Sorry for taking so long! Please don't kill me!
Bruce sighed in relief when he came in sight of the large stately gates of the Wayne Manor, his walk was far more eventful then he would have liked. That run in with the Joker further cemented his worry of his size dilemma. How was he going to be Batman when he was as small as a ten year old?
"Master Bruce, you're home," Alfred opened the door before Bruce could turn the handle, something was up, and Bruce doubted he would like it.
The boy smiled hesitantly, "Hey Alfred, what's going on?"
Alfred only smiled with a mischievous glint in his eye, "Oh nothing, we just had a surprise guest drop by."
"What sort of guest?"
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
Dick sighed in annoyance, he arrived at Wayne manor an hour ago and he wasn't any closure to getting the reason why he was here out of Alfred. That butler could be infuriating at times! He got him all worked up with worry, bitterness, and anger only to lead him to the sitting room an tell him to wait, wait! Dick could not wait another moment, his curiosity was eating him from the inside. Why did Alfred want him here?
Muffled voices came through the oak door, one was noticeably Alfred's the other, a voice of a child. Did Bruce adopt another kid? Was that why he was here?
The door opened to the forever polished Alfred and a very small teenager. The teenager's eyes widened in surprise when they landed on the sitting Richard.
Dick tilted his head curiously, there was something familiar about this boy, his unruly black hair (something that felt out of place with Dick), his pale porcelain skin, but it was the ice blue eyes that got to him the most. They were void of any child like innocence, they were not the eyes of a teenager.
"Dick?" it was a higher pitch and far less gruff, but still the same.
Dick swallowed dryly, his turn to be surprised, "Bruce?"
Bruce smiled hesitantly, "Alfred called you didn't he?"
Dick only nodded in response, momentarily speechless at the sight in front of him. A small, skinny, Bruce Wayne, the Batman, his 'father', swamped in clothing slightly to large, covering every inch of his undersized adolescent body. "What happened?"
"A chemical bomb exploded before I could get away from it," the teenager casually slouched onto an overstuffed sofa as if what he just said was a calm normal occurrence.
Dick spluttered incoherently, until he remembered that this was still Bruce f-ing Wayne he was talking to, "You haven't found a cure yet?" Dick decided to go for the snide bitter approach, he was still mad at him, no matter how young his former mentor's face was.
A brief flicker of pain passed of Bruce's face, he answered thickly, "No, I haven't"
Opting to ignore what was possibly an illusion of pain, Dick smirked, "Is that why I'm hear, you need my help?"
Bruce glared in answer, it was notably less fierce than any other glare Dick had received in his lifetime, "I don't know, ask Alfred, this was his idea."
After the mention of said butler, both vigilantes looked to find the man responsible for their current situation, gone. Bruce snorted in feigned disgust, "Figures."
Dick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, this argument was getting nowhere, and he wasn't even sure Bruce wanted to argue, "Bruce – "
"Dick, I –"
Dick quickly silenced himself, something was off with the way Bruce said his name, is wasn't in annoyance or in exasperation, it was a call of desperation. He stared at his former mentor, to find the boy looking away from, his hands slightly trembling.
Bruce took in a steadying breath, "I'm sorry."
Dick blinked, sorry? That's all he wanted to say? He smiled, "Now was that so difficult?" Dick prepared himself for the growl in anger that was bound to from the boy's lips.
Instead, Bruce sighed, and steeled himself to look into the man's, whom he thought of as his son, eyes, "How about you stay for a while, we could catch up." He even tried to add a fake smile.
Dick gaped in surprise, that was not what he expected, and in the end it was Bruce's sad attempt at a smile that won him over, "That sounds just fine."
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
Wally smiled and whistled a happy tune, he may not have found a cure for Bruce yet, but he brought some books on metaphysics that he knew would interest Bruce. Not to mention he still wanted a rematch in laser tag!
He calmly stepped down the stone steps into the Batcave, Alfred had already let him in and was making cookies as we speak. Wally's mouth watered at the thought, those cookies were heavenly!
He slowed down when he heard muffled voices echoing off the cavern walls:
A deep older male voice cried out in feigned anger, "When did you get a secret stash of candy here?"
A younger voice, definitely Bruce's, snorted, "I have always had a secret stash of candy here."
"Well didn't you ever tell me?"
Wally decided to enter the room in that moment, desperate to see if Bruce would share his candy with him. He found a much older looking Dick, whom he remembered as Robin now turned Nightwing.
Bruce grinned maliciously, and popped a gummy worm into his mouth, "You never asked."
In response, Dick glowered and tried in vain to steal some.
Bruce snatched back the bag of sugary goodness, and growled, "Get your own damn candy!"
"Please?" Dick tried the puppy eyes, but had a feeling that they would not faze the boy.
To his utter surprise and delight, Bruce sighed and handed over the bag, "But –" Dick gulped there was a catch, "Only if you share with Flash."
