BatDad Headcanon!

When Bruce adopted Dick, everyone who knew of him through business or some fancy event would probably tell Dick when they first meet him “how lucky you are!” and “Bruce has such a good heart!” but to a freshly orphaned 9 year old who still very much misses the circus it sounded like he was being told to be fortunate of the circumstances that took him away from his home. Bruce understands this but he doesn’t want to directly confront Dick so the next time some mayor says “you’re so lucky to be living with him” without missing a beat Bruce goes “oh ABSOLUTELY, “ and goes on and on about how lucky he is that he shares the same roof as the WORLD-CLASS CHILD ACROBAT FROM HALY’S CIRCUS and how just last week Dick did a perfect double backflip and how he’s NEVER seen something like it and the mayor just awkwardly sidles out of the conversation and Dick is too dumbfounded by the whole exchange to remind Bruce that “it was just a single backflip actually” and “you’re the BATMAN you’ve done so much cooler stuff!” but Bruce does this for the rest of the evening and Dick finally asks him if he really meant all that and putting a hand on his ward’s shoulder, Bruce tells him “every word.” And Dick’s tiny smile was an indicator that maybe, just maybe, Alfred was right and that he wasn’t all that bad at the whole foster parent thing.