This was requested by dogcat321 for their birthday! I hope you enjoy it and have a great birthday

Stray beams of sunlight broke through the curtains to Dick's bedroom, successfully waking him up. He turned to the other side and glanced at the alarm clock beside him. The green numbers told him it was around 7 am. There was no point falling back asleep since the light would only wake him up again.

On his way to the kitchen where he presumed Alfred would be, Dick took notice if the calendar he had on the back of his door. Over the date of today, there was a big red circle with the words "BIRTHDAY" written in various colours. A grin grew on his face at the information. He turned double digits today and, thanks to the therapy he got from some Justice League members, he wasn't upset about it. His last birthday hadn't been as great as he hoped but he kept an optimistic approach to today. He walked across the landing and slid down the bannister. Since it was his birthday there was no way that Bruce could shout at him for it. Dick made his way to the kitchen, hoping that Bruce's too much gene hadn't kicked into action. Throughout the run-up to his birthday, Dick has repeatedly reminded the billionaire that circus folk didn't have infinite amounts of gifts or spectacular birthday parties. They travelled light and gave small personalised gifts. 

As he got close to the kitchen, he heard chatter and decided to hold back on entering the room. He listened in; keeping to the wall like Bruce taught him to. Although he wasn't listening in on a grand scheme to take over Gotham, he thought he'd put the skill to use elsewhere. From what he could gather Bruce was reminding Alfred to pick up some photos today. Dick didn't think much of it, attributing the photos to some gala or other. He didn't subscribe to that part of being the ward to a rich and famous playboy. It wasn't that he was shy or timid; in fact, Dick could be overly confident when he wanted to be. The problem was that he had to be someone he wasn't. The media constantly bashed him for being from a travelling background so he had to play the part of their "perfect" child. Silent unless spoken to sort of thing. 

When the conversation died, Dick walked into the kitchen with a smile. "Morning Alfie, morning B," he greeted happily. They turned to him, each giving him a smile. 

"Morning Dickie, you excited about today?" Bruce asked. He lifted Dick up onto the breakfast bar to save Bruce's back the stress of bending down to talk to him. "That depends on what you have planned," Dick replied. Even when he sat on the breakfast bar he didn't come up to Bruce's chin. He remembered when Diana had seen them in a similar position she cooed at the boy once she noticed the height difference. Dick remembered the burning of his face thanks to the pinching from the Amazonian very well. "That's for me to know and for you to find out," Bruce said. Interesting. Bruce wasn't one for surprises so this had to be good. "What I can tell you is that you can't show up in your pyjamas."

"Is that so? I thought these pyjamas were the perfect outdoor wear," the acrobat mocked. Bruce rolled his eyes, lightly punching him in the shoulder. "I've prepared your favourite breakfast Master Dick," Alfred announced, handing him a bowl of yoghurt and fruit. Bruce made a face at the bowl. "I was surprised that your preference isn't more diabetes inducing," he commented. 

"Hey! I was an acrobat and believe it or not I like to be healthy."

"You ate an entire pizza two nights ago sir," Alfred reminded the boy.

"I said I like to be not that I am."

After eating their breakfast, Bruce forced Dick to get dressed out of his pyjamas. He bargained his way on the matter which resulted in Dick putting his awful fashion sense into use. He came downstairs wearing a bright t-shirt and bright shorts. "Really? Don't you think that's a little bright?" Bruce questioned. Dick smiled smugly at him. 

"My birthday, my outfit," he reasoned. 

"At least I won't lose you in the crowd."  He helped Dick put on his jacket and they walked to the car. Dick didn't need the help, he was perfectly capable of putting it on, yet he enjoyed the small fuss Bruce made over him so much that he never said anything. The man acted like such a dad when he did small things like that and Dick wasn't about to stop him. 

On the way to the mysterious location, Dick tried to get a sense of direction from his surroundings. However, he didn't seem to recognise many of the buildings. Perhaps running around at night didn't give him a good grasp of what certain buildings looked like during the day. Either that or Bruce purposely planned a route that would disorientate him. "Can I have a clue of where we're going?" he asked. He heard Bruce hum, knowing full well that he wasn't going to tell him by the sound of it. "Sorry no can do," Bruce answered. Dick huffed, slumping back into his seat. "How are you holding up?" Bruce asked. He seemed almost scared to ask the question, frightened that the answer wouldn't be positive. "I'm good. I have to thank you and your team for that," Dick said. Birthdays would always be hard without the people who made them possible not there. It was a fact that Dick had to live with now. This would be his first birthday without them and with Bruce instead but he didn't mind as much as he thought he would. Bruce had grown on him a lot more than he ever thought was possible and Dick found himself glad to be in his care. Spending his birthday with him was certainly better than spending it in that prison. "We did what we had to. I didn't want you to be upset when the time came," Bruce said. One beat of silence passed before Dick quickly gave him a short but appreciative hug. Obviously, he had surprised the older as Bruce didn't even have time to hug his ward back before Dick was back in an upright position. "You're a cool guy but you're as awful at receiving thanks as I am at picking clothes. Just say no problem next time," he teased.

The vehicle stopped outside of a small fairground which bustled with tons of people. Dick's face lit up at the sight then he looked to Bruce to make sure this was where they were spending the day. "I know it's not a circus but it's the closest I could do," Bruce explained. Though, by the looks of the boy's face, it didn't matter. "Who cares? I certainly don't," Dick assured him, jumping out the car. He ran to Bruce's side, grabbing his hand in preparation of dragging him to every ride and stall. "Is Alfred coming?" he asked. 

"He's got to do something but you'll see him later." Dick thought back to this morning and assumed Alfred was going to use this time to get those pictures. They waved the old man off and then Dick promptly pulled him into the fair. His eyes were wide with excitement which made Bruce chuckled to himself. "You're going to pull my arm off Dick," Bruce laughed. He was being held in a death grip and Dick's strength was well known to be beyond his years when he got excited. "Then hurry up old man!"

They attracted a lot of attention at the fairground, mostly due to the skills that they showed at the stalls. Even Bruce was shocked (and impressed) by Dick's skills on the ring toss. "What? I grew up in a circus; you don't think I picked up a thing or two from the knife throwers?" Dick questioned with a grin. He received another stuffed toy to add to the growing amount of prizes. Bruce had to buy a bag and sit down in order to put all their winning in them.  Where he was going to put them all, he didn't know yet. However, when he saw the light in Dick's eyes when he won them didn't make him think of the practical things. He enjoyed seeing the boy happy. If he was honest, Bruce had been very worried that Dick wouldn't be up to this today. Dick had gone a year without the people his life revolved around and Bruce wasn't sure if he was over it yet. Well, over it wasn't the right phrase. Nobody ever gets over their family being murdered in front of their very eyes at such a young age. A better phrase would be at peace with. Either way, Dick was acting better than he had ever expected and Bruce found that he was proud of him for making so much progress in such a little amount of time. Looking at the ten-year-old eat cotton candy, his eyes darting around to take in all the lights, was something that Bruce never knew that he needed in his life. He was glad that he had that committed to memory though. 

Dick pointed out a couple at one of the stalls. The man was trying to impress his girlfriend by winning her a stuffed animal but he was five dollars down with nothing. Nothing out of the usual. "He won't win that one," he said to Bruce confidently.

"What makes you say that?" Bruce asked. The man was well built so it shouldn't be hard to know down the bottles as long as he had good aim. "Sometimes my circus would pair up with a fair to share out the rent of a plot so I picked up a few things from the stall owners. Stalls like that are almost impossible to win because they seem easy to win. They get the most money because people want to impress their lovers with a prize. They'll spend a lot of money trying to win," Dick explained. An idea popped into his head as he looked on the toys on show. The biggest prize was the same as another stalls' which he had just so happened had won. He grabbed it and stood up. "What're you doing?" Bruce asked.

"Helping the poor guy out," he answered which only confused Bruce more.

Dick waited for the girlfriend to walk off to get food then ran up to the man with the toy in his arms. "Excuse me, sir," Dick greeted, gaining the man's attention. 

"You lost little buddy?" he asked. 

"No, I just saw that you were having trouble on this stall. Between you and me it's a fix but I know you want to impress her," Dick said. He handed over the stuffed toy to the confused man. "Same one as the top prize. Just say you won it when she wasn't looking," he added.

"Thank you," he said, smiling in relief. "Hey, ain't you Richard Grayson?" He nodded. "Heard it was your birthday today. I hope the playboy is giving you what you wanted." Dick laughed, glancing back at Bruce trying to stuff the toys back in the bag. "He is. Hope your date goes well," Dick responded, waving goodbye as he walked away. "Thanks, kid." Dick ran back to Bruce's side. "You're one of a kind," Bruce said with a chuckle.

They called Alfred to pick them up around 8 pm as they had exhausted the fair of its entertainment. "You okay down there Dickie?" Bruce asked. Dick had gradually been slowing down throughout the day and he didn't miss the small hisses of pain the boy made. "I think I chose the wrong shoes for today; I didn't know we would be walking for hours," he complained. Without hesitation, Bruce put down the bags and lifted Dick up onto his shoulders. "Better?" For a moment, Dick couldn't answer. The last time he'd been like this was with his Dad a day before he died. Now here he was sitting on the shoulders of someone who he regarded as a new Dad. "Dick?" He looked down to meet Bruce's concerned blue eyes. 

"Sorry, what did you say?" he asked, shaken from his thoughts. 

"I asked if this was better." He cracked a smile, relaxing into his new height. 

"Yeah, very much so."

By the time they got to the manor, their meal was already prepared for them. Dick saw that Alfred had whispered something to Bruce right before he entered the dining hall. He tilted an eyebrow at the secretive gesture. Was this something to do with the photos? Why did they need to be so secretive? Dick was the last person to leak information to the press. "What were you talking about?" he asked once Bruce was sat in front of him. 

"Nothing important," Bruce replied. Dick didn't believe that for a second but he couldn't be bothered to follow it up. If it was a surprise for him then he didn't want to ruin it. Alfred served his Mother's soup, smiling at the familiar smell from his childhood. He thanked Alfred for making it, knowing that it took hours to make. "It is your birthday sir, you should expect no less from me," the butler answered, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. 

"So Bruce, are we going on patrol tonight?" Dick asked. He was somewhat apprehensive of the thought of going out. Patrol could be temperamental; it could ruin or make a day. Today Dick didn't want to chance anything when it had been wonderful so far. Bruce glanced up for a moment, hinging his answer on the expression he saw. "Not tonight. Unless there is something incredibly important," he answered. He noticed that Dick hid his smile from him, confirming that his answer was right. Dick was still a kid and kids needed breaks, especially on birthdays. "Sound good?"

"Yes!" Dick said a little too eagerly. "I mean, sure I guess. I'm not too bothered."

They finished their meals then the lights were turned down and Alfred returned with a cake. Candle flames lit up Dick's awe-filled expression at the gesture. "You bought me a cake?" he asked, staring at the writing. Was he tearing up? Yes. Yes, he was. Never did he imagine that Bruce would actually treat him like, well, a son. He thought he'd end up as one of those trophy orphans to win sympathy from the public. For a while, before he found out Bruce was Batman, he thought it would be like that. Bruce didn't spend much time with him and he spent hours just roaming the halls looking for some sort of comfort. Yet, when the mantle of Robin was placed upon him, they were closer than ever. A true father and son duo. The League labelled Bruce Daddybats in private when he worried over his protégé.  "Of course, why wouldn't I?" Bruce asked. He sounded so shocked like he didn't know what the media tried to make him out to be or what people told Dick at school. Dick didn't fancy making the obvious argument, glancing up at his mentor's face. "No reason, I just wasn't expecting it."

"From now on, you should." He got up and sat beside Dick, a bright grin on his face. "Now, are you going to use your wish or am I going to have to steal it?" he teased, moving forward to blow out the candle. "Bruce no!" he exclaimed through a giggle. He pushed Bruce's face away, making sure it wasn't too harsh. Blowing out the candle, Dick's mind only thought of one wish. It was the only thing he could wish for.

They cut the cake, Dick getting a smaller portion than Bruce due to the last time he got a sugar rush. Bruce learnt lots of sugar plus a tiny acrobat meant an hour of hyperactive behaviour followed by hours of painful headaches and nausea. "Look at me for a second," Bruce said seriously. He caught the boy's attention within an instant and his head snapped up to face him. "What is it?"

"You've got something in your nose," he said. Dick wiped his nose, looking at his hand to find nothing. "Nothing's there."

"Yes there is, right there," he insisted. He swiped the icing of his cake across Dick's nose, making him reel back in surprise. "I see how it is." Dick took a small handful of cake and pushed it against the older's face. With his face now covered in both icing and crumbs, Bruce laughed and grabbed half of his slice. "Bruce no!" Dick took off to hide behind the chair that was at the head of the table. "Bruce yes!"

Eventually, Alfred stopped the food fight and told them to get cleaned up for the sake of the expensive furniture. Dick yawned but made no attempt to turn in for the night. "You sure you're not tired?" Bruce asked, exiting his room in satin pyjamas. He had tried to buy Dick a similar pair but the acrobat instead on buying the Wonder Woman pyjamas. Something about her being a Bi-con. "I never get tired, I'm an eternal ball of energy," Dick argued. Sadly, the last part was cut off by an ill-timed yawn. Bruce rolled his eyes, collecting Dick in his arms and heading to the home cinema. A movie should get him to sleep. "Well you need to stay awake so I can give you your birthday present," he said.

"You didn't go overboard did you?" Dick asked hesitantly. He untensed when Bruce shook his head but not all the way. They had very different takes on what not going overboard looked like.

Bruce sat Dick down on a chair then passed him a neatly wrapped rectangular present. It was too big for Dick's lap which didn't bode well for it being just a small gift. "I hope you like it," Bruce muttered. He watched nervously as Dick ripped apart the wrapping paper carefully to find a leather bound book with the word "Scrapbook" written on the front. For a moment, he was rather confused. Why would he get a scrapbook? To be fair, he was happy that it wasn't something so expensive you could buy Haley's Circus twice over. "Open it," Bruce instructed. He was shot a perplexed expression but Dick followed the instruction. He opened the front cover to find the eyes of his parents staring back at him. There were a few pictures on this page, one from the night they died. In one he was being held in his Mum's arms whilst his Dad hugged them. Another one had him in the middle of walking over to his Dad. The last showed him on a trapeze bar, his uncle holding his hands out just in case he fell. "How did you get these?" Dick asked. 

"I pulled a few strings before the last of the photos were thrown away. I wish I could've gotten more." Bruce answered. 

Dick looked at him. He didn't try to hide his watery eyes. "This is more than enough," he insisted. He climbed into his mentor's lap with the book in hand. "There are other photos," Bruce said. Quickly, Dick turned the page to find a picture he took with Flash. It had been one of his first missions outside of Gotham. Flash had come along to help out and spent most of his time entertaining the small hero rather than helping out on the case. Next was a picture of him using Bruce's arm as a swing whilst in their suits. Dick had a tendency to do that when he was thinking and Bruce seemed happy to comply. Better his arm than some fragile pipe Dick would've found. Some newspaper clippings were stapled to the paper, each detailing a case solved by the Boy Wonder himself. He turned over the next page, finding pictures of them from today, their faces covered in icing that they had mercilessly thrown at one another. "This is amazing, thank you," Dick stated. "I'm glad you liked it, Dickie. I know the League, Alfred and I will never replace your old family but maybe we can be your new one," he said, running a hand through Dick's hair. The action began to lull him to sleep and made Bruce chuckle when he moved to lean on the older's chest. "You wanna know something?" he asked, half asleep. "You've been the best foster Dad ever. Jus' hope I've been a good foster son." He felt warm arms wrap around him, keeping him close to Bruce's body as he closed his eyes. "You've been more than good. I'm proud to call you my ward." He kept one hand running through the boy's hand whilst he put on whatever was already in the DVD player. The sudden noise didn't do much to stir Dick from his drowsiness which was quite adorable. "What did you wish for?" Bruce asked out of interest. 

"To never be alone on my birthday," Dick answered before finally dropping off to sleep. 

"I promise you that you'll never be alone. Not on your birthday or any other day."

Over the years, the scrapbook built up with many photos from many birthdays. There were loads with the League as Bruce began to share his protégé with them. There were a few with the Young Justice team, which became painful to look at as Dick got older and made more tough decisions. The Teen Titans made an appearance in his later teens, even when he was off becoming the hero he had always wanted to be. His brothers made their appearances from time to time. One year, the entire Justice League, Teen Titans, Young Justice, and the Batfamily got together for one giant photo. However, there will always be one photo that will be most important to Dick. It was the first photo he and Bruce took on his tenth birthday. The way Bruce's eyes still had their light, the way his own smile had its innocence. Nothing would ever beat the years Dick spent with Bruce and Alfred, just them against the world.