Catch Me If I Fall || R.Grayson ||

Maybe This Was A Bad Idea After All:

A/N: Am I beginning to think that this entire thing was a mistake that I can't come back from? Yes. Do I regret starting this fan fic? Indeed. Does that mean I'm going to stop? Absolutely not -- why am I like this?   

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There were rumours circling. 

1). The Commissioner's wife and children were kidnapped. 

2). There was a new gang forming in the deeper parts of the Narrows, following — almost religiously — a clown in a purple suit.

3). Batman had a new partner dressed as a traffic light.

Fact: it made the news that the Commissioner's wife and children were missing. They were last seen leaving the city three weeks ago, but after that, the clues went cold.

Fact: The Joker had resurfaced, though that didn't come as a surprise to Batman, because it had been while, and he was beginning to think that something was up with the Clown Prince of Crime.

Fact: the lowlife thugs legitimately thought that Batman was working with a guy dressed as an actual traffic light. A little unflattering for his little Robin, but he supposed the less accurate the guesses, the safer the kid would be until he was ready to take the next step in the crime fighting life. You know, aside from rescuing cats from trees and helping old folks cross the street.

Dick wasn't taking the news of his best friend making the 'Missing Persons' list very well. No one was, actually. Of course, it was only going along the natural sway of the motions that they were questioned for being the last people to see the Commissioner's wife and daughter before their disappearance. Bruce stowed away to the batcave, looking into anything that might be a lead on the new private case. If they were kidnapped, no one had posted a ransom. He had to make himself come to terms with the possible option that Mrs.Gordon had just picked up and left entirely. He couldn't blame her, either. Relations to the Police Commissioner were a dangerous thing to have, especially in this city. He just didn't want to have the conversation with Jim. He really wasn't cut out for that kind of thing. 

"Are you sure about those shorts?" Bruce asked for the fifth time, to which his ward responded the same as the other times with a weird expression, and a rather annoyed, "Of course. They're much better than the pants."

Robin stood with his hands defiantly on his hips, sporting a new pair of green shorts in place of the thick material pants of the original prototype suit. That wasn't the only modification he had insisted on making, like shortening the cape by a lot; he said it threw him off balance when he tried to do anything dynamic. The utility belt looked like it weighed him down a bit, too, but Bruce wasn't about to let the kid run around in a bright costume like that without one. At this point the Dark Knight was certain his tiny protégé was assigned such vibrant colours so he wouldn't get lost.

It had happened on occasion, and those were not moments Batman liked to remember.

Robin had a knack for blending into the shadows, regardless of how shiny he wanted the cape. And that was actually something that kept Bruce up at night. That, and the fact that they had been masquerading about as Batman and Robin for weeks now and Alfred still knew nothing about it.

Neither of them said anything about it, not wanting to ensue the butler's wrath, though it was dreadfully inevitable. Bound to happen sooner or later. 

Bruce pulled his cowl over his head, and nodded toward the batmobile. Robin hummed happily, and Batman couldn't resist the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips.