"Done." Commissioner Gordon said as he signed the last paper. It was one about Bruce never having a criminal record. Selina smiled inwardly. Bruce was right- it would have been much harder to prove her capability of being a parent. Well, if she had ever been caught, it would have, at least. She watched the man, seeing him slouch and sigh. It occurred to Selina that he could have hidden some criminal activity like she had.
She mused on it. What rich kid hadn't had a bad phase, whether it was Rock and Roll or drugs or vandalism? Looking at the commissioner though, she didn't think he could have paid Gordon off if he had. Which means he didn't get caught. But he practically wore his heart on his sleeve. Always chatty, always smiling, always rushing in without thinking.
At least according to high society.
So, she supposed Bruce Wayne was still a mystery.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
The social worker came in.
"Here are his papers and background check." Commissioner Gordon said, handing her the stack and a pen.
"You passed home inspection." The woman told Bruce, then she began reading the stack, signing her name at the bottom of each one. Selina was itching as the woman slowly poured over them. She hoped the woman was just naturally cautions with legalities, but something told her it was a bit more out of spite than obligation.
When she was done, when she was finally done, she put her pen down.
"Congratulations Mr. Wayne. You are now the legal guardian of Richard Grayson. There will be a monthly inspection for the next three months, one at six months, then one every year."
"Great." Bruce sounded exhausted as he stood. He shook Ms. Green's hand. "Can we pick him up now?"
"Yes. I'll take these papers and head to the- the center. Then I can bring him to your house." She faltered, but decided the Bruce could now know legally where the boy had been kept.
"Can I actually come with you to pick him up?" He asked. Smart move, Selina thought. And she didn't want Richard alone with that horrible woman any longer than necessary- which was now zero.
"Of course." Ms. Green said, sounding tired herself.
Selina stood from where she had been leaning on the desk.
"It's time for me to head on home." She smiled at the others.
"Thank you for your help." Bruce said. "I could get you a ride, or call a cab?"
"No thanks. I'll find one myself. Good luck, Bruce." She turned one last time. "And thank you." She added, before striding out the door.
Later, as she told Megan the good news and asked for any business updates, she said: "Oh, Megan. Make sure I have some morning this week clear, I'll need to drop these clothes back off at the mansion." And it would give her an excuse to see the kid.
Megan looked up in confusion.
"Bruce's place." Selina said, then hastily added. "Bruce Wayne's."
Megan nodded, and Selina wondered exactly when he had gone from Mr. Wayne, a potential business partner and possible hot date/ burglary victim to Bruce, a friend. Or at least, an acquaintance she admired.
Bruce spent the whole ride to the center fidgeting in his seat. Alfred was driving and Ms. Green sat passenger, in the name of chivalry. He wondered if this was the right call. He couldn't take in a kid! He was Batman, he was the protector of Gotham!
Which now included this boy.
But was this the right way to protect him? Bruce didn't know anything about raising a boy. He could be putting him in danger, or pulling him from his only chance at getting another real family.
Bruce was at war with himself until they pulled up to the center. There was barbed wire on the fence. The place looked dead. He made a mental note to check on if the Marth Wayne's Homes where this drab. He hoped not.
Inside was worse. They stopped at the front desk. There wasn't a secretary so much as several guards.
"I need to check out Richard Grayson." Ms. Green said, handing over her ID. "I am his case worker. He was placed here last night, but we have found a new guardian for him. He will need to take all his belongings with him."
The security officer checked her paper work, then nodded at another guy, who stood and left.
Dick curled up on his bunk squeezing his eyes shut. Maybe if he closed them a bit tighter, he wouldn't be able to see his parents lying on the ground, covered in- oh god.
He choked back a sob. He was out of tears. The other boys in the room- there had only been two of them, at least there was that- had teased him last night. He supposed his late entry had awakened them, and they were upset, but they didn't have to call him such mean names. Or kick him. Or take and hide all of his stuff. And they called him a thief.
After a cold shower- they ran all the hot water while he had tried to find Zitka- and a miserable breakfast- it tasted nothing like either his mother's porridge or his father's omelets- the boys were supposed to study in their rooms for an hour, then get free time in shifts. One outside, one in the library/ computer lab, and one in the rec hall. Dick had hidden in the bathroom while his roommates where picked up, and they contently forgot about him. Now he was curled up on his bed- there wasn't any other place to go, and if he got caught roaming the halls, he'd be in trouble.
Dick didn't want to be in trouble. Trant and John had told him all sorts of horrible things the guards and other boys would do if he got in real trouble.
Dick's stomach rumbled, and he curled tighter abound Zitka. The blankets weren't as comfy at his back on his family's train car. He wondered what would happen to it. Would it be storage? Taken by some other performers?
The tears began to flow.
The door banged open. Dick flew up, looking around.
And angry guard stood in the doorway.
"You're supposed to be in enrichments." He snapped.
"I-I'm sorry sir, I-"
"Get up kid. Get all your stuff, don't leave any of it. There sending you to someone else's place." He crossed his arms and watched as Dick stumbled around the room, stuffing all of his stuff- or what he could find- into his duffle bag.
He was bewildered. The Green Lady had said all the proper orphanages where full, and no foster family wanted to or could take him in. So where was he going?
Taking one last look around the room, he zipped up his bag.
"C'mon, kid." The angry guard sighed. "I haven't got all day."
"Sorry." He muttered, ducking out of the room. He stayed a half step behind the large man, feeling grateful he could at least keep up with his long strides while carrying his bags. It almost reminded him of following his father as they packed up the train. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the image. His parents had always told him fun stories of the histories of places they were going to go. But now they were gone, and he had no idea what type of place was ahead.
The man led him to the lobby, and opened the door to the front part- there was a wall of bars separating it from the rest of the… school? Juvie? He wasn't sure.
In this part of the room, he saw two men standing next to his case worker- Ms. Green. One man looked super old, but he squinted at the other, then gasped. It was the man from last night! The nice man who had consoled him with the nice lady who hugged him.
The adults turned, and Ms. Green smiled. It was not a real smile. "Hello Richard. This is Mr. Wayne, and he has offered to take you in as his ward." He had told her to call him Dick last night. She had not.
"Hello Mister Wayne. Wait, what does 'ward' mean?"
Ms. Green rolled her eyes, but kept smiling. "It means he will be your foster father. You are going to be staying with him."
"Okay." Dick didn't know what else to say.
Ms. Green let her smile drop, but continued in the same patronizing tone. "Say 'Thank you' to Mr. Wayne, Richard."
"Thank you, Mister Wayne."
"It's my pleasure. Would you like to go now?" the man smiled, and it wasn't as big as Ms. Green's, but it looked much nicer.
Dick nodded.
The three adults shepherded him out of the building. Ms. Green picked her smile back up when she turned around, and chatted mindlessly as they walked to a black car. Dick didn't know much about cars, but this looked fancy. Mr. Wayne offered to carry his bag, and they sat in the middle row of seats. Ms. Green was telling the old man, who was driving, about making sure he got to his new home, and liability, and things like that. Dick and Mr. Wayne sat in awkward silence, and Dick watched out the window. They didn't go as far downtown as he had seen last night, and soon there were hardly any buildings at all. The forestry palaces reminded the boy of parts of Europe, but something about the trees seemed darker than those outside of the cities in France or Germany. Maybe Switzerland? It was hard to remember, all the places they had been since their last European tour were starting to blur together. Dick wondered if eventually his memories of the circus itself would. What about his parents?
Thankfully, they pulled around a hill and Dick lost his train of thought and stared in awe at the very large house- a small castle, really, that loomed before them. The driveway was long and lined with trees, but the house was obvious. Dick didn't think he had ever seen anything like it, not in real life. Well, there were a few times his dad would point out a house as they passed in on the train, and talk about how it was a manor or a plantation house or a fortress. But those where always far away. He didn't get to go in!
Dick didn't think he was going to go in to this one, until he realized there wasn't anything else on this road. They pulled up, and Dick hesitantly got out. Mr Wayne joined him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He led him up to the front door, then opened it.
"Welcome to your new home."
AN: yay! Dickie-bird is home! well, he doesn't feel like it is home quite yet, but he will.
and look at Selina, totally not making excuses to hang out with Bruce again...
leave a review if you'd like. oh, and I'm trying to find a good picture for the cover. anyone know any good comic panels or fanart I can ask the artist to use? alternatively, I might just put a baby bat on it. a bat pup, if you will.