There was a reason that Robin never slept over at Mt. Justice, but no one knew what it was. As fate would have it, they were about to find out. Wayne Manor was completely empty tonight, and Robin didn't really feel like sleeping in such a big house alone. So, after ensuring that his room was sound proof, even to Conner's sensitive ears, he gathered his things and told the team.

"Wait, you're actually sleeping here tonight?" Wally asked incredulously. The team was lounging around in the living room, watching a movie.

"Yup," Robin answered. He was dressed in his pajamas, a plain black t-shirt and gray sweatpants. The rest of the team was dressed similarly.

"Well, it's about time," Wally continued. "I was beginning to think that you didn't sleep at all."

Around midnight, Robin began to feel tired. He headed to his room, bidding goodnight to his friends and praying that he had a dreamless sleep tonight.

No such luck. As soon as his head hit the pillow, Robin was assaulted with nightmares, mostly about his parents' death. But this time, he was also forced to witness the death of his friends, Batman, Alfred, everyone that he cared about.

"AHHH!" He woke up with a loud scream, heart beating wildly against his chest. He curled up on his side and let the sobs out, lying there for ten minutes before he felt he could move again. Silently, he headed towards the kitchen to get a glass of water. Tears still streamed down his face, and he didn't stop them though they were making his domino mask uncomfortable.

He wasn't aware that everyone else was still awake until he heard a voice.

"Robin?" He froze. Biting his lip against another sob, he turned to find all five of his teammates looking at him with concern in their eyes. "Are you alright?" M'gann asked.

Robin was about to say yes, of course he was alright. He had been trained to hold his emotions in, to not show weakness. But he realized that he wasn't alright. He shook his head and let the tears fall harder. The Martian flew over and enveloped him in a hug, which he gladly returned. She led him to the couch, still holding on tight. The others crowded around, hugging him and rubbing soothing circles on his back.

"What happened?" Artemis asked softly.

Robin sucked in a huge shuddering breath. "I had a nightmare," he admitted, and his voice was smaller and more pain filled than they had ever heard it. The five of them looked at him closely, and noticed for the first time that he was just a child. He was thirteen years old, and had already experienced horrors that many people can't even imagine. He was small in this moment, just sitting there, hugging M'gann like she was the only thing keeping him alive.

None of them moved, offering silent comfort to their little brother, the youngest and maybe even strongest of them all. None of them asked what the nightmare was about, none of them wanted to know. But none of them moved away or unwrapped their arms from the small boy.

Eventually they realized that he was asleep once more, head resting against Wally's chest. Connor gently lifted him up and carried him to his room, tucking him into bed. He wanted to remove the mask, but knew that Robin's identity was one of his most guarded secrets. He settled for covering his eyes and pulling the mask off.

He made his way back to the living room, where the team was sitting in the exact same spot as before.

"Now we know why he never sleeps over here," Kaldur said.

Artemis looked up sharply. "You think this happens every night?"

"It would explain why his room is completely sound proof," Connor offered, and he watched as sadness for their bird bloomed into all of their eyes. That night, they realized that Robin was the most resilient child they had ever known, to go through all that he had and still keep going, laughing the whole way. But that night they realized something else.

No matter how mature he seemed, no matter how well he hid it, he was still a child. A strong, smart, dangerous child, but a child nonetheless.