Kitten

Chapter Fifteen: Apologies

Heyyy remember when I used to write in here? Guess it's time I pick it up again like I did with he's a child again

thank flashbossXD for reminding me to get back to this

The first thing Dick thought about whilst he was getting ready that morning was his four am chat with Dinah and admittedly the guilt of snapping at her was eating away at him. He was tired at the time and she was pressing all his buttons whilst being wholly unaware there were even buttons to press. The nightmare had put him in a bad mood, for good reason, but that wasn't her fault and in hindsight, it was obvious that she was trying to make him feel better with her limited knowledge of who he was. Her sharing concerns about him only exacerbated her good nature in checking up on him and emphasized his, ironically, catty behaviour. So that morning when she knocked on his door to wake him up for training, he decided to apologize for his actions. Selina had raised him right after all. Well, right in terms of manners. In order to get the things they wanted. She had some good teachings but maybe not the greatest of motivations.

"I'm sorry about last night. This morning? You get what I mean," he stated as they walked together to the kitchen. She seemed surprised by the apology which he couldn't blame her for. His personality didn't exactly lend itself to showing genuine things like an apology but he was full of surprises, wasn't he? 

"It's okay," she replied after recovering from her brief shock. He didn't take her rebuttal as a final answer though since it felt anything but okay. 

"I get what you're trying to do and it's all very good-natured it's just not the best when it's directed at me. I'm not in dire need of a mother hen to replace Selina or to step in as the others need you to. I'm good," he insisted. 

"I understand. I thought it would be better to have a close relationship with you through the trial period given that you may feel a little out of place here given the circumstances." He did feel alien in this situation, he had to give her that. Everyone here was either new to being the hero business in its entirety or had always been a hero with the only exemptions being himself and Artemis. Even so, Artemis was forced to do some criminal things here and there growing up but he'd willingly chosen to take up the criminal life and he couldn't help but feel like that made him worse. He didn't have to become a criminal but he did and he enjoyed it. Artemis had hated her part in it but he loved it. He was actively missing it whilst he was trying to be a hero which was something she couldn't relate to. He doubted anyone in the Justice League as it stood could relate to that. "All I want is for you to know I'm here for you if you ever need someone to talk to and I'll show no judgement about whatever you decide to disclose." Given how she'd reacted to his lacking medical history, he very much doubted that. "You're doing well adjusting without my assistance," Dinah continued.

"Am I?" he asked a little more genuine than he'd intended. He didn't need her validation and he knew it wouldn't truly make him feel better it was nice all the same. It was something that he could hold onto despite believing he wasn't slipping into place here.

"You are. We're still in the growing stages yet but you're getting along with your teammates. Especially with Connor of all people. You're better than Batman in terms of socialising and he's known us for years." He smirked at that. 

"I think Bats is always like that. He's been on and off with Selina since before I was in the picture," he replied. 

"You never know, maybe one day it'll always be on." He laughed and she chuckled along with him. He very much doubted Mr Darkness-is-my-only-friend would ever settle down with a criminal like his mentor but weirder things have happened. Besides, if they made one another happy then he would be all for it. There was a beat of silence before she stopped and he stopped with her, confusion written across his features. "Are you feeling alright?" Perhaps the events of last night hadn't quite left her memory yet. He couldn't blame her. When Selina saw his nightmares for the first time, she seemed off-put. It took a week or so before she could look at him without that pained glint in her eye.

"I'm fine. Nothing I can't handle," he replied but she didn't seem put at ease by that. He didn't expect her to be when her job was to mother the team whilst their mentors were away. Unlike last night though, she stopped there rather than pushing forward which he much appreciated and oddly made him feel comfortable to give more information. "Thanks for asking though. I uh I should probably tell you that sometimes I wake up...screaming."

"Screaming?"

"Not all the time but it happens. So if you hear that then I'm not dying or anything." She nodded slowly, evidently perturbed by this new information. "I'll relay it to the others eventually but uh best someone knows."

"Thanks for telling me," she replied. He nodded awkwardly. Opening up to new people was definitely not his thing but he'd rather say something now rather than later. 

When they got to the living room, M'gann and Connor were already sitting at the breakfast bar. They had the makings for cereal but both had held off. Maybe they were waiting for other occupants to join or maybe they were confused as to whether they should start pouring the milk or start by pouring the cereal. Kitten went straight for the coffee machine and made himself comfortable on the counter, ignoring the look his den mother gave him. Kaldur joined not long after, wet from his morning swim, and went about making himself a bowl of cereal. Apparently, that was what got the pair new to Earth moving as they copied him. He offered them a soft smile that only widened when he noticed they were copying when he was putting the spoon to his mouth as well. Someone would probably have to tell them that copying someone so closely was a little creepy but in all fairness, they were still getting used to living here. Mimicking was usually a good way to learn the basics so it would probably do more harm than good to tell them to knock it off. 

"I've been meaning to ask," Dinah began, glancing at Kitten as he drank his coffee. "Do you go to school at all? We're getting Connor and M'gann enrolled once they're acclimatised enough to pass as homeschooled."

"I do courses online. Kinda hard to go to school when I have like twelve warrants out for my arrest," he explained. Speaking of those, someone should probably let the police know he was having a change of heart so he didn't get arrested after saving a bunch of people. Then again, that would be very funny. Imagine being bailed out after saving the world. Selina would love that. "They say I could graduate if I had a guardian's permission," he added. He was proud of that fact and happily showed it off. Graduating didn't really do much for him in terms of his current career but it would make his life less dull as he completed work he already understood.

"I'll talk to Batman about it. Even if it's not for educational reasons, you might find some good experience in spending time with kids your age."

"I'm already spending time with kids my own age," he replied, gesturing over to his team. She made a face like he'd missed what the point was. He knew was she was getting at. They wanted him around the general population. Get himself some friends that weren't risking their lives one way or another. They sounded boring. He'd gravitated to Roy and Wally in the first place because they weren't normal. "I'm not going to some boring old school, D."

"At least think on it. You might enjoy it."

"Yeah! I'm so looking forward to going to school. I've already planned what I'm wearing to my first dance and I'm gonna make sure I don't accidentally get asked out to the dance twice so I don't spend the entire night switching between people," M'gann jumped in.

"We should really get you to watch something that wasn't made in the 90s," Kitten mumbled. "You know school involves a lot more work than all the stuff you see on TV, right?"

"I guess," she replied, sounding dejected. 

"Play nice," Dinah nagged. He rolled his eyes and got off the counter. If she wanted to live in some fantasy world where everything was put through the Disney Channel filter then she could but he wasn't going to sit around and listen to it. He certainly wasn't going to enable it either when her bubble was going to burst fairly early considering their career. 

"Whatever. I'll be in the gym if you need me."

"You didn't eat," Connor called out. "You have to eat. That's the rule."

"And I'm a natural rulebreaker. Seeya!"

"Aren't you going to punish him?" M'gann asked once he was out of eyesight. Dinah shook her head as she made herself a well-needed cup of coffee. 

"Don't worry yourself with that. Eat up then we'll train."