Author's Note: And Quiet-Raindrop—who did not die—she went on writing b/c it is still one of her favorite things to do.
Disclaimer:I just plain don't own Batman. For your book quote of the day see above. (Hint) It's a Christmas book.
Chapter 14
"Hey Grayson, where did you get to the other day?"
Dick finished spreading out the books on his desk.
"Oh, ah . . ."
"I saw Barbara Gordon dragging him somewhere." Some kid spoke up.
"Gordon?" The blond haired kid who sat in front of him turned around. "Are you two friends?"
"Why would they be friends, James? She's totally beneath him." A black haired boy came over and sat on the edge of Dick's desk.
"Well she . . ." Dick was confused. Why was she beneath him? She was taller than him.
"I mean she's smart and cute and all but still . . ."
"Ralph, James, what are you to doing? Leave him alone." Daniel, the kid from baseball yesterday, spoke up from across the room. "He's new and
doesn't know all the rules yet, so just chill."
Dick shot the older kid a grateful look, but he was still confused.
Why shouldn't he and Barbara be friends? There were rules? What rules? Rules about what?
After class, he went to find Barbara, she was always the one to clear things up for him.
When he found her he had to wait though, some girl was talking to her.
"Why didn't you at least say hello to him? He's like the cutest kid in biology class."
Dick watched Barbara roll her eyes.
"That's what you say about every guy."
"But this is biology class which means he is smart and good looking. That would be perfect for you."
"No it wouldn't." Barbara said firmly.
The other girl's shoulders dropped.
"I don't know what to do with you Barb. I'm not saying you have to go out with him, just be friends at least."
"I wouldn't want him for a friend."
"Why not?"
"I wouldn't want a friend like that." Barbara explained while crossing her arms.
"What?" The girl questioned. "Cute? Smart? Rich? You'll never be friends with any guy here. Half of them are all pretty cute and they are all rich."
"Then I guess I won't have any guy friends."
"How can you say that?" The girl questioned.
"I don't think that that should be the basis for a friendship. I don't want wealthy friends. There's too much baggage and pressure there." Barbara
explained.
"You know for a poor cop's kid Barb, you can kind of be snobby."
"It's not snobbery." Barbara said defensively. "It's just how I want it to be."
"Your loss I guess." The other girl finally said.
Dick watched them finish up talking and by the time the other girl walked away, Dick didn't feel like talking to Barbara anymore.
Did she not want to be friends with him? Was that what the guys were talking about?
Dick slowly wandered around waiting for Alfred to show up. It was like the whole world had flipped.
For the next few weeks, Dick was acting weird and Barbara hoped to heaven it had nothing to do with Lauren Miller.
He didn't seem moony or anything, but she was keeping an eye on him.
He wasn't talking to her much either. He didn't invite her over and she felt odd inviting him.
Something was up, and she was tired of it.
"Dick!" She called out. There was no way she was letting him leave today without an explanation.
He paused and almost seemed to gulp to see her coming.
"Hi."
"Is everything okay with you?"
Barbara decided that there was no point to beat around the bush.
"What? Uh . . . yeah."
The answer was as vague as the look on his face. Barbara gave him another moment to speak.
"Well I just . . ." He looked at her uncertainly. "Can we still be friends?"
Barbara looked at him a moment. What was he talking about? It wasn't like they had a fight or something.
"Who said that we couldn't be friends?"
"What?" Dick asked.
"Who said that we couldn't be friends?" She demanded to know. She was going to throttle the person who told him that they couldn't be friends.
Stupid rich kids with their stupid society rules . . .
"It's just that you said you . . . didn't want to be friends with . . . rich kids."
Barbara was confused and then it cleared up.
"Dick! I wasn't talking about you! You're nothing like those other kids even if you are rich now. I don't care. You're my best friend. The kid I found in my
backyard."
Dick didn't look convinced.
"Dick." She grabbed him by the shoulders. "Believe me, we will always be friends. Don't listen to what other people say okay? I'll never stop being your
friend."
Dick nodded numbly but his face looked grim.
"Do you believe me? Say you believe me." She ordered.
"I believe you."
"Say it like you mean it."
Dick sighed.
"I believe you Babs."
Barbara felt a bit better but his face still worried her.
He started to walk away, but Barbara stopped him.
She had to convince him.
Finding sudden inspiration in the cheesy romantic movie her mother watched last night, Barbara grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pressed her
lips into his.
For a moment, she forgot that it was supposed to just be a quick kiss to make sure that he wouldn't doubt her; instead, it went a little longer than
that.
Barbara realized that she needed to breath and decided that he probably needed to as well.
She let go of his shirt.
He pulled back slowly and blinked at her a few times.
Barbara suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed.
"Okay . . . well . . . see you later." She rushed away before her face got any redder.
Dick walked slowly to the curb.
He almost tripped over a tree root.
He felt light headed and dizzy.
The world seemed to be shifting beneath his feet.
Barbara had just kissed him.
Like a real kiss—nothing compared to the one he gave her last time.
He somehow made it to the car and opened it up.
"Hey, Alfred. How was your day? Mine was good."
"That's nice to know."
Dick focused on the driver in the front seat.
"Bruce? What are you doing here?"
His guardian smiled at him.
"I don't know if I should be offended that you thought I was an old Englishman or Alfred should be flattered that you thought I was him."
Dick smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry."
"You're coming with me to the office today, remember? Do you want to come up front then?"
Dick nodded and got out of the car and came to sit in the front of the Bugatti. He clicked in his seat belt and held on.
One thing that Dick had learned was that Bruce Wayne liked to drive fast.
"What made your day good?"
"What?"
"Your day. What made it good?" Bruce repeated.
Dick tried to think up something that wasn't Barbara kissing him.
"Just uh . . . a test got put off till tomorrow." Wow that sounded lame.
Bruce turned a corner and glanced over at him.
Dick looked out the window.
"So what are you going to do today?" Dick asked quickly to change the topic.
"I am so dead."
Dick looked over at the only other kid in the classroom at the moment.
School had been dismissed and Dick was tired and slow to get up. The other kid who had made the comment was Simon Lance. He was new so Dick felt
a kinship with him—not that he told the other boy this.
Simon's father was in plastics, whatever that meant. He was raised in England before his family moved to Gotham and had an accent that all the girls
were falling over.
He was nice though, so Dick did what he could to help him out.
"What's the problem?"
"I forgot about that book report we had to do. I am totally dead, and the library is completely out of copies."
"What book?"
"A Sherlock Holmes one. I can't quite remember the title at the moment."
Dick stopped to think of a solution.
"You could buy a copy."
"Yes, but I would never read it again so it would be a waste of money."
Dick felt conflicted.
On one side, he had never heard any of the other kids be worried about wasting money, so that was refreshing to hear. On the other hand, Dick didn't
think that he should talk so rudely about books. Dick had developed an appreciation for them since Barbara liked them so much.
Barbara.
There was an idea.
"You should ask Barbara. I know she probably owns a copy."
"Barbara who?" Simon asked walking over to Dick.
"Barbara Gordon."
"Who's that?"
"A . . . my friend."
"You think that she has a copy?"
"I know she would." Dick said with certainty.
"Really? Do you know where I could find her?"
Barbara was attempting to get out of the classroom where some sort of "girl discussion" had started right where the door was.
"Can I get through please? Please?" Barbara said tugging a girl's bookbag.
A sudden flurry of excitement broke out and everyone cleared the door way.
"Thank you." Barbara said as she prepared to head out.
"Wait Barbara! Don't leave yet."
Barbara stopped long enough to get pulled aside.
"Can you let go of my arm please?" Barbara said through her teeth. She was trying really hard not to just slap Breanna's arm away.
"Do I look all right?"
Barbara eyed the girl.
"You look fine. Too much eye make-up in my opi . . . whoa!" The girl pushed Barbara aside.
"Shh! He's coming! He is really coming in here!" A girl shrieked.
Barbara spun to face the mob of girls with a huff.
"Just what exactly is going on here?" She demanded.
"Excuse me, but is Barbara Gordon in here?"
Barbara froze at the sound of her name being said by a voice she didn't recognize.
The other girl's faces were all wide eyed and stunned.
She turned around.
"That's me." She said undauntedly.
Who was this kid and what did he want?
"Might you have a moment?" The boy seemed to be staring uncomfortably at her—well at the girls behind her.
"Sure." Barbara grabbed her bag and headed out the door.
"I'm sorry to trouble you." The boy began. "But Dick said that you might have a copy of Sherlock Holmes that I could borrow."
"Oh, uh . . ." Barbara stared past the boy at the various girls looking down the hall at her. "I suppose that I can lend you it. It's just a large volume."
"Anything would be fantastic at this point. I completely forgot about the project so I am kind of in a bind."
Barbara's eyes narrowed.
"Well, yeah. I can bring it tomorrow."
"That would be great. Can I find you at lunch?"
"Sure. Just be careful with it."
The boy seemed a bit amused by the comment, but said nothing else except to excuse himself.
"What did he say? What did he ask you?" Breanne was quick to ask.
"Honestly, he just needed to borrow something."
"But he knew your name! He doesn't even know my name!"
Barbara wasn't impressed by this fact in the least.
"Did he ask you out?" Another girl pushed in to ask.
"No." Barbara dismissed. "He needed to borrow a book."
"Yeah, Barbara doesn't want to go out with the guys at this school." Another girl butted in to say.
"Just because . . ."
"She's totally holding out for Dick Grayson."
"I am not." Barbara snapped.
"He has to get taller first." A girl from the back with a giggle.
"Seriously." Barbara said through gritted teeth.
"Well you two are friends through mysterious circumstances which you won't entirely reveal." Someone pointed out.
Barbara pressed her lips together.
Like she was going to tell them anything.
Dick and she decided it was best for all parties involved if they just downplayed how they met.
"He asked for a book. That was all."
She pushed her way out of the crowd and headed out.
Dick flipped a few more pages on his book and decided to change his answer. Flipping his pencil around, he scribbled out the number and stared at the
problem again.
Mercifully, his phone rang.
"Hey Babs, how was gymnastics today?"
He was still amazed that she could managed all those activated and school at the same time. Sometime just school and Robin took enough out of him.
And he had something to look forward to.
Bruce had promised that at the end of school and the start of summer that Robin could be pulled off observational status and be put on active duty.
He was thrilled.
"Fine. Listen, we need to talk."
"About what?"
Dick sat up.
Was it about the kiss? Did she regret it or something?
"Did you tell some British kid that he could borrow a book from me?"
"Oh, Simon, yeah. He needed one and I knew you had it."
There was silence.
"I don't really like to give my books out Dick."
"Oh, you never told me that." Dick ran a hand through his hair.
"Well that's because I trust you with them. And I'm only letting the kid borrow it because you let him believe that I would."
"He's a nice person though and I didn't even think there would be a problem." Dick said guiltily.
"And why didn't he do the report before hand? Why did he wait?"
"I don't know."
"He should be more prepared and not wait to the last minute."
Dick couldn't disagree with her.
"I'm sorry."
He tried to apologize.
"It's not your fault really. Just keep it in mind and if you see him bending the cover or anything you tell him to stop and use a bookmark."
Dick nodded firmly even though she couldn't see him.
"What was his name again?"
"Simon. He came from England. He's nice. I've been over to his house; he likes computers too."
"You haven't mentioned that before."
She sounded like she was accusing him of something.
"Oh, I figured . . . I didn't know that you would be interested. It's just guy stuff."
Dick swallowed.
For some reason, she was making him nervous.
"Well, all right then."
Dick sighed.
"Good. Well while I have you, did you look at geometry yet?"
Barbara stared once more at her watch to make sure she had the time right. She rechecked using her phone.
Yep, Dick was late.
She wasn't going to get on his case about it or anything. He was going to visit his parents and like always, she was going to accompany him.
She finally spotted his form coming up the road.
"Hey Babs. Sorry that I'm late. Stuff came up."
"Yeah, yeah. Heard it all before." She said waving him off teasingly with her hand.
They both looked at the entrance to the cemetery.
The ivy growing on the bricks was starting to get greener as a sign that summer was starting to approach.
"Well, I'll be out here." She said as she knelt down.
By now, she was smart enough to bring a book to read.
She watched as he continued to look at the entrance.
"Babs?"
"Yep?" She had to use her hand to block out the sun so that she could see him.
"Do . . . you want to come with me?"
She wasn't quite sure what to say.
He had never offered before, and she had never imposed.
"Are you sure?" She asked carefully giving him another moment to think about it.
He simply nodded.
"I guess if you want me to."
That was all that he seemed to need. He took her hand and guided her into the cemetery.
Barbara had never really been in that one before.
Old headstones rose out of a still well-kept lawn. Names could be faintly read as they had been carved into the stone.
It was quiet and peaceful which was how cemeteries were supposed to be Barbara thought.
Dick took her off the path and onto the grass where the ground sloped gently.
She spotted them easily as they were the newest looking headstones in the vicinity.
Barbara read the names across the top of each one and bowed her head in silence.
She felt Dick's hand tighten up on hers. She squeezed his hand back.
"Can we sit?" He asked softly.
"Of course."
They sat down in sync still holding hands.
Barbara looked around at the area.
They graves seemed to be off in a fairly nu-trafficked area. Most of the surrounding graves were at least a century old.
"Are Mr. Wayne's parents buried here?"
Dick seemed to think about it for a moment.
"I don't really know. He's never told me."
Barbara tried to think of something else.
"So are you looking forward to summer?"
That seemed to cheer him up some.
"Yeah. I think it's going to be good." He fell silent again. "The circus used to go to Spain at the start of summer."
Barbara linked her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees.
"Well then you better start practicing because I want to see a whole routine."
He smiled a bit more.
"Okay, I guess I can."
"We can have Alfred make popcorn and he and I can both watch you. You'll be under a lot of pressure." She warned him.
"I'll do my best. Alfred is a harsh critic." Dick joked softly.
Barbara felt that he was in a better mood now—at least for a boy sitting by his parent's graves.
"You in the mood for some ice cream bars? Mr. Cormik's shop is around the street corner. I'll buy."
"I guess."
Dick stood up after her and she walked to get back to the path.
She turned around to see if he was coming.
He had stopped and seemed to be saying something.
Barbara turned back and waited for him to catch up.
He was really such a strong boy, both mentally as well as physically.
She felt quite honored to know him.
Random End Note: To start off, I am really SORRY for just dropping off like that, but honestly I really needed to in order to focus on my life for a bit.
NOW, everything should be back to normal again and we will get this story finished I promise. Thanks to you all who are still reading and supporting.
You all have been very nice to me and I hope that my stories make your days a bit brighter. Every single one of you are awesome.
{Dick/Babs because, HELLO! They are perfect for each other!}
All right you know the drill. Advice, and (gentle) [be nice please! :}] criticism, would be appreciated. Or a haiku if you feel like one.