The BatHaven Series: (Not So) Sweet Sixteen

by seby

Pairing: Batman/Robin

Catagory: slash, Het,

Rating: PG to NC-17

Summary: This is a Bruce Wayne /Dick Grayson slash series that will eventually pair Batman and Robin. But not yet! Bruce has *some* decorum and Dick is just turning 16 - not legal! So Dick finds "it" elsewhere... There will be shagging! Special thanks to the World's Best Beta, nw's chick.

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys. I just play with them.

Dick dropped his backpack on the floor of the foyer on his way to the kitchen. Alfred would be making dinner soon, which meant there might be something good to snack on.

"Hey Al, I'm home from school," he said to an empty kitchen. Hey, where's Al? he thought, opening the 'fridge. Without someone to reprimand him, he headed for the really good stuff, snatching a handful of Alfred's family recipe chocolate chip cookies and taking a huge swig from the gallon of chocolate milk.

Shoving the rest of the cookies in his mouth, he wiped his hands on his shirt and washed everything down with more milk from the gallon, before wiping off the neck of the container and putting it back in the 'fridge.

Grabbing the back of his shirt between his shoulder blades, he yanked it off and tossed it on the floor by the stairs in one fluid motion on his way through the foyer. Maybe Bruce is home, he wondered on the way to the study, just as the phone began to ring. Speak of the devil, I'll bet, he smirked as he picked up the hall phone.

"Wayne residence."

"Dick? This is Bruce."

"Yeah, I figured. Whassup?"

"Enunciate, Richard. I take it Alfred has not returned?"

"Nope. Where's he at?"

"Commissioner Gordon's daughter will be staying at Wayne Manor while her parents are taking a cruise and some work is being done on their house." Bruce's voice dropped into The Bat timbre. "Exercise extreme caution concerning any business. Be sure not to use any cave access routes that could be discovered by a curious guest. I also suggest you remove any Robin gear you may have left around the Manor."

Dick inwardly sighed and rolled his eyes. "How long's she gonna be here 'n where's Al?"

"Alfred took her parents to the airport and is collecting her luggage. Perhaps you have some English or grammar homework needing your attention?"

This time the sigh was audible. "Seeya later." This chick better not be a pest, he thought, tossing the phone and grabbing his backpack. Heading toward the stairs, he stopped and bent over to grab his shirt just as the front door opened.

Glancing past his knees, his eyes found a slim pair of ankles. Following the shapely legs up past the trim waist, firm breasts and red hair, his eyes stopped at the beautiful brown eyes looking at his... Hey! She's checking out my butt! he thought, as her full lips curved into a smile.

Standing up and twirling around, using his shirt to cover his naked chest, he flushed as he stammered "Ummm, hel- ah, hello, Umm, I ah, just.. I was just..."

"Master Dick, I'm sorry I was not here when you arrived. May I please introduce Miss Barbara Gordon," Alfred said with a slightly amused smile on his face. "Miss Gordon, please meet Master Richard Grayson, Master Wayne's ward."

"Hello, Richard," she said, extending her hand. "I'm sorry if I surprised you." Her eyes twinkled as they briefly glanced down to his bare chest.

"Umm, yeah. Hi," he shook her hand, "Call me Dick, Miss Gordon."

"Please, Dick, it's Barbara," she smiled again.

"K." His teenage hormones were beginning to get the best of him. "I've got some homework," he mumbled, heading up the stairs.

"Master Dick, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I was hoping you could assist with the luggage. But of course, I wouldn't want to interfere with your studies. Perhaps I'll just..."

"No. No. No problem, Al, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I'll just, um.. get dressed... I mean changed. Be right back."

He could swear he heard soft giggling as he ran up the stairs. Man, Bruce didn't tell me she was good looking, and older than me! This could be fun, or complicated!

Heading down the third floor hallway, Dick barely noticed the gothic architecture of the building he now called home. He loved living at Wayne Manor. Its remote location made it great to be able to relax and let his guard down, not having to be "constantly vigilant," as Batman was always demanding. Slowly, Bruce, Alfred and Dick had become a close "family." Not the typical one, but neither was his life before, as one-third of the famous "Flying Graysons" and a happy part of the unique family of circus folk.

It seems like so much longer than six years ago, he thought, opening his bedroom door. He stopped for a moment at his desk, looking down at the last photo of himself with his parents. Bruce had been at the circus the night Dick watched his parents fall to their deaths from an intentionally damaged trapeze. Bruce had taken the 10-year-old in when he learned Dick planned revenge against Tony Zucco, the man who had ordered his parents' deaths.

Digging through the neatly folded jeans in his drawer, he found his favorite pair and stuffed the rest back, trying to shove the drawer shut without refolding anything. He saw the glint of a batarang at the bottom of the drawer and remembered when Bruce first shared his history. Bruce told Dick he knew how to get revenge, but also knew what getting it did to a soul. Bringing Dick to the safe haven of Wayne Manor and sharing his secret life as Batman was his way of helping a boy that reminded Bruce so much of his own childhood. Bruce admitted he had shared his mission because he had hoped Dick wouldn't choose the same path of destruction as Bruce felt he had chosen.

Dick had learned that Bruce's accomplishments as a vigilante hadn't softened the pain he felt when his parents were murdered in front of him when he was only 6 years old. Bruce had confessed he believed Dick would suffer as he did if the boy followed the same lonely path Bruce had chosen years before.

Looking again at the well-worn batarang, he thought of the years training with Batman. Was it, perhaps, because of Dick's older orphaned age that he eventually sought justice, instead of revenge? Maybe it was because of his more easy-going personality, or the compassion he had inherited from his father. Whatever the reason, earning that justice as Robin, Dick knew he had found closure, and a new purpose that helped him honor his dead parents, yet bond with his new guardian. Dick knew despite the fact he and Bruce shared a similar past, his spirit greatly differed from the serious, older man. And he enjoyed how much his presence helped "lighten up" the vengeful vigilante.

"We're good for each other," he had told Batman. "Even though you can be a pain in the butt!"

Batman's eyebrow had shot up as he responded with a nearly invisible smile: "So can you, chum."

Dick reflected on this history as he threw on a Gotham Knights tshirt, leaving his school slacks and shirt in a heap on the floor. He wondered if the addition of Miss Barbara Gordon would upset the Wayne Manor balance that had taken years to form. On the other hand, it can get a little boring around here when Bruce is working or attending those stupid benefits and Robin can't fly on his own...

He gave a huff of impatience before shoving the batarang back under his clothes. Dick found it difficult to tolerate the "control freak" side of Bruce, while Bruce was sure he would never understand Dick's "free spirit" attitude. When the "free spirit" hit his teenage years, Bruce kept an even tighter hold on Dick, which seemed to increase in direct proportion to the number of years Dick had been a teenager.

Turning to leave, he huffed again, before stooping to pick up the clothes and toss them on a nearby chair. Alfred was a strict guardian as well, although he provided the nurturing as needed when Dick was hurt, sick or simply emotionally drained. And with Bruce being so fiercely driven and finding Dick's somewhat reckless nature completely unacceptable, Dick was often in need of emotional rescue.

Although Dick's freewheeling lifestyle as a circus gypsy had already been firmly established before coming to Wayne Manor, sometimes Dick felt Bruce and Alfred were trying to "discipline" it right out of him. As his teenage hormones increased, so did his battles with the guardians he sometimes accused of "never having any fun." He loved his missions with Batman, but the Caped Crusader constantly harped that "It isn't fun, it's dangerous."

Maybe Barbara will liven things up, he thought as he flipped over the stairway railing to the floor, landing in time to see a glare from Alfred and hear a gasp from Barbara. On the other hand, she is the Commissioner's daughter, so maybe she'll be uptight, too.

"Wow! Can I try that, Alfred?"

"I think not," came the stiff reply, as Barbara's smiling eyes met Dick's and they both laughed.

"I'll show ya how later," Dick winked, glad to learn there wasn't going to be one more "uptight" person to obey.

END PART 1

To be continued...

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