Just One More Taste
By: Cas
"Seventeen and the shit!"
"SEVENTEEN AND THE SHIT!" Dick Grayson was currently fairly wasted, standing atop a filthy kitchen table. He was surrounded by kids, most of which were twenty or older, and most of which attended Gotham University, same as him. It had been discovered (for the sixteenth time that night) how young he was, and everyone seemed to love it. The only problem with screaming it across the room was the girl situation. Girls weren't so eager to hook up once they heard his age.
He downed another shot of straight vodka and didn't even grimace. The night seemed to go by in bits and pieces until it dawned on the teenager that he was on his hands and knees, in the lawn, vomiting up horrible, burning liquor. People were laughing all around as Dick wobbly rose to his feet. Aaron, a friend from his building, was pulling on his arm. "Ok, ok, you threw up. You ready to powder this shit?"
"What?" Dick slowly turned around and was grateful his friend was holding onto him.
"The oxy, man, come on. Let's get inside before security or someone sees us." He tugged once again and this time Dick followed him back into the building which had somehow become their dorm complex. Dick didn't hide his confusion as they stumbled up the stairs.
"When did we get back to our place?"
Aaron just laughed. "Shit. How much did you fuckin' drink?" He was now unlocking the door to Dick's room (when did Dick give him the keys?) and stumbled in, going straight over to the desk. He pulled a small baggie from his pocket. "Get the straw and spoon, would'ja?"
Dick complied easily finding the items and handing them over, watched Aaron crush four pills with the spoon and divide the powder into various lines with a razor blade.
"Shit," he said as he handed the spoon to Dick. He put the straw into a nostril as he put a finger to the other and quickly took a hit. "What a night."
Popping the spoon in his mouth, Dick eagerly licked off whatever residue the pain killers had left. He wasn't sure why he bothered with the pills. His tolerance was already pretty good, but if he drank before he could usually get a nice float going before passing out. He followed Aaron's example, but made sure to take an extra line before handing the straw back. "What time is it?"
"It's morning, man. Almost six-thirty."
Huh. Dick tugged off his jacket, grabbed his phone from a pocket, and tossed the clothing to the floor. He stumbled to his bed and stared at it momentarily before deciding to do two more hits. Once he felt the slow numbing in his brain he told Aaron he was good and collapsed into his sheets. Unlocking his phone he frowned at the various missed calls and messages. Slowly scrolling through them he felt his heart skip a beat. Bruce.
Messages: Bruce
Answer phone.
Where are you?
Message: Dick
School.
Messages: Bruce
Situation resolved. Call.
Message: Dick
Ok.
Messages: Bruce
You haven't called?
Message: Dick
Stop. I'm so fuckin' sick.
Messages: Bruce
I'll be over in the morning. Somethings up.
Dick stared in horror at his screen. Apparently Bruce had been texting and Dick had been drunkenly responding. He instantly let the phone clatter to the floor as he leapt to his feet. "Shit Aaron! Out! You gotta get out and take all this shit with you. Wait! My alcohol – you gotta hide that in your room!" Dick grabbed his backpack and emptied all its contents onto his bed and instead filled it with various liquor bottles and his weed.
"You're totally ruining this."
"My fucking dad is going to be here any fucking second!"
Aaron was on his feet at once, bolting for the door, ignoring Dick's yells to take the drugs and spirits.
"Asshole."Dick quickly grabbed the straw, spoon and razor and shoved them into his back pocket. He brushed the powder from the desk onto the floor and then turned on his heels to follow Aaron. Relief flooded through his chest when he found the hall empty and he quickly slammed a fist to his friend's door. "Hey! Just take this shit, Aaron! He's not here yet!"
The door opened and Aaron hastily snatched the backpack before disappearing again.
Ok.
Good.
Dick headed back to his room and grabbed his phone, calling Bruce and praying he wasn't too late. Bruce wasn't an idiot. One look at the seventeen year old and he'd know. Dick hopped around the room, changing out of his disgusting vomit and liquor covered clothes and into clean sweats.
"Richard." Bruce answered.
"Hey. What'ch ya' coming over for? I'm fine." Dick was rummaging through piles of laundry for a clean top. "Just had a migraine. It's cleared up."
"Is that right?" Someone was clearly unconvinced.
Dick smelled a blue tee and decided it was better than anything else. He tugged it over his head, dropping the phone in the process. "Shit!" He dove after it and hit speakerphone, remaining on his hands and knees as he continued. His head was so fuzzy. "Yeah."
"Well, I've already parked and am almost to your dorm. You mind waiting to let me in your building?"
"What?" Dick couldn't keep the whine out of his voice.
"See you downstairs." The line disconnected the same time Dick's whole body went cold. He was so screwed. Royally fucked. Dead. The adrenaline had helped him sober some, but he still felt drunk and high – not to mention he'd probably be falling asleep from the cocktail of pills and booze.
Energy shots. Dick crawled-clawed across the floor to the mini fridge. He downed three small bottles and jumped up, a fourth in hand as he hurried to the front entrance. He was barefoot and disgusted at the feeling of grime collected on the floor. Bruce was casually waiting outside, shades and a ball cap – as if that was enough to hide who he was. The billionaire clearly wasn't going to the office after this; He had on jeans.
"Hi." Bruce said, his eyebrow quirked as he scanned the teenager.
Dick made a point to slip outside rather than to allow his guardian in. It was cold out, late March, almost April, and his toes curled at the assaulting air. Hopefully the alcohol would help fight the chill. "You wanted to talk?"
People passing by made a point to look at the two.
"… If you think we're going to talk out here your sorely mistaken."
"We can't go in my room." Dick racked his brain. "I, uh, got a girl up there."
The billionaire actually smiled at that. "Is that a fact?"
Dick opted silence.
"Well, I'll wait for her to get dressed before I go in. I'd like to make sure she's your age as well, since you're still a minor." Bruce motioned towards the door. "After you. Your feet must be freezing."
The Romani glared for a few seconds before swiping his card and letting them both in. He led the way, taking time to gulp down his last energy shot as they walked. Once at the room door Dick paused and looked at Bruce. "Just wait a second."
Bruce gave a nod, though he was clearly aware there was no girl inside.
Dick slipped inside and clicked the door behind him with a sigh. Giving his face a firm slap he turned back around and let Bruce enter. "She's gone."
"Really?" He entered the room and said nothing about the mess. "So, last night?"
Closing and locking his door felt like a stupid idea and yet here was Dick doing just that. "Yeah?"
"You want to come clean?"
"…You said you didn't need me till this weekend. I didn't really-."
"Do you remember why I said that?" The amusement was gone. This was no nonsense Bruce talking.
"Focus on classes." Dick muttered.
"And how's that going on this Wednesday morning an hour before class? Feeling a bit drunk? Hmm?" When no answer was offered Bruce began to walk around the dorm room. "I could smell you as soon as you opened the door. You reek of vomit and booze. Not to mention the size of your pupils."
Dick casually edged to the desk where Aaron had crushed the Oxy. There was still some residue powder in the grove that outlined the top of the furniture. If a anyone else were looking around his room they wouldn't have thought twice about it, but this was the Batman. Dick started to lean back when he noticed Bruce picking up the jeans he had worn last night. Lunging forward Dick snatched them away. "Could you stop nosing through my shit?" There was a clatter that drew both of their gazes to the floor.
The spoon.
The fucking spoon.
Bruce knelt down to pick it up while Dick was frozen with the realization that he had the straw and razor still in the pants. Shit. Doing his best to appear uninterested Dick began to fold the jeans. It wasn't till Bruce held out a hand that the gypsy looked up. "What?"
"Give me the jeans."
"They're disgusting. What do you need them for?"
"Richard." Bruce was eerily calm and that made it worse. "If you would."
Shit. What was the protocol here? Oh yeah, don't do drugs. Drugs are bad. Drugs get you in trouble.
"Dick?" Bruce waited a few more seconds before grabbing the clothing. He was aware of how still the seventeen year old had become. He rummaged through the pockets and cut his finger before pulling out the straw and razor. "Let me guess. This isn't yours?"
Dick looked up through his eyelashes but said nothing.
Clearing his throat, Bruce seemed to resign himself to not lose his temper. He put the items down on the desk Dick was leaning against, eyes flickering over the surface and finding the traces of powder behind the boy. Keeping his mouth tightly shut he gently pushed Dick out of the way and wet his finger to bring the crushed pills to his tongue.
"It's cotton." Dick blurted.
"Excuse me?"
"Oxycodone."
"Oxycodone." Bruce slowly repeated the name. He grabbed Dick by the shoulders and steered him to the bed, forcing him to sit. "Stay." And just like that the hunt began. Every drawer, every corner, under and behind furniture. The last thing was the bed. Bruce jerked Dick up. "Put on your shoes. Get your school things together. Pack a bag."
"What?"
Bruce was tearing off the sheets and searching the mattress. Dick had never been so grateful for his iPad to hide his porn on. "You heard me. Now!"
Knowing better than to argue, Dick grabbed his shoes and sat in his computer chair, pulling on the tennies. He laced them, surprised when his mind seemed to suddenly tilt the wrong way. He gave himself another smack which got Bruce's attention.
"How high are you?"
"M'fine." Dick asserted, deciding one tied shoe was enough. He stumbled over and collected some clothes into his Adidas track bag as well as his tablet, laptop, and what few books he had. The whole while he felt Bruce's eyes on him. "What about my car?"
"Are you proposing to drive it?!"
"What? No, I'm not that dumb, Bruce."
The 6'2" figure threw Dick a hoodie and waited as the teen pulled it on. He then snatched the suitcase and a fistful of Dick's hood, pushing the boy towards the door.
"Oomph!" Dick about toppled over, clearly still uncoordinated. "Watch it!" He was manhandled the whole way out of the dorm building and onto the busy sidewalks where everyone looked their way. "Bruce, come on." Dick tried to wriggle away from the hand on the back of his neck. Heat burned across his face as a group of girls started giggling at him. Most of which he recognized.
It took about fifteen minutes to make the trek across campus, the whole while Bruce kept ahold of Dick and all the while people stared. Someone even had the gall to take pictures, so Dick flipped them the double birds. When they got to the car he was tossed into the passenger seat purposefully rough.
"Stop, Bruce!" Dick snapped as the suitcase was flung at his head. He was messed up enough that he hadn't caught it and it smacked him right in the face.
"Shut-up and strap in." Bruce snarled as he slammed Dick's door. The drive home was filled with angry silence and Dick's phone as it received about a hundred messages. He quickly silenced it but before he could pocket it Bruce ripped it from his grasp.
"Hey! That's private!"
"I've seen how well you respect privacy. I'll be keeping your electronics until we get to the bottom of this."
Dick was too tired to fight. He could feel himself crashing and let out a sigh of relief as they pulled into the manor. Bruce parked and grabbed the duffel from Dick as they climbed the stairs. Dick was so tired and dizzy that he actually had to steady himself a few times by grabbing his mentors arm.
"Cave." At this point Bruce had the teen by the elbow to lead as well as assure Dick didn't face plant. It took slightly longer than normal to get down, but once they did the billionaire half lifted, half shoved Dick onto the exam table.
"I gotta lie down." The Romani whined, swinging his legs up and almost tipping over the side. Bruce swore under his breath as he caught him. At this point all Dick could do was let himself be positioned. He felt Bruce pulling the hoodie off. It caught on Dick's ears and he gave a yelp that was ignored. He was grateful when Bruce lowered him to lie down on his back.
"Don't move. I'm going to draw blood and then hook you up to an IV."
Dick grunted and closed his eyes, letting the room dissolve as he let himself pass out.
To be continued…
1. Yes. Dick should be at Hudson University. Let's make this an AU.
2. I know Dick isn't probably the type to do drugs, but I like to write what I know, and he's the only one who dropped outta college so I feel like that's my in. Plus being forced to go to school really sucks, so who knows.
3. Thanks for reading.