Sing Sweet Nightingale

Part 2

"Remind me again why you are throwing a ball." Dick grunted as he dodged Wally's punch. They were sparring in the palace training room. Many of the advisors had originally been shocked when Bruce took up martial arts as part of his daily exercise. They thought it brutal and common, but the young lord had not given in and Alfred had not forced him to.

He had continued to fight and to learn many techniques. When he had adopted Dick, he had made sure the boy learned as well. It helped to invite the young Earl of West to visit and train with him. The boys got along really well and they were helping each other gain skills.

"We," Bruce said in amusement. "Are throwing a ball so that you can find a bride."

The words caught Dick off guard and Wally managed to land a punch on his torso, knocking the wind out of him. He wheezed and doubled over.

"You alright?" Wally asked, worried that he had injured his friend. Dick nodded as he sat on a nearby bench.

"Why do I have to find a bride?" He asked once he could breathe comfortably. "You never married."

Bruce sighed as he sat on the bench next to the boy he had raised. "I want what's best for you, Dick. My advisors want me to force you to marry some duchess or lady that you have said maybe three words to. There is no way they will let you grow up and take my place unless you are married first and I would prefer that you love your wife."

"So you are throwing this ball in the hopes that I meet a girl I like well enough to spend the rest of my life with." Dick asked thoughtfully.

Bruce nodded.

"So what happens if I don't meet her that night?" Dick asked.

Bruce sighed and combed his fingers through his son's sweaty locks in the hopes of taming them. "Then we'll throw another. And another. Right up until the day I die." Bruce teased. Dick smiled and wrapped his arms around Bruce. He smelled awful and his sweat was seeping through both of their clothes, but Bruce couldn't be bothered to care.

"Thanks, Bruce." Dick said as he jumped up and strode across the mat to the training hoops hanging from the ceiling.

"Do me a favor, Richard." Bruce called out. Dick stopped and looked at him in question.

"Take a bath before the ball." Bruce said with a slight frown. "You smell like a dead animal."

Dick lifted the fabric of his shirt to his nose and winced. "Will do."

He watched as Bruce left the room before walking up to the rings. He grasped the rings and lifted himself into the air.

"So how are feeling about this whole thing?" Wally asked as he watched his best friend move through a series of complicated moves. Dick thought about it as he finished his short routine.

"I'm not sure." Dick panted as he dropped back to the mat. "I understand why I have to do this and part of me wants it to work out, but another part of me is..." He trailed off, unable to find the word he was looking for.

"Scared? Intimidated?" Wally supplied.

"Nervous, I think." Dick said uncertainly. "When I think of marriage, I think of my parents. My birth parents, that is." Wally nodded as he waited for Dick to continue.

"They were so in love. I can remember the way they used to talk to each other, the way their eyes would light up when they looked at each other, the way my dad treated my mom so tenderly." Dick's eyes were soft as he closed his eyes and thought of his parents. They had been poor, but they were happy. His parents had been desperately in love and that made their small home seem like a castle. Sure, there had been hardships, but everyone has troubles in life. Dick's had been the day his parents both died. He guess he was lucky that Bruce, Lord Wayne to him at that point, had been passing through that day and seen him crying. He could have taken him to an orphanage or thrown some coins his way, but instead the man had taken him in, made Dick his son and for that he would be eternally grateful. Dick sighed. "I don't want to marry unless I am as in love as my dad was with my mom."

"Well," Wally said quietly. "Looks like I better learn to get good at dancing because we are going to have a shit ton of balls before you finally make up your mind."

Dick huffed and threw a towel at him. "Don't complain. You might meet someone you like."

"And with my luck, she will be someone who likes you better." Wally muttered as he used the towel to wipe the sweat off his neck.

Dick smiled as he walked out of the training room and into the bathroom. He could feel a spark of hope light in his heart. Maybe the ball was going to be fun after all.