"at some point you became the reason i breathe,
and since then every breath becomes another
reason why i love you."
in which her world starts again on her seventeenth birthday.
lowercase intended
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CELLA ABSENTMINDEDLY THREW ROCKS onto the ground, her legs dangling as she sat, gently swaying back and forth, a soft hum escaping her lips in a melody known only to her. several days had passed since she last saw robin, and she couldn't help but assume he was engrossed in some altercation alongside batman.
cella didn't know and she didn't care — she wanted to not care.
she had become used to constantly bickering with him over their identities, it seemed to be the only thing they shared but it was all they could seem to talk about, she didn't think robin trusted her in the slightest with information since she had lied before and she honestly couldn't blame him, though a part of her felt betrayed that he had left without saying anything.
she dismissed her own feelings as foolish, believing it was crazy to think that the boy could have genuinely cared for her, or that anyone could harbor affection for her after the actions she had taken. she felt she was destined to be alone forever because of it, that no relationship after her parents would last because of how badly she messed up.
"you're a liar." a voice said.
cella moved to face the owner of the voice, startled when a deafted robin stared back at her, a thick file in his hand.
she didn't know what to say, she had only known him for such a small time but had never seen him so enraged.
"the barlow's didn't have a neice," he started. "they only had cella, but she was found dead four years ago." he explained, tossing the file her way. it landed on the ground with a loud thud, one matching the beating of cella's heart.
"she's dead?" she asked, her voice was smaller than she anticipated it to be, she hadn't even remebered a funeral. she didn't even know where they would get a body.
robin scoffed. "she died on your birthday."
as cella parted her lips to respond, her breath hitched, caught in the tension that crackled between her and the enraged boy as a profound sense of betrayal dawned over his features.
their proximity intensified, bringing them chest to chest, a closeness that echoed the emotional turmoil of the moment.
as their breaths mingled, cella couldn't help but gasp, a rush of emotions flooding her being as she felt the intensity of his question seep into her soul.
she reached for her mask, a familiar symbol of protection, yet also a wall that held the raw emotions surging within her. revealing not only her face but also her years of grief and shame.
cella's eyes met his masked ones in the charged stillness between them. a fleeting moment of recognition passed between them as robin's fingers reached for the mask that shielded his emotions and one whisper from cella's lips bore the weight of a thousand unspoken confessions.
