Alt prompt Flushed Cheeks

He's a Child Again AU coming in strong here 

I'm trying my best to keep these close to 2000 words since that's usually my minimum but they're gonna fall short here and there

Dick was often left to his own devices during the day mostly out of habit. They were used to him being independent and keeping himself entertained. Whilst they were now well accustomed to the fact this version of Dick was nine years old and therefore thought like a nine-year-old, he wasn't like kids his age. By this time, he'd saved the city a handful of times and acted like a little adult half the time although a lot cheerier than Damian was when he acted the same. It's not that they didn't want to spend time with him. They'd gotten over most of the weirdness that came with spending time with their once-older brother. They were just busy. 

Things had changed from when Dick was nine the first time. Bruce was busier and with each year he was Batman, he devoted more and more of his life to it until galas felt like missions to protect his secret identity. Even with more people protecting the city, he was still busy. His family were additional support not replacements. He'd still consider them understaffed if one of them went down for some reason or another. 

It'd been a busy day in the Batcave which the family were glad for. Gotham didn't receive much good weather during the year but when it did they got about one day of bliss sandwiched between days that were far too humid and sweaty to function. Being that the Batcave was underground, it offered a lovely respite from the oppressive temperatures. Dick popped his head in a few times to see what they were doing but eventually went back upstairs when he wasn't given the attention he was seeking. He'd asked Bruce something and the older had just said yes offhandedly. If it was a problem then Alfred would surely catch it. He was good like that. It had slipped his mind that today was the day Alfred went grocery shopping and the butler insisted that there be no one joining him to streamline the process. They all knew he really just needed the alone time. 

When Alfred came home, he put everything in the right spot before preparing a round of coffee to bring to the family. He'd memorised their orders by now and rarely strayed from them unless he had good reason to. He added a glass of chocolate milk for Dick since he didn't want the boy to feel left out but he was absolutely not repeating the mistake of introducing him to caffeine so young. He supposed they'd be doing a lot of that. Learning from their past. However, he didn't doubt that he was just prolonging the inevitable given Dick's interest in being a hero again. 

Given that Dick hadn't rushed him at the door to look through the food he got under the guise of wanting to help put it away, Alfred assumed he was downstairs with everyone else. He knew Dick was eager to get back to his normal but he did hope he wasn't doing anything case-wise. 

He brought the drinks down on a tray and went about distributing them. He didn't move onto the next person until he heard a thank you which was usually grumbled or said through a partially full mouth of coffee. As he went through the group, he slowly came to the realisation that Dick wasn't there. He frowned to himself. He hoped that the boy hadn't been spending all day upstairs when it was nice and cool down here. The Manor, whilst a show of wealth and prosperity, was awful for any sort of weather that differed from temperate. It trapped heat in the summer and trapped the chill of winter. 

"Where's the young master?" Alfred asked as he handed over the last coffee.

"Upstairs somewhere. I assumed he was with you," Bruce answered. 

"I've been out since twelve. It's currently four. Has he not been down here at all?"

"He came down earlier to ask a question but that's about it. Why?"

"He didn't greet me at the door. He always does when I go shopping." 

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows and switched his monitor to show the camera feed upstairs. There were a few blind spots, mainly bathrooms and bedrooms for privacy reasons, but it would save searching the place for a moment. The ones inside didn't show anything but he didn't get too worried about that. Dick could be in his bedroom and simply hadn't heard the front door for some reason or other. 

"What's going on?" Tim asked, glancing up from his computer. 

"We're checking where Dick went."

"He's outside right?"

"Why would he be outside?"

"That's what he asked around dinner time probably just after Alfred left. He asked to go outside, you said sure and he left," Tim explained. "Do you not remember that?"

"I wasn't listening- he's been outside in this weather for four hours?" 

Bruce quickly switched to the cameras outside and sure enough, there was Dick sitting underneath one of the big trees with Titus by his side nosing at his hand. It wasn't anything to cause worry at first. He'd probably played with the dog for a bit and was taking a rest whilst Titus was still wanting him to throw a ball or tug on a rope. Then Bruce noticed Titus didn't have a toy. His toys were actually a good few feet away.

From behind his shoulder, Damian had been watching with slight intrigue but when his dog came into focus he was rushing to stand up. 

"Damian?" He didn't reply and began running upstairs taking them two at a time. He didn't need to say anything though. His response alone had Tim and Bruce following close behind whilst the butler took the elevator. 

Damian knew something was incredibly wrong. He knew his dog. He knew when Titus wanted to play or wanted your attention he didn't nose at your hand. He brought a toy and dropped it in your lap. Sometimes it would go in his coffee if he kept it in his lap but that was beside the point. Titus had been trained to drop it in someone's lap and he was a well-trained dog. 

When Dick wasn't a kid, he'd suggested that Damian train Titus as a sort of service dog since they were practically attached at the hip. He dismissed the idea until he had his first panic attack and decided that a well-trained dog such as Titus would easily adapt to the training necessary to at least give him a heads-up for the warning signs. One of his alerts for increased heart rate or breathing was to nose at his hand. The cold wet nose was usually enough to take Damian's mind off the trigger or give him enough warning to make himself scarce. 

He barrelled out of the back door and into the garden, making his way to Dick in a time that felt inhumanely fast. The camera didn't give the boy's condition justice. His cheeks were flushed a vibrant red as if stained by raspberries. He was sweating buckets, his skin wet to the touch and his obnoxiously bright shirt damp. His curls clung to his forehead and the nape of his neck. His eyes were slightly unfocused as they tried to register Damian's face. A quick check of the pulse told Damian his heart rate was increased and his breathing wasn't much better which must've alerted Titus in the first place. The dog looked at his owner as if for input. 

"Good boy Titus," he muttered. 

"Is hot," Dick told him, his voice thick.

"Damian?" Bruce called as he neared the pair. 

"Flushed cheeks, clammy skin, elevated heart rate and rapid shallow breaths," he listed off clearly, fighting to not let the words get stuck in his throat. Not since they found no reversal for Dick's condition had he felt so worried for his brother. They had only just found some sort of normal in an abnormal situation and he wasn't ready for it all to change again. 

"Heat exhaustion," Tim concluded. Bruce nodded in agreement and scooped up his ward. 

"Dad, is hot," Dick complained as he clung to his mentor. 

"I know, we're getting you inside now."

They decided that the Batcave would offer the best temperature and just as Alfred had made it about three steps from the elevator he was forced to go back down with the rest of the family cramped inside. Bruce then went to their med bay and placed Dick down, the boy complaining at the lack of comfort he craved. Unfortunately, their combined body heat would just make him worse. Bruce grabbed a hand towel and wet it until it was soaked through with cold water then wrung it out. He folded it into a rectangle and placed it on Dick's forehead before repeating the process for Dick's neck. 

"That better?" he asked. 

"Mhm. Was really hot."

"I'm not surprised chum. You're lucky you didn't get a sunburn to match it."

"Give it a day," Damian warned. "Why would you spend the entire day outside? Did you even think to drink some water or go inside at any point? Did you not feel yourself get too warm?"

"He's just a kid," Tim reminded him although not in the usual smug sneer he used when pointing out the obvious. He went quiet. Right, this wasn't an adult. This was a child in need of an adult to watch him to let him know it had been too long since he last had a sip of water. He needed someone to make sure he wore sunscreen and a cap. Even as someone they believed to be very capable, he was still nine. He definitely wasn't in his mid-twenties anymore telling them to drink water every once in a while. 

"So he is," the teen muttered. He busied himself with getting a sports drink from the mini fridge and put it to Dick's lips. "Small sips or you'll vomit." The younger nodded, his eyes a little wide from the warning, and took a few sips before pushing the bottle away. 

"Your dog is nice."

"Thank you."

"I played with him all day."

"Did he drink water?" Damian asked. Hopefully, Titus hadn't been run ragged by the energetic acrobat. The last thing they needed was a sick dog and a sick kid at the same time. 

"Yup."

"But you didn't think to have any?" 

"I was gonna but I got distracted." Of course. His older self was forgetful but it seemed to double as his younger self. He could retain information but if you asked him to do something and he got distracted, you'd find it done two days later. Sometimes that came as a pleasant surprise because you also forgot about it but other times it was a pain. Right now, it was dangerous. 

"By what?" Tim asked.

"The fences." Despite himself, Tim laughed.

"What about the fences?"

"They electrocuted a bird."

"Did you leave the defences on?"

"Oh my God I left the defences on. Did you touch it?" Bruce panicked, looking over the boy's hands and arms for any injuries. 

"No. Threw rocks at it though." He paused his search.

"Why did you throw rocks at it?" Dick shrugged. "At least we know you haven't got heat stroke since you're speaking and your memory is intact."

"Why do we have electric fences?"

"Blame your brother."

"Which one?"

"At this point? All of them. Your sisters too. Not Duke though."

"Is it to keep us in or keep someone out?"

"Yes."