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Dick wasn't fully aware of what was happening.
One moment him and Tim were watching Frozen, the scene where Elsa wakes up in her cell and Prince Hans standing over her, the next moment Dick was suddenly on the floor, body shaking and unable to breathe. Everything was spinning, reality slipping from him as the memory of Tony standing in front of him in his cell, calling him names, telling him what a good Gypsy slut he was.
Someone was calling his name, but they sound too far away.
"Dickie breathe, just breathe Dickie."
Dick tries, but Tony has his hand around Dick's throat while his other hand travels lower, across Dick's chest and down to his-
"No!" Dick's voice was strangled, trying to get away from Tony.
He should know better, he's never managed to get away, never managed to make him stop, never anything.
Dick was nothing.
Nothing.
"Dickie it's Jason, it's me. You're safe, you're not at Linden, you're at the manor. Look at me- hey! Look at me Dickie."
Jason.
That was Jason.
Tony's grip loosened and Dick blearily manages to turn his head away, managing to get Tony's hands off of him.
"That's it Dickie, breathe. You're okay."
The image of Tony was disappearing, but everything was still spinning, still making it impossible for Dick to try and make sense of anything.
"Dickie, just listen to me, okay? It's going to be okay, you'll be okay. You're safe, you're with me; Jason, and the rest of your family. You're safe Dickie, follow my voice, you're safe."
Dick tries, he really does.
"Dickie, did you hear about Zitka? The zoo called and apparently she's been spraying the guests and the workers there, just with the water they're giving her but still. She's also been... pooping more, she pushed one of the workers into it and the guy fell right into it. He even got some in his mouth, probably because he was new and she didn't like him or something. He quit the same day."
Zitka.
The image of Zitka erupts in Dick's mind. Her trunk holding him, steadying him and Dick feels himself calming down. His body slowly relaxing, breaths finally managing to come in. Dick's eyes manage to capture Zitka's, her dark round comforting eyes.
"That's it Dickie, deep breaths." Jason's voice slowly guides Dick's gaze away from Zitka and back to where he really is.
He's on the floor, at the Wayne Manor's living room.
Jason's sitting down next to him, eyes filled with deep concern, the rest of the family are standing further away; all of them looking distraught and Alfred's the first one to move forward.
"Master Dick, allow me to help you sit up." Alfred kneels down next to Jason and Dick, gently helping Dick sit up as Dick's whole body continues its shaking.
He props Dick's back up against the couch, pulling a blanket around Dick with gentle hands while Dick struggles to get his bearings.
"Master Bruce why don't you go and fetch Master Dick some tea? Master Tim and Master Damian, perhaps you can move to another room while Master Dick recovers." Alfred commands, waving the others away and Dick's grateful.
His head was still pounding and he was still feeling dizzy.
"Master Dick, why don't you put your hand down towards the rug? It might help you to regain your bearings." Alfred suggests and Dick slowly manages to shimmy one of his hands out of the blanket and to the soft carpet.
It helps, Linden didn't have any carpets. Dick buries his hand into it, grasping the carpet harder, pulling at it with some force, grounding him to the present.
"Master Jason, perhaps you should continue your story?" Alfred suggests and Dick's eyes turn towards Jason.
He's still staring at Dick, his body tense and Dick blinks at him, suddenly realising that Jason's eyes have turned into a greener shade.
"I-I... I need to go." Jason manages, suddenly getting up and hurrying past Dick and out of the room.
"Master Jason!" Alfred raises his voice, causing Dick to flinch.
"You needn't worry Master Dick, all will be well." Alfred states, turning back to him with a gentler voice.
More footsteps come back and Dick looks towards the opening of the room, hoping that Jason haven't left him. That Jason isn't disgusted by Dick's act.
It's not Jason though, it's Bruce.
"I brought the tea." Bruce announces, handing the teacup to Alfred and Alfred nods.
"Here you go Master Dick, try to take some careful sips." Alfred murmurs and Dick takes it in his shaking hands, spilling some of it onto the carpet. He takes a mouthful of the tea, hoping to wash away the taste of Tony.
It takes him almost an hour until he stops shaking, Bruce and Alfred stay with him and Bruce starts telling him a story about him and Ace's adventures while Alfred gets Dick more tea. Once Dick stops shaking and instead only momentarily shivers Alfred decides to help him to his bedroom.
Jason's not in their room and Alfred helps Dick into the bed, tucking Dick in while making sure that Dick's still aware of where he is. He finds mini-Zitka laying next to him and Dick pulls her into his arms, curling himself around her and Alfred leaves the room, letting Dick close his eyes and hope to forget everything.
.
Jason doesn't come back.
Or he does, after five days sporting a black eye and he climbs in through their bedroom window in the middle of the night. Dick pretends to be asleep, listening to Jason swearing and stumbling out of his clothes.
The bed dips and Jason's arms move around Dick's body, holding him close and Dick suddenly smells something that he's never smelt before. It's reeking and coming from Jason who nuzzles his face into Dick's hair, muttering slurred apologies.
"I love you Dickie." Jason slurs and Dick bites his lip hard as tears erupt in his face.
"I love you so much Dickie. I wish I killed him, I wish I could fucking find him and kill him." Jason murmurs and Dick's suddenly aware of the fact that Jason's talking about Tony. "I just want to fucking kill him Dickie, I'd fucking enjoy it too- fuck." Jason swears and Dick's breath hitches.
"Dickie?" Jason asks but Dick doesn't reply, he stays silent and Jason's arms pull him closer.
"I'm sorry Dickie, I love you." Jason murmurs and Dick's tears soak his pillow as he stays up, listening to Jason falling asleep, arms growing slack and chest rising and falling in a soft pattern.
.
Dick wakes up to the sound of retching.
The bed is cold and empty and so Dick turns to see the bathroom door open.
"Jason?" Dick asks and he hears Jason heaving.
"Don't come in here Dick!" Jason forces between his retching and Dick slowly gets out of bed.
"What's wrong?" Dick asks and Jason continues to retch, managing to pull the door closed.
"Nothing, go back to bed." Jason manages but Dick decides to do the opposite.
He leaves the bedroom, hurrying down the stairs to Alfred's bedroom. What if something was wrong with Jason? What if he had been drugged or was hurt?
"Alfie?" Dick asks, knocking on Alfred door before opening it.
"Master Dick?" Alfred's voice was full of sleep as Dick sees him turning on the lamp on his nightstand.
"Something's wrong with Jason, can you help him?" Dick asks and Alfred immediately gets up.
"Of course, show me where he is?" Alfred answers and Dick nods, hurrying back to his room and Alfred immediately tense at the smell.
Alfred knocks on the bathroom door before entering, leaving Dick in the bedroom and after a couple of minutes Alfred comes back, closing the bathroom door behind himself.
"Master Jason will be alright. He's caught a stomach bug, that is all. Why don't you go back to bed? Or perhaps go downstairs and watch some telly?" Alfred suggests and Dick shakes his head.
"You're lying, what's wrong with Jason?" Dick asks and Alfred sighs, crouching down in front of Dick.
"Master Jason is fine. He's been... overindulging on something that made him sick, it is nothing that should concern you Master Dick. Why don't you watch some telly and I will make sure that Master Jason is taken care of." Alfred explains and Dick bites his lower lip.
"Like... like drugs?"
Alfred looks both surprised and concerned at the same time, one of his hands move to Dick's head, gently carding through Dick's black locks.
"No Master Dick, not drugs but rather alcohol." Alfred explains and Dick's brows furrows.
"But... Bruce drinks wine and he doesn't get sick."
"That is true, it is more like eating too much candy; you can get a stomach cramp and then perhaps you feel sick when you've had too much, it is quite similar with alcohol. Do you understand?" Alfred explains and Dick nods slowly.
"So... Jason will be okay?" Dick asks, feeling a little bit better.
"Certainly, now go downstairs and I will help Master Jason."
Dick nods, pulling mini-Zitka from the bed and leaving the room. He makes himself comfortable on the couch in the living room, putting on a documentary about clownfish. Dick feels slightly better and it's not long until Bruce walks into the living room.
"Good morning." Bruce says, voice rough and he sits down next to Dick.
"I've been thinking about something recently. I understand that you and Jason have both been through things that are unimaginable. I have a friend, she works as a psychologist; she helps people deal with what they've been through and talks with them. I think that you should meet her." Bruce states and Dick tenses.
"Are you... are you giving me away to her?" Dick rasps and Bruce immediately turns to look at him with both surprise and concern.
"No, Dick I would never give you away. I think that you might need to talk with someone about what you're feeling, that is all. You don't have to talk to her if you don't want to." Bruce explains and Dick shrugs.
"I- I don't know... does she know about Batman?" Dick asks and Bruce chuckles.
"Yes she does, however, our identities remain hidden so you'll be using a different name." Bruce explains and Dick nods slowly.
"I guess I can... try?" Dick manages.
"If you don't want to talk about anything then you can tell her so. How about we meet her today? I was about to have a meeting with a couple of other people where she works." Bruce suggests and Dick nods again.
They watch the rest of the documentary in silence and Bruce pours a bowl of cereal for Dick once it's finished.
They wait until midday and Dick dresses in a blue hoodie and black jeans, Bruce gives him a domino mask while dressing in his Batman costume.
"Okay, we're going to a place called Mount Justice, it's-"
"The headquarters of the Justice League. The Court kept tabs on you." Dick interrupts and Bruce looks shocked before quickly scolding his expression into a more neutral one.
"Of course. There might be some people there, you can stay close to me. You're going to meet a woman called Dinah, she's nice and she can get me if anything happens." Bruce explains and Dick nods before they move to the zeta-tube, teleporting them to Mount Justice.
Everything turns light before the scene changes and Dick sees a big room.
"Batman-b1, Guest b-2." A robotic voice calls out and Dick steps out along with Batman.
"Hey B-man!"
Suddenly a boy with freckles and red hair zips up in front of them and Dick takes a reflexive step back.
"Kid Flask." Bruce answers, sounding both annoyed and tired at the same time.
"Who's this?! Is he new to the team?! Wow it's nice to meet you!" The boy talks way too fast for Dick to really understand what he's saying but Dick takes his hand, nodding.
"He's not joining the team, he's here on a mission with me. Where is Black Canary?" Bruce asks and the boy sighs.
"Oh man! I really need someone new on the team that I can joke with! No one likes my jokes! Oh Canary is kicking Green Arrow's butt!" Wally explains and Bruce nods.
"Wait here, I will get her." Bruce says to Dick before sending the boy a threatening look.
Bruce leaves the room and Dick turns back towards the boy.
"So... who are you?" Dick asks, pulling at his sleeves.
"Oh sorry! I totally forgot to introduce myself! I'm Wally- no! No I'm Kid Flash! Oh no Barry is going to kill me! No! I meant Flash, oh no... please don't tell on me!" The boy, Wally, groans and Dick laughs..
"You have secret identities too?"
"Yeah, at least we try to. What's your name?" Wally asks and Dick bites his lip, contemplating his answer.
"I-I'm not allowed to say it, but you can call me... Robin." Dick says after some time, mind going back to the box of his parents' old things, remembering his mother's voice when she called him her little Robin while he soared on the trapeze.
"Robin? That's cool, I like it. Here let me show you around!" Wally suddenly grabs his shoulder and Dick flinches.
"Oh sorry man! I accidentally give out shocks when I'm too excited, come on!" Wally starts speed-walking and Dick quickly follows.
Wally was... fun.
In a different way than Jason was because Wally was younger, brighter almost.
"Did you know that I'm like the fastest person alive? Except for Barry-dang it! Flash! His name is Flash!" Wally groans again and Dick giggles, feeling giddy.
"So... do you have any super-powers?" Wally asks and Dick shakes his head.
"No... maybe some healing but I'm not sure." Dick shrugs and Wally gasps.
"That's so cool! I have that too, or kinda! I can like get better really fast! I'm like Jesus! Not really but kind of because I can like run on water and it's like awesome!" Wally states and Dick giggles again.
"No way, you're like... that car in Cars!" Dick states and Wally sends him an offended look.
"What?! Hell no he's like super slow in the third movie! I'm never slow!" Wally grins and Dick recognises the challenge.
"Fine, catch me if you can then!" He shouts, speeding off and flipping up on one of the big bookcases, flying towards the big lamp in the middle of the room.
Wally zooms after him and stares at him with surprise when he spots Dick hanging from the lamp.
"That's awesome man!" Wally shouts and Dick waves to him at the same moment as Bruce walks into the room along with three other grown ups.
Bruce sighs when he spots Dick, motioning for him to get down.
Dick swings until he gets enough momentum to do a flip in the air, landing safely on his feet.
"What did we talk about? Not to use furniture when you've got a gym full of equipment." Bruce sags and Dick sends him a mischievous look.
"You only said I couldn't do it at that place, not here."
Bruce sends him a surprised look, something he's started to do a lot recently.
"You should have seen him! Rob was awesome! That's almost as cool as running on water!" Wally states and Bruce turns to look at him again with the same surprise as before.
"Rob?"
"Robin." Dick states and something warm crosses Bruce's face before he nods, schooling his face back into a neutral-Batman expression.
Dick turns his attention back to the other people in the room.
"Wow! You're Superman!" Dick suddenly moves forward, eyes big as he looks at Superman.
Dick had always liked Superman, he was cool and fair and he could fly!
"Yes I am." Superman replies, sounding a bit surprised as well, turning to look at Batman.
"Wow! You can fly! Can you show me?" Dick asks and Superman scratches the back of his head while Wally moves forward.
"Dude, you're kind of fanboying-out on him." Wally whispers into Dick's ear and Dick turns to look at him with an incredulous expression.
"But he's Superman!" Dick states, pointing at him and Bruce clears his throat.
"Yes, this is Superman and Wonder-"
"You're Wonder Woman! You're super awesome too!" Dick states excitedly, now moving towards the Amazon.
"Yes, and you must be Batman's new protege. It is nice to meet you." She smiles and Dick blushes, turning back towards Bruce who almost looks embarrassed.
Bruce sighs before nodding towards the third person.
"This is Black Canary, she's the one you'll be... talking to. Do you want me to come with you?" Bruce asks and Dick immediately sags.
He's forgotten all about his meeting, about talking to someone about how he feels.
"It's nice to meet you Robin." Black Canary states and Dick nods slowly, taking a hesitant step forward.
"Maybe I'll just follow you to the room." Bruce suddenly intervenes and Dick shakes his head.
"It's okay... I'll see you later?" Dick makes it sound like a question, causing Bruce to scowl with something that Dick has started to understand was worry.
"Are you-"
"It's okay." Dick interrupts, rolling his eyes. "You're starting to become more protective than J."
Bruce rolls his eyes back and Dick follows Black Canary to a different room. It's small and only contains two chairs and some bookshelves.
"Please, sit down." Black Canary offers and Dick accepts.
"You can call me Dinah if you want. Batman explained some of the things you've been through but kept it brief. He told me that you might want to talk to someone." Dinah explains and Dick nods again.
"Would you maybe like to start with telling me a bit about yourself?" Dinah asks and Dick bites his lip.
"It's... a hard question." Dick finally manages and Dinah nods in understanding.
"Maybe start with something simple? What do you like to do for fun?" Dinah suggests and Dick bites his lip some more before answering.
"I... I like watching documentaries about animals, and Disney movies too, but only some of them." Dick trails off, eyes moving towards his hands.
"Do you have a favourite?" Dinah asks and Dick shrugs.
"I like most of them, just not the ones with scary or bad scenes."
"Can you give me an example?" Dinah asks and Dick explains what happened while watching Frozen, curling in on himself while Dinah nods encouragingly.
"That sounds scary, does that happen often?" Dinah asks and Dick shrugs.
"Sometimes I get... a bad feeling when something reminds me of... the past, but I... sometimes but not a lot." Dick manages and Dinah nods.
They continue to talk about Dick and Dick feels a little bit better. He tells her about having been a talon, about having been to Linden but nothing about Tony. He can't say it, he doesn't even want to think about it.
"Thank you for taking your time and talking to me Robin." Dinah sends him a soft smile and Dick sends a careful one back.
She escorts him back into a big room with lots of people.
Wally immediately speeds up to him. "Rob! How was your date with Canary? This is the team I'm in! They've been on a huge mission that I missed, mostly because I'm like super in need of a break but now I'm fine and ready to kick ass! Guys come over here and meet Robin! He's awesome and can like do flips and stuff!" Wally explains and Dick looks over to a couple of other young people walking towards them.
'Hi! I'm M'Gann it's so nice to meet you!' A voice suddenly enters his mind and Talon pushes back in complete uproar.
Talon is screaming at him and tries to push past Dick to whatever threat that was currently trying to enter his mind.
"Nggh!" Dick tries to stop Talon but suddenly Talon's in control.
.
Dick isn't sure how long Talon remains in control but he blinks his eyes open, suddenly in a different room with just Bruce along with a slight headache.
"B?" Dick croaks, weakly managing to sit up with Bruce's help, pain radiating through his whole body.
"How are you feeling?" Bruce asks and Dick looks down at his hands.
His knuckles are bruised but there's no blood. Good, then Talon probably didn't kill anyone.
"What... what did he do?" Dick asks, voice raspy.
"Nothing too bad. You-he managed to get the upper-hand on Canary and took her down, you managed to take down most of the Young Justice team too." Bruce explains, handing Dick a water bottle.
"Is anyone hurt?" Dick asks and Bruce stays quiet for some time before answering. "No one will suffer from long-term damage, the only one who will might be Canary; she was the only hurt that didn't have superpowers."
"Wally?" Dick asks and Bruce sighs.
"He's going to be okay."
"What happened?" Dick repeats and Bruce sighs for a second time.
"He got a dislocated shoulder and a concussion. Superboy got two broken ribs and a kicked in knee but he's already starting to heal. Canary got two broken ribs and a torn ankle." Bruce explains and Dick closes his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what happened..." Dick sags and Bruce puts a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"This wasn't your fault. Miss Martian went into your head and you tried to protect yourself." Bruce explains and Dick shakes his head.
"I hurt them..."
"Let us get you back to the cave, Alfred can check over your injuries." Bruce suggests, slowly helping Dick stand up.
Bruce steadies him the whole way to the zeta-tube. The room where he must've attacked everyone is completely empty and Dick can see broken furniture and blood on the floor. He closes his eyes and lets Bruce help him into the zeta-tube as it teleports them back to the cave.
"Master Bruce! How good to- oh dear, what in the world happened?" Alfred's voice greets them and Dick keeps his eyes on the floor.
"Alfred could you check him over for any injuries?" Bruce asks and Alfred must nod because Bruce helps Dick up on the medical bed in the cave. Alfred helps him out of his hoodie and gently checks him over.
"Nothing seems to be broken. He might have some bruised knuckles, a possibly twisted ankle and a bruised ribs but nothing that will acquire medical help." Alfred states after some time and Dick lets Alfred pull the hoodie back over him while Bruce changes out of his suit. Dick pulls off the domino mask and hands it to Alfred as Bruce comes back wearing a black turtleneck along with black pants, putting himself next to Dick.
"What do you wish to do Master Dick? Watch some telly? Get something to eat or perhaps rest?" Alfred asks and Dick sags against Bruce.
"Can you help me to my room?" Dick asks and Bruce nods, gently helping him up and out of the cave.
They meet Damian and Tim in the living room; Damian reading a book while Tim was typing something on his computer.
"Dick! What happened?!" Tim asks, immediately getting up but Dick shies away, letting Bruce shield him.
"Not now Tim." Bruce commands as they continue up the stairs to Dick's and Jason's shared room.
Bruce opens the door and they spot Jason sleeping in the bed.
"You might want to get your own room, if you wish to get some privacy." Bruce suggests to Dick and Dick is too tired to reply, instead limping into the room before lying down next to Jason, burying himself under the covers.
Jason's arm slings over his middle, pulling him in and Dick relaxes.
Jason was safe.
He would never hurt Dick and Dick would hopefully never hurt him.
Dick's eyes grow shut to the image of Bruce closing the door, letting darkness fall over the room.
"You okay Dickie?" Jason asks, voice full of sleep and Dick nods against him.
"Good." Jason murmurs and Dick lets himself be lulled to sleep by Jason's soft breaths.
.
Dick avoids everyone for another couple of days; focusing on his acrobatics.
It's surprisingly Tim who seeks him out, knocking on the gym-door and letting Dick invite him in.
"Hey, can I join you?" Tim asks, dressed in workout clothes and Dick nods, letting Tim climb up on the platform next to him.
"I heard about what happened at Mount Justice." Tim states as Dick grabs onto the trapeze, swinging out and flipping to the other.
"You know... I was a part of that team, not the team right now necessarily but still. I heard that you and Kid Flash became friends, he feels bad about what happened. He told me that he wanted to meet you again." Tim continues and Dick huffs.
"I hurt him."
"Yes, but you didn't mean to. You could have done more damage but T didn't do anything than protect himself, both Bruce and Kid Flash told me so." Tim states and Dick shakes his head, flipping back to his previous trapeze, getting into a handstand.
"It doesn't matter. I hurt everyone there, I don't want to hurt anyone else." Dick answers and Tim nods.
"I'm not forcing you to, but you should at least know that Kid Flash miss you, apparently you thought he was funny - something probably no one's ever thought." Tim snorts and Dick lets out a treacherous giggle.
"He told me that he was Jesus because he can run on water."
"Sounds like him. Dick, I know that it's hard for you; not knowing if T is going to attack everyone or not but you can't let that stop you from trying new things. Kid Flash is the first other person you've met after coming here, maybe give it a try." Tim suggests and Dick sighs.
"I... I think he's scared of me, I hurt him and his friends, and the person I was supposed to talk to." Dick closes his eyes, letting himself swing a few more times before jumping to catch the other one.
"I've hurt people too, so has Bruce and Jason and Damian. The difference is that you never mean to hurt anyone, it's not something you can control, but you can't live in fear of hurting people. You can't stop living, you can just try to do your best and then people will think that it's enough." Tim's voice was firm and Dick jumps from the trapeze, twisting and landing on the platform next to Tim.
"Do you think he'll hate me? That the others will hate me?" Dick asks after some time and Tim shakes his head.
"They're idiots if they do, besides, Kid Flash has been asking for you. How about you come with me? I need to get some things done there and you can talk to Kid Flash while I do." Tim suggests and Dick bites his lip.
"You can always go back to the cave if you become nervous or uncomfortable, or even ask someone to get me and I'll help you." Tim offers and Dick nods slowly.
"Good, now lets get down from here and get some food." Tim smiles and Dick suddenly moves forward, latching himself onto Tim and hugging him, burying his head in Tim's stomach.
"Thank you." Dick whispers and Tim hugs him back.
They stay there for a couple of minutes until Tim's stomach growls and Dick laughs, letting go of Tim before climbing down.
They eat and Dick changes into a red hoodie, letting Tim put on a domino mask on his face before following Tim down to the cave.
"Why isn't Bruce coming with us?" Dick asks and Tim shrugs.
"Because he doesn't know, not that he needs to anyways."
Dick pulls on his sleeves and Tim sends him a comforting smile. "It's going to be okay, remember the code names and everything will be fine."
"Redbat-B4, Robin-B2." The voice calls out and Dick looks up at Tim.
"You-"
"Robin suits you." Tim smiles and Dick bites back a smile as they enter the big living room.
"Holy sh- Robin! Hey man I'm so sorry about what happened last time! For real I was like super worried dude but you were like totally awesome! Like the way you took down Canary and me and Conor was like totally awesome! Dude you have to show me your moves later and oh hi Redbat!" Wally suddenly flashes forward, his words are jumbled and he's almost shaking with energy and Dick can feel Tim tensing, getting ready to intervene if Wally gets too close.
"I'm sorry I hurt you." Dick says, voice low and Wally's face morphs into surprise before turning into mortification and turning back into his big grin.
"Are you joking?! It was AWESOME! I told you dude you have to show me your moves! You've got serious skills and the way you almost took down the Bat himself! No hard feelings!" Wally smiles and Dick finds himself smiling back. "Hey come on! I've got to show you this!" Wally grabs onto Dick's wrist before pulling him towards the kitchen area.
Dick turns to look over at Tim, sending him a small smile and Tim smiles back.
"So this masterpiece is none other than my perfect baby!" Wally shows him a sandwich and Dick stares at it.
"It's... a sandwich?" Dick asks and Wally huffs.
"Well yes, but dude seriously it's like the greatest sandwich ever!" Wally states, pushing the plate towards Dick.
"Taste it! It's like perfection itself!"
Dick looks at him for more confirmation before grabbing it and taking a bite out of it. It's...
"Soggy." Dick states and Wally looks at him like Dick personally offended him.
"Excuse you?! It's not soggy! Don't listen to him baby, you're perfect!" Wally grabs the sandwich, taking a bite before spluttering.
"Oh man! It is soggy! I worked like hours on this sandwich!" Wally groans and Dick chuckles.
Wally shows him to his room and Dick marvels at all of the things in Wally's room. Dick's and Jason's room was mostly plain, not that Dick had thought that after the Court with its coffins, but it was nothing compared to Wally's.
Wally's room was smaller but cluttered with things. Wally shows him his comic books and some "cool action figures, no Rob they're not toys!" before showing his playstation.
"What's that?" Dick asks and Wally looks offended for the second time today.
"That is nothing more than true pure perfection!" Wally answers and Dick chuckles.
"That's what you said about your sandwich."
"Okay here, lets play and I'll show you how perfect it is!" Wally hands Dick a remote and Dick asks to not play something super violent so Wally puts on a car racing game.
Dick quickly understands the concept and it only takes to games before Dick wins every single time.
"Aw man! I can't believe that you've never played and that you're better than me!?" Wally groans and Dick shrugs.
"It's easy, and you're kinda bad." Dick answers and Wally stares at him.
"Excuse me! Oh it's on!"
Dick giggles and they play a couple of more times, some where Wally manages to win but Dick wins most of them.
Dick barely realises how much time's passed until there's a knock on the door.
"Kid Flash? It's dinner." A voice states and Wally groans.
"Man! Okay lets finish this later, come on let me introduce you to the team!" Wally turns of the playstation and Dick follows him out of the room and back to the kitchen area.
There's lots of people and Dick vaguely remembers some of their faces.
Some of them send nods or awkward smiles but two of them glare at him. One of them is a girl with long blonde hair and a scowl that's close to Jason's when he's talking to people he doesn't like. The other is a boy with dark black hair, wearing a black Superman t-shirt.
"Hi! I'm M'Gann or Megan, it doesn't really matter! I'm so sorry for what happened last time! I'm still trying to get used to earth-etiquettes, it's nice to meet you though! Here I baked some cookies, try one!" A girl with green skin says, moving forward and handing him a cookie.
Dick spots the boy with the Superman t-shirt glaring harder and Dick swallows.
"It was my fault. I'm sorry if I hurt you."
M'Gann waves away his apology before turning back to the kitchen island where food was standing.
Wally points to the different people in the room, telling Dick their names and something that Wally probably think is important or valuable to know. He points towards the girl with blonde hair and tells him that her name is Artemis and that she likes to shoot arrows and be negative. Her glare intensifies and Dick shies away from her.
"KF do you know where Redbat is?" Dick asks and Wally stares at him.
"Whoa dude! Best nickname ever! Guys did you hear that?! I've got an awesome nickname now!" Wally practically vibrates and Dick sends M'Gann a confused look.
"We're still calling you Kid." Another person grumbles and Dick turns to see a girl with jet-black hair.
"I'm Zatanna. You're Robin?" She asks, offering Dick her hand.
Dick nods and spots Tim walking into the room. He smiles towards Dick and Dick sends him a careful smile back.
"I'm finished. Do you want to stay here for dinner or go to the cave?" Tim asks and Dick bites his lip.
He really likes to be with Wally, but it's clear that the others don't really like him.
"I think I'm going with you." Dick answers and Tim nods.
"Lets go then."
Dick turns towards Wally, sending him a smile. "I hope you work on your playstation-skills while I'm gone."
"Hey! What if I just went easy on you huh?!" Wally answers, looking offended for the third time.
"Sure." Dick smiles and Wally smirks.
"I'll see you around Rob!"
Dick nods and follows Tim to the zeta-tube, letting Tim punch in the code to the cave before stepping inside.
The scenery changes and Dick's suddenly back in the bat cave.
"Tim! What were you thinking?!" Bruce's voice causes Dick to immediately turn to where Bruce was waiting for them by the Batcomputer.
"Dick why don't you go upstairs?" Tim suggests and Dick looks back at him.
The tension was clear and both Tim and Bruce looks ready for a fight.
"Why are you mad?" Dick asks, turning to look at Bruce, peeling off his domino mask.
"I'm not mad at you Dick, go upstairs." Bruce answers, or more like commands.
Dick doesn't reply nor obeys.
"He needs to have a normal life Bruce! He deserves to have friends and a life outside of this manor." Tim argues, walking towards Bruce who immediately gets up.
"I told you that I made a mistake bringing him there. What you just did was both reckless and tactless. What would you have done if someone triggered him? If he accidentally hurt someone again?" Bruce counters and Tim groans.
"This is your problem! You don't believe in him! He needs to have a normal life Bruce, not the life he's been living since he was eight! Do you even know how old he is? He's a child! He needs to have friends, have fun and not just stay in this empty manor every day!" Tim answers, voice rising and Bruce's scowl deepen.
"None of you were children. He can have fun, but I will not risk exposing him to things that he isn't ready for."
"How do you know!? He was ready, he had a good time with Kid Flash and even talked to the rest of the team. He needs someone who believes in him, not someone that won't even give him a chance!" Tim's voice was close to shouting and Dick curls in on himself.
"I did give him a chance; I took him there and it ended with complete disaster. You were lucky that it didn't happen again and we cannot count on luck." Bruce objects, voice hard and colder, almost the same voice as Batman uses.
"It wasn't luck! He was doing fine, I left him with them for hours! If you can find someone who can help him learn more about what the Court did, then maybe he could learn how to control the T inside of him instead of pushing it away because he's scared!" Tim continues and Bruce's hands tighten into fists.
"I will not risk innocent people's lives just so that-"
"Can you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Dick suddenly pipes in, causing both of them to halt and look at him. "It was my choice to go back, not Tim's. I could have said no but I didn't, so you shouldn't blame Tim for that and I'm tired of people who still tell me who I am or what I need so- so just stop." Dick pushes past both of them and hurries up the stairs into the manor, leaving them with their sudden silence.
.
Dick isn't sure if it's because of Wally's energy or the way Dick's finally realised that there's a whole world waiting for him, but he sneaks out and into the closed zoo.
Zitka's sleeping in her den and Dick flips over the fence, gently waking her.
"Zitka, wake up it's me."
She immediately turns and spots him next to her. She sends him her normal "what are you doing up you man" look, the one she always sent him when they were in the circus and Dick would sneak in extra food for her during the night.
Dick lays down by her, resting his back to her side, her trunk in his lap.
"I don't know what to do Zitka. I'm tired of people making decisions for me, I just... I want to be my own person. It was easier at the circus, I could just be who I already was; a flying Grayson. It's harder now, there are so many parts of me..." Dick mutters and Zitka's trunk pats his cheek.
"Today was a good day. I think- I think I made a friend? His name is Wally, he's super nice and cool. Nothing like the boy's at Linden or the older meaner boys in the circus, he told me that he liked me and that he thought I was like... cool, like him. He's not like Jason or Tim and Damian. He's... like me?" Dick states and Zitka pats him again.
Dick stays with her until the moon is high in the sky and he's starting to get cold.
"I'll come back. I love you." Dick hugs her before flipping out of the den and getting back to the manor.
Dick wasn't sure what was going to happen when he got back, if he was going to be able to see Wally again, if Bruce or Tim were angry, but Dick had learnt one thing. He'd gotten a second chance at family, and he wasn't going to throw that away.