Silent Protector

Meeting Ace (3)

Bruce's POV

It was Saturday afternoon when me and Dick decided to go to the animal shelter. We were currently in the car on are way there.

I looked in the mirror to see if Dick was okay to find him asleep and I smiled.

I wasn't surprised that he had fallen asleep. The animal shelter was pretty far away from Wayne Manor and we had been in the car for over an hour. I looked at a passing sign and was relieved to find out that we were only 5 minutes away from the shelter. I heard Dick shift in his sleep and I imagined the joy in his face when he found the dog he was looking for.

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Normal POV

Bruce parked the car in the animal shelter parking lot and got out to get Dick. He opens the back car door and gently shakes him. Dick begins to stir and slowly opens tired eyes to his father smiling.

"We're here." Bruce says simply.

Suddenly Dick is taking off his seat belt and jumping out of the car. He grabs his fathers hand and hurriedly starts to run to the door, all the tiredness he had seconds ago completely gone. Bruce hurries to keep up with his son, chuckling lightly at his excitement.

They enter the shelter and are greeted by a young lady behind a desk. She has straight black hair with a single streak of white in the front. She was wearing dark jeans, a Five Finger Death Punch T-shirt, and black tennis shoes with bits of blue in them. She looks to be about 23 years old and was extremely fit. She looks up when she hears the door open and gives a smile to the father and son.

"What can I do for you today?" The lady asks in a soft tone.

Bruce gives her one of his award winning smiles and says, "We're here to get a dog."

"Okay, was there a specific type of dog you were looking for? We might have it."

Bruce looks at Dick and asks, "What kind of dog did you want again, Dick?" Bruce of course remembered that Dick wanted a Great Dane but he also knew how much he liked talking to new people and he couldn't pass up a chance to hear his son talk so sociable (which always happened when he got to meet someone new).

Dick looks up at the lady and gives a smile that matches Bruce's but had more childish innocence kept within it. "A Great Dane. And black."

She seems a little surprised that a boy so young and even small for his age at that would want such a big dog, but quickly composes herself. She thinks for a second then says, "We do have one dog that you might like. My name is Emily by the way."

Dick gets excited when he hears that they have the dog that he had wanted and quickly answers, "I'm Richard, but you can call me Dick. And this is my daddy, Bruce." Bruce gives a small nod towards Emily and they start to walk to the back of the shelter where they keep the bigger dogs.

As they're walking Emily starts to explain some things about the dog that their going to look at. "There is something you may want to know about this dog. He doesn't really like many people. You see, his owner was an explorer and he took his dog everywhere he went so they were very close. One day the man was out on a hike with his dog when his foot slipped on a rock and he fell down a rocky hill. When someone found him the dog was at his side, but he had already passed. They brought the dog here, but he hasn't shown any sign of liking anyone."

Bruce seemed a little worried about getting this dog, but knew that he had to give him a chance or Dick would be sad. They finally got to where the dogs kennel was and got a good look at him. The dog was pitch black and was twice the size of Dick.

Emily opened the kennel door and Bruce got a little closer to Dick as he was slightly scared the dog would try an attack. The dog somehow sensed Bruce's protectiveness of Dick and seemed to respect him for it. The dog slowly and non-threateningly began to exit the kennel and come to stand in front of Dick.

Emily stared wide eyed at the dog and began to speak with a slightly shaky voice, "H-He's never done that before. Anytime someone's come to try and adopt him, we'd open the door, but he just turned around and laid down."

Dick brought his hand up to the dog and began to pet his head. Bruce started to loosen up as the dog sat down and seemed to enjoy his sons affection.

Dick looked up at Bruce with a wide grin on his face, " Daddy I want this dog! Please can we get this one?"

Bruce gave a small nod with a smile on his own face. Dick was full of excitement once again and he gave the dog a big hug.

Dick looked up at Emily and asked, "What's his name?"

Emily gave the boy a smile. "Ace."

Dick turned back to the dog. "Do you wanna come home with us, Ace?"

As if the dog could understand what he was saying, he responded with a loud bark.

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Normal POV

About an hour later, after signing some paperwork and buying dog food, a collar, some toys, and a few other necessities, Bruce, Dick and Ace were on their way back to Wayne Manor.

Dick was seated behind the passenger seat with Ace's head laying on his lap. Dick was petting his head while looking down at him fondly.

Bruce looked back at Dick and felt himself fill with joy as he saw the joy in his own sons face.