Gotham's New Bird | T. Drake

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Morning came earlier than Robyn wanted. She could barely sit up. She groaned and turned off the bedside alarm while simultaneously turning on the light on the nightstand. Her feet dangled over the side of the bed as she rubbed her sleepy eyes. There was another workout outfit on the chair on the other side of the blank room. She was thankful for the carpeted floor as she stepped off of the bed and sorely made her way over to the clothes.

Robyn grabbed the clothes and changed in the bathroom. She also brushed her teeth and put her hair up into a tight ponytail. She also made sure to slip into the Toms that were given to her the previous day so her feet wouldn't freeze on the cave's ground.

Then she was out the door and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. Alfred, Batman's butler was there. So was Red Hood and Red Robin. Red Robin smirked a little where Red Hood ate his omelet with a blank stare. He seemed nearly dead. She smelled coffee, which was in a mug in front of both former Robins.

There was a plate of food waiting for her when she sat down. She was silently thankful that it was still steaming.

"Miss Lancaster, would you like some coffee?" Alfred asked. Robyn felt compelled to reply in the same British accent he had and ask for "four lumps and hold the cream, thank you", but she bit down on her tongue, not wanting to insult the kind old man.

"Uh, yeah, sure," she said, "I like it black, so don't worry about sugar or anything." While she was waiting for her coffee, she dug into the food on her plate. She would have eaten slower if the food was less delicious, but oh boy, could that butler cook. She took a sip of the piping hot coffee in front of her and looked back across the bar to Red Hood, who looked like he was falling asleep where he was.

"Is he always like that?" Robyn asked, a smile playing in her lips at the humorous sight.

"Not always. He had to patrol with ol' B and R last night," Red said, "He's probably running on forty-five minutes of sleep. And most likely counting right now." Red poked Red Hood, who groaned and shoved him in return. Robyn thought she had heard a "fuck you" in there somewhere, but it could have been her imagination.

"I don't even know how you guys live like this. You have normal lives to live, too." She replied and took another sip of coffee.

"My civilian identity is pretty anti-social." He said.

"Hah. Nerd," muttered Red Hood before he drank the rest of his own coffee. His remark received a dirty look from Red and also managed to finish the conversation rather abruptly.

~•*•~

"Endurance and strength. It comes in handy when you're going to take someone down who wants to run away," Red Robin said. Red Hood was taking a nap in an office chair he pulled from in front of the computer monitors. He was snoring softly.

"So I take it I'll be lifting weights and running today?" Robyn asked.

"Spot on," he said. He ducked into a closet in the weight room they were in and he pulled out a pair of tennis shoes, "What size do you wear?" He asked, looking at the tongue.

"Nine." She answered. The shoes were tossed to her and she caught them.

"Running first. Then weights. Then a break. I'll let you eat, unlike Nightwing." Red said. He hopped on the balls of his feet before stretching. Fortunately, Robyn had already stretched. So she waited for Red, admiring his rippling muscles under his sleeveless t-shirt as he switched positions. Then they walked out together and Red led the way to the sparring mat.

"Okay. Running around a track gets boring, so I'll show you the Batcave route." He said, starting to jog. Robyn followed him.

On her fourth lap, Robyn's legs felt like jell-o. She was wheezing and she was dripping with sweat. Red Robin, however looked like he could run forever. Yeah, he was sweating, too, but he didn't seem phased by how long he was actually running.

"I need- I need a break," she panted with her hands resting on her head, "Please. Water. Break. Oh God." She dramatically fell to her knees, then laid on the cool cave floor on her belly.

Red chuckled, "Surprised me. Thought you wouldn't be able to do more than two and a half." He handed Robyn her water bottle. She flipped to her back and chugged it. When she had enough, she unscrewed the cap and poured the rest on her face.

"Red Hood'll help you with the weights when you're ready," Red Robin said and headed to the weight room, "I can supervise and play referee. He gets pretty flirtatious."

Robyn got up off the ground and jogged to Red, "I've never really met Red Hood. Sounds like a real character."

"Sure he is. He's a dumbass, too." Red replied sarcastically. As soon as the door to the room squealed open, Red Hood snorted and fell out of the office chair he was sleeping in. Robyn laughed. Red, not so much.

"Fucking patrols," Red Hood muttered and clambered up to his feet. He rubbed his masked eyes. "Timmy, my boy! Do you -- ah fuck." Red Robin gave him a look.

"Sheesh. Gimme a break. It's not like she doesn't know your real face. Or like I said your whole name to the entire world," Red Hood said and cuffed Tim over the back of the head.

"Stop." He said and smacked Red Hood's hands away. Robyn watched the partners patiently, secretly hoping to have more time to rest.

Finally, Red Hood pulled her aside and to a bench with weights over it, "This, my dear, is called a bench press."

Robyn rolled her eyes as Red Hood explained to her what was going to happen like he was talking to a six-year-old.

Θ

Ugh. Sorry. I would've had this up a week earlier, but I was busy.

At least this time you guys didn't have to wait so long~

Okay. Color guard camp is a week away and that weekend is Robo camp, then it's off to Band camp the following week.

That means I'm going to be exhausted for two weeks straight with how hot and humid it's been.

That also means I probably won't update within that time period. I'll try to write some of a chapter or so, though.

Follow, comment, vote!

Your Unikorn Kat (・ω・)ノ