Robin one shot part 3!

A mask behind a mask

"Fine. Fine."

"You're not looking fine," Artemis stated sceptically. Her voice. Shit. His eyes darted around. Everyone had caught on. No. No this was bad. He needed to go. There wasn't enough air in here. The bathroom wouldn't have enough. He needed to go outside. Okay, he could make a good excuse. He wasn't too far in the thick of it. If he used some of that bat training maybe he could give himself a second to spurt some stupid off the cuff excuse then he could runoff. Maybe running or the sea would take him out of it. He knew he needed to ground himself somehow. "He feels anxious. Terribly anxious," Miss Martian stated. "It's very overwhelming."

"No!" he shouted. They looked even more worried. Noise control Robin. "I mean no. I'm whelmed. Fine. Yep. Mhm. Need to uh uh air." 

With that, he ran off. He ran from the training room and managed to run onto the beach from there. He slowed down due to the sand but he managed to get far enough to hide behind one of the big rocks. The tide luckily wasn't in but it was creeping up the sand so he wouldn't be able to stay there all day. For now, he was safe. He pressed his back against the cool rock and tried to work through it. He could do it and if he couldn't then this was one of the occasions where he passed out. Robin wondered if they'd ask about it later. He wouldn't be able to play it off. The persona that took years to build might be dead. Dead and gone. Never able to return to full glory. His mind was racing and he needed it to shut up for five minutes so he could just breathe. When did he last check his breathing? He didn't think he ever did. He checked it. Fast. Too fast. Okay, counting. 1. 234. No that's not how he was supposed to do it. 1. 2. 3. 456. Stop it!

Everyone stood still for a moment. "What was that?" Connor asked. 

"Bats, does he usually do that?" Green Arrow asked. Batman shook his head. 

"Return to sparring. I'll handle this," he stated before running after his protege. They all stood still for a moment until Black Canary gave the signal for them to continue. The Dark Knight ran down the hall, checking Robin's room only to find it empty. He checked the bathrooms. Empty. He checked the showers. No one was there. "Think, what did he say?" Batman muttered. Robin said he needed air. Where could he be if he needed air? When he said that at galas, that meant he was going outside. There should be an exit around here to go out onto the beach. He dashed out onto the beach and looked around. He strained his ears to hear anything over the roar of the crashing waves. For a split-second, he heard it. A soft whimper. He ran in the direction. "Robin? Where are you?" he shouted. There was no response but then again he didn't expect one. He searched the beach until he finally spotted a blotch of red and black. Robin was slumped against a rock, his knees wobbling as his chest heaved up and down. He ran towards him and knelt down in front of him. He slowly took the teens trembling hands into his own and gave him a concerned smile. "Hey chum, it's me. Can you do something for me?" Robin forced himself to glance at his mentor. He was in the thick of it now. "I want you to copy my breathing. That's it. You don't have to speak." Robin nodded to show he understood. "In...out...in...out. You've got it just keep doing that for me." 

"B," Robin wheezed. He didn't have the energy to continue that thought. His small hands tightened into fists as he got frustrated with himself. Why wouldn't his mouth just do what he told it to? "It's alright. I've got you. Just keep breathing." 

For a while, they just focused on getting Robin's breathing right. He didn't mind. Breathing so fast was making him feel sick and he wanted that nipped in the bud as soon as possible. When he got to a semi even place with his breathing, his knees finally gave out. Batman caught him and held him close. He rubbed soothing circles on his back and lightly rocked to help him calm down. "I've got you, son. I'm right here."

"M sorry," Robin mumbled into his shoulder.

"Whatever for?"

"This," he replied. He nuzzled into Batman's shoulder, his eyelids feeling unbelievably heavy. He was always wiped out after these attacks. He'd always say he was just tired from patrol but he supposed now that excuse wasn't going to fly anymore. "Robin, how often do you have these?" the older asked. He sounded worried and, if Robin wasn't so tired, he would've lied to save his feelings but he couldn't find the strength. If he answered the questions now, there wouldn't be as many later. "Three a month at least," he muttered. He heard the other suck in a breath. "B, it's fine."

"No, it isn't. These attacks aren't good for you."

"Really? That's news to me," Robin said sarcastically. 

"Haha funny." There was a moment of quiet. "I'm sorry I didn't notice these sooner." The younger made a noise that the other couldn't quite decipher but he knew it was meant to be dismissive of the comment. He chuckled lowly and pulled back so he could look at his ward. The colour was very slowly coming back to his face but he looked drained. "You pretend to be okay, don't you?" The question was meant to be asked within his head but he'd accidentally said it aloud. Robin stared at him then nodded. 

"M okay just have days. M not supposed to feel sucky," he replied.

"You can feel sucky. You've been through so much. You have a right to feel that way even if you haven't gone through what you did," Batman explained. He cupped the other's face and gave him the biggest smile he could muster. "You're still my protege no matter what."

"What 'bout everyone else?"

"They don't care because they feel the same. This business does this to people and you said it yourself it's only on some days." Robin nodded and moved back to hug his mentor. He knew he could be clingy after an attack but it was odd that he finally had a person to cling to. Normally he'd just use his pillow or his backpack for that comfort. "Do you want to go home?" He nodded. "Alright. How about you start on getting some rest and I'll get you home."

"Are you gonna tell anyone?"

"Not unless you give me permission to."

"Tell 'em what happened so they don't think I died." Batman could feel the small smirk on Robin's face when he spoke. 

The sparring never got to the level it had once been before since everyone was worried. Their worry wasn't helped when Batman walked in with Robin bundled up in his arms asleep. "Is he alright?" Black Canary asked, maternal instincts kicking in.

"I believe he had a panic attack. The first one we've seen but apparently he has them often," he replied. "I'm taking him home so he can rest but he'll report for his mission tomorrow." They nodded and let him leave with the teen who was now quietly snoring. 

"He's gonna be okay right?" Kid Flash asked. His mentor nodded and watched the Zetatubes for a moment. 

"I think Robin just showed how human he really is."