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It had been several months since Bruce had taken Buck in, and he was going a bit stir crazy. Kinda. No, he wasn’t restricted to the house or anything. He went to school and went out with his new siblings. But every night he watched them suit up and go out there, and Buck was never one to sit back and watch others help when he could do so himself. Buck knew he wasn’t ready to actually go out, though, so he started small.
“Can I help out on comms?” Buck asked Bruce before everyone in the manor filtered in for breakfast.
Bruce paused in sipping his coffee and met Buck’s eyes. “Are you sure?”
Buck nodded. “Yes, I’m sure. I want to help. I can’t just sit back and do nothing.”
“You know I don’t expect my kids to help out with the…nightlife.”
Buck knew that. Bruce would rather they stay safe at home. Unfortunately, those weren’t the types of people he had taken in and given refuge. Buck didn’t say anything; he didn’t need to.
Bruce sighed. “Alright. I’ll see if Oracle can come here tonight instead of her clocktower and give you some training. Does that work?”
“Thank you Bruce!”
Bruce hummed.
Step one, complete.
-
Buck’s first time helping out on comms was pretty uneventful, which was nice. It would have been a good way to ease him in, except obviously that couldn’t keep. The next night was a little busier.
“Does anyone have fear toxin antidote on them?” Nightwing’s voice came over the radio. “I think it’s an older strain.”
“Red Robin is closest to you. RR, do you have it?” Buck asked.
“Affirmative. I’m on my way.”
“Nightwing, is it just one dose? For you or for someone else?”
“One dose. For me.” The strain in Nightwing’s voice was clear. Buck gripped the armrests of his seat, but his voice was calm as he told Red Robin where Nightwing was.
The next several minutes there was nothing save for nail-biting silence over comms. Until—“Antidote administered,” Red Robin reported.
Buck breathed a sigh of relief, waiting to ensure nothing went wrong. Fortunately, it seemed that Nightwing’s judgement of it being an older strain (and thus one they were equipped for) had been correct.
The nights after that proceeded much the same, with the occasional surprise. The longer Buck did it, the more he knew he needed to be out there. Comm support was important, yes, but Oracle was the best at that, and she didn’t really need him. Instead, Buck insisted on training for longer. Bruce wouldn’t let him go out if he wasn’t capable.
He needed to prove it hadn’t been a mistake to take him in.
-
“You keep dropping your elbow,” Jason chided, stepping back and taking a sip from his water bottle.
Buck sagged a bit. “Yeah, I know.”
“Why don’t we take a break for today, huh? We’ve been at it for a few hours now.”
“I wanna get this,” Buck insisted.
Jason sighed, setting down the water bottle and sitting next to it. “And you’re getting there. But you have at least another six months of training left before Bruce would even consider sending you out.”
“I wasn’t—” Buck started. Jason stopped him with a look.
“We both know that’s what you’re working toward. And while I know all of us would prefer you not, and stay safe, that’s clearly not going to happen.”
Buck shrugged helplessly. “I need to feel like I’m doing something.”
Jason looked at him, mouth open as if he wanted to say something. He stayed like that for a few seconds, then shook his head, clearly deciding that whatever was on his mind was too mushy or something to actually say. “Fine, let’s just make sure you don’t die when you make it out there. Again, and then we’re stopping for today. I mean it this time.”
He always said that.
Buck smirked. “Sure.”
Groaning, Jason stood up and got back in position.
-
Buck’s suit was finished in a month and a half after he talked to Bruce about going out. Bruce wanted to wait, but figured that the suit should be ready for Buck to practice in and become accustomed to before getting out at night.
He’d gone with the skintight armor material Dick used. Strong enough to be protective, but tight enough that it wouldn’t mess with his flying. The main color was charcoal, with light grey accents to help him blend in with clouds at night when he went higher up. The bat emblazoned on his chest was a midnight shade of blue. In the back, there was a way to disconnect the suit from under his wings so it could be lifted out of the way if he ever needed to fold his wings into his back. Only he and the others knew how to use it, though, and the seams for it would be invisible to people who didn’t know to look for it.
Instead of a helmet, Buck stuck with a simple domino that had built in lenses to protect his eyes during flight. Everyone gave the appropriate oohs and aahs during the first try on.
“Now let’s see if you can still fight in that thing,” Dick grinned.
“With pleasure,” Buck said, squaring up.
It was clear after the first spar that Buck would spend the next couple months breaking the suit in, but it fit as comfortably as a brand new suit could. He was one step closer to joining everyone else.
You know you’ll never amount to anything, the traitorous voice of his parents whispered. This time, it was a little easier to ignore it. He was going to help people. Like Maddie, just in a different way.
-
A month after Buck had first started practicing in his suit was when plans changed.
“Just—shit,” Jason cut himself off. It sounded like something fell.
“Hood? Red Hood, what’s going on?”
The voice that answered was breathless, but didn’t sound like it was in pain (then again, with Jason that didn’t mean much). “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Weapons deal is worse than I thought.”
“Is anyone able to go and provide support?”
Dick was in Bludhaven, Cass in Hong Kong, and Bruce was out helping the JL with something. That left Tim, Steph, and Damian. Duke was taking a well-earned break after a horrendously rough shift during the day, and shouldn’t be disturbed unless absolutely necessary.
“I am on the other side of the city,” Damian reported. That meant he was closer to half an hour away, and he was collecting vital evidence for one of the investigations Batman was currently conducting.
“I’m a little tied up right now,” Tim grunted, just before the sound of a fist hitting a face echoed down the line.
“Starling, I think you’re in the best position to respond in a timely manner,” Oracle said, not even waiting for Steph’s response.
“But—”
“I just need you to unbury me,” Jason said wryly, clearly restraining himself from freaking out.
“Unbury?!” Buck shouted, immediately wincing at the volume.
“Building imploded a little bit. I’m safe, uninjured, but I’m not getting myself out. The surrounding area should be clear.”
Buck stood up, grabbing a spare comm and putting it in his ear as he rushed to put on his suit. “I’m on my way. ETA is 10 minutes, max.”
“I should be done collecting evidence soon. Unless I am needed urgently.”
“Nah,” Jason said. ”Don’t rush. Starling’s got this, right?”
“Right,” Buck confirmed. He finished pulling on his gloves and grabbed the motorcycle Jason was helping him outfit. “Leaving now.”
The wind bit at the small bits of exposed skin as he dodged through traffic to get to Jason. His heart pounded in his chest. As he pulled to a stop, he joked, “No one’s telling Bruce I went out before he said I could, right?”
The line was silent.
Buck pouted, starting toward the wreckage. “Seriously?”
“Sorry, birdy,” Tim said.
“Jason, you sure you’re alright? That looks pretty rough.”
“Yeah, I’m in an air pocket and I can feel the breeze from outside coming from somewhere. I’m gonna start knocking on the wall so you know where I am.”
Buck hummed and then went quiet, listening for the knocking. After a beat, it came from the east side of the building. He went around the base of the collapse before he started climbing it. “I’m going to start digging. Let me know if anything shifts concerningly.”
“Will do.”
The first twenty minutes Buck spent on smaller pieces before moving on to the bigger ones. He did his best to throw them completely clear of the wreckage, lest he cause a secondary collapse. “You doing okay?”
“Yep.”
Buck continued working. He didn’t know how much time had passed until he finally threw a piece clear and got a cavernous area instead of another piece of building. “Jason?”
His brother’s voice wasn’t over comms this time. “Yeah, birdy!”
Jason’s face appeared under the hole, covered in dirt but not looking any worse for wear. He grinned up at Buck.
“Think you can get through this or should I make it a little bigger?”
“Nah, I can squeeze. I’m ready to be done with tonight.”
“I’ve got Hood out,” Buck reported, reaching down to help Jason pull himself out of the hole.
“Go on back to the cave. Good job,” Oracle said, voice warm.
Buck looked around, then turned back to Jason. “Anything you need to do here before we leave?”
Jason shook his head. “Nah, Oracle put in a note to the Commish. He should be getting here soon, now that I’m out. They’ll monitor things and make sure no one comes back for the guns. Though I’d imagine most of them are squished by now.”
“’Kay.”
Jason’s hand squeezed Buck’s shoulder. “Good job, birdy. And thanks.”
Something warm bloomed in Buck’s chest and he smiled back.
-
Small mercies, the others waited until Bruce was back from his JL mission to tell him that Buck had gone out. Bruce sighed, like he wanted to be frustrated but knew it wouldn’t do anything.
You’re not supposed to make things difficult, that voice in Buck’s head whispered. “I’m sorry,” he said to Bruce. “It’s just—no one was easily available and I was, and it wasn’t supposed to be too dangerous and you know how Jason is with small spaces—” He cut himself off with a wince, ignoring the half-hearted glare Jason was shooting him.
“You and Oracle made the right call,” Bruce said, voice soft.
Buck’s shoulders relaxed.
“You’re still not going out regularly for a few months.”
That…was fair. If a little irritating. “I understand.”
Bruce squeezed Buck’s shoulders. “Have you had your wings preened recently?”
Oops.
Buck’s silence was interpreted correctly. He winced at Bruce’s Stare. “I’ll go see if Damian’s able to help.”
“I can help,” Jason said, stretching and standing up. “C’mon.”
Buck cast one last look at Bruce before he followed after Jason.
-
Bruce’s required several more months had passed. Jumping on the balls of his feet, Buck looked at Bruce while the others suited up to go out. Bruce stared and him and then sighed. Whatever he was about to say next was interrupted by Dick. “I call dibs on taking him out for second patrol!”
“What about first?” Buck asked.
“I take you out on your first. You’ll be tailing me tonight. Probationary for the next few months while you get the hang of things,” Bruce said.
“Yes!” He raced off to go and put his suit on. Buck missed the fond twitch of Bruce’s lips.
He was finally ready.