Ch.40: Reading

"All... Across... Amarice..."

"Try that last word again."

"A... Mare... Ica..."

"Right. Keep going."

Danny huffed and found his place back in the book. "Wolves... wara..."

"The last word, try it again." Bruce said gently. Danny huffed again, tears of frustration in his eyes. "...were..."

Danny's adopted father nodded and made a 'go on' gesture. Danny sniffled before continuing. "Dying... Out... They... ... Dis-a-peared... From... tha..."

"Try again." Bruce called gently.

Danny whined and through his blurry tears he tried to figure out the word on the book. It was useless but Bruce wasn't going to let him go until he had finished the book.

The two males were in the living room on the 'L Couch', as Danny called. It was really a sectional couch shaped like an L, hence the name. Bruce was in the corner, sitting with his legs out one way. Danny had plopped a pillow on his lap, put his book on top of it, and had laid on his stomach on the other open sectional of the couch.

But that had been half an hour ago and they were only halfway through the book about wolves.

Bruce knew the entire book by heart. Dick, when he was nine years old, had had this weird obsession with wolves for about two months. He read everything he could get his grubby little hands on. He had bought this book at the school's book fair, with a matching bookmark and everything, and had read the book to his adopted father a few billion times before the obsession had eased.

Now Danny was using it to help with his reading. He was always getting his A and E's, M and W's, and B and D's mixed up. He was getting better but since he started dealing with it later in life than most kids, it was harder for him to get a grasp on the correct letters.

"The..." Danny finally said and, after getting a nod from Bruce, tried to continue. "East... End..."

Bruce frowned and shook his head at the boy. The nine year old let out a whimper before trying, yet again, to get a grasp on the word that was supposedly not 'end'.

The older of the two, seeing as the younger's reading was getting worse the more he got frustrated, slowly slid the book out from under Danny's fingers.

"Let's take a break, Danny." He whispered gently, setting the book on the coffee table. The nine-year-old didn't object and buried his face in the pillow on his father's lap. He sniffed as salty tears clung to his face. "I don't like reading..."

"I know you don't but you have to know how to. You'll need to know how to read for the rest of your life." Bruce said.

"But all the other kids know how to read without screwing up all the stupid words! They don't have to stay inside to work with Mrs. B!" Danny yelled, looking up hopelessly at his adopted father.

Hoping to be of some comfort, Bruce ran his fingers through the Baby Raven's hair. "Your brain just has a different way of thinking that makes it harder for you to read, kiddo. It's not your fault."

"The other kids say I'm stupid." Danny mumbled into the pillow. Bruce quickly grabbed his kid and put him in his lap, mumbling an 'ok, here we go'.

Danny looked at him with a defeated expression that the older male wanted to wipe off his face permanently.

"Which kids call you stupid?" Bruce asked, serious face on. Danny shrugged. "Dash and Paulina... Everyone agrees with them though... Except Sam and Tucker... They always yell at them..."

"Alright listen, do Dash and Paulina beat up bad guys?" Bruce asked.

"No." Danny answered.

"Do they prank the Justice League on a regular basis?"

"No."

"Have they ever stolen things from the League?"

"No."

"Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"...no..."

Bruce sighed. He was calling the school after this. Definitely calling the school...

"What I'm trying to say, Danny, is that you have to be smart to be able to beat up bad guys and prank the League. You have to be smart to be a superhero. You may not be good at reading but that, by no way, means you aren't smart. Your brain," Bruce tapped Danny's forehead. "Likes to mix up letters. That's why it's hard for you to read. But if you keep practicing, you'll get better."

"Alright..." Danny mumbled, but the tears had stopped.

"Ready to get the book over with?" Bruce asked, reaching forward and snatching the book from the coffee table. Danny nodded, albeit with some irritation but it was mostly subdued.

Sitting in his lap, Danny continued to read to Bruce, who leaned his head back against the couch, letting his kid's voice lull him.

Awww, well wasn't that adorable?

Kadzait: You're so mean to him!

I make it all better in the end!

Kadzait: *stares*

Most of the time...

Thanks to these people for favoriting and/or following and WELCOME TO THE FAMILY: Emperor of Destruction, Shadowflaymenyght, and Sailorscout4ever.

Thank you to these people for favoriting and/or following me in general!: Suntan140, Emperor of Destruction, Shadowflaymenyght, and GrayAngel564.

I have less reviewers than usual... WHERE'D YA'LL GO?!

Reviews:

BringbackDannyPhantom: He does, doesn't he? Ticking people off must be one of his superpowers or something! XD

Skymuse: For you, I shall do a chapter on bowling! It's gonna be adorable! XD

The Keeper of Worlds: Glad you liked! I was hoping you would, as he is your character! XD

Anonymous: He's an OC! Sorry for the mix-up! Kage is a favor for a goodio friend! XD