All Characters and Properties Belong To DC
Dick burst out of the gym doors and ran down a hill his plain black backpack shaking behind him.
Dick had just gotten out of Social Studies and for the entire period he'd attended Gotham Academy, they had been in the Geography unit. While at first it had interesting since he'd traveled so much in his short life.
His Social Studies was a giddy twenty something woman with auburn blonde hair. She practically skipped to pull down the massive map that had fold to the ceiling. Adjusting her large glasses she began explaining about the equator when Dick dropped his pencil to his desk in realization. He'd been to many of those places, he'd been raised by the entire world. Now that was over. He might never get to travel anywhere again.
He'd spent the rest of the class mirroring some of his less than invested classmates. Eyes forward, but mind long absent. When they had been dismissed he followed one of the fire drill routes and escaped through the gym. As to why, he wasn't sure.
He was on the main streets of Gotham now, but still safely close to the school. His eyes found a park across the street, kids often went there and waited for their parents. Sprinting across the stress in a way that would certainly not make Alfred happy, Dick bolted into the park.
Normally he would throw himself at the bubblegum pink jungle gym, however instead he sprinted forward past every fun attraction the park could offer. A retired section of the part was ahead of him, he slowed a little. He shrugged off his backpack and let it slamming into the ground, folders and books scattering into the grass.
Dick entered the former picnic area, they had built a new one years ago, ducking under vines. He was having difficulty seeing where was going. Soon he came to a clearing of sorts, or at least the edge of the retired area. In front of him was an intricately crafted stone fountain, water he could assume was leftover rain sit in the deep bowl that was impaled by the supporting pillar.
Dick slowly and crouched down by the forgotten piece of the park, leaning into it. He began to turn his head toward the sky, streaks of wetness falling as he did so as if trying to push his face back down. It was overcast, explaining why the streets and the park were devoid of people.
Well that and most kids were still in school for four more hours.
The entire expanse of Gotham seemed to have become monochrome, if not for a single bird chirping far somewhere to his left Dick would have thought everyone had disappeared. He wondered if he should get up and keep walking, any future plans to do so were halted when a cough escaped his small throat. Covering himself out of instinct he could feel his face becoming wet as if had been splashed with rain.
When his parents died it seemed they had taken Dick's life with them. Dick finally pulled the curtain and could see what been festering in the back of his mind. His world had begun shifting the moment they died. Every small step he'd taken in his life had in the world he was born into, big tops and high wires. Animals from all over the globe in walking distance. Bright lights and smiles were the default. The best part was also that he had two homes, the circus and the entire world. Every new show gave him somewhere new. He'd been living in Gotham for a full year now, he'd lived in his birth country for a year. He remembered his mother had not loved it, however. Dick's mother and him were always the first ones ready to push onward towards the next show. Now his wondrous life of travel was over.
Dick's bright blue eyes shifted in all directions like a spinning compass. His heart began to speed up, he felt like his entire world had gotten smaller. It was as if all of Gotham was closing around him. His world, his home, was now so small. Would he ever leave Gotham ? What if the Haley's Circus just stopped and he never got to seem them again.
In his ears he heard his own sobs, pained. His drab uniform getting wet from the large tears that were trailing down his face. Dick was glad no one was in the park, how could explain this. "Hey I was adopted by wonderful man and given a mansion to live in" boo hoo.
Crossing his arms and clutching his shoulders, he continued to wail. Bruce and Alfred were going to be worried and mad, he felt nauseous. Whether this life he was building with Bruce and Alfred was going to be any good didn't matter, the sinking feeling inside him ached too much to look for something positive. A terrible virus was inside the deepest part of his gut and the only way to expel was too wait it out.
"Dick," snapping around and sending tears sliding down his cheeks Dick almost screamed when he saw his adopted father standing in the brush.
Dick leaned back onto his hand shook his head, once again he closed his eyes tight unable to handle how far everything had gotten from him. He could just barely hear the footsteps in the grass as his father approached him. His mind was racing and his body was both numb and racing. Then he felt himself being lifted.
Being carried bridal style by Bruce was something Dick was used to. Sometimes Bruce just picked him up when he decided it would be easier than explaining where they were going or if Dick just coaxed him into it.
His face fell on Bruce's shoulder and felt the strap of his black backpack touch him. He was so stupid, he went to a private school in a cesspool city that fancied itself amazing and was adopted by far one of its most powerful inhabits. Maybe someone would notice him missing.
Scrunching his eyes shut just tried to force himself to pass out, despite being too riled from stress to be tired. He bounced in his father's arms and could tell they were getting close to the street. Was Bruce going to take him back to school, his face soaking wet and red. He was screwed!
Bruce opened the car door and shrugged Dick's backpack off before clutching his son tighter and slipping into the vehicle flipping it on, Bruce looked down at the tight bundle in his arms. After the incident before Dick's first day, Bruce expected something to come up, but not outright leaving school and especially not finding his son having a panic attack in the park.
"Dick, talk to me, " he began stroking the boy's hair. There was a bit of sweat in the locs, either from running away or from how worked the boy was.
"'m scared," was all Bruce could make out from the muffled head in his shirt. Shifting Dick up slightly to that his knees were on his own and Dick was facing him, Bruce reached for a handkerchief to begin cleaning the boy's face.
"Bruce," the voice that came out of Dick's mouth wasn't totally foreign,but shocking to Bruce all the same, " How do you start from scratch ?" Dick's hands were on Bruce's shoulders parallel to him. The look in his eyes was pleading, begging for something that did not exist.
"You have help," was all Bruce said.
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