Books. Dance. Music. Friends.

Detective Gordon, watching as he walks by, being transported to twenty years prior when he was a rookie cop first on the scene for the Wayne murders and finding a shocked eight year old little boy standing in a puddle of his parents’ blood. Remembering how he wrapped his jacket around him and carried him away in a hurry, tucking his face into his shoulder and whispering, “Don’t look. You’re going to be okay, I promise you’re going to be okay, just don’t look.”

Gordon watching as the supposed playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne does everything he can to comfort Dick Grayson, this little boy from the circus he’s never even met before, because he knows exactly the kind of pain he’s going through in this moment.

Eight year old Bruce letting out the most distressed sounding sob Jim has ever heard. Bruce gripping the shoulder of Jim’s shirt, crying out, “Mommy!” while Jim holds him tighter. Bruce trying to look back towards the alley, still calling for his parents, but Jim tucking his face back into his shoulder so he doesn’t see their bodies.

“Just don’t look,” Jim whispers.

Twenty years later, Bruce carries a shocked eight year old Dick Grayson out of the circus tent, rushing to get him away the sight of his parents’ dead bodies. Dick not letting go of him even as Bruce tries to set him down on a bench. Dick coming out of his shock with a shaking, rattling breath and a choked back cry. Bruce whispering to him, “It’s okay if you cry. You can cry as much as you want, chum, I’m not going anywhere. It’s going to be okay.”

Dick letting out the most distressed sounding sob Bruce has ever heard. Dick gripping the shoulder of Bruce’s shirt, crying out, “Mommy!” while Bruce holds him tighter. Dick trying to look back towards the tent, still calling for his parents, but Bruce tucking his face back into his shoulder so he doesn’t see their bodies.

Robin: Hello.

(The Justice League stares.)

Flash: ...He's tiny.

Robin: I am average height for my age.

Green Lantern: Sorry, it's just—we expected... I don't know, taller?

Robin: Your expectations are irrelevant.

Flash: Oh.

Green Lantern: Oh, he's got Batman's personality.

Batman: Unfortunately.

Robin: Excuse me?

Superman: It's nice to meet you, Robin.

Robin: I am aware.

Superman: ...

Wonder Woman: You remind me of someone.

Green Lantern: How old are you?

Robin: Old enough to defeat you.

Green Lantern: That's... not what I asked.

Robin: It is, however, the correct answer.

Flash: I like him.

Batman: Don't encourage him.

Flash: Too late.

Flash: So what's your favorite part about being Robin?

Robin: Correcting Father.

Batman: Damian.

Robin: For example, yesterday Father said, "We'll only be gone an hour."

Flash: And?

Robin: We returned six hours later.

Batman: It was an estimate.

Robin: It was a lie.

Green Lantern: Oh my God.

Superman: He's keeping score?

Robin: There is a spreadsheet.

Batman: There is not.

Robin: There are three.

Robin: One is color-coded.

Flash: TIM MADE THOSE, DIDN'T HE?

Robin: Obviously.

Batman: We're moving on.

Aquaman: Wait, there are multiple Robins?

Robin: There have been.

Green Lantern: How many?

Batman: ...

Flash: Bats?

Batman: Enough.

Robin: Four, technically five.

Green Lantern: FIVE?

Robin: Grayson, Todd, Drake, Brown, and now myself.

Flash: Wait, there have been five Robins?

Robin: Correct.

Green Lantern: Spooky, you've just been collecting children.

Batman: That's not—

Superman: Bruce.

Batman: ...

Batman: It's more complicated than that.

Robin: It is not.

Batman: Damian-

Robin: Father encountered emotionally compromised children and reacted by giving them capes.

Wonder Woman: ...

Flash: That's... honestly the best description I've ever heard.

Green Lantern: I thought Robins were chosen through some impossible test.

Robin: They are.

Green Lantern: Really?

Robin: Father must look at you and think, "I can fix that."

Batman: That's enough.

Robin: Thus far, he has been incorrect.

Batman: ...

Batman: Next agenda item.

Flash: HE'S NOT DENYING IT.

Green Lantern: Batman's superpower is aggressive adoption.

Batman: Green Lantern.

Green Lantern: I'm just saying, most people see a traumatized kid and call a therapist.

Flash: Bruce sees one and goes, "Have you considered vigilantism?"

Batman: That is not how it happened.

Robin: It happened multiple times.

Robin: Six, if you count Signal.

Flash: SIX?!

Batman: We are ending this discussion.

Superman, smiling: Welcome to the League, Robin.

Robin: Thank you.

Superman: It's good to have you here.

Robin: Tt

(A brief silence.)

Flash: Aw.

Green Lantern: Did... did Batman just raise a polite child?

Batman: No.

Robin: Green Lantern, your ring constructs lack creativity, your combat stance is inefficient, and your haircut is deeply unfortunate.

(Another silence.)

Green Lantern: There he is.

Haly’s Circus has ties to the Court of Owls, so wouldn’t it make sense if they were in Gotham/the US more often? To check up on their potential Talons? Especially their new Gray Son. There’s no way they’d let him be born too far from them.

Dick is born at Gotham General, just like his father. And yes, he does learn to speak a couple other languages from his family and the others in the circus, but he’s American. They tour in Europe maybe every other year. He mostly speaks English, but he also knows French from his mother and maybe hes halfway fluent in Italian because his Aunt Karla speaks it to him and his cousin (I had a headcanon a while ago that she was from Italy but I don’t remember why? But it’s fun if he knows like the swear words specifically in Italian). He knows the swear words in several languages, but he can’t actually hold more than a basic sentence in more than maybe 2-3 languages total at this age.

So when he’s 8 and goes to live with Bruce after his family dies, he doesn’t understand why the public seems to think he doesn’t speak English. There are socialites and interviewers who say as much to Bruce, about how hard it must be to raise a foreign circus orphan, how do they even communicate?

“I was born in fucking Gotham,” this little eight year old spits at them.

Bruce is also one of those people who can’t help but laugh when kids swear, so he’s just sputtering and choking back a laugh as he ushers Dick away from the cameras.

inspired by @casgirl’s tags on this post:

i whispered “i don’t like you”

and set my phone down

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters.