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When Bruce first took Dick in, he wasn't sure about Robin. He had his doubts, he didn't know what to really think. But he couldn't stop Dick, not really. The boy was really stealthy.
So he set rules, let him be. And in the first couple of weeks Robin was more of a help for victims, for children, than Batman was for months. He smiled at them, always knew what to say, how to make them feel better.
And Bruce watched him with wonder in his eyes. There was something magical in Dick, in the way he could charm people and make them feel better.
Bruce knew he wasn’t an exception.
But seeing Nightwing roaming through the sky, so free and happy, was something different. He saw how his eldest son grew to be someone different , to be everything Bruce never was. Dick was better than him in every way that mattered. And Dick wasn’t him .
He could see his son become his own person, his own hero. Find his own place in the world. He could feel amazement and pride as he watched on the side lines, as much as he hated to lose his place in Dick’s life.
And he felt safe in the knowledge Dick will be able to take care of himself.
“Let me go, you fucker!” Matt yelled, as the asshole he tried to rob held him a foot over the ground. Matt’s hoodie will be soon torn apart because of this asshole . And it’s not like he had another one.
“You are the one who tried to steal my wallet, kid” the ass smirked .
“‘m not a kid. And iss your fault anyway. It’s Bludhaven, you don’t just walk around in that jacked” Matt hissed and tried to escape again.
“Of course. How dare I?!” the jackass tried to be over-dramatic.
“So, you’ve caught me. What are you gonna do? Call fucking cops?”
“Hm… Buy you clothes. That hoodie looks like it’s going to fall apart at any moment.”
“What?” Matt stopped, halfway through the motion.
“And then, lunch. And we can talk. Do you have a place to stay…”
“Matt.”
“Nice to meet you Matt. My name’s Dick.”
Matt blinked, convinced it was a joke.
But hours later, with a full stomach, new hoodie and in a warm bed, it was hard to regret the decision to trust a nice stranger.
“Momma?”
“Shsh, Lu, don’t cry” Viki hugged her sister from behind. It was fine. She won’t panic. Lu needs her now.
But Lu needs to stop crying, because if she won’t then Viki will starts to panic too and they won’t do anything and will never find mom and-
“Did you lose something?”
Viki jumps at the voice, taking Lu far, far away from it. Strange voices were bad. Mamma says so. But the stranger was wearing a mask and black-and-blue suit. He looked a little bit like Batman!
Except he was smiling, and Batman never smiled. Or so Viki heard. She didn’t believe it, because everyone had to smile. Even if she sometimes didn’t think she would ever smile again, she had for Lu. And even then, she used to . So Batman couldn’t never smile .
And there was another thing about the stranger. He was holding Lu’s teddy bear.
Which means it was harder to keep her sister away.
“Mr. Teddy!”
“Shsh, Lu, don’t” Viki whispered.
“I wanna Mr. Teddy!”
And the stranger… throw it at them. It wasn’t hard to catch and as soon as Lu had the toy in her hands, she was calmer.
“Mr. Teddy! Thank you! Thank you! Mr. Blue, are you a hero? Would you help us find our mamma too?”
And her sister looked at the stranger with stars and hope in her eyes. And Viki knew it’s a lost fight.
But the stranger smiled at them and nodded.
And hours later they were both back with their mom, hugging her and crying.
And Viki never forgot Nightwing, too.
Clark has watched Dick since he was a child. And he could see that child in the young man who he saw swinging through Bludhaven’s streets today.
The love and dedication Dick had for this place… this city… these people. It was something special.
“I don’t want to be him… I don’t want to be so obsessed, consumed…Yet I turn around and…”
But what Clark saw wasn't an obsession. It was a passion.
Dick loved his city, his people. He wanted to do his best to help, to make their lives better. He fighted so much more than just crimes, he tried to wage a one-person war against corruption of the entire city.
And he never loses his light. Not even for a moment. Dick never lets his guilt consume him, never tries to hide his kindness and humanity under the blanket of terror.
Clark saw Nightwing with the victim, with people, and it was so different from Batman, yet exactly how he remembered Robin.
Nightwing was a source of light in a city breathing and living in darkness.
And Clark was more than happy to be there, by his side. To support him however he can and see with his own eyes all the good he’s doing.
And he was ecstatic to be part of Dick’s way to greatness.