Chapter Text
Oh he was screwed. He was so screwed. There was this crying, sobbing child in the cave and how did he get into the cave! He'd just stepped into the cave to hear the horribly raw sobs of a child. Dick didn't think he had ever cleared those stairs faster than what he had just done.
There, barely three steps from the zeta tube, knelt the kid. Tear stained cheeks, snotty nose, hiccuping and gasping, and he had a death grip on his shoulders looking like he had all but collapsed. Kid probably had. Poor thing just looked absolutely pitiful. Dick paused as he came a little closer, studying the kid's face. He recognized that face…
Ah.
Adrien. Chat Noir. His son.
Dick closed the distance, the lack of a mask the last thing on his mind. He knelt down and pulled the kid, his kid, into his arms. Dick ignored the way the stone of the cave dug into knees and instead focused on the broken child in front of him. He held him against his chest while Adrien's sobs wracked his body and by extension, Dick's. Still he refused to let go. Once upon a time, Bruce had held a crying child who had just lost everything. Dick didn't know the whole story but he knew loss, and this was loss.
Adrien shook in Dick's arms and he squeezed the kid tighter to his chest, “It's okay, I got you it's okay. I'm right here Adrien. You're not alone.”
Dick continued to whisper reassurances to Adrien, slowly carding his fingers through the kid's tangled locks. Slowly Adrien's breathing, though ragged, evened out and his tears dried. Poor kid was whooped, eyes barely open and nodding off in Dick's arms. Dick watched as Adrien's eyes fluttered shut in exhaustion. He didn't dare let go of the sleeping kid, instead he carefully rose and went back up the stairs with Adrien in his arms. Then he slipped out from behind the grandfather clock and headed for the guest rooms. Finally he entered a spare room, laying Adrien down to rest somewhere comfortable.
Dick slipped out of the guest bedroom and shut the door behind him. Then he promptly sank to the ground. Plush carpet greeted him.
What was he doing? What was Adrien doing? Why had the kid come all the way to Gotham? Why was he crying so hard…
Dick tilted his head back against the wall, unsure of what to do. Part of him, the part that Bruce had trained into him, said that he needed to keep this stranger in the cave and wear a mask. That part was swifty pushed aside because this was his son and at the very least this was a child. A kid. Dick didn't do vigilantism for fun… well mostly, but he did it to protect the weak and vulnerable. That included crying preteens who had used a zeta to transport themselves halfway across the world.
He wondered what had caused Adrien to show up crying. The detective in him dissected the situation at hand. Chat Noir had been three steps from the zeta which implied he had arrived and immediately broke into crying. Like he'd been holding something in. Adrien had also been maskless, and Dick had thought that the kid valued his secret identity so that meant that the lack of a mask wasn't intentional. The kid had most likely detransformed after he'd arrived in the cave. Adrien hadn't seemed injured, just very upset and shaken. So something had happened but what? Dick would likely have to ask.
Damian appeared at his side. Dick raised an eyebrow.
“I see that Agreste has arrived…” Damian said with a glance to the door.
Dick sighed, “I know as much as you do.”
Damian sat down with Dick which surprised him, “What do you wish to do?”
Dick shrugged, “Not sure. I'd like to find out what brought him here first though.”
Damian gave a curt nod before leaving. Which left Dick to think. Should he tell Adrien? Was it a bad time? Clearly something had happened in Paris so would this kind of news be adding to the problem? What would Adrien think once he knew? Would he hate Dick for not being around, or would Adrien even want Dick in his life? What if he wanted nothing to do with Dick… it was a possibility but it did make Dick sad to think about. The kid had been fun and they obviously shared a kindred spirit of sorts. Dick would have to respect Adrien's wishes but it would be hard, knowing he had a child out in the world who wanted nothing to do with him.
A kid he hadn't gotten the chance to love. To teach all sorts of puns and acrobatics, and pass on what his own parents had taught him. His beloved parents, who would've loved a grandchild as sweet as Adrien. Spoiled him silly and taught him all sorts of mischief just to give Dick a hard time.
The bittersweet thought made Dick smile.
Then the door opened, and a very nervous cat peered out. Dick stood up, looking at Adrien whose eyes were still puffy and raw.
Dick gave him a soft smile, “Hey there.”
Adrien frowned, “Hi… where am I?”
A valid question Dick thought, bemused.
“Welcome to Wayne Manor, my name is Dick Grayson.” He introduced.
Adrien nodded along, “I'm Adrien… but, wasn't I- hadn't I been in the batcave?”
Dick smiled, “Yes, you had been. I brought you up here.”
Chat Noir looked at Dick with a scrutinizing gaze before his eyes widened in surprise, “You're Batman aren't you?”
Dick laughed, “Cat's out of the bag huh?”