Disclaimer β I own nothing.
AN β Hello Titans fandom. This story is actually a series of one-shots about Dick and Bruce slowly reconciling before leading up to a different story that I am planning on writing. Title of the story might change.
First thing you all should know, is that I'm no where near an expert on the DC Universe, most of my knowledge is from the little research I did, the few movies I've watched, the few comics I've read, and the questions I've asked my friends who are more knowledgeable about Batman and the Robins. So some stuff might not be accurate, but then again, this show is taking things is a bit of a different direction than the comics and this is fanfiction after all. I will try my best to keep things as canon as possible, but I'm not guaranteeing anything.
This first chapter takes place after season 1, after they've already defeated Trigon. Please review and
Enjoy!
Dick stood in the doorway of one of the bedrooms in Bruce's safe house, looking at the figure with purple hair passed out on the bed. After defeating Trigon, the group which now consisted of him, Rachel, Gar, Kory, Donna, Hank and Dawn, the latter two arriving a little late to the fight, but just in time, they made their way back to the apartment they had stayed in before Angela told them about her house and took them there. He was actually surprised when they got there that the door opened for him when he did the eye scan. Apparently, Bruce changed the locks again. In spite of the fact that Dick didn't like staying in Bruce's place again, they couldn't stay at Angela's anymore, nor did anyone really want to. The house had been partially destroyed in the fight and Angela had died trying to defend Trigon.
Rachel had barely said a word since the fight to anyone, so they could only guess how she was feeling. Anger, betrayal, pain, all due to her parents for wanting to use her to destroy the world and turning against her when she didn't join them and tried to stop the demon. Loss, because for a moment, she thought she had both of her parents, she thought she had a real family and now they were gone. Dick tried to comfort her, they all did, but she didn't really respond at all. She was still in too much shock. So, he decided to let her sleep.
"How's she doing?" Dick turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw Dawn coming towards him, a concerned expression on her face.
"About as well as can be expected. I think it's mostly shock though." Dick answered, looking back over Rachel.
"You're probably right." Dawn said as she came to a stop beside him. After a few seconds of silence, she added, "Don't worry, she's a tough kid. And she's got all of us. She'll be okay."
"I hope so." Dick replied.
Another period of silence fell on the two vigilantes for a moment, but Dick soon felt a pair of eyes watching him. Looking over to the side, he saw Dawn watching him with a half smile on her face and he asked, "What?"
"Nothing, it's just a little strange to see you all, paternal, considering that the last time I saw you, you wanted to leave Rachel with me and Hank." Dawn said. Dick didn't respond to that. That memory felt as though it happened a lifetime ago, and done by another person.
The former Robin wasn't exactly sure how he ended up here, becoming the leader of their group of misfits. There had even been times he felt a little bit like he was the Dad and Rachel and Gar were his kids. The fact that he tried to leave Rachel, even though he did truly think she'd be safer and happier with Hank and Dawn, made him want to kick himself. He knew there was no way he could leave her, or Gar, or Kory again. It also made him start to think of Bruce.
Dick never really thought what it had been like for the billionaire when he took him in all those years ago after his parents died. For the first few weeks, it had been awkward and tension filled. Dick didn't want to live in a mansion with a stranger, he had wanted to stay with the circus. It was all he knew. And he wanted to find the man who murdered his parents. He didn't try to get to know his new guardian and Bruce didn't seem all that eager to try and get to know him either. The two kept their distance from each other.
It all changed though after he stole Bruce's car and found a note in his room telling him that the billionaire could teach him a better way. It was then Dick learned that Bruce was Batman and he was offered the position of Batman's partner. After Dick became Robin, they started to grow closer. There was still a bit of a wall between them though, neither really knowing how to cross it. Dick wondered now as he looked back on it, if Rachel would say the same thing about him.
"You okay Dick?" The cop was pulled of his reverie when he heard Dawn's voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." Dick answered without really giving any details. However, details seemed to be what the blonde was looking for.
"About?" Dawn prompted him to continue.
Knowing that his ex probably wasn't going to drop it, Dick sighed and said, "Bruce."
"Really? Why?" Dawn was a little surprised. Last time she saw Dick, she had asked about what happened between him and his mentor but Dick never gave her a clear answer, nor did he seem like he wanted to talk or even think about the man who took him in.
"No reason." Dick replied, then as he turned around, he told her, "I'm going to go to bed. See you in the morning."
Without another word, Dick walked away, heading towards another part of the large apartment. If Dawn wanted to continue the conversation, she wisely didn't try. He didn't want to talk about why Bruce was on his mind. He didn't want to talk about the dream/nightmare Trigon put in his mind, and because of how Dawn was in it, he most definitely didn't want to talk about it with her. That would be awkward and weird on so many levels.
Dick didn't head to his room. Instead, he walked towards Gar's bedroom which was just beside his. When they first moved into the safe house, Dick tried to pick a room that was between the two teenagers so he could keep a closer eye on them. At first, he thought Kory would take the room on the other side of Rachel's but she stayed with him. Due to lack of rooms now that there were a lot of them, the alien was still staying with him while Donna took what would've been her room, as they were no longer together in any way, and Hank and Dawn took the last one.
Dick quickly and quietly peaked into Gar's room, then closed the door when he saw the green-haired boy was safe and sound asleep. He did the same thing with Kory, who was also fast asleep before he walked out onto the small balcony by the living room. Despite the late hour, there was still a steady flow of traffic, not that that surprised him. He grew up in a big city and big cities were rarely ever quiet, even in the dead of night. He knew without being there that it was the same in Gotham and he was fairly certain that Batman was watching his city's traffic as well.
Ever since they had defeated Trigon, Dick couldn't stop thinking about the false reality the demon put him in. It was everything he wanted and everything he didn't at the same time. When he quit being Robin and left Gotham, he wanted to have a normal life. He no longer wanted to be a vigilante. He wanted a regular job, maybe meet a nice girl, get married and have some kids. Trigon's dream gave him that. But he also wanted to, eventually, make things right with Bruce.
There was still so much rage inside of him, he knew that. After what happened in the asylum, he knew that it was actually anger at himself, but at the same time, there was still some anger he felt towards the man who took him in after the death of his parents. In so many ways, Bruce had become a father figure in his life and what did he do in the messed up world Trigon made him live in? He killed him. He put his foot on Bruce's chest and crushed it. He killed his mentor, his guardian, his father. If he didn't even try to make things right with Bruce, if he let that fury he had stay in him, is that what he would end up doing? Would he actually end up killing him?
Dick looked away from the traffic below and back towards the doors, knowing that two young teenagers were still inside. He still didn't know much about their past. He knew Rachel had grown up with the woman she thought was her mother being terrified of her, but she still had a relatively normal childhood. Or at least, as normal as it could be considering her circumstances. Gar was more of mystery. He knew that he had gotten sick and that the Chief saved him and he could turn into animals, but that was about it. He suspected that he might have been abused due to the way he would act sometimes and the glimpse of fear in the boy's eyes whenever Chief was brought up, but he didn't know for sure.
He wasn't exactly sure how or when it happened, but somehow, their alliance turned into them becoming a team, maybe even a family. And somehow, he had become the leader of it. It was more than that though, at least between him and the teenagers. Despite how small the age difference was between them, there couldn't be more than 10 years in between them, he had become the 'Dad'. A part of him wanted to deny it, but he had seen the way Gar and Rachel looked at him, the way they sometimes clung to him, the way they listened to him. He was becoming their father figure and that terrified them.
He was only 12 when his parents died. It's not like he was watching them carefully, trying to learn how to be a parent for when he actually became one. And Bruce, well, he was Bruce. Dick knew deep down that the man did try his best, but he was not a good role model in the parent department. And if he did follow in Bruce's footsteps, would Rachel and Gar end up filled with as much anger as he was? He didn't want that for them, he didn't want that for anyone. But how could he make sure that he didn't instill it in them if it was still inside of him?
The answer was simple. He couldn't, nor did he want to. He had the rage in him for so long, he could barely remember what it was like without it. He thought that when he killed Zucco that it would leave, but it didn't. Instead, it was directed at Bruce and himself. And while Dick still wasn't sure how to deal with the rage that he felt towards himself, there was something he could do about Bruce.
Without another thought, Dick pulled his phone from his jacket pocket and scrolled through the contact list. He stopped when he got to Bruce Wayne's number. Could he really just call him up after a year of no contact? Would Bruce even pick up, especially if he's out as Batman? Would he even want to talk to him? What would he say if he answered?
After a few seconds of pondering what could happen if he actually called him, Dick scrolled up to a different number and called that instead. Two rings was all it took before and elderly British voice answered, "Hello?"
"Alfred, it's me." Dick replied, feeling a sudden burst of emotion at the familiar voice. In the dream Trigon gave him, Alfred was dead, but hearing that the man who was a friend and almost a grandfather to him was alive filled him with relief.
"Master Grayson? Is everything alright?" Alfred asked with a concerned tone.
"Yeah, everything's okay. Now." Dick answered, remembering how just this morning, there was a chance the whole world could've been covered in darkness and destroyed.
"'Now?'" Alfred emphasized the last word the former Robin said, his accented voice becoming even more concerned than it already was.
"Had a bit of a problem earlier, but it's all been dealt with." Dick somewhat explained. He wasn't really in the mood to tell the older man what all happened yet, or ever. There was no need to worry the elder since they were all okay.
"Sounds rather serious. Are you sure you're alright?" Alfred repeated his earlier question.
"I'm sure Alfred. Trust me, we're all okay." Dick responded before he added, "I just, wanted to hear a familiar voice."
It hadn't really occurred to him until the butler repeated his question that the man was probably thinking that he needed help or was injured or something. After all, that was the care the last time he called. That realization caused the feeling of guilt to well up inside his stomach. After he left the Manor, he waited a couple of weeks before he called the butler for the first time. He soon started calling him regularly for a little while, then stopped. It had started becoming too hard to keep in contact with anyone from the life that he was trying to leave behind, even though Alfred had no part in the fight between him and Bruce.
"I just wanted to, to check in. We haven't properly talking at all in a while." Dick broke the silence that fell over them.
"No, that we have not." Alfred agreed, his lighter tone telling Dick that the elderly man was now smiling which caused a grin of his own to spread across his face.
"So, how's life in Gotham?" Dick then asked, moving to sit in one of the chairs that were pushed against the wall.
"Quite the same to be honest. Though this morning we did have a massive thunderstorm. The worst Gotham has ever had. Several parts of the city is having problems with flooding." Alfred informed him.
"Yeah, I head about that. Everyone's okay though, right?" Dick then questioned, worried about all the people he knew who still lived in the city he grew up in.
"Besides one causality, yes. A poor pedestrian was killed when a telephone pole fell on him. But other than that, everyone seems to be alright." Alfred responded with a reassuring tone.
"That's good." Dick then paused, wondering if he should ask about Bruce, but decided to approach a slightly safer topic, "So, how's Jason doing?"
"Master Jason is doing quiet well, though is a little disappointed that his usual nighttime activities have been put on hold in order to help the citizens of Gotham with the flooding and damage done during the storm." Alfred informed him.
Dick chuckled a little before he replied, "Yeah, he totally would be. I would be too actually."
"Indeed." Alfred said with a small chuckle of his own.
"So, how is, um, is heβ¦" Dick broke off, finding it difficult to even bring up Bruce's name even though he had done it several times when talking to Donna and Dawn.
"Master Bruce is doing quite well." Alfred told him, knowing exactly who Dick was trying to ask about.
"Good. I'm glad." Dick responded sincerely. Despite being on bad terms, Dick didn't want anything bad to happen to Bruce. He knew that for a fact after he woke up from the messed up reality Trigon put him in.
For a long moment, the two were completely quiet, neither really knowing what to say next. Dick couldn't really think of something else to talk about and he was so tired after everything that happened today he couldn't think that straight anymore. And he was pretty sure that Alfred was staying quiet because he didn't want to bring up any topic that would make Dick uncomfortable or upset. But after another minute or two of silence, Dick found he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.
"Well, it's late. I should probably let you go and make sure that the rich idiot gets at least an hour of sleep tonight." Dick said, his tone light and joking.
"Yes, though it will be difficult." Alfred told him with a type of dejected tone that told the young man that the Brit was joking, though only slightly.
"Goodnight Alfred. I'll talk to you soon." Dick promised him.
"I look forward to it. Goodnight Master Richard." Alfred said.
Dick then hung up the phone and lowered it from his ear. He didn't put it away though. Instead, he held it tightly in his hand and stared at it. He felt a lot better after talking to the butler who was actually more like a grandfather to him, and hearing that both Bruce and Jason were okay was a great relief. Nobody was sure how much damage Trigon had done yet, but all the people he cared about were okay.
"Dick?" The detective's head snapped up in surprise and found Donna standing in the doorway, "What were you doing?"
"I um, I was just, checking in with Alfred. Wanted to make sure that he, Bruce and Jason were okay." Dick answered her.
Donna stared at him in a way that made him feel like he was a piece of evidence she was studying. He hated when she did that and the photographer was well aware of that. Beginning to feel a need to explain further or defend himself, Dick opened his mouth to say something, but Donna beat him to it.
"Good. Just because you're no longer Robin doesn't mean you can't make up with your family." She said with a smile.
"I didn't actually talk to Bruce though. I couldn't even say his name." Dick confided, feeling a little ashamed by that. He didn't feel a need to hide it from Donna though. They had known each other since they were kids. She was probably one of the few people who knew him the best.
Donna quickly crossed the distance between them and put her hand on his shoulder. She waited until he looked up at her before she whispered encouraging, "Baby steps are still steps. It'll get easier, better, with time."
Dick didn't say anything to that. He remembered when she quit being Wonder Girl. He had still kept in touch with her and knew that things were a little tense between her and Diana. He didn't know if it had gotten better between them. He hoped it did, he couldn't really imagine Diana being upset with Donna for long about her choice to stop being her sidekick and to just be Donna Troy.
"Come on bird boy. You need to get some sleep too. Let's go." Donna said, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet. Dick didn't protest at all. He was pretty sure that if he stayed sitting in the chair any longer, he'd pass out right there. So, he allowed his friend to lead him back inside. She was right, while calling Alfred was only a baby step, it was still a step in the direction of reconciling with Bruce. Maybe soon, he'd be able to take a bigger step.
AN β Thus ends the first chapter. From what I know of Dick's character in the comics, I really feel like that killing Bruce in that dream/alternate reality Trigon put him in would definitely mess with him and I personally think that it would push him into wanting to make things right with Bruce. I hope you all liked this chapter! Next one will hopefully be up in a few weeks. See you all then!
