Solitary Man

by Wushu

[Robin/Starfire] [RobStar]. Isolated from those around him, Richard Grayson loses himself in the abysmal solitude of the unloved and unwanted, but could there be hope for him?

Title: Solitary Man
Rating: K+
Series: Teen Titans
Summary: [Robin/Starfire] [RobStar]. Isolated from those around him, Richard Grayson loses himself in the abysmal solitude of the unloved and unwanted, but could there be hope for him?
Disclaimer: Don't own the Titans or anything associated with them, not even Batman. Warner and DC own them. Don't own Power Rangers, Hasbro does. If you notice any other notable intellectual property then it is safe to say that I don't own that either, end of story.

AN: Just a note that the vast majority of this is narration with very little dialogue. And when I mention Alfred think of Michael Caine from the movies.

AaAaA

Solitary, the dictionary would have several meanings for the word; without companions, unattended, avoiding the society of others. All those terms only mean the same thing, alone.

That is what my life has been since I care to remember.

Following my parent's death, I was adopted by Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Enterprises and secretly the Batman.

Bruce took me in when no one else would, however, for a few months following the murder of my parents I floated among some of the Child Protective Services' foster homes before Bruce saved me. I met the same thing in all of them, pain. Not one of the foster parents cared about the children they were tasked to take care of. All they were interested in was the monthly check from DSS (Department of Social Services, one of the umbrella names for CPS, Child Protective Services, for those who don't know); once that cleared they could care less about the kid. Hell some of them even beat me, sometimes using more than just a fist or foot.

This is the environment I found myself thrown into.

Suffering shellshock from watching my parents die in front of me and knowing there was nothing I could have done, I had withdrawn into myself. I cut myself off from those around me, only speaking when I was spoken too, never standing up for what I knew was right. All I did was let the pain and heartache fester, let it turn into an ugly, diseased blight upon my soul, tainting me to the light and casting me into darkness.

It was in this state of existence that Bruce found me; having suffered a similar fate with his own parents, he was able to understand me. He, however, unlike myself, had someone that had genuinely cared for him and had done all they could to pull him from the pit that he could have fallen into, the one I found myself in. Alfred had been the one to save the young Bruce and set him on the path that had ultimately turned him into Batman.

Having pushed through the adoption papers, Bruce was quick to pull me from the horrors of the foster care system.

Now, I should note right now that there are many, many, many, many, wonderful people involved in the foster system. People who care about a child beyond the monthly check. I, however, was not blessed to have found any of them; so, you can see that despite knowing good people did exist my view was still skewed.

But I digress, Bruce had pushed the papers through the courts and had me living at Wayne Manor faster than my eight and a half-year-old mind could fathom.

Yes, I said eight and a half; the night of my parent's death had been my birthday. The show that night was to celebrate and I was to help my parents with a new acrobatic trick we had developed just for me. Following that night I spent six months floating in the foster system before Bruce found me.

As I was settled into a room on the top floor of the manor, located in a wing almost opposite to Bruce's bedroom, I took note of my surroundings and knew that my life would be different now. In those initial few days, I had hoped that Bruce would be able to talk to me; after all, we were both orphans with murdered parents. But having learned that he had left almost immediately for a business trip overseas, I resigned myself to exploring my new home. Alfred, at this stage of his life, was too old to be able to provide me with the same emotional support that he had given Bruce. However, that didn't stop him from trying as best as he was able to help me.

Upon my arrival, the elderly gentleman had taken me aside and explained that this, Wayne Manor, was my home now. He told me that I had free run of the house and was able to explore all the adjoining grounds and buildings. While he was unable to provide for me as he had Bruce, Alfred took up a much more important role, that of a grandfather.

With his kind words and remarks about finding him if I needed anything, I set off to explore the mansion, little did I know that that would change my life in more ways than one.

AaAaA

Events following that day and the ones that followed were fairly normal. After visiting the doctor, Bruce had noticed the injuries from my previous homes during one of his visits home, I was enrolled in a local public school with a clean bill of health. When I finally began school it was a given that it was an interesting experience for me, for all my life I had been taught by my parents as well as the other circus performers; each one had some facet of my education to teach. The ringmaster taught management, the cashiers/ticker takers taught accounting, my parents and the cannonballers taught physics. The list could go on and on, so I was a little shocked by the formal education system. As for the time spent in the foster system, most of them didn't care if I went to a school or not, so not knowing that I could, I never went. My education at that time was such that I wasn't behind in any classes, in fact in most I was ahead of the other students. But both Bruce and Alfred refused to have me skipped, something I am extremely thankful for.

It was the events of my ninth year that would change not only my life but those of Alfred and Bruce as well. That was the year that I stumbled onto the entrance to the Bat Cave, six months after arriving at the mansion and almost the same since I had started school, ironically it had been on my ninth birthday.

Following that day Bruce took me under his proverbial and literal wing and began to teach me how to be a superhero. From that day forth Richard Grayson ceased to exist, in his place was Robin, or to be more accurate a fusion of both Richard and Robin, two-in-one. Richard had been pushed to the back and Robin had taken over the shell of the former circus performer.

I once asked Bruce why he chose Robin for my name. He told me that there were several reasons; one was that my old circus costume (which had been the basis of my Robin uniform) reminded him of the outfits worn by Robin Hood and his men. The other reason was that the rest of my uniform top looked like that of the American Robin. I was truly sorry I had asked after all this was the reasoning of a man that dressed as a bat.

However, none of this has any real bearing on this tale. No, in fact, all of this is nothing but lead-in and back-story.

No, my real tale begins in high school. Following events in Gotham, it had been decided that I should move to Jump City for high school. To be honest nothing bad had happened to me in Gotham, it's just that Bruce and I had decided that I should become the protector of Jump City. Now that may seem a lot of responsibility for a 14-year-old, but I'm no ordinary teenager after all.

Jump City was much like Gotham; both were a seaside city and had developed around a bustling industrial and ocean-based economy. However the biggest difference was that crime in Jump wasn't as bad as that of Gotham; there was no Joker in Jump, nor was there any other supervillain. All Jump had to offer was petty crooks, a fact I was happy to embrace for I knew the rigors of high school would make a supervillain difficult to deal with.

So I had moved into a small apartment located in a fairly well off section of town. Living alone proved no problem for me, in Gotham I had (often having little choice in the matter) taken care of myself when Bruce was away, more often than not he would take Alfred with him. Since I had school, something Bruce would never let me miss unless it was life or death, I had to stay behind in Gotham.

Having settled into my apartment, I began to attend the nearest high school, Jump City High School. Very original isn't it? Care to guess the colors or the mascot? They are Seafoam green and gray, with the dolphin being the mascot, kind of lame to be honest, but what do I care.

Enrolling was rather simple, upon my adoption Bruce had my name legally changed to Richard John Wayne. No, we didn't leave my name as Grayson, and there's a reason for that. As far as the media knows, Bruce adopted a son named Richard Wayne. Most, if not all of my personal information was left out. Of course, there were photos of me, kind of hard for those not to exist, but I tend to ignore them. As for anyone who asks if I'm Bruce's son I simply tell them that no, I just happen to look a lot like him. Yes, I am using the 'everyone has a twin' concept, so sue me; it's worked well so far.

As far as the school is concerned I am one Richard Grayson. If anyone could be bothered to trace my history they would find my parent's death as well as my involvement in the foster system before being adopted by an unknown benefactor. Anything after that is missing and open to interpretation, at least until I arrived in Jump.

Now that we have all those details out of the way let us jump right into the thick of things. It is now a year into school, I am a sophomore, which in Latin means wise moron. Don't believe me? Look it up, Wikipedia knows everything.

So, having once again digressed, I shall return to the real purpose of my tale.

My freshman year was difficult; being the new kid in a school of people that had known each other since elementary was hard. I knew no one and nothing. So needless to say I was jumped almost immediately by both the bullies and the plastics. Yes, I said plastics. A term to describe the 'popular' people that I heard somewhere and liked; so, no it isn't an original idea, get over it.

After defending myself from the bullies and beating off the plastics, I found myself to be very alone, a situation I didn't try to change. It was easier this way, no attachments made it easier to be Robin.

After the hazing I had received I was classified as an outcast. But it was actually worse than that, not even the outcasts wanted to associate with me. It seems as though my darker Robin persona was seeping into Richard and scaring people off.

Some said I was a Satanist and worshipped the devil and into black magick and all that stuff. Others said I was just a Goth or a wannabe Goth, and I should mention that these are the nicest of the things people have said about me. But none were correct; in fact, I went to a small Christian church located near my apartment every Sunday. As for the Goth comments, well those developed due to my habit of only wearing dark clothes.

My justification for the black and other dark colors was that if I wore the colors of my uniform, and yes I have seen Power Rangers and many other television shows in which they DO wear their uniform colors, then someone may correctly assume that I am Robin. To be honest I can't understand the reasoning behind wearing the colors of your uniform when you're not in uniform after all the entire point of a secret identity is to keep it secret.

Anyway, the long sleeves of my shirts also helped to hide any injuries I acquired during my night job.

The only way to explain my freshman year is to describe it as solitary. See, and I bet you were wondering when my comment about the word would come into play, moving on now.

I had gone through the motions of school; homework, tests, lunch that could kill me, everything that one would expect. Nothing I did stood out, at least not on purpose.

AaAaA

"Mr. Grayson," my name broke through my thoughts as I randomly doodled on my paper. From my seat in the back of the class, I raised my head to address my teacher.

"Yes, sir?" I said as I set my pencil down and readjusted my sunglasses. Now about the sunglasses, my eye doctor said I should always wear them when I'm outside, and since I sit in the back next to the window I wear them and the instructors can't say a thing. Ha, take that public education!

"What was one of the reasons for the start of World War I?"

Without batting an eye I answered him before returning to my paper.

"The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914."

"Very good Mr. Grayson," he replied as he turned his attention back to the lecture.

Things carried on like that in several classes, I always knew the answer.

I didn't try to do it, but following school and before my patrols, I had nothing to do so I studied and did my homework. In the first month, I had already finished reading my history book and had gone to the bookstore to buy more.

Lunchtime wasn't much different than classes; I sat alone at an isolated table in the area closest to the door and silently ate my lunch or did a piece of homework for the next day.

It isn't to say that I didn't pay attention to the people around me, quite the contrary in fact. I paid attention to everyone around me. I had to know who was a threat and who wasn't. But that wasn't the only reason. No, the other reason was that I was watching for her.

Kori Anders, fiery red hair, sparkling emerald eyes, and golden tan, it is safe to say that I loved her at first sight, not very logical of me but you can't control the heart. Her father is the president of a small south pacific island nation called Tamaran. Her parents sent her to the United States for school during her middle school years.

I sigh as I see her, my lunch all but forgotten, not that that is a bad thing today.

She gracefully walks into the room, almost seeming to float as she glides across the floor. Her hair is pulled back behind her shoulders into a ponytail, a few strands escaping to frame her face. She pauses a moment to shrug her purple backpack to a more comfortable position on her shoulder, as she does she wrinkles her royal purple t-shirt covered with shooting green stars the same color as her eyes.

Due to my positioning at my table, anyone entering or leaving the cafeteria has to pass by me. Most tend to do so at a fairly brisk walk, but not her, she doesn't let my presence affect her pace one little bit. The only thing that does affect her pace is when she slips on a piece of mystery meat and begins to fall.

I'm out of my seat the moment I see her feet give out and manage to catch her before she can even register that she is falling. Once her mind catches up and realizes that she won't be hitting the ground a smile breaks across her face.

"Thank you for saving me Richard," she says as I help her to stand, shooting a death glare at anyone around me that is staring. It's not like I haven't saved others from tripping before, but then again they weren't the 'princess' of the school. As for why she knew my name, she and I had been in the same classes during freshman year and still had most of our classes together this year, although she never spoke to me in any of them

"You're wel…" I don't even get a chance to finish as I'm cut off by another voice.

"Hey Kori," the voice of Roy "Speedy" Harper calls out from behind us. Roy is her boyfriend; he has been since freshman year. He also happens to be the captain of the track team, hence the nickname of Speedy. He holds all the track speed records for the school. "You okay?"

"I am fine Roy," she replies as her smile now turns to him and she pulls herself from my steadying grip and embraces him. "Richard has just prevented me from suffering a most nasty fall."

Roy's eyes turn from her to me, I know what they're saying; stay away from my girl freak.

"Come on Kori, let's go sit down," Roy says as he directs Kori away from me.

Without a word, I return to my table even as Roy pulls Kori toward their own table located on the other side of the room.

Now for some more explaining. Kori is the most popular girl in school, as simple as that. Her family is rather wealthy and so that helped to attract people to her. But they quickly thinned as only those who truly were her friends stayed once they found out she had no access to her family wealth. Still, despite her lack of accessible wealth, she remained the most popular and beautiful girl in the school.

And for that reason, among many others let me assure you, I knew I had no chance with her. An outcast and the school princess? Never happen, not in real life anyway, maybe in a teen rom-com movie or something similar.

True, I could always reveal myself to be the adopted son of Bruce Wayne, but I can only see that blowing up in my face.

AaAaA

Crimes in Jump City have been fairly minor since I arrived, mostly a mugging or an adventurous bank robber, all ended with a trip to jail, however.

I was sitting on the roof of a building fairly near the school, not doing much but listening to the police scanners. As I was putting my scanner away I heard the sound of a struggle, someone was fighting an attacker and from the sounds was losing.

Grappling onto the building across from me I scaled more rooftops until I came to the alley where the attack was taking place. Below me, partially hidden by the shadows, I could see a man pinning what could only be a girl to the wall. Now, I knew that sexually based attacks were up and I felt it was fairly safe to assume that's what was happening below me.

Dropping from the roof I was perched on I fell onto the back of the attacker, knocking him away from the girl. Diving into a roll I came up in a fighting stance as I waited for him to regain his footing. Once he had, he threw curses my way before reaching down for the knife he had been holding to the girl's throat.

"You picked the wrong alley to come down," he said as he held the knife before him in a laughable attempt at intimidation. It was clear from not only his stance but also the position the knife was held in that he had no real experience fighting.

"I think not," I replied as I waited for him to make the first move, he didn't disappoint. He lunged at me, hoping for a quick stab.

I shifted my position back and to the side, settling my weight on one foot as the other came up in a snapping kick that caught him under the jaw. His eyes crossed following the impact and I took the opening to reach in and grab his knife hand and twist it, forcing the hand to open and the knife to drop to the ground. I followed this up by driving the knee of my other leg into his stomach, doubling him over before I twisted his wrist more and flipped him to the ground.

He grabbed the knife and attempted to stab me as he rose from the ground; he only managed to make a shallow slice in my stomach.

Grabbing his head I drove my elbow into his forehead, knocking him into unconsciousness.

Once he had hit the ground I kicked the dropped knife deeper into the alley before turning my attention to the girl.

She was bathed entirely in shadow and as I approached I could see her shrink further back, frightened by me.

"Hey," I began as I raised my hands before me, "It's ok, and I'm one of the good guys. My name is Robin, are you hurt?"

"I know who you are," a familiar voice spoke from the shadow and I knew instantly who she was, but still I prayed it wasn't her. "I have heard much about you from the news."

My fears were confirmed as she slowly separated herself from the shadows; red hair, green eyes, purple t-shirt, it was Kori. I must say, she was surprisingly calm and lucid for someone that was almost raped.

"I am as well as can be expected" she paused to gesture down at her ripped and torn t-shirt and cut up jeans, "given what almost happened. I thank you for saving me, Robin."

"You're welcome," I replied as she stepped fully into the light and I was able to see her neck. "You're hurt."

"I am?" she said in surprise as she lifted a tiny hand to her throat and felt the warm, sticky blood that was escaping from the shallow knife cut. She raised the hand before her eyes and confirmed my diagnosis. "So I am."

I couldn't help but chuckle at her response.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up and that cut seen to," I respond as I gently take her arm and guide her from the alley, pausing for a moment to report the incident to the police and the location of her attacker.

I was truly surprised when she willingly followed me to my motorcycle and even more so when she merely climbed on behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist, something I could only attribute to shock.

AaAaA

Now, I know that I should have taken her to the hospital, but something inside told me not to. After five years with Batman, I have learned to listen to that little voice. Instead, I took her to one of the warehouses I used as a base of operations. Honestly, how smart would it be to have my hideout located at the apartment, I mean seriously? Anyway, I took her to one of the warehouses that was owned by a dummy corporation that if anyone traced would lead to absolutely nothing, exactly the way Bruce wanted it.

After verifying myself using the various biometric readers, a small door opened and I quietly rolled the shutdown motorcycle into the building, Kori walking beside me. Off in the corner the sound of small feet scampering away told me that the resident mice had decided to hide, the annoying little things were always chewing holes in my boots.

Returning the bike to its maintenance pad I turned to Kori and led her to what would have been the office. I had refurbished it into a small apartment complete with a fully stocked infirmary just on the off chance something like this had happened.

Leading the still silent girl into the infirmary I turned to face her.

"Ok, let's see that wound," I said with a small smile on my face. Behind my mask, I knew my eyes were shining brightly at the chance to touch the girl I loved.

She shyly approached me and I had to bite back a grin.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to bite," I replied as I gently took her face in my hands and lifted it to reveal her neck. Reaching to the table beside me, I grabbed the antiseptic and a cotton ball.

"This is going to burn," I warned as I raised the cotton ball, her response was to tightly shut her eyes. I just shook my head as I applied the antiseptic and wiped away the dried blood. For her part all she did was cringe, she was indeed a brave girl.

Once I got the cut cleaned I could see that it was indeed very shallow, it should heal in no more than a few days, and wouldn't need any bandaging.

"There," I said as I removed the cotton ball and tossed it into a medical waste container. "All done. That wasn't so bad was it?"

"Indeed it was not," she replied as she opened her eyes slowly, a smile gracing her lips.

"Glad to hear it," I told her as I stepped back to begin putting away the medical supplies. However, I turned around in a hurry when she let out a startled gasp.

"You are injured," she said as she pointed to the small puddle of blood that had accumulated beneath my feet.

"Heh, what do you know. I totally forgot about that."

"You forgot?" her eyes were wide as they shifted from the puddle of blood to my blood stained tunic and her mind did the math as she added in how short a time I had been standing before her.

"It's just a flesh wound?" I offered lamely as my hand went to scratch the back of my head, a gesture fairly common to Richard, at least when he was nervous. It should be said that Richard Grayson did not get nervous, nor did Robin.

At that moment I couldn't help but notice that Robin and Richard were indeed two vastly different people and yet they were more similar than they should be. Many personality traits from one crossed over to the other, such as the nervous scratching of my head, an admittedly dangerous thing to happen should someone get to know both personas. Another aspect where they were similar yet different was in helping people. While Richard had moments where he could help people, saving Kori at lunch that day, they were few and far between; he was after all just a regular citizen. Whereas Robin's life was helping people, he was a Hero. I knew that both worlds should be kept separate, but with having Kori here I knew it was dangerously close to those worlds colliding.

Without a word she began to reach for my tunic, my hand came down from my head faster than you can blink and grabbed onto hers.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I held her hand down and away from me.

"I am trying to help. You are bleeding and need medical attention."

"I'll be fine," I told her as I sighed and released her hands. She merely crossed her arms and glared at me.

Instantly I felt as though I had to comply, if for no other reason than the fire that shone in her eyes. I had been around a few angry women before, not all of Bruce's affairs ended well after all, and I had learned one thing; do what they want if it's feasible, and if it's not try anyway.

With a sigh, I crossed my arms before me and grabbed the edges of my tunic and pulled it off over my head. I once again thanked God for no significant birthmarks, nothing that could identify Robin as Richard.

Once I had the tunic over my head I tossed it into a corner and forgot about it. Looking down I could see that the small wound I had imagined was in fact quite large, it seems as though the attacker had managed to dig the blade point rather deep into my gut.

Without a word I reached for the antiseptic on the cart behind me and turned to grab a cloth. Once I had both in hand I returned my attention forward only to have the antiseptic and cloth snatched from my grip.

"What are you doing?" I asked the girl before me, medicinal items held in her hands as she added the antiseptic to the cloth and approached me.

"You took care of my wound, it is only fair that I returned the favor," she said as she smiled up at me.

I would do anything for that smile, not that she knew it. If she wanted to patch me up, then who was I to stop her? After all, the comment I made before about angry women is even more important when dealing with a redhead as they tend to be a bit more … fiery in their anger.

So I stood there as she applied the burning antiseptic to my stomach. Yes, it did indeed burn, but it wasn't something that I wasn't used to. You often get hurt in this line of work so being able to ignore pain became second nature.

When she had finished cleaning my wound she took a sterile pad from the tray and applied it to my stomach after adding some Neosporin to it. As she bandaged the pad in place I couldn't help but notice that her hands seemed to linger on my abs for a moment.

Could she be admiring my abs? I do work out daily to stay in shape for crime fighting, but to my own mind, I'm not ripped. I'm just in good shape. No, I decided after a moment, she's not admiring, she's just wiping extra Neosporin off. That has to be it.

"Thank you," I say after a minute or so as her hands start to curiously trace some of the other superficial scars that litter my body, she's probably wondering what had made them.

My voice seems to break her from whatever trance had taken her and she backs away with a gentle blush.

"You are welcome," she replies as she shyly looks at the ground, her hands clasped behind her back.

Forcing myself to move, I walk past her and into the bedroom of the apartment. Once I enter I grab a new tunic and pull it over my head. Returning to the living area I can see that she has made herself comfortable on the sofa. With a smile, I walk over and sit in the chair across from her.

"So," I begin as I lean back, "What were you doing near the school at this time of night?"

"I was walking home from my boyfriend's house; we had been hanging out and doing homework. When I realized how late it was I left for home. Upon the way, I was jumped by the man you saved me from."

"I see," I said. "Why didn't you get a ride? It's dangerous to be out at this time of night."

She blushed as her head hung, she was embarrassed by her answer, but I had no idea why she would be.

"I did not wish to be a burden, so I declined all offers of a ride. I told them that it was a nice night for a walk."

"Ah," was all I said before I glanced at the clock.

"Come on," I said as I stood and offered a hand to help her up. "I should get you home; your parents should be worried about you."

"Oh, my parents do not live with me. I live with a guardian they appointed for me." She smiles as she looks up at me, but her smile soon fades away as she realizes something. "I have not even told you my name, have I?"

I merely shake my head no as I lead her back into the bike bay. Sitting on the bike I straightened it so she could climb on behind me. Once her arms had wrapped around my waist I began to walk the bike forward. Before I could start it she continued her introduction.

"My name is Kori Anders, but you may call me Starfire."

"Starfire?" I asked as I looked over my shoulder at her.

"Yes, a nickname that was given to me by my parents, they said it was because my eyes shines like the stars. I only allow people I trust to call me that."

I smiled at her faith in a person she had just met.

"Come on," I said as I kick-started the bike. "Let's get you home."

AaAaA

After having dropped Kori off at her home, I returned to my patrol for a few more hours. All in all, aside from the incident with Kori, it had been a quiet night. So, having come to that conclusion, I decided to head home myself.

Arriving at my apartment I made a beeline for the freezer and the microwave dinner that was calling my name. Seeing that it would be a few minutes until the food was ready, I made my way into the bedroom and stripped the dirty clothes I was wearing off. No, they were not my uniform; after all, having something like that in your laundry would be almost as stupid as having your secret lair in the basement. After going off patrol I returned to the same warehouse I had taken Kori to and had changed into the clothes I had worn to school that day.

Slipping on a pair of pajama bottoms and a cotton undershirt I returned to the kitchen just as the microwave dinged. Grabbing a can of soda from the fridge I set the dinner on the table before me and began to eat in silence.

A familiar ending to yet another familiar day.

Finishing off the dinner I made my way to bed, mindful of the cut on my stomach as I slid beneath the covers.

Deep in the back of my mind, there was a little voice telling me that the events that had transpired this night would end up having a great effect on my life. The only thing it wasn't saying was whether or not that would be a good effect or not, at this point it wasn't something I really wanted to dwell on so I turned my mind to a happier thought.

So, with thoughts of Kori's smile drifting through my mind I slowly fell asleep.

AaAaA

School the next day was completely normal, Kori didn't speak to me, everyone avoided me, and I just carried on like usual.

The only thing that was different though, was when I was passing through the halls to my first class. I had to pass by Kori's locker to get to class. She, like most social butterflies, had friends grouped all around her locker talking as they waited for the bell to ring.

The only difference this day was the topic of conversation. One of her friends had noticed the cut on her throat and she had apparently regaled them with the tale of how Robin had saved her. I had been passing by just as she finished her tale and one of her friends had commented on how cute Robin was and how lucky she was to have been saved by him and that she wished she could meet him too.

I tried so hard not to laugh, so much in fact that it eventually became a cough which alerted them to my presence. As their glares fell on me, I couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious and wasn't even aware of my hand rising to rub the back of my neck as I began to mutter under my breath about people never having heard a cough before. As I continued on my way to class I caught the conversation picking back up again as they asked what Robin was like.

I was a little surprised that Kori didn't answer immediately, but I carried on my way to class anyway, completely missing the strange look she shot me and her one-word reply that Robin had seemed familiar.

Later that day, during gym class, I had another moment that threatened to make me lose my cool and begin violently swearing in several languages.

We had been doing some basic running drills before participating in a game of dodge ball.

Following the game, I had been off to the side drinking from my water bottle when the coach approached me and asked if I was alright.

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion as I capped my bottle and put it down only to notice the thin line of blood dotting the front of my white gym shirt. Damn.

"I mean the blood on your shirt," the coach said with a discreet gesture as he directed me off to the side, away from the prying eyes that had also noticed the blood, eyes which included those of Kori Anders.

"It's nothing really," I began as my mind shifted into overdrive to find a plausible explanation. "I cut myself on the edge of a table at home, that's all."

The coach seemed skeptical but let it pass as he excused me to the nurse's office to get the wound looked at and the shirt washed. Suffice it to say, that small little line of red changed my entire life, instead of telling you how it happened, allow me to show you instead.

AaAaA

"So, what happened exactly?" the nurse asked as she placed a sterile bandage over the wound on his stomach.

"I was careless in the kitchen and cut myself on the edge of a stainless steel table," Richard explained, having created the story on the short journey to the nurse. Fortunately, she didn't know much about knife wounds so she accepted it rather quickly.

"Well, try to be more careful in the future, okay?" at his nod she continued on. "Now, while your gym shirt is washing why don't you run back to the lockers and get another shirt?"

With a reluctant sigh, he agreed and began to silently make his way back to the gym lockers. Richard had to take a moment to thank his luck when he reached the hallway outside the locker rooms and found it empty. Slipping into the boy's locker he grabbed a shirt from his locker and made his way back to the nurse's office, but not before he stopped by his regular locker for his book bag and materials for the rest of the day.

By the time he had returned, his other shirt had been placed into the dryer. The nurse only wanted to check to make sure the new shirt wouldn't interfere with the bandages. Satisfied that it wouldn't, she dismissed him to his next class, telling him that his shirt would be ready by day's end.

Acknowledging her order he started to leave even as his mind began to think about how smart it was for her to have a washer and dryer in the office for emergencies.

Leaving her office he began to make his way to the next class, however, he didn't make it completely unscathed.

"Richard?" a voice called out to him from behind. Instantly he stiffened and his fight or flight instinct kicked in. He knew that voice far too well and considering what had happened in gym class today things might very well turn out poorly.

"Yes Kori?" he replied as he turned to face the young girl. He briefly noticed that she had changed back into her day clothes, but then he remembered that class had ended and was now into the next. He began to wonder why she was here.

"Are you well?" she asked as she slowly approached him.

"Yes, nothing a bandage couldn't fix," he replied as he turned from her and began to walk to class, not caring that she had quickly matched her pace to his.

"Where are you going?"

"To my next class, shouldn't you be in class too?"

"I came to check on you," she answered.

"Why?" he asked genuinely shocked. No one at the school cared about him.

"I was worried, it is not normal for a person to have a wound like that, not even from a table."

Richard was silent as he began to think. Had she figured out who he was? Or was she merely being curious?

"Accidents happen all the time," he replied with a shrug.

"Yes, I suppose they do," she answered even as her voice dropped to a whisper almost below human hearing. "Robin."

Richard's back stiffened once again, she had figured it out. This was bad, very, very, very bad.

With a sigh, he began to initiate damage control.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said as he forced himself to relax.

"I believe that you do," she said as she stepped in front of him and raised a hand to his chest to stop him, "and I want to discuss it with you."

He was silent as his gaze shifted from her eyes to the hand on his chest and back again. He knew she wouldn't let it drop and that it would be best to discuss it, however, he wanted to do it on his terms, not hers.

"Fine, we'll discuss it, just not here and not now."

He paused to look around the hallway, checking for anyone else who may have overheard.

"Meet me at my apartment after school. We'll talk there."

With that being said he pulled away from her and began walking back to class.

"But I do not know where you live," she replied as she jogged to catch up.

Having realized that that was indeed the case he quickly tore a piece of paper from one of the innumerable posters lining the hall and after taking a pen from his bag he wrote the address down before handing it to her. That being done he proceeded to walk away once again, all the time wondering how he'd tell Bruce the news.

AaAaA

Richard paced nervously as he waited for Kori to appear. His mind had been playing out a number of scenarios and more than a few of them were unpleasant. A few even had her showing up with the media, having blabbed his secret as soon as he had confirmed it in the hallway.

The ringing of the doorbell startled him from his panicked musings. Taking a steadying breath he made his way to the door, looking through the peephole just to verify.

Seeing only Kori and no one else he glanced out the window nearby. Sure enough, there was no one there. Returning to the door he proceeded to let her in.

"Come in," he said as he escorted her in, eyes surveying the street and sidewalk behind her.

"This is a very nice place, Richard," she said as she stood in the hallway, waiting for him to lead her further in.

"Thanks," he replied as he led her to the living room and the couch that resided there.

Not trusting himself to speak, he merely gestured at the seat opposite him on the couch as he made himself comfortable on the chair across from it.

"You are Robin, yes?" she asked after watching him for a moment. "I have no recording devices if that is your concern. I merely desire to know the truth."

For some time he merely sat there, eyes on hers as she, in turn, watched him. Mentally he was processing everything he knew about the girl before him, which sadly accounted for very little other than what he had observed of her or heard around school. What he did know though was that she was honest to a fault; he had never heard her gossip in the halls.

"I am," he replied after considering all the ramifications of the statement.

She could only smile as she opened her mouth to respond but was cut off before she could.

"I do hope that you realize the position you are now in."

Confusion shone on her face as she processed the words, yet enlightenment still eluded her and she voiced this.

"I do not understand."

"It's really quite simple. I have many enemies, made both here and in Gotham. Now, should they discover that there is someone who knows my identity what do you think they'll do to the person who knows to find out?"

He stopped here to let the full impact settle in. Once it had a fearful realization dawned.

"Yes indeed, they'll do things that are far too unspeakable to mention. In the end, they will find out, one way or the other, and once they do they'll have no more need for their informant, and they have many unpleasant ways to eliminating people they don't need anymore, especially a very pretty girl."

"I hadn't realized the danger," she began only to cut herself off.

"No," he replied with a small shake of his head, his eyes gazing off into the distance behind her. "No one ever does. So you can see why I don't want this knowledge to leave here."

"I do," she said as she raised her eyes to lock onto his, which for once weren't covered by either a mask or sunglasses. She was stunned by the endless blue she found gazing back at her.

"I'm glad," he said after some time, time in which he too had become lost in her emerald eyes. Forcing himself to look away, he continued on. "I would hate to see anything happen to you."

"I thank you for your concern," she told him with a smile. All he could do was shyly smile back.

"I should go," she said into the silence that followed. "I have homework I should be doing."

"Don't you have more questions?" he asked her perplexed, he had been expecting the Spanish Inquisition, and both Richard Grayson and Robin always expected the Spanish Inquisition, Monty Python taught him that.

"They can wait until another time," she replied with a genuine smile.

"Alright," he said as he nodded and rose, leading her toward the door.

"I once again thank you for your honesty," she said as she paused at the threshold.

"You're welcome; please remember what I warned you about."

"I will. Goodbye Richard, I'll see you around the school."

"Goodbye Kori."

"Please," she said with a smile, "call me Starfire, all my friends do."

He could only smile softly as he nodded his ascent, knowing full well that he would never refer to her as such. He would possibly never speak to her again after tonight. Closing the door once she had vanished into the darkening night.

With a sigh, he leaned his back against the door, now that that was done all he could do was wait and see what happened.

AaAaA

Several days later Richard was walking through the hallway of the school, invisible to those around him as usual, absently scratching at the stitches he had put in to help the knife wound heal. He had to admit that they itched something fierce, ignoring that for the time being he continued on his way as usual. However, today there was something different, as he passed the group that Kori was normally with he couldn't help but notice she was missing. At first, he paid it no mind, but the conversation from a few days before made him reconsider. Fortunately, his fears were laid to rest as he grew closer and their words grew clearer.

"Did you hear what Speedy said?"

"Yeah, he said she called him up yesterday and ended their relationship. She said she wasn't happy."

"Can you believe it?"

"What was she thinking? He's like the hottest guy in the school."

"I know, did you hear that he also said she practically made her bedroom into a shrine to Robin? I mean he is hot, but that's still a little weird."

At this last comment, Richard inhaled so sharply that he began to choke on the saliva he'd inhaled. Once again, as he had been so many days before, he was the center of attention as he coughed into his hand and pounded his chest to help the liquid dislodge, vaguely remembering that swallowing helps with inhaled liquids. Swallowing quickly, he was able to bring his choking under control before turning his attention to those around him.

Looking about him he just glared at those who had stopped their conversations to stare at him. Quickly returning to their conversations he resettled his backpack and continued on his way, the overheard conversation playing through his mind as he did so.

His thoughts were interrupted by his arrival at his first-period class, entering the room he took his usual seat and stared out the window, waiting for the bell. Once it rang he returned his attention to the room around him, as he did so he caught a flash of red. Glancing in that direction he saw Kori sitting in her seat and laughing with her friends.

Deep inside he was glad to see her there, now he knew for sure that she was fine. With a contented sigh, he turned his focus to the assignment the teacher was putting on the board. As he grabbed a piece of paper and turned to the required pages he forgot all about the conversation he'd heard earlier.

AaAaA

Sitting at his table, Richard silently ate his lunch as he went over the notes he had taken the day before. Shifting through the papers he was surprised to see a shadow fall on his table. Glancing up he was even more surprised to see Kori standing there, food tray in hand.

"Kori!" he said in surprise as he leaned back on the bench. "What are you doing here?"

"It is the cafeteria," she replied with a giggle. "Does one not eat in the cafeteria?"

"Er, yeah they do. What I meant was what you are doing over here at my table."

"I was wondering if I might join you for lunch today." She answered with a slight blush.

"Yeah, sure," he replied as he gestured at the seat across from him, still confused by her actions. As she sat, he couldn't help but notice the deafening silence around them, and as he looked up he noticed that all eyes were on them. "Um, not that I don't appreciate your company, but why are you sitting with me?"

"Do friends not eat lunch together?" she inquired as she tilted her head to the side in confusion, surely he knew that.

"Er, I wouldn't know. I don't have any friends," he replied as he began to put his notes away. Once he had he returned his gaze to Kori, she was looking at him. The hurt and confusion were plainly visible on her face, instantly he wondered what he had done.

"Did I not ask you to call me Starfire the other day?"

"Yeah," he replied in confusion, "you did."

"Do you remember what else I told you, about who I let call me that?"

"You only let friends and people you trust call you that," he replied as he turned his gaze onto his lunch tray.

"Then you are mistaken, you do have friends," she told him as she just watched him.

Richard could only give her a weak smile, his gaze lifting half way from his observation of his tray.

"People say that all the time, but rarely do they actually follow through on it. There are just some people," and he paused to gesture at himself, "that don't have any friends. It's a sad fact of life Kori, but it's still true. People will tell you that you're their friend if it is convenient for them, but once you no longer can do anything for them they discard you like trash. Don't promise something that you can't actually be."

"You've been hurt before, haven't you?" she asked after several moments of silence.

"More than you would realize," he replied with a sigh and a resigned shrug, his hand unconsciously falling to rest on his wounded stomach. "It's one of those things that you just have to accept, much like the death of my parents, it's not something I can change."

"How sad must your life have been to feel that way," she said once she had thought over his words. Just as she was about to add more, the bell rang.

"I will see you later Richard," she said with a sigh as she rose and left him. He gathered his tray and book bag before he too left the cafeteria.

AaAaA

Later that day, after he had managed to get settled in at home, Richard was awakened by the doorbell ringing, the nap he had wanted before patrol would have to wait.

Walking to the door he stretched before opening it, wincing slightly as he pulled the still healing wound, he may need to check his makeshift stitches to make sure they haven't pulled out. On the other side of the door, he found a suddenly red-faced Kori surrounded by a small group of her friends. Instantly his mind went to the possibility that she had told them his secret, but that was quickly killed as he noticed the grocery bags in their hands, instead confusion took over.

"Hey Richard, nice place," Vic Stone said as he patted Richard on the shoulder as he pushed past the other boy.

Several more people filed past the surprised boy, who could only turn to stare at not only Kori but several other girls as well, all of whom had a blush and dreamy looks on their faces.

"Er… Kori? What's going on?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, it was at this moment that he realized he had taken his shirt off for his nap and hadn't put it back on. With a sigh, he waved the group in and left them in the hallway as he returned to his bedroom to find a shirt.

Entering the living room, with a shirt on this time, much to the joy/disappointment of the girls, he sought out the person he was sure was responsible for this.

Tapping Kori on the shoulder he gestured toward the kitchen.

Upon entering he asked the question he had asked before.

"What are you guys doing here Kori?" he asked as he leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. In the background, he could hear the sounds of Vic and Garfield Logan arguing over what CD to put on first.

"It is a party, Richard."

"I can see that Star," he said with a frown, "but I want to know why you are having it here."

Kori could only smile as she had caught his slip; he'd called her Star, a shortened form of her nickname that she found she liked, at least coming from his lips.

"To prove to you that you do indeed have friends. You know every person out there. You've been in classes with them and had projects with them. You might not realize it but many people do like you."

He could only snort his derision.

"If that's the case, then how come I eat alone every day?"

"They are scared of you, Richard. They know nothing about you, something that you have done nothing to change."

She sighed as she looked at him.

"You are a great person, Richard; I wish you would let other people see what I see. Those people out there;" and she pointed toward the living room, "Have all seen a glimpse of who you are and they liked who they saw."

"Why?" He asked as she waited for his reply. Her confusion was evident so he continued. "Why are you doing all this?"

"Because you saved my life," she said as she approached him and placed a hand on his crossed arms. "Now it is my turn to save yours."

As she finished they both realized that they were now only inches apart and drawing closer.

"Hey, Richard," the voice of Vic called from the other room, snapping the two from their moment. "I think Gar's trying to eat one of your plants."

"What?" Richard said as he pulled away from both the counter and Kori and moved toward the living room, hoping to perform some form of damage control on his poor home.

"So," a voice said from behind Kori, "almost got him did you?"

"Eep," Kori said as she jumped a bit and turned to face the speaker. "I don't know what you're talking about Rachel."

"No?" the Goth girl said as she raised a single eyebrow, a smirk clear on her face. "I think you do. You've been pining after him ever since he first arrived."

"I'm not pining," Kori said with a pout even as her head snapped to the direction of Richard's voice as he reprimanded Garfield and a smile overtook her face.

"You're right," Rachel said with a bigger smirk, "You're totally crushing on him."

Kori blushed to the roots of her hair, her face matching the crimson tresses in shade.

"I know that you two talked the other day, after all, how could you know where he lived otherwise? I don't know what was said, I'm pretty sure that I'm better off not knowing either. But regardless of the actual conversation, you realized something that day, the day after you broke up with Roy I might add. What was it that you realized Starfire? That there was more to the mysterious Richard Grayson than anyone thought possible and that you would be the one to unravel his mystery? Are you willing to do what it takes to find the answers you seek?"

Kori couldn't say a word, not because she couldn't, but because there were none to answer her friend's question.

"Think about what I've said Kori, I can tell you right now that today is going to change his life. I don't know if it will be for the better or not, but I do know you'll have to make a decision soon."

AaAaA

It goes without saying that the night of the party Robin did not go out on patrol; instead, he was at home performing countless forms of damage control on his house in the form of Richard Grayson.

The next day at school, the day after the party, things had been running the same as they always did for Richard. Classes assigned homework, he was called on to answer, and he looked forward to the respite and solitude that lunch had to offer. It was, he had to admit, the best time to just relax and gather his thoughts for the day.

So, it can easily be said that he was rather disturbed by the shakeup of this daily routine. When he entered the cafeteria, a tray of slop in hand, he noticed that his normal table was occupied. At first, he was confused by this, but quickly shook it off and looked around to find another empty table. Just as he found one in the back of the room, a voice called out to him as a soft hand landed on his arm. Fighting the instinct to attack, he turned to look at the hand's owner.

"Kori?" he asked in surprise.

"Greetings friend," she said with a smile. "Would you not join us?"

"Huh?" he answered eloquently as he just stared at her in confusion.

"Your table, will you not join us?" she replied as she gestured to the table that was normally his. Upon giving the occupants more than a passing glance he realized he knew everyone at the table. It was some of the people who trashed his house last night, er… he meant the people who were at the party.

He only smiled sadly and moved to break away from her.

"I don't belong there Kori, I'm sorry."

However, she refused to release her grip on his arm. Using her strength, and his still hidden weakness for her, she turned him toward the table and practically pulled him toward it.

"Yes, Richard, you do. We want you to join us; I want you to join us. That is why we are sitting at your table."

Muttering a silent protest he reluctantly followed the girl and could do nothing but sit in the seat she all but threw him into. As he noticed his surroundings, having finished muttering several invectives to himself, he realized he was sitting next to Kori and Rachel Roth. As his eyes swept the table he couldn't help but notice the welcoming looks he was getting from Vic, Garfield, and Rachel.

"Was wondering when you'd decide to sit down," Vic said as he grinned at Richard. Vic Stone was one of the school's linebackers. He was big, muscular, and as nice as could be. He never let his status as a jock go to his head, however bald and shiny it may be.

"Yeah," Garfield Logan replied as he ran a hand through his short, spiky green hair. Garfield was a devout vegetarian and hated the sight and smell of meat. His arguments with Vic on meat vs. tofu were legendary, as Vic was a dyed-in-the-wool carnivore.

"It's just too bad you didn't join us on your own," Rachel Roth said with a pointed look at Kori who could only smile and blush. Rachel was Kori's best friend; she had adopted a Goth lifestyle and dress code. She wore only black and dark purple and loved the gothic literature, her favorite being Edgar Allen Poe, despite how cliché it might seem.

"I don't mean to be rude," Richard said as he aimlessly pushed a puddle of slop around his plate. "But, why are you guys even talking to me? You've never spoken to me before."

"You mean aside from the fact that it would break Kori's heart if we didn't," Vic asked with a grin that he flashed at the suddenly red-faced Kori. "Well, we had a lot of fun last night and we realized that you're actually a pretty cool guy."

"Yeah, you even kept your cool when I tried to eat your fern, which I'm sorry about by the way," Garfield said as he placed a hand on Richard's shoulder.

Richard was startled by their answers, so much so that he was unable to think of a thing to say.

"Oops, sorry Kori," Rachel said in a monotone voice as she watched the gears in Richard's head fly off the cogs, "I think we broke him with kindness."

Any answer that would have followed was cut off as a hand landed on Richard's shoulder and roughly pulled him from his seat. Shoved around he came face-to-face with an angry Roy Harper and his friends.

"So, you're the reason she broke up with me," He sneered as his grip on Richard's shoulders tightened to the point of his knuckles turning white, yet for his part, Richard showed no sign of pain. "So, how'd you do it freak? Blackmail? Break into her house and threaten her? Or maybe it was some sort of magic spell?"

"Leave him alone Roy," Kori said as she stood beside Richard and attempted to defuse the situation.

"Stay out of this Kori, whatever he's done to you I promise I'll make him pay for it." With that, he drew his arm back to deliver a punch directly to Richard's face. As Roy threw the punch all around were surprised when it never made contact with Richard, who many were sure was a dead man.

There, mere inches from shattering Richard's nose was Roy's fist, caught in the large hand of Vic Stone. Flanking the linebacker were not just Garfield and Rachel, but also half the junior varsity football team, even though they had ignored Richard they trusted Vic's judgment, and if he was standing up for Richard, so would they.

"I don't think that would be a very good idea, Roy," Vic said as he released the fist he was holding and just glared at the other boy, separating him from Richard and forcing him to let go. All conversation had died in that instant and all eyes had turned to what had started as the execution of Richard Grayson but had become something that no one could figure out.

"Why are you standing up for this freak?" Roy said as he rubbed his hand, glaring daggers at the other Jock. "You should be helping me beat him."

"Why?" Vic asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Because I'm a jock? Is that the only reason I should help you beat him into a pulp? Well, I hate to tell you this Speedy, but he's actually a really nice guy. He doesn't judge people just because they seem different, and if I remember correctly, his entire status as an outsider came from him not letting you push him around on the first day."

"Ya know," Garfield said as he stepped around Vic to stare at the still enraged Roy. "I don't think anyone has ever given him a chance. Last night we had a party at his house, when I did something stupid he didn't blow up at me, he was calm and cool about it and tried to make sure the damage wasn't too bad."

"For your information," Kori said as she stepped up, "he's never done a thing to me. He won't even speak to me unless I speak first, and every time that he has he's been very kind." She paused a moment to remember how kind and gentle he had been the night she had been attacked. "You, on the other hand, have always been jealous and possessive of me. I do not like being led around like a puppy. I am not a pet, and I am most definitely not your pet."

Roy stood in silence for a moment before he quickly lunged at Richard through Vic and Garfield, the movement unbalancing both boys as he was able to fly past and grab a hold of Richard's shirt once again. With a hold of the other boy, Roy used the speed he possessed to quickly move his victim away from the small crowd that had gathered. Once he was a safe, to his mind, distance he reared back for another attack.

Behind him, he could clearly hear someone ask why Kori had stopped anyone from intervening at this point. Her only answer was that Richard can take care of himself now that he wasn't caught off guard, the smile on her lips confusing those around her. Surely she wanted to stop the beating of the boy she and her friends had just defended.

Roy was confused by her comment as well but decided to ignore it, instead, he focused on putting all his power into the punch and if Roy was lucky the blow would not only shatter Richard's nose but hopefully send the cartilage into his brain and kill him. For reasons that escape the comprehension of man, Roy Harper had snapped.

As he let the punch fly he was rather surprised to find that it was knocked off course by a block from his intended victim. He was even more surprised by Richard grabbing the hand that held him, turning so he faced the other way and throwing Roy over his shoulder to the ground.

As he recovered from the wind being knocked out of him, he couldn't help but wonder how the freak knew to do a move like that. Roy kept wondering this even as the crowds scattered and the gym coach and another large teacher roughly pulled him from the floor and led him off to the principal's office.

As the surprised students began to slowly return to their meals, the bell rang. Not a moment too soon for Richard as he saw the principal approach him. He knew he'd have some questions to answer; at least they'd be from someone who only wanted to find out what had happened and not one of Kori's friends. He knew that some of their questions would be unanswerable, and he wanted to avoid having them asked at all cost.

AaAaA

With a sigh Richard settled back onto his couch, the sound of soft music playing through the air as he went over the day's events.

After being escorted to the principal's office he had answered all the questions as best he could, considering he had some things he couldn't, and wouldn't, explain.

He had explained how he had been taking martial arts classes since he was nine and how he had merely defended himself. His story had been collaborated by many people who had seen Roy attack him for no apparent reason, people with no personal stake in the outcome.

So, with the evidence against him, Roy's story about how Richard had started it was entirely ignored and he was expelled from school with possible criminal charges.

Letting a sigh of relaxation escape his lips he leaned his head back against the couch back and just let the music wash over him.

As he was just about to drift off to sleep a knock woke him. In all honesty, he couldn't say he was surprised by this, he had only been expecting his visitor earlier.

Rising he went to the door and opened it; however, it wasn't who he had expected.

"So, what's this I hear about you getting into a fight at school, young Master?" Alfred Pennyworth asked as he stood perfectly straight with hands folded behind him.

AaAaA

Softly stirring his tea, Alfred looked across the table at the boy he considered a grandson. After offering him tea, Richard had explained the events that had led to his being there.

"Life is never easy for you is it, Master Richard?"

"I guess you could say that," he replied with a shrug as he nursed his own cup.

"Master Bruce is wondering what you will do now? We take it that your secret is still that?"

"There have been a few, complications since we last spoke," Richard admitted as he stared into the depths of his tea.

"Indeed?" Alfred asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Someone I saved figured it out; they noticed the similarities between Richard and Robin."

"And they did this how?"

"Well, it's someone I go to school with. I saved her from a rapist the other night and she somehow figured it out."

"Did she now?" Alfred asked with a small grin, hidden from the teen before him by a raised cup.

Richard had opened his mouth to reply when a knock sounded through the apartment.

Reluctantly he rose to get it. As the door opened he sighed once again, he knew that this encounter wouldn't end well.

"Good evening Richard, may I come in?" Kori asked as she stood outside his door with a smile on her face which quickly fell upon noticing the elderly man now standing behind Richard.

"Oh, you have company, I will come back another time," she said quietly as she turned to go. Just as Richard was about to reach out to stop her, Alfred's voice did just that.

"Ah, this must be the young woman you mentioned before," he said with a smile as he moved forward to welcome her in. "Please do come in, I have heard much about you, Miss Anders." Alfred told her, while Richard hadn't discussed the girl in detail at length with Alfred, he had mentioned her a few times, or maybe a few dozen times, he'd even described her beauty on more than one occasion.

"I thank you," Kori said with some confusion as she allowed herself to be led into the apartment by Alfred. Once she had been settled at the table and offered a cup of tea, which she politely declined, she nervously asked a question that had been brewing in her mind since she had seen the man.

"I do not mean to be rude, but who are you?"

"I do apologize, miss," Alfred said with a small bow, "I am Alfred, Richard's …"

Richard quickly jumped in at that moment and cut him off; he had yet to explain that Kori didn't know about his ties to Bruce Wayne.

"He's my grandfather."

"Your grandfather? You have never mentioned him before," Kori said in confusion as she tilted her head to consider both Richard and the man he claimed was his grandfather.

"That could be because Richard doesn't speak much about his family or parents, not since the accident."

"Accident?"

"He's not told you then?" Alfred asked with a growing awareness of the situation.

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "He does not speak much about himself at all; he only mentioned that his parents were dead. Nobody knows much about him."

"And I imagine that's the way he wants it," Alfred said with a significant look at Richard, their eyes meeting for a brief moment before the younger man looked away. At that moment Alfred realized that Richard had been keeping himself distant from everyone, a trait he had picked up from Bruce, and one that Alfred would see removed from Richard.

"I would find it safe to say," Alfred began as he placed his hands on the table, palms folded atop one another. "That aside from myself; you possibly know him better than any other soul alive."

Kori had opened her mouth to respond but was cut off when Richard spoke up.

"She does," he said as he looked up from his now cold cup of tea, his eyes falling on Kori before moving to Alfred. "She knows all about my extracurricular activities, but she doesn't know a thing about our family."

His words caused Alfred to nod once before replying, the message clear as could be.

"I see. Then I believe there is no more beating around the bush then is there, Robin?"

At this Kori's eyes grew wide and confused. His grandfather knew he was Robin?

"No," Richard replied as he sat his cup down and proceeded to ignore it, "there isn't."

Turning to face Kori he watched her for a moment before he began to speak.

"My family used to be circus performers, we were the trapeze act. The 'Flying Graysons,'" he said with some pride. "The night of my eighth birthday they were killed when the trapeze broke. The wires had been cut by a criminal trying to extort money from the circus, we refused to pay and he sabotaged the show. They fell to their death and all I could do was watch."

"After that," Alfred began when he saw that Richard would be unable to continue. "He came to live with me in Gotham, the limelight was never my forte, and it was best left to those like his parents. For the next several years I raised him as best I could." He paused to send a paternal look toward Richard, a look showing the pride he felt at the young man he had become.

"You did a wonderful job; he is the most extraordinary person I have ever met," Kori said as she too sent a glance toward Richard. However, unlike Alfred, her glance was a bit more intense.

"Thank you, we did have some tough times, but I am very pleased to see how well he turned out. Now, where was I? Oh, that's right. Well, after spending primary school with me, we decided that a smaller city than Gotham would suit his personality better, that and the fact Gotham had a protector in Batman already and didn't need another, so I sent him here to Jump. Here he would be able to fight crime as Robin and escape from the memories that Gotham held."

The apartment was silent for a moment as Kori absorbed this information. Once she had she asked the question that both Richard and Alfred were dreading, there would be no turning back. How were they to answer without giving away Batman's identity?

"How did you become Robin?"

With a shared glance, the two men decided that a small portion of truth would be acceptable.

"Funny story that," Alfred began as he rose to refill his teacup from the steaming pot on the stove before returning to his seat. "Turns out that Batman was a fan of the circus. He had seen the Flying Graysons perform on a previous visit to Gotham. He was at the show when Richard's parents were killed. He knew that the anger that Richard felt would fester until it exploded, potentially hurting himself or others. Batman approached him one day and offered to train him and help him channel his anger. Richard accepted and Robin was born, the rest is, as they say, history."

"I am truly awed and saddened for you," Kori said into the silence that followed Alfred's story. Richard smiled at the other man; he had always enjoyed hearing bedtime stories from Alfred and if he didn't know one he could usually make up a rather good one on the spot.

Turning his glance to the girl sitting before him, Richard suddenly found himself lost in her gaze, a comfortable silence overtaking them both. Alfred smiled for a moment before he rose and placed his cup into the sink, the clattering of the porcelain and spoon breaking the teens from their moment.

"Well, I should get going," Alfred said as he began to make his way toward the door, Kori and Richard quickly rising to follow him. "I'll be in town for a few days; we'll catch up later then. Miss Anders, it was a pleasure to meet you, you are everything that Richard said you were and more."

With that he was out the door and making his way from the apartment, leaving behind him two confused teens.

Snapping from his daze, Richard closed the door and led Kori to the couch. Settling onto a cushion he let out a sigh.

"Your grandfather is a very nice man," Kori said once she had settled on the couch beside Richard, her body angled to make watching him easier.

"Yeah, I owe everything I am to him."

"I can tell," she began, pausing for a moment to take a considering look at Richard. "You are very much like him."

Richard snorted.

"I would be lucky to even be half the man that he is," he replied as he gestured toward the door.

He was startled to feel a weight on the couch next to him, turning to look he saw that Kori had moved to sit next to him.

"You are very much like him," she repeated as she placed a hand on his chest, her eyes shining up at him.

"You are so sure of that, aren't you?" he asked softly as his hand came up to cup her cheek, unconsciously she pressed against the warmth. Her eyes closed slightly and a smile rose to her lips as she savored his touch.

"I am more sure of it than anything else in the world," she replied softly as they started to lean closer together.

All conversation ended as their lips gently brushed. Soft and exploring touches of their lips followed before Richard's hand rose to the back of Kori's head and gently deepened the kiss.

Falling back into the couch they continued to kiss well into the night.

AaAaA

Kori was tired the next morning at school, she and Richard had kissed and held each other for several hours. Once he had realized the time he had driven her home on his motorcycle, much later than her guardian would have liked, had they known.

When her friends had asked her why she was so tired she simply answered honestly, she had been up late studying. The subject of her study, however, was none of their business.

As for Richard, he didn't show any signs of the late night he'd had, but Kori knew late nights were a normal part of his after school lifestyle and thought nothing more of it. In the long run that was a thing they were both glad about, they wanted their relationship to be a secret for many reasons and Richard being as exhausted as Kori might let that secret out with some rather unwanted insinuations.

Stifling a yawn Kori slowly trudged her way to the cafeteria, nothing that Richard had already claimed his normal table and was looking over his notes as if she and her friends joining him the day before had never happened.

"Richard," Kori said as she slowly slid into the seat next to him, "how can you be so awake?" she asked in a low voice as her… no, their friends made their way to the table too.

Richard only grinned and gave her a knowing look.

"I'll tell you later," he replied with a small smirk as Vic, Gar and Rachel sat across from them, Rachel on Richard's right while Kori was on the left.

"You look awful Kori," Vic said as he slid his hamburger in front of him.

"I was up late studying," she explained to the friends who hadn't heard her answer from earlier, Rachel only smirked as she had a guess what, or more accurately, who, Kori had been studying.

"You know," Richard said as he packed away his notes and began digging into his bag for something. "Sometimes I lose track of the time and end up studying all night long," he explained as he found what he was looking for and pulled a small brown dropper bottle from his bag. "When that happens I take some of this, B-12 liquid vitamin, very effective at restoring energy."

"Hey," Garfield said as he eyed the bottle, "I use that to stay healthy too, it helps supplement my wonderful veggies."

"Helps me after a long workout," Vic offered as he answered around a mouthful of burger.

"Take a dropper full," Richard offered, handing her the filled dropper. She opened her mouth and squeezed the red liquid into her mouth, returning the dropper once it was empty.

"Raspberry?" She asked in delight as the flavor hit her tongue.

Richard nodded with a smile and small chuckle.

"Yup, who said vitamins couldn't taste good too?" He answered as he put the bottle away and used his spoon to poke at the inert non-Newtonian substance that graced his tray that the cafeteria works had claimed was 'mashed potatoes'.

With a sigh he finally gave up when the material began to swallow his spoon and made it stand on end on its own.

"So, what's everyone doing this weekend?" Vic asked as he slid his tray away, an eye on Richard's potatoes as they had seemed to be moving toward the plate he'd just pushed over.

"I have no plans," Kori answered.

"Totally free, bro," Gar replied with a fist bump.

Rachel only shrugged, but everyone knew she'd be up for whatever was being planned.

That left only Richard, who was a bit surprised to be included in the offer. Struggling for a moment he tried to think if he had any plans.

"My grandfather is in town, I was going to spend some time with him, but knowing him he will most likely be leaving for Gotham Saturday morning," Richard answered after a moment.

"Great," Vic said with enthusiasm, "they're opening a new indoor amusement park at the mall. Remember when that one big department store closed down? Well someone put in an indoor amusement park with rides and games and lots of cool stuff."

"Oh yea," Gar replied as he got excited about it too, "I heard it was one of the Wayne Entertainment Fun Centers."

Richard winced a bit at that. Bruce had been expanding the Wayne brand to various other markets and one that he had hoped would be very lucrative was the entertainment industry. Bruce had either bought or formed several movie studios and television channels, the largest channel being the Wayne News Network, or WNN. In addition to movies and television Bruce had decided to get into the indoor amusement park business.

With the weather being greatly unpredictable in many places in the country, Bruce had realized the people needed a fun and safe escape from the day-to-day and had looked to the roller coaster in Mall of America as an example, in the end the Wayne Entertainment Fun Centers had been born. The centers were exactly what Garfield had described, several rides, arcades, shows, dining areas and other small scale entertainment venues. Basically, if you could find it at a big amusement park like Universal or Disney, then there was a similar type attraction in a Wayne Entertainment Fun Center, only smaller.

Richard also knew that the one here in Jump City had been opened by Bruce specifically for Richard to have fun, the timing perfectly lined up with the start of his sophomore year, and when confronted with it the elder Wayne had not denied it, in all honesty Richard was sure it had been Alfred's idea but Bruce was taking the fall… er… credit for it.

The worst part was that Richard knew he could make a single phone call and get the entire center to himself with no questions asked, but that would mean he'd have to reveal his true identity.

"I heard the opening day was already sold out," Rachel replied.

"Oh, yeah," Vic said as he realized the goth was right, the tickets for the opening day, and several weeks beyond that, had been sold out for months. "Sorry to get your hopes up guys, I totally forgot about that."

Seeing the looks on his new friends' faces Richard made a decision that he never would have made before or ever.

"Umm, my grandfather knows some of the people at Wayne Entertainment, I could ask him if he could get us some tickets. He may not be able to but I can still ask."

"Your grandfather?" Gar asked, curious how his grandfather could know anyone at such a huge company.

"Oh yes!" Kori enthused as she clasped her hand together in front of her chest, "he is a wonderful man, and I was able to meet him last night."

"How did you meet him last night if you were up late studying?" Rachel asked as she waited for Kori's face to match her hair, she wasn't disappointed as even Richard turned red. "I see," she said in response to their reactions.

"See what?" Gar asked clueless as usual, Vic only smirked as he too caught on.

"Come on guys, tell me!" Gar whined as he still didn't get it.

"We'll tell you when you're older," Rachel answered before turning back to Richard. "Do you really think he can get us in?"

Richard shrugged before answering.

"I don't know, but it can't hurt to ask. I'll go call him right now," he said as he rose to go call Alfred.

"It's ok, you can call him here, it's no trouble," Rachel said as she waved Richard back to his seat. With a sigh he sat and pulled his cell phone from his pocket, knowing he'd really have no other choice. Following the cover he'd created on the fly for Alfred he had renamed his contact to be Grandfather just in case anyone was looking over his shoulder, just like his friends were now.

Pressing the contact he put the phone to his ear as he waited for it to connect. After two rings Alfred picked up.

"Young master," Alfred began when he answered, "How may I help you?"

"Hi Grandfather," Richard replied, hoping the man caught on as quickly as he normally did, as always, Alfred did.

"It must be lunch time then, sitting with your friends?"

"Yeah, we were talking about the new Fun Center that's opening this weekend," Richard said as he tried to provide as much information as he could without sounding like he was giving information.

"And since the tickets are all sold out you need me to get some for you and your friends?"

"Yeah," Richard replied as he rubbed the back of his head, his embarrassment in asking obvious to Kori. She grabbed his hand as it rubbed his head and instead just held it in her hands. Rachel and the others just looked on intrigued for several reasons.

"I'll see what I can do, Richard, I think you've earned a relaxing day of fun after all your hard work. How many tickets should I look into?"

"Five, sir," Richard replied, not knowing how much of Alfred's side his friends were actually able to hear.

"Well," Alfred said with a small chuckle, "that shouldn't be a problem then. I'll have them for when you get home tonight. I know he'll be very happy that you are finally making use of your rightful position."

Richard just rolled his eyes at the tease referencing Bruce's desire for Richard to make more use of the Wayne fortune of which he was the rightful heir after Bruce. Bruce wanted him to buy the best of anything he needed, but Richard has always been practical and only bought what he needed at a reasonable price, unless it was related to crime fighting, then only the cutting edge would do.

"Thanks grandfather," Richard replied, "I love you," he added before Alfred could say anything.

Silence was his only response, save for a small sniffle that Alfred would never admit to, as Alfred processed the words. As true as the moniker of grandfather was for their relationship, Richard had never once said those words, even though it was how he felt.

Love was not a concept or emotion that Richard took lightly and Bruce and Alfred both knew this, following the crippling of the first woman he had thought he loved by the Joker, Richard had walled off his heart to everyone when she had turned cold toward him, so for him to tell Alfred he loved him was a huge milestone for the younger man.

"I love you too, Richard," Alfred replied in a choked voice even as he disconnected the line. With a sigh Richard turned the phone off and returned it to his pocket. Looking at the others he could only duck his head in embarrassment as he remembered they heard his side of the conversation at least.

He also realized that Kori was holding his hand in hers, a blush breaking across his face as he fought the urge to pull his hand away.

"So, he's able to get the tickets?" Rachel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," Richard replied as he ducked his head as his free hand went to rub his head. "He'll make sure I have them by tonight."

"Sweet!" Gar said as he threw his fist into the air and high-fived Vic, matching grins on their faces.

The bell rang before anyone else could form a reply, with a promise to meet up later they all broke up to head to their classes.

AaAaA

They had agreed to meet at Richard's apartment and head to the fun center that was located nearby, another sign to Richard that Bruce wanted him to at least try to have a normal childhood.

Walking as a group they arrived 20 minutes later and Richard led the others toward the front desk.

"Hello, and welcome to the Jump City Fun center," the girl behind the desk said with a smile, Richard could tell she was ecstatic to be working for a Wayne Enterprises company.

"Hi," Richard said as he reached into his jacket and pulled out the envelope that Alfred had given him earlier. "We have tickets."

Richard explained as he handed her the envelope, her eyes looking over the tickets before they had widened slightly.

"I'll have to call my manager, we've had some counterfeit tickets and I need to verify that these are real."

Richard only nodded, understanding that there would be many fakes being floated around for the public opening of the center, the official celebrity opening had been held weeks before.

Richard leaned against the counter as he watched his friends talk while he took care of the admission. He smiled as Kori laughed at something Gar said, her eyes lighting up and her smile growing bigger when her eyes met his. He returned the smile and held her gaze until the hostess returned with a supervisor in charge.

"Sir?" The supervisor asked as she stood behind the hostess.

"Yes? Is there something wrong?" Richard asked as he turned to face them.

"Not exactly," the supervisor explained nervously, "you see the tickets you have are the executive pass and we don't sell those here. The only way to get them is from Wayne Entertainment corporate."

"And that's a problem how?" Richard asked.

"Well, you see these are worth thousands of dollars and you, well…"

"Don't look like I could afford them?" Richard supplied, a mild shock at the attitude of the employees taking over him. He vowed to make sure that was fixed as soon as possible, he was going to call Bruce directly if he had to.

"I wasn't going to…"

"Yes, you were," Richard cut her off, "I can see it in your eyes, that's exactly what you were going to say." Richard paused when he saw her head drop in silent acknowledgment. "Here's what I'm going to do, I'm going to let you call whoever you need to verify that those are in fact real. I will give you five minutes to do it before I start calling whoever I need to in the company to get this disgusting elitist attitude changed. Go verify, I'll be timing starting now."

The panic in the supervisor's face as it grew pale was obvious even as she raced to find a phone.

With a sigh Richard stepped away to talk to his friends who were now watching to see what was happening.

"They don't believe the tickets are real," he explained when he reached them, "the tickets seem to cost thousands and they didn't think I looked like I could afford them."

"What?" the others said in shock, Richard only raised his hands to calm them down.

"She's verifying that the tickets are real, she has five minutes to do it before I start calling her bosses to get that attitude taken care of."

"How are you going to do that?" Gar asked as he tilted his head to the side in curiosity.

"Let's just say that my grandfather isn't the only one who has made a few contacts within Wayne Entertainment."

The others were rightfully confused as Richard walked away, his eyes on his watch and his cell phone in his hand.

Richard watched as the clock ticked over five minutes and he looked up, he saw the supervisor on the phone, but he fear had been replaced by anger and she glared at him as he caught her eye. He lip read the words security even as he sighed and opened his contacts list before scrolling and hitting send.

The phone rang three times before it picked up.

"Richard?" The deep voice on the other end asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Hi Bruce," he replied as he took a step away from the counter and his friends to have a bit of privacy. "I had Alfred get me five tickets to the opening of the Fun center here in Jump, apparently he got us the executive passes and the supervisor isn't honoring them. She said I don't look like I could afford them. I gave her a chance to verify them, but I think she's trying to call security on us. I didn't want to have to call you but that kind of attitude can't be allowed and I can't blow my cover."

"I see," the elder Wayne replied as Richard could hear him picking up his desk phone in the background. "I'll take care of it, Alfred told me all about your conversations while he was there. I hope you have fun with your friends."

"Thanks," Richard replied as he turned to face his friends, a smile on his face, "I will, I'll call you later, I think I'm going to need some advice on dealing with a redhead."

Bruce only laughed as Richard disconnected the call, but his humor drained away the moment the site manager for the Jump City Fun Center picked up the phone.

Richard turned off the phone and approached his friends, a smile on his face.

"Well, it looks like they don't believe the tickets are real and are calling security right now."

"Then why are you smiling?" Vic asked even as Gar looked around for the uniformed men to escort them out.

"Because I just pulled the ace out of my sleeve."

Richard just chuckled as he pointed at the desk even as the phone there began to ring. One of the hostesses answered before turning pale, she quickly tapped the supervisor on the shoulder before whispering in her ear, she too blanched as she shakily hung up on security and took the phone from the hostess.

Richard silently counted to ten before he approached the counter again.

"So," he said nonchalantly, "is there a problem with my tickets?"

"No, sir," the girl said as she continued to listen to the voice on the phone, from what Richard could hear it sounded like a conference call between Bruce, the site manager and the girl.

Richard remained calm as he stood there and waited, his face a practiced mask of calm despite the overwhelming desire to grin, she had after all brought it on herself with her attitude.

A few minutes later the girl gave a very meek 'yes sir' to the phone before just dropping the receiver, her hands shaking too much to hang it up properly.

"I'd like our wristbands now," Richard said as he held out his hand, the girl only nodded before grabbing five collectors' bands and activating them, she also handed him several vouchers for the merchandise counter as well.

"Thank you," he replied as he turned and walked away, he did stop and turn to look at her. "I do hope they let you keep your job and that you learn from this experience about not judging based on outward experience, after all, people will be getting tickets as gifts regardless of their social status."

With that Richard walked away to join his friends, a smile on his face as he handed out the bands to everyone.

With grins on every face they attached the bands to their wrists and made their way inside, the vouchers safely in Richard's jacket pocket, a surprise for his friends at the end of the day.

The executive package, Richard knew from having heard about the various levels as they were developed, was indeed an expensive package, it was a year's membership to the Fun center with unlimited rides and arcade games and one free meal per band every week. While it may be more expensive than some other top tier annual passes, Bruce had figured the addition of anything off the menu for each band would be more than worth it as none of passes at other parks included food and beverage.

"So," Richard began as he turned to his friends, "there's a few things I need to tell you about these wristbands. First, don't lose them, they are a yearlong pass to get in whenever you want. Second is that they have unlimited rides and arcade games each visit. Finally, they are setup to be able to get one free meal off the menu each week for the year. Only thing that you guys need to do is register each band to you over at that kiosk," Richard said as he pointed to the brightly colored terminals off to the side of the entrance. "Come one, let's register them."

He led the way and they each got their individual band registered using the ID numbers printed on the bands.

"Dude," Gar said as he stared at the brightly colored band around his wrist, "your grandfather is awesome!"

"Totally," Vic replied as he put and arm around Richard's shoulder in a side hug before the others shared a look and glomped him too.

"You're welcome," he managed to gasp out even as the crushed the air from him, the all laughed as they released him before sharing looks and running off toward the rides.

Richard silently laughed to himself as he regained his breath before starting to follow them only to stop as a small tanned hand made its way into his.

"Kori?" He asked as he looked at their entwined hands.

"Yes?" she asked as she looked at him through her eye lashes.

"Why are you holding my hand?" he asked even as held hers tighter in fear she'd remove it.

She gave a small little laugh as she looked up at him again before placing her free hand on his cheek.

"Richard, is that not what couples do on a date, hold hands?"

His mind shut down fully even as he looked around for some kind of sign he was dreaming, finding none he returned his gaze to her, her eyes shining as she watched him, hand still on his cheek and entwined in his.

"I…er… yes," he responded lamely, making Kori laugh gently before rising on her toe and kissing his cheek.

"If you want to be my boyfriend, that is," she whispered into his ear, a shiver going down his back as she did.

Lifting his free hand to cup her cheek he rubbed his thumb over it, her eyes closing in pleasure.

"I'd like that, very much," he whispered back as he leaned in and kissed her, his arms coming up to wrap around her back and pull her closer.

In the background he could hear the others calling them to come join them, but neither wanted to break the moment they were in. Ignoring the others, Kori and Richard just deepened the kiss for a moment more before breaking apart and resting their forehead together, matching smile on their faces.

Breaking apart the two ventured into the Fun center, hand-in-hand, and ran to meet their friends as they stood in line for one of the roller coasters.

Richard knew he wouldn't be able to keep his true identify from his friends, especially not from Kori, but he'd have to feel them out one at a time in order to know when they'd be ready. He'd had people try to use him for his wealth before. While he knew that Kori was likely to inherit her family's wealth, he had to be sure about the others.

He had to be doubly careful with his identity around the others since it would lead to them knowing he was Bruce Wayne's son and for Kori she may be able to put together two and two and get Batman.

He'd have to talk to Bruce about his new relationship later, but for now wasn't going to worry about it. For now, he wasn't alone anymore and he was going to enjoy the first of many outings with his new friends and girlfriend.

Putting an arm around Kori he pressed a kiss on her temple as they waited in line, ignoring the excited squeal from Rachel, who would deny it until the day she died, and the good natured ribbing from the others.

Life was looking very good for Richard now, and he wouldn't change a thing about it.

AaAaA

End

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