Chpt. XII: Hit Me
Dick stood in front of the punching bag of the workout gym & threw endless punches. He breathed heavily with each fist that impacted the hard surface. One, two, three, four, Dick counted to himself. Dick felt the sweat drip from the pores of his body. His face, chest & fists were drenched in it. Dick felt his heart pound harder & harder. He pushed past his limit, past the pain. Past his shoulder.
Dick gasped. He stepped back from the swinging punching bag, still hopping on his toes. He ran a hand through his wet hair. He sat down on a bench against the wall & took a sip from his water bottle.
Bruce walked through the door to the gym. "Hey," he said.
Dick looked up at Bruce, still sipping from the bottle. He nodded at him. "Hey."
Bruce stuffed his hand in his pocket. "You're up early."
Dick nodded. "You're right," he said harshly, almost sarcastically.
"Hmm," Bruce grunted. "Your shoulder feeling better?"
Dick shrugged. "Kinda," he admitted. "Yukiko's massages really help."
Bruce nodded, grinning. "She's pretty great," he said dreamingly. Dick shook his head. Bruce continued. "You should probably cut back on these workouts, though."
"Hah!" Dick let out obnoxiously. "No, thanks, Bruce, I'm good."
"Dick, you shattered your shoulder blade."
"It's healing."
Bruce stared at Dick. His face tightened in frustration. But Dick didn't care. He reached down the bench for a towel and stood up, wiping his face. "Pain & gain, right?"
Bruce shook his head. "It's been two weeks since that kid brought you into my home. Do you remember that night, Dick? He was carrying you. He fucking carried you like a wounded soldier. You left with him that morning to eat BREAKFAST with Roy. You were out all night long doing what? Getting into more trouble. First day I left you alone, you went out & got yourself arrested. Sure, that was a misunderstanding. But then Roy brought you here, & not a few hours later, Gordon came by saying he found a motorcycle in MY name near a crime scene. An explosion in Chinatown! What the fuck, Dick!"
Dick sat there silently, letting Bruce talk. Dick wasn't ready to speak about it. Not yet. He tried hard to push the memory from his mind. He tried. But it wouldn't fade. Just like his nightmares.
Bruce cleared his throat. "Gordon sends his regards," he added softly. "He thinks this explosion may have been a gas leak...I don't know." Bruce at Dick, who didn't look Bruce in the eye. "Does this have anything to do with that girl you've been wanting to find? Cheyenne Freemont?"
Dick looked up at Bruce. He fought the urge, & he was getting better at holding it back. "It did. But it doesn't matter anymore."
Bruce nodded, biting his lip. He kept quiet. Dick was grateful he hadn't pressed on. Bruce at least knew when a discussion was to hard to continue with.
Bruce pulled his hand out from his pocket and held it out to Dick. He had a call phone in his hand. "Here," he said.
Dick looked up at Bruce with a raised eyebrow. He was genuinely confused.
Bruce shook the phone. "Here," he repeated. "You'll be needing this now that you've proven to be an adventurous kid."
Dick looked at the phone. "You bought this for me?"
Bruce nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't a problem."
Dick chuckled. "Clearly," he mumbled. He walked over to Bruce & took the phone. He sat down on the bench, looking the phone over. He was a bit mesmerized by it.
Bruce shut his eyes tightly, as if just remembering something he wished he had earlier. "Um...do you know how to use one?" he asked. Dick looked up at Bruce confusedly. "I know how you were kinda isolated in Old Gotham for a while. I realized maybe the computer might've been hard for you to use. I guess this might be a problem too.
Dick shook his head. "I figured out the laptop. I'll probably figure out this too."
Bruce nodded. "Good." He stepped towards Dick slowly, hands back in his suit pant pockets. "So have you thought about enrolling back into school?"
Dick raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what?"
"It's halfway through the first semester. You've got to start school soon."
Halfway through the first semester. Dick had just realized he hadn't been keeping track of time at all since before the night at Chinatown. After that, he took the time to glance at a calendar. Turns out the night at Chinatown was Halloween night. "Am I even going to have time to go to school?" Dick asked.
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't you?"
Because Cheyenne Freemont, because Nolan Drake, because Gotham's safety, he thought to himself. "I dunno. I don't have any school records or anything."
Bruce smiled. "Don't worry, I have connections in the school district. I've already talked to people about getting you a spot in Gotham Academy."
"Oh, fuck, is that a private school?"
Bruce nodded. "Yeah, I went there for high school."
Dick shook his head. "I'd rather be at a public school."
"Why?" Bruce asked. "Gotham Academy is nice, incredibly safe, & has tons of pretty girls."
Dick bit his lip. He didn't know how to word what he wanted to say correctly. He just let the words fly out. "I don't know if I'd be treated alright there, being the circus raised orphan boy adopted by Bruce freaking Wayne."
Bruce kept quiet. Dick felt as though he had hurt Bruce. He didn't care. His point got across. "Would kids at a public school be any different?" Bruce asked.
"I can handle kids there, rather than a private school built in safety."
Bruce shook his head. "Damn, that is some twisted logic." Dick simply grinned. Bruce eyed Dick, unsure whether or not he was serious. Dick wasn't even entirely sure. He half said it just to freak Bruce out. "Tell you what," Bruce said. "If you can make me tap out, I won't make you go to Gotham Academy. I make YOU tap, you go."
"What?" Dick asked confusedly.
Bruce began unbuttoning his suit shirt. "You say this 'pain & gain' thing has helped your shoulder heal. Let's see if it really has & if it'll help you kick my ass & kids in public schools."
Dick laughed, setting the phone down. He stood from the bench. "Don't push your luck, old man. I can kick a kid's ass & yours."
Bruce smiled, shrugging the suit shirt off, revealing a muscle tank tucked into his suit pants. It was tight, revealing his pectoral muscles & abs. His biceps flexed as he stretched his arms. "We'll see."
Dick walked close to Bruce & spread his legs apart, getting into fighting stance. He brought his fists up to guard his upper body, feeling almost excited to finally fight again. Then the realization that fighting made Dick happy frightened him. He pushed the thought out, clearing his mind.
Bruce brought his arms low near his stomach, keeping his palms open, as though he were about to slap box. "Well, come on then, Grayson. Hit me!"
Dick crossed his back leg over his front, stepping forward, then shot his front leg forward, kicking Bruce. He blocked Dick's kick by slapping his foot away, then jumping up towards Dick, swinging his leg around to kick Dick.
Dick flew back to the ground, landing on his back. He groaned as he shifted to his shoulder, but bit his lip. He shot right back up & lunged at Bruce, throwing a punch at his face. Dick's fist connected to Bruce's eye.
Bruce stumbled back, but didn't lose focus. Bruce shot punch after punch back at Dick, shouting with each attempt. Dick dodged each time, blocking a few punches that he slapped away. Dick found an opportunity & threw a front kick up into Bruce's gut, causing him to double over. Dick then threw a punch down into Bruce's face, causing him to fall to the ground.
Dick bent down low & flipped Bruce's body over. He began chucking more punches into Bruce's face, one after another after another. Dick let the punches fly, just like he would in the cages. But then it dawned on Dick that this was just Bruce.
Dick stopped punching Bruce & threw his body over Bruce, lifting Bruce's leg up high. He bent it up far enough for Dick to know it hurt. Bruce began pounding his hand on the ground.
Dick sat up & looked down at Bruce. Bruce's hair was messed up. His muscle tank was torn by the neck of the shirt. Bruce had a cut near his mouth where Dick punched him repeatedly. There was a bruise near his eye. Dick wondered how far he would've gone had he not restrained himself.
"Admit it," Bruce said softly through a cough. "You loved hitting me."
Dick bent low, giving Bruce a hand up. "You know how to fight," he pointed out. "I don't know how. But clearly you learned well. Better than me. So why'd you let me win?"
Bruce picked up his suit shirt & slung it over his shoulder, smiling. "You're lucky it's my day off," he joked, completely ignoring his question. He wiped blood from his mouth.
Bruce walked over to the door. He turned back to Dick. "Think about where you want to study, Dick." Bruce was about to walk away, then he turned back to Dick. "Oh, & if you want to talk about that Cheyenne girl, let me know. I know a thing or two about girls."
Dick nodded slowly as Bruce walked out the door, out of the gym. Dick waited a few moments. He listened to his blood rush in his ears. He counted his heartbeats, taking his mind off of Cheyenne. Then he buried his face into his hands. His sobs were muffled.
