Dick Grayson one shots

We were wrong

This one kinda goes with the last one...

"Clark invited me to stay over at his house again," Dick mentioned over breakfast.

Bruce put aside the paper he was reading. "That's kind of him," he said.

"Yeah..." Dick went on, "but I don't really understand why. Lois tolerates me... but I don't think she enjoys having company every other weekend."

Bruce's brow furrowed. "Strange... here I was thinking couples were supposed to talk about things like inviting a high energy 10 year old to sleep over," he said, flashing Dick a grin.

Dick laughed. "Maybe they didn't consider that one when they took their vows."

Bruce's smile grew. "Classic mistake," he said.

Dick chuckled, going silent for a moment. "What do you think I should do?" He asked. "It's getting kinda weird if I'm being honest... don't get me wrong, I love staying at their house, but the weekends are the only times I really get to spend with you. It's like he's trying to keep me away from you or something."

The two sat in silence for a moment before Bruce looked down at his watch. "Well," he said. "I seem to have some free time right now, and there's no Clark in sight... so why don't we take advantage of the absurd amount of pillows and couch cushions in this house and build a fort."

Dick grinned, jumping out of his seat. "Beat you to the living room!" He shouted as he ran down the hall.

Bruce stood and chased after him, a smile on his face... but he couldn't quite shake the thoughts his conversation with Dick had brought to his head. Was Clark trying to take Dick away from him? And if so, why?

—

"We need to do something," Clark said. "I bring Dick to my house as often as I can, but that's not a permanent solution."

Diana paused. "Are you sure there's something going on? Dick always looks so happy when he's with Bruce."

Clark sighed. "Diana, you've seen the way he's been acting recently... he's changed, and not for the better," he said.

Diana wasn't quite convinced, but she acquiesced. "What were you thinking?" She asked.

—

"Clark, have you seen Dick?" Bruce blurted into the phone the moment the man picked up.

"No," Clark replied, something about his tone sounding vaguely off. "I haven't seen him since he left my house on Monday."

Bruce's breath caught slightly. "I... I need help to find him. He left for school this morning and hasn't come back. I tried reaching out to the school, to his friends, even called the police and reported it, but nobody's seen him. I would hack the school's camera's, but Sharon from the PTA got those shut down a month ago because it was 'an invasion of privacy'."

Clark was silent for a moment. Bruce had not only reached out to him of all people for help, but he also seemed to have been looking for a while... Maybe what they thought was wrong... maybe Bruce was a good parent...

No, Clark had witnessed first hand the coldness Batman had toward Robin... this must be about the negative press he'd get for losing his adopted son. "I could do a quick fly through of the city for you, see if there's any trace of him," he offered.

Bruce let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, that would be perfect... thank you," he mumbled. "I-if you find anything let me know. I'm going out to see if I can find anything myself."

"Of course," Clark said ending the call. He glanced at his window... he already knew where Dick was... and it wasn't Gotham. It would be a waste of time to go fly around the city... but then again Bruce might think something was off if he didn't... So he donned his cape and took to the skies.

—

5 days. It had been 5 days since Dick was taken. The press was eating up the story, but Bruce didn't care enough to try and cover it up. He was 100% focused on finding his son. Nothing else mattered. Which is why he was irked when Diana called an emergency meeting with him, Clark, and Barry.

Bruce tried to storm into the room to show how infuriating this inconvenience was, but that plan went out the window the moment he saw a mop of black curls, his missing son standing at Diana's side. He nearly tripped running to scoop the little acrobat up in his arms. "Dickie," he managed to croak out.

"B," Dick replied, tugging his mentor's cowl off. "I think you need to sit down," he said upon seeing how disheveled Bruce looked.

Bruce just tightened his grip on the younger, breath hitching slightly. "I thought I'd lost you," he said quietly.

Dick pulled himself from Bruce's grasp, helping him sit down before he fell to the floor. "I'm here Bruce," he said.

Bruce put a hand on the floor to steady himself, finally feeling the effects of zero sleep and nothing to eat or drink besides coffee. "Where were you?" He asked softly.

Dick looked confused for a moment. "Diana told me you asked her to watch me for a few days while you went on a last minute business trip," he said.

Bruce looked up at Diana, a look of betrayal on his face. "Why?" He asked, his voice breaking.

Diana shifted nervously. "I... we thought you were neglecting Dick... we were trying to keep him safe... from you," she said.

Bruce was shocked. "What?" He asked, his voice sounding even more betrayed. "Why would I ever..." he trailed off.

Dick wrapped his arms tightly around Bruce's torso. "They're not going to take me away are they?" He asked, tears starting to fill his eyes.

"No," Bruce said, matter of factly. "They'll have to go through me first." He rose shakily to his feet, Dick still clinging to his side.

"Bruce, it was an honest mistake, we saw how you treated him as Robin... in front of the league no less," Clark said, holding out a hand as if torn between whether he should force Bruce to lay down or not.

"He lost a bet," Dick said.

A ghost of a smile passed over Bruce's face.

"It was either ultimate bat mode or pretending to be an agent A for 6 months," Dick expounded.

Bruce chuckled weakly, "really got... me... there," he mumbled, swaying before falling to the ground.

Dick panicked, darting to his father figure's side and checking for a pulse.

"He's asleep," Clark stated, guilt enveloping him.

Dick was glaring at them both in turn. "Why didn't you just ask what was going on?" He fumed. "Bruce looks like he hasn't slept in days because of this."

"We were just trying—" Diana started.

"Maybe don't try next time," Dick interrupted, sniffling quietly as he knelt by Bruce's side.

"Look... we're sorry Dick," Clark said. "We messed up... what can we do to make it better?"

Dick looked at Bruce's peacefully resting face for a moment. "There is one thing..." he said. "I think it's about time the heroes my age got a team..."