Bedtime Stories
"So then like thirty assassins followed me into the building!"
Dick and Damian sat in the Cave, Dick was leaning against the chair Damian was sitting in. Damian rolled his eyes at Dick's exaggeration.
They had just come back from patrol as Nightwing and Robin.
"Six or seven are more likely, Grayson." Damian deadpanned. Dick sighed.
"Ya but the story's more interesting if you stretch it a little-"
"But more accurate if you do not," Damian interrupted.
"Why can't you be a normal ten year old?" Dick words were gentle and teasing but he could see the hurt in Damian's eyes. Dick frowned, Oh damn, that was stupid.
"But you know I wouldn't want you any other way," he amended. Oh, ya great save... he thought sarcastically to himself, but he did see Damian straighten in his chair slightly.
"Just continue with the story, Grayson."
"So the assassins followed me into this building, and I turn around and grab my escrima sticks, well at this point they had me surrounded. So a hundred or more of these guys are surrounding me, and all of them have guns-"
"I thought there were thirty?" Dick waved his hand through the air as if to wave the words away.
"Ya, ya, thirty or a hundred, whatever, so anyway I'm in this old building and there's two hundred assassins," Damian rolled his eyes,"Don't you want to know how I got out?" Dick teased him.
"You are telling me nonsense," Damian deadpanned.
"I took my explosives and BAM!" Dick paused for dramatic effect,"I blew the building up and had to run out on before the whole thing blew up!"
Dick looked to Damian, who was sitting in the computer chair with a completly blank expression.
"Really? You love explosives!"
"Yes, but your story was just that: a story. Not real."
Dick rolled his eyes,"Duh. But we do cool stuff all the time, a few hours ago we jumped off a 24 story building to freak out Commissioner Gordon. Sometimes stretching the truth on stories makes them more interesting."
Damian continued staring at Dick.
"I don't understand though, isn't that lying?"
"No it's just... fun."
"Fun because of lying...?"
"No," Dick gave an exasperated sigh, "Haven't you ever heard of fairy tales? It's the same thing, they didn't happen, it's just entertainment."
"You mean like Cinderella?"
"Ya! Like that!" Dick was incredibly excited that Damian actually knew a normal fairy tale, until Damian's next words.
"I've never read it, it looked ridiculous."
"Well didn't your family ever share stories or read you fairy tales?" Dick asked quietly, but Damian looked away.
"I didn't have a family."
"Your Mom-"
"No, Grayson. Drop it. I was never read fairy tales."
Dick looked down at the ten year old, who was now crossing his arms. That was another stupid question, the kid was raised by assassins, of course he wasn't read fairy tales, Dick chastised himself.
"What time is it?" Dick changed the subject.
"1 A.M."
"Woah, I need to get you to bed, Dami. Bruce will kill me if he comes home from his business trip tomarrow and finds his son passed out from lack of sleep."
Damian sighed but got up from his computer chair and let Dick lead him upstairs. Once they got to his door Damian turned around to face Dick.
"What?" he asked in an irritated voice.
"What do mean, what?"
"Why are you still following me?"
"Dami, just let me tuck you in."
"I am appalled you would suggest I need help getting to bed," Damian looked accusingly at Dick. Dick sighed and opened the door, but didn't leave. After a moment Damian reluctantly entered.
He crawled into the giant bed and let Dick pull the covers to his chin with a frown.
"Ok done," Damian said and quickly rolled over so he was no longer facing him. But Dick didn't leave. Not just yet... Dick thought.
"Dami, I am going to tell you a story, and this time I'm not going to stretch the truth at all," Damian sat up and looked at Dick curiously.
"...fine..." he finally answered. Dick grabbed a chair from Damian's desk and pulled it up to the side of his bed.
"So recently it has come to my attention that you were never told bedtime stories, and in my opinion, that is a crime," Damian rolled his eyes at Dick's comment,"So here is your first bedtime story. Okay? Once Upon a Time-"
"Must it start with that?" Damian interrupted.
"Fine, once a long time ago," Dick corrected, "there was a little boy who got to travel all over the world and see amazing things-"
"I thought you were going to tell a true story," Damian interrupted again.
"I am, but you have to let me finish, because it's not very believable at first." Damian nodded his head and Dick continued.
"Once a long time ago, there was a little boy who got to travel all over the world and see amazing things with all his best friends and family. They saw beautiful sights and did cool things, from seeing the Great Wall of China, to tigers in India, to riding horses in Mexico. The boy got to know amazing people and learn languages from around the world."
Dick continued telling the story for several minutes about exciting places. He then paused momentarily, and when he continued his voice was quiet.
" But everything changed all at once during one show-"
"Show?" Damian interrupted, he was leaning forward slightly in his bed, now interested in the story.
"Ya, he got to travel all over the world because he was part of a traveling circus."
"Why didn't you tell me that before?"
"You wouldn't have believed me."
Damian thought for a minute before nodding. Why does this story sound familiar? Did Bruce tell me this before? He said it had something to do with Dick... but I wasn't listening...
"During this one show, the boy lost something very dear to him... and he... he had to leave the circus."
"What did he lose?" Dick paused before answering.
"He lost... his family. The one's that read him stories before bed, and carried him when he got to tired to walk..." Dick drifted off.
Oh ya...Bruce was talking about him... that's why he wants me to hear it... Damian thought guiltily.
"But lucky for him, someone important was in the audience," Dick paused. Movement in the room caught Damian's eye.
"Father?" Damian whispered as he looked behind Dick. What Dick didn't know was that Damian was actually addressing the man that had silently entered the room.
"Ya. Bruce Wayne. He took the boy and comforted him, and after a while he came back and gave him a home. He taught the boy lots of things. His parents may have taught him how to love, but Bruce, he taught the boy some of the most important things of all. He taught the boy about justice, and most importantly, how to be a hero. He taught him that respect had to be earned," Dick paused for a moment as happy tears welled up in his eyes.
"And now the boy is grown up and gets to tell stories to his amazing baby brother," Dick smiled down at Damian until he realised the boy still wasn't looking back at him, but rather behind him.
"That was an amazing story," Dick heard a voice say behind his back. When he turned he saw Bruce.
"Bruce! How did you get home early?"
"I took an early flight. I peeked in just at the beginning of your story," he smiled at Dick, his eyes were still watering from hearing the story his son had told. It was Damian who broke the comfortable silence between them.
"I... I've never heard your story before. I've heard Drake's and even Todd's, but not yours." Damian looked guilty as he addressed Dick.
"Ya. I thought Bruce told you before..."
"I wan't listening..." Damian trailed off, he now felt guilty,"The circus? Really?"
"Yup," Dick smiled back at Damian before turning to address Bruce,"Glad you got to come home early."
"Me too. I am questioning why my ten year old is just getting to bed at 1 A.M. though."
Dick touched his hand to the back of his neck,"Yaaa, about that..."
"He was telling me a story in the Cave, a ridiculous one actually," Damian offered. Bruce sighed and gave Dick a playful look.
"Fine," he said with a smile. He wasn't opposed to his sons spending time together.
"Can I hear more stories?" Damian asked.
"Well, it's your bedtime..." Dick trailed off.
"But I think we can make an exception," Bruce gave his permission.
"Well, you could tell me more about what it was like to live with a traveling circus..." Damian suggested, he would never admit to Dick but he was incredibly intriuged by the story.
"I think that would make a pretty good bedtime story," Bruce added. He sat down on the side of Damian's bed. Bruce and Damian both listened as Dick selected one of his favorite stories.
"I was seven years old and we were set up for the night, the show was supposed to begin in an hour. I was supposed to be in the Big Top, but I had fallen asleep with the elephants..."
By the time he finished his story they were all three sleepy, Bruce had layed down next to Damian, and Damian had layed his head on his chest.
"Glad you got to come home, Bruce," Dick whispered. Bruce gestured to the space on the giant bed beside him and Dick layed down. He rested his head on Bruce's chest, and when he closed his eyes, he could remember perfectly what it was like to be nine years old again.