Chapter Text
Slade made his way through the crowded streets of New York City. The crush of humanity prickled against his nerves and he stretched his senses to take in the people around him. He allowed himself to move with the crowd, blending effortlessly and knowing that he could easily best anyone who threatened him. He could see the puff of his breath as the sun started sinking towards the horizon. It was early September and the city was expecting its first major snowfall any day.
He passed a narrow alley almost without noticing it but something that sounded like a sob brushed at the edge of his hearing and he turned back, flowing effortlessly back through the crowd and entering the alley. He pressed himself against the wall in the shadow of the building and glanced down the narrow corridor. The alley ended in a T as the passage he was walking through was cut off by another building. He inched his way down the narrow walkway and the sound brushed against his senses again. Now he was sure it was someone crying, he couldn't be sure but the voice behind the sobs sounded young.
Normally he wouldn't have bothered but he had already finished the contract that had brought him to the New York and if there was a child he could at least take him to the nearest shelter. He quickly reached the end of the alley and looked both ways. The direction to the left ended in the street and he could see the bustle of people as they tried to get where they were going before nightfall. The other end of the alley extended into rapidly lengthening shadows and he heard the sound again. He was now positive that it was a child.
He moved more quickly and it wasn't until he reached the end of the alley that he found the source of the sound. A small dark haired child was curled up behind the line of trashcans and the boy curled into a tighter ball when he realized that he had been found. The kid looked to be about three or four, he was so skinny yet there was something about him, something that struck him as familiar about the child. He knelt and gently brushed the limp hair away from the boy's dirt and tear streaked face, trying to place where he had seen the kid before.
The boy finally looked up at him and Slade came face to face with the brightest blue eyes he had seen in ages. The child's eyes reminded him so much of his boys, both of whom were currently living with their mother in Germany. He surveyed the youth in front of him, aside from being dirty and looking a little haggard he didn't look like he belonged on the streets. The thin jeans, gray hooded sweatshirt, and scuffed tennis shoes didn't look worn enough for the boy to have been on the streets for more than a day or two at the most. It meant that the boy had either gotten lost or had run away from something.
He gently brushed the limp hair back out of the boy's face and slipped his jacket off his shoulders. It was rapidly getting colder as the sun set and it was not safe for the boy to be out in the cold like this. “Do you know where your parents are?” Immediately tears rose to the child's eyes and Slade gently wiped them away as they fell.
“They're dead. I saw them die.” The boy started to cry harder and Slade was at a loss of what to do. He knew why the boy was on the streets but he was still no closer to finding out the kid's identity.
“What's your name?”
“Dick... Richard, Richard Grayson.” The pieces immediately fell into place and Slade stared at the boy in front of him. If he had made the right connections he knew exactly who the kid was. It had been all over the papers and the news for the two days he had been in New York. He had to be sure though, Grayson wasn't an all together uncommon name.
“Were your parents named John and Mary?” Dick nodded and Slade wiped away the fresh tears as they tracked down Dick's cheeks. The kid's face had been advertised all over the news when he had run away. The authorities had labeled his parents' deaths as murders and there was an ongoing investigation into the cities' organized crime. The heat was so strong that Slade had almost canceled the job he had been hired to do, almost. He had a professional code to keep. He didn't accept money for a job and then not go through with it.
Now he was stuck in an alley with a runaway child whose parents were dead and the temperature was rapidly dropping. He knew that he had to decide whether to leave the boy, take him to a shelter, or take him back to his hotel room. Shivers racked the child's form and more tears brimmed at the boy's bright blue eyes, eyes that reminded him way too much of Joey's the last time the boy had skinned his knee.
He held out his coat. “It's going to be okay. Come here. It's too cold for you to stay out here alone.” The boy stayed put, obviously remembering whatever his mother had told him about strangers and weighing that warning against the possibility that he would have to stay on the streets by himself. His mother's words obviously lost the battle as Dick stood on shaking legs and picked up a small bag that looked like a knotted pillowcase before moving into the warmth of the offered coat. Slade wrapped the material around the boy's shivering body and scooped Dick into his arms. The size of the garment dwarfed the small boy but he could tell by the way the child curled against his chest that Dick appreciated his kindness.
With the boy in his arms he had to decide whether to take the boy to his hotel, or a shelter. He decided on a shelter and quickly began moving in the direction of the nearest one that was on the way to his hotel. He didn't see any reason to walk any further than he had to and he reached the shelter rather quickly. As he neared it he started to reconsider dropping the boy there. Even from a half a block away he could see the small crowd that was gathering at the doors. The cold had obviously driven the city's homeless to seek shelter early. He almost left the boy anyway until he looked down to find that Dick had fallen asleep in his arms. That tore it, the kid was coming back to his hotel and he hailed a cab.
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Dick didn't realize that he had fallen asleep until he felt himself being shifted. He awoke with a start to find the man who had found him in the alley looking down at him. The man reached toward him and Dick squeezed his eyes shut in fright. He didn't know why he had agreed to come with the man, but at the time anything had been better than staying in the alley alone. He was surprised when the man gently brushed his hair away from his face and wiped away the tears that had worked their way past his lashes.
“It's okay Dick. I'm not going to hurt you.” Dick nodded and looked around his surroundings. He guessed that it was a hotel room, nicer than any hotel room he had ever spent the night in by far. The bed he was lying on was soft and he suddenly felt scared and lonely, he hadn't eaten or bathed in almost two days and the sudden pangs in his stomach reminded him of that fact.
The man seemed to realize the same things as he leaned down beside the bed and picked up the pillowcase which he placed beside the boy.
“I think that this is yours.” Dick nodded and reached over to take the bag. He quickly loosened the knots and checked to make sure everything he had grabbed from his family's trailer was still there and released a sigh of relief when he saw that it was. “Why don't you go take a bath and I'll get you something to eat.” Dick looked up at the man and nodded as Slade placed a hotel menu in his hand. “Pick what you want then go clean up. Do you have clean clothes?” Dick shook his head. He had only grabbed one set of extra clothes when he had left, having been more concerned with small keepsakes of his mom and dad then with clothes and he had only realized his mistake after he was lost.
He almost started to cry again but the man shushed him gently and pointed to the menu. The sudden lurch of his stomach at the possibility of food caused him to looked down and he flipped the menu over to the place where the children's menu normally was. He found something that sounded okay and pointed it out. “I'd like this please.” The man nodded and took the menu from him before going over to his suitcase and opening it. He moved some clothing around and finally pulled out a polo shirt which he threw to Dick.
“Put that on. It's way to big for you but its clean and you can sleep in it.” Dick nodded and tucked the shirt under his arm as he headed for the bathroom. Slade watched him disappear and waited till he heard the water running before calling room service. The boy didn't come out for nearly twenty minutes and Slade was getting worried when the door finally opened and the boy slipped out. To say the shirt was too big was an understatement, it was several sizes too big and fell well past the boy's knees and even fully buttoned hung loosely on his shoulders. It was amusing but Slade didn't allow himself to laugh as the boy blushed a bright crimson before going to his bag, removing another pair of jeans, and pulling them on.
Slade patted the couch beside where he was sitting and chuckled slightly as watched the boy climb up to sit beside him. He could see the boy's early training as an acrobat in each of the boy's movements and the boy gracefully tucked his legs under his body as he curled in the corner of the couch. Slade took the time to study the boy until the kid turned his bright blue eyes on him.
“Thank you.” Slade shook his head.
“You're welcome.” He didn't bother to go into a long-winded explanation of why he had taken the boy in, especially when he wasn't sure what had made him seek the boy out in the first place. He also had no idea what he was going to do with the boy in the morning. The silence stretched between them until Slade picked up the TV remote and handed it to Dick. He didn't know if there would be anything suitable for the boy to watch but anything was better than silence.
It was another fifteen minutes before the boy's food arrived and after having it added to his bill Slade headed off to take his own shower while the boy ate. When he returned he wasn't surprised to find the kid curled in a small ball and sleeping soundly. A sad smile crossed his face, how many times had he seen his own boys in similar positions?
He walked over to the closet and removed the extra blanket and pillow from the top shelf. He knelt in front of Dick and eased his arm under the boy so he was supporting the child's head and shoulders. He then lifted the boy enough to slip the pillow under his head. As he lowered Dick back down the child stirred but didn't awaken and Slade tucked the blanket around the small boy. When it appeared that Dick was comfortable he turned down the lights and the TV and went to bed as well.