Ch 12

                                    

                                          
It had been months since Dick had moved to Blüdhaven, a place where nobody knew who he was, which was exactly what he wanted.
                          
Dick had started a job at the Blüdhaven police department, something he'd wanted to do for a while now, and during the night, he became Blüdhaven's guardian angel, Nightwing.
                          
It hadn't taken long for Dick to figure out what had happened to him, 2 minutes 47 seconds to be exact. It was a little slow, for Dick at least, but he blamed it on being out of practice, and the fact that he'd been hacking into the Batcave's main computer.
                          
Dick had been shocked to say the least when he read the file Bruce had compiled about the entire incident. He'd been changed into a child for 4 years... The more unsettling thing was how Bruce included his personal feelings in his report. Bruce had contemplated not even turning Dick back to an adult... Bruce would've left him as a child... 
                          
There'd been no contact from Bruce or Jason since Dick moved to 'haven, which he was, in part, grateful for. Another part of him longed to go back to the manor. His anger at Jason and Bruce had long since fizzled out, and his loneliness often led him to type their numbers into his phone, only to back out at the last possible second.
                          
The lack of communication, even though Dick knew Bruce at least had his email, made it even more startling when an email from Bruce showed up one day in Dick's inbox.
                          
The email itself was vague, typical for Bruce, but Dick got a sense of dread from reading it, even though it gave no details whatsoever. All that was said was that Bruce had something he needed to tell Dick, something that he couldn't say over email.
                          
—
                          
Dick lifted a shaking hand and knocked on the large oak door of Wayne manor. It only took a second for Alfred to open the door, eyes widening in surprise when he saw Dick standing there on the doorstep.
                          
"Master Dick, it's so good to see you sir." Alfred said, giving Dick a firm hug before gesturing for him to come into the manor.
                          
"Where's Jason?" Dick asked as he looked around the manor, freezing when he saw the face of a young boy peering at him from a doorway. "Who's that?" It would have been hard for Dick not to notice the way Alfred tensed up when Jason's name was mentioned.
                          
"This is master Tim." Alfred said, ignoring Dick's first question, and beckoning for the boy to come out from the doorway.
                          
Dick waved to Tim, and sent him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Hey Tim. My name's Richard, but I go by Dick." He said.
                          
"Y-you're Dick Grayson?" Tim asked shyly, coming out into the hallway.
                          
"That's right." Dick said, bending down to get onto Tim's level.
                          
"Bruce has told me about you, you and... Jason." Tim said, gaze shifting from Dick's face to the ground, and back again.
                          
"Oh?" Dick said questioningly. "I hope it was all good things."
                          
"I-it was... mostly." Tim said with a small sly smile.
                          
Dick returned the smile. "So Tim, where's Jason?" He asked, hoping to get an answer.
                          
Tim froze when Dick asked that question, looking up at Alfred before speaking tentatively. "Jason? Jason is dead." He said, his gaze finally meeting Dick's.
                          
Dick suddenly felt as if all the air had been sucked from his lungs. "D-dead?" He asked, plopping down onto the floor, and looking to Alfred who confirmed the claim with a nod.
                          
"Wh-What happened?" Dick asked, blinking back tears.
                          
"It... It was the Joker." Tim whispered.
                          
Dick sucked in another breath. "How long?" He asked.
                          
"Excuse me?" Alfred asked.
                          
"How long has Jason been... dead?" Dick repeated.
                          
"It's been six months." Alfred said quietly.
                          
Tears streamed down Dick's face. "What? He's been dead for 6 months, and none of you bothered to tell me?!" Dick said through sobs.
                          
"You weren't exactly the easiest to get in contact with." Dick's head snapped up when he heard Bruce's voice from the end of the hallway.
                          
Dick hastily stood, glaring down the hall at Bruce. "You didn't seem to have any problem sending me that email." He said, desperately trying to conceal the tremor in his voice.
                          
Bruce's eyes narrowed, and he clenched his jaw shut.
                          
"But that isn't what any of this is about, is it..." Dick said. "What did you really want me here for?"
                          
Bruce let out a sigh. "There's a new vigilante in Blüdhaven. His name is Nightwing. I... The league was wondering who he is, and whether he's on our side or not. We... We would like your help tracking him down and possibly detaining him if he's a threat." Bruce said, staring intensely at Dick.
                          
Dick continued sending his glare towards Bruce, trying to see if this was all just a big joke to the man... he had to know... or at least suspect that Dick was Nightwing. But then again, Dick had been extremely careful to cover his tracks, even going as far as to master several different fighting styles so he would no longer fight like Robin did. "I'm sorry Bruce, but you can't just not tell me about my own brother's death, then expect me to join your manhunt. I left that life behind a long time ago, and I suggest you don't try to drag me back into it." He said, turning and marching out the manor's front door.
                          
—
                          
Angry tears streamed down Dick's face as he drove through Gotham. 'How could Bruce keep Jason's death from me for 6 months?' He thought to himself.
                          
Before he even recognized where he was driving, Dick was parked in front of a flower shop in downtown Gotham. He went inside and purchased a few flowers, before he climbed back into the car and drove the rest of the way to Gotham cemetery.
                          
Dick wandered through the rows of gravestones, eventually making it to the grave of his parents. He spent time gently plucking out any weeds that had grown near the headstone his parents shared, and brushed off any dirt and grass that had ended up on the stone. He gently laid a blue chrysanthemum on his father's side, and a white lily on his mother's.
                          
"Hey Mami, hey Tati..." Dick said, gently brushing his fingertips over the words engraved in the stone. "It's been a while... I... I brought you your favorite flowers." He brushed a few tears from his cheeks before continuing. "I'm a police officer now, I moved out of Gotham too... The new city isn't much better, but at least we get sun more than one day a year." Dick gave a wet laugh that ended in a sniffle. "I miss you both so much... a-and... if there's any way you two could watch over Jason for me... I-I would appreciate it." He stood, grabbing his final flower. "I love you." He said, before moving towards the last grave he was going to visit that night.
                          
It didn't take long for Dick to find Jason's grave. It had been long enough that you could no longer tell where the hole had been dug, but you could still tell it was newer because the headstone wasn't as tarnished as some of the others.
                          
Dick knelt by the grave and began plucking out the weeds that had started to grow, just like he had done with his parents' grave. He gently set the flower he'd brought for Jason, a yellow rose, on the headstone.
                          
More tears were already forming in the corners of Dick's eyes, and he let them trace their ways down his cheeks without wiping them away. "Jay... I'm so sorry." Were the only words that he spoke.
                          
Dick knelt there, crying silent tears, oblivious to the figure nearby watching him, red helmet glinting in the moonlight.