… This may be the most confusing thing I've ever written. Ohmygosh, even I have a hard time following this thing. But anyway…
IT'S MY BIRFDAY, LOL.
I'M (NOT REALLY) GETTING SO OLD NOW. LOL.
IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY, LOL.
I HAD CAKE. IT WAS YUMMY. LOL.
LOL.
I'M TOTALLY NOT ON A SUGAR HIGH, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU LIARS.
LIAR LIAR PANTS FOR HIRE.
LOL.
Okay, calming down now. Eh heh heh, sorry 'bout that XD
DISCLAIMER: CAPS ARE FUN. LOL.
…
Why can't he hear himself? Is the only thing that keeps echoing in his head. He can feel the tears that run down his face, he knows that he's shaking, but he can't hear his cries. So he tries screaming louder, louder, louder, and he almost -almost- notices the look of panic on the police officer thats holding him's face, but he still can't hear himself,
and it's starting to scare him, even though he was terrified already.
"Kid, kid? Are- are you okay?" The man holding him looks to be in his twenties, obviously a rookie. Dick's family is most likely his first 'serious' case.
So he can hear other people, but not himself?
He just starts crying harder, even though he tries to stop.
…
He felt something was wrong the moment his uncle, the last one who would go into the formation, stood at the edge of the trapeze to take off. He hadn't known why or how, but something just hadn't felt right, and he had grabbed the tight material of his uncle's tights before he could stop himself.
Uncle Rick had looked down at him questionably, before a fond smile grew on his face and he ruffled Dick's hair for the last time ever.
Not that either of them knew that.
"Good luck." Dick just whispered simply, and he could feel the eyes of every single member of the audience just staring at the two of them, before Dick let go and Uncle Rick jumped off.
Dick watched this all, sitting on that trapeze pole in the middle of the circus tent, would spring to his feet moments later as his entire family started to fall.
…
He should've of- he should've of warned his uncle, gotten his entire family off of the trapeze, but he didn't, and now all of them are dead.
Well, Uncle Rick is still alive, but… but…
Dick just lets out another silent scream, sobs some more, and throws himself out of the police man's arms.
He pays no attention to the cries for him to stop as he just starts running, running away and away, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and his now completely ruined life, away from being Dick Grayson, now the only Grayson, and just the fact that this is all reality and his parents aren't going to be there tomorrow when he wakes up, and he and Cousin John are never going to play video games together again, and he's never going to help his aunt with breakfast or play football with his uncle ever again-
He just runs.
He's so, so terrified, and nothing makes sense, and it's hard for him to breathe because, oh God, he's crying too hard,
but he can't stop, because running is all he knows
He just sobs harder, exhausted already from all the running- fleeing- he's doing right now. Dick wastes a second looking back, and sees the circus lights in the distance. Did he really run that far?
He stops, the question momentarily flooring him, before he spies a nearby empty box. And as he now started to sway on his feet, Dick crawled into it without a second thought, ignoring the suspicious sounds of rodents farther down the alleyway and the sticky puddle his left pinky finger touched down in as he entered the box. Inside, he began to reflect.
He had just turned eight… his birthday was only two weeks ago,
he can remember the chocolate and vanilla cake his mommy and auntie Lily made
and his parents anniversary was only three days before that,
and he just... he just...
He just keeps crying.
He's alone now.
Forever.
…
Hours later, as the sun slowly climbs over the horizon of Gotham's slums, the soft light illuminates the small, tear-stained but still rosy, cheeks of a small child.
And large, gentle hands clothed in black cloth pick up Dick, cradles him to his chest which sports a large black bat emblem, and takes the boy home.
To his new home.
And it may not be the same as his old home in the warm, family trailer, but Bruce is determined to do the best he can for the sleeping angel in his arms.
…
It would take a while, but the two would warm up to each other. Construct a bond as close as father and son, just without being blood-related. They would grow to care for each other, learn how to rely on each other, and learn how to survive together. They would become the single most-important thing in the world to each other.
Robin would become more important to Batman than even the boy knew.
He would become Batman's beacon of hope, the light to his sorrow, purging and plowing through the shadow of sorrow and anger Bruce had built around himself over the years. Bruce knew it sounded cheesy, but the whole soul-shattering truth that it was, firmly shook his faith in mankind to the core.
Everything was better now, for both Bruce and Batman. Everything was clearer, easier to understand. Now, Bruce was filled with a calm he hadn't experienced since before his parents murder.
Robin was his own, personal, guardian against the forces of his inner evil.
His angel of darkness.
…
I have no idea what I was doing with this story. I've just been having some key ideas floating around my head for what happened after the whole 'Flying Graysons fall to their death' episode, and I wanted to write them down.
Eventually, they developed into… this. Yeah, this entire story kind of wrote itself, took it down it's own path. *shrug* WHATEVS.
There's a song I like called 'Angel of Darkness'. I was thinking about it when I wrote this. Go google it at some point if you want to listen to it or something :)
WISH MY HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN YOUR REVIEWS, PLEASE :3
~OH
