GUESS WHOSE BACK LITTLE CHICKIESSSSSSS

HOW MANY YEARS HAS IT BEEN HUHH? THREE? FIVE?

So a little backstory, I made this account when I was in middle school and I am now close to graduating college.

Reading this stuff back I've realized that 1) This is cringy *piiiip* and I would love to take my younger self by the shoulders and shake the life out of her, 2) I am too lazy to change my cringy past so enjoy y'all are stuck with it, 3) I could be a 13 emo kid or a soon to be grad student in my 20s and I'd still be a nerd. I loved cartoons then, and I love it now. I loved Robin then, I love Dick Grayson now. Not gonna change for as long as I live so while this fic still lives, no matter how long it takes, in the name of my younger self I SHALL FINISH IT.

So enjoy my writing which may have gotten better or worse, idk, and as always sorry for any mistakes! See ya!

(PS: I had a whole plot in my head when I first wrote this that has now been forgotten so things are gonna go with an unclear flow. Welcome to the Bermuda triangle, guys!)

Chapter Five: I Will(?) Follow(Take) You Into The Dark

There was a reason why Dick didn't put up much of a fight against putting up Titan's Tower on an island in plain sight. Admittedly it was strange at first for the trained bat- to live like his namesake and actually be seen by people instead of having the comfort of the cave's shadows. Because the darkness was a comfort to him, or at least the dark of the Batcave was. He was trained in it, reveled in it even- like his mentor before him. It was why he never could allow himself to reveal his birth name to his teammates, and why he always wears his masks, though the rest of the Titans ventures as civilians often enough. Old habits die hard, and at its core, he is and always will be a bat: a creature of secrecy and night.

But he was also the bird who can never stay too long on the ground, and the little child who would wake at dawn to watch the sunrise. At first it was just because dreams of his parents' deaths would keep him awake, but after a while he came to love how his room in Wayne manor would change color as the minutes passed, like a golden kaleidoscope as the sun marks the beginning of a new day. Sometimes Alfred would find him like that, sitting next to the window just watching; and then sometimes Bruch would join him, enjoying the momentary peace and beauty in a life that sometimes seem too dark.

At first he thought it was a sign to Bruce that he didn't need to be a bat to be his own hero. That having his base in plain sight was just another way to piss off his mentor. But after last night, Robin realized that as much anger as he had for Bruce- he missed him just the same. He missed the manor; he missed his childhood room, the colors, Alfred's cooking, the stairs he used to slide down hoping to give Bruch an aneurism, the chandelier he used to swing from before Alfred bribed him with cookies. Subconsciously, as angry as he had been, he missed his home.

There was a reason why Robin never argued about having a base set in plain sight, even though every logical part of his mind and his inner bat was yelling at him to find somewhere safer, darker, and more secure. He couldn't stand being apart from his sunrise, especially after he ran from the two suns that took care of him when he was at his darkest.

'But what about now?' Dick thought, 'He's here again, a family again if I wanted to… So why is it still so dark…'

The Titan leader sighs as he watches the sun peak out in the horizon from his seat on the sofa. He was tired, so so tired after yesterday, but he's still too concerned to sleep. He had been the same when his parents first died, too scared about the nightmares, too worried about what would happen to him in the future to rest. Then Bruce came along and he finally managed to see the end of that tunnel. But Bruce is here now, and despite having reconciled with his father in all but blood, he's still in the dark.

Bruce said that he trusted him enough to not go over the line; to be strong enough to pull himself back, to pull himself together. He's the boy wonder: the light to batman's brooding, he's supposed to be the brighter of the two. But now he's terrified. One talk with his estranged guardian can't exactly calm down all his fears. He's terrified of breaking down, of showing even more weakness to those he's meant to lead, and to the person he's always wanted to please. He's terrified of losing control of himself, of his emotions, of his will power and moral code. Because he could kill. So easily. To know how not to kill you need to learn how to do it first, and after spending so much time with Slade, taking that final jump just seems so very easy.

The sun's ray casts a gentle orange light into the Titan's Tower, and Robin can't help but flinch as he recalls Slade's face, and how much he hopes that, should the day come, the team would sooner see him loose his mind than watch him draw blood.

'THE TEAM!' Robin suddenly remembers. He didn't see them last night after his episode. Batman left him alone to gather his own thoughts after their talk, and by that time it was late enough that when he ventured into his room, everyone else were already in their beds. 'This involves them too,' He thinks, 'I can't risk them getting hurt again. They need to know about Slade. How am I supposed to tell them about Slade and explain away Batman being here?'

"Tell them I'm here chasing down a lead from Gotham. It's not far from the truth."

A knife whisked passed his neck as Bruce moved to the side, Robin already poised with an exploding disk in his right hand and his staff in his left.

"Good reflex, maybe now you can focus on training to not think out loud. Why are you awake so early?" Bruce asked, pulling down his cowl.

'Great.' Robin slumped back down on the sofa seat as the elder bat went to sit next to him. 'It's far too early for a bat lecture.'

"I've always been up early." He said with a smirk, "Has it really been that long that you've forgotten that old man?"

Bruce scoffed, "Nice try, Richard. What's concerning you now?"

Dick's face fell. "Nothing you should concern yourself with. Just think of it as teenage angst." They may have had a little heart to heart just a few hours before, but he's not ready to unveil all of his thoughts and worries to his mentor just yet. Years of pain and anger don't just disappear after a night.

Batman scowls but seems to understand that Dick's not ready for any advice coming from him and lets the topic slide. Dick tries to focus on the relief he feels, as opposed to the small rising resentment for Bruce's overprotective and know-it-all attitude. They've reconciled sure, but some scars still take time to heal.

'Speaking of scars…'

"If I asked you to protect the Titans, to hide them until I manage to make things safe for them again, would you do it?"

Bruce's eyes widened in shock for a moment before it returned to its normal stoic expression. "What do you mean?"

Robin's mask clad eyes stared back at him, and Batman wonders when it was that the wonder left the eyes of his child, because the face staring back at him is one of a man who had held the weight of the world, not that of the thrill-seeking child he took in long ago.

"Slade won't stop looking for me." Robin replied, "We beat him once by chance, and next time we may not be so lucky. He knows my family- my team is my weakness. It's my fault for proving to him that. They're my responsibility as a leader, and I failed them by giving him that information."

"No." Bruce said, "You've failed no one, Richard. You were threatened by a psychopath and you put innocents before yourself. You are not to blame for this."

Robin smiled, but Bruce could tell that he didn't believe a single word. "He also knows my connection to you." The younger continued, "He may not know what drove me to Jump, but he knows that the second you need me I'd be on my way back to Gotham in a heartbeat." Bruce tried to hide his surprise and doubt at the statement, but realizes his failure as his son turns his eyes away from him. "I would have, regardless of what happened between us, I would have. Slade knows this, and yet he never targeted you. Hell, he never even mentioned you. Frankly in his eyes, it was as if you never existed. Or that he didn't want you to…"

"You want me to foster the Titans while you deal with Slade alone?"

Robin sighed. "I wasn't the only one hurt in that situation, Bruce. The Titans were too. He tortured them. I hurt them. He used us against each other, and whatever I suffered under his hand, at least I knew that he wouldn't kill me. They could've died, Bruce. We've never been so close to death before, and I lead them to it."

"So you expect me to let you face certain death alone?" Bruce demanded.

"He wouldn't kill me!" Dick yelled, "He had the chance to once, Bruce, and he didn't! One move and we'd all be dead. Me, the Titans, all of us, he had the button in his hand and he didn't. He's too stubborn to do that. Too delusional maybe, desperate, sure of himself, I don't know why, but he would not kill me!"

Bruce glared, "But he would torture you."

"Better me than them!"

Robin flinched as he watched the horror settle on his mentor's face.

"I can't put the through that again, Bruce." He continued, "I can't go up against Slade again knowing that I would also be putting them at risk."

Dick pulled off his domino mask before looking back at the elder bat. The man who raised him since he was orphaned as a child. "They've become my family too, dad. I can't lose them, any more than I can lose you or Alfred. I can't bring them into this like lambs for slaughter, not when I know you can protect them. Slade is afraid of you, either that or he just doesn't want to acknowledge your importance to me. Whatever the reason being, he won't touch you and that means if the Titans are with you he won't hurt them."

Dick looks away before continuing. "I think he wants me to see him as a father. For that to happen he needs my current dad to be out of the picture too." He smiles, "He'd either ignore you, or kill you. And what better way to protect my old man than to send four super-powered teens to look after him?"

"Do you really think I could allow you to go through with this Dick?" Bruce asks, "To stand back and watch while you fight that madman alone? To shield away the very people who could very well save your life? To trade my own son's life for theirs?" His voice started getting louder as the went on and his defense cruel, but it was true. The Titans may be his son's friends, family, innocents, but they still weren't his son. He understood sacrifice more than any hero in this world, but even he can't allow himself to let go of his bird. Not again.

Dick seems to understand his plight, and again Bruce began to worry when his Robin began to see his own life as something so insignificant.

"I'm not asking you to stand back and watch me die, Bruce." Dick said with a sad smile, "I told you he won't kill me, didn't I? No, what I'm asking you is to make sure I don't have to watch my family die all over again."

The sun had fully risen by now, and idly Dick remembers that Raven and Starfire should come out soon. The two girls were always the early risers of the tower, Raven earlier than the alien princess, but would come out later- preferring to enjoy the early silence in her room before Starfire's jovial laughs drove her outside. He places his mask back on his face, while his adoptive father pulls up his cowl.

"You're in that list too, Bats." Robin said, "I've already lost one father. Don't let me lose another." He stands then, and walks towards the coffee machine on the kitchen counter. Maybe if he looks normal, the team would be less likely to interrogate him about what happened the other night.

He's pouring the black drink into two mugs when he hears Bruce stand and walk towards the door. Starfire's voice sounded from down the hallway. They probably had another 3 minutes before she and Raven comes out, and he has to get himself ready to explain himself to the team.

After a few more quiet seconds, Batman speaks. "You know I won't agree to leave you fight this battle alone, Robin."

He continues before he allows the younger bat to argue. "Nor will I leave your team defenseless."

Batman turns to face him, his expression that of the infamously cold dark knight, and suddenly Richard was nine years old again after his first encounter with the Joker.

"Your team is strong, but they have no training." Batman explains, "You do not yet know how to work with one another, let alone protect each other. I won't allow you to fight this man alone, or with a team that could only hinder you otherwise. You know I'm right, Robin. He used your team against you before, and he will again if we allow him. No, I won't allow you to carelessly battle him blind."

Robin eyes him carefully, "What are you saying, Batman?"

"That until I'm confident that this threat can be nullified," Batman deadpans, "Jump City is under the jurisdiction of the Justice League, and The Teen Titans are to remain in Gotham City under my supervision until further notice."

If he listens carefully, in the distance, Dick could hear the distinct sound of hard metal hitting the ground and the high pitch squeal of a pubescent boy.

You know when they say a story starts to write itself? This whole thing is epically long and not much action. I did not intend it to go like that. I had other plans for it but this is what happened. Ah well, we all knew that Dicky's gonna end up in Gotham one way or another. This is just that other!

In other news, about my comeback…

So again I made this thing years ago, I remember sitting on a desk with my legs dangling writing this while watching Toonami and lying to my parents that I'm writing a school essay. Now I'm writing this in a dorm room abroad with coffee, wine, and water next to my laptop while my college books are somewhere under my bed. Long story short, I'm trash then and I am trash now and I've grown to love it. My mindset has grown up to a certain extent, but at the same time I don't want to change from who I was as a kid. It was fun, y'know and I don't wanna grow up pretentious and bitter. Anyway, there's a shit tone of stuff I wanna say but I cannot word good and this is not . Basically this is me saying, I'll try not to screw this fic up for all of us who still love this story, and for those of you still with me: I love you all, thank you so so much, and that I have a lot of emotions about all of you that I can write a thesis about it. I appreciate all of you so much, and I am curious which of you actually are actually still here since I posted this half a decade ago? How old are you? How you still here? How do you remember your account password? Wanna be friends? Hit me up in those DMS! That goes for everyone actually, who just wanna talk. I may not reply fast cause I am terrible at messaging but please feel free to leave a message! I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

And about the story itself, again I'll try not to screw it up and keep it as canon and not OOC as I can. It's probably also gonna get a little more bloody than what I first planned cause again, your girl got older and more scary. (I'll put warnings before the really gory chaps if that does happen, don't worry) and though I now swear worst than a sailor irl, in respect to my innocent self from way back when, I will TRY not to curse so much here. (Emphasis on try, you guys have no idea how many times this thing was edited.) Actually, what is you guys' take on that? What words are you guys ok with, what you think about this story, me, cursing, me cursing, anything really. Let me know!

Anyway, speech over and thank you everyone that has read and commented and followed this story through the years! I'll try to update soon, but till then: Thank you and SEE YA!

~SleepDeprivedPerson