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"I'm sorry, hold on, rewind-"
Well, okay. Things had gone to shit- No, shit was putting it mildly. This was a fucking nightmare is what it was.
"Hi, I'm Sofia L- Bicicleta. Your office is so nice, and I love your hair-"
"Oh- Thank you…?"
"-Anyways, Kug, I thought you said you knew a guy!"
Yeah, there was no way out of this. He was fucked no matter what he said or did by now. Barely able to look at the others, much less the accusing look Sofie was shooting his way, he wrung his paws before tossing them up in defeat.
"Alright, yeah, okay- So... The guy I know might be-"
"Your ex-wife?"
Sof must have felt some real divorced wives energy or something, because she walked right up and took Robin's hands in hers.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry, I had no idea you were exes- Here, take my card-" Sofia fished around her purse before pulling out a punch card for her salon, "-If you're ever on Staten Island, please look me up-" Robin seemed to take the card, and Sofie, in stride, same as she seemed to take a fucking group of misfits just showing up to her office unannounced; honestly, she was taking all of this well. Really well. Any shock she seemed to have over him climbing out of Sof's purse and opening his goddamn mouth looked like it'd dissipated, too. ( Sure, that seemed like the Robin he always knew, quick to adapt, to adjust, but... Something about it seemed off. Wrong. )
The sound of Kingston clearing his throat brought the group's attention back to the whole reason they were currently in her office in the first place, and Kugrash found himself only somewhat grateful- The return to subject helped a bit, but… Truthfully, not much. He was only vaguely listening to what Kingston said, unable to bring himself to look away from Robin for even a second. Fuck, even 30 years later she was as stunning as ever. He watched as she scrubbed a hand down her face at something Kingston had mentioned, and for a moment, he felt as though his heart stopped in his chest. There, on her left hand, was a wedding ring.
He'd noticed it when he led the others to her office: Her door read Robin Ng- He was certain she'd divorced him at some point, what with him being gone for 30 fucking years, but... If she had remarried, why wouldn’t she have changed her name? Craning his neck a bit, he tried to get a better look as she brought her hand down- And once again, his heart felt as if a vice clamped tight around it in his chest. That ring-
That was his ring.
The one from their wedding.
Kugrash's attention was brought back sharply to the conversation at hand, however, as he could make out Robin saying she couldn’t help them. No, no- An idea struck him then, and even though his stomach lurched violently over the thought, he knew he had to do something. He revealed himself to her for the first time in 30 years- He couldn't let it all be pointless.
“Uh, hey, guys- Can we, uh… Get some privacy for a sec?”
The rest of the group looked down at him, but Kingston solemnly nodded before leading the others out of the office, door closing with a slight creak behind them. The silence that fell over the office, the heat that rose as if the thermostat had been cranked up, it all felt uncomfortable, sweltering, stifling- He felt like he was sweating under his fur, an experience as unpleasant as it sounded. The quiet felt oppressive, like it was crushing him beneath the weight of it, and as if he were physically being pushed down, he found his gaze couldn't quite meet her face. ( He didn't deserve to, that was for sure. )
But, after what seemed like an eternity, he knew he had to actually speak up.
“You, uh… Still got your ring on…?”
Eyes cast up to catch her cheeks burn a slight shade of red at the question, and try though he might, he couldn't fight the way his stupid rat stomach flipped at the sight- God, it'd been way too long since he could make her blush. “I just… I thought-” Jesus Christ, why was this so goddamn hard? “I figured you woulda gone through with the… With the divorce.” The word felt heavy on his tongue, made his insides roil unpleasantly just from saying it- It was a risky chance bringing it up, thinking that she didn't go through with it; sure, the kids may have kept his name, but that didn't mean shit for Robin. She easily could have gone through with it, she should have gone through with it- It hurt, way fucking more than he'd like to admit, but... It would've been better for her. Better than just...
“Divorce?” He looked back up, and although she didn’t look shocked at him mentioning it, she seemed almost... Sheepish. Guilty. That made his stomach just churn worse. “How did you-”
“I might have- Okay, no, I did hear about it. Back then, you... You were talking with Harl about it. John kept mentioning it. Before… Yanno, when everything went to shit.” What a half-assed way to put it. Went to shit. There was only one reason everything they had went to shit. “I don’t blame ya, either- I was a right dick to you, and the boys- And… Leavin’ you to raise Marian-”
For a moment, Robin did look shocked, although the moment passed and recognition dawned on her face. “You’re Mr. Rat, aren’t you?”
A half-laugh, half-snort escaped him that he couldn’t stop: Mr. Rat was the nickname Marian gave him the first time he stopped near the house just to see her. It was before he'd even gotten his powers; he'd still been a filthy rat making it by in the sewers when he happened to see Robin out with the boys, only to see she had a baby girl with them, too- At first he'd assumed she'd already moved on, but the timing was too tight, too close. Even without the confirmation, he knew. Marian was theirs. Time had passed, and he'd slipped through the fence into the yard, just hoping to get a better glimpse of the daughter who never even knew who he was, but much to his surprise, she could see him as more than just a big rat. He wasn’t sure entirely why she could see him at first, but… Well, it didn’t matter now, huh?
“Yeah, yeah, that’s me. She’s… She’s a great kid, they all are- The boys, and- Well, I've never met Scarlet, but Marian's talked her up a lot. They're all... Goddamn amazing adults. You’ve done a fucking great job-” Again, his tongue felt heavy, like it was made of wet cement; fucking great job. This felt like shitty fucking praise considering everything she did that he couldn’t do- After everything he'd put her, put them through, she was able to raise five kids ( five! he couldn't even fucking help with three! ) on her own, five fucking brilliant kids- And... And he-
No, no. This wasn’t about him.
“...We could really use your help, Robs.”
The old nickname slipped out faster than he could silence it, a small paw clenching as he heard it escape; even if she didn’t go through with the divorce, that didn’t mean he could just... Call her that again. He hadn't earned that right, to start with. For all the good he'd done for the forgotten of the city, for all the penance he'd been able to make- There were people he hadn't made it up to. People he hurt more than anyone. Starting with her. But, instead of rightfully berating him or telling him off for it, Robin just… Sighed. The stress she'd been through over the last 30 odd years showed more apparent on her face than age, he noticed as she folded her arms across her chest and looked out the office window.
“...I can’t help you guys, Bruce.” He felt his heart leap hard in his chest at the sound of his old name; it felt strange, almost foreign, but… At the same time, it felt familiar. Warm. Right. It was because it was coming from her.
“Robin-”
“I- I've had enough dealings with Robert Moses for a lifetime. I don’t want to so much as think about him again.”
Christ, he really had to use his brain more before he did things.
Without hesitation, Kugrash clambered up on her desk, standing closer to her than he had in three long, long decades. “Robs, what do you mean, you’ve dealt with him-” Yeah, he knew she would have crossed paths with him, who of them didn't know Robert Moses back in the day- But somehow, he knew that wasn't what she was talking about. “What happened-”
“Look, after…” She gestured vaguely, “After you disappeared, I was… Struggling. I got fired. So… John got me a job working for Moses." He didn't bother fighting the way his nose wrinkled in disgust at John's name. "It paid well, and I was able to take care of the kids-” She took a deep breath, looking as though she were steeling herself before continuing. “I… Tried embezzling from him. Figured I'd done it a million times before, and this would make for one last job-"
Okay, that? That was unexpected. Like, really unexpected. He knew he was a piece of shit then, but he’d never have ONCE thought- “I did it to redistribute. Put it all back into the community", she'd replied, as if reading his mind; she wasn't trying to embellish her story or make herself look good, and he sure as hell knew she wasn't lying. The embezzling bit was a shock, yeah, but he'd seen her take the kids to help out at kitchens and shelters over the years, making sure he was just out of sight of them- So shock or not, it really was no surprise she’d been managing to steal from the 1% to give to the needy, then. He couldn’t fight the way his lips curled up in a bit of a smirk, despite the weight of the situation- God, how could he not be proud of her?
“So, I tried it, and… Moses sent some of his vampires after me as a final warning. I think he wanted me to think he went easy on me because of the kids, and that's why they didn't try to turn me. I ended up in the hospital, and Kingston helped save my life.” Her words seemed rushed, hurried to get out of her mouth and off of her chest, but it didn’t really matter; the smirk he had for a split second had already fallen and he felt as if his heart just plummeted through to the floor. All this time, and he'd had no idea- He had no fucking clue-
“Robs-” Fuck, where could he fucking begin? Apologies were worthless, there weren't enough apologies or words in the world that could even even scratch the surface of what he owed to her- And it’s not like he could reprimand her, either; he of all people was in no position to call her out on anything. Instead, Kugrash stepped forward, paws reaching up, before he wrapped his arms around her in a hug, or as close as he could manage to one- He knew it was a risk, that she could very well shove him off her desk or kick him out, but… It was the only thing he could think of doing. “I… I get it. I won’t make you relive that shit, but- We know Moses is up t’some bad shit, and we’re gonna get to the bottom of it.”
For a moment, they both stood in silence; he was waiting for the inevitable shove to come, but after a few more seconds, he felt her arms move, wrapping around him in a tight embrace, hands clutching at the back of his old cloak. A squeak of a sob left him, but he held fast, his paws merely gripping her blazer tighter still.
“...And hey-"
He pulled away enough to look up at her, a weak smile pushing up the scar that ran down his eye to his cheek, and the one possession from his old life he kept feeling heavy on the chain it hung from around his neck.
"I’m gonna kill that son of a bitch myself for hurtin’ my girl.”