A/N Inspired by Debbie. Thanks for that =D
Dick had been friends with Barbara Gordon since his first day of school. They were desk mates, sat together at lunch, and played with each other at recess. Even though they never seemed to grow tired of each other, the children only ever saw each other in school.
Dick and Barbara understood, of course. They both had single dads who were generally too busy to chaperone, but still, it would have been nice to have playdates.
Dick's face lit up as he saw Bruce come through the gate to the after-school play area. "Daddy!" He cried excitedly as he ran from the swings to his father's open arms. "There's my little Dickiebird." Bruce cooed as he lifted his son from the ground. "Ready to go?"
"Can we wait for Barbara?" Dick asked hopefully. "Her daddy's not here yet, and I don't wanna leave her all by herself." Bruce nodded and set his son back down to go play with his friend.
While he was proud of Dick for having such a kind heart, Bruce was a bit concerned that Commissioner Gordon hadn't come to collect his daughter yet. As he stood at the sidelines of the playground, he decided to call the police station.
"The Commissioner is in the middle of a hostage situation." The police secretary informed him. "As you can imagine, it's quite a sensitive situation. There's no telling when he might finish." Bruce looked over to where the children were playing.
From what he knew, Barbara was a good kid, a good friend to his son, and after all the times Jim Gordon had risked his career on The Batman, this seemed like the least Bruce could do for him. "If it's alright with the Commissioner, I'd be happy to take Barbara home until he raps up." He told the secretary.
III
Barbara was a bit apprehensive as Mr. Wayne signed her and Dick out. As exciting as it was to finally be having a playdate with Dick, she had never been around Bruce Wayne for more than a few seconds.
Dick, however, was bouncing with joy as they drove, talking a mile a minute about all the fun they were going to have together. Barbara was so distracted by his jovial chattering that she didn't even realize that they weren't headed to Wayne Manor until they pulled to a stop in front of an ice cream shop.
"Now," Bruce smiled as he turned around in his seat. "How good a boy were you today?" Dick beamed back at him. This was their special tradition. Whenever Bruce picked him up from school, he would ask Dick if he had been a good boy, and if he had, they would get ice cream. And Dick was always a good boy.
"We had a vocabulary quiz, and I got a 95." Dick boasted, pulling out the paper as evidence. "Good job Dickie." Bruce praised, then glanced at Barbara. "And how did you do?"
Barbara blushed. She was a good student and had done well on her quiz, but somehow it didn't feel right to brag about it to someone else's dad. "I did ok." She said softly, passing her paper forward so Mr. Wayne could judge for himself. "A 98 is better than ok." Bruce told her, genuinely impressed.
"And she got a smiley face sticker." Dick chimed in. "I told ya she was smart Daddy." Barbara's face was as red as her hair now. Dick talked about her to his dad? And said she was smart?
"Well, I'd say you both deserve ice cream." Bruce grinned. "And what's the rule?" "Don't tell Alfred." Dick recited as they all got out of the car.
III
Bruce and the kids decided to enjoy their frozen treats in the fresh air of Gotham park. It was a perfect spring afternoon. "Tag!" Dick yelled, patting Barbara on the arm as she finished her cone.
The girl giggled as she got up to chase her friend. He was fast, but she was still taller, giving her the reach advantage. Dick ducked, crawled, and flipped, doing everything he could to remain out of the redhead's grasp. "Tag, you're it!" Barbara laughed, only realize a second too late that she had missed and tagged Bruce by mistake.
She held perfectly still as the man raised a brow. Maybe he wouldn't care, and she could chase after Dick as though nothing happened. Then to her surprise, Bruce grinned. "I was wondering if I got to play." He winked and took off after his son.
Barbara broke into a full smile. She needed to relax. Dick was so nice. Why had she expected his dad to be any different?
It was a sight to behold. Billionaire Bruce Wayne playing tag in one of his best suits with two children. He had just narrowly missed tagging Barbara when his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He told Dick and Barbara to play on without him for a while as he answered.
"Mr. Wayne, I do hope you are in a clearer state of mind now so that we can finish our transaction." Crooned the silky voice on the other end of the line. Bruce rolled his eyes, wishing Mr. Armore could see his annoyance.
After a week of forced diplomacy, Bruce had had to explain to the man that Wayne Enterprises was not interested in partnering with his weapons division. "For the last time, I do not think our companies have the same goals." Bruce huffed, about ready to just hang up.
"Oh, but Mr. Wayne, we could do so much good for the people of Gotham." Mr. Armore insisted. "Think of the children. Speaking of which, didn't you ever teach your boy not to talk to strangers? If it hadn't been for his little girlfriend, I think he may have climbed into my van."
Bruce whipped around to where Dick and Barbara had been playing only moments before. There were children and parents everywhere but no sign of the fourth graders. "If you lay one hand on them-" Bruce growled, tightening his grip on the phone.
"Now now, Mr. Wayne priorities." Mr. Amore tutted. "You will go to the coordinates I have sent to your phone. Once you arrive, we will settle our affairs. Any contact with the police will have consequences." With these instructions, the line went dead. Bruce charged for his car and sped off towards the children.
III
Dick muttered Romani curses that would have gotten his mouth washed out with soap had Alfred heard him as he worked at the knots that bound his wrists. He knew better than to talk to strangers, but he hadn't been thinking, and now he and Babs were tied up in what looked like an old office building.
"Hey," Dick heard Barbara whisper from beside him. "Are you ok?" "Yeah, you?" He asked, and Babs nodded. "What are they gonna do to us?" She asked just as Dick loosened his ropes. "Nothing as long as Bruce gives them money." Dick muttered.
"Well, we can't just sit here." Barbara huffed as Dick made quick work of her restraints. "I saw four, maybe five of them, and no guns or anything."
Dick thought for a second. "I think I could take them." He reasoned. While it wasn't official yet, Batman was training a sidekick, and though it wasn't ideal, Dick figured this could be an excellent time to prove he was ready for the field.
"You mean we could take them." Barbara said with conviction. "You sure you don't want me to- " Dick started only for Barbara to shut him down with a scolding look that would make Alfred proud. They were in this together.
III
Bruce burst through the doors of an old office building with his senses on high alert, only to find five grown men sprawled out around the dingy lobby. "Daddy!" Dick called, running over from where he had just finished tying up an understandably peeved Mr. Amore.
"Oh Dickie," Bruce sighed as he held his son close and checked him for bruises. "I was so worried." "We kicked their butts." Dick told him proudly. "They never even saw Babs coming."
"I just gave the police an anonymous tip about some lowlifes they need to pick up." Barbara announced as she came over. Bruce just blinked at her. This civilian girl had helped Dick take out a band of kidnappers and found the means to get them charged. She really was remarkable.
Once they were safely back at Wayne Manor, Dick and Barbara enjoyed some more typical playdate activities until Commissioner Gordon arrived to collect his daughter.
"Today was so fun." Dick gushed for the hundredth time as Bruce put him to bed that night. "Babs hasn't ever been kidnapped before, but she was really brave, and she fought good too. Maybe Batman could have two sidekicks. She could be Batgirl!"
"Let's see how Robin does first, ok?" Bruce said gently as he pulled the blankets up to Dick's chin. Bruce leaned down to give his son a kiss goodnight. "Visuri dulci Dickiebird." (Sweet dreams Dickiebird.) He whispered as he turned off the lights. "Noapte noapte Bruce. Te iubesc." (Night night Bruce. Love you.) Dick replied with a yawn as he buried his face into his stuffed elephant.
Bruce shook his head as he headed down to The Cave to prepare for patrol. As impressed as he had been with Barbara, he couldn't imagine having more than one kid around.
