Chapter Text
“GUYS GUYS GUYS LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!” Hal bursts into Oliver’s room grinning wildly.
“And that was 15 minutes.. HA!! Hand over the cash Ollie.” Diana grins triumphantly. Oliver scowls but hands over a wad of bills that could easily cover Hal’s rent for the next 2 years.
“Did.. did you guys make a bet on me?” Hal asks momentarily distracted.
“Well originally they were gonna bet on Barry but Barry actually showed up on time for once.” Clark grins,
“Is.. is that a letter?” Barry points at the crinkled piece of paper in Hal’s hands.
“Oh yeah holy fuck. I found this in the trash can!”
“Why were you rooting through a trash can?” Oliver frowns at him.
“Shut up, that's not the point here.”
“No I think that kinda is the point. Is that why you were late? Because you were looking through trash?” Clark asks skeptically.
“I’m not a scavenger. I just saw notebook paper and I got curious okay!“ Hal snaps,
“Hal why the fuck is notebook paper so important?” Diana sounds tired.
“Because it has a letter to Batman on it!!” That get’s everyone's attention. Within seconds the paper is ripped out of Hal’s hands. “HEY BE GENTLE WITH IT!”
“You’re saying this was just thrown in the trashcan up here?” Barry asks being the fastest reader.
“This is actually kinda sweet..” Diana says once she’s done reading.
“Where’s the first half of it?” Oliver asks, flipping the paper over.
“Beats me. I’m assuming the person must have trashed it someplace else.” Hal shrugs,
“I wonder who this guy named Dick is…” Clark says handing the paper back to Hal.
“That’s what I wanna know too! I was so close to asking Bats about it but I feel like that wouldn’t end well.” Hal says sheepishly.
“Thank god your common sense kicked in. I was starting to worry you didn’t have any.” Oliver snickers,
“Clearly this ‘Dick’ guy didn’t want Batman to read the letter. It would be pretty damn dumb to show it to Batman if he didn’t want him to see it.” Clark muses,
“But if the person threw it out here that means the person has access to the Watchtower right? They must be one of us then.” Diana continues,
“And what’s this thing about missing parents? What does that have to do with anything? Why mention it to Batman?” Barry looks at the letter while Hal reads it over again.
“Guys, do you really think we should be trying to hunt this person down? Clearly if they threw the paper out it was for a reason. Plus the watchtower is humongous! There’s no way we’ll be able to find the person.” Oliver argues,
“You don’t think one of Batman’s kids wrote this? Do you?” Clark asks as if Oliver never said anything.
“You really think any of them are sentimental enough for a letter like this? And honestly I don’t think Red Robin, Red Hood, or Robin would have a name like ‘Dick’ ” Barry counters,
“Yeah I agree. All of them can be dicks. But none of them seem like a ‘Dick’ ” Hal agrees,
“You guys do know that Dick is a nickname for Richard right?” Diana asks dryly. There was silence.
“Of course we knew that Diana.”
“Honestly, how stupid do you think we are?”
“Guys did you not hear me at all? We shouldn’t be doing this. Give me that.” Oliver grabs the piece of paper from Hal’s hand and starts walking over to the shredder. In record speed both Clark and Barry get in his way.
“Don’t throw it out Ollie!”
“Why the fuck not? Hal literally found it in the trash can!” Oliver argues,
“Shredding it and throwing it in the trash are two different things. You’re trying to shred it.” Clark glares at him,
“Yeah because you guys want to hunt this poor guy down and force him to give the letter HE THREW OUT, to Batman!” Oliver snaps,
“Dude what? We’re not trying to hunt this guy down.” Hal exclaims,
“Then what the fuck are you trying to do?”
“Oliver listen. We’re all CURIOUS about who this guy is, but we’re not gonna hunt down some random hero and have him hand this over to Batman. We don’t even know where the 1st half of the letter is.” Diana explains,
“That’s great but then what are you trying to do?” Oliver repeats,
“I’m not really sure, but you can’t shred the letter Ollie.” Barry says adamantly. “Whoever wrote that wrote it down for a reason. And honestly… I think we should give it to Batman.”
“YOU LITERALLY JUST SAID THAT YOU WOULDN’T GIVE IT TO HIM!”
“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!”
“BARRY WHAT THE FUCK?”
“Guys wait hear me out.”
“Did you not read the goddamn letter? The person literally said that they can’t handle the look on Batman’s face if he knew!” Hal snaps,
“Yeah but what are the odds that this is somebody Batman actually knows really well? Think about it guys! This place is huge! Half of us don’t know each other's identities. Maybe this is just some minor hero that Batman saved as a kid or something.” Barry argues,
“That still doesn’t mean we should give the letter to Batman.” Clark frowns,
“Guys come on. Think about it. Batman is well.. Batman. He’s gloomy and I think the letter will cheer him up a bit.”
“Batman’s ALWAYS gloomy Barry.” Hal deadpans,
“Yeah okay but honestly… this letter is sweet. It’s genuine. And think about it. The person didn’t want to give it to Batman personally because he didn’t want to deal with the Bat’s reaction. Which honestly I don’t blame the person but..” Barry takes a breath. “If WE gave the letter, than the person would never know that Batman got it.”
“Then Batman would know that this guy appreciates him without the person ever knowing that Batman knows.” Diana finishes,
“Exactly!! Plus Batman is damn good at hiding all semblance of emotion from his face. I’m sure he’d be just as gruffy as usual around this person so there would be no way to tell!” Barry exclaims eagerly.
“So let me get this straight. You want to play platonic cupid between Batman and whoever this ‘Dick’ guy is.” Oliver says skeptically.
“Look if you’re so against it why don’t we ask one of the Robins? I’m sure they’ll be able to give the letter to Batman.” Barry offers,
“Yeah and they might even know who this Dick-guy is!” Clark agrees,
“Seriously Clark? You too?” Oliver scowls,
“Why would the Robins know this random guy?” Hal asks curiously.
“Think about it. Whoever wrote the letter is clearly somebody that Batman interacts with, considering the person is worried about Batman’s reaction. It would make sense then that the Robins would at least know of the person right?” Diana explains,
“Yeah that.. That does make sense actually…” Hal replies thoughtfully. There was silence as they all stare at Oliver. He still had the letter in his hand.
“Fine. Let’s go talk to the Robins.” Oliver sighs,
They found all 3 of Batman's Robins together, which Barry said meant that it was a sign from the universe that they were on the right track. Oliver vehemently disagreed.
“Honestly Hood, do you have no self-preservation instincts at all? Or did they all get burned away by the Lazarus Pit.” Red Robin sighs from where he's bandaging Hood’s arm. The older was sitting on one of the medical cots in the Watchtower’s medbay.
“I honestly don't think they ever existed at this point.” Robin snickers, Red Hood scowls at them.
“Well if you two idiots hadn’t ignored the goddamn flying SAW coming your way, then MAYBE I would of cared more for your opinions.” Red Hood snaps,
“Hey guys!” Diana interrupts their sibling squabble.
“Oh uh… hi… everyone…” Red Robin trails off uneasily as the rest of them filter into the room. There was silence.
“Did you guys need something? Because if you can't tell, Batman isn't here.” Red Hood deadpans, though without his helmet's modulator he sounds far less scary than he usually would.
“We weren't looking for Batman. We were actually looking for one of you guys.” Barry replies,
“You were looking for one of us?” Robin asks dubiously.
“Well yeah… we um…we wanted you guys to give something to Batman.” Clark answers,
“You wanted us to give Batman something on your behalf?” Red Robin repeats sounding even more suspicious.
“Are you guys parrots or Robins? Yes we need you to give him something.” Diana snaps, losing her patience. “Show them the letter Green Arrow.”
Oliver pulls out the crumpled piece of paper.
“Did.. did you guys write Batman a love letter?” Robin asks incredulously.
“What no! This isn't even from us! Someone else wrote it and it’s not a love letter!” Hal snaps defensively. The 3 birds exchange looks.
“Somebody else wrote Batman a letter and then asked all of you guys to deliver it to us so that we can get it to him? ” Red Hood looks like he doesn't believe them.
“Yeah that sounds like an awful lot of trouble just to get a message to Batman.” Red Robin agrees, Well considering the guy didn't even want Batman to see this…
“Can you guys give the letter to Batman or not?” Oliver sighs already done with this.
“Well… that depends on what's in it…” The letter is suddenly in Robin's hand. Oliver looks blankly between his now empty hand and all the birds who were reading the letter.
“There's no introduction. How do you know it's for our father?” Robin demands,
“You know this handwriting is kinda familiar…” Red Hood trails off as he looks over Robin's shoulder.
“Robin, if you're gonna hog the whole thing just read it out loud.” Red Robin complains, his younger brother gives him a look but starts reading.
“And I've never really admitted this to anyone, but I don't think I would. Trade I mean. And I don't think I'm ready to see your face if I TOLD you that. Which is why I'm never gonna send this letter.”
“Woah woah woah. Never gonna send this letter? Why the hell are we.”
“Shut up Hood!” Red Robin hisses, “Let him finish!”
“I miss my parents with my whole heart, Batman I do. But I wouldn't trade this for the world. Love, Dick .”
There was a long pause.
“So you guys think you can give it to Batman?” Clark asks,
“Why the hell is it so crinkled up? Did.. did you guys find this in the trash can? ” Red Hood demands,
“Well yeah but…”
“Ignoring the fact that one of you was hunting through a literal garbage can.” Red Robin sighs pinching the bridge of his nose as if he was an exhausted parent, “WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU TAKE IT OUT?!”
“Well we…”
“Why on earth did you read it when you found out it was something personal?” Robin asks incredulously,
“And after you read it, why the hell did you think it was a smart idea to give it to Batman when Dick clearly doesn't want Batman to read it?” Red Hood continues,
“Okay first of all. I took it out, out of curiosity.” Hal jumps in,
“2nd of all you nosy brats read the entire thing too so you have no room to talk.” Oliver snaps,
“And as for Batman, we figured that as long as Dick doesn't know that Batman knows, it'll be fine! Batman will get the message and act like his usual constipated self around whoever the fuck this Dick-guy is and it'll be fine.” Barry finishes, all of them are very proud of the fact that the Robins seem too stunned to respond.
“You know.. They do have a point..” Red Robin finally says,
“Are you out of your mind? This was clearly thrown out for a reason!” Robin snaps,
“Yeah but why was it thrown out? There’s nothing bad in it.” Clark retorts, “I highly doubt Batman will take offense to anything in this.”
“Where’s the rest of the letter?” Red Hood asks curiously.
“No clue. It must have been thrown out someplace else. This is all we have.” Hal shrugs,
“Then maybe you should throw it back out.” Robin snaps,
“Robin, think about it! It’s not gonna hurt anybody! If anything it might actually help.” Barry replies,
“Richard will go ballistic if he finds out we gave this to Batman behind his back.” Robin argues,
“Well yeah which is why you need to be sneaky and-”
“Wait a minute. You guys know the guy who wrote the letter?” Oliver interrupts Clark. There was silence as both Red Robin and Red Hood glare at their younger brother.
“Way to be subtle about it demon.” Red Hood scowls,
“Wait so Batman actually knows the person who wrote this letter?” Diana repeats,
“Yeah… yeah he does. We all know him actually.” Red Robin confirms hesitantly.
“Well does Batman meet this guy often?” Clark presses,
“Uh… kinda? It’s usually an on and off thing.” Red Hood scratches the back of his head sounding uncomfortable.
“Well then it’ll be fine. As long as they don’t see eachother like.. Every week… we can still give Batman the letter.” Hal replies, the birds all exchange uneasy looks. Wait… does Spooky meet this Richard-guy every week?
“Oh there’s no way in hell Batman is getting this letter.” Red Robin declares,
“What? But you guys said..”
“We said that it depends on the contents of the letter. This is something we cannot deliver.” Red Hood interrupts, he takes the letter from Robin and with his good arm offers it back to them.
“You can’t be serious. You’re refusing to give this letter just because you know the person who wrote it? Really?” Oliver frowns, surprised by the turn of events.
“We’re not gonna send an incredibly emotional letter to Batman when he can’t even deal with surface level emotions Green Arrow.” Red Robin deadpans,
“Yeah which is exactly why we should give it to Batman. It’ll help with the emotional constipation if he actually deals with emotions.” Clark counters,
“Dick literally threw it out! He wrote in the letter that he was never going to send it. Sending it would be a shitty thing to do.” Red Hood frowns,
“Why are you guys so against this? The letter isn’t going to hurt anybody!”
“It could though!” Robin snaps,
“How? How could it possibly?”
“Batman isn’t good with emotions. We all know that. The reason Dick didn't send this is because he KNOWS that Batman won’t be able to absorb it properly.” Red Robin argues,
“Please. If anything this’ll help Batman. It’ll help him see the good things besides his doom and gloom spiel.” Diana replies, with barely concealed annoyance.
“Sending the letter shouldn’t even be a discussion because none of us should of read it in the first place.” Red Hood scowls,
“Read what in the first place?” Batman’s voice should not have startled them. They all got startled.
“What the fuck is the point of you being a kryptonian with superpowers…. IF YOU CAN’T HEAR BATMAN WHEN WE NEED TO HEAR HIM!?!” Hal screams at Clark. Clark just scowls at him with nothing to say.
“What is that?” Batman snatches the sheet of paper out of Red Hood's outstretched hand that none of them had bothered to grab.
“WAIT DON'T!” Both Robin and Red Robin launch themselves at Batman. Red Hood just bites his lip looking worried while his two younger brothers try to grab the sheet of paper. Batman just holds it high enough above their heads that they can’t reach. When he’s done reading he’s silent.
“B… you good?” Red Hood asks,
“Where did you find this?” Batman's voice is quiet, almost wavering at the edges.
“It was-”
“It was crumpled up in the trash can.” Hal interrupts, Batman turns to him, all 3 of the birds behind him look panicked.
“It was?” Batman sounds oddly wounded. Behind his back all 3 of his sons are doing the neck cut gesture. What the hell is their problem??
“Um… well.. It…” Hal stutters but Batman doesn’t wait for a response. He looks down at the letter again and then walks out silently, taking it with him.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” Red Hood screams once all of them are positive Batman is gone.
“WHY WOULD YOU TELL HIM IT WAS IN THE TRASH CAN?!?” Robin shouts,
“Because it’s the truth! He’s not an idiot! The paper is crumpled and wrinkled! Half the letter is literally missing! If we didn’t tell him he would of figured it out himself!” Oliver argues,
“Oh my god you guys are so dense sometimes.” Red Robin grumbles,
“We’re dense? I don’t understand why you’re so upset! Batman barely reacted!” Diana counters,
“Barely.. Barely reacted?! Are you kidding me?” Robin demands incredulously.
“No, you guys are reading into things that aren’t there. He read the letter and he left with it.” Barry says firmly, “That’s all.”
“But..”
“Honestly I don’t understand why you guys were so worried about his reaction. Everything is fine! He read the letter, he got the message and then he left.” Oliver agrees,
“Well… I mean… he um…”
“He even took the letter with him! Why would he take the letter if he didn't like it?” Diana adds,
“I'm with them. What was so scary about that?” Clark questions, all 3 birds exchange a look. When they turn back, they look sorrowful. I don’t get it. Why are they sad??
“Well uh… the thing is that… um… Batman and Dick got into a fight like 2 days ago…” Red Hood finally says,
“It was a bad fight. They both said things they didn’t really mean.” Robin continues, there was something miserable in his tone that made the adults want to bundle him up in blankets. I always forget that these guys are just kids…
“I’m sorry but I still don’t understand. The letter proves that whatever was said doesn’t mean anything because Dick still loves him.” Diana says gently.
“No.... That… that would be true but… but the letter was in the trash can and it was crumpled up…. you know…” Red Robin trails off, it takes a minute for the realization to sink in. The heartfelt letter to Batman was in the trashcan after the fight.
Oh fuck.