He's a child again

Chapter twenty-six

Bruce awoke to the sound of quiet crying which kicked him right into gear, making his eyes snap open to find Dick had at some point snuck into his room and was now struggling with waking up to a whole world of pain. The billionaire frowned as he felt that parental pang of seeing his kid in pain and he quickly sat up before running his hand through Dick's hair to comfort him, silently letting him know he was okay. 

"B?" the boy whimpered, opening one of his eyes to confirm. It looked like it took a hell of a lot of effort in order to do so. 

"Hey, when did you get here?" he questioned. He didn't get a reply further than a whine so he decided to put that question on the back burner. For now, he had to get some painkillers in hopes of soothing the boy. He went to get up only for Dick to shriek as though he'd seen a massive spider on the bed. "Dick?" 

"Stay," Dick pleaded. Both of his eyes were open now, bright blue and glossy with tears. His arms were outstretched and his hands were reaching out attempting to grab onto his mentor but failing to do so since he was just out of reach. There'd been a few mornings like this when Dick was truly nine years old. He'd cry and whine and be overall cranky until well into midday. Up until then it was a chore to get him dressed and ready for the day, even more so when school was on the agenda. Bruce supposed it was only a matter of time before he dealt with one of these mornings and with the injuries, his distress was well understood. 

"I've got to get your medicine so you feel better," he explained, trying his best to sound soothing rather than scathing. He'd always struggled with that. Dick said it was how he said things but sometimes it didn't how well-intentioned he'd been, it still came out wrong.

"I'll come," was the reply with more intense grabby hands. 

"You're better off in bed." He got a glare followed by an intense pair of puppy eyes. He really needed his eldest to stop being his youngest, he didn't have the power to say no anymore. He'd only been able to say no in recent years when there were less adorable features surrounding those pleading eyes. With a loud sigh, Bruce scooped the boy up into his arms and held him on his hip. "Better?" Dick hummed and hid his face. He seemed quite content to close his eyes again and it wouldn't surprise the billionaire if by the time they got downstairs he'd returned to his slumber. Poor kid could do with a lie in anyway, even if he wasn't technically lying in. "Let's get you your painkillers, kid."

It seemed it was just going to be one of those mornings as Dick fought about having his painkillers, absolutely refusing to take them in pill form which then forced Bruce to venture into the kitchen to figure out what he could possibly hide them in when the boy was attached to his hip. He was admittedly a little worried at the lack of maturity he was being faced with but then he had a moment of mentally slapping himself in the face when he thought about it for more than two minutes. No wonder there was no maturity, he was dealing with a hurt nine-year-old who was having a hard time that morning. He'd be grouchy if he was in the same position and he was getting on for fifty as much as he liked to think he was still just approaching his thirties. Maybe yesterday Dick still had the leftover adrenaline of coming home or maybe the acrobat had been desperate to impress after being rescued. Either way, it shouldn't have been that surprising to find that this morning it was getting to be too much. Luckily, Bruce caught Alfred in the kitchen chatting to Jason who he didn't remember being that much of an early riser but brushed off the presence. It was more likely an attempt to be the first to get Alfred's mishap pancakes or a ploy to insure that night's dinner was some spin on pizza. He made an attempt to drop the boy off at the breakfast bar only to get a panicked cry and immediately abandon the plan.

"What's up with Goldie?" Jason inquired, placing a sceptical gaze on his mentor as though he'd be the cause of it. It wasn't too far a leap in logic to be considered offensive and neither could really be bothered with an argument this early.