Batfic Drabble: Shattered (Bruce, Dick)

[lady_bug_kay]

Drabble: Shattered

Author: ladybugkay

Pairing: Bruce/Dick or just Bruce, Dick
Summary: Bruce fires Dick.

Word Count: 100

Disclaimer: DC owns them, but I like to borrow them from their sandbox. Don’t sue me.

 

Dick is eating breakfast in the kitchen when Bruce informs him that he will have no further need of Robin.

 

The glass of orange juice in Dick’s hand is still halfway to his mouth, and he finds himself staring at it curiously.

 

For a moment, he considers throwing it at the wall, but as he examines it, he realizes that the pattern in the glass is really quite beautiful, and he doesn’t want to see it broken into shards and strewn all over the floor.

 

He sets the glass gently back on the table and does not look at Bruce.

Comments

[bradygirl_12]

Ouch, ouch, OUCH!

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know. But it was such a mean thing for Bruce to do in the first place.

[bradygirl_12]

I was horrified when I heard about this years ago. Bruce has no people skills! *shakes head*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Oh, so sad! I can't believe Bruce could be so cruel though. It has to be a mistake!

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Except that it isn't, which makes it so much worse.

[loopylouise123.livejournal.com]

*winces* Ouch!

Nicely done!

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And I know: painful. But it had to have been painful for Dick to have Bruce fire him, no matter how you want to say it went down. Bad Bruce.

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I wanted to make everything under the surface and restrained. But still hurtful because it was such a hurtful thing to do to poor Dick whom we all love to cuddle.

Guerilla Fic #6

[demon-faith.livejournal.com]

Beat the sun. That sounded like a good idea. Clark liked the sun, but Bruce preferred the night. Unfortunately, so did the bad guys.

His ankle gave way and he ended up in a heap on the street. Dick tried to drag him up again but his leg wouldn't support his weight, and he ended up clutching pathetically to Dick's legs. I am Batman – see me fall.

"I'm going to carry you," Dick declared, out of breath but still sporting a smile. Dick always smiled.

Bruce allowed himself to be thrown over Dick's shoulder, hearing Dick grunt with the effort but unable to tell him to put him down. No longer forced to walk, Bruce found the world seemed to dim and then it went away.

~

Re: Guerilla Fic #6

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

Oh. OH!

>>I am Batman - see me fall.

The simple, Dr. Seuss-like phrasing here is exquisitely indicative of Batman's growing incoherence. It's such a great way to show the extent of his injuries. Plus, I like to see Batman on the ground in front of Nightwing. *grins*

As for Dick smiling, I love that image. He smiles in spite of his own pain, which he hides from Bruce, and I love both these self-sacrificing Bats so much. *hugs them tightly and squishes them together*

[bradygirl_12]

Oh, oh!

Dick smiling!

Yes!

I agree with you, Ladybug, about the Dr. Seuss-like words here.

[realpestilence.livejournal.com]

It might not occur to Bruce that a few simple words expressing his concern for Dick-anything from not wanting him to be killed, which has registered as a very real possibility now, to wanting him to have a better life-might have made all the difference in how Dick took this. He would still have been upset, but he'd know it was from love and care, not just rejection for not being good enough any more.

I wonder how he phrased it, in canon? I've not read that. But I don't expect it was much better than a bald dismissal. D:


I love Dick's maturity here, not wanting to break something beautiful in a fit of anger and disappointment.

[ladybugkay.livejournal.com]

In canon, I believe it was equally quite abrupt and relatively unexplained.

I'm so glad you liked this one, because I think it's probably the best of the drabbles I wrote way back when I started writing fanfic. Surprisingly, I still think it's pretty good.