A Fair Price
by TwinEnigma
Warnings for chapter: none
7.
"What brings you here, boy?" the prince asked.
"I want justice," the boy said. "My parents were good and kind. A terrible man killed them and now goes unpunished. I cannot pay in coin, but my hands are steady and I shall work as long as I must to repay you, oh Great Dark One."
"Then you may yet work forever," the prince said.
"So be it," the boy said and the bargain was struck.
He sent the boy to work at once, fetching the tools of his magic from all over the world and sending him to deliver the results of his craft. In this way, he schooled the boy in the art of justice and the dark magic that sustained him, though it did scare the boy terribly. But the prince was not without some pity. He gave the boy many fine things, silks and damasks, and sometimes indulged him in childish games, all for which the boy was most grateful and thanked him.
More and more, the boy began to smile in his presence.
And little by little, the prince learned to smile once more.
Bruce did not expect to be a father, he realizes that now. But, somehow, he is and it's a hair-raising, often confusing adventure in awkwardness and a strange sort of camaraderie.
It takes a year before he's really fully used to seeing the boy in his house.
It takes months for Dick to find the Batcave.
But it took him all of five minutes to work his way into Bruce's heart.
The boy is kind and strange and wonderful in so many ways. Sometimes, he is joy and fearlessness and sometimes he is nothing but fear and misery.
Dick is, in many ways, a lot like himself. It's true, they're linked by the common tragedy of losing their families to murder and the desire for justice, but Dick is different. His family was different. And, this time, Bruce is there to control and guide the damage this child has endured away from those dark paths he once chose to tread. He doesn't want the blood on his hands to stain Dick.
He teaches him everything he knows, molding Robin out of Dick from the very sawdust of the center ring, and tries to be better, a little more human, a little less Batman for him.
It's not easy, though, not by far.
Bruce doesn't understand how to be a parent, more often than not, and Dick doesn't always know how to approach him either. They make mistakes and tempers flare more often than not.
But seeing him smile is worth it.
It's the only time he truly feels happy.