TW:BLOOD

Robin was sure he was built to deal with more than the average person. Who else could get stabbed downtown and end up back inside Teen Titan's Tower conscious without dying? There was a knife still in him too which really sold that he had to have been built for this career. Granted, he was still freaking out on the inside because there was a knife in him and as he walked through the hallway to the infirmary it didn't help that one of the only few sounds that accompanied him on the journey was his blood dripping to the floor. Already he was thinking about the recovery time on this. Ten days was the regular time but he wasn't regular so he could cut this in half and then cut it in half again if he really needed to get out there which he really did. Jump City was almost as bad as Gotham so he had to be on the money especially with a blooming team to build credit for. He had to show everyone he was the best choice of a leader and that meant doing the hard jobs like patrolling all night, potentially bleeding out and getting blood all over the walls. He'd clean that up in the morning. "Robin!" Starfire yelled. Starfire? She shouldn't be up. She needed to get rest so they could do training tomorrow. He couldn't train her tomorrow though he wouldn't be in the best condition. He'd be high as a kite on painkillers and in no way prepared to teach her. Although, she was already good at fighting. Maybe she could take over those duties whilst he recovered but he couldn't ask that of her. "Robin?" she shouted again although this time she was much closer. Blood loss was one hell of a thing, he'd tell her that for nothing. He should warn her and the others about it. In fact, he could draw on everything he learned through torture sessions, fights and so on. That could be traumatizing but the business was traumatising. They'd get hurt and see things. "You are bleed- IS THAT A KNIFE?"  

"Yes. Not a serrated knife though. I'll be okay," he assured her. "Just need to get to the infirmary and fix myself up."

"What's going on?" Raven asked tiredly. Of course she was tired, it had to be two in the morning right now. He looked over to her standing at the end of the hallway alongside Cyborg and Beast Boy. All of which needed to be in bed. He woke them up. He should be quieter next time he came in. He wasn't doing the patrol with other people now, it was just him who was used to it. "A knife-" 

"A knife is in me, I know, that's why I need to go to the infirmary."

"Why do you have a knife in you?" Cyborg shouted.

"Because I was stabbed on patrol? Why else would there be a knife in me?"

"You were stabbed?" Beast Boy shrieked. Oh yeah, these people hadn't been in Gotham. He needed to remember that these heroes weren't seasoned like him or the sidekicks he was friends with. He should check up on the others at some point but right now he needed to concentrate on the knife wound. His hand was getting tired from putting pressure on it to stop the blood from pouring out any further. 

"Yes, I was stabbed. I feel like we're going in circles." Robin continued his journey to the infirmary only now he had a group of teenagers behind him asking the same questions about the knife only reworded. 

Their medical supplies were fully stocked, thanks to an anonymous donor that was totally not Bruce Wayne. Even running away couldn't get the old man to take a step back so if Robin let him pay for a few things here and there then at least he was getting the most out of their fractured relationship. He walked around the room, gathering various things he needed before setting up a blood transfusion because he was very sure he lost half a bag. He should figure out their blood types before they did any missions together just in case. They shouldn't be bleeding out under his watch. He turned on the overhead light to the cot as he put the IV into his forearm and taped it down. "You guys should go back to bed," he told them as they continued to bicker about the knife. They were going to be exhausted tomorrow. 

"How? You have a knife-"

"You really should get desensitized to this stuff. It happens all the time," he replied casually. They made a face at that. "What?"

"You said it happens all the time. How many times have you been stabbed?" Cyborg asked as he finished up the transfusion. Now to move on to the stab wound. He slid further back onto the cot and leaned against the back of it to prop himself up and give him the best viewpoint. Stitches were always the worst part but he'd gotten good at that. Cleaning was painful but he'd gotten used to it and it was much better than an infection. The recovery on that would be too long and they didn't have time to wait around for him to get back up. 

"A lot? I stopped counting after the twentieth time," he admitted. 

"Dude, twenty is a lot," Beast Boy pointed out. "Am I gonna get stabbed?"

"Probably. You're a vigilante now BB, getting hurt is part of the job. This isn't even the worst I've been hurt before." He hissed as he pulled the knife out and let out a small whine as he cleaned out the wound. The knife looked clean but just because it looked clean didn't mean there weren't bacteria. 

"What is the worst?" Starfire asked. Morbid curiosity was an old friend of his and he knew she wouldn't give up. He liked that about her. What he did know about morbid curiosity was that the answer never really made you feel better. If anything it made you more upset. Yet if he was going to trust her with work then he had to tell her things. They all had to know things. Besides, he'd always have his name. They'd never need to know his name to trust him because no one else was using their real names. That could be his thing. Oh no but secrets were bad. He'd think about that one. Shelf it for now. 

"Uhm, I was nearly beaten to death?" There was a long silence and he got to work stitching himself up. 

"That sounds intense. Are you okay?" Raven asked. He paused. It was the only time he'd paused at a question. He looked up at her and furrowed his eyebrows. 

"Uhm, I could be better since I'm currently sewing myself up but I'm good. New team, new city, I get to still be Robin. All good things." She hummed but didn't believe him. He didn't know why. 

"She asked if you were okay not if you're good. I thought heroes were supposed to get therapy? Isn't that why the Wayne Industry sent us information on it and offered to pay?" Cyborg offered. 

"Wayne can shove his offer up-" he paused and suddenly lost all fire. "I don't like Wayne and Bats don't do therapy."

"Maybe they should?" He shrugged. Here came the walls. God, he forgot about the walls he'd been forced to put up. Poor team. They'd have to break through them before they got to any of that juicy personal knowledge. Maybe he'd put them down again. Not now though. Right now he was their leader and he was going to be strong. "I'll make sure he gets to bed. You three hit the hay," Cyborg announced. 

"You can all go to bed. It's not the first time I've sewn myself up and it certainly won't be the last." The older shook his head and shooed the young crowd of heroes out of the room, clearly he was putting his foot down. Was there a new leader now? No Robin couldn't be replaced that easily. That was so quick. Did he do something wrong? Already? At least with Batman, he got kicked after a good few years in the business. All he did was get stabbed, he didn't know that was off the table. Was that a rule he was supposed to know?

For a while, Cyborg left him to his own devices as he finished up then put his hand on his shoulder when he was done. "Hey, I know this whole thing is new right now and it's great we have you as a leader but-"

"But I'm fired? Are you making me step down?" The older shook his head with a smile that felt comforting just to look at it let alone be the person it was directed at. It was nice. It'd been longer than Robin had previously thought since he felt that. 

"No, you're still our leader with good reason. What I was going to say is if you ever needed to talk, we're here." Here. They were here for him. Like Batgirl had been there for him until she wasn't. How Batman was there for him until he wasn't. He shouldn't compare them though. That wasn't fair and it wasn't fair to say Batgirl and Batman had left them high and dry. They just weren't there at an important time and their efforts to make up for it only felt disingenuous. At least, right now they felt that way. Maybe later he'd feel different. 

"You mean it?" Robin asked softly.

"I mean it. We wanna be there for you. You really scared us coming in with a knife in you."

"Sorry. I'm just so used to Bats not being so perturbed by it," he replied. 

"That doesn't sound very healthy," Cyborg offered. The younger let out a dark chuckle.

"Nothing about this business is, Cy, but I'm going to do my best to protect you all from it. More than B did," he replied.

"Let's get you some painkillers then bed okay? Maybe we can talk about this later?" He nodded. Being a leader might not be so hard if he kept being a leader to work rather than personal life. He wasn't Batman. He didn't have to be Batman. He just had to be Robin and Robin didn't have to be like Batman. 

"I think that'd be nice."