The Alley and the Bird
Bruce was the one who had brought them to the circus. He had decided that they both needed a break, and the circus seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately, a certain accident sent Batman reeling into front. Ever grateful that he didn’t suffer from amnesia like Bruce, he rushed to the side of the now orphaned child in front of him. He cradled and comforted him, shielding him from the same pain he had been shielding Bruce from for so many years. He comforted the boy until the police came, but it still didn’t feel like he was doing enough. So he volunteered to care for the newly orphaned Dick Grayson in Bruce’s name.
-
“Alfred,” Bruce called in a worried voice, watching the scene unfold before him. There was currently a child swinging from the chandelier of the foyer. The butler made his way in and followed where Bruce was looking with surprise. “Alfred, Bat did not leave a note about this.” The butler straightened his composure, “No, it was quite a spur of the moment thing. Nevertheless, he thought you would agree with his course of action. The boy’s name is Dick Grayson, and he will be living with us now. I have already enrolled him in school.” Bruce takes a moment to reconcile with the fact that the person he shares a brain with decided to adopt a child without asking him. A dog or cat would be one thing, hell even a raccoon or some other weird unconventional pet would be fine, but a child? How were they supposed to care for a child in their… state?
“Hey, chum,” Bruce says uneasily, referring to a nickname his dad called him long ago. It sent pangs of sadness and grief flowing through him, especially since he sounds so much like his father now as a man. “Can you get down from the chandelier please? It’s not safe.” The child, Dick, fixes him with an intense stare. “Okay,” he says quietly after a moment. He jumps from the chandelier, and before Bruce can try to catch him, he does a quadruple flip and lands perfectly unharmed and upright on the floor. “That’s- some trick,” Bruce says tightly, feeling his heart racing in his chest. He can feel himself start to drift, Bat trying to come in at the feeling of anxiety. Bruce grounds himself.
“I think we should talk about a few things,” Bruce says to Dick, “Why don’t we go to-” He stops himself before he says ‘office,’ “The den. Alfred, can you bring us some tea and sandwiches?” “Of course, Master Bruce.” Dick shrugs and follows Bruce up the stairs to one of the nearby dens. This one was full of bookshelves and had a few couches and armchairs. Bruce sits on an armchair and Dick flops onto the couch across from him. “So, Dick.” Bruce tries not to feel awkward about the whole situation. Honestly, he’s kind of excited to raise a child. He had thought about having kids in the future, but never expected it would be so soon- Or under these circumstances.
“There’s… Something you need to know about me, that I think is important for you to know if I am to be your guardian.” “Are you a serial killer or something?” Bruce chuckles, “No, nothing like that. I Have a sort of… Illness? It’s entirely mental. I have it because when I was a boy, I went through a very similar experience to what you went through recently. It hurt me so badly that I… Split. Into two people.” Dick raises an eyebrow, but Bruce continues his explanation. “The other one, he was made to protect me, and to keep the memories of what I saw away from me. He was the one that helped you that night.” Alfred thankfully comes in with the tea and sandwiches. Dick happily takes a turkey sandwich and eats it, and Bruce uses that to keep going. “The point of all this is to say that I don’t always remember what he does. So I may not remember things, and you may have to remind me.” Dick stops eating for a moment. “So you’re like Jekyll and Hyde but not evil.” Bruce chuckles, “Yes, I suppose so.” The boy thinks for a minute. “How do I know which one of you I’m talking to?” Alfred answers that question, being more familiar with it himself. “The other master is more… gloomy than Master Bruce. He has a deeper voice as well.” Dick shrugs, “Okay. Cool.” He eats his sandwich, and doesn’t seem to care that his new guardian is a two-in-one package deal.
-
“You didn’t tell me the other guy was Batman!” Dick shrieks happily over breakfast one day. “He’s so cool! He told me about the police case on my parents! We’re going to go investigate tonight.” Bruce looks over his plate of waffles in surprise, “He what?” Dick ignores him and digs into his own waffles with apple slices on top. Alfred pours Bruce a cup of coffee, “Master Dick didn’t give Master Bat much of a choice. He wandered into the Batcave and asked many questions, and you know how much he dislikes questions.” “Surely that can’t be good for a child,” Bruce whispers. “I think, if you try to stop him, he will do it anyway,” Alfred whispers back, “Better to have adult supervision.” Bruce sighs, but begins to eat. He sends a message to the batcomputer for Batman later; “If the boy is hurt, I will smash the computer.”