Archive of Our Own

Dick’s heavy cape whipped around him as he perched high above the city, relishing in the freedom, the purpose, that each night now brought to him.

It was autumn, and the temperature was still indecisive between a cold winter snap and an easy fall chill. The signal, his signal, streamed up into the sky, casting against the clouds, and warning any wrong-doers that there was an extra set of eyes upon them this evening. He’d already checked in with the commissioner though and nothing urgent needed his special brand of attention.

Sirens wailed in the distance, but so far his comm stayed quiet, indicating that no one needed the Dark Knight to intervene just yet. Dick could take a moment to breathe, to feel the city’s song around him as she thrummed with life.

Dick couldn’t say exactly when he’d fallen so in love with her, but it’d happened as if guided by fate; a love that grew slowly, until it was suddenly all encompassing. His parents had raised him on the road, and if he were honest with himself, through much of his adolescence, he’d always figured that’d be how he would live as an adult– a traveling nomad without roots.

Yet here he was, fully rooted and nested in this beautiful city of hunger, corruption, and life.

The clouds shifted in the sky and the signal cut off for a moment catching Dick’s attention. His communicator buzzed, signaling his quiet moment was over for now. “Knight here,” he reported, answering the call.

“Hey chum,” Bruce’s voice filtered through the comm, shocking Dick for a moment. It should be Oracle providing updates, and Bruce should be in bed at this hour. It wasn’t as if his father never picked up a comm to talk to Dick or the team, but usually it was for emergencies when Oracle was stretched thin and Dick was almost always given prior awareness.

“B–” Dick could hear the strain in his own voice and he swallowed it down. “Everything okay?”

Bruce’s hesitation was more than enough of an answer, but Dick didn’t yet move. He stayed in his spot, poised and tense, waiting to hear where the problem was and how he could fix it. He wasn’t going to waste time traveling in the wrong direction, and he wasn’t going to ignore any advice his father had either. “Talk to me, B,” Dick said, letting a bit of command creep into his voice; his hard won leadership authority was rarely used these days but had gained a lot of respect when he did pull rank.

Bruce exhaled loudly, and Dick could almost picture him shaking himself. “Report back to HQ, all lines dark in the interim.”

All lines dark meant don’t talk to the others. Worry crept through Dick, but not enough to override the protocols he’d built over the years. “Is Zikita in the cage or asleep?”

“She’s on the shelf.”

Dick let out a breath of relief. It was a nonsensical code with a nonsensical string of responses that Bruce could alone provide, but it was special between them. Even the others hadn’t learned – and respected Dick enough not to try – all the ins and outs of his and Bruce’s code. The response had assured him that Bruce was not compromised or in danger nor was anyone else in any immediate harm's way. It was a call to return home for an urgent debrief though, so Dick turned and leapt off his perch in the direction of Bristol.

His father calling him home was a request Dick would always answer.

“Are you sure everything is okay?” Dick probed one last time as he soared through the air. His cape was now stiff and he used the limited control to glide over several lower buildings. His car, and a secret tunnel that would lead him through a careful maze to his Nest in the cave beneath Wayne Manor, was already in sight. “I’m barely fifteen minutes out.”

There was another poignant silence, and Dick’s boots hit the cement at the street level. The car started remotely as he approached and a door opened automatically in his presence, allowing him to slip inside. The auto pilot took over and Bruce’s next breath was one of relief.

“Sorry Dick,” Bruce offered, sounding tired. “I didn’t want you to be somewhere else before I told you.”

Dick hummed in acknowledgement, waiting patiently for Bruce to share. A few years ago he would have felt annoyed at the delay, but they’d been through too much, too many near misses for Bruce to ever withhold important information from him.

“It’s Zucco,” Bruce finally admitted.

Dick felt the air punched from his lungs.

“He’s been released on parole, through a hearing that wasn’t documented. He’s free and at large.”

Dick’s frame tensed for a moment as all the feelings slammed into him. Tony Zucco. The man who started it all.

The memory rushed at him with the force of a freight train, shoving Dick into the abyss as the car continued his route home.

The ground should have been solid beneath him, but instead Dick felt as if he were drifting in a void. He was cold, numb, eyes wide and disbelieving as he struggled to breath. This couldn’t be real.

People rushed around him, right by him as if he were invisible, and over to the bodies– but no– it couldn’t be happening.

His mother’s smiling face flashed in his mind, he felt his father’s strong arms around him– just yesterday they’d been sitting on the couch watching a movie, this morning they’d eaten breakfast together and then they’d spent the day practicing their routine. They never missed, ran through every check together– accidents were small things like tripping…

“Son! Son!” A male voice called but it wasn’t his father. Mr. Haley’s face came into view, he was kneeling down in front of Dick with a concerned look. Dick took a breath, prepared to say he was fine, but all that came out was an ugly gasp of air as his throat swelled shut.

He could see them through the crowd of people. The blood surrounding their heads, their eyes were open staring - they’d sit up in a moment, they’d be fine - they wouldn't leave him- no–

“Dick!” Mr. Haley shouted, and Dick shook his head in response.

“He’s in shock,” someone else said. “We need to get him away from here.”

“No–” his voice sounded so far away, cracking and dry. “My parents!”

The crowds thickened, beginning to block his view and Dick reached forward for his father’s hand. Someone grasped his shoulder and pulled him away. His view was blocked, but the spilt blood stayed seared into his brain.

“No!” he shouted again, struggling forward, he needed to save them! Tell them to get up! They had to get up!

“Dick,” a voice spoke at his side. “It won’t help. Trust me.”

His mom’s eyes flashed before him, his dad’s smile– He needed to see them again!

“Come on,” the voice continued, and a warm wall blocked his path. A person, a large man, knelt in front of him. “You deserve to grieve, but let’s get you somewhere safe. You can’t help them.”

Dick threw himself forward into the kind stranger's arms with a sobbing wail. A stranger’s kindness that would turn into a family’s love.

Dick was jerked from his memories as the comm line crackled.

“Knight, have you landed?” Barbara’s voice called over the comms. The worry in her tone was evident.

Dick sighed, unsure if he was ready to hear what she had to say. “B already told me.”

A loud exhale blew out across the speakers, but her voice was nothing but professional as she spoke. “I have a plan in place and...” She paused. “Knight–” she started, then her tone softened, “Dick, you trust me right?”

“Yeah,” Dick’s voice cracked a bit and he cleared his throat before continuing. “Yes, O– of course.”

Dick knew he became possessive over leadership, having dealt with betrayal several times in this game. He wanted to own every case, solve every mystery, and ensure that no one else came to harm in his circle. He’d lost so many, hurt so many– but now he understood the pride in sharing responsibility.

“Absolutely,” Dick confirmed again, voice confident in his answer. “I know I’m compromised and I know you can handle it. You’ve always had my back.”

School was a rough place for Dick. He’d always been homeschooled with the circus and now that he was stationary with his new guardianship under Bruce Wayne, he was forced to change his expectations.

The teachers all expected him to learn at their pace, and their pace matched the collective of the students. This left Dick bored and uninterested from information he’d already learned previously or information that he’d retained on the first lesson. It was repetitive, dull, and the students around him were no less awful than the lessons.

Privileged assholes. Always finding those less fortunate or weaker and knocking them down further. Dick always disliked bullies.

“Leave him alone!”

The shout rang out, catching Dick’s attention as he glanced around for the issue. School had just barely let out and the crowds of newly freed teenagers swarmed the school’s parking lot.

It was his first week at this school, barely the third day and he should be keeping his head low, but instead he found himself drawn to the commotion.

A group of three boys stood around another they’d clearly just knocked to the ground. A girl, the one who’d shouted, pulled on the arm of the apparent bully-in-charge with a determined expression.

“You got a problem?” The lead bully– Sheldon Loyd, Dick recognized – said, turning towards her as Dick pushed his way through the forming crowd. “This your boyfriend or something?”

She glared, her face growing more resolute in her convictions. “No, I just don’t like bullies.” Her bright red hair glinted in the afternoon sun.

The kid’s face contorted into a sneer. “Learn your place–” he started, raising his hand in a telling show of violence.

Dick dashed forward, snatching the arm out of the air and moving the group’s attention to himself. “It’s not nice to hit,” he stated, eyes narrowing.

The arm dropped, an evil smirk crossing Sheldon’s face. “I know you. You’re the circus freak. Loved your performance that night. Shame the Flying Graysons couldn’t really fly.” The tone was condescending and meant to verbally stab through Dick’s heart.

It didn’t hurt him though. Nothing hurt anymore since he’d lost his parents.

“Leave them alone,” Dick said instead of responding to the barb. His voice came out just as cold and lifeless as he felt in that moment.

“And why should I?” Sheldon grinned, rounding on Dick. “You going to do something about it?”

“Just stop fighting!” The girl stepped forward again, physically placing herself in front of Dick and forcing space between him and the advancing Sheldon. Sheldon was bigger than Dick, taller, wider, older– but Dick knew his body, knew his strengths. He wasn’t afraid.

“Oh get out of the way already, you nag!” Sheldon shoved her aside. She tripped while trying to dodge the boy still on the ground, falling over him and hitting the ground with a soft thud.

“How pathetic,” Dick scowled at the bully. He turned his back, dismissing the ogre as a nonthreat as he reached down to help the two fallen schoolmates back up. There was a flash of gratitude on the girl’s face, then her widening eyes gave a warning for what was about to happen.

Dick let the kick land as any attempt to dodge would have placed the other two in the line of fire, but he wasn’t passive. He moved with it, spinning with the force and rounding on his attackers with a speed they clearly didn’t expect.

It was a fury of uncoordinated limbs as the bullies tried to gang up on Dick, but he was too fast for them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his two fallen schoolmates help one another up. The boy ran away, but the girl ran towards him, trying to reenter the fray. It was an all out brawl of gangly limbs and uncoordinated youth. Dick caught a glance of a powerful left hook to Sheldon’s jaw delivered by the girl, before a whoop of sirens caused them all to freeze in place.

Sheldon pulled back with a bleeding lip and busted nose, but a satisfied look on his face. Dick knew he was in trouble now. He was the new kid, one with a recent history of being in a juvenile center even if it’d been through no action of his own, and this bully screamed rich, white privilege more than anyone Dick had ever met.

“Cops are here now, asshole,” Sheldon rallied, pulling himself up to his full height. His friends shifted uncomfortably into position. The cops might take Sheldon’s side, but it was an irrefutable fact that the fight had been comfortably in Dick and the girl’s favor and everyone’s reputation would be impacted here. “My dad knows all the cops. You are both going to jail.”

Dick shifted uneasily on his feet as the cops approached, the surrounding crowds easily parting before them. Dick recognized the one in the lead as one of the men from the night at the circus. His bright colored hair and detective badge made him stand out in the small group of uniformed officers.

“I don’t think so,” the girl stood confidently, grabbing Dick’s hand in hers. “You shoved me and then attacked Dick when he tried to help me up.” She spoke loudly, enunciating each word so the approaching cops could hear her. “We were just defending ourselves,” she stated with a proud tone.

Dick appreciated the sentiment, squeezing her hand in response to show solidarity, but he knew it was pointless. The cops were just going to see him as a problem, they always did.

Sheldon lunged forward, but a cop, a large uniformed man, stepped between them and Sheldon harmlessly bounced back. The detective ignored the small scuffle, moving straight towards Dick and his new friend determinedly. Dick decided to hold his head high with her.

The detective barely looked at him, all his focus shifting to the girl. “Barbara, are you okay?” the man asked.

She grinned, giving Dick’s hand one last squeeze and answered with a chipper tone. “Of course, Dad. You taught me how to defend myself and,” she gestured towards Dick, “I had some back up.”

Dick wouldn’t call the feeling that swept through him in that moment relief exactly, but it was something new that bloomed. The feeling of justice, and of knowing that a difference could be made in the world when you had the right people on your side.

Bruce had been furious when Dick had been driven home in a cop car, immediately thinking the worst, but Detective Gordon had pulled him aside as Dick ducked into the house with one last wave at his new found friend. That day Dick learned that friendship could be found in all sorts of places. He didn’t have a lot in common with Barbara – Babs as she told him to call her – but they did have a matching sense of restlessness to do more against the injustice of the world.

The phantoms from his early memories clung to Dick as he finally pulled into the base. He could feel his hands trembling as he exited the car and took a stumbling step forward. The weight of his armor and cowl felt suffocating, and he didn’t know what to do other than sink down to his knees to catch his breath.

At the last moment, he glanced up and saw Bruce, already moving from across the room, coming to his aid. Dick caught the tired, kind eyes, and his entire frame felt shrunk into a young teen again. His legs gave out and he collapsed just as Bruce opened his arms, catching him once again and holding him against the memories that threatened to drown Dick.

It’d been a long time since Dick had sought the comfort of his father. He’d grown into a respected leader on his own, needing no one’s approval. He’d stood side by side with super powered gods, built a team around him that trusted him implicitly, and yet– Tears streamed down Dick’s face as he remembered the loss that started him on this new path.

Bruce’s grip tightened. “He didn’t make you, Dick,” Bruce whispered, voicing Dick’s greatest fear. If Tony Zucco hadn’t killed his parents, then he would have never began this journey. He’d never had taken the path to become Gotham’s Dark Knight and he’d never have met the people most important to him now.

Steady hands pulled down his cowl, freeing Dick’s long hair, as Bruce continued to speak. “You made yourself, Dick, and I’m so proud of you, of everything you’ve done.” The words were comforting and spoken with Bruce’s soft sincerity. “You are the best of us.”

The praise meant more than Dick could grasp in that moment, his tears silent as he stayed safe in his father’s arms. They’d been through so much together, so much since that initial night at the circus. Fights, heartbreak, victories, and love. They’d fought tooth and nail for their own piece of the world.

It was more than just Dick’s revenge against the murderer of his parents. Dick wanted to see the good in the world, and wanted to help those that needed it. Dick had fought for his place in the world against everyone that doubted him.

At the beginning, Bruce had been so adamantly against all Dick’s attempts to do more. Dick had been stubborn though, determined to save the world, save all the young children from losing their parents, taking his justice out a little bit at a time.

“Richard John Grayson.”

Dick froze in place, the last bits of the exhilarating grin he’d been wearing slipping off his face as he heard the booming voice fill the cavern. All good things must come to an end he supposed, but he was not ready to give this up, so instead of ducking down in shame, he threw his shoulders back in pride.

“Hello Bruce,” he replied, his voice far steadier than he felt.

Bruce stood from the chair he’d apparently been waiting in and strode over, fury radiating from his countenance. He crossed the distance in a few strides and with every step closer, Dick saw the other feelings emerge.

Anger Dick could have handled. Anger was answered with cold logic, dousing the irrational flames with a dose of frigid reality.

But the terror and disappointment in Bruce’s eyes? Those were feelings that Dick was not prepared to handle. He hadn’t seen fear like that in Bruce before. Dick was harshly dragged to a memory of the first time he’d climbed up on the trapeze without his father’s permission. Dick had just wanted to get in one more flip, not realizing the reason his parents had ordered him to the ground was because the safety net was being lowered for repairs.

He’d swung off the platform, ignoring his mother’s shout. He’d seen his father leap from the platform across the way and Dick executed his new flip, trusting implicitly that he'd be caught.

And his father had caught him in a sure grip, a little tighter than normal, his nails digging into Dick’s forearms until they both landed on the platform again. His father’s eyes hadn’t held the pride Dick had expected at all. They’d been tight with fear as he shook and held Dick closely to himself.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again, my Robin,” his mother had admonished once they were on the ground again. “Always, always check your equipment.”

The memory was bittersweet. Dick knew how much his parents treasured him, but also their death at the hand of tampered with equipment rang so much harsher because of it. It’d been one of the core reasons Dick had immediately known there were outside actions at play for his parents death– they’d never accidentally fly on faulty equipment.

Bruce’s approach didn’t end with an all encompassing hug like Dick’s father, instead the disappointment seemed to win out as Bruce’s large hand grasped at Dick’s shoulder. “Where–” Bruce swallowed, and his eyes squeezed shut as he seemed to grapple with his composure. “Where have you been Dick? And don’t you dare lie to me right now.”

Dick swallowed tightly. He wondered if his actions tonight were worth being tossed back to the juvenile center that Bruce had rescued him from. He thought of the wind in his hair, the laughter of his new friend, and the small victory of revenge he’d won. He took a breath.

“I was in the city,” he answered honestly. He knew it wasn’t the level of detail Bruce wanted, but he wasn’t sure how to describe everything he’d actually accomplished that evening.

Bruce’s icy gaze narrowed in confirmation that wasn’t the answer he’d been looking for. “Give it all here,” he demanded. “Everything. Every piece of equipment you pilfered. If you are to stay here then you–”

“Who says I want to stay here?” Dick suddenly demanded, shoving off Bruce with all the fury his preteen body could hold. He was turning thirteen in a few months, he didn’t need a parent trying to coddle him, trying to protect him, when he was practically an adult. “I’ve told you before! Don’t act like my father! You aren’t!”

“I’m responsible for you!” Bruce’s voice grew to match his obviously rising temper. It felt good to get the normally stoic faced man riled up. Dick felt the heat, his own temper, gleefully soaring to meet his guardian moment for moment.

“Yeah and who’s fault is that?” Dick challenged with a sneer. Bruce didn’t have to take him in, Dick didn’t ask to be here. “I didn’t ask to be here! Didn’t ask for you to play savior with me! I don’t need you!”

Bruce’s face pinched at the accusation but Dick couldn’t be bothered to drag up any empathy. “You’re a child!” Bruce finally yelled.

Dick was ready for that. “Not your child! I can take care of myself.” He had been for the past three weeks since he found this secret base and began escaping every night. Soaring through the city of Gotham, reminding himself there was more to the world than the small bubble that Bruce tried to keep him in.

“You can’t be running off Dick! You could have been hurt! You could have hurt somebody! You’ve been lying to me, hiding things, moving behind my back!”

“So what?! All this stuff down here was going to waste!” Dick gestured around the large cavern. It was filled with dusty, but well designed equipment. “If you were too afraid to use it, that’s on you! Not my problem.”

The air simmered with the shared pain and anger between them. It wasn’t their first fight in the month since Dick had moved in with his new guardian, but it was the most honest. Dick had intentionally created distance between himself and the overly cautious Bruce. Bruce treated him like he was a frail, sickly thing, about to break at any moment.

He’d signed Dick up for various therapies to talk about his loss. He put Dick into gymnastics to help with his restless energy. He’d hired tutors to challenge Dick’s endless curiosity and mind.

Dick hated it. He hated being pushed into this box that Bruce was trying to build of some perfect little pet project that the billionaire had taken under his wing. Dick knew Bruce’s past, his own early loss of his parents drove him to see himself in Dick– but that wasn’t Dick’s problem.

He wasn’t Bruce Wayne. He wasn’t even Richie Wayne. He was Dick Grayson, son of Mary and John Grayson, comfortable in his own abilities to fly, to soar, and to honor their memories.

The air seemed to suddenly deflate from Bruce. “I’m going to lock up all the equipment you’ve created and trigger a demolition down here to destroy the rest. You’ll wear a tracker for the foreseeable future that will set off an alarm if you leave the property. We won’t talk about this place again.”

Dick reeled. That wasn’t a discussion at all. “No! No way! You don’t get to decide what I do!”

“Yes I do,” Bruce announced with a glare. “This place was never meant to be used again, never meant to be found. You were supposed to be better than me!”

“I am better than you!” Dick screamed. He didn’t even fully understand what they were arguing about anymore. He’d suspected the abandoned cave full of specialized equipment had belonged to Bruce, but everything had been covered with cobwebs when Dick had discovered it. He’d not even finished exploring all the pieces, too excited by the grappling guns and sharpened boomerangs he’d found, and too ready to escape the drudgery of Bristol for the bright lights of the city.

“Then what were you doing tonight Dick?” Bruce brought the argument full circle. “Explain to me exactly what you thought you were accomplishing, running off into a city with one of the highest crime rates in the world to do what? Play at being some kind of vigilante?”

Dick sucked in a harsh breath. He hadn’t been sure exactly what Bruce thought until that moment. Bruce should have just suspected that Dick took off for a bit of freedom in the skies, but instead Bruce seemed to know exactly what Dick had been up to. Dick wondered just how much the man already knew. Did he know how many nights Dick had already gotten away with? Did he know who Dick was meeting? Did he know…

“It’s dangerous Dick! And it’s not some game! This is why you were supposed to be working with Dr. Carly. I hired her to help with the anger! The burning desire for revenge! Instead you run off to exact your own vengeance! One person is not meant to be judge, jury, and executioner Dick! Don’t you get it? We are put on this earth to help one another. We should be working within the law, within society, helping those with less and not tearing them down!” Bruce’s face was red as he ranted. He stalked back and forth a short distance in front of Dick as he preached his beliefs to the squeaking bats above.

Something shifted in Dick, an awareness that was far beyond his twelve years. He swallowed once, twice, then spoke softly. “I’m not you.”

Bruce stopped, turning towards Dick with a burning gaze. “And I’m never going to let you become me.”

“Tonight I interrupted one jewelry heist, returning the merchandise back to the victim before tying up the criminal for the police to find. No injuries for any of the involved parties,” Dick reported, eyes blazing into Bruce’s stare. “I stopped three muggings and helped each victim home after scaring off the attackers.” The secret fact that he’d had help for all of those wasn’t something that Dick was going to admit until he was sure Bruce knew. Obviously Dick’s secret was out, but there was another player on the field still, helping the victims. “And I turned in a file that outlined the obvious money laundering scheme run by Tony Zucco with clear, irrefutable proof and a list of witnesses.”

That last statement stung a bit, a strange melancholy feeling of acceptance filtering in. Dick had of course wanted the evidence that Tony Zucco was a murderer, but none of the evidence Dick had uncovered was proof enough to hold him. Getting the man off the streets, protecting others from his schemes, surpassed Dick’s desire for revenge.

Bruce also seemed conflicted by the statement. “You should have let the police handle it, Dick,” he said, nearly pleading. “They would have eventually found the link to your parent’s murder, and found the needed proof.”

“It’s been months, Bruce. Zucco covered his tracks, his alibi is locked in. His money laundering scheme might seem like small fish, but it’s an airtight case and gets him off the streets. Maybe they’ll find the evidence to take him on something bigger, but I’m done with him. He’s taken enough time from me.”

The words hurt. They hurt so deeply. Dick wanted so badly to see the man pay at first. To see him suffer as much as Dick had. Soaring through the sky though, meeting a friend that could stand by him, seeing how much good he could accomplish with little actions, meant more though. Tony Zucco was going to jail. Dick Grayson wasn’t consumed by vengeance.

Dick’s shoulders had pulled back again, he was proud of his actions. He wouldn’t change, he wouldn’t stop. Nothing Bruce could do or say would make him.

Bruce wanted to lock him down? Dick would pick the lock.

Bruce tried to throw him out? Dick would escape wherever he was placed.

Bruce tried to track him? Dick would take pride in showing exactly what he was capable of.

None of those things happened though. Instead Dick watched, horrified, as tears gathered in Bruce’s eyes. The man moved slowly, telegraphing all his motions as he approached Dick with open arms.

“I’m sorry,” Bruce said against the top of Dick’s head. His weight and warmth was all encompassing around Dick’s stiffened frame. Bruce tightened his hug, as Dick tentatively reached up to return it. “I’m sorry you had to do that, but Dickie,” Bruce pulled back from the embrace and Dick was forced to stare into the watery, soulful blue eyes of his guardian. “I’m proud of the choice you made.”

The admission shocked Dick. It shifted the foundations of the relationship he’d assumed with his guardian. It didn’t fully change Bruce’s approval– Dick was under constant surveillance from that point forward as Bruce made more and more attempts to ground him– but it did open the pathway for Dick to finally understand why they’d been placed in each other’s lives.

Bruce brought some tea down from the kitchen and they sat at the computer together as the icons blinked across the screen. Flashing indicators showing the location of Dick’s team as Babs coordinated them across the city.

He was starting to feel restless, the burning drive to do more, to go out there and protect them. His leg tapped in place and he had to set down the teacup before he dropped it all over the cave floor.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Bruce asked, a worried look on his face.

“What is there to talk about? My parent’s murderer is free, and I’m having an internal crisis that I’m doing better without them.” Dick stood abruptly, beginning to pace wildly.

Bruce grimaced, floundering for the right words. “They would be proud of you Dick. Look at what you’ve done. The people you helped.”

“What about the people I failed?” Dick whispered. “Would they have been better off without me? What about you?”

“What about me?”

“If I’d stopped doing this all those years ago, wouldn’t you have been happier?”

Bruce sighed, a soft smile reaching all the way to his eyes. “Maybe at first,” Bruce said as he reached up and stroked against Dick’s long hair back. “But really Dick, where would we be without your ambitions?"

Dick fashioned himself a suit out of his old performance uniform, some protective sports equipment, and a few of the pilfered oddities he’d found in the abandoned cave under the house. Nothing Bruce did or said could curb the craving to do more and so he continued to evade all of Bruce’s attempts to parent and ran out into the city nearly every night.

Over and over again, he met up with Barbara who had her own special costume, and they ran through the night. She called him Robin and he called her Batgirl. Dick had thought it ridiculous at first, to be named after an old urban legend, but after being confronted by Bruce in the cave, the pieces all slipped into place and her name felt like a reclaimed honor.

Initially, it was all as he’d described to Bruce that night they’d fought. Robin and Batgirl helped with minor crimes such as muggings and robberies when the police couldn’t make it. The cops could focus on more violent crimes, letting the petty things go to the new vigilantes.

But steadily things escalated in Gotham.

More high level criminals crossed their paths as Robin and Batgirl tried to help Gotham survive. Bullets, swords, poisonous gas, and mindless violence began filling their nights. They found themselves narrowly escaping serious injury or death one too many times and Dick found himself lying more and more to his father about the adventures he’d been on.

When a bullet had torn through his leg after a sloppy dodge, he’d been forced to finally call and ask for help. Dick had dragged himself to safety before calling his dad for a pickup. The concern in Bruce’s eyes as he drove him to the nearest emergency clinic nearly had Dick deciding to hang up his ambitions then and there… except he found it wasn’t that easy.

He couldn’t let it go, couldn’t let all those innocent victims feel the sting of no one helping them, and let the criminals continue to hurt without any repercussions. Once he was healed, he was back on the streets.

Babs understood, she couldn’t seem to quit either and continued to hide from her own family, but the fights between Bruce and Dick continued to escalate. Bruce threatened to tell the cops and Dick retaliated by also threatening to tell the authorities so they reached impasse after impasse.

Finally a broken and weary Bruce approached Dick, holding out several small devices.

“There is a tracker, communication line and emergency beacon. Hide the tracker and beacon around your suit so they can’t be easily found and wear the comm in your ear. I’ll be able to at least know you are alive and if anything goes wrong, be able to find you.” Bruce’s pragmatic explanation was delivered with fatigued, bloodshot eyes.

“Thank you,” Dick managed, feeling his throat tighten with emotion. He swallowed a few times to control the rising sting of tears. “Can I have another set for a friend though?”

Unsurprisingly Bruce was already prepared for the request and the two teens suddenly found themselves with better equipment. Bruce seemed to give into the thought that if he couldn’t stop them, he wanted them to be as safe as possible. By the time Dick was fifteen, two years into this new lifestyle, both teens had full suits of the best quality and plenty of gadgets to ease their self imposed mission.

And it still wasn’t enough.

Gotham was a unique place, it would turn from quiet to chaotic in a breath. One moment Robin and Batgirl were swinging through the night, laughing at the schoolwork they needed to finish, and the next they were pinned down in a burning building, armed men all on the outside and two kids trapped with them. Babs leg was clearly broken from the fall when their lines had been cut and Dick had received a gunshot to the shoulder. The heat and smoke from the fire had the two children coughing so Dick had already given them his emergency rebreather.

The situation was dire. Babs could barely move, the two kids were crying, and Dick’s own mind was dizzy from the pain of the gunshot.

He pressed his emergency button for the first time.

He’d never discussed with Bruce what would happen if he pressed the button. Dick hadn’t even been able to update Bruce from the point they’d fallen from the sky. It’d gone from a calm, all-clear update, to Dick pressing his emergency alert within twenty minutes. Bruce had possibly gone to bed (doubtful) or left the computer to grab a drink.

Dick clutched the two kids and met Bab’s eyes carefully.

“Take them out first,” she suggested. “Go out the back alley and push them into the dumpster to hide and I’ll drag myself behind.”

“I can’t leave you,” Dick immediately protested.

Her eyes narrowed and he knew he was about to lose– just as a large beam crashed down, blocking the pathway she’d suggested. All four of them covered their faces as the sparks flew. If Dick hadn’t hesitated, he and the kids would have been crushed. They huddled closer together as the little boy began sobbing quietly against Barbara’s shoulder.

Dick sat down, pressing his back to Barbara’s. The other child, the boy’s older sister, sat with him, silent in her acceptance.

“It’ll be the smoke you know,” Bab’s offered blandly. “Unless another piece of the building collapses.”

The girl began silently crying and Dick felt Barbara tense against his back. He gave a grin. “It’ll be fine,” he offered, completely countering Bab’s defeatist attitude. “Let’s just give it a–”

There was a whoosh of air and Dick blinked as he realized he was now sitting on a nearby rooftop in fresh air. The girl clutched around his neck, holding on tightly. Dick ignored the pain of his injured shoulder and held her close as he caught a baffled Batgirl’s eyes. She held the other child, seemingly just as confused.

The building they’d been trapped in suddenly groaned and all the fire extinguished. There were shouts from the armed men who’d pinned them originally inside and a wail of sirens could be heard rapidly approaching.

Dick detached himself from the young girl’s tight grip, and scooted over to the edge of the rooftop to see what was happening. He peeked over the ledge– only to fall back in alarm as two blue eyes met him and a whole person flew up from the side of the building.

A signature red cape fluttered behind the man who had a very recognizable symbol emblazoned across his chest.

“Superman!” the young boy cried from Bab’s lap.

Dick stared in shock. Superman saved the world– stopping alien invasions, rescuing people from horrible natural disasters and bringing peace to war stricken areas. He was also found in Metropolis doing general good deeds, but he’d never been seen in Gotham.

Dick clutched his emergency beacon tightly in his hand. Was it a coincidence or…

“Are you all alright?” Superman asked. His voice was surprisingly warm and human, like a ray of sunshine through the grime. “Let’s get you two kids down to the ambulance so you can find your parents okay? Do you want to fly?”

Both children cheered and ran toward the hero who easily scooped them up and floated away.

Dick turned to Bab’s who looked just as gobsmacked as he felt. Superman!?

Learning Superman was an ‘old friend’ of your new dad’s was a shock, but the outcome of that initial situation spiraled further than Dick could have ever imagined in that moment. He’d met a true hero, felt the powerful inspiration and excitement that came with it, and also felt the first seeds of doubt in his own abilities.

It was officially the first time Dick had pressed the emergency beacon, but Bruce began trying his hardest to ensure it was his last chance as well. He cited all the recent escalations of criminal activity, trying to get Dick to step down, focus on school, show him how outclassed he was in the realm of heroes when Superman was just a call away.

Bab’s broken leg had been a compound fracture – the initial estimate had her recovery at six months but she’d expressed it was going to be closer to a year before she had her full mobility back to safely join him on the roofs again.

Dick was determined to be undeterred though, no matter how bleak things began to look. He was down a partner, out of a support system, but it wasn’t going to stop him. He could practically hear the cries of those that needed him in his sleep. There was no one helping the little people, not in Gotham and not in the larger world. Superman and the metahumans surrounding him were concerned about the world’s safety, about the big events, and someone needed to look out for the little guy.

Dick rallied himself and went to get Superman’s approval; he tracked the hero down into his civilian identity and pleaded his case.

Surprisingly, it had worked a bit and Superman, Clark, had given Dick a tip. He shared a recent development where a few younger heroes were going to be training together. He suggested it could be a safe place to help Dick get better training with people his own age, and learn how to better protect himself and achieve his goals.

Bruce didn’t agree at all. He said it was a dumb and dangerous idea to pair a bunch of young people with superpowers up together with minimal supervision. He wanted Dick to focus on school, to stay close, and forget all about this crusade. It was the same song and dance they continued to go through. Bruce would show a bit of support, and deep down Dick knew how much he cared, but it just wasn’t enough to satisfy Dick’s urges to help.

So Dick decided to do what every young and rational person would do in his place.

He ran away from home to join a superhero team.

Dick laid back on the couch in the cave base, thinking through all the fights he’d had with Bruce. He didn’t know how Bruce had the patience to deal with all Dick’s teenage drama. Bruce’s ability to trust in Dick was only evident now that Dick had the age and patience to look back on the man’s actions through the years.

At the tender age of sixteen, Dick had thought himself a full adult. He’d left Bruce and headed off to join the teenage hero team ‘all on his own’. He couldn’t see then that of course a bunch of random teenagers couldn’t afford a building, couldn’t afford to feed or clothe themselves, and certainly couldn’t afford all the top of the line equipment inside the building.

Bruce had silently supported everything, paying for not only Dick’s escapades, but a whole team of young adults. That infallible support had always been there, Bruce was never far, never abandoned Dick. And yet, Dick couldn’t help but to ruminate on his own shameful behavior, and the pieces he wished he could go back and change.

“B– how’s Knight doing?” The comm line on the computer crackled with a distinctive voice that made Dick’s lips twitch up in amusement. “Need anything?”

“You can bring some ice cream on your way back!” Dick hollered back over, thankful for the interruption of his own melodramatic thoughts.

“You owe me from last week Dickhead!” Jason roared over the line, all professionalism lost as he began their ongoing sibling war, a battle Dick cherished greatly. “I paid for your cone when you said you forgot your wallet! You still haven’t paid me back!”

“He’s fine Jay-lad,” Bruce sighed, dragging a palm down his face. Dick could see the smile hiding behind Bruce’s hand at hearing them joke.

“He’s a broke ass bum is what he is,” Jason ranted. “Did you know two weeks ago he invited me for burgers and then also ‘lost’ his wallet? I have never met an adult man who conveniently loses his wallet around his younger brother so easily and I–”

“Says the egghead who lost his glasses at the library–”

“Hey I found them!”

“Babs found them.”

“Oh yeah? What about-–”

“Boys,” Bruce’s voice was serious but his face still showed mirth. “Enough. Jason, is everything going smoothly?”

“Yeah B, we’re almost done,” Jason slipped into a more professional tone again. “Everyone is accounted for and no injuries to report. I’m bringing them all home soon.”

Dick grinned at Bruce who wore an openly proud look on his face. Jason had grown into his own man, someone that Dick and Bruce were both so proud of, despite so many initial setbacks. Dick’s heart gave a twinge of pain as he thought to the early memories of Jason though, so many pieces that Dick wished he could have a do-over on.

Life with a group of teenage superheroes was pretty much just like life with any group of teenagers– full of laughter, heartbreak, and drama. Dick loved them all. He loved growing and learning with them, facing new challenges together and each finding their own pathway into life as all teens must do.

Bruce and Dick had limited contact for a time, self imposed by Dick as he hadn’t forgiven his overprotective father from trying to restrict him, but soon Dick found himself reaching out, wanting to talk again.

He missed Babs, missed Alfred, and yes, even missed Bruce. There’d been something off in Bruce’s update about everyone, but he hadn’t hesitated to agree to Dick visiting so it had ended up being a resounding shock to learn Bruce had adopted a new kid.

Jason Todd was a younger, better version of a son. He clearly thought Bruce hung the moon, adored and respected everyone, and even cared about his school work. He was everything Dick Grayson was not.

Dick hated him on sight.

But Jason? He made it so damn difficult to hold true to those negative feelings. He adored Dick just as much as Dick hated him. He followed Dick everywhere– eventually including right down to the cave.

“So all this used to be Bruce’s and now it’s yours?” Jason asked, eyes wide and filled with wonder as he looked around the large cavern.

Dick had known he was being followed, maybe even made it easy and obvious that he was sneaking out, and barely bothered to act surprised that he’d been ‘caught’.

“Yup,” Dick lied. It was true he’d learned that Bruce had built the cave and all the equipment, but actually giving it to Dick? Like hell.

“So you just go out every night and help people?? That’s so awesome! I want to do it!” Jason was practically vibrating in excitement, eyes darting around and soaking up all the gadgets and toys at his disposal.

“Nope!” Dick practically chirped, relishing in shutting down the excitement. “Bruce would never let you.”

Jason’s bright eyes turned to Dick, full of mischief. “What Bruce doesn’t know, won’t hurt him,” the young boy suggested coyly.

Dick grinned, feeling a surge of vicious retribution soar. He’d show Bruce that no one was perfect, not even angelic little replacement sons.

Titan’s Tower was one state over from Gotham, but it felt like a world away from the grimy dark city Dick had come to call home. The Tower itself was more like an apartment building with floors dedicated to training the team members and personal spaces.

The team had fluctuated since Dick had originally joined, growing and losing members as they moved on or out of the hero business, but in its current iteration, Dick was the only non-super powered human.

Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and the new kid, Jericho, all had some sort of enhancement that made them unique combatants, but Dick didn’t allow himself to feel less than. He knew his own worth, understood now what he could bring to a team and the weight of leadership on his shoulders.

“If we needed help, we know how to ask,” Dick interjected smoothly into the ongoing argument. The team of young heroes had been once again interrupted in the mission by the overbearing Justice League. It’d been a constant fight since the formation of the teenage group. With training, the older heroes were fine leaving the young heroes to their own devices, but anything more serious and at least one of them would interject, messing up the team’s hard practiced formations and routines.

“Robin–” Superman started with a patient tone.

“Not my name,” Dick fired back with a well practiced smile.

“Right, Knight, I didn’t mean to disrupt your teamwork, I just–”

An alarm blared with an incoming call, dragging all eyes to the console. ‘Incoming Call – Robin’ flashed on the screen, and Dick gave a long-suffering sigh. He slapped his hand down on the keyboard, declining the call.

“I said don’t call us, we’ll call you,” Dick muttered, earning a few raised eyebrows. He ignored it and turned back to Superman. “Look, we aren’t new to this game any longer. Your advice and assistance is appreciated, but we’ll ask for help when we need it.” His tone was firm as he stood up against the most powerful being on the planet.

Dick wasn’t afraid, had never been afraid, of Superman. It didn’t matter about physical power right here and now, the team didn’t need or want any show of physical strength– this was about leadership.

Superman backed down, a rueful smile in place. “I still remember you bouncing around after me when I first brought you here. Now you’re kicking me out.”

There was another moment of tension, and then Dick laughed, long and loud. The stress in the room burst like a bubble. “Like I said, just until we call you.”

Clark clapped him on the shoulder with another smile, “Good job, Knight. You have a great team.” He took to the air with a wave, and the tower was just back to the team once more.

“Dude! You told off Superman!!” Gar bounced up to Dick’s side with large, excited eyes. “And he let you!”

“Of course he did,” Donna laughed as she patted Dick on the head. “He’s awesome like that.”

Kory frowned at the computer console. “I do not understand why you never answer his calls. Is this place not to take in those that need assistance?”

“That guy does not need any help,” Dick scoffed, thinking back on his ‘little’ brother bouncing around the cave with Dick’s old uniform. “That kid just needs to join a soccer team and read a book.”

Vic frowned over at him. “Is that what you told him to do? He’s your dad’s new–”

“My dad is dead,” Dick snapped, his temper finally fraying. “That kid just happened to be adopted by the guy who I lived with for a bit. Nothing more.”

Raven floated closer, observing Dick in a way that made the hairs raise along the back of his neck. He knew she was intuitive, and he was suddenly fearful of being called out, forced to face the truth of his words. However, all she did was shrug and move off down the hall.

Slowly the group separated out, all heading into their own directions, leaving Dick staring at the console, lost in thought. A sudden hand on his shoulder made him flinch but he controlled his instincts to violently react, and instead took a breath and turned towards Joey.

Joey was quiet, always quiet, but right now, Dick appreciated the silence more than ever. He also had a complicated relationship with his family so Dick didn’t feel any judgement coming from him.

“I just don’t understand how he replaced me so easily,” Dick found himself admitting. “That kid looks at him like he hung the damn moon and sometimes I miss–” Dick sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I know I’m being ridiculous. He’s a good kid, absolutely deserves all the love in the world. I’d replace me too.”

The console rang again and Dick mentally prepared himself to answer, to try and talk with Jason finally, but suddenly stopped.

‘Incoming Call – B.W.’

Dick’s hand shook, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to answer that call all of a sudden. Something like dread built in his stomach. There was a displacement of air and suddenly Joey’s presence was replaced by one of Dick’s oldest friends, Wally.

“Hey, do you want me to talk to him for you?” the speedster asked.

Dick swallowed, not sure why he was suddenly so nervous. He shook his head, just as the call ended, unanswered. Silence filled the room.

“What’s going on?” Donna asked as she also returned. “I thought we were all done for the day?”

The console lit up again, again with ‘Incoming Call – B.W.’

“I got this guys,” Dick finally said. “Can you just give me a moment?”

They stepped back, but not out of the room, and Dick hit the answer button. “Hey Bruce, what’s–”

“Dick,” Bruce’s voice sounded wrecked, and Dick’s stomach lurched. “Thank god you’re alright.”

“Why? What happened?”

“It’s Jason–” Bruce’s voice broke and Dick felt tears building even though he didn’t yet know the issue. “He was sneaking out at night– I– I had no idea and he– he,” the man’s voice kept hiccupping and Dick felt guilt wreck through him. He’d known what Jason was doing… How could Bruce not have?

“He’s been hurt, badly,” Bruce finally managed. “There was an explosion, I don’t yet know the details but for a moment I was afraid you were with him. One of the emergency beacons went off right before it happened…”

Because Jason had taken Dick’s old uniform that had them.

“I’m on my way,” Dick answered, hearing the tears in his own voice and ignoring them. “I'm so sorry, I’ll fix this,” he promised. The call disconnected, and Dick turned and collapsed into Donna’s waiting arms with a sob.

Dick had made plenty of poor choices in his youth. He’d hurt Bruce, tried to burn a bridge to the one person that had supported him and he’d now led Jason down a destructive path. Dick hadn’t actually wished harm on Jason, he’d just wanted to show the kid how out of his league he was, but now Dick understood the folly of his actions.

Jason was in the hospital, stable, by the time Dick returned to Gotham. The young teen had been caught up in a warehouse explosion between two rival gangs, and had been saved at the last moment by Bab’s swinging into action.

She’d begun lightly patrolling again and had noticed the young bird fluttering around the city unsupervised. Her strength still hadn't fully returned, her leg had never healed correctly and ended up requiring additional rounds of surgery, but she was still doing her best to make a difference.

They needed him, Dick realized far too late. Jason had needed Dick to show him how to safely operate, how to properly train, and Barbara had needed someone to have her back, to support her observations so she didn’t continuously strain her recovery.

Dick knew then he had to make full amends and return home, return to help Gotham. He knew he had a long road ahead, needed to work hard to build the trust back with Jason and Barbara both, but Dick was nothing if not persistent.

“This is the official all clear,” a new voice reported over the line, and Dick perked up out of his memories to listen.

“Heard,” Bruce answered, relaying a few signals to cover the full team. “Head on home.”

“Understood, Agent B, heading home for debrief,” Tim formally replied.

Dick cracked a grin at hearing the tone. Tim was always so professional sounding– until he turned competitive with one of the others and then he’d go full tilt to take them down, talking smack the entire time.

“Race ya home baby bird!” Jason called across the lines and sure enough–

“Like hell you will!” Tim screamed into the comm line causing Bruce to wince and turn down the volume. Dick still heard the rev of the engine as Tim apparently sped up on his bike.

“Be careful!” Dick hollered, but he sighed, knowing it was going to fall on deaf ears. Tim was only a few years younger than Jason, all of them now adults, but he was still the baby of the group to Dick– something Tim tolerated with mild annoyance.

Tim joining the team had been even more accidental than Jason’s but after the rocky relationship Dick still had to navigate with his first younger brother, Dick had been a lot more careful.

“You’ve got a tail,” Bab’s reported over Dick’s comm line.

He leapt across the alley and darted into a shadow. “Friendly or fiendly?” he asked. Since he’d retired from the Titans, they still routinely stopped by to talk or occasionally team up, so a friendly tail was surprisingly common.

“Unknown,” Bab’s offered, tone uncertain. “Small though. I’d almost say Jason sized, if I didn’t know that Jason was sitting beside me right now.”

Bab’s had regulated herself to desk duty now that Dick was back in Gotham fulltime, only occasionally completing field work. She was brilliant at it, her gut instinct just as strong from miles away as it had been when she’d stood at his side. Jason, still healing but expected to make a full recovery, was spending an occasional evening at her side (whenever Bruce could bear to let him out of his sight).

“I’ll head toward the bridge and then loop back if they are still following,” Dick suggested. Then, in case the stalker was within hearing range, he promptly dropped off the side of the building in the direction of the bridge, while actually using his line to quickly cut over to the right side instead.

He pulled himself back on the same roof a moment later and saw the little shadow Babs had mentioned dart across the rooftop.

His mouth dropped open in shock. “You aren’t going to believe this,” Dick whispered into the comm as he dove forward to catch the child following him.

“So this is really your headquarters?” Tim whispered in awe, eyes wide as he glanced around the cave.

“Yup,” Dick grinned. “This is where all the magic happens.”

“Is that the Robin costume?!?" the boy practically squealed in excitement as he bounded over to the case.

“One of them,” Dick answered, still unable to wipe the grin from his face. The kid’s enthusiasm was catching, bringing a bit of that new sense of excitement that had been missing recently. Dick had been devoted to groveling before Babs and Jason, due to his own guilt, not their behaviors, and grinding alone on the rooftops each night. It was lonely and dark after his time with the Titans, but this kid was reminding Dick why it was important.

“Get your grubby hands off that!” Jason shouted as he swung in on his crutches, hobbling over as quickly as he could manage. He wore a domino mask to cover his eyes. “What the hell are you doing here!?”

“I invited him,” Dick interjected, frowning at Jason’s outburst. “He was just following me because he’s curious.”

“Yeah well look what happened to the last curious kid,” Jason snarked.

Dick flinched back, terror seizing him for a moment. That was exactly why he was doing this. He wasn’t going to ignore another kid, let themselves go off on their own and get into trouble. He was going to pay attention this time, he was going too–

“You were Robin?” Tim asked, a wonder filled expression turning to Jason. “You must have been amazing for Dick to trust you with his uniform.”

Jason puffed up a bit at the compliment, while Dick’s face twisted into a confused frown. He hadn’t removed his mask, hadn’t even shown Tim where the location to the cave actually was… How did…

“He already told you his name?” Jason half asked, half demanded. “Then why am I wearing this dumb–”

Dick couldn’t warn him fast enough, and Jason ripped off the mask.

“You’re Jason Wayne!” Tim screamed while pointing. “Holy crap, does your dad know–”

“How did you know his name but not my name?” Jason seemed a bit frightened now, knowing he’d possibly made an error, but Dick was also invested in the answer.

“When Robin first appeared I saw some news footage that showed him performing a quadruple flip. Did you know there are only three–”

“I think it’s four now,” Dick interjected with a smile. “What a clever deduction. Have you followed me all this time?”

The boy’s face turned red. “N-no,” he stammered. “I just saw you’d returned– or I mean I thought it was you– you look different now, but move the same– and I wanted to check for myself.”

“So you’re just some fanboy?” Jason scoffed.

Tim glanced down at his feet, and Dick felt the sudden need to defend the boy’s actions.

“No,” Tim whispered. “I wanted to be like you. Like you both and like Batman and Batgirl and–”

Dick sighed, already feeling himself relenting. He wasn’t going to allow another Jason– this time he’d do it right.

Jason didn’t understand at first, didn’t want anyone joining, but it proved to be a good decision. The two boys fought, treated each other like rivals and brothers in turn, but worked hard under Dick and Barbara’s tutelage to grow.

Dick arranged sessions with the Titans, ensured they patrolled by his side and never alone. More young teens were inspired by their collective actions and found their way to them, and together with his new team, Dick worked to ensure that everyone could learn how to keep themselves safe. They created backups, contingencies, youth outreach programs, shelters, and ensured to never turn anyone away.

By the time Zucco was relevant again, Dick didn’t have to lift a finger. His team, their wide cast of informants, and the whole city was on his side, ready to help.

It was maybe a bit too early in the season, but the night had chilled enough to warrant a small crackling fire in the hearth. Dick’s family dozed around him, exhausted from their pursuit of his justice.

Dick thought again to Zucco and this time the raging hurt and pain didn’t appear. He felt strangely at peace thanks to everyone showing their support and, with the acceptance of his pathway, he also could sense his parents' pride radiate through him.

Bab’s slept in a chair near the fire, Bruce in his own chair across from her. On the couch with Dick, Jason leaned over an armrest and Tim leaned against his shoulder. There was a small space between Jason and Dick that felt a little open, not because Jason was far away exactly, but just a small gap waiting to be filled.

Dick sighed in thought, peaceful and surrounded by his family’s love and care. It may have been a rough evening for memories and regrets, but these quiet moments made everything starkly worth it. Jason let out a soft snore as Tim pressed harder into Dick’s side.

There was no question in his mind that this was what it was all for. Everything had happened for a reason, and if Dick had to go back and do it all again, he really wouldn’t change much at all. He’d found his family along the way and that was all that really mattered.

Possibly he could retire now – he’d been doing this for a decade and maybe it was time to take a step back. They really could handle it all without him and the thought left him filled with pride and just a little sad. What did they even need him for?

Bruce grunted sleepily from his chair, eyes still closed, as he stretched his legs out. He looked exhausted– Didn’t he deserve a break? Dick could sit in the chair, let the others run point while he gave his father his nights back.

It felt right and wrong. Dick’s left side, the side not occupied by Tim, felt cold as the wind whipped the trees against the window.

They didn’t really need him though. Tonight had proved it, proved that he’d helped them all grow into their own heroes and–

A knock at the door startled the whole room awake. Dick was the first one up, rushing to the door before the sound could summon Alfred from wherever the man slept.

Another sharp rap, and Dick wrenched the door open quickly, and then looked down at the small boy glaring up at him. There stood a tiny, miniature Bruce look-a-like, with a sword strapped to his back and a duffel bag grasped in his hands.

“My name is Damian Wayne,” the small boy said in a far too proper tone. ”And I challenge you to the right for your mantle, Knight.”

The bag dropped and quick as a flash, the boy had his sword drawn and swinging towards Dick.

Dick caught the sword with a grin, ready for the next chapter.