Chapter Text
Dick POV
If Bruce found out, he’d kick me out. If Damian found out he’d “tt” and act like I was a freak. Tim probably wouldn’t care… he’s always looked up to me. Jason would look at me weird then say “whatever, who the hell cares?” and leave. Me? I was happy and nervous at the same time. Happy I had them, nervous someone would find out.
It was midnight on my night off and Bruce thought that I was out… which I was, just not in the way he thought.
I laughed as I darted past some pigeons. Many people would have no idea, but I’ve had wings since I was six. Big, pure white wings, about as big as my body, were stretched out behind me as I glided through the warm, summer air. I loved this; flying. It was certainly the best part of my life.
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A Month Later
I was preening my feathers, trying to get them straightened out before I went to sleep. They got tangled easily, messed up and when that happened, it got uncomfortable. I always kept my wings out when I slept; they were always tied up with an Ace bandage during the day. Preening took a long time though, which was probably the only reason Bruce found me with my wings out on my night off.
He walked in and gasped as soon as saw my wings. I knew I looked like a deer in the headlights as soon as he saw me. Looking for a way out, the only way I found was the window… which I’d have to go through Bruce who was standing closer to the end of my bed. He took a step towards me and I ran for the window. Before I could jump out, he grabbed me around the middle and pulled me back in.
“Please, Bruce, please! Don’t make me cut them off! I need to fly!” I knew I was hysterical, but I couldn’t face the possibility that he would make me stop flying; cut my wings. I barely registered that we were suddenly kneeling on the floor and he was comforting me as I sobbed.
Bruce’s POV
Dick was hysterically crying, panicking as I tried to calm him down. “Shhh, shhhhh. Never. I would never make you cut them off or stop flying. Shhhh, it’s okay Dick, you’re okay.” Finally Dick seemed to be calming down.
“I-I can s-still fly?” Dick looked up at me hopefully.
“Of course!” I replied. “But, how did you get wings?”
“They grew in when I was seven. My parents didn’t have wings… We never could figure out why I did, but I do.” He told me, seeming a bit unsure.
“So, what is flying like?” I asked, figuring that topic would be more… relaxed to him.
He immediately brightened up “Amazing. Completely amazing! It’s… it’s the best I’ve ever felt! Flying is freedom and it’s just so… wonderful.” He turned his head to me and his smile grew. “It’s incredible. There is no better feeling in the world.”
He turned and laid on his stomach, stretching his wings out behind him. I reached out and began to massage his back. When he was younger, his back would get sore from all the acrobatics tricks he would do. With his wings tied up during the day, his back must get sore. His wings fluttered before falling completely limp as he sighed. “That feels amazing!”
“Do you mind if I touch them?” I asked.
“Not at all. Just don’t pull out any feathers please. It hurts.” He replied, humming in contentment.
I rotated one of the wings in its socket, stretching it like I would when one of my sons needs to stretch their shoulders. “Mmmmmm.”
“They get sore from tying them back or whatever it is you do to hide them?” I asked him, laughing as he opened one eye to look at me.
“Yep. I wrap them to my back with an Ace bandage. They get unbelievably sore from it.” He fluttered his wings and sighed.
“Well, since I know now and, no doubt your siblings would be fine with it, why don’t you start leaving them out around the house?” I asked him.
He sat up and looked at me, grinning his usual grin “Really? You’d let me?!” He asked excitedly.
“Sure, just try not to knock anything over with them.” He grinned wider. I didn’t know that was even possible. Then, I was knocked over by a hug.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” He said. “Since it’s my night off but I’m answering your questions, can I go flying tomorrow? Pleeeeaaaaasssseeee Bruce?”
I hadn’t been planning on saying no, but at his look, I knew that even if I had, I couldn’t have. “Sure. Where do you usually fly? How long do you usually fly?”
“Ummm… Around. I don’t fly any particular place. And I usually just fly until one or two because I want to get back before you guys do.” He looked down and away from me “I was afraid you’d find out and make me stop flying or-or cut my wings off.”
“Never. You boys are my life. I would never be able to do any of you! I wouldn’t want to either.” I put my hand on his shoulder and then hugged him quickly. He always liked physical contact. “But, what were you doing when I came in? You stopped so soon I couldn’t really tell.”
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Dick’s POV
“I was preening.” I replied. At his confused look I continued “my wings get tangled, like a bird’s. It gets pretty uncomfortable, so I preen in the morning, as soon as I change if I don’t have to do it quickly, after I shower, and before I go to bed.” Bruce looked at me like that much? And I nodded. “My wings get so uncomfortable if I don’t that they seem like… they just don’t seem so incredible. More like an obstacle in life, a hindrance. I hate tying them up.” I looked up at him, feeling my eyes getting damp. “Dad, I hate it. It’s so uncomfortable. It hurts, Dad, it hurts.” A tear dripped down my face.
“Oh, Dick.” Bruce said, hugging me tightly as I cried. “Never. Don’t think that. You obviously love flying and your wings are a part of you. Keep them out around the house because, Dick, your wings are beautiful and should never be thought of as a burden.”
Once I finally calmed down again I asked him “So, when are we going to tell the others?”
“Whenever you want. How do you want to tell them?” Bruce asked.
I thought about it. “Not sure. I’m thinking of just walking down to breakfast with them out.” I grinned “Maybe it would even wake Jason up!”