riverviewlogs | ask me no questions, I'll tell you no jokes

Entry tags:

ask me no questions, I'll tell you no jokes

who: Dick Grayson and YOU
what: TDM prompts and assorted starters
when: July 20 - August 1
where: everywhere
warnings: possible violence, monster fighting, bat angst

1. "When you live by the ruler you die inch by inch"

[ He's off duty now but still in his police uniform, bearing a growing collection of corrosive holes to show for it as the first fat drops sputter from the sky.

Still, he's undeterred. For once undeterred by thoughts of secrecy and masks as he climbs roofs and roadways, rescuing belongings, clothing hung out to dry, and the occasional beloved pet left out in a high spot.

He balances carefully, one-handed, cradling a small, struggling fox under one arm as he glances back for the frantic woman below who'd been directing him a moment before. ]

I miss anybody?

2. "Tell me your story, shovel the dirt"

[ Bearing an extra layer of protective gear over the Nightwing suit feels a little like overkill, but gear up he does for another sweep of the city after nightfall. Riverview's population tends to be unusually savvy to the frequent infrastructural challenges faced by the city, but not everyone follows the crowds when they move, and he's here to round up anyone who apparently missed the memo.

And anyone he finds he descends on quickly, dropping out of the sky and directly into their intended path. ]

Come on, let's get you back inside.

3. "I'd swallow anything offered as truth"

[ He'd filed back into the jungle alongside one of the teams, bringing up the rear as the boar-like beasts started to cluster. They're fast and they're angry this time, which make fending them off exponentially harder as they learn the habits of the team. As they adjust to whatever curve balls they throw.

An hour in he'd decided to switch tactics, leading an angry cluster of them off in the opposite direction of the rest of the team. Anyone with sharp eyes might notice Nightwing isn't moving quite as fast upon his return; his movements a little stiff, his fighting style narrower. Closer to the ground.

Still he stays on his feet; bearing an unbroken focus that dares anyone to suggest he needs to sit down. ]

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[ Checking the ledger is a daily ritual by now, and the steady flow of people in an out has started to feel almost routine. The names that catch his eye have been few and far between, and he knows he should count himself lucky. Lucky that he can still look at it with some hope of objectively.

Today there's a name on the list that freezes the air in his chest. He doesn't believe it at first, stupidly, irrationally. He doesn't want it to be true, and so it isn't until a cold fist squeezes the disbelief out of his heart that he does.

He knows he has to pull himself together. That the sudden weight in his stomach, the tight lump in his throat is selfish.

And Jon. There's Jon to think about, and that's the crashing realization that finally startles away his numb sense of shock.

He doesn't know who Jon has. Who else he has other than them. He has to check. He has to know he isn't alone in the house, and that's the mumbled excuse he gives as he rushes out of the station, hours early.

It's around 7pm when Dick stops his bike outside of the Kent house, still in uniform as he takes the steps two at a time. Heart in his throat as he knocks on the front door, swift and firm. ]

Hey, Jon?

[ Jon hasn't gone out. Thankfully there's food and he's managed to scrounge up what he needs, but beyond that, he's stayed in his bed. The letter remains tightly closed in his hand, crumpled and blotched in places, but still legible. Jon didn't want to move. He didn't know what to do. He knows Miss Jones will be informed and maybe he would have to leave? Leave the house his father and mother got for him, for their family?

It was too much. Jon's never been alone and he's never felt the loss cut so keenly before. For a while, he considers ignoring the knock on his door. But his father wouldn't want that. Wiping his face from the drying tear marks, Jon quietly makes his way downstairs and opens the door slightly. ]

. . . Hey.

[ Dick can feel his face falling, and it's partly Jon's tear-streaked face. Partly the way the last little hope in his heart has to die with it.

He draws in a breath. Tries to rearrange his features into something reassuring. He's here for Jon, not himself. ]

Hey, kiddo. I-

I know "sorry" isn't gonna cover it, but... [ It's all anyone had had to say to him, once upon a time. ]

[ His shoulders hunch and he raises his head, determined to be stronger. ]

My dad is Superman. Sometimes that means having to go.

I know.

[ But the words steady him, probably more than they should. He'd needed to hear it.

His hand finds the boy's shoulder, offering a gentle squeeze. ]

But I think he'd probably tell us it's okay if we're not alright with that for a little while.

[ Jon shifts awkwardly. He's never hidden how he feels, but now, more than ever, he wants to keep it away from prying eyes. ]

Nothing about this is okay.

...No. It's not.

[ He'll see Clark when he gets home, and so will Jon. His Clark.

But this one. This one is gone.

He kneels down to Jon's level, blue eyes searching for his. ]

But you don't have to deal with it alone.

Don't I?

[ Jon can't help the streak of petulance and hurt. It's not directed at Dick, but Jon's feeling rather sore and lonely. ]

Everything about my life needs to be a secret.

[ It's not a reaction he finds surprising. Maybe it's easier for Jon to talk that part of it out. Rather than challenge it directly he nods. ]

That different now from the way it was at home?

[ It's actually an honest question, with no hint of patronizing sarcasm. ]

[ If it helps, Jon immediately looks contrite for speaking out. The Kent household values manners after all. ]

A little. Some people . . . Dad told some people. I know a few of them but the others . . . [ Jon trails off. ]

[ They were Clark's friends, not his. He'd lost his parents once. Been left alone with only strangers until he'd found Bruce. How would it have felt to lose him as Robin? To be left untethered to anything but a secret that wasn't entirely his to control? ]

...Right. [ His sigh is a little pained. ]

If it would help... I can do a little digging. So you can figure out whether... whether any of them are people you might want to get to know. [ Better to leave it an open question. ]

You'll be safe, Jon. [ Because Dick will die before he leaves him here unprotected. ]

[ Jon is never safe. It's something he's learned early on. While he's not beset with paranoia or the strict lives that the Bats lead, even he knows a little of the creeping fear that pervades their lives. He's had three different names before Jon could become Jon Kent. ]

Taako and Mr . . . Mr. Simon is okay. They know.

[ He can't use Bucky's name. Jon blinks a few tears from his eyes, struggling to keep calm. It hadn't been so long since Manchester Black and Jon confessing his fears to his father. ]

Are they gonna take me away because my parents aren't here anymore?

"They" don't get much of a say.

[ Dick says it firmly, decisively. ]

But you do, alright? [ And he stands up from his crouch, gently reaching out to guide Jon back into the house. The time has come for tea. ]

[ Despite himself, Jon's hand latches onto Dick's firmly, even a little too tight. ]

I dunno what to do. We've — we've never talked about this.

You don't have to decide anything right now. [ He gives Jon's hand a tight squeeze. ]

But you always have a place with us, if that's what you want.

Me and Tim. And Damian. [ Damian is anything but an afterthought, but the boys' relationship is a strange one and he's not entirely sure how comfortable Jon is with his company. He'll have to make a point of prying a little later on. ]

[ Damian. Damian's still here. Damian, the only person who really knows Jon. Unconsciously, Jon relaxes at that. He's not completely alone, even when Jon and Damian bicker constantly. He knows Damian better than that. ]

What kind of place?

We, uh- [ It hits him at once that he can't stash Jon in the lair. Not when he knows how much Clark had wanted his son kept away from that part of their lives.

And Damian needs stability. Dick knows he's been stalling. Resisting the compulsion to put down any roots at all in a place he knows he's leaving as soon as he can.

He'd envied Clark his ability to compartmentalize. Dick knows in his heart he's not doing his little brothers any favors by making them live in a state of flux. None of them know how much time they'll have here. ]

...We're working on that. We'll find something that works for everyone, and that includes you, Jon.

[ That doesn't fill Jon with confidence. He knows Batman has a very different way of doing things than his father and at times, it can be a point of contention. Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian . . . they're not Batman but they carry his mark. His way. A fresh wave of tears hits him again. He really is alone. ]

And if you don't?

No. Hey hey, it's okay. It's okay. [ Dick stops, kneeling down to rests his hands on the boy's shoulders, eyes filled with concern. ]

This isn't-

It's not the situation any of us wanted. But you're family too. And so is your mom and dad. [ His gaze doesn't waver. It's important for that to be clear. ]

You're not going to be alone. Not even for a day, Jon.

[ The doubt is clear in his gaze and it's going to take more than one conversation for a sentiment like that to register. But Jon keeps it to himself, nodding quietly. ]

Okay.

[ He knows it says volumes that Jon hasn't left this place. That he'd barricaded himself in the home Clark had made for him, holding that sense of safety close instead of running to him. To anyone for help. It's a feeling he can relate to.

It isn't fair, that he can't promise more. That even Clark couldn't promise, despite how overwhelmingly Dick knows he would have wanted to stay with his son. Dick misses him suddenly, intensely. Both Supermen that he's known and loved. He misses Bruce, as stupid and futile as he knows that is. Bruce, whatever his faults, would know what to say to Jon.

His eyes are prickling suddenly, which isn't a good look for anyone touting themselves as the grown adult in this situation. He holds out his arms wordlessly, offering and asking. ]

[ Jon bites back a quiet sob as he runs into Dick's arms, wrapping around them tightly. But the tears come regardless, staining his shoulder as Jon shakes as silently as he can muster. He's never been alone and now he was alone. Just like his father was, long ago. A cold murkiness settles over his heart that no amount of reassurance can fully dispel.

Here Jon was, the last of the House of El. The only Superman around. ]

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ask me no questions, I'll tell you no jokes

CLOSED to Jonathan Kent

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