Work Text:
Crack
The wooden bat shattered against his body, a deflated wheeze leaving his lips as he cowered, bruised and bloody from the flurry of hits. Batman growled, struggling in the roped bonds and brutes holding him back as his ward was getting thrashed around.
“The great outlaw protector of Gotham hid behind Lady Justice’s skirt.”
The rest of Two-Face’s delirious rant was muddled, as if he were underwater, as Robin tried to pick himself up, not wanting to give the deranged man any satisfaction. The young hero quickly failed, slumping back to his own growing puddle of blood. He blinked, and suddenly his face was being held gently against a glove, barely noticing the covered gaze of Batman’s cowl.
“Robin, Robin”
His voice seemed off; it seemed raw of something Robin couldn’t pick up on. This voice wasn’t Batman, this was Bruce Wayne, the man between the mask, filled with emotion that never was shared when the cowl was on. Robin couldn’t seem to will his voice to speak, wanting to soothe the older’s worries desperately. A shaky smile tilted his lips, the attempt only making Batman’s breath hitch as the young hero quickly succumbed to the darkness once again.
The cave was quiet as the young heroes soon trailed in after a small mission, small yawns being heard as they came together to debrief Red Tornado. As they entered the mission room to greet the leaguer, they were met with Black Canary and Green Arrow. Black Canary and Green Arrow seemed to be talking in quick, hushed tones, unaware of the young heroes' arrival.
“Oliver, they deserve to know.”
Superboy picked up on the words, quickly speaking up to address the three leaguers, “Deserve to know what?”
The two heroes whipped around to face them, Tornado seemingly unfazed as he stood off to the side. Green Arrow seemed disgruntled, pinching the bridge of his nose as Canary gave him a pointed look. The archer sighed, “Before I speak on this, just know that the situation is resolved and everything is okay.”
The young heroes seemed to be still, dread anchoring them as Artemis dared to speak, “What happened? Who’s hurt?”
Dinah placed a gentle hand on Oliver’s shoulder, taking over, “There was an incident in Gotham while Batman and Robin were out on patrol… They were moving in to apprehend Two-Face, and he got the drop on them. We don’t know much of what occurred, but Robin was greatly injured.”
Wally moved forward, voice fast and pitched, “Is he okay? Where is he?”
Her gaze softened, “He will be okay.. He’s being treated for his injuries at the Batcave. Batman radioed to let us know it may be a bit before he is cleared for duty again.”
Oliver scoffed, but didn’t verbalize his clear misgivings about the situation. The team seemed in shock, unsure of what to do. Dinah took note of this, “Hit the showers and get some rest, okay? Worry about mission reports later and just take it easy.”
They seemed to all go silent, nodding before they were dismissed, trudging towards the locker rooms. Dinah sighed softly, leaning into the archer, “I’m gonna stay here for the night.. Make sure they get settled and are okay. Keep me posted if you hear anything else?” Oliver hummed, nodding as he pressed a kiss to her head, “Of course I will, I’ll be on monitor duty, so feel free to radio me if you get bored.” It was a light tease, a way to lighten the atmosphere. They squeezed each other one last time, a grounding touch before Arrow made his departure through the zeta tubes.
Recognized Green Arrow 08
Drips echoed throughout the caverns of the bat-cave, Bruce sitting stiffly beside the bed, watching the rise and fall of his young partner’s chest. Alfred soon pattered into the room, clearing his throat, “Master Bruce, I advise that you get cleaned up. Master Richard won’t awaken until the morning, I presume.”
Bruce’s tired eyes blinked slowly, “I can’t leave him, Alfred. He got hurt because of me…” He seemed to trail off, voice lowering, “Did I make a mistake bringing him into all of this?”
Alfred stared at his charge, “I believe Master Richard would have pursued this life with or without you, sir. You gave him the knowledge and ability to do it within safer parameters. Injuries and mistakes are expected to occur within this line of work. I implore you to see past the fear that clouds your judgment.”
Bruce went silent at the butler’s words, letting them sink in as his shoulders seemed to sag. As time drifted, the knight finally gave in to stand up and hit the showers as his young ward slept.
When the sun hit its peak the following day, the young bird seemed to stir within the bed, a pained groan bringing him to more awareness as the pain trailed throughout his entire body. Bruce straightened up, going to his son’s aid. “You’re okay, Dick. The painkillers should kick in a bit to help. Don’t strain yourself.”
Everything seemed so heavy, lips parting to speak as a cough rattled his frame, eyes scrunching in pain. Quickly after, a cup was being gently held up to his lips, urging him to take a sip. He downed the water with a muffled grunt, peeling his eyes open once again to take in his surroundings. He was in the medical area of the Batcave, settled in one of the beds as he took in the clean linen and multitudes of bandages that shrouded his frame. His gaze moved towards Bruce, taking in his dark sweater and sweats, the untidied hair, and the crinkle of exhaustion and wrinkles shrouding his eyes. His mentor had never looked older.
“..B, what happened?”
Bruce sighed, leaning forward a bit as his hands folded in his lap, “We had been tailing Two-Face’s movements throughout Gotham, settling in to stake out the warehouse we trailed his goons to. It had started without a hitch, securing the exterior before we made our way to enter the warehouse. We discovered it was a trap, and he took us by surprise, subduing the two of us before making a statement out of you to hurt me. I managed to break free and stop him, but by then the damage had been done.. I quickly secured you and rushed back here, where you received treatments for your wounds. You have two broken ribs, a fractured tibia, a grade two concussion, and other lacerations across the body.”
Dick was silent as he took in the information, hanging on to every listed injury as he then cataloged it. The tightness in his chest, the ache in his right leg, the shortness of breath, the subtle dizziness, and ringing in his ears, accompanied by a piercing headache he could feel behind his eyes. Bruce cleared his throat to catch his attention once again, “You will be benched until you recover, that is nonnegotiable. Once the concussion passes, then we can discuss you being on comms for patrol. Am I understood?”
He wanted to argue for more, to prove that these injuries won’t keep him grounded for long. That he’s still capable, but the pain he currently feels weighs him down, and the boy relented, nodding, “Understood.”
The older softened a bit, brushing a stray hair out of the ward’s face, “Good.. I’ll have Alfred bring down some soup, you should get some food in you. I will need to leave for a bit; there is a league meeting I can’t miss, but I promise I’ll be back soon.. Maybe we can get a movie night in.”
Dick’s eyes widened at that. The two haven’t really spent time with each other outside of the masks. Lately, they’ve been butting heads a lot, leaving a layer of tension between them as they try to navigate this growing distance. But the younger one could see what this was.. His mentor was shaken by the events, desperate to keep the other within his sights and mend what was broken, and not just Dick’s bones. He gave a small smile, “As long as it isn’t Gray Ghost.”
With that, Bruce managed a tiny huff of laughter, nodding before he left to change into the suit. Not even five minutes later, Alfred appeared with a tray of soup and crackers. “It is good to see you awake, Master Richard. You truly gave us quite the scare.”
“Sorry, Alfie, didn’t mean to make you guys worry.”
It has been a few months since the incident. His concussion had subsided, his ribs mostly healed with some tenderness, the bruises were faded, scars scabbing over, and his tibia was… mostly better. Physically, Dick was healing, but it felt like the cavern between him and Bruce had only grown. His suit was more padded now, leaving him frustrated as he got used to the new suit that only seemed to weigh him down. He was still barely allowed on patrols and hadn’t been able to train or go on missions with the Team, stuck being a spectator despite the numerous attempts to prove he was okay.
But finally, finally, he was allowed to go on a covert mission with the others to Santa Prisca, wanting to just keep an eye on any potential movements from Bane. It started without a hitch, the team moving like a well-oiled machine as they had two years under their belt together now. Yet, it seemed to quickly derail after Wally slipped up, landing front and center in the shipment where venom was about to be shipped off. The team quickly rallied, moving together to stop the shipment and escape without causing more problems.
A pained yell echoed through the warehouse, echoing throughout the mindlink as Robin was thrown into a pile of crates from a rogue punch from Bane. He was slow to get up, his body screaming at him as it protested. Superboy quickly came and moved, taking up Bane’s attention as Aqualad moved to help Robin towards the camouflaged bioship. Soon, they were quickly departing, having successfully disrupted the shipment despite the mess they made. Artemis guided the ship as M’gann fussed over a disgruntled Robin, “I’m fine, Miss M, really..”
She continued to fuss before he hardened his gaze, leaving her to replace Artemis at the helm, leaving the Boy Wonder to stew in his frustrations.
And, his frustrations only grew as they returned to the cave, Batman waiting with a heated gaze, “Report. Now.”
Aqualad took charge, debriefing the bat about their messy mission, unable to skip over the incident involving Robin’s injury. Dick felt Batman’s glare reach him, analyzing him intensely, “Robin, let’s go.”
He huffed, glancing up, “What? B, we agreed I’d stay the night.”
“That was before you got injured. Let’s go.”
“I’m fine, it’s just superficial bruising.”
They leveled each other with a look, the rest of the team tense as the dynamic duo held a silent conversation with their gazes alone. With a reluctant huff, Robin trailed after Batman, both leaving without any additional remarks through the tubes.
Recognized Batman 02
Recognized Robin B-01
Wally blew out a breath, glancing over at the rest of his teammates, “Those two have been getting at each other a lot more, right? Or is it just me?”
Aqualad sighed, shaking his head, “I fear it has increased. They are no longer on the same page like they were two years ago, and I worry about the consequences that will have.”
They dismissed after that, gazes lingering on the zeta tubes.
After a few weeks, there was radio silence from both Batman and Robin. The team was antsy for a mission, enough so that one was delegated to them by Red Tornado to ease their anxieties. But even then, Batman hadn’t offered any word to the members of the league, forgoing his participation in the weekly meetings.
Superman was patrolling the skies of Metropolis, his gaze landing on a bird sitting on a ledge of a skyscraper. He smiled to himself, moving down to join the perched bird. “It’s not often I see you around these parts.”
A small sniffle interrupted his smile, the bluest of eyes hindered with bags and redness, “...I just needed away from Gotham.. From him”
Superman sobered, sitting beside the young hero, “And that’s okay.. You guys orbit each other constantly, that’s enough to need some time away.”
Dick sighed, wiping at his eyes as he stared out, not wanting to meet the worried gaze of the Kryptonian. “We... keep fighting. And, I know, I know it comes from his concern over my safety, but it's suffocating me. I’ve been injured a lot over the years, and so has he. And, I’ve expressed my desire to be something apart from him. I don’t want to be him.”
Superman hummed, “He knows that, Dick. You are your own person, your own hero. You don’t have to be him, and I’m sure he doesn’t want you to be him either.”
“Then why… why would he act as if I have no say?”
The older hero placed a gentle hand on the other’s shoulder, knowing the two needed to just give each other time to heal. Time to reconnect and settle into a new routine that works for both of them. So, instead, he wanted to offer solace to the young bird, a distraction, “...Have I ever told you of the Kryptonian story, Nightwing and Flamebird?”