Bringing Back a Smile (Part 1)

Surprisingly, it was Damian who noticed it first. He was training with Dick when instead of beaming at him and ruffling Damian's hair like normal, he offered a flat smile. Damian had spent the rest of the night puzzling over it. Was his attack on the training dummy below expectations? He resolved to ask someone later.

It was three days before he managed to corner his father alone. "Father. Am I not meeting your expectations in training?"

Bruce looked absolutely puzzled. "Damian, you're doing well. Why do you ask?"

Damian crossed his arms over his chest. He would not allow his father to lie to him. "Grayson was acting odd during training a few days ago, and has continued to smile oddly. It is obviously a fake smile, and I wish to know why he is deploying it on me."

Bruce frowned. "Damian, do you know where Dick is right now?"

Damian cocked his head. Now his father was acting odd. "I assume he is still in his room." He was about to ask more, but his father had already vanished down the hall. Damian let out a huff. Father could at least tell him what was wrong before disappearing.

###

Bruce tried to knock softly, but the urge to knock the door down and rush into Dick's room made the knock come out more forceful than intended. When Dick told him to enter, he entered and silently leaned against the door and observed his son. He tried to see what Damian had noticed, and everyone else had missed.

It wasn't easy. Once he got past the superficial smile and relaxed body language, Bruce noticed the dark circles and broken look in his eyes. Then there were the bitten nails, a habit that Dick had broken years prior.

Bruce didn't say anything. He had long learned that it was best to silently support Dick. If it was something that he should know, Dick would share it with him. Watching as his son brushed past him softly and disappeared down the stairs, Bruce wondered if maybe it wasn't such a good strategy.

Taking out his phone, he sent a simple text to the other members of the house.

Bruce: Family meeting in thirty. NOBODY tell Dick

Jason: Whatever Old Man

Damian: I will be present Father

Tim: Sure Bruce.

Alfred: Sir is it really necessary that you text me? I am standing next to you after all.

###

Bruce paced his office nervously. They were still waiting for Jason, and in the back of Bruce's mind, he kept imaging Dick bursting through the door yelling, "Don't start without me!"

Needless to say, that did not happen. In fact, Jason was the one to burst through the door shouting that he was there and that they could start the meeting now.

Bruce sighed. Choosing his words carefully, he began. "Damian pointed out to me that Dick is not behaving normally. I went to check on him and he has dark circles under his eyes, started biting his nails again, and he looks broken. Does anyone have any clue as to why?"

Tim scratched his head slightly before sighing. "Remember last week? The two of us responded to a hostage situation at Gotham Bank. When we got there, a few of the hostages were already dead, and a few were beyond medical help. We quickly disposed of the bad guy, and tried to help the wounded. Dick held a little boy in his arms as he died. The parents were already dead, and Dick said that the least he could do for the kid was comfort him until he could see his parents again." Tim rubbed a hand down his face. "I should have said something. Dick told me he was fine, and everytime I see him he's smiling. I was having trouble getting over it, so the last thing I wanted to do was bring it up."

Bruce watched as Damian awkwardly patted Tim's shoulder, which was probably the kindest thing he had ever done to Tim. Taking a deep breath Bruce sighed and rubbed his temples. His sons were cracking and he did not know what to do.

Alfred, in all his wisdom, seemed to realize his problem. "Sir, I do believe this would be a good time to schedule a vacation. Perhaps a break from the heroing would be in order."

Bruce nodded gratefully. "Okay boys. Where do you think we should go to put a smile on Dick's face. On all of your faces?"

Jason slapped his hand down on Bruce's desk and stood up dramatically. "Old Man, is that a serious question? There is only one place to go in a time like this!"

When Jason did not offer any more information, Bruce sighed but gave into the boy's silent request by asking the question. "And where would that be Jason?"

Jason placed his hands on his hips, and dramatically declared, "The happiest place on earth of course! We're going to Disneyland!"

A/N: I feel like this is the teaser trailer for the actual story. I mean its important but not really? What do I know? I'm just the author. Anyways...like always, I have a rough idea where this is going, but if there is anything you want to see happen, PM me or leave your ideas in a review!

Happy reading!