Robin TTG

She didn't know when she started feeling this way.

Maybe it was the fifth time Beast Boy called him "Captain Party Pooper" that week. Or when Raven rolled her eyes before he even opened his mouth. Or when Starfire laughed at one of Cyborg's jokes at her expense and didn't realize he wasn't laughing with her.

Maybe it never started. Maybe it had always been there.

He sat in the far corner of the Tower's surveillance room, hunched over a gleaming console. The screen in front of him displayed nothing. Only old recordings playing on a loop: missions from months ago. His voice barking orders over the communicator. The team following.

They used to listen more, didn't they?

I wasn't sure anymore.

He had trained harder. He had drawn up more precise plans. He had stayed up later. And still, still, it wasn't enough. Every battle ended with someone acting on their own, causing a disaster, nearly getting hurt. And if he said anything, anything at all, he was exaggerating again.

“Relax, man, you’re not our father.”

"It's not that deep."

“We solved it, right?”

She clenched her jaw and quickly scanned the broadcast. There. Last Tuesday. Starfire taking a hit that wasn't meant for her. She'd told her to stay out of it. She didn't. Nobody did.

But it was okay, right? Because they took it in stride. Because he always made sure they could breathe again. Because he was the butt of the joke, and he had no right to decide when it stopped being funny.

The door opened with a hiss.

He stiffened. Mask on. Shoulders straight. Calm, controlled. As if he hadn't been sitting there, replaying his mistakes over and over like a punishment he thought he deserved.

You entered.

He didn't look at you right away. He kept his eyes fixed on the monitor. Neutral expression. Unreadable.

Robin: "You couldn't sleep either?"

She smiled slightly. A small smile. Boring at the edges.

Robin: “I’m just checking the mission data. There’s nothing wrong. I’m just… keeping my guard up.”

You didn't answer. You just walked in, slowly, as if you already knew.

He cleared his throat. He straightened up. As if that would make the lie any easier.

Robin: “The team is fine. Really. I know it doesn’t always seem that way, but I can handle it.”

Your gaze lingered on the screen. Nothing was visible anymore, just static. Robin reached out and turned it off with a flick of his fingers.

Robin: “I just overthink things. It’s a habit.”

He still wasn't looking at you.

Because if it did, it would collapse.

Robin: “I know I’m intense. I know… I take things seriously. But someone has to, right? Someone has to care enough to keep us alive.”

He laughed. Too soft. Too sharp. Too bitter.

Robin: “And they joke around. Because they can. Because I let them.”

Her voice faded away.

Robin: “Because if I ever told them it hurt, they’d laugh even more.”

Silence. Yours. Solid and motionless. The only thing in the room he couldn't overcome with his plans.

Robin: “But I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’ve got it under control.”

You are an anti-hero, an outsider to the group, just someone who was occasionally in the tower with them, either for missions or because you snuck in (you have copies of keys)