Flashbacks in bold
Dick felt like punching himself. How could've he not noticed? There were so many different signs, which one was the first?
Maybe the first sign was the screaming he could hear at night sometimes.
Maybe it was the constant sad look on his face ever since Selina left.
Bruce and Dick were walking along the streets of Gotham and usually whenever paparazzi came Bruce would smile, even if it was fake. However this time he didn't even bother maybe he was just tired.
Maybe it was the constant dark circles under his eyes because of sleepless nights. Or even the fact that he felt more comfortable as Batman most the time
Bruce HATED love songs Dick never knew why.
It was Christmas time and they were going out to buy presents...
"Bruce, please can we put the radio on?"
"Fine, if you want." Bruce then turned on the radio when Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas is you came on and Bruce, straight away, turned it off.
"Why did you turn it off?!" Dick complained.
"I hate songs about love and happiness."
Maybe it was when he climbed up tall dangerous objects when one wrong step and you'd die. Maybe it was even the fact that he completely relied on the equipment that he used:
"Aren't you going to test if the Cape works? It might not, Bruce."
Fox argued.
"No it's okay, it probably does."
Dick kept looking back through time to see when it was, even going through old photos and newspapers.
Maybe it was the teenage boy that never wore short sleeved clothing, even in summer. Maybe it was when he got kicked out of school because of behaviour issues:
It was 1pm when Alfred had gotten a phone call from the headteacher of Bruce's school,
"This IS IT! I'm sorry but Bruce cannot stay at this school he has stormed out of class and started arguments with TOO MANY STUDENTS. He cannot stay here. I am expelling him."
When Bruce had gotten home Alfred asked him," why did you start a fight with another student, Master Bruce?"
"They mentioned my parents."
It was probably when Gordon had told him that his parents killer was not caught yet.
It was most likely when he was crying over his dead parents bodies, who had just been shot.
But what doesn't matter is the first sign.
The last sign wasn't when Dick walked into Bruce's room and he had a gun pressed against his head in his sleep.
No.
It was the disappointment in his face when he woke up.
And that was the moment that dick realised that Bruce's life wasn't a fairytale that everyone made it out to be. Not one bit. He actually lived in a worse reality.
