Chapter 4: Bird and the Butler

AN: Flashback


Alfred smiles softly at the small boy standing next to him. The thirteen-year-old's sky blue eyes were staring up at the manor in awe, his mouth agape.

"Bruce lives here?" Dick asks in open astonishment. Alfred chuckles, placing a gentle hand on the young teen's shoulder.

"Yes, he does. I live here as well, so that Master Bruce does not get lonely. It is a lot of work to clean up after him. I'm glad that you are helping me, Young Master."

"You can just call me Dick."

"Master Dick, then." Dick pouts as the butler leads him inside Wayne manor. "I keep the cleaning supplies in the kitchen. Right this way, Sir." The teen nods, following after the elderly butler. Dick's head swivels around, trying to take in the view of the lavish manor along the way. Alfred heads to the pantry, starting to gather the cleaning supplies. He pauses, hearing a rather loud growling noise coming from behind him. The butler turns around, raising an eyebrow at the boy. Dick's cheeks flush as a hand flies to his growling stomach. The acrobat looks away, starting to fidget shyly.

"If you are hungry, you need only ask, Master Dick." Alfred smiles softly, putting the cleaning supplies away. He then starts gathering ingredients from the shelves instead. "How does homemade lasagna sound?" Dick instantly beams brightly.

"Awesome! Can we please have cookies for dessert? Bruce says that they're famous!"

"I don't know about them being famous. I can certainly make them for you. Would you be so kind as to help me?"

"Of course!" Dick exclaims excitedly, helping the butler carrying the ingredients to the kitchen island. He then takes his royal blue scarf off along with his worn, black and white checkered parka. The acrobat scampers over to the coat hooks on the wall, and jumps up, pouting as he tries to reach. Alfred smiles fondly, walking over to the teen and helps him hang up the clothing. Dick's cheeks lightly dust pink as he looks away, rolling up the sleeves of his ratty, dark grey, long-sleeved shirt. Alfred's face falls ever so slightly from the condition of the boy's clothes. Dick doesn't seem to notice, heading over to the kitchen sink and washing his hands. It was clear that the boy still had manors. What could possibly possess his adoptive father to abuse him in such a barbaric manor?

"Where do we start?" Dick's enthusiastic voice instantly snaps Alfred out of his reprieve, and the butler nods at his new assistant.

"First, we need to boil the pasta." He states matter-of-factly. There was no nonsense when it came to cooking.


About an hour and a half later, the kitchen counter was littered with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and lasagna. Dick's mouth waters from the aroma of the homemade food. It had been so long since he had a home cooked meal. He would always have to rush home every day after school and scrounge something up before Ray came back. If he didn't, he wouldn't get a chance to eat, since he would have to lock himself in his room to avoid getting hit. Alfred notes Dick's sudden glazed, somber expression, and instantly places a comforting hand on the teen's shoulder, snapping him out of his troubling thoughts.

"Shall we taste our creations, Sir?" He smiles softly as the acrobat's demeanor instantly brightens.

"Can we have dessert first? Please?" Dick looks up at him with his big, pale blue, hopeful eyes that no one could possibly deny.

"Alright. But just one for now. You can always have more after lunch." The teen nods happily, taking a cookie. He takes a bite, and beams, stuffing the rest of the cookie into his mouth.

"These are amazing!" Dick reaches for another one, but his hand freezes, noticing Alfred's disapproving gaze. He retracts the hand guiltily and rests them on the counter. Alfred nods, starting to serve the lasagna.


After Dick shoveled down two servings of lasagna, he trots after Alfred around the house, like a little duckling following its mother, helping him clean the manor. Dick flops down onto the floor, once they pause in the study, trying to get the vacuum open in order to clean the filter, while Alfred dusts some priceless paintings close by. The acrobat was sure to never stray too far from the butler. Dick sticks his tongue out of the side of his mouth in concentration, trying to get the contraption to open. He growls in irritation after several minutes of trying to pry the vacuum filter open. Dick rests his foot on the top of the vacuum, and yanks with all his might, while pushing back in the opposite direction with his foot. The filter flies out of the machine as dust flies everywhere. He coughs, having inhaled some, and shakes his head, trying to get the dust out of his hair. When he feels a presence standing over him, he looks up at Alfred apologetically, smiling sheepishly.

"O-Oops! Sorry, Alfred!" Alfred shakes his head, unable to hide his amused smile.

"Come along, Master Dick. Let's get you all cleaned up." Dick hops up, and scampers after the butler as he makes his way up the stairs. Alfred opens a door down the hall, gesturing for Dick to enter the room. Dick walks in hesitantly, looking around at all of the decorations. The walls were painted a calming, light blue, with navy blue curtains hanging above the window. They were pulled to the side, revealing a set of French doors, leading out to a small balcony. Dick approaches the nightstand, picking up a heavy, silver picture frame that was set on the cherry wood nightstand. His eyes focus on the child standing between a woman with warm, chocolate brown hair and deep blue eyes and a tall, muscular man with black, slicked back hair, and light blue eyes. The child had black hair and the same, deep blue eyes as the woman. He seemed to be about eight, and was beaming up at the two adults.

"This is Bruce's parents." Dick states quietly, not needing to ask. The Bruce he had met now wasn't nearly as cheerful as the child in the photograph.

"Yes." Alfred confirms, walking closer to the boy. "This was Master Bruce's room when he was younger." Dick looks up at Alfred, his eyes full of questions.

"Where are Mr. and Mrs. Wayne?" Alfred sighs sadly, gently taking the photo from him.

"They were murdered when Master Bruce was eight years old. Shot right in front of him." Dick's eyes widen in shock. "You see, Master Bruce does not pity you. He understands what you have been through. He wants to help you because he knows what it is like to lose everything. The last thing he wants is for you to feel as though you have no one to turn to." Dick nods slowly as Alfred places the photo back on the nightstand. "The bathroom is through that door. I will leave out some clothes for you on the bed. I never had the heart to get rid of Master Bruce's old clothes." With that Alfred walks out of the room, leaving the acrobat to his own devices. Dick stares back at the family photo blankly for a moment before sighing. Why was everyone being so nice to him all of a sudden? He didn't deserve such kindness from complete strangers. Dick heads into the bathroom, closing the door behind him quietly.


Dick rests his forehead against the tiled wall of the shower, letting the water spray down his back. What would Jason say if he saw him like this? He laughs bitterly at the thought. Jason would punch him for moping when it was the first time he actually had a shower in about a year. He had to remember to bring home something for his disgruntled friend now that he thought about it. It was exactly a year today since they met. He smirks at the thought, letting the memories of that day flood back.

Dick winces, holding his side in pain. It had been two days since he escaped from Ray. He was terrified that the man would somehow find him all the way in Old Gotham, so he bundled himself up in an over-sized coat and hat that Leslie had let him have, making sure that it concealed his face. It was raining again, much to the acrobat's dismay as he stumbles down the streets, being completely ignored by passing citizens. To them, he was nothing more than another one of the many homeless people on the street. The acrobat makes it to the old train tracks, and leans back against a collapsed wall, trying to catch his breath. Leslie patched him up when she found him nearly unconscious in the alleyway behind her clinic. After Ray had caught him behind the dumpster, he stabbed the acrobat in the stomach, twisting the knife before leaving him for dead. Needless to say, after the drunken man had staggered out of the alley, Dick had stumbled off, clutching at the wound, desperately trying to find help. He would be forever grateful to Leslie for saving his life. Not that he had much of one anymore. Dick sighs, scrubbing his face with his hand before looking up at the somber sky. He stiffens, hearing someone approaching him rather quickly from behind. Dick pushes himself off from the wall and turns to face the approaching figure. It was a teen, appearing no older than about fourteen, with scruffy black hair, and teal eyes. He was wearing a thick, ragged, black trench coat, torn dark-washed jeans, and black combat boots.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here? This is MY turf!" The new boy rages, glaring daggers at the twelve-year-old. Dick holds his hands up in surrender, not wanting to start anything.

"S-Sorry. I didn't know." Dick mutters, trying to make his voice deeper so that the other teen would think that he was older than he actually was.

"Doesn't look like you know a lot about these parts. This whole area has already been claimed. So scram." Dick starts backing away, when he grunts, his back colliding into a strong chest. He spins around quickly to see two adults glaring over at the teen that had previously threatened the acrobat.

"You haven't paid us yet, Jason. You should know what happens when you don't pay, by now. Or maybe you haven't learned from what we did to that little mutt you roamed around with." The man scoffs at the fourteen year old. The older teen, Jason, clenches a fist, glaring up at the two men darkly. The two men just chuckle, stepping around the acrobat to get to the fourteen-year-old.

"You'll pay for what you did to Titus!" Jason charges forward in a blind rage, punching at the first man as Dick stumbles out of the way. The man easily catches Jason's fist, chuckling as he kicks him away.

"Pathetic." The man snickers, walking up to Jason, who was picking himself off of the ground, and whips out a knife. Dick's eyes widen in horror. They were seriously going to kill this kid!

"Stop it!" Dick yells as the first man slashes at Jason. The man blinks, slicing a hat instead. Jason was flat on his back, having been shoved out of the way, with Dick standing on the side of him, gripping the man's outstretched arm. "You know, I can't stand it when adults think they can do whatever the hell they want. It makes me sick." Dick growls, his grip tightening around the thug's arm. The man winces, yanking his arm back.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" He hisses, turning his glare on the acrobat.

"Someone who actually has the guts to stand up to pieces of trash like you." Dick grins darkly, his pale blue eyes glinting. These men reminded him of Ray. If he got to let some of his anger out on them, then that was a plus.

The man charges forward, trying to stab the acrobat in the heart. Dick dodges easily, and traps the man's arm under his own and punches the man's elbow upwards, breaking the arm. The thug cries out on agony, dropping the knife as he stumbles backwards. Dick picks up the weapon casually, glancing over at the other goon, who was staring at him in shock. As Dick takes a step forward, the man scrambles off, causing the acrobat to scoff. He roundhouse kicks the remaining thug in the head, sending him crashing to the ground. Dick kneels down beside the man, holding the knife to his throat.

"The boy's debt is paid. Don't ever come back here, or I might not be so nice. Got it?" Dick asks, digging the blade into the man's neck ever so slightly.

"Y-Yeah! Ok! Sure!" The thug stutters in terror. Dick grins.

"I'm so glad we've come to an understanding." The acrobat chimes. With that, he slams the knife into the man's shoulder, causing him to scream in pain. Dick rises to his feet fluently and starts walking off, pausing when he arrives where Jason was still sitting on the ground, staring at him in shock. He extends a hand, offering to help him up. Jason eyes him cautiously before taking the hand, allowing Dick to assist him. Dick winces slightly from the strain on his stitches. He probably shouldn't have been jumping around so soon, but it couldn't be helped. Jason follows him off, so that they were out of earshot of the fallen man. Once they were an appropriate distance away, Jason yanks Dick's arm, spinning him around to face him.

"Alright. Just who the hell are you? You don't look any older than eleven!" Dick pouts slightly.

"I'm twelve."

"Just what the fuck are you doing on the streets then?! And how did you learn to fight like that!" Dick looks away from Jason's demanding glare.

"It's none of your business what I'm doing here. And my name's Dick." Jason scoffs, rolling his eyes.

"Bullshit." Dick frowns, glaring at the older teen.

"I'm serious! My full name is Richard, but I go by Dick, you jackass!"

"Fine. Whatever. But you never answered my question. Just how the hell did you learn to fight like that?"

"You pick things up after a while." Dick mutters, looking away. Jason frowns.

"Just who the hell are you?" The acrobat smiles up at Jason hollowly.

"Nothing more than a ghost." He winces suddenly, feeling his stomach throb. He definitely reopened something. Jason's eyebrows knit in concern when he sees the acrobat gripping his abdomen. He swats Dick's hands away and opens the twelve-year-old's jacket up. Jason lifts the acrobat's already blood stained shirt up, his eyes widening at the amount of scars and fresh bruises that littered the young boy's torso. The freshly stitched up wound on his abdomen was what concerned him the most. He was about to put pressure on the wound, to try to stop the blood that was slowly starting to seep through the stitches, but Dick smacks his hands away violently.

"Don't touch it!" The acrobat screams, starting to tremble slightly. Jason looks up at him questioningly and his eyes widen at the look in the twelve-year-old's eyes. It was a mixture of terror, and anguish. A look that a boy that age should not know. Jason sighs, taking a step back.

"Dick, was it?"Jason asks quietly. Dick nods slowly, pulling his shirt down self-consciously. "Why don't we stick together? I can teach you some things about living out here, and maybe you can teach me some of those kick-ass moves?"

"A-Alright…" Dick mutters out hesitantly. Jason nods, holding his hand out.

"Well then. Nice to officially meet you, Dick. Name's Jason. Jason Todd." Dick smiles shyly, shaking his hand.

"Dick Grayson."


FN: poor Dick! T.T he has no self worth. No worries! He will start to come out of his shell a little more later on! XD