Take 1: Flying High and Proud

"Once again, ladies and gentlemen: Robin, the Boy Wonder!"

The spotlights from above, the roaring applause from below, and the lone figure standing atop the platform as he took another bow.

Slowly, step by step, the young aerialist descended the ladder until his feet were once again upon the ground. The townspeople of Gotham were still cheering as he slipped out of the tent.

After that fateful day when that...accident had occurred, he thought he would never fly again. And yet, here he was now: not only flying, but soaring, more like an eagle than a little robin.

Unfortunately, he would have to ask Mr. Haley for a title change in a matter of days; when one passed a cornerstone birthday, he just couldn't be a "boy" wonder anymore.

He could see himself bearing his new name, now - no longer Robin, the Boy Wonder, but maybe Nightwing, the Man Wonder.

...or something along those lines.

"Hey, Grayson! You've got a - dare I say it - very important guest waiting for you."

The youth promptly grinned, knowing who his sword-swallowing, fire-eating friend meant. Taking off at a light jog, he hurried to the caravan and burst in.

"Slow down, chum; where's the hurricane?"

The young man's grin widened as the truth was confirmed, enthusiastically greeting the famous Gotham billionaire that stood before him. "Mr. Wayne!"

"Now, Richard, I've told you before; it's just Bruce."

"And I've told you before, it's just Dick."

The two shook hands firmly, before Dick motioned for the other to sit. Bruce took a chair facing his young friend, nodding in approval. "You certainly have shot up a few good inches since the last time I saw you."

Dick flushed from the praise, ducking as he hurried to bring out two bottled drinks. "Hope you don't mind soda; we don't carry much else."

"Soda's fine. So tell me - how has life been treating you?"

"It's been good, but probably more exciting than yours, I bet."

Bruce raised an eyebrow at this comment. "Oh really...?"

"No offense, old man, but I don't see much adventure in tackling business proposals, charity dinners, and the occasional love-struck woman."

"Chum, you have absolutely no idea."

As the sodas were set on the small fold-up table between them, Dick swallowed a mouthful of soda from his.
"Now tell me - what brings you here?"

"I can't come by for just a social visit?"

"Bruce, you can come by any time; however, I know you, and I know I'd get an invite to your mansion if it were a mere social visit. I'm figuring Alfred wouldn't forgive you if he didn't get to say 'hi'."

"You're still dropping in tonight."

"Of course I am." Dick smirked before ceasing the digression. "Anyhow, if you'd make the trip all the way here, it's got to be something big.
"So what can I do for Haley Brother's Circus' greatest benefactor?"

"Well..."
Bruce paused to set his own bottle of soda back down on the table - Dick noticed he had barely touched it yet.
"I was hoping you were taking in students."

"...what?"

"Batman brought in a boy some nights ago for trying to take the hub caps off his car."

Dick winced at the statement, but allowed Bruce to continue.

"He's still quite young, and Batman did not wish to turn him over. I agreed to take him in, but he's proven quite the challenge. He has a lot of anger in him, and nothing has proven to be a good outlet."

"And you think it might help him to go flying with me?"

"He reminds me a lot of you when you were younger, so it just struck me..."

"Bruce, I've been doing this before I could even walk, and he's-how old?"

"Twelve."

"-twelve. It's going to be one stiff challenge."

"You could do it; I have faith in you."

"A lot more than I have in myself, apparently," Dick muttered, shaking his head. "What's his name?"

"Jason Todd."

"So I get to meet him tonight?"

Bruce nodded.

Dick thought about everything, then made his decision as he let out a deep sigh. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. I need to see if he's got the right stuff, but I'll see what I can do."

The relief on Bruce's face told Dick all he needed to know.

The rest of the time passed easily as the two caught up on events. Finally, it was time for Bruce to leave.

"Thank you, Dick; I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything," Dick answered evenly. "You let us use your land every year we visit. You sponsor Mr. Haley, and Batman answers your requests to keep it guarded from the mobsters. You were the only one who would listen to a little boy that chaotic night, when no one else would, and you had Batman bring Tony Zucco in.
"You and Batman have done so much for me, made me the man I've become. I'd do anything for you two."

The smile on Bruce's face could not be more genuine.
"I'll see you tonight, chum."

"Later, old man."

Dick watched the man depart, finding himself looking forward to the annual mansion visit that was coming up quickly. He missed Alfred, and he was curious to meet this boy Jason.

Hopefully, he'd catch the Batman in action on their large television as well.

The Batman and Bruce Wayne...both men were surprisingly alike. One was as frigid as a stone, and the other was friendly, but they could not be more alike than two peas in a pod.

There were no other two men he would give his loyalty to.

But there was something that Bruce Wayne had that Batman didn't.

Batman had been the one to save his life, to find Zucco when no one else could, and to rope him in when no one else had the guts to.

Bruce Wayne had been the one to see a frightened little boy curled up on the floor and grieving, to offer him a strong shoulder, to hear him out, to believe in him, to stand by him to the very end.

There was no other man than Bruce Wayne that he was glad to have met.

In fact, there was no other man he would have liked, for just a moment, to call "Dad".