Ron stood there in the open doorway and dropped back into his bowl the cheese puff that he had been holding halfway to his mouth, which was quite agape. Both he and the now unmasked Robin froze, uncertain of what would be an appropriate response for either of them. Dick Grayson's blue eyes shone through the dim lighting, his face equally shocked that he had been discovered. Ron looked down awkwardly, then back up to regain eye contact. "Heh," he said, trying to lighten up the situation, "I hope this isn't one of those 'I'd tell you but I'd have to kill you' things." Mentally, he was actually considering the possibility that it was.

Robin snapped out of his shock and picked his mask back up, turning his back while he pulled it back on. "Could you see…?"

"You entire face?" Ron finished. "Sure. Whatever creepy setting these lights are on isn't low enough to make much difference."

"Great," Robin muttered. "Eight years of hiding my identity get messed up at the same moment that everything else does."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Ron said dismissively. "I mean, yeah, I saw it, but I still have no clue who you are." Robin, now masked again, turned around and looked at him quizzically. "Hey," the blonde boy added, licking the cheese powder off one of his fingers, "do you have any idea how many teenage guys in the world have blue eyes and dark hair? It's a big number."

"So…you don't recognize me?" Robin said, starting to feel a bit relieved. Bruce had taught him to always take extra precautions wherever and whenever hiding his identity was concerned. He knew all the reasons for it. There were more than enough. Plus, belonging to a famous billionaire's ward and former circus performer, Dick Grayson's face was not exactly that of an obscure nobody. If Ron had recognized him, Robin wouldn't have been sure how to react. Sure, he seemed nice, but he had only known this boy for a few days. He still hadn't opened up about his past to most of his teammates, and he knew he could trust them with anything. Raven knew, of course, but he had technically never told her. How could he trust Ron Stoppable, practically a stranger, with the one secret that he had spent his life trying to keep?

Ron shook his head. "Dude, you are way too panicked about this. I saw your face for, like, five seconds straight. You look kind of familiar, like I've seen your picture before somewhere, but I cannot think of where or who you are. Now, if I took a picture and sent it to Wade's facial recognition software, he'd have your identity and public records up before you could say 'Bueno Nacho'. But I didn't do that!" he quickly added, emphasizing his statement with an extended, cheese-covered index finger.

Robin was now fully relieved. Ron didn't know who he was. His secret identity remained a secret. He sighed and loosened up his rigidly defensive posture. "Whew. That could have been a disaster."

"Yeah," Ron agreed, glad that the ice was starting to melt. "Just be glad it was me. Kim's way better with faces than I am. If it had been her, she'd probably have your whole tragic backstory figured out by now."

The Teen Wonder straightened up. "How do know that…if…it was tragic?"

"All heroes have tragic backstories," Ron said with a shrug. "It's common knowledge. Just read a few comic books. I have yet to find one superhero with an angst-free past. No worries, though, man, the Stoppable-san has got your unidentified back!"

The other boy peered into the hallway behind Ron. It was empty, and still dark. The clock on the evidence room wall showed that it was still the middle of the night. "What exactly are you doing up?" Robin asked, honestly having no idea.

Ron looked down into his bowl of snacks, then back at Robin a bit sheepishly. "I wanted cheese puffs."

"Cheese puffs?" Maybe having him room with Beast Boy was having an effect on him.

"Yup. I'm all about the cheese puffs. Then, I heard some stuff coming from this direction and, you know…" He trailed off, having a feeling that further explanation was unnecessary.

Robin looked away, too ashamed to maintain eye contact with someone who could have heard all the things he had said to Starfire. "How much did you hear?" he inquired, not wanting to hear the answer.

"Um…everything, I think. Dude, are you and Starfire okay?"

Robin looked away for a second, then directed his gaze back to Ron. "Come in here," he said, motioning for the other teen to leave the doorway and come closer. Cautiously, Ron obeyed, munching on another cheese puff. The door shut behind him, and Robin turned up the dim lights so that they could see each other better, though it was still not a very bright room.

Robin was not completely sure why he needed to talk to Ron about this. He could have just said that everything was fine and to leave him out of it. However, he had a feeling that he just had to talk to somebody, and it might as well be the guy who asked. "Ron," he began, "you might have noticed that I get a bit…carried away with stopping Slade."

Ron set the bowl down on Robin's desk. "Yeah, it's kind of hard not to."

"Right." His masked eyes wandered to the map on the wall with the markings he had recently placed there. This was a pretty uncomfortable conversation to have with someone who he barely knew. He looked back to Ron. "Well, that's been happening a lot lately. Don't think I haven't noticed it myself, because I have. I know I can get obsessed. Starfire knows too. She's always so understanding about it. Maybe she's too understanding. Anyway, she came in here because she thought I'd been working for too long, which I probably have, and she told me to stop and that I'd gone too far. We argued about it. We never argue, but we did. In the end, I said some stupid things and I…I yelled at her. I shouldn't have done it, but by the time I realized how awful I was treating her, she had already left the room. Then I got angry at myself for trying to be the big hero all the time, took off my mask, and here we are." He slumped down into his chair sadly. "She probably hates me."

"Nah, man," Ron assured him with a brotherly hand on the shoulder. "She doesn't hate you. Some girls might, under the circumstances, but Starfire is absolutely crazy about you. One little fight shouldn't ruin everything for you guys."

"No," Robin insisted. "You don't get it. It isn't just the fight. It's everything. It took me three years to ask her to be my girlfriend because I was so wrapped up in saving the day and putting my job as a hero before my feelings for her. After I finally did, everything looked great for us, but then Slade came back and there went all of my focus. Now, after months of putting up with my issues, she had to go through this. I have been the worst boyfriend in the history of boyfriends, Ron. Do you know we've never even been on an official date yet?"

Ron tried to think of something encouraging. He couldn't stand seeing his hero upset like this, and now that he was being asked for help, he wasn't about to let Robin down. "Hey," he said gently, "I wouldn't say you're the absolute worst boyfriend ever. I mean, Kim had a boyfriend who turned out to be an evil robot. You're not that bad."

"Yeah, right," Robin scoffed.

"I'm serious," the blonde boy insisted. "So you have some problems. You love her, she knows that, and she loves you. You know, we were all talking about how you were going crazy about Slade, and Starfire totally had your back. Just give her some space and it'll all be okay."

Robin shook his head. "I wish it was that simple. Batman always taught me to be a hero first and human second. It's one of the reasons why I left him, but I still struggle with it. This is a hero's face," he pointed at the black rim of his mask, "not a boy's. I want to be everything Starfire deserves, but with Slade around, I know I can't. Even if we got rid of Slade and I never had to deal with him again, I wouldn't know how to…" he searched for the right words," …to trust my feelings, I guess."

"You just need to go for it," Ron advised. "Don't even think. How do you think I became Kim's sidekick? Back when we started, I was terrified of almost everything. I've still got a lot of the same fears. But I chose to help her anyway because she was my best friend and I wanted to be there for her. That's what you have to do, man. Forget how scared you are or how weird it is. Just dive in and do it."

"But Slade, and the other villains…"

"So what? They'll still be here tomorrow." He paused, then added, "Wait, okay, that's probably not the best way to put it. I don't mean they'll always be here, I just mean, you know, it's like…huh…what is it like…" He trailed off, trying to think of a good way to get his point across. "I got it. Take me and Kim. We're seniors this year. She's taking tons of AP classes and probably would get automatic acceptance at any college in the world. Me? I'd feel lucky just to make it to the local community college. Maybe I could find a football scholarship to somewhere, but we're almost definitely going to get separated. I know I'm going to be terrified when that happens. I mean, I've known her for as long as I can remember. But am I going to spend my entire senior year freaking out about the inevitable? No way! I'm going to be there for Kim and enjoy my senior year while I can. When we get to graduation, then I can freak out."

Robin thought for a second, then looked at Ron skeptically. "So in other words, you want me to procrastinate on dealing with my fears."

"Exactly!" Ron exclaimed, glad that his sidekick hero understood him. "Procrastination is a learned skill, but if you want any tips, I am proud to say that I am one of its few true masters. Just ask any of my teachers since Pre-K."

Robin broke his serious visage to let out a little laugh at the high schooler's explanation. "I can't say I agree with procrastination as a principle," he finally said, "but you do have a point about one thing: I can't let my anxiety about the future rule my relationship with Starfire in the present."

Ron nodded. "See? You're not so hopeless."

Robin looked at the wall's evidence of his obsessions. "Maybe, but I have been a total jerk lately," he said glumly. "It wouldn't be right unless I found some way to make it up to her. I wish I knew how…"

The two boys pondered in silence the best way to make things right with Star. Ron suddenly looked up excitedly. "I've got it!"

"What?"

"A date! You said you two have never been on an official date yet. Well, take her out on a super cool date. She'd love it."

"I don't know," Robin said hesitantly. "We don't really have time with Slade on the loose…"

Ron picked up the last curly cheese puff and pointed it right under Robin's nose. "I'm sorry, what did we just talk about? Slade is no excuse here, mister!"

Robin crossed his eyes under his mask to look at the threatening piece of snack food. "Okay, forget time. It still isn't safe for us to leave the Tower individually, probably not even in groups of two. Shego's out to get us."

Ron removed the cheese puff from under the Teen Wonder's nose and placed it back in the bowl. "Dude, that is no problem at all. I already asked Kim to go to the Lucky Dragon with me tomorrow night. If we double date, we'll be in a group of four, and it'll be totally safe. What do you say?" When Robin did not reply for a few moments, he added, "Come on, man. This is for Starfire!"

A habit is a hard thing to break, and the longer one has had a habit, the harder it is to put an end to it. However, Robin decided that it was about time to stop putting Slade and his job as a hero first. He stood up from his chair and said, "I'll do it, Ron. I'm going to go to Star, apologize, and ask her if she'd like to go on a double date." The very idea of asking Starfire out made him feel nervous. He could feel tiny bat wings fluttering in his stomach. "…or maybe I'll do it in the morning."

Ron once again pointed the threatening little cheese puff at Robin's face. "Robin, if you back out, I swear I will rip off your mask and post your face to Instagram."

Robin didn't budge. "You wouldn't do it, and you don't have an Instagram," he said, calling the other boy's bluff.

"You don't know that, and I can easily get one," Ron countered.

Robin plucked the cheese puff from Ron's hand, then handed it back in a less threatening position. "Okay, Ron. You're right. I'll do it. For real. For Starfire." He walked directly to the door, let it open, and stepped out with Ron right behind him, munching on the final piece of his orange snack. He stopped once both of them were out in the hallway and added, "Thanks for the talk, Ron. It really helped."

"No prob," Ron said, still chewing.

Robin betrayed a small, mischievous smile. "I think we should really look into why you don't have a Titans communicator yet, shouldn't we?"

Before Ron could respond, Robin had turned the corner toward Starfire's room, mentally preparing himself for the courage this task would take. Ron swallowed the last of his cheese puff, processed the words he had just heard from his hero, and jumped in the air with a celebratory, "Yes!"