Don't judge Bruce too harshly in this one, okay?
~~~~~~~~~~
Richard smiled as he shut his bedroom door.

He was really relieved that he had Bruce's support, in a way. He knew that going back to school was going to be very difficult, especially after going to the HIVE.

Dick sighed as he sat up in his bed. He knew he had to tell Bruce before he started school in a few days.

He just didn't know how to tell Bruce. Then suddenly, he remembered what Dinah said, "just tell him the truth and be honest."

Richard picked up his acceptance letter and headed down the stairs.

"Bruce, can we talk?" Richard asked, hanging in the doorway of the kitchen.

Bruce looked up from his newspaper and nodded, quickly grabbing his coffee as he left the room.

"What's going on kiddo?" Bruce asked, taking a seat in the living room.

"Remember how I said I was going to college? Well, I'm enrolled to Gotham University." Richard said, "This coming semester." (Do colleges run on semesters?)

"Doesn't that start in a few weeks?" Bruce asked, unsure.

"It starts in two days. I'm not living on campus though." Richard said.

"Okay, a bit short notice, but okay. What are you going for?" Bruce asked, sipping his coffee.

"A degree in Criminal Justice. I'm becoming a police officer, Bruce." Dick said, puffing his chest out to show that he was set in this.

"A...police officer?" Bruce asked.

"Yes." Richard nodded.

"I...Richard! I don't want you carrying a gun around! You're going to hurt yourself! Or even worse, you're going to kill someone else! Remember the last time you picked up a gun?!" Bruce freaked out.

"Yes, thank you very much!" Richard glared, "I'm not going to kill anyone just to kill! I'm not even going to aim to kill them!"

"Richard, police officers kill people all the time! They are constantly around death and corruption! This is NOT what you need after being around Slade!" Bruce's voice started raising.

"DON'T tell me what I NEED and DON'T NEED! You have NO right to decide that!" Dick yipped back.

"What do you mean I have no right to keep your wellbeing in mind?" Bruce asked, bewildered and outraged.

"IT'S MY LIFE! Besides, I'm going to be fine!" Richard got louder.

"You're under my roof! And I don't want you doing this! You're not stable enough to become a police officer now!" Bruce yelled. 

"If being under your roof is the issue, then I'll leave!" Dick screamed, "And I'm stable enough to try going to school again! I need to!"

"You don't need to keep proving to yourself that you're away from Slade!" Bruce yelled.

"No, but apparently I need to prove that I can be away and free from you!" Richard yelled.

"What does that mean?" Bruce asked, eyes slitted.

"You don't seem to think that I can do this on my own! That I'm not good enough to do anything! That I'm still a child! I've grown up! Let me be my own man!" Richard yelled.

"I don't want to see you in jail because you had a mental breakdown and shot everyone!" Bruce yelled.

"You don't trust me to be okay! Maybe I can do this on my own! And I will if I have to! But I will never know if I don't do it!" Dick explained.

"You're going about it in a reckless way that will get others killed or paying for your stupidity!" Bruce yelled.

"I'M FINE!" Richard yelled, "I've been working hard to be fine. And soon I'll be GOOD! And I'll do it without YOU!"

"Go then! But I don't want a gun in my house!" Bruce yelled.

"Good, cause I'm going!" Dick yelled, walking out the living room.

Silence followed him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Maser Bruce, may I suggest taking a breath and counting to ten when you feel yourself getting heated?" Alfred suggested.

"Alfred, I can't do this. He is out of control and...insane! He's ganna hurt someone or kill!" Bruce said exasperated.

"Master Bruce, in the time that he's been back, has he hurt anyone other than himself?" Alfred asked.

"He's tried." Bruce said, remembering how Richard tried to hurt Canary to get to the shards of glass.

"And was it aimed to kill?" Alfred said.

"Not them, but himself." Bruce said.

"Sadly, but I believe that even if Slade did teach him, he still has his morals. If anyone will be hurt, it's him unfortunately." Alfred said.

Bruce sighed and nodded, putting his head in his hands.

"You need to give him more slack and trust him a bit more. You not believing in him is not helping his own self-image." Alfred said, "And you can see that it's certainly affecting him and perhaps his decisions."

"No, he wants to do this. I don't know why, but he does. He mentioned college when he got here the first day. It's a newfound freedom maybe?" Bruce speculated.

"I remember a certain man going to college to find himself." Alfred said.

"No, I needed the classes to run dad's company." Bruce said.

"And found your first girlfriend and a Lucius teaching that class he wasn't too fond of, but loved the theory of. Which I remember you frequently talking about him and later asking him to your company." Alfred smirked, cleaning the dishes so that Bruce wouldn't see his smirk.

"Alfred, that was different!" Bruce said.

"And how so? As I see it, Master Richard is trying to find himself. Maybe hanging out with regular people his age will help him." Alfred said.

"So, you're saying that I need to let him go? What if he has an episode?" Bruce asked.

"Then it happens. And we're going to be there for him." Alfred said, "Just as we were for when he came here first."

"So, a police officer." Bruce said.

"He's going to make a fine officer." Alfred had a knowing smile. After all, he raised that now man from a child. Richard was going to be a great officer. It was going to be a long road, but one Alfred was sure Richard could track. He was a strong man and had a good moral compass.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
What do you guys think?