Veil of Shadows ๋࣭⭑⚝ Dick Grayson

3 ๋࣭⭑⚝ 'Not' Just a kid

"Well, she is very well-mannered for her species."

"I know you meant that as a joke, but people usually say it with a smile on their face."

"Oh, really?"

"Bruce."

"Alright, alright. I apologize." He chuckled softly at the woman sitting across from him on the couch.

"I thought that having an actual kid might have softened you up. Instead, you stay just as hard." She sighed, taking a small sip from her teacup.

"Cut me some slack, Laurine." Bruce shook his head slightly, then glanced at the two young teens wrestling and play-fighting in the garden. "It has still only been a few months since I brought him in."

"Does he seem happy?"

"Well, he's certainly not dead."

"That's a pretty low bar, Bruce." The woman gave him a subtle side-eye, while her lips remained hovering over her cup.

"Not for me." Bruce turned back to meet her eyes. "One of the only people Dick sticks to... she's his shield."

"Well, there will come the day he will be her shield." Laurine smiled and shrugged slightly.

.˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳.

"Jules..?

... Jules.

Juliette-!"

The brunette jolted up, her head whipping around furiously. Upon taking in her surroundings, her heart rate was able to slow down, and she slumped back against her seat, puffing out a breath of air.

"Jesus, you scared me." Dick mumbled quietly, turning back to look at the road.

She was about to open her mouth and respond, but paused, glancing down at her pinky, which was being held by the raven-haired teen in the back seat. She hadn't let go. Even for a second.

She appeared to have calmed down, switching between squeezing and fiddling with her hand, and staring out at the fleeting greenery momentarily.

The car then came to a halt, right in front  of a diner.

"I'm sure you're both hungry. We'll stop by and grab a bite to eat, then get going again. Alright?"

Rachel gave him a curt nod before hesitantly releasing her grip on her fingers and sliding out of the vehicle, the two adults following suit.

.˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳.

"Thank you." Dick politely stated at the waitress. "You want a hot chocolate or something?" he looked over at the teen who have remained unspoken ti'll now.

"Just coffee. Black." Rachel replied, sparring him a glance.

"I bet they have marshmallows."

"I'm not a kid, okay?"

She could see a brief look of shock on his face, which he easily hid.

"Two black coffees, please." Jules quickly cut the tension, offering the waitress the friendliest smile she could do at the moment.

"Alright." she nodded, pouring the three their drink before walking off, leaving them in dead silence.

Dick immediately placed the mug to his lips and glanced over at the brunette sat next to him, nose buried in her tablet.

"Sketching again?" he muttered with a small smile.

"It calms me down.. most of the time." she shrugged, keeping her eyes trained on the screen in front of her.

"You sure you don't want a drink?" he raised his mug up slightly. "From what I remember you're usually run at sixty-percent caffeine."

She quietly rolled her eyes, simply focusing on each and every stroke she draws. But then the smell of coffee invaded her nose, and she glanced up to see Dick basically shoving his mug in her face.

"Drink. You're powers would be useless if you couldn't focus."

She stared between the mug and the detective a few times before reluctantly moving her lips over to the edge rim of the glass and taking a few small sips before leaning away once again.

Dick held back a proud smile and turned to the teen across from him, who's lips hadn't even made contact with the cup.

"You gonna drink that?" he asked.

"My mom didn't like me to drink coffee." Rachel responded, voice sounding quite empty.

She remained silent, only listening in but glanced up in surprise when the girl grabbed a small container filled with sugar and started doucing her coffee with it.

Dick chuckled slightly, "Sweet tooth, huh?"

The teen briefly made eye contact with him, but then reached out to grab a spoon and stir her drink in silence.

"... Rachel." Dick started. "Has anything like.. like what happened ever happened before?"

Rachel slowly sets down her mug, "No.. not like that... I didn't mean to kill that guy."

"We know that, sweetie." Jules finally spoke up, placing her tablet on the table and leaning forward slightly. "But how... how were you able to do... whatever that was?"

To this, the girl brought her mug up to cover her face, refusing to answer... or not being able to.

"Where are we going now...?" The brunette turned to Dick, sighing.

"We're going to see some old friends," he stated so casually that it made her eye twitch slightly. He then turned back to the teen and said, "They're safe. They'll give us a place to lie low for a second, get our heads together, and figure out what to do next."

She stayed quiet, not even giving a nod, lowering her head down to stare at the contents of her mug.

Jules nudged Dick in the side and used her eyes to gesture at the teenager, telling him to say something.

"You're scared. I understand. But sometimes, there's no time to be afraid."

Due to the lack of response, she decided to step in again.

"Rachel, I promise you, nothing's going to happen to you." She reached out and gently wrapped her hands around Rachel's smaller ones.

"No one is going to get you. Okay...?"

The teenager finally glanced over at her, then at Dick. "Where else am I going anyway?"