Hey, if any of you are Rave Master fans then please check out my new fanfic titled "Rave Mistress" and no, it's not a genderswap story.

As Wounds Heal

Chapter 2:

Sweet Melodies

...January 10th, later the same day...

Dick didn't look like someone you'd expect to audition for the St. Claire De La Fontaine Conservatory of Musical Arts. He looked like a roughed up 17-year-old in a beanie and an unbuttoned red-and-black plaid shirt with a black vest underneath... which he was. His fingers shook as he signed his name for the audition sign-in and it came out looking like a child's writing. Writing frustrated him but if his unstable hands could play such a sweet melody on the violin, then he would. Zatanna, Dick and Dick's adoptive family sat down in the concert hall as they watched other people audition for the Conservatory. Dick held his violin case tightly in his hands as his knuckles turned white. Zatanna had never seen him nervous before, not even when he was going into surgery so she took his hand and gently rubbed her thumb in circles around his palm. He took a deep breath and gave her a nervous grin.

There was an applause as the current musician finished their piece and the teachers running the auditions took their notes on them. Then the headmistress of the school, Madame De La Fontaine, looked through the list of names for the next audition.

"Richard John Grayson the 2nd?!" she called, her French accent thick like caramel.

Dick nervously stood up and walked down the isle to the stage. He nervously held his violin case as he went up the steps and stood on the center X. A spotlight was shining down on him and only him with the rest of the concert hall dark.

"So, Monsieur Grayson, what will you be playing for us today?" Madame De La Fontaine asked, looking through the papers on her clipboard.

"Uh- um..." Dick swallowed and took a deep breath, reassuring himself of his choice "Guren no Yumiya, the theme song for an anime called Attack on Titan,"

There was a murmur from the audience and he felt his hands become clammy with sweat.

"Proceed," Madame De La Fontaine instructed.

Dick lay his violin case on the provided table and pulled on a pair of white gloves that both protected his hands and prevented sweat from messing up his playing. He gently placed the beautifully carved violin under his chin and positioned the bow just above the strings. He took another deep breath and looked past the people in the audience to see Zatanna smiling at him. He smiled back and took just one more deep breath before falling into "violinist mode". The moment the backup track began playing, he pulled the bow back and forth over the violin strings with speed and precision like that of the greats.

In the car on the way home, Dick couldn't stop drumming his fingers against his violin case. It would be two weeks before the acceptance/rejection letters were sent out but the overwhelming feeling of what he just did filled him up with excitement. Zatanna smiled at him. He had been so nervous but now he was so happy.

"Hey, babe, you wanna play Knights of the Realm at my place? We can order pizza and totally splurge. Sound fun?" she asked.

"Yeah but I got some course work to do so... okay!" Dick said, his smile growing even wider "I need to procrastinate more, anyway. I'm already doing three university courses on advanced mathematics, theoretical physics and historical literature and I just auditioned to do university-level music studies. I need to do something pointless..."

Zatanna smiled and laughed along with him but it got her thinking about her own academic situation. What did she want to do? Dick was a genius and a rich one too so he could afford to study music only to decide to do something completely different with his life. But she wasn't so sure... Her tennis career was over and she was okay with that but now what was she suppose to do? Zatanna looked out the car window at the Gotham streets. The slush was pushed to the sides of the roads and the snow had melted to puddles. Christmas at St. Agnes' had been fun but now they were out in the world again. So what was she meant to do?

"Oh, Zee-ee!" Dick sang "You're looking worried. My guess about the future. But don't worry 'cause I'll be here by your side, no matter what,"

Zatanna looked back at him and gave him a sad smile. Unsatisfied with this reaction, he resorted to tickling her mercilessly until she was crying with laughter with a huge grin on her face.

...Later that night...

Dick sat on the floor of his bedroom as he polished the components of his violin. He had to keep it in tip-top condition no matter what. He carefully tuned it and gently pulled the bow across the freshly-changed strings. The sound resonated through the air and echoed around, bouncing off the walls and and wooden floorboards. Such a sweet and gentle sound...

"Dickie?"

Dick looked up to see his little sister, Helena, peeking through a crack in the door. He lowered his violin and she came in, running on her tiptoes. She sat on the floor next to him with a thud and looked up at him expectantly.

"Is there something you want, Lena?" Dick asked.

"Play for me," Helena said "I wanna hear you play. Your violin sounds really pretty so... would you? Please?"

He ruffled her neatly plaited black hair before lifting his violin to his chin again and he gently dragged the bow over the strings. It was nearly 9 o'clock, Helena'a bed time, so she really needed to go to sleep. To aid in that, Dick played a nice soft tune to lull her. To be accurate, he played the *Fairy Tail theme for her. Helena began yawning as the elegant violin began to calm her. By the time Bruce and Selina arrived to take her to bed, she was already curled up on the floor with her head on Dick's knee and her eyes closed as she dreamed.

*Go check out Taylor Davis again if you want to hear it. She's on YouTube, if I didn't mention that before and is my reference for the violin pieces Dick plays. She's really good!