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]

"Maybe he'd loosen his grip a little if he knew he could trust you with whoever he hired to watch over you," he ventured with a relatively soft sideways glance.

"My parents didn't give me much freedom at all until I showed them I could be responsible. Maybe if you show him that you can be trusted to do as you're asked, that'll open up some opportunities for you?"

[justlikeacircus]

"Yea, right," Dick snorted "Showing I will actually put up with being followed everywhere every minute of every day is really going to make him stop doing that. He'll probably just be relieved he can get away with it."

"Let's just go home, not like I'm going to get to do anything fun today, is it?"

[stands_for_hope]

Clark rubbed at his chin.

"I dunno. You certainly seemed to be in the mood for some gymnastics earlier. Maybe we could drive around to the workout area Mr. Wayne mentioned. Blow off a little steam?"

[justlikeacircus]

He perked up almost immediately at prospect, before he remembered himself and slumped back into his scowl, shrugging. "Sure, why not."

If he wasn't going to get a chance to flip around on buildings at least he'd get to spend some time doing what he loved somewhere, even if it was by himself.

[stands_for_hope]

Aha. There it was. The kid'd been excited for a moment.

"I'm probably not up to your level," he ventured delicately, "but would you mind if I give the equipment a try myself?"

[justlikeacircus]

"Probably?" Dick scoffed "Try not at all." He turned a suspicious gaze on Clark, looking him up and down. He was a big guy, and while it was good quality equipment he wasn't sure exactly how much weight it could handle.

"...if you're careful."

[stands_for_hope]

"Of course," he said with a bit of a smile, "wouldn't want Mr. Wayne to take it out of my paycheck if I break something, after all."

[justlikeacircus]

"...He probably wouldn't." Dick admitted "He's got enough money he'd just replace it." he might be at odds with Bruce over some things, but he was well aware how generous the man was.

[stands_for_hope]

"I wouldn't complain if he did," Clark said with a shrug. "After all, the equipment's for him and his family, not me. And he's already been generous enough giving me the position. And my paycheck's probably more'n I've ever made my entire life."

[justlikeacircus]

"Yea, he likes to throw money at things," Dick shrugged. He didn't sound like he thought it was a particularly bad thing, especially because what Bruce tended to like throwing money at usually ended up helping people.

[stands_for_hope]

He scratched at an ear absently.

"Honestly, I've never done this sort of thing before," he admitted as he finally leaned back in the car. "I mean, I did babysitting when I was only a little older than you. And I suppose I know how to take care of myself. But I've never been a bodyguard before."

Though Mr. Wayne had given him a thorough rundown of what was expected of him, and he'd been content with all of it.

[justlikeacircus]

"Well. For a rookie you're doing pretty good so far," Dick told him, his tone did not make it sound reassuring, in fact it sounded somewhat more... bitter.

[stands_for_hope]

"It's clear enough you'd rather I wasn't but I'll take the compliment all the same," was how he decided to answer that.

Then he tipped his head towards the front, where they were just now rolling through the main gates.

"So where is it you were headed when you tried to run off, anyway?"

[justlikeacircus]

"I was just going to hang out with some friends," he replied sullenly "I'm not going to tell you where, then you'll know where to come and find me if I disappear, won't you? I'm not stupid."

[stands_for_hope]

"I'll know where to come and find you if you disappear anyway," which he said matter-of-factly. It wasn't boasting and it wasn't smug. It just, apparently, was.

"Not that I think you'll be disappearing any time soon."

Which was when the car stopped.

[justlikeacircus]

Dick raised an eyebrow at him, curious about how certain he was for someone who'd never done this before. Was he just overly-confident in his own abilities, or did he know something Dick didn't? God he hoped it wasn't another of dad's stupid tracking devices.

"We'll see," was all he said, before reaching over to get out the car. After this frustrating afternoon, he definitely needed to blow off some steam in the gym.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark followed along after him, keeping a few feet back to give the boy some space. He could certainly understand how frustrating it was to be on such a short leash. His own parents certainly hadn't let him run wild much and he hadn't had multiple kidnapping attempts.

[justlikeacircus]

Dick headed straight into the gym, not bothering to see what Clark was doing (though after his thwarted escape attempt, he assumed the man was right on his heels), he changed quickly, did a few cursory stretches and then took off running towards the parallel bars, springing up to catch hold of the bar and immediately flinging himself into a series of death-defying flips.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark watched him at it, settling in on the ground floor to watch for a bit before taking off his coat and bouncing onto one of the bars.

For all that he was large, he did seem to have a very light touch.

[justlikeacircus]

It was a while before Dick payed any attention to Clark again, but when he did glance round he stopped where he was, hanging from a bar, and watched him with a raised eyebrow.

"You're better at that than I thought you'd be." he called out.

[stands_for_hope]

"Thank you," came back at just about the same volume. Then he did a flip off the bar and landed gracefully enough before starting to work on handstands. His grace was strange; it was almost like he was floating, despite his size and bulk.

[justlikeacircus]

Dick dropped off the bar he was hanging from, watching him with an increasingly deep frown. He wasn't used to people in this gym being even close to his level, let alone practically surpassing it. Dick could tumble with the best of them, but this guy made it look effortless - and with that many muscles, he wasn't sure that should be possible.

Scowling suspiciously, he turned his back on Clark and headed over to some of the other equipment to practice.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark didn't fuss about it. Best to let the kid get used to him, just acclimate more than anything. He was using his own' practice' just to get a feel for the kid's hobby. After all, they wouldn't do well if they couldn't relate on anything.

[justlikeacircus]

Dick just tried to block him out, pretend he was alone and focus on his work out. He was struggling to let go of all his irritation so he gave up on the traditional gymnastic equipment and headed to the best thing (in his opinion) that Bruce had installed in the whole place - a trapeze.

"Wanna see something really cool?" he threw out, glancing over his shoulder at Clark. Sure, the guy might have some freakishly good skills on the bars, but there was an artistry to the trapeze that took a lot of practice, he doubted his new bodyguard had that level of skill.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark leans back, settling on the ground and watching with clear enthusiasm.

Yes, he would love to see. He'd heard about Dick's past, was familiar enough with a few of the circuses that went around the country. He'd even done porter work for Haley's once or twice, though he doubted that Dick would recognize him from that. Yes, he would love to see.