Batbros Forever

Tarnished Gold

A/N Requested by Debbie. I hope you enjoy ;D

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Dick Grayson was a good kid. The golden child of his family. He followed orders. Never talked back. He didn't even raise his voice if he could help it. Which was what made the shouting match in The Cave so bizarre.

"I don't know what the big deal is." Dick griped, not caring that all his siblings plus Babs and Steph were present and milling around. "Really?" Bruce replied. "You skipped school to go to an underage drinking party, and you don't think there's a problem?"

"For the tenth time, I wasn't drinking. Besides, I have perfect attendance. I could afford to miss one day of class." Dick argued. "You missed an exam worth 30% of your final grade." Bruce reminded him. "So I'll ask for a make-up." Dick shrugged. "My teacher loves me."

"That's not the point!" Bruce snapped, stopping to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Just when I thought you could act your age..."

"Don't act like this is about maturity." Dick huffed. "This is about the fact that you can't handle me making my own decisions."

"Is that what this is about?" Bruce laughed dryly. "Well, if you're old enough to make your own decisions, you're old enough to suffer the consequences. You are grounded and benched from patrol for the next week."

"That's not fair!" Dick protested as Bruce began to walk away. "Two weeks." Bruce decreed, his temper rising. "You can't do this." The teen objected. "I'm not a little kid anymore. You can't just–"

"Richard!" Bruce barked, and The Cave went still. Bruce and Dick were both red in the face as they stared each other down.

"I don't want to see you in this Cave for the next three weeks, Richard." Bruce said in a low menacing growl. "Leave your phone right here and go to your room. I'll dole out the rest of your punishment when I get home."

Dick looked at the rest of his family in turn, waiting for one of them to stand up for him, say something, show that they were on his side, but they all stay quiet. Even Barbara and Stephanie, who Bruce couldn't technically punish, refused to even make eye contact.

Dick slammed his phone down next to the Bat-computer and stormed out of The Cave with such fury that his stomping footsteps could be heard as he made his way upstairs.

III

Dick snuck back down to The Cave as soon as the others were gone. With Alfred off in England for the week, it wasn't even hard.

In minutes he was suited up and grappling through the city. He wasn't even looking for trouble. The only thing on Dick's mind was blowing off steam, and what better way than sailing between buildings and falling through the air. Eventually, he got tired and stopped to rest and think.

How could Bruce ground him for almost a month for just going to some stupid party? He was nearly eighteen. He didn't need to ask permission to go have fun. And for Bruce to accuse him of not acting his age?! This was exactly what kids his age did! Bruce just didn't get it.

The sound of movement below pulled Dick from his thoughts. Three men were talking in hushed tones in the ally down below, and while he could make out everything they said, he heard the three most important. Guns. Sale. Tonight. That was all Nightwing needed to hear.

He jumped down from his perch into the circle of thugs, ready to take the rest of his daddy rage out on them. Nightwing retched for his escrima sticks only to realize he'd left them in The Cave. In fact, he'd left his entire utility belt.