"We sure got him", Allen sputtered as we staggered into Wayne manor together, his arm around my shoulder. I nodded brightly and opened a can of Coke. Bruce hated Coke, but I made sure Alfred bought me some on occasion.

We collapsed into chairs at the kitchen table and drained our soda cans, augmented of course, by several freshly baked chocolate chip cookies (thank you Alfred). "So", Allen said softly suddenly making the mood in the kitchen a whole lot more somber, "Braxton." I shrugged and nibbled the end of my cookie. "You were too good for that bitch anyway", Allen said encouragingly, clapping my shoulder. I appreciated him being supportive now, after I had kind of rubbed his nose in the fact that I had gotten to kiss her. I shrugged again.

Allen, not really sure what else to say, finished his snack and got up. "Well, sorry Dick, I have to go."

'Sure you don't want to stick around", I asked, "Bruce'll be gone all evening and I just got a new game."

"Sorry man, I have to get home. My mom needs me to help her with something. I'll see you tomorrow though."

"Yea", I said softly, "Sure."

"Are…are you gonna be ok", Allen asked hesitantly.

"Sure", I replied, smiling as best I could, "Don't worry about me, I'll see you around."

"Ok", Allen murmured slowly, as if he didn't quite believe me, and walked out the door. I gave a sigh and put my face down on the table. Why did my life have to be so complicated? It was right then that I heard the front door open.

Wondering who could possibly be arriving at the manor now, since I had distinctly heard Alfred vacuuming my room just a few minutes before, I walked curiously to the door. There was Bruce yanking off his tie. "Bruce", I said, surprised, "I thought you were gonna be gone all afternoon."

"I was", Bruce replied, "but I decided to cut the meeting short and come home."

"Does that mean we get to go on patrol?" I asked hopefully. He nodded. "Yes", I whooped, pumping my fist and leaping up. He smiled at me, but there was something in his eyes, a kind of anxiousness. "Is everything ok?" I asked.

"Of course", he replied, "Hey, how about, since it's such a hot day, you and I go get changed and we take a walk, maybe go down to the river."

"Ok", I said excitedly, darting off to my room. We had started taking walks together when I was only eight. Something about the open air and the crunch of the grass under our feet made it so much easier for us to talk. The manor could be stifling and certainly we didn't have the best "heart to heart"s on patrol.

Walks gave me a chance to chatter on about my life as we strolled easily through the grounds, no particular pace set and nowhere in particular to go. We shed all our obligations and he would just listen to me talk. I would tell him whatever was going on in my life, good and bad, ask him questions and generally just enjoy his company and the feeling of having him all to myself.

In the manor, he could be called upon by any number of women or clients, on patrol, there were criminals and victims but out here, he was all mine. He would listen as I talked, occasionally making a comment or asking a question, but mostly just smiling and striding easily as if there was nothing he enjoyed more than listening to me and being with me.

Sometimes, we brought a baseball or something to toss around when we got the meadow, a favorite destination of ours, and then we got the chance to romp and play around. I think the fact that Bruce took time out of his busy schedule to do this sort of thing with me at least once a week was one of the reasons he and I remained so close through my teenage years. Our relationship remained easy and unstrained because I had time to tell him everything I needed to.

Usually, when we walked, the air was light and there was a general feeling of contentment and bliss yet today, I could feel a heaviness over the two of us as we trekked beneath the maple trees. "Son", he said slowly, gazing straight ahead, "You know how much I love you, right?"

"Of course", I replied, hop skipping a few steps. I felt a sense of uneasiness creep over me at his words. When he pulled the "I love you" card, something was definitely going down.

"And, I never want anything to happen to you, you know that, don't you?"

"Sure", I said.

"If I ever lost you Dick, I'd die. I can't imagine what I'd do without you and I just want you to be happy."

"Bruce, what is all this about, you're starting to scare me." He turned to me and stopped, his face grave and lined with worry.

"Dick, your counselor called me today at work and told me you were contemplating suicide." I couldn't help it, I burst into laughter. He looked at me bewildered.

"Sorry", I gasped, "I just…it's just…I made up the whole suicide thing just to get out of trouble for beating up Paul Garboni."

"You're telling me the truth", he asked incredulously, "You promise?"

"I swear on my mother's grave", I replied, still giggling, "I can't believe you actually bought that." His face screwed in outrage.

"Dick, I can't believe you would pull something like this", he snapped. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? I was so afraid when I got home, I'd find you'd hung yourself or something. You scared me half to death."

"I'm sorry", I mumbled, "I didn't mean for it to get back to you. I just didn't want to get in trouble, that was all. I wasn't trying to worry you or anything." Bruce gave a sigh of relief and pulled me close, stroking my hair.

"I'm just glad you're ok", he replied, "You have no idea how frightened I was that I'd lose you. You just mean so much to me and I felt awful about breaking off patrol and then I heard about all this suicide stuff and the counselor started talking about a deathapotomus and I was about to cry because I was dead sure you were some kind of freak all of the sudden and I never even noticed." I snickered. "How did you even come up with a deathapotomus?' he asked, holding me at arms length. I shrugged.

"I don't know. But, it's gotten me out of trouble and it keeps stupid Mr. Pringles from bothering me so much. It's pretty useful."

"You're such a bad boy Dick", Bruce said, smacking me lightly on the head.

"Hey", I replied, squirming out of his grasp, "Race you to the river."

"You're on", he replied, and we raced away. Bruce and scrambled over one another down to the river and waded barefoot through it, romping and splashing. We toppled into the shallows, wrestling each other and play sparing as we bounded like young deer through the wood.

This was when I loved Bruce the most, when he played with me. The cold water felt so good with the hot sun beating down on us so we got thoroughly soaked before climbing up the bank and lying down in the shade of a large oak tree on a grassy hill so the sun could dry us. Panting like dogs, we stretched out beneath the leafy branches and the hot sun, grinning at each other as if we were five years old again.

I ran my foot over the cool grass, wiggling my toes in the dirt as I lay next to Bruce, gazing up at the bright blue sky, soft fluffy clouds rolling slowly through it. He had his eyes closed and his breathing was slow. I could tell he was falling asleep. "Hey Bruce" I said.

"Hmm"

"Do you…do you think I'm a good kisser?" Bruce opened one eye and looked at me funny.

"I imagine I wouldn't really know. I don't think your lips and mine have formally met and I'm of the opinion that we should keep it that way." I giggled. "Why the question?" So, I told him about Braxton and what Paul had said. He listened quietly, gazing gently at me as I spoke.

"My poor Dickie", he crooned softly, stroking my hair, "got your heart all broke huh." I nodded and sighed. He ran a thumb over my cheek. "Pay her no mind. I've run into girls like that before. She's not worth your time."

"It's just…I don't like feeling like I'm not good enough for her."

"I think it's the other way around", Bruce replied.

"Well", I muttered good-naturedly, "You're biased."

"And what's wrong with that?" I smirked. "Dick, you're in high school. I'd tell you not to even bother pursing girls but I know you will. Odds are, you won't find anyone worth taking even a second look at until you get to college. Braxton's gonna end up like all of my cover girlfriends, but you're gonna be so much more. You'll find a girl who has more underneath as well, you'll see." I smiled at him.

"Thanks Bruce", I said.

"Anytime", he replied, patting my leg, "Although I know I'm not the best one to go to when you need advice on love." I grinned.

"That's for sure." He rolled his eyes. We were silent for a few minutes, just watching the clouds before I asked my second question. "Bruce, what would you do if I asked for a rifle?"

"Wonder where I went wrong", he replied jokingly. I smiled. "Why the sudden interest though, I mean, you know how I feel about guns?"

"I know", I said, "It's just, everyone at school's been talking about rifles and I feel a little out of the loop."

"I really haven't been there for you lately, have I?" he murmured, "I suppose you've been feeling left out for a while, huh?" I shrugged. "I know because you would never have brought it up unless things really were getting bad." I shrugged again. "I'm sorry I haven't been around as much son."

"Don't be", I replied, "I know you're busy. You have a lot of important stuff to do."

"None as important as you." I smiled and moved over so I could put my head on his chest. This act of tenderness was one I hadn't indulged in for some time, but we were far away from prying, judging eyes and no one, not even Paul, could get to me here. I was free to let my guard down.

That was the nice thing about Bruce; when we were alone together, I didn't have to worry about being anything other than myself. That was all he wanted to see and it would have been out of place for me to put on any of my usual masks anyway. Bruce put an arm around my shoulders and I shifted so I was lying on my side. He pressed me to himself.

"I suppose if you really want one…"

"It's ok", I said quickly, cutting him off, "Its enough to know you would if I asked." He smiled widely at me and kissed my forehead.

"Work's been so tiring lately", he murmured, "Work and the league. It takes a lot of effort to be charming Bruce and hard ass Batman you know." I rolled my eyes. "It's nice to get out and relax here, isn't it?" I nodded.

"You're my best friend Dick", he mumbled softly, as if falling asleep. The words meant twice as much to me as they would coming from anyone else because I knew they were true and I knew what they meant. I was practically his only friend.

"You're my best friend too", I replied quietly, and I closed my eyes. After only a few minutes, I had fallen asleep. Bruce and I often took naps before patrol. It helped to get a few hours of sleep in so I wouldn't fall asleep while we were out. We didn't often take them together anymore though so it was nice to doze with him for a little while before we had to head back.

When I had been younger, he would settle down on the couch and I would climb up onto his chest to doze or he would be lying on his bed and I would snuggle up next to him. Even when I wasn't tired, I enjoyed his steady breathing and the small sounds he made while he slept.