I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In (Dick and Clark)

[justlikeacircus]

 "Dick, we've called your father, he's sending somebody to pick you up." the detention teacher motioned for Dick to gather his things. That was the rule now, especially when he'd gotten detention, he stayed in school with the teacher's watchful eye on him until they delivered him straight into the waiting hands of whatever minder or security detail Bruce had hired at the time. It was equal parts protection and punishment - he couldn't be trusted not to disappear off to cause trouble all his own if they took their eyes off him for a second. 

It didn't exactly work, Dick had a knack for slipping out of the clutches of assorted bodyguards and nannies, Bruce was yet to find one that could actually keep their eyes on him - well, that wasn't strictly to, there had been a couple of them, but Dick had managed to be such a holy terror to them that they'd quit of their own volition, leaving him with somebody who, once again, couldn't keep track of him.

He wasn't expecting much today, the previous nanny had only left yesterday, there was no way Bruce had found somebody that quick, which meant it was probably some luckless Wayne Enterprises intern who was being sent with the car, or maybe Alfred. If it was the latter he might actually consent to going all the way home before sneaking out again, but whatever happened he was going out this evening, he had things to do, people to see - ridiculously high buildings to climb so he could perform death-defying acts of vandalism for the amusement of his friends, that kind of thing.

The teacher ushered him out of the school gate and together they stood at the entrance, waiting for the car.

Comments

[stands_for_hope]

There was no car. Instead, there was a large, well-built man in unassuming clothes and a mildly ridiculous little hat who made his way up to the teacher and Dick. He held out a card which Dick would recognize as Bruce's, with the code word they'd agreed upon written on the back.

"I'm here to pick up Richard, ma'am. And since I'm sure we'll be seeing each other a decent amount--" he held out a hand for the woman "the name's Clark. A pleasure to meet you."

[justlikeacircus]

Dick took the card with a raised eyebrow, glancing down at the writing and nodding a confirmation at his teacher. She barely even noticed, too busy getting all flustered and simpering at Clark, she shook his hand with a smile and introduced herself, hovering for a moment before realising that Dick was staring at her, and then saying her goodbyes and disappearing back into the school, probably to call the other teachers and gush over how handsome he was.

"Where's the car?" Dick asked, turning his attention back to Clark, wondering who this guy was, he definitely didn't look like an intern.

[stands_for_hope]

He tipped his head towards the sidewalk and started walking.

"Alfred's at the end of the street" he explained with a warm little smile, "but I thought it might be nice for the two of us to actually get to know each other a little. Take a walk."

He paused, turned, and offered his hand.

"The name's Clark. Your dad hired me to make sure no one hurts you and to keep track of you." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "He also said you probably wouldn't like me much but..." it was an earnest smile, "it doesn't have to be that way, I don't think."

[justlikeacircus]

Take a walk? What kind of an idiot was this guy? He wouldn't last five minutes. By the sounds of him, he wasn't from Gotham, which meant he probably wouldn't know these streets particularly well, whereas Dick knew them like the back of his hand. The friendliness was cute, but it was nothing he hadn't seen before, it wouldn't last.

Feigning obedience, Dick walked down the street with him, waiting for the opportune moment.

"You're right," he agreed "It doesn't have to be tha-" mid sentence he darted away, it was a well practiced move, it always took people a moment when they were expecting the rest of the words, and it usually gave him the split second head start he needed. There was an alley just here with a fire escape low enough for him to flip his way onto, from there it would be off across the rooftops before you could say 'hey wait come back here'.

[stands_for_hope]

The attempt was cute, really. But his reflexes were... well, a little faster than even a spry little boy's. He darted and Clark's hand shot out so fast it wasn't even visible before his fingers closed on Dick's shirt collar.

"Pull that one a lot?" he asked, still calm and friendly. "I'll give you credit; you're faster than most. But unless you're the type who really appreciates banging their head against a wall, I wouldn't try it again.

"You're not faster than me."

[justlikeacircus]

Dick's feet actually kept moving for a second or two before he realised he wasn't moving forward anymore, and it nearly caused him to fall over. Clark's solid grip on his collar actually managed to keep him on his feet and he stopped moving with an embarrassed scowl. This had certainly never happened before, he'd dealt with efficient guards before but this was something else, the guy had moved like lightning.

"Yea, okay, you got me, well done you..." he paused, the guy was fast, but how good was his grip? He pushed himself off with his feet, flipping himself backwards. Either the flip would cause him to lose his grip as the full weight of Dick (which, admittedly, was not that much) dragged the collar from his hands, or the collar itself would potentially rip - either way he'd be free.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark let go of the collar almost immediately, since it didn't make any sense to rip good clothing (good expensive clothing, he could tell both from looking and from the feel of the cloth in his hand). But he wasn't about to let the kid get away. He'd been warned of the boy's athletic and gymnastic ability. It still wasn't going to work, but it would be interesting.

Dick ended up upside down with Clark's hand the gentlest kind of iron wrapped implacably around his ankle. He didn't even seem to pause this time, starting to walk with the boy suspended upside down from one hand.

"You almost ripped your uniform. Careful, now."

[justlikeacircus]

Exactly as planned, Clark let go of his collar and he...did not end up on his feet like he expected. There was actually a brief moment of disorientation when the world didn't right itself the way he'd expected it to. It didn't take him too long to get over it, after all he spent almost as much time upside down as he did rightside up, but while he was relatively comfortable hanging upside down from Clark's hand, he was still pretty taken aback. Not only had the guy been fast enough to grab him before he ran, he was also quick enough to catch his foot in mid-flip, and strong enough to hold him upside down by it without any apparent effort. Clearly he was dealing with something a little extraordinary here. He folded his arms in annoyance and glared up at the man.

"I bet you're feeling pretty smug right about now, aren't you?" he challenged "I've had bodyguards like you before... you're quicker than most I'll give you that, but you'll slip up sooner or later, trust me on that. They all do."

[stands_for_hope]

"Don't think so," he said peaceably enough as he kept walking, Dick suspended in one hand. "But I'm not smug."

And it was true. He wasn't smiling.

"I'm mostly just confused. I mean," he used his other hand to scratch at the back of his neck, "I don't really see what I did that's so objectionable. And I do want to be friends, or as much friends as we can be, given the circumstances.

"And if I didn't do something objectionable, then I'm worried about you and why you'd want to run off so much. Your father seemed like a decent enough man to me. He definitely loves you very much."

[justlikeacircus]

"The friendly act is cute and all but I've seen it before." Dick shrugged, there was an edge of bitterness to his tone as he continued, much as he tried to hide it "Never lasts."

"Yea, dad is a great guy, and I don't need you to tell me he loves me," he shot back, but that was the problem, he didn't need Clark to tell him, he needed Bruce to tell him. It wasn't that he didn't know, and while he wasn't the most emotional man in the world he wasn't completely hopeless, but a good 75% of his affection was expressed in money and handlers, and Dick didn't want either, he just wanted his dad. He'd gone from a world where he had always been with his parents to one where work kept Bruce away more often than it didn't, from complete freedom (because who needed one individual person to keep an eye on a child in a circus where there was always somebody near enough to spot him) to somebody who was paid to trail after him every day. It had been a few years since the accident and Bruce taking him in, but that didn't make the adjustment any easier. Avoiding his handlers had become a game almost, testing his limits until they broke - and they always broke.

"You don't need to psycho-analyse me, you just need to watch me."

[stands_for_hope]

Clark just kept carrying him.

"You know, it may not last because you're bein' awful," he pointed out, still mild, "I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I pretty much told you my name and why I'm here and you decided to act up. But folks're 'terrible' because they don't act nice forever when you play tricks and try and get them in trouble?"

He just gave a soft snort, but he didn't seem angry. Or, honestly, any less friendly. He was just chatting with Dick.

"So do you like Richard or Dick best? Or something else; I don't want to call you something you don't like."

[justlikeacircus]

Dick could barely believe this guy, not only did he take offence at what Clark was saying, but he was amazed that the guy had managed to carry him by his ankle this far without any obvious signs of tiredness, his arm hadn't drooped even a little bit. Dick was fine hanging upside down, and he knew he wasn't the heaviest kid in the world, but his whole wait hanging off one hand? With the arm held up? He had to be feeling the strain...

"I never called anybody terrible. Maybe I'm just testing, making sure you're good enough to look after me." he retorted, ever the quick thinker. The fact that Clark was still staying relaxed and friendly was almost more annoying than if he'd gotten angry.

"...'s Dick." he muttered grumpily.

[stands_for_hope]

"Well, all right then, Dick," he continued, and they were almost at the car. Alfred didn't look the least bit troubled by the situation. If anything, he was probably impressed that Dick hadn't managed to run off.

"That'd be a good line if your father hadn't already warned me," Clark pointed out as they walked up. "But you're just going to frustrate yourself if you keep up with it. I'm not your enemy. And you're not getting past me."

Several years later...

[justlikeacircus]

It had taken weeks for Clark to earn a begrudging respect from Dick, and even then it was rare that he showed anything other than the tiniest hint that he found the man anything more than an annoyance. He tested his boundaries at every opportunity, so it was hardly any surprise that Clark left them eventually, and if Dick was actually upset about that... well he hid it pretty well.

Clark's dogged ability to keep Dick on the straight and narrow had at least earned him pretty good grades and managed to get him into an excellent university, and the move to Metropolis had been surprisingly good for him. And if somewhere along the way he'd picked up the habit of dressing in kevlar and flipping his way around the rooftops to help people, well, that was kind of good for him too - at least it got rid of all that energy and allowed him to actually focus on his studies.

He was hanging around a particularly high rooftop one evening when a call on the police scanner got his attention. Technically he could have climbed his way down like a normal person, but as he came to the edge of the building he could see the perfect combination of ledges for his grappling hook and who was he to resist the chance to trapeze his way through the air?

So of course he took a swan dive off the edge of the building.

[truth_and_justice]

Over the period of years where he'd taken care of the Wayne-Grayson household, Dick had been scooped, picked up, hauled around, carried, and a variety of other necessary things by his very patient body guard. That's why when the blur flies past, catching Dick as they rocket towards a rooftop...

Maybe it feels familiar.

Maybe there's a man in a dusty trucker cap who's putting him down on the gravel and checking him over, an earnest fisherman who only now has realized the kind of fish he's caught. He keeps his head down, though, trying to cover his face.

"...are you all right?"

[justlikeacircus]

Dick is just reaching for his grappling gun when the blur of the buildings around his suddenly changes direction and he's momentarily thrown for a complete loop by what on earth is happening. Finding himself lying on another rooftop with a man checking him over was so unexpected that for a moment he just lies there, unable to entirely process events.

"Uh... I'm... fine... what the he'll was that?" He flips himself upright again, dusting off his uniform and frowning at the man in front of him. He seemed intent on hiding his face but right now Dick was more interested in the how of what he's just done.

"Did you just... fly?"

[truth_and_justice]

"Grappling hook," is what he says, which Dick would know very well is entirely impossible because of the angle in which they traveled. Also the fact that he doesn't have a grappling hook with him. But the guy's focused on him now.

"Why were you jumping off the roof there?"

[justlikeacircus]

There's no way in hell that was a grappling hook, it can't have been, there's no sign of one anywhere for a start and what kind of arc had they travelled in to end up here? No, the only explanation was his first guess. But the stranger had turned his questioning on Dick, so while his look was suspicious, he didn't push it - yet.

"Grappling hook," he parrots back, only he waves his grappling gun as proof "Quickest way across the city."

[truth_and_justice]

"You were in freefall," he points out. "It looked like."

He pauses and looks Dick up and down for a moment before pausing and doing it again. Then the corner of a smile can be seen under the edge of his hat.

"Guess I'll leave you be, then."

And he starts heading towards the edge of the building.

[justlikeacircus]

"Trust me,I had it under control," Dick retorts, frowning slightly at the way the guy looks him up and down, that weird little smile on his face, there was something...

"Hey. You often snatch guys out of the air and then just walk away?" He calls after him.

[truth_and_justice]

"I didn't want any trouble," he says as he keeps walking. "I just didn't want to see anyone hurt, that's all."

[justlikeacircus]

"Just trying to help..." there's a thoughtful tone in his voice - he's not quite the angry teenager he once was, he's willing to take a step back from his initial reaction. Still, he can't help but think about what he was like as a kid, because there's something about this guy...

He trails after him, they're both on a rooftop after all, where's he going to go? Other than flying off of here, and that's something Dick's going to watch out for.

"You justice league?"

[truth_and_justice]

That gets a snort.

"No, kid, nothing like that."

The Justice League... well, it's got a lot of heavy hitters, and they do good work, but he's never entirely been comfortable with showing himself to the world. He's different from them, not from this world when it comes down to it, and he isn't sure he'd be welcome.

[justlikeacircus]

The familiarity is like an itch he can't quite scratch and it's annoying him, making him far more inquisitive than he might normally be, pushing for answers.

"You just like helping people?" he asked "Me too.."

[truth_and_justice]

"I just don't like people getting hurt," is how he says it, "especially kids like you."

And yes, he's still a kid in his eyes.

"Now, if you don't mind, I should probably be going. Sorry for interrupting your travel."