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[hackingyoursensors]

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[hackingyoursensors]

[ Dick shows up after school ends for the day, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

He rings the bell. ]

[batsymbol]

( the first thing he'll hear is the overexcited barks from a familiar pup who comes barreling his way for the door. a few seconds later, bruce is there, answering the door around a barking pup whose tail starts wagging furiously when he sees dick there. )

Hey.

( making sure to step aside while cocoa bear scampers to dick, he opens the door wider for them to come inside. )

[hackingyoursensors]

Hey.

[ Dick grins and immediately crouches down to give the puppy some pets. Although he's smiling, he seems a little guarded and is more than a little taciturn.

When Bruce steps aside, Dick enters with the puppy trailing excitedly after him. He'd already seen part of the penthouse during the party, but this is his first time seeing it as a home instead of a venue. ]

Where do you want me?

[batsymbol]

( letting the door fall shut as he stands there, he's quiet for a moment before he turns to look at the other; it's not hard to miss this isn't exactly the most happiest of visits. )

Depends.

( he lets his hands slide into his pockets as he eyes dick. quiet, again, for a moment. )

Do you want a floor to yourself?

[hackingyoursensors]

[ Dick shrugs. ]

Not really.

[ Jason asked him the same question back in NYC. His answer is the same now-- a floor to himself would be (lonely) boring. ]

[batsymbol]

You can stay with me if you want. Diana's a couple floors above me and then Kyle took the top floor.

( bear, of course, goes where he wants. )

[hackingyoursensors]

[ Dick looks at Bruce, a little guarded. ]

Only if you want me to.

[batsymbol]

I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't.

( because when does bruce ever do that? )

[hackingyoursensors]

[ Dick still looks uncertain. ]

If you're sure.

[ Normally, he'd take Bruce at his word, but he's feeling pretty ditched by his current (former?) guardian. ]

[batsymbol]

( jason's going to have a lot of making up to do between kyle and dick here it seems, but. in the meantime, bruce just turns some, hands in his pockets. )

Are you hungry or anything? I can order in.

( bruce? cook? absolutely not. )

[hackingyoursensors]

[ He's not particularly hungry, but Dick knows this is Bruce's way of showing his care. And he'll probably be hungry soon anyway. ]

Sure.

[ Dick sets down his duffel bag in an out-of-the-way place and gives Cocoa Bear a few extra pets. ]

[batsymbol]

What are you in the mood for?

( since it's not as if he knows everything dick likes when it comes to food. )

[hackingyoursensors]

[ Dick shrugs. ]

I'll eat almost anything.

[ He's feeling a little sullen, so he's not his usual decisive, cheerful self. ]

[batsymbol]

( bruce can tell and he's not sure what to do about it. )

Why don't you and Bear go and sit in the living room then and I'll order something. ( a beat. ) You can watch whatever you want.

[hackingyoursensors]

Sure. C'mon, buddy.

[ Dick leaves the room with Bear trotting along behind him. ]

[batsymbol]

( bruce lingers there, watching as they go, feeling at a loss with how to cheer the kid up. the disappointment he feels with jason is heavy, but he's not about to suit up and chase after him — look for him when he has kyle and dick here needing some place to be where neither are alone with these feelings. with their own disappointments and hurt.

he takes a few minutes to order something for not only the two of them but for kyle and diana as well, if they want, bruce making his way into the living room after with hands in his pockets. )

Hope Chinese is ok?

[hackingyoursensors]

[ Dick is petting the puppy absently and has turned on the news, though he's not paying attention to it. He looks up when Bruce enters the room. ]

Yeah, that's fine.

[batsymbol]

( that's fine, he says, and bruce just slowly nods. quiet. until he's finally moving over to sit there on the couch with dick, slow in the way he descends, hands slipping out of his pockets as he does so. a glance to the television, he looks over to dick then — down to bear who's clearly enjoying the attention. )

I'm sorry about this.

[hackingyoursensors]

[ Dick shakes his head. ]

It's not your fault. It was Jason's decision to leave.

[ He turns his attention back to Bear. ]

He'll be back. Eventually.

[batsymbol]

That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

( he keeps his words soft — keeps his gaze on dick there. )

[hackingyoursensors]

[ He looks up at Bruce. ]

I know he'll be back. And he told me he was leaving. It just felt different this time.

[batsymbol]

Yeah.

( if he and jason are supposedly so much alike, he... has a bit of an idea of what might have caused this sudden disappearance. maybe. if only because he's done something similar to diana. but that's exactly why he's disappointed in jason for this. because he knows better. )

This isn't about you, ok? ( he feels the need to try and reassure dick of that. in case it needs to be said. ) I need you to know that.

[hackingyoursensors]

What makes you so sure of that?

[ Dick doesn't think he did anything to drive Jason away, but he's not so sure Jason's departure had nothing to do with him. ]