Abigail followed hesitantly behind everyone, still feeling like she was intruding, despite their reassurances. Wally had disappeared after quickly ruffling Abigail's hair, and was waiting for everyone else in the kitchen. Roy slowed his pace casually until he fell in stride with the youngest Bat.

"So, Abby, how's school going? Are the kids still giving you a hard time?" he asked, causing the others to turn their heads.

She shook her head. "Not so much. It's still weird, though. . . I didn't really want to skip grades, but. . Class was just so boring."

"What grade are you in?" Artemis asked curiously.

Abigail blushed and shifted from one foot to the other. "T-Tenth," she answered quietly.

Artemis and Zatanna both stared at her in utter shock, while M'gann and Conner only looked a little surprised.

"What?" "Seriously?!" the magician and archer cried simultaneously.

M'gann tilted her head. "Aren't you a little young to be a Sophomore?"

"Yeah, well. . ."

"My sister's a genius, and skipped three grades, so she's in the same year as me," Dick explained easily while helping himself to the food Wally hadn't inhaled yet. "The only eleven year old in high school, but she does great. Dontcha, Abs?" He smiled proudly at her; other kids might've been threatened by having a younger sibling that was so intelligent, but he'd only ever been a proud older brother. That didn't mean it wasn't weird, having his little sister in some of his classes. But then, their lives hadn't ever been normal.

"I do okay, Dick," she corrected modestly. "English is still kicking my butt."

Wally swallowed a large mouthful. "Well, that's not really surprising. I mean, English wasn't ever really your strong suit, Abigail," he pointed out.

"Wally," Dick and Roy groaned at the same time, Roy punctuating this with a smack to the speedster's head.

The rest of the team exchanged questioning looks. For once, Conner was the first to speak up.

"What are we missing?"

"English isn't our first language," Dick replied simply.

"Or second, or third," Abigail added.

"Or fourth, for that matter," he said.

"Just how many languages do you speak?" Artemis asked, slightly annoyed. She could barely get through French.

The siblings looked at each other for a moment, silently communicating with the other with subtle eyebrow movements and eye squints.

"Six?"

"Seven, if you're counting English. . but that's more like six and three quarters for me," Abigail said over her brother. Her face bloomed again and she looked around the room.

As the leader of the team, and Richard's friend, Kaldur wanted to make the newest addition feel comfortable here. He stepped forward and smiled kindly. "I grew up speaking only Atlantian for much of my life. I know from experience that learning English can be trying," Kaldur told her reassuringly.

"I only learned it so quickly because of the videos my uncle J'onn would send to Mars," M'gann chimed in. "And I used my telepathy to learn it faster," she admitted with a small smile. "The fact that you know so many languages at such a young age is really impressive! You shouldn't be so hard on yourself." The Martian put a hand lightly on the girl's shoulder and beamed.

Abigail returned the smile shyly before hanging her head so her hair hid her face. "Thank you. . Both of you," she said quietly.

After a moment, the conversation finally turned away from Abigail, which made her relax considerably. She chimed in occasionally, but spent a large portion of the time sitting at the bar and watching the other interact. Dick kept glancing over at her, raising his eyebrows questioningly, silently asking if she was okay. Every time, she'd smile and nod. As long as she'd wanted this, it was still a little overwhelming to be thrown into the group like this, especially when everyone clearly had rapport with each other.

Roy sat down next to her, removing himself from the adolescent chatter. "Give it time. You'll fit in with this riffraff in no time," he reassured her quietly.

She giggled. "I think so. . Once the. . the nobility-?" Abigail looked at Roy with a quiet, frustrated sigh.

"Think you mean novelty," Roy corrected.

"Once the novelty of a new team mate wears off," she finished, nodding. "They're all really nice, I'm just. . I-I feel. . I really want them to like me," Abigail admitted, lowering her voice so only he could hear her.

Roy gave her a rare smile. "They'll love you, just give them the chance to get to know you."

Abigail nodded. Even though she didn't quite believe his words, they were nice to hear all the same.

The pair turned when the raucous calmed down, and M'gann was the only voice heard. "-would've gotten you presents, but we didn't really know what to get you-"

Dick waved the concern off. "Megs, don't worry about. This was enough. Actually, this was awesome. Best birthday I've had in a long time." Abigail smiled at her big brother's grin. Even without the party, she knew he'd be thrilled just having his secret identity out in the open. He'd talked about this moment so much with her. . Being there to see it, and how happy it made him, was amazing.

"Well," Roy started, standing up. "I think I'm gonna leave before the group hugs start-"

Wally, Abigail and Dick all started complaining, grabbing the redhead and begging him to stay. "Happy Birthday, Dick," he called over the trio, deftly disentangling himself from their hold; he'd had years of practice, and was a professional at this point. "See you guys later." The computer called out his designation, Speedy, and Roy sighed. "And change my freaking-" He disappeared in the zeta before he could finish.

"Do you guys know what he was about to say?" Dick asked innocently.

"Can't imagine," Wally answered with a smirk.

"You two are horrible," Abigail giggled.

TWO YEARS SINCE I UPDATED THIS. Holy crap. Thank you to everyone who follows this for your patience. You guys are so amazing. Hopefully I'll be updating more often from now on.