A/N: So, I'm beginning to think that I don't know the meaning of a oneshot anymore XD

"Just Aqualad."

It was stupid, beyond stupid even, for Robin to feel the stab in his chest that he did when his mentor bit out those two words. They were two simple words, eleven insignificant letters, and yet they somehow possessed the ability to cripple the Boy Wonder from the inside out. He wouldn't show it though, he couldn't show it, not in front of the one man he had to prove his strength to.

So Robin simply glanced up at Aqualad, turned his hidden eyes to briefly meet Batman's own covered ones, and then walked off.

Hurt and anger were two very closely-knit emotions, especially in Dick Grayson's heart. The only times he ever got truly angry were times when he felt like he'd been stabbed straight in the heart with a rusty knife, and when that happened he would have to find some way to channel that anger non-destructively. He'd seen what he could do when in a blind rage, and the guilt of it afterwards was just not worth it.

So he trained. Whenever he got so furiously hurt that he became angry, Dick would train. He would push his body to its limit, waiting until every single muscle and bone in his body was screaming for him to stop before finally collapsing in a near broken heap. He absolutely hated it when he got like this.

Dick tried, very hard, to minimize the things that could put him in this kind of a mood, and over the years he'd succeeded in eliminating most of them. However, the one thing that never failed to affect Dick's emotions in ways that nothing else could, was Batman. Batman and his damned way of doing things abiding by only what he wanted, without even giving thought to the effects his decisions may have on someone else.

As Robin, Dick could take whatever Batman decided to dish out, intentional or not. Robin was Batman's faithful sidekick/partner, and so knew better than to question him. Dick, on the other hand, was a thirteen-year-old who wanted nothing more than to make his father proud of him.

Being adopted was both a blessing and a curse at times. Dick knew it was most definitely a blessing, because it meant that he had a warm home and loving father and butler to help him grow up. At the same time however, knowing that someone willingly took you into their home and life when you had nothing caused a seed of guilt to bud in the back of one's mind. The need to prove yourself and make your adoptive parent proud was so much stronger when the, completely irrational, notion that they took you in and could just as easily kick you out was always present somewhere in your head.

That's why Dick tried so hard, as both Dick Grayson and Robin. He made sure he was on top of his classes in school, making the honor roll and even the mathletes, and as Robin he made sure that he trained as hard as he could to keep up with and maybe someday be on par with his mentor. That said, because he tried so hard all of the time, when he did fail it was more painful to take than any physical blow dealt to his body.

So when Batman had brushed him aside to instead talk to Aqualad, Robin took it in stride while Dick saw it as the worst failure he could have committed. They'd all screwed up on the last mission, and yet only Aqualad seemed important enough to call out on it. To Dick, it felt like he'd just been kicked out into the cold and told to never come back.

So he trained. Back at Wayne Manor in the workout room Bruce had specially made for him, Dick took to the rings. Twenty feet in the air with nothing between him and the ground other than a few mats was where Dick felt he had to be at the moment. He could escape up there, losing himself in the motions he'd been trained to do since he could walk, and he could think.

Batman must have had a reason for singling Aqualad out, he always had a reason for every action he did. But that didn't stop it from hurting, and that's what made Dick so angry. He was angry that one person, one insignificant moment, could do this to him. But it was Batman, the person he would always look up to and respect, so he would be angry. Because it was Batman.

Dismounting from the rings had never been a problem for Dick. He'd do his flips and twirls and then simply leap off and land solidly on his feet like he was made for it. With thoughts clouding his mind however, Dick could tell from the instant his feet made shaky contact with the top of a balancing stand that he'd just botched another thing up.

Falling back into an easy flip, Dick finally made it to the ground but slammed his back into the wall, causing his already shaky temper to flare up again and drive his fist into the concrete, leaving a satisfyingly deep indent. Staring at the indent for a moment, Dick ignored the slight throbbing in his knuckles and wondered when the hell he would get over stupid things like this.

Deciding that he'd done enough damage for the night, Dick grabbed a towel and bottle of water before sinking onto a bench and unscrewing the bottle. Taking a large gulp of the cool liquid did wonders for the teen's frazzled nerves.

The sound of the door swishing open made Dick bite back a groan. He was so not ready to deal with Alfred trying to get him to talk about his feelings yet. When Alfred announced that Bruce wanted to see him however, Dick knew he had to follow and face whatever backlash was coming. Knowing the Wayne heir, there were probably at least five cameras in the workout room that had just documented Dick's lapse in self-control.

Following the butler's gesture to walk out into the back courtyard off the kitchen, Dick was surprised to feel the weight of a basketball suddenly situate itself between his hands.

"What's this?" He demanded, looking up to see Bruce standing there in a white tank and sweats.

"Training, hand eye coordination." Bruce explained, a slight smile lighting upon his face.

Dick paused for a moment, eyes never leaving his father. This was his father, the man beneath the cold cowl of Batman, and although Batman had hurt and would no doubt continue to hurt Robin in the future, Bruce would never do such a thing to Dick. And Dick knew this, because even though he would always look up to and respect Batman, it was the man underneath the superhero suit that he loved.

Feeling a grin spread across his face, Dick tilted his head a bit in a challenging manner.

"One on one?"

Just you and me?

"If you think you can handle it."

Always.