Wednesday, 2 December ~* The *~

Robin was sitting in front of his laptop, yawning and listening to the lecture. His camera and mike were turned off, just like the rest of the class. He had no idea what many of his classmates looked like, because most teachers were fine with them having the camera off. He was sipping on a mug of black tea with notes or oranges and rose petals. Not a favorite, but it wasn't too bad.

The subject was interesting, but the lecture had gone on for an hour and was scheduled to last for one more. It was just too exhausting to focus for that long. He couldn't help but long for work that night. He chuckled to himself. He, a Teen Titan, finding a delivery job exciting? But he didn't regret things, not really, it was just the pandemic that had made things drearier. That, and the political turmoil the U.S was in right now, but he didn't want to think about that either.

The job meant moving, and moving fast. He loved pushing himself and always got the food to customers at a record time. Moving around the inner city also meant that, sometimes, he could help people. He wasn't actively looking for trouble, but he had stopped a few people from breaking into cars, and one mugging. With fewer people out, crime of that sort had gone down some, even Bruce had complained about being bored the other day.

Robin had had to change the way he thought about himself since becoming a civilian. At first, it had been very difficult to let go of the guilt he felt for not being a hero anymore. At first, every news story of a crime he had read, made him wonder if he could have stopped it. Bruce had talked to him many times about this, and it had helped. Now he only felt a pang of guilt when he read or heard about something in his own neighborhood, and when he was out on his bike, it felt a bit like patrolling, after all... It was as close as he could allow himself to get right now.

"Thanks, Dick, glad you delivered tonight. Then at least it will be hot," the blond man smiled at him.

"I try my best," he answered with a grin behind his facemask.

The man winked at him, and handed him a 5 dollar tip. "I hope to see you again soon," he said, just enough of a suggestion in his voice to keep it proper.

"Hope you're hungry Friday," Robin grinned back and waved goodbye. The guy wasn't quite his type, a bit on the skinny side, but he seemed nice enough. If he asked him out, Robin might accept, he decided.

This was his last delivery for this run. He biked back to the restaurant at a slightly more leisurely pace, even though no one could call it 'slow'.

He picked up the orders for his last round of the evening, and the last order on it was in a new building. Or… new and new, it looked ready to be torn down. Several doors were open, apartments gaping empty. Robin's senses were all on high alert, delivery personnel were sometimes lured away to get mugged, and it seldom ended there. When he reached the door there was no doorbell, so he knocked and stepped away. Safe corona distance, and all that, plus… well… this was a creepy place. Whoever lived here probably had a few things checked on their creepy-list as well.

The door opened almost immediately, and Robin froze.

"You?!" he eventually got out.

"Hello, Robin. Or is it Richard now?" The tall, whitehaired man was leaning against the doorframe, looking perfectly at ease. Robin's feelings didn't exactly match.

"What the hell are you doing here, Slade?!" he asked.

"Looking for you. Spotted you the other night delivering food. Figured that if I bought enough stuff from that restaurant you'd eventually show up."

Robin's address was, of course, not listed. Having people know where the ward of the city's billionaire lived wasn't the best idea. He had also been lying very low, mostly due to the pandemic. Slade must have worked damn hard to 'happen' to spot him. The teen didn't for a moment believe that it was an accident.

"What do you want?" Robin growled, and then raised his free hand. "No, stop, why am I even asking? I don't care what you want! Just get the fuck out of my life! You should know how, you've practiced, after all." He shoved the food into the man's chest and turned around to leave.

"I need your help."

Without missing a beat, Robin flipped the man behind him off and continued walking.

To be Continued…