asterous

chapter ten

chapter ten - targets

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GOTHAM CITY
SEPTEMBER 9th — 02:38 EST

dick wasn't cliché on purpose. believe him, it was an accident. so, when he caught himself brooding above the 7-story apartments of gotham city at two in the morning on the very first day of school, he was a little surprised by himself.

he stepped up onto the ledge of the roof he was on, closing his eyes and feeling how the warm breeze blew onto him. a zephyr, dick recalled. he'd played the word in scrabble once. he still lost.

against the zephyr, dick didn't teeter, he didn't lose his balance, he just breathed. he breathed and he listened to the sound of the wind around him. rustling through distant trees, blowing away nearby clouds.

it was a nice view. from up above, one couldn't see the litter or the graffiti or the dried blood or the rats. sure, dick could see arkham asylum—just down the road—and the smallest, worst-kept houses in the city, but it was nice. it was simply gotham.

dick pulled something out of his utility belt—his rebreather—and tossed it from hand to hand. he watched how high he could throw it and still catch it, he tried to toss it as fast as possible, he-

"you're supposed to be asleep."

the voice came from a few metres behind dick. he dropped the rebreather, watching as it betrayed him, crashing violently on the ground below. it was surprising that he had been found so fast. perhaps he was too cliché.

dick never moved from his stance. it didn't scare him—the voice, the dark, the height, the thought of falling. he'd learned to love it. he'd learned to lust for it.

"it seems as though i'm caught with the cat in the bag." dick let his arms fall to his sides and he turned around to meet the figure of batman, just a few feet away. "i just came to get some air."

"air? we live on the complete other side of gotham." bruce sighed, pinching his nose-bridge. "you have school in the morning, robin. don't you think that you should get some rest?"

"it's the first day, b." dick sat down, turning back around so that his legs were dangling off the side of the building. "i'm just savouring summer."

"can't you savour summer from our property?"

dick placed his hands on either side of himself, leaning forward so that he could see the street just below. how many floors was he up? 5? 7? dick couldn't help but wonder how long he'd be in the air if he were to fall.

to fall.

"robin?"

"hm?" dick snapped out of his trance, spinning to face bruce once again. all this turning was making him nauseous.

"i said that it's time to go home. it's 3am." bruce folded his arms across his chest, taking a few steps forward. it was a power stance, but he didn't look intimidating at all. more... concerned.

dick hopped back onto the roof, running a gloved hand through his hair. it was still long—long and curly and thick and slightly perspired. it'd been months since he last cut it. he wouldn't trim it, dick nodded to himself, he wouldn't cut it yet. wally liked it at this length, said it suited him.

dick followed bruce down the fire escape, but both stilled, almost immediately, at the sound of a voice, distantly calling their names.

"batsy! robin!" the man wasn't too far, perhaps just down the block. "i saw you up there! come say hi!"

dick glanced at bruce, who motioned for them to head toward the voice. was it a criminal, someone with a vendetta?could it just be some homeless guy on drugs? maybe even an avid fan of justice, hoping for a photo?