Chapter Text
Bruce Wayne came back home and crashed on his bed after his nightly patrol after closing a long investigation. He didn’t want to patrol for the next night, he just wanted to relax or even do something fun. He hadn’t done that in a long time. Maybe go out to watch a movie or a play. Wait, didn’t Alfred say some traveling circus was coming to town? Maybe he could check it out.
After asking Alfred the name and googling it, he found that the circus would be performing the very next day.
“Alright then! I’ll go to the circus after work.” he said, happy to go do a fun activity.
Bruce feels a wave of relief and excitement as he closes his laptop having just finished today’s work. Fun circus, here he comes.
It felt a bit strange feeling this excited. He wasn’t used to it. How long had it been since he’d had actual fun.
As he walks out of the building and to his car, he thinks about what kind of performances he’ll get to see. He hadn’t really looked much into Haly’s circus and had only heard a couple of people in the office talking about it and something about Flying Graysons. He assumed it was one of the performances and left it at that.
The circus was wonderful. The food was delicious, the performances were flawless and engaging and Bruce was mesmerized. But the more time passed, the more curious he got. Everyone kept talking about the Flying Graysons. Apparently it was this couple and their young son who did aerial acrobatics without a safety net. Bruce couldn’t help but feel worried. You’d think they’d take precautions at least for the kid. It didn’t help that earlier he’d seen some people arguing with the ringmaster, only for him to go quiet with a shocked look on his face. The ringmaster looked kind of on edge during the shows. He wanted to see what was going on, but Alfred had strictly told him to try and forget any crime-related stuff and enjoy this one fun evening. That’s alright, he’ll ask the ringmaster about it later.
The time finally came for the Flying Graysons to make their appearance.
Their trapeze performance was amazing. A bit scary at times because, again, no net. Then their son arrived standing on the platform across from his parents.
And wow. That was a CHILD. Bruce had expected a 14 or 15 year old given his supposed incredible feat that even his parents couldn't do. That boy looked no older than 10. Now he was really worried about the no net thing.
The parents swang across the room, hands extended out, ready to catch their son.
That’s when he saw it.
The bolts. They were gone. The hooks holding them up were at the very top the poles.
And then it happened. They slid off.
Bruce’s heart sank as the two acrobats plummeted to the ground. Gasps erupted through the room as they hit floor. Bruce looked up to see the boy still standing on the platform. He didn’t jump yet thank god. But he was now on his knees looking down at his parents in disbelief.
The circus closed early. Paramedics came and covered the bodies.
‘So much for a fun night’ Bruce thought.
He looked around to see if coud find those people from earlier before heading back. He didn’t see them anywhere.
“He doesn’t have any other relatives.” the rindmaster said, “And his parents took care of all his needs so we don’t have custody of him.”
Bruce didn’t mean to eavesdrop but he was very close by.
“We can place him in our foster care system.” a man in a suit said.
Oh hell no. That’s not happening. Whenever someone sujets the foster system in gotham, it’s either a trafficking ring or the actual foster system which is very poorly managed and dangerous.
Bruce wouldn’t let that poor kid go through that.