Dick waited patiently inside the guest room, hair sticking up in many different directions. His hands on his lap, fingers entwined with one another as he glanced towards the door.

Soon, the boy entered the room, holding his flip phone in his left hand. Dick immediately got to his feet, looking at the boy expectantly. "What did he say?"

"He's going on a business trip to Beijing." Gar replied with a short sigh. "So it's just gonna be me for a while."

"And how long is that?"

"Two months."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Gar's fever had gotten a little better overnight, but was still higher than average temperature. Dick didn't want to let the kid go until he made sure Gar had physically (and emotionally) improved. And whenever he found himself asking his conscience why he was willing to help this kid so bad, Dick always replied as simply as possible: it was his duty.

"Are you gonna go home now?" He asked Gar carefully, sitting back on the old plastic chair.

Gar shifted uncomfortably and let a weak chuckle escape his lips. "Not like I actually have any other choice, do I?"

"You want me to walk you home?"

"... I think I'll be okay."

The rather hesitant reply made Dick's eyesbrows furrow. "You sure?"

"I think I've already been an enough burden for you." Gar shook his head.

The single word 'burden' almost made Dick's heart stop right there. The thought itself that Gar had just referred to himself as a burden made him feel guilty, as if it were his fault.

It probably was.

"Okay, you're gonna stop talking right there." Dick ordered gently but firmly, jumping out of his seat and took a few steps forward, stopping in front of the boy. His hand lifted to land on Gar's shoulder.

"Gar." He started, his gaze softening. "Don't ever think you're a burden to me. To anyone. You're a very special kid, and there's absolutely no reason for you to feel guilty for being a person."

"I'm sorry I kept you up all night." Gar apologized carefully. "You really didn't need to."

"Everyone needs help, adult, teenager, every child." Dick told him, hand not leaving Gar's tense shoulder. "It's normal needing help. So don't you ever say sorry for being human."

Gar's tense muscles relaxed, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. "Thanks, Dick." He replied, eyes leaving his feet to look at his eyes. "That means a lot."

"I'm walking you home, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good."

After Gar took a quick wash at the public bathroom sink, they headed out with their jackets and coats on. The cold winter breeze brushed against their skin, puffs of air dissolved as foggy clouds into the air.

Dick followed Gar down a few blocks, and none of them really said anything on the way. Both of them were too busy trying to keep themselves warm. Gar's ears were as red as fresh cherries, which, Dick thought, deeply contrasted with his striking green hair.

They soon arrived at a small neighborhood, which Dick was quite familiar with. He'd been there a few times for several crime invesitagtions, taking care of house arrests. It was a pretty dangerous area among town.

Gar lead Dick to a row of houses, all of them grey and black and old, vines climbing up walls like snakes up trees, windows boarded up and if not, glass panes dirty as if someone had intentionally pained them with black paint (which was possibly the case).

Dick had been so focused on inspecting the houses and streets, thinking about how worn down the neighborhood was, that he didn't even notice that Gar had stopped in his tracks right in front of him. When he finally felt his shoulder bump into Gar's back, he snapped back into attention. "Gar?"

No response.

"Gar, what's wrong?"

Gar's hand grasped behind his back and latched onto Dick's forearm so quickly that he almost flinched. Before he could even question, Gar spoke up first, voice shaky.

"Ryder's waiting for me." He said aloud, and in an instant, Dick peered over Gar's shoulder to see Ryder, the birthday boy, and a few other he recognized from the incident the day before. All four were leaning on the fences of one particularly clean house, drawing with markers on the mailbox.

Dick opened his mouth to say something, either something to calm Gar down, or spit insults at those kids with whatever curse words he could think of. But the green-haired boy beat him to it as he tugged at Dick's arm, now latching onto his sleeve.

"I wanna leave."

"Gar, is that where you live?"

"Yeah, and they're waiting for me. Dick, I wanna go somewhere else."

Gar was almost begging at this point, and Dick felt his own heart shatter upon hearing the boy's pitiful and desperate pleads. The tugs were getting stronger, and Dick's heartbeat was getting faster, and Gar's breathing was getting unsteadier.

Deciding on the only option he could think of, Dick turned around on the spot and began pulling Gar away from the house, from those kids, from those pieces of crap. He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed a number, putting the phone to his ear.

It was the second ring that she picked up.

"Hello? Dick, why didn't you come home last night? I waited, figured it was just another long investigation or something."

"Yeah, sorry, uh, things got complicated. I should've given you a call."

"You damn should have. So, what's so complicated?"

"Kory?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think we have room for a guest?"