Chapter Text
The night it happened had been burned into the memory of Dick but been quickly repressed by everyone else involved. The audience had erupted into a frenzy, screams echoing and chaos being readily available. No one had reacted at first, all too initially in shock but within seconds of the event registering into the individual minds of the crowd, reality snuck up and alarmed everyone. Dick had been the only one to not move. He seemed frozen in place. Time had stopped.
Everything had stopped.
His world had come crashing down and was in flames all within seconds.
The show started off fine and was even more exciting than usual. The clown and the fire-breather had opened up the night's act and the crowd was roaring with laughter and sparking with excitement within minutes. The tightrope walkers came out next and to everyone's delight, faired well and even got some nervous shrieks from members of the crowd by pretending to lose their balance. By the time the Flying Grayson's had taken the thrown-together stage, the crowd was more than ready. Every flip was greeted with excited screams and the crowd especially lost it when smallest Grayson went whirling in the air only to be caught by his father.
John Grayson swung back, legs crossed over the bar of the swing, his son flipping out of his hands before landing on the small wooden platform set up for their lands and take offs, getting another excited scream from the audience. Turning his body again, he swung back out, smile on his face with arms outstretched towards his waiting wife. The rope jostled slightly but he paid no mind to it, receiving Mary as she whirled towards him.The roar of the crowd was deafening but the last thing they managed to hear was the echoed screams of their son from the platform.
He'd been the only one to notice the thinning rope. No one had cared enough to check it before their performance and the rope was practically creaking with the effort it was putting in to stay connected. Dick had seen the layers snapping away with sharp cracks. He'd seen the rope hanging by its last strands right as his mother had landed in his fathers waiting arms. The danger of the stunt was supposed to be over. It wasn't supposed to end like that.
The crowd seemed to be confused as to why the terrified scream had come from the little boy, there eyes immediately flickering to the falling figures. The audience quieted, a gasp rippling through the gathered people. This was part of the act right? Something was going to catch them right at the bottom... Right?
Their questions were answered by the sickening crack of bodies hitting the floor, panic ensuing almost exactly after.
People began rising and rushing towards the exits, some looking for help, others trying to shield their children from the violence. Haly was attempting to calm the audience by raising his voice over their screams, not having been out in the ring to witness the accident. The other members of the circus came out, also in confusion, and were trying to decipher what was happening. The only person completely honed in on the situation was Dick. His eyes were the size of saucers and tension was visible in his entire being. He was still standing on the platform, eyes focused on the two heaps that were his parents crumpled on the floor.
Finally finding his voice Dick couldn't help but wail out for them.
"Mom! Dad!"
Turning sharply, he dashed to the edge of the platform, arms hooking onto the ladder and swinging over. Not bothering to use the steps, Dick slid down the sides of the later, heart thrumming at an alarming rate. Once on the floor, he began to weave his way through people, trying to get to the center of the ring. All he knew was he had to check on them. He had to know they were okay. His heart was beating too loudly for him to focus on anything else. All he could hear was his pulse in his ears, he could feel the blood rushing to his head and everything beginning to feel fuzzy. His eyes were flickering around too quickly for him to really focus on anything and for some reason he couldn't find his way around. He was trying to concentrate on finding his way but he just couldn't.
He wasn't really able to go anywhere near his parents before a pair of arms enveloped him and scooped him up. That's when the tears started. He couldn't stop them from streaming down his face, his body shuddering with every ragged breath. Dick couldn't tell who was holding him or where he was going but at that moment he didn't really care. Everything was falling apart too quickly for him to even try to hold on to it and piece it together. His parents had just slipped before him and fallen to their deaths. Were they dead? Dick wasn't even sure if they were alive. For all he knows they could be and he just left them alone without helping them. What was he even doing?
Looking up, Dick sniffled and attempted to blink away his tears. The man holding him looked familiar but his mind couldn't place a name. He had seen that dark hair and the just as dark blue eyes before but his mind was too hazy, too frenzied to remember the man's name. At least he knew him, that was enough for right now. Hiccuping as he took another shaky breath, Dick buried his face into the man's neck and clutched desperately onto his shirt.
"You're alright. You're okay. That's all that matters. You're okay, you're alright..." was all he could hear the man repeating in a hushed tone, only for Dick's ears. Nodding weakly, Dick focused on just those words.
I'm okay, I'm alright, that's all that matters. I'm okay...