It wasn't unusual for children to sleepwalk and when they did sleepwalk, all they did was have a little wander around their rooms or occasionally find their way into their parent's bedrooms. When Dick suddenly popped into Bruce's room at an ungodly hour, muttering about a cat with his eyes half lidded and unfocused, Bruce found that his foster child was a sleepwalker. He kept a note of the child's nighttime adventures and soon figured out that he usually took the same route every time. Considering the sleepwalking only happened a few times a month and the route was the same, Bruce assumed he didn't have to worry too much about it. Oh how sorely mistaken he was. 

Two in the morning was apparently the perfect time for a walk according to Dick's body which was now kicking at the sheets that confined its limbs. Dick was fast asleep as he sat up. His blue eyes were glazed over and looked around the room in a dazed manner. He couldn't actually take in what was in front of him though. He swept his legs over and then planted his feet on the cold floor. Luckily he wouldn't be too cold on his walk around Wayne Manor thanks to his thick pyjamas. He got up and stood in one place for a moment before shuffling over to the door. He fumbled with the handle and after a few tries, he was freed from the bedroom. He waited then continued his journey. The hallway was empty so he could roam freely but he stopped when he got to the long carpet. "Grass," he stated. His tone was soft, almost as though he was reminiscing about a happy memory. He turned his head and walked down the hall, remaining on the carpet. He kept walking until he got to the staircase. He tilted his head to the side and he waved his foot over the first step before committing. He made a happy hum and continued to slowly go down the stairs. He nearly slipped a few times but you wouldn't think it thanks to his relaxed expression. Now at the bottom of the stairs, Dick sits on the third to last step and kicked his legs out as though he were sitting by a pool and thrashing his legs in the water. He stays there for a few moments before shooting up to his feet. He had a sudden sense of urgency about him as he dashed from the bottom of the stairs, down the hall, past the study and into the kitchen. He closed the kitchen door and patted the handle. "Good dog," he praised although his voice was far too robotic to sound right. He turned around and stumbled over to the door leading to the garden, leaning on it before twisting the handle. There was a satisfying click and he pulled the door open, ready to move his adventure to the outside.

It was two in the morning and Bruce was coming in from a long night of patrol. He yawned tiredly as he changed from his Batman suit, showered and then changed into his pyjamas. He decided to forego typing up tonight's run of the mill robberies and beat downs in favour of dragging his tired self to bed. As he got to the bottom of the stairs, he felt a breeze come from down the hall. He didn't think much of it, assuming that Alfred had left a window open a touch. He was too tired to go on the search for it so he continued his way upstairs. As he got to the top of the stairs, he noticed that Dick's door was open and assumed that he was either on his sleepwalking route or had returned. Either way, he decided he could spare some time making sure Dick was sleeping on the floor and at least tucked in. It was getting colder nowadays and he'd rather not deal with a kid who got mild hypothermia sleepwalking. He rubbed his eyes as he walked over to the acrobat's bedroom and peeked inside. The bedsheets were bunched up at the bottom of the empty bed which made him sigh. "Walking again. I don't know how you find the energy," he mumbled. He ran his hand through his hair as he went through the route Dick went on. The acrobat would start in his bedroom (obviously) and then walked down the hall until he reached Bruce's room where he'd sneak inside and walk around. Depending on how tired he was, he'd either sit down and sleep on the floor or make his way back to his room. Bruce was so sure about this route that he didn't feel panicked as he went to fetch the wandering ward. That panic didn't lay low for long when he found that his room was empty. In fact, it was exactly as he'd left it before going on patrol. He really didn't need this so early in the morning. "Dick?" he called out. He hoped for anything, maybe a tiny hum of Dick waking up or a little giggle from seeing a prank go just as planned. He was instead met with silence. Bruce searched his room thoroughly and then went back to the acrobat's room just to make sure that he wasn't in there. His heart leapt to his throat as it began to sink in that he had no idea where his kid was. "Dick!" he called again, this time much louder yet he was still met with silence. 

Upon being completely sure that Dick wasn't on his wandering route, Bruce went into dad mode like every dad who lost their kid in Disneyland did. All manner of thoughts rushed through his head but this was Bruce Wayne the legendary Batman. He knew better than to let panic cloud his quick thinking. He checked the windows to find that they were still locked and hadn't been tampered with. That removed one possibility. He then turned around and ran out of the room finding that both the windows in the hallway were also closed. The billionaire rushed down the hall to check every room there but was met with emptiness. "Dick!" he called out again. If he wasn't on the upper floor then he'd be on the ground floor. He could've hurt himself going down the stairs which didn't help with the uneasy feeling Bruce had as he continued with his search. His rushing around had awoken his butler who met him at the bottom of the staircase with an unamused expression. He wore a scrooge-esque nightie and night hat although he was missing a lantern to light his way around the home. 

"Whatever is the matter, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked. 

"Dick's missing. I suspect he's sleepwalking given the state of his bedroom but I've not found him yet," he answered. "Have you seen anything?"

"Nothing that would suggest something nefarious no. I've not heard from the lad since I put him to bed." Bruce hummed. At least that confirmed for the time being that there hadn't been a break-in. He thought about the rooms Alfred would've passed to meet him by the stairs when he felt that breeze coming from where the kitchen was. The kitchen door was closed but it didn't deter him from focusing his search there. He rushed towards the door with his butler following close behind him and opened the door. There was nothing odd about the kitchen itself rather it was the door leading to the garden that had the men concerned. It was open, gently opening and closing when the wind blew against it. 

"I'm sure I closed it before bed," Alfred mentioned. 

"He must've gone outside," Bruce stated. He ran to the doorway and stuck his head out, finding that he couldn't immediately spot the boy. Then he heard it. A soft sound of someone talking. He squinted his eyes as he concentrated on the trees where he noticed something shift in the darkness. Upon hearing it, Bruce sprinted out of the house and kept his gaze focused on the figure. "Dick?" There wasn't a reply or at least there wasn't one loud enough to fight against the wind. He dreaded to think how long the acrobat had been wandering the grounds for in this freezing cold. It bit at him even in his suit so he couldn't imagine facing it in pyjamas for longer than ten minutes. He continued to run and run until he heard muttering. 

"Can't have that. Gotta find the sugar- no Nessie! Bottles!" That had come from near the pond. 

"The pond!" Bruce shouted, already imagining everything that would go wrong if he heard a splash.

Running at full speed, he went to the pond just in time to see his ward walking along the rocks that lined the water. "No no, Dad will get him. Dad, Dad, Dad," Dick mumbled as he turned to face the water. Before he could make any move for a late-night swim, Bruce ran up to him and wrapped his arms around his small frame. He snatched him away from the water perhaps too harshly as Dick's relaxed expression twisted into one of panic. "Get off! Get off!" the boy screamed as he thrashed and hit the arms holding him. The older kept a tight hold of him and carried him far from the water before letting him go in hopes of calming him down. Once he was let go, Dick backed away a little too quickly and managed to trip himself in his half-awake terror. He let out a yelp and curled into a shaking ball. 

"Chum it's okay. It's me," Bruce assured him, kneeling beside the boy. It's freezing outside and he just wanted to bundle him up but he thought better of it. The quiet whimpering wasn't something he wanted to endure yet here he was. As Dick shakes and blinks, he began to slowly recognise that he was in a garden and there was grass beneath him. He put his hands down to touch the greenery with a confused expression. He picked at it almost as if to test if this was a dream. His glassy blue eyes eventually focused on the older. 

"Bruce?" 

"Yeah, it's me. You went on a long walk and ended up outside. I didn't mean to wake you but you were gonna try your hand at sleep swimming."

"Oh," he stated. He shivered at a gust of wind and considering that he looked fairly with it, Bruce scooped him up and held him close. "Never gone this far before."

"I know, we'll just have to make sure everything is locked up," Bruce assured him. He smiled to himself when the boy snuggled up to him and began walking back inside. "Are you alright?"

"Mhm. Always better walkin," Dick replied, his voice sporting a sleepy slur. "Less nightmares." 

"You certainly gave me a fright."

"Sorry."

"It's alright. It's not like you can help it." He hugged the acrobat closer as he finally got inside where Alfred was waiting with a hot water bottle. The butler tutted at the sight of them but looked relieved to see the new addition to their family was unscathed. 

"Oh look at your pyjamas. They're full of grass stains and your feet are dirty. We must get you cleaned up before you get to bed," the butler fussed. He passed the hot water bottle over to the acrobat and picked a few stray leaves out of his curly black hair. "Best get him upstairs sir. He's had a long night."

"He's not the only one," Bruce muttered.