Verisimilitude

First Day Back

No reason to worry.

A part of him knew that lying to himself would only help him in the short term, and could actually hurt more in the long term. He had seen people like that; he had witnessed people going crazy as they denied that death was as much a part of life as life itself. He had no wish to join them, but he couldn't help himself.

He soon reached Gotham Academy. This building had refused change in the simulation.

He remembered the countless times he had picked up Tim or Stephanie (Damian had been home-schooled, due to his lack of social etiquette and patience) from the school. He let a smile come over his face when he imagined Jason being here. Jason had asked that if he was forced to go to school (which he and Barbara had forced him to do) if he could go to the Gotham North. He and Barbara had agreed, of course, but it didn't stop him from wondering what the once street orphan would do at the prestigious school.

He pulled back before a memory could grab him, and instead directed his attention on a blonde with bouncy curls. "Hey Bette." He greeted with a smile as he pulled the hood down.

Bette hit him lightly on the arm with her books, "Where were you? Me and Babs were freaking out!" She chastised him as they entered the building together.

"Sorry. I had a nasty bug." He lied smoothly. "I dropped my phone into the toilet - not one of my finer moments, I admit."

"Mr. Wayne got you a new one though, didn't he?" She asked, "You could have called. Or texted."

"Sorry." He apologized sheepishly, "That was the fever. I forgot that Bruce had bought me a new one until the other day." The lie came out so easily, he briefly wondered how he thought of it so quickly. "And he prefers Bruce, not Mr. Wayne."

"I'm sorry, Bruce bought you a new one . " She gave him a smile, "I'm happy you're back." She admitted, before looking at something over his right shoulder. " Someone's not going to be as forgiving as I am."

He turned to see Barbara who was walking towards them.

Seeing her, walking with her normal confident - but not prideful - stride that had each step emanating both fury and power, her shoulders set and her face in a fierce scowl, a grin came over his face.

And he fell in love with her all over again.

"Where were you?" She demanded, hitting him in the shoulder not holding back as much as Bette had.

Faint wisps of memory stirred at the brief contact, but he ignored them. Barbara was here. He didn't have to make himself concentrate on her because that was what he always did whenever she entered a room. It was instinct - something that eleven years of marriage had drilled into him.

"I was sick." He explained, wincing on the inside. He hated lying to her. There had been two people who he had been able to be completely open with in the simulation: Roy, and her. He didn't have to pretend to be invincible; that everything, that he, was okay. He could simply be himself without fear of rejection. His best friend and his wife. "I broke my phone and with the fever messing up my mind I didn't realize that Bruce had bought me a new one."

She looked at him skeptically, but he knew she wouldn't be able to detect the lie. Even if she knew them, his tells had changed and were nearly imperceptible unless you knew him closely. Like my Barbara did...

Don't think about that. Not now.

She hit him on the shoulder once more, "Don't worry us like that again, Grayson."

He smiled, she never changes. "I promise, Babs, Bette."

Bette smiled as well, "Good, because I don't think I could hold Barbara from murdering you."

He let out an uneasy chuckle, something his gut told him his thirteen-year-old self would have done.

As they turned to make their way to Barbara and Dick's lockers - which were close to each other due to the lack of last names that began with a 'G', Dick opened his mouth to say something, before shutting it.

This isn't my Barbara. He had to remind himself, No flirting.

This was going to be harder than he thought.

==============================

Alfred drove him home.

He was surprised that he made it through the day without calling the butler. The flashbacks weren't the hardest part of the day, like expected, but it was mostly his restraint. He couldn't flirt or kiss Barbara, he couldn't talk to Bette like normal (for she did survive the Invasion, and they were all still good friends), and he had to dumb himself down in all of the classes. He had already graduated college so the high school freshman classes were a breeze.

He had received a tremendous amount of make up work, but he concluded that that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. It would be an excuse to stay away from the Cave and an easy way for him to keep his mind from wandering.

Maybe things won't be so bad.

He wasn't foolish enough to think that everything would go back to normal. No, he had changed to much for that to ever be an option.

But maybe one day someone would ask him how he was doing and the answer would be 'okay' instead of 'fine'.