Rising Robin

Chapter XLIII: Something New

Richard Grayson leaped across the the gap between the two apartment buildings & rolled across the rooftop, breaking his fall against the concrete. He rolled up onto his feet & continued to run, keeping his momentum up. He ran across the rooftop, making another leap across. He grabbed onto a windowsill on the building across & began to swiftly climb his way up. He breathed deeply as he paced himself during his climb. He brought up his right foot, then his left hand, then his left foot, then his right hand. As soon as he could reach the edge of the rooftop, he hoisted himself up with one heavy heave, landing feet first on the edge of the building.

Richard sighed. It had been a really long time since he traversed the rooftops of Metropolis. Richard shook the thought from his head & surveyed the buildings around him. He knew the apartment was nearby...

Suddenly, Richard caught sight of an open balcony a block away from where he stood. Richard remembered he had a balcony. He was almost sure that it was his apartment.

Richard leaped & glided across the buildings, feeling himself move with instinctive precision. He made his way down the city blocks until he managed to get on top of the building he was looking for. He stood on the edge of the building & dropped down, latching onto the edge with his hands. He dropped down one story, then another, then another, until he landed smoothly on the balcony.

Richard stood up & examined the apartment through the glass balcony doors. The apartment looked the same. The living room was the same, small, cozy apartment with the dimly lit lights. The kitchen was the same, with groceries fresh from the supermarket laid out across the kitchen counter. Suddenly, Richard saw him, walking across the living room with a have eaten apple in one hand & a newspaper in the other. He was looking down, reading the newspaper while eating the apple. Richard knocked against the glass door, getting his attention.

Clark spun around, startled at the sight of a strange man standing outside of his apartment. Clark's big eyes stared back at Richard through the thick glasses, but a smile slowly washed over his face. Clark set the apple on the table nearby & walked over to the balcony & opened the door. "Dick," Clark said. "What a great surprise!"

Richard smiled. "Hey, Clark," he started. "It's nice to see you too."

The two embraced in a friendly, brotherly hug. "Yeah, of course!" Clark exclaimed. Clark pulled back to get a good look at Richard. "Wow, look at you! All grown up! I remember when you were still a scrawny little pipsqueak."

Richard scoffed. "Yeah, but I could still take you on."

Clark let out a soft laugh as he walked Richard to their table. "Maybe one day, kid." The two sat down across from one another. Clark picked up his apple, then took a juicy bite from it. He swallowed his bit, then continued. "It's been way too long, Dick. How are you?"

Richard shrugged. "I'm alright, I guess," he said shyly. He cleared his throat. "And...I'm sort of going by Richard now."

Clark stared at Richard. "Richard?" he asked. "Richard Grayson..." Clark sat there, attempting to roll the words off his tongue. He shook his head. "No, I like Dick Grayson better."

Richard shook his head. "I don't know," he said softly. "I think I'm growing out of that."

Clark eyed Richard carefully, almost studying him. Clark nodded softly. "Right," he said. "I guess I can understand that. Sure."

Richard nodded softly. He struggled to find the words to say what he had come there to say. The problem was, Richard honestly had no idea what he wanted to say. He just knew that he needed to talk to somebody. "Clark," he started. "Would you say that we're friends?"