September turns into October and October turns into November. The weather turns slightly cold, although it's nothing like the biting cold of December. Early application deadlines roll in, college applications are submitted and results are awaited. Training is still carried on and Aurelia's connection with Phoenix grows even stronger. As much as she says there is now a gap between Clara and her (there is), they still share that strong bond that ties them, a connection that runs deeper than their magic or the blood they share.

Annoyed as Aurelia is at her aunt for her overprotectiveness, she can't deny that her life without Clara would be...weird to say the least. At least Clara is better than Bruce, as Dick tells her everytime she meets him.

For sure, Clara is better than Bruce; that Aurelia can confirm as a fact. She's, and Aurelia means this in the least offensive way to Bruce, a much cooler person than the brooding billionaire. Would Bruce ever tell Dick stop working so that they could watch a movie together? Nope, he wouldn't.

But Clara? She is the kind of person, the cool aunt, that will literally tug away your homework and make you sit and watch a movie with her to relax. And she even promises to do your homework for you. So beat that, Dick. (Aurelia always holds this fact above his head, just to make him jealous)

"So now that I've pulled you away from whatever you were doing, what movie do you wanna watch?" Clara holds two DVDs in her hand as she stands in front of the TV. There is a happy look on her face as she smiles at Aurelia.

"Oh so you are serious? I thought movie night was a joke," Aurelia replies, crossing her arms as she sits on the couch directly opposite the TV, behind the centre table. "Don't we have patrol to go to?"

"I know you've been stressed about all that college stuff plus you've been training really hard these days and I realised that you really deserve a break," Clara explains, offering her a warm smile. "Besides, the city can manage without us for a day. The crime rate here is almost nothing when you compare it to Gotham. At least, we can take a break."

"That we can do," Aurelia snorts, imagining Dick's reaction when she tells him that she got a break and he didn't. He is going to be so jealous and she knows she'll love the look on his face. "So what movies?"

Clara's smile widens. "A New Hope or Empire Strikes Back?"

"Star Wars, huh? But definitely the second option please."

"Empire Strikes Back it is."

Clara puts the DVD in the player, hits the play button and sits next to Aurelia, pulling her knees up on the couch. Before Aurelia can even ask about the popcorn, she waves her hand over the centre table and a bowl of steaming, hot popcorn emerges out of thin air.

"I already had it ready," Her aunt winks at her as the familiar theme tune starts to play.

The two turn their attention towards the screen, just as the opening scrawl passes the screen. Even as the movie starts, Aurelia silently thanks her aunt. She is really the best, no doubt about it. She grabs the bowl of popcorn and places it in her lap as the movie finally plays. Minutes pass and the two of them are fully engrossed in the movie. Aurelia makes a disgusted sound just as Han cuts open the Tauntaun. She's always grossed out by that part.

Clara's phone suddenly rings loudly as she reaches for the bowl of popcorn. She groans slightly, before picking up the call. "Hello?"

"Bruce, what are you calling me for? No I'm not busy."

Aurelia giggles. Of course, Bruce is calling her aunt. Of course.

"Wait, seriously? And why didn't you tell me this before?" Clara's voice suddenly sounds worried. "You really thought you could...seriously, I know you don't like magic, but you should have called me."

"Everything okay?" Aurelia asks, half her attention on her aunt and the other on the movie. But Clara doesn't reply; instead she continues to berate Bruce, scolding him for whatever reason.

"I'm coming over now and I'm coming with you to track that down. Don't stop me," Clara almost yells. After a short pause, her angry expression suddenly changes into a more solemn and grave one. "Are you sure he's okay? Bruce, you know Dick's still a kid right? If he's hurt..."

"What? Dick's hurt? How? Is he okay?" Aurelia questions immediately, the movie forgotten. "Clara, what's going on?"

Her aunt offers her a reassuring look. "Listen, I'm coming over and I'm getting Lia. Let her talk to Dick; he'll listen to her. Yeah I know, Batsy." She cuts the call and turns towards Aurelia, looking both sheepish and worried. "I guess we're going to Gotham then."

"What happened?" Aurelia asks again, keeping the popcorn bowl aside. She pauses the movie before she turns back to her aunt. "What do you mean Dick's hurt?"

"You know that random spike of magical disturbances this week? There was apparently one of them in Gotham; some sort of ghostly sighting, a phantom so to speak. Turns out while dealing with that guy, Dick got hurt about two days ago."

"What?!" Aurelia exclaims. "Why the hell are we getting to know this now? Why not that day?"

"You know Bruce, he thought he could handle it by himself," Clara replies, scoffing. "I've told him, many times, to ask for help if there's something with involved, but no. He won't do that. Him and his stupid pride."

"I don't care about that! I wanna go and see Dick, now, please. If he's hurt, then I can heal him."

"We're going, darling. We're going. You talk to him while I go and kill Bruce for letting his damn pride take over him again. Then I'll somehow bring him back and next time, slap him hard."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Aurelia grumbles. She's worried but at the same time she's also annoyed. Why didn't Dick tell her he was injured? He knows it would have been easy for her to heal him. He should have told her. He should have told her.

"Let's go," Clara says, not even bothering to change out of her pyjamas and shirt and Aurelia does the same; besides with magic, they could easily summon their clothes (even though that might be a little too draining). Her aunt doesn't even get up from the couch and holds her hand out for her, which Aurelia takes immediately. Both of them murmur 'Open Door' at the same time, feeling the magic building up inside them, as it always does.

One thing's for sure. Both Dick and Bruce are facing two annoyed sorcerers tonight. And it's not going to be good for them.

Once at the Wayne manor, Alfred is quick to usher them inside, taking them to the Batcave.

"Master Grayson and Master Wayne are currently having a disagreement," He tells them as they enter the passage to get down the cave. "About their nightly activities today, especially in regard to Master Grayson's injury."

"You mean they're arguing like a bunch of five year olds. God," Clara releases a frustrated sigh as she pinches the bridge of her nose. Alfred merely nods. "And on top of that, we've got a situation at hand."

Aurelia rubs her arm slightly. It's a little bit cold in the Batcave and she's only wearing a t-shirt right now. T-shirt with pyjamas and Batman socks with her sneakers. Embarrassing, but does she care? Nope. "At least we don't argue like that."

"Yeah, I'm glad." Clara nods towards Alfred, motioning for him to go back upwards. "We'll handle this Alfred, don't worry. Both of them are getting it from us tonight."

Alfred nods and disappears back down the passage, while Aurelia and Clara continue to walk down the passage and enter the cave. Sounds of Dick's yelling increase as they get closer and closer to the centre of the cave.

"Why the hell are you not letting me go? I said I could handle."

"You're clearly still hurt and I'm not letting you jeopardise the mission. Tracking down this phantom is of utmost important and nothing should mess it up."

"Jesus Christ, is it always about the mission with you?! Batman needs Robin and I can fight."

Aurelia exchanges a look with her aunt, who just shrugs. Seems both of them have a task ahead of them. Two prideful people, both angry...not an ideal situation. The two sorcerers step into the center of the cave as their footsteps force Bruce and Dick to break off their fight. With an angry sneer, Dick turns towards them before turning back to Bruce again.

"You called them?! So you really don't trust me do you, but you'll trust them," Dick yells angrily. "Fine, I'm not going to that stupid patrol! I'm really starting to hate you Bruce...I really am."

Dick glares at both Clara and Aurelia, before he pushes past them and goes back through the passage. Aurelia helplessly stares at him, feeling very worried. 'Where is all this coming from? He's never been this angry. Dick...what's going on with you and why aren't you telling me?'

"Bruce," Her aunt walks up to the Bat vigilante, who is already dressed in his costume, only without his cowl, which lies a few feet behind them, on the computer desk. There is a considerably dark look on his face, a lot darker than Clara ever remembers seeing. "Whatever happened between you two, you need to resolve it. As soon as we finish tracking this phantom you mentioned."

Aurelia looks between the two adults who seem to carry a silently conversation, both intensely staring at each other. "Clara, I'm going to talk to Dick," she announces as she takes a backward step towards the passage. Maybe she's only seeing this now, but there's some unresolved tension between Bruce and her aunt as well. She doesn't know how she knows it, but she does. She crosses her fingers and silently hopes Batman and Lumière don't start to argue. Now, that won't be fun at all.

The JLA would have to interfere if that ever happens. (a little dramatic, but kind of true)

Aurelia turns around as she suddenly feels the spike of tension. If Bruce and Clara also start to argue, she so doesn't want to be caught in the crossfire. She quickens her pace as she walks back towards the passage. The sudden burst of magic in the room tells her that her aunt has changed into her Lumière outfit, summoning it from her pocket dimension.

"....Did that," are the last words (from Bruce specifically) Aurelia hears before their voices disappear from view.

Aurelia pinches the bridge of her nose. 'Now to talk to Dick. Should be fun. Not.'

There's nothing to be worried about, right? It's not like Dick will blow up on her. He's her best friend (her crush, although that's not relevant).

She's not gonna scold him now; she's concerned about him. Very concerned.

It's easy to find Dick Grayson.

In his anger, he storms off to his bedroom and luckily leaves the door open so when Aurelia quietly enters, she finds him pacing near his bed. He is glaring at the ground in anger, muttering words she cannot quite catch.

"Dick?" Aurelia hesitates at the door. He snaps his head towards her, his face still twisted in anger. It scares her, if she's being honest. She doesn't want to see him like this.

"What?" Dick almost growls. "What do you want?"

"I just..." Aurelia pauses as she enters his room, not meeting Dick's eyes. "I'm kind of worried about you. You got hurt and you didn't tell me when we spoke...and now you're so angry. What's going on with you?"

"That's not your business!" His tone is harsh, words full of the anger he feels. "You and Bruce and everybody else are always so fucking nosy. Can't you see I don't want to talk to anyone...let alone you."

Aurelia flinches at his tone, but also feels a slight anger in herself. "Don't you dare talk like that to me! Don't you dare take out the anger you have for someone else on me. I hate it when people do that. And seeing you this angry? It's my business, all right. You're my closest friend out of everybody we know, even Donna. I have every right to be concerned about you."

"No, you don't. Stop acting like you care!"

"You really think I'm -? Can't you see the worry on my face? Can't you see the concern? You really think I'm faking it? Whatever the hell is going on with you, you need to tell someone, anyone if not me."

"I don't have anybody else! Don't you get that?!"

Aurelia flinches. She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath. There's no use in yelling at him; no use in being angry at him. She's supposed to help him. She releases the breath she's holding and opens her eyes, only to see that Dick has turned away from her. And oh god, is he shaking? Oh no.

Dick Grayson doesn't like to cry. He hates to be seen as vulnerable. That is why there's only a select few people that have seen him with tears. His parents, through most of his childhood till their deaths, and Bruce and Alfred when he came to live in the mansion all those years ago. They are the only people who've ever seen him cry, but now there's another addition. And of all the people in the world, it's the one person who should never see him like this.

"Dick, love, tell me what's wrong," Aurelia says, quiet in her footsteps as she walks towards him, her sneakers only making the slightest noise as they hit the floor. She doesn't even have to look at him to know that he's crying. And that really breaks her heart.

He is quick to wipe his face before he turns to look at her. But the redness still remains and so do some stray tears. Aurelia can feel her heart clench in her chest. This is the most vulnerable she's ever seen him. More vulnerable than anything.

"Oh god," She mumbles under her breath. She doesn't even know what she's doing, but she places her hands on his cheeks and wipes the remaining tears from his eyes. She offers him the most comforting smile she can, as with a secret wave of her hand she closes the door. She can handle this...right?

Dick leans into Aurelia's touch, closing his eyes as he wills himself to stop feeling so weepy. No more tears. No more tears. "Sorry."

"No, don't apologise," Aurelia tells him in a comforting voice. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Come on, why don't we sit on the bed?" She drops her hands from his cheeks, before she takes one of Dick's hands and tugs him along towards the bed. She makes him sit first before she sits next to him, still holding his hand.

"I shouldn't have talked to you the way I did earlier. Sorry about that."

"Dick, it's okay. It really is."

"No it's not. It's not."

"I don't understand. What are you-"

"I can't hurt you. I don't want to hurt you. Do you have any idea how much you mean to me? I can't lose you."

"You could never hurt me," Aurelia places her hand on his left knee and squeezes it gently, comfortingly. "And you won't lose me either. I promise you that."

After a short pause, she continues to speak. "You got injured right? Let me see it. Maybe the Phoenix and I can help with the injuries."

"I don't think I need help, but thanks for offering," Dick replies, covering her hand with his. He needs comfort, and right now, for him, it's Aurelia who is offering that to him. Comfort, warmth and love. Love. The word hits him suddenly, like someone hit him on the head with a brick (and that may have happened before...). It is a realisation that he'd never imagine getting.

Dick trusts her. And at age seventeen, love might be too big of a label, but he's pretty sure he loves her. "Can I...um.."

"Yeah, what is it?" Aurelia tilts her head and offers him a smile. "What do you need?"

Dick gently removes her hand from his, and taps her thigh. "Whenever I was, you know...my mom used to...this feels a little embarrassing to say out loud." When he looks towards Aurelia, she is still smiling. Ignoring the sudden increase in his heart rate (at least he doesn't have tears in his eyes now), he continues to speak. "Actually, you know what? It's fine. I'm fine."

She looks at him, rather curious, as though trying to understand what he means. A second later it dawns on her and she looks away from him, smiling to herself. "Oh you're cute."

"What? What was that?" Dick looks at her, surprised but also curious.

"Come here, Boy Wonder. I think I know what you are talking about." Aurelia puts an arm around his shoulder, before she gently pulls him downwards, placing his head in her lap and basically forces him to lay on the bed. "You're adorable."

"I'm not," Dick immediately denies, sending her a glare. But he's thankful that she's realised what he means.

He turns away and almost buries his face in her stomach, before he stops himself from doing it. It's not right...especially if they aren't even a couple. He flinches slightly, when he feels Aurelia's fingers starting to stroke his hair. But as she continues to do it, the feeling that spreads through him is of warmth. It calms him, making him feel much better than before.

Dick looks up at her, finding her with eyes closed. There seems to be a faint glow around her face and her lips move softly but quickly, like she is saying something as fast as she can. He's never noticed before but her lips are nice to look at, just like the rest of her...(wait, no; that feels like he's objectifying her, which he is not. She's pretty and that's that.)

"I can feel you staring, Boy Wonder. Do you want to say something?"

"No. nothing. You just keep on doing what you're doing. That's all."

"Are you sure?"

"A hundred percent. Whatever you're doing, it's making me feel better. Thank you."

"You're welcome, but don't forget, I will ask you what was wrong earlier. I'm not letting that go."

"I don't expect you too."

Aurelia just nods her head slightly. Pretending to put a nonchalant image is tough right now, but she's doing it. Just for a few more minutes and then she can stop, turn away from Dick and blush to her heart's content.

He trusts her, right? So he'll tell her what went wrong and what made him angry. She knows he will. But what if he doesn't? What he doesn't tell her? What if he deflects...because something tells her Dick Grayson will do that. He's like that.

"Do you miss them? Your parents." The words are out of her mouth before she can stop them. Aurelia winces slightly. What a dumb question. Of course, he's going to miss his parents. "Sorry that was stupid of me to say. You must miss them right? I mean, the way they died was so brutal and I can't even begin to think what you must have been feeling." (Is she going to babble? She's going to babble)

Aurelia doesn't dare look at Dick, who's suddenly gone very still, but she continues to talk. "My parents are dead too, although I'm sure you already knew that, so I don't even know why I'm telling you that. I was, what? Seven or eight when they died, so I barely remember them. I don't even remember how they sound like. I just have these memories of them, them smiling and all. But the family I had with them...that's gone. Clara took me in and gave me a second family with her. I was...I am happy with her. She's the one person in the world, besides you, that I care about with all my heart. She's family and no matter how much we argue and fight and not speak to each other, she's still family. We talk, we love each other, we argue...but that's what families do, right? Especially the dysfunctional families we both have.

She takes a deep breath, before continuing. "I guess what I'm trying to say here is Bruce is your family. He may have adopted you because of that dark night, pun not intended, in your life and trained to be a fighting machine, but he does care for you. Even if he doesn't show it. So talk to him. Not as Batman or Robin...but as Bruce and Dick. As father and son."

Dick suddenly gets off her lap, sits up straight, grabs her shoulders and proceeds to stare at her intensely. "You care about me?"

Aurelia pouts slightly, ignoring the sudden butterflies that seemed to be fluttering in her stomach. "I make such an awesome speech and that's the part you pick up on?"

"Ten on ten for that speech. You always know what to say," Dick replies matter-of-factly, still holding her by her shoulders and intensely staring into her eyes. "But...you care about me?"

"Always the tone of surprise with you," Aurelia mumbles, looking away from him and towards her hands. "Is that so hard to believe that I care about you? You literally, not ten minutes, said I mean a lot to you. And I'm saying the same thing to you. So, believe me, I care about you."

Dick drops his hands from her shoulders. "Look at me, Lia. Please."

"What?" Aurelia turns her head to meet his eyes and she nearly melts at the look he's giving her. Nobody has ever looked at her like that. Nobody. "Uh..why are you looking at me like that?"

"What do you mean?" Dick says, sounding confused, but the look on his face still remains. She's completely gone now...she's in too deep.

"Like, I don't know," Aurelia plays with her fingers, while looking back at him. "Like I am the only person here, now...like I'm the one for you...like-like you l-love me."

Dick is the one who looks away now and if she wasn't sitting so close to him, she would have completely missed his next words and her heart wouldn't have quite literally, exploded with feelings.

"I do...I'm pretty sure I do. I'm in love with you, Lia. So much."

(Yeah...Aurelia's in too deep now)

^^ me seeing your reactions to this chapter and that cliffhanger at the end 😂😂

is this too quick for a confession? maybe. but this story is kind of a fast burn, so things will go a little fast. But DICK CONFESSED!!!! AHH! IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY TO FINALLY POST THIS

I knew this was going to be an important chapter and I was going to add "the kiss" but that's gonna come next 😉. The cliffhanger was always intended though, and that moment with Clara was also pretty fun to write. All in all, I think this is my favorite chapter out of all the ones I've written so far.

I really hope you guys enjoyed reading this! Let me know what you think in the comments below! 💖💖