Long Past Dawn

A/N

This is a special mini-arc set sometime before Dawn goes to Themyscira but I'll put it in here anyway.

***

The bubbly drink slides down my throat as the music grows louder.

Why Batman, or Bruce Wayne as he's going by for the party, invited me here is anyone's guess. Places like this are not my strong point.

How women can wear heels for longer than ten minutes astounds me, I say to myself as I feel blisters forming on my feet. Why I had to wear these torture devices are beyond me.

I watch as movie stars, over-sea tycoons, world-class comedians, and political figures mingle. Right now I feel way too out of place.

So far the party has been on for almost two hours and I haven't moved from the food table. Though I'd say Batman has been doing the opposite, who would have thought he could play his role as host to at. After the first hour, I started watching him from across the room and so far he's talked to maybe over half of the people present.

How he does it I'll never know.

I've also noticed the boy standing next to him, somehow I feel like I should recognize him from somewhere, or that we've already met before. He has black hair that's slicked over, from here I can't tell his eye color but he seems to be pouting, I have a feeling he wants to be here just as much as I do. Somehow, even though he only looks to be eight or nine, you just have a feeling he'll be handsome when he's older.

I sigh and decide to walk over and talk to him, if I'm to be dragged here I can at least talk to the one person I know.

As I walk over I notice another woman walking over too, and as we both get into earshot I hear the boy say something to Batman, or Bruce as he is at this party, "Why am I even here? Nobody cares about what I do or say anyway."

Bruce is about to respond to him but the woman has come up to them. But instead of going back to my corner I decide to go anyway since I'm not going to spend a whole night at this horrible gala without at least telling Bruce to never bring me again.

"And how is this handsome young man doing?" The woman says to the boy and I swear I've seen her on some magazine somewhere. Bruce looks over her before giving a charming smile and all I can think is once a playboy always a playboy.

The boy gives her a blank look before giving Bruce a look as to prove his point. "Sometimes I stick my finger in electrical sockets just to feel something."

I hold back a laugh before looking to see the woman's face, it hasn't changed as if she never even heard what he said while Bruce gives him a glare. "Awww how precious! Anyway, Bruce-"

Wow, she did not just say that. As I'm now close enough to join the conversation I interrupt her, "Really? I don't find it precious as you say, more for me, I find it concerning. Especially since electrical plugs here have a charge of one hundred and twenty volts while the most voltage the human body can take is anywhere between forty-two volts and one hundred and ten. This meaning that while you calling this precious is really saying suicidal tendencies should be promoted in children."

The boy and the woman seem shocked by my sudden intrusion in the conversation but Bruce smiles and nods at me as if telling me good job. I'm just glad my over the top physics teacher told us that.

"Unless," I continue to the horror of the woman, "You only wanted to seem like someone who cared about him to get closer to Mr. Wayne, in which case I'm glad to tell you that there are a million other ways to get closer to him other than promoting suicidal tendencies like you just did."

I smile at the flabbergasted woman. The woman stutters slightly as if to defend herself before turning beet red and walking away.

"Have a nice evening," I smile at her as she leaves.

I let out a sigh of relief and relax slightly. I hate people like her that think just because someone is a child they don't know what they're talking about or their opinion means any less.

I turn back to Bruce and the boy next to him. "Never make me come to one of these again..." I mutter under my breath.

A waiter walks past with a tray of drinks and I take one. I'm exhausted.

As I look closer at the boy I really do feel as if we've met before. But with those glowing blue eyes that just stare up at me in astonishment, I just can't seem to place them.

"Now then," I start after taking a sip of the drink, turns out whatever it is I don't like it much, "What's your name?"

"D.i.c.k," The boy smiles up at me, "D.i.c.k Grayson, you?"

"Me? I'm Dawn Foster, Bruce here is a..." Friend? Boss? Teacher? "He's my teacher," I'll settle with teacher for now.

A waiter comes and taps Bruce's shoulder, they speak for a moment before Bruce turns back to us, "Sorry to cut things short, I have to go."

"D.i.c.k," Bruce says to draw his attention to him.

"Ass,'' D.i.c.k doesn't even miss a beat and I have to keep myself from laughing.

Bruce doesn't say anything just gives D.i.c.k a withering look before D.i.c.k seems to realize what he means. I can barely hold back my laughter.

"Oh, you meant my name. My bad..." He says and I hide my laughter behind a cough.

Bruce sighs as if this isn't the first time this has happened, "Do you want to stay or come with?"

D.i.c.k glances between me and Bruce, "I'll catch up."

Bruce nods before walking off and leaving us in as much of a private setting as we can get right now.

"So then, what do you do?" l ask in an attempt to ease the awkwardness, and unsurprisingly it fails.

"I help Bruce, but really I want to try flying one day," He says the last part in a slightly hushed voice as if it's just a secret between us.

"You'll never know if you can fly unless you take the risk of falling," I say as unsavory memories try to take over.

"' You'll never know if you can fly unless you take the risk of falling' I like that..... It's really true." He says, the feeling as if I should know him only seems to grow.

"I'm sorry," I say as I try to place him. I don't know if it's the drink, the music or a combination of the two but I feel slightly unfocused. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

The boy smiles. "A lot of people say that," He then diverts away from my question, "So how do you like the party so far?"

I turn and look Bruce straight in the eye and with a small smirk I reply, "I'm not even sure why I came, I mean nobody cares about what I say or do anyway."

I crack a smile at D.i.c.k and he laughs. He's a cute kid.

"Well... See you around...?" God, I sound like an idiot but I don't know how else to end this conversation.

D.i.c.k beams at me, "great!"

And with that, he slips into the crowd and I quickly lose sight of him amongst the throngs of people. But what surprises me is that after a minute he appears on the stage next to Bruce and whispers something in his ear before stealing a glance at me, Bruce nods slightly before D.i.c.k gets off the stage and Bruce starts a long speech on how glad he was everyone was here tonight. I stop paying attention and start trying to see if I can find D.i.c.k in the crowd again since he's the only good person besides Bruce here.

But no matter how hard I look, I didn't see D.i.c.k at all for the rest of the night.