Chapter Text
Dick stared at the wall, glassy-eyed as he woke slowly, the sounds of his parent's bodies hitting the floor still ringing in his ears. There were wet tear tracks, nearly froze on his cheeks. He couldn’t feel his hands. It was cold, despite the number of bodies crammed into the small room filled with bunks pressed tightly together. He pulled his thin cloak tightly around him, the lack of thick winter blankets left him with little more than a threadbare sheet to keep him warm.
He was so so cold–
It was still mid-Autumn. He wasn’t sure he’d make it through winter. It wasn't unheard of for young kids to die at the orphanage from neglect and lack of resources.
How long had he been there? Weeks? Months? Not quite a full year. He was sure he was still 8. He was sure his birthday hadn’t passed…
He hadn’t spoken to any of the other kids since his arrival. He hadn't spoken to anyone since that night. He'd been disconnected from the world since he watched his parents fall. He felt floaty, and outside of himself, and nothing had been able to ground him. Except for the ever-present cold.
Dick closed his eyes but he wouldn’t sleep. Not with how much his body was shivering.
He heard the sound of a door opening, accompanied by hushed voices and shuffling, then the door closed again.
Dick curled in on himself as the shuffling grew louder and louder until it was right next to him.
Dick turned over and was met with the sharp and fiery gaze of a young boy with black hair and teal eyes, Dick stared back as the new kid scowled down at him. The roots of the hair at the front of his head were showing white, only visible due to the stark contrast of his dark curly hair.
He watched as the younger boy climbed the ladder onto the bunk above him without saying a word.
Dick turned to face the wall, another shiver wracking his body as he let himself be pulled back into the nightmares.
Dick spent the next couple of weeks not speaking to his new bunkmate or anyone else for that matter. He tried to keep his head down and avoid getting into trouble. He'd learned pretty early on that bad kids didn’t get fed.
Apparently, the new kid didn’t know this and had gotten into a fight his first week here.
Dick had seen how the boy tried to hide it when he clutched his stomach in pain as hunger wracked his body. It made something twist in Dick’s chest.
He made up his mind. He went looking for the boy after lunch, a chunk of bread tucked under his coat. The boy wasn’t anywhere inside the building, so Dick checked the grounds next. He found the kid halfway up a tree and tucked between the branches, hidden behind the red and yellow leaves.
The kid spotted him, glaring at Dick through the leaves, “Go away.”
“You hungry?” His voice was gravelly from disuse. He'd nearly forgotten what his own voice sounded like beyond his screams in his nightmares.
The boy stared down at him from the trees, as if challenging Dick to see if the older boy was mocking him. Dick pulled the bread out of his cloak and stretched his arm up to the boy.
The kid glanced between him and the bread before reaching down and snatching it out of his hand.
Dick smiled. It wouldn’t be enough, but hopefully, it would help with the pain. Sharp eyes followed him as he turned to head back inside.
The moon was full, and Dick was practically vibrating with energy. Despite everything that had happened, he craved the rush of air that came with flying between the trapeze.
Sneaking out of the orphanage was easy. No one really cared who came and went. An empty bed meant more food and blankets for everyone else, so no one really bat an eye whenever someone slipped out through the window.
Dick landed softly on the dead grass beneath his boots and began moving toward the trees at the far end of the property.
It didn’t take long for him to get the hang of swinging from the lower branches of the trees, flipping as he dismounted and landed perfectly on his feet.
Dick spun around at the sound of a twig snapping behind him. He was met with teal-blue eyes that seemed to glow green in the darkness. His bunkmate stepped into the moonlight. His hair was longer now than when he’d show up a month or so ago, the white roots were more grown out leaving a small white streak in his hair.
The kid itched at his own skin as he glared at Dick, “What'r you doin’ out here?”
Dick placed his hands on his hips and loomed over the shorter boy, “I could ask you the same thing.”
The lower half of the boy’s face was buried in his cloak. Wasn’t the kid cold?
“You shouldn’t be out here. You could get in trouble,” His bunkmate fidgeted with the hem of his cloak, not meeting Dick’s eyes.
Dick crossed his arm, “Says the kid who got into a fight on their first day.”
The kid looked away and shoved his hands into his pockets, “I didn’t start it.”
“Yeah? Then who did?”
“One've the big kids. Don’ know ‘is name. Tried ta take my food.”
“And you fought back.”
The kid looked up at him and nodded.
Dick sighed, “Ok. Then how about you eat meals with me? Less people will bother you if you’re not alone.”
The kid seemed reluctant, but thought it over before nodding, “Ok.”
“Great! What’s your name?”
“Jason.”
“Nice to meet you, Jason! I’m Dick,” Dick smiled and stuck out his hand.
Jason looked at him with a pinched expression before reluctantly taking the older boy’s hand and shaking it.
“What'r you doin' here?”
Dick set down the book he was reading and looked up at the boy nestled in the branches of the tree above him.
“I’m reading? Why?’
“No, why'r you here? With me?”
Dick blinked in confusion, “Why not?”
Jason seemed to sneer at that, “M' bad luck,” Jason gestured to the ever-growing lock of white in his hair, “M' no good to hang around.”
Dick stared at Jason, looking for any signs that the kid might be joking. He found none.
“I don’t think so. I like hanging out with you.”
Jason blinked, taken aback by the words.
“I don’ think you get it. I’m cursed.”
Dick stared at Jason before looking around dramatically, letting out an exaggerated sigh, and leaning back against the tree, “Well, I don’t see anything bad goin' on, must be a lame curse. Think I’ll stay right here,” Dick picked up his book and continued from where he left off to make a point that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Jason didn’t protest, instead turning back over to stare at the sky.
It was pleasantly silent between them as they spent the afternoon outside in the autumn chill.
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For stayin'," Jason shrugged, “Most people don’t.”
Dick huffed, “Well, you’re stuck with me.”
“Yer really stubborn.”
“I am, deal with it.”
Dick found Jason curled up underneath the branches of the familiar tree with a book in his hands. The kid was glaring at the pages, as if they had personally offended him. Jason’s white streak of hair had grown out fully in the few months the boy had been at the orphanage, the forelock sticking out starkly against the rest of his wavy black hair.
“Whatcha reading, Jay?”
Jason glanced at him, “I–– I’m not sure…” His brows furrowed deeper as he scowled at the book.
Dick sat beside him and peered at the cover. The faded image of a little red leaf was imprinted on the cover, along with the words Acorns, Bales & Cobwebs –– a children's book. Dick’s parents had read it to him years ago when they taught him how to read.
“Can I see?”
Dick sat next to Jason pressed up against the trunk of the tree and leaned over to look at the book. Jason glanced up at him and back at the book, adjusting it so they could both see the open pages.
“What do you need help with?”
Jason pointed at a passage on the page, “I don’t know what this means.”
Dick read the passage, speaking each word aloud so that Jason would get the pronunciation. They stopped whenever Jason had a particularly hard time with a word, or didn’t understand its meaning. The kid was determined, and he seemed to brighten with each word that he learned.
Dick pulled them up as it started to get dark, promising that he’d keep reading with Jason once they were inside.
Dick spent the next few weeks going through the whole book with Jason until the kid had nearly memorized it.
Once they finished that book, Jason pulled another book out of thin air and stared expectantly up at Dick. Dick smiled and nodded, cracking the book open to the first page as they began to read together.
Winter brought bone-deep cold to the orphanage.
Dick held his arms tightly around himself as he shivered violently against the chill. The thin sheet they were each provided did little to keep him warm. He flexed his fingers, his hands had started to go numb–– probably not a great sign, and he was still shaking.
“Dick?”
Dick turned to see Jason peering over the edge of the bed, looking down at him with pinched brows.
Another violent shiver wracked through his body before he could respond and tell Jason not to worry, but Jason was at his side in an instant, small warm hands wrapping around Dick’s numb fingers.
Jason was tugging at him now, threatening to pull Dick free of what little warmth the thin blanket provided.
“Dickie, c’mon. 'S warmer up top.”
Dick blinked up at Jason, processing the words and nodding. He made sure to grab his sheet and pillow.
It wasn’t easy for Dick to wrap his numb hands around the rungs of the ladder, but he’d held onto a trapeze bar in similar conditions so he managed his way up onto the top bunk.
Jason followed after him, making sure Dick was under both of their blankets before burring himself into Dick’s side. Dick sighed at the very welcomed warmth, pulling Jason closer to his side. The smaller boy stiffened for a moment before relaxing into the hug.
Jason was warm–– really warm. Warm in a way that would have made Dick worry any other day. Tonight, he was content to sleep, warmer than he had been in weeks.
Dick woke up to the sounds of hiccuping sobs. They were soft, barely audible over the sounds of the dozens of sleeping children in the room, but loud enough to pull him from his slumber.
He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as the sound came again next to him.
Jason’s small body was shivering, but not from the cold. His eyes were closed, but tears still streamed down his cheeks.
“Jay–– wake up,” Dick shook Jason’s shoulders gently in an attempt to pull the younger boy from the nightmare.
Jason’s eyes shot open and he let out a gasp, scrambling back against the wall, eyes wide as he looked frantically around the room.
Dick opened his arms, palms up in an attempt to make himself look as open as possible, “Hey! Jay, it’s me–– it’s just me.”
Jason’s erratic gaze finally focused on Dick, heaving breaths slowing as reality seemed to set in. After a moment, Jason’s breathing evened out, and a red blush of embarrassment reached his ears.
Jason pulled his knees to his chest and refused to meet Dick’s gaze, “Sorry… did I wake ya'?”
Dick shook his head, “No, I was up. But you can always wake me up if the dreams are too scary.”
Jason huffed and turned away.
Dick crossed his arms and pouted, “I mean it! Nightmares are no fun. I get them sometimes too.”
Jason looked startled at that, “Really?”
Dick nodded, uncrossing his arms “Really really.”
Jason stared into the distance for a moment before his eyes flicked back to Dick, “Ok.”
“Ok?” Dick raised an eyebrow.
Jason nodded, “Ok.”
The next time Jason had a nightmare, Dick held him tightly, humming a melody his mom used to sing him until the boy fell back asleep.