Dick Grayson one shots

Ignorance is bliss

Whumptober day 6: not realizing they're injured

"We got to climb up this huge rope for gym today!" Dick chattered excitedly. "I got all the way to the top!"

"Good job," Bruce said with a smile.

Dick brightened at the small bit of praise. "Nobody else made it. They all called me a circus freak after because I could climb better than them, which is weird because I haven't been part of the circus for years. Even when I was I didn't climb ropes... very often," he continued to chat.

Bruce caught Alfred's gaze in the rearview mirror. Dick didn't seem very concerned about being called a circus freak... he thought it was some sort of a joke.

Was he being bullied and simply misinterpreting it as some sort of good intentioned joke?

"Dick," Bruce said, interrupting the seeming constant flow of words that was coming from his son's mouth.

Dick turned more fully toward him, his golden eyes shining with an innocent joy.

"Is there anything else the kids at school call you?" Bruce asked.

Dick thought for a moment. "Sometimes they call me charity case... I guess because you do a lot of charity fundraising... and some of them call me other words I don't know... like when I asked Tommy if he'd be my friend at recess today. He said he didn't want to and called me a weird word I'd never heard before, maybe like a nickname or something."

Bruce's heart sank. For someone who'd gone through so much bad, Dick had a heart as gold as his glowing eyes. The kid absolutely refused to believe any of his peers would have malicious motives behind anything they did.

"Do you have many friends at school Master Dick?" Alfred asked, saving Bruce from the awkward heavy silence that had filled the car.

"Uhhhhh." Dick thought for a moment. "There was a boy who played with me on my first day, but he's busy with other friends... sometimes they try to play hide and seek with me, but they don't ever tell me that we're playing so it's not as fun. I've tried to tell them that's one of the rules, but they usually just go play something else instead."

Bruce caught Alfred's gaze again. What were they supposed to do?

—

"What are we supposed to do Alfred... he's being bullied, but he doesn't even know it," he said, voice tight with anxiety.

"It's deplorable the way those children treat Master Dick... though I do believe addressing it directly may make things worse," Alfred said.

Bruce huffed. "Why do children have to be so cruel?" He asked.

"They aren't the only cruel ones in the world Master Bruce," Alfred replied.

Bruce sighed. "Gotham seems to have too many cruel people these days," he mumbled.

—

Bruce shifted, his gaze flicking back and forth between the building they were supposed to be staking out and his son pressed close to his side. "How would you feel about switching schools?" He asked.

Dick head shot up to look at him. "Why do I need to switch schools? Did I do something bad?" He responded after a moment.

"No," Bruce was quick to say. "You didn't do anything wrong... it's just..." he trailed off. It's just you're being bullied but you're too kind hearted to realize it... he couldn't say that...

"Just what?" Dick asked.

"I... I've been thinking of funding some of the public schools, helping more kids in Gotham get a decent education," Bruce replied.