Another new fandom? Yup. It's a long story...x3

Bruce/Dick father/son relationship bondinnngggg.

...

ish.

xD

Dick angst. D:

Oh, and Bruce is a tad bit OOC near the end...sorry. :P

This is dedicated to my wonderful Batman buddy: asterouslywhelming! Well, I guess it's more like Batman mentor, since she's teaching me everything there is to know about the Batman series! xD Plus, she's like the most awesome friend ever. :) And she writes AMAZINGLY. Seriously. Go check out her stories. Holy crap, I cried. Yeah, I'm advertising you, K! xD You deserve it! ;)

Enjoy!

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: I don't own Sing Me A Love Song by BarlowGirl. I also don't own lil' Dikiebird...or Bruce...or any part of the Batman or Young Justice series unfortunately...*lesigh*

Title: Sing to Me
Written: 4/7/12

Tonight was their big performance, the night The Flying Graysons flew without their net.

He watched them with a smile, giggling every time his dad winked at him from afar, or when his mom would laugh happily as they swung high through the air.

His stomach clenched nervously however as the wires of the trapeze squealed and fell slack, time slowing down. His parent's faces became pale with shock and gravity began to pull on them. His mother's hands were out stretched for him as she screamed his name, his father repeating her call.

"DICK!"

His eyes widened in horror, every face in the crowd mirroring his expression, screams of fright echoing around the tent. But his was the loudest.

"NO! MOMMYY! DADDDYYY!" he cried desperately, reaching his hand towards them as if he could grab their hands and haul them back onto the platform. But even if he could have reached them in time, his nine year old body would have been tugged down to his death along with them.

But now, hiding in the shadows of an abandoned closet at the orphanage, crying softly into his hands, he wished he would have jumped off and joined them. He had nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to.

He was alone, and that was what scared him the most.

What would happen now?

The tension is thick in the air making it hard to see

The fear of what is to come and what will become of me

I say a prayer, help me not run away

Will you please hold me?

He longed to have their arms around him as they played and laughed before bed. He missed how his father would hoist him up on his shoulders and run around outside their trailer, while he shrieked and laughed, clutching tightly to his dad's head.

He missed how his mother would hold him tight to her chest when he was upset, comforting him after nightmares, or when he was teased and called a freak by other boys -when they stayed in a town long enough to meet new people- just because he was in the circus. But most of all, he missed her songs. She would always sing to him, reminding him how amazing he was, and how loved.

But now there was no one to do that for him. He was just an orphan, a freak.

He didn't know how long he could hold on.

And sing me a love song again

Say the words that heal my heart

Sing me a love song and then

Let your words remind me who I am

A few days later, after his parent's funeral, Bruce Wayne, the Bruce Wayne, had come and broken him out of that hell hole of a place, and taken him home. But it wasn't really home. He had to admit, the house, if you could even call it that, was enormous and very, very cool, but… it wasn't home.

Home was their trailer. Home was the circus. Home was flying through the air on a trapeze.

Home was his parents.

How could they have left him to fend for himself in this unforgiving and cruel world? Didn't they care? He hated them! He hated them for leaving him alone!

He picked up the object closest to him and hurled it angrily at the wall with a yell. However, his eyes widened in shock as he heard the sound of glass breaking as it smacked against the drywall and fell upside down to the floor. He whirled around and his eyes fell on a frame. He walked forward slowly, almost scared at what he would find, and carefully turned the piece of metal over, and his eyes brimmed with tears at the photo. It was a picture of the three of them in their green leotards waving with huge smiles at the camera. They were so carefree then, not worrying about anything except how big the next crowd would be at whatever city they went to next.

He clutched the frame tightly to his chest, pressing his back against the wall and sliding slowly to the floor. He winced as the broken shards of glass sliced his fingers, but it was comforting in a way. The physical pain hurt nothing compared to the emotional torment.

He needed them. He needed them now. Or else that dark shadow that hung ominously over him would consume him, and he wasn't sure how long he could last.

You never failed me before, why do I feel betrayed?

If I close my heart to You now

The darkness would have its way

I crave Your voice, help me not fall away

Will You please hold me?

And sing me a love song again

Say the words that heal my heart

Sing me a love song and then

Let your words remind me who I am

As Bruce, Dick, and Alfred sat down for supper, the knight could tell that the boy was still shaken up. He wasn't that oblivious. He knew what it was like to watch your parents die, knowing that there was nothing you could do to stop it. He had been there. But…he had no idea what to do to make him feel better. He wasn't all that good at comforting people.

He watched Dick push his food around his plate miserably out of the corner of his eye, but he never noticed him take a bite. Since he had arrived here a few days earlier, it hadn't seemed like he'd eaten much of anything. Bruce sighed before he spoke.

"Dick, you need to eat."

"I'm not hungry," the boy mumbled, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"If you don't eat, you're going to get sick. Now EAT." He said with a slight edge to his gravelly voice.

That was the last straw for the poor boy.

He leapt angrily from his seat, sending his chair crashing to the floor, startling both the adults. His eyes burned furiously with tears as he shouted at his caretaker.

"I don't need you telling me what to do! I don't care what you give me! I don't care what you say, or who the hell you think you are! YOU'RE NOT. MY. PARENTS! …And you'll never be…" he finished in a whisper. He stood there staring at Bruce, tears streaming down his cheeks. He took a shuddering breath before he turned and fled from the room, heading to his own and slamming the door. The sound echoed down to the dining room, causing Bruce to wince.

"He just needs time, Master Bruce," Alfred said sympathetically. "And he needs you to act more like a father, whether he realizes it or not."

Bruce sighed and spoke as if he hadn't heard what the old butler had said. "I'm going to head to bed Alfred. Thanks for dinner." And with that, he pushed back his chair and headed upstairs.

Alfred simply shook his head and began to clean up.

Dick was running, though he wasn't sure where he was, and he had absolutely no idea where he was going. All he knew was that he had to get away…

Had to get away…

He gasped and began to run faster as he heard footsteps behind him, a manic laugh echoing down the endless hall. His legs burned as they pushed hard against the stone floor, his arms pumping at his sides, his breath burning in his throat.

His throat constricted as the person after him spoke. "You can run little Grayson, but you can't get away from me! AHAHAHAHA!"

The cruel laugh caused the boy to stumble and fall flat on his face, crying out in pain and horror as the being's shadow fell over him. He quickly turned over and scrambled backwards, swiping blindly at the blood dripping from his nose, eyes wide as he stared up at the face of none other than a giant version of Tony Zucco.

"No!" he cried out in alarm. "Get away! GET AWAY!"

The gang leader simply laughed again, and the scene faded to the familiar circus tent. Dick glanced down quickly and discovered he was wearing his trapeze act uniform.

'Seem familiar?' Zucco's voice echoed in his head. Dick yelped and clutched at his head in pain. 'Keep watching. I'm going to make you suffer. Just like I am, rotting away in that FUCKING ASYLUM!'

The boy howled as the man thundered in his mind, making him feel as if his head was going to explode.

Abruptly, the voice vanished and his head immediately felt better as he felt warm arms wrap around him gently. He quickly glanced up and found his mother holding him tightly, muttering kind words in his ears. He smiled and tackled her in a hug, a happy tear finding its way down his cheek. She stroked his hair gently in response.

"Please don't leave me again," he begged. "I don't…I…I-I can't take it anymore without you..."

'Cause You are all I need

And all that I want is You with me

Seconds later, his mother was viciously torn away from him, disappearing into thin air with a yelp, and Dick was once again left on the dark platform in the empty tent. He panicked, and whirled around, trying to find where his mother had gone. "Mom?" he recoiled at how weak his voice sounded, his bottom lip trembling. "Mom!"

A spot light flickered on from down below, shining up on the trapeze, where his mother and father were doing their act, the one they had done THAT night. The night they had done it without a net.

Dick wanted to cry out and warn them, beg them to get back onto the platform before it was too late, but his voice wouldn't work. It was as if some force had robbed him of his vocal chords. Time slowed down as the scene continued.

His mom swung forward with a smile, reaching out to grab his hands just as before, when the trapeze squealed and went slack. Their faces paled. His eyes widened in fear, mouth opening in a silent scream for them. His name in his mother's voice bounced around his head.

"DICK!"

Unheard sobs wracked his body as his parents fell seemingly faster than before. His voice finally came back and he screamed at the top of his lungs reaching down for them, the platform suddenly falling out from under him. A menacing laugh echoed in his ears, as he clawed at the air, before he smacked to the ground...

The boy let out a strangled scream, bolting upright in bed, his parent's names dying on his lips as heart-wrenching sobs shook his small form. He clutched at his sweat-drenched locks of hair, his fingernails digging into his scalp, drawing a small amount of blood. He trembled in fear as he continued to scream for his mother and father, his throat becoming raw.

Carefully, large rough and calloused hands took his small hands in theirs, gently prying them from his head. Dick was then quickly pulled to Bruce's chest, surrounded by his awkward, but warm and comforting embrace. The strong arms around the boy calmed him a bit, protecting him from any forces that would dare to strike. He grabbed fistfuls of his guardian's shirt, pressing his face against his chest, the man's steady heartbeat and soft, whispered words of assurance slowing his shaky breathing, his cries calming to distraught whimpers.

'Cause You are what I need

And all that I want is You with me

After what felt like an eternity, the small ebony pulled back a little to look up into the man's worried face with red rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks as he sniffled. "P…p-promise me that…that you w-won't ever l-l-leave?" he croaked, eyes frightened as he studied the man's eyes frantically, searching for some sign that he'd have someone there for him, a…a father to protect him, and to always be there.

Bruce was shocked at the words, but his face softened once again, and a small, reassuring smile graced his lips... something he rarely did.

And sing me a love song again

Say the words that heal my heart

Sing me a love song and then

Let your words remind me who I am.

"I promise I won't ever leave you alone, Dick. I'll always be there, and I'll always protect you. I promise."

That seemed to satisfy the boy well enough, and he wrapped his arms around the man and rested his cheek against his heart, a small smile drifting tiredly to his face as he fell asleep to the steady rhythm of Bruce's heart.

D'awwww. Father/son moment! Whee! :D

Sorry the end is a bit cliche. It just seemed to fit...and I found it kinda cute. x3 And touching...^v^

I have a couple more ideas that I can hopefully get out soon, but with the last 6 weeks of school hanging over my head...I need to keep my grades up. ;)

TLWOH will be posted one of these weekends...the beginning isn't really how I wanted it to be, but I haven't updated it in FOREVER. You guys deserve an update. :) It'll be posted sometime before May 23rd, I can promise you that.

Ciao!

~Lyssie212