"So, where are you going?" Tim asks, raising his brows. "It's a little late, don't you think?"
Bruce looks at his son. "I'm going to the juvenile center. There's someone waiting for me."
Eyes lit up like Cheshire's, the curious man picks up the jacket he's thrown over a chair. He slips it on quickly. "You didn't pick up another reckless twelve-year-old, did you?"
The billionaire goes silent. He can tell what Tim is trying to say. The two stare at each other before Bruce shakes his head and looks away. He clears his throat.
"He's six. He lost his parents. The funeral is tomorrow and I'm taking him."
"To the funeral or into this family?"
"A bit of both. I'm not going to legally adopt him—not like I did you or the other boys. I'm not going to try to replace what he had lost."
•••
No one's said anything about the uncalled-for excursion that took place earlier that day but by the way Bruce is glaring at his food, it's obvious the man knows. No one dares to try and explain the reasoning. No one says any of their suspicions.
"Well, I think I'm done with dinner," Gardner says, pushing his half-empty plate forward. "I'm going to my room."
"Grayson, a word with you," Damian says, pretending to tack on a question mark to the end of that sentence. Gardner raises his brows but he nods anyway. Immediately, Damian rises.
The two of them leave the room and begin a silent trek up to their intended destination. As soon as the room is reached and breached, Damian locks the door behind himself, trapping him and Gardner. Then, he narrows his eyes coolly at the smaller male.
Tense. The atmosphere grows more and more tense with each passing second. The two engage in a staring contest. It's only seconds later that the blood son pipes up.
"There's a story my grandfather told me," Damian says, piercing green eyes waiting to gauge the expression of the blue-eyed boy. "It was about a sheep pretending to be a wolf—"
"Okay and?"
"—pretending to be a sheep," Damian finishes. He smirks and turns around so his back is to the younger male. "You know, Grayson, I'm... not unhappy that you're back now."
Gardner raises his brows. "And I'm not unhappy that I'm back," he says, turning around as well. "See you later, Dami."
"Tt."
With that, Damian unlocks the door and leaves. It closes with nothing but a little echo in its wake. Then, Gardner lets out a bark of harsh laughter. As soon as he stop, which is around five seconds later, he falls to his knees and a hand wraps itself as best it can around his throat.
•••
The blood son decides that the best course of action now is to go downstairs. He wants another look at the blood sample that his father had taken not too long ago from the youngest occupant of the house. He just wants to be certain.
He sits himself down in the seat, pulling up the results. It's reassuring, that's for sure. He leans forward to hit a few keys. Another examination is initiated. He doesn't know what he's expecting.
What he gets, however, sends jolts of panic through his system.
Green eyes widen slightly, running over and over the results. He stands and whips out his phone. He won't bother going back up.
"Father."
"Damian."
"I suggest that you hurry downstairs. Do not bring Grayson."
He hangs up and waits for his father to arrive. Meanwhile, he's scrolling through the new analysis. Well, it's not new, it just delves deeper and has more information on the blood.
But the thing is, this is nothing he hasn't seen before. The concerning part?
Just how long has this been there?
•••
Before a week can even pass, Bruce finds himself hounded every time he exits his work building. Microphones and cameras are thrust into his face. He's used to it and manages to evade any and every question they throw at him.
He is not, however, used to Barbara somehow appearing in his car. Seeing her pop up in the backseat was a surprise, even for the Batman. He doesn't show any signs of fear or surprise as he starts the car. Bruce doesn't even bother asking her anything.
Making a mental note to drive to the station first, he backs out of his spot and drives on.
"Dick's back," she says. "That's what the news is saying, anyway."
"He is," Brice replies. He eases down on the brake so that he can slow to a smooth stop. The light ahead is red and by now he knows that that light stays red for at least six seconds, which have not yet passed.
"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't he tell me? You told Dad but not me!"
Bruce sighs through his nose and then begins his release and pushes down on the gas pedal. "I didn't want to throw him back into the spotlight just as he returned. There's a few issues that must be resolved before he can be reintroduced to the public."
"Issues?"
"Something happened the night he went missing and there's more than likely to be foul play involved. And he was, in fact, not supposed to be recognized on the unauthorized trip he made to the city. Someone purposefully revealed to the press that Dick was back."
Barbara purses her lips. Then, she huffs and falls back against her seat. She knows the windows are heavily tinted but that doesn't stop her from playing it safe and buckling her seatbelt. "When can I see him? He's my best friend."
"Not anytime soon," he answers. "There are a few medical issues that need to be resolved."
"Medical?" she repeats, her voice taking on dubious undertones. "He never had any medical issues."
"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with."
She frowns. Her lip curls downwards immensely. Boiling eyes narrow at the man through the rear view mirror. "If it concerns Dick then it concerns me."
Bruce says nothing. And, for a while, the trip consists of her glaring at him through the mirror and him making offhand comments about the goings-on happening in the streets of their tragic city.
"You know," he says, "I'm impressed you managed to get into my car without the alarms sounding."
"Call it a gift," she says in a dry voice. "I'm going to apologize though. Regardless, it's still illegal even if I didn't have malicious intent. Dad's going to be pissed either way when he finds out that I broke into your car."
A few minutes later, Bruce is making the turn into the police station. He unlocks her door and she hops out. Before she closes it, she tells him a message that she hopes will be passed on for her friend.
He makes a promise to deliver it.
•••
Gardner likes games. He likes those mind-boggling, twisting ones that seldom make sense. It's no surprise, really, as he plays one constantly. It's called Life and he's a master at it.
At this point, he has no idea why the game is still going but he's too far in too quit now. Too many questions will be asked if he stops. He can't. The rules don't make sense nor does the gameplay but does it even matter at this point?
The aim of the game is still the same.
Gardner likes games like that.
The gameplay, albeit confusing, is rather great for deception. Deceit. Lies. What is and what isn't truth. Emissions. Questions. Twists. Ploys. The works. It's all here, all now.
"What are you smiling about?"
He reels back, blinking in a daze. Blue eyes focus on the new arrival. He smiles a bit awkwardly. "Just thinking," he says.
"Uh-huh. Well, I'm back. Wanna play some video games?"
Gardner nods. "Sure. So, Wally, what brings you back here?"
"Just thinking," the other boy replies with a grin. Gardner raises his brows but he says nothing. Instead, the younger boy beckons for the redhead to follow. The two of them disappear in Dick's room. The gaming system is booted up once more.
After a while, in the middle of Gardner kicking Wally's ass, the older boy says, "You know, I really hate these kinds of games."
"Really?" he asks, smiling at his companion with hair of sunset evenings. "I happen to love them."
"Of course you would."
Heyheyhey! Guess what? It's my day of birth! I'm finally 15. :P And, I may be getting my laptop tomorrow or Sunday. I'm very excited and thankful.
So. Medical issues. I wonder what those could be. :0 And what is up with Damian?
I'm on the mock trial team and my first competition is January 4th. I'm extremely nervous. I'm acting as a witness and gah. It's so out of my comfort zone but I want to do this so bad.
To those wondering, yes. The anagram pseudoname was intentional. :P My sincerest apologies for the shorter length with the this chapter.
Anywho, I gotta jet. Have a lovely day! Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate! :) I hope you lovely humans have a safe holiday, regardless of whether you celebrate anything or not.