Despite what others thought, Nightwing was not as paranoid as his mentor. He was cautious, perhaps; but never paranoid. No, he was far more trusting and patient. Normally.
These were not normal circumstances.
He ate nothing in the Cave anymore. Anything did eat he brought from home and he never left it unattended for more than a minute. He had to be extremely careful not to let anyone notice his break of habit. It was significantly easier since Batman checked in on them a lot less. But that still left Batgirl and Robin. Batgirl was likely to be more trouble if she noticed, she would relentlessly ask why until he gave in. Not to mention it was nearly impossible to lie to her. It was a miracle their ploy had even gotten this far! There was no way he was going to let his own caution give away the others' positions.
"Why don't you eat when we're here?"
Damn.
The elder Bat turned away from the Cave's computer screens to face his younger brother. Robin was looking at him. And not just looking at him, oh no. He was giving Nightwing the 'I-know-something-is-wrong-now-you-had-better-tell-me-before-I-tell-Batman' look.
"What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You haven't eaten anything in four days."
"Robin, of course I have."
Robin's countenance switched to an 'Are-you-seriously-lying-to-me-right-now?'
"Robin, I've eaten. Just not here, okay?"
The younger hero heard the minute change in tone and got the hint and left without another word. As his little brother left, he thought over his predicament. If Robin noticed something was off, it wouldn't be long before Batgirl noticed too. And if that happened…
He was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts by sudden loud footsteps. He whirled around to find Zemirah walking in, a tray in hand.
"You haven't eaten anything for the day yet," she explained without start. "Personally, I'm content to let you starve yourself; but M'gann insisted I bring you this."
With that she shoved the tray into his hands. He looked down at the contents with no visible concern, but inside he was an absolute mess. It was a sandwich and some fruit along with a glass of water; but who knew what she had done to it? For all he knew, the food could've been laced with cyanide or something. Should he ask who made it? Before he could try he looked up to find Zemirah leaning on a wall.
"What are you doing?"
"M'gann told me to give you food, but Caroline said to make sure you eat it."
Great. That was just great. If he didn't eat it, Caroline would kill him. If he did, he was likely to be poisoned.
Wonderful.
"What is it?"
"It's a tuna sandwich."
"Do I have to?"
"I'n gon' save ya' backside from Caroline if you don't."
With no choice and a silent prayer to whoever was listening, he took the sandwich and bit into it. He avoided looking Zemirah in the eye as he chewed. The texture was normal, but the flavor was a little… Off. He swallowed, holding back a grimace.
"Can't you just tell Caroline that I ate?" he asked.
"I'm not lying to my best friend for you," she said with a glower.
Alright, bad idea on his part.
He continued with the sandwich and said nothing when he finished. He only downed the glass of water before giving back the tray.
"How was it," Zemirah asked numbly.
"Good," he lied.
"Good," she said with a small smile before turning away. "Glad to know you enjoy my cooking."
Oh, boy.