Archive of Our Own ^beta

The last thing Dick– Batman expected to see on his patrol was a kid on the roof of an apartment building with wings. He also didn’t expect, upon further investigation, the wings to be made out of red wax and gold wire. He lands on the roof behind the kid loudly, trying not to sneak up on him. “What are you doing up here?” The kid turns around with the happiest look on his face. “Batman! Look, I’m just like you now!” The wings, strapped to the kid with cords of black leather around his shoulders and torso, extend a bit and fan out behind him, apparently articulated. Dick is really hoping this kid doesn’t jump. “Very cool, kid. What’s your name?” “I’m Tim,” the kid happily exclaims. “I made these all by myself. I can fly like you now!” Dick curses his decision to parade around as a guy with “wings” at night. He should have ditched the cape like he thought. 

Dick walks slowly up to the kid. “That’s real cool buddy. But I don’t have wings. See?” He pulls his cape around and then detaches it, letting it fall to the ground. “I don’t think those are flight ready yet either, bud–” He has a quick thought and thanks the universe for the idea. “You need a license to fly, kid, or I have to take you in. You got a license?" Tim frowns, and his shoulders slump. “No…” And oh, the kid looks so sad Dick can’t stand it. “Tell you what,” He says as he kneels in front of the kid. “How about I take you on a quick flight with my grapple, and if you still wanna fly, you can come see me when you’re a little older.” Tim just lights up, practically bouncing out of his skin as he hurriedly agrees. With permission, Dick takes the wax wings off the boy and hoists him onto his hip. “Ready?” “Yes!” 

Dick grapples up to the highest building he can and swings with the cord, making sure to only use the strongest holds he knows about and adjust for the extra weight. The wind flows through the boys’ hair as they fly through the city, and Tim laughs with delight. Dick’s heart swells as he grapples again. 

They fly through the night sky for a bit, until Dick can feel his muscles start to strain. He lands them on a shorter building, and then rappels them down onto the sidewalk below. “Okay kid, you should get home now.” Dick presses a button to call for the Batmobile. “Thank you Batman. I had so much fun.” Tim gets a red face and pauses for a second, then leans and gives Dick a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll come back when I’m older, like you said. And then you can teach me how to fly!” Dick is frozen from the tiny kiss as the Batmobile slides to a stop in front of them. Tim happily climbs in and tells the computer where he lives when it asks. “Bye bye Batman!” He calls as the windows roll up and the car speeds off. 

When Dick recovers, he races back to the original rooftop to recover his cape. He pauses when he sees the wings. After a long internal debate, he picks up the wings and carries them all the way home. In the cave, he hangs them in a case, the plaque reading “Little Robin”. He excitedly awaits the day he runs into the boy again.