Much to Dick's dismay, the Christmas season had to come to an end. Thankfully, he was still on vacation from school, so he could spend time with Roy. Unfortunately, Roy had decided to spend a lot of time practicing his archery. They still did other things together, like sparring and video games, but when he had the time, Roy very clearly preferred to spend it in the archery range near the bat cave. On New Year's Eve, Dick sat on the ground watching him shoot for several hours. At the moment he was finishing up making a 'D' in the target with his arrows. "You're so good," Dick marveled.

"Thanks."

"Will you teach me to shoot like you?!"

"Teach you?"

"Yeah!" Dick got to his feet. "You did say you'd teach me archery someday."

"I did?"

"Twice."

"Well…"

"Please Roy?"

Roy glanced away. "I've never taught anyone else before Dick."

"So? You're a master archer, you can teach me."

"Master archer? Me?"

"That's what Bruce tells Alfred." Roy was momentarily stunned by the pride that swelled in his chest. "Please, Roy?"

"Fine."

"Yes!"

"Whoa." Roy stepped back and held his longbow out of reach. "What're you doing?"

"Did you expect me to shoot without a bow?"

"Not this bow."

"Why not?"

"You won't be able to draw it."

"I will too!"

"Archery takes a lot of upper body strength, especially to use a longbow."

Dick crossed his arms stubbornly. "Acrobatics requires a lot of upper body strength too. Besides, you were my age when you started using a longbow, right?"

"Younger actually, but that's different."

"How?"

"I spent years practicing and building up my strength."

"Just let me try Roy!"

Roy sighed. "Alright." He handed the bow to Dick and took his guard off. He secured it as best he could to Dick's forearm on the off chance the boy managed to draw the bowstring back at all. However, due to Dick's arms being thinner and not as muscular as Roy's, so not even the velcro could keep it secure. He took an arrow from his quiver and handed it to Dick. "Go ahead." Dick, not knowing how to nock the arrow properly, simply wrapped all of his fingers around the end and then the bowstring. Roy snickered a little bit at how the boy struggled to pull the string. He managed to move it an inch before it snapped back. Dick jumped as it slapped against his barely protected forearm. The arrow was sent skittering across the ground about a foot away. Dick's cheeks burned a little at how horrible that had just been. "I told you so."

"How come you can do it so well? You make it look easy."

"I've been doing this for years, Dick." He put his hand on the boys' back. "Let's go get you a bow that's easier to draw." As he took his bow back he glanced at the arm guard. "And some duct tape." They went up to Roy's bedroom where he grabbed his compound bow off his new rack and a roll of duct tape from the kitchen. Dick followed him back downstairs and Roy grabbed his gloves from his Arsenal suit and the quiver. He handed a couple of the items to Dick so he could fill the quiver with regular arrows. "Let's go."

"Do we really need all this?"

"Unless you think you can shoot without a quiver." They went back to the range and Roy knelt down. He undid the velcro straps and simply pressed the arm guard to Dick's forearm. He then duct taped it to the boy's arm to keep it in place. "Since your arm is so skinny this will have to do."

"Do I really need to wear this?"

"Yes," Roy said as he sat on the ground. He started re-stringing the bow to lessen the draw weight. "Here, try this." Dick took the bow and pulled the string back halfway. "Is that as much as you can pull it?"

"Yeah…" Dick eased it back and handed Roy the bow. It took several more minutes of adjusting the bowstring before Dick was able to draw it back all the way. Roy nodded in satisfaction. He slipped his gloves on and put the quiver on Dick's back. Or at least….he tried. The quiver was easily half Dick's size, with the arrows sticking up too far for him to properly reach. It actually made Roy chuckle because of how much smaller it made Dick seem.

"You're so tiny."

"You're a teenager! Of course, you're bigger than me!"

"You're still small for someone your age." Dick stuck his tongue out at him. "Here." Roy undid the strap and awkwardly wrapped it wound Dick's waist. It hung so low it almost brushed the floor. "This really isn't meant to be a waist quiver, but it'll have to do." He stood back and examined Dick. With the arm guard that was long and duct taped to his arm, the too big quiver hanging on his side, and the bow that was a little too long for his size, he looked like a little kid. Roy shrugged as he put his quiver back on. 'Oh well… Best I can do.' He looks down at Dick, who looked back at him expectantly. "First thing you need to do is to use the proper stance. Stand like this." Roy stood face to face with the wall with his body perpendicular to the target. Dick cried him, looking back over his shoulder at him.

"Like this?"

"Yes. Make sure your feet are shoulder length apart." Dick adjusted his feet quickly. "Stand up straight." Dick tried to stand straight, which prompted Roy to briefly put his hands on Dick's back. "Relax your back muscles. You want to be loose." The muscles in Dick's back relaxed a little bit. "Now take an arrow from your quiver. Try not to touch the fletchings."

"The what?"

"The feathers."

"Oh, ok." Dick grabbed an arrow but was a little discouraged he couldn't pull it out as fluidly as Roy did.

"Rest the shaft-"

"The what?"

"The long part."

"Got it."

"I haven't finished yet. Rest it on the arrow rest."

"The-"

"The divet in the bow."

"Oh, ok." Roy moved to the other side of Dick so he could see what the boy was doing. He reached out and carefully adjusted the arrow.

"You want one of the fletchings to point out like this."

"There are so many things to remember."

"You'll get the hang of it. Now put the nock-"

"Nock?"

"The part of the arrow that attaches to the string."

"Oh, ok."

"Pull that onto the bowstring. Now use your three index fingers to hold it there. Put the first one above the arrow and the other two below the arrow." He took an arrow from his quiver and nocked it quickly to show Dick what he meant. "Got it?"

"I think so." Dick's fingers were in the right place, but he was gripping the string too tightly.

"Loosen your fingers. Use the tips to hold the string." He held his bow down so Dick could see how he was doing it. Dick tried to relax his fingers like Roy.

"Am I doing it right?"

"You're doing pretty good for your first time." That seemed to make Dick feel better. "Now, lift the bow and point the arrow at the target." Dick brought the bow up and pulled the string back without Roy needing to tell him too. He had to admit that it was harder to do than he thought.

"I'm ready to shoot!"

Roy chuckled. "Not quite." He angled the bow a little higher. "Keep it parallel to the ground. Keep your elbows in." He adjusted Dick's arm slightly. "Ok. Now make sure it's pulled back to your ear of you can. If not the jaw is fine." Dick glanced down, trying to see where the string was from the corner of his eye.

"Got it."

"Now aim at the target-"

"And shoot?"

"And shoot." Dick's fingers slipped off the bowstring and the arrow shot forward. Unfortunately, the force of the bow caused him to miss the target. The arrow soared past it by several feet.

"Awww, man…"

"Not bad for your first try."

"Technically, it's my second."

"For your second try, it's still really good."

"I missed the target."

"Then you just need to keep practicing."

"How long until I'm good like you?"

"I don't think I'm a good comparison for that kind of thing."

"Why not?"

"Well…..I started younger than you and I had more time to practice than you do. There was also…." Roy's voice trailed off and caused Dick's curiosity to peak.

"Also what?"

Roy swallowed, losing away. "There was also Ollie."

"Why do you call him that?"

"What?"

Dick made a face. "Ollie. You almost never call him Oliver."

"So?"

"So, he hurt you. Why do you use a nickname for him, like he's your friend or something?"

"I-I don't know. I just do."

"Why, though?"

"I don't know." Roy looked at the target, focusing on it. "I just- Do you want an archery lesson or not?" Dick knew that was his cue to stop asking. He simply fixed his stance and tried shooting again. They did this for the next couple of hours. Dick kept shooting at the target with Roy fixing his stance or how he held the arrow most of the time. A few times Roy shot with Dick. Initially, he'd tried to aim for a ring around the bullseye to avoid making Dick feel bad, but simply the act of pointing the arrow at the ring made his heart rate go up. On reflex, he jerked his arm back and got the shot off quick. His anxiety decreased significantly when he saw it hit the dead center of the bullseye. Dick was focused on his own shooting, so he didn't notice the mini-heart attack Roy had just had. They were so focused on their shooting that neither of them noticed Bruce come in to watch them. Normally he would've had them training extra in stealth and awareness as a result, but it was the holidays and Dick was learning a new, useful skill, so he decided to let it slide just this once. Just when he was about to get their attention one of Dick's arrows finally hit the target.

"Woo! I did it!" he cheered. In his excitement, he happened to glance back and see Bruce. "Look, Bruce! I hit the target!"

"I see that Dick," Bruce replied. "I'm glad to see you're learning new skills."

"I'm not as good as Roy, though."

"None of us are." The sincerity of the compliment had Roy taken aback for a moment. His shocked brain didn't know what to say or do. Thankfully, Bruce had a purpose for coming to see them. "Suit up."

"Is there an emergency?"

"No."

"Why are we patrolling then?"

"Don't you and Dick have the party to go to?" Roy asked as they followed Bruce back into the main cave.

"Shhh!"

"I thought it'd be a good idea to do a quick patrol before the party." He looked back at Dick. "Unless you want to start getting ready-" Dick was already halfway to his suit before Bruce could finish.

A mere 15 minutes later they were swinging across the Gotham rooftops. The cold wind was bitter as it bit Arsenal's exposed skin. Thankfully Batman, unlike Green Arrow, had given him a longer sleeved suit for the cold. Originally, he'd feared it would be too difficult to shoot with long-sleeves (Green Arrow's excuse) but Bruce had designed it well. This meant that his face was the only thing exposed to the winter air. The vigilante's feet touched down on a snow-covered rooftop. It crunched lightly under his boots as he ran to the other edge. He looked down at the side street below. There was a young woman hurrying down the thin sidewalk. Arsenal was about to turn away when he spotted someone steps out of the doorway of a building. He leaned forward a bit and spotted something metallic in the man's hand. Arsenal and an arrow on his bow before the man could make it more than two feet. A second later his arrow hit the man's knife and knocked it from his hand. He yelled in surprise as it landed in a nearby snowbank. Arsenal quickly descended to the ground and shot another arrow at the guy's feet. It hit just behind his heels as a warning.

Clearly, the warning went unheeded because the man's solution was to try and punch the vigilante. Arsenal ducked under his fist with ease and brought his bow up into the man's nose. The would've-been-mugger grunted in pain and backed up. Arsenal punched him in the face, knocking him back into the snow. The man scrambled back as Arsenal looked at him.

"You should apologize to the lady," he said.

"S-sorry…" the man stammered.

"This isn't the best way to start your year. I'd suggest you get lost and think of some new resolutions that don't involve crime." Not needing to be told again, the man took off running down the darkening street. Arsenal turned back to the girl. "Are you ok?"

"I am," she said. She pulled her sweater tighter, moving her back hair out of the way. Now that he could get a good look at her, he saw that she was about his age. "I could've taken care of myself though."

"I-I'm just doing my job."

"I'm sure." She took step closer, causing him to take one back.

"You should be wearing a jacket. It's cold out."

The girl shrugged. "I gave it to my little sister." She moved even closer and Roy tried to move back, unsure of what to do. "She's a fan of yours by the way."

"Oh really?"

"Should've seen the look on her face when she found out there was an archer vigilante in Gotham now."

"Is she an archer too?"

The girl smirked. "You could say that. I should get home. Don't want to leave my sister home alone with our dad for too long."

"O-OK." Thankfully she stepped back, so Arsenal didn't have to figure out what she wanted. "Happy New Year."

The girl smiled back at him again. "Happy New Year, Arsenal." She disappeared into the dark and Arsenal throw the knife in a nearby trash bin. His body was buzzing with positive energy from the solo take-down, so it took a second to notice something was wrong. The rooftop he'd been on looked exactly the same except for one thing: Batman and Robin were gone. Anxiety started to play at the edges of his mind, but Arsenal tried to stay calm.

"Batman?" he said into his comm. Static. "Robin?" Still nothing. He moved his hand and took a deep breath. 'Don't panic, Think. Use your head.' Despite Batman's griping about it, the snow on the rooftops had preserved their footsteps was now proving useful. He followed them to the edge, then across the back alley to another. From there he swung across the busy street to another building. Their footsteps carried to the right, allowing to run from rooftop to rooftop. The suddenly ended two blocks later and he looked around. A quick visit to the nearby buildings told him none of the other rooftops had their footsteps. 'So they went to the ground,' he thought, descending into the alley. Their footsteps all over the alley, but no way to tell if they were Batman or Robin's. Arsenal frowned as he looked for any signs of where they went. It was a back alley that was typical in this neighborhood. Only two yards wide with lights on the back of the buildings illuminating it every 10 feet. He looked left and right, wondering which way to go. Then, something in the snow caught his eye. He ran over to the object and picked it up.

A bat-a-rang. They had definitely been there. Arsenal held the bat-a-rang in his hand a looked around. It was a smaller variety, meaning Robin was the one who'd thrown it. There was no blood or anything on it, nor anything else in the alley to aim at, so it must've missed its mark. 'Robin doesn't miss though,' he thought. When it came to accuracy, the kid was spot on. 'Unless he was distracted.' He faced the building that was less than a foot away from his position. A very close inspection revealed a slim nick in bricks where the bat-a-rang hit it. Arsenal put the edge of the bat-a-rang up to the nick and slid to along it. 'Deeper on the right, which means it came from the right.' Moving with great care, he tip-toed to the right. It didn't take long before he spotted two indents in a snowbank. He ran over and carefully pulled two small objects. "Their comms," he whispered. Something was definitely wrong then. The comms and bat-a-ran found a home in one of his pouches while he searched more. Moving in the same direction, he found some disturbed snow. The rest of the snowbank was evenly shaped, but here the snow was obviously pushed around. Crouching down, Arsenal used the tip of an arrow to scrape snow away. It didn't take long before he found another bat-a-rang. Stowing it with the others, Arsenal moved down the alley. He made it twenty feet without finding any more evidence.

Frowning, he back-tracked and looked again. Everything in this part looked normal- If he'd blinked he would've missed it. Most of the backdoors of the buildings around him were covered in snow. They obviously hadn't been opened all winter. Except one. Arsenal stepped back and shot his grapple arrow at the roof. Upon his ascent, he noticed an open window and swung himself inside. Once he was crouched in the room and the arrow was back in his quiver, he crept to the door. There was no one around when he opened it. The door opened to a hall that went around the perimeter of the building. To his left, about 10 feet was a starts case that led down somewhere. The entire rest of the floor was open, so he crept to the railing and looked down below. Whoever had designed the building had obviously wanted to give the impression of fanciness but wasn't that good at it, since the first floor was literally like a pit because of the walls that led up with the all above. Robin was tied to a chair against a far wall on his left, and Batman tied up on the ground on his right. 'At least I found them…' Consequently, he'd also found about two dozen guys with guns.

Granted he wasn't an expert, but he was pretty sure they weren't dressed to be gang members. None of them wore any of the colors of the most prominent Gotham gangs. They all wore black suits, giving them a uniformed look. 'Probably a mob,' he thought, remembering Batman had mentioned there was a couple of small mobs in the city as well. Thankfully, none of them were looking up, so Arsenal was able to move along the railing; trying to get a good look at the floor below. There were crates in neat piles in the room. 'Guns,' a gut feeling told him. 'They're trafficking guns.' Batman and Robin's utility belts were on one of the crates. Arsenal swallowed. 'I'm outnumbered 25 to 1.' The odds weren't great, but he'd faced worse. 'Ok. These guys took down Batman and Robin, so they're probably too smart for 'divide and conquer'. I don't have enough firepower on my own.' HIs brain looked at the crates and the room again, trying to conceive a plan. Within a few scones he had one, but it wasn't a good one. Better than nothing though. He took a deep breath and climbed up onto the railing. Luckily the mob guys were so focused on Batman that none of them looked up.

'No one ever looks up.' One leap and a jump later he was crouching on the top of a pile of crates. Now that he was closer he could hear what the man was saying.

"I'm not a patient man, Batman," said a man holding a gun. "How did you find out about my operation?" There was no reply. The man sighed and snapped his fingers on his free hand. Almost instantly, three men near Robin pulled their guns out and pointed them at him. Robin made a face.

"Come on? Three?!" he practically laughed. "Psh! At least Riddler sicks 5 goons on me. This is just insulting."

"You should be quiet, little bird."

"Will it get me more goons?" Two more guns pointed at him. "That's better. You have to at least live up to the standards of the Arkham villains."

Arsenal huffed silently. 'Why can't this kid by quiet for once?' He pulled an arrow from his quiver and nocked them to his bow. A steady breath calmed his muscles. This vantage point gave him some great angles. 'Speed,' he thought. 'Its all about speed.' He shot the first arrow, which found it's marked, a hand, early. Without thinking, Arsenal's fingers jumped nimbly from his quiver to his bow, then back again. In one time he'd shot an arrow at the gun hands of the men surrounding Robin. Everyone else in the room looked up to where the arrows and come from. Robin had a confident smirk on his face, which the leader didn't miss. Several men started shooting, but Arsenal was already moving. He started shooting arrows at their guns as he moved. The arrows slid down the barrels of their guns with ease, rendering them useless. The archer hopped from crate to crate, much like he did with buildings outside, dodging bullets as he did. Three more arrows and three more men now had useless weapons.

"Shoot him!" the leader shouted. "There's three times as many as us!"

'Like that'll help,' Arsenal thought. He ducked behind a crate, letting it take the brunt of the gunfire. Splintering wood and gunshots were the only thing he could hear for a good minute. In that time he pulled another arrow from his quiver. He angled it just right and shot from behind the crate. It hit another man. Everything stopped momentarily and he took the opportunity to move. Just as he shot two more arrows into guns there was more gunfire. Distantly, he heard Robin yell his name, then fire ripped through his arm. He gritted his teeth and kept firing. It sent shock waves of shape pain through his arm to his shoulder and collarbone, and then down his left side, but he kept it up anyways. His aim was still perfect. The arrows hit the hands and guns of even more men. There was blood soaking his sleeve and running down his arm, but Arsenal ignored it. He kept his attention on dodging and weaving. as he moved he started shooting at men who weren't even paying attention to him. They were once he fired arrows in their general direction.

'Thank god all their weapons are lower caliber,' he thought as he jumped onto another crate. He knelt down and started firing off quick shots again. A couple of the men had stopped ring and were backing up; wisely guessing this wasn't a fight they could win. Arsenal stood up when there was a momentary break in the bullets. He jumped down and attacked them straight on, taking them by surprise. One of the braver of the men shot at him again. There was a dull pain, like getting pinched, in his chest. He winced when he felt the all too familiar snap of a rib. 'Probably broken,' he thought as he punched another man. They were starting to fell back quickly now as Arsenal was disarming them. Evidently, they weren't so good at hand to hand combat.

"Let's get out of here," the leader told them. About five men started shooting again as the rest escaped. Arsenal ducked behind another crate, wincing at the sharp pain in his chest. After a couple of minutes, the bullets stopped and the sound of a door closing reached him. He jumped back out, an arrow on his bow and ready to shoot someone. All the mobsters are gone though.

"Are you ok?" Arsenal asked Robin, running over to him. He put the arrow back in his quiver and set his bow down to untie his friend.

"I'm fine," Robin replied. He somersaulted out of his chair after Roy untied him to prove his point. "See?"

"Uh-huh. Your belts are over there." He titled his head to the crate he'd seen earlier.

"I got 'em!" While Robin dd that Arsenal freed Batman.

"Are you ok?" Batman asked him.

"I'm fine."

"You got shot."

"Huh?" Arsenal looked down at his arm. The blood and soaked the sleeve and he could feel it starting to reach his wrist. "Oh yeah." Robin handed Batman his utility belt and he secured it immediately. Batman put his hand on the small indent in Arsenal's suit. "Did that get through?"

Arsenal shook his head. "No, the kevlar stopped it."

"Good." Batman took his arm gently and studied the wound. He took a bandage from his utility belt and wrapped it tightly. Arsenal clenched his teeth to keep from crying out. "Let's get back, Arsenal needs medical attention."

Robin smiled at the archer. "Thanks for saving us.," he said as they left.

"You're welcome. I wasn't just going to leave you guys there."

"That's good."

— —

Back at the Bat cave, Roy was laying on the examination table. He was changed into sweats, minus a shirt. He winced as Alfred probed the wound again. "Sorry, Master Roy," he said. "It looks like the bullet hit the edge of your arm. Nothing vital though. Some stitches and you'll be fine." He turned away for a moment and Roy turned his head to the side to look at Dick, who was standing next to the table.

"They were shooting at you a lot. You're lucky they didn't hit anything else," he said.

"I know," Roy replied. Now that he was laying down the pain from his injuries was becoming more pronounced. There was a prick in his arm from Alfred numbing it. Bruce came in and looked at Roy.

"What does Alfred say?" he asked.

"The bullet hit the edge of my arm. It just needs stitches."

"What about the one that hit your kevlar?"

"Broken rib."

"I haven't x-rayed you to confirm that," Alfred told him.

"I know what a broken rib feels like," Roy mumbled, watching as Alfred started applying the stitches. His words made the butler freeze for a moment. Only a moment though and he resumed.

"We should still give you the proper medical examination. Do try to refrain from getting shot in the future."

"There was 25 of them and one of me! This is just lucky." He turned his head back to Dick and Bruce. "How did they catch you guys?"

"It was dumb luck," Bruce answered. "We saw their leader walking by. He was very loudly talking about a shipment, so we tailed them. It was a complete coincidence they lead us straight to those crates."

"Then they overpowered us," Dick said with a face. "How did you find us?"

"I followed the clues." To their puzzled expressions, Roy launched into a quick explanation of all the clues and deductions that had led him to finding them. "Once I saw the uncovered door and open window it really wasn't too hard."

"That's amazing!"

"Thanks."

"Then you took them all out by yourself!"

"I didn't take them out, they ran. Which was what I was going for. There were too many of them to safely incapacitate them on my own. I just wanted them to leave."

"You didn't try to split them up?" Bruce asked curiously.

"I didn't think it would work. I thought anyone who'd gotten the jump on you two wouldn't fall for the old 'divide and conquer' tactic." Bruce nodded. "I decided my best chance was to use my speed and disable their weapons. Once they realized they were outmatched I had hoped they'd leave, and they did." Alfred finished the stitches and helped Roy sit up. One x-ray later confirmed that his rib was broken from the force of the bullet. Luckily it was a clean break and Alfred was confident he just needed rest.

"Six weeks of no patrol or archery," Alfred told Roy sternly.

"Six weeks?! That's too long!"

"That's how long it'll take to properly heal."

Roy looked at Bruce, but the man shook his head. "Listen to Alfred, Roy."

"Now, Master Roy needs pain medicine and to rest. You two," he looked at Bruce and Dick, "have a ball to get ready for."

"Do we really have to go?" Dick asked while Bruce and Alfred helped Roy off the table.

"Yes, Dick," Bruce said. He gently helped Roy up the stairs.

"I can do it," Roy tried to tell him, but Bruce apparently wasn't listening. Bruce helped him to the den and let Roy lie down on the couch. Dick was sent to his room to get dressed with much grumbling and moaning. Roy smiled while Alfred helped prop him up with pillows to take some pressure of his chest. By the time Roy was settled and waiting for his pain medicine to kick in Bruce was dressed and wait for Dick. "He really hates these, doesn't he?" Roy asked.

"Yes. I don't particularly enjoy them either, but we have to go." Dick walked in, looking none too thrilled.

"Are you sure we can't just stay home with Roy?" Dick asked Bruce while the man tied his bow tie. "He's hurt, we should stay here."

"I'm fine," Roy said. "I'd hate to get in the way of your guys' fun." Dick made a face.

"Roy will be fine Dick," Bruce assured him. "Now let's go."

"We're already late."

"Fashionably late."

Roy could hear Dick's groan all the way from the couch. He laughed and picked up the book he'd been reading. After a few minutes, Alfred came in; setting down a tray with two teacups. "Did they leave?" he asked as he set his book side. Alfred handed him a cup of tea, then sat down with his own.

"With many complaints from Master Dick, yes," Alfred replied before taking a sip.

"What's the ball like?"

"It's a very formal event." Alfred sat back with a cup of tea while he talked. "The richest people in Gotham attend with their children. The ladies wear their finest pearls and jewels. The men wear identical suits and bow ties, even the young gentlemen. Usually, the ladies prefer to gossip and flirt, while the men discuss business and politics of the like."

"What'd the kids do?"

"Wander usually. After one or two hours they collect into small groups and talk with each other. Discuss matters at their schools or family vacations."

"So everyone just stands around and talks?"

"They drink fancy wine and champagnes. Eat small crackers with cheese on them."

"Sounds really boring. No wonder Dick didn't want to go."

"There is also some dancing."

"What kind?"

"Slow kind where women can get close to Master Bruce." Roy thought back to earlier that night. To the girl who'd gotten really close to him. How weird it had made him feel. "Does he like that?"

"In a manner, he might. Most of the time he merely puts up with it."

'Is that what girls do?' Roy wondered as Alfred took another sip of his tea. 'They get really close and make you uncomfortable?' That didn't make a lot of sense to him. He took a sip of his tea. "You make great tea, Alfred."

"Thank you, Master Roy. I strive to be a man of many talents."

"You definitely succeed in that endeavor."

Alfred smiled. "I'm glad you think so sir."

— —

The party was about as boring as Dick thought it would be. He wandered around the ballroom, hoping for something exciting to happen. So far the most eventful thing to happen was two women wearing the same dress. Other than that it was a real snooze fest. After dodging yet another attempt by someone to pinch his cheek he went looking for Bruce. Unfortunately, when he found him he was dancing with Selina Kyle. Dick made a face. 'Did she break out just to come to this party?' He watched them dance for a few minutes, before turning to go get some more food. Unfortunately, he didn't even see the man standing behind him until he'd run into him. Dick stumbled back and the man grabbed his arm to keep him from falling.

"Sorry s-" the apology died on his lips when he saw who it was.

"You should watch where you're going," Oliver scowled down at him.

Dick resisted the urge to punch him. That's when he noticed Oliver was still holding his arm. "I didn't see you Mr. Queen. It was an accident."

"Still. You should be more careful." Dick jerked his arm free and pulled on the sleeve.

"What're you doing here?"

"Ringing in the New Year, same as you."

"Why are you in Gotham though? Don't you live in Star?"

"I do. I was in town for some business and decided to stay for a couple of days. Like a mini-vacation."

"I don't know why anyone would want to vacation in Gotham."

"Hm… The crime rate can be a big deterrence. Wouldn't be so bad if you local vigilantes did their jobs better."

Dick frowned. "Batman and Robin do a great job helping the Gotham Police keep Gotham safe."

Oliver waved his hand. "Ahh, what'd you know, you're a stupid kid." That had Dick's metaphorical hunches raised. Before he could do anything though, a hand settled on his shoulder.

"I hope you're keeping out of trouble Dick," Bruce said to him.

"I was just telling to Mr. Queen," Dick replied innocently. "He's on a mini-vacation."

"Is that so?" Bruce looked at Oliver. "I didn't expect to see you here Oliver."

"I was in the neighborhood," Oliver replied with a shrug. "Thought I'd drop in and enjoy the festivities."

"What brings you to Gotham?"

"Business."

"I see." Bruce slipped his arm around Dick's shoulder, almost protectively. "Are you staying long?"

"No, I've already been here for a week. I'm leaving tomorrow."

"I hope your week in Gotham was a success."

"It was. I got everything I needed."

"Good. You'll have to excuse us, Miss. Kyle wants to say hi to Dick."

"Of course. Have a good new year's Bruce."

"You as well."

"He seems to have gotten over you helping in Roy's kidnapping awfully fast," Dick muttered as Bruce steered him away.

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell….you know who about Oliver being here?"

"He's leaving tomorrow. I don't think it'll be necessary."

"What'd you think he was going in Gotham?"

"Probably business, like he said. There have been no signs of Green Arrow around."

"He came to Gotham, but he's not here to intimidate…you know or get him?"

"Apparently."

"You think he's finally given up?"

"Hard to say. He's been really quiet the last month and a half."

"I hope he has."

"Me too Dick. Now go talk to Selina."

Dick shrugged. At least she wouldn't pinch his cheeks.

— —

A few minutes before midnight, Alfred left the room, promising to be back soon. Roy simply nodded and returned to the movie they were watching. It was Disney's, Robin Hood. There were animals as all his favorites and it wasn't half bad. Alfred had suggested they watch a movie to pass the time. He even suggested they watch Errol Flynn's Robin Hood, knowing how much Roy loved the character. However, a quick explanation about how that was also Oliver's favorite movie quickly killed that idea. Then Alfred had told him about this one. Evidently, someone named Lucius Fox had given Bruce a bunch of children's movies when he took in Dick. This had been one of them. It was honestly a win-win. Roy got to watch a Robin Hood movie and it wouldn't remind him of Oliver. Best of both worlds. He was bobbing his head along with the music when Alfred returned with champagne glasses.

"I- That's-" Roy stammered, heart, starting to pound.

"It's not alcoholic sir," Alfred assured him. "Sparkling cider."

"Sparkling cider?"

"Yes." Alfred handed him one. "Smell it." Roy brought the glass to his nose cautiously and sniffed. "See?"

"Is this for midnight?"

"It is indeed." They both looked at the clock on the wall.

"Five minutes. What do you think Bruce and Dick are doing right now?"

"Master Dick is probably counting down the seconds until he can come home."

"And Bruce?"

"Probably keeping Master Dick out of trouble."

Roy didn't necessarily believe that one, but it did make him smile. "Four more minutes."

"Indeed. Do you have any resolutions for this year?"

"I don't know…. Maybe….Learn to shoot more than one arrow at once."

"A very nice goal, sir."

"What about you Alfred?"

"I think I shall try to finish a book."

"Finish a book? How is that hard?"

"You'd be surprised when people go out fighting criminals every night sir."

"I guess so." He looked at the clock. "Two minutes." He sat up a little more and made sure he was ready. He couldn't remember the last time he was this excited on New Year's Eve. There was an entire year ahead of him. A year of helping people the right way. Getting to learn things and playing video games with Dick. A year where he didn't have to worry about Oliver. He grinned at Alfred. "I think this is going to be a good year Alfred."

"I sincerely hope so sir." The clock struck 12. "To the New Year."

"To the New Year." Roy raises this glass, then took a sip. The sparkling cider was delicious and wonderful. Roy was still grinning after he drank half of it in one gulp.

"Happy New Year Master Roy."

"Happy New Year Alfred."

A/N: Only two more chapters left! The next chapter is a big one, so don't miss it!