Robin one shot part 3!

3rd Day of Christmas

It'd been a particularly taxing patrol that night for Batman and Robin. Once they got one criminal tied up for the night, there was another one causing chaos right behind them. Had Batman been alone, he knew he wouldn't have been able to keep up with the constant flow but, thanks to Robin's never-ending energy, he had someone to depend on to help finish the job. However, tonight they'd found the end of his never-ending energy tonight as the poor boy looked beat by the time they returned to the cave. As adorable as it was to see him rubbing his eyes with balled up fists, it wasn't conducive to working so Batman had bundled the boy into the Batmobile as soon as he could. "M sorry I got so tired," Robin apologised as he hopped out of the car. He shivered upon being greeted by the cold air of the Batcave and rubbed his eyes again. 

"Don't be," Batman assured him. "You did good tonight." 

"I did?" he asked with a sleepy smile. The older returned it, just as tired but better at managing the symptoms. He noticed how Robin was holding himself which had become increasingly noticeable over the few months he'd been there. There was no real reason for it, at least not one that the billionaire knew of, but it always happened more when he was tired. Maybe he shouldn't let that behaviour slip although it seemed harmless. "Think Alfie will skip checkups?"

"Unfortunately not, sir," the butler chimed in helpfully, announcing it from the Medbay. It took everything in the tiny acrobat not to whine at that. He knew it was mandatory and he knew it was for his own good but he also knew how long it would take. Exhaustion was eating away at him and getting out of his suit into something more comfortable like his Superman pyjamas sounded great. Seeing his thinly veiled frustration, Batman wracked his brain to think of something a dad would do. The father part of their relationship was something that hadn't come easily which was a tiny bit worrying considering the other side of their relationship was teaching a child to punch adults. It just felt so foreign and he could never naturally engage with it. As he stood there trying to figure out something both authoritative and validating, Robin dragged himself to be with the butler. "I'll try to be quick," Alfred assured him, making Batman realize he'd just been standing there. He swiftly joined them in the room although he went about it awkwardly.

"S alright. Sorry for whinin'. Just tired," Robin replied, rubbing his eyes again but only succeeding in making them sore. Everything was sore though from all the running around he did in Gotham's cold weather. Maybe he should've listened when they asked if he wanted actual pants on his suit. It would ruin the aesthetic he was going for but he sure would be warmer. A thermal cape might fix the problem yet it would create resistance. 

"Earth to Dick, you with me chum?" He blinked a few times at the sound of snapping fingers. "You really are tired hm?" He nodded and let out a yawn as if on cue. "Let Alfred look you over then I'll get you to bed."

"You gonna read me a story?"

"Uhm, I should probably write up-

"Master Bruce," Alfred warned. The butler had been insisting on the pair spending more time together outside of the suit for fear Dick would come to think that Robin would be the only time he got attention. It would lead to bad habits that frankly he didn't want to deal with. 

"Sure. Yes. Reading goodnight stories."

"Don't have to," Robin assured him, becoming shy upon seeing the older's reluctance. 

"No, yeah, it's fine. I can read to you." The boy smiled and, if he had the energy, he would've been more obviously excited about it. 

Once checks were over, Bruce awkwardly herded his tired ward to the changing rooms before shooing him upstairs in the least mean way possible. Alfred watched in bemusement at the scene unfolding before him. He'd never known someone quite so exceptionally inept at dealing with a child. He often treated Dick like a little adult at best and at worst like a coworker. Hopefully, it would be easier with time. Dick didn't seem to mind his treatment by Bruce but the butler knew better than to overlook small signs the poor boy was touch starved. The way he held his arms, rubbing them up and down, and how close he stood to people without crossing a boundary. As much as the butler tried his best, he knew Dick needed a parental form of affection and this was a step in the right direction. "Why don't you brush your teeth whilst I show Master Bruce your books?" Alfred suggested. Dick nodded, clearly too tired to argue and stumbled his way to the bathroom whilst the pair went to his small bookcase. They soon learned that it had to be screwed down thanks to the resident acrobat treating anything of moderate height as a climbing frame. Once the bathroom door was closed, the butler pulled his pseudo son to the side. "Sir, I must really suggest that you relax."

"I'm relaxed," Bruce grumbled. His tense shoulders and shifting said something completely different from that. 

"You are not and he will sense that and say you should go to bed but he doesn't want you to leave him. The very least you can do is provide him with some comfort after a long night," he replied. He picked out a thick book that had a small bookmark peeking out of it. Bruce recognised it as having been from the library so he couldn't understand what it was doing alongside the comics and various other knick-knacks on the bookcase. The book had a hard cover and looked a little worn. When he was handed the book, he could see it was Alice in Wonderland and frowned to himself. 

"Shouldn't he be reading less hard books?" he questioned.

"Master Dick hacked into your computer, sir. I doubt his mind would be very stimulated by the adventures of Flat Stanley." He hummed. "All you need to do is sit in the bed with him and read. He'll be out like a light soon enough. Let him come to you."

"Alfred, this seems very fatherly. I'm not sure he wants-"

"I'm not asking you to be a father nor is he. He wants a father figure. He needs one. Just as you needed me to do so. Since I've been reading to him, he's been much more open with me."

"And that's a problem because?" Alfred huffed at him and poked his chest.

"You are supposed to be the person he is open with. You are supposed to be reading to him. The very fact that you're uncomfortable to share such surface-level bonding but take no issue with him fighting crime is problematic and I won't let that boy suffer for it. You've seen the way he holds himself." He tapped the book in the man's hands. "This is the beginning of you making up for it and it better be continued." Bruce nodded and flipped to where the bookmark was to familiarize himself with the placement. That and he also needed something to do after being scolded by the butler. Luckily he was spared another verbal beatdown when the door to the bathroom opened and Dick strolled out, making a straight B line for the bed. "I'll leave you two to it. Sleep well, Master Dick."

"You too Alfie," the acrobat replied with a smile. Alfred returned the smile and exited the room, leaving him with Bruce.

The billionaire hesitated to get in bed beside his ward and his heart ached when he saw that Dick had noticed. He picked up his stuffed elephant and directed his gaze to the bedsheets, seemingly thinking to himself, before he spoke up. "I don't need a story, B. I'll just go to bed. Pretty tired and everything." Bruce knew he fucked up and immediately got in bed with him, pulling the sheets over them. 

"No, I want to read to you. Just not used to it," he explained. Dick hummed but he seemed unconvinced as he continued to be fixed to the spot furthest away despite his clear want for comfort. The hesitance was lingering on his mind even if the older was now sitting beside him with the book in his lap. "I don't think you'll see the book from over there."

"You don't mind?" he asked softly. So shy. He was so confident out there as Robin, sassing the worst of the worst whenever he got the chance but here he was getting shy about getting close. Bruce felt his heart twist again when he realised it was his own fault that the shyness was there. He needed to try more. He was the one to bring the boy in, to make sure there wasn't another Bruce Wayne but what if he was making one again? Or making him worse? He didn't want to think of that. Not when the bright-eyed boy was so good. Something had to be done so, upon remembering something his father did when he was Dick's age, he put his arm around the younger and softly pulled him in close. Dick went rigid for less than a second before immediately melting into his side. He'd never seen him so relaxed and that only made him feel guiltier for not reaching out sooner. The boy was touch starved, he realised. He opened the book and held it with one hand whilst the other weaved his fingers through Dick's hair to play with the curly locks. Dick smiled contently and wrapped his arms around the man's torso. "Thanks, B."

"No problem."