Cassandra Cain

He took two steps back, entered the humble shop, and approached the two-chair window table with a wide smile. The woman immediately sensed his presence and beamed at him, radiating with gleeful recognition and kiddish excitement.

"Hey, Cass. Mind if I join you?"

Cassandra nodded and gestured at the chair with her bubble tea. She took a nice, long sip as he sat down. A waitress came along and he asked for a large-sized passion fruit tea. Meanwhile, he scanned Cassandra's incognito-esque wardrobe. A brown coat a little too long for her and a green sweatshirt. Then there was her hair, curled and parted in the middle, presenting her as a mature-type.

"You look good," Aaron said, "I like the hair especially. Experimenting?"

A small bob of the head and a tiny sip from her straw. "Mhm." She hid her blush behind the big plastic cup.

Cassandra wasn't the type to care about her appearance. She was jumbled and dishevelled and regularly said she would rather focus on important things. Said important things were either training or fighting crime and not much else. The fresh hair style was welcomed.

The waitress arrived with the bubble tea. Aaron took a small sip and his tongue melted in explosive flavour. The soft mushy tapioca balls and the passion fruit flavour was ravishing.

"Trade?" Aaron offered. Cassandra nodded and the two eagerly switched. Her drink was a basic brown sugar latte and half empty. The taste was what he expected but nevertheless tasty and he chewed on the pearls warmly. On the other end he heard a low moan.

"You like it?"

She responded with a series of quick nods and a long, hulking sip. She must have swallowed over a dozen tapioca pearls with how fast they were running up her straw. Judging by Cassandra's relaxed features, she didn't want to switch again either. He was stuck with the half empty latte.

Aaron's shoulders shook as he laughed. He didn't mind. He wasn't much of a bubble tea fanatic anyway.

"S-sorry," Cassandra muttered, having the decency to apologize over the unfairness of their trade. Aaron waved it off.

"You're fine. Drink up. I like lattes anyway."

She looked relieved. Like always, she could never see through his half-truths. Well, it was more akin to a white lie. Regardless, they sat there conversing and drinking, naturally taking in the shop's ambient atmosphere and the shrinking light of the city.

"His boyfriend sounded very nice," Cassandra said enthusiastically. "I told him to go further. Tim didn't."

"He's a detective, so he's likely overthinking things. Keep at it though, let him know that he can't stay still forever. He has to act on his feelings before it's too late. If he knows he'll regret it in the future, then Tim should do it."

Cassandra beamed at him. Tim Drake, currently Red Robin, had a boyfriend. Being who he was, one of the best detectives on the planet and the third Robin, he was afraid of committing to the relationship. Cassandra and Dick Grayson were urging him for something deeper. He didn't have to tell his boyfriend about their secret identity but he could at the very least invite him to Wayne Manor.

"Agreed," Cassandra said. She paused and looked out the window. There were still plenty of people coming from work. Her gaze locked onto the passing figure, close and far, analyzing their general state.

"Anything I can do to help?" Aaron asked as he joined her sight-seeing. He noticed she had a small black piece in her left ear. "I see you're specifically watching my building. It's because of the Ivy and Harley stuff, right?"

Another nod. "Didn't know you worked there. If I had, I would have asked–" Cassandra froze. She slowly put her drink down and her gaze shifted from out the window to him. "You were there. At the attack. That was why you were at the hospital." She latched onto his hand, filled with emotion. "Are you hurt? Did they hurt you? Did Ivy do something to you? Did Harley hit you with her hammer?" Her brows narrowed. "Wait. Sex pheromones. In the report, Ivy spread her pheromones throughout the building. Did you get–"

"No, no, I'm alright. Nothing happened. I was in the elevator by myself. I felt a little hot at first but then fell asleep." Aaron squeezed her hand and she took his pulse. "Nothing happened. I'm not hurt. See?"

He leaned back, breaking from her grip, and raised his hands in the air. Cassandra scanned him like her life depended on it and she nearly jumped out of her seat. Much to Aaron's relief, she found nothing and she retreated into her seat satisfied and nodding.

"Told to investigate by Tim," Cassandra said in a low whisper. "Lots of mysteries. Too many. All hands are on deck."

Aaron was taken aback. He took side-way glances, double-checking if anyone was listening. "Everyone? The entire Bat Family? That's not good..."

"Bruce is nervous. The League is active. We heard from Lucius that my mother and father are with the Penguin."

Lucius Fox was able to discover Cassandra's parents' involvement? From what he gathered, that was a well-guarded secret. The Penguin didn't just walk out with the two legendary mercenaries at his shoulders. No, he kept them at a safe, manageable distance. We Are Robin wouldn't leak the information either. They simply couldn't risk it due to the fragility of their organization and Aaron had already confirmed they operated separately from the Bat Family. It didn't make sense unless Lucius was somehow a part of the Robins. Unless he was–

'The Nest. The individual the Robins take orders from. It must be Lucius Fox.'

Everything made sense. How their operation worked despite their inexperience and adolescence. How they got their missions and funds. It was Lucius. As a side job, or perhaps a cog in his network, he likely founded and guided We Are Robin.

'No wonder he's ignoring his wife. He's so busy helping We Are Robin and Batman that he doesn't have time for his wife.'

He couldn't mull over this newfound knowledge for long. There were pressing issues to attend to: Cassandra.

He put his hand over Cassandra's and comforted her with a smile. "Hey. You are not your parents. And your parents…they're complicated. They must have their reasons."

Aaron sensed something was off with Cassandra from the start. First, she was talking. A lot. She never did that unless she was anxious, excited or both.

"Mm." Cassandra stared at the table, empty and unfocused. He couldn't stand to see her wallow in her misery so he put his hand on the top of her head and stroked her scalp with his fingers. She bit the bottom of her lip, enjoying the sensation but not wanting to voice it.

"Better?"

"Better."

He petted her for a few minutes, silent but snug and cozy. Bubble tea in hand, she started drinking and slurping. She was acting like a spoiled kitten–what, with her lazy, content attitude and her need for pats. It was always difficult for Aaron to believe such a docile young woman could be Batgirl.

"Alright, that's enough of that." Aaron chuckled and pulled back to Cassandra's dismay. She reached for his hands and begged to be caressed a little while longer. Aaron rolled his eyes, smiled, and did as she wanted.

The comfort, the gentle movement of his digits through her hair, his warmth. She sighed and gained peace in herself. For a moment, with his hand on her, she could let loose

"I fought my mother before. My father too," Cassandra began. "They are strong and they do bad things. Terrible things. I hate it. I defeated them so many times yet they still keep coming. They taught me so much when I was young, the things that make me strong today, and I…I shouldn't kill them, but…"

"It's hard not to consider it." Life and ****. **** and fighting. Aspects of life Aaron had never truly, deeply thought of until now. "Do you think they can change?"

Cassandra chewed on the possibility. "Mother…maybe. Father…" she trailed off. Aaron understood. David Cain struck him as a hard-head, someone with a steely mentality, who never looked back at the road he was walking, who never once questioned if it was the correct path. Cassandra did and she hoped her mother was the same.

"You have friends. Family," Aaron stressed. "Stephanie Brown, your best friend. Barbara, your mentor and confidant. With her and the others, I'm sure you could do something." Cassandra shook her head, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. Aaron exhaled. "You won't kill anyone. I know you won't," he muttered.

"How?" she asked dryly.

"I can read you just like you can read me. I know you'll never do anything out of line. Even if you, I don't know, miraculously do, even if you make a mistake or make a tough choice, always remember that I'm here. I'll always be here."

His words gave her reassurance and she looked up into his eyes with a bright light. Her brown pupils were mesmerising as they came to a conclusion: Aaron truly would be there for her no matter what she did. If she chose to kill her parents, if she chose to spare them or rehabilitate them, he would stand by her.

There was a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach but it was distinctly pleasant. The moment was pleasant. However, something buzzed and Cassandra put a finger on her earpiece.

"Nothing, Tim," Cassandra responded. "No one suspicious. I scanned."

Aaron stayed quiet while still holding her hand. His ears perked up as he listened.

"Alright, Orphan. Just, uh…come back. Yeah, I think I have an idea as to what's happening. Nightwing and Batgirl got vital information. Red Robin out."

Sometimes, Aaron hated having good ears. He eavesdropped conversations he had no business being invested in. Heard whispers no human could logically hear. Phones, ear pieces, headphones, bluetooth, it didn't matter, he could unconsciously hear it all. Regardless, he squeezed Cassandra's hand one last time.

"Gotta go?"

"Yes," Cassandra replied sadly.

"Have fun. Kick some ass." He sent an awkward thumbs-up and she grinned. The shop bell rang and she was gone. Aaron decided to stay and order dessert. He was feeling hungry and waited patiently as they brought him a slice of cake and made him pancakes.