Chalant Candlelight

Chapter 25

(Robin's POV)

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Save me...

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I gasp, sitting straight up, breathing heavily. My eyes began to focus on my shirtless torso. The only thing I was in was my biker shorts,

"Where the f-" I lift my eyes to see Zatanna at the edge of the bed I was in. She was silent. I became silent as well. She was as beautiful as ever. 

I hop off the bed, grabbing one of the zip-up hoodies she had left for me paired with sweats and socks. I glanced frustratedly at her every once in a while, while she just sat there watching me. Everything I did was harsh and curt, 

I crassly reached the door, swinging it when she finally spoke,

"Dick, talk to me." She didn't raise her melancholy voice for a second,

"Why'd you bring me to your house?" I stop in her doorway, looking back at her pastel pink room,

"This is the only place I could think of where I could protect your identity from the team." She answered, "And I didn't want to take you to Batman." I saw a sad yet almost jealous look on the side of her eye while she watched her floor,

"Huh..." I mumble,

"Why didn't you tell me who you were?" She finally looked at me with those sapphire eyes and that pale lavender blush she had around her cheeks next to her wispy eyelashes,

"Secret identities are called secret identities for a reason, Z." I roll my eyes,

"Is that why you pulled away from me?"

"I didn't want to hurt you..." I admitted the reason Dick was so cold to her was because she hated Robin so much "...with the truth of who I am."

"Dick-"

"Please, Z, there's nothing to say."

"At least tell me what happened to you." She stood from her bed, her arms fixed at her sides,

"I don't know, I don't really remember." I lied, my eyes falling from her graceful gaze. Silence fell over us before I spoke again, "Thank you."

"For what?" She raised her soft brows at me,

"Saving me...and not taking me to the cave." 

"Your secret is safe with me, boy wonder." She winked, making me smile before I left her room. It was time to face Bruce.

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I step into the Batcave. Nothing had changed in the five months eighteen days, and three hours since I had been trapped in Klarion's torture chamber,

"Dick?" Bruce's voice found its way to my ears as I saw him approaching,

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't -" I began to apologize, stepping backward when he wrapped me in a hug,

"I'm just glad you're okay." He uttered, making my heart melt. My eyes closed in our embrace. After a moment, he pulled me away, looking at my bandages here and there, a bruise on my face,

"You don't look too scratched up." He deduced from my appearance. That was the art of magic. You could emulate feelings and sensations without ever touching the skin. I smile a shallow smile,

"I think I was in a coma," I say so naturally,

"That's good." Bruce wasn't super pleased, of course, with the whole situation, but it comforted him to think I was only asleep those five months,