Chapter Text
Cardinal was happy.
He had walked into the living room, cast gone from his foot, wearing a domino mask and a new costume.
It was red, standing out starkly against the walls. Orange highlights ran up his sides and chest, subtly strengthening the structure. He was wearing black, loose pants and red boots with steel toes. There was no cape, but there was a hood, a red one, and over his chest, the same wings from Nightwing’s costume were spread, but in black.
The boy was holding his usual staff and he was grinning widely.
Cardinal was happy.
“Thoughts?” he asked. His voice was still the same as the last time he’d been here, curling slightly at the edges with exhaustion and hurt and guilt, but there was a new edge to it now, a hopeful one.
“Robin?” Bart asked, eyeing their leader. “What are you wearing?”
The team was staring now, taking in the subtle feather details on the boy’s re-enforced wrists and the utility belt, Robin’s utility belt, but red, not yellow, around his narrow hips.
“My new costume,” the boy replied, grin widening. “Nightwing and Red Hood helped me design it.”
They stared at him with wide eyes.
With every passing second of silence, their leader was deflating slightly, subtly.
“It looks great,” Kon said eventually, since nobody else seemed inclined to comment.
The boy cocked his head, studying them. His lenses were still white, still familiar. His hair was the same too and his posture and the way his mouth pursed as he tried to figure something out.
“You said I didn’t need to be Robin to be on the team.”
There was a rush of…something, something like giddiness or hope or relief that went over the team as they finally grasped what the other was saying.
“You’re going solo,” Bart exclaimed, standing next to the boy in a second and starting to poke at his costume.
“Well, not quite,” the other replied. “Nightwing and Red Hood said I have to patrol with them in the beginning.”
They were all coming closer now, crowding into their friend’s space.
Cassie wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “So what’s your name now?”
“Cardinal,” the boy replied in the slow, halting way they had come to associate with his fear of being ridiculed.
“It’s perfect,” Cissie said and the others echoed the sentiment.
“It was Red Hood’s idea,” their leader replied, but even ducking his head, he couldn’t quite hide how pleased he was with their approval.
Cardinal was happy.
He shifted and now that they weren’t distracted by the new costume, they could see that he’d been carrying a large bag that had now dropped to the ground.
Cardinal followed their eyes down to look at him and he blinked slowly. “I’ll probably stay here more often from now on,” he said, white lenses lifting to seek eye contact with them.
“Dude, awesome,” Bart exclaimed enthusiastically, punching Cardinal’s shoulder good-naturedly.
“Batman…?” Cissie started, but she trailed off, unable to phrase her question.
Cardinal shrugged. He was clearly trying to go for casual, but there was tension in the way his shoulders curled and his jaw clenched. “Nightwing and Red Hood had a discussion with him.”
They all shivered, but they also couldn’t quite hide their satisfaction. Kon was grinning, the corner of his lips twisting slightly. Viciously.
Cardinal either didn’t notice or didn’t care.
“I live with Nightwing now,” he added, fingers curling slightly around his utility belt.
Cassie casually took one of his hands and squeezed. Cardinal squeezed right back, a small, grateful smile on his face.
“Good,” Cissie said, so firmly and darkly, that they all stared at her in surprise. She shrugged at the scrutiny, not seeming very sorry.
“Yes,” Kon agreed. “Good.”
For a moment, Cardinal looked like he would argue, but then he looked down and his free hand came up to brush over the wins on his chest, black on red and he closed his mouth again.
“What about the rest of the Justice League?” Bart asked, foot tapping on the ground rapidly.
Cassie started moving them towards the couch, Cardinal’s bag left behind for now. She was clearly unable to stand for the entire conversation. The others came willingly, Kon pulling Cardinal to his side and Cissie tucking herself right under the boy’s arm on the other side.
Bart paced, but they had learned to ignore that. Cassie just laid down, her head on Cissie’s lap and the archeress immediately started playing with her hair.
“What about them?” Cardinal asked.
“Well, won’t they have opinions on all of this?” Bart pressed.
Cassie shrugged, making the couch cushions shift slightly. “Let them,” she said.
“What if they try something with Ro- Cardinal?” Cissie worried.
Kon didn’t shrug, but his face set into something determined and inscrutable. “Let them,” he repeated Cassie’s words, a lot more heated, arm tightening around Cardinal. “Superman for one won’t be on Batman’s side,” he added with quiet conviction.
Once again, Cardinal couldn’t quite help his pleased smile, even if it immediately dropped again. “There don’t need to be sides,” he said.
Cissie hummed. “Maybe,” she replied, but they could all hear the scepticism. “But there will be.”
Cardinal sighed softly. “I’m sorry,” he said.
Cassie reached up to flick the boy’s nose since she couldn’t reach his forehead. “Idiot,” she replied fondly.
It actually startled a laugh out of Cardinal and they all froze, looking at him in wonder.
Cardinal was happy.
A lot happier than he’d been a week ago, anyway. A new identity and some good nights sleep couldn’t erase the pressure he was under or the sadness weighing him down or the way he seemed startled at every positive sentiment they uttered.
But it was a start.
“Why Cardinal?” Cassie asked curious.
For a moment, it seemed like Cardinal would fall into old patterns. He looked like he was about to pull away from them, switch the topic to someone else. But when he opened his mouth, it was to answer.
“They’re birds,” he said, tapping Nightwing’s logo on his chest. “They’re red,” he added, moving a hand back to brush his fingers against the hood. “And they don’t migrate.”
For a moment, they weren’t sure there was any air left in the room.
“I love Gotham,” Cardinal added.
“You’re staying in Batman’s territory,” Kon said flatly, not sounding very happy. By the way Bart’s pacing resumed and Cassie’s hands fluttered restlessly over the couch, they seemed to agree.
Only Cissie looked relaxed.
“It’s not just his territory anymore though, is it,” Cardinal said quietly. “And perhaps it’s time Gotham moved on from only relying on one man.”
There was more to the tension in Cardinal’s voice, more to the way his breath caught slightly, but none of them commented.
“We should have a movie night,” Cassie exclaimed, abruptly righting herself. Cissie barely managed to stop braiding in time to avoid tearing some of her hair out.
“I’ll go change,” Cardinal told them and they let him go without arguing, watching his form retreat with his bag.
“Finally,” Cassie breathed once their leader was out of earshot, sagging slightly.
There was no more said on it, but they all grinned, going about setting up a movie and making hot chocolate and popcorn in a much lighter manner than they had in weeks. They had done their missions while Cardinal was out of commission, but they had been moving on eggshells, both with each other, as well as with their mentors.
It was hard to withhold judgement when one didn’t know who all was to blame.
Cardinal walked back in as Tim, his disguise completely off. For a beat, they all stared, still unused to seeing blue eyes instead of sunglasses, but then Tim smirked. “Do I have something on my face?” he asked dryly and they laughed and piled onto the sofa with him in their middle.
Tim snuggled into their pile easily.
Cardinal was happy.
He came in the middle of the movie.
First, he wasn’t there and then he was, a large, black silhouette.
Tim noticed first and he paused the movie, in time for Batman to say: “Robin.” He eyed Tim’s sunglass-less eyes disapprovingly.
“Batman,” he replied and they could all hear that he was trying for deadpan. He fell just a little bit off.
“His name is Cardinal now,” Bart said helpfully.
By the glare he received, Batman didn’t find it very helpful.
“Come home,” Batman said and it was only because they were all pressed close to Tim that they caught his miniscule flinch at the word.
“No,” their leader, their Robin, their Cardinal replied. There wasn’t anything more to the refusal.
Tim wasn’t trying to fight, he was simply standing firm.
Batman shifted. “This is childish,” he scolded. “Let’s just talk about it.”
“No,” Tim repeated and then didn’t elaborate.
They had all expected him too, had expected him to say that he had already tried talking and it hadn’t worked or that he was sick and tired of how he was being treated.
From the two beats of silence it took for Batman to speak again, two beats too long, he too had expected Tim to continue.
“Robin,” Batman repeated sharply. “Do not make me order you.”
Before Tim could refuse a third time, Kon smoothly stood, eyes burning with anger and jaw stubbornly lifted. “You could try,” he spat.
Cassie too now stood up and Cissie followed quickly. Bart moved to stand almost casually, pushing Tim back down when he tried to follow.
“He said no,” Cissie said, her voice not gentle anymore.
“He doesn’t want to,” Cassie added.
“Leave,” Bart said simply.
“Now listen here,” Batman started, his voice a menacing growl.
“No,” Kon interrupted, taking a step towards Batman. “Leave. Now. You’re not welcome in our headquarters.”
“Feel free to report us if you'd like,” Cassie added, steel in her sweet smile, “but you won’t get to talk to Cardinal today.”
Batman tensed at the new name. Briefly, his
gaze attempted to go past them, but they were effectively shielding Tim from view now. Batman wasn’t a stupid man. He took the loss, stepping back and then back again, until he was gone.
“Thanks,” Tim said from behind them, staring up at them with a very familiar look of love and hero-worship.
It was the same look they had levelled at him so very often.
“Always,” Bart promised.
Tim smiled, a shy smile so unlike his Robin smirk. They found themselves wondering if perhaps Cardinal would smile more like himself than his brothers.
“You’re stuck with us,” Cissie added as they all slotted into place around him again.
Cardinal was happy.
“I guess I can live with that.”