Chapter Text
Bruce didn't tell him where he was going to pick up Robin, but that was okay. Dick had a rough idea of usual pick up spots from the future when he had needed to pick up Robin in the future. Though it hurt a bit to leave Bruce, he needed to get his plan in place as soon as he could. So, when he got the chance, he ducked out of the Cave and tried to beat Bruce to West Gotham, where Robin usually preferred to rendezvous (when he wasn't being a mischievous little shit and picking Tricorners or the docks to simultaneously keep them on their toes and raise their blood pressure). He just needed to find Robin first and waylay him as Dick Grayson for a little while. He could start building a rapport with him now.
Dick circled the neighborhood, eyes open and ears sharp for the 'tat-tat-tat-tat' of a skateboard on sidewalk. Bruce might not have told Dick where he was picking him up, but he did tell him when: Robin was being picked up within an hour. Dick was pretty sure that Robin would get there a little bit early so Dick bet he could find him in that time.
The minutes ticked by as Dick eagerly searched, while trying to look as casual as possible. Just as Dick was starting to worry, he spotted him, dressed as 'Alvin Draper', maskless but hooded to avoid attracting attention before Batman was close by.
Dick was seized by the desire to rush over and trap his little brother in a hug that he couldn't escape. No. Not now. Dick got himself under control, fondness filling his chest as he watched Robin do an ollie.
"Al!" He called, once he was sure he wouldn't just grab the kid, hurrying to catch up with him. The boy hopped off his board, kicking it up to his hand, and turned. He was instantly starstruck when he saw Dick Grayson come towards him, just like he was the first time they'd met. Dick was a little disappointed to see the wariness come back up a moment later, but he would fix that soon enough. "Hey, it's Al, right?" Dick grinned as he slowed down. "I don't meet a Flying Grayson fan all that often so you were kind of memorable." He added before Robin could deny it.
"Yep, Al. That's me." Robin Alvin forced a smile. "Wasn't expect to see you here. In Gotham. Officer Grayson."
"Call me Dick." He grinned. "I actually am glad I ran into you." Alvin tensed, ready to bolt. "What would you think about some acrobatic lessons?" Alvin visibly startled and elation replaced his wariness.
"Seriously?!" He blurted out. "You're offering ME lessons?!"
"I've been thinking about a career change." Dick answered breezily. "Maybe try my hand at teaching acrobatics, though gymnastics might be more realistic given the equipment requirements, so we can start there. But I want to see if I have a knack for teaching it first. Since you already know what I can do, I thought you would be a good guinea pig for teaching. I mean, if you are interested.
"Yes." Alvin actually darted a few steps forward. Score one for Nightwing Dick Grayson! "Learning from Richard Grayson?! Totally-" Alvin suddenly stiffened, his eyes narrowed. "This is a trap." He muttered, taking a step back.
Dammit.
"Why would I need to trap you, Al?" Dick asked, feigning innocence with a confused smile. Alvin frowned at him uncertainly. He knew he was Nighting and he knew that Nightwing knew that 'Alvin Draper' was Robin. The only cards in Dick's hand were that Alvin didn't know that Dick knew Al knew about his secret identity and the effect that Dick Grayson had putting stars in his little brother's eyes.
Alvin smiled innocently back. "So you don't think I'm some kind of runaway?" He continued their charade of 'he doesn't know that I know that he knows' with their identities.
"As you pointed out, you do seem a bit too clean for that." Dick agreed with an exaggerated sniff.
Alvin rolled his eyes, fighting a little smile. "So, you see I'm fine and you don't have to waste your time with me." That had Dick's face falling a little bit. He understood why his little brother felt that way about him. Dick had no one to blame but himself for Robin suspecting he had an ulterior motive when the dismissive, nearly hostile Nightwing approached him as Dick Grayson to spend time with him.
"I get why you think that." He said. "I'm," Nightwing "a cop, and even if you aren't in some kind of trouble, you're clearly friends with kids that are." Alvin's eyes skittered away from him in a nervous tell. "I just want to teach you some acrobatics. It's something I love that I want to share. So the question is... are acrobatic lessons with a Flying Grayson worth the risk of whatever you think I'm up to?"
"Yes." Alvin's answer was automatic and reflexive. He didn't even think about it. Then he flushed bright red as he realized what he had done.
Dick beamed. "Great! Got any place in Gotham in mind?" He generously decided to let Alvin pick the location. (It made it more likely Robin would let his guard down around him.) Alvin hesitated.
"Give me your number and keep your Saturday afternoon clear." Alvin threw caution to the wind. "I'll let you know where."
"Awesome!" Dick opted to scribble his number down rather than give Alvin one of his Blüd PD business cards. "I'll drive to Gotham first thing Saturday morning so you don't need to wait too long."
Alvin's eyes widened a little. "You don't have to waste your time like that!" He protested.
"It's not a waste of time. I'll be here bright and early Saturday!" Dick assured him cheerfully. It all but guaranteed that Alvin would call him. He would never let himself use up someone else's time like that and stand them up.
Dick Grayson had successfully gotten a hang out with his little brother! Now he just had to make sure that Alvin had enough fun that he would ignore his suspicions about Nightwing and keep meeting with Dick Grayson.
Dick didn't go back to the BatCave after he'd let Alvin go. He couldn't be Nightwing around Robin right now. He couldn't fake that anger and coldness when all he wanted to do was wrap Robin in a hug and never let go. He knew he was lucky to have this second chance, but he still wished he could have landed just a little bit earlier.
Just enough for him to make a good first impression as Nightwing. If Nightwing tried to hug him or invite him to a movie right now, he would be suspicious. Robin didn't trust Nightwing and he had a long way to go to bridge that mistrust and build the relationship that they had before Robin went missing. Dick could do it... but not quickly.
Nightwing was up to something. Tim couldn't think what it could possibly be. Something to do with talking him out of Robin for sure. (Tim had briefly wondered if he had succeeded at his plan to convince him he could be Robin but dismissed the possibility out of hand. It was wishful thinking. Nightwing was angry with him. Operation: Bring Nightwing Home had ended in disaster, without a single step achieved.)
But Tim couldn't say no to lessons with Dick Grayson. It was Dick Grayson. THE Dick Grayson.
So, he'd just have to be careful. And ready to spend the whole evening losing him. (Though if the lesson ended late enough, maybe he could just go from him to the Cave for patrol and avoid going home between them all together.)
Tim happened to know a gym owner on the edge of Little Odessa who owed him a favor. (Him being Alvin Draper, for getting a photo that proved his, now ex, wife was running an illegal fight ring out of the gym and kept him in business and out of prison.) Alexi had proven exuberant and fond of 'Alvin', always trying to push food on him and if Alvin ever needed to lose someone or evade the Bats Alexi let him hide under the boxing ring and sneak out the window.
Alexi had seemed excited when Tim asked if he and a friend could borrow a corner, though Tim did try to imply that he shouldn't tell Dick too much. Alexi's gym wasn't set up for acrobatics, it was more of a boxing, weight lifting place, but Alexi agreed to set up a few mats for them, so they could at least work on some gymnastics.
Most importantly, Alexi would be there. He could be trusted to run interference with Dick if Tim needed him to. (He'd covered for him before, distracting a busybody cop with feigned broken English interspersed with Russian insults.)
Tim called the night before to confirm the lesson. He had manners, Dick deserved a chance to back out and Tim would rather be disappointed over the phone than in person, waiting for him to show up. He told Dick to meet him in front of Brigadoon's Café, which he knew was one of Dick's favorite places for coffee. He didn't want to risk Dick paying a late night visit to Alexi's gym before he had a better idea what the trap was. They would walk over there after Dick got his coffee.
For some reason, Dick hadn't wanted to wanted to let him get off the phone. It wasn't as though he could trace the call, there was no reason to keep talking to him for any longer. Yet every time Tim tried to wrap the call up, Dick asked him another question. He only, reluctantly, let him go when Tim more empathetically pointed out the time. Even then, Tim was the first one to actually hang up.
Batman was notably lighter on patrol that night. Nightwing had been coming by more often, though Robin never saw him. It was all weird. Dick Grayson was reaching out while Nightwing was, quite literally, climbing a laundry chute to avoid him.
Tim got to Brigadoon's Café early but Dick was already there, his fingers tapping nervously on his drink (probably whatever they had on special). Dick spotted Tim before he could decide how to approach him and lit up. "Al!" He bounded over to him. "You're early!" He nearly dazzled Tim with his beaming smile. His arms twitched as if he were about to grab Tim, but they stopped when Tim took a step back. "They have a guava danish, I got you one." Tim secretly loved guavas, and most tropical fruit that wasn't exactly cheap in Gotham, but he wasn't going to be eating anything Dick got him, just in case.
"I already ate." He said, politely.
"You can have it after our lesson." Dick said, unbothered.
"...Sure... um, you want to start a bit early...?" Tim gestured vaguely in the direction that they were headed.
"I'd love to." Dick clasped his shoulder affectionately and Tim instinctively leaned into it. "Lead the way." The hand didn't leave his shoulder, though it did morph into an arm slung across it as they walked. It stayed there until they made it to the gym and Tim didn't shrug it off either.
Alexi enthusiastically greeted them before pointing the pair to the mats he'd set up for them. He went back to his office, door open, as always, to keep an eye on things.
Dick pulled off his sweatshirt, Tim had intentionally worn a hoodie that was light enough to keep on. He hoped that he'd done enough to hide his identity with the hood pulled low and a so-so make up job that he'd spent an hour and a half and a dozen make up tutorials adjusting. He thought he looked a bit different from Timothy Drake, though not nearly as different as the people in the contours video looked.
"Alright! Warm up stretches first!" Dick declared. "Let's get started!"
Dick fucking loved this kid. Just teaching him some basic gymnastics reminded Dick why he loved it. Alvin was going to be so good at acrobatics once they got somewhere with proper equipment. Dick already itched to get the kid up on a trapeze and show him the true joy of flight (again and sooner this time). Dick adjusted Alvin a few times and even got to catch him in something like a hug when he was spotting him!
Dick was getting a head start on teaching his little brother. This time, he was going to do it right. This time, Dick would have his little brother flying like a true Grayson before all of the other vigilantes that Robin drew in started making their own claims on his training time. (Dick knew that even Bruce was jealous of Huntress, whom Robin sought out as earnestly has he had Batman.)
Despite how well Alvin was learning, there were still things reminding Dick how much work their relationship needed. Alvin wouldn't drink anything that Dick offered him, thankfully there was a vending machine that he did get drinks from or Dick would have needed to end their lesson early for fear of him collapsing from dehydration or something. He didn't go near the danish, even though Dick knew how much he loved guava. (Robin admitted it to him after drinking a truly terrifying amount of special edition guava flavored Zesti. The kid had been vibrating like a speedster for a full day!)
His little brother didn't trust him at all.
It hurt. A lot.
Still, even though Robin didn't trust him... he seemed to love him already. He leaned into his touch. He hung on to his every word. Robin looked at him with eyes full of excitement and joy. Despite his obvious distrust, he clearly had to remind himself not to trust Dick. He was forcing himself not to trust Dick.
If Dick could take an inch, Robin would give him a mile.
"So... same time next week?" He asked hopefully.