Espera | R. Grayson ✔

[46]

A cold breeze was blowing as the two brothers stepped into Gotham Cemetery. Neither of them had been there before and Richard particularly had been dreading the moment.

It was hard for him to accept the reality that Timothy Drake was no more; instead of the fourteen year old he knew and cherished, a gravestone marked his place among the dead.

Jason was holding the flowers they had brought and a very somber air hung around them as they finally found the grave they had been looking for.

They placed down the flowers at the gravestone upon which only the name and dates were inscribed, no epitaph had been given to the poor boy. It almost seemed as if the boy had been alone both in life and in death, with no one to remember him later on.

But that wasn't the case. Richard and his friends would never forget him, even if they had known him for a very short time.

The last letter he had written to him still resonated in his memory as Richard sat in silence, pondering over the unfairness of life. Death took people too soon but the sorrow was greater for those who chose death, thinking that there was nothing left in life for them.

Richard knew exactly how Tim had felt because there had been countless times in his life when he too had felt that there was no reason left to live. But some way or other he had found people to rely on, people who had encouraged him to live and fulfill his purpose in life.

He wanted to be one such person for Tim too and he tried his level best but the boy got used as a pawn to be forfeited on someone else's chessboard. And Richard felt guilty because the main reason for Tim's indirect murder was to get him to leave his decision of saving the city.

But then Barbara had been right too; by giving up he was falling into the trap that had been laid out for him. He had to keep fighting for Tim's sake, for Gotham's sake and most importantly, for his own sake.

Hence, instead of staying in the shadows for too long, Richard had resumed his mission of saving the city alongside Jason who had just joined as a vigilante. They had chosen the name Robin for Jay as it symbolized hope and was associated to early spring when the winter thaws out and fresh blooms cover the land.

The name in itself had a lot of significance to Richard too since he remembered his mother used to call him little Robin since he had been born on the first day of spring.

"Hey," Jason spoke up, his hand resting gently on his shoulder, "you said you would respect his last wish."

He looked up at him, "I did..."

"Then don't look so guilty, Dickie," the boy resumed, "he did not want you to feel guilty for not being able to save him. Tim wouldn't want you to carry that burden over you for the rest of your life."

He nodded, blue eyes focused on that gravestone, "I know."

After a while of silence, Richard stood up at last, taking in a deep breath. Jason was right that Tim hadn't wanted him to feel guilty about his death and he had promised to respect that wish.

"I won't let you down, Babybird," he whispered, deciding that there was still a lot for him to do for the people around him.

He couldn't let them down, not after all the trust the city had started to put in him as Batman.

When they got home, Jason saw the time and dashed to his room to pack up his bag as he had to leave for Gotham Theater. Richard noticed that it was a bit earlier than the usual time he left so he wondered whether he was really going to the Theater or not.

"Where are you going?"

"Theater," the boy replied, "I told you they have a massive show tonight. The Mayor's coming and it's an all sold out event. So I have to be there, do my chores etc."

"Oh," Richard thought it over, failing to recall when Jay had told him that, "I must have forgotten."

"No problem," he shrugged, "but in case you forgot, I won't be able to go on patrol tonight. It's a late night event and I have to be there or else I'll get fired."

Richard nodded, "sure, I understand. Are you performing as well?"

"I'm backup for a side character but I don't think I'll have to perform tonight," he sighed but then shook it off, "still, a lot of people from the media are going to be there, I heard the famous playwright Jean Linetti is coming too. So I'm looking forward to if there's a backstage tour, that would be fun."

"Alright. Have fun, kiddo," he ruffled his head out of habit.

"When are you going to stop calling me kiddo?" Jay remarked, a small smile playing upon his lips as he patted his messy hair to settle back down.

"Probably never."

He laced up his shoes and threw on his jacket, "hopefully, nothing will go wrong tonight. But in case you need an extra hand, just call. I'll make some excuse and show up."

"No, don't worry. Helena is always ready to help if things go south. You just focus on the event, I can handle one night without my Robin."

"Better be just one night then," he chuckled as he stepped out the door, "don't get used to my absence."

As Jason left, Richard picked up the newspapers Barbara had left for him to study regarding the Joker's past criminal activities. With such a dangerous criminal on the loose, the city could not be deemed safe and Batman himself had to be prepared to face him.

The more he read about the Joker, the more convinced he got that the psychopath was unpredictable and clinically proven insane, hence putting him back in Arkham would only result in him escaping again.

A permanent solution had to be found for the maniac. But the problem was that Richard couldn't let his hands get tainted by someone else's blood again.

He knew very well how hard it was to move on from what happened between him and Tony Zucco about seven years ago.

He could not let that repeat.

***