Dick Grayson one shots

Cuddles

Dick had gotten into a habit of asking Alfred for hugs, especially on the nights he missed his parents the most.

He missed the way they'd tell him they loved him to the moon and back, holding him close like the words they spoke were actually true.

Alfred was always willing to give the little acrobat a hug, no matter how foreign the action had become in the manor.

This month, however, the butler had made use of some of his leave to take a trip back to England, leaving Dick to feel utterly alone.

Bruce was in his office when Dick came down from his bedroom, tears in his big blue eyes, and a blanket clutched tightly in his little fist.

"B?" He'd called tentatively from the doorway.

Bruce turned slightly from the screen, taking in the sleep ruffled appearance of his son.

"C-can I have a hug?" Dick asked quietly, tears gathering again in his eyes.

Shock flickered on Bruce's face, and he shifted uncomfortably. "I'm busy right now chum," he said, looking back to the screen for a moment.

Dick's face fell, his tears spilling over and running down his cheeks. "Okay," he mumbled, turning and making his way back to his room.

Bruce rested his head in his hands. What was wrong with him? Was giving a hug to his own adopted child really so hard?

He sagged in his chair. He'd go check on the boy once he finished up with his paper work.

—

Bruce quietly stepped into Dick's room, making his way over to check on the boy.

Dick's sleeping face was streaked with tears, his pillow a bit damp as well.

Bruce thought of waking his son up to give him the requested hug, debating in his mind if that was a good enough reason to wake the sleeping child.

Eventually deciding against it, he simply tucked his sleeping son into bed, placed a kiss on his forehead, and left.

—

After the incident with Bruce in his office Dick blatantly refused to ask for a hug again, even at the times he felt he really could use one. It had obviously made the man uncomfortable after all.

Besides, in another month or so Alfred would be back and everything would be fine again... So Dick just suffered in silence.

To his credit, Bruce could tell something was wrong. Dick's mood had plummeted, his love for life seeming to vanish overnight. His nightmares returned full force, and weight had started to drop from his already slender frame.

Bruce didn't know what was wrong, and had finally mustered the courage to ask when things started to fall apart.

—

Bruce pulled into the school's parking lot, surprised to see that it was empty save for a few cars. He checked his watch. The school bell shouldn't have even rang yet.

15 minutes passed and still not a soul.

It was when Bruce checked his phone when he remembered. It was Friday. School got out at 1:30 on Fridays, and it was currently 3:45.

Bruce berated himself under his breath, pulling out his phone and dialing commissioner Gordon's number.

"What's up Bruce?" Gordon answered.

"You didn't happen to pick up Dick after school today when you grabbed Barbara?" He asked, his anxiety clear through the phone.

"No I... wait a minute. Babs said she saw him starting to walk home," Gordon replied.