A/N: This had to be done. Set after "Image".
Disclaimer: I don't own.
Ever Again
He found his ward in the gym, hiding away from the rest of his teammates. The boy was slightly hunched over, clutching at his head, fingers laced up through his raven-colored hair. The Dark Knight had to find the child to take him home, but this was not where he expected to find his son. "Robin."
Blue eyes looked up. Exposed blue eyes. "Why did you do that to me?" he asked, a hiss slipping through his gritted teeth.
The man's step faltered only because he could feel the anger that was brewing inside of his protégé. His mask only showed his brows knitting together in confusion, but before he could ask, Dick was up and aggressive.
"You put me in charge, Bruce. I didn't want to be in charge!" The pain that glowed in his eyes was raw and unrelenting.
"If I remember correctly," came the logical voice of Batman, "you wanted to be in charge when this team first started. Your reports all explained the dynamics that came with your temporary leadership near the beginning of the Santa Prisca mission, which showed-"
A sick, hurt expression consumed his innocent features. He was talking to the Caped Crusader, not his father. That was the worst part of constantly living in the Dark Knight's shadow: he could never tell which of the two he was speaking with, and there were times with his ward where Bruce couldn't separate the two. "This isn't about back then." His gaze hardened to stone. "This is about now."
"I put you in charge because you were the only one that I trusted to lead that mission, Robin. You know the flaws of your other teammates as well as I do. You were the only choice."
"I don't care." He had moved so that he was close enough to Bruce to stare up at the hidden eyes. "I didn't want to be leader."
Jaw tightening, Bruce felt that this was only going south. His ward was furious over something he would've been bouncing around like a five-year-old about a few months ago. "Robin-"
"I don't want to understand, I don't care what your logic was, and I don't want you to try to explain it to me again. I get it." His fists were clenched to the point of drawing blood. "You should've asked."
He had the upper hand. Batman was stronger than his apprentice and reigned superior in every aspect. If the boy wanted an argument, he could have it. The Dark Knight wanted to avoid confrontation, but his protégé seemed determined to get his point across. "I am in charge of this team and everything it does. I don't need to consult you over who leads a mission."
"I'm your son," he snarled. "Doesn't that mean anything to you? What about me?" He knew the difference between Richard Grayson and his alter ego. The lines blurred around Mount Justice, but he still knew when to separate their personalities and abilities. If Batman couldn't make the distinction between his son and his protégé…
"You need to know when to-"
"I do know." His words were hateful. Dick knew he was completely overreacting, but after the scenario, he never wanted to be leader again. He'd killed Superboy and Kid Flash. He'd gotten himself killed. And somehow, it felt like he was a child all over again watching them fall from the trapeze.
He never wanted to feel that again.
Batman was silent for a long moment, watching to see what his apprentice would do. The boy was blowing it completely out of proportion…
And he realized it would never happen. His father would never listen. Dick Grayson and Robin were both terrified of losing their friends. For both lives, the friends were concurrent. He could separate himself, but he couldn't separate the relationships with friends. Wally was in both lives, Artemis was in both lives, and whether he liked it or not, he had grown to love the rest of the team and knew he would fight to protect them no matter which one he was. This was Batman.
He'd taken off his mask so that Bruce would maybe try talking to Richard. This was impossible. The man was so oblivious some times and it sickened Dick to even think about it. For being the World's Greatest Detective, he sure had his moments. "You know what? I don't care anymore." His glare was lethal. "Just don't do that to me ever again." In his rage, he tried to push his mentor away so that he could escape into the heart of Mount Justice, but instead found his wrists trapped by the man's hands.
"This is about letting them all die." It was a statement. He knew. He was merely trying to work around it, lead Robin to get over it on his own time. They hadn't talked about it because there was really no need to; the Boy Wonder usually took care of himself.
Richard was a strong kid, but he couldn't keep up the walls forever. He was afraid of letting them down. He was afraid of letting him down. And he was afraid of dying.
Letting himself go, Dick leaned into his father with only a wish for solace. He only felt Bruce's arms lightly wrap around him before the tears bubbled over, trailing down his face and staining the Dark Knight's black uniform.
Never again.
A/N: Because I felt like this needed to be done. Between the constant hints throughout the episode and the talk in "Disordered", I'm pretty sure Dick wouldn't be happy with Batman springing it on him like that. Anyways, reviews are great.
~Sky