Hello, again! Sorry for the radio silence, but I was on vacation at a family reunion. I've gotten back, though, and I have a few more days before I have to go back to work, so hopefully I'll be able to churn out another chapter or two! I'm working on a 5+1 fic for YJ right now, which I'll probably post later today or tomorrow. It's just a bunny that's been popping around for a while.

Anyways, this chapter takes place about 4 months after Dick arrives at the Manor.

AGES are the same.

WARNINGS: brief mentions child abuse (like, super super brief)

Enjoy!

...

Bruce was avoiding this day. He had shoved it aside for weeks, for months, claiming that Dick was too young and too traumatized to do it. Alfred urged the man on, but Bruce was still adamant. It wasn't until Terry and Damian began berating him that Bruce resigned himself to do it.

"Hello?"

Bruce grunted. "Kent."

"Bruce! I've been waiting for you to call." Bruce cocked an eyebrow, not speaking a word. Clark knew his friend well enough to know what the silence meant, though. "Well, you've been watching over Dick for nearly four months, now-"

"Three and a half."

"-Three and a half," the smile on Clark's face was audible, making Bruce scowl, "he's got to be introduced to the public eventually. Heck, from what I've seen the poor kid hasn't made it out of the Manor yet! And he needs to start school-"

"I don't need you mothering me, Kent. Just get here. Two hours."

Bruce hung up before Clark could say 'goodbye'.

…

"An in-ter-view?" Dick inquired, eyebrows furrowed as he cocked his head to the side, Batman plushie held tightly in his arms. Bruce sat in front of the boy at the small kitchen table, morning light streaming in through the window. The boys were all shuffling about the kitchen, grabbing toast and bacon and making their ways towards various spots about the living room. Terry took a seat at the table next to Dick, grinning when the little boy scrambled into his lap, leaning into his big brother's chest. Terry pet the boy's hair as he ate.

"Interview," Bruce nodded, searching for the right word. "Uh... întrevedere. A small meeting with me, you, and a reporter. Ziarist."

Dick nodded slowly, looking rather uncomfortable. He burrowed his face in his Batman toy, looking up at Bruce with frightened blue eyes. "Is... Is the ziarist nice?"

Bruce scowled, and Terry laughed. "He's the nicest guy you'll ever meet, pipsqueak. Real country boy."

Bruce grumbled into his coffee, and Dick tilted his head in confusion. He looked so much like a lost puppy that Bruce couldn't bring himself to be grumpy for too long. "He's... a good guy," the man assured his youngest ward. "Bit of a boyscout, but..."

"Boy-scout?"

"Don't worry about it, Dickie," Tim said as he walked by the table, ruffling the child's hair. "Bruce is just too much of a grump to admit he likes Clark."

"Eat your toast, Timothy."

…

The country bumpkin at least tried to clean up, Bruce decided as he watched Alfred escort the other man into the parlor. Casual suit and red tie, those pathetic glasses perched on his nose, suitcase in hand.

"Bruce!" he greeted happily, making the billionaire huff.

"Kent."

Dick was perched on Bruce's lap, holding his plushie close to his chest. Alfred had cleaned the boy up, dressing him in a baby blue dress shirt and little corduroy pants, a sweater vest covering the child's chest. The poor butler had tried his hardest to gel the boy's hair back, but Dick's unruly Gypsy locks refused to be tamed. In the end, Alfred had settled for washing and conditioning the child's hair, smoothing it down with his hands.

Clark's face lit up when he saw the boy, and he gentled his smile, crouching down to eye-level. "Hello. You must be Richard."

"He goes by Dick," Bruce responded, a protective hand over the boy's head. Dick wriggled a little, but settled when Bruce began stroking his hair.

"I'm Clark Kent, a good friend of Bruce's." Bruce gave the other man points for not trying to shake Dick's hand. Superman had dealt with enough traumatized children to know that most of them didn't respond well to touch.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Kent," Dick whispered, eyes cautious but smile genuine.

"Let's get started."

Clark frowned at Bruce's abruptness, but he had grown used to the Dark Knight over the years and simply shrugged, opening his briefcase and pulling out a writing pad and pen. "Alright," he settled back into a cushy velvet chair, clicking the pen open and settling his gaze on the duo in front of him. "Let's start off with the basics. Can you tell me your name, kiddo?"

Dick frowned. "But you know my name."

Clark chuckled. "It's a formality."

"Oh. My name is Richard Johnathon Grayson. But- but my birth name is Richard Johnathon Grasoni."

Bruce paused. I didn't know that. His records say 'Grayson', so why the change...?

"Why the change?" Clark asked the little boy, curiosity genuine.

Dick hugged his plushie tighter. "It was my bunic's last name. But Mami said Tati changed it to Am-er-ee-can-ize."

Clark nodded, taking a few notes. "And how old are you, Dick?"

"Six and half."

Clark smirked at the child's speech. It was quite adorable, actually, although he wondered why it was so choppy. For a lack of better words, that is. "When and where were you born?"

"Mami said I was born on road, between states. The first day of spring." A small, tight smile covered the boy's features. "That was why she call-ded me prihor. Robin."

"That's very nice, Dick." It didn't sound condescending or sarcastic when Clark said it. Bruce was unsure whether the boyscout was even able of sounding condescending. Sarcastic, yes. "Now, let's get to some more of the fun stuff, yeah?"

Dick looked an impossible combination of eager and nervous, making the reporter laugh. "Don't worry, nothing too bad. Hmm, let me see..." Clark pretended to flip through his notepad, and Bruce detected a hint of super speed as the man flicked the pages rapid-fire. Dick giggled though, which was all that mattered. "Alright! Let's start off with what sort of things you like to do." At Dick's confused expression, Clark expanded. "Do you like to play video games, or maybe draw, or read...?"

Dick lit up like a Christmas tree, and it was as if the dams burst.

"Ooh! I like playing with Tim and Terry! I teached Tim how to do hand-stand, but Terry fell down... Terry and Bruce teaches me my cards, too! An- An Bruce plays hand-stand with us sometimes, too! Jay like to wrestle, but I don't do good. Dami help, though!" Dick was getting more and more excited, and Clark was having a hard time keeping up. Bruce was astonished. He had never in the past four months of knowing the boy ever heard Dick talk that much! "Jay and Dami play vid-ee-oh games, and Terry play sometime, too! Tim taked me to the gym yesterday, too, and Bruce bought me nest!"

"Nest?" Clark interrupted, trying to give the kid a breath.

"Lots of ropes!" Dick chirped, hands up in front of his face making twining, knotting motions. "Ropes and rings! I teached Tim to swing, but we don't gots a trapeze, yet, so he can't really swing. But Terry played in the nest with us, too! He's lotsa good at swinging."

"So you like acrobatics? And wrestling with your brothers?" Clark was grinning like a mad-man, and Bruce scowled, glaring at him.

"Ah-huh!" Dick exclaimed, now bouncing in his seat, making Bruce grunt. "An- An Jay gots lotsa ac-ti-on fig-ors, so we play Superman lots!"

Bruce would have face-palmed if he wasn't so prideful.

It was Clark's turn to light up like a Christmas tree. The man leaned forward, pad and pen abandoned. "You play Superman, huh?"

"Yeah! Jay lets me be Superman cuz he flies! Jay likes to be Batman, and sometime Dami even play with us!" The little boy cupped his mouth and tried to whisper, which ended more like a hushed shout, "He don't want me to tell, but he like playin' Green Lantern!"

Bruce was surprised at how much he was learning about his sons through the once-shy child. Only hours before, Dick had been demure and quiet around strangers, only happy like this in front of his brothers. He seemed even happier, now that Bruce thought about it.

As he listened to his son prattle on about how much he loved baking with Alfred, Bruce really took a moment to study the boy. The bruises on his flesh had faded, and his sprained wrist was back to full potential. He had put on a few pounds and now had a satisfying amount of baby fat over the small muscles he had grown at the circus. And his eyes. No longer were they clouded by shadows, living nightmares creeping just beyond his vision. They were light and sparkling, glinting with joy and life. Sure, the child still had nightmares, but that was to be expected after all he had gone through. He was sleeping at least eight hours a night though, which satisfied Leslie and Alfred.

Dick had changed in the past four months, and Bruce was only now able to see it.

After a few more questions, Clark stood and shook Bruce's hand. He gave Dick a little fist-bump, making a 'BOOM' noise that had the child erupting into giggles. As Bruce escorted Clark to the door, Damian and Jason having spirited Dick away to the entertainment room, he studied the Man of Steel. What was it about Clark that made Dick open up? For once in his life, the World's Greatest Detective was at a loss.

As Clark opened the door, he turned to Bruce with a grin. "Just listen to him, Bruce. Rip back the cowl once in a while. He's a kid- he wants to talk."

"Didn't know mind-reading was in your repertoire."

Clark laughed, clapping Bruce on the shoulder. "Nope. You're just too easy to read."

"I am not-"

"To me you are, Bruce."

With that, Clark left, leaving Bruce rather disgruntled in his own front door. When he heard shouting and laughing come from upstairs, though, followed by pounding footsteps and exclamations of, "Can't catch me!" and "I'm Superman! I can catch anybody!", he found himself cracking a smile.

If he could help Dick laugh, maybe the boyscout wasn't so bad after all.

...

Hope you liked it! I'm sorry it was so short, it was just a cute little thing popping around in my head, and a little break from the angst. I'll get to the school chapter eventually. I think it'll be next, actually... Unless the bunnies decide otherwise.

I don't own Batman or Superman, sorry. D*:

Please review and favorite! It fuels me to write faster!

AND PLEASE LEAVE PROMPTS AND IDEAS! They're ALWAYS appreciated and helpful! ALSO, if you leave a prompt/idea and I don't get back to you on it, please know that I'm very sorry! I've seen it, I just don't always have the time to reply to every review I receive, even though I want to! :)

So thanks again, and God Bless!

~Scotty