Prepare yourselves for excessive use of the word "bat."

XXXXX

His door opening is what roused him from his half-asleep state. He opened up his eyes far enough to see Starfire float in. She smiled at him fondly, closing his bedroom door behind her. She was in her pajamas now, hair up in a ponytail.

Robin had changed too, now in sweat pants and without a mask. He used to wear a shirt, but whenever Starfire slept over, it always seemed to disappear. So he just stopped wearing one.

"Greetings," she murmured.

He smiled at her groggily. "Hey, Star."

"You are tired, yes?"

He only nodded. She slid into bed next to him, curling up at his side. Robin slipped an arm around her.

"You had a most tiring day," she went on.

"Being kidnapped takes a lot out of you," Robin acknowledged.

"But this Harley Quinn woman, she did not harm you?"

He smiled at her. "The worst she did was ruin my cape."

She smiled back at him. "I am glad. I like you when you are in good health."

"I like me in good health too," he chuckled. He dipped his head down to capture her lips in a lingering kiss. It was soft and unrushed and what he needed after everything that happened today.

Starfire withdrew after a long moment. Her eyes were worried now, brows furrowed.

Robin slid his fingers through her ponytail. "What's wrong, Star?"

"We still have the, er...Batman delimea."

Robin groaned at that. He let his head flop back on his pillow. "Don't remind me."

"He did not seem...pleased to hear the news of our relationship."

To be exact, Bruce had given them a Bat-glare to end all Bat-glares for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, he reached for his belt.

"The authorities are already on their way." He shot his grappling hook to the ceiling. "I trust that you will be able to handle Quinn now without trouble."

Robin and Starfire looked back at the upside down, barely conscious villainess.

"Um, yeah," Robin said. "I think so."

Starfire ventured to speak up. "I thank you for your assistance is rescuing Robin. We could not have done it without you."

"I'm aware of that."

Robin winced and Starfure shrank back. The sound of police sirens pulled their attention away from Batman. When they looked back, he was gone.

Robin really hated when Bruce did that.

So yeah. Bruce had not been "pleased" to say the least.

"Don't worry, Star. I think I have an idea on what to do about that."

"Thank X'hal."

XXXXX

After many years of Batmaning, Bruce could tell from the moment he stepped into any room if something was not quite right. It was as if after so much time, he had developed a sixth sense.

A bat-sense if you will.

Bruce always trusted his bat-sense. It had saved his bat-life on many occasions.

So when he arrived in the Batcave after a long night of Batmanning, he exited the Batmobile slowly, bat senses tuned in for any clue about why his bat-sanctuary felt...not right.

Someone was here.

Truthfully, he was in no mood for this. He'd had a long night patrolling the streets. He had been hit with a crow bar, which was annoying. He nearly broke his hand (again) on some thugs face and he was hungry. He had been looking forward to ending his long day by eating, doing a little bit of brooding, and getting a little bit of sleep. Now there was someone here in his Batcave. Which was his place.

This was a serious invasion of his privacy and he was not in the bat-mood for it.

He tried to determine who it was.

Joker? No. He was still (somehow, miraculously, but probably temporarily) locked up in Arkham.

Quinn? He doubted it. Gordon was still have a hell of a time getting her out of Jump City's custody and back to Arkham where she belonged (and would probably escape from).

This certainly didn't fit the Penguin's M.O.. Two-Face maybe but he doubted. Maybe one of his more obscure villains?

Killer Moth? Calendar Man?

Bruce decided there was no way to know without facing the intruder head on. He pulled out a batarang and slowed his steps.

He could hear a voice. Definitely a woman's. Not Quinn. Didn't fit Ivy's M.O. either. Not Selina. But familiar somehow. The woman was talking. It didn't sound like the ramblings of someone who was mentally unbalanced talking to herself.

She was talking to someone else.

Great. So there were at least two people in his Batcave.

Bruce weighed his bat-options. Two or more intruders. They had caught him off his bat-guard but seemed to be unaware if his presence, giving him a small window to gather his bat-bearings. He also had a home field (home cave?) advantage. However, he did not know what sort of weapons they had.

He had faced worse, but he didn't like it. Then he heard a third voice. This one he recognized instantly.

It was Alfred.

And now, while his beloved butler was usually too British to emote much of anything, he would have sounded more concerned than his typical sarcastic tone if it were something to worry about.

Completely stumped, Bruce decided to just come around the corner and see who was here.

He laid eyes on Dick, in his Robin uniform, looking very much at home sitting in Bruce's bat-chair. Alfred stood near by, looking his usual politely indifferent. While surprising, this would not normally be cause for concern. But flying above them both was Starfire.

She was in. His. Cave.

Dick had brought her here.

He could feel that vein in his forehead beginning to throb.

"Are there many coins of this size?" the alien was asking, floating around his giant penny.

Dick only smiled up at her fondly. Alfred answered. "I am afraid not."

"Is the Batman a collector of over-sized currency?" She looked down at Alfred.

"Oversized? No. Currency? Yes, madam."

Bruce glared.

When he did, every head in the room turned toward him.

That was the power of the bat-glare. You didn't need to see it for it to work.

Dick's smile faded in an instant as he jumped to his feet. The alien frowned, quickly planting her feet on the ground behind Dick.

Alfred merely lifted an eyebrow. Bruce ignored him.

"Uh...hey Br-I mean, Batman," his son greeted nervously.

Starfire waved shyly. "Greetings."

"Master Bruce, you have visitors," Alfred announced primly.

"Thank you, Alfred."

He stalked toward the young couple, trying to control his bat-temper. Starfire shrank back behind Dick, peeking up at Bruce with terrified green eyes. Dick looked at her, then Bruce. Seeing the fear in his girlfriend's face, his (former?) partner stood up straight. He lifted his chin and stared back at Bruce unwaveringly.

It was something he had always liked about Dick. How he had a backbone. How it was nice that Bruce had someone who wasn't afraid to stand up to him.

Even if it annoyed the living hell out of him that his bat glare didn't work on Dick very long, if at all.

"What is she doing here?" he growled, closing the distance between himself and the teens.

"I brought her here."

Bruce's eyes narrowed. "Why," he barked, his question more of a demand than an inquiry. His voice echoed through the cave. Starfire flinched.

"To meet you." Dick crossed his arms in front of his best defiantly. "Since you left before we had a chance to talk the other night."

Instead of replying, Bruce let the silence stretch. People feared him, but he had discovered rather quickly that saying nothing scared them more than he could. Silence gave them time to stew. Silence gave them time to wonder. Silence gave them time to imagine something far worse than anything Batman would be ever do.

Silence was devastating.

And on Starfire, it seemed to work. But Dick only frowned heavily. Alfred rolled his eyes.

To his surprise, the alien was the one to end the silence.

"Please." She gestured over to his computer. A greasy bag sat among his empty coffee cups. "We have brought you meat and cheese and many other delicious foods wrapped in a tortilla."

Bruce stared at the girl, but arched an eyebrow. Dick coughed nervously.

"Burritos," he explained. "We brought burritos."

Starfire offered him a very small smile. "Robin tells me they are your favorite."

He stared to glare but the sound of his stomach growling betrayed any of his anger.

"Wonderful," Alfred announced, sounding as if the situation were anything but. "I'll get the champagne."

XXXXX

They didn't have champagne. Just water.

He and Dick did. The alien girl requested mustard and a straw. Even Alfred gave pause but did as requested.

Now that sat in the Batcave at a table. Bruce went ahead and took off his gloves, cape, and cowl (since the girl already knew where he lived, there wasn't much left of his secret identity). Dick had taken his mask off too.

And they were eating burritos. In total silence.

The thing most people did not know about Bruce Wayne was that rarely did he try to be such an unreasonable hard ass. Especially in regards to Dick. He loved his son (even if he rarely said it) and was proud of him. He liked that Dick was more accepting of love and did not want to be as lonely and locked away emotionally as his bat-father.

Maybe if things were normal and they were a normal family sitting down for a normal dinner to meet his son's normal girlfriend, everything would be fine.

But it was Batman, Robin, Robin's alien princess girlfriend. In the Batcave.

Eating burritos.

And while Bruce did not want to be a hard ass and he wanted to be happy for Dick, his brain would not make it that easy. His fighter, detective, and Batman mentality overpowered the parts of him that wanted to be happy.

This girl was a danger.

She knew who they were.

She was too powerful. Too strong.

Dick was not thinking clearly. You never could when feelings were in play.

He was compromising the dynamic of the team.

He had presented every villain with an obvious weakness they would very surely exploit.

Could this alien girl be trusted long term?

Dick's desire to maintain a life outside of Robin may have been good for his own personal reasons, but it made him weaker. He'd never fulfill his full potential.

And having a life outside of superheroing very rarely worked out as ideally as one would hope.

So yes. Bruce wanted to be happy. He wanted to not glare and be suspicious of Starfire.

But he couldn't. He literally could not. He trained himself perhaps too well to allow for that.

Dick would never know how sorry Bruce was for that.

XXXXX

"Your cave is most...err, fascinating," Starfire told him, forcing a smile.

Bruce stared at her. Her smile wavered but she trudged onward.

"It is most damp," she added cheerfully.

Beside her, Dick sighed. Realizing his son was growing irritable, Bruce attempted to be a little kinder to the girl.

"Thanks." He tried to smile. He quickly gave up on that endeavor. "I'm glad you like the...dampness."

Despite Bruce's small kindness, the girl beamed at him. As if he had just paid her a very high compliment.

"I welcome you," she responded cheerily.

This seemed to make Dick happy. Now everyone was smiling and it was giving him a headache.

He had no bat-patience for this.

"The tire on the Batmobile needs to be changed," he announced, his voice filled with a sort of finality that practically dared someone to defy him. He cast his steely blue eyes on Dick. "Change it."

He dropped his burrito. "Seriously? Are you really-"

"Now, Richard."

For a long moment, the two men sat across from each other, glaring. Starfire watched them nervously. Bruce was surprised how long Dick remained seated but he eventually got up.

"Which tire?" the teen wonder asked irritably.

Bruce set his gaze on Starfire but spoke to his son. "Figure it out. Go. Now. "

Dick stomped off, mumbling expletives that were just loud enough to hear. Bruce ignored him, focusing on the alien girl.

When Dick was out of ear shot, Starfire started to speak.

"I-" she began to say.

Bruce cut her off. "Don't talk. Just listen."

Her mouth closed.

"I don't like you. The only reason I have tolerated your presence in my home and place of work is because of the fondness Dick has for you. But make no mistake, that fondness is the only thing preventing me from removing you using every bit of information I know about Tameraneans."

He narrowed his eyes.

"And I have done my research, Koriand'r."

She gasped. "How did you-"

"If you have come here seeking my approval or blessing or friendship," he continued, "you are going to leave disappointed. Nothing about what you two are doing is smart and I will never approve. I will not give you my blessing. But I can offer you my apathy.

"If I wanted to, I could play on every one of Dick's concerns and doubts until he decided to end this ill-conceived romance. But I will not do that. Instead, I will grit my teeth and look the other way. For the sole purpose of keeping my son happy."

She tilted her head inquisitively. In the distance, Dick could be heard working on the Batmobile.

"I cannot change the way I feel about this even if I wanted to." Bruce did not add that he wanted to. Desperately. "But I will accept it. I will not manipulate his doubts until he gives in to what I want. I love my son. And he loves you. You make him happy in ways I had deprived him of and am unable to provide. I will ignore my own concerns so long as he continues to be happy. As long as you are making him happy."

Bruce's tone gentled without his consent. "It isn't much, but it's all I can give to him. You are not the only one who loves him. But I hope you can do a better job than I can."

Starfire stared him silently for a few seconds. And then she did the very last thing Bruce would have expected.

She smiled at him.

Right on time, Dick returned. "Tire is changed. Anything else? Want me to change the oil too?"

Bruce wondered where Dick got his sass from. Perhaps Alfred had rubbed off on him.

He stood up. "Thanks for the burrito but I have work to do. You know the way out."

His son's jaw dropped but the alien girl merely nodded and smiled politely.

"We thank you for your time."

Dick's mouth remained open. Bruce started to breeze past him but paused.

"You always had a thing for red heads," he whispered loud enough for only Dick to hear. He smirked, just a little. "Didn't you?"

XXXXX

"What did he say to you?" Robin asked Starfire for what felt like the millionth time after they got back to the tower.

"Nothing that you should worry over."

"Did he threaten you?"

"Not at all."

He threw his arms up in exasperation. "Then what?"

"He was honest with me."

"And?"

She smiled. "He is very kind in his own way." She cupped Robin's face in her hands, pressing a kiss to his mouth. "You remind me of him and that is not a bad thing. I quite like the Batman."

XXXXX

Sorry it took so long to update. Final exams and Cheistmas break and whatnot. It didn't help that my laptop is down for the time being and I had to type this on my iPhone. Apologies if it looks a little funny; I have no clue how it will look once I submit it to .

Just wanted to say I love your reviews and I'm delighted that you liked the last chapter. Hope this one was just as good. I'd say more but my thumbs hurt so I'll catch ya next time.