Little Grayson |Titans|

|Chapter XXIII: Food, Motels & Holy Symbols|

"If you keep ordering food, my credit card is going to go over the limit here." Dick warned Liliana once, as he watched Liliana eat through most of the things on the menu on her own and Liliana rolled her eyes at his words.

"Who says that you are paying?" Liliana mumbled around a mouthful of chicken and waffles, as she held up her wallet and Dick sighed. "I swiped one of his many credit cards." She said with a laugh and Dick lifted his shoulders with an exasperated sigh.

"What the fucking hell, am I going to do with you?" He muttered and she finished the chicken and waffles, only to move on and start eating the fries that Dick had been slowly picking at, since he had ordered them. "Hey!" He complained, but he didn't bother to stop her as she was finishing his food or rather, it was her food now.

Liliana paid with "her" Credit Card and Dick was shaking his head slightly at her and she stood up, as she walked out of the restaurant and Rachel looked at her. "So, who are you?" Rachel was asking for the third time that day, since Liliana refused to answer most of her questions and Dick followed them out.

"I'm Liliana Grayson, all right?" Liliana practically growled the words at her and Rachel was stepping back. "Just stop pushing, all right? I've had enough people trying to push me into all sorts of shit all through my life. Don't try it." Liliana snapped and Rachel looked wounded a bit, as Liliana got into the passenger seat and she had her earbuds in.

"Don't take it personally, Rachel. She has always been rough around the edges." Liliana heard Dick saying and Liliana felt prickling in her eyes, more from anger then anything else and she was shaking her head slightly as she leaned her head against the window.

They stopped at a motel hours later and while Rachel was watching Game of Thrones on the television, Liliana was video-calling with Jason, Victoria and Barbara who were all talking over one another and Liliana was laughing, as she had gotten a room right next to Dick's and Rachel's, as she was shaking her head. "Would it be possible to ask just one person to speak at a time? I am good at absorbing information, but not all at once as you all very well know." She said and she was shaking her head, as someone else was trying to join the group chat. "Does anyone know a "Carmen Little" at all?" She asked.

"She's an old friend of mine." Jason spoke up at the question and Liliana narrowed her eyes slightly at him. "She is the vigilante known as Shield and she helps us out from time to time, she is useful to have when watching people's backs." He said and Liliana winced a bit, as she let the new girl into the chat.

"Hi guys, sorry I'm late." The blonde girl said and Liliana raised her eyebrows at her. "Who the fuck are you?" She asked bluntly when she noticed Liliana and in response, Liliana simply tilted her head slightly to the right, before she was shaking her head.

"I'm the creator of the group chat and this video call, I am also Batman's sidekick. The better question is, can you guess who I am?" Liliana asked coldly and the girl looked insulted. "What? You aren't gonna guess?" She asked.

"You must be the Eagle who left the team behind." Carmen's words cut deep, deeper than Liliana would care to admit and Liliana's hand closed into a fist. "You left a team that cared for you to follow--"

"Bye." Liliana spat out and just before the tears started to fall, she slammed her hand down on the leave button and she shut her eyes, as she was shaking hard and she leaned her head back against the wall, as she felt the tears falling of their own accord.

She heard her ringtone and she looked down at her phone through teary and blurred vision, as she could see that it was Jason and rather then picking up, she did the opposite and she rolled to her side to avoid it, only to hear the insistent ringtone again. Liliana cursed and she picked up the phone. "You could have warned me that she was a total bitch." Liliana snapped into the phone and Jason snorted at the words.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know she was gonna be so..."

"Bitchy?" Liliana finished and Jason laughed at her words. "I'm not angry at you. You know that right?" She clarified and he coughed.

"No shit. If you were really angry at me, I highly doubt that you would have picked up the fucking phone to answer." Jason remarked and Liliana laughed at his words, as she nodded and she flicked her camera on for the video-call and she nodded again. "How is Dick doing?" He asked and Liliana scoffed.

"Like I would know. He spends more time with this new and potentially dangerous kid, this girl Rachel Roth, then he ever spends with me." Liliana said and when she saw his eyes narrow a bit dangerously, she shook her head. "I'm not coming back yet, Jason, I can't even drive yet." She pointed out.

"So? I can come and get you." Jason pointed out and Liliana was shaking her head a little, as he looked like he was spinning around in a chair at the moment. "Look, if he isn't even paying any of his attention to you, then you should come home. You belong here with us." He said and she lowered her head slightly at the words. "Want me to come down there and kick his ass?" Jason asked and she was laughing a little, as the image of a robin-clad Jason trying to kick Dick's ass was now implanted in her mind.

"You can barely beat me, Jase. When we fight, it is a clear 50-50 chance to either one of us. But Dick has been fighting since he was twelve alongside Bruce. There is no way you could do it Jason, though it would certainly be most entertaining to watch." Liliana remarked and he was shaking his head. "Has Bruce removed my fingerprints and retina scans from the safehouses and shit?"

"No, I convinced him that you were coming back with some help from Alfred." Jason was eager to point it out and Liliana was smiling at him as she nodded slightly and there was a sudden and surprising knock on her door. Liliana looked at Jason, who nodded in understanding at the look on her face. They hung up and Liliana shut off her ringtone, before she hesitantly crept into the shadow in front of the door. She cautiously checked the peephole, before she unlocked it and she saw that Rachel was standing next to Dick.

"No." Liliana snapped and immediately, she swiftly shut the door in their faces and put the deadbolt on, just for good measure. She looked at her phone and plugged it into the wall, as she dropped into bed with the intention of letting the pillows suffocate her for a few hours at least with no nightmares but naturally with her luck, that did not happen.