A/N

Edit: The POV switches from third person to first person, but the view always belongs to the same character. I made a minuscule change that ought to help make this more clear. This is also written somewhat cryptically, so don't worry if you don't understand until the very end. (December 17, 2015)

Warning: Character death and suicidal thoughts

One shot was all he had.

How they got in this position was anyone's guess. The point was that they were in it at all.

Robin's hands shook as he aimed the gun at Batman. There was one bullet in it. They all knew that. Robin, Batman and the one civilian hostage.

One shot to make the right decision. One shot to make his play.

One gun. One bullet. One shot.

All he had to do was kill someone and whoever was left would be released, unharmed. There were only a few minutes left until the bombs hidden inside the walls detonated. A camera was in every corner of the room. If Robin attempted to find and disable the bombs, all three of them of would die, not just the one.

The Dynamic Duo didn't use guns. They also didn't believe in killing. They saved hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people every year. To kill Batman was to condemn an untold number of people to death. It was their job, after all, to save people. By becoming heroes they had made it their duty to do what they could to help. They were depended on. The people they saved revered them. But Robin wouldn't be anything without Batman. The man was more valuable to the cause than the boy.

Not only that. Robin couldn't — wouldn't — kill Batman. He was a child, and children become attached to the adults in their lives. He was also Batman's sidekick. Sidekicks don't kill their partners.

What was going through Robin's mind? Nothing good, that's for sure.

It was impossible to tell what Batman wanted Robin to do. For the first time in a long time, it appeared that the duo was out of sync. The intentions of one were unclear to the other. What would Batman have him do? It was hard to know. Batman was bound and gagged. He was trying to convey a message through his eyes, though Robin showed no indication of understanding. Perhaps Batman was telling him a way to save them all. He might have known some secret — something he discovered before he was captured and Robin had to come to the rescue. A piece of information that would lead to their escape. But if not, then escape was not an option.

Or maybe he was telling him — no, ordering him — to shoot the civilian. One civilian for the lives of many. One civilian or Batman, for those were Robin's only options.

Robin switched his aim to the civilian — to me.

I wished I could've let him know that I had recently considered suicide by police. I had chickened out, of course, realizing that with all the crime going round the city, they shouldn't have to waste time and energy just to help me off myself. I then decided that I would do it some other way. The monorail. Pills. A knife. But I was too scared to do it myself. Now I had the option of being shot by someone after all — I just wish it wasn't by a child.

If he had known anything about my intentions, would he still have made the decision that he had?

Superheroes don't know who it is they are saving in a crisis. If the hero can only carry one man but there are two there, who do they rush out of the burning building first? Do they grab a random man, then go back in for the other, knowing the second man might die in the time that he is left alone? Does the hero ask which one to take first? Does the hero just grab both and pray to god all of them get out of the building alive?

Heroes don't know if the person they are saving is a good person. They don't even know if the person wants to be saved. But they are willing to risk their lives anyway. I might have considered it a good thing, heroes knowing nothing about the people they rescue. Keeps the mission objective, see? If they don't have a chance to pick and choose based on their emotions, then they can't feel guilty later on if someone gets hurt, or worse. But now I know that's not always the case. I was the best option. I didn't want to live.

But Robin was a hero. Heroes don't kill supposedly innocent people. And he would have felt immeasurable guilt if he had killed me. He couldn't live with that.

His aim switched back to Batman.

Robin made the decision that I could not live with. And neither could he. But that's what a hero does, I suppose. Had he known I didn't want to live, he might have made the same decision, so that I could get help for my depression. I was worth it to him. But that thought made me feel worse — both guilty and relieved, yet completely panicked all around. Someone thought I was worth it. And his life was crumbling because of me.

In that instant, I wished that I had not been bound and gagged beside the caped crusader, but that I was a hero busting into the room to save everyone. But I wasn't. No one was. I wished that I could have told Robin to sacrifice me instead. In my opinion, I was not worth it. I was not happy with my life nor with myself. I had almost hoped he would use the gun on me. The funny thing is, when death is so close, you don't want it to come. I didn't want it to come. Not yet. Not here.

But with his decision, I knew that I would never commit suicide. I wouldn't be able to after the sacrifice he made for me. I had made an extra effort after that day to get over my depression. It's what he had wanted. I know it.

Tick...Tick...Tick. Tick. Tick-Tick-Tick—

The timer sped up. Any second and we'd all be disintegrated. The gun was trained on me once more.

It would have been better if he had shot Batman. I would have felt guilty for thinking it, but if he had, then I wouldn't know the even worse guilt that I feel now. If Robin had known what I was thinking, then maybe he would have shot me. I was the best option, and he didn't know it.

Robin had options. The question: Which option could he live with? Apparently, none of them.

He shifted his aim away from me. He had found a third option, taking aim for a shot he could not miss. Neither could he afford to miss it, but with this target, he knew the bullet would pierce exactly where he intended.

Robin aimed the gun neither at Batman nor at the civilian.

One shot was all he had...and he took it.

A/N

Hooray! My first YJ fic. A one-shot titled "One Shot." I couldn't help it. The words always make me think of someone aiming at a target, so I decided I needed to write a one-shot with that title. At first I was going to have it be that Robin had to make this shot hit its target or something bad would happen. As in, he needs to make his batarang hit this certain object and a bomb will go off if he doesn't manage it. But then certain changes happened as I wrote it.

This probably needs some edits, but I wanted to get this up while I was still excited about it. I think I messed up the verb tenses here and there.

I tried several things with this fic, but I don't really know what was successful and what wasn't, so please review and let me know what worked!