Okay, so I came up with this story late last night and I absolutely LOVE Dick/Babs. Like, a lot. So, here we go! I don't own… blahblahblah. Pre Invasion.

Something Different

Today is Friday, which would normally be a good thing.

Unfortunately, today is also April 1st. That makes today a bad day.

Dick Grayson wasn't in school today, like all of the other April 1sts before this one, ever since she had known him, Barbara mused.

This wasn't because Dick was afraid of being pranked, or anything. In fact, most people who knew Dick had expected for him to take it as a national holiday, or something; the kid was usually all about pranking and goofing off. However, people who knew Dick well knew why he never went anywhere on April 1st. Today was the day he needed to be home.

Today was the day he became an orphan.
_

Classes came and went, and in every one the teachers called attendance.

"Barbara Gordon?"
"Here."
"Dick Grayson?"
"…" No answer.

In Calculus, Artemis Crock leaned towards Barb.

"Where's Dick? It's not like him to miss school, especially not his favorite class…"
Barb looked at Artemis sadly. "He… he's kind of taking a personal day."
Artemis gave her a questioning look. "…So… he's skipping? That's not like him, either."
"No. More than likely, he'll sit in Gotham Cemetery all day."
Artemis made a noise that sounded like a gasp. "So, today is…"
"…their anniversary." Barb finished for her. "The day his family died."

The bell rang.

Time to go home.

…or…
_

Truthfully, Dick was usually (as in, 99.99% of the time) a happy-go-lucky circus kid; everyone he came in contact with seemed to smile, she recalled as she began to walk toward the cemetery. His laughter was contagious (albeit a bit strange) and he always knew just what to say when someone around him wasn't feeling absolutely fantastic; he was great with people. After all, he was utterly adorable and people seemed to be attracted to him. He was just an amazing person.

But who was Dick's shoulder to cry on?

As she approached the cemetery, she realized that it seemed kind of dead. No pun intended. She continued to walk towards the place where she knew a certain five bodies* were buried. Sadly, she knew the scene all too well; she had been here a few times with Dick in the past. Seeing him cry was a sight that not many people got to see, and honestly, it was enough to break her heart.

She approached the gravesite, and even noted the five "Grayson" headstones that labeled the members of Dick's late family, however there wasn't a raven-haired, bloodshot-eyed, teenage boy anywhere.

What?

Why wasn't he here, where he usually comes on this day?

The next best place to look, she figured, was back at Wayne Manor.

As she approached the gates of Wayne Manor, her phone rang. It was her father. Oops.

"Barb?" came her father's worried voice.
"Yeah, dad, I'm here."
"Thank God. Barbara, where the hell are you? You should have been home from school over an hour and a half ago!"
"I'm sorry, dad. I forgot to call you and tell you that I'd be visiting Dick today. He wasn't in school," she apologized, knowing that she'd be in for it when she got home. Her father sighed.
"Barb, what have I told you about calling me? In a place like Gotham… I just need to know where you are!"
"I'm sorry, dad. I'll call you to pick me up at Dick's house, that okay?" Her father sighed again.
"I guess so."
"Great. Bye, dad!"

As she hung up, she walked through the wrought iron gates of Wayne Manor and mentally cursed her forgetfulness. How could she have forgotten to call her dad? She sighed and shook her head.

When she got up to the huge front door, she rang the bell and waited a few moments for Alfred to answer the door.

"Miss Gordon?" came the familiar British accent.
"Hey Alfred. I was wondering if Dick was home?"
"Yes, but I do not believe that he is in the best of sorts right now, so to speak." Barb let out a breath that she didn't even know she had been holding onto.
"May I come in?"
"Certainly."

She walked across the threshold and into the foyer and set her backpack down in a corner.

"You will find Master Dick in his room, although I cannot guarantee that he will allow you to enter; he's been up there almost all day. I've only last seen him just after breakfast."
"He hasn't let anyone in?"
"We've left him be for the time being. Master Bruce felt that he needed some time to himself."
"Thanks, Alfred."

Barb rushed up the rather large staircase and up to the door where she knew Dick would be hiding. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for anything that may be going on; sleeping, crying like a statue, bawling like a maniac, and knocked on the door.

"Dick?" she asked. "It's Babs. I…I just wanted to see you…"

There was a split second of silence, and then his voice.

"Come in."

She did as she was told. As she entered, she observed several things. One, the room was pretty dimly lit. Two, Dick was holding something in his hands, a photo album, maybe? And two, Dick's face had drying tears on it, but he had a genuine smile on his face. A small one, but genuine all the same. She tried to mimic it, lest she frown and cause him to start sobbing, or something. Happy thoughts… happy thoughts…

"Hey, Babs." He sniffled, still smiling, and then patted the spot next to him on his bed, directing her to sit. She did as she was asked, mirroring his sweet smile. God, was he adorable.
"Hey, Dick. I missed you in school today," she confessed. He smirked.
"No one to copy your Calc. homework from?" They laughed as if nothing was wrong.
"What'cha got there?" she asked, trying to understand why he had been smiling.
"Some pictures from newspapers and magazines and some ones that Mr. Haly took of us." He sniffled again. She knew who he was talking about.
"Oh?"
"Yeah." *sniff* "I was trying to do something different this year, trying to remember all of the good times." *sniff*
"Could you tell me about this one?" She pointed to one of him and his cousin; they were doing awkward handstands and appeared to be laughing.

"Oh, that?" He laughed. "My cousin and I used to love having handstand races. This was taken during one of them. John had always beaten me, but in this one, I finally won. My dad wiped his eyes and said, 'My son! I'm so proud!'" He laughed at the memory, and then added, "Although, his tears were fake." They both chuckled.

"Sounds like you had a great time. What about this one?" She pointed to a picture of his entire family in their Flying Grayson uniforms, giving off huge smiles and waving to an audiednce.** Her eyes fell upon a younger version of Dick, and she couldn't help but stare at the smile on his face. In all of her years of friendship with Dick Grayson, she had never seen him so happy.

"That one was taken in Metropolis by a reporter who called himself Clark Kent. He was pretty cool." He smiled sadly. "It was our last family picture together…" He furrowed his brows slightly and his smile began to contort into something else. He was trying not to cry, but Barb could see his eyes welling up with tears.

There was a long moment of silence. All of a sudden, Dick made a hiccupping noise.

"I thought I'd try something different this year. I thought, instead of going to the graveyard and reminding myself of what I'd lost, I'd come back here to remember the happy times I had with them." His voice cracked slightly. He looked like he was about to lose it.

"But it didn't… I just made me remember how much I lost…" Aaaannnd there it was. His smile was gone now as he sobbed into his hands.

"Oh, Dick, I'm so sorry." Barb wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her embrace. At first, he remained rigid. A few moments later, however, he melted into her gesture, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in the lapel of her Gotham Academy uniform. They stayed like this for what seemed like forever, Dick crying and Barb stroking his ebony hair, whispering sweet nothings into his ear and trying to make him settle down. Finally, Dick spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Babs," he mumbled into her shirt.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Dick. Nothing at all."
"I must look like such an idiot." This made her slightly mad. She pulled away from their hug just enough so that she could grab his face and make him look at her.

"Dick Grayson, you have to be the smartest, kindest, most courageous person I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I know it sounds cliché, but it's true. I've never met another person like you, Dick." He looked at her for a moment, and then his face went back to the same, small smile that it had been earlier. They hugged again.

"I don't think you'll ever understand how much you mean to me."

*AN: I saw somewhere that Dick's Aunt, Cousin, mother, and father had been killed upon impact, while his uncle had been put into a coma. For now, we're not going to complicate things with the logistics and pretend that all five family members are dead. It may be a bit more depressing, but much simpler.
** AN: Go to Google Images and type in "Young Justice Flying Graysons," to see the picture I was referring to; it's the first image. From the young justice comics, I believe; I don't own it, either.

So there it is! I kinda left that last line for you to decide who said it ;)
I was thinking about making a second chapter about Dick deciding to ask her to be his girlfriend, or something. Review and tell me what you think or if you've got any ideas. If not, I can just leave it as is, I guess.

Thanks for reading! :)