Dennis became extremely protective of Lucy after that. When some of the kids in their class were making fun of her, he pushed them into the mud. He even got into a few tussles now and then that had to be separated by teachers.

When the weather began to turn cold he finally won the argument regarding Lucy's shelter. After what she had been through she was all too happy to keep sleeping on the roof under the open sky, but Dennis was a perpetual worrier. He snuck her into an abandoned apartment in Kevin's building, which thanks to him was actually livable.

Lucy noticed however that the more Dennis took the 'light' as they had dubbed it, the more disoriented Kevin became. It seemed that when Dennis was in control he was tucked into the back corner of his own mind. He'd wake up in the morning with no clue what he'd been doing yesterday, and she'd had to sneak in through his window more than once to get him for school; if she spent the weekend with Dennis, Kevin wouldn't realize it was Monday.

This of course, caused the boy a great deal of distress, but Lucy was there for him to lean on. She kept him up to date on school assignments, and she actually started paying attention in class so she could remember everything Kevin forgot. It was actually making her memory much sharper than usual, and her grades were even going up.

There were pitfalls. Without her father to skim money off of, Lucy had none. School supplied breakfast and lunch, but nothing else. Lucy had only packed a few outfits into her school bag, and they were beginning to show signs of wear. This was what lead to Kevin handing her a sandwich bag full of folded bills and stray coins one day while they were sitting in her apartment.

"What's this for?" she frowned.

"You." He said simply. "It's all the money I've thwiped from my mom's purthe over the years."

"Kev, I can't take this!" she went to hand it back to him but her hand was pushed away.

"Lucy, you've done tho much for me." He said, his voice going a little soft. "Can't I just do this one thing for you?"

Lucy wanted to refuse again, saying there was no way she could take his life savings. But then she saw his eyes; that look he always got when he was scared he'd said or done something wrong. The look he got when he was afraid to lose her.

"Fine." She relented. "But I'm ordering pizza for dinner, and you're staying to share it with me."

Kevin instantly lit up. "Whatever you want."

Lucy had never had an excess of money. Not to spend on herself anyways. The majority of her father's earnings went to him; she was always careful to only skim off what she knew he wouldn't miss.

The money Kevin had given her was by no means a fortune, but it still felt strange having money to spend on just herself. She still bought the simpler, cheaper things, hoping to stretch Kevin's gift as far as she could. Something caught her eye in the craft section of a store however.

A long strand of black leather thread wrapped around a cardboard spool for only a dollar. A small assortment of attachable clasps hung just below it. An idea turned over in her head. Black was less likely to show dirt or stains, and the tag on the clasps said they were rust resistant.

She tossed both into the basket she held on the crook of her arm before continuing down the aisles. Her attention was caught once again by a small stand of jewelry in the girl's clothing section.

Among the sea of sparkle and pink, a pair of necklaces were strung up on a cardboard tag. One read 'Batman' and the other 'Robin.' The two halves connected to make the bat symbol.

Kevin loved comic books. Most of the games they played consisted of them taking on various personas to fight imaginary crime. The boy had a small comic book collection that was his most prized possession; and Lucy was the only one allowed to touch them.

She tossed the necklaces into her basket and proceeded to the check out.

Kevin awoke Saturday morning to a knocking on his window. Frowning, he sat up to see Lucy outside on the fire escape.

'Come on!' she mouthed, waving him towards her.

Kevin couldn't help but grin as he grabbed his slippers and coat before running to his bedroom window. Lucy pulled him through it the moment it was open, and they climbed the rusted metal to her own window.

"Surprise!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms out once they were in the apartment. Kevin paused, looking around the mostly empty room. Their blanket was set out on the floor with two parcels wrapped in newspaper, accompanied by a pair of cupcakes. Multiple sheets of notebook paper had been taped to the far wall to read out 'Happy Birthday!'

"Y-You…." He turned to look at his friend. "You did all this for me…?" His birthday had never been celebrated before; mother said pride was a sin, and things like cake and presents were a waste of money.

"Course I did. You're my best friend." Lucy said simply. She stumbled backwards as Kevin suddenly threw his arms around her.

"T-Thank you…."

"You're welcome." She smiled, returning the embrace. "Now what should we do first?" she pulled back to look at him. "Cake or presents?"

Both sounded extremely tempting, but Kevin picked at random. "Prethents."

"Excellent choice!" she pulled him down to their blanket and Kevin eagerly picked up the first pile of newsprint. His name was written on it in bright red marker.

Careful not to tear around the letters, he opened it to reveal a curved necklace with 'Batman' engraved into it.

"They're matching, see?" Lucy pulled a similar necklace from under her shirt. Taking his hand, she held the two pieces together. "They make the bat signal."

"You're amazing…" were the only words Kevin could come up with. Lucy beamed at him. Pulling the necklace over his head, Kevin reached for the second package only to pause. The name written on it was not his.

Dennis' steely eyes looked up to the girl in surprise. "…Y-You…"

"I wasn't really sure if you had a birthday, so I just grouped it in with Kevin's." Lucy explained. "Open it!" she prompted. Dennis was far more delicate with the newspaper, and Lucy waited until the braided black leather bracelet fell out. "You like it?" her voice took a tone of nervousness. "I made it myself. I figured black wouldn't show any dirt or –" she was once again thrown off by his arms around her. Lucy still smiled and returned the embrace.

This one lasted much longer than the one with Kevin. Dennis seemed to melt into Lucy's arms, which made her heart swell. He was always so guarded; he was the protector after all. The thought that he was laying down his armor for her made Lucy feel very special.

When Dennis finally pulled away, he sniffed a little and wiped at his eyes. "You're a thpecial kinda thomethin', you know that?" Lucy smiled at him before she saw his eyes shift. Kevin was back.

He stared at her with something akin to awe as she stuck a candle into his cupcake, pulling a matchbook from her pocket to light it. "Make a wish."

He looked between her and the flame. "…..I wish the world was just me, you, and Dennis."

"Then it is." Lucy nodded.

Kevin smiled at her, before closing his eyes and blowing out the candle.