I had a dream along these lines so

EDIT: TW BLOOD

He hated this. He hated being forced into this but he had to. Work was work and intel was intel. Bruce hadn't talked to the man in months. He thought it best not to. It often hurt too much pick up the phone to talk. Uttering a word felt like acid hitting his tongue. Part of him felt guilty for not talking to Dick. He was finally happy where he was, had a nice boyfriend who protected him, kept up with his family members and even did a good thing or two that often outweighed some of the worse stuff. Then the other part reminded him that Dick had turned away from the fight for justice and gave him the middle finger in the process. Perhaps he should've listened to Dick's ramblings better when they were on patrol together. Maybe there were hints that this was going to happen throughout the years and he just ignored them for peace of mind. No matter. That was behind him now and he couldn't change the past. All he could do was deal with it, bite his tongue and grit his teeth. Work was work and intel was intel. Only he didn't know where the intel would be. Hoping that the sixteenth time would be the charm, Bruce called Tim. "Heyyy-"

"What do you want?" Tim asked bluntly.

"Where's Dick? I just need to talk with him about a case connected to Bludhaven," he answered. The younger hummed skeptically. 

"Sure. Look, if I tell you where he is will you stop calling me?"

"I promise."

"'Cos that means anything," Tim muttered. "I won't tell you his base but I'll tell you where he'll be. The alley on main street in between the McDonalds and the book store at 3 am. If you miss him then you miss him."

"Got it. Thank you."

"Yeah yeah just don't go lecturing him. He's only got so much patience." So now he had a place. He just had to hope seeing Dick again would be worth the ache in his chest at losing his boy.

Batman was by the alley at 3 am exactly. His heart pounded against his chest as he looked down, awaiting any sort of movement. He hoped Dick was in the mood to talk. Even if it was just for a few minutes. Anything he could get from the man would be enough. He supposed he just wanted to see Dick again. To make sure he still looked like himself and didn't have anything missing. He doubted David would allow that but he'd prefer to be certain. Then he heard the sound of a heavy door open. It was from one of the buildings that adjoined to the back of McDonald's but it had no real purpose. From the outside, it looked like a pointless brick hut. A bin bag was kicked out before Dick stepped out from the shadows. He had a lolly in his mouth and there were specks of blood staining his suit. He hummed to himself cheerfully as he gripped the black bag and began dragging it to the bin. Batman gulped and jumped down. Hearing feet collide with the floor, Dick turned to the noise. "Oh, Batsy! Long time no see," he greeted. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"What's in the bag?" Batman asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. In reality, he didn't want to know the contents. He could glean enough from the weight of it and the flecks of crimson scattering the acrobat's cheek. "Nothing you need to worry about. Now, answer my question."

"I need your help on a case. It leaked into Bludhaven and you're the only person I know that knows everything going on around here."

There was a quiet moment between the pair, Dick becoming a little tense before shrugging off his apprehension. He pulled out his lolly and leaned against the bin. "I suppose if you badgered the boys enough to find out where I'll be it must be important," he stated, prompting Batman to spill the beans. The hero stepped closer to his former protege and pulled out a picture from his utility belt. He handed it over. "Have you seen this man?"

"Yeah looks familiar. He's the pimp who works by my place. Rude guy but nice prostitutes. Haven't seen him in a while," he replied. 

"He was murdered in the same fashion of three other pimps in Gotham. Did he know anyone who might want to harm him?" Batman asked. Dick licked his lolly as he thought about it. He didn't know much about the guy but he could make an educated guess on might want to kill him. "Well you have Tommy. The guy hates pimps. Says they're up themselves or something along those lines. Then there's Guss but he was more in it for the fun. Killed anyone who has money and after a long night I suppose pimps would have that money."

"Guss? Guss Anderson?" Dick nodded. "That's my main suspect. Perhaps he wasn't running away, he was coming home."

"Perhaps," Dick repeated. He put the lolly back in his mouth and handed back the photo with a grim smile. "Do you know where he is?"

"Yep," he replied, popping the p.

"Where?" The younger's eyes darted to the bag then back up at the hero. "You didn't."

"I did." Batman tutted angrily at him. This was the first time they met in months and they were having a conversation over a dead body of his only suspect. Of course, this would happen. "You'll get yourself arrested going on like this," he stated in that familiar disappointed tone. 

 "Oh? Let me tell you how that would go down. I'll start with the public response, shall I? I'm Dick Grayson, the poor orphan who lost it all at such a young age then went into a life of crime-fighting where I was tortured every other month. Boom I claim PTSD. The man I just killed had stolen from poorer families so I have the support from the majority of Bludhaven. Then let's go to the police. I've got the commissioner all tied up in a pretty bow thanks to the dirty secrets I have on him so there's no problem. I sway the jury, flirt with the judge and get community service at the worst." Dick picked up the bag and chucked it in the bin with a small smile. "Now how about we go about our days without a problem?"

"Richard-" 

Before he could get out his sentence, Dick was gone. He didn't have the heart to go after him. What was the point? He was right. Dick would never get the prison time deserved for his crimes whether it be because he slept with the judge or because David broke him out of prison. He huffed to himself and glanced at the bin. There was his criminal. He supposed he could call this case closed.