A/N: Hey again! I'm posting two chapters today so that this story is in sync with the one on my AO3 account. So for those of you reading it here, congrats, you get a double update today!

A couple days later, Roy woke up to the usual silence of the Queen Mansion. He got out of bed and tip-toed to his door. He walked around and checked to make sure Oliver had left for work for the day. Satisfied that he was alone, he relaxed. The only time he could really relax and not watch his every step was when he was alone during the day. He went to the kitchen to eat breakfast. He'd done something to piss Oliver off before patrol last night, he honestly couldn't remember what it was, and his guardian had refused to give him dinner. So he'd patrolled on an empty stomach. Now he was starving as a result. He felt like he could eat a whole box of cereal. Unfortunately, all he had were two packets of oatmeal on the counter for breakfast. There was also a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter, which he assumed was for lunch. He made his oatmeal and used some bread to make some toast. The silence in the house used to unnerve him when he'd first arrived, but now it was comforting. The silence meant Oliver was away and Roy didn't have to worry about screwing up. Silence meant safety.

After breakfast, Roy went back to his room to get dressed. He put his socks on and stared longingly at his shoes. He had no real need for them since he wasn't allowed to go outside unless it was for patrol, and even then he wore the special boots that went with his suit. He used to wear his shoes around the house just so he could get some use out of them, but that was when he was 12. He'd long since outgrown them. He'd asked Oliver for another pair, but his guardian had refused.

'I'll give you everything you need Roy,' he'd said. 'If I thought you needed shoes I'd give them to you.'

The teen sighed and headed down to the library. He knew Oliver wouldn't give him shoes because it was a good way to keep him from trying to go outside or running away. Not that he'd ever try running away again. Oliver didn't usually refuse Roy's requests. If there was a video game, or book, or movie he wanted, he'd get it. His room was full of things. Way more stuff than he'd ever owned in his whole life. Yet Oliver still didn't allow Roy to have basic things like fresh air and friends. Or peace of mind.

He sat down at his desk in the library. One of the nice things about his life was that he only had to do a few hours of school work. Three or four hours of work, then the whole afternoon until Oliver got home was his. He hurried through his work, eager to have some free time. As he worked though, his mind kept wandering back to two nights ago. 'Did Robin get home?' he wondered as he stumbled through math. 'How mad was Batman when he got back to Gotham?' He shivered. Oliver said that Batman was ruthless. That he drank the blood of criminals and could appear out of any shadows. It was ironic to hear Oliver say anyone was ruthless, considering how he dealt with criminals. 'He kills them right away,' Roy reminded himself mentally. 'Batman doesn't kill criminals, he just lets them suffer.' He was actually amazed Robin had even shown an interest in meeting him. Oliver always said that Batman a psychopath who had an aversion to human interaction. He'd wondered if Oliver knew Robin existed, but there was no way he could ask. Not without revealing he'd talked to the boy and he wasn't going to do that. The worst he'd gotten in three days was a slap here or there. He didn't want to jeopardize this new streak by upsetting Oliver. So he was left to just speculate that Oliver probably did know about Robin, and hadn't told him to protect him. Same reason he didn't let Roy talk to any other heroes or go outside. It was for his own good.

His stomach was growling again by noon. He put his stuff away and shuffled back to the kitchen for lunch. He made himself a peanut butter sandwich. It was usually what Oliver left him for lunch. As he ate, he further contemplated his earlier thought. 'If Oliver is protecting me from Robin, why do I need protection? Robin seemed really nice. Pretty innocent and genuine.'

"Could've been a rouse," he mused out loud. Robin could've been pretending to be nice in order to get Roy to drop his guard. 'Like the Flash.' Oliver told him that the Flash had a pretense of being friendly and open, when really he was only concerned with himself. That he only did heroic deeds because he liked being adored by the inhabitants of Central City. 'Didn't Robin say that Flash has a kid partner? What was his name….Flash Boy? No, Kid Flash. That's it! His name is Kid Flash.' Again, he reasoned Oliver didn't tell him for his protection. If Kid Flash was like his mentor, then it was probably better Roy didn't meet him. Oliver said that someone with suer speed was unpredictable and couldn't control themselves. If an adult with super speed couldn't control himself, Roy highly doubted a kid could. He ate the last few bites of his sandwich quickly and downed the rest of his milk. 'Doesn't matter,' he thought. Whether Robin really wanted to be his friend or not, he doubted he'd ever see the kid again. Oliver had strict rules about other heroes staying out of Star City, and Robin would be no exception. Even if Robin and been trying to trick him for some reason, Roy didn't want to be the reason the kid was killed. It made his skin crawl, but he knew Green Arrow would've shot Robin in the chest if he'd found him.

Roy went to the den to watch tv. The only time he watched tv in here was during the day. At night and in the later afternoon he pretty much did everything in his bedroom. The alternative was to spend time with Oliver, which meant risking a beating. He'd much rather take Oliver muttering under his breath about teenagers than getting kicked. He pulled his legs up onto the couch and cradled them to his chest as he flipped through the channels. He paused when he came across a news report. He saw Batman's name and hesitated for a moment.

"Authorities in Gotham City are breathing a sigh of relief with the Joker back in Arkham Asylum," the newscaster said. The picture in the corner showed a clown, a scary-ass psychotic clown, with several broken bones judging by his casts. Roy quickly changed the channel. Every time he saw a report like that it reaffirmed his belief that Oliver was right about the other heroes; and that his guardian really was just trying to protect him. He finally just watched a cartoon. He was a little old for Spongebob, but he just needed something to distract him for a bit. This lasted for a couple hours, but by then he'd had more than enough tv. He grabbed one of his video games from his bedroom and put it in. He sat on the ground and played. Part of him really wised he had someone to play with. Oliver played with him once in a while when he was in a really good mood or slightly buzzed. Or on a combination of the two. Usually, he played alone though. The game distracted him to the point that he didn't hear Oliver come home until his guardian was standing in the doorway.

"I trust you got your work done?" Oliver asked.

Roy jumped, momentarily stopping his fingers. This caused his character to die in the game. Oliver chuckled and Roy quickly assessed the man. He was smiling and his body language was laid back. Roy relaxed, satisfied Oliver was in a good mood and nodded. "Yes. it's in the library."

Oliver nodded. "Dinner at 5. Patrol at 7."

"Ok." Oliver left and Roy went back to his game. He was pretty happy he at least got to eat dinner tonight. Patrolling on an empty stomach sucked. He had to focus harder to keep his aim accurate and he got tired more quickly. It wasn't the worst way to patrol, considering the condition he'd been in sometimes when going out. Eating was still always preferable though. He tried to focus on his game to keep himself calm. If he was too tense Oliver would notice and get irritated with him. His game did keep him kind of calm. He moved through it at a slower pace than he had earlier since now he was on the look out for Oliver. He played until dinner when he had to inevitably join Oliver. He walked into the kitchen cautiously, once again checking to gage if Oliver was in a good mood. He was and Roy sat down, hopeful that tonight was going to be a good night. "Dig in," Oliver said, placing a bowl in front of Roy.

"Thank you." Roy started eating, waiting tensely to see what Oliver would do.

"How was your day?" Roy relaxed a little bit. If he was interested in Roy's day he'd probably had a good one himself.

"It was good. I just did my work, watch tv, and played my game."

"You need to pick up some new hobbies."

"How was your day?"

Oliver sighed, setting Roy's nerves on edge. "Good enough, I've been trying to make a deal with Wayne Enterprises, but Bruce Wayne keeps changing the conditions. I'm this close to just terminating the deal. His money be damned."

"It's really that bad?"

"He always does this. The man's a pain in the ass to work with. I'd swear he's doing it just to annoy me."

"Some people are just like that."

"Hm. I'd punch him in the face if I thought there was anything in his head worth damaging." He smiled and Roy smiled back. Days like this were his he could sit back and enjoy Oliver's company rather than walking on egg shells around him. The two finished their dinner and went to suit up for patrol.

Roy smiled as put his suit on. Patrol, while a very stressful time given how easily and often things could and did, go wrong, it was his only chance to leave the house. "Where are we going today?"

"Since you've been so well behaved, I'm going to let you patrol an east side neighborhood by yourself."

"Thank you, Oliver." Roy pulled his quiver on, quickly double-counting to make sure he had all his arrows. He tightened it and put on his mask.

"Tomorrow I want you to sharpen the arrows," Green Arrow said, quickly stringing his bow.

Speedy nodded as he strung his own bow. "Yes sir."

"Let's go."

Soon Speedy was following Green Arrow through Star City, looking for criminals that'd chosen the wrong night to break the law. Granted any night in Star was a bad night to break the law. They eventually stopped on a building. Green Arrow turned to face Speedy. "I'm leaving you here. 10 block radius. Don't even think about stepping outside it."

Speedy nodded earnestly. "Yes, Green Arrow." Green Arrow left and the younger archer breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Thank god," a voice said from behind him. "I thought he'd never leave."

Speedy spun around and nocked his bow. He found Robin perched on top of a chimney, smiling down at him. "Robin?"

"The one and only!" Robin jumped into the air and flipped twice before landing in front of Speedy. "Miss me?"

"What're you doing here?!" Speedy hissed. "I told you not to come back!"

"I wanted to see you." Robin looked around dramatically. "Why are we whispering?"

"Because, if Green Arrow hears us and comes back he'll kill you!"

Robin laughed. The volume of it made Speedy's heart rate pick up. "Don't worry. He won't catch us."

"You don't know that."

"I do. I also know that he will kill you. He doesn't do second chances."

"Green Arrow doesn't scare me."

"He should."

"Besides, he won't kill me. If he did Batman would come after him, and then he'd really be in trouble."

Speedy sighed. "What do you want?"

"To talk to you."

"Why?"

"You're my friend. I just wanted to see you."

Speedy frowned. "You keep saying that. We've just met, how can we be friends?!"

"Well I like you, you like me. What else is there to it?"

"How do you know I like you?"

"If you didn't you would've turned me over to Green Arrow by now." He had a point there.

"Ok, so I like you. It doesn't prove anything."

Robin shrugged, then leaned against the chimney. "Maybe not. But it's as good of a place to start as any."

Speedy thought about it for a moment. "Yeah….I guess…" If he was being honest with himself, the idea of being Robin's friend was appealing. He hadn't had any friends since he'd come to live with Oliver; or any other human interaction for that matter.

"Asterous."

Speedy blinked. "Asterous?"

"Yeah. It's like….the opposite of disastrous."

"You….you do know that's not a real word, right?"

"Sure it is. I just said it, didn't I?" Speedy smiled. There was something strange, yet oddly likable about Robin. "So how'd you get into the superhero gig?"

"It's….complicated."

"Try me."

Speedy tapped his bow idly. "Well…long story short, my adopted dad died and I impressed Green Arrow in an archery contest." Robin nodded. He'd already known about Speedy's adopted father. "What about you? You're kind of young aren't you?"

"I've been doing this since I was 9."

"9?! How does 9-year-old get dragged into this?!"

Robin hesitated for a second. "Long story short my parents were murdered and I'm doing this to protect people."

"Oh. I'm sorry about your parents."

"Thanks. I'm sorry about your dad."

"Thanks." Speedy shifted on his feet again. "I-"

"Speedy!" The young archer's blood froze and he spun around. Green Arrow walked towards him. Speedy glanced back. Robin was nowhere to be found. He looked back at Green Arrow, who was inches form him. "Who are you talking to?!"

"N-no one."

Green Arrow stared him down. "No one?"

"Y-yes." A punch to the jaw sent him stumbling to the ground. He dropped his bow in shock.

"Don't lie to me boy!" Green Arrow grabbed Speedy by the front of his shirt.

"I-I'm not! I swear!"

"So you've been standing here talking to yourself this whole time?"

Speedy nodded. "Yes."

Green Arrow scowled. He shoved Roy back, then punched him again. He kicked the teen in the chest while he was down. "That's for standing around wasting time! If you want to keep talking to yourself, I'll drop you off in Gotham at Arkham Asylum!" He kicked Speedy again, this time in the face. "Understood?!" Speedy nodded. "I said," he picked the teen up by his collar. "understood?!"

Speedy nodded quickly. "Yes Green Arrow!"

Green Arrow shoved him back. "Get back to your patrol. I'll be back for you in a few hours." The older archer left, leaving Speedy hurt and shaking. He winced as he reached down to pick up his bow. He jumped when a green glove suddenly grabbed it. He straightened up as Robin held out his bow.

"Here," the boy said quickly.

Speedy took it. "You should go."

To his surprise, Robin nodded. "Ok. See you later." The boy ran to the edge of the building jumped, disappearing into the night. Speedy winced as he briefly ran a hand over his ribs. Hopefully not broken. He started moving through the block, keeping an eye out for crime. When he found criminals, he was supposed to tie them up and leave them for Green Arrow later. He knew what was going to happen to them, but if he didn't do his job on patrol he'd get a severe beating when he got home. He found two muggers and a car thief as he made his rounds through the neighborhood. He did his best to keep his mind off the fate that was coming for these guys as he made sure they were retrained.

'They're criminals,' he reminded himself. 'They're scum. Remember what Oliver said. Criminals don't deserve your pity, they deserve to be exterminated.' He kept repeating that in his head as the night wore on, but he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in his stomach. He made it back to the building to find Green Arrow waiting for him.

"Well?" Green Arrow demanded.

"Mugger on the corner of Sharpton and First. Car their by Fifteen Ave and a mugger on Waterside Street."

Green Arrow nodded. "Wait here."

Speedy nodded. He'd much rather stand here than watch. His heart pounded in his chest. Any moment now those three guys would be dead. He tried not to wonder if they were someone's father or son. 'Criminals don't deserve your pity,' he reminded himself. Green Arrow returned within a few minutes.

"Let's go," he said. "I have information about drug smugglers."

Speedy nodded and followed him. Soon he found himself on the other side of the city, creeping up on a group of men standing around two cars. He looked at Green Arrow who nodded. The two of them drew their bows and fired. Green Arrow's shot hit one of them in the neck, while Speedy's hit one of them in the arm. The two archers ran from their hiding spots as the drug dealers open fired on them. Green Arrow ran to the side and took out three of them at once. Speedy on the other hand had a harder time dodging bullets. He did his best while taking non-lethal shots. He gasped when pain suddenly tore at his leg. He stumbled and fell. "Ah!"

Green Arrow looked back at him and huffed in annoyance. He quickly finished the rest off, shooting them all in the neck or chest. He walked slowly over to Speedy, who was on the ground in pain. "Bullet?" Speedy nodded. Green Arrow grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Ah!" Pain blinded Speedy when he put pressure on his leg.

"Stop shouting. Come on." Green Arrow dragged Speedy along as the two headed home.

— —

Speedy hissed in pain when he was finally able to sit down. He took his mask off, green eyes filled pain. "Ah!"

Oliver took off his mask and looked back at his ward. "I suppose I'll need to take that out. You're useless to me dead." He grabbed a first aid kit and crouched down in front of Roy. He quickly cut away the teens pants around the wound and made a small incision. "Don't move." He held Roy's leg with one hand and used tweezers to dig the bullet out with the other. Roy hissed and yelled in pain. HIs leg twitched and tried to jerk away, but he held it as still as possible while squeezing his seat with his hands. Oliver finally took the bullet out and set it aside. He pressed some bandages to Roy's leg. "Hold." Roy put his shaking hand on the bandage and maintained pressure. Green Arrow stood up, then slapped Roy across the face. "Next time don't be sloppy and get shot!"

Roy nodded numbly. "Yes Oliver."

"Next time I might just let you bleed to death." He finished getting changed and left. He paused in the doorway though, not even looking back at the teen. "Don't forget to sharpen the arrows tomorrow."

"Yes Oliver." Oliver left and Roy carefully wrapped his leg. He felt a tear prick at the edge of his eye. He wiped it away quickly. "Whatever you say."

— —

When Superman entered the Bat cave, Robin jumped out of his arms and ran to his mentor. "Bruce!" he yelled, ripping his mask off.

Bruce frowned at Dick's wide eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Green Arrow showed up!"'

"He did?!" Superman demanded. Bruce gave him a look that said 'How did you not know?!'

Bruce turned back to his son. "Tell me what happened."

"Green Arrow was mad at Speedy cause he hadn't moved! And he….he punched him Bruce!"

"He did?"

Dick nodded, seeming to get more upset. "He did! And then he kicked Speedy and he yelled at him! Then he kicked him again!" Bruce felt his blood boil, but he kept his cool. Dick needed him right now. "Green Arrow told Speedy if he didn't stop talking to himself he'd throw him in Arkham!" He looked at Bruce pleadingly. "You wouldn't let him do that, right Bruce?! You would stop him?!"

Bruce nodded and wrapped his arms around the child. "Of course I would. I'd never let Green Arrow do anything so terrible to Speedy."

Dick sobbed quietly into Bruce's shoulder. "Why would he do that Bruce?! Why would he hurt Speedy?!"

"Some men are evil Dick. They hurt others and they don't care how old they are."

"It's terrible!"

"I know." Bruce rubbed his back while Superman gave him a look.

"I think it's time to take Dick off the case," the man of steel said.

Bruce nodded. "I think you're right."

"No!" Dick protested. He pushed himself away. "I can't stop! We have to help Roy!"

"We'll find another way," Superman assured him. "Dick this case is too much for you-"

"No it isn't! This was our last choice as it is!"

"Dick," Bruce said. He put a hand on his ward's shoulder. "You're only 10. This case is only going to get worse."

"I have to help him Bruce."

"Let the League handle it," Superman said.

"No! I won't! And if you try to stop me I'll just keep going by myself."

Bruce and Superman both sighed. "Why is this so important to you?"

"Someone has to help him. He needs us."

"But the League can help him," Bruce argued. "Why do you want to stay on so bad?"

Dick crossed his arms. "When we were talking earlier, Roy told me about how he lost his dad. He sounded so…sad." He looked at both the adults. "What if it was me? What if I was taken in by someone like Oliver instead of someone nice like you Bruce?"

"That's why you want to help him so bad."

Dick nodded. "It could've been me."

Bruce sighed. Damn, why did his kid have to be so passionate? "You can stay on the case. But it's only going to get worse from here."

Dick stood up straighter. His tears had dried. What he'd seen still upset him, but he couldn't afford to be crying like a little kid. Not if he wanted to stay on the case. "I can handle it."

"I still don't like you going into Star alone after this."

"I could take Kid Flash."

Superman shook his head. "Flash would kill us," he admitted.

"Kid Flash also isn't good back-up," Bruce said.

Dick shrugged. "I'll be fine then. Green Arrow didn't catch me tonight."

"Thankfully." Bruce sighed and rubbed his eyes. This night had been long and it was just starting for him. "Go to bed."

Dick nodded, deciding not to argue, and left to change. Superman glared at the Dark Knight. "You can't possibly keep him on the case after this!"

"He has his reasons."

"He's a kid!"

"I must agree with Mr. Kent, Master Bruce," Alfred said. "Master Dick is too young to be dealing with a case like this alone."

"He's not alone," Bruce said.

"Yes he is!" Clark snapped. "He's alone when he's in Star and he's watching a teenager get beat by a grown man!"

"He can handle it."

"He's 10! He shouldn't have to deal with this up close and personal!"

"That's enough!" Bruce snapped, jumping to his feet. "Leave. This case belongs to us! Now get out of my city!"

Superman sighed. "Bruce-"

"Now!" Superman nodded. He flew away and Alfred raised an eyebrow at Bruce.

"I hardly think you needed to shout at him Master Bruce," the butler said.

"I don't need him questioning me."

"He's merely looking out for Master Dick's safety."

"I'll worry about Dick. If I say he can handle the case, he can handle it."

"I hope you're right sir," Alfred said as Bruce went to go make sure Dick was getting ready for bed. "I hope you're right."