Dick Grayson one shots

Charity case P4

And just in case you didn't like how P3 ended...

This chapter is a bit crappy by the way...

Dick ran over the rooftops of Blüdhaven, chasing after criminals and whooping as he swung through the air. The night he'd escaped from Wayne manor he'd decided to part ways with Selina, leaving Gotham to become a vigilante in Blüdhaven.

So far he'd enjoyed living there, away from everything he knew, and everything that had happened to him.

He'd kept the name of Nightwing, assuming that Bruce would already know where he was anyway, so there was really no use trying to hide it.

After a month with no contact from Batman Dick assumed Bruce had just forgotten about him, so he stopped looking for the pointy ears and long cape of the Batman costume in the shadows during patrol. Instead, he turned his focus more intently on taking out the crime that ran rampant in his city.

—
Le time skip
—

Dick threw himself from building to building, ignoring the stinging of his eyes. It had been months from the time he'd left Wayne manor, and his life just seemed to get worse and worse every day.

First it was the struggle of dealing with all of the normal crime, then it was Jason coming to town, then tonight... Tarantula...

Dick's breath came in short gasps as he flung himself through the air, trying to forget what had happened only a few hours before. He could still feel her hands on him, pinning him down even as he begged for her to stop...

It was all just too much. And Dick knew that if he stopped it would all catch up to him, so he kept jumping... swinging... running...

—
Le other time skip
—

A figure followed Dick in the shadows. Batman. He followed Dick across Blüdhaven, heart catching in his throat every time he saw Nightwing catch himself with his grapple just a bit later than he should.

Bruce knew something was wrong with Dick, had been for a while. He got as much from Jason, telling him he needed to stop Dick from doing something stupid, but he hadn't thought it would be this bad...

Dick seemed to have no regard for his own life, swinging recklessly from buildings, jumping in front of bullets... and now... what was he doing now?

Bruce stopped to wait when he saw Dick stop on a bridge.

Dick took off his mask, letting it slip from his fingers, then stared at the rolling water below. And before he knew it he was falling, but he didn't care. He hadn't cared for a while.

—

Bruce dove after Dick into the icy depths of the river, swimming hard and looking for a streak of blue in the dark water.

Bubbles rose around Bruce as he took another breath through his rebreather. He'd been underwater for what seemed like far too long now.

Suddenly, Bruce felt something. A booted foot. He grabbed it, recognizing the Nightwing uniform in the dark depths, before desperately swimming towards the shore.

—

Bruce collapsed onto the muddy banks, relieved to hear Dick coughing the water out of his lungs. He looked down at the man who could've been his son, shivering on the ground.

Dick's eyes opened, and tears formed in them when he saw Bruce standing over him. "B-Bruce?" he said with chattering teeth.

"I'm here Dickie," Bruce responded, gathering him in his arms and wrapping the shivering man with his cape.

Dick pressed himself closer to Bruce when he felt the warmth of the Batman suit's heaters.

"What happened bud?" Bruce asked gently, running his hand through Dick's hair.

"I-I told her no... s-she wouldn't listen..." he mumbled, sniffling.

Bruce's hold on Dick tightened when he registered what Dick was saying. "Was this tonight?" he asked, forcing his voice not to betray the rage he was feeling.

Dick shook his head. "N-no," he muttered.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Bruce said, voice pained.

Dick just hummed in response, starting to drift off in Bruce's arms.

Bruce looked at Dick and thought of how rude he'd been, everything he'd done to the poor child, and he felt an overwhelming wave of sorrow wash over him. How could he have added more pain to the load this poor boy had been forced to carry?

"I'm so sorry..." Bruce said, his emotion making his voice sound raw. "I'm sorry for everything," he said, holding Dick tighter.

And this time at least, Dick could tell that Bruce really meant it.