Verisimilitude

Secrets - Part 1

He twirled the pencil in his hands as he read the directions on his homework. He glanced at the time out of the corner of his eye. 4:49 AM. Been up for an hour. He had gone on patrol with Batman last night, which had ended around 2:30 AM. He caught an hour of restless sleep before he gave up altogether. He had opted to catch up on his school work as opposed to letting the memories and what-ifs torment him. It was Sunday, so he didn't have to worry about going to school later that day, but he still has a lot of make up work from being absent.

As he scribbled down an answer his phone let out a soft beep. He glanced at it. -Do you want to watch the hockey game later today?- Bruce had texted him. They never said anything that could compromise their identities over texting or any other unprotected source. What his mentor meant was if he was up for a mission; any sport was code for their vigilante lifestyle, and since they had already patrolled the quiet city (well, quiet for Gotham, which would have been busy in any other city, besides Blüdhaven) he knew his mentor mean the Team.

He hesitated. Did he want to go on a mission so soon after Bialya? Did he want to go on a mission at all? He tapped the pencil on his desk several times before dropping it and picking up his phone.

-Sounds great. When does it start?- When should I go to the Cave?

-At ten. It's Gotham vs Star.- Ten minutes, Green Arrow is assigning the mission. He knew Bruce was busy doing 'League stuff'. Before, he would have tried to get his mentor tell him the specifics, but now it didn't matter. He had worked with the League for decades - he doubted anything was so unbelievable at this point that it was worth bugging Bruce to know.

-Okay.- He briefly wondered if the physically older man was surprised that he remembered their code. He had used it with the others in the simulation, but Bruce didn't know that. Bruce knew next to nothing about the simulation, for Dinah kept everything about their sessions private. That was the only way he would open up to her, she knew.

Dinah doesn't even know the whole story. She simply knew of him moving on to becoming Nightwing, teaming up with Batgirl who was a friend from his civilian life to protect Gotham, and a new Justice League and Team forming. He never delved into his personal life or got too specific. That still hurt too much, and she never pushed him. She knew he needed time. She would, however, prompt him. Since, of course, it was important for him to face what had happened.

He put away his schoolwork and silently descended to the Batcave, where he changed into his Robin costume. It was still slightly foreign to him - the cape (which he was adjusting to), and the different organization of the utility belt. The physical design of the Nightwing costume had been different as well, with less chinks in the kevlar (for body armor had improved) and the fabric being thinner (again, an improvement in body armor).

Even the mask was different, with his Robin one not going down his nose as much and not ending in two points on each end like the wings of a bird as his Nightwing mask had.

Nevertheless, he slipped on the uniform and zeta-ed to the Cave. Another difference - the computer still read out 'Robin' instead of Nightwing, something that always caught him off guard. Once, he even involuntarily cast a glance to his left to see if Damian was there.

Now, though, he knew he was alone.

The others were there, minus Artemis and Wally. Green Arrow had yet to arrive as well. He briefly wondered where they were, but shrugged it off. If they were going to come, then they would come. Artemis would most likely be arriving with her 'uncle', and Wally was always late.

"Greetings, my friend." Kaldur dipped his head slightly to greet him.

"Hey," He said back, trying on a casual smile that younger him usually wore. He was glad his eyes were hidden behind his domino mask, as he could just tell that the smile didn't reach his eyes.