"Roy?"

His quiet voice barely captured Roy's attention, but he was used to the soft tone that Dick often used when he was scared. Roy turned around to meet two azure orbs staring up at him with hope and affection and since he was viewing them from a higher perspective, they just looked like big, blue, puppy dog eyes. That being said, Dick's most prominent feature are his eyes and when he wants something or is seeking affection, those eyes can make one do virtually anything. Moments passed in silence as Roy fixed his gaze on Dick, expecting a few words from the eight year old who called upon him just moments ago, but the air remained heavy with its silence as it carried around all the raw emotion that emanated off of the boy. He let a few extra seconds pass allowing Dick another moment to collect his thoughts but since he wasn't met with anything but silence yet again, he decided to break the ice.

"Can I help you, Dick?"

"Mhmm."

"Is something wrong?"

At that, Dick averted his gaze and stared down at his shuffling feet. "It's stupid."
Roy already had a sense of what "it" was and now Dick's strange behaviour confirmed it. "Did it scare you?"

"A little."

"Then it's not stupid."

Roy crouched down to the boy's level and looked him in the eyes with a softness nobody else but Dick, and occasionally Wally, ever saw. He allowed him a small smile that successively got Dick to turn that frown upside down, even if only by a little. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really. Do you know when Bruce will be back?"

He's changing the subject, Roy thought. "He said he'll be back as soon as possible."

"Oh, then can we play something?"

"Alright then, what do you wanna play?"

Dick stopped and thought for a moment as he swayed back and forth on the heels of his tiny little feet. "How about tag?"
Roy chuckled at the acrobat's choice of game, but went along with it anyway. "Sounds good to me. I'm kinda surprised you didn't pick Hide and Seek."

Roy's blue eyes were met with a strikingly similar pair giving him a taunting smile. "I figured you wouldn't be able to keep up." He let out an adorable giggle in response to his own joke and Roy joined in just a few seconds later, albeit not for the same reason. It made Roy happy to see Dick laughing instead of dwelling in the fear of his recent nightmare. The boy was brave for someone so young and Roy was always taken aback by his 'not-a-problem' attitude. Most people would fall for that façade but Roy knew better than that. He always knew that even when Dick plastered on a huge grin on his ivory face, he wasn't exactly always feeling the same on the inside. Roy was brought out of his musing when he felt Dick's little index finger poking the base of his forehead followed by a "TAG! YOU'RE IT!". The sounds of bubbly laughter and running feet on wooden floors could be heard shortly after as they got fainter and fainter while Dick ran farther and farther.

Roy got up from his crouched position and heard the satisfying popping sounds from his knees and lower back as he stretched out his young but aging limbs. You know, this time might just be different, he thought before he ran off after his little brother.

A/N: I know, sucky ending. I was suffering from writers block. LOL. Read and Review please! :) Thank you :D