High above the busy Gotham streets, the couple was safely hidden away from the terrors that flapped in night. Dick was up from Bludhaven having a nice social visit. Not a trace of Kevlar or Nomex. Nor was the all-knowing Oracle present at her post. In fact, the duo were merely relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

For the most part.

"Richard John Grayson! Don't make me spank you!" Babs's voice rang out through the clock tower.

Dick skidded to a halt, momentarily stopping his dodging. "You promise Babs?" he said with a devilish grin splitting across his face.

"Don't tempt me. Now get over here!"

"Uh-uh. No can do," Dick replied huddling an object close to his chest. "You'll hurt me."

"C'mon Dick, I won't hurt you. I just want the jar!"

"Hey! I stole this fair and square." He held the coveted jar up like a trophy but quickly moved it away when Babs reached for it.

"From *my* kitchen!" she retorted, lunging for it again. The plain clothes clad vigilante tossed it up in the air, away from her grasp.

"It's for your own good Babs," he said as he caught the jar deftly behind his back. "I mean, how could I just sit by and watch good fluffernutter put to waste."

"Fudge is not a waste." And with that she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Splitting it up from peanut butter is a tragedy. I can't let you do it."

"You can use it for more than sandwiches. You can put it on ice cream, make smores, make frosting, make cheesecake…" She stopped when she saw his skeptical and very disapproving look.

"Uh-huh." Dick opened the glass jar and dipped a finger in the white gooey substance. Babs watched as he popped it in his mouth. When he was done he smiled, satisfied. "You're messing with perfection."

"Hey! Don't eat it all. I need it to-"

"-to make fudge." Dick took another finger full.

"Dick, please," she implored. Babs smiled sweetly and innocently. For a few moments Dick looked as if he could resist, but eventually sighed and handed over the jar. He followed her into the kitchen.

"Such a tragedy," he repeated as she started measuring out the ingredients needed.

Babs was starting to spoon in the fluff when Dick asked, "You're not using all of it are you?"

She nodded. Dick pouted. He reached for the jar before Babs could corrupt the entire contents. She whacked his hand with the fluff covered spoon.

He looked down at the white substance now smeared on his hand. "Now that was uncalled for."

"So's this." She said taking careful aim. Once satisfied, she let a spoonful of fluff fly directly for Dick's head. There was a resounding splat as it hit its target. Babs honestly tried to keep a straight face. But when Dick's eyes rolled up and his face morphed into a stunned expression, she laughed.

He touched the gooey substance. "Aw, man. This is going to be hell to get out." He scooped up a portion of it and flung it at the counter.

"Hey, don't make a mess," she said, warding him off with the spoon.

He dipped his finger in the fluff on the counter. "Me? Make a mess?" he asked innocently, leaning closer.

"Yes, you, make a mess. See?" she gestured to the counter. He reached over and tapped her nose with his fluff-covered finger. Babs's eyes crossed as he did so.

"That's it boy wonder," Babs took another spoonful. "This means war!" Dick ducked as another spoonful hit the wall. Splat!

"No fair!" he protested as he dogged another scoop. "You've got the only jar!" Splat! Dick threw open the pantry door just in time for two more scoops to meet the wooden cabinet. He rested, hiding behind the open door. A grin split across his face as he started rummaging through it for ammo.

Utilizing his detective skills, he quickly found the other three jars of marshmallow fluff hidden carefully away.

"You've been holding out on me Babs," he said quietly as he popped the plastic cover open. Now, if he could just find something to scoop it with. He was rummaging through another shelf when two eggs hit the pantry door.

Dick opened a bag of chocolate chip cookies. He dunked the cookies in the fluff, preparing them for launch. Peering around the door, he couldn't see Babs at first. However, after a moment, he noticed her peeking out from behind the now open refrigerator door.

The chocolate cookies hit the fridge door and actually stuck …for about five seconds. Then they dropped to the ground. Babs arced a few eggs over the top of the pantry door. "Incoming!" she warned cheerfully.

Dick almost avoided all of them, but one hit his shoulder. "Okay, enough," he called out. "Truce?"

"I should trust you?" Babs asked more eggs ready in her hands.

"I'll put down the cookies, you put down the eggs. Then we'll try to clean this mess up."

"Okay. Truce," Babs said with a full squeeze bottle of chocolate syrup behind her back.

"Good," Dick replied. She watched as he shut the door, pushing aside the egg shells with his foot. He grabbed the paper towel roll from the counter then turned back to the mess. "Well," he asked, "are you going to help me? Or just stay there?"

"Gotcha!" Babs pulled the syrup from behind her back and squeezed. Dick ineffectually tried to shield himself with the towels. When she finished, he stated, "I think we need to discuss what the word 'truce' means."

Babs giggled.

"You know what Babs? I think you deserve a hug."

"You wouldn't." He moved closer. "You would! Dick!"

The two collapsed in laughter and a gooey mess on the kitchen floor. They were taking turns smearing the goo over each other, while sliding about the floor. Dick was just about to drop fluff in Babs's hair when he froze. She didn't. She took the advantage to douse his hair with flour.

"Shhh…" he commanded. "Someone's here."

Babs felt Dick go tense in her arms. His eyes scanned the room; he was unwilling to make a move before he took stock of the situation. His gaze fixed itself to dark hallway adjacent to the kitchen.

"I know you're there," Dick said confidently to the darkened space.

Batman stepped into the kitchen. He stopped as an eggshell crunched under his foot. He looked down at it reproachfully, and then shifted his gaze to the two young people.

"So this is how you spend your time?" He asked.

Babs smiled. So did Dick, until he saw the stern look on his mentor's face. The smile dropped from the young man's face and he shrugged, seemingly indifferent. Babs's smile similarly disappeared as Batman focused his attention on her.

"You," he stated, then paused ever so slightly, "weren't answering online. I can see now that you had much more . . . productive things to do."

"Sorry about that," Babs said conversationally, wiping the hair out of her face, only to get syrup on her forehead. "What did you need?"

"Nothing now. I was checking in. Thought something might be wrong. You'll excuse," he said coldly, "some of us have work to do." Batman turned to leave.

"That's not fair," Dick called out.

He had risen to his feet and was now confronting his former guardian. "That's not fair," he repeated, "and you know it."

The bat turned but said nothing. He stood in the door way listening.

"You know damn well how hard she works. It's only been twenty minutes. Twenty minutes, Bruce." The young man was livid and about to say more when Babs gently touched his arm. She shook her head slightly, in an effort to get Dick to drop it.

Dick turned to look in Babs's beseeching eyes. He sighed and dropped his defensive posture. "Ever think of taking a day off," he asked wearily. Batman remained impassive. "No, of course not. You need to relax, have fun." But the bat had already turned away and Dick was speaking to a now retreating form. "It's a fairly simple concept. You just need to loosen up." Still no reaction.

Dick looked at the near empty container of fluff a few feet away.

Dick looked at Babs.

She followed his gaze, immediately getting the intention of the young man. She shook her head but did so with a smile. That smile was all the encouragement Dick needed.

He picked up the sticky container and dug out a heaping spoonful. In no time the white projectile had landed on a black cowl. Batman stopped. Dick tried to hand the spoon over to Babs but she was having none of it. He hid it behind his back as Batman spun around.

He glared at the two youngsters. They looked…at him warily, unsure of his reaction. But only for a minute, because in the next, a glob of the sticky substance slid off the cowl falling onto the suit, thus prompting laughter.

The Batman was not amused.

"Aw, c'mon Bruce," Dick protested. "You've never had fun in a food fight?"

"I've never been in a food fight. Never was particularly sanguine on the concept."

"He sounds like Alfred," Babs whispered to Dick.

Dick smiled at that. He spooned another scoop of fluff and launched it. "Well consider this your initiation."

The fluff missed its mark as Batman ducked out of the way. He scooped the offending substance off his costume and flung it back. Then, looked down at his gooey gloves in obvious disapproval.

Babs maneuvered away from Dick and picked up one of the unopened tubs of fluffernutter. She tossed it to Batman; he caught it out of reflex, just as Dick ducked behind the counter. Dick poked his head around the counter to see Batman popping of the lid. He turned to Barbara.

"No fair. I thought you were on my team," Dick said petulantly.

She had taken up relative safety behind the fridge again. "Uh-uh Boy Wonder. You're about to learn the term 'free-for-all'!" She grabbed an unopened bottle of carbonated water out of the fridge and started it shaking it.

Taking quick stock of the situation, Dick grabbed the remaining items from the counter top. His ammo now consisted of three eggs, one and a half jars of fluff, an almost empty bottle of chocolate syrup and half a bag of flour.

Batman had moved off to a set of cupboards obviously looking for more ammunition than a 16-ounce jar. The trio formed a rough triangle. Sufficient ammunition at all sides. However, Babs, being near the fridge, had the messier of the stock.

The next minutes effectively and not a bit systemically trashed Babs's kitchen. Eggs were hurled, soda sprayed, and fluff, of course, slapped the various counters, walls, and floor. The floor was looking quite unappealing and almost liquid. In fact, the cocoa, which Babs had planned to use, was slowly mixing with egg whites on the floor, creating a very grotesque looking substance. Suffice to say the entire kitchen was trashed.

And the three occupants weren't looking any better.

Barbara's red hair was streaked with chocolate and fluff. Her green shirt was caked with the essentials for making fudge. Along with some other foodstuffs to boot.

Dick's hair was completely white, thanks the flour he'd been doused with. He was more soaked then messy at this point. After being sprayed with seltzer water, he'd actually become fairly clean. Apparently the cleaning power of the liquid extended to raw eggs and white goo. Who would have guessed?

At the other end of the kitchen, the bat suit was relatively clean. As for the bat cape. . .that was another story. Ever the protective and menacing accessory to the attire, it worked reasonably well against syrup, flour, eggs, soder cola, and fluff. In fact, the only substance that had managed to find its way onto the suit was the fluff that had fallen there earlier.

Batman threw some rice across the room, raining the tiny grains down on the two occupants. Dick responded by lobbing the last eggs he had managed to secret away. Babs was grabbing a new bottle of Zesti, when she heard a voice clearing.

Dick, Babs, and the Batman froze as a new figure appeared at the kitchen door.

"Aren't you all a little old to be having a food fight?" Robin asked.

Three pairs of eyes turned to the red and green clad figure leaning against the doorframe. Dick and Babs exchanged looks. Bruce and Dick exchanged looks. Then Babs and Dick did so again. Then with mischievous smiles, they all turned their attention back on Robin.

Robin's eyes widened with sudden comprehension.

"Uh oh," he said. Then ducked just as marshmallow fluff flew by overhead.

Splat!