A/N: It came to my attention that I kept calling Alfred 'Albert' instead, so I fixed it! Thanks everyone that pointed this out! My only excuse is that I was really tired when I wrote it .

Hush-hush
Summary: Dick has finally worked up the courage to tell Barbara his biggest secret. Only, she already knows. Dick Babs.
Rated: T
Word count: 1,652

Dick's heart was slamming against his chest. He thought himself to be a logical person, but for just a moment, he thought it might burst from his chest like in an old cartoon. Except, in the cartoons it was usually because one of the characters saw a pretty girl. Granted, Dick was sitting in a room with a pretty girl (an astonishingly beautiful one if he cared to admit it to himself), but her looks were far from the reason Dick's heart raced and he felt all sweaty.

Though he did have to admit to himself that sometimes a similar reaction happened to him when he just looked at her, and she' smile back at him in that knowing way of hers.

But that wasn't why Dick was so nervous now.

He had it all planned out for weeks now how he was going to tell her that he was Robin. He'd invite Barbara over under the guise of hanging out since they'd both been so busy lately. Dick would cook her a nice dinner and catch up, and then they'd go into the living room to watch a movie. And at some point during the movie, Dick would pause it and tell he had something important to say, that he was Robin. Barbara would be nervous at first, because everyone knew how dangerous crimefighting was, but then, after her initial shock and worry, she would throw her arms around Dick and say that she was so proud of him. She would be excited, awed, and…well, after that, Dick didn't know.

However, he was never able to bring himself to grab the remote to pause the movie. Now the movie was over, playing a loop of music on the DVD's menu screen over and over. Barbara was looking at him, her eyebrows creased with worry.

"Dick, are you okay?" she asked, mouth pulled into that tight line it always took when she was deep in thought.

Dick didn't know what to do. He wasn't chickening out about telling her because he still really wanted her to know, but he found himself having a real deer-caught-in-the-headlights moment, and it was off-putting. Especially since he was always so with it, that laughing teen that dropped out of the sky on ziplines, Sundance Kid to Batman's Butch Cassidy.

Now though, when Dick was trying to tell Babs his most guarded secret, he froze.

"Tell me what's wrong, Dick." Barbara was really beginning to look worried and Dick knew he shouldn't be doing that to her. Not when she was his best friend, and maybe he even loved her more than that (he was still trying to work through that bit). Not when she'd always been there for him to vent to and make him feel better.

No, he had to get the words out because he was being unfair to the most important person in his life.

"I," he began, clearing his throat, "I, um, well you see, Babs, I'm, uh…Robin."

Barbara's eyes widened briefly before her face became all screwed up and she…started laughing. Hysterically. Her hand went to her mouth, her eyes squeezed shut tight like Dick thought they might. He hadn't expected the laughter though. Maybe the secret was too much for her to handle and she cracked? That didn't seem right. That wasn't the Barbara he knew.

"Babs, what's so funny?" he asked, altogether forgetting about his nerves or the way that, even laughing like a lunatic, she still looked damned pretty.

She said something indecipherable between gasping breaths before laughing again. Barbara saw the way Dick's eyebrows knitted together with worry and she did her best to calm herself. Several rasping breaths later and a few swipes at her tearing eyes, and she smiled at him. "Oh Dick," she said, smiling at him like she couldn't help herself (and know her, she probably couldn't), "I already know."

"That's okay," Dick said, nodding, before fully grasped what she was saying. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah," she said, giggling again. "I figured it out a long time ago."

"So…you know then. That would have made things a lot easier for me if I'd known that," he muttered, thinking about how anxious he was mere moments ago.

"I mean, it wasn't that hard to figure out."

He stared at her, finding that he was becoming a bit angry. Though whether it was at her or at himself, he wasn't sure. Probably himself though. It was just so impossible to stay angry at her. "Care to elaborate on how you knew?"

"Hm," she said, looking thoughtful, "there were all those times you had to unexpectedly run off to go do something. You always said that either Bruce or Albert needed your help with something, but there's only so many times that can be true. They're both quite self-sufficient men that would rather struggle by themselves than ask for help. Then there's the fact that Batman has to be loaded if you take into consideration how much the suits and the gear and the vehicles cost. And I can only imagine how often things need to be replaced or repaired too. That takes some money. Bruce has some money."

"Fair enough," Dick said, crossing his arms over his chest. He grabbed the remote and shut the DVD player off because the music was really starting to get to him.

"And there's that time I saw Robin in person. I was suspicious up till that point, but when I saw you in costume, I knew for sure. You're not a person I could ever mistake." Her face looked faintly flushed as she said it.

You're not a person I could ever mistake. As irked as Dick was, he liked the way that sounded.

"Honestly though, I don't think anyone else knows. Bruce's aloof playboy persona is quite good, but I know it isn't real. I've seen how he is with you, and know that it's just an act. He cares a lot more than he lets on. Just like you do, Dick."

Dick felt his own face warm up. Sure, they had been best friends for years, but he had know idea that she thought of him that way.

Clearing his throat, he asked, "So why did you never say anything?"

She smiled slightly, taking the hand that rested on his thigh into hers. "I knew you'd tell me when you were ready to. It wasn't just your secret, and I didn't want to force you into it before you were ready."

That, Dick knew, was why he loved her so much. She was always thinking about others first, putting their needs before her own, always making sure they were alright before even taking a moment to breath.

Suddenly, his chest felt heavy again and it was difficult to breath. His hand felt so right grasped between both of hers. Dick had thought a lot about her, about them, but he was never sure if it was a good idea because he didn't want to threaten their friendship, because he was always going to be in danger and he didn't know how she'd take it.

In that moment, though, he knew he wanted nothing more.

With his freehand, he cupped the side of her face, his thumb rubbing lightly over her cheekbone. Dick saw her eyes widen, but she let go of his hand and laid it atop the one on her cheek, lacing her fingers through his.

And then they were kissing. Dick briefly thought about how soft her lips were and how he knew that's how they'd be. Then her hands were on the back of his head, fingers buried in his dark hair, and his hands were on her waist, pulling her closer, closer, closer still. Her breath was hot on his face when she pulled away, her eyes heavy with something undefinable.

She was saying, "I love you, Dick. I love you so much," and Dick could feel her heart racing when he laid his hand over it. He was murmuring it back, how much she meant to him, pulling her onto his lap, entwining his fingers in her long red hair, doing everything he could to breathe her in.

Rationality took hold and Dick pushed her back a little. She looked fazed. "What is it?" she asked, breathless.

He gave a strained laugh. "Barbara, I don't know how much longer I can keep going before…And we're in the living room. Someone could walk in."

Her already flushed face became redder. "I'd completely forgotten that we're in the living room," she said, giggling, though she still looked dazed.

Dick grabbed her hand and stood up. "Let's go for a walk," he said.

"Are you okay to do that now?" she asked uncertainly.

He smiled softly at her. "I'm fine."

"Well, okay that was my way of saying that I'm not sure if I'm okay to now." She looked a little embarrassed.

Dick's grin widened. "I'll help you. Lean on me."

She stood then and he wrapped his arm around her. Together, they slipped out a back door of the mansion and into the gardens.

"Did you see that, Alfred?" Bruce asked incredulously from where the two stood hidden in the shadows.

"I did, Master Bruce, being that I'm standing right next to you," Alfred said dryly. Really, he was a little amused to see what a flustered dad Bruce was.

"I should have the talk with him, shouldn't I? The sex talk." Bruce shuddered.

"I believe Master Dick is already aware of sex. You had the talk with him several years ago."

"I think I should remind him. I think Gordon would want me to seeing how it's his daughter," Bruce said, moving to follow the two teens out the back door.

"How about a nice cup of tea," Alfred said, leading Bruce to the kitchen. "You can embarrass Master Dick later."

End.