CHAPTER SEVEN

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"I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new. What is broken is broken - and I'd rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken places as long as I lived."

-Margaret Mitchell

"A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was."

-Joseph Hall

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I woke up late the next morning to find that the Titans were gone. After that revelation, I had retreated back into my bedroom and stayed there for most of the day, lost in thought. The real question was, why had it been so... so easy? I hate to admit it, but I felt as though a huge weight had finally been lifted from my shoulders.

Slade had said that the Titans would hold me back. I suppose he was right, in a way. Their concerned, pitying stares had made my damaged heart feel heavy. I never wanted pity. In fact, I was absolutely sick of it.

The only ones left to pity me were Bruce and Alfred. However, I knew I would never drive either of them away as easily as I had the Titans. They would stay by my side no matter what... even if I didn't want them to. Everywhere I go, their presences seemed to loom over me, making the air thick with tension and difficult to breathe.

Bruce placed a hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged it off.

Alfred offered to talk.

I shook my head.

I was tired of them walking on eggshells whenever they were near me.

I was making my way to the front door that evening when I noticed the Bat Signal lighting up the sky, watching as the jet black vehicle that could only belong to the Dark Knight sped into the depths of the city. I felt a pang of anger at being left behind, but it subsided quickly. I wasn't Robin anymore, so it shouldn't have mattered.

But it did. For some sick and twisted reason I was infuriated, because Bruce was supposed to trust me, was supposed to tell me when there was an attack against Gotham, because Bruce had never truly trusted me, and most of all...

Because Slade had trusted me. He'd trusted me with loaded, lethal weapons while on missions. He had trusted me to watch his back and work efficiently. He'd trusted me to be his apprentice and to learn his trade.

And I trusted him. Despite the cruelty, Slade had truly taught me how to fight and defeat any sort of enemy. I had trusted him to keep me safe, to teach me, to be my mentor.

Batman had never trusted me in full. We'd had our initial falling-out because he hadn't treated me as an equal, hadn't shown me respect, hadn't trusted me...

I made up my mind at last.

The hours ticked by, dragging on and on. I waited until I saw the Batmobile approaching the hidden entrance.

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Bruce Wayne wasn't one to take a situation completely at face value, but what he saw when he pulled into the Cave made his blood freeze.

It had been a minor emergency compared to what he usually dealt with, and the police had taken care of most of the damage by the time he had arrived. All the Batman had to do was drag the Joker back to Arkham Asylum and his work was done. As he entered the Cave, though... that's when his night took a turn for the worst. Bruce stopped the car and jumped out, leaving it running. His hands clenched into fists as he fought the urge to gape or shout or fight or just... do anything to further upset the current predicament.

Because Dick stood in the headlights, fully packed bags sitting on the ground at his feet. In one hand he carefully clutched a rolled-up, large piece of paper- his poster of the Flying Graysons.

But that wasn't the half of it.

Because Richard Grayson stood before Bruce... in his full Apprentice suit.

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A/N

Don't kill me, please! Little bird boy is never happy, is he? I'm going to try to wrap up this story very soon, probably in another chapter or so, mainly because I have so many story ideas for so many fandoms to write! (Let's see... Avengers, Hellsing, Avatar TLA, Danny Phantom, etc.)

School has me incredibly busy lately (heh, and watching Supernatural...) and that's why this chapter is so short. It's better to at least post SOMETHING rather than leave you all waiting forever and ever *cough* again *cough*

I've been having a hard time with writers block for this fandom, so I want to hurry up and finish this story before I lose my Teen Titans muse completely.

Special thanks to all readers, reviewers, followers, and fav'ers for showing support for my randomness despite the sporadic updates! Huggles for you all!

Also, here's a little shameless plug: check out Sadie Aurora Night's story, "The Insane Truth." And thanks for the feedback, Sadie, I appreciate it!