A Natural Progression | Shazam

Chapter 5

The billionaire ignored the tugging knot in his gut that told him he was missing something, choosing instead to leave his eldest and his now-youngest alone together. He needed to prepare for the League meeting tomorrow.

- - -

Billy glanced at Dick as Bruce closed the bedroom door, watching as the young man rummaged through the cabinets beneath the large TV that sat against the wall. 

He rubbed the back of his neck- were they supposed to be spending time together or something? He knew that it was probably best, what with them living together now, but if the 10-year-old was honest, he wasn't sure how long he'd actually last here.

He had been planning on booking it as soon as the opportunity presented itself, but with the security a fancy mansion like this place probably had, that outcome wasn't looking so good.

Speaking of security, that little detail also made changing into Captain Marvel more of a challenge- usually, he could send the surrounding technology into a fit by transforming, but this was a billionaire's place. This was a guy that he had running bet with Flash over whether or not he made or just funded Batman's gadgets.

He wasn't going to test his luck with that one.

Billy laid back down on the bed, his legs hanging off the edge. Bruce had said something about a meeting, reminding him that he too had a meeting tomorrow-- though his was one that had to do with more than stocks and whatever else rich people dealt with. 

Maybe he could get Victor to cover for him? He hoped his presence wouldn't draw too much attention.

"Hey Bluebird, you okay there? You look like you're contemplating the meaning of life," Dick said, walking over with a blue-rimmed game case in his hand. The taller of the two took a seat beside him on the bed, glancing down at Billy with a small smile.

"Look, I get that this place can be overwhelming- trust me, when I first showed up, it took me months to get used to the place," he said, glancing around the large bedroom. 

"But you'll get used to it in time, trust me. Jason did, and he lived on the streets like you."

Dick plopped down on the bed, turning his head to glance at Billy again. "And I'm here if you ever wanna talk. We all are."

That was weird- Billy furrowed his brow at the sense of warmth blooming in his chest at those words. 

Dick had this aura of genuineness about him, something that honestly reminded Billy of Flash or Nightwing- something that was so rare in his day-to-day life that he couldn't help but be struck by it. It made him want to spill his guts to the eldest 'Wayne', to tell him how he was feeling, just how unsure of this whole thing he was.

But old habits die hard and as much as he wanted to talk to him, something held him back. Something in the back of his mind told him that if he started talking to Dick that Dick would find a way to use it against him. The rational part of him knew that was stupid, but he'd made that mistake before.

You couldn't trust anyone on the streets-- he had the scar to prove it.

Billy couldn't help the yawn that escaped him, catching Dick off guard and making him smile. "You've had kind of a long day, huh? Come on, let's get you into bed, you can unpack tomorrow," he said, standing up and moving to the head of the bed to pull back the covers.