To all my readers, I give you a sincere apology for the hold up on updating this story. It's been on hiatus while I deal with my other YJ story, 'Sometimes Heroines Need Heroes'. It's still no excuse though. This chapter has been sitting on my flashdrive for a very long time. And school has been killing me. But a million times, I apologise.

By the way, when Robin says 'DL', he means 'down low'. Just to make sure we're all on the same page.

She pulled me a few steps and said, "Close the door." I shut one side, she shut the other and we walked out to the balcony. A cool breeze blew, moving a number of her flowing, black tresses and we stood there for a moment, watching the wide expanse of carefully tended landscape beyond around a wide fountain.

I touched the small of her back and I saw her gather the skirt of her dress to the side and go to sit on the balcony.

"Come join me?" she asked. I obeyed and noticed when I looked down that she was wearing the same shoes she'd worn on our date many moon ago. They still looked lovely on her and they still looked painful.

"How can you stand to wear those things? Aren't you in pain?" I asked. She noticed my gaze on her feet and she burst into laughter.

"A little. But I'm used to wearing heels."

"I'm in pain just looking at them." She laughed again.

"So, your answers." I nodded and she looked out onto the beautiful landscape. "What's your first question?"

"Where have you been? Why'd you let yourself get caught? Why didn't you call? Why didn't you tell me what you'd been planning? Maybe we could have worked out something else." She snickered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's not one question and that last one wasn't even a question."

"Technically they're all part of one story, aren't they?"

"You're right." She exhaled. "What I needed was a rehab, something to wean me off stealing, and a way to pay for what I'd done. I had decided on that plan that very same day. I knew they couldn't send me to jail so they'd have to send me to a facility for juvenile detention. I didn't have my phone—or your phone number—so I couldn't contact you or be contacted. I just got out two days ago actually. I finished my program without so much as a misdemeanour violation. I knew that if I was doing this, I had to do it right. So now I'm back to society. And, best of all, back to you...if you want me."

It was my turn to snicker.

"As if you should even doubt that I want you. Have you looked in a mirror lately? More importantly, do you remember what I said five months ago?" She looked down.

"Yeah. I've seen myself in a mirror," she said softly, voice sounding full of pain just being restricted. My smile dropped from my mouth.

"But it was bad there, wasn't it? They hurt you. You lost weight."

"You could tell?"

"I noticed when I was holding you."

"It's horrible, isn't it? I've got to regain my muscles, my size. I had to have this dress taken in." I just looked at her as she looked back out onto the landscaping. "The other girls there, most of them didn't want to be there. They were lashing out, fighting, trying to cling on to the unhealthy lifestyle they were leading. It was the only thing they had, I don't blame them. It probably scared them to try to let their guards of rage and violence down and to find serenity and honesty. It meant confronting themselves and their sins. And I know that's not easy.

"I tried to help out, breaking up fights, offering my help to the other girls as much as I could. One girl, she clung onto the rage and the violence really, really tightly. It upset her that I was so calm, said I was making all of them look so bad. She started a fight. I tried to defend myself without throwing my own blows. I got hurt pretty badly. When she saw the woun—what she had done, she apologised. For the very least, she learnt that her issues were really bad and she agreed to start the anger management. I made some friends, an ex-prostitute, a girl who'd killed her abusive brother, a runaway. It was humbling. It reminded me that I was never in any position to judge anyone, that beneath everyone's offences were people trying to deal with life."

It was a lot of take in, what she had said but as every word registered, I came to marvel at the wisdom and willpower of this girl. She spoke truth that I'd never really encountered. Something about what she said, I could feel it making me a better person just by knowing it. Every minute I spent talking with her, it felt like my reasons for being in love with her grew.

"Deep," was all I could say. "But I'm glad you came back alright." She looked at me and gave a small smile and her face began its journey towards mine. Her lips touched softly to mine and then parted, kissing slowly and softly. I deepened the kiss, moving an arm to pull her a little closer, to remove the inch or two that had been between us. My hand moved from the spot on her waist, up her back and to her shoulder and the scarf draped there kept me from the feel on her skin.

Instinctively, my fingers ventured to touch beneath the scarf. I pulled away from her when I felt the line of smooth scar tissue.

"Turn a little, would ya?" I asked. She just barely hesitated, then looked away, to the floor where she'd just been standing. I moved the scarf aside a little and gasped when I saw the two inch angry line on her shoulder, a scar that spoke volumes about the deep wound that had been inflicted upon her. Her eyes shot up to me for a millisecond then returned to the floor.

"That's why I've been hiding it. I knew you'd freak out."

"How—"

"I told you I'd been hurt pretty bad, didn't I?"

"What...what did she do to you?"

"There...was a broken chair in a corner. The sharp, broken piece got my shoulder. There were bruises all around it and on my head, as well as a head injury."

I pulled her towards me, embracing her tightly but trying not to be too forceful.

"All my injuries have healed, Rob. You can hold me as tightly as you want," she said. I held her just a little more tightly as she seemed to read my mind again. She rested her head a bit awkwardly on my shoulder and for a couple of minutes I just kept her there in silence. I thought I could just barely hear the sound of her tear falling onto the fabric of my jacket.

"Hey, Robin," she said finally, softly. "I really love you, you know."

"I know," I replied quietly. "I love you, too, which is why I won't let you get hurt again. I meant what I said when I said I'd be your everything."

"Big promise for a thirteen-year-old."

"Forget about my age. A promise is a promise and I know full well what it means. I'll be there for you when you need me."

"And your teammates? If I call when you're off on a mission, when I need you and you're somewhere in the Gobi Desert, what then?" She leaned back, off my shoulder and I opened my mouth to say... nothing but then realised I had nothing to say, no set response to that one. She chuckled. "Don't worry about it, I'm just messing with you. I'm not the clingy girlfriend and I've managed with your schedule before." She sat infinitesimally straighter as we both realised she wasn't even officially my girlfriend yet. "Not that I'm your—"

"Xana, will you be my girlfriend?" I asked, pre-empting her. She gave a small laugh and smiled.

"Think you can handle me?"

"I think I can manage."

"Well, alright then. I accept." She returned her head to my shoulder and I continued to just enjoy holding her. "So, does Robin's girlfriend have any special privileges?"

I let go and she pulled back and I smiled at her. I threw a leg over the balcony and she did the same, just as I lifted my shades and rested it on my head, showing her my eyes.

"Of course you do. You get to know that my name's Richard Grayson and I have blue eyes and I'm an orphan under the protection of a guardian." Her eyes widened.

"Oh, wow. I was thinking more like you'll call me every day or I get to ride on the back of your motorcycle or something. Not—wow." She sounded so stunned that I had to laugh a little.

"You wouldn't believe who's my guardian—" She cut me off, putting her hand over my mouth.

"Well, keep some secrets to yourself, why don't ya?" I removed her hand.

"I want you to know. I've got to be honest."

"Robin—"

"Richard, or Dick." She exhaled.

"Richard, I've never wanted you to tell me everything. I want you to keep your identity as safe as possible, keep your life as safe as possible. The kinds of things I want you to be honest about are what your favourite colour is or if I'm kissing you okay, stuff like that. All I want to know is that you love me. You don't have to tell me everything. Just the things that are safe to share, the things that are important to know, what I should talk about, what I shouldn't talk about, who're your favourite teams, your favourite videogames, your secret wishes, secret desires. I don't need a background, a bio, a profile. I just need you, as you are, as it's safe to be."

"If...if I do that, you'd only be dating the superhero. You'll have half a man. It's a hollow relationship that will only exist when I wear the mask. Is that what you want?"

"It's not what I want, but what needs to be if your secret is to stay safe." I exhaled.

"Xana, what did I promise you?"

"That you'd be my everything."

"What else?"

"That you wouldn't let me get hurt."

"Right. So why are you trying so hard to protect me if you'll probably get hurt in the end?"

"You're underestimating me. I don't like it."

"I'm not underestimating you. I just don't want to create problems unnecessarily. We'll probably have other issues to deal, so why should we make ones where there shouldn't be? Why should we complicate things any more?"

"You trust me to keep your secrets, and to accept you for who you are, what you've done and what you do?"

"I've accepted you, haven't I? I'm in no position to judge." She smiled.

"Accepting you is not something I have a problem with, or keeping secrets."

"Even if I said I was bisexual?" She smiled, her arms coming around my neck.

"Well, I'm a greedy girl and I won't want to share you so I'll have to do something about that." Her lips crashed down onto mine just as the words were out of her mouth, her tongue making its way to my lips and into my mouth as I parted my lips slightly. She strongly wrestled with mine, touching and tasting deeply before she withdrew.

"Okay, well at least I'm sure now that I'm not bisexual. Or, if I was, I don't think I am anymore." She laughed, stroking the back of my head. "But in any case, if you're so greedy, you should want all of me, like I'm offering." She raised an eyebrow and it took me two seconds to realise my unintended innuendo. "I mean—" She laughed.

"I get what you mean and what you don't," she reassured, still smiling.

"Anyway," I continued, "you might want to keep me safe by helping me to compartmentalise, but I don't want you to be Robin's girlfriend and not Richard's. I want you to be mine all the time and be yours all the time, too." She gave me her sultry smile.

"Since when are you such a sweet talker?"

"It's just all for you, babe."

"See? There you go again." She kissed my lips briefly but pulled away far too soon. "Oh, crap, I'm keeping you from your mission, aren't I?"

"It's fine. Kal and Artemis can handle it—"

"If they could, you wouldn't have been here. I wish I could help but I know you're not at liberty to tell me. Come on. We should return to the party." We both dismounted the ledge.

"We're looking for a sellout. Someone's been stealing from some of the wealthy business people in the room tonight who are all part of the same circle. We figure there's got to be a snitch that's telling the thief where all the houses are, where the safes are in these houses and how to bypass their security."

"Hm. Well, as an ex-thief, it sounds to me like one of their friends is broke." I raised an eyebrow.

"Care to explain that one just a little?"

"Think about it. If you're the informant of a thief stealing from rich people—"

"The benefits would probably be a cut of all that was stolen! You're a genius!"

"No, that would be you."

"Yeah, you're right." She chuckled and opened the door.

"I'll keep my eyes and ears open and find you if I uncover anything."

"You really don't have to. You're here to enjoy yourself. I don't want to stop you." She snickered.

"Oh, please. We both know this isn't my particular brand of entertainment. Besides, you need all the help you can get. There are a lot of people in this room."

"I suppose you're right. But keep it on the DL. If my friends find out you're helping us, they're going to get on my case for almost compromising a mission and blah, blah, blah."

"Noted. I'll go hang around with the friend I'm escorting and some other circles and see if I find anything out. I'll find you if I hear anything."

"Wait, you're someone else's date? And you were making out with me like that? Are you nuts? People are going to think you're—"

"My friend is a girl. I said I was escorting someone, not that I was their date."

"Oh. Never mind." She stifled a laugh and shook her head.

"Just go look for the person."

"Alright. I'll catch you afterwards, okay? What time do you leave?"

"My friend can go home without me. I've got my phone on me, too."

"Oh, okay. Give it to me for a moment." She handed it to me and gave it back a few moments later. "Now you've got my number." She took back the phone and I gave her hand a squeeze before I turned and walked away from her.

Iprobablywon'tbeupdatingagainforawhile.Pleaseforgiveme.Ireallyhavenotimethesedays.