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Dick Grayson had always been a man of patience and bravery, always on his feet, ready to take on any challenge, literally. As an Acrobat, Orphan, Hero, Police Officer, Boyfriend, Husband, Dad... he had done it all. But today, he was standing in the kitchen just in his boxers, trying to get 5-year-old Mar’i and 3-year-old Jake to eat breakfast without the turning the house into chaos.
"Come on, guys, cereal doesn’t need to be eaten like it’s a race," Dick said, pouring more milk into their bowls after both kids spilled theirs while attempting a speed-eating contest. Jake’s mouth was stuffed with cereal that was falling down trying to munch it all at once, while Mar’i watched him, laughing hard. He looked like a greedy little hamster, stuffing food into his pouch cheeks before knocking a spoon onto the floor.
Dick sighed and bent down to pick it up. He hadn’t minded staying home at first. Kory had asked, no, begged gently if she could work while he took care of the kids. She travels all over the world as an A-list supermodel, and she suggested "doing the one making of the money" as she said because her salary as a well known supermodel was ten times higher than his as a police officer. He agreed, thinking, "I can handle this". How hard can it be?
After 1 year of laundry, diaper changes, cooking, and all the house errands to himself and missing Kory while she went on modeling trips, he started to wonder if it was right for him to be a stay-at-home dad, not because he doesn't want to take care of his own kids, no, definitely not that, but because he felt like it should have been the other way arou-
Breaking his thoughts was the sound of a knock at the door, only for it to get worse when he saw it was Mrs. Hammington, their old neighbor, she was only one of the few people who know who they are, She was always nice and friendly around Kory, but he noticed that for some reason she keep giving him a bad look whenever she caught him outside or leaving the house with Jake and Mar’i to take them for a stroll or run errands. The nosy old woman’s eyes narrowed as soon as he opened the door, while Jake and Mar’i ran around the living room, making a mess.
She probably stopped by to inform Dick about an HOA meeting coming up this week, since she’s the president of their community.. but she's really far too nosy to stick to just that.
"Good afternoon Mr. Grayson."
"Hi, Good afternoon. What brings you here?" Dick cheerfully said.
The old woman paused, looked at him intently that made Dick uncomfortable before opening her mouth again. "Every man in my family are good providers, they take good care of their wives. My husband is retired now, but he gives me his whole pension every month."
"That's great to hear." Dick smiled. Happy for her.
"Grayson," she said, her voice sharp. "Aren’t you... supposed to be working out there? I don't see you having any job."
Dick froze mid-lunge, then heard Jake screaming, pretending to be a rocket, trying to slam his mini kid's car that he is now riding into the table. He caught his son just before he crashed into it. "Uh..." He stumbled for words.
Mrs. Hammington gave him a judgmental look. "I just don’t understand. Why is your wife the only one working hard to support the family while you... just stay here in the house all day?"
Dick’s jaw dropped.
"You’re the man in this house, yet she’s the one who has to work hard all day to make ends meet while you’re just ‘sitting pretty’ at home. I know you’re taking care of the kids, but this looks wrong. What do you think your parents would say to you if they were still here? You shouldn't treat your wife like that."
"WHAT?"
"You heard me. Aren’t you old enough to stand up and be a man? What would people think if they find out their favorite superhero, Nightwing, is a lazy hus—"
"Stop!" Dick said, feeling heat rise to his face. Jake and Mar'i now got surprised by Dick's voice and they were watching quietly from the couch. He looked at them, "Mommy’s not struggling. She’s... she’s happy and amazing. And..." then turned back at Mrs. Hammington. "I’m not lazy. I... I just take care of the kids while she works. That’s my job."
The old woman stayed quiet, but her eyes still narrowed at him.
"Being a stay at home dad is not embarrassing," Dick continued, finding his courage. "It’s not a burden on Kory. It’s what we agreed on for our kids. Kory does what she’s best at, and I make sure our kids are safe, happy, and loved. In fact, if I wanted to, I could choose to work and hire a nanny, but with how dangerous and evil the world is, it’s hard for me to trust someone else with our kids. I don’t want them being secretly hurt or in danger behind our back. So I told Kory I’d quit being a police officer to watch and take care of them myself 24/7. Taking care of my kids, keeping them safe, and making sure they feel the love of their parents, is still a job, Maam"
Mrs. Hammington blinked, then after 10 seconds, muttered something about "modern times" and walked away.
Dick sighed with relief. Mar’i climbed onto his lap and hugged him. "Daddy, you’re the best," she said. Jake handed him a crayon like it was a medal.
Dick smiled, took the crayon and feeling lighter. The way his kids feel so proud and happy with him was enough to keep all the doubts disappear. Seeing the kids’ smiles made it worth it.
Later that night, when Kory returned from a long flight, she found Dick asleep on their bed with Jake curled up on his chest and Mar’i tucked under his arm. She gently kissed his forehead.
"You did another day of great job, man of wonders." she whispered.
Dick opened one eye, realizing she was there. "Kory?"
Dick's eye lit up and he got up to kiss her deeply, showing how much he missed her through the kiss.
When they parted, both breathing heavily.
"We did,” he said. "And... I’m proud of us, for what we do.. for our kids.. for our family."
Kory smiled and hugged him close. "I’m the proud too."
They talked for a few more minutes about other stuff, Kory telling him how her job went this week and Dick telling him his day went and back to their arrangement.
"Hussh now, my love. The planet Earth can say what it wants but I know the truth. We’re a perfect team working for the best for our bumgorfs” Kory said cheerfully. She was aware about the neighbors’ judgmental looks at Dick over the months even if Dick never told her about it, not wanting to bother her about it. Kory thought about killing all of them before ultimately shrugging it off her mind.
Dick nodded, feeling at peace. Being a stay at home dad didn’t make him less of anything, it made him exactly who he was supposed to be.