Title: Puzzle Pieces
Word count: about 1566 words
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and I write completely for fun and not for profit, as it will always be!
Beta: youngjusticefanatic, you brilliant brilliant person! I owe you so much! Thank you for being my beta!
Summary: Sometimes, when you're broken it's easier to let the pieces to go and let yourself shatter than hold it together. Only then can you start over. No one told Dick that; that is, until Bruce came along.
Fit together like puzzle pieces, held together like superglue.
AN: Another kind of Character study kind of thing. I really have no explanation it has been sitting in my computer for a while and I finally got around to finishing it.
I know it's been a while sense I have posted anything. I'm taking a creative writing class, and it is actually leaving me no time to writing... ironic I know. P.s. I really really suck at poetry.
Enjoy!
Sometimes, when you are broken it is easier to let the pieces to go. Sometimes, it is easier to let yourself shatter than hold it together. Only then can you start over. No one told Dick that it was okay to let go. That is until Bruce came along.
Now, even though he was still a little rough around the edges and there might have been a few holes, Richard Grayson was coming together again.
The shift in his mother's eyes – the one from bliss to terror- was the first crack. Time slowed down around him as his parents fell through the air. The rest of his senses went numb: his world fell silent, his body stiff, and all Dick could do was watch in horror. Their hands searched for each other, and their fingers intertwined just before they hit the ground.
The world came back in a single wave and left little Richard Grayson chocking on air. The screams – the audience and his own – slammed into his eardrums. His body was still numb as he stumbled down from the platform. His legs shook as he staggered towards the scene. Dick flung himself over their bodies, screaming at the top of his lungs. He screamed for them to get up. He screamed for help. He screamed for the heart shattering pain that coerced though his body.
The rest of the night was a blur for Dick. It was a hazy memory of blood, cops and a man in a black suit. Dick remembers the chaos being drowned out by strong arms holding him in a tight, safe, embrace and a deep voice humming a soft lullaby in his ear before being pulled into a dreamless sleep.
His world had shattered at his feet, leaving his soul in splinters. Dick clutched at the pieces, sharp with pain, attempting to hold himself together.
Everyone said he would be okay.
His parents were ripped away, leaving a gaping hole in his chest, but according to everyone else, Dick was going to be okay.
His only remaining family was declared "unfit to raise a child", but according to the Judge, Dick was going to be okay.
The orphanage and foster system was full, but according to the Social Worker, Dick was going to be okay.
Instead, He was placed in Gotham Youth Detention Center, but according to the Guard, Dick was going to be okay.
Everything was okay and everything was fine, at least, according to everyone else.
Everyone told him he would be fine, no one asked if he was fine. Maybe that means the future; that one day he would be fine. But right now he was broken –shattered- and the pieces were slipping though his fingers like sand. Dick clutched to the remaining pieces of himself, the edges cutting deep, the memories almost too painful to hold.
Everyone said he would be okay, but no one would tell how to get there.
Everyone said he would be okay, but Dick wasn't so sure.
Dick clung desperately to the remaining pieces of himself as he followed Mr. Wayne into the manor. Peanut, his stuffed elephant held tightly to his chest and a worn out bag in Bruce's hand was all the child had left of his old life.
For a week and a half, Dick wondered the halls of Wayne manor attempting in vain to put the pieces back together. But the shards wouldn't fit together anymore, there was too much missing and nothing would hold.
It was the night that he found out Bruce's secret, that Bruce was Batman, when things finally began to get better; and Dick Grayson finally fell apart.
Bruce shut down the bat-computer and hung up the mantle. The lights shut down in a slow wave, plunging the cave into darkness. The Dark Knight made the slow trudge up the stairs, and though the grandfather clock to the study. His mind was on the silk sheets of his king sized bed, and the World's Greatest Detective almost missed the shaking mass in the leather armchair – almost.
Bruce didn't say anything, because the man knew nothing he said would help. He just plucked Dick off the couch and tucked the silently sobbing child in his lap. The sole-remaining Flying Grayson cried until there was nothing left, and then cried some more. Bruce rubbed circles into the acrobats back until the child finally calmed down. The man used the edge of a callused finger to wipe away one of the falling tears.
"I want to be your partner. I want to join Batman. I want to find Zucco." Dick whispered, his voice was rough from crying and the pain evident. "I want…" The child trailed off, another tear made its way down the side of his face.
The look on the child's face cut at Bruce's heart, his deep blue eyes were glossy with tears and filled with pain, but there was a small gleam of desperation. He could see the deep hatred lurking in the darkness, the need to avenge the death of his parents. It was the same one he saw years ago when looking in the mirror.
"I know." Bruce whispered. "But you can't, you aren't ready."
Bruce was ready for the push to the chest, and held Dick as he struggled to pull away. "I need to." Dick screamed, fighting against the arms holding him in place. "I need to find Zucco. I need to stop him." The anger melted to into please of desperation and the struggling grew weaker. "Please, Bruce, I have to stop him. He can't do it again." Dick broke down into another wave of sobbing, and buried his head into Bruce's chest. The Dark knight barley heard the whisper in between sobs, "I can't let him destroy another family."
"I know," Bruce repeated, because he did – he knew. "But, you need to heal first Dick. You have to let go."
And he did – Dick loosened his grip and let the pieces slip though his fingers to scatter at his feet.
Dick shuffled though the pieces, picking out the memories and leaving the hate, the burning need for revenge - the pain.
Some pieces were still stuck together. The memories of his parents carried little pieces of sadness at the corners, but were filled with the feeling of love. His life at the circus was tied with pain, but made his heart swell. The feeling of flying left him calm, finally at peace.
He picked up the memory of Tony Zucco, not for revenge, but for his motivation. Dick needed Zucco to pay, but not at his hands. Zucco needed to face justice so he would never have the opportunity to ruin more lives.
The pieces started to come together, a little jagged and there were some holes, but he was getting better. Only then did Bruce let Dick begin to train.
They started slow. Dick was already a skilled acrobat, he was the best. A shift in stance and a properly closed fist made him lethal.
It took a couple months and the holes were finally beginning to fill in.
Dick pulled on his gloves, already molded to his hands. The cape was heavy on his shoulders, but in a good way. His boots were tied tight and his belt in place. The mask over his eyes just felt right and he was ready.
He strolled out from behind the curtain, confidence in every step, meeting Bruce and Alfred's gazes head on. He flashed a bright smile at the two men. "The name's Robin." He announced, tapping the left side of his chest, pointing at the yellow R.
It took Dick months to be ready but eventually he was able to bring Tony Zucco to justice, and put him behind bars.
The holes were filled with new things; cooking with Alfred, playing basketball with Bruce, fighting crime with Batman.
Dick was never able to put himself back together, at least not in the same way he was before. He became Robin the Boy Wonder, partners with Batman. He was the first sidekick. It might have taken a little time and some superglue but the puzzle pieces were fitting together, and Dick was finally going to be okay.