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]

"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.

[justlikeacircus]

Dick's a little taken aback by his obvious enthusiasm, though he puts it down to this whole 'let's be friends' thing that Clark seems to be trying for, which he's determined to not be fooled by for a moment of course, and he brushes it off, focusing instead on the trapeze.

He climbs up onto the scaffold easily, scrambling up the bars without hesitation and reaching the platform at the top. He chalks up his hands and grabs hold of the bar of the trapeze, taking a moment at the top to breathe before pushing himself off the platform and swinging out into the air, immediately swinging into a routine of flips and twists that flow into each other like a dance.

[stands_for_hope]

And that? That's beautiful. Clark is pretty damn happy to watch the little boy on his trapeze, kicking back to enjoy the show. He does find it kind of remarkable that Bruce Wayne is paying him for this.

[justlikeacircus]

It's enough to make him a little more relaxed and work out all his grumpiness, he's still not overly impressed by his super-effective new bodyguard, but he's not feeling quite so outright hostile. Once he's finished with the routine, he strolls back across the mats towards Clark, dusting off his hands.

"Okay, I'm done."

[stands_for_hope]

That has Clark standing up, dusting off, and looking at Dick with an even smile.

"Where to next, Dick?"

Because he's pretty content to see where they're going.

[justlikeacircus]

"Let's just go home, it's not like you'll let me go anywhere cool." it wasn't quite said with the same venom that his earlier commentary had been, it was more just matter-of-fact

[stands_for_hope]

Clark crosses his arms thoughtfully and tilts his head.

"I dunno. Would you be willing to give it a shot, letting me bring you someplace cool? Or are you sure I can't manage it?"

[justlikeacircus]

Dick frowns, watching him for a long moment while he makes his mind up, finally nodding slowly.

"Sure, fine, may as well see what you've got."

[stands_for_hope]

Which is when he tips his head to the door.

"You may want to put on something a little more rough and tumble. Do you have anything here or do we have to nip back to the house?"

[justlikeacircus]

"Rough and tumble?" Dick repeats with a curious frown "I think I've got some stuff here..." he was here often enough that he had plenty of changes of clothing standing by.

[stands_for_hope]

"All right. Then," he walks over to lean against the wall, "I'll wait for you to get changed."

He raises an eyebrow at Dick.

"Don't try anything funny. We're just starting to kind of get along."

[justlikeacircus]

Dick mumbles a half-embarrassed, half-annoyed assent and stomps off to get changed. He's tempted to make a break for it, but there's no way Clark is going to be that easy to get away from, not when he's expecting it. That was the reason, not the fact that he was actually interested in what Clark had to show him. Definitely not.

He throws on a change of clothes and heads back to Clark with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Okay, let's go."

[stands_for_hope]

Clark smiles and gestures to the car, since Alfred had been informed of their destination while the boy was getting changed. Clark even opened the door for him.

"That looks just right," he says with a nod towards Dick's clothing. "Especially if we luck out."