Aha, hi, here I am. Not dead. Here, have a chapter out of nowhere.
A is for Alone
For several years of Dick's life, alone was a foreign concept. His mother and father slept on either side of him in their tiny trailer. They were never more than a fingers width apart (except on the hot nights where he would sleep on the roof, under the stars).
There were always people in the circus. That's just how it was. A lion tamer leading their companions, clowns practicing acts, acrobats getting ready for the show. And when the crowds came, there was barely room to breathe much less fathom the concept of alone.
The closest Dick ever came to understanding "alone" in those early years was when he managed to sneak away, out of the circus and into whatever city they happened to be in. If he was really lucky, the city would be on the edge of the sea, or forest, or just an empty lot with no one around.
But even then, Dick always knew that his family was waiting for him back home. Alone to him was a temporary state.
Then alone became all too permanent.
Despite being full of people, Gotham Juvie was the first place Dick had felt truly alone in life. Six months of that gray, desolate hell solidified Dick's feelings of loneliness.
The other inmates either ignored him or enjoyed pounding his face into the bricks, the dirt, whatever was available really. The counselor assigned to him was about as effective as trying to hurt Superman with a cotton ball. And the man responsible for trying to get him adopted, or have a spot for him in the orphanage, well...
After the visiting Dick once, he never came back.
Living on the streets actually felt less lonely than Juvie. Less lonely, and yet Dick was more alone than he'd been in his entire life.
Either way, Dick was free here. Free to be nobody, a person without a past, a family, or anyone to care about. The first year, he was in and out of shelters, never staying long enough for anyone to try to get him into the orphanage, but long enough for him to find his own place and ways to get food.
He managed to find a rythym, strange as it was. The days became monotone, interspersed with running for his life. Alone became Dick's way of life, his identity, his whole being.
Meeting people who actually cared whether Dick lived or not was strange. Selina was the first, and only for a while. Then he met Batman, Alfred, Wally, Flash, and a few others. And they cared.
But Dick was still alone.
"Master Richard! I just polished that banister and I would appreciate if you stopped getting your handprints all over it." Dick grinned and jumped off the banister and onto the lower floor.
"Sorry, Alf. I'll help you clean it when I get home."
A half-smile came in return. "So I take it you will be visiting Master Wallace for the day?" Dick nodded, hiking his backpack higher on his shoulder. "And I suppose the two of you would enjoy some cookies for a snack?"
Dick's face lit up, a smile naturally lighting his lips. "Have I told you that you are the absolute best butler I have ever met?"
"Yes, but I assure you, I do not tire of the praise."
With a bag of cookies in hand, Dick dashed to the library, down into the Batcave, and took the Zeta tube into Gotham. Normally he would've gone straight to Central City, but apparently one of Flash's regulars had demolished it yesterday. Batman was over there fixing it (and trying to ignore Flash as long as possible).
The streets of Gotham were so familiar that with barely a thought, Dick was halfway to the train station without even thinking. The sudden interjection of "In a hurry Birdie?" stopped Dick in his tracks.
With an easy grin, he replied, "Yeah, but I have enough time to stop and feed the cats."
"I believe the expression is 'stop and smell the roses'"." Selina hopped down from a nearby fire escape and ruffled Dick's hair.
"Nothing here I want to smell. But I have a train to catch, so here, have a cookie," he said as he offered one to Selina.
"If only you had sapphires for me, you'd be the perfect man." Selina kissed his head goodbye before he dashed off. She quickly dissapeared when the sound of police sirens split the air.
The train ride barely took any time at all, and the twin looks of sheer excitement on Wally and Barry's faces when Dick showed them the cookies was well worth the wait.
Four hours, a bag of cookies, three bowls of popcorn and eight sandwiches, Wally had slightly taken the edge off his hunger and Dick had to go. It had taken ten minutes alone to try to pry Wally off him ("No, I can't stay. I have to get back. Alfred's making dinner, and I don't want to miss that.").
Dick had hardly walked more than a block from Barry's house when the Batmobile pulled up beside him. The hood slid off, revealing Batman inside. "Are you getting in?"
Dick grinned and hopped in next to the Dark Knight.
Maybe Dick wasn't as alone as he thought.
Okay, so first of all, thank you to everyone who has been patient enough to wait for me to update, I love you all and I cannot thank you enough for your continued support. The sheer amount of views and favorites this got just knocked me off my feet.
Stuff happened, I fell out of my writing groove, but I'm back with my story! I don't really like this chapter, but the next will be better. Only this one should be this backstory heavy, so more dialouge in the next one. I'll try to keep my schedule for a chapter every two weeks, but if I can get anything earlier, I'll post it.
I hope anyone attending school has had a good beginning to the school year, and thanks for reading this!
If you have any questions, please ask!