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[fingerstripes]

Voicemail

"You know what to do."


Friendr

	Friendr
«		»
	» Age: 23 » Seeking: Friends, running partners, anyone interested in getting out and seeing the world. » Preferences: any » Interests: trapeze, martial arts, breakfast foods » Bio: Let’s get to know each other. See what we might have in common.
	base code by photosynthesis
	Dick Grayson
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Comments

[fingerstripes]

Wow. [ It's hard not to be a little impressed by that. And probably it's a big advantage, as long as they're talking about a kid who's probably to be stuck here for a while now.

There's a cheery thought. ]

Well, he's in good company now.

[signifies]

He has a case worker here in charge of him. I think she's genuine.

[ He has no reason to suspect Miss Jones but he's close to paranoid about Jon's safety. Clark listens to him constantly. ]

I wouldn't mind a second pair of eyes.

[fingerstripes]

Yeah? [ He looks up at Clark, suddenly warmed. It's not a level of trust he takes lightly. ] I mean, sure. Anytime.

I kind of- well, I have a kid brother at home. [ The absence of blood makes no different. Tim is his brother. He would do anything, anything for him. ] He's Robin now.

I get a little of where you're coming from.

[signifies]

You do?

[ He's not surprised to hear this. Dick is a good candidate for an older sibling. ]

I'd like to meet him. If he ever comes here.

[fingerstripes]

He'd love that. [ And the thought brings a bright grin back to this face. ]

...It's funny. As much as I wouldn't want to see him pulled away from all the stuff we've got going on in Gotham, I actually feel like he'd be a lot safer here.

[signifies]

It is safer here.

[ Dick should have people around who know him, too. Clark benefits from him more than vice versa. He's not sure how to close that gap. ]

How big is your family?

[fingerstripes]

There's a few of us now. It used to just be me and Batman. And, uh- Alfred. He doesn't wear a costume, but none of us could get by without him.

[ He's been hesitant to mention Jason. When there's a version of him here already that Dick doesn't know what to do with. When thinking about him at all still fills him with anger. Disappointment. The grief of missed opportunities.

It doesn't seem fair to put that on Clark, when he already has so much to handle now. When Dick should already have it handled himself.

Jason is the closest thing he has to a brother in this place. If anyone would know what to do, it's Clark. ]

...There's been three Robins, actually. We lost the second one.

[ He sets his jaw, studying the horizon intently. Lost is so inadequate. ]

[signifies]

[ Clark lets Dick have his moment. He deserves it.

They're in the business of helping people. Clark can't fathom anything hurting him besides that world engine. It took no thought at all to act against it. For people like Dick, who're human, they take greater risks every day with costumes and masks. Clark doesn't see anyone in Dick's family being willing to walk away when there's work to be done.

Lost means only one thing. ]

I'm sorry.

[ He hopes the other him was there in their time of need. ]

If you want to talk about it, I'm here.

[fingerstripes]

[ A little time and distance has done a lot for the immediate shock and anger of the encounter. In it's place is a lingering sense of guilt. An old ache for the kid who's still dead in his world. The knowledge that somehow he'd failed Jason yet again. ]

...There's a version of him here now.

But he's older now. And he's different. [ He's done terrible things. Terrible things were done to him. He's trying to be a better man. Dick scrubs a tired hand across his face. ]

I didn't handle it well, when we met.

[signifies]

It's hard to lose family.

[ Clark speaks from experience. ]

Anyone, even us, would be shocked at seeing someone or something we thought was gone. Maybe this is a second chance for you both.

[fingerstripes]

It'd be nice. [ It's almost a confession. ]

...It wasn't easy for me to see someone else in the suit, at first. There was... a lot going on between me and Batman.

[ It isn't easy now to admit to just how selfish he'd been. How hurt, how angry, how lost.

But for a Clark that doesn't know, who hadn't been there with him to see it, it's probably only fair for him to try to explain it. He hasn't been the brother Jason deserved. He hasn't always proven himself worthy of the trust Clark places in him. ]

But he needed someone, just like Robin does now. By the time I was starting to figure that out, he was gone.

[ He takes a breath. ] ...Then when he was willing to be upfront about who he is now, it was just- it was a lot to process all at once.

I don't know that I have the right to ask for another chance.

[signifies]

[ It means a lot that Dick would just tell him. This Clark is a total stranger to him and Dick keeps choosing trust.

Clark promises himself he's not going to be more surprised or less grateful. He didn't know what friends were like until he was here. ]

If he told you the truth, he must have wanted you to have one.

[fingerstripes]

Yeah. You're right. [ And in a way that's all he really needs to hear. A little of the tension drains out of his posture, and for Clark he has a small, almost sheepish smile. ]

Man. I'm way overthinking this, huh?

Most of my friends don't actually come back from the dead. [ ha ha ha ]

[signifies]

[ He raises his eyebrows at the comment. Clark will ask another day, when Dick isn't worried about how he's coming off to his long-lost Robin. ]

Birds of a feather.

[ Look at Clark, fretting and overthinking everything his son will face in the future. He'll be all right eventually and so will Dick.

It's been a tough conversation. Clark thinks they shouldn't keep going on a sombre note. ]

Did the other me ever take you flying, for fun?

[fingerstripes]

It was kind of our thing, yeah. [ He casts a glance sideways, brightness returning at once. ]

We worked cases together from time to time. But more often he'd drop by just to see how I was. We'd tour the Andes for a few hours and talk shop.

I think he felt a little bad for me, when I was a kid. I don't know that he ever really got the Robin thing.

[signifies]

[ Clark's not sure he really gets it either. They're too young to be roaming around with the kind of criminals Dick's described. ]

Would you like to, right now?

[fingerstripes]

[ Clark earns a trademark Grayson Smile for that; surprised and delighted. ]

You even need to ask?

[signifies]

Since we're already up here... [ He smiles warmly. ] Shall we?