THIS IS NOT MINE!!! I thought some of you would like to read it. It is Young Justice.



Chapter 1: A Little More Homework

Dick sat down at a lunch table and loosened his scarlet tie. He never really liked the Gotham Academy uniforms. It consisted of, for boys, a white button-up long sleeved shirt, dark blue pants, scarlet ties, dark blue jackets, and black shoes. Girls had to wear dark blue skirts, blazers, scarlet ties, black shoes, and white button-up shirts.

"Hey, freshman," a familiar voice said. Dick looked up to see his friend Barbara Gordon grinning down at him with a lunch tray in her hands. She had long red hair and penetrating blue eyes that were always somehow able to read Dick like a book. She was slim, but not anorexic skinny. Dick always thought that she had a good figure, but didn't like to dwell on those kinds of thoughts.

Dick smiled. "Hey, Barbara," he said welcomingly. She sat down and bumped him aside to make more room for her.

"What's up?"

"Not much." Barbara took a bite of her apple and offered Dick one of her fries. He accepted it with a shrug and gulped it down. Other students were bustling around, using their free time at lunch to hang out. Dick looked down at his full backpack and considered his next move.

"Hey, Barb," Barbara looked up at him, "do you think you could help me out with something?"

Barbara narrowed her eyes. "What?" she asked cautiously.

Dick gulped. He hated having to do this. "Could you…help me with some math homework?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

Barbara smiled. "Well, look who needs my help," she said teasingly, "Dickie Grayson."

Growling, Dick nudged her halfheartedly with his elbow. "Will you do it or not?" he asked impatiently.

Barbara giggled. "Okay," she said, sighing dramatically, "I'll do it."

"Thanks," Dick grumbled. He helped himself to another fry and tossed it into the air. He caught it in between his teeth and grinned cockily at Barbara. She rolled her eyes and grabbed the fry held loosely in his teeth. She took a bite and Dick stared.

"That fry was in my mouth," he remarked, "so would that be like indirect kissing?"

Barbara's eyes grew in fear and she dropped the fry on her tray. Dick burst into laughter and smirked. Barbara pushed the tray away. "I think I've lost my appetite," she said. She turned to glare at Dick who simply smiled back at her. "How can you be so obnoxious?" she questioned.

"Because I know you love me this way," Dick said, shrugging. He winked and grabbed another fry from Barbara's pushed away tray.

Barbara scoffed and rolled her eyes. "So, when do you want to meet so I can help you with your homework?" she asked.
Dick looked up at the sky in thought. "How about you come over to the manor after school?" he offered. "We can walk over together."

"Sure," Barbara said. She took out her phone and dialed a number. "I'll just have to call my dad and make sure it's okay," she said, getting up. Dick nodded and she walked away as the phone rang.

Dick's friend Henry Jones sat down across from him with a huge grin on his face. Dick looked up at his best friend and raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "What?"

"You're scoring Barbara Gordon," Henry said, barely containing his excitement.

Dick scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You're insane," he said, shaking his head.

Henry glared. "You're the one who's denying a relationship with hottie Barbara Gordon," he said stubbornly.

"I told you not to call her that," Dick said. His voice held anger hidden beneath the forced calm demeanor.

Henry paled. "Right," he said quickly, "sorry."

Dick nodded stiffly. He knew that there were many guys who had their eyes on Barbara. And Dick wasn't jealous, just protective. He had a right to be. There were some guys who might just try and go too far.

"But still," Henry said persistently, "I can tell you like her. And you two get along!"

"She's a whole year older than me," Dick reasoned. True she was, but they always got along as if age didn't matter. Heck, they were the same height. They had known each other for years and hung out often. But they had never been anything more than friends, no matter how much Dick wished they could be more. He soon dismissed the feelings and focused on his duties for school and being Robin. But those feelings were still there.

Dick took a drink from his water bottle. Henry rolled his eyes. "When are you gonna admit that you're in love?" he asked.
Dick took a spit take and spurted Henry with water. This was accidental, of course. Or was it?

"Ugh!" Henry groaned as he shook himself. Dick snickered and failed to hold back his bark of laughter.

"Okay, my dad said I could go as long as—" Barbara stopped abruptly as she noticed Henry drenched in water and Dick doubled over in laughter. "Should I ask what happened?" she asked Dick.

"No," Dick said with difficulty. He wheezed in laughter and clutched at his sides. Henry stood angrily from the table and stormed away.

"Shouldn't you go and talk to him?" Barbara asked, sitting back down next to Dick. He had finally gotten a hold of himself and was sitting up straight again.

"Nah, he'll be alright." Dick waved his hand dismissively and grabbed another fry.

Barbara smiled softly. She traced a random pattern on the surface of the table with her finger and stared up at the sky. Dick watched her hand and noticed that she was tracing a bat. He smiled and grabbed her hand. "Is someone thinking about their little celebrity crush?"

Barbara snickered. "You're just jealous because Robin is taller than you," she retorted. Dick held back a grin. If she only knew…

Dick had considered telling Barbara his secret several times. Bruce had always told him to never reveal it to anyone, no matter how close to him they are. But he trusted Barbara not only with a secret, but his math homework. Batman and Robin had saved Barbara a few times before. The fact that she was the Commissioner's daughter often put her in danger.

"So, your dad said you could come over?" Dick asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Yep," Barbara said. Dick smiled as she rubbed his hand with her thumb. He tried to ignore the swelling in his chest and silently hoped that his cheeks weren't as red as they felt. He licked his lips and studied Barbara's dazzling blue eyes.

Barbara blushed and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "What?" she asked.

"Barbara!"

The two teens jumped apart as Bette Kane walked up to them with her hands on her hips. Dick felt a sense of loss tingle in his hand.

"Are we going to meet Linda before sixth period or what?" the blonde asked.

Dick glared at Bette and grabbed his bag. He slung it over his shoulder and stood. "I gotta go," he said shortly. Dick walked off with Barbara's eyes on his back. She turned back to face Bette.

"Why do you always have the worst timing?"

Bette shrugged. "I guess it's just one of my many talents," she said simply. "Now, come one. Linda's waiting for us."

Barbara rolled her eyes and stood up. The two girls walked towards their sixth period together just as the bell rang.

Barbara checked the time on her phone: 2:45. Dick was late. He said he'd meet her in the front courtyard at 2:40. She knew that he knew how she didn't like him to be late.

"Hey!"

Barbara looked up to see Dick running towards her with random papers in his arms. He stopped in front of her and grinned. "Sorry I'm late, but my teacher wanted to talk to me about this project that I did about a week ago. She said I did a really good job on it and she gave it back to me but the staple fell off so now the papers are all—" Barbara placed a finger to his lips to silence him. Her annoyance had faded away to see him acting so cute.

"Do you ever take a break from talking?" she asked, smiling.

Dick grinned. "I think you know the answer to that question, Babs," he said.

They smiled at each other and began walking towards Wayne Manor.

"So, what kinda math homework are we talking about here?" Barbara asked.

Dick pulled a packet of papers out of his backpack as he attempted to shove his project in. He handed the packet to Barbara and said, "Pre-calculus, not fun."

Barbara took a look at the complicated math problems. "No problem," she said simply, "I remember doing this stuff last year. It should be a piece of cake." She tossed the packet which Dick caught neatly.

"Thanks, Barb," Dick said gratefully. He always admired how smart Barbara was. He never understood it, but he respected her for it. Sometimes, he thought about how good a crime fighter she would make. But he didn't dare suggest the idea to Bruce.

Dick studied the glow that radiated off of Barbara's long red hair in the sunlight. He caught himself doing this often. Dick wasn't exactly sure what it was about Barbara that made him like her so much, but he just did. He cursed himself for ever falling for an older girl, especially Barbara. He'd been attracted to her ever since he first met her.

Barbara suddenly noticed Dick's staring and raised an eyebrow at him. "Something you wanna tell me?" she asked in confusion.

Dick blushed and immediately turned away. "U-um, no, no, n-nothing," he stuttered.

Barbara resisted the urge to laugh. She loved the shade of pink that colored Dick's cheeks when he blushed. She hadn't seen him blush since the last time they hung out after school, two weeks ago.

"Hey, look, we're here!" Dick said suddenly, running up to the gates of Wayne Manor. He hit a buzzer on the gate and spoke into it. "Hey Alfred, can you open the gates for me and Babs? She's gonna hang out for a little while, if that's okay."

"That's fine, Master Richard," Alfred said back. "The gate shall open in a moment." The gates creaked open and Dick held his arm out welcomingly. Barbara walked in and Dick followed, closing the gates behind them. Dick opened the door and he and Barbara walked inside.

Barbara had been inside the manor many times, but it always creeped her out. It was dark and cold but Dick seemed to brighten up the place.

"Welcome, Miss Barbara," Alfred said, walking up and bowing.

"Hey, Alfred," Barbara said sweetly, smiling.

Dick marveled at her smile and stared for a moment. He was broken from his reverie when Alfred spoke again.

"I'm afraid that Master Bruce is not here at the moment due to an important business meeting," Alfred said, casting Dick a casual glance. 'Important business meeting' was their code phrase for 'Batman mission' whenever company was over. "After I informed him that you were to have company over," Alfred said, "Master Bruce bade me to tell you that you would be allowed to stay here."

"Okay," Dick said. "Well, Babs and I were just gonna go upstairs and work on some homework."

"Very well, have fun you two," Alfred said.

"Thanks Alfred!" Dick said. He grabbed Barbara's hand and dragged her up the grand staircase.

"Bye Alfred!" Barbara said, waving.

Alfred simply smiled and walked off.

Dick pulled Barbara into his room and shut the door. Barbara smiled and sat down on the bed. She looked around and took in the smell of Dick's room. It always smelled like pine. The warm burgundy color made the room feel like home. There were a few posters hanging on the walls of rock bands, superheroes, and movies. Dick's bed was large with navy blue blankets and a wooden bedside table held a green lamp that lit up the room. There was large a window on the left side of the room that let in some sunlight. The dark green carpet was soft under bare feet.

Dick threw his blazer on a rack by the window and sighed as fell back onto the bed. He looked up at Barbara and smiled. "Have I ever told you how pretty your eyes are?" he asked randomly.

Barbara suppressed a giggle and blushed slightly. "You've never said it before, but I like hearing it," she said, falling back on the bed next to him. The two teens stared up at the ceiling which Dick painted to look like the night sky. He'd even painted in constellations. Sometimes, they would just lie on his bed together and name all of them. They lay there for a long time, simply enjoying each other's company.

Dick propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at Barbara. Her red hair was fanned out around her head and her blue eyes glittered. He smiled and said, "You wanna get cracking on that math homework?"

"Sure," Barbara sighed. Dick stood from the bed and bent over his backpack. Barbara sat up and giggled as she noticed something peeking out from the back of Dick's pants.

"Batman boxers?"

Dick blushed, stood up abruptly, and yanked his pants up. "That's not funny!" he said, trying to hold back his own embarrassed laughter. Barbara fell back on the bed, giggling uncontrollably. Dick couldn't help but smile at the sight. He grumpily (thought with a grudging smile on his face) got out his math homework and tossed it in Barbara's lap. He sat down on the bed next to her and ran a hand through his black hair.

Barbara flipped through the packet and her brow furrowed in confusion. "Wait, but I thought you said you needed help," Barbara said. "All of these problems are completed."

"I know," Dick said, tossing the packet on his bedside table, "I just wanted to spend some time with you." He grabbed Barbara's shoulder and pulled her back onto the bed. She looked over at him and scoffed in amazement.

"My dad thinks I'm helping you with homework right now," she said.

"So does Alfred." Dick shrugged carelessly and looked at Barbara. "We haven't hung out in two weeks," he remarked.

Barbara blinked and smiled. She loved Dick's blue eyes. They were dark but still so full of light and warmth.

"You're crazy," she said softly.

Dick smiled. "That's just one of the many things you love about me," he said, winking. Barbara rolled her eyes and shoved him in the shoulder. Dick grinned and loosened his tie again. That reminded Barbara of something.

"So, what were you and Henry talking about at lunch?"

"Oh, Henry was just—" Dick paled. His throat suddenly went dry.

"What?" Barbara asked.
Dick thought for a moment and struggled to come up with something. "We were just talking about a g-girl," he said nervously. That probably wasn't the best thing he could've come up with.

"A girl?" Barbara asked, laughter audible in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah," Dick said quickly. He never was able to lie to Barbara. "She's this girl I've got a crush on." No, why did he say that?

"Oh yeah?" Barbara said with interest. "Who is she?"

"I can't tell you," Dick said defiantly.

"Oh, come on," Barbara made her puppy-dog face, "please?"

Dick stared into her adorable face with narrowed eyes. He sighed and looked back at the ceiling. "She's got blue eyes," he said in defeat. Barbara propped herself up on her elbows and listened intently. "I've known her for a long time now and she's a close friend. I can't tell you the color of her hair. That's classified." Barbara smile. "She's really smart and can read me like a book. Ironically enough, she loves to read books. I've had a crush on her ever since I met her. She's beautiful. But, you don't know her." Dick stopped talking and sighed dreamily.

"What, that's all I get to know?" Barbara said.

Dick faced her. "I think I told you a lot," Dick scoffed.

Barbara smiled. She fell back on the bed and sighed. "I hope you get this girl of yours," she said.

"Thanks." Dick gave a small smile and his hand nudged hers. She gently took hold of his hand. They both loved how comfortable they could be around each other. Dick was able to pretend that holding hands was just a simple friendly gesture.

"Can I ask you a weird question?"

Dick looked over at her and nodded. "Sure."

Barbara sighed. "Is it weird for me to have a crush on Robin?"

Dick chuckled. "No," he said. "He is the Boy Wonder, after all."

Barbara laughed lightly. "I'm serious, Dick," she said. "Is it weird?"

Dick tapped his chin thoughtfully and studied the Orion constellation. "I guess it depends," he said. "Some might say that it's weird, but I bet those people hardly know you or Robin. Now, I know you, and I know you're smart. Robin doesn't seem to be a bad guy, so if you like him, okay. I don't think it's weird."

Barbara smiled. "I'm glad you decided to respond with a smart answer this time, Grayson," she snickered.

"Me too." Dick smiled up at the ceiling. He always giggled on the inside whenever Barbara talked to him about her crush on Robin. He knew that there were many girls who 'fell in love' with the red and green clad vigilante, but the fact that Barbara had surprised him.

Barbara's cell phone vibrated and Bette Kane's face appeared on the screen. Barbara sat up and answered it. "Hello?" There was a pause, but Dick could still hear Bette's voice from the other end. "I'm at Dick's house," Barbara said. "I'm helping him with homework… Yes, really… No, we're not doing that! You're so stupid! I'm telling you he's just a friend."

Dick blushed as he realized what they must've been talking about. Bette had often teased them about secret attractions. Teasing seemed to be just one of Bette's many talents.

"Will you please just drop it?" Barbara pleaded. "Yes, I will… I'm not stupid, Bette… Alright, alright, I will… Bye." Barbara pressed a button on her phone and tossed it in her backpack. She sighed and fell back on the bed.

"Bette being annoying again?"

"Yes," Barbara said. "She asked me if we were doing anything she wouldn't do."

Dick snickered. "And you told her that you were helping me with homework?" he asked in amusement.

"Well, I wasn't gonna tell her we were just hanging out, then she'd jump to even higher conclusions."

"Bette does jump pretty high," Dick said, nodding. He found Barbara's hand and played with her fingers. "What would lead her to think that?" he muttered.

Barbara scoffed and pulled her hand away. "You're an idiot," she chuckled.

Dick grinned. "It's insults like those that let me know you care about me, Babs." He folded his hands behind his head and sighed in contentment. "We should do this more often," Dick sighed.

"We should," Barbara agreed.

A thought suddenly came to Dick's mind. "You know Christmas is coming up soon."

"Yeah," Barbara said, "and yet the weather is still nice and warm."

"Not my point," Dick said. "What do you want?"

Barbara furrowed her brow. "For Christmas?"

Dick sighed. "No, for St. Patrick's Day, yes Christmas!" he said.

Barbara smiled. She never really considered that Dick would actually get her something. "I'm not sure," she said.

"Hmm," Dick hummed. A devious smile crossed his face as he got a brilliant idea.

"What are you thinking?" Barbara asked cautiously. She was almost afraid to know the answer.

"Nothing," Dick said in a sing-song voice. His grin only grew wider. "You and your dad are coming over again this year, right?"

"Yes, unless I can talk him out of it," Barbara said slowly.

Dick sniggered. "Oh come on, we always have a good time here at the Manor," he said.

Barbara laughed. "Remember that one year where you accidentally stuck the pig with a suit of armor's spear?" she asked.

"Now, who said that was accidental?" Dick joked. He and Barbara laughed at the old memory.

"And then when my dad accidentally let the knife slip," Barbara giggled.

"How could I forget? I still have the scar!" Dick sat up and lifted the right sleeve of his shirt. It showed a light scar about four inches long. Barbara sat up as well and touched the scar delicately.

"That visit to the emergency room was not fun," she chuckled.

Dick nodded in agreement and let his shirt sleeve fall. "I actually think that was a very fun Christmas," he said.

"Despite the pain," Barbara said. Dick chuckled and looked over at her. She stared back at the freshman and there was silence. Their smiled slowly faded and they simultaneously leaned forward. Dick was panicking on the inside. They were so close he could feel Barbara's breath on his mouth. Dear god, if this isn't meant to be, please give me a sign, he thought.
A knock to Dick's door interrupted the moment. The two teens stopped and pulled away from each other. Damn you, Alfred. Dick sighed and walked to the door. Alfred walked in.

"Sorry to interrupt, Master Richard," Alfred said, "but Master Bruce has come home and wishes me to inform you that you two have a doctor's appointment to go to."

Dick growled. That was another one of their secret codes. "Fine," he grumbled. Dick turned to Barbara who had a blush spreading across her cheeks. "Do you, uh, want me to walk you home?" he offered unsurely.

"Um, no, that's okay," Barbara said, slinging on her backpack, "I'll be alright." She walked towards the door and swept past Dick. He followed her and Alfred went on his heels. The three walked to the front door with Dick and Barbara avoiding each other's gaze.

Alfred opened the door for Barbara and bowed courteously. "Thanks Alfred," Barbara said. She took a step out the door before quickly turning around and hugging Dick quickly. He seemed startled and froze. "Bye." Barbara walked out the door.

"Bye, Barbara," Dick said, watching her walk away. Alfred closed the door and Dick took off running towards the Batcave. He muttered grumpy death threats for Bruce under his breath for interrupting his moment with Barbara. He slid down into the cave to find Bruce already standing there in his costume, foot tapping impatiently.

"Hurry up and get into costume," Bruce said shortly. He walked and hopped into the Batmobile. Dick rolled his eyes and quickly got into costume. He hopped in the Batmobile and Bruce took off for the streets of Gotham.