Here We Go [Private]

[Robin]

With that, Christopher was soon gone. Emily could easily tell that Tim was rushing him. An excuse of her needing sleep for school? She had never really needed that much sleep before. She was able to get by on just a couple hours a night. Because of this, she was so suspicious about what Tim's true motives were. Did he not like Christopher?... or maybe he was upset? Well, she wasn't in any rush to find out. She went over and sat on her bed following Chris's departure.

Emily crossed her legs in an indianfold while she sat and awaited for him to speak. When he finally did, he had asked a question that she dreaded. She didn't really know how to answer it. She didn't want to say Christopher was Flash. People had identities for a reason. Wouldn't it be a betrayal of trust? However at the same time, she had never hidden anything from Tim before. They were partners in justice. They did so much together and had such great team work. That was why she could be his Robin.

She averted her eyes from him momentarily, trying to think up a decent lie, or if she did think up a lie, if she even wanted to bother using it. She didn't' want to lie, and she was beginning to think that it would be a bad idea in the first place. The events that took place in downtown gotham would definitely end up in the news. There were probably security cameras there which would have gotten her true identity on film, and she would be seen with the Flash in those pictures if they did make it into the press. After just a second or two of silence, she brought her eyes back up to him.

"Some Aquadude did that to him. He was trying to 'liberate' the Gotham City Aquarium, and Chris hurt himself when he punched him," she answered with the truth.

[The Batman]

Tim listened rather passively to his young ward's story. It was rather short, thankfully, as Tim didn't have the mental capacity at the moment to sort through so much information. "Aqua... dude?" Tim asked, arching an eyebrow. Well now, that was a rather odd name for a villain to have. Was he perhaps hoping to emulate Aquaman or was he simply an idiot? Tim would have to do some digging to find out who this mysterious man at the Aquarium was. He made an off handed joke to himself about not leaving town again. It seemed that whenever he did Gotham always found some new villain or hero to come in make things more difficult. He let out a soft sigh and rubbed the back of his head. Well, that at least answered one of his questions.

"And was it during this little adventure at the Aquarium that he found out your secret identity or did that happen earlier?" he asked, delving back into the recollection of the conversation that he had over heard through the walls. He had heard something mentioned about last night, but he didn't want to make too many assumptions. Even if he was pretty sure that they were right. He made another note not to leave just so Emily wouldn't be able to get into any trouble. Two weeks away and she had already found herself a boyfriend. The fact that it had come completely out of the blue was another surprise. There had been no clues, no hints, not even the slightest sign that she had shown any interest in boys. Her entire life was devoted to her training and crime fighting.

[Robin]

"I... think it was earlier, but I'm not entirely sure when," she answered him quite honestly again. She hadn't asked him anything much about how he figured it out, and she wasn't sure about his powers enough to say that his powers weren't what gave her identity away. He didn't seem like a telepath, but she honestly hadn't asked him much at all.

"I had met him earlier whe-.." she stopped in mid-sentence. She had almost given herself away from when she went joyriding at rather incredulous speeds on the highway. It was rather illegal and had served no purpose at all. It would be rather silly for her to mention it to Tim when it really didn't matter much at all either way.

"When I was on my way to the aquarium." It was the truth somewhat. She had caught her mistake and replaced it with something that was a half-truth to be just a bit misleading.

"So yeah... I met him on my way home from school today and he asked me out on a date."

[The Batman]

Tim ran his hands through his hair, letting out yet another sigh. Apparently having someone find out her secret identity hadn't affected her too badly. She had to understand the ramifications of what it meant. If someone was able to discover her identity so easily it would put not just himself in danger of being discovered but her father as well. After all, wouldn't it be weird that Robin just so happened to be Emily Grayson, living with her uncle, Timothy Wayne, a man with unlimited funding. Using Robin was exactly how Tim had deduced Bruce's secret identity. By having her secret identity found out she had created a small chink in the armor of security that the Batman family had spent years creating. Despite the seriousness of the situation Tim saw the irony in it. It seemed the Graysons not only had a knack for acrobatics but also having their identities found out.

He thought of telling her to drop the act and just come clean with him. That he already knew everything that had happened, but he decided against it. It was late, he was tired, and he was sure that her day had not been easy as well. He'd let her have her "secrets" after all, it was only natural for a teenager to want some privacy in their life. Tim would allow her to have what privacy she could. So long as it didn't put their lives or secret identities in danger. He had a feeling that the boy wouldn't go around spouting off that Emily Grayson was Robin. So, instead of pushing the matter further, Tim simply gave her a lazy smile. "Well, I guess things didn't go too badly while I was away. Things could have been worse. At least you're alive and you've found a friend."

Tim turned around to leave, but stopped just short of the hallway. "You should get ready. We've gotta be out on patrol in a few minutes." he said, closing the door behind him and walking towards his study. He revealed the secret entrance hidden within and with five minutes he was outfitted in the Batsuit and sitting patiently in the Batmobile. During that time he had noticed Robin's motorcycle. It seemed that in his absence someone had cleaned it up and done some maintenance. Had Emily done it? Did she even know anything about motorcycles? He shrugged the question away and took up his spot in the driver's seat of the Batmobile. The top remained open as he waited for Robin to show up. His mind was already formulating what he wanted to say to her.

[Robin]

Emily was definitely ready to go on patrol. She was actually rather happy to be able to relieve herself of her true persona and go on a crime-fighting adventure. Yes, she still loved it, and she was just as childish about it as she was on her first time. With that, quickly, she was suited up and ready. She leaped into the batmobile and sat in the passenger seat next to Batman.

He may have noticed that her chest looked a bit bigger than usual. This was only because she had decided to stuff it with some extra equipment. This equipment would kill two birds with one stone. One, she had some extra room for items, and two it made her bust size look a bit larger, where she was almost as flatchested as a boy, despite the fact that she was 13. She was a late bloomer, no doubt.

"All ready to go, capt'n!" she said to him with a rather excited grin. She was always in a good mood when they got into the batmobile for crimefighting, however much more so now since it had been over two weeks since their last patrol.

[The Batman]

Not long after he had gotten himself situated Robin showed up. He did notice the difference in her costume and it forced him to raise a brow. Perhaps this talk was needed more than he had thought. Her chipper mood was a good contrast to his. Unlike her he didn't become more cheerful upon donning his costume. Instead Tim became more stoic and reserved, his voice taking on a cold, listless tone. He gave her a curt nod as the roof slid backwards and covered the Batmobile. It's multiple engines whirred to life as Batman relayed a signal through the suit. The power of the engines shook the car, making it vibrate as if it had been caught in an earthquake. Once they ran for a short moment the vibrations became less noticeable. His hands tightened around the steering wheel before they rocketed forward like a bat out of hell.

The large, black vehicle flew through the underground passage before coming out of a cave at the outskirts of Gotham at well over two hundred miles an hour. The Batman was silent as he focused on his driving for a moment. The computer within his suit came to life and he relayed a message, informing the computer in the car to follow a predesignated path and to avoid any traffic. The car slowed down, only reaching a speed of seventy five miles as Batman released the wheel. "Robin," he began, his voice rough, sounding akin to gravel in a blender, after sitting in silence for over a full minute. He reached up and grasped his cowl and removed it. Within the confines of the Batmobile he'd be safe to reveal his true self. It was essentially a mobile Batcave and he treated it as such. He allowed the cowl to lay against his back, revealing his features: a scared face, red eyes, and raven black hair. "Emily," he decided upon.

He couldn't tell her this as Batman. He had to be Uncle Tim in this moment. "What do you think of Christopher? Do you like him?" he asked as he leaned back against the leather seats of the Batmobile. This conversation was going to leave things awkward for a time. He hoped that it wouldn't affect her performance tonight, that his training had taken root and that she had learned how to separate her lives. It was a lesson most Robin's never learned and it had been the downfall of one of them. He prevented himself from thinking of the brother he had never met, focusing on the trials that he faced tonight. Crime fighting would be a well deserved breather once this was over.

[Robin]

Emily had been expecting for the things concerning her true life to be much less pressing once they had gotten into the batmobile, of course at Batman's first inquisitional sentence, she knew that wasn't the case. Still, she was in a good mood, and he really hadn't asked anything too intrusive. Despite this, her cheeks turned incredibly red with embarrassment. She wasn't sure how to answer it without giving away too much, or provoking any further questions.

"Well, yeah! You know I usually don't enjoy hanging out with kids my age... but he's different," she explained to Batman, still with a rather excited smile. She was going to play off her embarrassment and hope that he didn't notice it much. She wouldn't say how much she liked him, but she would clearly admit that she did. it should have been obvious by now.

"It's probably because we have so much in common. I've never met another crimefighter before," she confessed. Of course she meant outside of her family, where pretty much everyone fought crime... except for possibly her mother. She didn't know much about her at all and she didn't ask due to how touchy her father was on the subject.

"What do you think of Chris?" she asked, in an attempt to return a question before he got the chance to give her another one.

[The Batman]

Tim nodded along with her explaination, understanding what she was saying. Contrary to what she might have believe Tim had been in the situation often as a young man. He, unfortunately, never had to deal with dating another hero, save for Batgirl, but that was a relationship that he didn't like to think about too much. He watched her, his piercing red gaze catching a glimpse of the scarlet on her cheeks. If he had been wearing the cowl he was sure that he would have noticed a spike in temperature. Her question about his opinion of the boy had caught him a tad bit off guard. "Me?" he asked, his gaze shifting towards the brown tinted glass that acted as a windshield. He thought for a moment. He didn't know much about the boy. After all, his only conversation with him had lasted about five minutes and it was mostly lies.

"From what I can gather he's a good kid. A little naive and maybe a little too headstrong, but he's got a good head on his shoulders." he said, making an educated guess from what he had over heard through the walls and in person. "But I guess almost all of the Flashs were like that when they were starting out." he added, casting the girl a sideways glance. He wondered if she would be surprised about him knowing that Chris was the Flash. It was rather hard not to see it, especially after her comment about crime fighters. The boy was dressed in a costume almost identical to Impulse's and it's quality far surpassed that of anything that was store bought. "My opinion doesn't matter too much though." he added, shifting slightly in his seat.

"Do you think that you're gonna see him again?" he asked. From what he had seen he figured they would see each other again, even if they weren't sure of it themselves. It was written all over their faces. He wondered just how far the young man would have to travel to make it to Gotham. He had never seen hide nor hair of him and he hadn't heard anything about a new Flash appearing in any of his sources yet. It probably wouldn't be too far for him. Once he got home he would make most likely end up in the Batcave, staring into it's blinking screen in an attempt to find some information on the boy and his whereabouts.

[Robin]

"Of course I plan on seeing him again," Emily answered with a bit of a giggle. She obviously wouldn't say it, but it would be a bit sad if she didn't plan on seeing her new boyfriend again. Sadly, she didn't know where he was or how to contact him, but despite that, he was the Flash, and he knew where she lived... so if they didn't see each other again soon, she would definitely have a bone to pick with him and he would feel the mighty wrath of an angry woman.

In any case, as she didn't think that what they had just done was a fling, she expected to see him. Emily smiled dreamily at the thought. She wouldn't allow herself to go into a daydream about it, despite how much she really did want to simply think about it. She had more important stuff to do right now than daydream. She was Robin, after all.

"Glad to know you like him then," she hummed enchantingly. If he really did like Christopher, she supposed she could tell him. "because he's my boyfriend."

[The Batman]

Tim had suspected as much. His face didn't change much as she told him that Christopher was her boyfriend. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the seat. No matter how he had prepared for this conversation he couldn't bring himself to start it. The thought of putting the cowl back on and bluntly telling her was tempting, but he wouldn't do it. This sort of thing had to be handled gently and the Batman wasn't known for his lithe touch. "Figured," he muttered under his breath before opening his eyes. Tim sat up straight and then focused his attention back on his niece. He started to open his mouth, but then suddenly stopped. This was going to be harder than he had imagined. Doubt filled his mind as he considered the other options.

Had Dick already talked to her about it? No, probably not. The man was hardly around and even when he and Tim were together they rarely even talked about Emily. To be fair, though, they hadn't talked much at all. Tim grasped the bridge of his nose between his fingers and lightly massaged it. He decided to throw caution to the wind and start his practiced speech. "I'm glad that you were able to find someone. I was worried that you had shut yourself off from other people your age." he stopped, he was her age, wasn't he? ... No, he had to focus. He cursed his sleep deprivation and continued. "And I'm glad that you were able to find such a nice boy... but," this was where their conversation was going to take a turn for the worst. He gripped his biceps as he prepared himself to plunge directly into the heart of the matter.

"I want you two to be responsible and safe." he said as he turned to face her. There, he had started the conversation. He mentally groaned. That one sentence had been harder than the entire two weeks that he had been gone. In fact, he wished that he could have traded spots with himself at that moment. He had a feeling things wouldn't get much easier. With the awkward aura only increasing in the Batmobile things did not look good. Besides, he still hadn't acknowledged the fact that he had been in the house, several hours before they had even arrived.

[Robin]

Awkward. Emily couldn't help other than to feel that this type of conversation would be better to have with her mother... or at least someone who wasn't dressed as a dark costumed vigilante. Unfortunately, Emily didn't have a mother anymore, nor a female role model in her life, so that was kind of out of the question. If she was going to have this conversation with anyone, it's probably have to be with her father or uncle.

"Okay," was all that she said after a couple seconds of silence. She didn't wish to talk about what they had done earlier, nor to ask for any specification of what he meant. She felt that she already had a pretty good idea. She had a pretty decent education, after all. It was simply time to put it to use perhaps.

"I will be..." She finally added, still feeling that awkwardness. She wanted to chance the subject so badly, but it was difficult to think of something right now. She had nothing. Her mind was running a million thoughts a second, and she still couldn't think of anything in such aggravated frustration.

[The Batman]

"You two shouldn't even be doing that sort of thing in the first place. You're both too young. I mean, you're only thirteen and god only knows how old he is." That was something Tim hadn't bothered to think about. How old was this Christopher boy? Was he eighteen? Older even? No, Tim outright rejected those thoughts for his own sake more than his rationale mind telling him they were wrong. The boy looked much too young to be that old, he was probably closer to fifteen or sixteen. Still, in Tim's mind that was too old. "But I guess you two are allowed this much. You're both being forced to grow up faster than you should be. You're both probably more mature than most adults I've known." He thought back to his days with Impulse and held back a sigh. "Well, at least you are." A nagging feeling in his gut told him that Christopher was no better than his old friend.

"That's really why I'm not reacting like most guardians would." he said, his thoughts turning towards her father, Dick. "I'm not sure how well your father will take the news though. I know he had his fair share of adventures when he was younger, but the only person he had worrying after him was ol' Bruce and he was more concerned with crime fighting then with us growing up like normal teenagers." He stopped talking once he realized that he had begun musing aloud. Tim had thought it would be hard to talk to Emily about this sort of thing but as soon as he had gotten that first awkward statement out of the way the rest just came pouring out. It was as if he had broken a dam and a torrent of information was just surging forward, not all of it being divulged willingly.

Tim's mind was currently focusing on his own forays in his youth. He had been a bit older than Emily was and he was fairly certain that Bruce honestly hadn't cared. He hadn't received any sort of talk and had, in fact, received it from another hero. He couldn't recall who exactly, he figured he had tried to block it out due to the sheer embarrassment of it. Emily wouldn't have the luxury of doing that. This would be one of the more memorable talks that she would have with Tim. He rarely removed his mask once it was put on, unless he was calling it quits for the day, and it had occurred in the batmobile no less after Tim had been away for weeks on end on some secret mission. "... That's pretty much all I've got to say on the subject." he said as he uncrossed his arms and reached out to put his hands back on the steering wheel.

"Oh, and don't let Bruce catch you two. He may be old but he was still Batman. It wouldn't be surprised if the old man isn't sneakier than I am." he mumbled as he disengaged the autopilot and took control of the batmobile. He didn't move to put his mask back on though. He couldn't, not with the atmosphere as it was now. If Emily had questions there was no way that Tim would answer her once he put that mask back on. Not over his dead body. There were just somethings in the world that the Batman was not meant to do.