to talk to some other people before I can do that."

"Parents?" I asked, and his face clouded significantly. "Well, okay. If you ever feel like trusting me, let me know."

"I trust you, Rose," Robin said.

"You do?" I asked, skeptical.

"I wouldn't have let you onto this team if I didn't trust you," he said, and I believed him.

"Okay then...trust me now," I said, and leaned forward and kissed him.

I felt his body tense again. He was ready to push me back at any second and get me to stop. I didn't give him the chance; I pulled back myself after only a moment. "There...that wasn't so bad."

Since I was deeply unsure of how he was going to respond to this, I got up off the bed and quickly walked out the door, without saying good-bye or good night. As the door closed, though, I heard him mutter. "Not bad at all..."

I smiled. Genuinely.