Moving day came quicker than Dick expected and before he knew it, his brothers and Alfred were helping him load boxes into the back of a small moving truck. He would be the one driving it with Damian riding shotgun and Alfred trailing behind with Tim and Jason. That was probably the best bet because the elderly gentleman was about the only person on the planet who could get those two to behave in close quarters. As the las box was loaded and the trick closed up, Dick clapped dust from his hands, wondering where it had come from, and glanced at Wayne Manor. The place had been his home for 13 years and held so many memories, both good and bad. A small smile lifted the corners of his lips, and he remembered the first time he had ever gotten in trouble for climbing on the chandelier in the entrance all,
Dick shook the memory away and looked over the large manor house again, spotting Bruce standing in the doorway. He hadn't been there earlier, and Dick didn't think that the man would come to see him off, but there he was. Bruce was trying to be stoic, and Dick made his way over to the man who had been his father for so long. Bruce met him at the bottom of the steps that lead to the front door and held his hand out for a handshake. Without hesitating, Dick took Bruce's hand and, with a sharp tug, pulled him into a hug. Bruce was tense for a moment or two before he relaxed and hugged Dick back.
"Be safe and come home as often as possible," Bruce said in a low voice.
"Of course," Dick said as he patted the older man's back and pulled away. "I'll be over so often you won't even have time to miss me," he said with a wide grin, even as his voice cracked faintly as he repressed unexpected tears.
Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder as they backed away from each other. He cleared his throat and said, "Take care of yourself."
Dick smirked and replied, "You too, old man. Don't work too hard."
Bruce made a face and said, "I'm not that old."
The two laughed briefly but were interrupted before anything else could be said. Damian had pressed his hand on the horn of the moving truck and stuck his head out of the open driver's side door. "Let's go!" He shouted as he kept his hand pressed down on the obnoxious horn. Bruce and Dick both let out exasperated laughs and Dick made his way to the truck.
He shoved Damian over and into the passenger side as he climbed in and closed the door behind him. Once the door was secure, he pulled on his seat belt and made Damian do the same. When the teen was secure, Dick started up the truck and with a last smile and wave to Bruce and pulled away from the towering home full of memories.
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For all the times that Heather and Hazel had moved around, neither one had ever had a move like this before. They weren't the ones changing location this time and the experience was somewhat surreal. Bother sisters had dressed in casual clothes for the day for optimal movement. Heather was in blue jeans, a white shirt, and a purple flannel with black converse. Her colorful hair was pulled into a right braid, and she had taken heather outside to spray them both down with bug repellant and sunblock. Hazel had pulled on a pair of leggings and a white shirt she had found at the back of her sister's closet. When Heather had seen the shirt with the white bunny and "I'm happy, don't wreck it by talking" the older sister had started to laugh hysterically.
The two sisters had been awake since 6 AM and at around 7 Dick had sent an email stating that he and his family would be arriving at 9:30. Heather had responded by emailing him her phone number. His response had been a text with a smiley face and "HI! It's Dick!" Heather had rolled her eyes and saved the number before trying to get Hazel to eat. The younger sister was determined to only eat crunchy foods and had ended up with a plate of baby carrots and apples. After eating the two had busied themselves with making sure there were no tripping hazards between the front door and Dick's room.
When they were sure there was nothing that would be a problem Hazel went to make sure there were bottles of water in the fridge and ended up distracted by making sure the labels on the bottles were all facing front and aligned and then she started organizing the egg tray. Heather left her to it, knowing it would bother her little sister if she didn't do something about it. She was pulling on a pair of socks when her phone rang and she picked it up, putting it up to her ear, "Hello?"
"Hi Heather, it's Dick!" There was the sound of someone talking in the background, but Dick ignored them. "We are gonna be there in about 8 minutes."
Heather resisted the urge to smile at hour cheerful Dick sounded. "Alright, Hazel and I will meet you at the entrance," she said as she grabbed the socks she had put on the couch for Hazel.
"Sweet! See you in a bit!" The line went dead, and Heather rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"8 minutes Haze," Heather said, and Hazel looked up from the fridge where she had moved on to organizing the different juice cartons based on which ones were fuller. She spotted the socks in her sister's hand and grimaced as she closed the fridge and took them from the older girl.
Hazel climbed onto a stool at the breakfast bar and slipped the socks on. "Evil," She muttered to the socks and Heather brought her tennis shoes over.
"I know, I don't like them either, but in this case, we need to wear them," Heather said as she stood behind Hazel and started to work the girl's dark hair into a messy bun on top of her head. When she was done, she kissed the back of her sister's head and went over to the front door, grabbing her keys and Dicks new set. "Come on, time to be social, Haze," she said. Hazel made a distressed sound but got off the stool and followed her sister out the door; she was as ready as she would ever be.
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Okay, here it is, Chapter 6. I know it's not much, but its what I got for now. Please enjoy.
~Sly