Raven stared as Robin swished the skirt. His button-up almost looked like a black blouse.

"It's so pretty, Rae," he breathed.

"Yeah, you've said. Multiple times. Did you shave your legs?"

"Of course not," Robin said, flaring red in the face. "I waxed them."

Raven raised a startled brow.

"Wayne lets you-?"

"I told him it would help with gymnastics. My parents waxed. It's not a big deal," Robin insisted.

"It is to you, though. Don't need to be psychic to see how happy you are right now."

Robin swished a few more times before stilling.

"Can I tell you a secret?" he whispered.

"Sure. But is it a group secret or a 'just us' secret?"

"Just us. For now."

Raven nodded and rose from her chair. She glanced both ways down the hall and shut the door.

"What's up?" she asked.

Robin sighed and plopped onto the bed. He smoothed the lace over his thighs and fiddled with the hem.

"This was… my first time waxing. I didn't know it was going to sting like that," he said.

"Well, I mean, you're ripping hair out."

"I liked it."

Raven resumed staring. Her legs itched, the cuts nearly faded from a month without the threat of being slapped. She slid to the floor.

"It's… not the worst way to deal," she whispered.

"Not healthy, though."

Raven sighed and looked up, meeting Robin's concerned gaze.

"It's not like it's permanent. You can't wax yourself to death. You're not gonna be tempted to rip it the wrong way so you don't have to get up again tomorrow. You should probably tell Harleen, but…" Raven shrugged and said, "Maybe it's a kink. I dunno."

"Maybe. I just… I was so focused on the pain that I couldn't think of other things. My brain just shut off. It felt good."

Raven let a tiny smirk cross her face. Robin's frown deepened.

"That's not so bad," she said. "You can probably find another thing that does that, too. It's not like you're punishing yourself. It's a lot harder to redirect self-loathing."

Robin scoffed and said, "Yeah, self-loathing is a bitch. I'm… getting better at that? Dr. Quinzel, Miss Kyle, and Mr. Wayne are working really hard on that with me. That whole 'it's okay if it's not right the first time' deal. And I guess you guys help? Like, I see you guys fuck up, too, and I feel bad for it but also… more normal?"

"Normal," Raven repeated softly.

Robin hummed.

"You're scratching again," he said.

Raven dropped her hands to the floor and lifted herself to sit on them. Robin tilted his head.

"You normally scratch your arms," he noted. "You okay?"

Raven sighed deeply again, letting her head fall to her knees.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she rasped.

"A 'just us' secret? Of course."

"Back before… before," she said. "I used to… 'slip' when I shaved."

Robin's eyes widened, but he nodded with a simple "oh" on his lips.

"So, yeah. I get it. The whole wanting things to stop for a minute. And red looks good on me, too."

Robin hesitated, then asked, "do you still…? Or?"

"Hell no. I'm in enough pain trying to breathe when Gar makes me run with him. Besides, I don't really need to anymore."

"Well, running is definitely healthier, even if it's painful," Robin chuckled.

"Exactly."

His hands ran over smooth legs as Robin grinned.

"Fair enough," he said. "And thanks. For trusting me with that."

"Is it safe to open the door again?"

"Not yet. Uh, you should know that my crush has been… reassigned. So you don't need to worry I'll flirt with you anymore."

"Oh?" Raven smirked back. "Anyone I know?"

Robin covered his quickly flushing face. After a moment, he spread his fingers to peek at her. Then he nodded.

"That's great," said Raven. "You should definitely ask them out."

Kori would be so-

"I don't think Garth's into boys, though," squeaked Robin.

"Garth?"

Robin groaned and hid his face again, falling back to lay across the bed.

"Stupid. It's so stupid," he murmured.

"It's not stupid. It's normal. My first girl crush surprised me, too," she assured him. "What happened?"

"It's so dumb, Rae. We were working on our bot, right? He got excited and squeezed my wrist, and I just… I suddenly wanted to kiss him so bad."

"And is this a romantic thing, or are you, like, really into him?"

Robin sighed and said, "That's the part I'm trying to figure out. I know with you, I had a little crush that kinda grew. Then you changed your look, and it was definitely full-blown attraction. I think I'm still in the 'little crush' phase with Garth."

Raven shuffled over to sit next to his leg.

"So what do you plan to do about it?" she asked.

"I dunno. Probably nothing," he replied. "I'm not sure I can take the teasing again."

"Need me to punch Gar for you?"

"No," he laughed. "No, I'll be fine. I mean, working with him might be awkward for a while but… If you taught me anything, it's how quickly these things fade if you let them."

Raven quirked a brow at that.

"I taught you what now?"

"Well, not you. My crush on you. It was like that," he explained, snapping his fingers and sitting up. "I let go of the idea you'd change your mind about a week ago. And now I'm already into someone else. I feel like the gap is shorter than it used to be."

"Wait, you've never had a crush on two people at once?"

"No. Have you?"

"Oh, yeah. I mean," she paused a moment before saying, "they were already dating each other, and I would just imagine… joining in? They were really hot."

"Are these people at school or-?"

"He graduated last year, and she was already out. She'd pick him up from class to do shit. I'd just daydream about tagging along."

"Are you sure that was a crush? It sounds like escapism."

Raven laughed, "No, there was sex. A lot of… honestly, overhyped sex."

"Hey."

Raven sighed but looked up at him. She shuddered at the tenderness in his bright blue eyes. He dug a knuckle into her cheek.

"I hear it's a lot better when you're a willing participant," he whispered.

"I'll be sure to let you know."

"You're scratching."

Cursing, Raven pulled her hand off her shoulder and sat on it again.

"Don't worry about it," Robin told her. "I just think- Look, none of us will be upset if… It's not our business. What you do or don't do. We're here if you need us, but… It's not-."

"Rob. It's fine," said Raven. "You can breathe."

He nodded and sucked a deep breath in, releasing it with a huff.

"What do you think of wigs?" Raven asked suddenly.

He chuckled and said, "Like I would make a cute blonde."

"With ring curls?"

"Do you think?" he asked, tugging a lock of his own black hair.

"I think you should like how you look," she said as she stood up. "If that means we femboy you up-."

She paused at the harsh shiver that ran through Robin's body as he blushed again. She smirked back.

"What was that?"

"I've… never heard that term before," he said. "Femboy."

"How does it feel?"

"Right. Like, it's what I've been trying to say all along. A boy, just… dressed like a girl."

Raven hummed and pinched some of his hair between her fingers.

"Do you think you'll grow it out?" she asked him. "You might look good in pigtails."

Yes, she could see it now. Pigtails in big, perfect pink ribbons. Or maybe dark indigo around bubblegum dye-

Shit.

"Pigtails might be fun," Robin agreed, pulling her from her epiphany. "I might be able to swing a pageboy cut without Wayne noticing."

"You're trying to keep this secret from him?" Raven half-chuckled.

Robin shrugged. "I just don't want him to know yet."

"Are you worried about it?"

"Not really. I'm me, you know? I worry about everything," he laughed weakly. "But Miss Kyle seems really progressive or at least tolerant, and they're dating, so-."

"Woah, woah, wait. Your gymnastics instructor? And Mr. Wayne?"

Robin grinned, saying, "They think I haven't noticed, but the hints are there. He'll whisper to her, she'll blush. She calls him 'Brucie.'"

"Gross."

"A little bit," Robin said before they both fell into a fit of laughter.

A trio of sharp raps and a 'hey' silence them again. Raven rolled her eyes but kept her smirk.

"We're decent, Gar. You can come in," she said.

The door cracked open and Garfield popped his head inside.

"I'd let you have more fun, but Mom's gonna be home soon," he said.

Raven nodded at him. "Yeah, I know. No closed doors with visitors. How's your girlfriend?"

"Adorable as ever. She just ordered some tanzanite from an online vendor. Real excited to get it. Cute look, Robin."

"Thanks!"

"Did you shave your legs?"

Robin flopped down on the mattress again and groaned "Oh, fuck off."