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The phone's ringing.
"Tim!" Dana calls. "It's Stephanie!"
Tim puts away his homework and heads for the landline as fast as he can.
It feels like forever since he's talked to Steph.
"Hey," he says breathlessly, unable to help the smile on his face. And then all the shock and anger from seeing that headline about the new Girl Wonder cascades in again.
Dana slips back out of the hallway, probably back to making dinner.
"You’re not mad at me?" she blurts.
"I missed you," he says. "But I am still kinda mad."
"I, uh..." She sighs. He hears some kind of rustling on the other side. "Well, I guess I've got some good news then."
"What is it?"
"I got fired."
"B did what?" he hisses, trying to make sure that nobody nearby will be able to listen in on them. Dad's nowhere in the area, and Dana's in the kitchen. But he still has to be careful.
"You know it was never gonna last, right?"
"I didn't," he says. "I-- can he even do that?"
"Didn't that happen to one of the other Robins?" she asks. "Maybe it was the one who died. That'd be something."
"Steph..."
"Guess it's back to Spoiler for me, then," she says, as though she hasn't already made the decision to keep going.
She won't step away. Tim's only really known one person who managed to step away from being a vigilante before him. And Cissie's been thriving.
But nobody needed Arrowette in the same way Batman needs Robin. It's why Cissie's getaway was...well, about as clean as anyone could expect.
But Tim isn't going back. Tim can't go back.
"You’re still going to stay?"
"Cute that you think Batman and Batgirl can work on their own for the city," she answers flatly.
He knows in that moment -- he knows she gets it, in the same way he gets it. Sure, her reasons for being a vigilante didn't start out nearly so altruistic, but if she really became Robin just for that and not because making him feel jealous is practically her side job, well--
He isn’t really sure what to think about that.
"I mean," she continues, "it's not like Batman has command over every vigilante that operates here. He can try sometimes, but...not being Robin anymore is good. It means he can't tell me what to do anymore."
"Could he ever?"
"He tried." Her voice takes on a more somber tone. "But he was in danger. I had to do something. You get it, right?"
Yeah. He's done it himself. And if he hadn't, he wouldn't have been Robin in the first place.
...maybe he shouldn't have.
But if it wasn't for Robin, well...
"I don't know," he says. "I don't know if it's the same. I don't have all the context."
"Sometimes," she says, "I thought 'what would Tim do' while I was Robin. But when B was in danger, I didn't even have to think about it. That's what Robin does."
But if B did fire her over that, he must have had some kind of other reason. Maybe he didn't really want Steph to be Robin in the first place. But that's...Tim doesn't want to think that.
"I guess," he answers, non-committal. "I wouldn't know. Not anymore."
"You really think it leaves you?"
"I want it to." His grip tightens on the receiver. "I really wish it would."
Because he isn't coming back. He can't come back. He shouldn't want to come back.
He could have avoided all of this, maybe, but he thinks he might've ended up like Steph if he hadn't tried to make Dick Robin again instead.
"Can't always get what you want, Ex-Boy Wonder," she replies, casual tone sounding kinda forced. "We both know how dangerous Batman without Robin can get. I don't know if there really is anyone other than you and me, and well, we already know what he thinks of me. And you aren't crawling back to him anytime soon."
"Let’s just hope he doesn’t start pushing Cass or Babs out," he says. "Once that starts..."
"I'll keep an eye on things. Try to hold down the fort."
He’s not sure she can. It's a Sisyphean nightmare of a task that he was barely managing. And as Spoiler? She doesn't have the legacy on her side anymore.
"Have you, uh, talked to N lately?"
"Not since after I became Robin. He dropped by to check in on you around day 30, only to find me in the cave instead." She pauses. "In the end, he understood why I did it, too. Called me the next best thing. I'm not sure if he actually thought that was a compliment or not, but...well...doesn't matter now."
Ouch. Knowing Dick, the backhanded-ness was on purpose.
"I guess not."
"Anyways..."
There's a pause for a while where she doesn't say anything. Tim wonders what she's thinking, what's up her sleeve next. She's always been unpredictable.
It's why he loves her. There's always been something about calamity and chaos that keeps him coming back.
She sighs, breaking the silence. "Anyways, if it all goes to shit, I wanted to talk to you again. Tell you that I might have screwed up when I decided to become Robin, but I'm not going to screw it up now. So it's not going to go anywhere bad. But...what's happening is pretty volatile, so even with controls in place, it's not a guarantee. It's going to be okay though. It has to be. Everything will be fine."
"What are you doing?"
"...I can't tell you about it. In case anyone ends up hearing this later or something. But I've got a plan, okay? And it's all going to be fine."
"If you say so," he says. He's still not sure how much he believes her. He isn't even sure she believes the words coming out of her mouth.
"Just...I do love you," she says.
The line clicks before he can say it back, say something stupid and true like it's always been her.
He sets the receiver down.
"Tim? You still on the phone? Dinner's ready!"
How is it that even as a civilian he's never left with any time to process?